The NHL made up for the Christmas break last night with 11 games rolling back into action. Five Canadian teams were in action (if you’re in to that kind of thing), and seven of the games were divisional matchups.
The Night that Was:
Colby Armstrong not only had his most productive night as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he also doubled-up on what he had already done for the team in the 17 games he had played before. Coming in to the game with just two points, Armstrong recorded two goals in a 4-1 win for the Leafs over the New Jersey Devils. John Mitchell and Nikolai Kulemin scored for the Leafs as Martin Brodeur gave way to Johan Hedberg after allowing three goals on 14 shots. Kris Versteeg added two assists for the Leafs, giving him points in six of his last eight, while Rod Pelley’s first of the season was the only New Jersey goal. It was New Jersey’s second-straight loss since firing John MacLean, but at least Ilya Kovalchuk alleviated his frustrations through a fight with Dion Phaneuf—a pretty smart move for a guy making $100-million to score.
It took nearly 57 minutes, but Sidney Crosby extended his unbelievable point streak to 24 games last night, although it didn’t help the Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators. Erik Karlsson had two goals (his seventh and eighth of the season) and added an assist to give him two three-point games in his last five, while Marc-Andre Fleury lost in regulation for just the second time since November 5th, 3-1. Brian Elliott deserves plenty of credit for the Sens’ second-straight win, as he stopped a remarkable 44 shots throughout the night as every Penguin recorded at least one shot except for three. Along with those three, four Sens failed to get a shot on net, including Alex Kovalev who played just 12:42.
To say the Red Wings got their first win since Pavel Datsyuk went down is pointless, yet it’s also true. Playing in just their second full game since losing their star centre, the Red Wings got goals from four different sources and two-point nights from Henrik Zetterberg and Nik Kronwall in the 4-1 win. The Wings not only dominated offensively, but defensively they made it seem like Minnesota hardly showed up. The Wild mustered just 17 shots the entire night, the most coming in the third period when they had eight, while Detroit had 13 in the first period alone. The only issue to come out of the Wings win is a big one though. They lost their leading goal-scorer in Dan Cleary to a broken ankle during the game, and now he’ll be out four weeks. The Christmas season has not been kind to Detroit.
The Montreal Canadiens continued their recent slide on Long Island last night. After finally earning a win on their seven-game road trip, the Canadiens dropped another to the Islanders 4-1. For Montreal it was their seventh loss in 12 games this month, and they’ve scored more than two goals in just two of those losses. The Islanders got goals from four different scorers, including James Wisniewski who’s now on a modest five-game point streak and on-pace for 50 points. The Islanders have won three-straight and four of their last five.
Quick Hits:
-Ryan Whitney scored to put Edmonton up 2-0, but Vancouver came back with two in the third to win 3-2.
-Kyle Clifford recorded an assist in the L.A. Kings 4-1 win over Anaheim. All six of the rookie’s points have now come in the month of December.
-Kyle Turris scored the only goal last night in a 1-0 Phoenix win over Dallas. It was his first game-winner of the season as Jason Labarbera made 30 saves for the shutout.
-St. Louis won their third-straight game as David Backes scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Nasvhille. Jaroslav Halak made 32 saves for the shutout.
-Thomas Kopecky’s sixth goal of the season tied his career-high in points with 21. Patrick Sharp became the third to 20 with two goals as Chicago beat Columbus 4-1.
-Dustin Byfuglien was held pointless and Vincent Lecavalier scored twice, including the OT winner in a 3-2 victory for Tampa over Atlanta.
-Alexander Ovechkin scored his first goal since December 6th vs. Toronto and just his fourth game-winner of the season as Washington beat Carolina 3-2.
What’s on Tonight?
The Battle of New York sees the Islanders visit the Rangers while Nathan Horton and the Boston Bruins visit Florida for a second time. Minnesota travels to Columbus as Detroit and Colorado renew their rivalry as Buffalo visits Calgary. San Jose host Los Angeles in the late game as those two division rivals look to jump ahead of one another in the standings.
The Injury Bug:
The Buffalo Sabres will be without Derek Roy for the rest of the season. He tore a tendon in his quad during the team’s December 23rd game against the Florida Panthers when he went into the boards awkwardly. Roy was Buffalo’s leading scorer with 35 points in 35 games.
For the New York Rangers, Marian Gaborik is questionable for Monday’s game against the Islanders, while Michael Del Zotto is expected to sit tonight while battling the flu.
The Chicago Blackhawks activated Marian Hossa from Injured Reserve yesterday, only to replace him with Patrick Kane. Hossa played last night and had two assists, while Kane won’t speculate on his return.
Ottawa’s Jason Spezza came away from last night’s game with a shoulder injury. Word is that surgery isn’t required, just rest, but the amount of time he’ll miss has yet to be determined. It’s been everything from indefinite to six weeks.
Rumours and News Around the League:
Peter Forsberg will not be coming back to professional hockey. He had been skating with MODO of the Swedish Elite League, but missed a practice due to his recurring foot injury, and has since informed the team that the foot is not in game shape. In a career that’s been cut short by injuries and dogged by comeback rumours, this seems to be it for Forsberg who, in his prime, was undoubtedly one of the best.
Word out of both Minnesota and Toronto, is that change will be coming to the clubs after disappointing first halves to the season for each.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line of the Night:
It’s not so overlooked, but Erik Karlsson’s three-point night wasn’t among the three stars on NHL.com, which featured Lecavalier, Elliott, and Labarbera. Can’t say I disagree, but Karlsson deserves some attention and so does David Backes, who came up with his second-straight two-point game.
Bryan is a columnist for Hockey54.com—The Face of the Game! and TooManyMenOnTheSite.com. If you want to get in contact with Bryan, e-mail him at bryanthiel74@hotmail.com, or follow him on Twitter at BryanThiel_88.