NHL News from Around the League

Last night Olaf Kolzig returned to Washington for the first time as a member of the opposition. He was given a standing ovation for the crowd but, unfortunately for him, that was the highlight of his night. The Washington Capitals defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2. Gary Roberts scored both Tampa Bay goals, his first two of the season. Alexander Ovechkin scored the fourth Washington goal, his first in 10 games and only his third this year.

Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo was named the NHL's first star of the week. Luongo has posted three straight shutouts. All three stars were goaltenders as Steve Mason of Columbus and Brent Johnson of Washington were stars two and three respectively.

Montreal Canadiens forward Tom Kostopoulos has been suspended for three games for his hit on Toronto's Mike Van Ryn. Van Ryn could be out for about a month in order to recover from his injuries.

The NHL is celebrating another month of growth. The league set an attendance record in October, selling an average of 17,388 tickets per game, the first time the league average is over 17,000. NHL arenas were filled to an average of 94.1% of capacity in October, another record. Ratings on Versus in the US and TSN in Canada have each gone up five percent and the ratings for CBC Hockey Night in Canada have increased 12 percent. NHL.com received seven percent more unique visitors in October as well.

The Penguins face the Red Wings tonight on Versus and TSN2 in a rematch of the Stanley Cup Finals.