Kostopoulos Suspended Three Games

Habs winger Tom Kostopoulos has been suspended three games for his hit from behind on Toronto defenseman Mike Van Ryn last Saturday, which left the latter with a concussion, a broken bone in his hand, a broken nose and a gash on his forehead. Van Ryn is expected to miss a month.

"While it is my determination that Kostopoulos did not deliver a check to an unsuspecting opponent, his actions caused injuries," said NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Kostopolous is considered a repeat offender, and will lose $32,926.83 from his salary. As a repeat offender, the salary forfeit is based on games in the season (82) rather than the number of days (186). The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Kostopoulos said after the game he had no malicious intent and planned to call Van Ryn to apologize."I was trying to get in there, get a hit and get the puck," Kostopoulos said. "Like I said, I didn't anticipate him turning and I couldn't stop myself. And I hope he's all right."

Grabovski, Leafs Double Up On Habs

Mikhail Grabovski is settling in quite nicely with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Grabovski had a goal and an assist and linemate Niklas Hagman scored twice to lead Toronto to a 6-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Grabovski has six goals and two assists in the last four games, teaming with Hagman and Nikolai Kulemin to form a nice line. Grabovski had three goals in 27 career games with Montreal over the last two seasons and has seven in 15 for the Maple Leafs, who acquired him in a trade over the summer.

"He's been our best player for two weeks," coach Ron Wilson said. "He's been a dominant player. That's why he's got seven goals now."

Grabovski was gracious when asked about his time in Montreal after Saturday's game, but Hagman said he was pretty fired up to prove something to his former team.

"For sure he wanted to show the coach and show the other players on the team that he is a good player," Hagman said. "I think that he did a pretty good job."

Nik Antropov, Pavel Kubina and Alexei Ponikarovsky also scored for the Maple Leafs (6-5-4), who outshot their opponent for the 11th straight game.

Robert Lang, Tomas Plekanec and Saku Koivu had Montreal's goals.

The Habs (8-2-2) were playing for the second straight night and weren't able to match the pace set by the speedy Leafs.

A scary play early in the game helped Toronto score first. Montreal forward Tom Kostopoulos slammed Mike Van Ryn into the end boards from behind and was ejected with a major for boarding.

Van Ryn lay on the ice for several minutes with a cut on his forehead and is expected to miss a month.

"It was a dirty hit," Leafs forward Matt Stajan said. "It's something that can't happen in the game. Luckily, we made them pay."

The incident left Kostopoulos visibly shaken. He planned to give Van Ryn a call to apologize.

"I was trying to get in there, get a hit and get the puck," Kostopoulos said. "Like I said, I didn't anticipate him turning and I couldn't stop myself. And I hope he's all right."

The Maple Leafs weren't able to get much going during the ensuing five-minute power play but Hagman converted the only good scoring opportunity they had. Grabovski made a nifty move to get around defenseman Andrei Markov before feeding Hagman at the side of the net for a goal at 8:12.

"He's playing well," Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau said of Grabovski. "Good for him."

The lead held until a wild second period that featured each team score three times.

Grabovski ripped a quick shot by former teammate Carey Price to make it 2-0 at 1:48 but was in the penalty box for goaltender interference when Lang scored three minutes later.

Plekanec's power-play goal at 9:59 tied it and drew a loud ovation from the large group of Habs fans that were among the 19,512 in attendance at Air Canada Centre.

Hagman and Koivu then traded quick goals before Antropov put the Leafs up 4-3 at 16:27. With Price out of position, Antropov took four whacks at the puck in a scrum before finally getting it past Habs defenseman Mike Komisarek.

That goal gave the Leafs a lead heading into the third period for just the fourth time in 15 games this season. They had no trouble holding on.

Toronto now heads out for a tour of Western Canada that includes stops in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. There was no better send-off than a win over the rival Canadiens.

"We really wanted that game," Stajan said. "That's how we've got to play every game, come out with an edge and really take it to them. Even when they came back there, we never gave up.
"You know, we're proving to everybody - we know in here that we can play with any team in this league. There's no doubt about it, that's one of the best teams in the league."

Notes: Former Leaf and World War II veteran Gaye Stewart read the poem "In Flanders Fields" before the game. ... Since the NHL lockout, each team has won 13 games in the series. The total number of goals in those games? Montreal 87, Toronto 87. ... The Habs scratched Roman Hamrlik, Mathieu Dandenault and Steve Begin. ... Jiri Tlusty replaced John Mitchell (shoulder) in Toronto's lineup. ... Jonas Frogren, Anton Stralman and Ryan Hollweg sat out for the Maple Leafs.

(AP)

New Jersey In For Many Tough 'Weekes'

YOWZERS!

Martin Brodeur's assault on the NHL record book will be put on hold for a considerable amount of time.

Brodeur, shown above wincing after landing awkwardly on his left elbow while making a save, will have surgery to repair torn tendons in the bicep-elbow area, and will miss the next 3-to-4 months. ''This Thursday morning, Martin Brodeur will undergo surgery to repair the distal bicep in the left elbow," Devils president, CEO and general manager Lou Lamriello said in a statement.

Backup Kevin Weekes, who had his first start of the year yesterday in a 2-0 lopsided loss to Buffalo, becomes the new man between the pipes - at least until Lou Lamoriello pulls the trigger and acquires bonafide help in goal.

Maybe some Jaroslav Halak to New Jersey rumours can start now...and I'll get the fire going on them. Leave a comment on that, let me know if you would deal Halak to New Jersey, and for what in return?

Habs Score 4 In Third To Comeback In 5-4 Win

The Montreal Canadiens were happy to mount a four-goal, third-period comeback, but quite upset to have been in that position in the first place.

Alexei Kovalev's second goal of the game with 4:41 left capped the rally that lifted the Canadiens to a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday night.

"The good thing about tonight is that we showed character and that we'll fight to the end," Kovalev said. "Our biggest problem so far this season is that when other teams skate and put pressure on us, we get out of our game."

Kovalev's close-in shot beat Yann Danis, a goalie making his first NHL start in nearly three years, and gave the Canadiens their third straight win.

"Obviously, losing a game when you're up 4-1 is never a good thing," Danis said. "They got a couple of lucky bounces and capitalized on them."

Danis, the Islanders' third-string goalie, could be in line for more action with regular backup Joey MacDonald because No. 1 netminder Rick DiPietro will be out four-to-six weeks following knee surgery on Friday.

The Canadiens got two goals and two assists from Tomas Plekanec and one from Long Island native Christopher Higgins. Carey Price made 27 saves.

Former Canadiens defenseman Mark Streit scored for the Islanders, along with Jon Sim, Bill Guerin and Frans Nielsen.

The Islanders are winless in six games (0-5-1) since a 4-3 overtime victory at Tampa Bay on Oct. 16. Danis, who spent time in the Canadiens organization, stopped 27 shots.

"The biggest thing was there were a lot of shortcuts," Islanders coach Scott Gordon said. "It wasn't because of anything they did differently. The loosening up in front of the net and the shot area, that shouldn't happen."

Montreal took a 1-0 lead 2:03 in when Kovalev took Plekanec's pass in the low slot and beat Danis with a quick wrist shot.

New York tied it at 3:47 on its first power play. Streit ripped a right point slap shot that beat a screened Price.

Streit found it a difficult to face his former team.

"I played a long time in Montreal," Streit said. "It's not easy the first time. I tried to do my job the best I could."

The Islanders took their first lead after a span of 317 minutes, 4 seconds of playing time over five games when Sim sent a slap shot from the top of the left circle between Price's pads at 12:27 that made it 2-1. New York hadn't been ahead in a game since Oct. 16 when the Islanders beat Tampa Bay in overtime.

New York capitalized on another power play early in the second period to grab a 3-1 lead when Guerin scored on a tip-in.

Nielsen made it 4-1 on an in-close wrist shot that hit the top of the net at 16:43.
Plekanec scored twice in a 2:07 span to close the gap to 4-3 in the third period. His first goal came at 7:48 on a rebound, and his second, at 9:55 was scored with a quick wrist shot.
Danis was not happy with Plekanec's first goal.

"It just bounced off my glove," Danis said. "It's one I should have had."

Higgins tied it at 14:06.

"We played one period, and we won," Higgins said. "I wish the effort was more consistent for 60 minutes."

Streit said the Islanders didn't play at all in the final 20 minutes.

"For two periods, we really played well," Streit said. "Then we didn't skate anymore. We just waited. We gave them space and time. We didn't forecheck, we didn't backcheck. We just watched."

Notes: The Islanders debuted their third jerseys, which look like the first uniform the team wore back in the early 1970s. One difference is that the stick in the logo has four stripes instead of the usual three, to signify each of New York's Stanley Cup championships. ... Price had allowed only 13 goals in his first seven games for a goals-against average of 1.91.

NHL.com