NEEDED WIN COMES TO CAROLINA

Carolina

With two point performances from Jaroslav Svoboda, Brendan Shanahan, Jarome Iginla, and Tim Connolly, the Canes held tight and defeated the conference rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-4.

Highlighted by a wave of offense in the third, including the game winner by Iginla, the Canes took this sea saw battle and made it their own victory.

Manny Legace turned away 26 of 30 shots but closed the door when he needed to early on to allow the Canes a chance to win.

“Scoring 6 goals is not a regular thing for us,” stated head coach Joel Quenneville. “We had to win this one in a gunslinger type of show down and our boys came to play. We at least showed we have the capability to fire in some goals when we need them. We don’t do it nearly enough though and that is a problem.”

The Canes power play and special teams in general were once again excellent for the Canes. A 1 for 3 performance on the power play on a goal by newcomer Jaroslav Svoboda was the nail in the coffin against the Bolts while the Canes held Tamps scoreless on 8 chances.

“I’m happy for the guys shutting the door on our PK, but lordy. We cannot give up 8 power plays a game, we might as well hand games over to the better power plays of the league that way.”

Of note, defenseman Brad Stuart beat the tar out of Eric Brewer and has since received a 3 game suspension by the league. This marks the second game in a row the Canes have lost a top notch defender after a fight. Stuart had been taunted by Brewer throughout the game and the talented blueline had enough and accepted Brewer’s call to battle. The result is not pretty for young Brewer. Lesson learned.

Kris Draper has also felt significant progress in his current injury. The jury is still out if he will be ready for any action this week however.

The Canes are off tonight but host the Philadelphia Flyers the following night.

Senators Slash Thrash in Nedved's Farewell

The Ottawa Senators were fired up for last night's game against the Atlanta Thrashers. Was it because Nedved was leaving? Because they were excited for the arrival of Justin Kelly? Or was it simply a fire lit under them to succeed after seeing that GM Schmucky is in it to win it?

Regardless of the reasoning behind it, the Sens crushed the Thrashers last night by a score of 5-1. Teemu Selanne was the star of this one as he landed a hat-trick scoring goals in the first, second and third period. Selanne finished with 3 goals, a +3 rating, 3 hits and 4 shots on the night. All around, a superstar style of night for this superstar style of guy.

Brendan Morrison was the second star as he landed 3 points as well. Morrison had 1 goal, 2 assists, a +3 rating and a hit in the game last night. Morrison has recently been discussed in trade talks, so the rumour mill says, but after last night's performance, it looks like he'd be a tough centerman to snag from the Sens at this point in the year.

The third star was Dick Tarnstrom. He had 3 assists and a plus three rating as well as he distributed the puck very well on the Powerplay and played an all around strong game.

Ottawa has the night off before facing the surging Sabres on Wednesday evening.

Sens Trade Age for Youth!

The Ottawa Senators made a trade today that will hopefully help the future of the franchise.
The trade saw Ottawa move veteran leader Petr Nedved and Florida's 5th round draft choice this year for young Right Winger Justin Kelly.

Nedved has been with the Senators for several seasons in CLUTCH but his productivity has slowed due to age and he hasn't been fitting in well at all. Nedved has played in 36 of the Sens 39 games so far this year and has scored 8 goals and 10 assists. However, his minus 3 rating has proven him uneffective defensively and being 36 years old, 37 at seasons end, Nedved was on a downward slope. His OV rating dropped 3 full points last offseason and it doesn't look like he will be getting any better.

Schmucky is excited about newly acquired Justin Kelly who will take Petr's place. Kelly is young and holds a lot of promise being a 25 year old in CLUTCH. Kelly's stats are similar to those of NEdved landing 8 goals and 6 assists for 14 points so far in Calgary. However, 2nd line duties as opposed to the 3rd and 4th line duties he was used to in Calgary, could make those stats jump drastically in Ottawa.

Schmucky is happy to have found a young winger to join Bouchard on the 2nd line and hopefully Ryder's intense passing will lead to big scoring success for Kelly and Pierre-Marc. Moreover, Kelly's DF rating is much better than Nedved's as is his SP and ST. This should help that 2nd line defensively.

The only concern with Kelly is his discipline. He has 78 pim's compared to NEdved's 2 pim's and this could prove costly for the Sens who are a very disciplined team and cannot afford to be on the PK more than is absolutely necessary. This could be the deciding factor in whether or not he plays on the 2nd or 3rd line.

Nedved will play his last game as a Senator tonight vs. the Thrashers before he ships out to Calgary for their playoff run.

CANES ADD BELLE

Carolina

On Sunday night, the Carolina Hurricanes completed a second deal that solidified their blueline on the junior squad.

With his speed, puck handling ability and talent for distributing the puck, Shawn Belle, former Team Canada junior on the heralded 2004 team, was acquired for highly touted center Dustin Boyd.

The deal came out of no where as the Canes had tried to get a hold of the young blueliner for several season now and miraculously, the Avalanche inquired about the payment.

“Belle adds a bit of a dimension that this team doesn’t have at the moment,” said head coach Craig Hartsburg. “He has a lot of speed and he moves well for a bigger guy. He also has some offensive talent, but we like his ability to join the rush while still being capable in his own end.”

Belle will likely rejoin his former defense partner Brayden Coburn, the rugged, aggressive defenseman and the two will continue to be a force game in and game out.

“The two really bring out the best in each other. Brayden doesn’t like to get too caught up in the offensive side of things, but will get involved when the time calls for it. Belle is a much more creative guy and he will find the openings ot make plays. Together, they work well.”

The Canes and Avs also swapped veteran juniors. Nathan Martz will join the Canes and he currently is tied for the league lead in goals with 19.

“We don’t really know why he is scoring, but it is welcomed here, that is for sure.”

The Canes host Dallas tonight and the new duo will both make their debut in Carolina.

CANES ADD THEIR MAN

arolina

With a swap of prospect forwards, the ongoing saga of the 2004 Team Canada Junior club in Carolina continued.

Seemingly giving up on the prospect of adding any of the former Team Canada players, the Canes were surprised on Sunday to hear over the wire that the Calgary Flames were close to a deal with the Avs. Quickly, the Canes made the call and asked that the Avs add one of the youngsters to the much larger deal.

“The Flames and Canes have had a good working relationship over the past,” said head coach Joel Quenneville. “We have added some toughness to their lineup for a play off run, swapped star right wingers and exchanged needed cash and prospects. This was another deal of mutual respect and it was easily done.”

The Canes sent winger Blake Comeau in return for the services of Clarke MacArthur. Comeau is a speedy two way winger who has shown flashes of offensive talent and creativity. MacArthur is more known as a meat and potatoes type of winger who has a knack for finding an open man and similar to Comeau, has some jets when needed.

“Blake was going to be a fixture in the organization but when the availability of Clark was made known, we jumped on it.”

Comeau was noticeable upset about the deal as he left the arena.

“I am not mad about going to Calgary, of course.” Said Comeau. “The thing that bothers me about this is that I thought I had an understanding that I would get my shot. I never did. Another guy on this team once told me that no one is untouchable in Carolina unless you played on that god damn 2004 team or your name is Heatley or Fisher. Just another example of it I suppose.”

MacArthur will be reunited with his fellow team mates tonight. Look for the workhorse to make his way onto a line with former linemate Colin Fraser and likely Jeremy Colliton. The trio has been a menace on the international stage and look no further than tonight for the latest instalment of their story.

Flyers embarrass Wild

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – In an event as rare as a planetary alignment the Philadelphia Flyers have embarrassed their opponent by defeating the Wild 8-3.

All Flyers except for defensive defenseman Marc Moro and Roman Lyashenko (who left the game early in the 2nd period with a pulled hamstring and is, expected to miss 1 to 2 weeks of action) had a point in this game. It was a true offensive outburst by the Flyers.

Chris Grattan started the scoring at 4:41 of the first and just over a minute later Denis Seidenberg scored to make it 2-0, but before the period ended the Wild closed the lead to 2-1 on a goal by Tomas Plekanec. At 10:25 of the 2nd Darcy Tucker scored his 14th goal of the season and just under a minute later Jamie Lundmark scored to make it a 4-1 Flyers lead. The Wild seemed totally out of this game at this point until Blake Bellefeuille shortly after the Flyers took a 3 goal lead bringing the lead to 4-2 now. In the 3rd Cory Stillman cut the lead down to one just 1:50 into the period. The games turning point was the next three goals scored by the Flyers in under 2 minutes. Goals by Georges Laraque, Kyle Wellwood and the second of the night for Chris Gratton blew the game wide open as the Flyers led 7-3. The Flyers checking line finished the night off with a goal by Scott Parker at 17:25.

The Flyers have some tough decisions to make on whether they will be keeping promising youngster Ian White up who was a +2 in the game with 1 assist once defenseman Jay Harrison returns from his injury next game.

Philadelphia’s next game comes from Long Island, New York as the Flyers face the New York Islanders on Day 66. The Flyers are expected to start Martin Gerber.

Bluejackets send Pratt to Detroit

Columbus, OH

Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Peter Dell'Olio has announced that the team has sent defenseman Nolan Pratt to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a third round draft choice this year, and a second round draft choice in next year's draft. Pratt, who had his playing time cut as the season went on was one of the Jackets best defenders, but with a diminishing divisional position and youth coming along the Jackets decided to continue to free cap space and inject more youth.

The club has also announced that Dan Fritsche may get recalled from his junior loan, but the team has stated that Fritsche will not be rushed. Team officials have stressed that, " if the recall happens, it will be to evaluate Dan's current ability, and to see where he could fit in for Columbus now."

In all likelyhood, Fritsche will claim a permanent spot on the team, but that will leave management with a tough decision on which forwards will lose ice time. Matt Cooke will likely be a healthy scratch until a trade can be found.

Capitals Silence Blues

Patrick Marleau played a part in all three goals to lead the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Day 64. The result lifts Washington to 13-19-3 for the season.

Joffrey Lupul got Washington on the board at 7:37 of the first period when he scored on the power play from Marleau and Radoslav Suchy. Marleau made it 2-0 from Todd Warriner and JS Giguere at 12:58.

The Blues pulled within one early in the second period. Cole got the goal while shorthanded from Hamhuis and Handzus at 1:30. The Capitals regained its two-goal edge midway through the second period when Severin Blindenbacher netted from Marleau at 10:20. Corbeil made it 3-2 from Hemsky and Tyutin at 11:50, but that was all the scoring either team could muster.

JS Giguere made 31 saves to earn the win and improve to 15-10-4. Jose Theodore stopped 24 shots in the loss.

The Capitals are off for two days before hosting Colorado on Day 67.

Capitals Top Lightning

Joffrey Lupul scored the winning goal and assisted on the opening tally to lead the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Day 63. The result lifted Washington to 12-19-3 for the season.

David Vyborny gave the Caps a great start when he converted from Lupul and Dan Boyle at 5:47. Tampa Bay fought back to level the score when Kapanen netted from Nylander and Hejduk at 11:45.

After a scoreless second period, Washington scored the only goal of the final period to earn the win. With Jackman in the box for charging, Lupul lit the lamp from Vyborny and Radoslav Suchy at 7:18.

JS Giguere stopped 20 shots to earn the win and improve to 14-10-4 for the season. Aren Miller made 35 saves in the loss.

The Capitals visit St. Louis on Day 64.

Flyers lose to Bruins

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Philadelphia Flyers are unable to win another low scoring game as they lose to the Boston Bruins 2-1 in overtime.

Ex-Flyer Antero Niittymaki had a first star performance and was stellar in hanging on to the win for the Bruins. The Flyers went with Andrew Raycroft for this game and he played well, but once again the team lets the goaltender down as Raycroft stopped 20 shots. Flyers centerman Kyle Wellwood earned the 2nd star of the game honors with his goal to send the game into overtime. Wellwood finished the game even with 5 shots on net and 25 minutes of ice time.

For the second straight game Darcy Tucker was held pointless with over 25 minutes of ice time, he had one hit and 3 shots on goal finishing even in plus/minus. With the Flyers this year Tucker has 4 points in 4 games, 2 goals and 2 assists, he is a +5 has 10 hits 13 shots and averages around 25 minutes per game.

The Flyers have also announced that they have traded left winger Peter Schaefer to the Detroit Red Wings for a 3rd round draft choice and junior goaltender Vasily Koshechkin. This will ensure the Flyers have enough players next year with junior callups and rerates.

The Flyers next game comes tonight as they face the Minnesota Wild in Philadelphia. Ian White will play alongside Denis Seidenberg and Andrew Raycroft will start.

CANES BOLSTER BLUELINE

Carolina

After a week long of negotiations, the Carolina Hurricanes finally acquired their man. Brad Stuart, the 27 year old smooth skating defenseman will join his new club tomorrow against the Buffalo Sabres and expectations are high for the new bluechip blueliner. The deal sent Rostislav Klesla to Montreal.

“Start is a guy this organization has eyed up for a long time,” said head coach Joel Quenneville. “He is a big body with excellent mobility, a big shot and an excellent passer. He has the ability to spark a rush and distribute the puck as well as anyone in this league and he has the jets to get where he needs to be.”

Stuart currently has 5 goals and 16 assists for 21 points and those stats place him first on the Canes in defenseman scoring. He will likely see second line minutes for the team and play a vital secondary role to Chris Pronger the teams number one defenseman.

“Everyone know Chris is the number 1 defenseman on any team he plays for. He is that good. Brad will be used to compliment him and will play with Adrian Aucoin on the second pairing. Together, they will likely help add some much needed scoring from the second line. That is the hope anyways.”

Also acquired in the deal was veteran right handed defenseman Brent Sopel. Sopel, 29, is also a swift skating d with a bit of offensive upside and an intense competitor. Look for Sopel to get 3rd line duty with rookie Dion Phaneuf. Adding the speed of Sopel should help Dion relax a bit more in his own zone and help instigate better odd man rushes for the offensive side of things.

The Canes will toy with their lines over the next couple of days and hopefully spark some much needed excitement in the dressing room. The Canes take on the Sabres on Saturday and look for Manny Legace to return to the lineup after a mild injury acquired from the evil Islanders.

CANES DEAL CAPTAIN, ANYONE SURPRISED?

Carolina

The writing was on the wall for team captain Shane Doan. After a near breakdown by head coach Joel Quenneville, Doan had gone to talk to his coach about several key mistakes made by the big power forward. Doan was greeted to a closed door and was not able to discuss his fate with Quenneville. Instead, the talented forward found he was on his way to Detroit.

“I guess that is the way he does things,’ said Doan. “You make a mistake, and that is it. I recognize it has been a tough year but I think I have given everything to this team and then they just discard me. Oh well, I will go to Detroit and do my thing there.”

The Hurricanes dealt Doan, along with a third round draft choice, to Detroit in exchange for the younger, faster Jaroslav Svoboda. Svoboda comes to Carolina and now assumes the title of the teams leading scorer.

“I have been told I will be on a line with Jeff Friesen and Daniel Briere,” said Svoboda when asked what line he will start with tomorrow. “I think we will show a lot of speed and skill and hopefully things work out. I think I can make a difference here.”

The Canes forward lines have had to change over the past couple of days with injuries and fatigues taking their toll. Expect the top line to be the only line that remains the same for the next contest.

Osgood Nogood in Sens last two games

The Senators have been blown out, so to speak, in their last two outings. A 4-1 loss to the Kings and a 6-0 loss to the Flames has GM Schmucky FUMING at the recent lack of enthusiasm and effort put forth by Ottawa players.

Chris Osgood, acquired in the offseason via trade, has allowed 10 goals in his last 2 starts. For a supposed #1 goalie, this is unacceptable. Even though defenseman Tom Poti has been out with injuries and the defense has looked weak allowing 38 and 37 shots respectively, you need your goalie to steal one for you once and a while, that's what they get paid to do.

The Senators are actively looking to make some moves. Although happy with their play up to the last two games this year, GM Schmucky wants to beef up his D both on Defense and Forward. They seem to be lacking a Defensive forward to kill penalties and play against that deadly first line that most teams seem to have this season.

"Anyone can go, for the right price".

That's the motto in Ottawa right now. Make Schmucky an offer, who knows what could happen?

Gerber shines, Flyers lose

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The play of Martin Gerber kept the Philadelphia Flyers in contention versus Florida but they couldn’t get one for their number one goaltender.

The only goal of the game was scored 11:44 into the 3rd period by power forward Owen Nolan. Panther’s backup goaltender Donald Choukalos was stellar stopping all 21 shots he faced including 6 by Flyers youngster Igor Grigorenko. Choukalos’ play earned him the second star of the game.

Without the play of Martin Gerber the Flyers would have faced yet another blowout against this high powered Florida Panthers team. Gerber made 38 saves on 39 shots including 11 shots in the 2nd and 21 shots in the 3rd period alone. He kept his team in the game when they looked to be far out. For this he earned the games first star honors. “Gerber was the only player who showed up tonight for us” said Flyers captain Martin Grenier “There is no way we should have lost 1-0 and we were lucky to have him play the way he has so many times this season”.

Darcy Tucker’s first game against his old team wasn’t how he expected it but he did have 27 minutes of ice time and 5 hits. He finished the game even and was key in helping the team go 9 for 9 on the penalty kill.

After yet another poor performance the Flyers coaching staff has decided to sit some of the underachieving players for the next game versus the Boston Bruins this evening. The line of Grigorenko / Polcik / Lundmark / Harrison / Colaiacovo is a combined -57 this season and next game all players but Lundmark will be sitting out, Harrison will miss game due to injury. The Flyers are expected to dress some energy players in hopes of building some momentum during the game and hopefully getting the win. Since last game no one wanted to help Gerber out, Andrew Raycroft will start against his old team.

PENALTIES KEY TO CANE LOSS

Carolina

The Carolina Hurricanes dropped what could have been a game to accumulate much needed points by playing stupid hockey. Head coach Joel Quenneville publicly criticized team captain Shane Doan for taking pointless penalties throughout the game, 4 to be exact, which helped eliminate all momentum the team could get.

Doan took a penalty half way through the second, when the Canes were trying to gain momentum, on a cross check to the face of Jason Arnott. The Stars scored on the ensuing power play. Doan started the shift in what could have been a momentum shift, swinging back to the Canes, but instead, Doan ran seldom used forward Shane Willis and drilled him open ice, without the puck. Doan was assessed a double minor which carried on for most of the remaining minutes of the second.

Starting on the ice for the third, after a heated argument with Quenneville, Doan got caught up in a tussle and used a high stick 25 seconds into the third period on defenseman Dan Jancevski. The energy was simply sucked out of the Canes squad at too many crucial times.

“When you penalty kill for a god damn period, how do you expect to win in this league?” asked Quenneville, who was less than excited about Doan’s selfish performance. “Shane is a quality guy and as a person, I really like him, but tonight he hurt this club. He has not been good all year and has little to show for anything he has attempted to accomplish. His ice time will be down considerably next game, if not completely taken away.”

Doan, who is in his third year as captain of the Canes, has often been the spark to get the club going, but so far this season, his totals are not impressive. With 5 points in 31 games, Doan has proven to be very ineffective in his current role and the possibility of newcomer Stacy Roest taking over his spot is a reality. Roest, who currently sits with 27 points, is now the Canes top scorer. He was added as a depth replacement but after the game Doan had, it is likely he will get minutes earlier than expected.

“I just want to be part of something special here,” said Roest. “This team has all the pieces to make a deep run in the playoffs but something is just lacking. I hope I can provide some sort of spark. I know I bring a lot of speed to the lineup and maybe that is what this team needs.”

The Canes take on the New York Islanders tomorrow and look for Manny Legace to back in the pipes and Doan to be seated on the bench.

Wild Wreck Capitals

The Minnesota scored four times in the opening period to earn a 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Day 60. The loss dropped Washington to 12th in the Wales Conference at 11-19-3.

Willsie started it off for Minnesota from Stillman and Ruutu at 5:58. Blake made it 2-0 from Stillman and Sykota at 15:21, and Klein extended the lead to three goals with his first of the season from Demitra and Roenick at 16:47. Lecavalier completed the first period scoring from Blake and Sykora at 17:59.

After a scoreless second period and 15 minutes of a scoreless final period, Ivan Rachunek finally lit the lamp for the Capitals at 15:04. Dan Boyle and Todd Warriner assisted on the tally.

JS Giguere stopped just 14 shots in the loss and fell to 13-10-4. Kevin Weekes stopped all 16 shots he faced in relief. Ryan Miller made 19 saves to earn the win.

The Capitals are off for two days before hosting Tampa Bay on Day 61.

Capitals Stormed by 'Canes

Ivan Rachunek scored a goal and assisted on another, but the Washington Capitals still lost 4-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Day 58. The setback dropped Washington to 11-18-3.

Carolina jumped out to a 3-0 lead with goals over a 2:42 span in the opening period. Briere started it off from Klesla and Boucher at 4:18. Horcoff followed it up from Iginla and Phaneuf at 5:59, before Friesen extended the lead from Aucoin and Briere at 7:00. Washington finally got on the board when Todd Warriner netted from Frantisek Lukes and Carl Corazzini on the power play at 19:05.

The Capitals pulled within one at 8:24 of the second period. Jonathan Cheecho got the goal from Greg Watson and Rachunek at 8:24. The Hurricanes regained its two-goal edge on Pronger's third of the season from Connolly and Fisher at 18:06.

Washington battled back in the final period to make it a one-goal game, but that was all the visitors could muster. Rachunek was the scorer from Radoslav Suchy and Artem Chubarov at 13:50.

Kevin Weekes made 29 saves in the loss and fell to 4-7. Former Washington netminder Manny Legace stopped 28 shots to earn the win.

The Capitals are back in action against Minnesota on Day 60.

Columbus trades Roest to Carolina for draft picks, cash considerations

Columbus, OH

Columbus Blue Jackets President and General Manager Peter Dell'Olio announced today that the team has traded forward Stacy Roest to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for two 3rd round draft choices and an undisclosed amount of cash. Roest, a solid playmaking wing, with speed to burn, was surprised by the move. " The team is changing, for the future, but im still surprised by it. Even if you know it could happen, you just cant prepare for a trade." The Blue Jackets recently signed veteran forwards Gary Valk and Espen Knutsen, whom had both been playing on semi pro contracts in the American Hockey League. Valk, is a long time veteran with excellent defensive ability, and Knutsen is a former Blue Jacket, who brings a veteran offensive presence.

The Jackets have also announced that Matt Cooke has asked for and will be granted a trade. The team would not comment further on the matter.

CANES STREAK ENDS, BUT HOPE STILL REMAINS

Carolina

A huge third period for the Canes provided a pile of excitement for the hometown crowd, but in the end, the Canes were not able to beat the wily Nittymaki for the game tying goal.

The Canes came out hard in the contest and were up two goals less than 4 minutes in, but a spell of lackadaisical play and under whelming effort allowed the Bruins to chip their way back into the contest. A credit to Manny Legace, who was pretty much the only Cane giving any effort for the first two periods, despite a less than stellar defensive effort.

Offensively, the Canes received goals from Tim Connolly and Dion Phaneuf.

Of note, both Chris Pronger and Jeff Friesen's point streaks came to an end at 5 games a piece. Pronger did, however, lead the game in hits with 7.

The Canes were also unsuccessful for the first game in several at scoring on the power play. They were 0 for 3. From a penalty killing perspective, the Canes allowed 1 goal on 4 attempts. Overall, the Canes special teams have been a sparkling asset of the club, but on this particular night, they simply did not get it done.

The Hurricanes do not get any rest, however, as the Dallas Stars are next on the schedule and the Canes host them this evening. The Stars are currently in a funk after a huge winning streak less than a week ago ended. Tommy Salo may or may not get the call in net as Marty Turco, the Stars number 1 guy, is apparently fatigued with overuse.

Marc-Andre Thinel, the crafty playmaker, leads an impressive Dallas attack. A Russian trio of Artem Kriukov, Alexander Frolov and Pavel Vorobiev is more than enough to overwhelm a club on any given night. The Canes will likely try and utilize their size on the backend and roll all lines to try and beat the Stars with depth. The defense of Dallas is somewhat unimpressive and should give chances to the bigger Cane forwards. Robert Gherson will likely spell veteran Manny Legace for this one in anticipation for the New York Islanders, who will host the Canes on Wednesday night.

Panthers Hang On To Defeat Canadians

FLORIDA- The Montreal Canadians came limping into town hoping to snap their 4 game losing streak against a tired Panther team that was in Pheneox last night and back home tonight to host the Canadians.

The Canadians came out strong but everytime they would seem to make progress the Cats came back. Then Bondra and Loungo stole the show to lead the Panthers to a very important 4-2 victory.

The Canadians Sergei Samsonov opened the scoring at 4:48. Just :33 seconds later defenceman Kenny Jonsson tied it up notching his 4th of the season.

The Canadians re gained the lead on Samuel Pahlsson 3rd of the year at 5:48. Once again but not as quick the Cats tied it up. Ivan Novoseltsev and Stephen Weiss broke away for a 2 on 1. On the give and go Novo passed to Weiss who immediatly passed it back for Ivan to tap the puck into the open net at 7:29.

Although the Canadians out shot the Panthers 11 - 8 these two conference rivals went into the dressing room after 20 minutes notched at 2.

Then the Loungo and Bondra show began.

Petr Bondra set up Kim Johnsson at 6:40 of the second for his 5th of the year and the eventual game winner.

Loungo stopped 21 of the 30 stops in the last 2 periods stoning the Canadians and was named the games second star.

Then Bondra (games first star) scored the assurance goal at 15:25 of the third giving the Panthers the 4-2 victory.

"This was a very important win for us tonight." Bondra told the press "Whenever you play a conference rival especially a team like the Canadians who are right on our heels in the standings it is important to find a way to win and we did that tonight. They played a hell of a game. Roberto played fantastic tonight and gave us the chance to win."

Coach Keenen had this to say about the game. "We were a little flat tonight. That was to be expected and the reason Roberto got the night off last night. We needed at least one fresh player out there and tonight that was the difference in this game. Now we need to find a way to do it again tomorrow night in Philly."

As Coach Keenen said the Panthers are on their way back to the airport to go to Philadelphia to play the Flyers tomorrow night and put their 3 game winning streak on the line.

CANES NEW TRIO WINS TRIO

Carolina

The Carolina Hurricanes appear to have made some progress in their season goals. Currently riding a three game winning streak, the Canes have finally made their way into the playoffs on the strength of a solid team effort, game in and game out.

Much of the credit of the turnaround can go to the team's latest three acquisitions.

Tim Connolly has slipped in between assistant captain Mike Fisher and team superstar Dany Heatley has a point a game to prove his worth. Connolly, the speedy playmaker, has fit in almost immediately and the proof is the explosion of offense from the formerly slumping Heatley. Since Connolly's arrival, Heatley has put up 5 goals and an assist to a very unimpressive season total, but the future looks much brighter with a talented line intact.

Chris Pronger has been the stabilizing force on a blueline that looked so deep on paper, but simply fell to the pressure. Pronger, since his acquisition is riding a 5 game point streak, adding 1 goal and 4 assists, including the game winner against the Washington Capitals late in the contest. Pronger has also shored up the blueline by providing a big presence and pumping out some highlight reel hits. Defense partner Phillipe Boucher also looks a lot more confident in himself than he did a month ago, another sign of the value of Pronger.

Manny Legace walked into Raleigh as the number 1 guy and has done little to make the club feel otherwise. A sparkling 1 goal performance against the Thrashers was his debut, while a close victory over his former club, the Washington Capitals, was his second appearance. The more impressive thing, however, was despite the efforts of the Capitals, who were firing on all cylinders in the third, Legace stood strong and Chris Pronger eventually buried the winner with less than 2 minutes left.

The Canes had a couple offers out on the market, possibly shoring up a speed issue on the backend, but have since withdrawn their offers and will continue to watch the development of their current roster.

One thing is for sure, however. This club has not accepted any slack play from anyone and the team has proven it is not against dealing anyone to get better.

The Canes tangle with Tim Connolly's old squad, the Boston Bruins. Look for the trio of newcomers to all be in the lineup as Manny Legace has already been reported to be the started, his third consecutive appearance in such a role.

Columbus worries about Koivu, add Ricci.

Columbus, OH

Mikko Koivu is on the hot seat...his play has been sub-par and the Jackets coaching staff concerns increase game to game. The Jackets sent Roman Lyashenko to the Flyers for veteran center Mike Ricci, in the hopes of solidifying the center position. Ricci is a cheaper version of Lyashenko and has a more rounded game, not to mention playoff experience. Koivu was looked upon in training camp as a potential playmaker, but Mikko just seems to take bad penalties and isnt working hard enough on defense. Columbus has shuffled lines several times in the hopes of sparking Koivu's production and confidence, but so far to no positive result. Jackets management has looked for trades and will likely continue to pursue the right player to help the offense.

The coaching staff has announced that Oliver Setzinger will move to the third line with Koivu to help pick up some speed and scoring chances. The Jackets have also called up smooth passing centerman Raffaele-Pierre Sannit, and will have scouts on hand to watch his play.

Islanders Trade for Depth

The New York Islanders made 3 separate deals over the weekend, to add a pair of players in the team’s quest for a repeat title.

In the first deal, the Islanders dealt a draft pick and cash to the Columbus Blue Jackets in return for veteran forward Brian Smolinski. “The addition of Brian gives us a forward, who can play any of the positions up front. He can play the PK, and brings a boatload of leadership and experience.” Smolinski gives the Islanders a reserve should someone be injured, a likely scenario given the number of teams determined to “goon-up” against the New York Club.

With the addition of Smolinski, the Islanders were looking to drop some salary, and shipped defenseman Jason Crain to the St. Louis Blues for a 5^th round draft pick this year. Crain, 26, could develop into a solid Dman in the future. However his contract of 1.6 million meant that he couldn’t be sent to the farm and he was taking too much cap space for someone who “could develop”.

To take Crain’s place, the Islanders then sent a 5^th rounder for next year to the Dallas Stars, and received back defenceman Yannick Tremblay, who was toiling on the Stars’ farn team. Tremblay will become the Islander’s 7^th Dman, and is looking forward to competing this year. “I had a decent season last year, with 10 goals and 24 assists, and was very disappointed to be stuck on the farm. However the Stars have a great stable of Dmen on the pro squad, so I’m just glad GM Flip Sides granted my wish and traded me to somewhere I had a chance to play.”

It remains to be seen how much ice-time Tremblay will get, but he’s scheduled to start on the fourth line on the next game on Thursday when the Islanders host the surging Hurricanes.

Flyers riding high

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – After a well earned 5-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes, the Flyers are feeling more confident.

With recent acquisitions and young talent finally coming through the Flyers are finally starting to win games. The only problem will be staying healthy and keeping up the pace. A mix of grit and youngsters will try and make life for opponents very tough each game. The Flyers still have some young players constantly working on their defensive game. Guys like Matthew Stajan and Igor Grigorenko are two names that fit into this category and work on their defensive zone coverage each game, learning more as they mature.

The Flyers have announced their lineup for Day 61 against Florida and it looks as follows:

C-Igor Grigorenko LW-Darcy Tucker RW-Jamie Lundmark
C-Kyle Wellwood LW-Matthew Stajan RW-Alexander Steen
C-Roman Lyashenko LW-Peter Polcik RW-Georges Laraque
C-Chris Gratton LW- Brad Leeb RW-Scott Parker

LD-Denis Seidenberg RD-Martin Grenier
LD-Carlo Colaiacovo RD-Kristian Kurdoc
LD-Marc Moro RD-Todd Simpson

G-Martin Gerber

Martin Gerber has been playing very well this far into the season and he is finally getting support from his offence giving him a chance to win. Earlier in the year he would be playing well and the team would be losing close one and two goal games. Gerber’s record has improved to 7-12-4 with one shutout and a very solid 2.57 goals against average and a .901 save percentage. Flyers winger Darcy Tucker will look to continue his hot hand against his former team as he picked up 4 points in 2 games so far with Philly.

Tucker, Flyers defeat Coyotes

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Darcy Tucker’s two first period goals paced the Flyers to a 5-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes.

Tucker was named the games first star with his two goals Saturday night and was a force on the ice. Playing in just over 25 minutes, Darcy was a +4 with 5 shots and just one hit. He is making an immediate impact with his new club picking up 4 points in his first 2 games (2 goals, 2 assists) and being a +5.

The game winning goal was scored by youngster Igor Grigorenko’s 3rd goal of the season on a solo effort 14:40 into the 2nd period. Alexander Steen scored his 5th of the season to
made it a 4-2 lead just 1:27 into the 3rd period and Carlo Colaiacovo scored his 2nd goal of the season late in the game to make it a 5-2 Flyers win. Martin Gerber ended the game with 17 saves on 19 shots winning his 7th game of the season.

Philadelphia had no shortage of shots in this game as they doubled the Yotes 38 to 19. Three Flyers had 5 shots (Darcy Tucker, Denis Seidenberg and Alexander Steen) and Igor Grigorenko finished the game with 4 shots.

What was most surprising from this game was the Flyers only had 3 penalties called against them with one being coincidental calls. Tough guy Georges Laraque finished with 2 assists (+2 and 2 hits) in just around 5 minutes of ice time and newly acquired Kristian Kurdoc had 1 assist finishing the game even with 4 hits and 24 minutes of ice time.

With Jay Harrison being out for the next 3 week the Flyers have acquired defencman Todd Simpson from the Chicago BlackHawks for cash. Simpson brings a solid defencive and physical game to the table and he will be replacing Eric Cairns as he was sent down to the farm system to clear up some roster space.

The Flyers next game will be against the Florida Panthers who really gave the Flyers a beating last time they met. This will be Tuckers first time against the team he started the season playing with. Philadelphia is expected to start Gerber, but that may change by game time.

Capitals Go Down in Overtime

Mark Eaton had two assists, but the New Jersey Devils earned a 3-2 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals on Day 57. The loss dropped Washington five points out of the playoffs at 11-17-3.

Peter Tenkrat gave the Capitals a good start when he scored from Cory Stillman and Mark Eaton at 15:57 of the first period.

New Jersey tied the game late in the second period on the power play. While Cory Sarich was in the box serving a major for highsticking, Devereaux converted from Legwand and Huselius.

The Devils scored again early in the third period with the man advantage. This time it was Legwand netting from Laperriere and Volchenkov at 0:20. Washington rallied to tie the game just 3:33 later. Oleg Saprykin scored the goal from Eaton and Todd Warriner at 3:53.

With the game on the line in the extra period, Biron did the job for the Devils from Marchant and Dagenais at 2:25.

JS Giguere made 27 saves in his debut for the Capitals. Mika Noronen stopped 26 shots to earn the win.

Washington is back in action on Day 58 in Carolina.

CANES POUND THRASHERS IN LEGACE'S ROAD GAME DEBUT

Carolina

It took 28 games, but it seems fan favourite Dany Heatley has found his groove.

The big, skilled right winger has now scored 5 goals and 1 assist in his last three games, on a productive new line with Mike Fisher and newly acquired Tim Connolly.

"It has been a very frustrating season so far but maybe we have made a turn," said Heatley, who now sits at 14 goals and 19 points. "We just could not seem to find that fit and I personally felt a bit lost out there. With Fish and Tim flying around with me, I think we have the stuff to get it done."

Manny Legace turned away 20 of 21 shots and overall seemed to instil a bit of confidence into the Canes squad. Legace comes with a healthy resume of success and so far so good for the little netminder.

Of note, Jeff Friesen has extended his point streak to 5 games with a power play tally 6 minutes into the first period. The goal was also the game winner and has boosted the Canes overall power play to 6th overall in the league.

The Canes take on Legace's former club, the Washington Capitals, tonight in Washington. Look for Legace to get his second consecutive start.

Senators Have Turco Seeing Stars

What is that red, burning rash on the back of Turco's neck this morning? Oh, it's the burn from the goal light behind him constantly being lit up.

That's right, the Ottawa Senators flat out embarrassed the Dallas Stars on Friday night at the Corel Centre by a score of 6-0! The Sens dominated the entire game outshooting Dallas 31-17 and gving the recently, high-flying Stars a dose of reality.

The three stars for the game were:
1) Filip Novak who had a goal and 2 assists, a +3 rating and 3 monsterous hits
2) Pierre-Marc Bouchard who had a goal and an assist, a +3 rating as well and logged 25 minutes of ice-time on the 2nd line.
3) Chris Osgood who stopped all 17 shots faced and desperately needed to. He was in trade talks last night and has been playing below Schmucky's expectations of him when aquired in the offseason.

The Senators took a hit last night though as Dick Tarnstrom went down to injury. He will likely only miss one or two games but he is a big loss nonetheless heading into Montreal this evening to face the Canadiens. It is expected that overpaid, shitty defenseman Alexei Zhitnik will take his place.

Flyers Lose in Thriller

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - After coming back from a 3-0 deficit the Flyers came up just short as they lost 4-3 in overtime to the Minnesota Wild.

The Flyers looked to be out of the game after a strong second period by the Wild, scoring 3 goals in 8:03, but just seconds after Minnesota made it 3-0 the Flyers Denis Seidenberg scored two goals in one minute to cut the lead to 3-2. Jamie Lundmark tied the game mid way through the 3rd, but the game was settled on a power play goal by Cory Stillman just 1:25 into the overtime session.

Darcy Tucker made his debut tonight versus the Wild and he made an impact in the game setting up 2 of the teams 3 goals. Darcy finished as the games 3rd star with a +1 rating, having 3 shots and 3 hits in 23 minutes of ice time.

In other news the Flyers have announced they have traded centerman Mike Ricci along with a draft pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for centerman Roman Lyashenko and a draft pick (pending league approval). The Flyers hope Lyashenko can add some more grit and a solid defensive style to the team down the middle.

Philadelphia’s next game is at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona as the Flyers take on the Phoenix Coyotes. Martin Gerber is expected to make the start in net.

CANES PUT BIG HOPES IN LITTLE 'TENDER

Carolina

Early in the evening on Thursday, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals wrapped up negotiations on a deal that could help the Canes in their quest for the playoffs.

For Carolina, the club acquired the pint sized wonder goalie Manny Legace and two late round draft picks for the newly acquired Godzilla, JS Giguere. The deal will mark the third starting goaltender of the season for the Canes but the hope is their search for "the Man" is over.

"We identified that our club, as a whole, had a mental block with JS in net for one reason or another," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "Personally, I did not have any issue with JS being in the net, but sometimes things just are not the right fit. Manny comes to town as one of the fastest, slickest and most competitive gaolers in the league. We are hopefully his desire to win will translate well here. We need a spark."

Aside from Legace, the deal also gave the Canes 2 more picks, bringing their current total to 9 for the upcoming draft.

"Adding youth is always a good thing."

The Canes ready themselves for the Thrashers this evening. Look for Legace to get his first start, fresh off the plane.

Gerber shuts down Ducks

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Martin Gerber earned his first career shutout as the Flyers defeat Anaheim 1-0 on Thursday.

Although he wasn’t busy Martin Gerber made the saves when counted on for the Flyers as they only needed to score one for their goaltender. Gerber was awarded the games 2nd star honors as he stopped all 17 shots earning his 6th win of the season.

The Flyers only goal came off the stick of Igor Grigorenko, early in the 3rd period from Jamie Lundmark and Peter Polcik. Grigorenko finished the game with 6 shots, 4 hits and a +1 in 24 minutes of ice time in what seemed to be his best game of the season.

Thursday’s game was a fight filled affair as there were 4 fights. Jay Harrison fell and pulled his groin during his fight with Doug Lynch and is expected to miss up to 3 weeks of action. P.J. Stock also injured his hip in a fight vs. Jani Rita and is only expected to miss one game.

The Flyers next game is on Day 57 versus the Minnesota Wild. New comers Darcy Tucker and Kristian Kurdoc will make their debut. Martin Gerber is expected to start.

Capitals Top Oilers

The Washington Capitals moved within four points of the final Wales Conference playoff spot on Day 55 after a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. The result lifted Washington to 11-16-3 and 9-5-1 on home ice.

After a scoreless opening period, Cory Sarich gave the Caps a 1-0 lead with a power play goal from Oleg Saprykin and Andrew Ference. Edmonton tied the game just 4:19 later when Battaglia netted on the man advantage at 12:37. Artem Chubarov was in the box for boarding at the time of the goal.

Washington regained the lead at 7:52 of the final period. Bryan Berard was the scorer from Jonathan Cheechoo at 7:52. The Oilers evened the score again just 1:14 later. Kariya got the goal, his 20th of the season, from Allison and Boucher. The Capitals earned the victory when Ivan Rachuneck scored his third of the season from Peter Tenkrat and Chubarov at 15:28.

Manny Legace made 24 saves to earn the win and improve to 7-10-3. Brian Boucher stopped 18 shots in the loss.

The Capitals are off on Day 56 before visiting New Jersey on Day 57.

CANES WIN, UNDEFEATED IN TWO!

Carolina

With a bit of new found confidence, the Canes took on the Calgary Flames at home.

New look lines and a big addition to the blueline were the stories of this contest from the Canes side of things.

The newly formed line of Tim Connolly, Mike Fisher and Dany Heatley wasted little time as the trio combined for the first goal of game by Heatley, who has now scored in two consecutive games. The Fish and Connolly each added helpers on the goal.

8 minutes later, center Shawn Horcoff added his fifth of the season off a tip in from a Jarome Iginla blast. Adrian Aucoin also received an assist.

The Canes power play was also true to form and notched two consecutive goals. The first from Jeff Freisen and the second for Dany Heatley, his second of the game and 12th on the season. The power play is now ranked 7th in the league.

The penalty kill was also perfect tonight, and the Canes forward attackers of Shane Doan and Kris Draper were probably more dangerous than the Flames. The penalty kill sits at an impressive 5th overall.

Overall, the Canes came to play, and with 4 goals, were able to get past the Flames 4-3. JS Giguere was strong in the net for the Canes and while he didn't need to make that many huge stops, he was solid when they needed him to be.

Of note, both Jeff Friesen and Jarome Iginla each have a 4 game point streak on the go. The talented duo has spent time together and apart this season but each has managed to contribute on a consistent basis. Few other members of this team can say the same.

With 2 assists on both of Dany Heatley's goals, it appears Tim Connolly has found a home on the teams top line, at least for now. Connolly had a ferocious first game, adding 6 shots, but failed to produce a point. Head coach Joel Quenneville still felt the talented pivot deserved first line minutes and kept with him for his second game, a game that Connolly himself recognized as a turning point for the Canes.

The Canes next stop is Atlanta where the Thrashers and the Canes will get involved in another battle. After that, the Capitals, Bruins and Stars await. The Canes currently need points badly and all of which are considered must win games.

Flyers deal Youth for Toughness

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired more muscle late Wednesday night as they picked up winger Darcy Tucker and defenceman Kristian Kurdoc.

The Flyers traded youngster Alexander Sutivoikskov, defenceman Mike Stuart and draft picks in return for the duo of Tucker and Kurdoc. The 23 year old Sutivoikskov was expendable since the Flyers are pretty deep down the middle. Mike Stuart played well in his time with the team, but he just didn’t fit into the teams system like they had hoped.

Darcy Tucker will bring a jolt of energy to the Flyers who desperately need another solid two way winger. In 30 games this season Tucker has 20 points, 11 goals and 9 assists with 23 penalty minutes and 54 hits. The 31 year old winger is excited about the new challenges ahead and hopes to lead the team of the future into a good position.

Kristian Kudroc has appeared in 23 games and produced 9 assists with 127 penalty minutes and 50 hits. Kris will help make the Flyers defence tougher and gives the team a solid number 4 or 5 defenceman for the next few seasons.

The Flyers expect Tucker to be the team’s next captain. His leadership and experience will be a solid commodity to this young team. Both Tucker and Kudroc are signed for the next 3 seasons.

Rangers Match Season High Win Streak of Two in a Row

Ok Apollow 13 it ain't but the recent picture show that the New York Rangers have been playing has been a good one. The Rangers have played back to back games with high intensity and have put together a rare win streak of two games. Not much to get excited about perhaps but it's pushed them within one point of the playoffs and has their fans hoping this recent blip is not just a tease.

Last night's game against the Senators was a key one and the Rangers came out fired up but were quickly put on their back foot as they went down two nothing. The team showed resilience though by scoring the next 4 goals and closing with a 5-4 win.

"The team has played fairly well over the last 5 or 6 games. We've played some tough teams in the Sabres, Islanders, and Flames as well as had to deal with Mike Dunham being out for 3 games. We'll miss Mats (Sundin) and Bure but I really like how Lindros and Berglund have stepped in. We're paying attention to our own end better and I know we can make the playoffs. In fact, I'm sure we can move well up the standings but it's up to us to get it going."

Lindros and Berglund both hit the score sheet again last night for the second straight game.

"It's nice to win. That's all that matters," said a typically humble Berglund.

CANES FIND POINT, DANY NETS TENTH

Carolina

On Monday night, the Carolina Hurricanes played a hard fought game versus the Phoenix Coyotes. While the tie is not the outcome the club wanted, ultimately it is still a point added to a very unimpressive total so far.

Newcomer Chris Pronger and Tim Connolly both debuted for the Canes and the much anticipated game left onlookers with a little hope for once. Chris Pronger assisted on Dany Heatley's 10th goal of the season, finally cracking the double digit barrier that both the organization and its fans expected to happen much sooner. Tim Connolly, although held off the score sheet, was initiating a lot of the offensive chances and led the team with 6 shots.

Jarome Iginla and Jeff Freisen both added points and are now riding a 3 game point streak.

"There are some positives that come with this game," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "We have really struggled lately to score goals and netting three is above our average. I really believe we are capable of putting up more, but we should not have to. I think this club just needs to find the right chemistry and try and make it all work. Right now, we have a couple combinations that seem to show promise so we will continue to watch that develop."

On defense, the addition of Chris Pronger might be a sign of a changing of the guard. Pronger is a vocal leader and since his arrival has made it clear he will not tolerate lackluster play, and so far, his fellow defensemates look to have taken notice.

The Canes will again try Mike Fisher and Dany Heatley together, this time with newcomer center Tim Connolly. The trio seems to have found a little chemistry and should put a lot of rubber on net.

Shawn Horcoff, in the words of Joel Quenneville, has earned a chance to play second line duty with Jarome Iginla and Brendan Shanahan. The line boasts a lot of skill, size and strength and could cause some matchup issues for the Calgary Flames down low on the cycle.

Daniel Briere will once again center the checking line with captain Shane Doan and the speedy Jeff Friesen. The line should also add to the offense as all three players are more than capable of putting up numbers on any given shift.

"There will be a few new looks to the offense and we will try and work around generating offense in deep. We have not used our size nearly enough and I think we need to punish those teams we face every shift. Right now, we are allowing teams to play their style of game. We need to dictate that pace and show them this team is better than our record suggests."

The Flames and Canes get it on on Wednesday night. Look for Giguere to make another start for the Carolina Hurricanes and expect Mikka Kiprusoff to be the opposite starter for the Flames. Calgary has been resting their number 1 starter as of late and all indications are he will get the call.

Capitals Fall to Rangers

The Washington Capitals lost the second game of a home-and-home series with the New York Rangers 3-2 on Day 52. The setback drops Washington to 10-16-3 and five points out of the playoffs.

Mark Eaton gave the Capitals a good start when he scored his fifth of the season from David Vyborny and Andrew Ference at 11:49. New York answered with a power play tally from Alfredsson at 13:44. Bertuzzi and Pilar created the goal while Ference was in the box for boarding.

The Rangers took control of the game with a pair of goals in the second period. Lindros struck first from Bertuzzi and Lukowich at 1:54, before Bertuzzi scored a goal of his own from Girard and Dunham at 7:03.

Greg Watson pulled the Caps within one late in the final period, but it wasn't enough. Frantisek Lukes and Severin Blindenbacher earned the assists at 18:11.

Manny Legace made 22 saves in the loss and fell to 6-10-3. Mike Dunham stopped 24 shots to earn the win.

The Capitals are off for two days before hosting Edmonton on Day 55.

Lindros Makes Impact in Debut Against Washington

Eric Lindros did just what was asked last night as he combined with hulking Todd Bertuzzi and made life miserable for the Washington capitals all night. He potted the second goal of the night, landed 5 hits, and brought some much needed intensity to the team. The big man finds himself in a bit of an unfamiliar situation as he is being asked to play the role of two way centre.

"It's always nice to get things going well off the hop," commented Lindros on the goal after the game. "It was Bertuzzi's play that got the puck to the front of the net. I just held in and banged it home."

The win over the Caps was crucial and put the Rangers at 5-5 over what was identified as a crucial 10 game stretch. A loss could have been damaging to their playoff hopes but as it stands they're still only 5 points out. When the Rangers struggled the organization did as was predicted and made a move. Lindros and Berglund were brought in to change the chemistry of the team. Both players looked good in their debut and the Rangers hope that's a sign of things to come.

Second Place Sens look to Hold off Devils

Well, your Ottawa Senators have been surging of late. Even though they hold a few games in hand over some of the other competitors in their conference, for now, their position in the top half of the conference has people and players baffled!

The Senators have found their scoring touch apparently as they hit the 100 GF mark earlier than they ever have before. Selanne and Petrasek have been leading the way in this department for OTtawa helping them to their best record after 30 games in franchise history.

Tonight, Ottawa will look to hold off the New Jersey Devils. A conference rival whom the Sens have had a great deal of trouble beating in recent days.Things are looking up however as Chris Osgood will get the start tonight and Tom Poti, who is still out, is looking better.

Ottawa is still looking to make some moves to give them that edge in the second half of the season. Names of note are Zhitnik, Poti, Ryder, Nedved, Fata - the holdout bastard, and possibly others.

Red Hot Prucha Toast of Broadway

It's amazing what a change in scenery can do. Petr Prucha spent much of the year watching from the pressbox before he come to the Rangers but since arriving has potted 8 goals and 1 assist in 9 games. His finest night of the season was a hat trick last game against the Capitals which, unfortunately came in a losing cause.

"We really thought that Prucha could be an impact player when we got him," said GM Burns. "He's really stepped in right away and has been a difference maker. Fedorov has really taken him under his wing. They're inseperable. I think that playing with a vetran of Sergei's calibre is really elevating his game."

Prucha has gelled well with the speedy vet and the young Par Backer to provide most of the Rangers offence over the last 4 games. The line has been putting points on the board while the top two lines struggle to find their stride. It's a good news/bad news situation for the Rangers since the third liners alone can not carry the team to victory.

"With Lindros and Berglund coming in I think we'll see the top two lines become much more potent," said Burns. "If the top two lines play like they can and the third continues to contribute we'll have the kind of balanced attack that can carry teams far."

Langenbrunner Finding His Game In Florida

FLORIDA - It was the end of the year in more ways then one for Jamie Langenbrunner. Dec. 30th Jamie was told that a deal was finalized and he was going to Florida along with Kenny Jonsson.

Both were struggling to find their game. Jamie scored 29 goals last year and had 71 points ( tied for first on Wings) but in the first 17 games he scored twice and only nine points.

"Ya it was frustrating for sure." Langenbrunner told reporters when asked about his slow start "I knew that if I kept working hard that my chances would come and I would be scoring again...but getting traded kind of shook me...I just wasn't expecting it."

'We were confident that Jamie would snap out of his slow start." GM Perrault added. "We are just glad it he snapped out of it sooner rather then later."

In his first 9 games he has shown the fans what he is capable of.....scoring 6 times and adding 7 helpers for 13 points in them 9 games....not bad for a guy who was "slumping".

"The guys here made the transition real easy and made us, Kenny and I, feel like a part of the team from the moment we walked into the Arena. Here I didn't feel the pressure of "needing" to score. I could concentrate on playing and let the puck bounce as it will and its been bouncing my way. I am enjoying my new team and playing with my new mates. It has helped me bounce back to playing and contributing like I knew I could."

Oilers Shut-Out 2nd Overall Flames

The Edmonton Oilers are 7 pts out of a play-off spot and have recently seen an improvement in their overall play. Less Goals against and tighter games has been the trend as of late but overall in the last 10 games the Oilers have out played their rivals coming up short due to a hot goalie or bad bounce has left the team disheatened and lacking confidence. Well they could do no wrong last night as they suited up against the 2nd overall Calgary Flames, In the first 42 seconds Willie Mitchell took a cross-checking penalty putting the Oilers short handed early but on the Penalty Kill Bob Boughner stole the puck in the neutral zone sent it over to Bates Battaglia who slid the puck across to a wide open Todd White to make the score 1-0 early on. The Oilers had the flames playing their type of rough and tough hockey in the first and when Libor Ustrnul took a Roughing minor in a scrum at 14:26 into the first it led to a Pascal Dupuis breakaway powerplay goal beating Flames goalie Steve Shields upstairs making it 2-0 going into the 2nd. The Flames came out flying in the 2nd and started playing their game, They posted 12 shots but a hot Brian Boucher stopped all of them. The 3rd period was dominated by the flames as well but Boucher would not be beaten. With just over 5 minutes left recent acquistion Ethan Moreau notched his 2nd goal of the season. The Oilers won 3-0 in what they hope is a sign of things to come.

Huge Swap In New York

The New York Rangers made another major deal to try and reverse the fortunes of their team.

The struggling franchise shipped Mats Sundin and Pavel Bure to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Eric Lindros and Christian Berglund. Also going to Pittsburgh, and perhaps key to the deal, is blue chip prospect Carl Sodberg who's 74 sc at 19 years of age makes him very promising.

"We've continued to strugle over the last 10 games and have been unacceptably inconistent," said Rangers GM Burns. "Sundin has been a major disappointment. He's supposed to be our leader and he's not lead the way. Our defensive lapses have been an ongoing problem so we've looked to shore up in that area. Lindros is much better defensively than Sundin and Berglund is more well rounded than Bure, although not as adept at scoring. We're hoping this balances out our team and makes us tougher to score on without sacrificing offence."

The Rangers should have their new lineup in place for their third game in the last 10 against the Capitals. The game is a crucial one and could be an important two points when the final standings are tallied at the end of the year.

The Rangers hinted that Lindros and Berglund would line up with Bertuzzi to take advantage of the two behmoths power and the youngsters speed.

Sens Shutout to end 7 game Unbeaten streak

The Senators unbeaten streak came to an end last night as they suffered and embarrassing loss at the hands of the Leafs.

Ottawa's 4-0 loss marked the end of the longest streak in franchise history and also, and more importantly, the end of injuries that have kept Chris Osgood out for 4 of the last 5 games.

Osgood suffered from fatigue that saw him miss 3 games in a row, including the 4-0 loss, and 4 of 5. Osgood will get the start tonight against the Bruins.

Boston and Ottawa tied 3-3 just a few nights ago at the Corel Centre in Ottawa. The Sens are hoping to take sole posession of 2nd place in the conference with a win tonight and are looking to their stars to get it done.

Selanne, Morrison, Kovalev and Tarnstrom have all been stellar of late after a stumbling start to the season. This could pose to be a problem for the Bruins as these 3 forwards log more than 20 mins. of icetime per game, and if they're on, they'll get goals. The real question is, can Chris Osgood hold his own tonight versus the Bruins, or will he be rusty coming off of an injury?

CANES MAKE BIG ACQUISITION

Carolina

With so many questions with the club's poor offensive performance and lack of obvious leadership, the Canes went back to the well with one of their favourite trading partners, the Nashville Predators and acquired former Hurricane Chris Pronger.

Pronger, 32, has been one of the more obvious blue line super stars over the past several seasons and has always been referred to as one of the best shut down defensemen in the league.

"We wanted to make some noise and right now, we have a few deals on the back burner just waiting to see where it leads us," said head coach Joel Quenneville, who was instrumental in the acquisition of Pronger and was stated as actually making the request himself for the 6 foot 6 blueliner. "A guy like Pronger does not end up available often and when he became available, we needed to jump right away. This team needed a guy with his presence. I hope he grabs some of these pansies and shakes them till they play to their potential."

Pronger has not been off to a very good offensive start but the Canes are banking on his presence on both the PK and power play will help inspire the team to bigger and better things.

"I know that the team was looking for a left handed defenseman upgrade but I never dreamed it would be Pronger," said Adrian Aucoin. "This guy will show up and dominate and I know guys like Dany and Jarome are probably happy we never have to play against this monster anymore."

The Canes will practice but it is unlikely they will have the services of Pronger until the team takes on Nashville on Monday.

Panthers Battle Past Penguins

PITTSBURGH - The Florida Panthers came to Pittsburgh expecting a tough game and they were not disappointed.

The last two times these teams met the Penguins out played and out shot the Panthers in Florida but Loungo came up strong and the Cats survived the battle with a tie.

The Penguins put up a good fight but once again it was Loungo that made the difference. The referees put away their whistles away (only 3 penalties total) in this one and let the two team battle it out.

The Pens opened the scoring on Patrik Elias' 15th of the year at 2:40 of the first period. Jamie Langenbrunner scored on the periods only power play opportunity for either team at 16:16. John Madden regained the lead for the Pens when he scored his 7th of the year at 17:09 and took their 2-1 lead into the second period.

The second period was exciting hockey to watch. No Penalties and the teams played hard ...back and forth hockey for the full 20 minutes. The Panthers third line was the difference. Niklas Sundstrom and Yanick Lehoux in particular. Sundstrom intercepted a pass and went in alone and beat Henrik Lundqvist to tie the game at 2, 14:54 into the period. Then he assisted on Yanick Lehouxs' 5th of the year at 17:54 to give the Panthers their first lead of the game and they took the 3-2 score into the third.

Sundstrom wasn't done yet.....Yanick Lehoux fed a pass to Sundstrom who tapped it in an open side for his third of the season and second of the game and eventual game winner at 2:47 to make it 4-2. Sergei Zubov made it 4-3 when he notched his 9th of the year at 13:47 but that was as close as the Pens would get on this night. Ivan Novoseltsev scored the Panthers insurance goal at 17:24 for a hard fought 5-3 victory.

"This was a huge win for us tonight." Sundstrom said at the post game conference "The second period was key. Loungo did what he has done for us all year and gave us the chance to win and we were fortunate enough to capitalize on our chances."

The Panthers will head home now for a 4 game stretch that will see them play a couple teams they have had trouble with this season and the defending Champions. First up will be the Dallas Stars who defeated the Cats 3-1 in their last meeting. Then the New Jersey Devils and NY Islanders before ending the home stand hosting the Maple Leafs who have made life difficult for the Cats with a 1-1 record and outscoring them 7-6.

Capitals Roll Past Rangers

Jonathan Cheechoo scored a natural hat trick in the first period to lead the Washington Capitals to a 6-4 victory over the New York Rangers on Day 50. The win lifts Washington to 10-15-3.

Cheechoo started it off from Oleg Saprykin and Greg Watson at 8:49. The second goal came 5:42 later from Saprykin and Artem Chubarov. Severin Blindenbacher and Saprykin setup the third tally at 15:07. New York pulled a goal back through Prucha from Backer at 18:15.

The Rangers rallied in the second period and scored twice to make it 3-3. Prucha struck first from Backer and Lukowich at 4:44. Bure tied it up on the power play from Pilar and Sundin at 12:20.

Washington took over again in the final period. Ivan Rachunek made it 4-3 from Chubarov and Henrik Tallinder at 8:31, before David Vyborny netted the eventual game-winner from Rachunek and Peter Tenkrat at 10:40. Watson finished it off from Frantisek Lukes and Blindenbacher at 14:46. Prucha completed a hat trick of his own from Backer and Fedorov at 15:21.

Manny Legace stopped 22 shots to earn the win and improve to 6-9-3. Karl Goehring made 23 saves in the loss. Brant Nicklin stopped six shots in relief.

The clubs complete the home-and-home series in New York on Day 52.

Capitals Downed by Ducks

The Washington Capitals struggled to a 3-1 loss in Anaheim on Day 48. The setback moved Washington to 9-15-3 for the season.

Stumpel gave the Ducks a good start when he scored from Kvasha and Antipov against the run of play at 13:21. David Vyborny pulled Washington level with a shorthanded tally from Todd Warriner and Mark Eaton at 16:44. The Capitals outshot Anaheim 15-8 in the period.

The Ducks took the lead for good late in the middle stanza. Santala was the scorer from Bannister and Disalvatore at 18:00.

Anaheim put the game away when Martin netted from Stumpel and Varada at 1:23 of the final period.

Kevin Weekes made 25 saves in the loss and fell to 4-6. Pasi Nurminen stopped 31 shots to earn the win.

The Capitals return to home ice on Day 49 to face the New York Rangers.

Boyes beginning to shine

Columbus, OH

The Blue Jackets are finally getting more production from Brad Boyes. The 25 year old forward is really coming into his own, as not only a playmaking forward, but a quality leader on the ice. With a recent injury to Mikko Koivu, players like Boyes were called upon to step up on both ends of the ice. Boyes has answered the call and is now the Jackets leading scorer. With Calder candidate Raffi Torres on the left wing, Boyes is really finding his groove. " Getting the puck up ice is key for us, our defense is improving at rushing the puck, and as our team grows, we really believe our forwards will develop into Clutch All-Stars...good puck movement is the key to winning...and we're working hard on being in the right place and keeping our feet moving." said assistant coach Perry Pearn.

Rangers GM Suffers Heart Attack Due to Win

The New York Rangers posted an inspiring and unexpected win over the Buffalo Sabres last night - and hospitalized their General Manager in the process.

With the reeling Rangers facing the high flying sabres with 71 0V Karl Goehring in between the pipes the unstable GM had tried to "bolt" to Tampa and take over the Lightning franchise. He had publicly lambasted the team and all but predicted a loss last night.

His team, and Karl Goehring in particular had other plans. Standing tall between the pipes all night and robbing Spezza in particular twice the young netminder looked ready to take over the starting role. He finished as the games first start.

GM Burns was seen screaming and going apoplectic as the game wore on. He dropped to the floor on the Rangers fourth goal and was rushed to hospital.

Word out of the Rangers' organization is that he suffered a mild heart attack but is recovering well and should be back in the front office within a few days.

Goehring was simply unbeatable all night and his prowness seemed to boost his teams confidence as the night wore on. Despite being heavily out shot the Rangers managed a 4-2 vicotry on the efforts of two more ulikely heroes. Brad Lukowich and Petr Prucha followed Goehring in the games stars selection.

Try as they might none of the team could feign much concern for Mr. Burns' condition.

Sens have Blues singing the blues!

The Ottawa Senators remain undefeated in 5 straight games after defeating the St. Louis Blues 4-2 last night.

Ottawa was down 1-0 after the first period on a Blues goal by Michal Handzus. Even having outshot the Blues 8-5 in the period, Roman Turek, who is still filling in for the injured Chris Osgood, could not hold them off allowing them to score with 4 minutes left in the 1st period.

However, just 2 minutes into period 2, Selanne tied the game assisted by Morrison and Tarnstrom. The relentless and determined Blues poured it on, immediately tying the game back up. The Senators outshot the Blues 12-9 in the 2nd period but were still trailing heading into the 3rd and final frame.

The 3rd period was all Senators as they scored 3 goals on only 6 shots in the period to win the game 4-2. The offensive spark was started by veteran Dman Tom Poti as he scored on the powerplay on passes from Novak and Sejna on a terrible hit by J. Jillson that cost him a boarding call and 2 minutes in the box. Shortly thereafter, Poti made a beauty pass to Morrison who put home his 10th of the season, 2nd point of the game, to put the Senators ahead 3-2. And Petr Nedved, fresh off a pretty brutal injury that saw him miss the last 6 games, iced it with 2.5 minutes to go in the game assisted by Ryder and Bouchard.

Turek stopped 19 of 21 shots for his 4th win of the season and his 4th straight start without a loss.

Ottawa travels into Montreal tonight for a division battle with the Canadians.