NHL Capsules: Recchi caps Bruins' late rally to win
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mark Recchi scored the third of the Bruins' four goals in the final 3½ minutes to cap their second frantic rally in two visits to Pittsburgh, and Boston beat the Sidney Crosby-less Penguins 4-2 on Monday night.
Gregory Campbell added an empty-netter and set up two goals during a rally similar to one when Boston trailed 4-2 in Pittsburgh on Nov. 10 before scoring five goals in the third to win 7-4.
Pittsburgh is 0-2-1 without Crosby, who is out with a concussion. The timing of his return is uncertain.
Zdeno Chara scored a power-play goal on slap shot from the right point to start the rally at 16:37, and Brad Marchand scored 12 seconds later to tie it.
Mike Rupp and Kris Letang had put Pittsburgh ahead 2-0 with goals in the second period, and Marc-Andre Fleury was working on his second shutout of the season until the game turned dramatically.
Boston scored only one fewer goal during its late surge than it did in its previous three games combined.
Coyotes 4, Blues 3
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Taylor Pyatt scored the go-ahead goal on a wraparound with 3:12 to go in Phoenix's victory over St. Louis.
Kyle Turris scored the tying goal on a rush that took advantage of the Blues' fourth line, and assisted on Pyatt's 10th of the season, a play that caught Jaroslav Halak and the St. Louis defense off-guard.
Phoenix has won three of four.
The Blues have lost four in a row since topping Phoenix. Matt D'Agostini and Brad Winchester scored in a 20-second span early in the third to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead. Winchester, who plays on the checking line, has scored in three straight games for the first time in his career.
The Coyotes had a two-goal flurry in the second, going up 2-1 on Lauri Korpikovki's deflection and Lee Stempniak's breakaway. Stempniak ended a 15-game goal drought.
Avalanche 5, Red Wings 4
DENVER (AP) — Matt Duchene scored twice in Colorado's four-goal first period and Peter Budaj stopped 26 shots, helping the Avalanche halt Detroit's three-game winning streak.
Paul Stastny, Kevin Porter and David Jones added goals for the Avalanche.
Colorado chased Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard 14:15 in after he surrendered four goals on 10 shots. Howard was replaced by Joey MacDonald, who allowed only one goal the rest of the way on 16 shots.
Jan Mursak netted his first NHL goal, and Brian Rafalski, Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom also scored for the Red Wings.
Maple Leafs 3, Kings 2
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nikolai Kulemin scored the tiebreaking goal with 15:02 to play, James Reimer made 30 saves, and Toronto won its fourth straight road game by topping spiraling Los Angeles.
Phil Kessel and Darryl Boyce scored 34 seconds apart in the second period for the Maple Leafs, who reached the midway point of their season with three straight wins. Toronto hasn't lost on the road since Dec. 18.
Wayne Simmonds and Michal Handzus scored for the Kings, who have lost six of seven — including five of six on their current eight-game homestand.
Jonathan Quick stopped 25 shots, but the Kings missed several chances to tie it in the final minutes, including a 6-on-4 advantage in the final 1:42.
Sabres hit midway point of season playing 50-50
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — It took the entire first half of the season for forward Thomas Vanek and the Buffalo Sabres to find their confidence.
They'll spend the second half finding out if it's not too late to make a playoff push.
"We've found our swagger again," Vanek said Monday, referring to how the Sabres are on a 4-0-1 roll in their past five games. "Obviously, we know we've still got a ways to go. We have to take the last 10 days we had and just keep building off it."
The Sabres reached the midway point of their season feeling good about themselves. At 18-18-5, they're finally back at .500 in having erased a dreadful 3-9-2 start.
In the process, they've climbed from dead last to 10th-place in the Eastern Conference, eight points out of playoff contention as they prepare to host Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia on Tuesday.
And that's fine with coach Lindy Ruff, who never thought a .500 record would look so good at this point.
"If you would've looked at it 15 games ago and said you could get there by 41, you'd be happy," Ruff said. "Right now, we're happy that we've gotten to that mark. Our focus now is to just keep pushing ahead."
The defending Northeast Division champions have begun to right their ship with a combination of solid goaltending and timely goal-scoring.
Goalie Ryan Miller, last year's Vezina Trophy winner, has gone 10-6-2 over his past 18 games since being sidelined by a hip and groin injury. Meanwhile, Vanek, Jochen Hecht and Drew Stafford have stepped up on offense. They've combined for 11 goals in the past six games since leading scorer, center Derek Roy, was lost for the season with a torn ligament.
Stafford scored three times in rallying Buffalo from a two-goal deficit in a 7-6 shootout win over Boston 7-6 on Jan. 1. And Stafford then scored the winner in a 2-1 victory at Phoenix on Saturday.
Vanek's production has picked up — he has three goals and three assists in his last four games after a seven-game point drought.
"I think we all know that we put ourselves in a bad position here to start the year out," Vanek said. "We talked for a while here to get on a roll and never seemed to find it really. ... This road trip was good for us."
The second half won't be easy. After playing four of their next six at home, they'll play five of six on the road spanning the All-Star break. And then comes a grueling stretch in March, during which they'll play 16 games in 30 days.
Miller isn't looking too far ahead, and instead focusing on what Buffalo's done well during its recent run.
"It's been a big step forward," said Miller, who stopped 68 of 69 shots over the past two games. "We'll see, obviously. We have to carry it forward."
Roy visited with the Sabres for the first time Monday since he had surgery two weeks ago to reattach the tendon in his left quadriceps. He was walking with the assistance of a cane, and was pleased to finally be able to put some weight on his injured leg.
"It's a good feeling," Roy said. "And it's a great feeling to see the guys."
Roy — injured when driven into the boards during a 4-3 loss to Florida on Dec. 23 — confirmed that he's expected to miss between four and six months, though he held out hope that he could be ready to return if the Sabres make a run deep into the playoffs. Despite missing six games, he's still leading the team with 35 points (10 goals, 25 assists).
"It's a really tough feeling, especially at this time when I could help the team out," Roy said. "But they're doing really well. I wish them the best of luck, and I'll be here supporting them."
-- John Wawrow
Blue Jackets' skid has everyone on edge
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Right after Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson spoke with reporters during Monday's practice, he ran out of the auxiliary rink with his phone to his ear.
He's been using up more cell phone minutes lately than a chatty teenager.
With the Blue Jackets coming off a brutal four-game road trip in which they lost all four by a combined score of 24-7, Howson has been burning up his 4G network trying to make a deal that can keep his club in contention for a playoff spot.
The Blue Jackets finished the weekend with 43 points, 13th best in the 15-team Western Conference — but just four points behind the eighth and final qualifying spot for the postseason.
"We've had lots of talks and are trying to work something out," Howson said Monday. "The thing about it is, when you're struggling everybody wants to come and talk to you and see if you're a little more desperate than you were before. You have to be careful. You have to balance that. You can't make a move out of desperation."
On one hand, the team is a respectable 20-19-3 just a game past the midpoint of the season. That win total matches the best through 42 games in the franchise's 10 seasons.
But remember, this is the West, where there is — and figures to remain — a logjam in the fight for the eight playoff spots. Hardly anyone is out of it yet.
"This next month of hockey is crucial, it's important to set us up for a push," forward R.J. Umberger said. "We need to be focused and give it everything we've got and win some hockey games."
Yet the Blue Jackets are also among the coldest teams on ice. They had one of the league's top records over the first 20 games, going 14-6-0. They were also 8-1 on the road. But since Nov. 24, they are just 6-13-3 and 1-9-2 away from home.
So what's the difference between then and now?
"You could hit a lot of notes on that one," first-year coach Scott Arniel said with an awkward chuckle. "Our team game is really a lot different than what it was early in the year. You go over every different area — our forecheck, giving up odd-man rushes, our D-zone coverage, our specialty teams — and it's kind of blatant that we weren't quite the same as we were earlier."
Just to pick out one problem area, the Blue Jackets' perennially bad power play is again among the worst in the NHL. When the club has a man advantage, it's almost a detriment. During the four-game sweep at Nashville, Phoenix, Anaheim and Los Angeles, the power play allowed more goals (2) than it scored (1). It's that bad.
The running joke is that when an opponent gets a penalty, the Blue Jackets should decline it.
Also, franchise goaltender Steve Mason has struggled. He won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie in 2008-9, posting a 33-20-7 record with a 2.29 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and 10 shutouts in leading the club to its first and only playoff berth.
He has been erratic ever since. In the season and a half since his breakthrough campaign, the 22-year-old is 32-37-10 with a 3.12 goals-against average, .901 save percentage and just six shutouts.
To make matters worse, he is sidelined by a strained groin suffered in Friday's loss at Anaheim.
The Blue Jackets' best player is perennial All-Star Rick Nash, whose 20 goals heading into the week put him eighth in the league. As the team's captain, he also has additional responsibilities in trying to turn the team around.
"It's easy when you're winning. It's all good times," he said. "But when you're losing, you have to make sure you don't try to do too much. Sometimes top players find themselves doing that. We have to stick to our system, put trust in our system, put trust in our players and go win some games."
One other distraction has been veteran defenseman Mike Commodore's request for a trade. He has cleared waivers and was sent to the minor leagues while Howson tries to figure out what to do with him and the remaining two years of his bloated salary (worth $6.85 million).
In the basement of the Central Division, the Blue Jackets must re-establish themselves despite playing just three home games in January, opposed by eight road games. In that run are back-to-back games this weekend against the best in the division: Detroit.
Despite the recent slump, Arniel stressed to his players that they have a lot of time left to reverse course.
"We've talked about the tough times recently, but (then there is) all the good things that happened for the first two months," he said. "We've got 40 games to go. This still is a race. We're still in it. We just have to find that consistency and that desperation right now that we don't drag this into February, that we don't allow it to continue. We don't want to be playing in March having the games mean nothing."
As he spoke, Howson was elsewhere in the arena working the phones.
-- Rusty Miller
Rangers get LW Wolski from Coyotes for D Rozsival
NEW YORK (AP) — The Rangers have had their eyes on Wojtek Wolski for quite some time. A slew of injuries provided the push for New York to go get him.
Wolski was acquired by the Rangers in a trade Monday that sent veteran defenseman Michal Rozsival to the Phoenix Coyotes. New York has depth on defense with several young players — so much so that 20-year-old Michael Del Zotto was sent down to the AHL — and the 32-year-old Rozsival became expendable.
"We like our young defense," Rangers general manager Glen Sather said during a conference call. "We think they're all progressing very well. We know it's a little risky, but with the opportunity to do something here with a 24-year-old guy that has been an obvious goal-scorer and a pretty high talent, we thought it was too good of an opportunity to turn down."
Sather said he talked to Coyotes general manager Don Maloney — his former assistant with the Rangers — about a month ago, but it wasn't the right time for either side to make a deal.
New York was already missing Ryan Callahan and Erik Christensen up front when forward Alex Frolov was lost Saturday night to a season-ending knee injury.
"Things became a little more urgent, so I was getting a few more calls," Sather said. "Sometimes those things just come up, and it came up fairly quickly today."
Wolski — a left wing — has six goals and 10 assists in 36 games this season with Phoenix. However, he has only three points in 17 games. Last season, he had career highs with 23 goals, 42 assists and 65 points in 80 games split between Colorado and Phoenix, while posting a plus-21 rating. He is minus-6 this season.
"We think we have some players that he can be successful with," Sather said. "We think our coaching team will be able to get the best out of him. He's 6-foot-3, he's a great skater, he sees the ice well, he's got a terrific shot, he's good around the net. We think we can get that consistently out of him."
In 356 NHL games, Wolski — the No. 21 pick in the 2004 draft — has 85 goals and 142 assists. He is also a shootout specialist, setting the record for a single season by scoring 10 times in 12 chances during 2008-09.
Wolski has seven goals and seven assists in 22 career playoff games with Colorado and Phoenix.
"I was surprised last year when Colorado traded him," Sather said. "I have been kind of watching him, and things haven't been going as well as he probably expected in Phoenix. I think Donnie probably wasn't as happy with him as he was when he got him at the deadline and then through the playoffs."
Rozsival has been with the Rangers since signing as a free agent in August 2005. At times he incurred the wrath of home fans at Madison Square Garden, but Sather said he never complained about it.
"I know Michal well from my time with the Rangers," Maloney said in a statement. "He is an intelligent, puck-moving defenseman who can play heavy minutes against good players. He will make our strong defense even better."
Rozsival signed with the Rangers in August 2005 after spending four seasons with Pittsburgh. He has three goals and 12 assists in 32 games this season.
"It was a good opportunity for us to get younger and bigger and give the kids the opportunity on defense to play," Sather said. "I was very happy with the way Rozie played. He's a good player, he's durable, he works hard, he played through a lot of pain through his career. We have nothing but good things to say about him. He was treated a little unfairly once in a while, but he was a guy who was the ultimate professional."
Rozsival's departure will give the Rangers salary cap relief, too, cutting the team's hit by $1.2 million. Rozsival is earning $4 million this season and will be paid $3 million next season. He has been slowed recently by a rib injury that forced him to miss the past two games.
"It gives us more opportunities to do a few other things that may come up in the future," Sather said of the cap flexibility. "It was a situation that was easy for us to make for a lot of reasons."
-- Ira Podell
Severe allergies haven't derailed Capitals' Poti
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — The spread was nice at the Washington Capitals' annual media day luncheon. Flavorful meat. Fresh veggies. Players, coaches and reporters lounged around various tables, enjoying the food and chatting about hockey.
Over by the window, away from everyone else, sitting a chair at a table with nothing but a drink and nice view, was defenseman Tom Poti.
"They asked me if I wanted something," Poti said. "I said don't even worry about it. We're only here for 40 minutes and I can just go home and eat."
It was a rare moment in which Poti's many allergies made him stand out, which is quite remarkable — because he has a lot of them. No nuts. No chocolate. No fish. Nothing from the ocean. No MSG. Most spices and sauces are verboten. Everything he eats has to be cooked in separate, clean utensils. It's been this way since he began eating solid food as a toddler, when he would break out in hives, rashes and have other problems at nearly every feeding.
"They finally ended up taking me to an allergist. I almost died from the testing it was so bad," Poti said. "Nowadays they test for just one thing at a time, back then they'd test for everything (at once). I had to get filled up with adrenaline, things like that.
"They finally figured out what I could have and I couldn't have, and I've just been doing that every since."
The 33-year-old Massachusetts native is now a veteran professional athlete, with 12 seasons in the NHL and an Olympic silver medal as a member of the U.S. hockey team at Salt Lake City in 2002. He's proof that even the most sensitive of constitutions can be productive at the most demanding of occupations.
"I don't think it's real easy for him, but it's something that he's adjusted to," teammate Brooks Laich said. "Especially with the amount of travel — you're on airplanes, you're in hotels. Kudos to Tom for just adjusting and being strong himself with it."
When the team flies to road games, the charter company has a list of all of Poti's allergens. When the players goes out to eat at a restaurant in another city, Poti will speak to the chef personally "and make sure he can take care of me ... that's the safest way to do it."
"I eat a lot of the same stuff most guys do," Poti said. "I can have chicken, steak, hamburgers, turkey — it just has to be plain. I don't cook with any oils or any spices. If I eat chicken, it's just plain grilled chicken. If I eat steak, it's just plain steak. Hamburger, I don't put any mustard, relish or ketchup or stuff on it — just plain."
Poti, his family and his teammates — he's been in Washington since 2007 — are so used to his routine that it has become second-nature.
General manager George McPhee says Poti's allergies have never been an issue, and that the few minor things the staff does on Poti's behalf are hardly an imposition. It's been eight years since Poti's last major scare, when he grabbed a bottle of his sister's lotion in the bathroom because his face and neck were dry. He didn't look at the ingredients, so he didn't realize it contained some type of nut oil.
"I started breaking out in hives and got rushed to the hospital," he said.
Poti carries an EpiPen everywhere he goes. At home, his wife does most of the cooking and has become good at being creative.
"There's certain things I've found that I can have. I use a lot of Italian dressing on things to spice stuff up for me," Poti said. "And I found a pasta sauce that agrees with me."
Poti serves as a spokesman for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network.
"The biggest thing I tell kids — I've spoken to a lot of kids over the years — is don't let it hold you back," Poti said. "It's not easy, but I always tell them that everybody has something to deal with, everybody has some kind of problem, and I tell them the way I look at it: I'm fortunate, I can't eat this certain thing, but there's a lot of other things I can do.
"A lot of kids are born with no arms or legs. I tell them, between me and you, we got off easy. We only have to stay away from certain foods here and three. And I'm living proof that you can do it. And it's going to be hard — it's not going to be easy — but you can do it."
Here's another way to put Poti's allergies in perspective. Over the last nine months, he's had two medical scares that are just as worrisome — if not more so — than his food allergies.
Last April 26, he was struck in his right eye by a puck during a playoff game. The impact broke four bones in his face, and he lost sight in the eye for more than 24 hours. He had plastic surgery and his sight recovered enough for him to return for the start of the season in the fall. However, he still doesn't have 100 percent feeling in his face, and the long-term prognosis for the eye is uncertain in part because of the steroid drops he's been using.
"Any time I could eat something and could go into anaphylactic shock," Poti said during training camp, "but the scariest thing for me was the eye, just knowing you might not be able to see out of it anymore."
Poti started wearing a visor on the ice. His wife and mother had been asking him to wear one for a long time, and now he has no choice.
"Terrible. It's weird. It fogs up, and it gets wet and you can't see," Poti said. "It's a lot hotter under there, but I made some promises so I've got to keep it on. It's probably a good thing."
Then, on Dec. 23, Poti suffered a concussion in the Capitals' overtime loss to Pittsburgh. The constant headaches caused him to miss three games — including the rematch against the Penguins in the Winter Classic — and to take the usual barrage of tests before returning last week.
Again, it made a hamburger without mustard seem trivial.
"With your allergies, usually if you stay away from some things, you're OK," Poti said after his first game back. "With a concussion, you never know what's going to happen."
Avs D Shattenkirk will miss Detroit game Monday
DENVER (AP) — Colorado Avalanche rookie defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk will miss the game against Detroit on Monday night with a foot injury.
Shattenkirk took a shot off his foot in an overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday. He's one of the top scoring rookie defensemen in the league this season with 20 points.
Taking Shattenkirk's spot will be Jonas Holos, who has played only once in the last eight games.
Colorado coach Joe Sacco said after the morning skate that defenseman Kyle Cumiskey will accompany the team on their upcoming two-game road swing. Cumiskey has been out since Oct. 30 with a concussion.
Sacco also said that Chris Stewart will be available to practice later this week. He's been sidelined since breaking his left hand Nov. 27.
Jackets call up GT LeNeveu
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — With front-line goaltender Steve Mason idled by a groin strain, the Columbus Blue Jackets have added goaltender David LeNeveu to the roster on emergency recall from their American Hockey League affiliate in Springfield.
General manager Scott Howson announced the move on Monday.
Mason was hurt when players fell on him after he made a save on Friday night in Anaheim. He did not practice on Monday and the club hopes he can return by the weekend.
The 27-year-old LeNeveu has a 10-10-2 record with a 2.82 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage in 22 games with Springfield this season.
Senators F Alex Kovalev sidelined with knee injury
OTTAWA (AP) — Senators forward Alex Kovalev will be sidelined for at least a week because of a knee injury. The 37-year-old felt some discomfort after playing in back-to-back games over the weekend. He's been hampered by lingering pain this the season.
Senators coach Cory Clouston says his absence will provide an opportunity for another player to step up. Kovalev has eight goals and 18 points in 42 games this season.
Ottawa plays at Boston on Tuesday and at the Islanders on Thursday. It returns home to face Calgary on Friday.
