Quietly, Alex Steen continues his methodical contribution to this seasons Blues hockey club.The guy described as a "depth player" after he was acquired in a trade with Toronto early last season has emerged as someone far more valuable. In fact, if individual teams were to hand out their own Hart Trophy to the most valuable player, Steen would be a serious candidate for such an honor this season. Methodically, Steen has earned marquee status even though he is often an afterthought, a guy who lives in the shadows of prolific sc... 

If the St.Louis Blues fail to make the playoffs, their struggles against the Columbus Blue Jackets could be part of the reason why. The Blues try for their second win in five attempts this season against the Blue Jackets when the teams meet Saturday night at Nationwide Arena. St.Louis (31-26-9) is trying to move back into playoff contention in the Western Conference but is currently six points behind the eighth and final spot. However, the Blues have played well recently, winning six of seven, including a 2-1 shootout... 

The Vancouver Canucks wouldnt say it beforehand, but I believe they would have been pleased with earning 14 out of 28 points from their epic 14-game road trip. So to go 8-5-1 and collect 17 points on the NHLs longest-ever road trip? Gravy, baby. Now, the Canucks have 10 of their last 15 games at home and return to beautiful Vancouver after the 42-day trek still sitting in first place in the Northwest Division.Nicely done. "Before leaving on that trip, and obviously there was a lot of attention to it, but I kept telling every... 

This guy is good. I actually thought Devils defenseman Andy Greene missed the net with his first period shot that resulted in a goal by Patrik Elias. But Greene said he was trying to fire a shot off the lively Prudential Center end boards so that Elias could play the carom. "I dont know if I was shooting that wide," Greene said."There was quite some congestion in front and I was just trying to hit the boards.It comes out pretty bouncy. "He (goalie Marc-Andre Fleury) doesnt over-commit but hes an agressive goalie.... 

Now the gloves are off between the Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins as the battle for first place in the Atlantic Division appears set to go right down to the wire. After Friday nights 3-1 victory before a sellout crowd at the Prudential Center, the Devils have now beaten the defending Stanley Cup champions in all five meetings this season to move to within two points of the division leaders.The Devils have two games in hand. Bad blood has entered the equation after a series of hits from both sides, as well as an im... 

This is how intense has the Devils-Penguins rivalry become.Even the usually mild-mannered Rob Niedermayer dropped his gloves and threw off his helmet (with visor) to fight Matt Cooke three seconds into the third period Friday night."Its been a while," Niedermayer said of the last time he had a fight. Whay precipitated the fight happened during the second period when Niedermayer checked Cooke into the boards. "I got my elbow up a bit," Niedermayer acknowledged."We were both sort of playing hard.Thats what ... 

Drew Miller noted how difficult it was to score against his brother, Ryan, even as a kid.Their older cousins -- Kelly, Kevin and Kip, former NHL players who also played at Michigan State -- quickly realized that. "Theyd come home in the summer when (Ryan) was 12, 13 years old and theyd be shooting on him," Drew said."You could tell back then he was good. "Hes a great goalie now, and hes going to get better." Ryan was named the most valuable player in the Olympics, leading the U.S.to a silver medal, and is the l... 

Save for a terrible penalty that came back to haunt them Friday night, the Ducks didnt have anything to be embarrassed about with regard to their effort against the Nashville Predators. But the level of execution and desperation still left a lot to be desired and it didnt take much for a badly struggling team to move another step closer to official elimination from the playoff picture. Shea Webers power-play goal on a two-man advantage was all the Predators needed as Pekka Rinne stopped 31 shots for his fourth shutout of the season ...