Month: March 2009

Atlanta Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 40th goal of the season and added an assist on Saturday night in a 6-3 win over Ottawa, marking the fifth consecutive season that he has hit the 40-goal plateau.  Kovalchuk must have impressed Russian National Team coach Slava Bykov, who along with his assistant coach, was on

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Anton Babchuk scored a power play goal with just over 6 minutes remaining in the third period to edge the Ottawa Senators 2-1 last night.  Babchuk has been on fire in recent weeks; last night’s goal was 13th of the season and his 4th in  the last 5 games.  Babchuk leads Carolina

The A-Train is back on the tracks. Ottawa defenseman Anton Volchenkov will return for the Senators tonight when they face the red-hot Carolina Hurricanes. Volchenkov missed Sunday night’s game at the New York Rangers, with “bumps and bruises,” likely coming from the multitude of shots that he puts himself in front of. Anton is currently

Nikolai Khabibulin was minutes away from a shuout against the Los Angeles Kings yesterday at the United Center when Kings rookie defenseman Drew Doughty got his team on the board (at the 16:54 mark of the 3rd period). Khabibulin’s solid day in net was overshadowed by the return of Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp, who scored

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Anton Babchuk scored two powerplay goals last in a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils at the RBC Center. This was the first two-goal game of the 6’5″ defenseman’s career, giving him 11 goals for the season, 6 of which have come on the powerplay. Anton is known for his booming

Congratulations to PuckAgency client Anssi Salmela, who scored his first career NHL goal, an unassisted powerplay goal last night in a 5-1 Atlanta win over Washington, the Thrashers’ sixth consecutive win. Salmela was acquired by Atlanta on March 4th in exchange for defenseman Niclas Havelid (sent to New Jersey). Anssi is known as a defenseman

Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne made his way into the record books on Saturday night after making 18 saves in a 2-0 win over Phoenix at Jobing Arena. This was Pekka’s seventh shutout of the season, breaking a franchise record for shutouts, previously held by Dan Ellis. Rinne is now top 5 in the league in

Nikolai Khabibulin returns to the net today for Chicago as the Blackhawks take on the NY Islanders at the United Center.  Chicago was defeated 5-3 by Columbus on Friday and the Blackhawks’ lead for 4th place in the Western Conference over Vancouver is now only 4 points. Khabby last played February 11 vs. Atlanta. 

Pekka Rinne was a welcome addition to Nashville’s practice today. Pekka had been fighting the flu for about a week. Rinne could be in the net tomorrow night in a crucial meeting with the New York Rangers. Pekka trails only Columbus rookie sensation Steve Mason in shutouts; Mason made 35 saves last night to get

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin could return to action as soon as Friday vs. Columbus or Sunday afternoon vs. the New York Islanders. For the first time since dealing with a lower-body injury, Khabibulin skated with the entire team yesterday and has been making steady progress recently. Published: 3/11/2009 12:01 AMKhabibulin might be back in