In The Crease

Veteran Rod Brind'Amour (right) is adjusting well to the faster NHL. Carolina's 35-year-old captain is playing the most minutes on the team and is third in scoring (24 points).... In only his second NHL game, Avalanche goalie Vitaly Kolesnik, 26, beat the Devils' Martin Brodeur in a shootout last Friday. Colorado scouted the native of Kazakhstan at the world championships in May and signed him in August.... In an era of cold relations between players and owners, the Canadiens are a model for doing things right. When Montreal defenseman Mike Komisarek's mother, Kathy, died last month, owner George Gillett Jr. and G.M. Bob Gainey represented the team at the funeral.

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RICHARD C. LEWIS/WIREIMAGE.COM (BRIND'AMOUR)