Drew Stafford and the Buffalo Sabres got the bounce they needed to beat the Florida Panthers. Stafford’s fluke goal with 8:48 left in the third period snapped a tie and helped the Sabres break a three-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory Friday night. “We’ve had some tough bounces go against us,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said.
Vancouver Canucks coach Alain Vigneault was getting a bit nervous while watching Alex Ovechkin try to rally the Washington Capitals to a victory. Perhaps Vigneault forgot for a moment one salient fact: His goalie, Roberto Luongo, simply doesn’t lose to the Capitals. Luongo extended his winning streak against Washington to 10 games by making 26 saves Friday night, and Taylor Pyatt scored twice,…
Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau was asked what was working for the Canadiens with the man-advantage. “Everything,” Carbonneau replied. Tomas Plekanec had two goals and two assists, all on the power play, to help the Canadiens beat the Carolina Hurricanes 7-4 on Friday night. “We wanted to get the puck on the net and get rebounds,” Plekanec said.
Detroit forward Kris Draper, a winner of three Stanley Cups with the Red Wings, signed a three-year contract extension Friday that averages $1.6 million per season. The 36-year-old Draper has five goals and an assist through the first 11 games of his 14th season with Detroit. Draper won the 2004 Selke award as the NHL’s best defensive and represented Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Daisuke Matsuzaka hit a two-run single during Boston’s big outburst and pitched the Red Sox to a 6-0 lead over the Colorado Rockies after three innings Saturday night in Game 3 of the World Series. Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits, including two doubles in a six-run third that finished Rockies starter Josh Fogg.
The New England Patriots activated five-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Richard Seymour on Saturday in time for Sunday’s game against the Washington Redskins. Seymour spent the first seven games of the season on the physically unable to perform list because of a knee injury. The seven-year veteran practiced for the first time this season on Wednesday, but the team had up to three weeks before to…
Denver Nuggets guard Chucky Atkins is expected to miss six to eight weeks after an MRI on Saturday revealed a severe right groin strain. Atkins, who signed with the Nuggets in July, has been bothered during the preseason by a pulled groin. He left an exhibition game against Phoenix on Thursday with a groin injury.
Kobe Bryant didn’t practice with the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday because of the sprained right wrist that kept him out of Friday night’s final exhibition game against the Sacramento Kings in Las Vegas. Bryant didn’t travel to Las Vegas with the team and his status was day-to-day, Lakers spokesman John Black said Coach Phil Jackson said he expected Bryant to play Tuesday night in the season…
Forward David Lee, guard Nate Robinson, forward Renaldo Balkman and guard Mardy Collins had options exercised on their contracts by the New York Knicks. The team announced Saturday that it has exercised the fourth-year options for Lee and Robinson and the third-year options for Balkman and Collins. NBA rookie contracts are for two years, with team options for the third and fourth seasons.
By Bruce Martin PA SportsTicker Contributing Editor
