Ottawa Fights Back; Pens Clinch

The Ottawa Senators overcame a two goal, third period deficit against the Buffalo Sabres to win 6-3. Daniel Alfredsson had two goals in the final frame to help the Sens bounce back from a loss to the Montreal Canadiens last night. It looks like Buffalo will fall five points behind the Boston Bruins for the final Eastern Conference playoff position. Perhaps Buffalo is now regretting letting both Chris Drury and Daniel Briere (Their Co-Captains last year) leave via free agency. Or maybe they are thinking they could have gotten more for Brian Campbell at the trade deadline.

The only other game finished at the moment is the New Jersey Devils-Pittsburgh Penguins match-up. The Penguins took that game 2-0 and locked up a spot in the Eastern playoff picture. It also puts them a step closer to clinching the Atlantic Division title as they now hold a four point lead over the Devils.

Check that. The Washington Capitals-Carolina Hurricanes tilt just finished. Viktor Kozlov had the winner in a shootout for a final score of 3-2 Caps. Alexander Ovechkin notched his League-leading 61st goal. The Capitals also moved within 4 points of Carolina for the Southeast Division lead.

Two other games are now over: Boston beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 and the Tampa Bay Lightning topped the Florida Panthers 3-1. Both losing squads are now facing very long odds to make the playoffs.

And the Philadelphia Flyers-New York Rangers game just ended in overtime with a Mike Richards goal to give Philly the win. The two teams remain as their current seeds with the Rangers in sixth in the East and the Flyers in seventh a point back.

The Nashville Predators have come out victorious over the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0. The Preds and are now within two points of the Colorado Avalanche for the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference

The San Jose Sharks got a hat trick from Joe Thornton in the third period, but still lost to the Phoenix Coyotes 5-4 in overtime.

The Detroit Red Wings took advantage of the Sharks loss to extend their lead in the Western Conference to eight points after a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.

And in the final game, the Calgary Flames rallied from two down to beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2. The Flames now lead the Northwest Division with 90 points. They play the Colorado Avalanche tonight.

Spurs, Hornets Both Win Fourth Straight

The San Antonio Spurs beat the Orlando Magic 107-97 for their fourth straight win following a three game slump. Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 28 points.

The New Orleans Hornets also won tonight 114-106 against the Indiana Pacers to move them back to first in the Western Conference. It was the Pacers first game since CEO Donnie Walsh told the team he was leaving after the season. David West scored 35 points and MVP candidate Chris Paul had 31.

And it looks like the Dallas Mavericks are going to win their first game since Dirk Nowitzki’s injury. The Mavs are up 96-78 on the Los Angeles Clippers with 3:45 to go. They finish with a 103-90 victory.

The Utah Jazz beat the Charlotte Bobcats 128-106, but only after a 17-6 run restored their double-digit lead in the fourth. The Jazz now have a 3 1/ 2 game lead over the Denver Nuggets in the Northwest Division.

The other two games ended with the Chicago Bulls defeating the Atlanta Hawks 103-94 and the Portland Trail Blazers beating up on the Washington Wizards 102-82.

Webber Retires

Chris Webber of the Golden State Warriors is has retired from the NBA due to  problems with his surgically repaired knee. He played in only nine games for the Warriors before the injury forced him to call it quits.

Roy and Son Suspended

Former NHL goalie Patrick Roy and his son Jonathan, as well as five other players and an opposing coach, were suspended after a brawl in a QMJHL playoff game.

Roy is the current coach of the Quebec Remparts and got a five game suspension. Jonathan Roy received a seven game sentence after he attacked Bobby Nadeau, the goaltender for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. After then getting into a fight with a Sagueneens defenseman, he skated off the ice and flipped off the crowd.

Also suspended were: Remparts defenseman Maxime Lacroix (three games); Remparts’ Marc-Oliver Vallerand (two games); Sagueneens winger Antoine Roussel (one game); Sagueneens’ Charles-Antoine Messier (two games); and Rioux (six games). Chicoutimi coach Richard Martel got a two game suspension because Rioux left the penalty box to join in the tussle. Both teams were fined 4,000 Canadian dollars.

Why all the suspensions though? It’s hockey, right? And what’s hockey without a fight or two? The only people who should really have gotten suspended were the coaches and Jonathan Roy and Rioux. Coach Roy for what appeared to be a gesture to his son right before Jonathan attacked the opposing goalie (And it was an attack as Nadeau didn’t attempt to fight back), the younger Roy both for the comment in parenthesis above and for flipping the bird, Martel due to a player leaving the box, and Rioux for leaving the box. Not a really serious one because who can really blame Rioux for coming to the aid of his goalie? That’s in a defenseman’s job description.

And if this is how severe suspensions are for a QMJHL fight, why are Chris Simon and Todd Bertuzzi still playing in the NHL?