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Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 17, 2001
Pens rip Panthers in Lightning tuneup
SUNRISE -- Mario Lemieux had two goals and an assist, and Johan Hedberg stopped 41 shots in his first career start as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Florida Panthers 6-3 Friday night.
Pavel Bure also had a pair of goals, increasing his league-leading total to 51, but the Panthers continued to struggle on defense. They have given up 44 goals in their past 11 games.
With the score tied at 3 in the third period, Pittsburgh scored twice in 30 seconds to pull ahead for good. Josef Beranek notched his ninth goal and Alexei Kovalev his 41st. Jaromir Jagr's 43rd goal made it 6-3 with less than five minutes to play.
But the story of the game was Hedberg, acquired at the trading deadline Monday along with Bobby Dollas from San Jose.
His debut was memorable. He stopped Bure twice on breakaways and helped keep the Panthers scoreless on eight power plays.
Lemieux put the Penguins on the board first with a power-play goal at 8:17 of the first. He stopped a pass from Jagr with his right skate and poked the rebound past a diving Roberto Luongo.
It was Lemieux's fifth power-play goal in the past eight games.
Bure evened the score with a spectacular breakaway goal about two minutes later. He waited until Hedberg committed to his left, then slipped the puck between his legs.
Bure, known for his fierce fist pumps after goals, celebrated a little more than usual. After No. 50, Bure jumped up and down repeatedly as teammates mobbed him.
Florida's Peter Worrell left in the first with an injury to his left shoulder. He did not return.
Pittsburgh plays the Lightning at the Ice Palace tonight.
SABRES 4, CANUCKS 2: Steve Heinze, in his second appearance for Buffalo, scored the winner among his three goals in a costly loss for visiting Vancouver.
Vancouver lost captain and leading scorer Markus Naslund, who broke his right tibia with 11:09 left. He was taken to hospital immediately after the game.
Naslund, who entered the night tied for third in the NHL with 41 goals, was battling for the puck in the corner when he was thrown down by Sabres defenseman Rhett Warrener. Naslund fell awkwardly, his ankle twisting beneath him.
The Canucks, chasing their first playoff berth in five years, must try to refocus without him.
"It's tough. He's a top scorer in the league. He's a big part of this team's success," defenseman Ed Jovanovski said. "The only thing we can do is do it (reach the playoffs) for him."
Doug Gilmour had a goal and assist for the Sabres, who have won 10 of their past 14 and are 6-2 in their past eight home games.
Goaltender Dominik Hasek stopped 20 shots to reach 30 wins for the fourth time.
STARS 1, COYOTES 1: Mike Modano's goal midway through the second lifted host Dallas.
Dallas had a two-minute power play in the overtime and outshot Phoenix in the extra period. Coyotes goalie Sean Burke made six saves in overtime and preserved the tie.
Phoenix took a 1-0 lead at 2:56 of the second on Travis Green's goal that struck two players on the way into the net.
SENATORS 4, MIGHTY DUCKS 1: Magnus Arvedson assisted on Marian Hossa's 30th goal and ended a 10-game scoreless drought for host Ottawa.
Alexei Yashin scored his 33rd goal and Mike Sillinger added an empty-net goal for Ottawa, which moved two points ahead of idle New Jersey atop the Eastern Conference.
Anaheim rookie Antti-Jussi Niemi scored his first NHL goal with 5:43 left in the third to ruin Patrick Lalime's shutout bid.
Lalime, traded by Anaheim to Ottawa after the 1998-99 season, stopped 30 shots for his 31st win.
BLUE JACKETS 3, THRASHERS 0: Ron Tugnutt earned his second straight shutout and Tyler Wright had his first career hat trick for visiting Columbus. Tugnutt, coming off a 3-0 shutout of Calgary on Wednesday, made 34 saves, including 10 in the third. The expansion Blue Jackets won for the eighth time in 10 games.
BLUE JACKETS: Leading scorer Geoff Sanderson (sprained knee) will be out two weeks. Martin Spanhel was called up from the AHL's Syracuse Crunch to replace him.
CANUCKS: Defenseman Jason Strudwick (sprained knee), who has missed nine games, could return within a week.
STARS: Wing Jamie Langenbrunner (abdominal strain) should rejoin the team in the next few days.
CALGARY -- A tentative agreement was reached in the dispute over drug-testing procedures for NHL players competing in the 2002 Olympics.
The NHL, the union and the International Ice Hockey Federation agreed to allow the World Anti-Doping Agency to conduct random drug testing among all Olympic hockey players once they are chosen. The NHLPA victory comes in that the tests won't come before the playoffs are over. It viewed the tests as a distraction.