News

RALEIGH, N.C. – Eric Staal scored his team-leading 18th goal, and the surging Carolina Hurricanes prolonged St. Louis’ road struggles by beating the Blues 2-1 on Friday night.

OTTAWA – Canada aims for less bravado and more discipline in Saturday’s semifinal game at the world junior hockey championship.
The defending champs insist they’ve learned their lesson from their last game, which was a 7-4 win over the U.

TORONTO – The death of a 21-year-old hockey player who died three weeks after hitting his unprotected head on the ice during a fight has renewed calls for tougher rules governing the use of helmets.

OTTAWA – Slovakia pulled off the first big upset of the world junior hockey championship with three first-period goals and 46 saves from Jaroslav Janus to defeat the United States 5-3 in the quarter-finals on Friday at Scotiabank Place.

TORONTO – Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson is looking to spark his team after its latest moribund effort and hopes shifting John Mitchell to the first line does the trick.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Buffalo Sabres returned centre Nathan Gerbe to the Portland Pirates of the AHL on Friday.Gerbe had one assist in six games for Buffalo after being recalled from Portland on Dec.

NEW YORK – Boston Bruins goalies Manny Fernandez and Tim Thomas are the co-recipients of the NHL’s first star award for December.Fernandez and Thomas combined to post a 12-1-0 record with a 2.

CALGARY – The Calgary Flames assigned Brett Sutter, the son of general manager Darryl Sutter, to Quad City of the American Hockey League on Friday.

TORONTO – A senior hockey player has died after spending nearly three weeks in a coma after hitting his head on the ice during a fight.
The team website for the Ontario Hockey Association’s Whitby Dunlops says defenceman Don Sanderson, 21, died at 1 a.

Scoring summaries from Thursday’s NHL games:Sabres 4 at Maple Leafs 1First PeriodNo Scoring.Missed penalty shot – Hagman Tor, 19:00.Penalties – Kotalik Buf (hooking) 11:02, Stempniak Tor (interference) 14:56, Spacek Buf (hooking) 15:21.

Movements in the world of hockey Thursday:National Hockey LeagueANAHEIM DUCKS-Recalled D Brendan Mikkelson from Iowa (AHL).DALLAS STARS-Recalled F Chris Conner from Peoria (AHL).

TORONTO – Fans as the Air Canada Centre could be forgiven for catching a few winks Thursday night.The 19,176 fans in attendance were treated to one of the more uninspiring home efforts of the season, as the Leafs dozed their way to a 4-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jason LaBarbera looked pretty good in a Vancouver uniform.Acquired from the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday after Curtis Sanford was injured, LaBarbera made 31 saves Thursday night in the Canucks’ 2-1 victory over Nashville.

BOSTON – The Boston Bruins roughed up the defending Eastern Conference champions – again.Manny Fernandez made 30 saves to remain perfect at home and the Bruins extended their winning streak to 10 games with a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.

WASHINGTON – Instead of celebrating another home victory, Alex Ovechkin bowed his head and sat silently on a table outside the Tampa Bay Lightning dressing room.

TORONTO – Linemates Jason Pominville and Derek Roy scored two goals apiece to lead the visiting Buffalo Sabres over the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 in NHL action on Thursday night.

MONTREAL – An already depleted group of Montreal Canadiens’ forwards lost another member Thursday as the club announced that Alex Tanguay will miss six weeks with what is being called a left shoulder injury.

CHICAGO – Jiri Hudler took centre stage as the Detroit Red Wings once again demonstrated why they’re the top franchise in hockey.The speedy winger had two goals and an assist in front of a national television audience and sellout crowd at Wrigley Field on Thursday as the Red Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-4 in the Winter Classic.

Scoring summaries from Wednesday’s NHL games:Oilers 4 at Flames 6First Period1. Edmonton, Grebeshkov 2 (Cole, Gagner) 1:332. Calgary, Iginla 17 (Conroy, Cammalleri) 3:533.

CALGARY – Jarome Iginla and Michael Cammalleri each scored twice and set up three others to lead the Calgary Flames to a 6-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers on New Year’s Eve.