Gordie Howe suffers stroke
The hockey legend has lost some function on his right side, his family said.
HOCKEY GREAT Gordie Howe has lost some function on the right side of his body after having a stroke Sunday in Texas.
Howe's daughter Cathy said last night the 86-year-old Detroit Red Wings legend had lost much use of his right arm and right leg. Howe suffered the stroke in Lubbock, where his daughter lives.
"We'll just see what each day brings," she said. "He's tough. He's not giving up."
Howe's daughter said his speech is slurred, but he's been looking at family pictures and pictures from his playing days, and he's able to recognize and identify people he played with. His three sons, including former Flyers defenseman Mark Howe, were on the way there to see him.
"The stroke kind of came out of nowhere," said Howe's son Murray, a radiologist.
The man known as "Mr. Hockey" set NHL marks with 801 goals and 1,850 points - mostly with the Red Wings - that held up until Wayne Gretzky surpassed him in the record book. He was revered for his blend of finesse and grit, playing 26 years in the NHL until he retired for good from the league at age 52.
With one shift for the Detroit Vipers in the International Hockey League in 1997, he played professionally in a sixth decade at the age of 69.
Noteworthy
* The Columbus Blue Jackets will be without goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for 1 or 2 weeks with a broken finger.
The club placed the 2013 Vezina Trophy winner on injured reserve and added goaltender Anton Forsberg on emergency recall from its AHL affiliate in Springfield, Mass.
* The Carolina Hurricanes activated captain Eric Staal from injured reserve.
In last night's games
* At Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby scored two of four second-period goals and the Penguins netted seven straight in an 8-3 rout of the New Jersey Devils.
Trailing 3-1, the Penguins rallied behind Malkin. He extended his point streak to eight games with a power-play goal, his fourth of the year. Crosby scored his sixth and seventh goals, Patric Hornqvist netted his fifth and Pascal Dupuis scored in his third straight game.
Pittsburgh's top-ranked power play scored three times.
* At Boston, Marco Scandella scored with 5:53 remaining as the Minnesota Wild rallied for three goals in the third period to beat the Bruins, 4-3.
* At Uniondale, N.Y., Andrew Ladd scored his second goal of the night 3:31 into the third period, and the Winnipeg Jets rallied to beat the New York Islanders, 4-3.
* At Columbus, Clarke MacArthur had two goals and an assist, and the Ottawa Senators defeated the Blue Jackets, 5-2.
* At Toronto, the Maple Leafs set a franchise record for fewest shots allowed in a game, and scored three times in the third period of a 4-0 victory over Buffalo.
Jonathan Bernier made just 10 saves in his eighth career NHL shutout. The Leafs' previous record for shots against was 13.
* At Tampa, Nikita Kucherov had his first career NHL hat trick, Tyler Johnson had four assists, and the Lightning beat the Arizona Coyotes, 7-3.
* At Chicago, Devante Smith-Pelly scored a shorthanded goal midway through the third period and John Gibson made 38 saves as Anaheim shut out the Blackhawks, 1-0.
* At Dallas, Vladimir Tarasenko scored 1:28 into overtime to complete a hat trick and the St. Louis Blues defeated the Stars, 4-3.
* At Denver, the San Jose Sharks defeated the Colorado Avalanche in a shootout, 3-2.
* At Calgary, the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Flames in a shootout, 2-1.