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OTTAWA — Prop comedy. Such a simple concept, so rarely incorporated in the NHL's Breakaway Challenge Skills Competition. Alex Ovechkin won the 2009 event in Montreal by donning sunglasses and a goofy hat. In 2012, two NHL superstars finally gave props to the skills competition again. [...] (vids at link)

OTTAWA -- Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas, who has become something of a political lightning rod lately, weighed in Friday on his beliefs that the federal government is "out of control." Thomas, who's drawn criticism for choosing not to attend the White House ceremony Jan. 23 honoring the reigning Stanley Cup champion team, reiterated that he believes his decision has been blown out of proportion. "[The controversy] is all media-driven and it has been from the start. Everything that I said and did was as an individual. It was not as a representative of the Boston Bruins," Thomas said Friday...

BOSTON -- A Boston Bruins goalie's decision to skip a White House ceremony with President Barack Obama because he believes the federal government is "out of control" points to a growing lack of courtesy in the country, Gov. Deval Patrick said Thursday. Patrick, a Democrat, was asked about the controversy Thursday during his monthly "Ask the Governor" program on WTKK-FM. He didn't directly criticize goalie Tim Thomas, but suggested that the snub showed disrespect toward the presidency.

Hockey fans won't have to move far from their television to catch all the happenings during All-Star Weekend in Ottawa. A four-day hockey extravaganza starts Thursday at 5 p.m. ET on the NHL Network with NHL Live: At the 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend. The two-hour show will feature a number of this year's All-Stars as well as other key personalities from around the hockey world. That leads into the NHL Network's hour-long 2012 NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft preview show at 7 p.m., where the Network's cast of analysts will make their selections before Team Chara and Team Alfredsson make...

Edmonton Oilers coach Tom Renney says Taylor Hall is doubtful for Thursday’s game against the St. Louis Blues. Hall sat out Tuesday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets after cutting his head when he accidentally made contact with a teammate during pre-game warm-ups. The 20-year-old slipped on the ice and collided with a teammate before cutting his head on the skate of another Oilers player. “He’s doing much better. Swelling has gone down, he’s got a clear head, he had a good night’s sleep,” Renney said Wednesday in a video post on the Oilers’ website. “All that being said I...

PHILADELPHIA -- It took Philadelphia Flyers rookie forward Zac Rinaldo all of two regular-season games against the New York Rangers to learn why there is so much hatred in this Philadelphia-New York rivalry that will take center stage Monday in the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park (3 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, RDS). "(Brandon) Dubinsky," Rinaldo told NHL.com when asked to give a reason why he dislikes the Rangers so much. "He told me I was a liability on the ice and he told me I was a bad hockey player. Then the next game I asked...

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- The NHL's Board of Governors on Monday approved a radical realignment plan, eliminating the current two-conference, six-division setup in favor of a configuration that features four conferences based primarily on geography. Two conferences will have eight teams and the other two conferences will have seven teams. The Board authorized Commissioner Gary Bettman to implement this proposal in Monday evening's vote, pending input from the National Hockey League Players' Association. The League's intention is for the four-conference set-up to be in place starting with the 2012-13 season. The vote to approve realignment required a two-thirds majority of...

Hopefully for the Minnesota Wild, goalie Josh Harding stays healthy on Wednesday night, because their backup is 51 years old. Paul Deutsch, who runs a printing business in Richfield, Minn., is filling in for Niklas Backstrom, who's out for personal reasons, and Matt Hackett, who couldn't make it to St. Paul from the team's AHL affiliate in Houston in time. Deutsch, according to the Star Tribune, is a friend of former assistant coach Mike Ramsey and filled in for Wild goalies in the past, but only in practice.

Call it a comeback. Actually, call it The Comeback. Penguins center Sidney Crosby will play Monday night against the New York Islanders at Consol Energy Center, the team announced today. In a statement it was said that Crosby would speak Monday morning after a practice. He has not played since Jan. 5 because of a concussion. Crosby was diagnosed with a concussion Jan. 6 after he absorbed two blindside hits over a period of five days. He was clipped by then-Washington forward David Steckel at the Winter Classic on New Year's Eve and driven from behind into the boards by...

Don't be surprised if you see in the news one day that Dominik Hasek climbed Mt. Everest. While he's currently stepped away from his hockey career, the veteran goalie has been pursuing a variety of interesting activities. He played beach volleyball, skied on a glacier in the Alps with Czech Olympic downhill skiing medalist Sarka Zahrobska, crossed Albania by bike (he even thought about cycling through Kamchatka), and in the last weekend he competed with professional drivers while racing at the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Race in Barcelona. For complete Hasek photo gallery, click here. "All those activities keep me in...

A day spa's attempt to get some free publicity at the hands of hockey rioters has caused a big hullabaloo in Canada. Eccotique Spa and Salon is offering $50 gift certificates for spa treatments to hoodlums who took part in the Stanley Cup Finals riots. There's one catch: They must turn themselves in. With seven Vancouver locations, the spa is asking the culprits to visit one of the stores, admit they took part in the shenanigans, and then have their fingerprints placed on a gift certificate. Then they must head to the police station before finally bringing an arrest...

Evgeni Malkin played like a man possessed on Thursday, coming out flying from the drop of the puck and sustaining that pace for the game’s entirety. View Photo Gallery He certainly had a lot to play for, as the Penguins’ tilt with the Capitals at CONSOL Energy Center served as a way to raise money for the families of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, the KHL team that perished in a plane crash Sept. 7 in Russia. Malkin and fellow Russian superstar Alex Ovechkin joined forces to headline the effort, where players from both clubs wore jerseys with commemorative Lokomotiv patches that will...

NHL opens its 95th season tomorrow night with spotlight on Winnipeg return, B's Cup defense ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rules revisions, rink modifications reflect League's focus on player safety ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NEW YORK/TORONTO - The first Stanley Cup banner raising in Boston in 39 years, the first National Hockey League regular-season game in Winnipeg in 15 years and the first NHL regular-season game ever played in Germany will be among the highlights when the NHL launches its 2011-12 season with a four-day celebration beginning Thursday night. The 1,230-game, 185-day regular season gets off to a rousing start with a coast-to-coast North American triple-header that...

Members of the Kontinental Hockey League's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl were flying to Minsk for their season opener when their plane crashed soon after takeoff on Wednesday. Forty-three passengers died, including nearly all of Lokomotiv's players and coaching staff, in one of the greatest tragedies to ever hit the hockey community. On Thursday night, Dynamo Minsk players still skated out on the ice of their arena — not for a game, but for a remarkable "hockey funeral" for their fallen opponents, in front of stands packed with fans in mourning. This is as surreal, heartbreaking and moving a moment as we've seen...

Some of the victims killed in the crash of a Russian plane carrying the Lokomotiv hockey team of the Kontinental Hockey League: —Brad McCrimmon, 52, from Canada. A former Detroit Red Wings assistant who became Lokomotiv's coach in May. Played in 1,222 NHL games between 1979-97, compiling 81 goals and 322 assists.

KHL Players Killed In Crash A plane carrying a KHL ice hockey team crashed in western Russia, killing at least 43 people

[Updated, 9:50 a.m. Sept. 7: The Kings issued this statement Wednesday: "The Los Angeles Kings organization is deeply saddened with the tragic news of this morning’s plane crash in Russia that was carrying the members of the KHL’s Lokomotiv organization, including former Kings forward Pavol Demitra, former Kings prospect Jan Marek and many other members of the NHL family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the family and friends of those affected by this terrible occurrence."] The plane, which was carrying members of the Kontinental Hockey League team Lokomotiv, crashed on the banks of the Volga River shortly...

A chartered jet carrying Russia's major league ice hockey team Lokomotiv has crashed on take-off near the central city of Yaroslavl, with 43 deaths. Two people survived with serious injuries after the disaster, which saw the jet burst into flames shortly after leaving an airport near the city. It appears many of the team were aboard, heading to Belarus for the season's first match. Russian reports suggest the jet may have struck a radio mast. Witnesses saw it burst into flames shortly after taking off from the airport, about 250km (160 miles) north-east of Moscow. A number of foreign citizens...

A plane crash near the city of Yaroslavl in Central Russia has claimed the lives of at least 36 people. Some reports have the death total at 42. The majority of victims are believed to be members of the Kontinental Hockey League club, Lokomotiv. The crash occurred at 12 noon Moscow time. Eight crew members are also among the dead, according to reports. According to Russian aviation officials, two passengers survived the crash, but are in critical condition. According to Sov Sport, Locomotiv has confirmed that the entire main roster, plus four players from the youth team, were on the...

The National Hockey League community was forced to deal with the tragic loss of one of its own again Wednesday after Wade Belak, who played in the League for 14 years, was found dead in his Toronto condominium. Belak was 35. Although Belak's playing days ended this past season after he was waived by the Nashville Predators in February, he was so popular around the League that it seemed certain he would remain in the public eye. He stayed with the Predators in an organizational role and was set to appear on CBC's upcoming season of "Battle of the Blades"...