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Sean Avery of the New York Rangers denied making cancer-related comments to ill Maple Leafs forward Jason Blake before a pregame altercation between the clubs last weekend. Avery exchanged words and shoves with Blake and his Toronto teammate Darcy Tucker during warmups before New York’s 3-2 shootout victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

The NHL fined Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky $10,000 on Tuesday and suspended Phoenix defenseman Nick Boynton for a game as a result of an altercation in Monday night’s 5-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks. The suspension is automatic for a player who instigates a fight in the final 5 minutes of regulation or in…

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ new arena is expected to seat 18,500, or nearly 2,000 more than Mellon Arena now holds for hockey, and will feature a glass atrium that faces downtown Pittsburgh. The atrium will reach as high as 80 feet and will afford those inside a view of downtown. The Penguins on Tuesday showed off…

Senators center Jason Spezza appears ready to return to the lineup after his groin injury but won’t necessarily rejoin Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson on Ottawa’s powerful first line. The Senators have played well during Spezza’s six-game absence and lead the Eastern Conference with a 14-2 record.

The Carolina Hurricanes worked hard to get Peter Laviolette his 200th NHL coaching victory. A few flukey goals sure came in handy, too. The Hurricanes scored three unusual goals in the third period, including Cory Stillman’s winner with 1:09 left, to beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 Monday night. “Funny goals, really,” Laviolette said.

One of the Atlantic Division’s two top teams from last season knew it would come out of a slide in this game. One breakout goal meant it was the New Jersey Devils who got that badly needed victory rather than the Pittsburgh Penguins. Patrik Elias ended an 11-game slump without a goal exactly when New…

Once the Nashville Predators realized there was more to the game than offense, their early-season slump quickly became a thing of the past. J.P. Dumont had two goals and an assist, and the Predators sent the Columbus Blue Jackets to their fourth straight loss with a 4-1 win Monday night. “We don’t have as much…

Mike Richards might want to slyly suggest one of his Flyers teammates get whistled for diving, holding or any other type of penalty that would leave Philadelphia short-handed. Richards somehow finds a way to make teams pay on the penalty kill. Richards knocked in his own rebound for the winner early in the third period…

On the day he accepted hockey’s greatest honor, Mark Messier remembered where it all began. “It starts at home with the efforts put forth by your mother and father for all those early morning practices,” he said before Monday night’s ceremony. “All your minor-league hockey coaches who picked you up when your parents couldn’t get…

Mariano Rivera was offered a $45 million, three-year contract to stay with the New York Yankees. Now, the team is waiting to hear back from its star closer. “He’d be by $4 million a year the highest-paid relief pitcher,” Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said Tuesday. “To say that’s a strong offer would be…

Ryan Braun’s teammates made the power-hitting third baseman dress up as a hot dog during the season as part of his rookie hazing. It was a not-so-subtle reference. “That was a little bit of a ploy into the some of things I’d done, the showboating a couple of times too much,” the Milwaukee slugger said.

When John Allen was handed control of the Cincinnati Reds in 1996, suspended owner Marge Schott referred to him as her bookkeeper. In short time, he proved he wouldn’t be her caretaker. Overnight, Allen went from anonymous controller to the most powerful person in baseball’s first professional franchise, guiding it through some of its darkest…