March 13th

PENS TO PLAY EXHIBITION AGAINST FINNISH CLUB

The National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) announced that the Pittsburgh Penguins will play an exhibition game against Jokerit of the SM-Liiga, the top professional hockey league in Finland, on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008 at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.

The Penguins will be in Europe preparing for their NHL regular-season games against the Ottawa Senators in Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday Oct. 4 and Sunday Oct. 5 as part NHL Premiere 2008.

"The entire Pittsburgh Penguins organization is excited about the prospect of playing against Jokerit in Helsinki,” said Ray Shero, executive VP and general manager of the Penguins. “We are looking forward to bringing NHL hockey to Sweden and Finland, which are great hockey countries, and we hope that fans from all over Europe enjoy the international competition.”

Along with the games in Stockholm, the NHL will host regular-season games in Prague Oct. 4-5 when the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning play two games at O2 Arena. It will be the first time two NHL games will be played in Europe on the same day. The League in 2007 played its first-ever regular-season games in Europe when the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings played a two-game series in London. Previously, the NHL hosted three successful Game One events in Japan in 1997, 1998 and 2000.

If you happen to have travel plans to Helsinki, Finland around October 2, tickets for the exhibition game go on sale April 1.


CROSBY, TALBOT SIT OUT PENS 7-3 WIN OVER BUFFALO

After experiencing pain in his right ankle during the morning skate, Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby decided to sit out last night's game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Crosby has only recently returned from a 21-game absence because of a sprain in the same ankle. Since his return, he has collected four points in three games, including a two-goal performance in Sunday's 4-2 win in Washington.

"That game itself was pretty physical," Crosby said. "It's probably a combination of that and it's been sore the past couple of days."

The Penguins next play Sunday at home against Philadelphia. When asked if he hopes to be in that game, Crosby said, "That's what I'm planning on."

Last season's MVP, Crosby has 22 goals and 67 points in 49 games this season.

Forward Maxime Talbot also sat out last nights blowout win over Buffalo after aggravating the high ankle sprain he suffered earlier this season.

That same injury caused goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to miss almost three months this season.


NASH NAMED JACKETS CAPTAIN

Rick Nash is the new captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The 23-year-old winger was named to the role Wednesday, replacing recently traded veteran defenceman Adam Foote.

Nash becomes the fifth captain in team history, following Lyle Odelein, Ray Whitney, Luke Richardson and Foote, who was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 26.

An alternate captain since 2005-06, Nash will wear the "C" for the first time on Friday, when the Blue Jackets host the Chicago Blackhawks.

Nash, the first overall pick in the 2002 draft, leads the Blue Jackets in goals (35) and points (a career-high 58) this season, his fifth in the NHL.

With 12 games remaining this regular season, Nash has a chance to surpass his career best of 41 goals set in his 2003-04 sophomore season.


SEASON RACES

Playoff Standings

(RANK-TEAM--PTS--GP)

WEST

1-DETROIT*--98--70
2-SAN JOSE*--90--70
3-CALGARY*--82--70
4-DALLAS--89--72
5-ANAHEIM--88--73
6-COLORADO--82--71
7-MINNESOTA--81--70
8-VANCOUVER--80--70
---------------------------------------------
9-NASHVILLE--78--71
10-PHOENIX--75--70
11-EDMONTON--73--70
12-COLUMBUS--73--70
13-CHICAGO--73--71
14-ST LOUIS--69--70
15-LOS ANGELES--60--71

EAST

1-PITTSBURGH*--87--71
2-MONTREAL*--87--71
3-CAROLINA*--81--72
4-NEW JERSEY--86--70
5-OTTAWA--85--71
6-NY RANGERS--83--70
7-BOSTON--80--70
8-PHILADELPHIA--79--71
----------------------------------------------
9-BUFFALO--75--71
10-WASHINGTON--74--71
11-FLORIDA--74--72
12-TORONTO--74--72
13-NY ISLANDERS--71--72
14-ATLANTA--68--71
15-TAMPA BAY--62--70

(* Division Leader)

If the playoffs started today...

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

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

Division Races

(RANK-TEAM--PTS--GP)

NORTHWEST
1-CAL--82--70
2-COL--82--71
3-MIN--81--70
4-VAN--80--70

PACIFIC
1-SJ--90--70
2-DAL--89--72
3-ANA--88--73

ATLANTIC
1-PIT--87--71
2-NJ--86--70
3-NYR--83--70

NORTHEAST
1-MON--87--71
2-OTT--85--71
3-BOS--80--70

SOUTHEAST
1-CAR--81--72
2-WAS--74--71
3-FLA--74--72

Art Ross Trophy (Points Leader)
1-Alexander Ovechkin--Was--97
2-Evgeni Malkin--Pit--93
3-Jarome Iginla--Cal--84
4-Vincent Lecavalier--TB--84

Maurice Richard Trophy (Goal Scoring Leader)
1-Alexander Ovechkin--Was--56
2-Ilya Kovalchuk--Atl--45
3-Jarome Iginla--Cal--42

Assists
1-Marc Savard--Bos--63
2-Joe Thornton--SJ--62
3-Evengi Malkin--Pit--54
4-Pavel Datsyuk--Det--54

Plus/Minus
1-Nicklas Lidstrom--Det +39
2-Pavel Datsyuk--Det +34
3-Dany Heatley--Ott +33

Power-Play Goals
1-Alexander Ovechkin--Was--20
2-Alex Kovalev--Mon--16
3-Jarome Iginla--Cal--15
4-Mike Knuble--Phi--15
5-Thomas Vanek--Buf--15

Short-Handed Goals
1-Daniel Alfredsson--Ott--7
2-Patrick Sharp--Chi--7
3-Rene Bourque--Chi--5
4-Mike Richards--Phi--5

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)

(15) Lightning @ (7) Bruins 6pm
(3) Flames vs (14) Thrashers 6pm
(5) Senators @ (2) Canadiens 630pm
(4) Stars @ (1) Red Wings 630pm
(15) Kings @ (9) Predators 7pm
(4) Devils @ (7) Wild 7pm
(11) Oilers @ (6) Avalanche 830pm
(8) Canucks @ (10) Coyotes 9pm