Puck

WASHINGTON - Buffalo's Miroslav Satan saw Washington Capitals goalie Olie Kolzig leave the net and go after the loose puck behind and to the left of the goal and decided to follow him. "I knew what he was going to do," Satan said. "I knew he'd send it around behind the net, but I didn't expect him to misfire on it. I thought he'd send it round along the boards. That's when I got lucky." Satan intercepted the bouncing puck intended for Caps defenseman Joel Kwiatkowski, swung around to the front of the net and tucked it in. The first-period goal wasn't the game-winner, but it was the one that changed the flow of the game and eventually led to Buffalo's 3-1 victory.

WASHINGTON - With 1:24 to play last night, Jeff Halpern poked a loose puck into an open net for a three-goal Washington Capitals lead and what appeared to be pure padding in the team's first game under new coach Glen Hanlon. But when the final second ticked off the clock, it was Halpern's goal that was the game-winner in the Caps' 6-5 victory over the Boston Bruins before 15,384 at MCI Center. "We were fine," said Hanlon, who was named the head coach on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after Bruce Cassidy was fired.

He gathers the puck at center ice, fakes to his left and finds open terrain up the boards. Bill Wellington, a Detroit native who has played ice hockey since he was 5, calls to mind a forward for the NHL Red Wings as he shows the puck to one defender, snatches it from another, then lurches into the offensive zone, eyeing the enemy net for an opening that might change the game. With his bandy-legged gait, Wellington scares few with his speed, and his shot reminds no one of Brett Hull. But the "Golden Brett" should have his pluck.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Jean-Sebastien Giguere got the rallying cry started Friday when the Anaheim Mighty Ducks goaltender snapped, "We're not a fluke!" and demanded that his teammates play with more emotion. Mission accomplished. The Ducks showed more passion than they had in the Stanley Cup Finals last night from the opening faceoff right until Ruslan Salei's overtime winner 6:59 into the extra session, as Anaheim made this a series again with a dramatic, 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils in Game 3 at the Arrowhead Pond.

WASHINGTON - While Washington Capitals goalie Olie Kolzig sat at his locker last night, his head buried in his hands, his teammates quietly shed their uniforms and headed for the showers. The Capitals had just played a thrilling game and lost in triple overtime, 2-1, to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the NHL Eastern Conference quarterfinals. It not only meant the loss of the game, but also elimination from the best-of-seven series, 4-2. A crushing blow to the offense-rich team that had been up 2-0 in the series, and looked ready to quickly knock out the Lightning.

Jaromir Jagr skated in front of Washington Capitals goalie Olie Kolzig at practice yesterday and batted a flying puck into the net. As Jagr skated away, he looked back at Kolzig. The two exchanged playful looks, then Jagr began to giggle so hard his shoulder pads shook. It was the same kind of unusual play on which Robert Lang had scored the Caps' first goal in Washington's first-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now, it looks like a set play. "Nah, not a set play," Caps coach Bruce Cassidy said and then paused.

Walking with three hungry companions and a pizza he has just made for them toward a table in Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art's cafe, the chef makes eye contact with a table of elderly women and cannot avoid stopping to greet them. "Hello, I'm Wolfgang. Do you want a slice of pizza?" he asks. "We do," they respond. Less than a minute later, all the pizza slices are gone. The chef turns to his companions with a boyish grin and says, "I guess I'll have to make another." And he does, effortlessly preparing another personal creation.

WASHINGTON - The Washington Capitals sat hunched forward on the bench, leaning on the boards as the minutes slipped away in the final period of last night's 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. A study in perfect harmony, their blue gloves gripped the red railing, perfectly spaced, their eyes a single focus on their teammates on the ice. They sat watching with such intense stillness they could have been a photograph. "There's such anticipation," said Caps coach Bruce Cassidy. "They could see the tide was turning.

Directors and coaches of the Howard County Youth Hockey Club are literally turning things sideways, starting this month. In years past, the club typically had its beginners use the entire rink during coaching and teaching sessions. Games and drills slowed for obvious reasons, and children did not touch the puck as frequently or learn as much as possible from the experiences. But with encouragement and a grant from USA Hockey, the sport's governing body in this country, the club and many others like it nationwide are making some big changes in how they teach little players.

DETROIT - Fifty-eight seconds into overtime last night, any illusions anyone had that Carolina couldn't win in the Stanley Cup Finals evaporated. Jeff O'Neill threw the puck in front, and Ron Francis redirected it past Dominik Hasek, giving the Hurricanes a 3-2 victory in the series opener. The Hurricanes improved to 7-1 in overtime; the Wings fell to 1-4. Twice, the Wings took a lead. Twice, the Hurricanes came back. Sergei Fedorov scored on the power play, then Sean Hull scored on a two-man advantage.