Questions arise in Cherepanov death

Alexei Cherepanov had heart problems and probably should not have been allowed to play in a game in which he collapsed and died, a regional investigator in Moscow suggested yesterday.

Yulia Zhukova said Cherepanov, who died Monday playing for Avangard Omsk in a Continental Hockey League game outside of Moscow, apparently had chronic ischemia - a medical condition when not enough blood gets to the heart or other organs.

"Checks will be conducted to clarify, in particular, why the sportsman with such an illness went onto the ice," Zhukova said.

Cherepanov's agent, however, said NHL tests showed him to be healthy. Jay Grossman said the player had tests at the NHL combine before last year's draft that didn't reveal any heart problems. He has been told that players in the Russian league receive regular heart and blood tests, similar to those given in the NHL.

A Russian lawmaker suggested that the 19-year-old first-round draft pick for the New York Rangers may have died due to negligence on the part of paramedics.

Pavel Krasheninnikov, who sits on the Russian Hockey Federation's supervisory council and is a member of the State Duma, said there was no ambulance on duty at the Moscow region arena where Cherepanov was playing. He also asserted emergency workers took too long to respond and didn't have a defibrillator - a machine that shocks the heart. It was unclear how much time it took paramedics to respond.

"There are elements of negligence here," Krasheninnikov said.

Penguins 3, Flyers 2 - Pascal Dupuis scored at 4:49 of overtime as host Pittsburgh kept Philadelphia winless in three games this season.

The Flyers' Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne scored in the final 44 seconds of the second period to even the score at 2, but Philadelphia couldn't beat Marc-Andre Fleury (28 saves) the rest of the way.

Sharks 5, Blue Jackets 2 - Patrick Marleau scored two goals, Evgeni Nabokov made 31 saves, and host San Jose kept new coach Todd McLellan unbeaten through four games.

Jonathan Cheechoo had one of San Jose's two shorthanded goals and Joe Thornton had two assists in the Sharks' fourth straight win over the Blue Jackets.

Kings 6, Ducks 3 - Patrick O'Sullivan, Jarret Stoll, and Tom Preissing scored on the power play, Wayne Simmonds got his first NHL goal, and host Los Angeles rallied for its first win.

Flames 5, Avalanche 4 - Jarome Iginla struck for a shorthanded goal to put host Calgary ahead for good and Todd Bertuzzi scored twice to give the Flames their first win.

Wild 4, Thrashers 2 - Antti Miettinen scored two third-period goals to help visiting Minnesota over Atlanta.