Hockey Hype

It looks like the Olympic break was just what the Montreal Canadiens needed.

Scott Gomez scored a goal and set up two others as Montreal downed the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 on Tuesday night for their fourth win in five games since the break.

With both teams fighting for a playoff spot, the Calgary Flames were the hungrier club on Tuesday night.

Jarome Iginla and Rene Bourque scored 1:31 apart in the third to put Calgary ahead in a 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. "We got outshot 15-4 at home in the third period in a game that desperation on both sides should show," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "We were playing against a team that wants to get in the playoffs. We need to show that we want to be in, as well."

he nearly year-long legal battle between the National Hockey League and former Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes isn't over yet.

The NHL filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Moyes and his family on Friday, alleging that the trucking magnate violated a number of league agreements when he put the franchise in bankruptcy last year and then attempted to sell it to Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie.

The bankruptcy filing caught the NHL by surprise and sparked months of bitter legal manoeuvring that appeared to have ended in November, with Balsillie rejected as an owner and the league in control of the team.

Penguins GM Ray Shero doesn't think it was fair Sidney Crosby received criticism after declining an opportunity to appear on the "Late Show with David Letterman."

The New York Post ran a story Sunday questioning Crosby's decision to turn down an invitation to read the show's Top 10 list during a stop in New York last week. The column ran under the headline: "Crosby blows NHL's golden chance."

Shero noted the Penguins star has had a packed schedule since scoring the winning goal at the Olympics and that the team was entering a stretch where it will play four games in six days.

NHL general managers are ready to take a firm stance on hits to the head.

They moved one step closer to making an official rule recommendation Tuesday when the eight-man group in charge of examining the issue came up with a penalty designed to curb head shots. They'll present the idea to the larger group Wednesday and are expected to have a formal proposal for the competition committee when the meetings wrap up.

The Boston Bruins let one get away.

Clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Bruins had the lead three different times in Toronto on Tuesday night, but ultimately lost 4-3 when Maple Leafs winger Nikolai Kulemin scored with 50 seconds remaining in overtime.

The Ottawa Senators' post-Olympic hangover is finally over.

The Senators exploded for three goals in the third period and Ottawa ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.

Jakub Voracek scored during Columbus' first power play and set up another second-period goal by Fedor Tyutin to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 5-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night.

Mathieu Garon made 36 saves one night after relieving Steve Mason, who gave up four goals on 12 shots against Los Angeles in the first period of a 6-0 loss.