National Hockey

GUELPH, Ont. — Bruce Hood, the former NHL referee who worked 1,100 games over 21 seasons, died Friday of prostate cancer. He was 81. Kevin Hood said his father died at a hospice surrounded by family in Guelph.

Bruce Hood, who refereed more than 1,100 NHL games over 21 seasons, died Friday after a four-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 81. Kevin Hood said his father passed away at a hospice surrounded by family in Guelph, Ont.

New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider will undergo surgery to have a portion of a rib removed. The team announced the surgery on Friday and said Kreider would be out indefinitely.

Toronto centre Nazem Kadri may have got off lightly for grabbing Joe Thornton's beard in Thursday night's shootout win over the San Jose Sharks. For one, he survived a tilt with a much bigger man with only some facial swelling.

ST. LOUIS — Paul Stastny broke a third-period tie with his eighth goal of the season, Carter Hutton continued his strong play in goal and the St. Louis Blues beat the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 on Thursday night.

Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan held a players meeting Thursday morning, asking his team to not panic when they fall behind in games. On Thursday night, they got a chance to practise what he preached and they passed the test with flying colours.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The first 41 games of the season were a struggle for the Arizona Coyotes, who only won nine times and earned 23 points. The second 41 got off to a positive start, however.

DALLAS — Tyler Seguin's short-handed goal was more than just his first in the NHL.

EDMONTON — It took a shootout for the Edmonton Oilers to bust out of their slump. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the shootout winner as the Oilers snapped a four-game losing skid with a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Nino Niederreiter's return made the Minnesota Wild whole again, just in time for the second half of the season. He turned this into quite the celebration.