Kostka beat out Ryan Stanton for the last spot on the Blackhawks opening night roster for Tuesday, NBC Sports reported.

about 1 day ago | Data Provided By

Wings' Pulkkinen banned 4 preseason games

Detroit Red Wings forward Teemu Pulkkinen was suspended four preseason games for an illegal hit on Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Mike Kostka during a game on Tuesday, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced on Thursday.

about 12 days ago | Scott Powers |

Kostka missed practice Thursday due to an upper-body injury he suffered when he was illegally checked by Detroit forward Teemu Pulkkinen on Tuesday, ESPNChicago.com reports.

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Changes to Leafs' D

UPDATE: The Toronto Sun reports both Jake Gardiner and Ryan O'Byrne appear poised to join the blue line for Saturday's Toronto Maple Leafs/Boston Bruins playoff tilt.

Thin Blue Line: Stats to trust, avoid

Victoria Matiash opines on which fast- and slow-starting defensemen's stats are true indicators of the season and which are simply from too small a sample size to put any stock in them.

Gardiner ETA

UPDATE: David Alter of Sportsnet 590 THE FAN confirms Jake Gardiner will be in the lineup for the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday (versus the Pittsburgh Penguins), while Korbinian Holzer is on his way back to the AHL Marlies.