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1 SPORT-SCAN Anaheim Ducks Ducks go cold and end 10-game winning streak in 3-1 loss to Sharks Ducks' win streak ends at Lindholm continues to find his way with Ducks Sharks snap Ducks 10-game winning streak Boston Bruins Bruins assign three to Providence Bruins need defensive help with Dennis Seidenberg out Bruins seek to pick up slack Buffalo Sabres Against Caps, same lineup will have a key goal: Stay out of the box Miller delivers another gem as Sabres beat Caps in shootout Miller plays like America s best goalie Sabres notebook: Capitals tip their hats to Sabres goalie Buffalo Sabres top Washington Capitals in shootout Rochester Amerks' European trip ends in loss Calgary Flames Backlund a game time decision; Granlund recalled from Abbotsford Flames goal scoring goes dry Calgary Flames ready to battle with Vancouver Canucks Five Burning Questions facing the Calgary Flames this week Calgary Flames Snapshots: Weary traveller arrives in Calgary Carolina Hurricanes Bowman hungry for more success Komisarek finally gets game against Leafs Leafs Hurricanes winless streak at five games after 5-2 loss to Maple Leafs Chicago Blackhawks At halfway point, Blackhawks happy with results Monday's matchup: Kings at Blackhawks Blackhawks defenseman Nick Leddy more active offensively Hawks' Kane being stymied in shootouts Blackhawks midterm report: The good, the bad and the ugly Colorado Avalanche Avalanche lines and D pairings for Winnipeg Jets Avalanche enter second-longest homestand in team history Frei: Patrick Roy needs his Sochi-bound Avs to return intact Avs fall to Winnipeg Jets in OT at Pepsi Center Postgame Avalanche-Winnipeg: Jets win, Dustin Byfuglien gets in cheap shot Avs lose in final 2 seconds of OT to Winnipeg, 2-1 Dallas Stars Good news and bad news in Stars' loss to St. Louis Blues Stars finally ridding illness bug but not after large portion of team affected Brenden Morrow returns to Dallas for first time since being traded: 'I knew this was going to be the hardest o He said it: Brenden Morrow speaks about passing the 'C' to Jamie Benn Stars come back from 2-0 hole but fall in OT to St. Louis Blues Shattenkirk lifts Blues over Stars in OT NHL 12/30/2013 DAILY BRIEF Detroit Red Wings Detroit Red Wings' Jimmy Howard looking good to make U.S. Olympic team Detroit Red Wings groin injuries: Henrik Zetterberg expects to play Monday, Jonas Gustavsson does not AHL Winter Festival game preview: Young defensemen do their part for Grand Rapids Griffins Red Wings GM Ken Holland drags out the pads -- reluctantly -- for alumni game Red Wings say Winter Classic cold won't bother them Red Wings expect Darren Helm to play Monday; Luke Glendening reassigned to Grand Rapids Red Wings' Jimmy Howard 'optimistic' he'll play Monday after missing three weeks with MCL sprain Red Wings' Jonas Gustavsson out with sore groin; Henrik Zetterberg (groin) expects to play Monday Captain Henrik Zetterberg, savior Jonas Gustavsson team up for Red Wings in time of need Red Wings' Gustavsson sidelined with groin injury Edmonton Oilers We just complicate it for ourselves : Oilers reflect on frustrating loss to Flyers Jesse Joensuu getting his chance with Edmonton Oilers Florida Panthers Florida Panthers keep their edge in win at home over Montreal Canadiens TIM THOMAS OUT AT SOCHI?: Detroit's Jimmy Howard Could Take Third Goaltending Slot for Team USA FRENCH CONNECTED: Panthers Continue Winning Ways v Canadiens with 4-1 Victory in Sunrise Panthers' Clemmensen and 'B' team help rout Canadiens 4-1 Los Angeles Kings Kings hoping to end losing streak when they visit Chicago Kings looking to slow down Blackhawks attack Kings discipline not trending in the right direction Waking up with the Kings: December 29 Minnesota Wild Russo: Harding back in goal tonight; Parise injury update Fractured foot will keep Parise out indefinitely Wild has no explanation for crumbling on home ice to the Islanders Chart: Free-falling Wild Wild-Islanders game recap Okposo scores 2 goals, Islanders rally from 3 down to top Wild Wild coughs up three-goal lead in loss to Islanders at the X Islanders' Cal Clutterbuck to face Wild for first time since trade Wild goalie Josh Harding to start tonight against Islanders Wild: Isles' Vanek expected to draw interest from Minnesota in free agency Minnesota Wild loss leaves coach at a loss for words Islanders 5, Wild 4: Minnesota blows 3-0 lead in loss

2 Montreal Canadiens Treasured Quebec arena dodges wrecking ball Things get complicated up front for Team Canada Defensive breakdowns costly for Canadiens against Panthers Panthers simply played better than the Canadiens Jack Todd: Carey Price has earned Canada s starting job in Sochi About Sunday evening Nashville Predators Nashville Predators seek consistency to make up ground Preview: Predators vs. Red Wings New Jersey Devils Devils: The highs and lows from their first half New York Islanders Islanders rally to beat Wild Islanders rally from three-goal deficit to beat Wild Nino Niederreiter getting a chance to impress with the Wild New York Rangers Rangers need more out of Rick Nash, Henrik Lundqvist as road trip continues in Tampa Conor Allen making NHL debut for Rangers vs. Lightning; Stralman and Staal hoping for possible return on New Y Justin Falk among Rangers counted on to add physical edge against Lightning to bounce back from 'no-hitter' de Henrik Lundqvist returns, NY Rangers score three powerplay goals in win over Lightning Lundqvist, back in for Talbot, leads Rangers past Lightning Dolan keeps applying same losing formula at Garden Live Blog: Rangers at Lightning, 12/ Rangers score three power-play goals, Henrik Lundqvist solid in 4-3 win over Lightning Conor Allen gets almost 16 minutes ice time in Rangers debut It s Go Time! Rangers at Lightnings Rangers-Lightnings in review Rangers 4, Lightnings 3 post-game notes Ottawa Senators Senators notebook: Spezza and Phillips out, Anderson in vs. Capitals The Senators this week Weekend split for 67 s, Olympiques Sens forward Chris Neil gets tough with teammates after loss to Bruins Sens captain Jason Spezza and alternate Chris Phillips will be out of action against Capitals Minnesota Wild: Niederreiter calls first game against former team 'emotional' Ottawa Senators have 41 games to turn things around and make the playoffs Philadelphia Flyers Flyers' Simmonds one away from team record Simmonds deserves NHL 'star' consideration Raffl's goal caps Flyers rally over Bryzgalov, Oilers in shootout Bryzgalov solid in 1st game vs. Flyers since buyout Simmonds stays hot with 2 goals vs. Oilers Phoenix Coyotes Rob Klinkhammer out to prove worth for Phoenix Coyotes Pittsburgh Penguins Neal gets hat trick, Crosby scores in Penguins' win Penguins notebook: Scuderi back to bolster Pens' blue line Penguins notebook: After two months, Scuderi returns to lineup Penguins beat Blue Jackets, 5-3 San Jose Sharks San Jose Sharks Raffi Torres says knee rehab progressing Sharks cool off streaking Ducks Newcomer helps S.J. top Anaheim McLellan: Sharks 'had the will to keep fighting' In the Crease: Sharks try to end Ducks' streak Injured Torres continues to rehab Kearns: 'I've dreamt I'd score in the NHL since I was a kid' Instant Replay: Niemi, Sharks snap Ducks' winning streak Couture ends drought, scores 100th career goal St Louis Blues Elliott will start but Hitchcock unsure about rest of Blues lineup against Stars Elliott is back in goal, but no shake-up in store Shattenkirk does it again for Blues with OT goal Blues beat Stars 3-2 in OT Tampa Bay Lightning Lightning will channel past in wardrobe-themed road trip Yzerman looking forward to Red Wings alumni game Bolts notes: Players to wear jerseys from their pasts Opportunistic Rangers hold off Lightning Lightning falls to Rangers Yzerman looks forward to reunion Report: Bishop left off Team USA roster Toronto Maple Leafs Mirtle: Inconsistent Leafs lean on Kessel and Bernier in win over Canes Maple Leafs: Dion Phaneuf contract hot HBO 24/7 topic Maple Leafs vs. Carolina Hurricanes: What you need to know Winter Classic: Chilly weather in cards for outdoor game Leafs beat Hurricanes amid Dion Phaneuf contract backlash: Feschuk Maple Leafs take on Hurricanes at ACC Leafs aim for old-fashioned win vs. Canes Dion Phaneuf contract talks with Leafs captured by HBO's 24/ Cloud cover best for Winter Classic Leafs' Holland says he's 'earned' spot on roster Toronto Maple Leafs David Clarkson gets into spat over water bottle in latest episode of 24/ Tyler Bozak leads Toronto Maple Leafs to win over Carolina Hurricanes in return from injury Vancouver Canucks Game Day: Back to work for Canucks after week-long Christmas break Canucks coach looking for more from Jannik Hansen Canucks douse Flames, but lose Andrew Alberts with possible concussion Canucks Game Day: Flames hoping well-rested, well-fed foes are ripe for the picking Lack of work makes for an easy Eddie shutout Vancouver 2 Calgary 0: No Lack of Saddledome drama Van Provies: Sweet Danish, still streaking, adios Cammy, heart for Hartley, she said yes Washington Capitals Open thread: Capitals at Sabres Capitals look on the bright side despite shootout loss in Buffalo Capitals can t solve Ryan Miller, fall to Buffalo in shootout Websites USA TODAY / Why the Ducks-Sharks game is worth a watch USA TODAY / Panthers roll to 4-1 win over Canadiens USA TODAY / Ryan Miller makes 49 saves, Sabres top Capitals in SO

3 Winnipeg Jets Bogosian, Stuart in lineup against Avs tonight GAME DAY: Jets ready to take off, despite flight delays: Noel Jets beat Avalanche 2-1 in OT Jets find OT magic SPORT-SCAN, INC

4 Anaheim Ducks Ducks go cold and end 10-game winning streak in 3-1 loss to Sharks By Lance Pugmire 11:08 PM PST, December 29, 2013 The Ducks had won 10 consecutive games but proved they are human Sunday night as the streak was ended by the San Jose Sharks. Playing the second of back-to-back games after Saturday's overtime win against Phoenix, the Ducks reached San Jose holding a comfortable sevenpoint lead over their second-place Pacific Division pursuer, knowing they will meet again New Year's Eve in Anaheim. With urgency lacking against the more desperate rival, the Ducks were immediately swarmed by the more energetic Sharks and fell, 3-1, after six straight road wins. The Ducks' 13-game points streak was also ended. BOX SCORE: Sharks 3, Ducks 1 "It was pretty special, doesn't happen very often," Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said of the winning streak. "You're going to eventually lose one." San Jose forward Brent Burns cashed in a high shot past rookie goalie Frederik Andersen's left side just one minute, 17 seconds into the game. The Ducks (28-8-5) didn't take a shot on Sharks goalie Antti Niemi in the first five minutes and when they had the benefit of a power play, Ryan Getzlaf's one-timer from 20 feet was grabbed in little traffic in front of the goalie. Logan Couture then gave the Sharks (25-8-6) a 2-0 lead 10:07 into the first by beating Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin and flipping a backhand past Andersen, who had won nine of his first 10 games. "We knew what they were going to do," Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We didn't meet their push." "That was not OK," Ducks defenseman Ben Lovejoy said on Prime Ticket of the team's first-period performance. "We didn't come out with energy, they outplayed us. "This is a team we're going to need to go through to win the Stanley Cup and we did not have the effort out there." San Jose's lead became 3-0 when recently recalled forward Bracken Kearns, 32, scored his first career goal nearly midway through the second. With the Ducks on an extended shift, Sharks forward Andrew Desjardins led a two-on-one by trying a wraparound that glanced in front of the goal right to a rushing Kearns. Even when they got close to Niemi and had an open shot at the goalie in the second, Kyle Palmieri's stick broke and Saku Koivu and Jakob Silfverberg were denied down low by a mass of Sharks dedicated to protect the goalie. With 8:28 left in the game, Ducks forward Patrick Maroon took a Corey Perry pass from the back of the net and beat Niemi high to his left. "We were flat-footed the first five minutes," Maroon told Prime Ticket. "I don't think we were getting bounces like in the winning streak, but we have Tuesday to bounce back." In the third, Boudreau shuffled lines and even briefly put center Getzlaf as a defenseman to seek a better scoring chance. Perry also let the Sharks know there's fight remaining by getting a thirdperiod hit-to-the-head penalty by dropping Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart to the ice. The matchup now shifts to Anaheim. At Honda Center, the Ducks are overall. LA Times: LOADED:

5 Anaheim Ducks Ducks' win streak ends at 10 By ERIC STEPHENS / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Published: Dec. 29, 2013 Updated: 10:51 p.m. SAN JOSE Nothing lasts forever, right? Winning streaks certainly don't. The Ducks watched their franchise-best run end at 10 games on a frustrating Sunday night at SAP Center as the San Jose Sharks got the best of their rival with a 3-1 victory. It s something that doesn t happen often, Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said about the streak. You re playing against the best players in the world so to be able to do that as a group is something that you should be proud of. You re going to lose one eventually. It can t go on forever. We can t be satisfied with that. And losing this one, this was a big game for us. Brent Burns had a goal and an assist in the first period while Logan Couture also scored to end his 11-game drought as the Sharks put the Ducks in a 2-0 hole after the first 20 minutes. In losing for the first time since Dec. 3 at home against the Kings, the Ducks (28-8-5) couldn't mount a similar comeback in the same manner that got them recent road wins over the New York Islanders and Washington before the Christmas break. Bracken Kearns, a 32-year-old journeyman called up Saturday from the minor leagues, scored his first career goal in the second to give San Jose a 3-0 lead. It was his eighth regular-season game. I think falling behind by three was the one, Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. When you're down by two and you still have two periods, all you have to do is win each period and simplify it. Down by three is a difficult task against a real good team. Pat Maroon's first goal since Oct. 25 snapped a shutout bid by Sharks goalie Antti Niemi with 8:28 remaining. Niemi stopped 30 shots. Rookie backup Frederik Andersen got the start in goal for the Ducks but took his second loss in 11 games. Burns scored 1:17 into the game when he banged in a pass from Joe Pavelski after Andersen made a great initial stop on Pavelski. The Ducks made a push in the first and second periods but couldn't get anything past Niemi. Kearns put them in a three-goal deficit when he followed up on a rebound created by linemate Andrew Desjardins. Ducks winger Daniel Winnik left the ice late in the second period after getting elbowed in the nose by Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Winnik got stitched up and returned for the start of the third. Orange County Register: LOADED:

6 Anaheim Ducks Lindholm continues to find his way with Ducks By ERIC STEPHENS / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Published: Dec. 29, 2013 Updated: 10:07 p.m. back-to-back, while Mark Fistric and Tim Jackman drew in to give them a more physical look. Left wing Matt Beleskey and defenseman Sami Vatanen took a seat this time. Beleskey sat for just the second time since coming back from a broken hand while Vatanen hasn t dressed for three of the past five games. Orange County Register: LOADED: SAN JOSE Ducks rookie defenseman Hampus Lindholm will soon enter what players routinely call the dog days of the NHL schedule and it will be another challenge for the rookie to meet as the games start to add up. The initial thrill of making the league and securing a prime role at the tender age of 19 is wearing off. Now comes the part where an 82-game slate in the most competitive hockey circuit in the world begins to feel like a grind. To this point, the impressive Lindholm hasn t shown any wear and tear. But there has been experienced gained and more to learn along the way. I m starting to learn myself a little more in what I can do, Lindholm said. Like the days when you re feeling a little bit tired and the days when you re feeling really good. I m starting to learn myself and my limits and what the team needs every game. I m just trying to focus on what I can do out there and what I can affect. Just play as good as I can and as hard as I can. Lindholm has been one of the surprises for the Ducks. The plan was to originally ticket him for some additional seasoning in the American Hockey League and potentially bring him up at some point. Now it seems farcical to think Lindholm needed more time in the minors. The smooth-skating Swede is logging up to 20 minutes a night on defense and leading the Ducks with a plus-21 rating entering Sunday night s game against San Jose. But when it comes to the Calder Trophy conversation for the league s rookie of the year, Lindholm s name has yet to come up often despite breaking in at one of the most demanding positions for a young player. I m positive he s not getting the consideration because people don t know his name, Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. He doesn t have 17 goals and all of those things. If they watch him close enough, they know that this guy is the real deal. And he s going to be really good. Lindholm s first NHL season naturally deals with travel associated with heading from city to city. The Ducks have already had their fair share, having already visited every team in the Eastern Conference. But while there are many more airplane rides covering 4-5 hours, Lindholm said it is not the first time he has had to deal with the travel grind. There were many long bus rides while playing for Rogle BK in Sweden s secondtier pro league. Some of those rides lasted 10 hours and the teenager would have to find different ways to get some rest. We took the bus everywhere, Lindholm said. We flew maybe twice a year. We didn t really have sleeping buses. I was taking the floor sometimes. As a young guy, I m pretty used to it. I don t mind it. The good thing about the game is you get to go on the road with the boys and have fun. That s always good. There are also many games played on back-to-back nights Lindholm never dealt with in Sweden but his apprenticeship in the AHL helped him prepare for that. It is common for teams there to play on three consecutive nights. It means getting those postgame stretches in and then hitting the bed as soon as possible. No late nights. It was kind of hard, he said. It s the same for all the other teams. Those games you really have to learn your body, know how to recover and get back on the ice. NOTES The Ducks made a few lineup changes in taking on San Jose. Kyle Palmieri was back in the lineup with Teemu Selanne taking the scheduled rest on a

7 Anaheim Ducks Sharks snap Ducks 10-game winning streak By RICK EYMER, The Associated Press Posted: 12/29/13, 10:51 PM PST Updated: 14 secs ago SAN JOSE, Calif. Bracken Kearns scored his first NHL goal, Logan Couture netted his 100th, and the San Jose Sharks broke Anaheim s 10- game winning streak by beating the Ducks 3-1 on Sunday night. Brent Burns added a goal for the Sharks, who won their fourth straight. Antti Niemi stopped 30 shots in his 21st win of the season. Patrick Maroon scored for the Ducks, who lost for the first time in December and missed a chance for a club-record, seven-game winning streak on the road. Frederik Anderson made 20 saves but lost for the second time in 11 games this season. Anaheim, which entered the game as the NHL s top team, also had a 13- game point streak stopped. Burns opened the scoring 1:17 into the game. Joe Pavelski followed his blocked shot with a wraparound try that bounced straight to Burns, who found a crack between Anderson and a Ducks defender for the goal. Burns has eight points in his last seven games against the Ducks. The Sharks scored in the first 90 seconds of a game for the ninth time this season. Jason Demers recovered a loose puck to help set up Couture s goal midway through the first period. Couture beat one defender and then beat Anderson. Midway through the second period, Kearns picked up the rebound from Andrew Desjardins shot and easily beat Anderson. Maroon scored his fifth goal in four games midway through the third period, with an assist from Corey Perry. NOTES: The Sharks have taken a 2-0 lead in the first period 14 times this season.. Sharks C Tommy Wingels left with an apparent leg injury during the first period.. The Ducks haven t scored on their past 21 power plays.. Sharks C Joe Thornton recorded an assist to move into a 25th-place tie with Alex Delvecchio (825) on the NHL career list. LA Daily News: LOADED:

8 Boston Bruins Bruins assign three to Providence Posted by Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff December 29, :06 PM The Bruins have assigned Zach Trotman, David Warsofsky, and Nick Johnson to Providence. Trotman and Johnson played in Providence s 5-4 win over Springfield today. Niklas Svedberg, assigned to Providence yesterday, was in goal for the win. The Bruins next game is on Tuesday against the Islanders. They are likely to recall reinforcements before then because of a spate of injuries. Boston Globe LOADED:

9 Boston Bruins Bruins need defensive help with Dennis Seidenberg out By Fluto Shinzawa Globe Staff December 30, 2013 The Bruins lead the Atlantic Division by 4 points. The trade deadline is more than three months away. The Providence-to-Boston shuttle or, in the case of David Warsofsky and Nick Johnson, a trip from Glens Falls, N.Y., to Ottawa via Providence is filling in the holes that riddle the varsity lineup. Time and depth are on the Bruins side. They are in no rush to make a deal. But at least one will be coming. The Bruins, internally and via the trade market, will not find a replacement for Dennis Seidenberg. The No. 2 defenseman, ruled out for the year Saturday because of a demolished right knee (torn ACL and MCL), touches the game in every situation. In the playoffs, Seidenberg plays against top-line forwards. The left-shot defenseman switches to the right side. Seidenberg is paired with Zdeno Chara. Before their tanks ran dry in the Stanley Cup Final last season, they were the shutdown defensemen nobody wanted to face. But it is management s imperative to acquire a veteran defenseman who can provide at least some of Seidenberg s qualities. Assuming the Bruins run of ill health stops short by the playoffs, they should have another roster ready for a run at more rings. Tuukka Rask is a Vezina Trophy candidate. Chara is the NHL s most feared shutdown defenseman. Their top line of Milan Lucic, David Krejci, and Jarome Iginla is the kind of heavy-duty, playoff-hockey unit that should be sponsored by Caterpillar. The Western Conference is loaded with Cupworthy teams in Chicago, Anaheim, San Jose, Los Angeles, and St. Louis. The Bruins and Penguins, both racked by injuries, appear to be the only legitimate troublemakers in the East. But the current crew will need help. Matt Bartkowski, the left-shot defenseman most similar to Seidenberg, doesn t have his mentor s pedigree of consistency. Johnny Boychuk and Adam McQuaid are rightshot defensemen. Torey Krug is a lefty, but is a puck-moving, power-play specialist. The trade market, especially among Eastern teams, has yet to develop. Ottawa s Chris Phillips would be a trade target for the Bruins. Phillips will be an unrestricted free agent at season s end. Phillips is a stay-at-home leftshot defenseman. General manager Peter Chiarelli knows Phillips well from his days as Ottawa s assistant GM. Chiarelli acquired Chris Kelly, Phillips s former teammate. This past summer, Chiarelli took a run at former Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson. But Ottawa, which claimed a 4-3 win over the Bruins Saturday night, isn t ready to swing a sledgehammer at the roster. As of Sunday, the 10th-place Senators were just 1 point out of the East s top eight. Andrej Meszaros, also UFA at the end of the year, also could be a trade possibility. Meszaros was Chara s partner in Ottawa. But the Flyers, who couldn t get their engine to turn over at the start of the season, are back in the playoff race. The Bruins have assets they can put in play. Their more valuable prospects youngsters with top-six, top-four, or No. 1 potential include Alexander Khokhlachev, Jared Knight, Zach Trotman, and Niklas Svedberg. Only three days earlier, the Bruins wanted to see how Svedberg fit in their plans. The team recalled the Swedish goalie from Providence Friday. An audition would help determine how the Bruins would address their goaltending situation. The Bruins would not have added a third goalie if they were satisfied with Chad Johnson as Rask s backup. Johnson is with 2.34 goals-against average and a.914 save percentage. They are respectable numbers. But Johnson s untimely goals against, most recently a backbreaker in Buffalo Dec. 19, have not inspired confidence. So Saturday morning, before Seidenberg s status was finalized, Johnson was planning to be a healthy scratch for the second straight game. Johnson and Shawn Thornton remained on the Canadian Tire Centre ice long after their teammates hit the showers. It s a young guy coming in and getting an opportunity, Johnson said of Svedberg following Saturday s morning skate. They haven t seen him play at this level. It doesn t really affect me. I m just going to go do my usual thing and take care of myself to get ready if there s an opportunity to get in and help the team win. That s where my mind s at. I ve been in every situation, it seems like, in my career from going up and down. The biggest thing is to worry about yourself. The Bruins will need their backup, whether it s Johnson, Svedberg, or an acquisition, to play important minutes. It s possible that Rask could be Finland s ace in the Olympics. If so, Rask will return with an Olympic workload and travel to and from Sochi on his odometer. Following the Olympics, the Bruins and their opponents will compete in a season-ending sprint that could create more carnage than the last lap at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Bruins play 17 times in March, including six sets of back-to-back games. They will close out the regular season with seven games in 13 days in April. They ll need to ease Rask into the playoffs. They re going to be compressed, said coach Claude Julien, Saturday morning, of the post-olympic schedule. You always have a better idea, when you see a goaltender play, how much confidence you have in giving Tuukka more breaks. We ve seen Chad play. Now we want to see Sveddy play. We re going to have to manage some stuff here in the second half with some of those guys going to the Olympics. The catastrophe would be if Rask broke down. Like most teams, the Bruins are not prepared to be without their No. 1 goalie in the playoffs. They already will be down their second-best defenseman. It s why help on defense and in goal is required.... The Bruins assigned Trotman, Warsofsky, and Nick Johnson to Providence Sunday. Trotman and Johnson played in Providence s 5-4 win over Springfield Sunday following their assignments. The Bruins next game is Tuesday against the Islanders. They are likely to recall reinforcements before then. Boston Globe LOADED:

10 Boston Bruins Boston Herald LOADED: Bruins seek to pick up slack Monday, December 30, 2013 Steve Conroy OTTAWA The last time the Bruins found themselves in the fix they re in right now with the loss of Dennis Seidenberg, Glen Murray was still with the team. So were P.J. Axelsson, Glen Metropolit and Chuck Kobasew. In , Claude Julien was in his first year as Bruins coach, starting the long road to proving himself as one of the elite coaches in the NHL. Just 10 games into the season, they lost their best all-around forward, Patrice Bergeron, to a season-ending concussion. Yet somehow, the B s managed to hang in there most nights and, for the first time in three seasons, made it to the postseason. That was their goal, and they nearly exceeded it when they took a heavily favored Montreal team to seven games in a thrilling series that would springboard this organization into its current era of success. Times are different now, of course. The Bruins have a better team than in , and expectations are a lot higher than just making the playoffs. To some, anything less than a final-four finish would be an underachievement. The Stanley Cup is the target. Can they keep those same goals without Seidenberg, a player who embodies the B s defense-first philosophy that has proven to win in the playoffs? Well, it will not be easy, but they re not alone in that leaky dinghy. The Tampa Bay Lightning, a team no one figured to be in the hunt when the season started, lost their best player, Steven Stamkos, but have somehow managed to stay close to the B s in the Atlantic Division race. The Pittsburgh Penguins, the B s chief adversary in the Eastern Conference, have lost first-line winger Pascal Dupuis for the season due to an ACL injury. Out West, the St. Louis Blues are dealing with the indefinite loss of Hart Trophy candidate Alex Steen, out with a concussion. The Los Angeles Kings have survived without Jonathan Quick, arguably the best goalie on the planet when healthy. The fact of the matter is that life in the NHL goes on, injuries or not, and you just have to deal with it. Julien, who brought up the comparison to himself after the B s 4-3 loss to the Senators in Ottawa on Saturday, struck a positive tone when first asked about the loss of Seidenberg to a season-ending knee injury. It s unfortunate because he s always been one of our better (defensemen) and he always seems to step his game up at playoff time, so that part, you re definitely going to miss, said Julien, whose team resumes practice today after a day off yesterday. That s part of the game that is there and you have to understand that those things are going to happen every once in a while. Right now we still feel we have enough good players that they re going to step in that spot and fill it as best we can here. In , a kid by the name of David Krejci stepped into the breach and helped the B s get into the playoffs, even after they lost top center Marc Savard for the final eight games of the regular season. Is there another star-in-waiting, this time on the blue line? Matt Bartkowski, whose uneven playing opportunities have produced uneven results, should get a chance to prove he s an everyday NHLer, maybe even a top-four defenseman. Sophomore Dougie Hamilton, who has played very well as a 20-year-old, could see some more responsibility once he returns from his leg injury. Kevan Miller, Zach Trotman and David Warsofsky all could get a chance to further their careers, although Trotman and Warsofsky, along with forward Nick Johnson, were sent back to Providence (AHL) yesterday. Most likely, all will have to play some sort of role at some time. We re not going to replace (Seidenberg). He s an unbelievable player, he plays such a big role, he s part of the heart of this team, defenseman Torey Krug said. Now we have to do it by committee. There have to be guys who pick up the slack here and there. It s not just going to be one guy. It s going to be a group effort. It starts with (Zdeno Chara) and goes all the way down to whoever we bring up from Providence.

11 Buffalo Sabres Against Caps, same lineup will have a key goal: Stay out of the box December 29, :39 PM By Mike Harrington In his pregame briefing with reporters this afternoon, interim coach Ted Nolan said he will use the same lineup as he did in Friday's shootout loss in Toronto and will start off at least with the same lines. That means Alexander Sulzer will again be a healthy scratch. "To make a change just to make a change doesn't seem right," Nolan said. "Defense wasn't our problem the last game." Nolan initially hedged when asked who would be in goal and then said Ryan Miller "probably" will play. But the look on his face was one of I-dontreally-want-to-say-but-I-just-did. The Capitals have the NHL's top power play at 25.9 percent, no surprise when the lineup includes NHL goal leader Alexander Ovechkin and his league-high 12 goals on the power play. The Sabres are just 20th on the penalty kill and 12th at home. Their first priority, Nolan said, is simply to not take penalties at all. The Sabres have taken 11 penalties in the last three games, killing nine. The Caps, conversely, have scored a power-play goal in seven of their last eight games. "If we are going to take a penalty, if there's such a thing as a good penalty, we have to make sure it's a good one," Nolan said. "Not one of those lazy ones that are 200 feet from our end, in the offensive zone or neutral zone. It has to be a good penalty for us to have the spirit to kill it off." The Sabres also have to figure out their second-period struggles. When Nolan arrived, they had been outscored, 27-3, in the first period but that deficit is just 10-8 in his 18 games. In the middle frame, however, the Sabres have been outscored, 21-9, under Nolan when their deficit was just one (18-17) under Ron Rolston. The Sabres' 2-0 lead went poof-in-the-toronto night in the second period Friday as the Maple Leafs scored all three of their goals. "We had we thought that problem fixed and then all of a sudden the last game, there's no answer for the way we played," Nolan said. "There was just one mistake after another mistake, one turnover after another turnover. It was just very uncharacteristic of the way we've been playing lately." More bad news for the Sabres: Ovechkin has gone scoreless the last two games -- and hasn't failed to score in three straight all season. He had 12 shots on goal over the last two games so he certainly seems overdue. Buffalo News LOADED:

12 Buffalo Sabres Miller delivers another gem as Sabres beat Caps in shootout on December 29, :59 PM BY JOHN VOGL News Sports Reporter USA Hockey knows everything it needs to know about Ryan Miller. Just to be sure, Miller put another gem on his resume just a few days before the organization names its Olympic squad. Miller made 49 saves Sunday evening, lifting the Sabres to a 2-1 shootout victory over Washington. Steve Ott scored the deciding goal in front of the sellout crowd of 19,070 in First Niagara Center, but Miller was the star. He made 12 stops on rapidfiring Alexander Ovechkin. Miller also stopped all six shootout attempts by the Capitals. Miller made 44 saves in regulation as the consistent Capitals took 15 shots in each of the three periods. Buffalo managed just 16 shots in regulation, including three in the first and five in the third. The final total was The United States will name its 2014 Olympic team Wednesday, and Miller is a lock to be selected. He s the front-runner to start. The Capitals wasted little time showing Miller it would be a busy evening. They opened a 10-0 shot advantage through 9:30, which included six shots during one really busy power play. The shot counter read 12-0 before Matt D Agostini finally got the Sabres on the board with 4:27 remaining in the first. Predictably, a loud cheer erupted after the easy save. The period ended with a 15-3 shot advantage for the Caps, but the double zeroes in the goal column were all that mattered to Buffalo. The Sabres made sure the second would be better. They needed only 1:26 to match their shot total from the entire opening period. The Caps gradually took over. They built their shot advantage to 30-9 with a 10-1 run. It didn t matter, though, because Miller stopped them all. Philipp Grubauer couldn t match the perfection. Drew Stafford scored on the Sabres 10th shot, tipping home a pass from Christian Ehrhoff with 1:42 left in the second. The right winger stationed himself just above the crease for his fourth goal of the season. The Sabres went to the dressing room for the second intermission ahead for only the fourth time in 39 games. They were 2-0-1, while Washington was when trailing after two periods. The victory total was tied for most in the NHL. The Caps showed their resiliency with 14:26 left. Eric Fehr forced an Ott turnover in the corner of the Sabres zone, and Mikhail Grabovski quickly sent a cross-ice pass to Troy Brouwer. The winger s one-timer found the net high to Miller s stick side, giving the Capitals a 1-1 tie on their 33rd shot. Buffalo News LOADED:

13 Buffalo Sabres Miller plays like America s best goalie By John Vogl News Sports Google+ on December 29, :53 PM Brouwer tied it with 14:26 left in regulation, but that was it as the 19,070 fans sent Buffalo onto the road for Tuesday s game in Winnipeg with a standing ovation. I want to have a good night every night, Miller said. As the years go by I seem to play best when I don t really react too much. I m just trying to dial my emotions down and bring my focus up. Buffalo News LOADED: USA Hockey knows everything it needs to know about Ryan Miller. Just to be sure, Miller put a record-setting night on his resume a few days before the organization names its Olympic squad. Miller stopped 55 of Washington s 56 shots to lift the Sabres to a 2-1 shootout victory Sunday. Buffalo s goaltender wowed the sellout crowd in First Niagara Center with 44 saves in regulation, five in overtime and another six in a perfect shootout. It feels good when they stay out and you get a win like that, said Miller, who is a lock to be selected to the 2014 U.S. team Wednesday. We ll find out in a few days. It s a selection that I don t have much say in other than my performance. That s evaluated, and we ll see how it goes. It should go from the ice in Buffalo to the starter s crease in Sochi. Olympics or not, you know that he s going to play like that no matter what, Sabres right wing Drew Stafford said. He s motivated just to get back to playing how he can play. He s done a heck of a job so far. Miller improved his save percentage to.927 on a night when he was needed more than ever. The Capitals outshot the Sabres, 50-17, the biggest disparity for a Buffalo victory in team history. The 33-shot disadvantage topped the 31-chance margin during a 7-5 win over Boston on March 21, 1971, when the Bruins had a edge. Miller s 49 saves were a career high, and he improved to 3-0 when facing 50 or more shots. That was worth the price of admission to watch, Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. Very rarely do we get to see it live. He was sensational. Troy Brouwer was the only one to beat Miller as the consistent Capitals took 15 shots in each of the first three periods. Buffalo managed just 16 shots in regulation, including three in the first and five in the third. He stole this one for us, defenseman Henrik Tallinder said. He was awesome. Some shots were a little bit from the outside, but the chances they got he was right there. Unbelievable game for him. Stafford and Steve Ott supplied the little help that Miller needed. The shots were when Stafford opened the scoring with 1:42 left in the second period. Ott beat Capitals goalie Philipp Grubauer on Buffalo s sixth shootout attempt. What he was doing all night, you want to finish out a game and have him win, Ott said. He was by far the best player on the ice for both teams. You can only hope to win that one when it comes to shootout time. Miller made sure the Sabres stayed on a hot streak. They re in their last nine games. They ve won four in a row at home and have points in six straight downtown, the first time they ve accomplished both since March We re not exactly counting, but at the same time it s one of those things where it s just fun to win, Stafford said. Most of the time when you take care of things and keep it simple that leads to wins, and it has for us recently. The Capitals wasted little time showing Miller it would be a busy evening. They opened a 10-0 shot advantage through 9:30, which included six shots during one really busy power play. You could tell he was tuned into it very early, Nolan said. When he s on, I don t think there s much better. Grubauer couldn t match the early perfection. Stafford scored on the Sabres 10th shot, tipping a shot from Christian Ehrhoff as Buffalo hit the second intermission ahead for only the fourth time in 39 games.

14 Buffalo Sabres Sabres notebook: Capitals tip their hats to Sabres goalie By Mike Harrington News Sports Google+ on December 29, :50 PM Ryan Miller was the talk of the Buffalo Sabres dressing room Sunday night. And he was the main topic down the hall in the Washington Capitals quarters as well. The Caps had 50 shots on goal through regulation and overtime. Plus six shootout attempts. They got one measly goal. NHL goal scoring leader Alex Ovechkin had a season-high 12 shots on goal plus a shootout attempt -- and came up empty in the Sabres 2-1 victory. I don t think we want to do anything that differently, Ovechkin said. We had pretty good chances to score and Miller was outstanding. They got the victory and he deserved it. He played fantastic, said Caps coach Adam Oates, who noted his team had plenty of Grade A scoring chances against Miller. Chances in the shootout to win it. We just needed one. You ve got to give him a lot of credit. He was the man tonight. Ovechkin has gone three games without a goal for the first time this year despite collecting 24 shots on goal in that span. He had four on a firstperiod power play, including a couple of wicked one-timers that Miller corralled. Some of the shots were clear shots. That kind of goalie, he s going to make a save, Ovechkin said. Sometimes when we had traffic in front of the net, we didn t shoot the puck and we tried to make cute plays. It s working sometimes. It wasn t a bad game. It was a very good game. On balance, that was the feeling in the Caps dressing room. What more could they do? Maybe a little traffic to bother Miller but he gave up few rebounds and was in great position all night. And he went 6 for 6 in the shootout too, with Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom both saying they were hoping to go 5-hole on Miller. Then as soon as he went down, I wanted to go low and under him, said Ovechkin, who led all forwards in the game by playing 21 minutes, 40 seconds. It s somebody that it s tough to score on. He played unbelievable tonight. He deserved to win. We came in after the first period knowing we should have been up a goal or maybe two but Miller was playing so well, said Troy Brouwer, who scored the only goal on Miller at 5:34 of the third period. We feel like we deserved to win tonight but you encounter some games that just don t go your way. Oates agreed with that point. Ovi had the most shots he s had all year. Our power plays were good power plays, Oates said. It was Miller s night. I can t take anything away from the game he played, and I m happy with the way our team played.... If you re looking ahead to the Sochi Olympics, Team USA and Russia will play their pool-play matchup on Feb. 15. There could be two more Miller- Ovechkin battles before that, Jan. 12 in Verizon Center and Jan. 28 at First Niagara Center. A smiling Ovechkin wasn t drawn into any Olympic talk. It s going to be interesting, he acknowledged. But right now let s just talk about tonight s game. The Detroit Free Press reported Sunday that Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard will be named to the US team when the rosters are announced on Wednesday. Miller and Los Angeles Jonathan Quick are widely expected to be the top two American goalies.... The Sabres improved to 5-1 in shootouts, second in the NHL in winning percentage to Pittsburgh s 3-0. The Caps lead the league in shootout wins but fell to 8-4. Strangely enough, Ovechkin s miss left him just 2 for 11 in shootouts this season. Buffalo shooters are 10 of 26 in the shootout and have gone just 1 for 9 in them the last two games. Miller has stopped 22 of 28 opponent chances. He extended his NHL-record victory total in shootouts to 48 (going 48-28) and is in them at home. It was the second time this year the Caps had a 50-shot game and suffered a 2-1 shootout loss. Toronto goalie James Reimer pinned that similar trick on them Nov. 23 in Air Canada Centre. The Caps closest chance in the shootout came on a spin-o-rama move by Mikhail Grabovski, who appeared to have some room to tuck the puck past Miller but hit the side of the post with it. Said Miller: Those moves get really close to stopping the puck. I m not really sure how much I like them, but I m just a goalie.... The Sabres did not have a power play in the game for the first time this season and the first time at home since a 2-1 shootout win over Boston on Feb. 24, Buffalo News LOADED:

15 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres top Washington Capitals in shootout Dec. 29, 2013 Nick Mendola Associated Press BUFFALO If USA Hockey needed a reminder of how well Ryan Miller can play, the Buffalo Sabres goalie provided one. Playing three days before the U.S. Olympic hockey roster will be released, Miller made 49 saves to lead the Sabres to a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals in a six-round shootout on Sunday night. Olympics or not, he s going to play like that no matter what, said Drew Stafford, who scored the Sabres regulation goal. If I m picking the team, he s my guy, but I m a little biased on that end. Miller stood out as the Sabres were outshot He stopped 12 shots from Alex Ovechkin before the shootout and then stopped him and five others in the tiebreaker. That was worth the price of admission to watch goaltending like that, Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. Very rarely do we get to see it live, and tonight he was sensational. Steve Ott scored the lone shootout goal as the Sabres improved to in their last six home games after starting there. Philipp Grubauer made 16 saves for Washington, and Troy Brouwer scored the Capitals only goal. Buffalo is in its last seven games. It feels good when they stay out and you get a win like that, Miller said. It s nice. Washington controlled the majority of the play, registering 15 shots in the first three periods before adding five in overtime. We made the right decisions with the puck, and the power play was working today, but we didn t score, Ovechkin said. (Miller) was on top of his game and he carried them into the shootout and onto victory. Despite being outshot 30-10, Buffalo took a 1-0 lead when Stafford tapped in Christian Ehrhoff s rebound with 1:42 left in the second. Christian s shot was an easy little wrister, and those are the ones that find their way through, Stafford said. Grubauer made a glove save on D Agostini moments later to keep the Capitals deficit at one goal. Washington tied it off a giveaway by Ott 5:34 into the third period. Brouwer s slap shot beat Miller. Miller returned to form over the next few minutes, including three successive saves from a prone position. He s the best goalie in the league, and I don t say that lightly by any means, Ott said. The team didn t steal the game, Ryan Miller stole that game for us. Democrat and Chronicle LOADED:

16 Buffalo Sabres Rochester Amerks' European trip ends in loss Dec. 29, 2013 Staff report The Rochester Americans fell behind by three in the first period and couldn t complete a comeback against Team Canada in Spengler Cup on Sunday. The Amerks European trip came to an end with 6-3 loss in the quarterfinals in Davos, Switzerland. The Amerks finished the Spengler Cup 0-3, including a 5-0 loss to Geneve- Servette and a 4-3 loss to CSKA Moscow in the preliminaries. Nathan Lieuwen started in goal for the first time in the tournament for the Amerks on Sunday, but didn t stay in for long after allowing three goals on 14 shots in the first period. Amerks coach Chadd Cassidy made the switch to Matthew Hackett, which ignited an initial spark for Rochester. Alex Hutchings put the Amerks on the board 1:55 into the second period. Dan Catenacci scored to make it 4-2 6:65 into the second period, and Joel Armia cut the deficit to one with a power play goal at 13:11. Canada only had five shots on goal in third period, but converted on two, going back ahead by three. Luke Adam and Phil Varone each recorded two assists and Hackett made 17 saves in 38:53 of ice time. The Amerks return to AHL action on Friday against Utica and won t play in Rochester until Jan. 8. The Amerks are currently in fourth place in the North Division and sitting outside of a playoff spot. Democrat and Chronicle LOADED: