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NHL Today 10/23


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THE NHL TODAY - MONDAY, OCTOBER 23

THE NHL ON VERSUS

-- The undefeated Buffalo Sabres (8-0-0) travel to take on the Montreal Canadiens (3-1-2). -- 7:00 p.m. on VERSUS. "The Sabres are playing well right now. But they are going to lose a game, and it's going to be on Monday." -- Canadiens defenseman Janne Niinimaa :blink::huh:

-- The Penguins' Evgeni Malkin makes his U.S. national television debut tomorrow when Pittsburgh (4-3-0) takes on the New Jersey Devils (4-3-1). -- 7:00 p.m. on VERSUS.

Find Versus on your local cable carrier:

http://www.versus.tv/findversus/

THREE STARS OF THE WEEK

Buffalo Sabres right wing Maxim Afinogenov , Anaheim goaltender Jean- Sebastien Giguere and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Sheldon Souray , have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending Oct. 22.

http://media.nhl.com/media/app?service=pag...06/10/4397.html

FROM THE STAT WIZARDS AT ELIAS SPORTS BUREAU

Buffalo's Maxim Afinogenov had one goal and one assist in his first four games this season, but he's scored 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists) in four games since then to lead the league in scoring over that span (Oct. 14 to date). Afinogenov's teammate, Thomas Vanek , is second with nine points since Oct. 14 (4-5--9), with the Islanders' Alexei Yashin (1-7--8) and the Blackhawks' Radim Vrbata (2-6--8) tied for third.

NHL TODAY NEWS AND NOTES

AHAHEIM -- G J.S. Giguere compiled a 3-0-0 record this week against the Red Wings (4-1), Minnesota Wild (2-1) and the Los Angeles Kings (3-2). He stopped 77 of 81 shots (951 SV% ) and posted a 1.30 GAA for the week. ATLANTA -- At 6-1-1, the Thrashers are off to the best start of their history in terms of victories and points (13) through eight games...In their first 10 games last season, Atlanta used five goalies; this year, the Thrashers have ridden Kari Lehtonen (6-1-1, .934 save percentage, 1.83 goals-against) to the top of the Southeast Division and have given up the fewest goals in the Eastern Conference (16). BOSTON -- C Marc Savard notched three assists on six team goals in two games, extending his point streak to a season-high four games...With D Brad Stuart leaving the ice due to an injury on Saturday, Wade Brookbank played both forward and defense and scored the Bruins' first goal...The Bruins have two division games in the week ahead. LW Sergei Samsonov returns to Boston

for the first time on Thursday as a member of the Canadiens, and D Zdeno Chara meets up with his old team, the Ottawa Senators, for the first time on Saturday. BUFFALO -- LW Thomas Vanek scored nine points (4G-5A) and was a +9 in three games last week...RW Maxim Afinogenov picked up 10 points (3G-7A) in three games, including a career-high five point night in the 9-1 win against Philadelphia...The line of Afinogenov , C Derek Roy and Vanek combined for 24 points in the three games last week...Having already tied the franchise record for wins to start the season with eight, the Sabres look to set a new record mark tonight in Montreal. With a win tonight, Buffalo could tie Toronto's NHL record 10 wins to start the season (Set in 1993-94). CALGARY -- D Dion Phaneuf registered four points (1G-3A), 11 shots, four hits and averaged a team high 28:16 minutes of ice-time in two games this week

.

CAROLINA -- RW Justin Williams notched five goals - including a hat trick on Oct. 16 against Tampa Bay, an assist and was +2 in three road games...C Rod Brind'Amour blocked two shots and had four takeaways in the Hurricane's three games. COLORADO -- C Joe Sakic has 1,497 career points, most among all active players. He needs just three points to become the 11th player in NHL history to amass 1,500 points...Saturday night against Montreal, Rookie C Paul Stastny , wearing his father's number #26, celebrated his first NHL goal against G David Aebischer . Oddly enough, Paul's brother Yan also scored his first NHL goal against Aebischer . COLUMBUS -- Sergei Fedorov returns to the lineup tonight against San Jose. DALLAS -- Backup G Mike Smith got a shutout in his first NHL game, stopping 22 shots in a 4-0 win over the Coyotes Saturday night. FLORIDA -- With victories in each of its first four home games, Panthers can set a record tonight if they beat Atlanta. DETROIT -- The Red Wings are

asking fans to bring new children's books, video games, and movies to the Oct. 25 game to benefit Head Coach Mike Babcock's "Jeffrey Thomas Hayden Foundation Book Collection". Collected items will be donated to the patients t Children's Hospital of Michigan

.

MINNESOTA -- G Manny Fernandez backstopped the Wild to a 2-1 record against Pacific Division foes, stopping 92 of 96 shots faced for a .958 SV% and a 1.33 GAA...Due to injuries, D Brent Burns was shifted to the wing and responded with two assists in three games... Brian Rolston recorded a point in all three road games to extend his point streak to four games (4-2--6). MONTREAL -- D Sheldon Souray recorded seven points and 15 shots on goal in three games, including four points (2G-2A) against the Avalanche on Saturday...D Mike Komisarek played an average of 19:56 in three games with a +2 rating, three shots on goal, nine hits and five blocked shots...The Canadiens start a stretch of four straight games against division rivals, starting tonight against the Sabres, the Bruins on Thursday, the Maple Leafs on Saturday, and the Senators on Halloween. NASHVILLE -- Thursday night against the Devils, D Kimmo Timonen became the second player to appear in 500 games in a Predator uniform (Greg

Johnson was the first with 502 games). Timonen has registered an assist in each of his last three games and played over 25 minutes a game in his last five games...G Tomas Vokoun went 2-0-1 in three games, stopping 101 of 106 shots. ISLANDERS -- C Alexei Yashin had seven points (1G-6A) in three games. In the Islanders' last two games, Yashin factored into each of the seven Islanders' goals...C Mike Sillinger has a goal and four assists in three games, and raised his faceoff percentage to 59.1, sixth-best in the NHL. RANGERS -- LW Brendan Shanahan needs two more goals to tie Dino Ciccarelli's mark of 608 goals (13th all-time). OTTAWA -- RW Chris Neil was named the first star in the Senators' 8-1 win over the Devils, dishing out 11 hits and had a team-high six shots on goal...D Anton Volchenkov had nine blocked shots and was a +5 rating against the Devils

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PITTSBURGH -- Rookie C Evgeni Malkin scored a goal in his first three games, the first Penguin ever to accomplish this feat and the first NHL player since Jan Caloun with the San Jose Sharks in 1995-96...Rookie C Jordan Staal scored two short-handed goals, including one on a penalty shot, in a 5-3 win over Columbus on Saturday. Staal's three goals this season have all been short-handed, making him the first player since the Blackhawks' Bill Gardner to have his first three goals be short-handed. ST. LOUIS -- D Bryce Salvador posted five hits and blocked 10 shots in three games. He currently leads the league with 28 blocked shots. TAMPA BAY -- RW Nikita Alexeev scored four goals in three games, extending his career-high five game point streak (4-2--6) and a career-best three-game goal streak...G Marc Denis and the Lightning Foundation are taking pledges for every save made by Lightning goaltenders during the month of October for breast cancer research at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer

Center. TORONTO -- Rookie D Ian White had two assists and a +3 rating against the Rangers on Oct. 21. White has averaged 21:02 ice-time in three games. VANCOUVER -- Canucks got OT winners from Sami Salo and Lukas Krajicek in the past week. WASHINGTON -- LW Alexander Semin extended his point-scoring streak to seven games with a point in all three games last week (2G-2A). His eight goals in the season's first seven games makes him the first Capital in franchise history to score eight times through seven games. Semin is tied for second in the league in goals (8) and sixth in power-play goals (4)... Brian Sutherby blocked a team-high five shots against Tampa Bay last Saturday, including one after losing his stick while killing a penalty

.

THE BIG STORIES

-- COLORADO'S LILES GIVES UP NUMBER FOR FAMILY BONDS

-- FROM RUSSIA WITH DEVOTION

-- FLYERS' STEVENS READY FOR HEAD POSITION

-- A NOTABLE NUMBER

COLORADO 'S LILES GIVES UP NUMBER FOR FAMILY BONDS

Pat Rooney writes in the ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS , "It began not with a gesture of kindness, but with a phone call. The chain of events that led Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles to offer his No. 26 jersey to rookie center Paul Stastny was not the result of some sudden locker-room burst of generosity by Liles. Knowing he would want to begin wearing No. 4 once the jersey shuffling was complete, Liles first placed a phone call to former teammate Rob Blake."

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nhl/...5087211,00.html

FROM RUSSIA WITH DEVOTION

Damian Cristodero writes in the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES , "What Nikita Alexeev said he will remember most about his year playing in Russia were the days when his apartment in Omsk was without water. Then again, there was the time a drunken man came to his door at 3 a.m. and demanded money. And the time the heat failed with the southwest Siberian city shivering at minus-40 degrees. Really, though, it was those days without water that stick most in his mind. That was when you filled a bucket at a neighboring building and heated it on a stove so you could bathe."

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/10/23/Lightnin...with_devo.shtml

FLYERS' STEVENS READY FOR HEAD POSITION

Dana Pennett O'Neill writes in the PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS , "After hearing the news that John Stevens had been named the Flyers' head coach, John Slaney reached for the phone . ' I left him a message,' said Slaney, the Phantoms' team captain for much of Stevens' run as their head coach. 'I said, 'I knew you'd get the job one day, but I didn't think it would be this quick.' No, fast track doesn't do Stevens' career trajectory justice. A little more than 4 months ago, Stevens finally got his first crack at an NHL position, named a Flyers assistant coach after six seasons directing the Phantoms, the organization's American Hockey League affiliate. Yesterday, the 40-year-old took the ice at the Skate Zone as the Flyers' head coach."

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/hockey/15826380.htm

A NOTABLE NUMBER

RJ. Pratt with the 'Society for International Hockey Research' writes, "Guillaume Latendresse of the Canadiens is wearing No. 84. Big deal? Well, it's the first time in NHL history that it's happened during the regular season. (I'm sure it had been worn in exhibitions before by minors-bound players.) It was also the last number that had never been worn in NHL history. Everything else -- including 0 and 00 -- had been worn before. Jonathan Ferland of the Canadiens wore No. 86 last year, leaving only 84 as yet to be worn. Latendresse can now claim to be the greatest No. 84 in NHL history."

http://www.sihrhockey.org/main.cfm?CFID=15...FTOKEN=43572048

QUICK HITS

-- Larry Wigge takes a look around the Central Division:

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=page&am...rticleid=281426

-- Red Fisher takes a look back at Alex Ovechkin's rookie season:

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news...e3b&k=19037

-- Brian Schiazza sits down with Maple Leafs' Michael Peca :

http://www.nbcsports.com/nhl/211658/detail.html

TONIGHT'S SCHEDULE

Sharks at Blue Jackets, 7:00 p.m.

Sabres at Canadiens, 7:00 p.m. (RDS, VERSUS)

Thrashers at Panthers, 7:30 p.m.

Kings at Avalanche, 8:00 p.m.

Canucks at Stars, 8:30 p.m.

Coyotes at Oilers, 9:00 p.m.

SUNDAY'S SCOREBOARD

Ducks 3, Kings 2 (SO)

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Canucks!! :)

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Janne Niinima saying: We will beat Buffalo, they will lose.. Come on, Janne I dont see the Souray,Rivet,Komisarek, stopping the small and fastly fowards of Sabers.. And also, the second line of Montreal still have problems.. The canadians migth lose this one tonigth, Sabers will pursue their winning streak..

(Out of subject): My friend bet me 10$ that the Devils won't make the playoffs this year, And the Pengs are better then the Devils.. I actually accepted his gage..Wow he really don't know the Pengs, hes saying that the Pens got a great defense and Devils got no attack(WTF!)

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1-0 Buffalo after 1. Novotny scores on a softee from inside the blueline off Huet's glove.

Sutton nails a Panther high with his stick and originally there was no call. But the other official made it.

Now, if you saw it, it was dangerous. 2:00 is not enough for something like that.

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Nolan's Isles have overachieved. And that sets up some storyline. ...

How many times are the Islanders' going to face a team's backup goalie?

I'm not sold that they're any good. Depends a lot on Kozlov and Yashin - and if Trent Hunter comes back to pre-lockout form. I also don't trust that defense.

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That's a bad attitude, Anna.

:( I should have known better than to even say anything..of course they lost...weak calls and stupid penalties :argh:

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:( I should have known better than to even say anything..of course they lost...weak calls and stupid penalties :argh:

They should have tied it close to the end of the game but Zubov made that insane play when the puck was sitting right on the line and would have gone if Zubov didn't use all his power with his stick to keep the Canuck from getting that puck in. Talk about frustrating :argh:

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I know, we were sitting here screaming at him...Zubov,,,ughhh

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