Hockey today - Nov. 2
Associated Press
SCOREBOARD
Friday, Nov. 2
Los Angeles at San Jose (10:30 p.m. EDT).
San Jose's Jeremy Roenick needs two goals to become the 40th player with 500 for his career.
STARS
Thursday
-Henrik Zetterberg, Red Wings, scored twice in a 4-1 victory at Calgary..
-Randy Robitaille, Senators, scored his first two goals of the season in a 6-4 win over Atlanta.
-Marco Sturm, Bruins, scored in the final minute of overtime to give Boston a 4-3 victory over Buffalo.
-Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers, stopped all 31 shots he faced in a 2-0 win over Washington.
-Rick DiPietro, Islanders, made 28 saves and had an assist in a 4-0 victory over Tampa Bay.
-Jay McKee, Blues, scored his first goal of the season in the third period and St. Louis held off Minnesota 3-2.
-Mathieu Schneider, Ducks, scored the only goal in a shootout in his Anaheim debut, lifting the Ducks to a 2-1 victory over Columbus.
HOT WINGS
Henrik Zetterberg scored twice in Detroit's 4-1 win at Calgary on Thursday night and has at least one point in all 14 games this season. He leads the NHL with 12 goals and 24 points. Goalie Chris Osgood improved to 7-0 in the same game after making 26 saves.
STILL PUNISHED
Rick Tocchet, already on two years' probation after he pleaded guilty to promoting gambling and conspiracy to promote gambling, won't be able to resume his position as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes until next Feb. 7, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Thursday. Since the betting ring, in which Tocchet partnered with a New Jersey state trooper and another man, became public in February 2006, the former star forward has been on an indefinite leave of absence that was granted by Bettman.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
New York Rangers forward Brenden Shanahan was given credit for one of the goals in Tuesday night's 3-1 win over Tampa Bay after it was originally given to Jaromir Jagr. At the league offices in Toronto, it was determined Thursday that the drive struck Shanahan's skate as he glided in front of the crease. That gives him two goals in the game for 1,300 career points.
HOME COOKING
Colorado matched a franchise record by starting a season with six straight home wins after holding off Pittsburgh 3-2 on Thursday night. It was also done in 1994, while the team was still in Quebec. The Avalanche and Flyers (4-0) and the only teams that have yet to lose at home this season.
SUDDENLY SLUMPING
Minnesota is winless in five games following its 7-0-1 start after a 3-2 defeat to St. Louis on Thursday night. It is the Wild's longest slump since a seven-game drought from Feb. 22-March 7, 2004. ... Philadelphia has dropped three of four following a five-game winning streak following a 5-2 loss at Montreal.
HOME AND ROAD WOES
Vancouver fell to 1-6 at home this season after a 3-0 loss to Nashville on Thursday night. ... Tampa Bay is 0-6 on the road after a 4-0 loss to the New York Islanders. The Lightning are 5-0-1 at home.
MAKING THEM COUNT
Nashville scored on its first two shots and defeated Vancouver 3-0 on Thursday night. The Predators had only three shots in the first period and five through the first 40 minutes before finishing with 15.
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
Randy Robitaille scored his first two goals for Ottawa in a 6-4 win over Atlanta on Thursday night, but left in the second period with facial contusions following a hit by Thrashers defenseman Garnet Exelby.
NEW YORK BLUES
Washington is 0-6-1 in its last seven trips to Madison Square Garden after Thursday night's 2-0 loss to the New York Rangers. The Capitals haven't won there since Jan. 28, 2004.
RARE FEATS
Boston beat Buffalo at home for only the third time in the last 11 tries with its 4-3 overtime victory on Thursday night. The Sabres took 14 out of a possible 16 points against the Bruins last season and Boston last beat Buffalo in regulation Mar. 25, 2006. ... The New York Islanders beat Tampa Bay for the first time in nine contests (0-5-3) with their 4-0 win. The drought dated to a 3-0 win at home on March 21, 2004. The Lighting had taken 16 straight points out of Uniondale, while allowing the Islanders one point in that span.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Ilya Kovalchuk scored three times in the third period, but Atlanta's rally fell short in a 6-4 loss at Ottawa on Thursday night.
HONORED
The Canadiens honored three of their legendary general managers in a pregame ceremony. Tom Gorman, Frank Selke Jr., and Sam Pollock accounted for 17 of the team's 24 Stanley Cup titles over the course of their successive tenures between 1940 and 1978. The Canadiens won two Stanley Cups under Gorman from 1940-46, six under Selke from 1946-64, and nine from 1964-78 under Pollock, who died of cancer on Aug. 15.
ACTIVATED
Minnesota activated forward Pavol Demitra from injured reserve before Thursday's game against St. Louis.
SPEAKING
''For us, it feels like a loss. It's just a good lesson. You win the game, but it still feels like a loss. You don't let up. You just can never let up because something can go wrong.'' - Ottawa coach John Paddock after the Senators nearly blew a 5-0 third-period lead before holding off Atlanta 6-4 on Thursday night.
Friday's key NHL matchup notes
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Toronto Maple Leafs at New Jersey Devils
Toronto is 7-1-1 in the past nine meetings overall, recording at least one point in seven straight visits to New Jersey.
Philadelphia Flyers at Washington Capitals
Philadelphia is playing the fifth of a season-high eight-game road trip, and will visit the Rangers, Pittsburgh and New Jersey before returning home to face the Penguins on Nov. 10.
Florida Panthers at Buffalo Sabres
The Panthers have lost in their last three road trips to Buffalo, where they are 6-16-2 with three ties all-time.
Phoenix Coyotes at Dallas Stars
Dallas is 11-2-0 in its last 13 matchups with Phoenix, outscoring it 46-28 during that span
Nashville Predators at Edmonton Oilers
Nashville swept its four-game season series with the Oilers in 2006-07, including a pair of wins at Rexall Place by a combined 9-3 margin.
Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks
The Sharks won six of eight meetings in 2006-07, and are 20-5-1 with one tie against the Kings since the start of the 2002-03 season.
Wild active Demitra from IR
St. Paul, MN - The Minnesota Wild activated forward Pavol Demitra from injured reserve Thursday, immediately bolstering the lineup for the squad's game against the St. Louis Blues.
Demitra recorded three goals and eight points in eight games at the start of the season, but missed the last four contests with a strained right adductor. Minnesota dropped all four games, allowing 17 goals in a four-game stretch for the first time since November 16-22, 2006.
The 32-year-old Slovakian tied for the team lead in points last season, registering 25 goals and 64 points in 71 games.
Also Thursday, the Wild recalled center Benoit Pouliot from Houston of the American Hockey League and also assigned goaltender Nolan Schaefer and right wing Cal Clutterbuck to the Aeros.
Calder out with fractured thumb
So much for the injury bug steering clear of the Kings.
Forward Kyle Calder, one of the team's more effective off-season additions, suffered a fractured left thumb early in the third period of Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Staples Center.
Calder, who has three goals and six points in 13 games, had surgery Thursday at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic. It is uncertain how long he will be out of the lineup.
"It's a big loss for us because of the presence he had in front of the net," captain Rob Blake said of Calder, who signed as an unrestricted free agent in July. "He's a big guy for us on the power play because of the type of goals that he scores. He's a guy who does hard work down low. . . . He'll be hard to replace."
Calder had points in five of the last seven games, including a power-play goal against Columbus.
The Kings on Thursday recalled forward Matt Moulson from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League.
The Kings head into the portion of the schedule that will have a direct impact on their position in the Pacific Division. Starting with this weekend's back-to-back/home-and-home matchup against San Jose, the Kings will play all 11 games in November against division rivals. The Sharks lead the division with 13 points.
www.latimes.com
Sabres sign D Pratt
Buffalo, NY (Sports Network) - The Buffalo Sabres agreed to terms with free- agent defenseman Nolan Pratt on a one-year contract Thursday.
The 32-year-old backliner spent the past five seasons with Tampa Bay, and played in all but one of the Lightning's games in the last two years. After registering three goals and 32 points his contract was not renewed for this season, however.
A native of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Pratt has recorded eight goals, 58 points and 507 penalty minutes over 10 seasons with the Whalers/Hurricanes, Avalanche and Lightning.
A fifth-round draft choice of Hartford in 1993, Pratt won a pair of Stanley Cups with the Avs in 2001 and Lightning in 2004.
Stars recall Conner from Iowa, assign Lundqvist
November 2, 2007
DALLAS (AP) -The Dallas Stars recalled Chris Conner from their Iowa Stars development club in the American Hockey League on Friday.
Dallas made roster room for the 23-year-old left wing by assigning center Joel Lundqvist to Iowa.
Conner has three goals and six assists for nine points and a plus-4 rating in 11 games with Iowa this season.
Lundqvist has two goals and two assists for four points in 11 games with Dallas.
Sharks bring in Ozolinsh
November 2nd, 2007
San Jose, CA (Sports Network) - The San Jose Sharks have signed defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh to a one-year contract on Friday. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Ozolinsh, 35, is returning to the team that drafted him in the second round of the 1991 draft. He played with the club from 1992-95 before being traded to Colorado.
The seven-time NHL All-Star has played in 836 NHL games with San Jose, Colorado, Carolina, Florida, Anaheim and the New York Rangers, posting 164 goals and 384 assists along with 614 penalty minutes.
"Sandis is Stanley Cup winner, a seven time All-Star and he is in tremendous physical shape," said Sharks general manager Doug Wilson. "He has worked very hard and we look forward to him helping this hockey club moving forward."
Canucks' Bieksa and Salo out
November 2nd, 2007
Vancouver, BC (Sports Network) - Vancouver Canucks defensemen Kevin Bieksa and Sami Salo will both miss time after suffering injuries in Thursday's 3-0 loss to Nashville.
Bieksa will miss six-to-eight weeks with a lacerated right calf while it's not certain when Salo will return after suffering a broken nose.
Bieksa suffered a deep cut on his calf from the skate of Nashville's Vernon Fiddler during the second period and was taken to the hospital.
Salo, playing only his fourth game after returning to the lineup from a wrist injury, was hit in the face by puck shot by teammate Alex Edler and was also taken to the hospital.
The Canucks, who are tied for last in the Northwest Division with a 5-8-0 record and are just 1-6-0 at home, have called up defenseman Luc Bourdon from Manitoba of the American Hockey League.