HOCKEY NEWS

• Sabres place RW Kaleta on IR; recall D Weber 12/4/2008, 11:49 a.m. CST
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Hard-hitting Buffalo Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta is out indefinitely after being placed on injured reserve Thursday because of a head and neck injury.

• Avery-less Stars fall in Edmonton 12/4/2008, 3:26 a.m. CST
(AP) — Suspended agitator Sean Avery was in New York for a meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. The last-place Dallas Stars were in big trouble, too, in Edmonton.

• Oilers beat Avery-less Stars 5-2 12/3/2008, 11:30 p.m. CST
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Mathieu Garon made 23 saves to help the Edmonton Oilers beat Dallas 5-2 on Wednesday night in the Stars' second game without suspended agitator Sean Avery.

• Wild's Backstrom shuts out Blues 12/3/2008, 10:41 p.m. CST
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Two nights after getting embarrassed, Minnesota got back to its kind of hockey with strong defense and an opportunistic offense.

• Toews lifts Blackhawks past Ducks 12/3/2008, 10:20 p.m. CST
CHICAGO (AP) — Jonathan Toews broke a tie with 1:35 left in regulation in the Chicago Blackhawks' 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night.

• Man falls from upper deck in Ottawa 12/3/2008, 10:04 p.m. CST
OTTAWA (AP) — A 21-year-old man was taken to hospital after he fell about 25 feet from the upper deck of Scotiabank Place during the second intermission of the Ottawa Senators' victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Wednesday night.

• Crosby gains on Montreal trio in all-star voting 12/3/2008, 9:09 p.m. CST
NEW YORK (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins start Sidney Crosby is closing on a trio of Montreal Canadiens in voting for the NHL all-star game.

• Pizza Line leads Sens past Thrashers 12/3/2008, 9:05 p.m. CST
OTTAWA (AP) — Dany Heatley had a goal and two assists and the Ottawa Senators got first-period goals from each member of the Pizza Line in a 5-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Wednesday night.

• Prucha's late goal carries Rangers over Penguins 12/3/2008, 8:59 p.m. CST
NEW YORK (AP) — Petr Prucha returned from exile to score his first goal of the season late in the third period and the New York Rangers went on to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in a shootout Wednesday night.

• Avery apologizes for comments about ex-girlfriends 12/3/2008, 7:44 p.m. CST
DALLAS (AP) — Suspended Dallas Stars agitator Sean Avery flew to New York on Wednesday for a meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, and gave a likely sample of what he'll say by apologizing for comments about his former girlfriends.

• Top NHL prospects return to US Junior Team 12/3/2008, 6:18 p.m. CST
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Top NHL prospects Colin Wilson and James van Riemsdyk were among the 22 players selected to the U.S. National Junior Team on Wednesday.

• Flyers C Briere out a month with groin injury 12/3/2008, 5:38 p.m. CST
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Flyers center Danny Briere will be sidelined four to five weeks with a severe groin strain.

• Laviolette fired, Maurice back in as 'Canes coach 12/3/2008, 2:29 p.m. CST
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Peter Laviolette won more games than any American-born coach in NHL history. But he didn't win enough of them lately to keep his job with the Carolina Hurricanes, so they replaced him with their winningest coach — the same one Laviolette himself replaced five years earlier.

• Avalanche captain Sakic out at least 6 weeks 12/3/2008, 2:00 p.m. CST
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Joe Sakic thought long and hard about returning for a 20th NHL season after missing 38 games following hernia surgery last year.

• Bettman summons Avery to hearing Thursday in NY 12/3/2008, 12:49 p.m. CST
NEW YORK (AP) — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has summoned Sean Avery to New York for a hearing Thursday on remarks that resulted in the indefinite suspension of the Dallas Stars' instigator.

• APNewsAlert 12/3/2008, 9:37 a.m. CST
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A person familiar with the decision says Peter Laviolette out as Carolina Hurricanes' coach. .

• Former coach Wilson sees Sharks beat his Leafs 5-2 12/3/2008, 5:49 a.m. CST
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Although the San Jose Sharks were consistently good under coach Ron Wilson, they've been even better since he left.

• Avery suspended indefinitely by NHL for crude line 12/3/2008, 3:20 a.m. CST
DALLAS (AP) — Sean Avery knows all about the punishment that comes with saying something inflammatory on the ice, from time in the penalty box to having a stick swung at him.

• Former coach Wilson sees Sharks beat his Leafs 5-2 12/3/2008, 12:02 a.m. CST
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Joe Thornton had a goal and three assists in San Jose's fantastic first period, and the Sharks looked sharp in front of former coach Ron Wilson during their eighth straight victory, 5-2 over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

• Brunnstrom's goal helps Stars win without Avery 12/2/2008, 11:34 p.m. CST
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Fabian Brunnstrom's breakaway goal at 7:53 of the second period stood up as the game-winner as the Dallas beat the Calgary Flames 3-1 Tuesday night hours after Stars forward Sean Avery was suspended by the NHL.

• Lisin scores 2 in third, lifts Coyotes past Kings 12/2/2008, 11:04 p.m. CST
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Enver Lisin scored twice in a four-minute span of the third period to lift the Phoenix Coyotes over the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 on Tuesday night.

• Canadiens blow 3-goal lead, but beat Thrashers 5-4 12/2/2008, 9:37 p.m. CST
MONTREAL (AP) — Andrei Kostitsyn scored with 5:11 remaining and the Montreal Canadiens recovered from blowing a three-goal lead earlier in the third period to beat the Atlanta Thrashers 5-4 on Tuesday night.

• Richards nets 2nd in OT, lifts Flyers to 4-3 win 12/2/2008, 9:22 p.m. CST
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mike Richards scored two goals, including the winner 2:05 into overtime, and the Philadelphia Flyers sent the Tampa Bay Lightning to their fifth straight loss with a 4-3 victory Tuesday night.

• Panthers score 3 goals in 2nd period in 5-3 win 12/2/2008, 9:06 p.m. CST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Radek Dvorak, Ville Peltonen and Gregory Campbell had a goal and an assist each, and the Florida Panthers beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 Tuesday night.

• Divers find body of former NHL All-Star Martin 12/2/2008, 7:10 p.m. CST
ROUYN-NORANDA, Quebec (AP) — Police divers recovered the body of Hubert "Pit" Martin, a four-time NHL All-Star in the 1960s and '70s, who drowned after the snowmobile he was driving plunged into an icy lake near his home.

• Avery suspended indefinitely by NHL 12/2/2008, 5:27 p.m. CST
NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL has suspended Dallas Stars forward Sean Avery indefinitely pending a hearing with commissioner Gary Bettman.

• Moscow officials place blame for Cherepanov death 12/2/2008, 8:42 a.m. CST
MOSCOW (AP) — Moscow regional prosecutors said an ice arena manager and a hockey club director were negligent in the death of rising Russian star Alexei Cherepanov.

• Hossa's hesitation move gives Wings win over Ducks 12/2/2008, 2:54 a.m. CST
(AP) — Marian Hossa was in no rush to let another shot fly after Detroit opened with a few dozen unsuccessful attempts. His patience paid off.

• Stajan, Grabovski lead Maple Leafs over Kings 12/2/2008, 1:45 a.m. CST
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Without much time to recover from the flight from Toronto to Los Angeles, Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson expected the fast-skating Kings to come out aggressively against his team.

• Stastny leads offensive outburst in Colorado's win 12/1/2008, 10:00 p.m. CST
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Paul Stastny had two goals and an assist, and the low-scoring Colorado Avalanche broke out for a 6-5 win over the Minnesota Wild on Monday night.