Flames finally lighting the lamp

Northwest Division notebook: Calgary may have found some offensive confidence just in time for a playoff push. The Flames, who averaged 2.51 goals per game (27th in the NHL) entering Tuesday, combined for 10 goals in beating New Jersey and Minnesota, two of the better defensive teams in...

Mike Cook | News/Northwest | Tuesday, March 09 2010

That's the Pitts: Crosby booed by home 'fans'

Atlantic Division notebook: Sidney Crosby is used to being simultaneously loved and hated. Arguably the best hockey player on the planet, Crosby hears cat calls in 29 of 30 NHL arenas. The only city where he is beloved is Pittsburgh, for whom he plies his trade.    Following his...

Denis Gorman | News/Atlantic | Sunday, March 07 2010

Thomas gets second chance in net

Northeast Division notebook: Starting an NHL game for the first time since Feb. 2, Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas collected his first win on Thursday night since a shootout victory at San Jose on Jan. 14. The 3-2 victory against Toronto also ended the Bruins' 10-game home winless stretch....

| News/Northeast | Friday, March 05 2010

Hurricanes are wheeling, dealing – and contending

Southeast Division notebook: Some people might look at the Carolina Hurricanes’ flurry of trade deadline deals as a major housecleaning. The man who engineered the five moves, however, prefers to think of them as a down payment on the future. In the mean time, general manager Jim...

Brett Friedlander | News/Southeast | Friday, March 05 2010

Central balance of power remains the same

Central Division notebook: The trade deadline has come and gone, and it wouldn't be out of the realm of reason to say that the balance of power in the Central Division hasn't shifted much, if at all. There was much speculation leading up to Wednesday that big moves would be made within the...

Blake Benzel | News/Central | Thursday, March 04 2010

Wild ready for playoff push

Northwest Division notebook: Entering its five-game homestand before the Olympic Break, many members of the Minnesota Wild figured the team would need to get at least seven or eight points to stay in the playoff race.   Minnesota got six, and entered Tuesday in 13th place in the...

Mike Cook | News/Northwest | Tuesday, March 02 2010

Ducks' locker room is a five-ring circus

Pacific Division notebook: If NHL players are forbidden from playing in the 2014 Olympics, recent history indicates that the Anaheim Ducks will be affected more than any other team. Seven Anaheim players collected medals last weekend in Vancouver, the most in the league. That matched a...

J.P. Hoornstra | News/Pacific | Tuesday, March 02 2010

Oilers owner: Change is on the way

Northwest Division notebook: Expect the Edmonton Oilers to be very busy as the trade deadline approaches. The frustration of possibly the worst season is franchise history has the team owner saying that change is inevitable. "I've been an Oilers fan for a lot longer than I've owned the...

Mike Cook | News/Northwest | Tuesday, February 16 2010

No rest for Bergeron, B's Olympians

Patrice Bergeron arrived in Vancouver on Sunday, 24 hours after his Boston Bruins played the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla. While there will be no rest for Bergeron or five of his other teammates competing in the two-week Winter Olympic ice hockey tournament, the 24-year-old Team Canada...

| News/Northeast | Monday, February 15 2010

Kovalchuk off to slow start in Newark

Atlantic Division notebook: The beginning of the Devils' Ilya Kovalchuk era has been more sputtering than speeding. The Devils are 2-3-1 in six games since acquiring Kovalchuk from Atlanta. The left wing earned the respect of his teammates in a 3-1 loss against the Rangers on Feb. 6 by...

Denis Gorman | News/Atlantic | Sunday, February 14 2010