as he and his partner

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? The recently retired N.H.L. enforcer Georges Laraque requires 12 stitches to his forehead — not from a fight, but because his partner in CBC’s “Battle of the Blades” accidentally cut him with her figure skate. Laraque’s injury occurs on Saturday during a rehearsal for Sunday’s premiere of the competition portion of the figure-skating contest show, as he and his partner, Anabelle Langlois, practice a maneuver called the Chainsaw. The 97-pound Langlois, swinging from the 275-pound Laraque’s neck, loses her balance and starts to fall headfirst. As Laraque reaches to break her fall, her skate blade slices his forehead.
? The European portion of the N.H.L. preseason gets under way with two friendlies on Monday: in Russia, SKA St. Petersburg vs. Carolina Hurricanes; and in Finland,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Ilves Tampere vs. Minnesota Wild. Tuesday it’s Belfast Giants vs. Boston Bruins in Northern Ireland; and Malmo Redhawks vs. Columbus Blue Jackets in Sweden. On Wednesday the Euro tour concludes, in Latvia, with Dinamo Riga vs. Phoenix Coyotes.
? Kyle Wellwood, unable to latch on as a center with the Phoenix Coyotes, signs with Atlant Moscow Oblast of the K.H.L. The 27-year-old Wellwood, who has battled weight problems in previous stints with Toronto and Vancouver, joins the Mytishchi-based club, currently 10th in the K.H.L.’s 11-team Western Division.
Fortunately, Laraque and Langlois pull the maneuver off without incident on Sunday’s live telecast. They finish fifth in opening-night scoring, behind Jamie Sale and Theo Fleury, Kyoko Ina and Kelly Chase, Violetta Afanasieva and P.J. Stock, and the leaders, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Valeri Bure.
? Ottawa is named host of the least consequential and least cared about match of the 2011-12 season: the N.H.L. All-Star Game. “We know this great venue and this city are more than well equipped to handle this marquee event,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych],” the N.H.L. Commissioner, Gary Bettman,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], says of the game, to be staged at Scotiabank Place. Can you name where the 2010-11 All-Star Game will be played? No? Anybody?