Sakic reaches milestone during loss
Olaf Kolzig stopped 45 shots – including 20 in the third period – to help the Washington Capitals beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 on Wednesday night in Denver, overshadowing Joe Sakic’s 1,500th point.
Sakic had an assist in the first period to become the 11th player to reach the milestone. The 37-year-old Sakic is the sixth player to reach the 1,500-point mark for one franchise.
Sakic added a goal in the third period as he sneaked in a shot under the arm of Kolzig to make it a 3-2 game.
After announcing Sakic’s 1,500th point, the crowd gave him a standing ovation and players tapped their sticks on the ice. Sakic sheepishly waved to the crowd as he sat down on the bench.
He’s in his 18th season and ranks 15th on the NHL’s all-time assist list with 922.
Hurricanes 5, Thrashers 4 (OT): At Raleigh, N.C., Anton Babchuk scored 1:11 into overtime to help Carolina win its first game at home, beating Southeast Division leader Atlanta.
Babchuk took a cross-ice pass from Justin Williams and beat Kari Lehtonen with a nifty backhand shot.
Red Wings 2, Sharks 1: At Detroit, Robert Lang’s third-period goal broke a tie and lifted the Red Wings to a win over San Jose.
Detroit, which ended a three-game losing streak, also got a goal and an assist from Mathieu Schneider.
Wild 3, Kings 1: At St. Paul, Minn., Manny Fernandez made 35 saves and Brian Rolston scored two goals to help Minnesota extend its franchise-best start with a victory over Los Angeles.
Rolston scored his team-high seventh and eighth goals of the season, and Todd White had a goal and two assists.
Canucks 5, Blackhawks 0: At Chicago, Roberto Luongo recorded his first shutout with Vancouver, and Henrik Sedin had two goals and an assist as the Canucks handed the injury-depleted Blackhawks their third straight loss.
Luongo, acquired in a multiplayer trade from Florida in the off-season, made 32 saves.
Panthers 4, Rangers 2: At New York, Ed Belfour made 35 saves and Jozef Stumpel scored two goals to help Florida beat the Rangers for their first road victory of the season.
Juraj Kolnik and Gregory Campbell also scored for Florida.
Ducks 6, Oilers 2: At Anaheim, Calif., Ryan Getzlaf and Travis Moen each scored twice, Chris Pronger had three assists against the team he led to the Stanley Cup finals last spring, and the Ducks beat Edmonton.
Off the ice
Jobing.com has acquired the naming rights to Glendale Arena, home of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes.
The arena, which will be known as Jobing.com Arena, had been without a corporate sponsor since it opened in December 2003.