Joe Nieuwendyk

Dallas Star center Joe Nieuwendyk, who has sat out 12 games because of a bruised chest, may play tonight against the Phoenix Coyotes. Nieuwendyk, activated Tuesday, was injured in the Stars' season opener against Colorado. . . . Defenseman Stan Neckar of the Ottawa Senators will have reconstructive knee surgery Friday and will be out until April. . . . Chicago Blackhawk Executive Vice President Arthur Michael Wirtz Jr., 62, died after a brief battle with an undisclosed illness.

The Hockey Hall of Fame again snubbed the late Pat Burns and coaching innovator Fred Shero in selecting four players for induction in November. Goaltender Ed Belfour, third in career victories with 484 and twice a winner of the Vezina trophy as the NHL's top goalie, was elected in his first year of eligibility and said he was "just flabbergasted. " He began his career with the Blackhawks and called his trade from Chicago to San Jose after a contract dispute "the worst day of my career," yet went on to win the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999.

The NHL has decided not to levy fines against several teams that rested their stars on the final night of the 1990-91 season. The most notable absentees were at Calgary, where Gretzky, Tony Granato, Tomas Sandstrom, Larry Robinson and Dave Taylor did not dress for the Kings, and Theoren Fleury, Joe Nieuwendyk, Joel Otto and Al MacInnis did not dress for the Calgary Flames.

The Florida Panthers signed four-time All-Star center Joe Nieuwendyk and left wing Gary Roberts away from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, less than two hours into the free-agent signing period. Both players were unrestricted free agents and the first to agree to contracts after the signing period began. Nieuwendyk and Roberts will each receive $4.5 million over the next two years from Florida, which hasn't won a playoff game since 1997.

Perhaps playing a hunch, Coach Pat Burns put Oleg Tverdovsky back into the New Jersey Devils' lineup Tuesday night. "It's a challenge for him, I think, with his ex-teammates," Burns said of the former Mighty Duck defenseman, acquired last summer in the trade that also brought Jeff Friesen to the Devils and sent Petr Sykora to the Ducks. Tverdovsky was grateful for the chance to play in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time.

Joe Nieuwendyk ended a personal slump by scoring three goals as the Calgary Flames defeated the Vancouver Canucks, 5-3, Monday night to move ahead of the second-place Kings by three points in the Smythe Division. Nieuwendyk had not scored in Calgary's previous five games. Al MacInnis assisted on one of Nieuwendyk's goals for his 700th point.

Joe Nieuwendyk scored his 37th goal of the season late in the second period Sunday night to give the Calgary Flames a 4-4 tie with the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks scored power-play goals by Brian Bradley and Paul Reinhart in the opening period to take a 2-1 lead as Joel Otto countered with a a short-handed goal for Calgary. Gary Roberts got the Flames even at at 1:40 of the second period and Hakan Loob gave Calgary a 3-2 lead on a power-play minutes later.

Joe Nieuwendyk scored the eventual game-winning goal against his former team as the Dallas Stars beat the Calgary Flames, 4-2, and ended the Flames' eight-game win streak Friday night at Calgary. Nieuwendyk, who sat out the first half of the season in a contract dispute before being traded, was booed every time he touched the puck, especially when he logged his fourth goal of the season and gave Dallas a 3-1 lead early in the second period.

The Dallas Stars will be without leading scorer Joe Nieuwendyk for at least two weeks. Nieuwendyk, who opened the scoring 2:22 into Wednesday's 4-1 victory over San Jose in a playoff opener, injured his right knee late in the first period when he was driven into the boards by Shark defenseman Bryan Marchment.

Joe Nieuwendyk is again coming through for the Dallas Stars when they need him most. Nieuwendyk redirected a long blast from Richard Matvichuk 12:10 into overtime Tuesday night, giving the Dallas Stars a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche and putting the Stanley Cup champions within a win of returning to the finals. "We had some good luck there," Nieuwendyk said. "It seemed like the only way to get to the net is to outrace a guy. I was able to do that and just got my stick on it."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Joe Nieuwendyk gave it one last shot. The injured New Jersey Devil center, suffering from what he finally revealed Sunday was a torn oblique muscle in his left side, participated in the morning skate Monday, took a few faceoffs and unhappily declared that he would be unable to play in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals.

Joe Nieuwendyk skated onto the ice at Continental Airlines Arena on Wednesday full of hope. He skated off less than 25 minutes later full of doubt. In what is shaping up as the most trying time in his 16-year NHL career, the injured New Jersey Devil center strongly indicated that he will remain sidelined when the Stanley Cup finals resume tonight with Game 5.

Perhaps playing a hunch, Coach Pat Burns put Oleg Tverdovsky back into the New Jersey Devils' lineup Tuesday night. "It's a challenge for him, I think, with his ex-teammates," Burns said of the former Mighty Duck defenseman, acquired last summer in the trade that also brought Jeff Friesen to the Devils and sent Petr Sykora to the Ducks. Tverdovsky was grateful for the chance to play in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time.

Joe Nieuwendyk scored three goals as the Dallas Stars sent the New York Rangers to their longest road winless streak in 16 seasons with a 6-1 victory Sunday at Dallas. Ranger Coach Ron Low shuffled lines in an effort to spark his reeling team, but the changes had little effect as New York fell to 1-8-1 in its last 10 games. The Rangers have lost five in a row on the road and are winless in nine road games (0-8-1), their worst stretch since the 1984-85 season.

Joe Nieuwendyk is again coming through for the Dallas Stars when they need him most. Nieuwendyk redirected a long blast from Richard Matvichuk 12:10 into overtime Tuesday night, giving the Dallas Stars a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche and putting the Stanley Cup champions within a win of returning to the finals. "We had some good luck there," Nieuwendyk said. "It seemed like the only way to get to the net is to outrace a guy. I was able to do that and just got my stick on it."

Joe Nieuwendyk is no longer the starry-eyed kid he was in 1989, the first time he played in the Stanley Cup finals. He was a 22-year-old hotshot then, an Ivy Leaguer from Cornell who stunned the NHL by scoring 51 goals in each of his first two seasons and established himself among the best of the new breed of power forwards.

The Florida Panthers signed four-time All-Star center Joe Nieuwendyk and left wing Gary Roberts away from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, less than two hours into the free-agent signing period. Both players were unrestricted free agents and the first to agree to contracts after the signing period began. Nieuwendyk and Roberts will each receive $4.5 million over the next two years from Florida, which hasn't won a playoff game since 1997.

Joe Nieuwendyk skated onto the ice at Continental Airlines Arena on Wednesday full of hope. He skated off less than 25 minutes later full of doubt. In what is shaping up as the most trying time in his 16-year NHL career, the injured New Jersey Devil center strongly indicated that he will remain sidelined when the Stanley Cup finals resume tonight with Game 5.

The Dallas Stars will be without leading scorer Joe Nieuwendyk for at least two weeks. Nieuwendyk, who opened the scoring 2:22 into Wednesday's 4-1 victory over San Jose in a playoff opener, injured his right knee late in the first period when he was driven into the boards by Shark defenseman Bryan Marchment.

Joe Nieuwendyk praised his Canadian Olympic teammates for their patience Saturday against a skillful and smart Swedish team. And if there's anyone who should know about patience, it's Nieuwendyk. Since enjoying back-to-back 51-goal seasons with the Calgary Flames early in his NHL career, the 31-year-old center has endured a series of injuries and misfortunes that cut his production dramatically.