Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks were sued yesterday by a season ticketholder who claims the team violated the Consumer Fraud Act by failing to give full refunds to fans after the NHL lockout. Darryl Taggart claims that at the time the Blackhawks were selling season tickets, team officials knew reaching a collective bargaining agreement with players was unlikely. The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, contends the Blackhawks have not refunded the $1,000 premium paid by season ticketholders in the "club section.

The Chicago Blackhawks' deep stable of young talent made them the choice to defeat the Flyers when their series began for the Stanley Cup. But youth can be prone to impatience and disarray against a more seasoned club, and the Flyers appeared to tap into those vulnerabilities in the two games they won at the Wachovia Center that evened the series at two games apiece. As this gripping, dramatic series shifts back to the United Center in Chicago for Game 5, it's apparent the Blackhawks are not as composed as the Flyers.

Doug Gilmour scored two third-period goals, and goaltender Mike Vernon stopped 21 shots last night to help the Calgary Flames defeat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-2, and take a 3-0 lead in the Smythe Division final. Calgary can sweep the Kings tomorrow night, when the best-of-seven series resumes at the Forum. After Los Angeles closed to within 2-1 on Tom Laidlaw's goal 47 seconds into the final period, Gilmour - who won Game 1 with an overtime goal - made it 3-1 with 6 minutes, 16 seconds to go when he backhanded a shot past Los Angeles goalie Kelly Hrudey.

Say it ain't so, Joe He may not be Joltin' personality-wise, but Joe knows how to make an electrifying fashion statement. Rays manager Joe Maddon proved he was ahead of his time in hoodie-gate when MLB relented. We've had the Elmer Fudd hat, the Elvis Costello/Kurt Rambis X-ray specs. Somehow it all made him seem more cool. But now he has committed the Mother of all Faux Pas. The Rays wore Blackhawks jerseys on their flight to Toronto for Monday's game. Maddon received a replica of Chicago forward John Madden's uniform.

Call them the Chicago Clutchhawks. Including the first two Finals escapes against the Flyers, Chicago has won 10 straight playoff games in which it was tied or separated by one goal during the third period. "No matter what situation we're in, we're not going to get overwhelmed," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. Flyers left winger/agitator Dan Carcillo, who took an ill-advised early penalty Monday but recovered and played well is his Finals debut, has become Public Enemy No. 1 in Chicago.

When the Flyers traded for Paul Coffey a little more than 18 months ago, they thought they'd made a major move toward winning the Stanley Cup. But after a strong debut, finesse player Coffey seemed out of sync with the big, powerful Flyers. After Roger Neilson took over as coach in March, it became clear Coffey had no future in Philadelphia. Saturday, the divorce became official, with the Flyers trading hockey's all-time leading scorer among defensemen to Chicago for a fifth-round entry draft pick.

Chicago's Tony Armonte did a nice job working himself free in the slot before slipping the game-winning shot through the legs of Calgary goalie Trevor Kidd in overtime. But Armonte insisted fancy footwork didn't get the puck in the net. That perfect pass from teammate Jeremy Roenick did. "Jeremy's one of the best passers in the game and it's a pleasure to play with him," Amonte said as the Blackhawks defeated host Calgary last night, 4-3. "We worked hard tonight and it's a great victory.

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was faced with a dilemma as he pondered what to do about his goaltending situation in early March. Chicago was set to resume NHL regular-season play following a 2-week break for the Winter Olympics. Was it time to return No. 1 goalie Cristobal Huet to the nets? Or should he stick with the less-tested, but promising rookie Antti Niemi? Niemi had played well in four straight victories heading into the layoff and that seemed reason enough for Quenneville to stick with the kid. "Niemi's won and we don't want to change much of that," Quenneville said at the time.

The Chicago Blackhawks found that Felix Potvin wasn't invincible after all. Shut out when Potvin made 42 saves in Game 2 Tuesday night, the Blackhawks didn't let frustration get them down. Instead, Gary Suter scored twice and Chris Chelios added a shorthanded goal in a 3-2 victory last night that cut host Toronto's lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series. "We kept telling ourselves, 'Keep shooting, keep shooting, and eventually we'll get some lucky goals,' and tonight we got three of them," Suter said.

CHICAGO Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said Tuesday that, despite rumors, he has no plans to head to the Montreal Canadiens, where friend and former Blackhawks assistant general manager Marc Bergevin is now the GM. "I think over the last few days there was some speculation on other things that were going on about here in Chicago and me being somewhere else, and first and foremost, I'm excited about being here in Chicago," said Quenneville, who...

PLAYOFF ROOKIE Braden Holtby followed up a shaky outing with a superb one by making 44 saves Thursday, and Alexander Semin scored the go-ahead goal, leading the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 victory over the reigning Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins that tied the first-round series at two games apiece. Marcus Johansson put the puck past Tim Thomas less than 1 1/2 minutes after the opening faceoff, but Boston's Rich Peverley tied it later in the first period. Semin put Washington ahead for good with 1:17 left in the second on a power-play goal.

Rookie Andrew Shaw recorded his first two-goal game, and the host Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Washington Capitals, 5-2, on Sunday night for their third straight win. Viktor Stalberg, Patrick Kane and Bryan Bickell also scored for Chicago, which is 7-1-1 in its last nine despite playing without captain and leading goals scorer Jonathan Toews. Mike Knuble and Alex Ovechkin scored for Washington, which lost its second straight following a four-game winning streak. Corey Crawford made 16 saves and in his second straight start.

ROOKIE ANDREW SHAW recorded his first two-goal game, and the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the visiting Washington Capitals last night, 5-2, for their third straight win. Viktor Stalberg, Patrick Kane and Bryan Bickell also scored for Chicago, which is 7-1-1 in its last nine despite playing without captain and leading goal-scorer Jonathan Toews. Mike Knuble and Alex Ovechkin scored for Washington, which lost its second straight following a four-game winning streak. Corey Crawford made 16 saves in his second straight start.

JONATHAN TOEWS scored on a penalty shot to start Chicago's four-goal first period against New York Rangers backup Martin Biron, and the Blackhawks emphatically snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the Eastern Conference leaders last night at Madison Square Garden. Toews kicked off the spree just over a minute in, defenseman Nick Leddy doubled the lead 1:03 later, and Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa added goals to make it 4-0 before 10 minutes had elapsed. Corey Crawford kept things mostly intact the rest of the way, stopping 22 shots to help the Blackhawks earn their first win since they topped Florida on Jan. 20. "You're up 4-0 in the first few minutes, it can't get any better than that," said Patrick Kane, who had an assist.

Jonathan Toews scored on a penalty shot to start Chicago's four-goal first period against New York backup Martin Biron as the Blackhawks emphatically snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers on Thursday night in New York. Toews kicked off the spree just over a minute in, defenseman Nick Leddy doubled the lead 1 minute, 3 seconds later, and Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa added goals to make the score 4-0 before 10 minutes had elapsed.

James van Riemsdyk had a coming-out party on Thursday night. The much-maligned Flyers winger scored two goals - the second with 32.8 seconds left - to give the Flyers a riveting, 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks before a roaring, sellout crowd at the Wells Fargo Center. Van Riemsdyk converted a Scott Hartnell pass while the Flyers were on a power play because of a high-sticking penalty by their old nemesis, Patrick Kane. "He put it right on my tape, and all I had to do was close my eyes and put it in," van Riemsdyk said after scoring his 11th goal.

IT HAS BEEN 575 days since the Chicago Blackhawks last walked off the then-Wachovia Center ice, a duration that would otherwise be forgettable if not for what happened that night. The Blackhawks left the arena with the Stanley Cup, sapping the Flyers - and the fans who filled the building on that June evening - of the fruits of a memorable playoff run. "Thanks for pointing that out," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said yesterday after the Flyers' practice preparing for tonight's game against the Blackhawks.

Jonathan Toews and Steve Montador each scored two as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Edmonton Oilers , 6-3, Sunday, their third straight win. Elsewhere: Nicklas Backstrom made 32 saves in a 3-2 win for the Minnesota Wild over the host Anaheim Ducks . . . . Aaron Rome and Henrik Sedin scored early as the Vancouver Canucks beat the visiting New York Islanders , 4-1.   Murray's milestone ...

Cam Ward made 30 saves in his first shutout of the season, and the Carolina Hurricanes snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Chicago Blackhawks , 3-0, in Raleigh, N.C., on Friday night. Tim Brent scored on a deflection and Brandon Sutter and Jiri Tlusty added third-period goals for the Hurricanes, who claimed their first win since Oct. 18 at Boston. "We got dominated in all areas of the game. We weren't very good tonight," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said.