With talk of a possible lockout that could substantially curtail or even cancel next season, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says a work stoppage can be avoided.
Bettman, speaking with reporters Thursday, said the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement Sept. 15 gives the league and union an opportunity to fix the sport’s problems.
“I’m optimistic,” he said. “At the right time, the union will want to reason together with us.”
Bettman said the league already has scheduled meetings with the NHL Players Association in April and May in an attempt to head off a possible lockout. He wants “a rational and fair relationship between revenues and expenses.”
While repeatedly saying he wanted a deal with the union that reduced costs for teams, he declined to be more specific. He also ruled out any possible contraction.
“The word contraction does not exist in my or the NHL’s vocabulary,” he said. Bettman also said that Todd Bertuzzi’s attack on the Colorado Avalanche’s Steve Moore last week was disturbing but shouldn’t cause a rush to radically crack down on brawls.
“This wasn’t a fight. This was an incident that crossed the line, and it was dealt with appropriately. Let’s not overgeneralize. It was dealt with in a very strict and harsh way.”
2 players suspended
Donald Audette of Florida was suspended Thursday by the NHL for two games and Ronald Petrovicky of Atlanta was penalized for one game after separate violations.
Audette was suspended for kicking Sven Butenschon in a game against the New York Islanders on Wednesday. Petrovicky was penalized for kneeing J.P. Dupont of Buffalo the same night.
RESULTS, THURSDAY’S SYNOPSIS
N.Y. Rangers 3 at Washington 4
Kip Miller scored on power play 1:18 into OT in Capitals’ 1st OT win of year. Jaromir Jagr, playing in D.C. for 1st time since trade to Rangers, forced OT with 2:43 left, also had an assist.
Buffalo 1 at Tampa Bay 3
Tim Taylor broke 1-1 tie 52 seconds into 3rd period. Martin St. Louis added empty-net goal for his 86th point this season, tying Brian Bradley’s Lightning record set in 1992-93.
Minnesota 2 at Boston 0
Manny Fernandez (31 saves) got 2nd shutout of season and Stephane Veilleux scored 1st goal since 2002. Wild 11-3-2-1 vs. Eastern Conference and has never lost to Bruins (5 games).
Colorado 0 at Ottawa 2
Peter Schaefer and Wade Redden scored 1st-period goals and Patrick Lalime, beaten for 5 goals Tuesday night, made 23 saves to record 4th shutout of season.
Toronto 3 at Philadelphia 2
Brian Leetch scored 1st 2 goals as a Leaf and Ed Belfour made 26 saves as Toronto ended 6-game losing streak to Philly. Leafs had lost 5 straight to Flyers and were outscored 15-2 in last 3.
Vancouver 0 at Dallas 3
Jason Arnott and Bill Guerin each had a goal, 2 assists, as Stars stretched franchise-record home unbeaten streak to 16 games (12-0-4). Marty Turco made 20 saves in 20th career shutout.
Detroit 1 at Phoenix 1
Erik Westrum scored 1st NHL goal 2:11 into 3rd period to lift Coyotes, but winless streak still reached 14 games (0-8-3-3). Wings’ Brendan Shanahan scored 557th career goal.
Columbus 0 at Calgary 2
Miikka Kiprusoff handled all 23 Columbus shots as Flames extend unbeaten streak to 7 games and send Blue Jackets to their 8th straight defeat.
San Jose 5 at Los Angeles 3
Jonathan Cheechoo scored twice on power plays in 2nd period and Alexander Korolyuk also scored with man advantage for Sharks, who extended Pacific Division lead to 3 points.
