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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Hossa’s trade to Pittsburgh highlights day

Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

It was no surprise the Atlanta Thrashers traded All-Star forward Marian Hossa, but his landing spot alongside Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh seemingly came out of nowhere.

Hossa, set for unrestricted free agency in July, went to the Penguins along with forward Pascal Dupuis just before the Tuesday’s deadline. It was the headline move on what has traditionally become a seismic day in the NHL.

The Penguins paid a hefty price for Hossa, a two-time 40-goal scorer, by trading top forwards Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen, 2007 first-round draft pick Angelo Esposito, and a future first-round draft pick.

It was one of two big moves for Pittsburgh, which also acquired hulking defenseman Hal Gill from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In all, NHL teams made 25 trades involving 45 players in the six hours before the 3 p.m. EST deadline. The number of deals matched the league record, equaling each of the past two years, and the amount of players moved fell one short of the mark set in 2003.

The Stars, trying to hold off the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks atop the Pacific Division, landed Lightning center Brad Richards and goalie Johan Holmqvist for backup goalie Mike Smith, forwards Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern and a fourth-round pick in next year’s draft.

Bettman will testify today

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman plans to tell a House subcommittee today that his sport is steroid-free.

Bettman will join his major league counterparts in testifying before the House subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection in Washington.

On the ice

Capitals 4, Wild 1: At Washington, Brooks Laich had two goals and assisted on two others to lead the Capitals over Minnesota.

It was the first two-goal and four-point game for Laich, and gave Washington its first win in four games.

Penguins 4, Islanders 2: At Uniondale, N.Y., Evgeni Malkin and Jeff Taffe scored first-period goals for Pittsburgh in a victory over New York.

Ty Conklin kept the Penguins in front throughout by stopping a career-high 50 shots.

Hurricanes 2, Devils 1 (OT): At Raleigh, N.C., Sergei Samsonov tapped in his rebound with 3:24 left in overtime to lift Carolina past New Jersey.

Samsonov finished with two goals.

Martin Brodeur made 34 saves, including 12 in a furious third period for the Devils, while Cam Ward turned aside 23 shots for Carolina.

Bruins 4, Senators 0: At Boston, David Krejci scored his first NHL goal, and Tim Thomas stopped 22 shots for his second shutout of the season to lead the Bruins over Ottawa.

Zdeno Chara scored twice, including an empty-netter, and Shawn Thornton also scored for Boston.

Canadiens 5, Thrashers 1: At Montreal, Chris Higgins had two goals and an assist as the Canadiens scored four times in the first half of the third period in a win over Atlanta.

Carey Price stopped 26 shots and Maxim Lapierre also scored for the Canadiens.

Stars 3, Blues 1: At St. Louis, Loui Eriksson scored twice and Mike Ribeiro added a pair of assists in a three-goal third period for Dallas, which rallied to defeat the Blues.

Marty Turco stopped 27 shots for the Stars in the game after being scored on the first shot he faced.

Avalanche 4, Flames 3 (OT): At Calgary, Alberta, Paul Stastny set up the tying goal, then scored the overtime winner as Colorado came from behind for a victory over the Flames.

Oilers 4, Red Wings 3 (SO): At Edmonton, Alberta, Robert Nilsson scored the lone goal in the shootout as the Oilers beat Detroit, giving them their NHL-record 13th shootout win this season.