February 25th

SELANNE PASSES RICHARD IN DUCKS WIN

Right next to the miniature Stanley Cup in Teemu Selanne's trophy case at home is the Maurice Richard Trophy he earned as the NHL's top goal scorer for the 1998-99 season.

Now Selanne has more goals than the Rocket.

Selanne scored three times in the Anaheim Ducks' 6-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, passing Richard to move into 25th place on the career goals list with 546. He also had two assists, including his 600th.

Selanne was the first recipient of the award named in honour of the former Montreal Canadiens star.

Selanne has played in 1,051 regular-season games — 73 more than Richard, who in 1944-45 became the first player in league history to score 50 goals in 50 games.


ZUBOZ OUT 3-4 WEEKS

Dallas Stars defenceman Sergei Zubov is expected to miss the next three to four weeks after undergoing surgery on his foot on Sunday.

Doctors inserted a screw in the fractured bone in his foot, according to a team statement released Monday.

Zubov has missed the past 17 games due to the problem foot and has missed 20 games in total this season due to injury.

The veteran Russian defenceman has four goals and 35 points in 46 games for Dallas this season. He also leads the club in assists (31) and average ice time (25:41).

Earlier this season, he became just the 15th defencemen in NHL history to record 600 career assists. He's also the only active NHL blue-liner with at least 30 assists in each of the past 12 seasons.

Zubov was named to the Western Conference roster for the NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta last month, but was unable to participate due to a groin injury.


PENS RECALL FLEURY FROM MINOR LEAGUE STINT

The Pittsburgh Penguins recalled goalie Marc-Andre Fleury from his minor-league rehabilitation stint on Sunday, making him likely to return to the NHL team's lineup later this week.

Fleury hasn't played since Dec. 6 when he suffered a high ankle sprain in a 3-2 loss in Calgary. The same type of injury has sidelined star center Sidney Crosby since Jan. 18. The Pittsburgh captain didn't skate before the Penguins' games Saturday or Sunday and and his return remains uncertain, though he's believed to be aiming for mid-March.

Fleury, who tied for third in the NHL with 40 victories last season, was expected to be out six to eight weeks, but his recovery has taken longer than expected.

The 23-year-old played well in all five starts he made with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL, allowing seven goals. He was 3-2, with both losses occurring in 1-0 games.

Fleury, the Number one pick in the 2003 draft, still has some pain in his right ankle but said, "I can play through it."

Before getting hurt, Fleury had won his last four starts and was 9-8-1 with a 2.90 goals-against average.

Fleury will make an equipment change once he returns: he is discarding the bright yellow goalie pads he has worn since his rookie season in 2003-04 and will wear white pads, as Conklin and Sabourin do. During his injury layoff, Fleury was shown statistics that suggested goalies who wear brightly coloured pads tend to give up more goals than those who wear white pads.

With Fleury returning, the Penguins reassigned forward Connor James to Wilkes-Barre.


SUNDIN WON'T WAIVE NO-TRADE CLAUSE

After deliberating over the weekend, Mats Sundin told interim general manager Cliff Fletcher that he will not waive his no-trade clause.

With the 37-year-old due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, he was considered one of the NHL's most coveted players heading into the 3pm ET trade deadline on Tuesday, and an attractive short-term option for teams seeking help for the stretch run of the regular season and the playoffs, but Sundin decided to not waive his no-trade clause and stay put in Toronto for the rest of the season.

Fletcher said he had no hard feelings about Sundin's decision.

Heading into Monday night the Maple Leafs were seven points out of a playoff spot.


FLYERS LOSE RICHARDS FOR 3 WEEKS

The Philadelphia Flyers head into Buffalo tonight as losers of their last 10 games and, now, without their best player, Mike Richards when they take on the Sabres.

Richards injured his left hamstring in the team's 2-1 home loss to Florida on Saturday night and is expected to miss three weeks.

The 23-year-old leads the Flyers in goals, assists, plus-minus rating and short-handed goals. He signed a mammoth 12-year, $69-million US contract in December.

Philadelphia (30-25-7 heading into Monday) has already lost Simon Gagné for the season after his third concussion, with Joffrey Lupul and Derian Hatcher also on the shelf for the foreseeable future with injuries.

Leading their Atlantic Division just a few weeks ago, the 0-8-2 slump has seen the Flyers plummet to a tie for ninth place in the Eastern Conference.

Also, for Buffalo, monday's game could be the last in a Sabres uniform for Brian Campbell. The 28-year-old defenceman is an unrestricted free agent in the summer and has not been able to come to terms with general manager Darcy Regier on a new contract.

Regier will have to weigh whether to trade the highly coveted Campbell before Tuesday's trade deadline or to keep him for the playoff push in hopes of working out a new deal in the off-season.

Jochen Hecht could return for the Sabres on Monday after missing time with a leg injury.


PLAYOFF STANDINGS

(RANK-TEAM--PTS--RECORD)

WEST

1-DETROIT*--89--42-17-5
2-DALLAS*--83--39-22-5
3-CALGARY*--74--33-22-8
4-ANAHEIM--79--36-23-7
5-SAN JOSE--74--33-21-8
6-MINNESOTA--73--34-23-5
7-VANCOUVER--72--32-22-8
8-NASHVILLE--72--32-24-8
-----------------------------------------------------------
9-PHOENIX--69--32-26-5
10-COLORADO--68--31-26-6
11-COLUMBUS--67--29-26-9
12-ST LOUIS--66--28-24-10
13-CHICAGO--64--29-27-6
14-EDMONTON--61--28-30-5
15-LOS ANGELES--56--26-34-4

EAST

1-NEW JERSEY*--79--37-21-5
2-OTTAWA*--78--36-20-6
3-CAROLINA*--69--32-28-5
4-PITTSBURGH--77--35-21-7
5-MONTREAL--75--33-21-9
6-NY RANGERS--72--32-24-8
7-BOSTON--70--32-23-6
8-BUFFALO--68--30-24-8
-------------------------------------------------------------
9-PHILADELPHIA--67--30-25-7
10-NY ISLANDERS--67--30-26-7
11-WASHINGTON--64--29-27-8
12-FLORIDA--63--28-30-7
13-ATLANTA--62--29-20-4
14-TORONTO--61--26-28-9
15-TAMPA BAY--57--25-30-7

(* DIVISION LEADER)


TODAYS NHL SCHEDULE (Central)

(9) FLYERS @ (8) SABRES 6pm
(14) MAPLE LEAFS @ (2) SENATORS 630pm