March 4th

SUNDIN, THOMAS, KNUBLE NHL 'THREE STARS' OF THE WEEK

Toronto Maple Leafs center Mats Sundin, Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas and Philadelphia Flyers right wing Mike Knuble have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending March 2.

First Star -- Mats Sundin, C, Toronto Maple Leafs

Sundin tallied eight points (four goals, four assists) as the Maple Leafs posted a record of 3-0-1. Sundin notched the game-winning goal in a 5-0 win over the Ottawa Senators Feb. 25 and tallied two goals and one assist in a 4-3 shootout victory over the Florida Panthers Feb. 27. On Feb. 29, Sundin recorded one assist in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning and finished the week by notching one goal and two assists in a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals Mar. 1. Sundin increased his career goals total to 552, moving him past Michel Goulet (548) and Ron Francis (549) into 22nd place on the all-time goals list.

Second Star -- Tim Thomas, G, Boston Bruins

Thomas went 3-0-0 with a 0.97 goals-against average, .962 save percentage and one shutout, stopping 75 of 78 shots as the Bruins (35-23-6, 76 points) moved to sixth place in the Eastern Conference. He made 22 saves in a 4-0 win over the Ottawa Senators Feb. 26, recording his sixth career NHL shutout. On Feb. 28 he stopped 27 of 28 shots in a 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins and finished the week by stopping 26 of 28 shots in a 3-2 shootout win over the Atlanta Thrashers Mar. 1. Thomas has posted a 23-14-4 record, 2.36 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and two shutouts in 45 games this season.

Third Star -- Mike Knuble, RW, Philadelphia Flyers

Kunble recorded eight points (three goals, five assists) as the Flyers posted a record of 3-0-1, improving to eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 33-25-8 for 74 points. On Feb. 25, he tallied two assists in a 4-3 shootout win over the Buffalo Sabres and followed that by notching two goals, including the game-winner in a 3-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators, Feb. 28. On Mar. 1, he recorded one goal and two assists in a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders and finished the week by recording one assist in a 5-4 shootout loss to the New York Rangers. Knuble is fourth in Flyers scoring with 48 points (25-23--48).


SMYTH OUT INDEFINITELY, SVATOS SEASON OVER FOR AVS

The Colorado Avalanche learned late Monday that Ryan Smyth suffered a concussion after his collision with the padded partition near the Avs bench. He won't be able to exercise or return to the ice until he is symptom free. He also suffered a minor shoulder separation and remains sidelined for an indefinite period of time.

In 45 games with Colorado this season, Smyth has 14 goals and 19 assists.

The news was worse for Marek Svatos, as he was diagnosed with a torn ACL that will require surgery and sideline the forward for the remainder of the season.

Svatos is the Avalanche leading goal scorer with 26 and also has 11 assists.

Despite the injury's, the Avs are holding onto the eighth and final playoff spot heading into Tuesday's games, and are still awaiting the season debut of Peter Forsberg, as the free-agent Swede will decide after the morning skate if he's ready to play against the Canucks Tuesday night or will wait till next game to play in his first NHL game of the season.


PLAYOFF STANDINGS

(RANK-TEAM--PTS--RECORD)

WEST

1-DETROIT*--92--43-18-6
2-DALLAS*--87--41-23-5
3-MINNESOTA*--79--37-24-5
4-ANAHEIM--83--38-23-7
5-SAN JOSE--82--37-21-8
6-CALGARY--77--34-23-9
7-VANCOUVER--74--32-23-10
8-COLORADO--74--34-26-6
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9-NASHVILLE--74--33-25-8
10-PHOENIX--71--33-28-5
11-COLUMBUS--70--30-27-10
12-CHICAGO--68--31-28-6
13-EDMONTON--67--31-30-5
14-ST LOUIS--66--28-27-10
15-LOS ANGELES--57--26-36-5

EAST

1-PITTSBURGH*--81--37-23-7
2-MONTREAL*--81--36-22-9
3-CAROLINA*--73--34-29-5
4-NEW JERSEY--80--37-23-6
5-OTTAWA--80--37-24-6
6-BOSTON--76--35-24-6
7-NY RANGERS--76--34-24-8
8-PHILADELPHA--74--33-25-8
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9-BUFFALO--71--31-26-9
10-WASHINGTON--70--31-28-8
11-NY ISLANDERS--69--31-29-7
12-TORONTO--68--29-28-10
13-FLORIDA--66--29-31-8
14-ATLANTA--65--29-31-7
15-TAMPA BAY--59--26-32-7

(* DIVISION LEADER)


TODAY'S NHL SCHEDULE (Central Time)

(13) PANTHERS @ (6) BRUINS 6pm
(11) ISLANDERS @ (7) RANGERS 6pm
(9) SABRES @ (8) FLYERS 6pm
(4) DEVILS @ (12) MAPLE LEAFS 630pm
(1) PENGUINS @ (15) LIGHTNING 630pm
(12) BLACKHAWKS @ (3) WILD 7pm
(15) KINGS @ (14) BLUES 730pm
(11) BLUE JACKETS @ (6) FLAMES 8pm
(9) PREDATORS @ (13) OILERS 8pm
(7) CANUCKS @ (8) AVALANCHE 830pm