Dany Heatley set up two goals against his former team as the NHL-leading San Jose Sharks beat the Ottawa Senators 5-2 on Tuesday. It was the winger's first game against the Senators since being traded in a highly publicised off-season deal. "It was an interesting week," said Heatley, who demanded a trade in the summer and then refused a move to Edmonton.
"I thought he handled it just the way we knew he would," coach Todd McLellan said. "He was very mature. He faced everybody he needed to face and then he went out and let his play do the rest of the talking." Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo, the two players Heatley was traded for, both received a warm welcome from the San Jose crowd. "It was pretty cool," Cheechoo said. "I played a lot of games in this rink, so it was neat. Yeah, you hear the fans.
"They were always supportive. The fans were always great to me, so coming back and playing here again so soon was great." Michalek scored both the Senators' goals while Patrick Marleau had a pair for the Sharks. The Toronto Maple Leafs' netminder Jonas Gustavsson was taken to hospital as a precaution with an elevated heart rate during his team's 3-0 win over their oldest rivals, the Montreal Canadiens.
The Toronto general manager, Brian Burke, said the Swede, who had a minor heart operation during the off-season season, is expected to be fine. "We're just being ultra-cautious," Burke said. Brent Seabrook scored in the 11th round of a shoot-out as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 while Brad Richardson scored the winner for the Los Angeles Kings in their 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
Meanwhile, the two-time league MVP Alex Ovechkin has been suspended for two games by the NHL after his knee-on-knee hit with the Carolina Hurricanes' defenceman Tim Gleason on Monday. The Washington Capitals' winger, who was injured on the play, was assessed a major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct and will not play again until next Monday against Tampa Bay. "I regret that this has happened," said Ovechkin. "I'm glad that Tim wasn't injured because I never ever want to see anyone get hurt. I am disappointed to miss these games and I can't wait to get back on the ice next week and help my team."
The Carolina defenceman Joe Corvo will miss two to three months of the season after suffering a laceration to his right leg in a collision with the Capitals' Karl Alzner, who accidentally cut Corvo with the blade of his skate. * With agencies
