Clinging to a 2-1 lead, the Minnesota Wild picked a good time to play their best period of the game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Wild top Hurricanes; each team loses goalie to injury 

**Bring up Zucker , SEND DOWN HEATLEY !!! I use to think he was an all satr for sure, but him playing here has made me lose respect for him. Always drags his feet and could quite possibly lead the league in turnovers.

**Hey look. Carolina = injuries. Let's get one back and lose another. By the time Khudo is healthy and playing again, we'll lose a defender or Skinner to another concussion because some other team doesn't know how to NOT target the head.

**I really hope Harding is ok...serious thought I was having while watching some of this game and others earlier this year....this guy should be Canada's starter in Sochi. What an opportunity and story that would be

**rough night for the goalies...heatley is such a dead weight on this team, throw him on the 4th line//PP, send veilliux down and bring up haula. he has a much better two-way game and looked decent in the preseason. its almost painful to watch heater out there

**YES! absolutely. we all loved cal but his play had dropped as f late, nino has shown a ton of versatility and a scoring touch. cooke has been a huge upgrade over cal as a 3rd liner/PK too, him and brodziak have made some nice chemistry already

**Canes have got to stop taking stupid penalties, especially in the first period. And the ones in the 3rd killed what momentum they had. I really don't want to talk about the injuries, I've had enough

**It'd be interesting to see what Zucker or Haula would bring to the line up... Unfortunately in order to justify that I think Heater needs to get hurt.. you can't just send down a player making $7.5 Million... *face palm* I really hope he comes on here.

**Sorry bud that's an uniformed comment. The guy in his worst full year was in the mid 20's in goals. Lets face it the whole team isn't really putting it in right now. He'll bounce back and be in the 20's again guarantee it

**What a crappy night with both goalies going down. Hate to see Cam's going to be out for 3-4 weeks, hope Harding fares better. Good game Minnesota fans. LETS GO CANES!!

**I was at the game in that corner of the ice when he was struggling around for nearly 2 whole minutes! It was impressive to say the least, and then he was out there for a couple other shifts later just when I thought he was done! Impressive kid you got Hurricanes! And speedy recovery to Cam Ward.

**Murphy is going to be a stud. To see him struggle just to get to his skates, then to fight the way he did to keep the puck out of the net was awesome to see. Most players would have headed to the bench since it was on that end of the ice and allowed their team to play 4 on 5 until the replacement came into play. Not Murphy, He showed me a lot last night and I'm glad he is a Hurricane

**So do the leafs, but theyre 7-3 and will soon have their injured/suspended players back. Perhaps the leafs might want to make a trade for one of your stud defensemen.

**You sir, are correct. benching Heater would give us a viable, dangerous second line. He won't do it, plus he doesn't like Zucker, so he sent him down, even though the guy is a spark and sniper for the team.

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LOS ANGELES -- Just think of how much better the Los Angeles Kings will be once Anze Kopitar and Mike Richards really get going.

Fast start, big finish power Kings past Coyotes

**Yeah, for sure. Apparently fans pick these? I swear thats a huge slap in the face to King. The only possible person I think deserves as much credit this game is Richards. Richards with his game winning short-handed goal.

**Only thing I can agree with is King. Hanzel? I know he got 2 but all the Phoenix goals were far from pretty. A goal is a goal but the Kings dominated 3/4 of this game and had other players who deserved it over Hanzal. And, I would have preferred Carter get 3rd star over Doughty.

**Stars is messed up. Give Dwight 1st Star, and Hanzal 3rd. I know he was on the losing side, but he did get 2 goals.

**Kopi scored his first goal of the season. He also passed up scoring his second of the season so King could complete his hat trick with the empty net. So had Kopi held on to the puck, he would have had 2 goals and an assist. King would have been at 2 goals. Kopi deserved the first star for that unselfish play.

**Kopi was too far back and needed to pass it up. Don't know who was going up the right side but he chose King going up the left instead. It wasn't unselfish but a good heads up play to give King the chance for the hatty.

**Yeah. I saw the replay just now and boy, was I wrong LOL. I was at the game, and from where I was seated, I thought Kopi had an angle to fire the puck. Again, I was wrong. LOL. I also didn't realize he was as deep in our zone as he was.

**WOW what the F was this?! This result is so untypical of the Kings, well actually of both teams! Once again we gave up way too many goals (how can we blow a f-ing 4-0 lead just like that?!), but at least we had an offensive outburst. Oh well, 2 points against a divisional rival, and now it's time to look forward and focus on Edmonton.

**I remember a sport analyzer saying that the Kings had never scored more than 6 under coach Sutter. So, under Teddy Murray I'm sure they scored 7 at least a few times as they played a less defensive style back then.

**I remember in the WCF in 2012 when Dwight King played so well against Phoenix, and somebody came and said "maybe the coyotes would score more goals if the got a play named Coyote"

**The Coyotes showed a lot of character in what was ultimately a loosing effort, but coming back to tie it after being down 4-zip is commendable. Glad the Kings showed their offensive teeth tonight and aside from letting the Yotes back in the game it was a great effort that they can build on. Now if we can just get our hands on a proper 2nd line left wing things will be La Vie En Rose!

**We need to take the positives out of this game and we'll be fine. It takes alot of resiliency to come back being down 4 goals to tie it. To give it back to the kings was more frustrating. Turnovers cost us the two points, but its early and lets be ready to play next game the way we know how we should. We play the kings 4 more times. Its always a good game when we play eachother. They were ready and we weren't gotta start on time boys. GO YOTES, GO BOSTON!!!!!!!!!!

**Yeah, it was a great game. Initially, the Yotes underestimated the power of the Kings, got the quick penalty and lost momentum to start the game and fall behind. It was a rollercoaster until the short handed goal, which just killed them. Can't wait for the rematch on Tuesday. The Pacific is a tough place to be right now.

**How ironic last time Kings gave up 4-0 was that game 3 against the Sharks 3 seasons ago and Griess came in for Neimi and all of us Kings fans remember how that ended and this game was scary close to that one. Mixed reaction for me about that game...Its kinda hard to be happy when you give up a 4 goal lead because you know most likely it was because they got too comfortable and I def give the Yotes credit for not giving up. But I am happy with how many chances the Kings had tonight, Shorthanded alone they could have had 4 goals. Next Tuesday is going to be interesting in Phoenix I def do not think its going to be as high scoring

**Great night for the Kings tonight. Five teams in the division losing and getting the W. I was definitely stressing as the Coyotes scored to tie it and then went on the PP. Richards saved the day. Gkg

**happy with the win, but we need to lock down the game when we have control of it. hopefully this game will kick off hot streaks for kopitar and richards. glad to see different players chipping in though. go kings!

**What a game..Kings was all over the Coyotes in 1st period scored 4 goals thought this game was in the bag ..Well Coyotes had other plans and fought back to tied the game..Thought this was going to be another game 3 against the Sharks in 2011 blow a 4-0 lead and ended up losing in OT 5-6.That wasn't pretty at all.. Just hope the Kings don't blow a 4 to nothing lead again next time they wont get lucky.Glad they won tho.Happy for King getting his first Career hat trick and Kopitar and Richards first goal of the season..Hope they get on some kind of hot goal streak..

**The Kings were awesome tonight, as they fought back against Phoenix, 7-4. Congratulations to Dwight King for the first ever hat-trick of his career! He was superb tonight! And, Anzie Kopitar finally scored a goal tonight, as he becomes the first Kings center to score a goal of the season. GO KINGS!!!!! =D

**Same here, I was reminded of that Sharks/Kings playoff game from 2011. Definitely had me worried. Nice to see Kopi, Richards and Frattin get their 1st goals of the season. Hopefully that gives them all a bit more confidence. And King, whaaat, 3? Great win Kings!

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Washington Capitals to a comfortable 4-1 victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

Red-hot Ovechkin leads Capitals past Oilers

**Oilers, normally I'd say losing 4-1 to a team while outshooting the opposition is nothing short of embarrassing...but you guys were facing Ovi and the Caps...so all is good I suppose XD...just, you know...don't make too much of a habit out of it...

**Grabovski proved why he is better than Ribeiro with that 4th goal set up. Ribs would of never back checked like that.

**Ovi was briliant, but what's going on with our defenders? Previous game Green was awful. tonight Shmidt and Erskin fell every time they got a puck

**Yeah but Ovechkin is closer to Crosby in points (15 to 17) than Crosby is to Ovechkin in Goals (7 to 10). So it's more likely that Ovechkin will catch Crosby, especially when considering how injury prone Crosby has been the last couple seasons.

**i like the caps for 4 even strength goals in all different ways. A set play of the top line off a face off. A traffic goal. A 3 touch passing play from the top line. A turnover into a super corner shot in an open lane. The caps got some stellar goal tending but largely suffocated this oilers team. Caps turning a page on a road trip!

**I hope sometime during ovechkins time in Washington they win the cup, I know it depends on the team but just for being dominant in his career so far you cant help root for him to be rewarded. good game caps too bad our matchup is over already, . . . actually maybe that's a good thing, hopefully we get the next one! lets go oilers!

**I didn't watch the game but looking at the stats it is baffling that a minus 4 player can be 3RD star of the game in a losing effort. Minus 4 with no points and he is a star of the game? Something wrong here.

**Put Gazdic with Eberle and RNH! 4th line has been the best all year, reward them by moving them up and start sitting some guys to send a message. 21 hits in the game by the Oilers and 9 of them come from the 4th line in 7 minutes of ice time. I realize its their job but come on there were 6 guys with over 20 minutes of ice time and they combined for 1 hit! Gaz has good hands, he could set up camp in front of the net and get 15-20 goals a year no problem and dish out some hits to the other teams top line. Bring up some guys from OKC and send a message now not in Feb when its too late. I would throw Bachman in a game as well as the goaltending has been pretty bad.

**Oilers don't put a lot of effort in. Watched one of the Caps take the puck down low along the boards and Petry barely brushed him as he went on by, with the puck. As long as that sort of thing continues, this team is going no where. Not willing to do the little things and pay the price to win. What do they care, they're cashing nice pay checks, lol.

**For the life of me I can't understand how ovechkin shoots the puck so hard with so little effort. I wonder how fast his wrist shot is? He would have to have the hardest shot in the nhl? Ps what on earth is going on with yakupov? He needs to do something, anything, real soon or back to the press box again.

**I wish the NHL kept this home and home format with the teams every year. Seeing Ovechkin and Crosby 3 times already has been a treat. Jagr too and Teemu will be here soon enough. There's something about this Oiler's team that's off putting though. I'm having trouble getting on board, it's like they don't have a lot of heart. Perron and Hemsky looked good, fans of those guys for sure. It'll be good getting Gagner back. offtopic story: Friend of a friend's gf gave Nuge dome and the buddy texted him and nuge texted back beaking him. Buddy didn't care though, he was star struck that he was talking to Nugent-Hopkins.

**The Oilers have to start checking the other teams top guys!! You can't let Ovechken , Patrick Kane , Crosby,Stamkos, etc. run hog wild !! They will bury you before you no it!!! Negate the other teams top 2 guys and you have a much better chance to win!!! The goalies and the coach are not to blame!! Its called Lack of team effort!! Other teams should cringe when they have to play at Rexall--- and never be given any easy wins!!!

**It's not always easy to stop elite players - you kinda need elite D-men for that. On the other hand, it is incomprehensible how Yakupov just skates around Ovi on the first goal - what was he trying to accomplish, pat him on the back?

**Doesn't take much to be one fo the 3 stars these days I guess. I should be one of the stars just for sitting on my couch drinking. I did as much as RNH according to the score sheet.

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DALLAS -- After dropping both ends of a two-game road trip last weekend.

Stars handle Flames with quick three-goal burst

**God Flames what's with last night's play? Horrifying. Hope we pick it up. Then again, everyone expects us to do bad, so I guess we aren't underachieving.

**Give a chance to berra, he does it well in the AHL!! Also why hartley has benched Baertschi, to bring in jackman, come onnnnnnn!!! Its jackman!!

**Wow, what a great win. What a difference not having Give-a-goal-ski in the lineup makes, eh? All kidding aside, it was nice to have a good, solid, all-around win like this after some seriously bad games earlier. Having Kari back there makes such a difference; the team just plays better knowing that he's in net. The top-six is playing great, and Nichushkin is really starting to come along as a player.

**I disagree with alot of the comments saying that Kari "won the game for Dallas". Tonight, perhaps for the first time of the season there were no defensive zone turnovers or unforced errors. If you look at the last 4 games, more or less 50% of the goals allowed have come on turnovers in our own zone. Today they really cleaned it up, easy plays to exit the zone, alot of shotblocking. Sure Kari made 28 saves, but there really wasn't that many quality chances for the Flames and more or less standard saves for Kari throughout the game. Anyhow, great to see the skid end, give us a W against the Jets saturday and maybe, maybe I'll start being a little optimistic!

**Well, depends on how you define lack of defense, atleast 3 of the goals was generated cause the Stars won the puckbattles along the boards. I'd like to think it was because Dallas outworked Calgary, and not because any particular mistakes in your defensive zone coverage. But hey, if it makes you feel better thinking that the Calgary D had an off night, fine by me.

**Man... defensive zone turnovers are just downright depressing! I know we got rookies in the line-up, but Breen's turnover that 'started' the barrage was really unforced. Ramo keeps playing well, but he can't magically fit the whole net every time someone gives the puck away - he could've probably had one of those three at best.

**Well, when you have a goalie that performs as one of the elite when he's healthy, yeah, it's nice to have. Our defense is pretty weak right now except for maybe robi and dillon.

**Kari is a major reason why we even were within sniffing distance of a playoff spot. Yes, Nill does need to find depth. Until there is a complete turnover on the blueline (save for Dillon, that is), this team is a long way from contending or dare I say, even making the playoffs.

**What a poorly chosen game to post this..... The Stars score 5 goals and this guy says "Kari is the only thing holding this team together" I guess when a team scores 5 times that's not the reason they one. What a ignorant hockey "fan"

**LJB, Nice knee-jerk reply. You must not have read your fellow Stars fan's posts on this thread about how Kari makes this team a completely different beast. The last thing I expected to see here after a 5-1 score was gamechanging credit going to the goaltender, but the majority of your fanbase here feels strongly about that. Hence, my comment.... and hope.... that your GM finds someone that can step up in the event you lose your tender again.

**I loved that the Hardline got to call it too! If you go look up the comments on hockeyfights. com, most everyone who's not familiar with Corby or Mike was confused about the announcing but thought it was hilarious.

**Well I know every other Flames fan hates MacDonald, and yes Ramo did not really have much of a chance but he hasnèt played very inspiring hockey no huge saves or anything remarkable he is solid but has yet to bail out the team or make a momentum shifting save. sorry for the run-on sentence my keyboard is messed up and limits my sentence structure like this is my question markÉ

**Last flames game I said the flames need a true veteran number 1 goalie and they all got mad and gave me negatives. Just for a couple years while breaking Berra in. Ramo can be really good, he showed that in the KHL however he has never been consistant.

**I would have been in favour of bringing in Bryzgalov over Ramo because Bryz has NHL experience or get rid of Mac and have Ramo back uping Bryz or Theodore

**What i mean is having Ramo as a backup so he can get accustomed to the North American game while having an actual starting goalie instead of mac

**Yeah I agree he's probably not playing the greatest, but when the alternative is Tim Jackman, I'd rather Sven any day. He's not going to improve sitting on the bench.

**This is almost as bad as our curse in Anaheim, but we don't play well in Dallas. I'm actually surprised at Dallas' record... they have a very good team. They certainly proved it tonight. We need better goaltending and defence... and tonight we couldn't score. Credit Dallas' shot-blocking and Lehtonen of course.

**Maybe this is a dumb question and if so I apologize, but why are the stars keeping Nichushkin? he hasn't produced much and isn't getting the ice time to help him develop that he would get in another league.

**They dont want to send him all the way back to Russia, he wont play in the AHL, and he needs to get used to NA hockey and general lifestyle. Hes not getting a lot of help playing with two of the worst puck handlers in Cole and Horcoff, but he is improving game by game. Maybe not this season but he will break out in big way for sure

**I think its a reasonable question. I think we all expected Val to be incredible right from the start. But I think he's being patient and learning the game here in the NHL. But like I said I think he is really improving, getting good looks and getting pucks to the net.

**Nichushkin has improved by leaps and bounds sense he was scratched for a game, he is starting to get it, taking what the defense is giving him instead of trying to bull his way through the best players in the world. He's 18, he has nothing but time.

**Solid win for the Stars, despite the fact they couldn't score on a 5 on 3 PP. Good to see Ruff shake things up by scratching Goligoski and changing the lines a little. SO GLAD KARI IS BACK!

**That's the way this season will be.. I honestly don't want us to make the playoffs.. Maybe we should go after Miller. Not a whole lot Ramo could do but watching Mac play against Phoenix was horrendous. And I would really like to see Sven Baertschi start scoring.

**Even as a Dallas resident, I don't appreciate Kari enough. This guy is seriously (when not injured) Vezina quality. I think Ellis is the best backup we've had in town in the last few years, but the difference between him and Kari in net is huge.

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Minnesota, outplayed for much of the first 40 minutes, found its game in the third period and won a battle of goaltender attrition 3-1 at Xcel Energy Center.

Wild top Hurricanes; each team loses goalie to injury

**Bring up Zucker , SEND DOWN HEATLEY !!! I use to think he was an all satr for sure, but him playing here has made me lose respect for him. Always drags his feet and could quite possibly lead the league in turnovers.

**Hey look. Carolina = injuries. Let's get one back and lose another. By the time Khudo is healthy and playing again, we'll lose a defender or Skinner to another concussion because some other team doesn't know how to NOT target the head.

**I really hope Harding is ok...serious thought I was having while watching some of this game and others earlier this year....this guy should be Canada's starter in Sochi. What an opportunity and story that would be

**rough night for the goalies...heatley is such a dead weight on this team, throw him on the 4th line//PP, send veilliux down and bring up haula. he has a much better two-way game and looked decent in the preseason. its almost painful to watch heater out there

**YES! absolutely. we all loved cal but his play had dropped as f late, nino has shown a ton of versatility and a scoring touch. cooke has been a huge upgrade over cal as a 3rd liner/PK too, him and brodziak have made some nice chemistry already

**Canes have got to stop taking stupid penalties, especially in the first period. And the ones in the 3rd killed what momentum they had. I really don't want to talk about the injuries, I've had enough

**It'd be interesting to see what Zucker or Haula would bring to the line up... Unfortunately in order to justify that I think Heater needs to get hurt.. you can't just send down a player making $7.5 Million... *face palm* I really hope he comes on here.

**agreed, i think he deserves a call-up more than zucker. more complete two-way game and I'm a little put off by zucker's head shot he pulled a few weeks ago in the AHL...very reckless and stupid play

**Lord, please help the Hurricanes Hockey Club. Being forced to use your 3rd and 4th string goalies isn't what you would call a good thing.

**He stays on his skates now and is much more aggressive on the fore check. Not a natural scorer, but incredible vision and hands this year.

**Heatlley should be benched ASAP. The guy is having a pathetic string of games, I think he has taken slashing penalties 4 or 5 games in a row.

**Sorry bud that's an uniformed comment. The guy in his worst full year was in the mid 20's in goals. Lets face it the whole team isn't really putting it in right now. He'll bounce back and be in the 20's again guarantee it

**I don't think Harding's is too serious... he finished the second period, and they didn't decide to put Backstrom in until 6 mins before the 3rd period started. We'll see...

**I was at the game in that corner of the ice when he was struggling around for nearly 2 whole minutes! It was impressive to say the least, and then he was out there for a couple other shifts later just when I thought he was done! Impressive kid you got Hurricanes! And speedy recovery to Cam Ward.

**Murphy is going to be a stud. To see him struggle just to get to his skates, then to fight the way he did to keep the puck out of the net was awesome to see. Most players would have headed to the bench since it was on that end of the ice and allowed their team to play 4 on 5 until the replacement came into play. Not Murphy, He showed me a lot last night and I'm glad he is a Hurricane

**You sir, are correct. benching Heater would give us a viable, dangerous second line. He won't do it, plus he doesn't like Zucker, so he sent him down, even though the guy is a spark and sniper for the team.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning won't get any style points for their 6-5 overtime victory against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Lightning outlast Blackhawks in OT

**its like whenever an original six team plays in florida, its basically a home game for them. as a wings and bolts fan living in florida, I got to go to a red wings vs lightning game a couple years ago and it was the same exact way, more red jerseys than blue ones.

**And no. Funny how the Bolts stunk last year, didn't play Chicago, Detroit, or even the cup-defending Kings, and still had the 8th highest attendance in the league and 99.2% average capacity while this year they've had 4 Original Six games, 6 against last year's conference finalists, and attendance has fallen to 93.9%. Last year's mark thru 9 games was 100%. Must be all those Original Six fans, eh.

**Sad turnout by the home fans of the Lightning for a home game vs Cup champ Chicago. As a 3rd party, i heard louder Blackhawk chants than I heard Lightning chants. It sounded more like a home game for Chicago. Ditto with a Hawks game recently vs the Panthers, and ditto when I watch other teams visit Florida. Its bad enough Florida does not know how to vote correctly. The least they could do is show up once in a while to support their hockey teams. I heard from a Calgary fan that he walked up to the Tampa ticket window of the Game 7 Cup Finals of 2004, and walked away with two good tickets down low. . Too much JImmy Buffet booze I guess.

**It makes it easier to talk trash when you have no avatar and no username, huh? Dont worry about the Lightning, they sell out a majority of their games despite so many losing seasons. They have better attendance than many teams that go to the postseason regularly. Now stop crying and take the loss like a man. You're embarrassing yourself and your fanbase. (whatever that is this week)

**I dont even buy the whole Calgary fan story anyhow. If Bolts have a good attendance in the regular season (which they always do), I dont see them having trouble selling playoff tickets. And I remember all of those postseason games at the Forum being sold out. This guy is a clown and a troll. Just flag his comments and he will go away.

**While it sounds nice, it doesn't quite work that way thanks to how the Cap works. Khabibulin's salary of 2.0M counts against the cap no matter what. Because Raanta is under an entry level contract, his salary will count towards the cap based on the percentage of NHL games he plays. Since the Hawks only have 1.7M of space, and Raanta's full cap hit is 925K, having him on the active roster now will appreciably cut into the Hawks' trade options in case of injury or a deadline deal. That's a big reason why Raanta isn't on the roster right now, and Hawks fans shouldn't expect him to be called up until perhaps March. The other big reason is the Hawks only have Raanta under a 1yr deal so keeping him out of the spotlight will keep his value down for the multiyear contract the Hawks want to sign him for. ;-) I did not write this. Copied and pasted from below. Credit to aaeismacgychel

**Great back & forth action. Great game by the Lighting. They made the best of their chances. I don't want to sound biased but I obviously will. The Hawks have points in 9 of their 10 games, have lost only 1 game in regulation, but I do agree they have had a lot of problems in the 1st 10 games. They have been involved in six 3-2 games according to the power rankings. One stat that gets overlooked because of the great regular season the Hawks had last year, is the fact that they won the most 1 goal games & were involved in the most 1 goals ( I believe that stat was at the end of the season ) . It will be interesting to see how they match up against the Blues in their remaining 3 games & for that matter Western teams ( they've only played the 2 games in the West vs. Blues ).

**It's still awesome though that the Hawks get at least a point in most of their games. Bolts lost so many close games last year so I really hope this year is different. It was really irritating that we lost to the Pens 5-4 when we were about a minute from going into OT.

**Maybe, maybe not. Give a little credit to the Bolts powerhouse offense. I know it's easy to blame the goalie, but Bolts have been known to make good goalies look bad at times. Besides, didnt we beat Crawford 2 weeks ago? Anyway, good game on both sides. Hawks are the best team in hockey and I'm glad Bolts dont have to play them anymore this season....unless Bolts somehow make the postseason.

**Khabi lost this game for us. A few of those goals should have been easily stopped. He looked like the senile old man that he is out there. Every shot that came his way had him bumbling and scrambling. And the OT winner is undeniably his fault. As preemptive as it sounds, call up Raanta. Unlike old man Bulin, he can still see the puck and his geriatric body won't stop him from play.

**Well, fact is, teams outshoot and outplay teams a lot and somehow still lose the game, its not only the Hawks, and its not only this game. Bulin might have missed a couple on his own, but a lot of it was breakdowns on defense from both teams and for Bishop to only let in 4 goals on 43 shots (yea, the 5th will count against him, but I blame that on Carle) is pretty good given what he was up against.

**Exciting game. St.Louis is one cagey player. Stamkos is a real sniper. Great duo. Except for the obvious gaffe in the 3rd, I thought Bishop was great. Certainly better than our guy. Blackhawks out-shoot the Bolts again but lose. The 1st Bolt goal was a soft one that any NHL goalie should save & the short-handed goal killed us in the end ( no excuses). Hate to lose but Tampa played hard & deserved to win..

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Koivu's Anaheim Ducks weren't able to get him a win Thursday as Tomas Plekanec had a goal and two assists and Carey Price made 31 saves to lead the Canadiens to a 4-1 victory.

**Canadiens beat Ducks to snap two-game skid

I understand that there's a general bias on this site towards the Habs but it's a really classless move on the site's part to not have the Saku KoivuBell Centre ovation from last night as a front-page headline **It hurts! I can not believe we just slept during the first 2 periods after another loss! Good job Habs, you deserved the win no question! Classy fans all the way and best of luck ahead! Haters G_T_F_O!

**Yeah the only way that could happen is if we meet in the Stanley cup final...And there's like a 1% chance that'll happen lol considering Habs aren't built for a deep playoff run just yet.

**in all fairness, the Bruins didn't look Cup eligible a few seasons ago and Timmy Thomas proved us wrong...Then there's the Kings who went from 8th seed in the West to Cup champs being carried mostly by Johnny Quick...if Price could pull that off...well..

**They got him for the big moments, the playoffs... Brière "steps his game up when it counts" people say (which is another way of saying he doesnt give his 100% during the season IMO, but that's another story). I don't think it was a good move, but that's what's behind it.

**I don't know if he still does it, but throughout past seasons he used to change the sticks he was using over the course of the year, having more and more flex each time...maybe he's just better using a stick with a lot of flex :P

**Nah, Brière is old and done. The real this is this: Mtl canadiens have pressure for picking up Québecois. Brière is a celeb québécois superstar. We took him because he speak french and because he's from Québec, thats it.

**Bournival is also 10x Desharnais at a fraction of the price. Lets not forget that he is only making 0.5M less than Briere per season. A bigger waste in my books.

**Feels great as a Finn, that even though we haven't been producing superstar players to the NHL for some time now, It's great to see the love fans show for Teemu in Winnipeg, and for Saku in Montreal, real classy. Respect.

**Hopefully Artturi Lehkonen becomes the next big Finn in Montreal. He looks to have been a steal at 55th overall.

**His skill level is amazing, needs lot of streght and muscle though, but that's something most of the youngster's need, and can be achieved through hard work. Hope he will do well in Montreal in the future !

**It was a beautiful thing to watch the Habs fans giving Saku his final due. Classy classy fans. Plek is finally stepping up the last few games and we'll need it until we get a full roster back.

**in my perfect world, the Habs and ducks would meet for the cup.That way if my Habs lost, I would sooth the sting of defeat by watchnig Kaptain Koivu hoist the cup.

**Canadiens get better game by game as they confirmed their rising performance tonight against Ducks. Particularly, Plekanec with his line mates is hot now. I wonder that Koivu appeared among the three stars of the game, the only reason could be that journalists just paid tribute to him that way.

**Complete other match than vs. the Oilers match but still Carey Price was very solid : has been like that most of the beginning of the season ! Bournival impressed me yet again ! Still don't understand why Ducks changed their logo : I liked their previous much better ! I didn't expect Montreal Canadiens to win againt Ducks that are in very good form : surprising but pleasant win... Yet on saturday Habs meet at home the Sharks : another powerful team of the West !

**Price was good, but he was not exeptionnal, he didn't steal that game. I would agree against the Nucks and maybe the blue jackett he kind of saved teh game, but yesterday he was not really tested, most of the Ducks shot where from far away and ere not dangerous.

**Word. Biggest problem with the Ducks is when they stop moving their feet in their own zone. If you watch their last two games they turned over pucks like crazy in their own zone and in the neutral zone. They should stop being lazy and move around so defenders can make those outlet passes.

**Hmm....well the Ducks have been flat for about 80 percent of the past 2 games and like half the previous 5. And i've noticed a lot of these has started with our top line. This is why I was afraid after signing Getz and Perry to 8 year deals, they are flat out dominant when they show up, but too many times this year they just aren't trying hard enough, and Bobby isn't there to pick up the slack anymore. Gonna be a long year if they don't light a fire under their arse here pretty soon.

**We just came off a seven game winning streak bro, calm down. Not time to abandon ship. Hockey season is long and full of streaks, we'll come back from this no doubt. Getzy and Perry are beasts.

**Carey Price is absolutely playing at an Olympic caliber right now! Good for him. The guy is the backbone of this team , and deserves all the credentials he can get. Fans may harp on him a bit right now, but if he makes/help Canada out, and wins a few playoff series, he'll be exalted. Couldn't happen to a better guy. My Olympic predictions for Goalies right now would have to be Price going is as number 1 if he keeps up this play. Flower and Lu battling for the second spot. That could change, and probably will, but who could complain with those 3 as your goalies??

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The Flyers beat the New York Rangers 2-1 for their second victory in nine games this season.

Flyers beat Rangers to end four-game skid

**Five and a game on Pouliot because Talbot went down on a bump by the bench... Yeah, right. Wasn't going to be NYR's night if that was going to be the case. Down a star goalie, the leading scorer, the captain, and top six forward, you at least need some breaks, and the Richards goal was not enough.

**rammed? try again bud. both going for a puck. both take the body. talbot loses balance goes into the boards hard and awkward. i dont disagree with call because it looked real bad and refs really had no choice. i do question the ejection. who knows maybe they will start playing with inflatable boards now the way things are going and how people tend to forget that hockey is the roughest toughest sport in the world....

**and exactly what is your point? Are you making a comment on the fact that statistics are provided to fan bases so that they can make such astute comments as yours?

**man i just can't get over how this could be happening to these 2 teams. they both have some really good players on their teams. i thought the flyers would have been in the top 3 in the metro with a good season from s.mason which he is having.congrats steve. flyers are going to break this kid spirit if they don't wake up soon.as for the N.Y rangers just don't know where to start other than i thought with a bounce back season from richards this team would be 2nd in the metro. richards is doing his job but everything else has gone wrong. coaching change was a nice thought that has seemed to have had back fired and the trades have really have not favored the rangers to this point. nash has crioppled this team with his injury which is not of any fault of his and the recent play of brassard and dorsett they needed that sturdy hand of guidance that tort's was well known for. now that tort's is gone so with it went the strong hand that these players needed.at this point i just think the rangers are in a tailspin, and if they don't start playing with some urgency soon the fat lady may be visiting them soon. goodluck to these 2 teams in the near future i hope for everybody sake they can turn this around, wouldn't be the same without these 2 teams competing for a playoff spot.

**I think it is time for the test to be over. This Coach does not have the players he needs for his system to work, and for the people who say wait give it time. NOT!.. Replace the coach and his staff. I have always believed most and I say most players should play two way hockey. If you loose track of your assignment ( man to man) you aren't to play his system.. No D, No O. which means the coach has to GO! I have been a Ranger fan all the back in the early 60's.. Most of the time when you have a star player on the Rangers, that player never becomes the player you want. Then when they get traded WOW the Star plays unbelievable. That's how it is to be in any Ranger system.. this is fact!

**I don't understand how bad can the Flyers be, I remember one year and a half ago when they dominated the Penguins in the memorable playoff matchup and since then Giroux's just a ghost, Bryz has been thrown away like Laviolette, what's wrong with them?

**I think all Flyers fans must look to good things evolving. Read, Mason were absolute beasts and Talbot also. In this hard times most important for team is to pick the self-confidence. This Mason looks like totally positive change on goal and big base for that item. PP is horrible and there is a lot of place for improvement, too. Yes, we are stuck with some non-talented players, especially regarding the puck handling and taking it out of defense field. But, build on positive things, not every thing is black. Greetings from optimistic Croatian fan.

**Injuries and coaching changes have killed the gel that this team had. Blocking shots, goaltending, and exploiting the opponent's mistakes was what made NYR competitive. This "offense-first" garbage just DOES NOT FIT the team's makeup. They don't have the talent like the Pens have, where (most of the time) winning can be "who scored more goals"...

**Why would he be fired for the signings of either ? People act as if they are were the main reasons we were so successful..They really weren't. Not only that, but why do people stick the two different trades together? We traded Carter to CBJ, and from there he was traded to L.A. Richards was the only player traded to L.A. On top of that, people act as if they also were a huge part in the Kings championship. They didn't do anything for the entire playoffs, especially the cup. Carter maybe in Game 6, but by the time he scored it was already over...Best of yet, the players we acquired from those 2 trades ( Simmonds, B. Schenn, and Voracek) all combined more points in those playoffs than Carter & Richards together. However, as of now Carter is on fire. Has been for awhile . Nevertheless, I'm happier we have these 3 rather than those 2.

**Richards and Carter didn't do anything during the Kings cup run? Let's see. Carter was tied for goals scored among EVERYBODY in the playoffs. Richards was 4th on the Kings in points. Don't even give me the players the Flyers acquired have more points arguement either. There is a lot more to hockey than point totals. No one the Flyers got back in those deals matches the intangibles that Richards and Carter brought to the team. There is no heart in Schenn and Simmonds, and the lack of heart right now is the Flyers biggest issue.

**Schenn is one of the only ones I've seen give his all out there the entire season. I know some Flyers fans love to think that trade was our "undoing" but in reality, you're just nitpicking at this point. A season ago people were loving the trades because it brought us all those players. Now because they cant find their groove just yet, the same fans are criticizing and giving up on them. Its the same thing with Bryz all over again. The only reason people bring those trades up anymore is because they want to justify how bad the teams doing. Its happened what, two or three seasons ago? Get over it. This is the team we have. Its ruhgly the same team that went to the playoffs the season before last. Deal with it.

**Easily one of the worst games of hockey I have ever watched. Not saying this to troll but both teams just look so lost out there I just dont understand it. I think the bodysnatchers are here cuz whoever is occupying Giroux's body is not the same player iv seen the last few years

**another neew line for giroux. i think his 4th so far. tough to ask out of a player. did alot of great things behind the scenes tonight. passes were creative and crisp and he even got into it a little bit. giroux was a plus tonight

**The answer is simple to this. The Monstars came and took their talent so they could beat the Looney Tunes and Wayne Gretzky in a winner takes all hockey game.

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Thursday night to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 shootout win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center.

Canucks top Devils, Schneider in shootout

**Am I the only one who thinks Patrick Elias looks like a clown? No offense to the guy, great player, but just look at the three stars selections tonight

**Can Deboer please stop mixing the Gionta, Bernier and Carter line with other teams top lines. First off I believe that team can score against other teams, so putting them in a defensive mode against other teams top guns puts them at a disadvantage. All our lines showed last night we back check and play decent D just let them roll. It makes no sense to skip lines cause the other team puts their top guns out then a line with Ryder has to sit for 2 shifts. We're built on 4 lines who produce and wear teams out now let them. As far as Gelinas goes please keep him and Larsson together for years to come.

**I haven't seen a more unlucky team than the Devils this entire calendar year (last shortened season and beginning this season). Watching/being at all the games and advanced stats, you name it, Devils are outplaying opponents night-in and night-out and losing. It's becoming very frustrating.

**What's to explain? Schneider didn't do a thing for us and his .200 career playoff winning % is just plain embarrassing and his mental breakdown in the 2011 playoffs where he had to be carried off the ice after a penalty shot goal.

**In all honesty, we're not that bad. We've gotten 4 points because of OT games. It would be another story if we lose all the games with a big margin. The games are pretty even all the time. Don't worry, we'll get it together. Develop good chemistry with all the new guys

**Would be nice IF they would finally start to develop some chemistry. Apart fromSchneider, Ryder, Jagr and Zid, everybody is underperforming on their squad. Sadly.

**That loss is totally on Schneider...his team gave him every chance in the world to win and he fell flat on his face...me thinks the elite goaltender talk is somewhat premature...someone said he hasn't been the problem, but he certainly hasn't been the solution either

**as a season ticket holder last night was a fun game to be at...the story here is gelinas..he was quick, smart on defense, and scored a goal...we really did play a full complete 60 minute game..i love cory but he has to learn how to handle the puck better...marty will teach him that...its tough times..but what fans would we be if we only rooted for them when they're good..its a tough time...but it can only get better!!

**Thank you. We are getting better and the team will come around. Play-offs? Probably not. But we'll be better soon. We still stand behind these guys, tough season or not. Our prospects, based on Gels last night, are looking good. We have good things in our future.

**I was at the game last night. Not too happy with the result, but the team played pretty well. Gelinas was amazing. He hit, he shot, he scored, he passed, and did just about anything to convince DeBoer to stay on the roster. Schneider wasn't great, I think everyone already knows that though. And while he may be to blame, just keep in mind that the team is a combined 0-12 in three shootouts. I personally think Ryder, Loktionov, and Steve Bernier should get chances in the shootout. I know some might disagree, but when our "top" forwards aren't scoring in the shootout, put shooters in that goalies aren't familiar with. Let's just hope they bounce back vs. Boston. Go Devils!!

**That was the same exact response I got from the Edmonton game. Forget about the shootout? Seriously? That's the difference between a win and a loss, even if they do get one point. Bad goals happen, and you can't dwell on it. When the game goes into a shootout, you need to do whatever it takes to get that extra point. So no, as long as the shootout remains a method for tie-braking, the Devils need to do whatever it takes to win a shootout.

**No, the difference between a win and a loss when a game ends 2-2 in regulation is the fact that your goaltender let in not one but two terrible goals...again, forget about the shootout...as has been stated many times, the shootout is nothing but a gimmick

**So what I'm getting from you, is that if the game is tied after 65 minutes, we should just throw up our hands in the air and accept the loss? I know it's a gimmick, I completely agree, but think about it, the Devils are 0-3 in the shootout. If they won 2 out of those three, their record would be 3-5-2 with 8 points. It's still better than 1-5-4 with 6 points. If you want to see the OT loss column stack up from shootout losses, that's your problem, but when it goes into a shootout, you don't dwell on whatever happened in the game, you go for that extra point.

**Yeah, the two goals were kinda silly, but Jersey outshot the 'Nucks 17-7 in the third and had a number of good looks...no goals. Our ability to dominate possession is nice, but we need to convert. Schneids took this on himself and said it could've been 2-0 if not for him - honestly, it could have easily been 5-2, and probably should have been. Bottom line: If we can't win games with two goals against us (desserved or not), we aren't going to win many games this year.

**Henrique, had Luongo beat, 1-2" to the right and it was in. In the last year everytime we get in a shoot out, I pretty much just turn the game off, because I know the ending to that story. Lost our two best shoot out guys, Parise, and Kovy. SO line up should be Henrique, Ryder, Patty. Zajac is garbage in the shootout.

**Next on to St. Louis to play a team who has been waiting around for a week to play, against a Canuck team who have played 4 games in that time and going in playing back to back games. Seriously, what kind of chance does the team have with that kind of BS scheduling?

**That's the way the schedule works. All teams have their rough patches, except for the teams that don't, what good's whining and crying going to do about it? That's like complaining that the refs are out to get you

**We all know our Devils are building momentum after the past 3 games just played 3/6 points earned in the standings. The Devils are starting to be building better chemistry in the hopper and before you know it a wonderful brew of success will be there for the rest of the year. Think about what Lou will do by bringing up Merrill and trading a guy like Salvador or Volchenkov.

**the past 3 games? did you watch the game in columbus? we played well against a poorly performing rangers squad, we forgot to turn up in columbus. tonight was real good performance not the ending i wanted though, but if we can continue to play like tonight on a more consistent basis then we're heading in the right direction and PDB may still be our coach at the end of the year.

**I think the Devils` defense needs to be rebuilt a bit, Volchenkov and Salvador make too many mistakes. They do not bring into the play what they were believed to do - toughness, consistency and experience. Devils are also struggling with scoring. A good thing is that they can create a lot of scoring chances each game. With Elias` return Devils get even stronger as he`s the real leader of this franchise for many years, one of the most underrated players playing in NHL. But tonight`s performance is a good prospect of better tomorrows.

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Boston Bruins won a battle of red-hot goaltenders, 2-1 Thursday at TD Garden.

Bruins end Sharks' streak with last-second goal

**Sharks played better and should have won this game, but.... thanks to the hockey Gods, we had Rask between the pipes! Krejci's goal as well at 0:8 before the end of 3rd was a pure beauty! 2 more points and we are now first in the division & in the conference. GO BRUINS!!!!

**Good game bruins. This game is very frustrating for a San Jose fan. I didn't like how jumbo played all game,especially him forcing passes that aren't open and turning over the puck. Ive been watching all the sharks games and I have to say, with the team healthy Jumbo might be the weak spot on the top 6. Trade him.

**Ok first off I will agree I did not like how Jumbo played last night. Not tying up Krejci stick with 0.08 seconds left to go and leaving him uncontested in the highslot is well just plain bad but a call for him to be traded.. I don't think so. Jumbo makes our top line what it is. Having Burns out I think has made a difference in the last 2 games.

**Thornton is one dimensional? Your joking right? He is +164 career and is +6 this season so far. He lead the league in takeaways a few years back and even plays on the PK. Are we talking about the same guy?

**Anonymous, your not understanding what i'm saying. I know hes good defensively (except that krejci goal) but im talking about how one dimensional he is passing.hes predictable and doesn't even think about shooting anymore.

**One dimensional? He's actually better defensively than most give him credit for, just not the same defensively skill like Couture, Marleau, and Pavelski. He's one of the best playmakers in the game, in fact, you can argue he's only behind Crosby when it comes to passing ability in the league today. He turned this team into a cup contender, and I hope he retires as a Shark. I seriously cannot believe there are Sharks fans who want him traded. That's like Senators fans saying Spezza should be traded.

**I completely agree with you. 1) Thornton's lack of speed is very apparent on the top line 2) His lack of aggressiveness on the PP is very frustrating - teams know he is going to pass and collapse on the open lanes 3) Too often he turns the puck over high in the zone. I know he likes to play the puck possession game, but it's inexcusable to button hook at the faceoff dot to only feed the transition game and have Boston score on that. 4) His saving grace is his relentless back check, but that's really because he is responsible for so many giveaways. It doesn't do much good to lead the league in takeaways AND giveaways...its a zero sum.

**WOW! I have never seen Chara like that before. It must have been "that" time of the month! He was clearly frustrated with the way San Jose was playing. The two dirty hits he made should have been penalties. The Sharks would have had a much higher chance of winning had he been called for the penalties. Oh well though. That's why hockey is such a great game; they play 80+ games.

**I agree he looked frustrated, and maybe they could have been penalties...but to be honest consdiering the size differential between him and anyone else i'm surprised he doesn't injure people more often on accident.

**As a big Bruins fan and an even bigger Chara fan, both hits in the game last night were unwarranted. I understand finishing a check but Chara went much too high on Wingell and should have been penalized for it (just penalized, not suspended IMO) The hit on Hertl is the one that really bothered me as a fan of Chara. I get you want to bring a physical presence to the game and be the captain and keep people off your goalie but it was completely unnecessary. He should have been called for a cross check and in a tied game where you were already being outplayed by San Jose, you put your team in a situation to lose the game. It disappointed me to see Chara not get called for either hit as people have already started labeling him as a dirty player and he's not doing himself any favors making plays like that. As a Bruins fan that's just my take on the situation.. Cheers to everyone and Go Bruins!

**I had the same thought myself. I think Chara is great but last night he just looked bad. He looked frustrated and tired. Both of his dirty hits last night deserved penalty minutes, and maybe one of them deserves suspension. The fact that both hits were not called by the refs made me feel the outcome was definitely swayed in Bostons favor with San Jose losing a key player for the duration of the game.

**After the hit on Hertl I actually felt for the Sharks.. a power play at that point in the game could have made a huge impact on the result of the game and players shouldn't get away with plays like that. Regardless of if they're on the team I cheer for or not.

**Gotta love playing Boston! Always a tough fought game! Broke my heart with that last seccond goal but thats hockey! Fight till the end! Nice game Bruins! I will see you at the Tank for round 2!

**As a Bruins fan I was nervous watching this game the whole time. Rask had to stand on his head to keep the Bruins in this game and the Sharks outplayed them for most of them game. I love seeing Rask play at an elite level but the defense looked very shaky last night and made a lot of bad turnovers. On a different note though Lucic is on fire this year and he looks like he's playing on a whole new level this year. He's going to turn in a really good year this year IMO.

**The hit on Wingells is Wingell's own fault. Chara went straight at him, arms down, stick across his thighs. Wingells tried to duck the hit and got smacked in the face. Good grief. If he'd stayed vertical nothing would have happened, and I mean nothing. As desperate as people are trying to prove Chara is dirty, this mock outrage is ridiculous. Wingell ducked like a little female dog and did it to himself. Hertl went to the front of the net and Chara taught the rookie a lesson. The Hertl cross-check should have been a penalty, but anyone calling for a suspension needs to go un-knot their panties.

**Chara isn't a villain, the man is clearly capable of destroying forwards but he generally keeps himself in check and doesn't use his size in a cheap manner. But seriously... every time a player gets a concussion there is always someone like you saying that it's his own fault for getting hit in the head - that's ridiculous. I personally don't consider Chara a dirty player or think he had intent to injure, but you are the misinformed clown on here because the onus is ALWAYS on the checking player, Wingles didn't give himself a concussion.

**Right, because they never evaluate whether a player changed position immediately prior to the hit being delivered... oh wait, yes they do. It's actually one of the key criteria in evaluating a injury resulting from a hit. Wingell ducked at the wrong time; end of story.

**Honestly, this Atlantic division is daunting, aside from buffalo and Florida of course: 1) Boston has a team that is currently strong and will be strong for several more years as they have a good core, and some nice young talent 2) Detroit makes playoff after playoff, and although they would be in trouble if Datsuyk or Zetteberg were gone, that won't happen for a long time, and they are surely contenders this year 3) Toronto is finally on board and has a strong team (even though they won several games this season after being outplayed), Nonis has done a great job in my opinion (that Raymond pickup was brilliant). Reimer and Bernier have been excellent 4) Ottawa has perhaps one of the strongest young players in the NHL, they are still trying to mesh, but when they do mesh (Karlsson, Spezza, and Ryan play to their abilities), this is a daunting and powerful team that can beat anyone, especially with 2 of the strongest goal tending duos in the NHL 5) Tampa has arguably a stronger young core of players than Ottawa meaning they are tops in the league, they have some top notch players in Stamer and St Speedster Louis. 6) Montreal.... don;t like montreal so I'll leave it there (but they have a good team)

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BUFFALO -- Milan Lucic and Torey Krug each had two goals to lead the Boston Bruins to a 5-2 victory against the Buffalo Sabres.

Eriksson injured in Bruins' third straight win

**If I was a sabers fan, this would be the last game I watched of theirs for years.... one sad hockey team.

**just saw the hit. john scott: 187 gp 1 GOAL 5 assists 324 pim..why is this guy in the league if he has no hockey talent at all. i've been disappointed with the suspensions so far this month but this hit by far takes the cake as the worst hit. obviously a late hit, injures a star player and acts like he did nothing wrong. this has to be the last straw for the sabres. get rid of kaleta and scott. if the sabres want a hockey team that wants to win they should bring up some rookies that actually have talent and the drive to win games. i hope shanny gives him 20 games atleast this guy is total garbage.

**Shanny should give Scott 10 games along with Kaleta and fine the owners a cool million, payable to a TBI charity. Until it starts costing management this will not stop.

**I was going to post this last night on my iPhone, but for some reason I couldn't, but here it is: As was said earlier, I think no matter what team you're a fan of, hockey has no place for these kinds of hits. It makes me sad and frustrated that this is what our game is becoming. Yes, players gotta stand up for each other, but you know what? This isn't UFC. These idi0t, classless players aren't getting the messages they need to get. They need to change their game. They need to play hockey the way it's meant to be played. I was initially hesitant when Torres went to SJ, but now I'm convinced he can play the right way. He is changing his ways. Like another person commented below, we aren't here to see John Scott deliver a dirty hit. We're not here to see a boxing match between two teams. Again, as much as I love to see the hard-hitting and fights, that ain't what hockey's about, and it's these types of hits I feel are giving our sport a bad name. I honestly hope Scott gets a 10-game suspension, but since it's Shanaban, he'll only get 5. As for the Sabres organization itself... boy, I feel bad for y'all. I really do. I think any sensible fan would. With all the struggles this franchise had faced, I'm really interested in seeing what's next for this club. Hope Eriksson recovers quickly.

**It is a depressing city right now.. Even the Bills have more wins than the Sabres! and I hate fighting. Our team is pathetic. Daracy put this squad together. I needs a revamp!!! UGH

**lol, you can't blame him for wanting a shot to play with Crosby. Look how well they did in the Olympics of 2010. The realistic is Pits coaching and management were set in their ways with their line so they played him on a 2nd line role with other centers and players. Iginla only went to Pits for Crosby and a shot for the cup. He didn't get a chance to play with Crosby (which is unfortunately, they would have been magical) and well, you Bruins insured he didn't get the Cup either lol.

**i wasnt thrilled that morning either but after a while it made sense and the ultimate karma came into effect, but that doesnt change the player he is and when i heard he was in fact coming to the bruins as a free agent i was pretty excited

**I get the attraction, they are a "golden team with golden player" it was just the overnight snub, and then to play them, stop all of their "golden players" and team and sweep them, instant karma, could not have wished it to go any better. Since Iginla has been with the Bruins, he is hustling and getting in there physically, welcome to the Bruins Iginla!

**I understand having tough guys on your team. I think all teams need them BUT they need to also bring something else to the game. Some type of skill besides fighting. Scott brings NOTHING to hockey. He has NO skill. 5 TOTAL points in his career and ZERO points in the last 3 years. Scott should be out of the league.

**Disagree totally...Scott is the best enforcer in the league...at least he brings that to the table...the problem with the Sabres is their so called skilled players are unskilled...he's not there to bring points to the table, he's there to protect your very unskilled skill players

**An enforcer does not look for the cheap headshots. He stands up for his teammates when the going gets tough. There are lots of enforcers in this league who can actually play the game. This guy is not an enforcer, he's a waste of bench space.

**Shawn Thornton for the B's is a great enforcer, and he put a wicked wrister in net earlier this week. He puts up the points. He mentors the younger guys on the team. He visits kids in the hospital. Scott is a bag of trash. He is not the "best enforcer in the league". He is a classless, dirty savage. No place for him in hockey.

**Agreed completely. He's redundant on Buffalo, anyway...they already have Ott as an enforcer and agitator, and like Thornton, is capable of putting the puck in the net more or less consistently.

**I am so embarrassed and disappointed to be a Sabres fan this year. It's one thing to be rebuilding, but their is no emotion when they play. It's like watching zombies skate around for 60 minutes, taking a few shots here and there, and getting run all over. Teams skate right over us. We don't even make it competitive most of the time. If they gave 100% the whole game and lost then its a different story. They actually put in EFFORT. That's all I want to see. No more of this garbage. All the players keep saying they are making mistakes and need to fix it. Well someone needs to step up soon. Stafford? Ennis? Ott? Where are they at? The atmosphere at the games is awful now. It used to be fun going to the games... now its just frustrating and not worth my time. If this organization had any clue, Reiger should have been fired this morning... The fans deserve more. Guess well just fight through another day. Should be great when we play Dallas at home next week. Enough for one day...

**I don't think fighting needs to be eliminated from the game. What needs to be eliminated is the type of player like Scott, who play 3 minutes a night and do stupid things like this without even contributing to actual hockey playing in any sort of manner.

**besides all of the obvious negatives from this game there were a few bright points IMO. I think that was the best game Hamilton has played in the NHL not just for scoring but his skating and desicion making. Krug once again is showing he belongs in the top 6 D-men. And Lucic is actually starting a year hott and looks to be in much better shape than he was most of last year. Bruins are still working through some things, getting a little more chemistry with the new players and even Marchand on the 3rd line can get a little more going this is a very scary team

**I'm sick of this... Not only are we the worst team in the NHL but we are making a reputation as the dirtiest. This is what Pegula meant by our "reason for existence is to win a Stanley Cup"? I mean we have been getting worse by the year since 2009 and it looks like we have finally hit rock bottom. This "hockey organization" is pa.thetic from top to bottom. How Regier is still GM on this day is ridiculous and for us to be using the "rebuild" excuse is even more ridiculous. Rolston is obviously not head coaching material either and the fact that this team still uses John Scott as its enforcer is utter garbage. Goodbye Vanek and Miller, if they know whats good for them they would leave this disaster without a second thought.... We will be cellar dwellers for AT LEAST 3 years and probably more thanks to the hands of Pegula's poor ownership, Regier's POOR decisions at GM, and Rolston's inexperience as a head coach to get the most out of the young athletes. No Sabres fan can be proud of this team and if we're seriously going to stick with Regier, Rolston, and the excuses of "rebuilding" through the rest of the season then I hope the attendance drops because as Sabres fans we can't stand for this.

**I feel for you guys. Kaleta and now Scott on top of a rebuilding team. It must be hard to cheer for the Sabres at this point. It's frustrating when you see your team do stuff that you would attack another team for if it was done to your own. I'll freely admit the Lucic hit on Miller was one of those times for me.

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The Senators' 6-1 rout of the Red Wings on Wednesday night at Joe Louis Arena.

Senators beat Red Wings in first game vs. Alfredsson

**I think Babcock is going to have to split up Datsyuk and zetterberg for a while. None of the Wings' lines except the fourth line seem to have any kind of chemistry. I would like to see something like Datsyuk/Bertuzzi/Alfredsson and Zetterberg/franzen/Weiss. Or you could even do a swedish five lineup with Zetterberg/Franzen/Alfie with Kronwall and Ericsson on D. Abdelkader and cleary on the third line I guess. Or

**he said he won't and i think he shouldn't. it's gonna take some time for weiss to get it together it's a brand new coaching system and he's obviously not used to it yet. keeping tatar on that second line is working. if that third line of cleary-mule-alfie can start getting better then the team can finally be deeper

**Bitter-sweet game since I have Spezza on my team. This would have been the game that I would have been ok with him slowing down his scoring haha. But great game by the Sens. Hopefully the next ones are a lot closer.

**Stahp it Gustavsson, how am I supposed to compliment the Sens for taking us to school when you're staring holes into my soul?!

**Does it really matter who will play for the team canada? Canada will win the olympics even if their team is combined from the worth NHL fourth-liners, the gap between canada and other teams is just unreal...

**Having heard many times about Datsyuk's, Zetterberg's and Alfredson's excellency I decided to watch this one. Well, it's hard to find a word to describe my disappointment. Wings were helpless.

**Corporations buy out a lot of those lower bowl seats and then either can't give the tickets away, or the people just don't show up. Most likely cause it's in the middle of the week. It's a lot more full on weekend games.

**Anyone notice the East Conference Standings? can someone explain the play off picture to me the Atlantic has 6 of the top 8 in there Division but doesn't the top three in each make it or something?

**Atlantic is Cleary the strongest Division just curious how it works? really isn't fair to have 4 original 6 in the same division to and 5 of them in the east.

**Yup...heard top 3 of each division will lock the playoffs >( That gives Philly a fighting chance to make the playoffs while MUCH stronger clubs in the Atlantic could get booted out. Such a dumb system, should have removed the automatic clinching for divisions all together!

**So glad Alfie is gone too, he has been slowing us down the last few years in the playoffs, he had no belief in the Senators to win the cup, Spezza has more Heart then Alfie and is a better leader on and off the ice for the younger players on the team.

**He had no faith in our team, last year he even said it in a interview that they can't win against the Pens. That's not what captains do buddy they have to say the opposite. and the year before in the playoffs he through a big temper tamptrum during the Rangers series knowing that they couldn't win. so glad he left wheew

**Good game for the Sens if we play like we did last night in the playoffs we have a good chance at the Cup, i was not impressed by the Red Wings last night. Wings are overrated Sens and leafs are both better, we got more depth in our forward line up and have more heart then the wings wheew go Sens Go

**Love the Sens but there is still quite a bit of work to do. I see their potential a lot, i.e. tonight, but the consistency is definitely not there. Every season there are improvements though, so being a Cup contender is definitely in the near future unless someone up top messes it up.

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Toronto spotted the red-hot Anaheim Ducks a two-goal lead before Kessel's hat trick rallied them to a 4-2 victory Tuesday night

Kessel's hat trick rallies Maple Leafs past Ducks

**Was worried this would happen against a better team. The Ducks are 0-2 against better teams so far this season. It's early so I am just over worrying, but the great start has been against pretty weak teams so far

**Hey Toronto faithful. Way to make it difficult for my Bruins. We have to win 2/3 just to tie you guys now, and we have a back to back with the second game against San Jose. This is looking like an intense year for our division.

**Not sure why Kessel gets so much heat, even from Toronto fans. Think I read some comments referring to his D game. Maybe I haven't caught enough Leafs games over the years, but he is awesome as far as I can see. Sure wouldn't mind him suiting up as an Islander...

**tough to witness it go down in that building. too many breakdowns, couldn't convert on the PP, and the leafs outworked us from the second period on. looking on the positive side, that point blank save hiller made was unbelievable. lindholm is even more impressive in person. great composure. ducks need to use him on the PP more.

**My grandmother used to say *holy mackinaw* and she was from a French Canadian background. She used to use it as a slang, like "Holy mackinaw - that fellow is stupid!"

**i been wondering where are all the ducks fans ?!? it was a good game, sad teemu didnt score from those good spots he got, better luck next game and hiller did a good job, those goals were really well done, its just pure luck if u can stop those.

**I think the Leafs are the most clutch team in the league. It seems when we really need a goal we get it. Of course it doesn't always happen like in our 3 losses but still.

**It still baffles me to see so many Leafs haters. They can make the finals, and they'll still say that the team is horrible. I guess you just can't fix stupid. Anyway, I hope Clarkson will play well for you guys. He's a hard worker, and should provide a bit of extra scoring to an already potent offense.

**I feel bad for the Devils. The whole Kovelcuk conundrum really put you guys into a hard spot. And what most people forget is yes while he forfeited his salary and thus the cap hit, you guys were still penalized for those first round picks and you still got fined and now you're left with no asset from a #1 line star player. That's not fair and I hope that NJ doesn't get stuck into a long rebuild phase. They have always been a defensively sound team.

**you guys at the top 2 years in a row and nothing, too bad for the real fans but it's a long way down for you, once you hit rock bottom you'll realize how far it is to the top, and that scratch hits ya once you're back up on your feet, will we choke again, or will we choke again twice lol

**haha. I sure hope so. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. As a fun fact, Blackhawks had the longest drought, but they went to the SCF I believe 6 or 7 times before they won. The leafs haven't been to a SCF since 1967 so it really has been a rough time. Like I said I wouldn't wish that on any team lol.

**TMB, I want to say on a personal note that I know there's an intelligent hockey fan behind the name. As much as you may troll, the comments and hate directed towards you is still not the right approach by the many fans on this board. "Treat others how you want to be treated" is a statement that is being sorely missed here - from both sides. It's a lot of pent up aggression from lack of success for so many years for leaf fans and I think you just need to cut some slack for a lot of leaf fans because of that. It's like a bunch of school girls who finally got their first crush or something. R3t@rded yes, but it's a phase and it'll pass. Maybe if you could take the high road and be the better person when making your statements (and often accurate data points), you might be able to carry out some good hockey and civil conversations here. I think we managed pretty well today (you and I). I mean just because you may think some people are d3lusional and even if they really are lol it doesn't mean you have to label them as such. Greatness is something that is achieve by acts of respect. Respected players and people achieve greatness and that's not limited to pro-athletes. Something to keep in mind for future conversations because I feel you have a lot of value to add to these boards without all the negativity - smart hockey doesn't have to be d3rogatory. I'm actually looking forward to the first meet between the Bruins and the Leafs, I hope it's a good caliber game, right where we left off from the playoffs.

**Kyle, please don't think of MBB as a regular person. Trying to start a respectful, meaningful dialog is unlikely when you are dealing with someone who likely a sociopath. You can keep trying, but the guy has been trolling these pages for years. I don't think there is anything you can say that will prevent him from continuing his hateful trolling. It's best just to ignore him.

**The offense has potential. Ryder and Brunner have both been playing well, and DeBoer can still mix up the lines for better chemistry. The defense is the bigger problem now, but I'm reserving further judgement until Merrill and Gelinas are brought up. I guess you can call it a rebuild, but it shouldn't take too long.

**I think New Jersey is missing 2 real offensive threats that they lost in Parise and Kovalchuk, + you could use some more dynamic 2-way defensmen. Aside from that you have good depth up front, some solid defensive minded defensemen, and a pair of good goalies.

**because they are jealous and have nothing better to do than hate on the leafs, maybe deep down they are actually leafs fans just don't admit it. As leaf fans we have become accustomed to haters it comes with being the LEAFS but we love our team and will support no matter what those LOSERS try and say about them. Its funny they have their own teams but would rather spend time bashing another team like its gonna help their team or make them look good but they end up looking sad and pathetic.

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The Los Angeles Kings' penalty killing unit finally cracked Calgary a 3-2 win Monday night at Staples Center.

Power play sparks Flames in win over Kings

**I don't expect the flames will be a playoff team this year, but I fully expect they will play themselves out of a top 5 or even top 10 pick. I don't really mind though because I think this is the right way to rebuild. They don't seem like a team that decided to rebuild but more like an expansion team, that realised it had parts coming from different places and no stars to rely on so they went out to make every game a contest with no excessive pressure to succeed. It's a much better environment for developing players than, for example, Edmonton where young players were given huge roles very quickly. That's not to say Edmonton's system can't work, but I think it all depends on getting the right young players (see Chicago).

**Really enjoyed that game. I thought both teams looked pretty even. Lost on PPGs. I'm pretty shocked how many Calgary haters there are out there. They've been pretty solid against most teams. Considering they were expected to be in 30th. A lot of people chalking it up to luck and bounces. Granted, we're only 8 games in. But how many games can you chalk up to luck and bounces? Also, a little shocked by comments about Quick. The guy has the Midas touch. Anyway, great game. Flames look pretty good thus far.

**You are new to hockey clearly...Have you seen Philly or Buffalo play, there is just no way that the Flames finish below those tragedies that have been passed off as NHL teams.

**It was a well played game by Calgary, they are no longer an easy 2pts as they showed last night. Funny I feel there are a lot of Kings haters, I guess it is all a matter of perspective.

**They're getting it done by hard work; a lot of which comes from their coach's support. Hartley will never stop coaching them this way so we have no idea how their season will play out

**true but the hard work will fade over time especially when they work the way they work and lose some heart breakers like we did last night,..plus there gonna burn out and get injuries which is common,...they do look good though. I think hard work wins cups. but you do have to have quit a bit of talent.

**Hartley really needs to ride Ramo. Obviously he and management have had long discussions regarding their goaltending situation and I hope they were all in favour of giving Ramo every opportunity to succeed. Based on Feaster's comments (I don't remember when) he and the organization are REALLY high on both Ramo and Berra so they can't be wasting their time on starting Joey Mac for the majority of the time..

**As I listened to our local announcers/commentators before this game, they had a certain "high expectation" going in that was sickening me. I just knew the Flames were gonna come out flyin' and the Kings would be drab-at best...no matter what they were told in the locker room. And so it was...the Flames were light on their heals, takin' it to the Kings and puttin' the pressure on. The best way to draw penalties is to out-skate your opponent, and I feel they did that most of the game. Oh, the Kings kept up and are a good team, but they're not so good they can ever afford to take an opponent lightly and the results seem appropriate for this game. Quick did what he could-as usual-to keep it close. In the end, the PK was no longer strong enough to hold back the tide and the Kings simply let down. Great game for the Flames. And Kings fans might start wondering if we can actually beat ANY good teams as the season progresses? Thus far, we're just holding on against marginal teams?

**I've never seen a fan of a team who has won a cup in the passed 3 years to be worried about their team after 10 FREAKIN' GAMES. WOW chill dude your team will show up for over half their games. Its a given with Darryl behind the bench.

**During the draft day, I was severely disappointed that Calgary wasn't able to pick Elias Lindholm. Right now not anymore! Sean Monahan is going to be the future face for Calgary, and he'll be a consistent point producer, even if he does slump. Although I've always been wondering. If Carolina chose Sean Monahan, would Calgary have picked Lindholm?

**Of course I hate the Flames...but they have been truly impressive this season. They are everything the Oilers are not. They dont have the raw talent or the big names (or any names really) but they have hard work, giver and goaltending. I dont know why fate seems to hate the Oilers, and why considering we have a far better (on paper) team than the flames for the first time in a decade and yet we still cannot compete. Anyway, this squad is inspiration.

**I'm not sure why you had a dislike, you're telling the truth. I'm a huge Flames fan and will always be, but I give credit when credits due. At the start of the season nobody knew they would do this good because of what you said in your comment. I totally agree that this years Flames roster is inspirational.

**I have watched a bunch of calgary's games so far and I gotta say I am impressed. On paper this team wasn't thought of much, but watching them play, they play hard and fast and give nothing to the opposition. monahan is calder quality and the team is well coached. calgary fans should be proud thus far.

**Is it just me or does Quick seem like he is just off. I am not sure how to explain it, but he doesn't seem to be well positioned a lot of times and seem to over-commit to shooters and leave rebounds that he can't possibly save. I am not the best at analyzing goaltenders, but he just doesn't seem to be anywhere near that level he was in 2012, and it seems like with his style if you are off your game, you look really bad. I have only watched about 3 games of the Kings this year, but Quick didn't look good to me in any of them... Any Kings fans tell me what they think? Trying to justify trading him away in fantasy...

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