Panthers Win, First-Year Coach Locks Up All-Star Game Post

Scott Mellanby and Jesse Belanger had a goal and an assist each to lead Florida to a 2-1 victory over visiting New Jersey, assuring first-year coach Doug MacLean a spot behind the bench for next month’s All-Star game.

Florida’s league-leading 25th victory guarantees the Panthers the best record in the Eastern Conference through Dec. 27, making MacLean the first rookie coach for the NHL All-Star game. The game will be played Jan. 20 at the FleetCenter in Boston.

Panthers 2, Devils 1

New Jersey 0 1 0 - 1

Florida 1 1 0 - 2

First period-1, Florida, Mellanby 20 (Belanger, Murphy), 14:30 (pp).

Second period-2, Florida, Belanger 11 (Mellanby, Murphy), 4:29 (pp). 3, New Jersey, Zelepukin 5 (MacLean, Broten), 8:24 (pp).

Third period-None.

Shots on goal-New Jersey 6-15-11-32. Florida 11-9-9-29.Power-play opp.-New Jersey 1 of 9; Florida 2 of 7.Goalies-New Jersey, Brodeur 11-15-4 (29 shots-27 saves). Florida, Vanbiesbrouck 16-7-1 (32-31).A-14,703 (14,503).

Bruins 7, Lightning 5

Boston

Cam Neely scored his 16th and 17th goals as Boston beat Tampa Bay to extend its winning streak to a season-best four games.

Tampa Bay 3 1 1 - 5

Boston 4 1 2 - 7

First period-1, Boston, Stevens 8 (Oates), :14. 2, Boston, Donato 10 (Neely, Oates), 6:42 (pp). 3, Tampa Bay, Wiemer 1, 7:15. 4, Boston, Reid 11 (Leach), 7:50. 5, Tampa Bay, Selivanov 17 (Hamrlik, Cullen) 12:53 (pp). 6, Boston, Neely 16 (Stevens), 16:14. 7, Tampa Bay, Zamuner 4 (Cullen, Selivanov), 18:01.

Second period-8, Tampa Bay, Klima 13 (Gavey), 11:25. 9, Boston, McEachern 11 (Sweeny, Stumpell), 12:50.

Third period-10, Boston, Neely 17 (Oates, Stevens), 4:22. 11, Tampa Bay, Hamrlik 7 (Bradley), 15:34 (pp). 12, Boston, Oates 10, 19:43 (pp, en).

Shots on goal-Tampa Bay 12-5-7-24. Boston 14-10-11-35.Power-play opp.-Tampa Bay 2 of 5; Boston 2 of 6.Goalies-Tampa Bay, Reese (22 shots-17 saves), Bergeron 1-6-1 (12:50 second, 12-11). Boston, Billington 6-8-0 (24-19).

Whalers 3, Flyers 3

Hartford, Conn.

Eric Lindros scored his 23rd goal and then assisted on Rod Brind’Amour’s tap-in with 12:24 remaining to rally Philadelphia to a tie with Hartford.

Philadelphia 0 0 3 0 - 3

Hartford 1 1 1 0 - 3

First Period-1, Hartford, Janssens 1 (Ranheim, Kron), 15:33.

Second Period-2, Hartford, Cassels 10 (Sanderson, Rice), 12:58.

Third Period-3, Philadelphia, Otto 7 (Svoboda), 1:24 (pp). 4, Philadelphia, Lindros 23 (Therien), 4:00. 5, Hartford, Emerson 14 (Cassels, Burke), 6:43 (pp). 6, Philadelphia, Brind’Amour 11 (Lindros, Klatt), 7:36.

Overtime-None.

Shots on goal-Philadelphia 14-8-12-1-35. Hartford 10-10-12-3-35.Power-play opp.-Philadelphia 1 of 7; Hartford 1 of 7.Goalies-Philadelphia, Snow 7-3-2 (35 shots-32 saves). Hartford, Burke 9-13-3 (35-32).A-12,262 (15,635).

Islanders 3, Capitals 1

Uniondale, N.Y.

Travis Green scored twice, including the game-winning goal, as New York snapped a five-game winless streak.

Washington 0 1 0 - 1

N.Y. Islanders 0 2 1 - 3

First period-None.

Second period-1, New York, King 7 (McInnis, Flatley), :34. 2, Washington, Peake 7 (Pivonka, Bondra), 4:23 (pp). 3, New York, Green 10 (Palffy, Tichy), 18:19.

Third period-4, New York, Green 11 (Schneider, Clark), 9:26 (pp).

Shots on goal-Washington 8-9-5-22. New York 4-5-11-20.Power-play opp.-Washington 1 of 3; New York 1 of 4.Goalies-Washington, Kolzig 2-5-0 (20 shots-17 saves). New York, Soderstrom 4-10-3 (22-21).A-10,105 (16,297).

Canadiens 1, Penguins 0

Montreal

Jocelyn Thibault made 29 saves and Martin Rucinsky scored the only goal to give Montreal a win over Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh 0 0 0 - 0

Montreal 0 1 0 - 1

First period-None.

Second period-1, Montreal, Rucinsky 7 (Damphousse, Brisebois), 10:44.

Third period-None.

Shots on goal-Pittsburgh 12-5-12-29. Montreal 5-9-9-23.Power-play opp.-Pittsburgh 0 of 3; Montreal 0 of 3.Goalies-Pittsburgh, Wregget 9-7-1 (23 shots-22 saves). Montreal, Thibault 7-5-3 (29-29).A-17,959 (16,259).

Maple Leafs 6, Oilers 1

Toronto

Doug Gilmour reached the 1,000-point plateau by assisting on two goals by Mats Sundin goals as Toronto crushed Edmonton.

Edmonton 0 1 0 - 1

Toronto 3 0 3 - 6

First period-1, Toronto, Gartner 17 (Murphy), 3:23 (pp). 2, Toronto, Sundin 12 (Andreychuk, Gilmour), 8:55. 3, Toronto, Hendrickson 5 (Wood), 10:59.

Second period-4, Edmonton, Marchant 7 (Maltby, McAmmond), 15:01 (pp).

Third period-5, Toronto, Wood 6, 11:26. 6, Toronto, Hogue 11 (Gartner, Yushkevich), 13:31 (pp). 7, Toronto, Sundin 13 (Gilmour), 17:22 (pp).

Shots on goal-Edmonton 6-14-7-27. Toronto 7-11-8-26.Power-play opp.-Edmonton 1 of 5; Toronto 3 of 3.Goalies-Edmonton, Ranford 11-16-5 (26 shots-20 saves). Toronto, Potvin 15-8-5 (27-26).A-15,746 (15,746).

Jets 2, Blues 1

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Keith Tkachuk and Teppo Numminen each scored a goal as Winnipeg continued to play well at home.

St. Louis 0 0 1 - 1

Winnipeg 1 1 0 - 2

First period-1, Winnipeg, Tkachuk 17 (Olczyk, Drake), 1:50.

Second period-2, Winnipeg, Numminen 5 (Tkachuk, Zhamnov), 12:56 (pp).

Third period-3, St. Louis, Hull 21 (Courtnall, Hawerchuk), 17:54 (pp).

Shots on goal-St. Louis 13-12-12-37. Winnipeg 9-14-4-27.Power-play opp.-St. Louis 1 of 7; Winnipeg 1 of 5.Goalies-St. Louis, Fuhr 15-15-5 (4 shots-3 saves), Racine (1:50 first, 23-22), Fuhr (17:54 third, 0-0). Winnipeg, Cheveldae 4-12-3 (37-36).A-9,527 (15,393).

Avalanche 2, Kings 2

Inglewood, Calif.

Joe Sakic took over the NHL lead in power-play goals with a pair against Kelly Hrudey as Colorado tied Los Angeles.

Colorado 1 1 0 0 - 2

Los Angeles 1 1 0 0 - 2

Penalty-Cowie, LA (roughing), 2:36.Granato, LA (holding), 8:30; Murray, Col (slashing), 10:52; Lacroix, LA (holding), 10:52; Deadmarsh, Col (interference), 13:39.A (hooking), 11:00; Gusarov, Col (tripping), 11:53; Forsberg, Col (roughing), 14:50; O’Donnell, LA (roughing), 14:50.

Overtime-NonePower-play opp.-Colorado 2 of 4; Los Angeles 1 of 4.

Goalies-Colorado, Fiset 14-4-3 (38 shots-36 saves). Los Angeles, Hrudey 1-3-3 (39-37).

A-14,673 (16,005).

Red Wings 1, Canucks 0

Vancouver, British Columbia

Sergei Fedorov’s 15th goal broke a scoreless tie 3 minutes into the third period to give Detroit a win.

Detroit 0 0 1 - 1

Vancouver 0 0 0 - 0

First period-None.

Second period-None.

Third period-1, Detroit, Fedorov 15 (Coffey, Larionov), 2:45 (pp).

Shots on goal-Detroit 3-14-10-27. Vancouver 15-3-8-26.Power-play opp.-Detroit 1 of 5; Vancouver 0 of 8.Goalies-Detroit, Vernon 10-4-1 (26 shots-26 saves). Vancouver, McLean 9-10-7 (27-26).A-18,422 (18,422).

Sabres 4, Senators 2

Ottawa

Injury-plagued Buffalo beat Ottawa but lost another goaltender when Andrei Trefilov suffered a knee injury early in the first period.

Buffalo 0 3 1 - 4

Ottawa 1 1 0 - 2

First period-1, Ottawa, Modry 3 (Quinn), 5:41.

Second period-2, Buffalo, Burridge 12 (Plante, Barnaby), 2:17. 3, Ottawa, Drury 5 (Pitlick), 3:23. 4, Buffalo, LaFontaine 14 (Khmylev), 5:12. 5, Buffalo, Peca 5 (Holzinger), 16:56 (sh).

Third period-6, Buffalo, Zhitnik 5 (LaFontaine, Audette), 9:40 (pp).

Shots on goal-Buffalo 12-14-10-36. Ottawa 7-3-7-17.Power-play opp.-Buffalo 1 of 7; Ottawa 0 of 5.Goalies-Buffalo, Trefilov (2 shots-2 saves), Shields 1-0-0 (4:49 first period, 15-13). Ottawa, Beaupre 6-17-0 (35-31).A-8,615 (10,575).

Blackhawks 2, Stars 0

Dallas

Jeff Hackett turned aside 32 shots to register his first career shutout and Tony Amonte and Murray Craven handled the scoring as Chicago beat stumbling Dallas.

Chicago 0 1 1 - 2

Dallas 0 0 0 - 0

First period-None.

Second period-1, Chicago, Amonte 7 (Suter, Roenick), 8:51.

Third period-2, Chicago, Craven 7 (Daze, Chelios), 4:21.

Shots on goal-Chicago 6-4-6-16. Dallas 8-14-10-32.Power-play opp.-Chicago 0 of 4; Dallas 0 of 4.Goalies-Chicago, Hackett 6-3-3 (32 shots-32 saves). Dallas, Wakaluk 5-8-4 (16-14).A-16,429 (16,924).

Stars’ sale signed and sealed

North Texas investor Thomas O. Hicks purchased the Dallas Stars late Friday in a deal worth almost $85 million.

Hicks said he signed the contract just before midnight on what had been described a “done deal.”

Hicks said the deal took time to complete because of all the paperwork that attorneys had to work out.

At the same time, Norman Green was reflective over his five years as sole owner of the NHL franchise and three years in Dallas.

For Green, the signing of the papers to transfer the NHL team from his hands to Hicks’ marked the end of 16 years of owning NHL hockey teams, from Calgary to Minnesota to Dallas.

The sale to Hicks, who is chairman of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, will still require league approval, expected next month. Green will stay on the team payroll for 10 years as a consultant.

To acquire the Stars, Hicks will pay $84 million - enough to pay off the team’s debts of $70 million or more. The transaction takes place at more than twice what Green paid six years ago, providing an average annual gain of more than 20 percent.

At one time, a successful Calgary real-estate developer and a few partners could ante up $16 million, and in a grand civic gesture present their hometown with NHL hockey. By the time Green sold out of the Flames to become sole owner of the North Stars in 1990, the price of admission to hockey’s inner circle had risen to $32 million.

Green began to see himself as somewhat of a dinosaur. He was a sole proprietor in an era in which the NHL was welcoming the likes of Walt Disney Co., owner of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and Comsat Corp., owner of Denver’s Colorado Avalanche.

Even as the Stars drew capacity crowds almost from the start in Dallas, Green realized the team couldn’t make it financially in Reunion Arena, which lacks luxury suites, swanky eateries and other money-making amenities.

Only a new arena would allow the Stars to generate revenues needed to meet a rising payrolls and keep pace with other NHL teams’ new buildings.

Dallas officials soon began talking about a new facility for the Stars and NBA Mavericks. “In order to be a championship team for a long time,” Green said, “you need to have the revenue streams. In the existing building, we don’t.”

Phoenix ex-Jets need name

Any nominations to rename the ex-Winnipeg Jets, now the Phoenix something-or-others? Next year, the soon-to-be ex-Jets will share the America West Arena with the Phoenix Suns for at least 15 years if the estimated revenue is generated. A uniform on the “Phoenix Hockey” logo was done in purple, the favorite color of sports entrepreneur Jerry Colangelo, who has worked purple into the uniforms of the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Diamondbacks, a 1998 baseball expansion team awarded to his investment group last March.

Most discussed name choices are Coyotes, Scorpions, Mustangs, Posse, Outlaws and Dry Ice. Dry Ice? Can you imagine the logo?

New numbers rate a big zero

One trend the NHL, should really do something about is the increased inability to read names and numbers on uniforms writes Nancy L. Marrapese of the Boston Globe In their zest for marketability, she says they’ve forgotten why they are there to begin with - to identify players. She adds that the newer uniforms, particularly Tampa Bay, Colorado and Washington, are impossible to read - and ugly.

A whole lot of nothing

The Blackhawks think they made a better offer. The Rangers, Blues and Devils believe they did, too. But Calgary traded Joe Nieuwendyk to Dallas for Corey Millen and prospect Jarome Iginla.

According to published reports, St. Louis offered Ian Laperriere and Dave Roberts for Nieuwendyk and would have included defenseman Chris Pronger in a broader deal; New Jersey offered Stephane Richer; the Rangers were willing to part with Ray Ferraro.

“I don’t know what we offered, but I know we offered, and other teams, too, offered more than Calgary got,” St. Louis forward Brett Hull said. “They got nothing. I’ve never seen a guy (Calgary vice president Al Coates) get offered nothing and accept it. What kind of commitment to winning is that?”