Here's some wonderful news on the health of Tucson Roadrunners captain Craig Cunningham.
Cunningham, who's been in hospital since collapsing on the ice before a game in Tucson on Nov. 19, is "recovering well" and will be discharged from hospital this week - in time for the holidays, the Banner-University Medical Center Tucson announced Tuesday.
It's also expected that Cunningham will speak at a press conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to AZSports' Craig Morgan.
The statement released by the medical center detailed the incredible process and heroic acts that contributed to saving Cunningham's life.
Press release on the health of Tucson Roadrunners captain Craig Cunningham provides terrific news and a hell of a story on how he was saved pic.twitter.com/V8TJnUDh4Y
PITTSBURGH - The former nanny of Pittsburgh Penguins player Chris Kunitz was sentenced Tuesday to five years in federal prison for setting fire to her rental residence and then filing fraudulent insurance claims for the contents.
The public defender for Andrea Forsythe, 28, unsuccessfully sought a term running concurrently to one she'll receive next month for thefts from the Penguins player and other people for whom she worked as a nanny.
She also was ordered to pay more than $179,000 restitution to the insurance companies that covered her losses in the June 23, 2014 fire in Sturgeon.
In the other cases, Forsythe was convicted of numerous crimes and will be sentenced Jan. 3 by a judge in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. Prosecutors say she stole $12,000 diamond earrings from Kunitz's home in 2013 and sold them to jewelry stores. The earrings were a birthday present for Kunitz's wife, Maureen.
The theft charges filed by police in Collier Township, where Kunitz lives with his wife and their children, grew out of the arson and insurance fraud investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives into the Sturgeon fire.
Forsythe pleaded guilty in July to federal charges of malicious destruction of property by fire and wire fraud for burning the house, then filing fraudulent insurance claims for the contents, including some jewels she had allegedly stolen from another couple while also working as a nanny.
The other couple told investigators that an 18-karat gold diamond necklace worth about $4,400 and a gold diamond stud earring worth more than $10,000 had been stolen from them. Appraisals of those jewels were then used by Forsythe to make the fraudulent insurance claims, federal authorities contend.
As that investigation progressed, Forsythe eventually confessed to stealing the earrings from Maureen Kunitz. They were appraised at $11,900 when Kunitz bought them for his wife's birthday sometime before she noticed them missing in September 2013.
Forsythe acknowledged stealing the diamond earrings from Maureen Kunitz's bedroom while the couple wasn't home, the Collier Township police complaint said. Forsythe then sold a loose diamond from one earring to a jewelry store for $2,542 and the other earring to a precious metals and jewelry store for $1,408.50.
Forsythe's federal public defender, Jay Finkelstein, in court documents blamed the thefts on Forsythe's allegedly abusive home life as a child. Finkelstein has a blanket policy of not commenting to the media.
U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon refused Finkelstein's request to allow Forsythe's federal sentence to run concurrently to whatever sentence she receives next month saying the theft victims ''deserve their own justice, so to speak, and the court will not intervene here.''
However, the county judge could still order that sentence to run concurrent to the federal sentence. If that happens, Forsythe would get credit for serving both terms simultaneously, instead of serving them one after the other.
Forsythe's public defender in the Allegheny County theft case didn't immediately return a call for comment Tuesday.
PITTSBURGH - The former nanny of Pittsburgh Penguins player Chris Kunitz was sentenced Tuesday to five years in federal prison for setting fire to her rental residence and then filing fraudulent insurance claims for the contents.
The public defender for Andrea Forsythe, 28, unsuccessfully sought a term running concurrently to one she'll receive next month for thefts from the Penguins player and other people for whom she worked as a nanny.
She also was ordered to pay more than $179,000 restitution to the insurance companies that covered her losses in the June 23, 2014 fire in Sturgeon.
In the other cases, Forsythe was convicted of numerous crimes and will be sentenced Jan. 3 by a judge in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. Prosecutors say she stole $12,000 diamond earrings from Kunitz's home in 2013 and sold them to jewelry stores. The earrings were a birthday present for Kunitz's wife, Maureen.
The theft charges filed by police in Collier Township, where Kunitz lives with his wife and their children, grew out of the arson and insurance fraud investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives into the Sturgeon fire.
Forsythe pleaded guilty in July to federal charges of malicious destruction of property by fire and wire fraud for burning the house, then filing fraudulent insurance claims for the contents, including some jewels she had allegedly stolen from another couple while also working as a nanny.
The other couple told investigators that an 18-karat gold diamond necklace worth about $4,400 and a gold diamond stud earring worth more than $10,000 had been stolen from them. Appraisals of those jewels were then used by Forsythe to make the fraudulent insurance claims, federal authorities contend.
As that investigation progressed, Forsythe eventually confessed to stealing the earrings from Maureen Kunitz. They were appraised at $11,900 when Kunitz bought them for his wife's birthday sometime before she noticed them missing in September 2013.
Forsythe acknowledged stealing the diamond earrings from Maureen Kunitz's bedroom while the couple wasn't home, the Collier Township police complaint said. Forsythe then sold a loose diamond from one earring to a jewelry store for $2,542 and the other earring to a precious metals and jewelry store for $1,408.50.
Forsythe's federal public defender, Jay Finkelstein, in court documents blamed the thefts on Forsythe's allegedly abusive home life as a child. Finkelstein has a blanket policy of not commenting to the media.
U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon refused Finkelstein's request to allow Forsythe's federal sentence to run concurrently to whatever sentence she receives next month saying the theft victims ''deserve their own justice, so to speak, and the court will not intervene here.''
However, the county judge could still order that sentence to run concurrent to the federal sentence. If that happens, Forsythe would get credit for serving both terms simultaneously, instead of serving them one after the other.
Forsythe's public defender in the Allegheny County theft case didn't immediately return a call for comment Tuesday.
Alex Burmistrov is fading into irrelevancy in Winnipeg.
The former lottery selection of the franchise, stuck on just two assists for the season, has made four appearances for the Jets in the last four weeks. He voiced his frustration about both his usage and the instruction, or lack thereof, that he's received from the coaching staff.
"You know, I feel great, working hard - watching games," Burmistrov told Jason Bell of the Winnipeg Free Press. "It's tough, tough for me because I do not know why I'm not playing, you know. I never have a conversation with the coach, so he never tell me why I'm not playing."
Jets coach Paul Maurice denied that communication lines have been cut off, suggesting that there's dialogue every day.
"We both have a pretty clear understanding of where he's at," he said.
Winnipeg has won its last two games without Burmistrov in the lineup, so he doesn't expect to draw in for the club's back-to-back road appearances versus the Vancouver Canucks before the holiday break.
Rangers coach Alain Vigneault announced that Nash would miss at least the club's pair of games this week with a groin injury, and also potentially a third when it reconvenes after the holidays.
It's believed that Nash suffered an injury to the opposite groin, which cost him a few games earlier this month.
Nash has enjoyed a fairly productive season despite the second setback. He owns a top-20 goal scoring rate with 0.43 per game, and 20 total points.
It wasn't punishment by any means, as Quenneville was handcuffed by injuries and inexperienced forward depth. He wanted a more balanced attack, and there's certainly nothing wrong with experimenting early in the season.
However, now 34 games in, to hell with that idea.
The Chicago Blackhawks have won five in a row, and are eight points clear of Minnesota for first in the Central, largely due to the production of the league's most dynamic duo.
Panarin is tied for third in league scoring (34), while Kane is tied for the fourth-highest output (32). Over their last 10 games, they have 13 and nine points, respectively.
This is hardly news, though. No tandem has been more productive offensively since the start of the 2015-16 season.
Player
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
Kane
116
56 (3rd)
82 (2nd)
138 (1st)
Panarin
114
44 (9th)
67 (7th)
111 (5th)
* (x) indicates league rank
Much of the attention regarding this season's scoring race has been focused on Connor McDavid's pursuit of the Art Ross or Sidney Crosby's torrid goal pace, but don't sleep on the pair of wingers steering the ship in the Windy City.
They're still the reigning MVP and rookie of the year, after all.
The distraction that can often undermine the process instead encouraged it for Anaheim Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler.
It's no coincidence that Fowler's delivered perhaps his best hockey at a time where his value to the Ducks, as well as prospective buyers, has been thrust under the media spotlight.
But his impetus amid trade chatter wasn't to prove his value to the team that will determine his future ahead of the looming expansion draft. Rather, Fowler took it as an opportunity to have the entire league recognize his capabilities.
"It kinda helped me stay in my lane. It gave me a little motivation, to be honest with you. I wanted to show teams, if they're interested in me, they'd be getting a good-quality player. It pushed me in the summer and even at the start of the season," Fowler told Sportsnet's Luke Fox.
"Five games into the season, (general manager Bob Murray) pulled me in and said, 'Hey, I was a player before, too. I heard my name tossed out there all the time.' He just said, 'I'm not shopping you. Teams are calling. Teams are gonna call.'"
The reason is twofold. First, he is that competent puck-moving defenseman all teams covet, and his talent is made only more enticing by the modest $4-million salary he'll earn through next season. Fowler ranks third in goals on a top-10 scoring team with nine, and has produced a clean 0.67 points per game scoring rate.
But second, it's no secret that, as it stands now, Anaheim's expansion draft strategy could all hinge on the decision to protect, or to expose, Fowler. If both he and Sami Vatanen remain on the roster at the time of selection, the cost to protect the pair is likely talented winger Jakob Silfverberg.
For his part, Fowler's done all he can: Muddle the situation further.
Because everything else is beyond his control.
"We're a team people are pointing at might lose a real quality player with the way the numbers are working," he said.
"It's not something we focus on, but in the back of our minds we understand that."
Follow theScore's fantasy feed on Twitter (@theScoreFantasy) for the latest news, features and more. And download Squad Up, theScore's free-to-win-money sports game.
Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Tuesday, Dec. 20 (all advanced stats courtesy of Corsica.Hockeyand apply to 5v5 situations):
Triple Threat
LW Taylor Hall (78K), C Travis Zajac (50K), RW Kyle Palmieri (57K), Devils (vs. Predators): Recently assembled, the Devils' new top line has played just 21.18 minutes together at 5v5. The team's first, second and fifth-leading point-getters have a Corsi For rating of just 44.44 while together, but they're expected to outscore their opponents 3.19 to 1.40 per 60 minutes.
LW Mike Hoffman (45K), C Kyle Turris (38K), RW Mark Stone (50K), Senators (at Blackhawks): Ottawa's top line should be reassembled with Hoffman returning from a two-game suspension. The trio has an expected goals for per 60 minutes of 3.84, ranking seventh among all trios to play at least 50 minutes together this season. Their combined low cost allows for the inclusion of D Erik Karlsson.
C David Krejci (55K), RW David Backes (49K), D Torey Krug (45K), Bruins (vs. Islanders): The Islanders rank 29th in the league with an expected goals against per 60 of 2.78. The Bruins' top line is still without RW David Pastrnak (elbow) and will likely have to face the Islanders' top line featuring C John Tavares. All three of these players also play on the top power-play unit.
Goalie Breakdown
TARGET - Tuukka Rask (88K), Bruins (vs. Islanders): Rask is coming off his fourth shutout of the season, stopping all 18 Los Angeles Kings shots he faced. He'll face an Islanders team with the 10th-highest xGF60, with over 30 SOG per 60 at 5v5. The potential for a high save total bolsters Rask's upside.
BARGAIN - Martin Jones (79K), Sharks (vs. Flames): Jones has gone 3-1-0 in his past four starts, allowing a total of 10 goals. He twice faced 31 shots on goal but never made 30 or more stops. The Flames average just 2.11 goals per road game, while still mustering 28.2 shots on goal.
FADE - Scott Darling (94K), Blackhawks (vs. Senators): Darling rebounded in his most recent start, after allowing four goals in back-to-back games. He stopped 33 of 34 shots faced last time out. He'll face the Senators with Hoffman back in the lineup, and they scored nine goals in two games without him.
CONTRARIAN - Connor Hellebuyck (75K), Jets (at Canucks): Hellebuyck has been miserable on the road this season, posting a .885 save percentage in 10 games. He has a measure of safety against a Canucks team scoring a paltry 2.41 goals per game.
Bargain Plays
C Cory Conacher (25K), Lightning (vs. Red Wings): A surprise addition to the Lightning's top line, Conacher has played on the left side of C Tyler Johnson at 5v5 and on the right side of C Vladislav Namestnikov on the top power-play unit. He has a goal and an assist in his past two games, though he did fail to record a SOG in just over 11 minutes of ice time last time out.
LW Mikkel Boedker (27K), Sharks (vs. Flames): While his first season with the Sharks has been wholly unimpressive, Boedker has picked up two assists in his past five games and seen a bit of an uptick in playing time. Likely Flames starter Chad Johnson has allowed four goals in each of his past two starts.
RW Nail Yakupov (25K), Blues (at Stars): Yakupov has been bumped up to the Blues' top line with LW Jaden Schwartz and C Paul Stastny. His ice time hasn't changed much, and he still doesn't much see time on the man advantage. The Stars' wide-open style and horrendous goaltending allow for plenty of opportunity at 5v5 when all he needs is a single assist to provide value.
Top Fades
D Brent Burns (69K), Sharks (vs. Flames): Priced well ahead of elite peers Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson, owners can do themselves a favor and pivot down to one of the other two and save some salary. The Sharks have scored two or fewer goals in three of eight games this month, failing to provide the consistency needed at this price.
C Nathan MacKinnon (63K), Avalanche (at Wild): MacKinnon notched just two SOG in two of his past three games, and he picked up just one assist in that stretch. The Avalanche take on the league's best goalie in Devan Dubnyk, and it has scored just one goal in each of the past two games.
RW Brendan Gallagher (57K), Canadiens (vs. Ducks): Gallagher's playing time has dropped since being demoted to the third line at 5v5. The move was a means to spread out the offense with Cs Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais injured. The move does no favors to Gallagher's personal production.
Contrarian Options
LW Jonathan Drouin (66K), Lightning (vs. Red Wings): Drouin has been jostled throughout the lineup of late, as the Lightning try to spark some offense. He has four goals and four assists in seven games this month. He has tallied 14 shots on goal in his past four games. Back on the second line at 5v5, he has topped 18 minutes in four straight games.
D Dustin Byfuglien (47K), Jets (at Canucks): Byfuglien is very modestly priced, coming in well below the likes of Burns, Karlsson and Hedman. He leads all defensemen in ice time at 27:38 per game, and ranks fourth among defenders in shots on goal. He totaled 14 in his past three games.
C Ryan O'Reilly (58K), Sabres (at Panthers): Largely an afterthought since teammate Jack Eichel returned from injury, O'Reilly has one goal and four assists in eight games this month. He has averaged nearly three SOG per game and is actually averaging more ice time than his more popular peer.
Every Tuesday, theScore's editors will examine the fortunes of the north's seven NHL franchises. Welcome to "O Canada."
Calgary Flames
Plus: Sean Monahan has arrived. The Flames' $44.6-million asset appears to have shaken off a slow start and has bounced back to the tune of 12 points over a 10-game streak.
Minus: Strangely, Calgary owns a home record of only 7-9. Even in last year's 26th place finish, it had a 22-16-4 mark at the Saddledome.
The Take: If the Flames are going to hold down a playoff position in the West, Brian Elliott needs to experience a Monahan-esque revival. Soon.
Edmonton Oilers
Plus: We all know the onus is on Connor McDavid to lead this club, and he's doing just that, but Leon Draisaitl has been a tremendous complement to the Oilers' attack. The 21-year-old's come into his own this season, recording 14 goals and 16 assists.
Minus: Jordan Eberle, meanwhile, only has one goal in his last 13 games.
The Take: It's nearly Christmas and the Oilers are tied for the Pacific Division lead in points. We haven't been able to say that much lately.
Montreal Canadiens
Plus: Despite an offense that's been depleted by injuries, the Canadiens are still finding ways to win, and sit comfortably atop the Atlantic.
The Take: Montreal having Anaheim, Minnesota, and Columbus on the slate before the holiday break is comparable to getting a giant lump of coal for Christmas, and it doesn't get easier from there. Due to the Bell Centre partly hosting the world juniors, the Habs embark on a six-game road trip starting Dec. 28.
Ottawa Senators
Plus: Mark Stone quietly has 13 points over his last 10 games, including four multi-point efforts, in easily his best stretch of the season.
Minus: When the club owner publicly addresses dwindling attendance numbers, it's not a great look.
The Take: The Atlantic Division isn't overly competitive. A strong January for the Senators could go a long way in helping secure a comfortable playoff seed.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Plus: Remember when Mike Babcock said Auston Matthews can be a dominant centerman by Christmas? He may have been on to something. The 19-year-old's potted a team-leading 15 goals, and continues to be rewarded with more ice time.
Minus: Toronto has provided opponents 23 power plays over its last five games, a recipe for disaster with an inexperienced club.
The Take: Over the past week or so, Toronto has looked dominant in terms of shot attempts and puck possession. It's somewhat moot, however, if you can't close a game and secure two points.
Vancouver Canucks
Plus: Adding franchise stalwart Mattias Ohlund to the club's Ring of Honor was a nice touch by the Canucks. Winning the game was nice, too.
Minus: On the other side of the spectrum, watching John Tortorella win his 500th game from the other bench had to sting a bit.
The Take: For the Canucks, this season is about establishing a plan for the future. They may be five points out of a playoff spot, but they're also three games below .500. It's important for Vancouver's brass to take the wins when they come, but keep the big picture at the forefront.
Winnipeg Jets
Plus: Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine, and Nikolaj Ehlers could very well be the most dynamic line in the NHL. They each have 30, 29, and 26 points, respectively, this season.
Minus: Eight of the Jets' next 10 games will be played away from the MTS Centre. They're 5-10-2 on the road this season.
The Take: Though the club has an embarrassment of riches up front, until it gets consistent goaltending, it's tough to peg the Jets as a threat in the Central.
Former Stanley Cup champion and Jack Adams Award winner Bob Hartley has been hired to lead the Latvian national team.
"I'm excited for the newest challenge in my career as a coach. It will be my first experience working with a national team and I'm grateful to the Latvian Hockey Federation for giving me the opportunity and confidence," Hartley told IIHF.com's Martin Merk.
Latvia's former coach resigned this summer just before the program failed to qualify for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.
The country's best finish at an Olympic competition came three years prior in Sochi under the direction of longtime NHL coach Ted Nolan. That team played Canada to a 2-1 final, and eventually finished eighth.
Hartley was fired by the Calgary Flames at the end of last year after failing to return to the playoffs in his fourth season.
