Junior Capitals Snowed Under by Colorado

Lance Moynch scored a pair of goals, but it wasn't enough for the Washington Junior Capitals on Day 33. Colorado came away with a 4-3 victory on home ice to end Washington's three-game winning and four-game unbeaten streaks. The Junior Capitals are now 6-10-1 for the season.

Washington got off to a good start when Gennady Stolyarov scored from Sean Bergenheim and Ivan Baranka at 1:26, but the lead would only last just over 12 minutes. Skladany tied the game at 13:51 from Reid and Martz, before Martz scored a goal of his own to give Colorado a 2-1 lead at 14:07. Reid and Oduya assisted on Reid's goal. The Caps killed a pair of late penalties to keep it at 2-1 going to the intermission.

Just like the first period, Washington got on the board early in the second. Moynch was the scorer from Jakub Cutta and sEan Kotary at 2:11. A few minutes later the gloved dropped and Colorado's Viitanen beat up Greg Mauldin. The brawl sparked the Avalanche and Reid put them back in the lead when he scored from O'Byrne and Martz at 7:55. The Capitals had a pair of power play chances late in the second, but the extra man unit couldn't get one past Maxime Ouellet.

Colorado struck after just 20 seconds in the final period to open a two-goal lead. Kovac was the scorer from Doherty and King. Fabien Laniel tried to get things going for the Caps by fighting Reid to a draw, but it didn't work. Washington did get a goal back, but it came with just 10 seconds remaining and was nothing more than a consolation tally. Moynch was the scorer from Bergenheim and Igor Shadulov.

Brad Topping made 28 saves in a losing effort for Washington. Ouellet stopped 30 shots to earn his 10th win of the season.

The Junior Capitals are back in action on Day 37 against the Atlanta Junior Thrashers.

Minnesota Goes Wild on Capitals

The Washington Capitals came crashing back to earth on Day 33 in a 7-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild. The loss drops Washington back to 7-7-2 for the season, and along with the loss in the standings, the Caps lost Rob Blake to a separated shoulder on a vicious cross-check by Ryan Whitney. The Wild player was suspended five games for the cowardly hit.

The Wild wasted little time taking control of the game, scoring four times in the first 7:45 of the first period. Deadmarsh opened the scoring from Petrov and Lecavalier on the power play at 2:50, and the same trio hooked up again at 5:25 to make it 2-0. Minnesota kept pouring it on, and Shasby scored two goals just six seconds apart at 7:39 and 7:45 to make it 4-0. Lecavalier and Deadmarsh assisted on the first tally, and the second was unassisted. The Capitals finally got on the board at 8:36 of the first when Zigmund Palffy scored an unassisted goal. Despite trailing 4-1 on the scoreboard, Washington actually outshot Minnesota 13-11 in the first 20 minutes.

Minnesota ended any hopes of a Caps comeback in the second period with two more goals. Whitney scored first from Laperriere at 8:41, and Chistov netted from Neil on the power play at 18:23. Washington had a chance to score with a man advantage of their own, but the offense couldn't get anything going.

It was all over but the shouting going into the third period, but that didn't stop Whitney from a violent and unwarranted cross-check to Blake at 0:24. Whitney was ejected for the dirty hit. The Capitals finally took advantage on their sixth power play of the game when Ivan Rachuneck scored his first of the season from Mikael Renberg and Jonathan Cheechoo at 5:21. The Wild answered right back, however, with Shasby completing his hat trick from Petrov and Deadmarsh at 7:51.

Manny Legace made just nine saves to take the loss for Washington. Peter Skudra stopped 15 of 17 shots in relief. Roman Cechmanek made 23 saves to earn the win for Minnesota.

The Capitals are back in action on Day 35 at home against the Detroit Red Wings.

Turek Takes Night Job in Male Strip Club?

After being on the injured list for seven games, GM Schmucky was beginning to worry about his veteran netminder's health. After being examined by Dr. Nick, the unlicensed team doctor of the Senators but the only one they could afford, it was determined that he was in perfect health, he was just exhausted.

GM Schmucky even hired a private investigator to track the tired tender for 2 days but the investigator found nothing suspicious and GM Schmucky fired the dumb bastard for sleeping on the job.

However, the mystery was solved when Mrs. GM Schmucky went out for a night on the town. Being extremely dissatisfied in the sack due to her husband having to be constantly working to keep his Senators afloat and please the Commish who, after placing immense demands on his GM's to keep the league active is apparently missing on a "DRINKING BINGE" in the down under; do they even have real beer down there? Who knows? Anyways, Mrs. Schmucky was placing thousand dollar bills in G-Strings when, out of the DJ booth crawled none other than Roman Turek, cigarette in hand and hoes by his side.

When asked about the reasoning behind becoming a nudie bar DJ, Roman said, "This damn GM isn't paying me enough to live on. I needed the extra cash and had to take on a job where I'd rarely be seen." When asked why he chose a Male Strip club rather than a female one Turek refused to comment.

So, needless to say, Fred Brathwaite will get his 8th straight start as the smoking, drunkard of a starting goalie begins his rehab. However, Turek will be the backup because Schmucky says that "IT's not like we have anyone better than a drunk Turek. Our team is shit for depth."

Ok............

Florida Jrs Winning Streak Stopped At 4

NEW YORK

The Florida Jrs flew into Ny the other day to play the Ranger Jrs riding a season high 4 game winning streak.

The Florida Jrs got on the board when Igor Radulov scored at 3:09 for a 1-0 lead. Nikita Korovkin made it 2-0 just under a minute later at 4:05. Rangers goalie Terry Denike settled down after Florida's second goal and was solid the rest of the way stopping 21 of the 23 shots he faced to help lead his team to victory. Miguel Delisle cut the lead to one when he scored his first goal of the season at 8:47. Jekabs Redlihs tied the game at 15:44 while on the power play.


Shawn Collymore got the only goal of the second period when he notched his 4th of the season at 6:28. That gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead and all they would need to secure the win and give the Panther Jr squad their first loss in 5 games.

The Florida Jrs have an amazing 8 days before they play again. At that time they will be in Los Angeles to take on the Kings Jrs and are hoping the rest helps.

Bruins trap Coyotes, tie them up... then kiss 'em

Andrew Raycroft stood tall in overtime and as he turned away thirty-nine of the forty-one shots as the Bruins tied the Coyotes 2-2 at the America West Arena Wednesday.

The Bruins' tie ended a one-game losing streak and kept the Coyotes from taking the Norris Division lead from the San Jose Sharks.

After a silent first period, the Coyotes struck first in the second. Henrik Zetterberg notched his second of the season to strike an early lead. The goal was set up by rookie Alexei Morozov, as controlled the puck behind the Bruins' net and got a pass to Zetterberg, who slid the puck past Raycroft. Not long thereafter, Andy McDonald returned the favor when Tomas Kaberle won a face-off in the Phoenix zone, skipped it to Lars Jonnson, who turned the pick to McDonald as he blasted a 35-footer in for his sixth of the season at 11:09.

Raycroft was sensational in the nets as he held the Coyotes at bay. Alexei Yashin managed to get a cheap shot past him in the third, but it was the over time period when he stood tall.

Boston knotted the game when Bill Guerin scored his eleventh goal of the year on a pass from Jochan Hecht to beat Lalime on a 20-footer up the slot at 6:21. Neither team scored the rest of the period, with balanced shooting at ten all, even with the Coyotes having a man advantage twice for two minutes a pop.

At the start of the overtime, Raycroft made a sensational stop on Sheldon Souray at point-blank range to keep the game tied.

Boston was 0-1 on the power play while the Coyotes were 0-3. The Coyotes lead in the season series 1-0-1 as the two teams would up their regular season action. It is not likely the teams will meet in the postseason.

CANES AGREE TO TERMS WITH HOLDOUT MICHAEL WOODFORD

Carolina

The Carolina Hurricanes finally got the news they were hoping to hear on Thursday when holdout right winger Michael Woodford was locked to a 4 year deal worth 1.6 million dollars per season.

"We finally got our kid signed," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "I think he will really help boost our secondary scoring and gives us some excellent options up front. I look forward to seeing what he does in practice, it will give me a better idea where to put him."

Woodford declined to comment on the signing but his agent stated that the youngster is excited to finally begin his career.

Speculation has Woodford being added to a line with fellow youngster Tim Brent. With Woodford, the Canes have four excellent right wing options in the explosive Alexei Kovalev, gritty workhorse Darcy Tucker, captain Shane Doan and small pugilistic forward Scott Walker.

The Canes will be off another day before returning to action. It is probably that young Woodford will make his debut then.

Junior Capitals Crush Coyotes

Mikhail Kuleshov and Zbynek Novak scored a pair of goals each to lead the Washington Junior Capitals to a 6-1 victory over the Phoenix Junior Coyotes on Day 32. The win was Washington's third in a row and it gave the club points in four straight games.

Washington got things started quickly in the first period when Novak scord on the power play from Jakub Cutta and Lance Moynch at 3:08. Kuleshov made it 2-0 2:59 later with an unassisted goal. Phoenix responded with a goal of their own at 7:42 on Metcalfe's goal from Cox and Steziak. Washington had two more chances on the power play late in the first, but they couldn't score to extend the lead.

The second period got off to a bang when Babchuk and Patrick O'Sullivan dropped the gloves after just 55 seconds. Babchuk won in a rout, but it didn't do any good for the Coyotes. Washington went on the power play 1:01 later, and with 16 seconds left on the advantage Brett Carson scored from Gennady Stoylarov and Ivan Baranka to make it 3-1. Phoenix continued its procession to the box with three more penalties, but the Capitals couldn't take advantage. Washington did, however, scored with just 31 seconds remaining in the period to take a three-goal lead. Kuleshov was the scorer from Stolyarov and Andrew Joudrey.

The onslaught continued in the final period as the Capitals failed on three power play chances, but still managed to score two more goals. Novak struck first from Koatary and Cutta at 7:47, before Cutta scored a goal of his own from Kotary at 18:08 to provide the final score.

Daniel Taylor made 14 saves to earn the win and improve to 2-2. Steve Belanger struggled for Phoenix, making just 24 saves in the loss.

The Junior Capitals are back in action on Day 33 in Colorado.

Capitals Edge Penguins

Patrick Marleau scored a goal and added an assist to lead the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Day 32. The victory was Washington's second straight and moves the team to 7-6-2 for the season.

In a tightly played first period, the Penguins opened the scoring through Drury from Shvidki and Elias at 5:06. Washington failed on a power play chance later in the period, and found themselves shorthanded when Artem Chubarov went to the box for goalie interference at 19:13. The penalty kill seemed to rejuvenate the Caps, however, and Mikael Renberg scored with just two seconds remaining to tie the game. Rob Blake and Marleau assisted on the tally.

The close checking game continued in the second period, and after missing on a power play chance the Capitals scored a pair of goals to take control of the game. Jonathan Cheechoo scored the first from Greg Watson and Cory Sarich at 14:46, before Marleau netted from Dan Boyle and Blake at 16:04. Frantisek Lukes took a late hooking minor for Washington, but the penalty killing unit did the job to shut down the Penguins.

Pittsburgh pulled a goal back on the power play in the third period, but Washington held on to secure the victory. Steckel was the scorer for the Penguins with Battaglia and Parssisen assisting on the goal.

Manny Legace made 15 saves to earn the win and improve to 6-5-1. J-S Aubin stopped 15 shots in a losing effort for Pittsburgh.

The Capitals are back in action on Day 33 against Minnesota.

Stampeded!

Boston entered Buffalo on a win streak and left... without one.

In the midst of a six-game, two coast road trip, Boston began the night in fourteenth place in the Wales Conference. Only the top eight teams make the playoffs.

In the lone bright spot for the Bruins, Bill Guerin scored his tenth of the season in the first period. It also marked the first time in nearly two weeks the Bruins scored first. Much like the last time - they lost.

"This loss f***ing sucked for us," defenseman Sean Brown said. "Earlier in the year we hadn't played these guys very well. We are treating every game like it's a playoff game right now and each point is important."

Jason Spezza struck first for the Sabres in the second period. Mathieu Dandenault tacked one on thirteen minutes later. In the third, Mark Bell and John LeClair piled on for the final, 4-1.

Buffalo left the game one point out of the playoffs, behind eighth-seeded Washington. However, the Sabres have played four more games than the Capitals, and are actually fourteenth in winning percentage in the Conference.

"We're just a fragile team right now," Bruins forward Keith Tkachuk said. "It seems like when we have a little bit of adversity, when something goes wrong, you can feel it on the bench, it kind of sinks. Unless we get a goal - and Lord knows I am not scoring any goals anymore - or something really positive happens, it's tough."

Jason Spezza knotted the game for the Savres thirty-nine seconds into the second period as he tipped a centering pass from Simon Gagne over the right shoulder of John Grahame. Grahame was starting for the second consecutive night in place of Andrew Raycroft. That won't be happenning again.

"I didn't have much time to think about it," said Spezza, who has six goals this season. "It's not the type of shot that I practice. I guess I got kind of lucky."

Boston coach Robbie Ftorek blamed the play of Zdenek Kutlak, as well as Sean Brown and Lee Goren. "Those guys took us out of the game," he said. "We came out slow in the second period, and once the Sabres got their legs, we were sunk. It's a wake-up call when you come out this flat."

Grahame, who now sits 2-2-0, stopped twenty-seven of the thirty-one shots. At least two of the shots that got by were "cheap" goals, Ftorek said.

"If I were twenty, maybe I would put the skates on and try to stop some," Ftorek said. "It's tough, especially when you see that he is trying hard. Our defensemen had a tough, tough game."

Leafs GM Sympathetic to Rangers GM's plight, offer number for Shrink.

It took one game where there was no coach behind the bench, an admition of a GM having no clue and a publicly posted trade block that contained 75% of the pro roster, to wake the Leafs franchise out of its horrid slump.

The Leaf's GM was so distraught with its teams recent play that it made a request in its recent game against the Devils, to have no coach behind the bench and let the team (sim) decide its own lines. That resulted in a 4-4 tie, which is sadly a good showing against the team that knocked them out of the playoffs easily last year.

League head offices seemed concerned about the GM's state of mind and requested he check in to see the Leagues appointed head shrink. A lengthly discussion took place, which included many bad memories of Leaf seasons in the past and their lack of winning anything in so long. HE seemed to be at his wits end and was considering drastic action which included trading his entire team for anyone named Richard. When asked why he would do this, he stated "it would suit us to say that we have a bunch of Dicks in our lineup".

Well, after what seemed to be a 12 hour session, the Leafs gm came out with a more clearer head and went out to put 3/4 of his pro roster on the trade block, hoping that would shake everyone up. Whether or not he was still looking for any Tom, Dick or Harry, or maybe just Dicks, remains to be seen. It seemed to wake both the pro and JR teams up.

The Junior squad came out with an impressive 7-2 win over NY Islanders JRs

The pro was where the main concern is however, since they were close to the bottom of the conference standings.

The Leafs came out with a solid 5-1 win. Everyone contributed. They got goals on the Power play, short handed and even strength. Even their goalie played well. All of these things hadnt happened lately.

Unfortunately all of this didnt come without its consequences as the Rangers GM needed to be talked off the ledge of a window on the outside of the ACC. He then went onto the roof where they shot him with a tranquilizer dart as if they were hunting a grizzly bear. No, the Leafs security did not have him stuffed and mounted, thats being saved for the Carolina GM and his nutty Canadian affliction which the Leafs know it will only be a matter of time before that man flips.(if he hasnt already).

After the Rangers GM awoke, he was tagged and released back into the public. The Leafs however did show some good will by giving him the same phone number to the head shrink of the League that the Leafs gm had attended, hoping that may help him get through this tough time.

"we feel his pain and wouldnt want him to do something crazy like trade all of his Canadian talent to the Hurricanes. Trust me, our GM is at the end of his rope of sanity and who knows what would have happened had he not gone to see this guy."

Crazy or not, bottom line is the team still seems to be going no where fast and 1 win doesnt fix the problem. Lets see what happens after the next few games. We will be keeping an eye out for any other gms walking along the window ledges of the ACC. Hopefully other gms dont get any ideas from this and follow suit, the league may have to step in to fix what could be a underlying potential problem.

Junior Capitals Swim Past Sharks

The Washington Junior Capitals won for the second straight game, and earned points for the fourth straight game in a 5-4 overtime victory over the San Jose Junior Sharks on Day 31. Fabien Laniel and Zbynek Novak led the way for Washington with two goals each.

After killing off a penalty to Laniel, the Capitals scored against the run of play to open a 1-0 lead. Novak was the scorer from Peter Pohl and Andrew Joudrey at 14:39. Another penalty to Washington gave San Jose the advantage late in the period, but Laniel converted from Sean Kotary and Henrik Tallinder while shorthanded to make it 2-0 at 18:33. The Capitals were outshot 11-5 in the first, but timely scoring gave them control on the scoreboard.

Washington continued to take penalties in the second period, but this time the Sharks took advantage. With Tallinder in the box for charging, Moore scored his sixth of the season from Schell and Jefferson at 3:25. The Capitals responded, however, and Patrick O'Sullivan's fifth tally of the season gave Washington a 3-1 lead at 4:58. Lance Moynch assisted on the goal. The teams traded penalties in the middle stages of the period, and once again the Junior Caps scored a timely goal to extend the lead. This time it was Laniel netting from Greg Mauldin and Ryan MacMurchy at 13:48. San Jose finally began to assert themselves late in the second, and a pair of goals in a 2:15 span got them right back in the game. Jefferson got on the board first with his 10th of the seaon from Valdix and Drozdetsky at 16:00. Rodman then scored from Johansson and Jefferson at 18:15 to make it 4-3 heading to the intermission.

Clinging to a one-goal lead in the final period, Washington continued its parade to the penalty box. Four minors and a fighting major proved to be too much as Bishai scored for the Sharks on the power play at 16:23 to tie the game and force overtime. Pierre and Wideman assisted on the goal. The fight, which came nine seconds before the goal, was a draw beteen Valdix of San Jose and Washington's Laniel.

After giving the Sharks eight power plays in the first three periods, Washington drew a penalty of its own early in the extra session. Caldwell went to the box for cross-checking at 0:13, and the Capitals got the winner just 21 seconds later when Novak scored from O'Sullivan and Brett Carson.

Washington was outshot 35-21 in the game, but Daniel Taylor played well in goal, stopping 31 shots, to earn the victory. Patrick Ehelechner made 16 saves in the loss for San Jose.

The Junior Capitals return to action on Day 32 in Phoenix.

Despondent GM Talked off Window Ledge

GM David Burns of the New York Rangers was pulled off a ledge outside the Air Canada Centre last night shortly after a short handed goal by Henrik Sedin put his team down 3-1 in the second period.

The Rangers had scored early in the second period to pull within one of the Maple Leafs but a complete blunder by Fedor Tyutin handed a 2 man breakaway to Sedin and Kaberle. The two made several passes before Sedin tapped the puck into the net.

Burns was seen screaming in the press box and stormed from the room ranting and raving about "ending it all." His whereabouts were unknown for half an hour until a crowd that gathered outside the Air Canada Centre below the ledge on which he was standing drew attention . Police and fire crews soon showed up.

"What do I have to?!" Burns was heard screaming. "I brought in a goalie didn't I? I've got solid depth don't I? I've got snipers, I've got some solid defencemen, why why WHY can't they even approach .500 hockey?"

After talking to a police psycholigist for several hours Burns finally relented came back inside to safety under the premise that several concerned GMs had called and offered him some star talent cheap. When this turned out to be false he charged for the roof and had to brought down with a tranquilizer dart.

As he passed out he mumbled "Orpik......Kloucek....Tyutin...Duhnam available....for....vetran defenceman...."

Ottawa PP Explodes in blowout over Flames

The Ottawa Senators went 4 for 4 on the powerplay last night in their lashing of the Flames, 8-2. Fred Brathwaite held strong in net with another big victory and will get the start AGAIN tonight as the "starter" Roman Turek is being called a PUSSY from most of his peers and fans for being too damn tired to start for the 6th game in a row.

The offensive explosion of the Senator offense is baffling. Brendan Morrison and Petr Nedved both ended their slumps last night notching one goal a piece. The offensive assault was led by Alexei Smirnov with 1 goal and 2 assists, and newly acquired Jere Lehtinen who had 2 goals in the game.

Another bright spot was Pierre Marc-Bouchard who only played 6 minutes but managed to tally 1 goal and 1 assist to extend his point streak to 3 games.

Tom Poti, Alexei Zhitnik, Michael Ryder and Roman "The Lazy Ass" Turek are all still 'injured' and are not expected to be in the lineup tonight versus the Canadiens so Ottawa is looking to repeat last nights performance with the same cast. With the Senator PP ranked 5th in the CLUTCH, the only advice to Montreal would be STAY OUT OF THE BOX!

CANES HOPE TO SIGN HOLDOUT SNIPER MICHAEL WOODFORD

Carolina

As 20 games have passed and the Carolina Hurricanes have found themselves atop the standings with an outstanding 30 points, one piece of the puzzle has been left out of the mix. For the Hurricanes management and staff, that piece is Michael Woodford.

When Florida drafted the youngster out of Michigan University, Woodford was never known for his offensive flair, but in his senior season, it appeared than any lack of production he had encountered early in his career would simply vanish.

Acquired in a deal that sent disgruntled forward Adam Deadmarsh to the Panthers, Woodford came to the team as a marketable gunner. A tenacious forechecking forward with great wheels, Woodford has been touted as an heir apparent to the top line on the right side.

"He brings a lot of energy every shift," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "I think he could easily step in and make a name for himself quickly. Holding out has made a lot of people upset with him, but for me, I just want him in the lineup."

The Canes are apparently close to signing their young speedster. Details to follow.

CANES AND STARS SKATE TO DRAW, CANES UNDEFEATED IN 12

Carolina

The Hurricanes continued their undefeated run with a second straight come back for a tie. Shane Doan, Kyle Welwood, Jeff Friesen and Cory Stillman did the damage for the Canes while Jose Theodore stood strong in between the pipes. Both Darcy Tucker and Jeff Woywitka added 2 assists in the contest.

After going down 4-3 early in the third period, Cory Stillman, the skilled centerman for the Hurricanes, put away his 9th to tie it up at 4. That score would hold up.

"We have shown our ability to never quit," said captain Shane Doan. "I think we are probably one of the toughest teams to put down totally in the league. We have been down early in a lot of games and it is something to work on, but we refuse to lose quietly, that is for sure."

With the tie, the Canes have stretched their unbeaten streak to 12 games. The new line of Wellwood, Tucker and Friesen has been raising the offensive bar for the squad since the Tucker acquisition and really have not let up on the throttle.

"We like to think we have many options out there," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "I try and keep the lines fresh and it makes it easy to have full confidence in all 4 lines."

The Canes have the night off.

Oilers finally coming together

The Oilers have finally creeped their way into a respectable 4th place in the Campbell conference going 7-3-0 in their last 10. Key players like Kariya, Allison and Khabibulin have finally started to perform. Frolov leads the team in points with 24 but Kariya is quickly catching up with his consitant performance. Kariya is currently on a 5 game point streak and continues to show his worth at key moments for the Edmonton team. Khabibulin's performance has been upgraded to solid and Allison has clicked with Kariya well. If this performance continues Edmonton will soon be at the top of the Standings and finally get some of the respect they deserve in CLUTCH.

Junior Oilers relying on Leneveu
Tied for the least goals against in the league Goaltending has been key to the minimal success the Junior Oiler squad has had so far this season. All games have been exciting and close but the JrOilers sit just out of a playoff spot and some improvement is needed. The Junior squad has a mediocre Powerplay which could use some improvement, Their penalty kill is almost perfect which goes hand in hand with Leneveu stellar play. They Junior Oilers shadow the tough image of their Pro squad and spend a whopping 27.3 minutes in the box per game on average. Team scoring is mediocre while they are 2nd in Goals against. Expect a shake-up on the PowerPlay and perhaps a trade for some more scoring power to make this team a serious contender.

Bruins, like buffalo, roam... to Buffalo

The Bruins head to Buffalo on Tuesday for the third of four matchups of the season against the Sabres. Boston fell in the previous outing against the Sabres at home in a disappointing 6-5 loss, and the season series is knotted at one. In order to shut down the Sabres, Fran Kaberle and the Bruins defense will need to be strong in the neutral zone and impede the Sabres game.

"Any time you play a team this many times, there's going to be some rivalry," said Kaberle. "I think it's the same way with every team you play that many times. You get kind of sick of seeing a team that many times in a season, but that's the way it is. Because you play them so many times, that's definitely a cause for more physical games."

Jochan Hecht concurred with Kaberle's words and added the fact that losing to the same team twice in a row would be highly frustrating.

Coach Ftorek acknowledged that physical play would be important, but there is a need to be cautious about not getting caught out of position and getting routed in the process. The Bruins must be careful not to take too many risky chances against a team that will make them pay given the opportunity.

"Having said that, we certainly want to be physical, but if we are over aggressive in certain situations, they are a team that will take advantage."

Injury report
Matt Walker (walking death) has been out of the lineup since Day 1 due to a shoulder injury, continues to rehab on and off the ice to make a return to the lineup.

Bruins vote Senators out of office

Boston scored with just five minutes remaining in the third to edge Ottawa 3-2 at the Fleet Center Monday night to move within six points of the postseason cutoff in the Wales Conference.

Defenseman Lars Jonnson's 35-foot shot up the slot caught the upper right corner past Fred Brathwaite to give the Bruins fifth win in their last ten games (5-4-1)

The goal capped a furious three goal effort in the third period, including a power play and short-handed effort. It was the third one goal win in the last five games for the Bruins, and their season mark for one-goal games is now an even 3-3.

Bruins coach Robbie Ftorek was proud of the way his team battled back against the Senators. Commenting on the play of Tim Connolly, who had one of his best games with a goal and 2 assists, Ftorek said he has been very consistent and plays at a high skill level.

The Senators struck first in the opening period. Rico Fata opened the scoring when his 15-foot shot hit John Grahame and popped over his shoulder at 12:03. The goals were shut for the next two periods after that.

In the third period, Jochan Hecht got his seventh of the season at 3:33 on a power play from a cross-checking minor whistled on Alexei Smirnov. On a great pass from Tim Connolly, his thirty footer caught the lower left corner to beat goalie Brathwaite. The Bruins extended their lead as Tim Connolly scored short-handed at 6:26 off a Martin Havlat pass. The Bruins were down a man following Sean Brown's cross-checking hit on Dick Tarnstrom.

At 11:51, Michal Grosek was fed by Filip Novak in front of the Boston net and his shot went off Grahame's skate to knot the game at two. But Lars Jonnson put his third of the season in to cap off the win.

Ottawa outshot Boston 28-17 but failed to convert either of their power play opportunities, while the Hawks were a wonderful 1 of 5. The Senators' top goal scorer Brendan Morrison (10-10-20) failed to score and was contained to only one shot on net.

The Bruins take off again, travelling to Buffalo as they begin another road trip, this time - the Road Trip of Doom.

Capitals Pounce on Panthers

Artem Chubarov and Greg Watson scored a pair of goals each to lead the Washington Capitals to a 5-3 victory over the Florida Panthers on Day 29. The win moves Washington back to .500 for the season at 6-6-2.

The Panthers came out flying in the first period, and after failing on an early power play Florida opened the scoring through Nolan at 15:16. Hanzus and Bondra assisted on the goal. The Capitals replied when Chubarov scored his first of the game from Zigmund Palffy and Todd Warriner at 17:30. Florida regained the lead just over two minutes later when Dagenais netted from Weiss and Novoseltsev, but once again the Captials replied. This time the goal came after just 21 seconds as Watson scored from Frantisek Lukes and Jonathan Cheechoo.

Washington turned up the heat in the second period and scored a pair of goals to take control of the game. Chubarov got the first, his second of the game, from Bryan Berard and Palffy at 1:54. After killing a penalty to Berard, Blake scored the second to make it 4-2 from Dan Boyle and Mikael Renberg at 14:28.

Florida tried to rally in the final period, but a pair of penalties made life difficult for the home club. The Capitals failed to score during the man advantage time, but Watson's second goal of the game with just 24 seconds put it out of reach. Cory Sarich assisted on the tally. Daze pulled a goal back for the Panthers with just eight seconds remaining, but it was nothing more than a consolation for the home crowd.

Manny Legace made 28 saves to earn the win and improve to 5-5-1. Roberto Luongo stopped 18 shots in a losing effort for Florida.

The Capitals are back in action on Day 32 against Pittsburgh at home.

JUNIOR CANES WIN FIFTH STRAIGHT, NOW SIT ATOP CONFERENCE

Carolina

With an outstanding record of 8-2 in the last ten games, the junior Canes have simply exploded on the scene and made life miserable for all those in the way. Led by scrappy forward Junior Lessard, speedster Sergei Mozyakin and the dynamic two punch combo at center in Brandon Reid and Jeff Carter, the Canes have more than proven their worth and their early billing as the supposed team to beat in the league.

Rob Zepp stopped 34 of 37 shots in the contest while four players had 2 points. The Canes power play once again scored and went 1 for 3 in the game.

"This was a pretty solid victory for us," said defenseman Shea Weber. "Dallas is a pretty tough team to play against and they came out hitting. I think we dished it back but we got a bit undisciplined out there and it cost us a bit. Overall though, I think we played well."

David Cornacchia, the smooth skating defenseman, led the contest with a +3 rating and added two points. Tomas Mozsis buried a power play goal 5 seconds after the call, one of his two points.

"I think teams are starting to figure out that our team has too many guys who absolutely love to score," said head coach Craig Hartsburg. "I cannot recall a group of guys with more people who love to put the puck in the net. I don't ask teams to run up the score, but if we get a power play, I can't keep our top guys off the ice, they live for this."

The junior squad has the day off today.

RESILIENT CANES RALLY TO TIE WILD

Carolina

The Hurricanes who had given up a shorthanded goal early in the third, fought hard to come back and pick up the point versus the Minnesota Wild. Steve Eminger's point shot at the 16 minute mark eluded the Wild netminder Cechmanek and the Canes managed to snag a tie. The Canes undefeated streak has now hit 11 games.

"It was a war out there," said defenseman Jay McKee who was wearing a welt on the side of his face from a pounding he took from enormous defenseman Libor Ustrnal, former Plymouth Whaler. "Sometimes you gotta take your licks but I found out quickly I was not in the right place at the right time."

As McKee was pounded into the ice, forward Scott Parker, the Sheriff of Parkingham, was screaming at Libor to try on someone his own size.

"I guess Libor wanted to beat up one of our non fighters," said Parker, "and that's fine. But I'll remember."

Cory Stillman had 2 points in the contest and increased his season total to 8 goals and 15 assists for a team leading 23 points.

The Canes next contest is tonight against the Dallas Stars.

Bruins take cover from Hurricane, forget to come out

Despite early scoring and a pummeling of the Carolina juniors, the Providence Bruins fell 6-4 on Sunday night after a two minute, three goal outburst by Carolina.

Carolina controlled the shots on goal, the scoring, their tempers, the puck, the crease, and their bladders (an unspeakable incident which will not be discussed again, right, Fred Slukynsky?), and they even struck first with a bang-bang play on a power play. Sergei Mozyakin stole the puck and from the point put it to the right of Providence goalie Jordan Sigalet. Shaone Morrison tied the game with another one-timer at 06:26. A bunch of Carolina scoring happened in a two minute span, before Fred Sluknsky scored at 09:11 to pull the Bruins within three.

Scoring went dead for the first half of the second period, until both teams scored in the nine-minute mark. Brian Boyle sent a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle just inside the near-side post. Twenty-one seconds later, the Bruins' Colton Orr Carl Corazzini blasted a Lindstrom pass past Barulin at 09:42.

Once again, the final frame began with absolutely no scoring. A turnover in the Bruins' end led to a breakaway for Tomas Mojzis, and the defenseman scored his fourth goal of the season to put the Canes up 6-3.

Jordan Sigalet was saddled with the loss and stopped only 15 of 20 shots. Konstantin Barulin made 20 saves on 24 shots and got the win.

The Bruins were 0-4 on the power play. The Hurricanes were 1 for 5.

Three Stars:
1 - Sergei Mozyakin (Hur)
2 - Tomas Mojzis (Hur)
3 - Colton Orr (Bos)

Boston elects to give Senators a not-so-warm-welcome

The first two hundred fans to arrive with paid admission for tonight's game will receive authentic Pork Barrel Sticks, in honor of the visiting Senators (of Ottawa).

Boston, having spent almost a full day at home following the Never Ending Road Trip, will welcome the Senators to the Fleet Center for a 7:05 start. Hot off Keith Tkachuk's first goal of the season, Boston is looking to continue a lukewarm streak which has found them receiving points for four straight games. That run, coupled with a six game skid in Atlanta, has elevated the Bruins out of the Wales basement - for now, at least.

"Losing sucks," GM Joshua Anderson said during his pre-game press conference, "But we will not stand one more game of the Senator's tyranny! They may be in fifth place, but they will be first tonight - the first losers!"

The Bruins have improved their overall statistics in the recent week's play, increasing their offensive output to almost three goals a game, thought still allowing nearly four. Moreover, the team is allowing the most shots per game in the league, a number which seems to continue to escalate with each game.


Will the Bruins close the debt ceiling? Or will the Senators spend at will? Find out tonight!

Junior Capitals Tame Baby Bruins

Brett Carson scored a goal and added an assist, while Gennady Stolyarov notched a pair of assists to lead the Washington Junior Capitals to a 4-3 lead over the Baby Bruins on Day 28. The two points moves Washington to 4-9-1 for the season.

In a first period filled with penalties, a trend that would continue throughout the game, Boston opened a 2-0 lead. Nowak netted the first at 11:38 from Lindstrom and Kozack, before Kozack scored from Nowak and Morrison at 15:16. Meanwhile, the teams combined for five minor penalties and a fight between Boston's Taylor and Fabien Laniel. Taylor won in a slaughter and earned a game misconduct for his troubles. Washington tied things up in the game misconduct stakes when Mikhail Kuleshov got the gate for a hooking incident at 18:32.

The second period opened with a fight between Lance Moynch and Lindstrom at 4;11. This one went in the books as a draw, but a double-minor to Boston's Jurcina at 5:38 gave the Capitals an opening. The Capitals got the goal they were looking for from Henrik Tallinder at 8:50 to pull within one. Carson and Stolyarov assisted on the goal. The rally was shortlived, however, as Boston took a 3-1 lead when Harikkala scored an unassisted goal at 16:31. Another fight late in the period saw a third player ejected from the game. Moynch and Jurcina duked it out to a draw, but Moynch got the gate for his second fight of the game.

Trailing 3-1 entering the final period, the Junior Capitals turned it up in the final 20 minutes. It took a bit for the added pressure to pay off, but Patrick O'Sullivan finally got just rewards at 9:14 when he scored from Matthew Hansen and Ivan Baranka. Less than a minute later Carson netted from Peter Pohl and Greg Mauldin to tie it up and quiet the home crowd. The Capitals continued the strong play after the goals, and a successful kill of a minor penalty set things up for a dramatic finish. Late penalties to both teams made it look like overtime was in the offing, but Sean Kotary stepped up to save the game with just four seconds remaining. Jakub Cutta and Stolyarov assisted on the winning goal.

Brad Stopping made 31 saves to earn the victory for Washington. Jordan Sigalet stopped 19 shots in the loss.

The Junior Capitals return to action on Day 31 against San Jose.

Senators Look Forward to Bruins after Victory in Chicago

The Senators came out of Chicago with two points last night and a very satisfied GM. The win is mainly thanks to the excellent play of veteran backup, Fred Brathwaite who stopped 25 of 27 shots against Chicago and held strong in the third to keep the victory for Ottawa.

The Ottawa goals were scored by Bouchard, who notched the game winner in the 3rd period, and two goals by Dick Tarnstrom all at even strength on absolute bullets from the point.

Of note, Brendan Morrison extended his pointless streak to 4 games and Nedved extended his to 3. "If these two don't start producing we are gonna have a tough time making the playoffs. They are our key guys. We depend on them to put the puck in the net" said GM Schmucky in an interview early this morning.

The Senators are in Boston tonight to play the Bruins. Boston is coming off of a day of rest after a huge win versus the Kings in which they put up 7 goals. Fred Brathwaite hopes that they cannot repeat that tonight as he will get the start yet again for the Senators as they rest an injured Turek on the bench.

CAROLINA FRANCHISE STARTING OFF WELL

Carolina

With just under 20 games played, the Carolina Hurricanes take the time to reflect on the season that has been already.

With 28 points, the Hurricanes are currently number 1 overall in the league and are currently riding an undefeated streak of 10 games. For the team itself, this has sparked a promising look at a team that many expected to be fighting for a playoff spot.

"I won't lie to anyone and say I figured we'd be the top dog in the league," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "This team was built to be competitive and play other squads with a bit of fire and intensity, but to think we'd be where we are would have been a bit on the insane side. Hard work and determination though, it can make a success out of anyone."

Cory Stillman, Alexei Kovalev and Jeff Friesen all are averaging a point a game while goaltender Jose Theodore has been rock solid, was the first goalie to hit 10 wins and is currently the favourite in the Norris voting for Goaltender of the year.

"We have a lot of balance to be proud of," said the coach. "These guys have done what they had to do."

Aside from the pro, however, the young junior Hurricanes have also been on a bit of a tear as of late. Sitting now third in the conference and a mere 2 points back of top spot, with a game in hand, the Canes look to also rise to the top. Led by newcomer Junior Lessard, the offensive powered Canes are tops in the goals per game category and lead the league with the deadliest power play out there.

"There were huge expectations on this team," said head coach Craig Hartsburg. "We felt the pressure early and I think a lot of guys took our situation as we were going to walk through and win it all. It took about 5 games to realize this league can beat you many different ways and I think we are focused now."

Although the season is early, the Canes in general have a lot to be happy about these days. With their squads doing so well in both leagues, 6 first round draft picks stocked for this upcoming season and a huge youth movement seemingly on the way, the Canes look forward to the future.

Panthers Extend Winning Streak In Win Against Predators

NASHVILLE-The Panthers flew into Nashville right after their victory over the Flyers to play the Predators who were unbeaten in their last five games going 4-0-1 in that span.

This game feature two of the top teams in the league and lived up to its billing. This game had the atmosphere of a playoff game. The Predators looking to join the Carolina Hurricanes atop the league standings and a Panther team who is playing its 4th game in four nights and trying to keep pace.

It was the Predators who struck first and it was on the power play at 13:17 as Andrew Brunette scored his 15th of the season to give the Predators a 1-0 lead. The Panthers Patrik Stefan notched his 8th of the year at 19:14 to send these two teams into the locker room deadlocked at 1.

Nashvilles Marco Sturm scored the only goal of the second period at 3:44 to give the Predators a 2-1 lead going into the third and final period.

Both teams battled hard and neither team was about to give up. Valeri Bure tied the game at 2 at 14:48 and it was game on. Roberto Loungo was sharp when he needed to be in this one and made a couple game saving saves to keep the Panthers alive and were looking at overtime. Then with less then a minute to play Lucas Krajicek tipped a pass from Pierre Dagenais past Nashville goalie Tomas Vokoun to give the Panthers a stunning come from behind victory to extend their winning streak to three games.

The Panthers have tommorrow night off and will be travelling to Columbus to play the Blue Jackets on Wednesday.

Bruins crown Kings with offensive outburst

Several things appear to be consistent in Boston Bruins games -

1) The opponent will score first
2) The Bruins will be outshot
3) There will be lotsa-lotsa penalties.
4) Keith Tkachuk will fail to score a goal

Check, check, check, HOLY CANOLI!!!

After another cross-country flight to play the final game of The Road Trip From Hell (trademark pending), the Boston Bruins and Andrew Raycroft came out flat against the Los Angeles Kings. Less than twenty-five percent of the way into the first period, Mike Cammalleri put the puck past Andrew Raycroft to put the Kings up 1-0.

Lars Jonnson returned fire, though, less than two minutes later, as Tomas Kobecky and Fran Kaberle notched assists on his second of the season. The game remained knotted until The Patrice slipped a second goal past Raycroft at the 17:51 mark. The teams retreated at the break with Los Angeles up, 2-1 as miraculously, there were no penalties in the period.

The second period began with amazing offsetting penalties - Bret Hedican for boarding and Fran Mrazek for boarding - at a minute thirty-six into the period. Sean Brown found his way to the box two minutes later with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

As the penalty expired, the Bruins regrouped and sent an attack at Martin Biron. It proved to be an effective one, as Bill Guerin scored just six seconds later to relock the game at two.

At 8:29, the drought finally ended. Keith Tkachuk, with an assist from Martin Havlat and Sean Brown, remembered the way to the back of the net and scored his first of the season, as the Bruins jumped out to a 3-2 lead. The joy was shortlived, though, as Steve Yzerman scored on the 5-3 powerplay following roughing and boarding on Kutlak and Jackman, respectively.


In the third period, the floodgates opened. In the first five minute span, Bill Guerin finished his hat trick sandwiched around a Marian Gaborik goal, giving him nine for the season. Things settled down for six minutes, before Lee Goren made it 6-4 with a Jochan Hecht and Tomas Kopecky assisted light spinner.

The scoring wasn't done yet, though. Mike Cammalleri put the Kings on his back and pulled them within one. Martin Havlat tacked on one more for insurance, and John Grahame entered the game to deflect all comers until Vaclav Nederost slipped one by as the Bruins went into early celebration.

The Bruins will fly home to get some rest tonight, and will do so comfortably. Bill Guerin and Jochan Hecth notched first and second game stars. The team will have two days off before facing the Senators.

CANES PROVE TOO MIGHTY FOR DUCKS IN SUNNY ANAHEIM

Carolina

As the Hurricanes roll continues, the latest victim found it's way to Disneyland as the Hurricanes defeated the Ducks 4-1. Jose Theodore, once again, had a stellar game while the offense was led by the Jay McKee with two goals. McKee's defense partner Oleg Tverdovsky chipped in with 2 assists.

"We had a really good game against the Ducks last time around," said McKee. "I think the boys figured we should have walked away with the extra point last time and it is something that sort of lingers. Tonight we made up for that. The win was nice."

The Hurricanes, who have not lost a game in 10 games, now sit at a league leading 28 points, one point ahead of the red hot New York Islanders and two points ahead of conference leading Nashville.

"We haven't let up at all this season," said captain Shane Doan. "I think our teams balance is starting to show up more. I think we have 4 solid lines and we are capable of winning our games simply by Theodore. The streak will come to an end eventually, but for now, we are pretty happy."

The Canes have the next day off.

Panthers Defeat Flyers For Second Win

PHILADEPHIA-The Panthers flew into Philadelphia last night and had some confidence after snapping their losing streak in a close 3-2 win last night.

The Panthers came out flying again tonight edging the flyers in shots (13-8). It was the Flyers who got on the board first and early when Viktor Kozlov notched his 6th of the season at 1:44. The Panthers Petr Bondra tied it up with his first short handed goal of the year at 4:50. Mike Rathje gave the Panthers their first lead of the game at 7:06 when he tipped in a pass from Bondra. The Flyers tied it up at 18:39 when Mariusz Czerkawski scored his 4th of the year.

It was all Panthers the rest of the way. The only goal of the second was scored by Yanick Lehoux at 12:09 that ended up being the game winner and giving the Panthers a 3-2 lead. Yanick is having a gread year as he is third in team goals with 9. As he only plays on the fourth line that is quite an accomplishment for the young centre.

Valeri Bure and Michal Handzus scored insurance goals in the third to give the Panthers a 5-2 win and their second straight win.

The Panthers will now travel the Nashville to play the Predators.

Panthers Snap Losing Skid

COLORADO-The Panthers came limping into Colorado with a 4 game losing streak in tow and were looking to exercise some demons.


Stephen Weiss got an unassisted goal early in the first at 1:05 to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. The Avalanche tied it up at 15:31 when Darius Kasparaitis scored his second of the season.

The second was surprisingly a defensive period with neither team getting many shots with the Panthers getting the edge in shots 6-5 and on the scoreboard. Ivan Novoseltsev scored the only goal of the period at 16:08 to give the Panthers a one goal lead after 2 periods.

Ivan got the game winner and his second of the game at 5:28 for a 3-1 lead but the Avalanche were not about to give up. Radim Vrbata brought the Avalanche within one when he notched his 4th of the year at 16:25. The Avalanche tried there best to tie it up late in the game but Loungo stood tall and shut the door to secure the Panthers first win in 5 games.

The Panthers will try and keep the winning going tomorrow night when they face the Flyers in Philadelphia.

'Canes Win Rematch With Panthers

FLORIDA-The red hot Carolina Hurricanes blew into town and were looking for redemption against one of 3 teams to defeat them so far this year.

The Panthers came out strong in the first period out shooting the 'Canes 12-5. The Panthers got goals from Ivan Novoseltsev at 2:48 and Yanick Lehoux at 6:34 for a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.

The second period was all Carolina. The 'Canes did the out shooting and out scoring and out played the Panthers in the second. Carolina got goals from Draper (7:49), Fisher (8:44), Stillman (18:03) and Alexei Kovalev finished the scoring just :35 seceonds later at 18:38 to give the 'Canes a 4-2 lead and all they needed to give the Panthers their 4th straight loss.

The Panther will not have time to dwell on their loss as they travel to Colorado to play the Avalanche tommorrow night.

Senators Disappointed with Tie

The Ottawa Senators went into Pittsburgh on Saturday with high hopes of coming home with two points. However, that was not the case J-S Aubin stopped 24 of Ottawa's 25 shots to earn themselves a tie.

One bright spot in this game for the Senators was the play of backup goalie Fred Brathwaite. He stopped 22 or 23 shots and continues his hot streak with a 94.4 save percentage and a 1.17 GAA in the 5 appearances he's made thus far.

Dissappointing was the play of veteran center Brendan Morrison as he was held pointless for the second game in a row. As well, the injury to Michael Ryder in the third period adds him to the long list of tired or injured players on the Senator squad. Fata, Ryder, Poti, Zhitnik, Turek are some of the notable injured players.

The Senators look to get two points even with a tired squad tonight as Jim Fahey will be called up from the farm to replenish an ailing Defensive unit and Fred Brathwaite will get the start yet again. The Blackhawks are only 2 points below the Senators in the overall standings and with a backup goalie in for Ottawa as well as some injured defenseman, it could be a good night for forwards like Demitra and Gomez in Pittsburgh. LETS HOPE NOT!

Junior Capitals Tie Junior Avalanche

The Washington Junior Capitals escaped defeat for the second straight game in a 3-3 tie with the Colorado Junior Avalanche on Day 27. The point moves Washington to 3-9-1 for the season.

Colorado opened a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Bergeron and Marjamaki. Bergeron's came at 7:37 from Hudler and Doherty, while Marjamaki netted at 12:05 from Klyazmin and Oduya.

The Capitals fought back in a tightly-played second period, and Jean-Claude Sawyer got Washington on the board at 5:07. His goal came from Sean Bergenheim and Gennady Stolyarov. A series of penalties followed the goal, the biggest being a spearing major to Colorado's Foote at 15:23. After Daley and Lance Moynch fought to a draw 42 seconds later, Stolyarov capitalized on the power play from Brett Carson and Patrick O'Sullivan at 17:32.

Another fight early in the third period saw Daley earn a game misconduct. O'Sullivan was his dance partner and the result was a draw. Washington continued their rally 1:01 after the fisticuffs when Sean Kotary netted from Zbynek Novak at 4:07. The Capitals couldn't hang on, however, and the Avalanche tied the game through Bergeron from Kesler and Hudler at 10:35.

Brad Topping made 24 saves for the Capitals, while Maxime Ouellet stopped 24 shots for Colorado.

The Junior Capitals are back in action on Day 28 in Boston.

Capitals Tie Wily Coyotes

Rob Blake and Artem Chubarov scored a goal and assist each to lead the Washington Capitals to a 5-5 tie against the Phoenix Coyotes on Day 27. The point moves Washington to 5-6-2 for the season.

The Capitals opened the scoring at 3:33 when Mikael Renberg scored a shorthanded goal from Rob Blake. Greg Watson was in the box for roughing at the time. After killing the rest of the penalty, Peter Tenkrat gave Washington a 2-0 lead when he scored from Frantisek Lukes and Andrew Ference at 4:02. The Caps had a good chance to make it 3-0 when Phoenix's Holmstrom went to the box for goalie interference, but the Coyotes killed off the advantage. Phoenix gained momentum from the successful defensive stand and finally got on the board at 10:29. Polcik was the scorer from Morozov and Louis. Forty-seven seconds later the game was tied as Klesla netted from Rheaume and Holmstrom at 11:16.

The Coyotes carried the momentum into the second period, and at 11:17 they had their first lead. Lidstrom scored the goal from Louis and Yashin. Washington tied it up just under four minutes later when Chubarov scored from Cheechoo at 15:02. Phoenix would not sit quietly, however, and they regained the lead just 51 seconds later on Dubinsky's goal from Morozov and Holmstrom.

After Phoenix dominated the second period, Washington tried to turn the tide in the third, but the Coyotes scored a quick goal to open a 5-3 lead. Zainullan was the scorer from Rheaume at 1:21. The Capitals finally got a goal back at 4:26 and it came on the power play. Polcik went to the sin-bin for boarding at 2:36, and with ten seconds left on the power play, Anson Carter scored from Chubarov and Ference to make it 5-4. Washington continued to press and Blake scored from Patrick Marleau and Michal Rozsival at 6:02 to tie the game.

Manny Legace struggled in goal for the Capitals, stopping just 20 shots. Peter Skudra made 11 saves in relief to earn the tie. Patrick Lalime stopped 19 shots for the Coyotes. Esche had 11 saves in relief.

Washington returns to action on Day 29 in Florida against the Panthers.

Panthers Junior "Hurt"

During the Panthers 6-0 thrashing of the home team, the Providence Bruins also caused six injuries, had five players ejected, and racked up seventy minutes of penalties. While the Panthers were actually whistled for more penalties - twelve, the results were nowhere near as devastating for the Bruins roster.

As the game ended, a bastardized version of the Johnny Cash/Trent Reznor classic, "Hurt", played to honor this performance...


We hurt your team today
With lots of penalties
Focus on causing pain
The only thing that's real
A high stick hurts the eye
The old familiar sting
Try to kill the power play
But goalies can't stop anything

What have I become
My Panther friend
Every play goes wrong
In the end
And you could score at will
Make my team look like dirt
I will knock you down
I will make you hurt

We camp in the penalty box
Hooking and boarding
Plenty of company
Game was not boring
Beneath the passing time
The clock, it disappears
You just scored again
I am still right here

What have I become
My Panther friend
Every play goes wrong
In the end
And you could score at will
Make my team look like dirt
I will knock you down
I will make you hurt

We will play again
Fifteen hundred miles away
We will hurt your team
We will cause you pain...

Peca Takes out the Thrash

New York Captain Mike Peca has a career night Saturday, registering six assists in a 10-2 Islander beating of the team from Atlanta. Five of the assists came on the powerplay, as the Islanders went 6 for 7 with the man advantage. Six different goal scorers got goals on the powerplay, as the team took advantage of the aggressive Thrasher club, which leads the team in penalties (39.4 PIM/game). Coach Lorne Henning spoke of his teams special teams success. “We knew these guys were going play a tough game.We worked on some new look powerplay formations during the morning skate, and Peca just put a clinic on out there for us.”



With the 6 powerplay goals, the Islanders PP efficiency climbed to 31.7%, tops in the lead. Their powerplay was equally solid in the game, killing all 4 advantages against, and now sits at 92.9%



Marian Hossa was another key offensive force for the Islanders, as he scored a pair of goals and added two assists. Pavol Datsyuk continues to thrive, with 2 goals and an assist.

The Islanders have now won 6 straight games, but still sit 2nd in the conference behind the surging Carolina Hurricanes, who are undefeated in 10 games. The Patrick Division continues to be dominant, as Florida and New Jersey sit in 3rd and 4th place, meaning the top 4 teams and 6 of the top 8 in the conference are all from the same division.

New Leaf GM showing his green-side

After a difficult week in which the Leafs lost 3 in a row, pressure is being put on Leafs new GM Steve Vendetti to possibly make some moves.

In their latest game, the leafs lost 5-3 to the Canucks. And with that, are now 3 points out of a playoff spot. It is early to start talking about that, and when you are hanging around with teams like the defending cup champs Tampa Bay, maybe its not so bad.

17 games in and the Leafs have an uninspiring 6-9-3 record. If one player could be singled out for their recent play, it could be their starting goalie Evgeni Nabokov who has gone 5W 6L 1T 3.37 GAA and .867 Save %. Could the team be relying too heavily on him? He played fantastic all of last season but has faltered often, having difficulty finishing games which is truly troubling.

As far as options go, the Leafs dont have many. They sit practically maxed out on the salary cap, so bringing in top talent is out of the question, smaller deals that focus on the 2nd and third lines seem to be where they need to work on. An interesting list of names came up from the Leafs website, which stated these players were all available....

NEW Trade Block Russ Bartlett(c) Petr Mika(c) Geoff Sanderson(lw) Glen Metropolit(lw) Brian Leetch(d) Nathan Dempsey(d) and Lubomir Sekeras(d) Petr Svoboda(d)Sami Salo(d)

Guys like Leetch and Sanderson caught our attention. We figure they need scoring help on LW and Centre. Not sure what, if any, will they get for these guys that can keep them under the cap. If things continue this way, look for them to unload some bigger contracts and start to look inward at their draft picks. The team has all of their own picks, plus the WIld's first and 2nd as well. Maybe re-shuffling this squad is the right thing to do, however the new gm really hasnt gotten a feel for how to value things in this league. People are quick to forget that hes only had roughly 30 games under his belt and this is his first FHL simmed league, which takes some time to get a handle on.

On a good note, there was evidence they did try to move a few players, but for whatever reason that team stopped replying to email requests. Im certain its hard for him to learn the value system without feedback. We hope for his sake the other gms in the league arent like this. In the same week, the team's main computer died too, so to say its been a frustrating time is putting it mildly im sure.

Next up, the Devils.......this might get uglier than it already is. I cant look.

Mike Perrault!

As a result of a wager made before the Florida-Boston Juniors game early Sunday morning... well, the following is with apologies to Rick Springfield.


Mikey is a friend
Yeah, I know he's been a good friend of mine
But lately something's changed that ain't hard to define
Mikey's got himself a good team and I wish that it was mine

And they're winning him lots of games
And they're making him money, I just know it
And they're scoring insurance goals late, late in the game...
You know I wish that I was Mike Perrault!
I wish that I was Mike Perrault!
Why can't I be a GM like that?

I play along with the charade
That doesn't seem to be a reason to change
I feel so dirty when announcers start talking playoffs
I wanna tell him I am jealous, but he'd probably just scoff

And they're winning him lots of games
And they're making him money, I just know it
And they're scoring insurance goals late, late in the game
You know I wish that I was Mike Perrault!
I wish that I was Mike Perrault!
Why can't I be a GM like that?
Like Mike Perrault
I wish that I was Mike Perrault
Why can't I be a GM...
Why can't I be a GM like that?

And I'm lookin' in the mirror all the time
Wonderin' what he's got over me
And I've been sharp, I've been smart with the lines
Ain't that the way this gig is supposed to be

Tell me
Why can't I be a GM like that
You know I wish that I was Mike Perrault
I wish that I was Mike Perrault
I want Mike Perrault!
Why can't I be a GM like that...
Like Mike Perrault
I wish that I was Mike Perrault
I want, I wanna be Mike Perrault!

Boston heading to Cal-i-for-ni-ya

Following their three-up tie with the Minnesota Wild, the Boston Bruins wasted absolutely no time heading to the plane to fly to Los Angeles for their next-day rendevous.

The Bruins would be heading to Los Angeles to face the team that started the Road Trip From Hell, when the Bruins defeated them in Boston as part of their Boston-Nashville-Boston-San Jose-Boston-Los Angeles cross country trek.

This time, the B's will be the ones road weary and away from home. Whether this will allow Los Angeles to claim revenge remains to be seen. The Kings fell to the Anaheim Ducks yesterday, 4-0, with Martin Biron being saddled with the loss and the team racking up nearly thirty minutes of penalty time - mostly by the ejected Juraj Kolnik for a game misconduct checking call.

The Bruins are expected to make a game time decision on the netminder for the game. While Raycroft appears to be finding his stride, the travels have worn on him, leaving him a bit tired. Grahame took the victory over the Kings in the teams' previous meeting.

It's a late start, but a game sure to be worth it!

Boston has a Wild time with Minnesota; lies and promises to call "once we get back" from LA

Home after a red-eye flight from San Jose, the Bruins hosted the Minnesota Wild in a Saturday matinee.

Looking to extend their two-game win streak, the Bruins trotted out the same team to face yet another plus-.500 team as part of their Road Trip From Hell (trademark pending).

As is becoming a disturbing trend for the home team, they started out the game in the hole, allowing the Wild to outshoot them nearly two-to-one in the first period. On an assist from Yanic Perreault, Tomas Plekanec gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 6:13 of the period. Forty-one seconds later, Rich Jackman delivered a cross-check that earned him a trip to the box, and a minute after he was sprung, Lee Goren found humself there as well.

In an unprecedented, non fight-related sequence, in a forty-second span, the Bruins saw three players penalized. Goren at 9:54 (roughing), Zdenek Kutlak at 10:19 (elbowing) and Jackman again at 10:34. The Bruins defense held, though, and the power play was killed. Shortly thereafter, Tim Connolly scored his second as Keith Tkachuk netted yet another assist, aided by Bret Hedican.

With less than a minute and a half to go, Bill Guerin made it a three-way tie for the team lead with his sixth goal of the season. The Bruins headed to the locker room with a 2-1 lead and some bruised eardrums, as Coach Robbie Ftorek reamed them for sloppy penalties.

The second period would not be as forgiving. Vincent LeCavalier put two past Andrew Raycroft, both unassisted, at 8:10 and 15:41. The second came on the power play for Sean Brown's second charging penalty of the period, a minor at 15:17.

Tim Connolly, having enjoyed the flashy red light in the first period, worked really hard and made it shine again at 5:22 of the third to lock the game at three all again. It would be the last scoring of the period, despite twelve shots on goal by the visitors.

In over time, both teams took a conservative approach to not lose, rather to try and win. The home whites attempted only two shots, while the Wild took a conservative attempt with only one. The Bruins wasted a thirteen-second power play attempt when Martin Havlat was whistled for charging, and the game concluded in a tie. A cool crowd of 9,955 went home feeling like they had wasted three hours of their lives.

"The way we look at it," GM Joshua Anderson said, "is that every point is a valuable one. While this is only half as valuable as a win, it sends a statement that we are continuing to give effort, and in fact, have now passed Atlanta in the standings based on goal differential. It's a small victory, but moral victories are victories as well."

The team travels to Los Angeles to face the Kings tomorrow afternoon, the conclusion of the Road Trip From Hell (trademark pending).

Mixed Camp Results for Junior Capitals

After three weeks with no camps, the Washington Junior Capitals finally had two players attend speed camp in Week 4. The results were mixed, as Cory Urquhart struggled while Siarhei Kolasau made big strides.

For Urquhart, it was his second straight year struggling at speed camp and management is rightly concerned with his lack of development in this area. Good speed is a huge asset for any player, and with the amazing training staff at CLUTCH camps, there's no excuse for poor development. Cory needs to step it up in future camps or he may never make it out of the junior ranks.

Kolasau, on the other hand, really took to the training and made good improvement in his speed. He's still not exactly a burner, but the positive result bodes well for the future.

Washington has one player attending the Week 5 strength camp after an injury forced another to miss. Peter Pohl will be going to hit the weight room, while Patrick O'Sullivan will get his chance later in the season.

Capitals Dazzled by Stars

For the second straight game, the Washington Capitals gave up three goals in the final period to lose. This time it was the Dallas Stars skating to a 3-1 victory on Day 25 in Washington. The setback drops the Capitals to 5-6-1 for the season.

After a scoreless first period, Washington opened the scoring late in the second on Anson Carter's fifth goal of the season. Zigmund Palffy and Rob Blake assisted on the tally that came with just 18 seconds remaining.

Trailing 1-0, the Stars shone brightly in the final period. Dallas outshot Washington 14-6 over the last twenty minutes and scored three times to take the win. Karlsson scored first from Visnovsky and Dupuis at 5:59. Vorobiev then scored a brace to lock up the two points. His first was unassisted at 10:17, and the second came from visnovsky and Sjostrom 21 seconds later.

Manny Legace made 33 saves for the Capitals in the loss. Marty Turco stopped 25 shots to earn his seventh win of the season.

The Capitals are back in action on Day 27 agains the Phoenix Coyotes.

Jurcina off to camp

Concerned over the strength of one of their top defensive prospects, the Providence Bruins, after consultation with the parent club, have enrolled Milan Jurcina in the upcoming Strength Class. The player, pictured at right, has found himself on the wrong end of many hits lately, and when he has gone to deliver what he calls "bone crushing blows", he more often than not finds himself on his ass.

Boston Bruins GM Joshua Anderson, in town to deliver the news to Jurcina, addressing the situation, allegedly telling him that the team had full confidence in his abilities, and definitely believed he had the overall capabilities to ascend to the next level.

"As a star of our system," Anderson said, "Milan can not be allowed to continue to be the proverbial ninety-eight pound weakling, with sand in his eyes and the pumped up jock walking off with his girl into the sunset. As such, we think it is appropriate we start sending him to training camps in the hopes of elevating his play. We want him to be pumped up about the opportunity this will afford him, and consider it a sign of our dedication to him as an important piece of our long-term plans as an organization."

The camp, held in conditions that many find to be both intimidating and imposing, focuses on the overall strength and well-being. While improving mass is one portion, it will also teach Milan that with great strength comes great responsibility. Hopefully, upon his return, he can also reign in some of his wildness. If not - at least he will be stronger to win some of those fights he keeps taking to a draw.

HURRICANES TAME PANTHERS IN REMATCH

Carolina

The Carolina Hurricanes made some moves, made some changes and in the end, when the squad visited conference rival the Florida Panthers, the changes were effective.

"Last time we played we essentially lost to their third line," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "Dagenais, Novoseltsev and Weiss were killers for us, but this time, I think we had the answer."

In fact, Weiss was -3 in the contest as the Canes top line simply beat the trio down low all game long. The re-emergence of Alexei Kovalev and Cory Stillman, along with new linemate Mike Fisher seemed to be the difference. Fisher had a game high 3 points while the dynamic duo each had two.

"We don't like being embarrassed by anyone," said defenseman Jay McKee. "That last loss we had to them is something that has been stuck in our heads since it happened. We don't want to hear about it anymore. It's over, it's done and guess what we can talk about now? That the last time we played the Panthers, they lost. There's a new scoop for you guys."

Jose Theodore was solid in the start, making 24 of the necessary 26 shots.

Once again, however the Canes power play was ineffective. The Panthers forecheckers were simply dominant and the Canes could not muster any offense from the point, nor could they achieve quality shots. Overall, the power play was a non factor.

The Canes have the next day off.

Junior Capitals Exorcise Devils

The Washington Junior Capitals got back to winning ways with a 4-3 victory in a penalty-filled affair against the New Jersey Junior Devils on Day 24. Zbynek Novak and Cory Urquhart led the way with two assists each, while Gennady Stolyarov added a goal and an assist. Washington improves to 3-9 with the victory.

Neither team scored in a hard-fought first period, but both sides had plenty of chances. The Capitals squandered three power play opportunities, while the Devils missed on two.

Washington finally opened the scoring with a pair of goals just 18 seconds apart early in the second. Fabien Laniel scored the first from Stolyarov and Urquhart at 1:44, and Stolyarov made it 2-0 from Brett Carson and Urquhart at 2:02. After killing a pair of minor penalties, the Capitals made it 3-0 when Patrick O'Sullivan netted from Peter Pohl and Novak at 8:59. Washington had several chances to make it 4-0, but the team missed on three power place chances after O'Sullivan's goal.

New Jersey began to fight back in the final period, and Vondrka made it 3-1 when he scored from Keith and Kubista at 1:39. The Capitals responded to the Devils goal with one of their own from Lance Moynch at 8:08. Novak and Greg Mauldin assisted on the goal. The game looked to be won for Washington, but a pair of New Jersey goals in a 23-second span late in the period made it close. Pohanka netted from Keith on the power play at 16:11 to make it 4-2, before Vondrka scored from Kaigorodov and Drouin-Deslaurier at 16:34 to cut it to 4-3. A late fight between Mauldin and New Jersey's Demarchi brought the crowd to their feet, but neither team gained an edge in the draw.

Washington held on for the victory thanks to Brad Topping's 23 saves. Jeff Drouin-Deslaurier stopped 19 shots in the losing effort.

The Junior Capitals return to action on Day 27 at home against Colorado.

Goon play costs TinyBruins in O6 Matchup

Defensive miscues and half-assed defense cost the Boston Junior squad, as the Providence Bruins fell 2-1 to the Rangers Junior squad.

In a game where the Bruins averaged a penalty every six minutes - and the team totalled thirty-one minutes of penalty box time - and featured a fighting out of sheer frustration at the three minutes into the third. Premsyl Dubin and Jaakko Harikkala fought to a draw at that point.

Ten thousand fans gathered at the arena to see the home team loss. Teemu Kesa and Shawn Collymore led the Ranegrs Kiddies to their victory. Chris Berti netted his second of the season in an effort to bring the Cubbies back into the game, assisted by Jake Taylor and seconded by Pierre-Luc Edmond.

Brock Hooten, getting his first start of the season, had failed to allow a goal this season until the two minute mark. He was saddled with his first loss.

Pierre-Luc Edmond, with his one assist and a +1 rating and two hits, was awarded the third game star for the Bruins.

Wildaid.org files suit against Bruins for soup dinner

The Boston Bruins traveled to San Jose Friday night, and managed to find themselves on the wrong side of an ecological debate after making Shark Fin Soup out Jaromir Jagr and Company.

Wildaid.org, hearing the Bruins had dismantled the Sharks and tossed their body back to sea, immediately filed a lawsuit over the inhumane practice. Boston Bruins GM Joshua Anderson dismissed the claims, saying the group was just looking to get its name in the headlines.

Boston, having made a three thousand one hundred mile flight to San Jose following their previous win against the Montreal Canadiens, arrived at the arena cramped, which showed in their nine-shot first period performance. Rain and high winds en route delayed the team.

The game, which was played cleanly with only two penalties called during the game - both minors on Boston.

The Sharks outshot the visitors two-to-one in the first period, eighteen-to-nine. Accordingly, the home team also outscored the Boston team, ending the period up 2-1, led by Teppo Numminen and Jarome Iginla's goals, two minutes into the period and two minutes before the end.

In between, Jochan Hecht added his team-leading sixth goal of the season off assists by Frantisek Kaberle and Lars Jonsson at the 12:14 mark by going glove side on JS Giguere.

The Bruins then matched their nine-shot performance, but with better success, in the second period. Additionally, the defense turned their efforts up at least two notches and did not allow a goal in the period, allowing only ten shots. All were easily deflected by Andrew Raycroft, who notched his third win of the season.

Andy McDonald and Bill Guerin, who moved to the first line for the game, each notched their fifth goals of the season, improving the score to a 3-2 lead for the Bruins.

In the third, the Bruins took one less shot, but the defense continued to lock down the Sharks, allowing only six shots in the period. Peter Sykora netted his third goal of the season, helped by Matt Hartigan and Tomas Kopecky.

The team celebrated in its locker room briefly, with Robbie Ftorek congratulating them for their efforts with a hearty "Good job, boys." He then grabbed his bag and left for the plane.

Andrew Raycoft, Jochan Hecht and Fran Kaberle netted the respective game stars as the team loaded up to return to Boston for their next game against Minnesota.

DAWES WORKING ON WHEELS

Carolina

On a day where news is limited by lack of action, the Carolina franchise looks to one of it’s future stars and his development.

Nigel Dawes, the smallish sniper, has taken new strides to improve his game, literally.

"Nigel has really worked hard on increasing his overall quickness," said head coach Craig Hartsburg. "He's been committed to making himself a complete player and one of his weaknesses has been his ability to elude checkers. Small guys like him need that edge, so to speak. He has the talent, he just needs to put it all together."

Dawes, 20, who had started off slowly, found himself on a new line with captain Brandon Reid and newcomer Junior Lessard.

"We felt he needed the veteran presence to be successful," said the coach. "Usually I can get a good feeling about guys and what their needs are. It just seemed to me that he needed two guys who had some leadership to help him find his stride again."

Look for Dawes to make a return to the lineup sometime this weekend.

WOYWITKA AND COMPANY POUND PENS

Carolina

With the Carolina Hurricanes in town, the Pittsburgh Penguins planned to be spoilers. With the obvious fire power of the Canes top line of Mike Fisher, Cory Stillman and Alexei Kovalev, the Hurricanes squad figured to deal with the tough matchup. However, it was the second and third lines that got the job done.

"We count on all four of our lines to play the game," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "They cannot always produce, but when we get the secondary scoring like we did tonight, I think we'll be in good shape."

Kyle Wellwood and Shane Doan each had 3 points while Jeff Friesen picked up 2 point giving him a team leading 19 points. On the back end, Jeff Woywitka had a career day, amassing 4 assists while playing with the Canes deadly new second line.

The Penguins had given the Canes trouble in previous seasons, but on this night, the Hurricanes would not accept defeat.

"We wanted to go out tonight and really show that we are not pretenders," said captain Shane Doan who notched his 7th of the season. "The way we have played this past month, I really think that our team is for real."

The Canes netminding of Jose Theodore has also been key. The steady goaltender allowed 3 goals tonight but has been unstoppable as of late.

"Theo is the back bone of this franchise," said Quenneville. "He makes the saves he needs to make and in general, gives the team the confidence to do what they want."

On a side note, how did Scott Parker not pound the living hell out of Zach Parise?

Panthers Host Red Hot 'Canes tomorrow

FLORIDA-The Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes are two teams going in different directions at the moment and the Panthers will have to play their best if they want to snap their 3 game losing streak.

The Carolina Hurricanes are currently tied for 1rst overall with the Nashville Predators. The 'Canes have been one of if not the hottest team in the league after starting the season 1-2. Since then they have only lost once in their last 13 and have not lost in their last 8 going 6-0-2 in that stretch. Ironically though it was the Panthers who clobbered the 'Canes 8-3 before they started their dominance on the rest of the league.

The Panthers started the season dominating just about everyone. They have cooled since then and are currently on a three game losing streak that they hope to snap tomorrow against the mighty 'Canes.

The Panthers will have to get a solid start from Roberto Loungo who has not been playing up to par lately and will have to (as the GM put it) "get his shit together" if the Panthers are going to have any chance of being victorious.

Coach Mike Keenan has also expressed his confusion on the teams power play or should we say lack of one. The high octane Panthers do not have a problem scoring 5 on 5 but are have a pitiful 12.7 pp% which in the 8th worst in the league. On a positive note its no benefit to teams that get on the power play against the Panthers as they have the leagues 5th best penalty killing unit.

It is true that all streaks come to an end.

Will tonight be the night the power full Hurricanes winning streak ends or the Panthers losing streak snapped. One thing is for sure. The 'Canes will be looking to redeem themselves after the last match up and the Panthers will have to bring their "A" game for any chance in this one.

Tired Turek Troubled by Total

The Sens played their 3rd game in 3 nights last night and showed some obvious signs of fatigue. The Senators played one on the road, travelled home for a game, and then played on the road again. It was a tough travel schedule but that is still no excuse for the teams incompetance last night as they fell 4-2 to the Wild.

Defense was obviously the issue as the Ottawa blueline gave up 38 shots and put Turek on the injured list again! This is the second time in 3 games tha Turek has been tired after facing 30+ shots and it looks like it will lead to another Fred Brathwaite start in the 1am game tonight.

The Senators will most likely shift up their defensive pairings in hope of protecting their goalie a little better and getting on the offensive for a larger part of the game. The one bright spot yet again for the Sens was their tough Powerplay as their only 2 goals were on the PP by Grosek and Fata.

The Sens hope for a better result after a night's rest.

Florida Jrs In New Jersey To Play Jr Devils

New Jersey-The Florida Jrs are in New Jersey tonight to play the Devils jrs in an early proverbial 4 point match up.

The New Jersey Jrs are currently tied for 9th spot with 14 points and only one point behind the 8th place Montreal Jr squad. The Florida Jrs are currently tied with the Washington Jrs with 11 points in the 10th spot.

A Florida win would not only extend their winning streak to a season high 3 games but would put them closer to the final playoff spot. A loss however would put them 6 points back and with every team in the hunt having 2 to 3 games in hand on the Florida squad would not be beneficial to say the least.

Once again the injury bug hit the Florida Jrs. Teams leading scorer Viktor Bobrov is sidelined for the next 1-2 weeks with a corneal abrasion. Tobias Enstrom is listed as day-to-day with a bruised elbow and Oskari Korpikari is making the slow comeback with his fractured forearm and is slated to return in another 4-6 weeks.

Goalie Billy Thompson is a little under the weather and so back up Lukas Mensator will get the start and centre Franz Nielsen will get the call up from the farm to replace Viktor Bobrov.

Bruins pre-travel notes

Goaltender Andrew Raycroft, slated to start Friday night in San Jose, took a puck to the eye in practice Thursday morning and experienced some blurred vision. He is still expected to start Friday. If he can't go, John Grahame, who was scheduled to start in net Saturday against Minnesota, will get the call ...

Veterans Martin Havlat and Lee Goren got into a scrum at practice, leaving Goren a little bloody. Goren said he and Havlat are the best of friends and will probably have dinner tonight. "Loser pays," Goren said, "so I'll be buying." Coach Robbie Ftorek chalked it up to two guys just being frustrated with a disappointing season. The Bruins Alumni Association named Havlat the team's player of the month at a luncheon Monday...

Matt Walker has started to skate with the team, but an exact date has not been set for his return to the ice.

Rangers Lose Brawl

The New York Rangers and the Columbus Blue Jackets engaged in a war last night. The Jackets emerged victorious thanks largely to youngs stars such as Alexei Ponikarovsky, Mathew Spiller, and Brooks Orpik who were possessed what could only be described as blood lust. The three youngsters reacted violently to an agressive Blue Jackets team and cost their own team the game in the process.

It all began when young super thug Matt Grenier took a run at Ranger captain J.P. Dumont. Mathew Spiller responded by challenging Grenier to a duel. The fight was even but the event sparked a series of violent events that created a rivalary that may be one to watch. Spiller was later ejected, as were Ponikarovsky, and Orpik for the Rangers.

On the Jackets side of the equation there were plenty of questionable hits and stickwork as well. Roman Lyashenko seemed to have his brain knocked loose in an early fight loss to Dan Lacouture and ran around the ice like an unhinged maniac for most of the game. He later won a decision over Orpik but was ejected from the game. Josef Melicher was also ejected from the game for the Jackets.

When the smoke cleared it broke down like this:

Matthew Spiller and Martin Grenier fight to a draw
Josef Melicher ejected at 07:42 of the 1st Period
Dan LaCouture beats up Roman Lyashenko
Brooks Orpik and Jay Harrison fight to a draw
Matthew Spiller ejected at 00:12 of the 2nd Period
Brooks Orpik and Roman Lyashenko fight to a draw
Brooks Orpik ejected at 05:34 of the 2nd Period
Roman Lyashenko ejected at 05:34 of the 2nd Period
Martin Hohener injured at 15:24 of the 3rd Period
Alexei Ponikarovsky ejected at 15:24 of the 3rd Period

"We're not happy with our teams hot headed play," fumed GM David Burns. " That game was winnable but when you're 2 men down it's difficult to stay with any team."