You can just imagine the thought process in the Colorado Avalanche dressing room, the players wondering how they could have left Wojtek Wolski all alone on the ice, just a day after he left them in a trade to the Phoenix Coyotes.

Yet there was Wolski on Thursday, wearing a Phoenix jersey with time and space to take the pass from Shane Doan, then wind up for the winning goal with 22.8 seconds left in a 1-1 game.

“I was trying to get open all night, in that little soft area in the ice, in the offensive zone,” Wolski said. “Shane hit me earlier (with a pass) in the night; it got blocked. But he rushed down for that icing call, got the puck before they did, and that’s what led to it.”

Wolski has two goals and an assist in his first two games as a Coyote since the trade deadline, which also saw Lee Stempniak, Derek Morris, Mathieu Schneider and Petteri Nokelainen join the team.

With the exception of Schneider, who is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, each has contributed in his own way to the Coyotes’ back-to-back wins since.

Stempniak has a goal, an assist, and a plus-3 rating in the two games. Morris has blended in seamlessly with the team he played for from 2004-09. Even Nokelainen, who had fallen to fifth on the depth chart at center in Anaheim, is winning 61.5 percent of his faceoffs in just under 10 minutes of ice time per game.

But the biggest prize of the deadline haul appears to be Wolski who, according to one report, was heading for a big arbitration showdown that the Avs were not prepared to lose.

Coyotes general manager Don Maloney was looking to the future when he made the trade, too.

“[Wolski's] agent actually asked me was this short-term?” Maloney told the Arizona Republic. “Absolutely not. When we dealt Peter Mueller, we were hopefully acquiring somebody that's gonna hopefully help us win a championship.”

 

Fredrik Modin torched his former team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, for a goal and an assist in the Kings’ 6-0 win Monday. “I'm getting a really good opportunity here to play,” he said. “The first three games here have been really good for me, a really good feeling.” … Jonathan Quick needed only 11 saves for his third shutout of the season. The Kings’ defense surrendered just three shots on goal in the first period, two in the second and six in the third. … The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Kings and Quick, who lost to Nashville and Montreal over the weekend. … The Columbus Dispatch reports that the Blue Jackets will only receive the Kings’ seventh-round pick in the upcoming draft in exchange for Modin only if the Kings win the Stanley Cup. … Injured RW Justin Williams was cleared for contact in practice Monday, but he’s offered no specific timetable for his return. Williams has not played since breaking his foot Dec. 26. … Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Miller (shingles) missed his second straight game Monday, just the 19th broadcast he has missed since becoming the Kings’ play-by-play voice in 1973.

 

The NHL suspended Montreal’s Maxim Lapierre four games without pay for his hit on Scott Nichol on Thursday. Nichol injured his shoulder on the play and resumed practice, without contact, on Monday. The timetable for his return was originally estimated at 7 to 10 days. … D Dan Boyle reflects on the Olympics in this Q&A on the team Web site. … Watch a two-part interview with GM Doug Wilson from the NHL general manager’s meetings in Boca Raton, Fla. … Back-to-back wins over Columbus and Nashville allowed the Sharks to end the week atop the Western Conference standings.

 

The Stars' goalie competition is in full swing between Kari Lehtonen and Marty Turco. Lehtonen absorbed every goal in a 6-3 loss Saturday in Pittsburgh. Turco was given the next start Monday against Washington, responded with a 4-3 win, and was awarded Tuesday night’s start against Buffalo, the Dallas Morning News reports. “We looked at the film again today, and he was just so outstanding,'' Stars coach Marc Crawford told the newspaper. … Turco’s 49 saves (on 52 shots) broke his previous career high of 43. … RW Brandon Segal had a goal and an assist against the Penguins on Saturday, giving him two goals and two assists in five games since the Stars claimed him off waivers from the Kings. … Mike Ribeiro discussed his injury recovery with the team’s Web site.

ANAHEIM

The Ducks fell further behind in the playoff race with back-to-back losses to Phoenix and Montreal over the weekend. ... RW Teemu Selanne is two goals shy of 600 for his career. The group of 600-goal scorers includes 17 players, including fellow Finn Jarri Kurri with 601. ... Forward prospect Brandon McMillan was named the WHL's player of the week Tuesday. ... D Scott Niedermayer has three goals in Anaheim's last four games and eight points in the last seven games.

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