Antti Niemi

1. Michael Leighton (6-1, 1.45 goals-against average in playoffs) 2. Antti Niemi (12-4, 2.33 GAA)

All games in this best-of-seven series begin at 8 p.m. Game 1: Tomorrow: Flyers at Chicago, NBC10 Game 2: Monday: Flyers at Chicago, NBC10 Game 3: Wednesday: Chicago at Flyers, Versus Game 4: Friday, June 4: Chicago at Flyers, Versus Game 5: Sunday, June 6: Flyers at Chicago, NBC10 Game 6: Wednesday, June 9: Chicago at Flyers, NBC10 Game 7: Friday, June 11: Flyers at Chicago, NBC10 - if necessary Radio: All...

Gainey moving aside Bob Gainey is stepping down as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens and is being replaced by Pierre Gauthier, team president Pierre Boivin said yesterday. Gainey will remain with the team as a special counsel. Gauthier was the assistant general manager under Gainey, who starred for the Habs from 1973 to 1989. The Hall of Famer rejoined the team as GM after the 2002-03 season. Montreal made the playoffs in four out of five seasons during Gainey's tenure.

The Chicago Blackhawks are one win away from reaching the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1992, thanks to 257-pound playoff dynamo Dustin Byfuglien. Byfuglien scored his seventh goal of this postseason 12:24 into overtime last night and the host Blackhawks beat the San Jose Sharks, 3-2, to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. The Blackhawks can finish the sweep with a victory tomorrow at the United Center. Byfuglien went straight down the middle and took a nice pass from Dave Bolland, who was behind the net, to beat Evgeni Nabokov and set off a deafening roar from the crowd of 22,311.

Television analyst Don Cherry criticized Alex Ovechkin's exuberant goal-scoring celebrations, and Ovechkin fired back yesterday. "He's a funny guy and an old guy," Ovechkin said. "He's not interesting to me, so he can say whatever he wants. I don't care about him. " Cherry came down on the Russian on Saturday during his "Coach's Corner" segment of "Hockey Night in Canada" on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. He was critical of Ovechkin's antics when he scores, callingit "goofy stuff.

Chicago captain Jonathan Toews scored three power-play goals and added two assists as the Blackhawks beat the Canucks, 7-4, last night in Vancouver and grabbed a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series. Toews took over the NHL playoff scoring lead with 18 points as Chicago moved within one win of its second straight trip to the Western Conference finals. Patrick Sharp also scored on the power play and Tomas Kopecky added a goal shortly after another penalty expired.

The Flyers do not have any interest in the latest goalie on the free-agent market, Antti Niemi, general manager Paul Holmgren said on Monday. After a sensational regular season, Niemi, a rookie, helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in June. Niemi was subpar in the Finals as the Blackhawks defeated the Flyers, four games to two. The Blackhawks decided to cut ties with Niemi after they signed free-agent Marty Turco for $1.3 million on Monday. That was less than half the amount it would have cost them to sign Niemi, who was awarded $2.75 million in salary arbitration.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Patrick Marleau got his first point of the series when he knocked home a rebound with 7 minutes, 47 seconds to play, and the San Jose Sharks finally managed to knock out the Detroit Red Wings on their fourth try with a 3-2 victory Thursday night in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series. Devin Setoguchi and Logan Couture scored in the first period, and Antti Niemi made 38 saves for the Sharks, who had lost three consecutive potential clinching games before eliminating the Red Wings for the second straight year in the second round.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Pedestrians in downtown San Jose are greeted by a welcoming recording of a bird's tweet, signifying it's safe to cross the street. San Jose goalie Antti Niemi wasn't as welcoming on Tuesday night. The Flyers, the NHL's highest-scoring team, were shut out for the second time in three games as they fell to the Sharks, 1-0, in front of a sellout crowd at HP Pavilion. In a tight-checking, playoff-type game, Niemi made 26 saves and notched his fifth shutout of the season; it was his first game against the Flyers since he defeated them in the Stanley Cup Finals for Chicago in 2010.

TAMPA, Fla. - Mike Smith has joined Simon Gagne in hurting the Boston Bruins during the postseason. Smith was perfect in relief of goalie Dwayne Roloson, and former Flyer Gagne snapped a tie in the third period for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who erased an early three-goal deficit and evened the Eastern Conference finals with a 5-3 win in Game 4 over the Bruins on Saturday. Roloson was pulled in the first period after he allowed three goals on nine shots. Smith came on and made 21 saves as the Lightning avoided dropping into a big hole against the surging Bruins.

Defenseman Kevin Bieksa tied it 7:02 into the third period, Henrik Sedin scored on a power play 1:19 later, and the Vancouver Canucks came back to open their first Western Conference final in 17 years with a 3-2 victory over the visiting San Jose Sharks last night. Maxim Lapierre scored his first of these playoffs, and Roberto Luongo made 27 saves - and a brutal first period giveaway - for the Canucks. Game 2 is tomorrow night in Vancouver. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau scored, and Antti Niemi stopped 35 shots for the Sharks, coming off an emotional, draining Game 7 victory over Detroit on Thursday night.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Patrick Marleau got his first point of the series when he knocked home a rebound with 7 minutes, 47 seconds to play, and the San Jose Sharks finally managed to knock out the Detroit Red Wings on their fourth try with a 3-2 victory Thursday night in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series. Devin Setoguchi and Logan Couture scored in the first period, and Antti Niemi made 38 saves for the Sharks, who had lost three consecutive potential clinching games before eliminating the Red Wings for the second straight year in the second round.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Tomas Holmstrom broke a tie with 6 minutes, 8 seconds remaining and the Detroit Red Wings scored three third-period goals to avoid elimination with a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday night. Danny Cleary and Jonathan Ericsson also scored in the final period to send the series back to Detroit for Game 6 on Tuesday night. After winning the first three games, San Jose is clinging to a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, and Devin Setoguchi scored to help the Sharks take a 3-1 lead early in the third period.

CHICAGO - Admit it. You still cringe when you think of Patrick Kane's bad-angle goal that somehow squirted past goalie Michael Leighton and ended the Flyers' amazing Lazarus Tour in last year's Stanley Cup playoffs. If you're a Flyers fan, stop cringing. Get over it. Even if the Flyers had won that Game 6 in the Finals, there are no guarantees they would have won Game 7 in Chicago. The infamous goal, in a roundabout way, set the wheels in motion for a 2010-11 Flyers season that has a special feel to it. In early October, center Danny Briere said the Flyers had a miserable summer.

The San Jose Sharks signed the goalie who helped knock them out of the playoffs, agreeing to a one-year, $2 million deal with Antti Niemi Thursday. Niemi joins fellow Finnish netminder Antero Niittymaki in San Jose as the replacements for longtime starter Evgeni Nabokov. Niittymaki signed a two-year, $4 million deal on the first day of free agency in July. Niemi, 27, played all but one period of the Chicago Blackhawks' run to the Stanley Cup title. Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jordan Staal is expected to miss the start of training camp as he recovers from an infection to his right foot, which was injured during the NHL playoffs.

The Flyers do not have any interest in the latest goalie on the free-agent market, Antti Niemi, general manager Paul Holmgren said on Monday. After a sensational regular season, Niemi, a rookie, helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in June. Niemi was subpar in the Finals as the Blackhawks defeated the Flyers, four games to two. The Blackhawks decided to cut ties with Niemi after they signed free-agent Marty Turco for $1.3 million on Monday. That was less than half the amount it would have cost them to sign Niemi, who was awarded $2.75 million in salary arbitration.

Another chapter of the Antti Niemi saga will be written Monday when Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman decides what to do with his starting goaltender. After Niemi was awarded $2.75 million for next season by an arbitrator Saturday, Bowman had 48 hours to either keep him at that salary or let him walk as an unrestricted free agent and go after a veteran goalie such as Marty Turco . Niemi, 26, went 26-7-4 with a 2.25 goals-against average for the Stanley Cup champions last season.

Jared Schram's walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday gave Council Rock Newtown a 10-6 win over Moon Township for the Pennsylvania Little League championship in Emporium. In taking the best-of-three championship series, two games to none, the Bucks County team earned a berth in the Mid-Atlantic Region playoffs, which open Friday in Bristol, Conn. In the title-clinching win, Council Rock went ahead, 6-4, on Xavier Lezynski's three-run homer in the fifth inning but was unable to hold the lead.