Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our daily look at the previous night's action. During the offseason, we'll look at some of the storylines and moves taking place around the league three times per week. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.
No Zubov For Columbus
On Sunday, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus-Dispatch reported on how Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson is prepared to enter the season with the team's current defensive lineup, and that despite a connection between free agent rearguard Sergei Zubov and current head coach Ken Hitchcock, the team has no interest in the veteran. Actually, he doesn't seem to have interest in anybody at this point. Even with Howson's desire to enter the season as is, the Blue Jackets could certainly use some punch from their defense.
After watching his team get thumped on its home ice, 6-1 on Sunday afternoon, Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville sounded off in the postgame press conference, berating the officiating crew of Marc Joannette and Kevin Pollock for issuing Matt Walker a roughing penalty at the end of the first period, leading to Detroit's third goal of the game.
Quenneville called it the worst call in the history of sports, and essentially used it as an excuse for his team not showing up in the second and third periods. As punishment for his rant, the NHL announced on Monday that Quenneville will be fined $10,000.
Tonight the Bruins and Hurricanes played a hockey game that went about as close as any game could. The two teams went toe-to-toe for nearly four periods, matching each other in every facet of the game. Goaltenders Cam Ward and Tim Thomas showed why they were big reasons as to how their teams made it to this point, making 35 and 34 saves respectively. Fittingly, the game headed to overtime and the Bruins would fall thanks to a familiar foe.
During Game 5 Scott Walker received a game misconduct for a punch -- or sucker punch depending on your view -- to the face of Aaron Ward. The NHL decided to rescind the automatic one game suspension that comes with an ejection and let him play, drawing the ire of Boston and many in the media. Tonight, Walker made a few more enemies in Boston by netting the game winning goal with 1:14 to go in overtime.
After some late-game fisticuffs on Tuesday, the Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks are set to take part in a one-and-done Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena, in a contest that has to be more entertaining -- from a competitive standpoint -- than what we saw on Wednesday in Washington. Depending on who you ask, the line brawl in the closing minutes of Game 6 could be a rallying cry for the Red Wings.
Anaheim vs. Detroit, 7 PM ET | series tied, 3-3 Carolina vs. Boston, 8 PM ET | Game 7 Preview | Where on TV?
The NHL's decision to rescind Scott Walker's mandatory one-game suspension as a result of his altercation with Aaron Ward on Sunday night was confusing to say the least. Walker's explanation as to why he punched Ward in the face is simply off the charts.
According to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, Walker was under the assumption that Ward actually threw the first punch. Seriously.
That picture pretty much sums up the entire third period of Sunday's 4-0 Boston win. As the Carolina Hurricanes were getting dominated in every aspect, Scott Walker decided to take out some of his frustrations on Aaron Ward by punching him in the face.
After losing three straight games for just the third time this season, the Boston Bruins were facing elimination on Sunday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Bruins, behind a 19-save shutout by Tim Thomas, managed to keep their season rolling with a commanding 4-0 win at TD Banknorth Garden.
Following Boston's 4-1 loss in Carolina on Friday, head coach Claude Julien made mention that his team picked a bad time to be playing its worst hockey of the season, getting outscored by a 10-3 margin during its three-game skid. For one night, all of that was forgotten as the Bruins played a relatively perfect game in every phase.
Adam Gretz mentioned the Boston Bruins' big win over Montreal Tuesday night. Goaltender Tim Thomas was the big man for Boston, stopping 34 shots. He also asserted himself physically, making it clear that he didn't appreciate Andrei Kostitsyn's suspension-worthy blast from behind on already-hobbled defenseman Aaron Ward. The following video doesn't show Kostitsyn's hit (trust me, it was a textbook five-minute major), but you can see that Thomas wasn't shy about letting his feelings be known.
It was a great night of rivalries in the NHL on Tuesday, including a classic original six tilt in Boston, where the Bruins pulled out a 3-1 win over Montreal.
Tim Thomas stopped 34-of-35 shots, and even inserted himself into the rough stuff when he clobbered Montreal's Andrei Kostitsyn just moments after he sent Aaron Ward into the boards.
Kostitsyn gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead early in the second period, until Zdeno Chara added a pair of power play goals later in the period. David Krejci put the game out of reach late in the third period, scoring 17th goal of the season, helping lead the Bruins to their third straight win. Montreal had won four in a row, and eight of its past nine entering the game.
Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our daily look at the previous night's action. During the offseason, we'll look at some of the storylines and moves taking place around the league three times per week. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.
After watching his team get thumped on its home ice, 6-1 on Sunday afternoon, Chicago Blackhawks head coach 
Tonight the Bruins and Hurricanes played a hockey game that went about as close as any game could. The two teams went toe-to-toe for nearly four periods, matching each other in every facet of the game. Goaltenders 
The NHL's decision to rescind 
After losing three straight games for just the third time this season, the Boston Bruins were facing elimination on Sunday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Bruins, behind a 19-save shutout by 
It was a great night of rivalries in the NHL on Tuesday, including a classic original six tilt in Boston, where the Bruins pulled out a 
