"Today was a special day," Ovechkin said with a smile. "I broke my nose, have stitches [and] score four goals. Everything [went] to my face."

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- OK, this apparently is no joke.

According to an NHL source with inside knowledge of the situation, the Blackhawks are among the handful of teams still in the picture to sign free-agent center Peter Forsberg.

According to the source, Forsberg likes the direction the Hawks are going and is intrigued about the possibility of playing with rookies Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

Hawks general manager Dale Tallon didn't want to comment extensively on the Forsberg situation but admitted he has had discussions with the former MVP.

"We're in the mix," was all Tallon wanted to say Saturday morning.

Tallon has had discussions with Forsberg and Forsberg's agent, Don Baizley, and there are Hawks scouts watching Forsberg skate daily in his native Sweden.

Forsberg has been skating the last three weeks with his former club MoDo. He hasn't played all season because of ankle and foot problems that required a surgical procedure in December.

The NHL source admitted the Hawks remain a longshot to get Forsberg, especially if the veteran center is looking to land with a Stanley Cup contender.

However, the Hawks have more financial wiggle room than some clubs to make Forsberg a better offer, particularly the length of any potential contract. It's believed the Hawks would be interested in locking up the 34-year-old Forsberg for the next two or three seasons.

Those clubs still in the Forsberg hunt with the Hawks are believed to be Colorado, Vancouver, Ottawa and Philadelphia. On Wednesday, The Sports Network out of Canada reported the Hawks still being in the running for Forsberg.

Forsberg this week told several interested clubs he wouldn't be signing with them, including Detroit, Calgary, Nashville, San Jose and Dallas.

The newspapers in Vancouver have been filled with Forsberg stories. The Canucks' chances are bolstered by Forsberg's close friendship with Markus Naslund.

"I'm hoping, but I don't know what the chances would be," Naslund said.

The Avalanche might have the inside track since Forsberg once played in Colorado.

The Flyers desperately want Forsberg but don't have much salary-cap space, if any, and might need to move out a player to make room.

It would be a risk for any team to sign Forsberg considering his history of ankle and foot problems. Despite being 34, Forsberg has appeared in only 697 NHL games because of injuries. He has scored 871 points.

According to reports, Forsberg may be looking for a deal that pays him up to $5.5 million a year.

Tallon has been in contract with Forsberg since early in the season when it looked as if Forsberg planned to return before more ankle problems surfaced.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -Panthers forward Richard Zednik was in stable condition at a Buffalo hospital while having surgery to close a deep gash on the right side of his neck, which was sliced by a teammate's skate during a game against the Sabres on Sunday.

Blood gushed from Zednik's neck after he was hurt midway through the third period of Buffalo's 5-3 victory, creating a frightening moment that delayed the game for about 15 minutes.

Zednik was behind the play and skating into the right corner of the Sabres' zone, when teammate Olli Jokinen was upended by Sabres forward Clarke MacArthur. Jokinen fell head-first to the ice, and his right leg flew up and struck Zednik directly on the side of the neck.

Clutching his neck, Zednik immediately raced to the Florida bench, leaving a long trail of blood. Arriving at the bench, he nearly fell into the arms of a team trainer, who quickly applied a towel to the cut. Zednik was then helped off the ice by the trainer and teammate Jassen Cullimore, and escorted immediately to the Panthers' dressing room.

Panthers spokesman Justin Copertino said Zednik was transported by ambulance to nearby Buffalo General Hospital. Copertino said the team was making arrangements to have Zednik's wife, Jessica, fly from South Florida to Buffalo by a charter flight Sunday night.

The team was scheduled to return to Miami, but assistant general manager Randy Sexton and assistant trainer Dave Zenobi were going to stay behind to be with Zednik, Copertino said.

Zednik's injury left players and coaches on both benches in shock, and a silent hush fell over the crowd at HSBC Arena.

As crews scraped the blood from the ice and the surface was cleaned by Zambonis during the extended delay, the public address announcer said: "Richard Zednik is in stable condition and on his way to a Buffalo hospital."

The crowd stood in applause during the announcement.

Prior to resuming the game, referee Bill McCreary and Panthers coach Jacques Martin consulted in the tunnel outside the Panthers' dressing room.

Sabres general manager Darcy Regier was also spotted talking with NHL vice president Colin Campbell. Campbell, the league's director of hockey operations, attended the game in part because his son, Gregory Campbell, plays for the Panthers.

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=...ticleid=353013

The Ottawa Senators have shuffled the deck in a big way by completing a four-player transaction with the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Senators have acquired defenceman Mike Commodore and forward Cory Stillman in exchange for defenceman Joe Corvo and forward Patrick Eaves.

Commodore and Stillman are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on July 1. Stillman had to agree to waive his no-trade clause to go to Ottawa.

The acquisition of Stillman should give the Senators secondary scoring a boost. The team struggled mightily recently when both Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley missed time due to injuries.

"When you look at our lineup on Saturday night, those three guys pretty much got all the points," Murray told the CANADIAN PRESS when discussing Saturday's victory over Montreal. "You can't have that. When you get the shutdown guys on you and you can't get secondary scoring, then you have a real problem. I think Cory brings credentials and smarts around the net that will help us."

"We're very happy to address one of our needs, making our defence more mobile and adding a player like Joe that can play on the power play," Rutherford told The Canadian Press. "Also, we view Patrick as a real character player, a real good young player that can fit into our style of play.

"With that being said, it's very tough to say goodbye to guys that we part of winning a championship and Cory and Mike were true professionals and were a big part of us winning the Stanley Cup (in 2006). So this is a tough deal, but one that's necessary."

Eaves is a restricted free agent at the end of this season. Corvo has two years remaining on his contract, paying him $2.75 million per year but with a salary cap hit of $2.625 million.

Eaves missed the last 6 games with a neck shoulder injury and missed 24 games earlier with a separated shoulder. He had just begun to start skating with the team.

Stillman is enjoying a very productive season with Carolina as he has 21 goals and 25 assists in 55 games. He has cooled considerably after a hot start to the season as he has only seven points in the 2008 calendar year.

He enjoyed his best season in 2003-04 with the Lightning when he scored 25 goals and added 55 assists. In 815 career games the 34-year old Stillman has scored 231 times while handing out 352 assists.

He is a two time Stanley Cup winner in 2004 with Tampa Bay and in 2006 with the Hurricanes.

Meanwhile Commodore has three goals and nine assists and 74 penalty minutes in 41 games. He was also a member of the 2006 Stanley Cup winning Hurricanes.

Commodore is expected to add some much needed muscle to the Senators blueline who were pushed around by the Anaheim Ducks in last year's Stanley Cup Final.

"He's been there, he's a rambunctious type of guy, he's a battler," said Murray. "I thought we had some holes on our defence without the puck and I think Mike helps address that. Energy and size and grit are what we're hoping to add here. He's just a competitive person."

In 51 games with the Senators this season the 30-year old Corvo has six goals and 21 assists while sporting a +13 rating. He has also been playing on the Senators top power play unit and will likely be asked to quarterback the Hurricanes struggling PP unit which is 17th in the league. Corvo had also earned the nickname "Uh Oh Joe" from many Senators fans for Corvo's ability to turnover the puck at the most inopportune moments.In 330 career games he has 41 goals and 100 assists.

While struggling to overcome a shoulder injury this season, the 23-year old Eaves has four goals and six assists.

Both Stillman and Commodore are expected to arrive in Ottawa on Tuesday at 10:30am et and are expected to be in the lineup when the Senators play host to the Sabres. The Hurricanes face the Bruins on Tuesday as well, however it is unknown if Corvo and Eaves will be in the lineup for their new team at this time.

During the recent National Hockey League All-Star Game in Atlanta, I couldn't stop thinking about climate change. Everywhere in Philips Arena there was something sucking energy: the gargantuan four-sided scoreboard, a pair of Zambonis grooming the ice between periods, even flame-spewing towers flaring like an oil refinery during player introductions. Not to mention the frozen ice rink itself.

The athletes in the NHL Players Association are worried about their sport's impact on the environment as well. Since December, hundreds of players have volunteered to offset the emissions they produce when jetting around North America in the course of a hockey season.

Players donate funds, equivalent to the cost of the carbon dioxide their travel generates, to Montreal-based Planetair, a nonprofit organization that invests in alternative energy projects. The David Suzuki Foundation got them started.

``We informed the players about what global warming is, what's causing it,'' says Canadian broadcaster and environmentalist Suzuki, speaking from his foundation's Vancouver headquarters. ``We got them to ask, `What's my role in it, and what can I do?'''

Environmental action in professional sports has become something of a trend. The National Football League, for example, recently planted thousands of trees in Arizona to offset the 350 tons of greenhouse gas generated by the 3,000 or so ground- transportation vehicles used for Super Bowl festivities. Rarely do the athletes take it upon themselves, though, to take action.....