A six-game losing streak to start this season put Bob Hartley’s job in danger. A quick ouster in last season’s playoffs did not help his cause. Hartley was fired Wednesday as coach of the Atlanta Thrashers, the only NHL team without a victory. General manager Don Waddell will coach the team until a replacement is found.
The Dallas Stars activated goaltender Mike Smith from injured reserve on Wednesday. The Stars, who visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night, made room on the roster by assigning Tobias Stephan to Iowa of the American Hockey League. Smith missed three games after bruising his arm in practice.
The Los Angeles Kings insist they’re not as bad as they started this season. How they played against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night reinforced that. Anze Kopitar scored a short-handed goal in the third period, and the Kings connected on all three shots in the shootout to beat Minnesota 4-3, the Wild’s first loss of the season.
Jose Theodore has gone from MVP to backup goalie. On Tuesday night, he showed he still has what it takes to be a No. 1 netminder. Theodore, who relieved Peter Budaj after Colorado fell behind by four goals, stopped all 17 shots he faced in regulation and overtime to lead the Avalanche to a 5-4 shootout victory over the Calgary Flames.
Nathan Horton’s late goal earned Florida one point and Jozef Stumpel’s shootout score secured another. Tomas Vokoun’s strong play in goal was what gave the Panthers any chance at the two points and the win. Horton tied the game with 10.2 seconds left in regulation and Stumpel scored the only shootout goal to give the Panthers a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
Martin Biron’s acrobatic play in the net and a roster suddenly loaded with goal scorers has the Philadelphia Flyers back in a more familiar position in the standings. First place. Too early to look at where they fit in the division? Don’t tell that to the Flyers. “We want to be the best team in the league,” Biron said.
Veteran forward Randy Robitaille signed a one-year, $625,000 contract Tuesday with the Ottawa Senators, the ninth team of his career. The 32-year-old Robitaille, released from his Russian team, must clear NHL waivers by Wednesday before officially joining the Senators. “He’s a veteran hockey player and a local guy,” said general manager Bryan Murray.
Sabres forward Jochen Hecht agreed to a four-year, $14.1 million contract extension on Tuesday that will keep him in Buffalo through the 2011-12 season. Hecht, who will make $2.3 million this season, was set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season. He’ll make $3.8 million in the first two years of his extension, followed by $3.5 million and $3 million in the final two.
Some NHL players are about to find out if heated skate blades will make the cut. Six to 10 players will try them first. If there are no glitches, the blades then would begin appearing in NHL games. “The NHL is very interested in confirming the data provided by Therma Blade Inc. to establish the safety and reliability of the blade under NHL game conditions and we have agreed to allow a small group of…
Playing home games on consecutive nights against teams they eliminated from the playoffs last season presented the defending champion Anaheim Ducks with a stiff challenge, considering how depleted their roster is. They were happy to come out of it with a satisfying split. Samuel Pahlsson scored a tiebreaking short-handed goal with 10:58 left in the third period to lead the Ducks to a 6-3 victory…
