Canucks defenseman Shane O?Brien will be benched for the next three games for disciplinary reasons, according to an Associated Press report. Canucks coach Alain Vigneault says O?Brien won?t play in Tuesday night?s game against the Coyotes. He also won?t accompany the team for Thursday?s game in Los Angeles or Friday in Anaheim.

The NHL says it has no agreement to move the Phoenix Coyotes to Winnipeg or anywhere else if owners cannot be found to keep the team in Arizona, according to an ESPN.com report. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly says that the league's focus remains on keeping the team in Glendale and "based on the communications and information" the NHL is receiving, those involved continue to be highly confident that the transaction can be completed.

The Blue Jackets have added forward Tomas Kana to the roster on emergency recall from the Syracuse Crunch, Columbus? AHL affiliate, GM Scott Howson announced today. Kana was acquired by Columbus along with defenseman Brendan Bell from St. Louis in exchange for forward Pascal Pelletier on December 8. The club also announced that forwards Jared Boll and Chris Clark will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2009-10 season due to injuries suffered last week.

Rangers President and GM Glen Sather announced on Monday that forward Corey Locke has been recalled from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. Locke has registered 11 points in the last nine games with Hartford, including a season-high six-game point streak from March 10 at Worcester to March 21 vs. Providence. He has tallied 29 goals and 51 assists for 80 points in 73 AHL contests this season. Locke currently ranks third in the AHL in scoring with a career-high 80 points, and ranks fifth in assists and tied for ninth in goals. Locke was signed by the Rangers as a free agent on July 3, 2009. He was originally Montreal's fourth round selection, 113th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

The Blue Jackets have added forward Trevor Frischmon to the roster on emergency recall from the Syracuse Crunch, Columbus? AHL affiliate, GM Scott Howson announced today. Frischmon has registered six goals and 18 assists for 24 points and 28 penalty minutes in 71 games with Syracuse this season. He has spent the past four seasons with Syracuse and has collected 16-56-72, 133 penalty minutes and a cumulative plus/minus rating of +8 in 243 career AHL games.

Pittsburgh is making a strong push to play host to the NHL?s next Winter Classic on Jan. 1, matching the Penguins? Sidney Crosby and the Capitals? Alex Ovechkin at Heinz Field. The Penguins played in the first Winter Classic played on U.S. ice in Buffalo in 2008, but the Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry has become so big that the NHL is believed to be favoring a second Penguins appearance in four years. A person with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press on Sunday that Pittsburgh is in a strong position to be chosen as the host.

The Sabres routed the Lightning 7-1 on Saturday night, clinching a playoff berth as goalie Patrick Lalime earned his 200th win. It has been three years since Buffalo made the postseason. "To get in with the game we played was real good," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "I might even smile." Lalime was 0-4-1 with a no-decision since posting win No. 199 against Pittsburgh on Dec. 29. "It's pretty nice to get there," Lalime said. "It was a hard one to get. It just means I'm old, probably."

The Lightning have recalled defenseman Vladimir Mihalik from the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL on Saturday, Executive Vice President and GM Brian Lawton announced. Mihalik has played in 70 games with Norfolk this season, recording two goals and 17 points. He leads all Admirals defensemen, and is second overall on the team, in plus/minus rating with a plus-8. Mihalik also ranks third among Norfolk rearguards in points. Mihalik was drafted by the Lightning in the first round, 30th overall, of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Bruins forward Marc Savard isn't happy about the season-ending hit he received from the Penguins' Matt Cooke on March 7. Cooke was not penalized or suspended for his elbow to the head. "Well, I have obviously viewed it a couple of times and I think it was a play that didn't need to happen, obviously," Savard said Saturday morning at TD Garden. "To me it wasn't a shoulder and I watched the [Mike] Richards on [David] Booth hit. I think that was a shoulder. I think mine was more of an elbow, so I think there was an attempt to injure there. I was, obviously, very unhappy with what happened and I think it could have been avoided very easily." Savard has no recollection of the hit.

Pat Burns said he?s honored to have an arena named after him, even as he conceded he likely won?t live to see it completed, according to an Associated Press report. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper attended an announcement Friday that the Pat Burns Arena will be built in Stanstead, a town near the Quebec-Vermont border. The former NHL coach, his voice left raspy by the cancer attacking his lungs, flew up from his home in Florida for the ceremony.