Hockey Today - March 24
Sat, Mar 24, 2007
By Associated Press
SCOREBOARD
Los Angeles at Minnesota (8 p.m. EDT). The Wild have won a franchise-record eight straight games.
STARS - Friday
-Dwayne Roloson, Oilers, stopped 43 shots in regulation and five more in the shootout to lead Edmonton to a 4-3 win over Colorado.
-Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek, Sabres. Stafford broke a third-period tie and Vanek had two goals and an assist and Buffalo rallied to defeat Toronto 5-4.
-Scott Niedermayer, Ducks, scored with 2:32 remaining in overtime to give Anaheim a 3-2 victory over Dallas.
-Mike Weaver, Kings, scored a power-play goal with 3:29 left that snapped a tie and helped Los Angeles defeat Chicago 2-1.
FINALLY
Edmonton snapped its franchise-record 12-game losing streak with a 4-3 shootout win over Colorado on Friday night. It was also the first win for the Oilers since their deadline deal that sent forward Ryan Smyth to the New York Islanders.
FOUR SCORE
Buffalo scored four unanswered goals in the third period to defeat Toronto 5-4 on Friday night. The comeback was the Sabres' ninth this season when trailing by two or more goals. Buffalo has won four of five following a four-game losing streak and kept the rival Maple Leafs in 11th in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Carolina for the eighth and final playoff spot.
TWO TICKETS PUNCHED
Detroit and Anaheim both clinched playoff spots on Friday night. The idle Red Wings clinched by virtue of Colorado's 4-3 shootout loss to Edmonton. The Ducks used the Avalanche's loss plus their 3-2 overtime win over Dallas to seal their spot.
WELCOME BACK
Defenseman Tomas Kaberle returned to the Toronto lineup Friday night after missing eight games with a concussion. Kaberle hasn't played since being checked into the boards on a late hit by New Jersey's Cam Janssen on March 2. He had an assist in the Maple Leafs' 5-4 loss at Buffalo.
STREAKING
Los Angeles rookie Patrick O'Sullivan extended his point streak to seven games with a goal in Friday night's 2-1 victory at Chicago. He has two goals and eight assists during the span. Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp scored for the third straight game and has seven goals in his past eight contests.
SPEAKING
''I didn't think I would be in the top five for our shootout order. I think I'm somewhere behind Ethan Moreau and just before Steve Staios. Definitely in double digits.'' - Marty Reasoner, who scored in the fifth shootout round to give Edmonton a 4-3 win over Colorado on Friday night and snap the Oilers' franchise-record 12-game losing streak.
Thrashers forward out indefinitely after facial surgery
Sat, Mar 24, 2007
By Associated Press
ATLANTA -- Thrashers right wing Jon Sim underwent surgery to repair a broken left orbital bone, sustained in a fight with San Jose's Mark Bell.
Sim, who was fifth on the team with 17 goals in 75 games, had surgery Friday at St. Joseph's Hospital to repair multiple fractures to the bone surrounding his left eye.
He was injured during the second period of a 5-1 loss to the Sharks.
Sim will be out indefinitely, though team doctors said he might not miss the rest of the season. The Thrashers led the Southeast Division with seven games remaining and are looking to lock up the first playoff berth in team history.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
The goalies below have been confirmed by a source:
Marc Denis, Tampa Bay Lightning - Denis is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Senators, reports the St. Petersburg Times. Some of you may have wondered why Denis started the Lightning's game after Johan Holmqvist was officially confirmed...well, the reason is that Holmqivst was sent home just an hour before game-time due to the flu and apparently he's still suffering from its effects as he was unable to participate in Friday's practice.
Josh Harding, Minnesota Wild - Harding is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Kings, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune & the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. Coach Jacques Lemaire, never one to be eager in divulging information, shocked everyone by naming his starting goalie a day in advance.
Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins - Fleury is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Thrashers, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette & the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Coach Michel Therrien has indicated that Fleury and Jocelyn Thibault will split starts today and tomorrow but since both Pittsburgh newspapers are on the same page, we're pretty confident it'll be Fleury as well.
Ray Emery, Ottawa Senators - Emery is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Lightning, reports the official Senators website.
Ed Belfour, Florida Panthers - Belfour is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Devils, reports the Miami Herald.
Kari Lehtonen, Atlanta Thrashers - Lehtonen is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Penguins, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins - Thomas is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Rangers, reports the Boston Globe.
The goalies below have not been confirmed by any sources:
Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers - Lundqvist is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Bruins.
Rick DiPietro, New York Islanders - DiPietro is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Flyers.
Martin Biron, Buffalo Sabres - Biron is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Islanders.
Jason Bacashihua, St. Louis Blues - Bacashihua is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Red Wings. Curtis Sanford suffered a minor groin injury in practice and is doubtful for today's game so Marek Schwartz was recalled to take his place. We're assuming that it will be backup Bacashihua getting the start though.
Dominik Hasek, Detroit Red Wings - Hasek is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Blues.
Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres - Miller is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Maple Leafs.
Andrew Raycroft, Toronto Maple Leafs - Raycroft is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Sabres.
Olaf Kolzig, Washington Capitals - Kolzig is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Canadiens.
Jaroslav Halak, Montreal Canadiens - Halak is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Capitals. Coach Guy Carbonneau will likely stick with Halak as long as he's winning.
Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose Sharks - Nabokov is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Hurricanes.
Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes - Ward is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Sharks.
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils - Brodeur is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Panthers.
Sean Burke, Los Angeles Kings - Burke is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Wild.
Marty Turco, Dallas Stars - Turco is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Coyotes.
Curtis Joseph, Phoenix Coyotes - Joseph is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Stars.
Tomas Vokoun, Nashville Predators - Vokoun is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Oilers.
Jussi Markkanen, Edmonton Oilers - Markkanen is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Predators. Apologies for not updating the Oilers goalie last night - took a much needed night out with my wife and baby.
General goalie news:
Cristobal Huet, Montreal Canadiens - Huet has resumed practicing with the rest of this teammates and is looking stronger each time out, reports the Montreal Gazette. While he is no doubt ahead of schedule, there is still no timetable for Huet's return but we're guessing that he'll be ready before the playoffs begin. His fantasy value over the rest of the season is nonetheless negligible because coach Guy Carbonneau will continue to play Jaroslav Halak until he falters. David Aebischer may end up being completely out of the picture.
Year-to-date: 2117 / 2228 = 95.0%
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Brian Gionta, New Jersey Devils - The Devils placed Gionta on long-term injured reserve retroactive to March 6, reports the Bergen Record. He is still suffering from a groin injury but with recent injuries decimating the team, the Devils had no choice but to deactivate him for a minimum of 24 days or 10 games. This allows the team to clear his salary from their payroll for that pro-rated period of time, thereby allowing them to recall some players from their minor league affiliate team. In any case, the Devils expect to bring Gionta back April 1 against the Bruins.
Brendan Shanahan, New York Rangers - Shanahan, out since February 17 while recovering from a concussion, practiced yesterday, reports the New York Newsday. Coach Tom Renney said he's a possibility for either Monday or Wednesday but conceded that it's still speculative at this point to discuss Shanny's return.
Peter Forsberg, Nashville Predators - Forsberg is expected to return to the ice tonight for the first time since March 3, reports the Nashville Tennessean. He has missed the last six games with an "upper-body'' injury, but the former NHL MVP pronounced himself healthy and ready to return to the lineup following practice on Friday.
Steve Sullivan, Nashville Predators - Sullivan was on the ice on Friday as he recovers from a back injury, reports the Nashville Tennessean. However, he concentrated on mainly conditioning drills and has been ruled as out for tonight's game against the Stars. Trotz said there's a chance Sullivan could be ready for the three-game Canadian road trip which begins Wednesday against the Canucks.