Sport-scan daily brief

[ALSO: Blackhawks Notes: Penalty killing improvements, Perreault's faceoff solutions]

The Blackhawks’ left wing is in a good place right now. At 31 he’s won two Cups. He’s got a chance to make the 2014 Team Canada roster and perhaps play in the Winter Olympics for the first time in his career. Health is great. Family is great – and growing. Sharp is ready to add another fine season to all of that, and there’s no reason to think he can’t.

“It’s pretty good time in my life, I can’t argue that. Personally, everything’s going well, too,” he said. “Playing for the Blackhawks is pretty special. They’ve taken care of us. And being a part of such a great team with a chance to win every year is more than I could ask for.”

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 10.05.2013

719497 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks' Smith to make season debut against Lightning

October 4, 2013, 3:30 pm

Tracey Myers

The Chicago Blackhawks have ample bodies on their roster, and coach Joel Quenneville wants to get as many of those bodies into the lineup as possible, especially in these early games.

So on Saturday night, it’s Ben Smith’s turn to get in there.

Smith will play on Saturday when the Blackhawks host the Tampa Bay Lightning at the United Center. Smith has skated the past two days on the Blackhawks’ third line with Brandon Saad and Andrew Shaw. Jimmy Hayes was in that right wing spot on Tuesday night.

“We want to get everyone in here over the next few games before we get too far into the season, and (Smith) is likely to play,” Quenneville said. “We have 23 guys; over the course of the season you wish you had 23 guys. Everybody usually gets into the lineup and plays, and it’s just a matter of time before we get everyone in and they’re all a part of it. And when you’re not playing, keep yourself sharp.”

Smith will be with familiar faces, as he, Shaw and Saad played together in Rockford during the lockout last season.

“Having that familiarity is nice, being predictable for each other and knowing what our job is out there,” said Smith, who admits the competition to play never ends, even when training camp does.

“No, it won’t. The competition’s always there,” he said. “Guys who went to Rockford are looking for a shot up here, too. You always need to show what you can do and perform and play well. That’s what I’m looking to do when I get the opportunity again.”

HANDZUS’ HEALTH

Michal Handzus practiced on Friday and will play against Tampa Bay on Saturday night. The second-line center missed part of Tuesday’s game with an undisclosed injury, although he did return to finish in the Blackhawks’ 6-4 victory over Washington. Handzus, who suffered several injuries during last postseason, said dealing with the bumps and bruises is just part of the job at this point in his career.

“It’s all about knowing your body and doing the rest in between,” he said.

Marian Hossa, who’s also had to be mindful of injuries adding up, is impressed with what Handzus goes through to remain healthy.

“It’s amazing to see what he went through last year and pretty much all summer, just rehabbing after surgeries and in camp and still icing lots of different things. It’s amazing when you see him back there,” Hossa said. “It is what it is and he wants to play, and that’s good for us.”

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 10.05.2013

719498 Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche's Marc-Andre Cliche plays in second NHL game, collects assist vs. Predators

By Adrian Dater

Posted: 10/05/2013 12:01:00 AM MDT

Updated: 10/05/2013 12:56:25 AM MDT

Marc-André Cliche has more than 300 games of pro hockey experience. Only one of them, however, has been in the NHL.

That number changed to two Friday night, when Cliche skated for the Avalanche, collecting an assist in its 3-1 win against the Nashville Predators at the Pepsi Center.

With Avs captain Gabe Landeskog out on a day-to-day basis with a leg injury, the Avs moved John Mitchell from fourth-line center to left wing on a line with Paul Stastny and Alex Tanguay, and Cliche took on Mitchell's former role.

"I'm pretty nervous, actually. I didn't get much sleep last night," said Cliche (pronounced "Klish") before the game. "I'm just excited to get in and get a chance to show what I can do."

Cliche was

drafted 56th overall by the New York Rangers in 2005 but has spent most of his pro career in the Los Angeles Kings organization. Unfortunately for him, he spent almost all of it with the team's AHL affiliate in Manchester, N.H.

Cliche had some good years with the Monarchs, serving as team captain the past four seasons. But the Kings never seemed to have an opening for him, save for one game he played in the 2009-10 season, against the Dallas Stars.

"I think I'm defensive-minded first, but can create chances by getting in on the forecheck," Cliche said.

Cliche, 26, likely will spend some time on the penalty-killing unit as well, coach Patrick Roy said.

Landeskog out. Roy said Landeskog will resume skating Sunday and will travel with the team on its three-game road trip next week.

Roy said Landeskog was feeling "much better" than he did Thursday.

Footnotes. Nick Holden and Matt Hunwick were healthy scratches for the Avs. ... Defenseman Ryan Wilson (knee) remains on track to return next week. The Avs hope he'll return Saturday at Washington against the Capitals.

Denver Post: LOADED: 10.05.2013

719499 Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche tops Nashville Predators, improves to 2-0

By Adrian Dater

Posted: 10/04/2013 09:43:40 PM MDT

Updated: 10/05/2013 01:32:27 AM MDT

It wasn't the goal party of Wednesday's season-opener, but when the final horn sounded there was still the same celebratory feel inside the Pepsi Center Friday night.

Don't look now, but Patrick Roy's Avalanche team is 2-0, after Friday's 3-1 win over the Nashville Predators.

The Avs rode P.A. Parenteau's two goals to the tough win, needing an empty-net goal from him with 1:12 left to seal it, seconds after former Denver resident and top draft pick Seth Jones just missed on a tying bid.

“We played a full 60 minutes. Aside from a couple mistakes defensively, I thought we played a real strong game against a real tough team to play against. If we can get more confident from games like that, we'll be dangerous down

the road,” Parenteau said.

For the second straight game, the Avs got away with something of a slow start, as the Predators had a few excellent scoring chances in the opening minutes and had them pinned in their zone.

Goalie Semyon Varlamov made the stops to keep it scoreless, until Parenteau broke the deadlock with his first goal of the season. Varlamov stopped 26-of-27 shots for his second straight game of allowing just one goal.

“He was rock solid again for us,” Avs coach Patrick Roy said.

Parenteau scored with 1:10 left in the period, putting home a rebound in the left crease past Predators goalie Pekka Rinne.

Rookie Nathan MacKinnon picked up an assist, his third point in two games. MacKinnon played his first game against Nashville fellow draft lottery pick, former Denver resident Seth Jones.

“It's a nice storyline with the Memorial Cup we battled hard and world juniors and stuff and we went back and forth with the No. 1 ranking. I think it's the past now,” MacKinnon said. “We are two players playing against each other in the National Hockey League, it happened to be the same draft year. He's an unbelievable defensemen, you saw that tonight, he's got great poise and a good shot and he's used out there as well so he is doing a great job in Nashville.”

The Avs took a 2-0 lead at the 7:54 mark of the second period, after the fourth line was rewarded with a great shift. The hardest worker, Patrick Bordeleau, got the goal, tipping a Nate Guenin shot past Rinne.

Bordeleau kept a couple of loose pucks still in the Predators zone before the puck went back to the point to Guenin, who put a slapper on net that Bordeleau redirected. Marc-Andre Cliche recorded an assist, his first NHL point after many years in the minors.

“"We did pretty good as a line tonight, even though we didn't play that much. We didn't play as good as we did as a team Wednesday night, but we

found a way to win which is the important thing. Everyone worked their tails off,” Bordeleau said.

But the Predators weren't about to go quietly. They cut the lead to 2-1 at 14:10 of the second on Paul Gaustad's first of the season.

Avalanche winger Steve Downie was a physical presence in the game. He injured Nashville defenseman Roman Josi with a big hit, and was assessed a charging penalty that might draw the attention of NHL director of player safety Brendan Shanahan in the coming day.

Downie retaliated after Nashville defenseman Shea Weber jabbed Matt Duchene in the face a couple times with his glove. Downie was involved in a fight in the third period with Nashville's Eric Nystrom and took a high stick to the

eye from Craig Smith earlier, which drew a penalty.

Nashville wasn't happy over the hit by Downie, which Gaustad called “just a dumb hit,” while Preds coach Barry Trotz said he expects Downie to receive a suspension.

But Roy doesn't think so.

“That was a great hit I thought. I don't know, I need to re-look at it, but I thought it was a fair check. What I like about Steve is: he's a great leader right now on this team. He's playing hard,” Roy said. “Everybody is rattled by him, but he stays calm, he stays focused. I'm not sure he is, but he says 'Patty, I'm under control, I'm under control.' I said, 'OK, let's keep going then.'”

Avs Recap

THE POST'S THREE STARS

1. Patrick Bordeleau. Avs' fourth-line winger scored game-winning goal after hardworking shift.

2. P.A. Parenteau. Scored two goals for Avs, including empty-netter.

3. Semyon Varlamov. Was outstanding again for Avs in net.

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

Prized Nashville rookie Seth Jones played well overall, but finished a minus-1 in his first game against Colorado.

UP NEXT

At Toronto, Tuesday at 5 p.m.

719500 Colorado Avalanche

Avs' Marc-Andre Cliche to see ice time Friday with Gabe Landeskog out

By Adrian Dater

Posted: 10/04/2013 12:22:52 PM MDT

Updated: 10/04/2013 03:25:22 PM MDT

Marc-Andre Cliche has more than 300 games of pro hockey experience. Only one of them, however, has been in the NHL.

That number will change to two Friday night, when Cliche skates for the Avalanche against the Nashville Predators at the Pepsi Center.

With Avs captain Gabe Landeskog out on a day-to-day basis with a leg injury, the Avs will move John Mitchell from fourth-line center to left wing on a line with Paul Stastny and Alex Tanguay, and Cliche will take on Mitchell's former role.

"I'm pretty nervous actually. I didn't get much sleep last night," said Cliche (pronounced "Klish"). "I'm just excited to get in and get a chance to show what I can do."

Cliche was drafted 56th overall by the New York Rangers in

Avs F Marc-Andre Cliche 2013

Avalanche center Marc-Andre Cliche (Karl Gehring, Denver Post file)

2005, but has spent most of his pro career in the Los Angeles Kings organization. Unfortunately for him, he spent almost all of it with the team's AHL affiliate in Manchester, N.H.

Cliche had some good years with the Monarchs, serving as team captain the past four seasons. But the Kings never seemed to have an opening for him, save for one game he played in the 2009-10 season, against Dallas.

"I think I'm defensive-minded first, but can create chances by getting in on the forecheck," Cliche said.

Cliche, 26, likely will spend some time on the penalty-killing unit as well, coach Patrick Roy said.

Landeskog out. Landeskog will miss Friday's game with the injury, suffered in the season opener against Anaheim. But Roy said he will resume skating Sunday and will travel with the team on its three-game road trip next week.

Roy said Landeskog was feeling "much better" than Thursday.

Denver Post: LOADED: 10.05.2013

719501 Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche lines and D pairings vs. Nashville Predators

By Adrian Dater

With captain Gabe Landeskog (leg) out tonight, and on a day-to-day recovery timetable, these are your lines for Friday’s game against Nashville:

Mitchell-Stastny-Tanguay

O’Reilly-Duchene-Downie

McGinn-MacKinnon-Parenteau

McLeod-Cliche-Bordeleau

Johnson-Hejda

Barrie-Guenin

Sarich-Benoit

Varlamov

Denver Post: LOADED: 10.05.2013

719502 Colorado Avalanche

Avs too much for Predators in 3-1 victory

The Associated Press • Updated: October 4, 2013 at 10:28 pm • Published: October 4, 2013 • 0

DENVER — Semyon Varlamov stopped 26 shots, P.A. Parenteau scored two goals the Colorado Avalanche beat the Nashville Predators 3-1 on Friday night.

Patrick Bordeleau had a goal and rookie Nathan MacKinnon had an assist for the Avalanche, who have won their first two games under new coach Patrick Roy.

Pekka Rinne had 33 saves and Paul Gaustad scored for the Predators, who lost for the second time in as many nights.

The game featured two of the top four picks in last June’s draft. MacKinnon was taken first overall and Seth Jones, a Denver native, was picked fourth by the Predators.

The Avalanche struck first for the second straight game. Jamie McGinn, who had two goals in Wednesday’s win, gloved the puck in the slot and fired a shot on Rinne, who made the initial save.

Parenteau jumped on the rebound and knocked it in to give Colorado a 1-0 lead with 1:10 left in the first period.

Colorado made it 2-0 at 7:54 of the second with a goal from the fourth line. Bordeleau, the team’s enforcer, tipped in a shot from the point by Nate Guenin for his third career goal.

Things got physical later in the period when Colorado winger Steve Downie left his skates to hit Predators defenseman Roman Josi. Shea Weber and Gabriel Bourque went after Downie before the officials broke it up.

Josi didn’t play the rest of the game.

Nashville cut the lead in half with a goal at the end of a power play. Gaustad spun and used Avalanche defenseman Jan Hejda as a screen to beat Varlamov with 5:50 left in the second.

The Predators couldn’t get the equalizer, but they got back at Downie when defenseman Victor Bartley checked him into the Nashville goal at the end of a play midway through the third.

Parenteau put the game away with an empty-net goal with 1:12 left. NOTES: Avalanche C Gabriel Landeskog (leg) was scratched. He is day to day. ... Rinne is 11-3-1 against Colorado in his career. ... Nashville C Filip Forsberg was scratched with a lower body injury.

Colorado Springs Gazette: LOADED: 10.05.2013

719503 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets stumble out of the gate

By Shawn Mitchell

The Columbus Dispatch Saturday October 5, 2013 5:20 AM

The Blue Jackets, along with the Buffalo Sabres, have the youngest roster in the NHL. The average age on both teams is 26.3 years.

Last night, in the season opener against the Calgary Flames in front of a sellout crowd at Nationwide Arena, the sloppy exuberance that comes with such youth was on full display. At times, it was dismaying. At times, it was delightful. Ultimately, it was not enough.

Consecutive goals by the Flames’ Jiri Hudler and former Blue Jacket Curtis Glencross late in the third period provided a two-goal cushion for Calgary, which staved off a late charge for a 4-3 victory.

“It was a bit reminiscent of our start last year,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said, recalling a fitful 5-12-2 stretch. “As you move along, young players are going to make some mistakes. But what we have to do is coach them. We can’t have mistakes like that again.”

There will be no time for quick repairs. The Jackets will play at the New York Islanders tonight, where they hope to avoid the turnover-filled exhibition of speedskating that was their opener.

“We just got caught playing the run-and-gun game,” Blue Jackets defenseman James Wisniewski said. “That’s not in our repertoire. I wasn’t sharp. No excuses, but I was just trying to get used to the speed again after eight days off (since the last exhibition game).”

There were odd-man rushes and turnovers galore. Systems broke down. Execution was lacking. Richards’ opening lines were jumbled by the second period. The Flames opened their season with a shootout loss at Washington on Thursday night and were a step ahead of the Blue Jackets, who came in cold.

Richards’ fears that his team would be caught off guard were warranted, although their ability to get pucks to the net — 14 shots in the first period — allowed the Blue Jackets to keep pace early. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was beaten by Flames rookie Sean Monahan on the third shot he faced. Monahan scored his first NHL goal just 2:27 into the game.

Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson answered with a power-play goal at 5:57. Flames forward TJ Galiardi pounced on a Ryan Murray turnover and beat Bobrovsky with a backhand shot to make it 2-1 almost two minutes later.

Marian Gaborik tied the score at 2 with an even-strength goal at 15:20 of the first. After a scoreless second period, Hudler and Glencross scored 42 seconds apart, sending some of an announced crowd of 18,151 toward the exits.

Blue Jackets center Artem Anisimov slipped the puck past Flames goalie Joey MacDonald to make it 4-3 with 4:13 remaining, but a late charge with an extra skater was stifled when Johnson took an interference penalty to prevent an empty-net goal with 1:09 left.

“We were sloppy,” Blue Jackets forward Mark Letestu said. “… We’re disappointed. But you don’t win the Stanley Cup on Day One, and you don’t lose it on Day One, either.”

Murray, the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2012, made his NHL debut, as did Boone Jenner, who began the game on the No. 1 line but was moved down after three shifts and played a team-low 10:27.

Richards said the game looked fast for both.

“I thought I started a little bit shy, a little bit nervous, and that’s not the way to play,” Murray said.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 10.05.2013

719504 Columbus Blue Jackets

Flames 4, Blue Jackets 3: Disappointing start

By Aaron Portzline

The Columbus Dispatch Saturday October 5, 2013 5:19 AM

To usher in the most-anticipated season in franchise history, the Blue Jackets arranged for golf legend and native son Jack Nicklaus to step away from the Presidents Cup in Dublin to drop the ceremonial puck in Nationwide Arena before last night’s season opener.

Nicklaus drew a standing ovation from a sold-out crowd of 18,151, many of whom were already hoarse and breathless from screaming through the raucous player introductions.

By the end of the evening, the Blue Jackets were wishing Nicklaus could have provided them with one more favor: a mulligan.

The Jackets put forth a sloppy, sobering effort, losing 4-3 to a Calgary Flames club many believe to be among the worst in the NHL this season.

“It wasn’t our style of hockey,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. “I expected something different tonight.”

So did the jersey-clad loyals. For many of them, the anticipation of this season began at the very moment last season ended in heartbreaking fashion. The Blue Jackets were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs by a single point, losing on a tiebreaker to the Minnesota Wild on the final day of the season.

“I’ve been counting the days since I sat there in the arena and watched them get eliminated,” said 36-year-old Ed Shields of Columbus, a computer tech and a season-ticket holder for the past six seasons. “That was surreal, because I was so excited for that team and the way they played, but so crushed that they didn’t pull it off in the end.

“I’ve never looked forward to a season like this one, not even after we made the playoffs (in 2008-09). This time, it felt like we were ramping up to something special, like it’s real this time.”

Shields was part of a crowd that began forming at the R-Bar Arena about

6 a.m. yesterday.

“I’ve never made so many Bloody Marys,” bartender Rebecca Alexander said.

The crowd peaked at about 100 strong by 7 a.m., then began to fade by mid-morning.

“They went home to rest,” owner Mike Darr said. “We’ll be packed by mid-afternoon again. Fans look forward to every season, but this one … it’s all anybody’s talked about in here for months now.”

The Blue Jackets sold more than 2,000 new season tickets this summer, while boasting a

93 percent renewal rate with their existing ticket holders, their highest rate in several seasons.

The move to the Eastern Conference — where they will face Pittsburgh, the New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Toronto, Buffalo and Detroit, and play almost all of their games before 9 p.m. — has been a boon, too. But nothing engendered more excitement than the 19-5-5 finish to last season. It gave Blue Jackets fans what they’d longed for most: hope.

“Last season brought a lot of people back, and there’s a genuine excitement about hockey in this city,” Richards said. “We’ve got people interested and engaged. Now, we have to go out and prove ourselves again.”

Sadly, the highlight of last night might have been the pregame. Players came skating through fog and onto the ice as they were introduced one by one, a giant web of green laser lights casting a web across the bowl and tracer lights burning around the perimeter of the ice.

Nicklaus seemed oddly placed against this backdrop. Green jackets, maybe. But not green lasers and thumping heavy metal.

Wearing a No. 18 jersey — the Blue Jackets chose that to represent the number of major tournaments he has won in his sport — Nicklaus dropped the puck like he was bettering his lie.

If only the Blue Jackets’ performance had been so meticulous.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 10.05.2013

719505 Columbus Blue Jackets

Michael Arace commentary: Blue Jackets don’t do what helped them win

Saturday October 5, 2013 5:15 AM

Michael Arace

It is the opening-night extravaganza in Nationwide Arena.

The Blue Jackets are introduced in a dark house amid a laser-light show. Jack Nicklaus, wearing a Jackets jersey with No. 18, drops the ceremonial first puck. Nicklaus walks down the bench and wishes each of the lads well. Nice touch. The two national anthems were belted out. The house is full and it is alive. Enough already. Let’s play hockey.

The Jackets were one of the two or three best teams in the NHL over the last two months of last season. Sergei Bobrovsky won the Vezina. Columbus has been waiting for opening night. The team was moving to the Eastern Conference. The kids were a year older. Anticipation was high. For the love of Bob, let’s play hockey.

This year will be different … beginning with game two.

The Blue Jackets looked nothing like last season’s team last night. Check that. They looked nothing like the team that closed at 19-5-5, but they looked a lot like the team that started 5-12-2. They were disjointed. Their cycle game was invisible. They were, how shall we say, charitable with the puck. They were almost Arniel-ian.

They got what they deserved, a 4-3 loss to the Calgary Flames.

Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards offered the best summation: “When you’re moving slow and turning the puck over, that’s not a good recipe.”