Off Topic » puck commemorating the Hall of Fame goaltender

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Peter Mrazek idolized Dominik Hasek while he was growing up in the Czech Republic.Mrazek made sure to shake his boyhood idols hand Tuesday night, then pocketed a puck commemorating the Hall of Fame goaltender after he made 25 saves in the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.Its something special for me to remember the rest of my life, said Mrazek, who started in place of injured goaltender Jimmy Howard. Its nice to meet the legend and the goalie who did so much stuff for our country and for himself.Darren Helm, Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar scored for the Red Wings, who won three of four. Kyle Quincey had two assists.Mike Weber scored for the Sabres, who have lost eight straight. Michal Neuvirth had 27 saves.The Sabres honoured Hasek by retiring his No. 39 in a pregame ceremony. Hasek starred for Buffalo from 1992-01, winning six Vezina Trophies and consecutive Hart Memorial Trophies in 1997 and 1998, before being traded to Detroit, where he won Stanley Cups in 2002 and 2008.Haseks number was painted behind both nets, and the goaltender matchup between Mrazek and Neuvirth featured two natives of the Czech Republic. Hasek led the Czech Republic to a gold medal at the Nagano Winter Games in 1998 and last year had his No. 9 retired in his Czech Republic hometown of Pardubice.It was a great honour for Dom and for us to be here was a special, special thing, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said.Babcock encouraged Mrazek to greet Hasek coming off the ice following the pregame ceremony.Dom has had a significant impact on the game, especially in his country, so I thought it would be a real thrill for Pete to make that happen, Babcock said.The Red Wings played for the first time since Howard injured his groin early in Saturdays loss at Washington. Howard is the Red Wings second injured goalie. Jonas Gustavsson was placed on injured reserve Nov. 6 with a separated shoulder.We cant be happier with the way (Mrazek) is playing, Quincey said. Were confident going forward that he can play well for us.Detroit scored first after giving up the opening goal in its seven previous games. Helms wrist shot from the right circle gave the Red Wings their first short-handed goal of the season and a 1-0 lead midway through the first period.That was important for us to get a good start, get the first one, and definitely after that ceremony, get the legs going, Quincey said.The Sabres have given up a league-high seven short-handed goals this season, one of the reasons they have fallen into last place in the Eastern Conference.The power play should give you some momentum, Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. Unfortunately, the way we are, its taking momentum away.The Red Wings scored their second goal in a power play 8 minutes into the second period when Nyquist backhanded a rebound past Neuvirth.The special teams was the difference tonight, Neuvirth said.Buffalo got on the board later in the period when Drew Stafford fed Weber in front of the net for his first goal of the season.Detroit went up 3-1 less than 2 minutes later when Tatar knocked in a rebound.NOTES: Red Wings GM Ken Holland said Howard is expected to miss two to four weeks after an ultrasound confirmed an MRIs finding that Howard has a slightly torn groin muscle. ... Buffalo recalled F Matt Ellis from Rochester on Tuesday to replace Chris Stewart, who is out with the flu. ... Detroit called up G Tom McCollum from Grand Rapids to back up Mrazek. ... Sabres F Torrey Mitchell (foot) returned after missing 12 games. ... New Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan attended the game. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses Sale . 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He was optioned to Iowa on Monday after losing 3-0 to Cincinnati in Chicago on Sunday.DENVER -- Semyon Varlamov showed there were no lingering effects from a disappointing finish at the Winter Olympics. Varlamov stopped 40 shots in his first game after playing for Russia in the Sochi Olympics, including 18 in the third period, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-2 on Friday night. Varlamov won his first two starts in the Olympics, but was pulled in the second period of a 3-1 loss to Finland after allowing three goals on 15 shots. Any hangover from that disappointment was quickly dispelled with his performance Friday. "I wasnt concerned about it," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "When I saw Varly after the Olympics, I saw a big smile on his face. I knew he was ready to bounce back. The key was giving him the night off against L.A., give him the time to feel really comfortable." Varlamov said the extra time off helped. "Yeah, I think those days helped me," he said. "I was tired emotionally and it gave me some rest. I got back into a normal routine, trained with my goalie coach." Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and two assists and Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche. Nate Guenin also scored for Colorado, which bounced back from blowing a two-goal lead in a loss to Los Angeles on Wednesday. Guenins goal was his first in nearly two years after spending all of last season in the American Hockey League. "We wanted this one bad," Guenin said. "We felt we let one slip away the other night. We really wanted these two points." Shane Doan had two goals and Thomas Greiss had 29 saves for Phoenix, which lost 3-2 in a shootout at Winnipeg on Thursday night, is 0-2-1 in its last three games to hurt its playoff chances in the seasons final six weeks. "We lost. There isnt much to feel good about," Doan said. "It comes down to the last 20 games. It always does. We have to figure out a way to get more points." The Avalanche are comfortably in the playoff picture, bbut are chasing Chicago and St.dddddddddddd. Louis in the Central Division. With 22 games remaining, they trailed the Blackhawks by three but they have a game in hand on Chicago, which sits second in the division. The Coyotes had a chance to pull this one out before Colorado broke it open early in the third. Guenins first goal since March 19, 2012, while playing for Anaheim came when he beat Greiss from the top of the right circle 48 seconds into the third period to give Colorado a 2-1 lead. "Its about time. Just good timing there," Guenin said. "The puck slipped through and I kind of saw an opening." Stastny scored on Nathan MacKinnons rebound at 6:12 of the third to make it 3-1. Doans second goal of the game at 13:58 of the third made cut it to one, but Landeskog restored the two-goal advantage with his 19th nearly three minutes later. "We pushed hard to get ourselves in it, which was a positive sign," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. "Doan and (Mike) Boedker were pushing hard, but we have to have everybody on the same page. And our margin for error is very slim. Mistakes cost us." The teams traded power-play goals in the first period. Doan gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead with his 16th goal at 12:47, and Parenteau answered 2:51 later with his 12th to tie it. The teams had several scoring chances in the second period, but each goalie made 10 saves. NOTES: Colorado has scored five power-play goals in the last two games. ... MacKinnon had two assists to extend his point streak to 10 games, the longest active run in the NHL. ... Avalanche D Erik Johnson was out of the lineup to serve the second of his two-game suspension for his slash on New York Islanders C Frans Nielsen on Feb. 8. ... Coyotes D Oliver Ekman-Larssons assist on the first goal gave him a career high for a single season with 22. ... Colorado LW Maxime Talbot returned after missing Wednesdays game to be with his fiancee, who gave birth to the couples first child, son Jaxon. ' ' '