Anze Kopitar is off to a fast start in the NHL. The rookie forward had three assists, including one on Alexander Frolov's tiebreaking goal, to help the Los Angeles Kings beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 Saturday night. Kopitar, a 19-year-old center who became the first Slovenian born player to be drafted in the NHL when the Kings selected him with the 11th overall pick in the 2005 draft, had a pair of...

Fans have come back to the NHL. And now they're paying for it. Led by the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, more than half the league's teams have raised ticket prices, including 10 of them by more than 5 percent. The results were released Friday by Team Marketing Reports, which also found that a family of four will pay an average of $258 for a game this season.

After a tying goal in the final seconds, an injured referee and an 18-minute delay to fix a bizarre hole in the boards, Curtis Brown just wanted the San Jose Sharks' opener to have a finish. So he provided it, scoring on a rebound with 2:48 left in overtime of the Sharks' 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.

Referee Rob Martell left the San Jose Sharks' game against the St. Louis Blues in the third period Thursday night after getting hit in the left eye by an errant puck. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation. The Sharks were on a power play early in the period when forward Milan Michalek took a shot that flew through the crease and hit Martell, who was watching from the far side of the net.

The head of the NHL Players' Association says a lawsuit filed by a group of dissident players is baseless. "The claims issued in the complaint are the same claims that have been made repeatedly over the last 13 months by this tiny group," union executive director Ted Saskin told The Canadian Press in an interview Tuesday.

Mikko Koivu scored two goals to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. Martin Skoula and Brian Rolston also scored for the Wild. Barret Jackman and Lee Stempniak tallied for St. Louis. The Blues led 1-0 after one period on Jackman's goal, which came at 17:04 in the first period.

Adrian Aucoin had three assists and Jeff Hamilton added a goal and an assist to help the Chicago Blackhawks remain undefeated in the preseason with a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night. Rene Bourque and Radim Vrbata also scored for Chicago, which is 6-0 in the preseason. Brian Boucher made 29 saves in goal for the Blackhawks.

Brett Hull, the high-scoring former St. Louis star who set numerous franchise records in 11 seasons with the Blues, will have his No. 16 jersey retired by the team in December. "It's going to be great," new Blues president John Davidson said. "He made a huge impact on this franchise." Hull holds franchise records for goals (527), hat tricks (27), game-winning goals (70), power-play goals (195) and...

Bill Guerin scored his first four goals of the preseason and added an assist to help the St. Louis Blues beat the Atlanta Thrashers 5-3 on Sunday night. The 35-year-old Guerin started the scoring in the opening minute and finished it with an empty-net goal. He put the Blues (1-3) ahead 4-3 when he put in his own rebound with 6:18 left in the third and had 10 of St.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored a power-play goal midway through the first period and Kari Lehtonen and Johan Hedberg combined to stop 27 shots in the Atlanta Thrashers' 1-0 exhibition victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. Kovalchuk scored unassited, beating Jason Bacashihua with a 10-foot wrist shot.

Brian Rolston scored twice to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night in a preseason game. Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Pavol Demitra each added two assists for the Wild (2-0). Petteri Nummelin, a 33-year-old who played in the Swiss League the last five years, also scored for Minnesota.

Brian Boucher, invited to training camp on a tryout basis, stopped 26 shots to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 2-0 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night in the exhibition opener for both teams. Brian Bochenski and Adrian Aucoin scored for the Blackhawks. Chicago's top goalie, Nikolai Khabibulin didn't dress.

The St. Louis Blues continued their makeover by signing free agent right winger Radek Dvorak on Thursday. Terms were not disclosed. The 29-year-old Dvorak has 161 goals, 251 assists and 244 penalty minutes in a 10-year career with Florida, the New York Rangers and Edmonton. He has played in two Stanley Cup Finals, including last season, when the Oilers lost in seven games to Carolina.

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - The St. Louis Blues added a veteran presence on Thursday, signing right wing Radek Dvorak.

St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Orszagh will undergo surgery on his left knee, the team said Tuesday. The Blues won't know until after the operation how long Orszagh will be sidelined. Orszagh, a right wing had four goals and five assists in 16 games last season. St. Louis opens training camp on Friday.

A former NHL agent who was the target of a murder-for-hire plot by one of his players was freed on $10,000 bail Wednesday, and proclaimed himself not guilty of charges that he sexually exploited a group of teenagers. "Innocent," said David Frost as he was led from the courthouse and into his lawyer's car after a brief court appearance.

A former NHL agent who was the target of a murder-for-hire plot by one of his players faces several sex charges in eastern Ontario. David Frost has been charged with twelve counts of sexual exploitation and one count of assault, all related to alleged incidents from 1995 to 2001 involving four boys and three girls between the ages of 14 and 16.

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - Jamie Rivers is back where he started.

Defenseman Jamie Rivers, who played for St. Louis from 1995-99, signed a free-agent deal with the Blues on Friday. The 31-year-old Rivers played for the Red Wings and Coyotes last season, appearing in 33 games with six assists and 38 penalty minutes. He can also play forward, providing depth for the rebuilding Blues.

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - The St. Louis Blues secured a former first-round pick Wednesday, re-signing defenseman Christian Backman to a multi-year contract. Terms were not disclosed.