Lightning/NHL

Fedorov will miss start of season

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published September 21, 2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Blue Jackets center Sergei Fedorov will be out four to six weeks after injuring his left shoulder during an preseason game.

Columbus opens Oct. 6 at home against Vancouver, and the team hopes the 36-year-old veteran will be back early in the season.

"Sergei has worked extremely hard to get ready for the season so we're obviously disappointed for him," general manager and president Doug MacLean said.

Fedorov, who spent most of his 16-year NHL career with Detroit, was hurt in the second period of a 4-1 victory over Buffalo on Tuesday night.

He was skating toward the right side of the net when Sabres rookie Jiri Novotny came from behind and kicked out the Russian's left leg. Fedorov was upended and slid into the boards. Blue Jackets coach Gerard Gallant called it a clean play.

Fedorov, acquired in a trade with Anaheim on Nov. 15, ranks 12th among active players in points with 1,063.

Penguins' Malkin injured

Evgeni Malkin was injured during his first preseason game when he collided with Pittsburgh teammate John LeClair early in the second period of the Penguins' 5-4 win over Philadelphia Wednesday.

The team said the Russian rookie center was taken to a hospital for further evaluation of an upper-body injury. Penguins veteran wing Mark Recchi also was sent to a hospital after he was hit with a high stick in the first period.

Penguins general manager Ray Shero said Malkin will be re-evaluated today in Pittsburgh, but could not be more specific about the injury.

"At this point anything else would be speculation," Shero said. "We'll see how he feels tomorrow. Frankly, I was happy he got up considering the way he went down."

Malkin had just finished making a dazzling pass to LeClair when the veteran wing, after missing a great scoring chance, crashed into the boards behind the net and took out Malkin. He catapulted over LeClair and landed hard on the ice. A hush came over the crowd as Malkin, the No. 2 overall pick behind Alexander Ovechkin in 2004, lay sprawled on the ice for 3-4 minutes.

Malkin skated off the ice but was favoring his left arm and headed straight to the dressing room.

Malkin, 20, was making his much-anticipated debut after his controversial departure from Russia, a matter that remains in the hands of lawyers because he signed a contract with Russian club Metallurg Magnitogorsk before also signing a three-year deal with the Penguins.

RANGERS: Michal Rozsival, one of the team's top defensemen last season, had surgery on his right knee and is expected to be sidelined the rest of the preseason. He should be back in time for New York's season opener Oct. 5. Rozsival, 27, played in all 82 games last season with the Rangers.

NHLPA: The NHL Players' Association informed its membership that the league's 700-plus players will receive all of their escrowed payments plus interest as well as additional "shortfall" payments of between 3.5 to 4.5 percent. The final accounting on the 2005-06 season determined players didn't take their full share of the 54 percent of league revenues coming their way under the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement. Players pay into escrow accounts throughout the season as insurance for owners in case salaries eat more than 54 percent of revenues.

[Last modified September 21, 2006, 02:34:40]