Hockey : NHL 2012/2013

Patrick Roy has been named the coach and vice president of hockey operations of the Colorado Avalanche. He's replacing fired Joe Sacco behind the bench. Roy will join forces with former teammate Joe Sakic, who was recently promoted to executive vice president of hockey operations. The Avalanche won two Stanley Cup titles with the duo on the ice and the organization is hoping they can help turn around a downtrodden team.

Sharks forward Raffi Torres was suspended for the rest of San Jose's second-round playoff series against Los Angeles, a ban of up to six games, for an illegal check to the head of Kings forward Jarret Stoll during the opener. Stoll probably sustained a concussion from the hit, which occurred near the end of the second period of the Kings' 2-0 victory on Tuesday.

The Dallas Stars have fired coach Glen Gulutzan after he failed to make the playoffs in two seasons at the helm. New general manager Jim Nill announced the move Tuesday. Nill replaced Joe Nieuwendyk, who also was fired after four years without taking the Stars to the postseason. The 41-year-old Gulutzan was 64-57-9 in two seasons, including 22-22-4 in the lockout-shortened 2013 season.

The Buffalo Sabres hired Ron Rolston as head coach after he served the interim position following the firing of Lindy Ruff in February. Rolston led the Sabres to a 15-11-5 record after Ruff was fired February 20 following a 6-10-1 performance. The Sabres finished 21-21-6 and missed the playoffs for a second straight year and fourth time in six seasons. Before being selected interim coach, Rolston had coached the Rochester Americans, Buffalo's AHL affiliate, since 2011.

Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader has been suspended two games for Saturday's hit on Anaheim's Toni Lydman. The suspension means Abdelkader will miss Games 4 and 5 of the first-round playoff series between the Red Wings and Ducks. The 26-year-old played all 48 games during the regular season for Detroit, scoring 10 goals with three assists.

The NHL issued a two-game suspension to Ottawa Senators defenseman Eric Gryba on Friday. Gryba was punished for an illegal hit on Canadiens forward Lars Eller in Thursday's Game 1 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinal. Eller was reaching back for a pass by teammate Raphael Diaz at his own blue line when Gryba leveled him with a high and blind-side hit to the head. According to a report, the 23-year-old suffered a broken nose and lost several teeth. The Montreal Gazette revealed that Eller has additional facial fractures and lost consciousness. He remained in a local hospital overnight for evaluation.

Montreal center Lars Eller suffered a concussion and facial fractures after taking a big hit from Ottawa defenseman Eric Gryba in the second period of the Senators' 4-2 victory in Game 1 of their playoff series Thursday. Eller, who was taken off on a stretcher with a pool of blood on the ice, was spending the night in a hospital. He had eight goals and 22 assists for the Canadiens in the regular season.

Goalie Niklas Backstrom and defenseman Clayton Stoner likely won't play in Game 2 of the Minnesota Wild's opening-round playoff series against the Chicago Blackhawks after neither skated at Thursday's practice. Wild forward Jason Pominville sat out Thursday's practice, too, and will miss his fourth consecutive game since taking an elbow to the face in a game last week. Coach Mike Yeo called Backstrom and Stoner "day to day".

Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom was a late scratch from the lineup for Tuesday's playoff opener against the Chicago Blackhawks because of a leg injury.Backstrom appeared to injure his left leg reaching for a puck during pregame warmups and headed to the locker room. He was replaced in the lineup by Josh Harding. The Wild were also without right wing Jason Pominville, who missed the last two games of the regular season after he was elbowed in the chin by Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings.

Colorado Avalanche coach Joe Sacco was fired after the team missed the playoffs for the third straight season. Sacco was in his fourth season in charge of Colorado and he had one year left on his contract. The Avalanche will soon begin their search for a replacement. Meanwhile, Sacco will be back on the bench later this week when he leads the U.S. squad at the world championships.