March 10th

BELANGER OUT WITH BROKEN TOE

Minnesota Wild center Eric Belanger will be out of the lineup for a while. He has a broken big toe on his right foot, and is wearing a medical boot.

No timetable has been given for Belanger's return.

The Wild called up Steve Kelly from AHL Houston to take his place, who played in his first NHL game Sunday since 2003-04.

Kelly played just 3 minutes, 10 seconds on a line mostly with Aaron Voros and Todd Fedoruk in the Wild's 3-2 shoot-out loss to San Jose.

Also on the Wild injury front, defenseman Petteri Nummelin contuines to be sidelined by a deep muscle bruise. Chris Simon, Sean Hill and Matt Foy were healthy scratches Sunday against the Sharks.

Assistant coach Mike Ramsey, still recovering from eye surgery, was back on the bench for the first time since Feb. 14.


YANKEE STADIUM TO HOST WINTER CLASSIC SEQUEL?

According to Scott Morrison, on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada's Hotstove segment, two of the wotld's most famous ballparks could be in the running to host hockey's next outdoor extravaganza.

Yankee Stadium in New York is at the top of the list of possible sites if the NHL decides to hold a sequel to the wildly popular New Year's Day Winter Classic in Buffalo.

Chicago's Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs, is also on the short list.

"The NHL insists that they have not narrowed it that far down," Morrison said, "After the success in Buffalo, the Yankees, who didn't want any part of it a year ago, came back and said 'Hey, let's think about this. I've also heard the NHL is going in [to Yankee Stadium] to do a site survey, so that would suggest there's more than just a passing interest."

The NHL earned rave reviews for its Jan. 1 game at Ralph Wilson Stadium, where the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on Sidney Crosby's shootout goal, in front of an estimated crowd of 72,000 which drew robust TV ratings in both the U.S and Canada.

The success of the event was not lost on other top leagues, and the NBA announced in February that it will stage an outdoor exhibition game between the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets on Oct. 11 at California's Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

If an outdoor NHL game was held at Yankee Stadium on New Year's Day 2009, it could be the final sporting event held at the 85-year-old Bronx venue.

The Yankees will play their final regular-season game there on Sept. 21, and are moving into a new ballpark on adjacent land for the 2009 season, Most of the old Yankee Stadium is slated to be demolished and converted into parkland


DUCKS PERRY OUT FOR SIX WEEKS

Anaheim Ducks winger Corey Perry suffered a deep laceration right on his right quad tendon and is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks. The playoffs begin in 4 and a half weeks, and the loss of Perry will have a great impact on their first round playoff lineup.

Perry underwent successful surgery to repair the tendon, and is expected to be released from the hospital today.

He was driving to the net in Thursday's game against the Colorado Avalanche when Avs goaltender Jose Theodore's skate accidentally hit him in the leg, cutting into the muscle and tendons.

Bobby Ryan was called up from the Ducks' minor league affiliate in Portland to take Perry's spot in the lineup.

This season, Perry is second on the Ducks in scoring with 29 goals and 25 assists for 54 points.


SEASON RACES

Playoff Standings

(RANK-TEAM--PTS--GP)

WEST

1-DETROIT*--96--69
2-DALLAS*--89--72
3-MINNESOTA*--81--70
4-SAN JOSE--88--69
5-ANAHEIM--85--71
6-CALGARY--80--68
7-COLORADO--80--70
8-VANCOUVER--78--68
---------------------------------------------
9-NASHVILLE--78--70
10-PHOENIX--73--69
11-CHICAGO--73--69
12-COLUMBUS--73--70
13-EDMONTON--71--69
14-ST LOUIS--68--68
15-LOS ANGELES--59--70

EAST

1-NEW JERSEY*--86--69
2-MONTREAL*--85--70
3-CAROLINA*--79--71
4-PITTSBURGH--85--70
5-OTTAWA--83--70
6-NY RANGERS--81--69
7-BOSTON--80--69
8-PHILADELPHIA--78--69
----------------------------------------------
9-BUFFALO--74--69
10-WASHINGTON--72--70
11-FLORIDA--72--71
12-NY ISLANDERS--71--70
13-TORONTO--70--70
14-ATLANTA--68--70
15-TAMPA BAY--60--69

(* DIVISION LEADER)

If the playoffs started today....

WEST
(1) Detroit vs (8) Vancouver
(2) Dallas vs (7) Colorado
(3) Minnesota vs (6) Calgary
(4) San Jose vs (5) Anaheim

EAST
(1) New Jersey vs (8) Philadelphia
(2) Montreal vs (7) Boston
(3) Carolina vs (6) NY Rangers
(4) Pittsburgh vs (5) Ottawa

Division Races

(RANK-TEAM--PTS--GP)

NORTHWEST
1-MIN--81--70
2-CAL--80--68
3-COL--80--70
4-VAN--78--68

PACIFIC
1-DAL--89--72
2-SJ--88--69
3-ANA--85--71

ATLANTIC
1-NJ--86--69
2-PIT--85--70
3-NYR--81--69

NORTHEAST
1-MON--85--70
2-OTT--83--70
3-BOS--80--69

SOUTHEAST
1-CAR--79--71
2-WAS--72--70
3-FLA--72--71

Art Ross Trophy (Points Leader)
1-Alexander Ovechkin--Was--95
2-Evengi Malkin--Pit--92
3-Vinvent Lecavalier--TB--81
4-Joe Thornton--SJ--81

Maurice Richard Trophy (Goal-scoring leader)
1-Alexander Ovechkin--Was--54
2-Ilya Kovalchuk--Atl--45
3-Jerome Iginla--Cal--40

Assists Leader
1-Joe Thornton--SJ--62
2-Marc Savard--Bos--62
3-Evengi Malkin--54
4-Pavel Datsyuk--54
5-Henrik Sedin--Van--53

Plus/Minus Leader
1-Nicklas Lindstrom--Det +38
2-Pavel Datsyuk--Det +33
3-Dany Heatley--Ott +31

Shootout Goals
1-Joe Pavelski--SJ--6 (6-9, 66.7%)
2-Erik Christensen--Atl--6 (6-11, 54.6%)
3-Ales Hemsky--Edm--6 (6-15, 40%)

Todays NHL Schedule (Central time)

(6) Rangers @ (9) Sabres 6pm
(14) Blues @ (6) Flames 830pm
(8) Canucks @ (15) Kings 930pm