April 17th

BRYAN MURRAY WILL BE BACK NEXT SEASON

During the second intermission of Ottawa's 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on home ice Wednesday night -- a result that completed the Pens four-game sweep of the Senators in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals -- Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk told CBC that general manager and head coach Bryan Murray would be at the helm for Ottawa in the 2008-09 NHL season.

Murray has doubled as Ottawa's head coach since firing John Paddock in late February, and it was his willingness to do double duty that convinced Melnyk to bring Murray back for another seasaon.

"Bryan stepped up to the plate," Melnyk told CBC. "That's the way you gotta look at it. There had to be a change made, and I came to Bryan and asked him if he wanted to take it on both jobs.

"He's a stand-up guy with tremendous experience, and he stepped in. He didn't have to, and I absolutely assured him that win, lose or draw, he's around next season and not to worry about it."

Ottawa began the regular season with an astonishing 15-2 record and sat atop the Eastern Conference standings with a commanding lead in January, but the club struggled during the second half of the schedule.

The Senators won just 18 of their final 48 games, coping with a rash of injuries, a goalie controversy with backup Ray Emery that festered for weeks and disrupted the team's chemistry, and a coaching change late in the campaign.


CANES SIGN SAMSONOV TO 3-YEAR DEAL

Sergi Samsonov made good on a chance to resurrect his career, and the Carolina Hurricanes have rewarded him as the club announced Wednesday they signed the Russian forward to a three-year deal that will average $2.5-million a season.

Carolina plucked Samsonov off waivers in early January after he had posted just four assists in 24 games with the Chicago Blackhawks to begin the season. Samsonov was re-energized by the move, scoring 14 goals and 18 assists in 38 games with Carolina.

The eighth overall pick in the 1997 NHL entry draft by the the Boston Bruins, Samsonov won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's best rookie after notching 47 points. Two seasons later, he recorded a career-best 75 points.

Samsonov was traded by Boston to Edmonton two years ago, and was a solid contributor as the Oilers made a surprise run at the Stanley Cup, but opted to forego Edmonton for Montreal. He spent 2006-07 with the Canadiens, scoring just 26 points and publicly voicing his displeasure about his ice time. Montreal dealt him to Chicago in the off-season.

Overall, Samsonov has amassed 192 goals and 262 assists in 657 NHL games.


Today's NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Schedule

-(6) Colorado @ (3) Minnesota--Game 5--8pm--KSTC 45 (Series tied 2-2)

-(8) Boston @ (1) Montreal--Game 5--6pm (Canadiens lead series 3-1)

-(3) Washington @ (6) Philadelphia--Game 4--6pm--Versus (Flyers lead series 2-1)

-(4) Anaheim @ (5) Dallas--Game 4--7pm (Stars lead series 2-1)

-(7) Calgary @ (2) San Jose--Game 5--9pm--Versus (Series tied 2-2)