January 22nd

GETZLAF, HOLMQVIST, HARTNELL 3 STARS OF THE WEEK

Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf, Tampa Bay Lighting goaltender Johan Holmqvist and Philadelphia Flyers left wing SCott Hartnell have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending January 20.

First Star -- Ryan Getzlaf, C, Anaheim Ducks

Getzlaf, who will play for the Western Conference in the 2008 All-Star Game in Atlanta this Sunday, led all scorers with eight points (two goals, six assists) and posted a +3 rating as the Ducks captured three of four games during the week. He recorded points in each game, scoring a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win over Dallas, Jan. 15; assisting on both goals in a 2-1 victory vs. Nashville, Jan. 17; registering three more assists in a 4-2 win against Minnesota on Jan. 18 and closing the week with a goal in a 5-2 loss at Dallas on Jan. 20.  Getzlaf ran his current point-scoring streak to 14 games (6-15--21) and is in 8th place in League scoring (19-38--57). His plus-25 mark is fourth best in the League.

Second Star -- Johan Holmqvist, G, Tampa Bay Lightning

Holmqvist posted back-to-back shutouts in his two starts during the week, stopping all 52 shots as the Lightning registered road wins at Pittsburgh (3-0, Jan. 18) and at Ottawa (2-0, Jan. 19).  With his performance last week, Holmqvist improved his overall record to 16-13-4 and lowered his goals-against average to 2.89.

Third Star -- Scott Hartnell, LW, Philadelphia Flyers

Hartnell has been named the League's Third Star for the second consecutive week, posting six points (five goals, one assist) in three games.  He began the week with a goal in a 5-3 win vs. Florida (Jan. 16); registered his second hat-trick in six games and added an assist in a 5-3 victory against NY Islanders (Jan. 19) and closed the week with a goal in the Flyers' 6-1 win over Ottawa on Jan. 20.  


CROSBY GOES ON IR

The Pittsburgh Penguins placed star forward Sidney Crosby on the injured reserve list Monday.

Crosby injured his right ankle during the Penguins' 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday. Crosby was originally diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, which can sideline an athlete for a month or more, but the Penguins will receive an update on his condition when he is re-examined by team doctors on Tuesday.

By being placed on the injured reserve list, Crosby is guaranteed to be out of the Penguins lineup for at least seven days.

Monday's procedural move allows the Penguins to call up a forward from their American Hockey League affiliate for their final two games before the all-star break. Pittsburgh wasted little time in recalling forwards Chris Minard, Tim Brent and Jonathan Filewich from the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

The injury will keep Crosby, the leading vote-getter in the all-star balloting, out of Sunday's NHL all-star game in Atlanta.

Pittsburgh forward Adam Hall (groin) also went on the injured list Monday, and defenceman Ryan Lannon was sent down to Wilkes-Barre after not playing in any games during his two weeks with the NHL club.


SCANDALOUS ALLEGATIONS MADE AGAINST CANUCKS IN MOORE LAWSUIT

The lawyer for the Vancouver Canucks in a multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit filed by former NHL player Steve Moore said recent allegations made against the NHL club are "very scandalous."

Alan D'Silva, speaking at a court hearing Monday in Toronto, was referring to recent reports of testimony made in the discovery phase of the lawsuit that stems from an NHL game in March 2004 between the Canucks and the Colorado Avalanche.

The allegation in the discovery testimony came from Todd Bertuzzi, who said then-Canucks coach Marc Crawford pointed to Moore's name on a blackboard in the locker-room between the second and third periods of the game and told his players, "he [Moore] must pay the price."

The Canucks have said that at no time did the organization or its employees, including Crawford, encourage their players to seek retribution on Moore.

Moore was playing for Colorado on March 8, 2004, when bad blood from a previous contest spilled over. Moore was punched from behind by Bertuzzi and fell to the ice before he was taken away on a stretcher. He suffered three fractured vertebrae in his neck and a concussion.

Moore, who has not played professionally since, filed a civil suit two years later.

The NHL suspended Bertuzzi indefinitely for attacking Moore, and didn't reinstate him until Aug. 8, 2005 — exactly 17 months later.

Bertuzzi remained under suspension throughout the 310-day NHL lockout and was prohibited from competing in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, two world championships and in European pro leagues.

He also forfeited $501,926.39 in salary and hundreds of thousands more in endorsements.

Criminal charges filed against Bertuzzi in Vancouver resulted in a guilty plea and a sentence of one year's probation plus 80 hours of community service.

Moore later filed a lawsuit in Denver against Bertuzzi and other notables, including Canucks ownership, but it was dismissed.
At the time, he was seeking $18 million for lost income, aggravated and punitive damages, but is now demanding $38 million in an amended claim.

Bertuzzi is currently skating with the Anaheim Ducks.


FORSBERG PRACTICES WITH SWEDISH TEAM

Former NHL most valuable player Peter Forsberg practiced with his hometown team in Sweden on Monday in what could be his first step towards an NHL comeback.

Forsberg, 34, has been out of action with a foot and ankle injury since finishing last season with the Nashville Predators, but the talented forward was on the ice with members of Swedish club Modo during a practice session on Monday, Swedish media reported.

I know that he has been practising, but that's all I know," Forsberg's father, Kent Forsberg, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

Forsberg has publicly stated in the past that he hopes to return to the NHL, but the deadline to sign with a new club is Feb. 26.
He became an unrestricted free agent after the Predators, who acquired him in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers last February, decided not to re-sign him at the end of the 2006-07 campaign.

Forsberg won two Stanley Cups with the Colorado Avalanche and was awarded the Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP for the 2002-03 season after scoring 29 goals and adding 77 assists.

He also won an Olympic gold medal with Sweden at the 1994 and 2006 Winter Games.

Injuries have plagued the Swedish forward in recent years, as he hasn't played more than 60 games in a season since suiting up for 75 games in the 2002-03 campaign with the Avalanche.


OILERS OWNERS DISCUSS KATZ'S LATEST OFFER

Edmonton area billionaire Daryl Katz is willing to buy the Edmonton Oilers for $188 million, but the team's shareholders remain split on whether to sell.

Thirty-four members of the Edmonton Investors Group met Monday behind closed doors to discuss Katz's latest offer to purchase 7,492 shares in the team by Jan. 31 at $20.56 per share.

The owner of the Rexall pharmacy empire has offered to purchase the Oilers four times in less than a year, but the 46-year-old tycoon didn't attend the meeting.

Cal Nichols, former EIG chairman who remains a shareholder in the team, told reporters that Katz offered to come but his invitation was conditional because of the types of areas that were to be covered in the meeting.

The EIG, formed a decade ago to prevent the team from relocating to Houston, struck a 10-year, $20-million deal with Katz for the naming rights to Edmonton's Northlands Coliseum, renaming it Rexall Place in 2003. But the EIG remains reluctant to sell the team outright to Katz.

Earlier this month, EIG chairman Bill Butler recommended that shareholders refuse to sell until Katz agrees — in writing — to keep the team in Edmonton and commit $100 million to a new facility to replace 34-year-old Rexall Place.

Josh Pekarsky, Katz's spokesman, said there was a response sent to the board to the issues they raised, but has refused to divulge the details of the response.

Katz has expressed a willingness to build a training facility for the team at the University of Alberta.

The city of Edmonton is studying the feasibility of a downtown rink, and speculation is the porject will cost between $500-million and $1-billion.