Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

Goaltending leading the Stars; Hossa stars in Atlanta; Byfuglien nets two; Koivu rebounds and Price stands tall for the Habs; Mitchell report--he's back; and more hockey news'n notes...

SHOOTING STARS 
The Dallas Stars are hotter than Texas in July. They have won seven in a row and look for eight as they travel to play Phoenix on Thursday night.

Look for Mike Modano to come up big versus the Coyotes. In four games this season, he has two goals and two assists against Phoenix. He also has been great in the past two games overall, netting one goal and racking up three assists for four points.

As most teams do when they are streaking, the Stars have committed themselves to strong defensive play. Marty Turco has won his last five starts and, after allowing three in a win against the Canucks in the game that started the streak, has allowed only five goals in four games. Backup Mike Smith has played twice during the seven-game stretch and has one shutout and allowed two goals against the Blues.

The game will be the second of back-to-back contests against Phoenix, a team they beat 2-1 on Monday night.

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BLACKHAWKS 
The Columbus Blue Jackets may not have heard the starting gun go off but the Blackhawks sure did. Chicago pulled out to a 4-0 lead with just under three minutes left in the first period, en route to an easy 7-2 road win Wednesday. Dustin Byfuglien continued his impressive season by scoring the Blackhawks' third and fourth goals--giving him 11 on the year. He had not registered a point in six games prior to Wednesday action. Young defenseman James Wisniewski had a goal and an assist for Chicago. He now has 17 points in 43 games this season, seven more than he had in 50 games last season.

BLUE JACKETS 
On Wednesday, the Jackets got some good news when Fredrik Modin came back after missing seven games with a hamstring injury. He even scored his fourth of the season. The bad news was they were destroyed by the Blackhawks by a 7-2 score. Goaltender Fredrik Norrena was pulled after the third Chicago goal and replaced by Pascal Leclaire, who finished the game for the Jackets. Gilbert Brule had five shots on net for the losers.

CANADIENS 
Carey Price can rest assured that he tested himself against one of the best and got the decision. Tomas Vokoun put in a typical night for Florida by stopping 35 shots, the same amount as Price. The difference was Alex Kovalev, who broke the 1-1 deadlock on the power play in overtime with goal No. 26 on the year. Coach Guy Carbonneau showed faith in his captain and was rewarded. Saku Koivu was benched in the third period of a game last week because he took a penalty. Once again, he was called for a hook, this time with less than five minutes remaining in the third. But this time, he was sent out in overtime and got his second assist of the game on game-winner.

CANUCKS 
Defenseman Willie Mitchell will be back with the Canucks for their game on Thursday against one his former clubs, the Minnesota Wild. Mitchell has been out since January 17 with a bad back. Although Mitchell only has seven points in 47 games this season, his addition will be a welcome sight for the Canucks--who are without several defensemen these days. Mitchell is plus-7 on the season.

CAPITALS 
The hockey world focused on Atlanta heading into Wednesday, as two of the NHL's most explosive offensive forces--Russian snipers Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Ovechkin--were to do battle, with the potential for Washington's Ovechkin to hit 50 goals for the season. However, the offensive star of the first two periods was Atlanta's Marian Hossa, who was busy showing off his wares to potential trade suitors. The Slovakian forward had a goal and an assist in the 3-2 shootout win over the Capitals. Ovechkin did score a huge goal, tying the game in the third with his 48th of the season but the magical 50 wasn't meant to be on this night. Nicklas Backstrom had two assists, extending his club lead in that department. Ovechkin will get a crack at at the 50 mark Friday in Florida against the Panthers.

DEVILS 
Patrik Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner both had two points apiece but Brian Gionta was the hero on Wednesday with the overtime winner against Ottawa--his fourth game-winning goal of the year. The Devils took out the Senators, 3-2. It was a big win for the Devils, who are now only one point behind Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division.

OILERS 
The Oilers recalled rearguard Mathieu Roy from the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League. This news comes on the heels of Sheldon Souray having to call it quits for shoulder surgery. It is highly likely that many young defensive prospects will be called up for what will be essentially in game tryouts as the Oilers are long shots to make the playoffs. Names to look out for are Danny Syvret and possibly Theo Peckham.

PANTHERS 
Stephen Weiss got the flu and missed a big game versus the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. The center is third on the team in scoring with 33 points and had a two-game point streak going into Wednesday action. Florida has had a revolving door at forward all season and the problem got worse earlier this week with the unfortunate injury to Richard Zednik. The Panthers could have used his touch around the net on this night, as they managed only one goal in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Habs.

SABRES 
Ryan Miller got all the help he needed from Paul Gaustad, who scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over the Maple Leafs Wednesday. Miller stopped all 35 shots he faced and recorded his third shutout of the season. Miller is a whopping 8-0-1 in his past nine starts. Gaustad's goal came on one of only four Sabres shots in the third period.

SENATORS 
Shockingly, defenseman Luke Richardson was in on all the Ottawa offense in a 3-2 overtime loss to New Jersey on Wednesday. Richardson had a goal and an assist in the losing cause. Martin Gerber got the start and faced 31 shots on this night, stopping 28 of them. Newcomers Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore were both minus-1 against Jersey. Randy Robitaille made the most of his 6:28 of ice time, recording goal No. 11 on the year.