Monday, December 31, 2007

January 1st

US & CANADA WIN, CLOSE PRELIMINARY ROUND WITH WINS

Canada and the United States closed out their respective preliminary round groups with victories at the World Juniors. Neither team was really challenged in their New Year’s Eve games as Canada cruised against Denmark 4-1, while the U.S. downed Finland, 5-3.

Before the puck was dropped, the entire medal round and relegation round were already set, making the outcome of both contests only academic. The U.S. and Finland game was a potential semi-final round preview as the Americans will face the winner of the Canada-Finland quarterfinal.

All teams have January 1st off as many will switch venues. The relegation round will be held in Liberec, while all medal round games will be played in Pardubice, Czech Republic.

Final Group A Ranking:


1. Sweden, 12 points

2. Canada, 9 points

3. Czech Republic, 6 points

4. Slovakia, 3 points

5. Denmark, 0 points
 
Final Group B Ranking:


1. USA, 12 points

2. Russia, 9 points

3. Finland, 5 points

4. Kazakhstan, 3 points

5. Switzerland, 1 point
 
Quarterfinal Games:


Canada – Finland, 4pm (local time) Tuesday

Russia – Czech Republic, 8pm (local time) Tuesday


OVECHKIN, JAGR, NABOKOV NHL'S THREE STARS OF THE WEEK

Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin, New York Rangers forward Jaromir Jagr and San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov have been named the NHL's Three Stars for the week ending December 30.

FIRST STAR – ALEXANDER OVECHKIN, F, WASHINGTON CAPITALS
 
Ovechkin tied for first among NHL scorers with seven points (5-2--7) as the Capitals won two of three games. On Dec. 26 he notched one assist in a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. On Dec. 27 he notched one goal in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He finished the week by recording four goals and one assist in an 8-6 win over the Ottawa Senators. Ovechkin leads the Capitals and is 10th in overall NHL scoring with 48 points (30-18--48) in 39 games. His 30 goals place him second in the League behind Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk (32).
 
SECOND STAR – JAROMIR JAGR, F, NEW YORK RANGERS
 
Jagr tied for first among NHL scorers with seven points (4-3--7) in three games. On Dec. 26 he recorded two goals in a 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. He notched one goal and three assists in a 6-1 victory over Toronto Maple Leafs Dec. 29 and recorded one goal in a 4-3 overtime victory over the Montreal Canadiens Dec. 30. For the season Jagr is second on the Rangers with 34 points (11-23--34) in 39 games.
 
THIRD STAR – EVGENI NABOKOV, G, SAN JOSE SHARKS
 
Nabokov posted a record of 3-0-0, a 1.34 goals-against average and .949 save percentage and one shutout as San Jose (21-12-5, 47 points) recorded three road victories. On Dec. 26 he recorded 34 saves in a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. On Dec. 28 he made 26 saves in recording his fifth shutout of the season, a 1-0 win over the St Louis Blues. He finished the week recording 21 saves in a 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators. Nabokov has appeared in all 38 Sharks games, posting a 21-12-5 record with a 1.99 goals-against average, .919 save percentage and five shutouts. 


CANADA WINS SPENGLER CUP

Canada skated to a 2-1 win over Russian club Salavat Yulaev Ufa on Monday in the final of the Spengler Cup hockey tournament in Davos, Switzerland.

Kirby Law and Ryan Keller scored in the second period for Canada, which won the competition for the first time in four years after posting a perfect 4-0 record in the round robin.

Alexander Perezhogin scored the lone goal for the Russians against veteran Canadian goalie Curtis Joseph.

Canada has appeared in seven of the last eight championship games, winning the Spengler Cup in 2002 and 2003.

Canada's Spengler Cup roster consisted mainly of Canadian-born players currently playing in Europe and NHL prospects.

The Spengler Cup, held annually since 1923, is the oldest professional international hockey tournament in the world.


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Today in NHL History, Jan 1st

1909: Former NHL forward Doc Romnes born in White Bear, Minnesota. Romnes played in the NHL 1930-31 through 1939-40 with Chicago, Toronto and the New York Americans.

1926: Montreal Canadiens beat the Pirates 2-1 in a penalty-free game played at Pittsburgh. There were none called against either team for the entire game. It was just the third penalty free game in NHL history.

1927: Goaltender Lorne Chabot recorded the third shutout of his rookie season to lead the Rangers to a 4-0 win at Chicago.....Montreal Maroons' goalie Clint Benedict recorded his 33rd career shutout in a 3-0 victory over the St. Pats at Toronto.

1929: Boston goalie Cecil "Tiny" Thompson recorded the 4th shutout of his rookie season as the Bruins won 3-0 over the visiting Ottawa Senators.

1930: Boston Bruins tied an NHL record with their 11th straight win, 5-2 over the NY Americans, at Boston Garden.

1931: Frank Ingram scored four goals, including the only hat trick of his NHL career in the Black Hawks' 10-3 win against the visiting Philadelphia Quakers.....Goaltender Lorne Chabot recorded his 44th career shutout and Joe Primeau picked up two assists in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2-0 win over the visiting New York Americans.....New York Rangers purchased Cecil Dillon from Springfield (CAHL).

1932: John Roach became the first goaltender to record 25 career shutouts as a member of the New York Rangers, with a 3-0 win against the visiting Detroit Falcons.

1940: Chicago goaltender Paul Goodman recorded the first shutout of his rookie season in the Black Hawks' 1-0 win against the visiting Detroit Red Wings.

1943: Chicago defeated the Rangers 6-5 as the Black Hawks introduced a new brother act. Max and Doug were joined by Reggie, to make a trio of Bentleys, the first three brother combo on the same team in NHL history.

1944: Buddy O'Connor had three assists and rookie goaltender Bill Durnan recorded his second career shutout as the Canadiens beat the Black Hawks 4-0, in Chicago.

1946: Bruin goaltender Paul Bibeault picked up a 4-0 victory over the Red Wings (his 9th career shutout) at Boston Garden. It was the Bruins' first win against Detroit in 22 games, dating back to December 28, 1943.

1952: Maurice Richard scored a penalty shot goal 12 seconds into the game, and goaltender Gerry McNeil recorded his 8th career shutout as the Canadiens won 3-0 over the Black Hawks at Chicago.

1957: Montreal's Jean Beliveau scored three goals and added an assist as the Canadiens won 6-2 at Chicago.

1961; Boston rookie Willie O'Ree, the first black player in NHL history, scored his first career goal (the game winner) as the Bruins beat Montreal, 3-2 in Boston.....Goaltender Glenn Hall recorded his 37th career shutout (the second in two days) as the Black Hawks won 3-0 over the Red Wings, in Chicago.

1969: L.A.'s rookie goalie Gerry Desjardins and Blues' veteran Jacques Plante got shutouts as the Kings and St. Louis battled to a scoreless tie, at the Forum. It was the 68th career shutout for Plante and the second of Desjardins' career.....Toronto's Ron Ellis scored his 100th career NHL goal and added an assist as the Maple Leafs won 7-3 over the visiting Oakland Seals.

1971: Boston's Fred Stanfield scored two goals and added three assists, and John Bucyk picked up four assists as the Bruins won 9-4, at Buffalo.

1973: Boston's Bobby Orr tied an NHL record for defensemen with six assists in an 8-2 Bruins win at Vancouver. Orr tied the record set by Babe Pratt in 1944 and tied by Pat Stapleton in 1969.....Boston's John Bucyk became the first player in franchise history to score 400 goals as a member of the Bruins. The milestone came in an 8-2 win at Vancouver.

1983: Rangers' Robbie Ftorek picked up four assists when New York won 7-2 at Washington.

1987: Mike Gartner scored two goals, including the winner at 1:30 of overtime, and added an assist to lead the Capitals to a 4-3 win against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.

1989: Montreal's Bob Gainey scored a goal to give him 500 career NHL points, as the Canadiens won 4-0, at Vancouver. Patrick Roy recorded his 8th career shutout.....Calgary's Joe Nieuwendyk scored five goals in a 7-1 Flames win over Los Angeles.

1992: Islanders' Pierre Turgeon had two goals and three assists and Derek King scored his 4th career hat trick as New York lost 8-5 to the Capitals at Washington.

1994: Bernie Nicholls scored his 15th career hat trick (and his only one with New Jersey) in the Devils' 7-1 win at Ottawa.

1997: Anaheim's Guy Hebert recorded his 13th career shutout and Brian Bellows scored his 450th NHL career goal in the Mighty Ducks' 3-0 win at Florida.....The Senators beat Boston 3-2, in Ottawa, for their first win over the Bruins since entering the NHL in 1992. The Senators had been 0-20-2 against the Bruins, the final remaining NHL team that the Senators had never defeated.

1999: Teemu Selanne scored his 15th career hat trick and added two assists, Steve Rucchin had two goals and two assists and Fredrik Olausson tied his career high with four assists in the Mighty Ducks' 7-2 win at Buffalo.

2000: Pavel Bure scored four goals (his 14th career hat trick) and goalie Mike Vernon made a victorius Florida debut as the Panthers won 7-5 against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning. The Panthers set or tied 7 different team records in the game.

2001: Joel Quenneville became the St. Louis Blues all-time leader in games coached, when he went behind the bench for his 321st game with the team (a 5-2 win over the visiting Oilers). Quenneville passed Brian Sutter, who had coached 320 games.

2003: Peter Forsberg scored and goal and added five assists, and Milan Hejduk had two goals and three assists as the Avalanche won 7-3 over the Predators at Nashville.

2004; Joel Quenneville became the first coach to win 300 games with the St. Louis Blues, in a 5-4 win against the visiting New York Rangers.....Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Doug MacLean announed that he was relinquishing head coaching duties for the club and named Gerard Gallant as the interim head coach.


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December 31st

CANADA'S STREAK SNAPPED, USA 3-0

Sweden ended Canada's winning streak in the world junior hockey championship at 20 on Saturday, beating the three-time defending champions 4-3 on Tobias Forsberg' goal with 7 seconds left.

Also Saturday in Liberec, Tyler Ruegsegger, James vanRiemsdyk and Mike Carman scored to help the United States improve to 3-0 in Group B with a 3-2 victory over Russia.

Eric Moe, Tony Lagerstrom and Moller added goals for Sweden, the Group A leader at 3-0. Claude Giroux, Brad Marchand and Shawn Matthias scored for Canada (2-1).

In the other Group A game, the Czech Republic beat Slovakia 5-2. In Group B, Finland routed Kazakhstan 5-0.

The schedule Monday has Russia playing Switzerland at 8am Central Time, followed by USA vs Finland and Canada vs Denmark at Noon.


MCCARTY BEGINS COMEBACK WITH FLINT GENERALS

Former NHL forward Darren McCarty, whose hard-working and physical style of play made him a fan favourite in Detroit and Calgary, plans to begin a comeback attempt with the Flint Generals.

The 35-year-old plans to practice with the International Hockey League team on Monday but must be cleared by the NHL before playing, the Generals announced Saturday.

The Red Wings bought out McCarty's contract in 2005 following a lockout that forced the cancellation of the 2004-2005 NHL season.

He was on Detroit's 1997, 1998 and 2002 Stanley Cup championship teams and he went on to play for the Flames, but he missed most of 2006-2007 recuperating from a hernia injury, and was not re-signed and became a free agent.


CANADA REMAINS UNDEFEATED AT SPENGLER CUP

Canada posted a 4-2 win over Adler Mannheim of Germany on Sunday at the Spengler Cup hockey tournament in Davos, Switzerland.

With the score 2-2 in the third period, Dale McTavish and Simon Gamache each scored for Canada, which finished the round-robin with a perfect 4-0 record.

Ryan Keller and Andre Benoit also scored for Canada, and Sebastien Caron, replacing NHL veteran Curtis Joseph, started in goal for the Canadians.

Canada plays Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the tournament's championship game on Monday. Canada defeated the Russian club 3-2 earlier in the competition.

Canada has appeared in six of the previous seven championship games, winning the Spengler Cup in 2002 and 2003.

Overall, Canada has won the Spengler Cup 10 times (1984, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003) since first taking part in the tournament in 1984.

The Spengler Cup, held annually since 1923, is the oldest professional international hockey tournament in the world.


DENIS CLEARS WAIVERS, SENT TO AHL

The Tampa Bay Lightning sent Marc Denis to AHL Norfolk over the weekend after the goaltender cleared NHL waivers. The 30-year-old Denis was 1-5-0 with a 4.05 goals-against average and .859 save percentage in 10 games with the Lightning this season. He became the odd man out after Tampa recalled rookie netminder Karri Ramo. Johan Holmqvist is the other goalie for the Lightning.

Denis is earning $2.8-million this season and will make $3-million next season, the final year of his deal.


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Today in NHL History, Dec 31st

1910: Montreal Canadiens goalie Georges Vezina played the first of 367 consecutive regular season and playoff games, when Montreal lost their NHA season opener, 5-3 to the visiting Ottawa Senators. Vezina played every game for Montreal for 15 seasons.

1927: Goaltender George Hainsworth recorded his 19th career shutout and Howie Morenz scored the game's only goal in the Canadiens' 1-0 win over the visiting New York Rangers.

1947: Harry Lumley's second straight shutout (the 9th of his career) led the Red Wings to a 4-0 win over the Black Hawks in Detroit. The game marked the coaching debut of Charlie Conacher for the Black Hawks, replacing Johnny Gottselig.

1951: Elmer Lach scored twice and had an assist in the Canadiens 5-3 win at Detroit. Gordie Howe scored his 6th career hat trick for the Red Wings.

1952: Toronto's Sid Smith scored his 100th career NHL goal in a 3-3 tie against the Rangers, at MSG.....Montreal goaltender Gerry McNeil recorded a shutout to lead the Canadiens to a 2-0 win over the Red Wings at Detroit. It was the 17th career shutout for McNeil.

1955: Wally Hergesheimer picked up three assists as the Rangers won 6-2 over the Bruins, in New York.

1961: Gordie Howe scored three goals (including one on a penalty shot for his 13th career hat trick) when Detroit beat Toronto 4-2, at the Olympia.

1967: Goaltender Denis DeJordy recorded a shutout to lead the Black Hawks to a 3-0 win over the Oakland Seals in Chicago. It was the 10th shutout of DeJordy's NHL career.....Goaltender Ed Giacomin recorded his 12th career shutout in the Rangers' 4-0 win over Toronto, at MSG. Jean Ratelle and Vic Hadfield each scored a goal and added two assists.

1968: Frank Mahovlich scored his 8th career hat trick and Alex Delvecchio had a goal and four assists as the Red Wings beat the Minnesota North Stars, 6-3 at the Olympia in Detroit.

1969: Alex Delvecchio ended his 31-game scoring slump with his first goal of the season, then added a second in the Wings' 5-1 win over Boston. Delvecchio went on to finish with 21 goals on the year.

1971: Detroit rookie Marcel Dionne had three assists to lead the Red Wings to a 6-3 win over the Oakland Seals, at the Olympia.

1973: Buffalo's Jim Lorentz scored his first career hat trick as the Sabres beat the Red Wings, 6-5 at Detroit.

1974: Red Wings' Danny Grant scored the 200th goal of his NHL career, in Detroit's 4-3 win over the visiting Oakland Seals.

1975: Don Marcotte scored his second career hat trick to lead the Bruins to a 6-1 win over the North Stars at Minnesota.....Detroit goaltender Jim Rutherford recorded his first of three straight shutouts, when the Red Wings beat the visiting Washington Capitals, 4-0.....Detroit G.M. Alex Delvecchio named Billy Dea as interim coach of the Red Wings, replacing Doug Barkley. Delvecchio still held the title of "head coach", but Barkley worked behind the bench for the remainder of the season (and half of 1976-77).....Montreal Canadiens battled the Soviet Red Army team to a 3-3 tie New Year's Eve at the Forum. Ken Dryden and Vladislav Tretiak starred in goal for the teams. Tretiak made 38 saves, including 16 in the final period

1977: Wayne Bianchin scored the only hat trick of his NHL career in the Penguins' 6-3 win against the Cleveland Barons, at the Civic Arena.

1978: Pittsburgh trailed Detroit 4-0, at the 15:11 mark of the second period, but the Penguins came back to win 5-4 over the Red Wings. Randy Carlyle scored the game-winner with seven seconds remaining in the final period.

1985: Mario Lemieux scored four goals (his first career hat trick) and added two assists (for his first NHL six point game) in an 8-4 Penguins' win at St. Louis. Also in that game, Pittsburgh's Mike Bullard scored his 4th career hat trick and added an assist.

1986: Tomas Sandstrom scored his first NHL hat trick, including the winning goal at 4:37 of overtime in a 4-3 Rangers' win over the Islanders, at MSG.

1987: Bob Probert scored his first career hat trick and added an assist, and Steve Yzerman had a goal and three assists as the Red Wings won 7-2 against the visiting St. Louis Blues.....Goaltender Rejean Lemelin recorded his 8th career shutout, and Cam Neely scored a goal and added an assist in the first period to lead the Bruins to a 2-0 win at Buffalo.

1988: Rangers' rookie Brian Leetch picked up three assists in the second period as New York won 4-1 over Chicago, at MSG.

1989: Islanders' Pat LaFontaine scored a goal in each period (for his 5th career hat trick) as New York won 4-2 at Buffalo.

1990: Rookie goalie Ed Belfour stopped 22 shots for his second career shutout, and the Blackhawks picked up their first road shutout in more than six years, with a 4-0 win at Detroit.....Goaltender Tom Barrasso tied a Pittsburgh team record with his seventh consecutive victory, as the Penguins won 4-3 over the Blues, in Pittsburgh.

1991: Brian Bellows scored four goals (for his 7th career hat trick) in the Minnesota North Stars' 6-2 win against Chicago.....Brian Leetch set a Rangers' team record with a point in his 17th consecutive game in a 5-2 win against the Jets at Winnipeg. Leetch had 5 goals, 27 assists during the 17 game streak, and broke the old team record of 16 set by Mike Rogers in 1982. That game also marked the 1,000th regular season one for the Winnipeg Jets since entering the NHL in 1979-80.....Dave Christian played in his 900th career NHL game as the Blues lost 4-3 at Buffalo.

1992: Vancouver extended their team-record home undefeated streak to 15 straight games (13-0-2) with a 4-0 win over the Kings. Kirk McLean recorded his 12th shutout with Vancouver, a new team record (Gary Smith had 11 career shutout with the Canucks).....Mario Lemieux scored a goal and added an assist to reach 100 points in his 38th game of the season (the second-fastest pace of his career, and the fourth fastest pace in NHL history). Penguins tied 3-3 with the Maple Leafs at the Civic Arena.

1993: Goaltender Dominik Hasek turned back 39 shots (including 21 shots in the second period) to lead the Sabres to a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers in Buffalo.

1995: Chicago goalie Jeff Hackett made 29 saves for his eighth consecutive victory (tying Tony Esposito's team record) as the Blackhawks won 5-0 over the Devils, at the United Center.....Goaltender Daren Puppa recorded a shutout as Tampa Bay won 3-0 at Ottawa. It was the 14th shutout of Puppa's NHL career.

1997: Theo Fleury picked up his 400th career NHL assist, in a 3-2 Flames' loss to the visiting Montreal Canadiens.....Dominik Hasek stopped 36 shots for his 27th career shutout, in a 3-0 Sabres' win over the visiting Ottawa Senators. Hasek became the first NHL goaltender since George Hainsworth in 1928-29 to record six shutouts in one month.....Detroit's Brad Marsh became the 72nd player in NHL history to appear in 1,000 career games. It came in a Red Wings' 5-3 loss to Boston.

1998: Dallas Stars extended their unbeaten streak to a franchise-record 13 straight games (10-0-3) with a 6-1 win against the visiting Boston Bruins. The Stars' previous club record was 12 games (9-0-3) in 1982 when the franchise was in Minnesota.....John LeClair became the 11th player in team history to score 200 goals as a member of the Flyers, and added two assists as Philadelphia won 6-2 at Vancouver.

1999: Dallas' Brett Hull scored two goals, including the 600th of his NHL career (in his 900th game) and added an assist as the Stars won 5-4 against the visiting Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Also in that game, Guy Carbonneau picked up his 400th career NHL assist, and Sergei Zubov added two assists playing in his 500 career NHL game.

2001: Eric Daze capped his 4th career hat trick, by scoring with 5.4 seconds remaining in overtime as the Blackhawks won 5-4 against the Senators at Ottawa.

2002: Mike Dunham recorded his 12th career shutout (and his first with the Rangers) as New York won 2-0 over the Hurricanes at Carolina.

2003: Buffalo's Maxim Afinogenov scored his first career hat trick, and Miroslav Satan scored his 5th career hat trick in a 7-1 win against the visiting Washington Capitals. It was the first double hat trick for the Sabres in 11 years.


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Sunday, December 30, 2007

Today in NHL History, Dec 30th

1883: Hall of Famer Lester Patrick born in Drummondville, Que. Patrick played and coached in the NHL during his famous career.

1896: Ernie McLea scored the first hat-trick in Stanley Cup history as the Montreal Victorias regained possession of the Stanley Cup, with a 6-5 win over the defending champion Winnipeg Victorias.

1904: In the first game of a best-of-three challenge between Winnipeg and Ottawa, a red line was drawn between each set of goalposts to aid the referee in awarding goals. These became the first known goal lines in hockey history.

1925: Howie Morenz scored a hat trick in the Canadiens' 7-4 win over the Montreal Maroons.

1934: Boston's Tiny Thompson and Rangers' Dave Kerr dueled to a 0-0 scoreless tie, in New York. It was the first of a Bruins' 37 game consecutive overtime undefeated streak (10-0-27) over the next four years, the longest such streak in NHL history.

1943: Montreal's Maurice Richard scored his first career hat trick and added two assists, and Elmer Lach had two goals and four assists in the Canadiens 8-3 win against the visiting Red Wings. It was the Hab's 11th straight home win, a team record.

1944: Toronto's goalie Frank McCool recorded the second shutout of his rookie season in the Maple Leafs' 4-0 win over the visiting Chicago Black Hawks.

1967: Goaltender Gump Worsley recorded his 33rd career shutout to lead the Canadiens to a 2-0 win over the Oakland Seals in Montreal. Jean Beliveau led the scoring with a goal and an assist.....Rookie goalie Doug Favell led the Flyers to a 2-0 shutout over the Kings, in the first NHL game played at the Forum in Los Angeles. It was the third career shutout for Favell, and Ed Hoekstra scored a goal and an assist to lead the scoring.

1969: Gerry Desjardins and Fern Rivard traded shutouts as the Kings and Minnesota battled to a 0-0 tie at the Forum in the first game for North Stars' coach Charlie Burns.

1970: Bruins' Bobby Orr scored a goal and added three assists as Boston beat the North Stars 6-2, at Minnesota

1978: Hall of Fame referee Frank Udvari came out of a 12 year retirement to work the Islanders' 4-2 win over the Atlanta Flames in New York. Udvari, age 55 and an NHL Superviser of Officials, came out of the stands to replace injured Dave Newell.

1980: Montreal's rookie goaltender Rick Wamsley recorded his first career NHL shutout in the Canadiens' 4-0 win over the visiting Los Angeles Kings. Wamsley became the third Canadiens goalie to get a shutout in the 1980-81 season.

1981: Wayne Gretzky scored five goals (for his 11th career hat trick) and added an assist in the Oilers 7-5 win over the Flyers. The five goals gave Gretzky 50 for the season in just 39 games, breaking Maurice Richard's record of 50 in 50 games.....Defenseman Paul Baxter had three assists to lead the Penguins to a 6-2 win over the Capitals in Pittsburgh.....Calgary's rookie defenseman Al MacInnis played in his first career NHL game, a 4-2 Flames loss vs Boston.....Quebec Nordiques traded Robbie Ftorek to the NY Rangers, in exchange for Jere Gillis and Dean Talafous (later changed to Pat Hickey - trade on 3/8/82 - when Talafous decided to retire).

1984: Thomas Gradin became first Canucks' player to register 300 career assists, as Vancouver scored four third period goals to tie the Edmonton Oilers, 7-7. Moe Lemay led the scoring with three assists

1987: Minnesota's Dennis Maruk scored his 350th NHL career goal, and had an assist as the North Stars won 6-4, at Chicago.

1988: St. Louis Blues retired uniform #11 previously worn by head coach Brian Sutter in a ceremony before a game against Minnesota. Blues later scored twice in the final 18 seconds of regulation to earn a 5-5 tie with North Stars. ....Vancouver improved its all time record against touring Soviet hockey teams to 3-0, with a 6-1 win over Dynamo Riga during the NHL's "Super Series 88-89". Brian Bradley paced the Canucks with two goals and an assist.

1992: Washington defenseman Al Iafrate became the first player in NHL history to have his shot officially break the 100 miles-per-hour barrier, when he had one clocked at 101.4 MPH during the Caps' NHL Superskills Competition at the Capital Centre.....Peter Forsberg set a World Junior Championship record with 10 points in Sweden's 20-1 win over Japan. Forsberg ended the tournament with a record 31 points in seven games.

1995: Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux scored his 35th career hat trick as the Penguins won 6-5 over Florida, at the Civic Arena.

1997: Anaheim's Tomas Sandstrom picked up an assist to become the highest scoring Swedish player in NHL history. His 818th career NHL point moved him ahead of Thomas Steen. Sandstrom's milestone came in a 2-1 Mighty Ducks loss in Carolina.

1998: Carolina's Arturs Irbe recorded his 100th career NHL victory, when the Hurricanes beat the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3.

1999: Luc Robitaille led the scoring a goal and four assists as the Kings earned the 1,000th victory in franchise history with an 8-2 win against the visiting Edmonton Oilers..... Jaromir Jagr scored a career-high seven points, including his 6th career hat trick and four assists as the Penguins won 9-3 against the visiting New York Islanders.

2000: Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi scored three power play goals for his first career hat trick in the Canucks 6-3 win against the Sharks at San Jose.

2002: San Jose's Teemu Selanne scored to give him 20 or more goals in each of his 11 NHL seasons; the milestone came in a 2-1 win against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.....Playing in his 500th career NHL game, Daymond Langkow scored twice (including the winner in overtime) to give him 100 career NHL goals, as the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Capitals 2-1 in Washington.


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Friday, December 28, 2007

December 28th

SAKIC OUT FOR THREE MONTHS

Colorado Avalanche forward Joe Sakic will undergo hernia surgery Friday that will keep him out of action for up to three months.

Sakic has been out since Nov. 30, missing 12 games. His recovery will keep the 38-year-old captain out of action for eight to 12 weeks. Before sitting out against San Jose on Nov. 30, Sakic, who has seven goals and 15 assists in 24 games this season, had played in 232 consecutive games dating to Jan. 6, 2004.

Sakic, in his 19th NHL season, ranks eighth on the NHL's career points list with 1,611. He is 11th in assists (994) and 14th in goals (617).


WORLD HOCKEY JUNIORS ROUNDUP

Kyle Turris, the University of Wisconsin forward, scored two goals for Canada and Steve Mason got the shutout as the Canadians beat the Slovakians at the World Junior Hockey Championships Thursday in Pardubice, Czech Republic.

Julius Hudacek made 32 saves in net for the Slovaks. Hudacek was coming off a 46 stop performance the day before versus Sweden.

The win was the 20th win in a row for Canada, a string that goes back to the championship game loss in 2004. And it leaves the Canadians 2-0 in Pool A after an opening-day 3-0 victory over the host Czechs.


Russia (2-0) stayed unbeaten after a close 5-4 game with Kazakhstan. Alexei Cherepanov, selected in the first round by the New York Rangers in the NHL entry draft in June, scored in his tournament debut after missing the team's first game due to illness.

Viktor Tikhonov, grandson of the legendary Russian national coach of the same name, scored for the second consecutive game. Also, for the second straight game, the Russians trailed after the first period, down 2-0 to Kazakhstan before scoring two quick goals early in the second.


Florida Panthers prospect Michael Frolik scored a natural hat trick in the first period as the host Czechs rebounded from their opening loss to Canada with a 5-2 win over Denmark.


Finland earned its first win of the tournament, 4-3 over Switzerland. Jarkko Malinen's goal was the difference, while Riku Helenius, Tampa Bay Lightning property, made 25 saves for the winners.


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Today in NHL History, Dec 28th

1918: Montreal Canadiens' Georges Vezina became the first NHL goalie to earn an assist, when teammate Newsy Lalonde picked up the puck after a Vezina save, skated the length of the ice, and scored. It came in a 6-3 win over Toronto.

1929: New York Rangers beat Ottawa Senators 3-1, in a Rangers' "home game" played in Atlantic City.

1935: Buzz' Boll scored his first career hat trick (and his only one with Toronto) in the Maple Leafs' 9-3 win over the NY Rangers.

1944: Montreal's Maurice Richard became the first player in NHL history to score eight points in one game. He scored five goals and added three assists when the Canadiens beat Detroit, 9-1.

1946: Montreal's Maurice Richard scored his 9th career hat trick and added an assist, and Toe Blake had two goals and two assists in the Canadiens 8-2 win against the Black Hawks, at the Forum.

1949: Edgar Laprade scored two goals and two assists and Tony Leswick had four assists to lead the Rangers to a 5-2 win against Chicago, in New York. Rangers won the game with four goals within a span of 2:57 during the final five minutes of the game.

1950: Metro Prystai scored two goals and two assists and Gordie Howe had five assists in the Red Wings' 8-1 win against Montreal, at the Olympia.

1958: Detroit's Alex Delvecchio scored a goal and added three assists as the Red Wings won 5-3 over the visiting Boston Bruins.

1960: Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque born in Montreal, Que. Bourque played in the NHL 1979-80 thru 2000-01 with Boston and Colorado.

1962: Red Sullivan replaced Muzz Patrick as coach of the New York Rangers, but Patrick continued as General Manager. Sullivan became the 12th coach in Rangers history.

1967: Gilles Tremblay scored the only hat trick of his NHL career and added an assist to lead the Canadiens to a 6-2 win against the Minnesota North Stars, in Montreal. Also in that game, Jean Beliveau had four assists to move past Maurice Richard into second place on the NHL's all time point scoring list (behind Gordie Howe) with 967 points.

1969: Red Wings' Garry Unger scored three goals (for his second career hat trick) to lead Detroit to a 5-3 win against the Oakland Seals, at the Olympia.....Boston's Bobby Orr scored a goal and added three assists as the Bruins won 5-4, at Philadelphia.

1974: Montreal's Guy Lafleur scored a goal and added three assists as the Canadiens won 7-2 over the Kansas City Scouts at the Forum.

1975: New York Rangers became first team in NHL history to face a touring Soviet hockey squad. The Soviet Army beat the Rangers 7-3 at M.S.G. Phil Esposito had a goal and two assists for New York.

1976: L.A. Kings' Marcel Dionne scored his 200th career NHL goal as Los Angeles lost 8-3 to the North Stars at Minnesota.

1977: Vancouver's Curt Ridley became the first NHL goalie to shut out a touring Soviet team when the Canucks beat Moscow Spartak 2-0. Rick Blight scored both goals for the Canucks.....Kings' Butch Goring played in his 540th NHL game to break Bob Berry's team record of 539 games. Los Angeles lost 4-3 to the Islanders, at the Forum.

1980: St. Louis Blues were outshot 37-18, and got only two shots in the final period but scored on both for a 3-2 win at Vancouver. Mike Liut made 35 saves.

1981: Rookie Tim Hunter became the first Calgary native to play in a game for the Flames. He picked up 7 penalty minutes in his NHL debut, a 7-4 home loss to the Flyers. Hunter & Glen Cochrane had minors in the second and majors in the final period.

1984: Mike Foligno began a team-record 8 game goal scoring streak in the Sabres 4-0 win over the visiting Winnipeg Jets. Tom Barrasso recorded the shutout.

1986: Calgary's Al MacInnis extended his team-record consecutive game assist streak to 9 games in the Flames' 4-1 win at Buffalo. MacInnis scored 16 assists during the 9 game streak, tying the consecutive game assist streak set by Kent Nilsson in 1984.

1989: Blues' Paul MacLean scored his 300th NHL career goal when St. Louis lost 3-2 to the Islanders, at New York.

1990: Daren Puppa made 33 saves for his fourth NHL shutout as Buffalo won 5-0 over the Blackhawks, at the Aud.

1991: Vancouver's Igor Larionov scored his second career hat trick in the second period to lead the Canucks to a 3-2 win over the Sharks, at San Jose.

1992: Winnipeg Jets traded Ed Olczyk to the New York Rangers in exchange for Kris King and Tie Domi.

1993: John MacLean became the NJ Devils all-time scoring leader with a third-period goal in a 4-2 win over the visiting Hartford Whalers. MacLean's goal gave him 258 goals and 263 assists for 521 career points, one more than Kirk Muller.

1995: Mario Lemieux scored a goal and four assists, and Jaromir Jagr and Tomas Sandstrom each had two goals and two assists as Pittsburgh won 9-4 against the Hartford Whalers, at the Civic Arena. Penguins recorded the franchise's 900th win.

1996: Pittsburgh's rookie goalie Patrick Lalime recorded his second shutout in three starts, and improved his lifetime record to 6-0-1, as the Penguins won 2-0 over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. Mario Lemieux had a goal and an assist.

2000: Detroit Red Wings re-acquired veteran Igor Larionov from the Florida Panthers, in exchange for Yan Golbovsky.

2001: Toronto's Mat Sundin scored his 20th goal of the year (for the 12th straight season) and added an assist to give him 900 career NHL points. The milestone came in a 5-4 loss to the Thrashers in Atlanta.....Goaltender Fred Brathwaite recorded his 13th career shutout in the Blues 3-0 win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens.....Atlanta's Ray Ferraro scored to become the 66th player in NHL history to score 400 career goals; the milestone came in a 5-4 Thrashers win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.

2002: Calgary Flames hired Darryl Sutter as their new head coach. Sutter had been out of work since Dec 1, when he was fired by the San Jose Sharks.....Scott Niedermayer became just the 2nd defenseman in NHL history (Brian Leetch) to get 7 regular-season overtime goals, when he scored with 49.5 seconds left in OT as the Devils outshot the visiting Washington Capitals 40-15 for a 2-1 victory.....Rookie Tyler Arnason scored his first career hat trick in the Blackhawks 3-3 tie against the Sharks at San Jose.


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Thursday, December 27, 2007

December 27th

TOSKALA, DiPIETRO HURT

Mike Comrie scored with nine seconds left in overtime as the New York Islanders topped the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in a game where both clubs resorted to using their backup goaltenders.

Andrew Raycroft stopped 24 shots in his first appearance in net in more than a month, after it was announced before the game that Vesa Toskala was day to day with a groin pull. Toskala had started the club's last 12 games, helping spearhead a turnaround after Toronto's poor start to the season. Raycroft hadn't played since allowing two goals on his first seven shots on Nov. 24, as the Leafs were drubbed 5-1 by Phoenix

The Islanders had their own unusual goaltending situation play out as Rick DiPietro left after making seven saves and earning an assist in the first period.

Wade Dubielewicz stopped 21 of 22 shots in relief of DiPietro, who suffered a knee injury during warmups. The backup was tested most severely in overtime, when Toronto put sustained pressure on a power play but could not score.

DiPietro won't make the trip to Ottawa for Thursday night's game against the Senators.


CAPS DROP INTERIM TAG FROM BOUDREAU

The Washington Capitals named Bruce Boudreau their full-time head coach Wednesday. Boudreau assumed the coaching duties Nov. 22 after Glen Hanlon was fired. The Capitals have posted a 7-5-3 record under the 52-year-old.

Boudreau coached more than 1,000 games in the minor leagues and never was an assistant coach in the NHL before joining the Capitals. He played in parts of eight NHL seasons with Toronto and Chicago.


MSG SETTLES CHEERLEADER LAWSUIT

Madison Square Garden has settled a lawsuit with a former New York Rangers cheerleader who sued for sexual discrimination, avoiding the potential of another embarrassing trial.

Courtney Prince, who was fired in January 2004, later claimed MSG failed to properly protect the dozen skating cheerleaders from being touched inappropriately when they went into the crowd at games and required them to be glamorous and to wear padded bras, fake eyelashes and hairpieces.

A statement released on her behalf said: "We resolved this matter with no admission of wrongdoing on the part of any party, and I will have no further comment."

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Madison Square Garden refused to settle with former Knicks team executive Anucha Browne Sanders when she accused coach Isiah Thomas and MSG of sexual harassment.

Instead, she was awarded $11.6 million in October after a trial that embarrassed the organization and the NBA.

MSG eventually settled for $11.5 million shortly before both sides were to return to court for the punitive phase.


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Today in NHL History, Dec 27th

1897: In the only Stanley Cup challenge of the season, the defending champion Montreal Victorias turned back the Ottawa Capitals 15-2 to retain their champion status.

1919: Ottawa Senators became the first team in NHL history to open a season with two straight shutouts, when Clint Benedict got the 5th of his career, in a 2-0 win over the Canadiens, in Montreal.....Playing in his second game, Toronto's Babe Dye scored his first career NHL goal, in a 7-4 win over Quebec.

1924: Montreal Canadiens played the Maroons for the first time at the Forum and tied 1-1 after 20 minutes of overtime.

1927: Montreal Canadiens goalie George Hainsworth and Alex Connell dueled to a 0-0 scoreless tie, in a game played at Ottawa. It was the 12th scoreless tie in NHL history and the first for the Montreal Canadiens.

1932: Boston goalie Tiny Thompson made 32 saves for his 32nd career shutout in the Bruins' 1-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens.

1938: Woody Dumart scored twice and added two assists in the Bruins' 8-2 win against Toronto.

1942: Montreal Canadiens defeated Boston 4-2 in Montreal, but lost rookie Maurice Richard, who suffered a broken leg just above the right ankle. His leg broke when he toppled after a check from Bruins' Jack Crawford.

1958: Kevin Constantine born in International Falls, Minnesota. Constantine coached beginning in 1993-94 with San Jose, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey.....Chicago announced Rudy Pilous would take over as the team's new head coach. Pilous signed a contract Jan. 8, 1959, and took over for Tommy Ivan, who remained as the Black Hawks' General Manager.

1959: Boston's Bronco Horvath began an NHL-record 22 game point-scoring streak in the Bruins' 6-1 loss at Chicago.....Canadiens' Henri Richard scored his 100th career NHL goal and added an assist as Montreal won 3-1 at Detroit.

1962: Andy Bathgate had a goal and four assists as the Rangers beat Boston 9-3 at MSG. The game was held up for 20 minutes in the final period when Bruin goalie Ed Johnston needed stitches after being hit on the nose with a puck.

1966: Detroit Red Wings ended their team-record 14 game road losing streak with a 4-4 tie at Boston.

1967: Pittsburgh Penguins' rookie Les Binkley and Seals' rookie goalie Gary Smith recorded the first 0-0 tie in Penguins' history, in a game against Oakland at the Civic Arena. It was the third career shutout for Binkley and the 1st for Gary Smith.

1969: Rookie goaltender Tony Esposito recorded his seventh shutout of the season (and the 9th of his career) as the Black Hawks won 3-0 over the Penguins at Pittsburgh. Esposito finished the 1969-70 season with 15 shutouts, an NHL record for rookies.

1972: Garry Unger scored twice and added three assists as the Blues won 5-3, at Chicago.

1974: Oakland Seals' rookie Charlie Simmer scored the first goal of his NHL career, and added an assist in his first career NHL game, a 5-2 win over the visiting Boston Bruins.....Brad Park had two assists to tie Harry Howell's Ranger record for most career points by a defenseman (345) as New York won 9-5 over Buffalo, at MSG. Howell picked up his points in 17 seasons, Park only in seven seasons.

1979: The first NHL game was played at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. St. Louis Blues won 3-2 over the Red Wings, with Bernie Federko scoring a goal and two assists.

1980: Guy Lafleur picked up four assists as the Canadiens won 7-4 over the Capitals, at the Forum.

1981: Playing in his 197th career game, Wayne Gretzky scored four goals for his 10th career hat trick and added an assist, to give him 400 career NHL points. Also in his 38th game of the season, Gretzky recorded the fastest 100 points in NHL history. The milestone's came in a 10-3 Oilers' win over the Kings in Edmonton. Gretzky later improved his record with 100 points in 34 games.

1982: Philadelphia's Bobby Clarke scored the 5th (and final) hat trick of his NHL career and added two assists, leading the Flyers past the Red Wings, 8-4 at Detroit.

1986: John Ogrodnick scored a goal and added three assists, and Steve Yzerman picked up four assists as the Red Wings tied 5-5 at Toronto.....Reed Larson became the first American born player in NHL history to score 600 career points. The Boston defenseman set the new mark with an assist in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Kings.

1989: Mario Lemieux scored twice and added three assists in a 7-4 Penguins' win against the Rangers at the Civic Arena, to extend his scoring streak to 26 games.....Jimmy Carson scored his 7th career hat trick with three power play goals in the third period (for his first three goal game with Detroit), in the Red Wings' 7-7 tie at Toronto. Red Wings had trailed 7-3 after two periods.....Wayne Gretzky was honored as The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Decade. He received 307 votes by panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Second was NFL's Joe Montana with 85 votes and Magic Johnson finished third with 59 votes.

1990: Edmonton Oilers recorded their 500th all time NHL victory, 4-1 over the Flames, in Edmonton. The win gave the Oilers a lifetime record of 500-295-120, for a winning percentage of .612, the best of any NHL team.

1992: Rookie Alexei Kovalev's third goal of the game with 36 seconds left ended a four-goal rally in the final seven minutes and gave the Rangers a 6-5 win over Boston in New York. It was Kovalev's first NHL hat trick.....Vancouver's Petr Nedved extended his team-record point scoring streak to 15 straight games in the Canucks' 5-2 win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens. Nedved scored 15 goals, 9 assists for a total of 24 points during the 15 game streak.

1993: Guy Carbonneau scored a hat trick and added an assist and Benoit Brunet picked up 4 assists to lead the Canadiens to a 5-2 win at St. Louis. It was Carbonneau's second career hat trick, and it came 10 years after his first hat trick.

1995: Calgary goalie Trevor Kidd, playing in his 100th NHL game, recorded his fourth career shutout as the Flames won 4-0 over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs. It was the first shutout by the Flames over Toronto in 18 years.

1996: Brian Leetch picked up two assists to become the highest scoring defenseman in NY Rangers' history, passing Ron Greschner (who scored 610 points) as the Rangers won 3-2 over the visiting Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

1997: Radek Dvorak's two goals triggered a five-goal outburst in the second period, and John Vanbiesbrouck became the second U.S. born goalie to record 300 NHL victories, as Florida won 6-2 over the Islanders, at Long Island.

1999: Joe Sakic picked up an assist for his 1,000th career point as the Avalanche won 5-1 against the visiting St. Louis Blues. Sakic became the 56th NHL player to score 1,000 points, and just the 14th to do so with one franchise.....Flyers' Mark Recchi scored his 350th career NHL goal as Philadelphia won 5-1 at Calgary.

2000: Mario Lemieux returned from a 3-1/2 year layoff, and picked up a point on his first shift, finishing the night with with a goal and two assists in the Penguins 5-0 win against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs. Garth Snow got the shutout.....Edmonton's Doug Weight scored his 600th career NHL point, with an assist in a 3-2 Oilers' loss at Colorado.

2001: Brendan Shanahan scored his 20th goal of the season for the 14th time in his NHL career, in the Red Wings 5-1 win over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets.

2002: Ron Tugnutt recorded his 22nd career shutout (and his first with Dallas) in the Stars 4-0 win against the Panthers at Florida.


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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

December 26th

GABORIK, LEHTONEN AND ARNOTT NAMED NHL 'THREE STARS' OF THE WEEK

Minnesota Wild right wing Marian Gaborik, Atlanta Thrashers goaltender Kari Lehtonen and Nashville Predators center Jason Arnott have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending December 23.

FIRST STAR -- MARIAN GABORIK, RW, MINNESOTA WILD

Gaborik led all NHL scorers with eight points (six goals, two assists) as the Wild won two of three games for the week. He recorded points in all three games, including a five-goal, six-point performance in a 6-3 victory over the New York Rangers Dec. 20. Gaborik scored one goal in the opening period and two in each of the second and third, becoming the first player to tally five times in one game since Detroit's Sergei Fedorov in a 5-4 overtime victory over Washington on Dec. 26, 1996 and the first to do in regulation time since Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux in an 8-4 victory over St. Louis on March 26, 1996. Gaborik also recorded a goal in a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators Dec. 18 and had an assist in a 4-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings Dec. 22.

SECOND STAR -- KARI LEHTONEN, G, ATLANTA THRASHERS

Lehtonen posted a record of 4-0-0, a 1.96 goals-against average and .935 save percentage as the Thrashers (18-17-1, 37 points) posted four wins for the week. He recorded 32 saves in a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning Dec. 18, made 28 saves in a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators Dec. 20 and stopped 37 of 39 shots and both shootout attempts in a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens Dec. 22. He finished the week by making 18 saves in a 3-2 overtime victory over the St. Louis Blues Dec. 23. Lehtonen has posted a 6-6-0 record with a 3.20 goals-against average, .903 save percentage and one shutout in 14 appearances this season.

THIRD STAR -- JASON ARNOTT, C, NASHVILLE PREDATORS

Arnott ranked second among NHL scorers with eight points (four goals, four assists) in four games. He recorded one goal and one assist in a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild Dec. 18, notched one assist in a 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks Dec. 19 and recorded three goals, including the game-winner, and one assist in a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings Dec. 22. Arnott finished the week recording one assist in a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets Dec. 23. Arnott leads the Predators in scoring with 29 points (12-17--29) in 33 games.


SHARKS FORWARD CHARGED WITH DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

San Jose Sharks forward Ryane Clowe was arrested early Monday on suspicion of drunken driving.

Clowe, who has been out of the Sharks lineup for two months after undergoing knee surgery, was stopped by police in suburban Los Gatos, Calif., for a minor traffic violation. Authorities said the 25-year-old player failed a field sobriety test and was booked into the Santa Clara County jail.

"I am embarrassed by what happened, but take full responsibility for this regrettable mistake," Clowe said. "For situations like I faced last evening, our team has a very clear alternative transportation policy in place.

"I failed to follow it, and for that I am deeply sorry."

Clowe, who was released later Monday, is the second Sharks player in two seasons to be arrested on suspicion of drunken driving despite a specific team policy to prevent it. The first was forward Mark Bell, now with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The San Jose organization guarantees reimbursement for a taxi or car service to any Sharks player or staff member who needs transportation.

"While we are extremely disappointed by his error in judgment, Ryane has stepped up and acknowledged that he made a serious mistake and is preparing to take responsibility for his actions," Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said.

In Bell's case, he was arrested over the Labour Day weekend last year after driving his rented car into a pickup truck at a stop sign in Milpitas, a town in the San Jose foothills.

The driver of the pickup required stitches to close a gash in his head.

Bell, who was traded to the Leafs last summer, pleaded no contest to drunken-driving charges last September and was sentenced to six months in jail. He will begin serving his time after the NHL season ends.

Clowe, who's in his second full season with the Sharks, had three goals and three assists in 11 games this season before tearing several ligaments in his knee during a game against Columbus on Oct. 27. He earned a regular job in San Jose last season with career highs of 16 goals, 18 assists and 78 penalty minutes in just 58 games, and had begun travelling with the Sharks again in recent weeks, but the team had no timetable for his return.


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Today in NHL History, Dec 26th

1917: Toronto Arena's defenseman Harry Cameron scored four goals to lead his team to a 7-5 win over Montreal.

1925: New York Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates set an NHL record with 141 shots in the Americans 3-1 win. New York held the shot edge, 73-68. Roy Worters made 70 saves for Pittsburgh, and Jake Forbes had 67 for NY.

1926: Ottawa goalie Alex Connell and Maroons' Clint Benedict dueled to a 0-0 scoreless tie, in a game played at Montreal. It was just the fourth scoreless tie in NHL history, the 27th career shutout for Connell and the 31st for Benedict.

1935: Toronto goaltender George Hainsworth recorded his 90th career shutout to lead the Maple Leafs to a 2-0 win over the Canadiens, at Montreal.

1951: Goaltender Chuck Rayner recorded his 23rd career shutout to lead the Rangers to a 1-0 win over the visiting Detroit Red Wings. It was the first loss for Detroit away from home in the 1951-52 season.....Former NHL right winger Mark Heaslip born in Duluth, Minn. Heaslip played in the NHL 1976-77 through 1978-79 with the New York Rangers and Los Angeles.

1959: Montreal's Marcel Bonin scored a hat trick and added two assists, and Jean Beliveau had two goals and two assists as the Canadiens won 9-2 against Chicago, at the Forum.

1962: Toronto's Frank Mahovlich scored a goal and added three assists as the Maple Leafs won 5-4 over the visiting Detroit Red Wings.

1964: Goaltender Ed Johnston recorded his 8th career shutout, Dean Prentice scored twice and Tom Williams picked up two assists as the Bruins won 2-0 over the Rangers at New York.

1965: Goaltender Roger Crozier recorded his 11th career shutout, and Alex Delvecchio scored the only goal at 19:04 of the third period in the Red Wings' 1-0 win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens.

1968: St. Louis goalie Jacques Plante recorded his 350th NHL career victory in the Blues' 3-2 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.

1970: Andre Boudrias became the first Canucks player to score a goal with Vancouver two men short. He scored the goal against Tony Esposito of Chicago. The goal was the 100th in the team's brief history. Chicago won the game 4-2.

1971: Flyers' Serge Bernier set a team record (since broken) with five points (a goal and four assists) in a 6-1 Philadelpha win against Pittsburgh.

1972: Don Tannahill became the first Vancouver rookie to score three goals in a game, in a 4-3 Canucks' win over the Oakland Seals. It came in Vancouver's third season in the NHL.

1976: John Bucyk's 545th career goal moved him past Maurice Richard on the all-time goal list, in the Bruins' 6-3 win over the Cleveland Barons, in Boston Garden. Bucyk's 545 goals put him #4 in NHL history (behind Howe, Hull, and Esposito).....Chicago goaltender Tony Esposito became the 11th goaltender in NHL history to win 250 games, in a 5-3 win over the visiting Colorado Rockies.

1981: Steve Payne scored his 4th career hat trick and added an assist to lead the North Stars to a 6-3 win against St. Louis, in Minnesota.

1982: Calgary's Lanny McDonald scored three times to give him 350 career NHL goals, as the Flames tied 4-4 with the Oilers, at the Saddledome, in Calgary. It was the 13th career hat trick for McDonald.

1984: Minnesota goaltender Don Beaupre recorded his first career NHL shutout as the North Stars won 4-0 over the Winnipeg Jets.....Edmonton's Paul Coffey scored four goals (including his second career hat trick) to lead the Oilers to a 6-5 win over Calgary. Coffey's four goals were the most ever by an Oilers' defenseman.....Mike Bullard scored his third career hat trick and an assist, and rookie Mario Lemieux had two goals and two assists in the Penguins' 6-5 win against the NY Islanders, in Pittsburgh.

1985: Winnipeg's Dale Hawerchuk scored his 200th career NHL goal and added two assists as the Jets lost 6-5 to the visiting Minnesota North Stars.

1986: Hartford Whalers' Doug Jarvis played in his 915th straight game to establish a new NHL record. Jarvis (who started the streak in 1975 with Montreal) broke the mark of 914 set by Garry Unger.....Denis Savard scored two goals and added two assists in his 500th career NHL game, as the Blackhawks extended their home undefeated streak against St. Louis to 7 straight games (6-0-1) with an 8-6 win over the Blues.

1987: Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Capitals 3-2, after trailing 2-0. The win was the Flyers' seventh straight, and extended their undefeated streak to 14 straight games (12-0-2).....New Jersey's Kirk Muller appeared in his 475th game to set a franchise record for most games in a Devils' uniform, breaking the mark held by Mike Kitchen. New Jersey lost 5-3 to the visiting New York Rangers. Also in that game, New Jersey's Aaron Broten scored a goal and had two assists to become the first player to score 300 points as a Devil.

1988: Defenseman Phil Housley scored both goals as the Sabres came from behind to beat the Bruins 2-1.....Playing his first game as a Ranger, on the day he was traded to the team, Carey Wilson had three assists as the Rangers beat the Devils, 5-1 at MSG. Also, Tomas Sandstrom had two goals and an assist in the game for New York.

1989: Adam Oates picked up four assists as St. Louis won 8-3 over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.....The Islanders won 5-4 over the Soviet Wings in an exhibition game at Nassau Coliseum in Long Island.....Hall of Famer Doug Harvey passed away at the age of 65. During his NHL career spanning 20 seasons (Mtl, NYR, Detroit & St. Louis) Harvey won 6 Stanley Cups, 7 Norris Trophies and was a first or second team All-Star in 11 consecutive seasons.

1990: Jeff Brown scored a goal and added three assists as the Blues tied 6-6 at Chicago, to extend their unbeaten streak to 9 games (6-0-3).

1991: Washington led the Rangers 6-1 in the first period, but the Rangers came back to beat the Capitals 8-6 in one of their biggest comebacks in team history. The victory gave the Rangers a seven game winning streak.....Joey Mullen scored four goals for the second consecutive game, and added two assists to lead the Penguins to a 12-1 win over Toronto, in Pittsburgh. Mario Lemieux had 2 goals and 5 assists in the game. Kevin Stevens had 2 goals and 4 assists. Also in that game, Pittsburgh's Larry Murphy became just the 10th defenseman in NHL history to score 700 career points.

1992: Jeff Hackett established Shark records for most shots faced (59) & most saves (57) in a game, and most shots faced (22) and most saves (21) in a period as the Sharks beat the Kings 7-2 at the Cow Palace to end their 13 game losing streak.

1993: Rangers' Mike Gartner scored twice and added an assist to become the sixth player in NHL history to score 600 career goals. The milestone came when New York won 8-3 over the visiting New Jersey Devils.

1995: Pittsburgh's Ron Francis became the 24th player in NHL history to hit the 1,200 career point mark, when he had a goal and two assists in the Penguins' 6-3 win over the Sabres.....Detroit's Scotty Bowman coached his 1,606th NHL game, tying the NHL record set by Al Arbour as the Red Wings won 3-2 over the Blues at Joe Louis Arena.

1996: Detroit's Sergei Fedorov became the first player in NHL history to score all five goals in his team's victory, when he netted the game winner at 2:39 of OT in a 5-4 victory over the visiting Washington Capitals.

1998: Chicago's Doug Gilmour scored a goal to give him 1,200 career NHL points. The milestone came in a 3-2 loss to the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. Gilmour became the 27th player in NHL history to score 1200 career points.....Miroslav Satan scored twice, and Dominik Hasek recorded his second consecutive shutout (his 7th of the season and the 40th of his career) as Buffalo won 2-0 at New Jersey.....Rangers' Kevin Stevens scored his 300th career NHL goal and Petr Nedved added two goals and two assists in the second period as New York won 6-3 against the Hurricanes, at Carolina.

1999: Rookie Scott Gomez scored his first career hat trick in the Devils 3-3 tie against the Rangers, at New York. The win improved the Devils' unbeaten streak against the Rangers to 16 games (11-0-5).

2000: San Jose rookie Evgeni Nabokov became the first goaltender to win 20 games in the 2001 season as the Sharks won 2-1 against the Kings at Los Angeles. The crowd of 18,460 was the largest ever to see a hockey game in California.....Nashville's Scott Walker scored his first career hat trick and added an assist in the Predators' 5-2 win against the visiting Colorado Avalanche.

2001: Colorado's Patrick Roy became the first goaltender in NHL history to record 500 career wins, and picked up his 59th career shutout, in a 2-0 Avalanche victory at Dallas.....Ottawa's Radek Bonk became the Ottawa Senators' all-time leader in games played, when he appeared in his 506th career game with the team, a 3-2 loss to the Boston Bruins. Bonk broke the record of 505 set by Alexei Yashin.....Edmonton Oilers won their 500th all-time home game, when they beat the visiting Calgary Flames 3-2.

2002: Daniel Alfredsson became the Ottawa Senators all-time leader in career assists, when he picked up the 274th of his career (along with a goal) in a 3-2 win at Buffalo. Alfredsson broke the record of 273 held by Alexei Yashin.

2003: Vancouver Canucks became the 15th team in league history to win 1,000 NHL games, when Dan Cloutier recorded his 12th career shutout in a 2-0 win over the Flames at Calgary.....Patrick Marleau scored twice in a 29-second span near the end of the second period, rookie Jonathan Cheechoo added two goals and Evgeni Nabokov recorded his 20th career shutout in the Sharks 5-0 win against the visiting Los Angeles Kings.


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Monday, December 24, 2007

Today in NHL History, Dec 24th

1912: Former NHL left winger Herb Cain born in Newmarket, Ont. Cain played in the NHL 1933-34 through 1945-46 with the Montreal Maroons and Boston.

1921: Ottawa's Harry "Punch" Broadbent began an NHL-record 16 game goal scoring streak during a 10-0 Senators win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens.....Future Hall of Famer King Clancy scored his first career NHL goal, in a 10-0 Ottawa Senators' win over Montreal. Clint Benedict recorded the shutout, the 11th of his NHL career.

1929: Former NHL center George "Red" Sullivan born in Peterborough, Ont. Sullivan played in the NHL 1949-50 through 1960-61 with Boston, Chicago and the New York Rangers.

1934: Former NHL center Fred Saskamoose born in Sandy Lake Reserve, Saskatchewan. Saskamoose played in the NHL 1953-54 with Chicago, and was the first native North American to play for the Black Hawks.

1949: Goalies Bill Durnan of Montreal and Chuck Rayner of New York both played superbly as the Canadiens and Rangers battled to a 0-0 scoreless tie at the Forum in Montreal. It was the 31st career shutout for Durnan and the 17th for Rayner.

1950: Nick Mickoski scored four goals and added an assist to lead the Rangers to a 6-1 win over Chicago in New York.

1952: Toronto goaltender Harry Lumley recorded his 33rd career shutout in t
the Maple Leafs' 2-0 win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens.

1955: Montreal Canadiens beat the visiting Red Wings 4-2 to extend their steak of allowing three-or-fewer goals to 25 consecutive games.

1965: Val Fonteyne picked up three assists to lead the Red Wings to a 4-2 win over the visiting New York Rangers.

1966: Toronto's Johnny Bower recorded his 30th career shutout in a 3-0 win over the visiting Boston Bruins.....Phil Goyette had three assists as the Rangers won 4-3, at Montreal.

1969: Mike Walton picked up four assists as the Maple Leafs won 8-1 over the visiting Los Angeles Kings.

1972: Ed Giacomin recorded his 40th career shutout (to tie Dave Kerr's team record) and Pete Stemkowski picked up four assists as the Rangers won 5-0 over the visiting Detroit Red Wings, in the final Chrismas Eve game for both teams.

1987: Kelly Kisio was named the 24th Captain in New York Rangers' history.


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Sunday, December 23, 2007

Today in NHL History, Dec 23rd

1897: Hall of Famer Cy Denneny born in Farran's Point, Ont. Denneny played in the NHL 1917-18 through 1928-29 with Ottawa and Boston.

1916: Hall of Famer Woody Dumart born in Kitchener, Ont. Dumart played in the NHL 1935-36 through 1953-54 with Boston.

1926: Goaltender Jake Forbes recorded his second straight shutout (and the 13th of his career) in the New York Americans' 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, in a penalty-free game in New York.

1927: Boston Bruins purchased Ralph "Cooney" Weiland from the Minneapolis Millers of the AHA.

1933: Charlie Conacher scored his 7th career hat trick, and King Clancy picked up four assists as the Toronto Maple Leafs won 8-2 over the visiting Montreal Maroons. Also in that game, Toronto's rookie defenseman Bill "Flash" Hollett scored his first career goal (and added an assist).

1943: Red Wings beat the Rangers 5-3. In the final period N.Y. goalie Ken McAuley was injured and had to leave the game. With no backup on the bench, the Rangers used 17-year-old Harry Lumley, who had played goal for Detroit the night before.

1948: New York Rangers' new coach Lynn Patrick got off to a winning start when New York beat Chicago, 3-2.

1959: Chicago's Tod Sloan scored his 200th career NHL goal, and Glenn Hall recorded his 27th career shutout in the Black Hawks' 3-0 win over the Rangers, at New York.

1967: Boston's Andre Gill became the 11th NHL goaltender to record a shutout in his first career game, as the Bruins won 4-0 over the Rangers, at New York. Gill retired with a career record of 3-2-0, with one shutout and 2.89 GAA.....Pittsburgh rookie Les Binkley made 23 saves (including a stop on the first penalty shot taken by a Penguins' opponent) to earn his second career shutout, as the Penguins beat the Minnesota North Stars 4-0 at the Civic Arena.

1977: Denis Potvin became the first defenseman in NY Islanders history to score 100 goals. The milestone goal (along with two assists) came when New York lost 7-5 at Montreal.

1978: Bryan Trottier set an NHL record with six points in the second period, and finished the night with five goals and three assists in a 9-4 Islanders' win over the Rangers; the Islanders extended their home undefeated streak to 16 games (12-0-4).....Scotty Bowman became the fourth coach in NHL history to win 500 career games, when the Montreal Canadiens beat the Colorado Rockies 3-2 at the Forum.

1979: Philadelphia Flyers extended their NHL record undefeated streak to 30 straight games (21-0-9) with a 4-2 win over Hartford. Rookie Brian Propp led the scoring with two goals, while Pete Peeters extended his undefeated streak to 16 games (12-0-4).....Tony Esposito recorded his 72nd career shutout, and Grant Mulvey scored his third career hat trick in the Black Hawks' 8-0 win against the NY Islanders, in Chicago. The Black Hawks set a team record with 5 power play goals in the game.

1980: Winnipeg Jets beat the Colorado Rockies 5-4 to end their 30 game winless streak (0-23-7). During the streak the Jets went thru three coaches (Tommy McVie, Bill Sutherland, and Mike Smith). Doug Smail led the scoring with a goal and two assists.

1986: Ted Sator became just the third man in NHL history to coach two teams in one season, when he led the Buffalo Sabres to a 2-1 win over Philadelphia. Sator (who had been fired by the NY Rangers one month earlier) took over for Craig Ramsay.....Islanders' Mike Bossy scored at 3:25 of overtime for a 4-3 win over the Penguins. Bossy's 22nd goal of the season and 557th of his career passed Johnny Bucyk (556) into fifth place on the all-time list. Bossy also picked up two assists.

1987: Buffalo goalie Tom Barrasso became the third goalie in franchise history to record 100 victories as the Sabres beat the Red Wings 5-2 at Detroit. At 22 years, 9 months old, Barrasso became the youngest goalie to win 100 NHL games

1988: Los Angeles' Wayne Gretzky scored two empty net goals, including the 611th of his NHL career, to pass Bobby Hull into fourth place on all time goals list, as the Kings won 5-2 at Vancouver. Gretzky also added two assists in the game.....Buffalo's Phil Housley picked up his 300th career NHL assist as the Sabres won 5-2 over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.

1989: Phil Housley scored a goal and added four assists to lead the Sabres to a 6-5 win over the Nordiques in Quebec City, to extend their unbeaten streak to 5 games (3-0-2).

1992: Penguins' Larry Murphy became the eighth defenseman in NHL history to record 600 career assists. He picked up #600 in a 4-0 Penguins' win at Philadelphia.

1995: Pat Burns picked up his 300th career NHL victory, when Toronto beat the Oilers 6-1. The win improved Burns record to 300-192-79. Also in that game, Toronto's Doug Gilmour picked up two assists for his 1,000th NHL career point. Gilmour became the 44th NHL player to score 1,000 career points.

1996: Joe Sakic scored his 300th NHL goal and added an assist when the Colorado Avalanche began a team-record 12 game undefeated streak (9-0-3), with a 4-3 win over the visiting Calgary Flames.

1997: Montreal's Mark Recchi scored a goal while playing in his 500th consecutive NHL game, a 4-3 loss to the Senators in Ottawa.

1998: Boston Bruins General Manager Harry Sinden and the Gold Medal winning U.S. Olympic Women's Hockey Team were named recipients of the 1999 Lester Patrick Award, for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.....Nashville's rookie goalie Tomas Vokoun made 50 saves in the Predators' 5-3 win against the visiting Detroit Red Wings.

2000: Washington's Ron Wilson picked up his 250th career coaching victory, when the Capitals beat the Florida Panthers 5-3. Also in that game, Olaf Kolzig became the winningest goaltender in Washington Capitals' history, with his 129th victory. Kolzig broke the mark of 128 wins set by Don Beaupre.....Nashville's David Legwand scored the first overtime penalty shot goal in NHL history as the Predators won 3-2 against the Rangers at New York.

2001: Mighty Ducks scored three goals in a 51-second span during the first period, the fastest three in franchise history, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere recorded his 6th career shutout as Anaheim won 4-0 against the Coyotes at Phoenix.

2002: Mario Lemieux scored a goal and added three assists within a span of 6:02 during the final 9 minutes of the third period, to lead the Penguins to a 5-2 win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres.....Al MacInnis became the 4th defenseman in NHL history to score 900 career assists, when he picked up 3 for the St. Louis Blues in a 5-0 win over the visiting Los Angeles Kings. Brent Johnson recorded his 11th career shutout.

2003: Chicago rookie Michael Leighton recorded his second career shutout, as the Blackhawks picked up their 1,300th all-time home victory with a 3-0 win against the visiting St. Louis Blues.


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Friday, December 21, 2007

December 21st

JAMES, HEANEY, LEMIEUX PICKED FOR IIHF HALL OF FAME

Canadian women's hockey pioneer Angela James has broken the gender barrier in the IIHF Hall of Fame players category along with former teammate Geraldine Heaney and American Cammi Granato.
The three will be the first women inducted into the international hockey shrine, the Zurich-based International Ice Hockey Federation announced Thursday.

Mario Lemieux, Igor Larionov, Frenchman Philippe Bozon and builder Art Berglund, the Canadian-born manager of U.S. national teams for many years, also will be inducted.

Angela James played for Canada in the first four officially-sanctioned IIHF women's world championships, starting with the inaugural tournament in 1990 in Ottawa, when she scored 11 goals in five games, and in all scored 22 goals in 20 world championship games along with earning eight MVP awards in Canadian women's championship play.

Geraldine Heaney was born in Northern Ireland and began playing hockey at age 13 after her family moved to Toronto. She was the first woman in the world to win seven consecutive IIHF world championships, capping her playing career with a gold medal at the 2002 Olympics. She also won Winter Games silver in 1998, and played a record 125 games for Canada, and her 27 goals and 66 assists made her the all-time leader in scoring by a Canadian defenceman. She is 40 now and head coach of the women's team at the University of Waterloo.

Cammi Granato evolved into the most well-known female hockey player in the United States. The 36-year-old began playing hockey with her siblings, including big brother Tony, who went onto an NHL career. She played in every IIHF world women's championships and Olympics from the start in 1990 until 2005, which was the year she led the U.S. to its first world title and denied Canada a ninth in a row. As captain, she led the U.S. to gold in 1998 when women's hockey was an official Olympic sport for the first time. She was honoured with the NHL's Lester Patrick Award in 2007 for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.

Mario Lemieux was captain of Canada's victorious 2002 Olympic an 2004 World Cup of Hockey teams. He first represented Canada at the 1983 world junior tournament and at age 19 he skated in the 1985 world tournament. It was in the 1987 Canada Cup tournament, during which he amassed 18 points in nine games, that he was recognized as a dominant offensive force in the sport. The owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Lemieux was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto after a stellar NHL career in which he amassed 1,723 points. He helped Pittsburgh win two championships and got the MVP nod both times. He won six scoring titles, was named MVP three times, was picked by his peers as outstanding player four times.

Igor Larionov was on the Soviets' victorious Canada Cup team in 1981, won Olympic gold in 1984 and 1988 and was in on four IIHF world championships. He played in the 1984 and 1987 Canada Cup tournaments and at age 41 captained Russia at the 2002 Olympics. He was a member of eight Soviet-champion Red Army teams, and he helped the Detroit Red Wings win three NHL championships. He is one of 19 members of the Triple Gold Club for players who have one Olympic gold, world championship gold and the Stanley Cup.

Philippe Bozon, a youth hockey coach in Geneva now, is the best-known player in French hockey history. He played in four Olympic tournaments and in 12 world championships. He played three QMJHL seasons with the St-Jean Beavers before becoming the first Frenchman to play in the NHL. He got into 163 games with St. Louis from 1992 to 1995.

Art Berglund was born in Fort Francis, Ont., but moved permanently to the United States after attending Colorado College. He was on the administrative staff of more than 30 U.S. teams in tournaments around the world including the Olympics. He received the Lester Patrick Award in 1992. He retired from his job at USA Hockey in 2005 but continues to serve as a consultant.

The IIHF Hall of Fame was introduced in 1997 and now has 150 inductees from 22 countries.


SNOW CRITICAL OF LUCIA'S COACHING

New York Islanders General Manager Garth Snow criticized University of Minnesota Mens Hockey Head Coach Don Lucia's coaching, saying that was the reason sophomore Kyle Okposo is leaving the Gophers hockey program and negotiating a contract with the Islanders.

In a telephone interview Snow said he wasn't happy with the Gophers program and that they weren't coaching Okposo to make him a better player. When asked for specifics Snow said "(Okposo) just wasn't getting better - bottom line. And to me, that's the frustrating part. We entrusted the coach there to turn him into a better hockey player, and it wasn't happening. We feel more comfortable in him developing right under our watch."

Okposo's decision to leave the Gophers program was announced on Wednesday, and he is currently playing on the U.S under-20 national team at the IIHF championship in the Czech Republic.

Lucia is in his ninth season as Minnesota's coach and led the program to NCAA championships in 2002 and 2003, and in 21 seasons has over 500 wins and has produced several NHL-quality players under his tutelage.


After hearing Garth Snow's comments I checked the Islanders media guide and also the University of Minnesota athletics webpage, and found no indication that Gophers are associated with the Island, which dumbfounded me as to why Snow would make the comments he did.

Last time I checked Lucia's coaching responsibility's include teaching his players his system, not the Islanders or any other NHL teams, and most importantly to make sure his kids go to class and graduate. College hockey isn't the AHL or Canadian Juniors. The other interesting thing about Snow's comments is that he went to and graduated from the University of Maine in 1993 before turning pro. I'm curious to know if the Blackbears checked with the Flyers to incorporate their system with the one they taught every kid who goes to Maine and also with any other NHL draft picks playing on the team? It seems to me like the front office has changed Snow, and he isn't preaching what he was taught in education before hockey.


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Today in NHL History, Dec 21th

1929: NHL implemented the new "offside" rule for the first time in league play. Forward passing would now be permitted inside all three zones, but not across the blue lines.

1933: Ottawa goalie Bill Beveridge and Rangers' Andy Aitkenhead dueled to a 0-0 scoreless tie, in a game played at New York. It was the 9th career shutout for Beveridge and the 7th for Aitkenhead.

1937: Chicago's Paul Thompson became the first player in NHL history to score a goal against his brother, when he scored on Bruins' goalie Cecil "Tiny" Thompson, at 19:51 of the third period, in a 2-1 Black Hawks' loss at Boston Garden.

1938: Detroit Red Wings took the first charter flight in team history, when they flew from New York to Chicago for a game.

1943: Bill Cowley scored three goals and added an assist to lead the Bruins to an 8-5 win over Toronto.

1944: Flash Hollett scored his only hat trick with Detroit, and added two assists in the Red Wings 11-3 win over the visiting New York Rangers. The three goals set a Detroit team record for most goals in a game by a defenseman.

1948: Lynn Patrick was named as the new head coach of the New York Rangers, replacing Frank Boucher. Patrick became the third coach in Rangers' history.

1957: Detroit's Terry Sawchuk became just the fifth goaltender in NHL history to record 250 victories, as the Red Wings won 5-3 at Chicago.

1958: Montreal goalie Jacques Planted recorded his 40th career shutout in the Canadiens' 5-0 win at Boston.

1966: Yvan Cournoyer scored his first career NHL hat trick to lead Montreal to a 6-2 win against Toronto, at the Forum.

1968: Boston Bruins' goalie Gerry Cheevers and Canadiens' rookie Tony Esposito dueled to a 0-0 scoreless tie, in a game played at Montreal. It was the 6th career shutout for Cheevers and the second for Esposito.

1972: Boston's Bobby Orr had an assist to set a new NHL record for career points (541) by a defenseman. It came in Orr's 423rd career NHL game, an 8-1 win over Detroit. Doug Harvey held the previous record, with 540 points in 1,113 games.

1974: Maple Leafs Swedish import Inge Hammarstrom scored the only hat trick of his NHL career, and added an assist in an 8-4 win against the Boston Bruins, at Maple Leaf Gardens.

1975: Rangers' goaltender John Davidson recorded his second career shutout in a 2-0 win over the visiting Minnesota North Stars, at Madison Square Garden.

1977: L.A.'s Butch Goring was given two minutes for slashing late in the first period, his only penalty of the entire season (80 games). Goring came back to get two assists in the Kings' 8-1 win over the Minnesota North Stars at the Forum.

1979: Garry Unger's NHL record for consecutive games played streak ended at 914, when Atlanta coach Al MacNeil benched him during a 5-1 Flames loss to the visiting St. Louis Blues. (The record was later upped to 964 games by Doug Jarvis.).....Vancouver traded its first 40 goal man Ron Sedlbauer to Chicago for defenseman Dave Logan and winger Harold Phillipoff.

1981: Colorado Rockies fired head coach Bert Marshall. Marshall Johnston was named as his replacement.

1982: Verdun Juniors' 17-year old Pat LaFontaine scored a goal in a game vs Longueuil to tie Guy Lafleur's record of scoring at least one point in 40 consecutives games, set in 1970-71 when Lafleur was with the Quebec Remparts.

1984: Rookie goaltender Kelly Hrudey recorded the first shutout of his NHL career in the New York Islanders' 1-0 win over the Whalers, at Hartford.

1987: Maple Leafs' goaltender Allan Bester and North Stars' goaltender Kari Takko recorded shutouts as Minnesota tied 0-0 at Toronto. It was the only shutout of Takko's NHL career and the 5th career shutout for Bester.

1988: Dave Taylor recorded his 900th career NHL point as the Kings won 8-6 over the Minnesota North Stars.....Mario Lemieux scored his 15th career hat trick to become the third 250 goal scorer in Penguins history. The milestone goal (along with two assists) came when Pittsburgh won 6-1 over the Maple Leafs at Toronto.....Capitals' Dave Christian scored his 250th NHL career goal as Washington won 4-3 at Chicago. Christian became the second U.S. born player to score 250 NHL goals.

1991: 29-year-old Lou Crawford, a forward in his 10th pro season, scored his first NHL goal to help the Bruins beat the Oilers 6-3, at Edmonton.....Buffalo's Alexander Mogilny tied an NHL record with a goal scored just five seconds into the game, to lead the Sabres to a 4-1 win over Toronto. The victory ended their team-record 12 game winless streak (0-8-4).....Kings' Wayne Gretzky scored his 732nd career NHL goal to move past Marcel Dionne and into the #2 spot all time behind Gordie Howe's 801 career goals. It came in a 5-2 loss to Detroit, at the Forum.....Goaltender Ron Hextall led the Flyers to a 3-0 win over the North Stars at Minnesota, his first shutout in five years, and the second of his career.

1993: Coach Eddie Johnston became Pittsburgh's winningest coach with his 96th career victory as the Penguins won 8-3 over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning. Johnston passed Scotty Bowman with his career record of 96-135-42. Bryan Trottier had 3 assists.

1995: Florida goalie John Vanbiesbrouck recorded his 250th NHL career victory in the Panthers' 6-1 victory over the visiting Winnipeg Jets. Vanbiesbrouck became the 25th NHL goaltender to get 250 wins.

1996: Mats Sundin scored his 4th career hat trick (and his first with Toronto) and added an assist in the Maple Leafs' 6-2 win over the Avalanche, at Colorado.

1997: Buffalo's Dominik Hasek recorded his second consecutive shutout, and became the first European-trained goaltender in league history to record 25 NHL shutouts, in the Sabres' 2-0 win over the Rangers, at New York.

1999: Mike Eastwood scored his first career hat trick, Michal Handzus had three assists in the first period and Roman Turek recorded his 5th career shutout in the Blues 6-0 win at Phoenix.

2000: Joe Sakic scored his 10th career hat trick, including two on power plays as the Avalanche won 5-2 against the visiting Los Angeles Kings.

2001: Carolina rookie Erik Cole completed his first career hat trick with the winning goal at 1:28 of overtime in the Hurricanes 5-4 win over the visiting Atlanta Thrashers.

2002: Scott Stevens became the New Jersey Devils all-time leader in assists by a defenseman, when he picked his 318th with the club in a 5-3 win over the visiting Dallas Stars. Stevens broke the mark of 317 held by Bruce Driver.


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Thursday, December 20, 2007

Today in NHL History, Dec 20th

1927: Hap Day scored a goal and added three assists as the Toronto Maple Leafs won 5-2 over the visiting New York Americans.

1936: New York Americans purchased Nels Stewart from the Boston Bruins. Stewart went on to score 20 goals and 10 assists in 32 games with the Americans in 1936-37.

1938: Bruins' rookie goalie Frankie Brimsek recorded his third straight shutout, and his sixth in seven games, 3-0 over the New York Americans, at Boston Garden. The win gave Brimsek six shutouts in his first eight NHL games.

1942: Boston's Bill Cowley picked up two assists in overtime to lead the Bruins to a 4-2 win at Montreal.

1950: Toronto's Turk Broda became the first goaltender in NHL history to record 300 career victories. The milestone came in a Maple Leafs' 6-1 win over the Canadiens.....Former NHL center Bill Clement born in Thurso, Que. Clement played in the NHL 1971-72 through 1981-82 with Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta and Calgary.

1951: Allan Stanley was named the new Captain of the New York Rangers, replacing Frank Eddolls.

1953: Chicago's Bill Mosienko scored two goals and added an assist, to give him 500 career NHL points, as the Black Hawks won 4-1 against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, before a crowd of 5,038 fans.

1955: Montreal's Bernie Geoffrion and Maurice Richard each scored three goals and an assist as the Canadiens won 7-1 against the Black Hawks, at Chicago. It was the 25th hat trick of Richard's NHL career and the 5th for Geoffrion.

1964: Bobby Hull scored to give him 28 goals in 28 games as the Black Hawks won 3-2 over the Bruins. Hull went on to score 32 goals in the first 35 games of the 1964-65 season, but injuries lowered his final totals to 39 goals in 61 games.

1967: Goaltender Gump Worsley recorded his 32nd career shutout in the Canadiens' 5-0 win over Toronto in Montreal. Dick Duff led the scoring with his third career hat trick, and Bob Rousseau added a goal and three assists.

1968: St. Louis goalie Jacques Plante recorded his 67th career shutout to lead the Blues to a 1-0 win over the Seals, at Oakland.

1969: Boston's Bobby Orr recorded five assists to lead the Bruins to a 6-4 victory at Pittsburgh.

1970: John McKenzie scored his third career hat trick and added an assist, and Phil Esposito had two goals and two assists (giving him 64 points in 32 games) as the Bruins won 7-2 against the Minnesota North Stars.

1973: Parker MacDonald took over as the Minnesota North Stars' coach, replacing Jackie Gordon.....Ken Hodge scored two goals and added two assists, and Phil Esposito had a goal and three assists in the Bruins' 6-5 win against Pittsburgh, extending their unbeaten streak to 14-0-2.....Montreal's Henri Richard became the ninth player in NHL history to score 1,000 career points. The milestone came as an assist as the Canadiens tied the Sabres 2-2 at Buffalo.

1979: Philadelphia Flyers tied an NHL record by extending their undefeated streak to 28 games (19-0-9), with a 1-1 tie against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. Behn Wilson got the tying goal with 4:08 remaining in the game.

1980: Ron Greschner became the first defenseman in New York Rangers history to score 100 career goals. He scored his milestone goal in a 3-3 tie against the North Stars in Minnesota.

1981: Winnipeg's Doug Smail set an NHL record (later tied by Bryan Trottier and Alex Mogilny) for fastest goal from the start of a game, with a goal just five seconds into the Jets' 5-4 win over St. Louis.....Lou Franceschetti's first NHL goal was the game winner to lead the Capitals to a 3-2 win over the Rangers.

1983: Montreal's Guy Lafleur became the third player in franchise history to score 500 goals as a member of the Canadiens. The milestone came in a 6-0 win over the Devils, at New Jersey. Richard Sevigny recorded his 4th career shutout.....Steve Shutt became the 5th player in franchise history to score 400 goals as a member of the Canadiens. The milestone came as Montreal won 6-0 at New Jersey. Richard Sevigny recorded his 4th career shutout.

1985: New York Islanders' Denis Potvin scored his 916th career point, an assist, to break Bobby Orr's all-time NHL record for defensemen. It came in a 2-2 tie against the Rangers.....Wayne Gretzky had six assists to lead the Oilers to a 9-4 win over the Kings, in Edmonton.

1987: Dale Hawerchuk of the Jets became the 25th player in NHL history to play in 400 straight games. Since his rookie season of 1981-82, he missed only one game, that due to an ankle injury. Winnipeg won 4-1 over the visiting New Jersey Devils.

1990: oston goaltender Andy Moog recorded his 200th career victory as Bruins beat Sabres 4-1 at Boston Garden. It was his 57th win as a Bruin to go along with 143 with Edmonton.

1992: Ed Belfour recorded his 4th shutout of the season in the Blackhawks' 4-0 win over the Minnesota North Stars, at Chicago Stadium. Belfour increased his unbeaten streak to 7-0-1 as the Hawks won their 9th straight game at home.

1995: Vancouver Canucks played the 2,000th game in team history, a 2-2 tie against the Kings, in Los Angeles. The tie gave the Canucks an all-time record of 724-980-296, since entering the NHL in 1970-71.

1997: Pittsburgh's Ron Francis became the 9th player in franchise history to score 150 goals as a member of the Penguins. The milestone came in a 4-1 loss at St. Louis.

1999: Rick Tabaracci became just the second goaltender in NHL history to play for seven different NHL teams in his career, when he suited up for the Colorado Avalanche in a 4-2 win over the Hurricanes, in Carolina.....Pavel Bure set a Florida Panthers team record by scoring a goal in his fifth straight game (a 6-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs). Bure also had two assists in the game. It was also Bure's third straight game-winning goal.

2001: Byron Dafoe recorded his 25th career shutout, and rookie Andy Hilbert scored his first NHL goal in the Bruins 5-0 win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens.....Adam Deadmarsh celebrated his 500th career NHL game by scoring a goal and an assist in the final period in a 4-2 Kings win over the Senators, in Ottawa. The game featured 242 minutes in penalties, including 236 PIM in the second period.

2003: Nashville's Tomas Vokoun recorded his 10th career shutout in a 1-0 win over the visiting Detroit Red Wings.


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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

December 19th

SIMON SUSPENED FOR 30 GAMES

TORONTO (December 19, 2007) -- New York Islanders forward Chris Simon has been suspended for 30 games, without pay, for deliberately kicking Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jarkko Ruutu at 14:06 of the third period on December 15, 2007. Simon will be eligible to return to NHL play in two months (February 21, 2008 vs. Tampa Bay).
 
"Several factors were considered in imposing the longest suspension in NHL history for an on-ice incident," said NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell. "While it was fortunate there was no serious injury to Mr. Ruutu as a result of Simon's action, the deliberate act of kicking an opponent with an exposed skate blade, especially where the opponent is in a vulnerable position, is and always has been a repugnant and totally unacceptable act in the game of hockey.
 
“In addition, while the act itself was extremely dangerous, the fact that this is the eighth incident requiring the imposition of supplementary discipline on Simon compelled me to impose a very severe penalty in this case. When a player repeatedly evidences the lack of ability to control his actions and conducts himself in total disregard of the rules, as well the health and safety of other players on the ice, each subsequent incident is deserving of enhanced scrutiny and more severe discipline. This response serves not only the purpose of imposing appropriate punishment for the player involved, but also the purpose of deterring the player and all other players from engaging in similar conduct in the future - hopefully creating a safer long-term work environment for all NHL players."
 
Based on his average annual pay, and the fact that he is considered a repeat offender, Simon forfeits $292,683.00. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.


BERTUZZI'S DISCOVERY TESTIMONY RELEASED

The discovery statements by Todd Bertuzzi and Dave Nonis related to the $38-million lawsuit filed by Steve Moore were released to the public by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

In his testimony, Bertuzzi said he felt badly about the injuries Moore suffered but, given the circumstances, he didn't feel he had much choice but to challenge Moore on the ice.

In his testimony Bertuzzi alleged that then-Canucks coach Marc Crawford had suggested during the second intermission of the game that Moore needed to "pay the price."

Moore ended up with a broken neck as a result of the incident.

When asked how often Crawford would send players out to fight other players, Bertuzzi said it wasn't like that.

"There's a difference between sending players out and knowing that once in awhile you have a job to do and whether it's your description to do it," Bertuzzi testified.

Bertuzzi's lawyer objected to questions about any unwritten "codes" in the NHL.


EDINA HOLIDAY CLASSIC

Be sure to log onto WWW.MYFOXHOCKEY.COM for live streaming video coverage of the Edina Holiday Classic. Myself, along with Pete Waggoner, Bart Archer, and former Gopher and NHL'er Joe Dziedzic will be covering all six games over the next three days from the Hornets nest of Bramer Arena. The four teams taking place in this years classic are Edina, Eden Prairie, Elk River, and Grand Rapids, and will play each other Tonight, Tomorrow, and Friday. Coverage on MYFOXHOCKEY.COM will start at about 6pm, with the second game at about 8pm or 30-minutes after the conclusion of the first game.


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Today in NHL History, Dec 19th

1917: The first two games in NHL history were played. Montreal Canadiens beat Ottawa 7-4, and Montreal Wanderers beat Toronto 10-9.....Montreal Wanderers' defenseman Dave Ritchie scored the first goal in NHL history one minute into the NHL's first game, then added another in the third period in a 10-9 opening night win over the visiting Toronto Arenas, before a crowd of 700 fans.

1917: Montreal's Joe Malone scored five goals, including the team's first NHL goal and added an assist as the Canadiens defeated Ottawa 7-4, in their first ever NHL game. The five goals made Malone the NHL's first "all time" leading goal scorer.....Montreal Wanderers' Harry Hyland scored five goals in a 10-9 win over Toronto at Montreal, in the first NHL game for each team

1929: Aurel Joliat scored four goals (including his 4th career hat trick) in the Canadiens' 7-2 win against the visiting New York Rangers.

1933: Boston goalie Tiny Thompson made 34 saves for his 41st career shutout, and Bob Gracie scored at 6:24 of overtime for a 1-0 win over the Montreal Maroons. All proceeds of the game ($6,741 ) were donated to injured player Ace Bailey's wife.

1935: Boston goalie Tiny Thompson and Maple Leafs' George Hainsworth dueled to a 0-0 scoreless tie, in a game played at Toronto. It was the 55th career shutout for Thompson and the 89th for Hainsworth.

1938: Toronto Maple Leafs purchased Bucko McDonald from Detroit, in exhchange for Bill Thomson and $10,000.

1943: Harry Lumley became the youngest goaltender in NHL history, when he made his first appearance with the Red Wings, a 6-2 loss to the Rangers in New York. Lumley made his NHL debut at the age of 17 years and 38 days.

1945: Hank Goldup scored three goals and an assist, as the Rangers lost 8-7 at Boston......Bill Cowley scored two goals and two assists as Boston beat NY Rangers 8-7, in a penalty-free game played in Boston. Herb Cain scored the game winner with 20 seconds remaining in regulation.

1948: Emile Francis played his first game as a Ranger, and led the team to a 3-2 win over Montreal. Rangers called up Francis from New Haven following an injury to their goalie Chuck Rayner.

1950: Montreal Canadiens obtained Bert Olmstead from Detroit, in exchange for Leo Gravelle. Olmstead had been traded to Detroit just one week earlier, from Chicago. Olmstead went on to spend the next seven seasons with Montreal.

1952: Former NHL left winger Mike Polich born in Hibbing, Minn. Polich played in the NHL 1976-77 through 1980-81 with Montreal and Minnesota.

1953: Kenny Mosdell had four assists to lead the Canadiens to a 7-3 win over the Bruins in Montreal.

1964: Chicago rookie Dennis Hull scored the first goal of his NHL career, and older brother Bobby added two goals and two assists. Also in that game, Chicago's Bobby Hull scored twice to give him 27 goals in 27 games, and added two assists, as the Black Hawks beat Montreal 6-3 at the Forum, for their sixth straight win.

1967: Brian Smith scored twice (against his brother Gary, in goal for Oakland) and Bob Wall scored a goal and added two assists to lead the Kings to a 3-1 win over the Oakland Seals, at the Sports Arena in Los Angeles.

1969: Rookie goaltender Tony Esposito recorded his fifth shutout of the season (and the 7th of his career) in the Black Hawks' 4-0 win over the Seals at Oakland. Esposito finished the 1969-70 season with 15 shutouts, an NHL record for rookies.

1970: Toronto goaltender Jacques Plante recorded his 75th NHL career shutout as the Maple Leafs won 2-0 over the visiting Buffalo Sabres.

1971: Rangers' Jean Ratelle became the 5th player in franchise history to score 200 goals. The milestone came when New York tied 1-1 with the visiting Minnesota North Stars.

1974: Boston's Phil Esposito collected three goals and four assists for seven points (a team record) in an 11-3 Bruins' win over the N.Y. Rangers. It was the 23rd hat trick of Esposito's NHL career.

1975: Claude St. Sauveur scored his first career hat trick and added two assists, and Hilliard Graves had a goal and four assists to lead the Flames to an 8-3 win over the New York Rangers in Atlanta.

1979: Charlie Simmer tied a modern NHL record with a goal in his 10th straight game, during a Kings' 4-4 tie at Toronto.

1980: Stan Smyl scored his third career hat trick and added an assist as the Canucks beat Pittsburgh 10-4. Darcy Rota (2-2-4) and Ivan Boldirev (1-3-4) also enjoyed four-point evenings.

1981: Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky became the first player in NHL history to get 9 career hat tricks before age 21, when he scored 3 times (and added 4 assists) in a 9-6 win over the visiting North Stars. Dave Lumley had his 1st career hat trick.....Bernie Federko extended his team-record consecutive game assist streak to 10 in the Blues' 5-0 win over the visiting Vancouver Canucks. Mike Liut recorded the shutout (the 5th of his NHL career).

1982: Washington scored three goals in the final four minutes of the game to win, 3-1 over the Flyers at Philadelphia. Mike Gartner led the way with a goal and an assist, as the Capitals extended their team-record undefeated streak to 13 games (8-0-5).

1984: While playing in his 424th career game, Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky had two goals and four assists to become the fastest player to reach 1,000 career points (breaking Guy Lafleur's record of 720 games). Oilers won 7-3 against the visiting Kings.....Former NHL defenseman Jim Schoenfeld came out of retirement to rejoin the Buffalo Sabres, playing in 34 games during the second half of the season. Buffalo won 6-3 over the Black Hawks at Chicago.

1985: Montreal Canadiens defenseman Larry Robinson scored the only hat trick of his 20 year NHL career, in a 5-4 Canadiens' loss to the Quebec Nordiques.

1986: Mike Gartner scored his seventh goal of the season to become the first player in to amass 600 points in a Capitals' uniform. It came in Washington's 6-4 loss to New Jersey.

1987: Boston's Ken Linseman and St. Louis' Doug Gilmour scored goals just two seconds apart in the third period to set an NHL record for fastest two goals in the Blues' 7-5 win over the Bruins. Gilmour's came off a center-ice faceoff into an empty net.....Buffalo's Lindy Ruff played in his 500th NHL game, and the Sabres ended their 8-game road losing streak in Montreal with a 2-1 win over the Canadiens.

1988: Vancouver goalie Troy Gamble made his second NHL start and earned a 5-1 win over the Minnesota North Stars. Petri Skriko earned three assists.....Toronto coach John Brophy was fired, and replaced by George Armstrong. Armstrong won in his debut as coach, a 4-3 Maple Leafs' win over St. Louis in Toronto.

1989: Hartford's Ron Francis scored two goals and added three assists and rookie Todd Krygier had two goals and two assists as the Whalers won 8-4, at Pittsburgh.

1990: Dimitri Khristich became the youngest hockey player allowed to leave the Soviet Union, when he joined the NHL's Washington Capitals. Khristich had been drafted by Washington in 1988.

1991: Chicago's Jeremy Roenick picked up four assists as the Blackhawks won 6-4 over the Canadiens, at Chicago Stadium.....Goalie Curtis Joseph set a Blues' team record with his fifth assist of the season, and stopped 21 shots to lead the Blues to a 4-0 shutout over San Jose, in St. Louis. It was the first shutout of Joseph's NHL career.

1992: Goaltender Bob Essensa recorded his first shutout of the season (and the 12th of his NHL career) to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 1-0 win over the Blues at St. Louis. It was the Jets' first victory in St. Louis since Dec. 14, 1982.....Detroit defenseman Brad McCrimmon recorded his 300th NHL assist in the Red Wings' 3-3 tie with the North Stars at Minnesota.

1993: Goaltender Mike Richter set a franchise record by extending his unbeaten streak to 20 games (17-0-3) in the Rangers' 6-3 win over the Senators in New York. Richter broke the team record of 19 games (14-0-5) set by Dave Kerr in 1939-40.....Bruins' Ray Bourque became just the third defenseman in NHL history to reach 300 goals, in Boston's 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers. Bourque joined defensemen Paul Coffey and Denis Potvin in the 300 goal club.

1995: Owen Nolan scored 4 goals, including 3 PPGs in the 2nd (for his first hat trick with San Jose) and added an assist as the Sharks won 7-4, at Anaheim. It was the first 4-goal game of Nolan's career and the first in Shark history.....Calgary Flames traded Joe Nieuwendyk to the Dallas Stars, in exchange for Corey Millen and the rights to 1995 first round draft pick Jarome Iginla.

1996: St. Louis Blues fired G.M./Coach Mike Keenan. Ron Caron was named the new General Manager, and Jimmy Roberts took over as interim head coach.....Mario Lemieux scored his 38th career hat trick (with three straight goals in the second period) and added an assist, and Jaromir Jagr picked up four assists as the Penguins won 4-0 at St. Louis. Ken Wregget got his 8th career shutout.

1997: Michel Petit became the first player in NHL history to score a goal for 9 different teams, when his first goal of the year helped the Phoenix Coyotes to a 6-2 win at Anaheim.

1999: Steve Yzerman wore the captain's "C" for Detroit for the 1,000th regular-season game in the Red Wings 3-1 loss to the Mighty Ducks at Anaheim.....Vancouver Canucks traded goalie Kevin Weekes, Bill Muckalt and Dave Scatchard to the New York Islanders in exchange for goaltender Felix Potvin plus a second and third-round pick in the 2000 NHL draft.

2002: Wade Redden had a goal and an assist in his 500th career game with the Ottawa Senators, and Daniel Alfredsson picked up four assists in a 9-3 win over the visiting San Jose Sharks.


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