Hossa injured while Richards sets record

It took about five minutes for Brad Richards to make an impact with the Dallas Stars in his first game. The Pittsburgh Penguins will have to wait a while before seeing one from Marian Hossa.

While Richards was helping the Stars beat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-4, Hossa's debut with his new club was cut short after injuring his knee in Pittsburgh's 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins.

Hossa, perhaps the biggest name to be moved at Tuesday's trade deadline, didn't play in the third period and finished with one shot on goal in 10:13. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Hossa suffered a sprained right MCL and will miss at least one week.

"It is disappointing," Hossa said, assessing his injury to an accidental knee-to-knee collision with Boston forward Glen Murray in the second period. "Injuries happen. It's just tough luck."

Pascal Dupuis, acquired by the Penguins with Hossa from the Atlanta Thrashers, also made his debut and helped Pittsburgh avoid being blanked.

Richards' first point with Dallas can only described as pretty. A cross-ice pass from Niklas Hagman at the top of the circles looked like it would be one-timed by Antti Miettinen. Instead he let the puck go between his legs to Richards, who fired a pass to back to Hagman for a tip-in just inside the far post.

That was the first of Hagman's three goals - and Richards' career-high five assists, tying the franchise record shared by Murray Oliver (1971) and Larry Murphy (1989).

"I'm so happy to be a part of this," said Richards, acquired Tuesday from the Tampa Bay Lightning, which has the worst record in the East. "They've got a good thing going here. I went from looking like I'd be done the first of April to making a good run at (the Stanley Cup)."

Andrew Ladd had his first goal in his second game with the Blackhawks after being acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes for Tuomo Ruutu at the deadline.

THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT, FEB. 28

1. Hagman, Dallas Stars: No one is happier than this guy to have Richards on his line. Hagman had his first three-goal game in the NHL during the Stars' win over the Blackhawks.

2. Marco Sturm, Boston Bruins: Sturm had two goals - including the 200th of his career - in the Bruins' 5-1 win over the Penguins. Your useless factoid of the night: Sturm is the third German-born player with 200 goals joining Walt Tkaczuk (227) and Dany Heatley of the Ottawa Senators (210).

3. Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix Coyotes: Bryzgalov stopped 41 shots - 26 over the final two periods - in a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. It was the Coyotes' fourth straight win over the Blues and sixth in a row at the Scottrade Center.

Tale of two seasons: Sens ax Paddock

It's not much of a shock when a coach is fired these days. It is when his team shows symptoms seen in someone suffering from bipolar disorder.

The Ottawa Senators got off to an incredible start under John Paddock, hand-picked in July by general manager Bryan Murray as his replacement following the franchise's first modern-day Stanley Cup finals appearance.

Two straight shutout losses ended Paddock's tenure after 64 games on Wednesday. The Senators became the third team this season to change coaches after Murray added coach to his general manager title.

“It’s shocking really that it comes to this,” said Murray, who makes his season debut as coach on Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers. “It’s disappointing from everybody’s point of view.”

With a league-leading 210 goals scored and the Sens still atop the Northeast Division and just two points off the top spot in the East, that would be a gross understatement.

On the heels of their finals appearance, the Senators opened the 2007-08 season with a 12-1-0 start. Everything clicked. The top line of Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza thrived, while goaltenders Martin Gerber, Ray Emery - and even rookie Brian Elliot - shined.

Through Nov. 4, Alfredsson had nine goals and and 10 assists. Heatley, a 100-point scorer each of the previous two seasons, had six multipoint games and totaled eight goals and seven assists. Spezza scored only once, but assisted on 12 other goals.

With Emery working his way back from a wrist injury, Gerber shouldered the load in goal, going 9-1-0 with a 1.88 goals-against average. Emery returned after missing five games to win both his starts and Elliott - picked 291st overall in 2003 - made 25 saves in his NHL debut, a 3-1 win over the reigning Southeast Division champion Atlanta Thrashers.

On Jan. 12, Ottawa was 29-10-4 after beating the Detroit Red Wings in a matchup touted as a preview of this season's Cup finals. The following night, Heatley suffered a shoulder injury that would sideline him for 11 games as the Senators lost to the New York Islanders, snapping a four-game winning streak and sending them in a tailspin they now have just 18 games to recover from.

Ottawa has won only seven of 21 games since then, and has gone just 1-12-2 when scoring three goals or fewer in that span. Acquiring Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore in a trade from the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 11 failed to jump-start the offense, which has been non-existent.

After losing 5-0 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, the Sens were beyond sluggish in a 4-0 defeat to the Boston Bruins on Tueaday in what was Paddock's final game, roughly one month after he coached in the All-Star game.

It’s not known who will start in goal during Murray’s debut, but neither Emery nor Gerber have played well recently. Emery is 2-3-1 with a 3.40 GAA in his last six starts while Gerber is 0-3-1 with a 3.27 GAA in four starts since last winning on Jan. 29.

One thing is clear about Murray: he is a taskmaster - perhaps not in the same vein as the Tampa Bay Lightning's John Tortorella - but he has a certain style and knows what he wants to see from his team.

“Get some discipline in the play but mainly, get some emotion and effort into the game,” he told the team's official Web site. “I think we’ve been a very passive group in the last number of games and I think it’s because of not winning. Players start to grip their sticks a little too much, and that’ll be the first area to address.”

And the upcoming schedule is not easy. Starting Monday, they'll kick off a four-game Western road trip with a finals rematch against the Anaheim Ducks.

“I think we have a real good hockey team, I think a very comparable hockey team to last year,” he said. “Like every team, you’ve got to get a little bit lucky (and) you’ve got to play very, very hard. But yeah, I think we have a real contending team here.”

New faces, new places

Teams who were active at the trading deadline didn't have to wait long to see results.

Steve Bernier of the Buffalo Sabres had the best debut on Wednesday night, recording two goals on his first two shots and an assist in an 8-4 win over the Nashville Predators.

"When your confidence is not where you want it to be and the first shot you make you score, it helps," said Bernier, who is looking for a fresh start after being labeled an underachiever during three seasons with the San Jose Sharks. "I'm glad everything went the way I wanted everything to go. ... Yeah, it's a good start, but nothing is done yet."

All-Star Brian Campbell, who the Sabres dealt to acquire Bernier, drew an assist in the Sharks' 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"He showed that he's a player, that he wants to be on the ice all the time," San Jose coach Ron Wilson said. "He's generally always in attack mode. You can see he’s a sneaky hitter, too."

In Tampa, Mike Smith made 24 saves and Jeff Halpern had a goal and assist in the Lightning's 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Tampa Bay picked up Halpern, Smith and Jussi Jokinen (4 shots on goal, minus-1 in 22:28) from the Dallas Stars for former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist, who will make their debuts on Thursday.

"Probably one of the harder games I've ever played mentally," said Smith, who still wore his Stars mask. "Everything that has gone on the last couple days. Fighting the nerves a little bit. For the most part, it felt pretty good. Disappointed in the outcome."

Andrew Ladd of the Chicago Blackhawks, acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes for Tuomo Ruutu, had a team-high five shots on goal but didn't register a point in a 1-0 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes.

THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT, FEB. 27

1. Mats Sundin, Toronto Maple Leafs: The longtime captain wanted to stay with the Maple Leafs, invoking his no-trade clause to make sure he would remain with the team. Sundin's second third-period goal forced overtime, and the Leafs went on to a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers.

2. Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche: In his third game back after missing 38 following hernia surgery, Sakic scored the tying goal with 14.7 seconds in regulation as Colorado went on to a 3-2 shootout win, ending the Vancouver Canucks' season-high four-game winning streak. It was Sakic first goal since Nov. 28 and the 617th of his career.

3. Patrick Lalime, Chicago Blackhawks: Starting again in place of the injured Nikolai Khabibulin, Lalime made 32 saves in a 1-0 win over Phoenix for his first shutout since Feb. 7, 2007 and 35th of his career.

Three stars, deadline-deal edition

Your deadline-deal edition ...

THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT, FEB. 26

1. Ty Conklin, Pittsburgh Penguins: Marc-Andre who? Conklin made 23 of his career-high 50 saves in the first period of the Penguins' 4-2 win over the New York Islanders. Since 2000-01, Conklin is the 12th goaltender to record at least 50 saves in a game

2. Brooks Laich, Washington Capitals: Laich scored two goals and added two assists for his first four-point game in the NHL as the Capitals defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-1. Laich had recorded five two-point games prior to Tuesday.

3. Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins: Thomas stopped 22 shots for his second shutout of the season and sixth of his career in the Bruins' 4-0 win over the Ottawa Senators, who have been blanked in each of the last two games.

Swap meet

As always, NHL trading deadline day is one of the most fun days of the season, and this year's event proved to be no different.

There were 25 deadline-day deals involving 45 players, and a large part of them can be overlooked. The Chicago Blackhawks shipping Tuomo Ruutu to the Carolina Hurricanes for Andrew Ladd in swap of former top-10 picks who've yet to live up to their potential? That's one.

The Colorado Avalanche getting defenseman Adam Foote from the Columbus Blue Jackets for pair of draft picks? That, coming on the heels of the Avs bringing back Peter Forsberg led Denver Post sports copy chief Angela Clemmons to assure me they're building a championship team ... in 1999.

But here's three deals from Tuesday that I wanted to focus on.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins acquire forwards Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis from the Atlanta Thrashers for forwards Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, 2007 first-round pick Angelo Esposito and a future first-round pick.

DID PITTSBURGH WIN OUT?: Durable. High-scoring. Will continue to play as a complimentary player instead of as the go-to guy. What's not to like?

The question is what's happened to Hossa this season. Tallying 26 goals and 56 points isn't a bad season by any means, but a year ago, he had career highs with 43 goals and 57 assists. And before we all anoint Pittsburgh as the next Stanley Cup champions, remember Hossa had one assist in four playoff games last year following his 100-point season.

Still, if he's re-energized by playing with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins have to be a favorite to get to the Stanley Cup finals.

Pittsburgh will be Dupuis' fourth team since the start of last season. Led Atlanta with three short-handed goals this season.

DID ATLANTA WIN OUT?: In the short term ... meh. There was no way the Thrashers were going to sign Hossa before July 1 when he could hit the free-agent market, but you'd have thought they could have gotten more for him.

Armstrong is big - 6-foot-2 - but hasn't had more than 16 goals or 40 points in a season. Has a nose for the net in big situations, though, with eight career game-winning goals in 181 games.

Christensen's strength is in shootouts, where he has 14 career goals, tying him for second-most all time.

Esposito is a prospect, currently fourth in scoring with 55 points in 48 games with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL, but has seen his production go down each season since 2005-06.

2. Dallas Stars get center Brad Richards and goaltender Johan Holmqvist from the Tampa Bay Lightning for goaltender Mike Smith, forwards Jussi Jokinen and Steve Halpern and a future fourth-round draft pick.

DID DALLAS WIN OUT?: No. They made out like bandits.

He's a Conn Smythe Trophy winner averaging 72 points a season coming into 2007-08. His 51 points this year places him third on the Stars. Is in the second year of a 5-year, $39 million deal - not an issue for owner Tom Hicks.

Richards clearly was one the top offensive players available. With the Stars looking to overtake the Detroit Red Wings and get the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and home ice advantage throughout, this was exactly the kind of deal co-GMs Brett Hull and Les Jackson needed to make.

Richards can be a difference maker, and now that he's no longer playing for Tampa Bay taskmaster John Tortorella, it may allow him to breathe again.

Holmqvist will sit and learn as Marty Turco's backup.

DID TAMPA BAY WIN OUT?: Since Nikolai Khabibulin and John Grahame helped the Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2004, they've not had a true top-flight netminder - Sean Burke? Brian Eklund? Gerald Coleman? Marc Denis? Karri Ramo? Holmqvist?

Smith is just 25 and has plenty of potential. Since joining Dallas last season as a backup to Turco, Smith has gone 24-14-2 with a 2.34 GAA and five shutouts. With the Lightning just 12 points out the final Eastern Conference playoff spot heading into play on Tuesday, Smith could help them escape with some wins.

Tortorella is getting someone who is almost automatic in shootouts with Jokinen, whose 17 goals are tied with Slava Kozlov for the most. Halpern hasn't scored 20 goals in a season since 2000-01.

3. Washington Capitals acquire goaltender Cristobal Huet from the Montreal Canadiens for a second-round draft pick.

DID WASHINGTON WIN OUT?: The Capitals have Olaf Kolzig's heir apparent - provided they re-sign Huet, who will be an unrestricted free agent in July. Huet, though, may be counted on to help get Washington into the playoffs this season.

The Caps haven't been to the postseason since 2003, and likely will end that skid only by winning the Southeast Division.

A late bloomer, Huet has seen his wins total rise each season since breaking in with the Los Angeles Kings in 2002-03. He head to the Caps with a record of 21-12-6 with a 2.55 GAA and two shutouts.

DID MONTREAL WIN OUT?: With Huet gone, the goaltending chores fall to former first-round pick Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak.

With a playoff berth and conference crown possible, general manager Bob Gainey must be really sure about what he has now.

The 20-year-old Price, selected fifth overall in 2005, has battled some inconsistency recently. Against the New York Rangers on Feb. 19, he gave up three goals in less than 14 minutes before being replaced by Huet. Montreal rallied from a 5-0 deficit to win 6-5 in a shootout, but coach Guy Carbonneau will not have the luxury for now of a veteran to spell Price if needed.

Halak will turn 23 in May, and thrived as backup to Huet last season going 10-6-0 with a 2.89 GAA and two shutouts.

What's that smell?

I live north of Chicago's Loop in the city's Uptown section, so I can usually complete my commute home in the wee hours of the morning in about 30 minutes or so.

Slogging home through the latest winter snowstorm early Tuesday morning, I was listening to David Stein on Sporting News radio. His show is not like a lot of sports-talk blather out there. He makes you think, in fact it's a prerequisite.

The topic: What is your favorite sports smell?

These days, my sense of smell is poor. But for one moment, it seemed like I could pick up that scent in my car.

Madison Square Garden in the 1970s.

Not the MSG of Isiah Thomas, sexual harrassment lawsuits, mediocre hockey and multi-thousand dollar seats. Not the MSG of teal and eggplant seats. Certainly not James Dolan's MSG.

This was "The Most Famous Arena In The World." This was where Clyde, The Pearl and Dollar Bill played. This was where Eddie Giacomin manned the crease, where Emile Francis was behind the bench.

The public address announcer didn't yell at you, didn't draw out the names ... back then, it was John F.X. Condon as the voice of God above - letting you know the foul was on Bob McAdoo (his first, the team's first) or that Steve Vickers received two minutes for hooking at 8:46.

There was no rap music. There was an organ - I think Eddie Layton was on the Hammond. There were sirens, plain and simple, when a goal was scored.

It was the Garden I would walk to with my father after parking on 6th Avenue. A stop at Blimpie's for dinner, and then off to see the game. It was the Garden before ads on the scorer's table. And on the ice. And the dasherboards. A scoreboard hanging over center ice was considered the cutting edge of technology.

It was the Garden with the rainbow of seats. Red all the way downstairs, orange, yellow, green and, finally, Blue Heaven, the home of the rowdiest and most passionate Rangers fans. The place where the smell of marijuana sometimes competed with the cigarettes.

But that's not the smell I remember most. It was the air in there. It smelled like the mimeograph room in my elementary school, a sweet, pungent, chemical scent ... just like the one in the Knicks and Rangers yearbooks I had to have each season.

As I'm sitting here writing about this, though, I find that I'm getting really wistful about this. Not just for the scent.

We had family friends who were Orthodox Jews, and had season tickets for the Knicks, Rangers, Mets and Jets. Due to their beliefs, we often would get their tickets for Friday nights, Saturdays and many Sundays as well.

Maybe I'm just nostalgic for those times with my Dad and Mom ... the tailor who knew nothing of basketball in her native France, but loved watching the Knicks back in the day.

Big Foppa's back in town: Forsberg signs with Avs

So much for not being ready. Foppa's back in town.

In what shouldn't be a shock, Peter Forsberg has decided that his oft-injured foot and ankle are healed enough to allow his to return to the NHL this season. The 2003 MVP signed a deal with the Colorado Avalanche on Monday that will pay him $1 million for the remainder of the season.

With Ryan Smyth and Joe Sakic just rounding into form after injuries, it would seem that the last thing the Avs need is another player on the mend - and it also didn't look like Forsberg would be back until next season at the soonest.

Last week, Forsberg's agent said the two-time Stanley Cup winner didn’t have enough confidence in the strength of his surgically repaired right foot to play. Forsberg, fourth on Colorado's all-time scoring list with 741 points in 580 gamses, was also reportedly being courted by the Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators.

"I am looking forward to putting this jersey on again," Forsberg said. "I have so many great memories of my playing days in Denver. I’m excited about helping my new teammates and former teammates in the coming weeks, and hopefully I am able to do that in the very near future."

It's not immediately known when Forsberg will make his season debut. The Avs cap a five-game road trip Tuesday against the Calgary Flames and Wednesday versus the Vancouver Canucks before starting a four-game homestand on March 1 against the Los Angeles Kings. Circle that date.

On Monday night, Colorado is in 10th place in the Western Conference with 68 points - just four behind Vancouver and the Nashville Predators, who are tied for seventh. With

Forsberg has averaged better than a point per game in his career against Northwest Division opponents, totaling 30 goals and 70 assists in 85 games. After hosting the New Jersey Devils on March 15, the Avs will play their final nine games against division foes -- three against Minnesota and two each Vancouver, Calgary and the Edmonton Oilers.

Three stars and then some

A day late, but ...

FIVE STARS OF THE NIGHT, FEB. 21 - BONUS PICKS FOR PUCKHEADS!

1. Alexander Frolov, Patrick O'Sullivan and Michael Cammalleri, Los Angeles Kings: This line combined for 11 points in a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Frolov scored three goals, O'Sullivan had a career-high five points (one goal, four assists) and Cammalleri - who missed 18 games this season with a rib injury and the flu - had a season-high three assists.

2. Dan Cloutier, Los Angeles Kings: Came within four minutes and change of his first shutout since March 2004 and finished with 32 saves in the win over the Blues. Cloutier missed more than half of last season with a hip injury that required surgery, and started this season in the AHL while Los Angeles went with Jason LaBarbera, Jean-Sebastien Aubin and rookies Jon Quick and Jonathan Bernier.

3. Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks: Registered a season-high 49 saves in a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators. Luongo has allowed two goals per game as Vancouver has won a season high-tying three in a row heading into Saturday's game with the league-leading Detroit Red Wings.

4. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins: Had a goal and two assists in a 5-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens. The reigning Calder Trophy winner has points in all 10 games this month, totaling eight goals and 16 assists to lead Pittsburgh to a 7-2-1 record.

5. Rick DiPietro, New York Islanders: Extended New York's winning streak to a season-high six in a row by stopping all 32 shots he faced in a 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was the All-Star's third shutout this season and 14th of his career.

THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT, FEB. 22

1. Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary Flames: The shutout drought is over. The 2005-06 Vezina Trophy winner got his first shutout since March 27 - a 64-game span - by beating the Red Wings 1-0. Kiprusoff made 38 saves en route to his 25th career whitewash.

2. Jere Lehtinen, Dallas Stars: A three-time winner of the Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward, Lehtinen had two goals in a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. After missing 33 games with a sports hernia, Lehtinen has four goals and six assists as Dallas has gone 9-2-0.

3. Cody McLeod, Colorado Avalanche: The rookie forward saved Colorado from an embarassing loss by scoring in the 12th round of the shootout, giving the Avs a 3-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes after allowing the tying goal with three seconds to play in regulation