A daily glance around sports

NHL

*Chris Pronger scored two power play goals in leading the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators. The Oilers are a team on the rise and will be a sleeper team once the playoffs are upon us.

*The Minnisota Wild defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 and it gave coach Jacque Lemaire his 400th career win. He is the first person to win 400 games as a coach and a player. As for the Avalanche, this team is not very good. Despite being the numbeer 6th seed right, they will be one and done in the playoffs.

*The 9th place Anaheim Ducks lost a tough one to the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2. With that win the Ducks would have been only 2 pts from the 8th playoff spot. Columbus on the other hand has been playing very well since Rick Nash returned from his injury in December. His stats aren’t up to par but the presence of Sergie Federov has also helped alot.

*The Dallas Stars keep on rolling after routing the Chicago Blackhawks last night. The Stars are a team that everyone seems to forget about when talking about Stanley Cup contenders. With the win on Sunday, they now have a 10 pt lead on the LA Kings for first place.

*Other news … Carolina Hurricanes winger Eric Cole will be out at least 6 weeks after getting hit from behind by Brooks Orpik. Carolina is now in the market for a 2nd line winger and Mark Recchi is a possibilty.

*Toronto Maple Leafs center Eric Lindros is out for the season after having season ending wrist surgery. No surprise here when talking about Lindros. Although Lindros not being the player everyone thought he was going to be, he still is a quality player and this injury will hurt the Leafs chances of making the playoffs.

*Game of the night…. Carolina Hurricanes 88 pts VS New York Rangers 80 pts.
– Both teams have been extremely playing well, and despite Carolina leading the league in the pts standings they are not a better team than the Rangers. This is a big test for both teams, but for Carolina especially to see how they respond without their leader Eric Cole. Prediction Rangers 5 – Hurricanes 2

*The NHL’s trade dealine is March 9th … here are a few Pens rumors out there

1.John Leclair – Rangers 40%,Canadiens 20%,Kings 20% and Red Wings 5%
2.Mark Recchi – Senators 30%,Hurricanes 25%,Flyers 25%,Flames 15%,Dallas15% and San Jose 5%
3.Ryan Malone – Bruins40%,San Jose35% and Toronto15%

*Of the three it’s looking like Recchi is getting the most consideration. There is also word that Recchi and Leclair have asked Craig Patrick to try to package them together if possible. That’s interesting but i doubt any team would take them both considering Recchi becoming a free agent at the end of the season. I still think in the end if Leclair is traded he will most likely end up in New York or Montreal. LA is also a possibility. Recchi’s situation is still up in the air. 50/50 whether he stays or goes. As for Malone i see him staying but the Bruins do have lots of interests.

Check in Wednesday for all up to date trade rumors surrounding all NHL teams

NBA

*The Phoenix Suns extended their winning streak to 10 games after defeating the Dallas Mavericks 115-107. The Suns are one hell of a team. Tim Thomas has been a great pickup for him and one player who should be mentioned in the M.V.P. process is Shawn Marion. When Amare Stoudemire returns at the end of March and is the player from last year, this team could very well win the NBA Championship

*The Indiana Pacers defeated the the 76er’s 94-93. The Pacers just keep getting it done no matter who they throw in the lineup. Terrible play call at the end of the game, for the 76er’s. With 2.9 seconds left they had Allen Iverson inbounding the ball, and the plan was for them to give it right back to him. The Pacers like everyone else in the building knew they were going to give it back to Iverson and Indiana played it perfect. Just a dumb call having him inbound the ball, and that loss hurts them in the standings.

Game of the night … Spurs Vs Lakers
– The Spurs are 5-0 in the past 5 games against the Lakers, but Kobe and Lakers have momentum after beating the Pistons Saturday night. The key for this game will be Lamar Odom. He had 24 pts against the Pistons and when they keep him involved in the offense they can compete with teams like the Spurs.
prediction – Lakers pull the upset.