O’Sullivan Learns From Watching Sister Play

Calgary Flames defenseman Chris O’Sullivan doesn’t mind being told he plays like a girl - as long as the girl he’s being compared to is his sister, Stephanie, a forward on the U.S. women’s national hockey team. He often has been told he should play more the way she does - and he agrees.

While assigned to Calgary’s minor league affiliate in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Chris and some teammates went to see the U.S. women’s team play the Canadian women’s team.

“They lost, 4-1, and she got into a fight,” he said. “The guys were joking about it and saying I should be as tough. But I made up for it last week at Dallas, when I got into a fight.

“She’s a tough player. She’s more tenacious than I am, but I’m learning.”

Their determination developed while growing up in the Boston suburb of Dorchester, where 13 O’Sullivans shared a small house with a single bathroom. Compared to the action at home on a busy morning, a hockey fight is a lark.

But their life hasn’t been easy. Their parents, John and Ann, died of cancer in 1990 and 1992, respectively, and the older children held the family together, acting as surrogate parents.

Stephanie, 26, is the middle child in the clan and Chris is three years younger.

“She’s always been tough,” he said. “In youth hockey, she was always playing with boys. I feel bad for the girls she plays against. She’s used to playing with me.”

Lightning lose Renberg

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Mikael Renberg will be out 4-6 weeks with a broken left wrist, leaving the last-place team without its leading scorer.

Renberg has five goals and 11 assists in 29 games.

On the ice

Pavel Bure recorded his third hat trick this season and Arturs Irbe earned a shutout Monday night as the Vancouver Canucks ended a five-game losing streak with a 7-0 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Kings.

At Miami, Steve Heinze scored a goal and added an assist as the Boston Bruins won their fifth straight game with a 6-2 victory over the Florida Panthers.