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Hurricanes’ Tom Kostopoulos slips the puck under the glove of Senators goalie Pascal Leclaire in the first period. (Karl B DeBlaker/Associated Press)

Pascal Leclaire told reporters “it should be fun” to get back in net after sitting out six weeks with a concussion.

His fun Thursday night lasted about five minutes before the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Ottawa goaltender twice in 65 seconds in the first period.

It’s all the Hurricanes would need in a 4-1 victory over the visiting Senators for their second victory in as many games out of the Olympic break to extend their winning streak to seven games.

More importantly, Carolina improved its standing — at least temporarily — in the NHL Eastern Conference playoff hunt. The Hurricanes entered play Thursday eight points behind Boston for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Ottawa dropped back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 12 and saw its record fall to 36-25-4 for 76 points, one ahead of the second-place Buffalo Sabres in the Northeast Division.

More to come

Steve Staios, left, and Robyn Regehr will likely trade passes rather than punches now that they’re teammates in Calgary. (John Ulan/Canadian Press)

The morning after being blanked 4-0 by the Minnesota Wild, the Calgary Flames turned their attention toward preparing for their final 19 games of the season with two new players in the fold.

Bought at yesterday’s NHL trade deadline, defenceman Steve Staios and goaltender Vesa Toskala practised with their new teammates at the Pengrowth Saddledome on Thursday in preparation for Friday night’s home game against the New Jersey Devils.

Currently ninth in the Western Conference standings, the Flames (30-24-9) bought Staios on Wednesday in exchange for defenceman Aaron Johnson and a third-round draft pick in either 2010 or 2011. It’s the first time the Flames and Oilers have ever made a direct trade with each other.

“To me, it couldn’t have been a better situation,” said Staios, who admitted it felt a small weird to pull a Flames jersey over his shoulders and practise with his once bitter rivals.

“I know a lot of the guys here and I’ve competed against them for a long time and have a high respect level for them, so I’m really excited.”

While the Oilers were languishing far out of the playoff picture, Staios is pleased to join a team in the thick of an intense battle to earn a post-season berth with just seven points separating seventh through 13th spot in the Western Conference.

“It’s been a while since I’ve played some meaningful games,” said the 36-year-ancient defenceman. “With the chance of getting into the playoffs and getting onto a roll with this team, I’m just thrilled.

“I have the experience of going through these types of situations. I’ll lay it on the line and see if we can’t place this team over the edge.”

Assistant coach Dave Lowry said Staios will provide the Flames with a much needed veteran presence in the dressing room down the stretch.

“Steve knows that he’s got to get ready to play a game tomorrow as a member of the Calgary Flames,” Lowry said. “He’s a character guy and he’s been that way throughout his career.

“He’ll have no problem coming in and fitting in.”

When he found out about the trade, forward Craig Conroy couldn’t believe that the Flames and Oilers had broken their unofficial trade embargo.

“I thought it was an unwritten law that you couldn’t do that,” said Conroy, while adding Staios has a knack for making life miserable for opposing forwards.

“He’s a tough guy to play against and it’s fun to finally have him on my team.”

‘Trying to stay positive’

While goalie Miikka Kiprusoff was given the day off along with fellow Olympians Niklas Hagman and Jarome Iginla, Toskala suited up for his first practice as a member of the Flames after being bought at the deadline from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for fellow backup netminder Curtis McElhinney.

“From now on, I’m just trying to help this team to win games and trying to stay positive here,” said Toskala, who has known Kiprusoff dating back to their days on Finland’s national junior team and when they were both with the San Jose Sharks.

“We just saw each other this morning first time here and that’s it. It’s always nice to see friends no matter where you’re going.

“He’s a excellent guy. He’s one of the top goalies in the league.”

Kiprusoff had similar praise for his countryman and fellow puck blocker.

“I’ve played with him in the minors earlier and I’ve known him for a long time, so it’s excellent to see him here,” Kiprusoff said. “I know he’s a pretty excellent goalie, so he can help us out.”

Despite all the new additions to Calgary’s lineup and the team’s lacklustre effort against the Wild, Lowry said the Flames have to do everything they can to rebound with a victory against the Devils.

“We have to push ahead, we have to find a way to be better and we have to find a way to win a hockey game tomorrow,” Lowry said. “The huge thing is that we have to make sure that we’re the best prepared team and we’re the team that goes out and executes our game plot and plays our system the best.

“We’re at the stage of the year where every game is critical and every team is gearing up for the same opportunity. We place ourselves in a position where we have to win every night.”

Canada’s immigration minister says he takes “full responsibility” for a citizenship study guide that had all references to gay rights removed.

But Jason Kenney’s response to questions in the House of Commons on Thursday shed no light on who ordered the material cut from the document — whether it was the minister himself or an aide in his office.

“I take full responsibility for the content of that document,” Kenney said after the issue was raised by opposition MPs.

Records obtained by The Canadian Press show that an early draft of the guide, meant to prepare immigrants for citizenship tests starting March 15, contained sections citing milestones in gay rights, including decriminalization of homosexuality in 1969 and the same-sex marriage law of 2005.

But Kenney’s office ordered those sections removed from the draft, and rebuffed an effort by bureaucrats to have them re-inserted last August. The new guide was released with fanfare in November.

A spokesman for Kenney said last week the minister made the edit because the booklet, which reviews Canadian culture, politics and history, could not be “encyclopedic.”

On Wednesday, though, Kenney denied ordering the cut, providing no explanation of who in his office was responsible.

Kenney’s acknowledgment of “full responsibility” Thursday was again without explanation, though he said the document was far more comprehensive than the previous version published in 1995.