NHL

BOSTON – Four games, four wins and rare season sweep for the Montreal Canadiens over the Boston Bruins.

MONTREAL – Claude Ruel, who coached the Montreal Canadiens to a Stanley Cup in 1969, was a gifted hockey and baseball player in the 1950s before losing sight in his left eye.

TORONTO – Canadian poker star Daniel Negreanu knows a thing or two about odds. And the Toronto native and lifelong hockey fan likes Las Vegas’ chances of getting an NHL team.

NEWARK, N.J. – Edmonton Oilers forward Nail Yakupov seemingly didn’t mind either the ugly red scrape on the right side of his chin or the five stitches above his lip.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The resurgence by the Minnesota Wild has been fueled by the brilliance of goalie Devan Dubnyk, a tightened defence and a boost of confidence.

TORONTO – Pat Quinn told his family whenever Hockey Canada called he’d do whatever he could, even if it meant carrying sticks. During his career in the sport, Quinn led Canada to a gold medal at the 2002 Olympics and 2009 world juniors.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Some 30 years ago, a matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum would have drawn the full attention of the NHL.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Ottawa Senators goaltender Robin Lehner kept it short and sweet in describing his team’s 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.

BROSSARD, Que. – Alex Galchenyuk still stays in touch with his old junior teammate Nail Yakupov. The two plan to get together when the Edmonton Oilers came to town.

WINNIPEG – Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff pulled off a blockbuster trade Wednesday in a bid to get his team to the playoffs for the first time since they moved to Winnipeg.

TORONTO – Pat Quinn was long a mainstay at Hockey Hall of Fame induction weekend as chairman. Some in hockey believe he should be a mainstay in the Hall of Fame itself.

TORONTO – Mikael Kingsbury and Canada’s freestyle ski team work so hard that sleepwalking has become a hazard.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Nashville Predators know almost every Western Conference team they face from here through season’s end could be a playoff opponent come April.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Tyler Toffoli scored in all three periods for his first NHL hat trick, Dwight King and Jordan Nolan broke open a tie game with third-period goals, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Calgary Flames 5-3 on Thursday night.

MONTREAL – A Saturday night game against the rival Montreal Canadiens could be what the Toronto Maple Leafs need to set aside their anxieties in the midst of a losing run and speculation about trades.