The Ducks kept their pre-game party going after the final horn sounded. Ryan Getzlaf scored the tying goal and assisted on the game-winner in the third period, helping Stanley Cup champion Anaheim defeat the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Wednesday night in the teams’ only meeting this season. Francois Beauchemin scored at 13:35 of the third, allowing the Ducks to snap a three-game losing streak and notch…
The San Jose Sharks had many chances against Nikolai Khabibulin and the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. It took a late power-play goal by Milan Michalek, however, to finally break through. Michalek’s second power-play goal of the game, with 3:31 left in the third period, snapped a tie and gave the Sharks a 2-1 win.
Pavol Demitra got his first goal and first assist of the young season, and then he did a little politicking. Demitra and Marian Gaborik picked up their play after two sluggish games, and Niklas Backstrom made 21 saves for his second shutout of the season in unbeaten Minnesota’s 2-0 victory over Edmonton on Wednesday.
The Stars are counting on more offense from Niklas Hagman, a defensive specialist during his first five NHL seasons. Four games into the season, he’s giving his team everything they need and more. Hagman matched his career high with two goals, one short-handed, Marty Turco stopped 32 shots and the Dallas Stars once again beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 on Wednesday night.
Carey Price needed only one game to evoke memories of Patrick Roy. Exactly 22 years after Roy made his much-hyped NHL debut for the Montreal Canadiens in Pittsburgh, Price did the same and came out with a win, too. Matching the rest of Roy’s Hall of Fame career will certainly be tougher. “It hasn’t really hit me yet,” said the 20-year-old Price after Montreal beat Pittsburgh 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom are back together again. The line combined for two goals, and two assists, and Kris Draper’s goal late in the second period broke a tie and lifted the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. “Those guys can go head to head with the top lines in the league right now,” said Draper.
It’s the NL Worst no more. The National League teams out West, the subject of ridicule just two seasons ago, are young, talented and they work cheap, at least relatively so in the world of major league baseball. The Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks, who open their NL championship series on Thursday night, are proof that success can be homegrown and that big money doesn’t assure a winner –…
The Colorado Rockies added center fielder Willy Taveras to their postseason roster but chose not to include right-hander Aaron Cook, who threw about 90 pitches in an instructional league game in Tucson on Wednesday. Taveras has been out for almost a month with a calf injury but convinced the coaching staff he could contribute with a strong showing during Wednesday’s workout at Chase Field.
Bryan Berard found his comfort zone, just inside the blue line with a defensive unit trying to kill off a penalty. The New York Islanders had a 5-on-3 advantage, and the New York Rangers had to figure out how to cover him and defense partner Marc-Andre Bergeron. They couldn’t. Berard broke a second-period tie in his return to Long Island, and Bergeron had a goal and assist Wednesday night to lift…
Brian Elliott was ready for this day. After all, he’d been preparing for it since he was seven years old. Elliott won his NHL debut, stopping 27 shots Wednesday night to keep the Ottawa Senators perfect with a 3-1 win over the struggling Atlanta Thrashers. Antoine Vermette scored the tie-breaking goal early in the third period and the Senators made it 5-for-5 in the young season, just one win off…
