Puck Podcast

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings are counting on Jimmy Howard to be their backup goalie.So far, so good. Howard made 31 saves, Henrik Zetterberg scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and Detroit beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Thursday night

PITTSBURGH – The New Jersey Devils’ road winning streak keeps going on and on. Or exactly how an unaccustomed run of losing feels to the beaten-up Pittsburgh Penguins

NEW YORK – A bit of bad weather was all Ilya Kovalchuk needed to make a quicker return to the Atlanta Thrashers.Out since Oct. 24 when the Thrashers captain broke his right foot when struck by a puck, Kovalchuk came back Thursday night and led the Thrashers to a 5-3 victory over the New York Rangers

BOSTON – The Florida Panthers were content to take the game into a shootout. At least that way they knew they’d get off three more shots.Tomas Vokoun stopped 40 shots for his third shutout in four games, and Cory Stillman scored in the fourth round of the shootout to give the Panthers a 1-0 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night

PHILADELPHIA – Ray Emery admitted that it was a special night – and that he was relieved when it was over.Emery made 22 saves in his first start against his former team, and Danny Briere scored two goals to help the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Ottawa Senators 5-1 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings scratched goalies Chris Osgood and forward Kirk Maltby against the Vancouver Canucks because they were feeling ill

ATLANTA – One day after Ilya Kovalchuk was ruled out of the Atlanta Thrashers’ game against the New York Rangers, the star forward was back in the lineup after a lengthy absence

TORONTO – Anaheim Ducks goaltending prospect Igor Bobkov and New York Islanders draft pick Kirill Petrov headline the Russian roster chosen to face Canada’s top junior players in an annual six-game series starting Monday

TORONTO – The NHL Players’ Association is preparing to launch a search for a new executive director while examining its own constitution, and outgoing Major League Baseball Players Association head Donald Fehr will help on both fronts

NEW YORK – NHL commissioner Gary Bettman reinstated Henry Samueli as owner of the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, lifting a ban imposed two summers ago after the billionaire philanthropist’s guilty plea to a felony count of lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission

TORONTO – The NHL handed down an automatic one-game suspension to Vancouver Canucks forward Darcy Hordichuk and fined head coach Alain Vigneault US$10,000 on Thursday

TORONTO – Rob Zamuner and P.J. Stock are heading out on a road trip unlike any they ever experienced during their NHL careers.Starting Friday in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, the former Boston Bruins teammates will visit 10 countries in as many days to hand out hockey equipment on behalf of the NHL Players’ Association Goals & Dreams fund

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs expect to be without hard-hitting defenceman Mike Komisarek for three weeks after placing him on injured reserve Thursday with a quadriceps injury

CHICAGO – Even though more than 15 minutes remained in regulation when Chicago’s Cam Barker scored the tying goal, there was little doubt where the game was headed

Edmonton left wing Liam Reddox was knocked out of the Oilers’ 3-1 loss at Buffalo when he was rammed headfirst into the boards by Clarke MacArthur late in the third period

WASHINGTON – The Washington Capitals keep finding different ways to win without top scorer Alex Ovechkin.Chris Clark scored the deciding goal in the 11th round of the shootout, and backup goalie Semyon Varlamov came on in relief and carried the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 comeback victory over the New York Islanders on Wednesday night

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Columbus Blue Jackets were supposed to have learned something from their first playoff experience – a first-round sweep at the hands of the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings

BUFFALO, N.Y. – With the game on the line, the Buffalo penalty killers came up big.Ryan Miller made 28 saves, and the Sabres killed off a late five-minute penalty to snap a two-game losing streak in a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night

Jamie Langenbrunner and the New Jersey Devils keep finding ways to win despite an injury list that grows longer every day.Langenbrunner and Zach Parise each had a goal and an assist, and Martin Brodeur made 31 saves as the Devils extended their winning streak to six games with a 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night

Leave it to the new guy to show the Los Angeles Kings how to finish.Randy Jones had a goal and an assist in his debut with the Kings, and Los Angeles beat Carolina 5-2 on Wednesday night to extend the Hurricanes’ winless streak to 13