Saturday Roundup

Islanders captain Peca makes surprising early return

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- New York Islanders captain Michael Peca made a surprise return to the lineup Saturday, about a month earlier than expected following reconstructive knee surgery.

It was a move apparently aimed at inspiring the struggling Islanders, but New York lost 6-1 to the St. Louis Blues to fall to 3-7-1 this season.

The 28-year-old center's comeback was kept a secret until minutes before he took the opening faceoff. He skated in the pregame warmup, but it wasn't known that meant he would play for the first time since he was injured April 26.

"We were left in the dark about this," Islanders right wing Steve Webb said. "He was sworn to secrecy. He gave his word he wouldn't tell any of us."

Peca received a huge cheer from the crowd when he came out of the tunnel and on to the ice. He started the game on a line with Shawn Bates and Mark Parrish and played the first 27 seconds -- even delivering a check on defenseman Barret Jackman.

That was his only shift of the night.

"Everything felt fine," Peca said. "I'm playing with a new knee and new shoulder, and I have to get used to the rigors of contact hockey."

The Islanders, who reached the playoffs last season for the first time in eight years, were looking for a spark. New York coach Peter Laviolette allowed Peca to play briefly to provide more inspiration than help in his first game.

"We just wanted to get him in the locker room and on the ice," Laviolette said. "The decision came from me."

Peca was injured in Game 5 of the Islanders' series loss to Toronto when he was hit by Maple Leafs forward Darcy Tucker.

Tucker closed in and bent at the knees to deliver the hit low to Peca's legs. Peca went end-over-end and fell on the ice. No penalty was called on Tucker.

Peca had surgery May 29 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He also had a shoulder stabilization procedure where a piece of muscle from his hip was grafted on his left shoulder. That was unrelated to Tucker's hit.

Peca and the Islanders targeted early December as a possible return, eyeing a Dec. 6 home game against Toronto.

"He's raring to go," Webb said. "He looks like he's in top shape."

Being near the action, but stuck on the bench provided even more frustration for Peca.

"It's harder to be on the bench because you're closer to the guys and you can feel their emotions," Peca said. "When you're down here and not upstairs, you want to try to do a little more, and you feel you can do more."

Hall of Fame inductees honored at Habs-Leafs game

TORONTO (AP) -- Roger Neilson, Clark Gillies, Bernie Federko and Rod Langway, this year's Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, were honored before the Montreal Canadiens played the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

After being introduced to the crowd, the four, who will be inducted on Monday, were presented with copies of a Ken Danby painting depicting two children in hockey jerseys watching a game on television.

For the ceremonial faceoff, Neilson handed a puck to Gillies, who dropped it between captains Mats Sundin and Saku Koivu.

Hall of Famers Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Dickie Moore, Frank Mahovlich, Marcel Dionne, Johnny Bower, Darryl Sittler, Ted Kennedy, Borje Salming, Marcel Pronovost, Pierre Pilote and Michel Goulet, lined up on a blue carpet to welcome the latest inductees.

Neilson, from Toronto and currently an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators, is going into the Hall of Fame in the builders category. He's been the head coach of eight NHL teams, with 1,000 games to his credit, and an assistant with four.

Gillies was captain of the New York Islanders, who won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980-83.

Federko was the first player to amass 50 assists in 10 seasons, and was a mainstay of St. Louis Blues teams in the 1980s.

Langway was the best stay-at-home NHL defenseman during the same era with Montreal, with whom he won a Stanley Cup in his rookie year, and Washington. He's a two-time winner of the Norris Trophy as best defenseman.

Wild claim Zyuzin off waivers from Devils

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- The Minnesota Wild on Saturday claimed defenseman Andrei Zyuzin, the second overall pick in the 1996 draft, off waivers from the New Jersey Devils.

Zyuzin had one assist and two penalty minutes in one game for the Devils this season. The 24-year-old Russian was acquired nearly a year ago from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In 39 games with the Devils, Zyuzin had one goal and three assists. He never has lived up to expectations, totaling only 16 goals and 38 assists in 227 games over parts of six seasons, also playing for the San Jose Sharks.

San Jose made Zyuzin the second pick in the 1996 draft, after the Ottawa Senators took defenseman Chris Phillips.

Blue Jackets assign goalie Labbe to Syracuse

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The Columbus Blue Jackets assigned goaltender Jean-Francois Labbe to Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Saturday.

Labbe stopped 19 of 22 shots in his only game for Columbus this season, a 7-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 17.

Labbe was expected to join the Crunch for Saturday night's game in Cincinnati against the Mighty Ducks.

 

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