SCOREBOARD
Sunday, Sept. 30
Los Angeles vs. Anaheim (Noon EDT). The Kings and Ducks conclude their two-game series in London.
HARSH PUNISHMENT
Philadelphia rookie Steve Downie was suspended 20 games by the NHL on Friday for leaving his feet to deliver a deliberate and dangerous hit to the head Ottawa’s Dean McAmmond. McAmmond was taken off the ice on a stretcher in the second period of Tuesday’s preseason game and is out indefinitely with a concussion. NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell said Downie would be available to play in the Flyers’ minor league affiliate in the AHL.
NOW IT COUNTS
Anaheim and Los Angeles officially begin the 2007-08 regular season when it faces each other in London on Saturday. The last game in London was a preseason meeting between the New York Rangers and Toronto in 1993. The Rangers, led by Mark Messier, went on the lift the Stanley Cup that season.
LAWSUIT
The NHL violated antitrust laws and is acting like “an illegal cartel” by monopolizing control of team promotions, Madison Square Garden claimed in a lawsuit Friday. MSG, which owns the New York Rangers, said it filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan because the NHL would begin fining the organization $100,000 per day starting Friday if the company did not give the league complete control over the Rangers’ Web site and other promotions. The league is seeking to control the licensing of teams for all commercial purposes and to stop teams from marketing apparel, merchandise and memorabilia, the suit said.
SPEAKING
“The hit was deliberate, dangerous and has no place in our league. He crossed a line in a wholehearted way.” NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell on the 20-game suspension handed down to Philadelphia rookie Steve Downie for his hit on Ottawa’s Dean McAmmond during Tuesday night’s preseason game. McAmmond is out indefinitely with a concussion.