March 11th

OVECHKIN, BRODEUR, THORNTON NAMED 'THREE STARS' OF THE WEEK

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin, New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur and San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending March 9.

First Star -- Alex Ovechkin, LW, Washington Capitals

Ovechkin reached the 50-goal mark for the second time in his three NHL seasons Mar. 3, scoring a hat trick and adding two assists in Washington's 10-2 victory over the Boston Bruins. He reached the milestone in his team's 67th game of the season, the fastest since the Pittsburgh Penguins' Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux (59th game) and the Buffalo Sabres' Alexander Mogilny (63rd game) in 1995-96. Ovechkin later scored a pair of goals in a 3-1 victory over the Sabres Mar. 5, tallied one assist in a 2-1 loss to the Bruins Mar. 8 and finished the week with two assists in a 4-2 loss to the Penguins Mar. 9. Ovechkin leads the NHL scoring race with 95 points (54-41--95) in 70 games.

Second Star -- Martin Brodeur, G, New Jersey Devils

Brodeur posted a 3-0-0 record with a 0.98 goals-against average and .972 save percentage as the Devils (40-23-6, 86 points) moved into first place in the Eastern Conference. He stopped 41 of 42 shots in a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs Mar. 4, made 21 saves in a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning Mar. 7 and closed the week with a 42-save effort in a 2-1 victory over Toronto Mar. 8. Brodeur ranks second among NHL goaltenders with 38 victories and is among the League leaders in goals-against average (third, 2.12) and save percentage (second, .922). He is two victories shy of posting his NHL-record seventh 40-win season and becoming the first goaltender in League history to post three consecutive 40-win campaigns.

Third Star -- Joe Thornton, C, San Jose Sharks

Thornton finished second among NHL scorers with seven points (two goals, five assists) and posted a +6 rating in four games as the Sharks extended their winning streak to a franchise-record nine games. He notched a season-high four points (two goals, two assists) in a 6-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens Mar. 3, recorded one assist in a 3-2 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators Mar. 5 and tallied two assists in a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks Mar. 7. Thornton ranks fourth in the NHL scoring with 81 points (19 goals, 62 assists) and is tied for the League lead in assists with Boston's Marc Savard. The Sharks (40-21-8, 88 points) are second in the Pacific Division, trailing the Dallas Stars by one point with three games in hand.


FINE EXPECTED FOR RANGERS' AVERY

It's expected the NHL will fine Seam Avery of the New York Rangers for his water-bottle tossing episode on Sunday against the Boston Bruins.

It's doesn't appear a suspension will be handed down, but it would be difficult for the league to do nothing since the contents of the water bottle ended up on some of the paying customers.

The New York Post reported that Avery tossed two water bottles from the penalty box in frustration, just missing three kinds in the crowd, and soaking some people after one of the bottles smashed against a wall.

The father of two of the kids expressed his displeasure from behind the glass.

Avery later sought the family out and cooled things off by offering a hockey stick, which was accepted. A Rangers spokesperson told the Post that the family was satisfied with the response.


YANKEE STADIUM TO HOST WINTER CLASSIC

According to a report in the New York Daily News, the National Hockey League is looking into playing an outdoor game at Yankee Stadium in 2009.

"It's something we've spoken to the Yankees and the city about," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the paper. "But it's not a done deal. There are still other possibilities and a lot of moving pieces."

Yankee Stadium is scheduled to be demolished after the upcoming baseball season but could remain open long enough to host a New York Rangers regular season game, making hockey the last event at the ballpark.


SEASON RACES

Playoff Standings

(RANK-TEAM--PTS--GP)

WEST

1-DETROIT*--96--69
2-DALLAS*--89--72
3-CALGARY*--82--69
4-SAN JOSE--88--69
5-ANAHEIM--85--71
6-MINNESOTA--81--70
7-VANCOUVER--80--69
8-COLORADO--80--70
--------------------------------------------
9-NASHVILLE--78--70
10-PHOENIX--73--69
11-CHICAGO--73--69
12-COLUMBUS--73--70
13-EDMONTON--71--69
14-ST LOUIS--68--69
15-LOS ANGELES--60--71

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--83--70
7-BOSTON--80--69
8-PHILADELPHIA--78--69
---------------------------------------------
9-BUFFALO--75--70
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) Colorado
(2) Dallas vs (7) Vancouver
(3) Calgary vs (6) Minnesota
(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-CAL--82--69
2-MIN--81--70
3-VAN--80--69
4-COL--80--70

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

ATLANTIC
1-NJ--86--69
2-PIT--85--70
3-NYR--83--70

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-Evgeni Malkin--Pit--92
3-Jarome Iginla--Cal--82

Maurice Richard Trophy (Goal-scoring leader)
1-Alexander Ovechkin--Was--54
2-Ilya Kovalchuk--Atl--45
3-Jarome Iginla--Cal--41

Assists Leader
1-Joe Thornton--SJ--62
2-Marc Savard--Bos--62
3-Evengi Malkin--Pit--54
4-Pavel Datsyuk--Det--54

Plus/Minus Leader
1-Nicklas Lidstrom--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)

(7) Avalanche @ (14) Thrashers 6pm
(8) Flyers @ (13) Maple Leafs 630pm
(1) Devils @ (2) Canadiens 630pm
(7) Bruins @ (5) Senators 630pm
(12) Islanders @ (15) Lightning 630pm
(11) Blackhawks @ (1) Red Wings 630pm
(4) Sharks @ (9) Predators 7pm
(14) Blues @ (13) Oilers 8pm
(5) Ducks @ (10) Coyotes 930pm