STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - United States crushed France 7-2 while Canada squeezed past Slovakia 3-2 as the preliminary round of the world ice hockey championships got underway on Friday. France went into a surprise 1-0 lead midway through the first period but Kyle Okposo of the New York Islanders soon leveled. The superior fitness of the Americans told the longer the game went on and they eventually swept the French aside in the third period of the Group H game. ...

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We covered almost all of these incidents in our post on the Philadelphia Flyers' Game 3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, but this compendium of hits, fights and cheap shots from alander94 on YouTube really does bring home how [expletive] insane the nastiness was in this game: Sidney Crosby: For the last time, not a goody two-shoes. As was previously reported Monday, the NHL will have Arron Asham and James Neal answer for their actions in Monday hearings — Neal, in fact, will have two of them. Asham has been offered an in-person hearing Tuesday morning for his match penalty for cross-checking Brayden Schenn at 14:15 of the first period. Asham received a match penalty on the hit. Neal's hearings focus on the hit against Sean Couturier in the third period, as well as the charging penalty he received for a hit on Claude Giroux later in the period. Neal was not penalized on the Couturier hit. There are three themes coming out of this mess for the Penguins, heading into Game 4.

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The NHL Awards voting is occurring this week, as the best skaters, goalies and coaches are given their due and, in some cases, an excuse to party in Vegas come June. These awards are given for achievement, success and valor. Which leaves those who underachieve, fail and flop without their moment in the spotlight. Fear not, also-rans. Your friends at Puck Daddy have you covered, much to your dismay. Here are the NHL Worst Awards for 2011-12. Worst Game Tampa Bay Lightning 2, Philadelphia Flyers 1; Nov. 9, 2011. The infamous "stall" game by the Flyers, in which they combated the Lightning's 1-3-1 defensive system by ragging the puck in their own zone for long stretches of the first period. As the pivot for a wide debate about Guy Boucher's coaching and whether the NHL needed to change its rules, it was a success. As a hockey game, on national television no less, it was like watching a sit-in.

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If their 7-3 victory over the New York Islanders was the last time Rick Nash appears in a Columbus Blue Jackets jersey, there's a certain irony in his going out a winner. It's the perpetual losing, and seemingly annual reconstruction of the roster, that led to his requesting a trade in January — a request that wasn't fulfilled at the NHL trade deadline, leading to a contentious press conference revelation of that demand by GM Scott Howson. In what could be his final game in Columbus as a Blue Jacket, Nash scored the game's first goal at 19:24 of the first period and played 15:33 for the game. There had been some doubt about Nash's status for the game after a lower back injury earlier in the week, but the captain played in Game No. 82 and gave the jersey off his back after the win on Fan Appreciation Day. Was this Nash's grand farewell to the only franchise he's known?

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PHILADELPHIA - Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov scored as part of a four-goal first period, and the New York Rangers clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 1994 with a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

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No. 1 Star: Mike Smith, Phoenix Coyotes The Columbus Blue Jackets set a franchise record with 54 shots but none found their way past Smith. Stopping all 54 he faced, Smith earned his third straight shutout as the Coyotes blanked the Blue Jackets 2-0. The shutout was Smith's eighth of the season and 19th of his career. He's not allowed a goal in 219:59, the second-best streak in franchise history. No. 2 Star: Derek Roy, Buffalo Sabres The Sabres rebounded from a 3-0 deficit in the first period to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 thanks to Roy's second goal of the game coming with 1:31 left in overtime. Alex Sulzer scored twice and added an assist as the Sabres tied the Washington Capitals at 80 points for eighth in the East with two games to go for both clubs. No. 3 Star: Andrew Ladd, Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg fell behind 3-0 early in the second period, but clawed back and eventually took the extra point 3:13 into overtime when Andrew Ladd potted his second goal of the night for the 5-4 win over the Florida Panthers:

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PHILADELPHIA - Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov scored as part of a four-goal first period, and the New York Rangers clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 1994 with a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

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With their 6-3 loss Saturday to the Boston Bruins, the New York Islanders were officially eliminated from postseason contention. Sunday, rather than playing out the string with pride, they appeared to be playing like they wanted to get somebody fired. The Islanders forwards put only three shots on goal in the first period, and coach Jack Capuano wasn't having any of it. After his group fell behind 2-1 early in the second, he sent a message to his half-hearted forward corps by sending out five defencemen for the next shift. Via Islanders Point Blank : Capuano explained the move in the postgame : "Our forwards weren't going. I think I posted in the locker room after the first period, there were lines that had one shot and lines that didn't even have a shot or an attempted shot. There was no urgency in our game tonight, no excuses, but sometimes some guy's gotta look in the mirror and they gotta compete for one another." One wonders if it was the right time for some tough love: with the Islanders playing like a team that didn't much care to be on the ice, taking away their icetime seemed counterintuitive. The move didn't appear to work. The Islanders' didn't score again all game, their forwards would only put eight more shots on goal, and the group surrendered two more goals in the period, eventually losing the game 5-1. It was yet another sign of the ineffectiveness Capuano has shown as coach of the Islanders, but don't think it -- or anything Capuano has done this season -- will jeopardize his job. In an interview just prior to this game, owner Charles Wang endorsed both his GM and coach. From ESPN : In an interview with MSG Network on its pregame show Sunday, Wang said he thinks Snow has done "a very good job," and expressed "complete confidence" in him. When asked point-blank whether Snow and Capuano would retain their posts next season, Wang confirmed they would. One wonders if the complete lack of a response in Capuano's curveball coaching move will change Wang's mind, or if three more outings like Sunday's could. Or maybe a historically bad record at home? With a loss to the Winnipeg Jets Thursday, the Islanders would finish the season 2011-12 season with a 16-18-6 home record, their worst since they won only 12 homes game in 2000-01. Something has to change on Long Island. Follow Harrison Mooney on Twitter at @HarrisonMooney

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PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Ben Lovejoy will miss 3-4 weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Tuesday. Lovejoy injured the knee in the first period of a 5-2 win over New Jersey on Sunday. The injury means Lovejoy would likely miss Pittsburgh's first-round playoff series.

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NEW YORK, N.Y. - Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello fractured his left wrist when he was struck by a puck in the first period of New York's game against the Buffalo Sabres.

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