3/30 NHL Today

[Derek21]

THE NHL TODAY - THURSDAY, MARCH 30

THE BIG STORIES

-- A NIGHT OF SUPERLATIVES FOR RANGERS' JAGR AND LUNDQVIST

-- YOUNG FOURSOME IN LINE FOR FLYERS' FUTURE

-- CONSISTENCY IS KEY FOR FLAMES' IGINLA

-- CARTER'S LATE-GAME HEROICS GIVES CANUCKS VALUABLE POINTS

-- SEASON'S END GIVES THRASHERS CRUCIAL TEST AGAINST LIGHTNING

HE SAID IT

"It's a lot more than I ever dreamed of scoring in this league, so it's something I'm very proud of, but it's also something for later on. In the middle of a season, it's tough to sit back and look at accomplishments like that. It's a team sport." -- Penguins forward John LeClair, on scoring career goal #400, to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

A CLOSER LOOK: CAREER GOALS BY US BORN PLAYERS

1. Joe Mullen (New York, NY), 502

2. Mike Modano (Livonia, MI), 485 *

3. Jeremy Roenick (Boston, MA), 483 *

4. Pat LaFontaine (St. Louis, MO), 468

5. Keith Tkachuk (Melrose, MA), 444 *

6. Tony Amonte (Hingham, MA), 404 *

7. John LeClair (St. Albans, VT), 400 *

8. Ed Olczyk (Chicago, IL), 342

9. Scott Young (Clinton, MA), 341 *

10. Dave Christian (Warroad, MN), 340

* - active

A NIGHT OF SUPERLATIVES FOR RANGERS' JAGR AND LUNDQVIST

John Dellapina writes in the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS , "The record took Jean Ratelle just 63 games to set. But 34 years' worth of subsequent Rangers couldn't match it. Until last night. Until Jaromir Jagr. The prolific pied piper of the Rangers' march back to prominence last night set a franchise standard to replace Ratelle's 109 points from 1971-72. Racking up four assists in a 5-1 drubbing of the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum, Jagr blew past Ratelle's long-lived mark and now has a league-leading 113 points... On this night, Rangers records were being set and threatened all over the place. Henrik Lundqvist became the first Ranger rookie goalie to win 30 games with an 18-save performance. (Petr) Prucha inched within a goal of becoming just the ninth Ranger to score 30 goals as a rookie."

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/404308p-342413c.html

YOUNG FOURSOME IN LINE FOR FLYERS' FUTURE

Chuck Gormley writes in the CAMDEN COURIER-POST , "Long after Ken Hitchcock has blown his whistle to signal the end of another Flyers practice, Jeff Carter is at center ice taking faceoffs against Michal Handzus, while R.J. Umberger battles Mike Richards in a one-on-one drill. At the other end of the rink, Antero Niittymaki stands beside his net and takes baseball swings at teammates' shots, playfully trying to whack the flying pucks out of the air. These are the four rookies the Flyers are pinning their playoff hopes on, not just this spring, but possibly for the next 10 springs."

http://courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll.../603300365/1017

CONSISTENCY IS KEY FOR FLAMES' IGINLA

Allan Maki writes in the THE GLOBE AND MAIL , "It looked like old times last night at the Pengrowth Saddledome. There was Jarome Iginla chipping the puck up ice, only to get a nifty return pass from his centre in the No. 22 jersey. And then in one powerful motion, there was Iginla unloading a slap shot that left the opposing goaltender grasping at air... For Iginla, the goal was his first short-handed effort of the season and his 32nd overall. The Flames' captain has reached or bettered the 30-goal mark for five consecutive seasons, and against Los Angeles he was passing and hitting and being the edgy scoring presence his team needs."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...Story/TPSports/

CARTER'S LATE-GAME HEROICS GIVES CANUCKS VALUABLE POINTS

Grant Kerr writes in the THE GLOBE AND MAIL , "Anson Carter just loves playing alongside the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik. Small wonder he cares so much. Carter scored his 30th goal of the National Hockey League campaign Wednesday night, on a slick pass from a Sedin, naturally, and the timing couldn't have been better. The right winger converted a goalmouth pass from Daniel Sedin with 6.1 seconds left in regulation to give the Vancouver Canucks a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild in a game that had shootout written all over it."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...BNStory/Sports/

SEASON'S END GIVES THRASHERS CRUCIAL TEST AGAINST LIGHTNING

Guy Curtright writes in the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION , "With a playoff spot on the line, having the remaining three games with the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road certainly isn't in the Thrashers' favor. Playing the 2004 Stanley Cup champions so often at this point in the season might be, however. With the games coming over a 13-day stretch starting Thursday night, injuries finally have caught up with the Lightning...The Thrashers, 3-9-1 all-time at the St. Pete Times Forum, will take every little edge they can get. They are one spot and five points out of the playoffs with 11 games remaining. One of three teams just ahead of them is the Lightning, tied with New Jersey and Montreal at 81 points. The Thrashers are back in Tampa on April 6 and April 11."

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/t...0thrashers.html

MULTIMEDIA

Watch OLN's " Week in Review ": http://www.olntv.com/NHLVideoGallery/?artID=15085

TONIGHT'S GAMES (All times ET)

Capitals at Canadiens, 7:30 pm on RDS

Rangers at Senators, 7:30 pm

Sabres at Devils, 7:30 pm

Thrashers at Lightning, 7:30 pm on HDNet

Red Wings at Predators, 8:00 pm

Kings at Oilers, 9:00 pm

Coyotes at Sharks*, 10:30 pm

* = Regional HD coverage

WEDNESDAY'S SCOREBOARD

Sabres 4, Bruins 3

Rangers 5, Islanders 1

Capitals 5, Hurricanes 1

Panthers 5, Penguins 3

Blackhawks 3, Blues 2 (OT)

Stars 2, Mighty Ducks 1

Flames 2, Kings 1

Canucks 2, Wild 1