Lemieux to consider selling Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are considering several offers to buy the team, and keeping it in Pittsburgh will remain a priority but is not guaranteed.
A recent offer by a casino firm to build a new arena, an influx of young talent and the NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement have made the time right to consider selling, Penguins owner-player Mario Lemieux said Thursday.
“We’ve had quite a few inquiries over the last few months,” Lemieux said. “I think the timing was right to look at them and explore them and see what our options are. … We’ve laid the foundation for the future and hopefully in a way that they’ll stay here forever.”
Lemieux and team president Ken Sawyer wouldn’t identify the interested parties. Most of the prospective buyers approached them before Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. offered last month to pay $290 million for a new arena, if the gambling firm gets a license to operate a slot machine parlor in Pittsburgh.
Capitals 5, Blues 4 (SO): At Washington, Matt Pettinger scored in the fourth round of a shootout, giving the Capitals their season-high third straight victory.
Bruins 5, Flyers 2: At Philadelphia, Travis Green scored twice and rookie Tim Thomas had 35 saves to lead Boston past the Flyers.
Hurricanes 4, Islanders 3: At Raleigh, N.C., Kevyn Adams scored the go-ahead goal seconds after he inadvertently caused one to be waved off and Eric Staal added his 30th of the season, helping Carolina beat New York for its ninth straight victory.
Mighty Ducks 4, Senators 3 (SO): At Ottawa, Chris Kunitz scored the only shootout goal, lifting Anaheim to a victory over the Senators.
Rangers 4, Penguins 2: At Pittsburgh, Michal Rozsival scored the winning goal late in the third period after accidentally creating Pittsburgh’s first goal, and New York Rangers ran the Penguins’ losing streak to eight games.
Devils 4, Predators 3 (SO): At Nashville, Tenn., Viktor Kozlov and Brian Gionta scored in a shootout and New Jersey won its eighth straight game.
Blackhawks 4, Avalanche 2: At Chicago, Kyle Calder scored two goals, Nikolai Khabibulin made 37 saves in his first game back following a groin pull, and the Blackhawks snapped Colorado’s eight-game winning streak.
Coyotes 6, Panthers 3: At Glendale, Ariz., Shane Doan scored two of Phoenix’s five power-play goals and Ladislav Nagy and Keith Ballard each had four assists to lead the Coyotes past Florida.
Flames 3, Canadiens 2: At Calgary, Alberta, Jarome Iginla scored twice and added an assist as the Flames beat Montreal, handing Bob Gainey his first loss in three games as the interim coach of the Canadiens.
Canucks 4, Sabres 1: At Vancouver, British Columbia, Nolan Baumgartner’s power-play goal broke a tie 4 minutes into the third period, lifting the Canucks to their third straight win.
Oilers 3, Sharks 2 (OT): At San Jose, Calif., Michael Peca and Ryan Smyth each scored shootout goals to lift Edmonton over the Sharks.
Kings 8, Thrashers 6: At Los Angeles, Luc Robitaille netted his 15th career hat trick and became the Kings’ career leading goal scorer with 552 in a wild victory that snapped the Thrashers’ five-game winning streak.
Around the league
Carolina left wing Cory Stillman sat out against the New York Islanders with a “torso” injury, the second game he has missed this season. … Vancouver recalled forward Josh Green from Manitoba of the AHL to fill in for Matt Cooke, who sprained his ankle a day earlier in practice. … Boston claimed Craig Anderson off waivers from Chicago.