November 27

Briere NHL's First Star

Philadelphia Flyers centre Daniel Briere was named the NHL's first star of the week on Monday.

Briere led the league in scoring last week with eight points in three games (five goals, three assists), including a pair of game-winning goals. The former Buffalo Sabres forward notched his first hat trick as a Flyer and added an assist in a 6-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes Nov. 21. He scored a power-play goal in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals on Nov. 23 and tallied three points (one goal, two assists) in a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators the next day. Briere leads the Flyers in scoring with 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 22 games this season.

Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov was named the second star. Claimed off waivers by the Coyotes from the Anaheim Ducks on Nov. 17, Bryzgalov posted a 3-0-0 record, 1.62 goals-against average and .938 save percentage for the Coyotes last week.

Dallas stars goalie Mike Smith was the third star of the week. Smith posted a 3-0-0 record, 1.00 GAA, .963 save percentage and one shutout last week as the Stars moved into first place in the Pacific Division.


Lighting Sale is Off

The proposed sale of the Tampa Bay Lighting to a group that includes former Florida Panthers coach Doug MacLean is off. The team said Monday night that an agreement Palace Sports & Entertainment reached in August to seel the NHL franchise to Absolute Hockey Enterprises was terminated on Nov 14. The deal also included the leasing rights to the St. Pete Times Forum and about 5.5 acres adjacent to the downtown area.

"The Lightning entities terminated the agreement because of the failure of Absolute to comply with the terms of the purchase," the team in a statement issued after the St. Petersburg Times reported on its Web site that the deal fell apart when Absolute did not make a required $5 million payment. "At the same time, the buying group expressed continuing interest in purchasing the team, while informing PS&E that there were internal disagreements to be resolved. ... While there is no current agreement in place to sell the team, PS&E is hopeful that those differences can still be resolved and a successful ownership transfer can take place."

Palace Sports & Entertainment is led by Detroit Pistons owner Bill Davidson, who bought the Lightning in 1999 and helped transform the club from a perennial last-place team into a franchise that won the Stanley Cup in 2004.


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