Martin Brodeur ties games-played record for goalies

On December 15, the New Jersey Devils faced off against the Monthreal Canadians. Starting in net for the Devils was all-star goaltender Martin Brodeur. With this start he tied Patrick Roy's the all time games played record for a goalie. Roy who played for Colorado, started in 1,029 games for them. This is the second time in one season that Brodeur has beaten one of Roy's records. Brodeur tied Roy's record for all time wins back in March. This looks likes another milestone in Brodeurs quest to become the best goaltender of all time.

Rink at Fenway Almost Finished

As we countdown the days till the 2010 winter classic, many people are hard at work making sure it will be a moment never to forget. For those of you who dont know, the winter classic is a hockey game that is played outdoors. They transform a baseball stadium into an outdoor hockey rink. It is an anual event that everyone looks forward to. This years winter classic will occur in Boston, MA. at Fenway park. Everything is in place for the game, except for one thing... THE ICE! Its kind of an important factor in the game. Thet began the process today when they layed down the panels that they will put the water on top of. This should take a few days to finish, but it will be an event that will never be forgotten.

Isles' Witt plays despite being hit by SUV

New York Islanders defenseman Brendan Witt is used to taking hard hits. But he's used to taking them on the ice, not en route to getting his morning coffee.Witt was leaving the team's Center City hotel and crossing Arch Street when he was hit by a gold SUV."I had the right of way, going across the pedestrian line, and I saw there was a gold Tahoe or Yukon was trying to get in the left lane to turn, and decided to turn, and in the corner of my eye, I saw it and jumped up and took the brunt of it," Witt said. "I did a nice roll and dismount. It was OK."Witt said that while he saw the truck coming, he still was stunned by what was happening. "It was weird, like slow-motion," he said. "I just reacted by bracing myself by jumping up and taking the brunt of the force and just rolling. Got up, realized I was OK, was like, 'Is this going on for real?' Then I threw out some profanities at the guy." One witness told Newsday, "It was like seeing Clint Eastwood, but in hockey."After successfully getting his coffee, Witt went to the Wachovia Center for the Isles' morning skate and was in the lineup Tuesday night. The 6-foot-2, 223-pound defenseman, who is second on the Isles with 56 hits and third with 50 blocked shots, tried to play down what happened. "I didn't look, but I might have put a dent in his truck," Witt said.

Brodeur blanks Sabres, ties Sawchuk

yet another record broken by all star goalie Martin Brodeur.The New Jersey Devils goaltender, who became the all-time winningest goaltender late last season when he surpassed Patrick Roy's old mark of 552, tied the record for career shutouts Monday night when he stopped all 22 shots by the Buffalo Sabres in a 3-0 win at HSBC Arena. It was the 103rd shutout of Brodeur's career, tying him with Hall of Fame goaltender Terry Sawchuk, who accomplished the mark in 971 career games for the Red Wings, Bruins, Maple Leafs, Kings and Rangers."I think with the last few games, we had a couple going into the third with no goals," said Brodeur, who had been waiting to tie the record since his last shutout on Oct. 17 against Carolina."When it was nine minutes left I was like, well let's try to beat this, and then move on to five minutes and really think about it in the last five minutes. The guys played really well in front of me and made a big difference in why we were able to get a shutout, but especially a big win."Brian Rolston scored the only goal Brodeur would need with 2:09 left in the first period, beating Sabres goalie Ryan Miller from in close. Travis Zajac added to the lead 67 seconds later with a blast from just inside the blue line that trickled through Miller, and Niclas Bergfors struck on a power play 38 seconds into the middle period.With the victory, the Devils are 20-7-1, the best start through 28 games in franchise history.

Blackhawks sign Kane, Toews, Keith

The Chicago Blackhawks have called a press conference on Thursday afternoon at the United Center where, according to CSNChicago.com, the team will announce the signings of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith to multi-year contract extensions.According to the report, Toews and Kane will sign five-year contract extensions, while Keith has reportedly agreed to a 13-year deal.Thursday's press conference will be streamed on the Blackhawks' web site . With all of these new aditions to the team the blackhawks will have a good chance in the playoffs, and will be able to compete better with soem of the more high caliber team.

Isles target mid-December for DiPietro

After months of toughing it out in the eastern conference, the isles plan the return of their starting goaltender.Rick DiPietro took part in a 90-minute practice with the team Monday, according to Newsday, and an encouraged General Manager Garth Snow said if all goes well he could be playing with the team by the middle of December.DiPietro will begin his rehab assignment on Saturday with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers against Springfield."We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves,'' Snow told Newsday. "He's practicing today, he'll practice again tomorrow. Then at some point he'll do a conditioning stint in Bridgeport (AHL) and if everything goes well, I would think the middle of December.''DiPietro signed a 15-year contract with the Islanders prior to the 2006-07 season and proceeded to put up a career-best 32 victories and .919 save percentage, leading the team to its most recent playoff berth.After playing in 63 games the following season and winning 26 of them, DiPietro missed almost the entire 2008-09 season with lingering knee problems.He played three games in October before undergoing knee surgery and returned Dec. 26, 2008, against Toronto to stop 28 of 29 shots and record his only win of the season. He started again on Jan. 2, 2009, against Phoenix, allowed five goals and missed the rest of the season.Pietro said that at the moment he isn't concerning himself with a target date for his return."I've kind of really tried to put myself out of that whole thing,'' DiPietro told Newsday after Monday's practice. "I think how my knee responds and how I practice will prove to everyone involved when I'm ready to come back. I just continue to feel better, which is a positive sign. It's exciting to be back.''

Kane turns 21, embraces new outlook on life

On Thursday November 19, Patrick cane from the chicago black hawks turned 21. "I've got a lot of birthday wishes, which was good. I was expecting a bit of a prank," said Kane, who will celebrate his 21st birthday with a game against the Flames at the Pengrowth Saddledome.The 2008 Calder Trophy winner has, however, come of age a little earlier than he expected. As everyone in the hockey world knows, Kane was arrested Aug. 9 following an incident with a cab driver in Buffalo, who claimed he was assaulted after Kane and his cousin demanded 20 cents in change from a $15 fare. The third-year Blackhawk pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, but all other charges were dropped.Kane and the Blackhawks, who entered Thursday's game leading the Central Division with a 12-5-2 record, are kicking off their first major road trip of the season -- seven games -- after winning their past four on United Center ice.They're starting the junket in Western Canada, where hockey is king and the scrutiny is intense. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound right wing expects the subject of his arrest to be raised continually, and says the August altercation already has changed the way he conducts himself in public."I still feel I'm the same kid at heart. Obviously situations like that open your eyes a little bit," said Kane, who leads Chicago with 19 points, including 12 assists, through the club's first 19 games. "It was a tough situation. You never want to go through that. Obviously, the only story you guys heard was what the cab driver said."The worst kind of came out of the situation, but at the same time, I think maybe it was better that it happened sooner rather than later. You can take a positive from a bad situation. Pretty much every (situation) I treat now, when I'm out to dinner or walking down the street, I'm going to treat like it's going to be publicized, and like it's going to be put in the media."said kane. Be sure to watch the black hawks take on the flames tonight at 8.

Kings' Smyth, Scuderi to miss Wednesday's game

The Kings returned home from their five-game road trip as a bit of a battered bunch.Ryan Smyth and Rob Scuderi both will miss Wednesday night's home game against Philadelphia, and it seems as though Smyth might be out significantly longer.Smyth suffered an undisclosed upper-body injury sometime during the second period Tuesday night against Florida and did not play in the third period.Coach Terry Murray said Smyth would not play Wednesday, will be out "longer than that, for sure," and is scheduled to be evaluated by a team doctor Wednesday.Scuderi suffered a lower-body injury during Saturday's game at Tampa Bay and did not play Monday. Murray said Scuderi received treatment at the Kings' practice facility Tuesday and said Scuderi is "progressing, but not ready."The Kings did not practice Tuesday, but Murray said Alexander Frolov will take Smyth's place as the first-line left wing. Frolov skated on the first line with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams in the third period after Smyth left the game.

Ovechkin nears closer to return

NHL superstar Alexander Ovechkin has been out for three weeks wih a shoulder injury. On Thursday ovechkin was seen at the washington Capitals non-contact practice, taking full slapshots. Something he was not able to do before thursday. However Ovechkin, out the last four games with an upper-body strain reportedly linked to his left shoulder, sounded iffy on the topic of playing this weekend."I'm getting closer, but still need probably a couple of days," Ovechkin said. "I'm excited right now to come back to the team to play. Still a couple of days, maybe."It is ore likely that he will return on Tuesday when the Capitals face off against the Rangers. Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said he first needs to hear from head athletic trainer Greg Smith that Ovechkin is ready, and then he has to make sure that he's ready."We don't play until Tuesday after (Saturday's game in New Jersey), and if those three days are going to make it 100 percent better we're going to wait the three days," Boudreau said. "We want to make sure. He's the premier player in the League. If it's two weeks that we had to lose him, than that's his All-Star break or his Olympic break. Let's let it go and when we get him healthy then hopefully he'll play the rest of the year."

Cam Ward Stays in Hospital

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward remained in the hospital after suffering a skate laceration during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Ward is expected to miss a minimum of 3-4 weeks.  He was injures during the first period of the game, and was taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital.  He received stitches for the injury and was kept overnight, it was decided on Sunday that ward would stay overnight for precautionary reasons.  "He's stitched up but he has to stay real stable. They want to be careful about infections and those things," Carolina GM Jim Rutherford told The Canadian Press.  Ward should make a full recovery and be back in the starting line up in about a month.   

Canuck's O'brien suspended for one game

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Shane O'Brien has been suspended for one game, without pay, for an incident against the New York Rangers on Nov. 3.At 4:21 of the third period, O'Brien's stick made contact with the Rangers' Sean Avery, while both were on their respective players' benches. No penalty was assessed at the time of the incident. Based on O'briens average salary, the suspension will cost him $8,290.16. The money will go to the Players Emergency Assistance Fund. O'Brien will miss Thursday's game at Minnesota and be eligible to return Nov. 6 at Dallas. Some People are upset with the suspension. They think that he should have been served a more strict punishment. What he did was childish and very dangerous. The ends of the sticks are very sharp and he could have seriously injured Sean Avery. Also what people are upset about is the coaches blatent disregard for his players action. The incident happened right in front of the coach, and he did nothing about it.

Hockey players celebrate 100 days till winter olympics

Today started the 100 day countdown to the 2010 winter olympics that wil be held in vancouver. They marked this day by bringing soem of the top olympic athletes, past and present to rockefeller center. Thousands of adults and children gathered in the center to show their spirit during a ceremony that was held. Members of the 2010 olypic ice hockey team attended the ceremony. Along with some of the gold medal winning ice hockey team members who played in the 1960s. "It's pretty nostalgic," David Backes said, the right wing for the st.louis blues, and a 2010 U.S. olypic team hopefull. "It gives you a little bit of a glimpse on what the Games may be like as far as kids looking up to you and some of the camaraderie that you have amongst Team USA. It's been an experience and we just started the day early this morning."

Evgeni Malkin injury

Malkin is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with a shoulder sprain. Since missing his first 4 games in the NHL as a rookie, Malkin has played in 254 consecutive games. Malkin is one the league's greatest scorers. But a lot of the time he is over looked becasue of it. People tend not to notice his durability, and the little things that he does to help his team win. He will certainly be a big loss for the Pittsburgh penguins in the next couple of weeks.

Craig Anderson

  After being a back up goalie for the Florida Panthers, Craig Anderson was traded to the Colorado Avalanche and given the starting position.  Many people questioned whether or not Anderson was good enough to handle the starting position.  But he sure proved them wrong, already registering two shut-outs and putting Colorado at the top of the standings in the entire league.  Anderson has stopped 157 shots out of 167 in the last five games.   He is the number one goal tender in the league and has been named NHL second star of the week for three weeks in a row.  Having a .935 save percentage and 2.09 goals against average, Anderson is off to a good start for the 2009-2010 season.

No Suspension?

On Saturday the Florida panthers faced off against the Philidelphia flyers. With 2 minutes left in the second period Mike Richards of the Flyers was skating back to defend against a rush. As David Booth of the Panthers was coming across the blue line he dumped the puck into the corner. A few seconds later Richards hit Booth sending him flipping backwards and landing on his head. The hit was late, and it was with his elbow which is illegal, and it was aimed at his head. Booth was taken off the ice on a stretcher, and Richards was kicked out with a 5 minute major. A fter the game Richards was interviewed and asked about the hit. All that he had to say was "My bad." The NHL board reviewed the hit and ruled that Richards will not be suspended. Booth will be released from the hospital on Tuesday with a concussion.

1,000 points

  On Thursday October 15, 2009 Niklas Lidstrom became the first European born defenseman to reach 1,000 points.  In their game VS. the Los Angles KINGS he got one assist and one goal putting him at 1,000 points and giving the Detroit Red wings a much needed win.