Puck Podcast

PHILADELPHIA – Whatever was said in the Philadelphia Flyers’ dressing room before the struggling team took on the New Jersey Devils paid immediate dividends

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Greg Scott scored the lone shootout goal as the Toronto Marlies beat the Rochester Americans 4-3 in American Hockey League action Sunday

ST. LOUIS – Keith Tkachuk waited a long time for this goal.Tkachuk scored the winner on his 38th birthday, and the St. Louis Blues maintained slim playoff hopes with a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night

PITTSBURGH – Goalies truly dread seeing this sight: Sidney Crosby skating down the slot, the puck on his stick during a shootout.It’s about as close to an automatic goal as there is in the NHL

SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose forward Joe Thornton was scratched for the Sharks’ game Sunday against Colorado with a lower body injury.Thornton, the leading scorer on the Sharks with 66 assists and 85 points, had played 398 consecutive games

WASHINGTON – Well, that was quite a 24-hour swing. One day after the Calgary Flames looked done for the season, they went out and dominated the league’s top team

PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh is making a strong push to play host to the NHL’s next Winter Classic on Jan. 1, matching the league’s two signature stars in the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby and the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin at Heinz Field

LOS ANGELES – The Dallas Stars’ power play had its most productive night of the season, scoring four times against a team that allowed only one goal during 20 penalty kills in the previous five meetings

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Playing simple hockey has translated into three straight wins for the San Jose Sharks.Behind a goal and two assists from Patrick Marleau, the Sharks maintained a two-point division lead over Phoenix and a three-point edge over Chicago in the race for the top seed in the Western playoffs

GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Phoenix Coyotes’ storybook season has landed them in the playoffs for the first time since 2002, and the best could be yet to come

NASHVILLE – The Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators both solidified their playoff chances while dealing another crippling blow to the fading Calgary Flames

MONTREAL – Over the last 13 years, two things have been a constant in New Jersey – the Devils playing in the post-season, and Martin Brodeur tending goal

TORONTO – Jonas Gustavsson is starting to show why the Toronto Maple Leafs fought so hard to sign him last summer.The rookie goaltender outduelled Swedish counterpart Henrik Lundqvist on Saturday, turning aside 36 shots as Toronto beat the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime

COLUMBUS, Ohio – It was a rare New York Islanders road win for two reasons.Josh Bailey scored 2:58 into overtime to send New York to a come-from-behind 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night

BUFFALO, N.Y. – It has been three years since the Buffalo Sabres made the NHL playoffs. Patrick Lalime probably feels as though it has taken him that long to get his 200th NHL win

OTTAWA – With his team poised to make a return to the post-season, Daniel Alfredsson likes how the Ottawa Senators are rounding into form.The Senators captain scored 20th goal of the season early in the third as the Senators won their fourth straight, 3-2 over the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Saturday night

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – David Desharnais had two goals and added an assist as the Hamilton Bulldogs beat the Abbotsford Heat 4-0 in American Hockey League action Saturday

RALEIGH, N.C. – Stuck on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Atlanta Thrashers focused on beating the Carolina Hurricanes instead of the standings

TORONTO – The Rochester Americans dealt the Toronto Marlies’ dwindling playoff hopes a big blow on Saturday.Mike York and Clay Wilson each scored twice and added an assist to lead the Americans to a convincing 7-3 victory over Toronto in American Hockey League action

PITTSBURGH – They won’t miss the nails in the wall that substitute for lockers, the dressing room that’s too small to accommodate two goalies or the endless chants of “Go Home, Flyers