Puck Podcast

BOSTON – Alex Ovechkin is off to a fast start, and so are the Washington Capitals.The two-time defending NHL Most Valuable Player had two goals and an assist, and Jose Theodore stopped 19 shots to lead Washington to a 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins in the season-opener on Thursday night

DENVER – Joe Sakic would typically rather retreat from the spotlight than bask in it.Always a humble and reserved player, the longtime Colorado Avalanche captain doesn’t like a fuss to be made over him

PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby is still speaking softly, only now he’s carrying a different stick.The Stanley Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins captain plans to use a one-piece synthetic hockey stick for the first time during the season-opener Friday night against the New York Rangers

NEW YORK – The sting from last season’s playoff collapse lasted a little longer for the stunned New York Rangers.After all, they bounced back from a slump that cost coach Tom Renney his job and nearly derailed New York’s post-season hopes altogether

PITTSBURGH – Dan Bylsma will stand behind the Pittsburgh Penguins’ bench in an NHL season opener for the first time Friday night against the New York Rangers, and he knows it will be impossible not to be excited

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Peter Forsberg is heading to Denver to honour former Colorado Avalanche teammate Joe Sakic next week.Forsberg, who won two Stanley Cups with the Colorado Avalanche and was the NHL’s MVP in 2003, will stay in North America for two weeks before returning to his native Sweden

CALGARY – Nigel Dawes was pencilled in among the Calgary Flames’ top six forwards to open the NHL season.It’s up to the 24-year-old from Winnipeg to make his name a more permanent fixture there

The Pittsburgh Penguins will repeat as NHL Stanley Cup champions, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks in six games, according to an EA sports video game simulation

HELSINKI, Finland – It will be another first for the NHL.When the Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers square off Friday and Saturday at Hartwall Arena to open their regular seasons, it will mark the first time the NHL has held games that count in Finland

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – More than a few players will feel right at home when the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues open their NHL seasons with a home-and-home series Friday and Saturday

WASHINGTON – The Washington Capitals are opening the NHL season with a new sponsor that has some environmentalists seeing red instead of green

Veteran forward Brendan Shanahan left the New Jersey Devils on Thursday after being told he would not be a part of their top three lines this season

DALLAS – Marc Crawford wants to show that his last coaching stop was an aberration.That happens to be the same goal for the Dallas Stars after last season, when they didn’t even make the playoffs a year after reaching the Western Conference finals

National Hockey LeagueANAHEIM DUCKS-Assigned D Brendan Mikkelson to Toronto (AHL) and LW Logan MacMillan to Bakersfield (ECHL).CAROLINA HURRICANES-Signed G Cam Ward to a six-year contract

AHL Pre-seasonAbbotsford 3 University of British Columbia 2Portland 4 University of New Brunswick 2 At Oshawa, Ont.Hamilton 3 Toronto 0QMJHLMontreal 6 P

CEDAR PARK, Texas – James Neal scored two goals to help the Dallas Stars beat the American Hockey League’s Texas Stars 5-1 on Wednesday night in the NHL team’s final pre-season game

TORONTO – Ben Ondrus is feeling a little older than he’d like to.The Toronto Marlies captain is still only 27 but, surrounded by so many young teammates, he can’t help but feel like the years are starting to blur

NEW YORK – Free agent defenceman Alexei Semenov has agreed to terms with the New York Rangers.Semenov and the Rangers reached a deal Wednesday, just two days before they open the NHL regular season at Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh

HAMILTON, Ont. – People in the never-say-die city of Hamilton were refusing to give up the dream of an NHL team Wednesday, despite the notable setback of BlackBerry boss Jim Balsillie’s bid being rejected in U

CALGARY – In their quest to make amends for last year’s disappointing first-round playoff exit, the Calgary Flames face the perfect opening test