National Hockey League

Jonathan Cheechoo sounded tired on the phone, and understandably so. He was in Portland, Maine, where his Binghamton Senators were in the middle of a four-games-in-five-nights road swing. And, yes, they travel the American Hockey League by bus.

I'm still pretty young, and I have a lot of hockey left   -Jonathan Cheechoo

 

The Consol Energy Center , where the Pittsburgh Penguins will play hockey next season, is on track for an August opening, team president and CEO Ken Sawyer said Tuesday during a tour of the facility. "Things have gone very smoothly. There have been no problems," Sawyer said, as he showed off the first of the arena's new seats. Like everything else with the arena project, he said, the seats are designed to be fan-friendly; they're a little wider and offer a little more leg room, even in the nosebleed sections.

Things have gone very smoothly. There have been no problems   -Ken Sawyer

 

Brian Gionta whittled the Montreal Canadiens ' recent run of success down to three very simple factors. "Before the season we felt that the defense would be our strength if we were healthy," Martin said. "We felt we had good depth, but because of injuries, until the Olympic break we weren't able to see that."  

The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled goaltender Corey Crawford from the American Hockey League's Rockford IceHogs. Crawford, 25, leads Rockford netminders with 20 wins (20-14-2) and has recorded a 2.80 goals-against average, two shutouts and a .905 save percentage in 39 AHL appearances this season. The Montreal native has appeared in seven regular-season games with the Blackhawks since making his debut in 2005-06, notching a 1-2-1 mark with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.  

Paul Kukla founded Kukla's Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the 'net for all the latest happenings around the NHL. From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible. Kukla's Korner is always a free service for readers, but it costs some money to maintain.  

The Goal Line Report will focus on all things Eastern Conference. Do I have a bias towards the Eastern Conference just because I am a New Yorker? No, but it certainly does make things easier!  

Ovechkin (61, 44-52-96, owned in 99 percent of all Yahoo! leagues) will sit out Tuesday at Florida and Thursday at Carolina. He will be eligible to return for Saturday's game at Tampa Bay. The Capitals will be without Ovechkin for the third time this season, but have fared well without their top player, going 6-2-0. Amazingly, the Panthers have missed Ovechkin three times this season -- twice because of injury, once from a previous suspension -- but lost all three games to Washington.

(Horton) won't play (Tuesday), but I've got my fingers crossed that he can be back in the lineup soon   -Peter DeBoer

 

The mission of the Dave Andreychuk Foundation is to accomplish three goals: to assist children in need, to support causes for children and families enduring chronic and/or life-threatening illness and to encourage the investment in youth and amateur sports. The captain of the Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup team, Andreychuk retired from the NHL in 2007 and founded his charitable foundation shortly thereafter. Locally, the Dave Andreychuk Foundation has supported The Children's Home, St. Joseph's Children's ...  

A year ago, the Ottawa Senators lost the battle to sign free agent Tyler Bozak. What makes it all the more painful now is that Bozak is already starring with the Senators' Battle of Ontario rivals. Bozak, a late bloomer who turns 24 on Friday, has become the de facto first-line centre for the Toronto Maple Leafs, playing with wingers Phil Kessel and Nikolai Kulemin.

It's always great to play with great players, they make the game a lot easier for you   -Tyler Bozak