Coyotes forward Raffi Torres is being criticized for wearing blackface while dressed as rapper Jay-Z at a Halloween party. Fans and some media started criticizing Torres and his wife, Gianna, after teammate Paul Bissonnette posted a photo on Twitter of the couple at a team Halloween party Sunday night. Torres wore a New York Yankees hat, black sunglasses and a white T-shirt as part of his costume, while his wife wore a sparkly dress with a "baby bump" underneath, a nod to Knowles' revelation that she was pregnant at the MTV Video Music Awards in August.

The NHL All-Star Game is getting a title sponsor. The league says its showcase game on Jan. 29 in Ottawa will be known as the 2012 Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Game. Horton co-founded the Tim Hortons doughnut shop, the Canadian mainstay that is one of the largest fast-food chains in North America.

The Red Wings signed defenseman Nicklas Kronwall to a seven-year contract extension Monday. He would have been an unrestricted free agent July 1. The total value of Kronwall's contract is $33.25M. The deal carries an annual salary-cap hit of $4.75M per season.

The Senators beat the Maple Leafs 3-2 on Sunday night for their sixth straight victory. Ottawa is now two games over .500 on the season. The Senators are on their best run since March 22-April 1, 2010, when they also put together a six-game winning streak. "We've got a good thing going right now and we want to keep it going," Chris Neil said. "For the most part we did a good job of playing with the lead tonight and that's important. Once we got that early goal back that they got on the power play, our power play came up big and got two goals, and then Daugy came out and had a great shot. It's a nice way to get your first point."

After the final horn sounded and the Avalanche had won their first home game of the season, the players stood at center ice and raised their sticks to the crowd. "It's a nod to them for coming out and paying their money," center Matt Duchene said. "Even though we're 1/3 at home we've been in every game and probably should have won two or three. We want to be a good home team." Semyon Varlamov stopped 29 shots, Duchene scored an early third period goal and Colorado beat the Kings 3-2 Sunday night.

The Blue Jackets defeated the Ducks 3-1 on Sunday night for just their second win of the young NHL season. Columbus was aggressive against Anaheim's stars all game, leading to four fights, including one with Ducks' captain Ryan Getzlaf. The effort resembled the Blue Jackets' first win, Tuesday against Detroit, which was also at home. "When we play with a little bit of any edge, when we play like we're pissed off, when we play in the hard areas and go there first ... that's usually when better things happen for us," Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel said.

Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger has blurred vision in his right eye and does not know when he'll return to the ice after being jabbed in the face. Pronger spoke Saturday night for the first time since Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski hit him just outside his right eye with a stick blade. Pronger says he feels lucky the injury was not worse because serious eye injuries have ended careers in the NHL. "Usually when you're head goes numb, it's a sign something's wrong," Pronger said. "I couldn't see, so I didn't know what was going on." Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said after Pronger was injured the team captain would miss two to three weeks.

Blackhawks forward Dan Carcillo didn't play in Saturday's home game against the Blue Jackets after receiving a two-game suspension for a hit on Hurricanes defenseman Joni Pitkanen in Friday's loss in Carolina. Carcillo will also sit out Monday's contest against the Predators.

Phil Kessel scored his league-leading 10th goal midway through the third period to lift the Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the Penguins on Saturday night, according to an ESPN.com report.

The Maple Leafs will celebrate the achievements of their all-time leading scorer, Mats Sundin, on February 11, 2012 when the Canadiens visit Air Canada Centre. Sundin will have his #13 sweater banner raised to the rafters that evening to honour his prolific performance on the ice and for his extraordinary contributions in the community. Sundin, now 40, played in 981 career games for the Maple Leafs, registering 420 goals, 567 assists and 987 points. In 1,346 career NHL games with Toronto, Quebec and Vancouver, Sundin scored 564 goals and 785 assists for 1,349 points.