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TODAY'S GAMES (ALL TIMES EASTERN U.S./CANADA)
* KHL at noon: Coming off a spectacular effort yesterday in a 4-3 overtime upset of Metallurg Magnitogorsk (see next section), Ruslan Fedotenko and HC Donbass Donetsk are right back in action today. The Ukrainian club hosts Traktor Chelyabinsk. A free webcast is available.
* Allsvenskan at 1 PM: Södertälje SK has been on roll of late, winning their last six games. The surge has been spearheaded by the line of Matt Read centering Carl Hagelin and Damien Fleury. The combined speed and skill of the line has been too much for opponents to handle thus far. Today, the SSK club travels 140 miles south to take on IK Oskarshamn. Today's game can be followed by live updates.
* KHL at 1 PM: Several weeks ago, today's Lev Prague versus CSKA Moscow game had the makings of one with significant interest for Flyers fans tracking Philadelphia players in Europe during the NHL lockout. However, that was before Jakub Voracek went down with a knee injury (he's still at least one week from returning to game action for Lev). Meanwhile, the spotty play in four starts by Ilya Bryzgalov and the strong performance of incumbent CSKA starting goalie Rastislav Stana has resulted in limited playing time for Bryzgalov. It remains to be seen which goalie will start today. A free webcast is available.
* OHL at 7 PM: The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds are on the road today, as Nick Cousins and his teammates take on the Niagara IceDogs. A free radio stream of the Soo broadcast is available or you can purchase a live webcast for $6.99.
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HARTNELL EYING NOV. 15 DEBUT FOR KALPA
According to a Savon Sanomat article published today, Flyers top-line left wing Scott Hartnell appears on track to make his SM-liiga debut for KalPa Kuopio on November 15. On that day, the team plays a home game against TPS Turku.
The article quotes KalPa general manager Kimmo Kapanen as saying that the club is in the latter stages of arranging coverage of Hartnell's $52,000 per month insurance costs, and Hartnell would play for the league minimum salary.
Hartnell is a minority owner of the team, along with Flyers teammate Kimmo Timonen. Ex-Flyer Sami Kapanen is the majority owner of KalPa and still plays on the team (although a broken hand suffered on Sept. 16 has limited him to four games played to date). General manager and CEO Kimmo Kapanen is Sami's brother. Kimmo Timonen's brother, ex-Flyers defenseman Jussi Timonen, is an active player for the team.
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FEDOTENKO STEALS SHOW FROM MALKIN
Ruslan Fedotenko enjoyed his best game in the KHL to date yesterday, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Matched head-to-head against Evgeni Malkin, Fedotenko scored a hat trick. His third goal was the game-winner in overtime, as HC Donbass upset Metallurg Magnitogorsk by a 4-3 count.
Malkin wasn't exactly shut down, scoring a goal and adding two assists. But apart from the hat trick, Fedotenko also got the better of Malkin in the faceoff circle, going 15-for-26. Fedotenko logged a massive 23:59 of ice time in the game.
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COUSINS SNUBBED FOR SUPER SERIES; LAUGHTON MAKES OHL ROSTER
The Ontario Hockey League and the other CHL-affiliated major junior circuits named its roster yesterday for its two games against the touring Russian U20 team. The Super Series has become an annual event, which allows potential World Junior Championship roster candidates on both the Canadian and Russian sides to play against high-level competition.
Despite ranking third in points the OHL this season, Flyers prospect Nick Cousins was left off the OHL team. Seeing as how he played for Team OHL in last year's event and has further improved his game since then, it's pretty safe to surmise the reason for his omission was not hockey-related. Rather, it seems clear-cut that the league omitted Cousins because it wanted to avoid any potential controversy from including him on its roster while criminal sexual assault charges are still pending in court.
Flyers 2012 first round pick Scott Laughton was named to the Team OHL roster. The player just got himself in hot water with the league last night, although it will not have bearing on his inclusion in the Super Series.
With the Oshawa Generals and Ottawa 67s tied at 3-3 with 2:34 remaining in the third period of their game last night, Laughton caught Ottawa's Daniel Walsh with a blind-sided hit to the head. Laughton was slapped with a five-minute major and game misconduct. Ottawa was unable to capitalize on its long power play, which carried into overtime. Oshawa ultimately won the game via shootout.
Walsh did not return to the bench after the play. However,the early word is that he is OK and is expected to play in his team's next match. Even so, it seems likely that Laughton will get suspended for a couple games as a result of the play.
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SESTITO MATCH PENALTY REVOKED
The UK Elite Ice Hockey League announced yesterday that it was rescinding the match penalty charged to Tom Sestito for a hit that led to the hospitalization of Hull Stingrays forward Andy Ward in a game on Sunday.
Upon reviewing the video footage (see below), the league determined that Sestito delivered a legal body check to the smaller player who went into the boards awkwardly and then hit his head on the ice. Ward was knocked briefly unconscious, and was hospitalized overnight with a concussion and lacerations.
I think the EIHL made the right call on this one. Although the end result was horrifying, there was nothing wrong with the hit itself. It was strictly shoulder-to-shoulder contact and it didn't even seem like an especially jarring hit until Ward topples to the ice. As the penalty assessed to Sestito was for checking to the head, the league decided to vacate the referee's ruling.
If the league had upheld the match penalty to Sestito, it would have carried an automatic three-game suspension.
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