Puck Podcast

Pat Burns is back where he belongs.Cancer has kept him from coaching since 2004 but he’s finally feeling healthy enough to step behind the bench again.

TORONTO – Cliff Fletcher is assuring long-suffering Toronto Maple Leafs fans that better times beckon.”The message is simple,” says the interim general manager.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Now the real season starts for the Anaheim Ducks, attempting to become the first team since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998 to win consecutive Stanley Cup championships.

VANCOUVER – It was almost like the end of a Stanley Cup playoff series as players lined up to shake hands.But Trevor Linden was the only Vancouver Canuck who went through the entire lineup of the Calgary Flames after a 7-1 loss Saturday night.

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks wasted little time putting a highly disappointing NHL season behind them Sunday as players cleaned out their lockers.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Goalie Ryan Miller and play-making forward Jason Pominville won’t be going anywhere any time soon if the Buffalo Sabres have their way.

The Ottawa Senators get Sid The Kid – again – while the Calgary Flames will face the hottest team in the Western Conference when the NHL playoffs open this week.

PHILADELPHIA – Martin Biron is going to have a difficult time protecting his shutout streak against Washington and NHL points leader Alex Ovechkin in the post-season.

DENVER – The regular-season finale between Colorado and Minnesota was relatively tame. That won’t be the case when the teams meet again later this week.

NEWARK, N.J. – With the final seconds ticking off the clock in regulation, the New Jersey Devils stood on the bench and started congratulating one another.

DALLAS – Stars defenceman Mattias Norstrom doesn’t mind rough-and-tumble games, especially when he scores the winning goal.Norstrom’s rare goal put his team ahead for good late in the second period as the Dallas Stars rallied to beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Sunday in a physical regular-season finale that included 160 penalty minutes, 95 for the Sharks.

The book closed on the NHL’s 2007-08 regular season Sunday and Alexander Ovechkin fills the pages from cover to back.”He’s a one-of-a-kind young man,” Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis told The Canadian Press on Sunday.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Keith Tkachuk took the shot from beyond centre ice toward an empty net. One “lucky bounce” later, his entire team was swarming him.

PHILADELPHIA – Penguins centre Sidney Crosby was scratched from Sunday’s season finale against the Flyers with Pittsburgh playing for the No.

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings can now concentrate on the Stanley Cup Playoffs.Nicklas Lidstrom scored twice to lift Detroit to a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, the final day of the regular season.

MONTREAL – Coach Guy Carbonneau’s smile of satisfaction spoke volumes about what his Montreal Canadiens accomplished this season.A 3-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday gave the Canadiens a final regular-season record of 47-25-10, good for 104 points, their highest total since Carbonneau was a player in 1988-89.

VANCOUVER – Jarome Iginla got both a confidence-building win and a milestone Saturday night.He reached the 50-goal plateau for the second time in his career as the Calgary Flames prepared for the Stanley Cup playoffs by dominating the sagging Vancouver Canucks 7-1.

ATLANTA – Ending the season with a victory was no consolation to Kari Lehtonen. When the Atlanta Thrashers reported to training camp, their No.

MONTREAL – After missing the playoffs for a third season in a row for the first time in 80 years, winger Mark Bell perfectly summed up the sentiment of uncertainty in the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room heading into a summer where there is sure to be sweeping changes.

VANCOUVER – Roberto Luongo was named the Vancouver Canucks’ most valuable player for the second straight season Saturday night as the NHL club handed out its annual awards.