While there were a handful of two-goal nights, teams trying to get back to the winning way of things, and plenty of extra-time thrillers, there was one milestone last night that stole the show. That’s where we start.
The Night that was:
Chris Osgood is very familiar with the Red Wings/Avalanche rivalry. After all, the three-time Stanley Cup winner has only spent three seasons away from Detroit since his career started in 1993-94. Last night seemed to be a throwback to the glory days of those matchups, and it was certainly a fitting way for Osgood to earn his 400th career victory. In the first period, it was Colorado taking the lead (1-0 and 2-1), but every time Detroit would come back. Then, Nik Lidstrom and Matt Duchene traded power play goals in the third, as Detroit had their first lead of the contest, but it wasn’t even for three minutes. As things went to overtime, Peter Budaj took a tripping penalty on Darren Helm that set the Wings up for their fourth power play goal of the evening, a 4-2 victory, and Osgood’s 400th career win, making him only the tenth goalie to have done so. The clinching marker was Niklas Kronwal’s second point of the game, as Nik Lidstrom assisted on it, and the other two goals, to give himself a four-point night. Both Tomas Holmstrom and Kevin Shattenkirk were hit in the face with pucks, but returned to game action after receiving repairs.
In a thrilling game, Tim Thomas stood on his head in the third period, keeping the Florida Panthers off of the board, when a lesser goalie probably would have handed them the ‘W’. Both Michael Santorelli and Michael Frolik scored for Florida, giving Santorelli his first 10-goal season in the NHL, while David Krejci responded with both for Boston. Although the shots were even in the third, it seemed like the last seven minutes were being played in Boston’s end, as Thomas made 32 saves for the evening, but Scott Clemmensen was busier overall, stopping 40 of 42. When overtime failed to break the tie, the game went to a shootout where Blake Wheeler was the only player to score, on a fluky play where he lost control of the puck, but recovered in time to slip it by Clemmensen for the 3-2 win.
For the New York Rangers, beating up on their cross town rivals was easy, despite the Islanders three-game winning streak entering last night’s game. While the Islanders had everything tied up after one period of play, Dwayne Roloson faltered, allowing a series of weak goals as the Rangers beat the Islanders 7-2. Brian Boyle had two goals and a three-point night, while six Rangers recorded at least two points and Derek Stepan scored a goal in his fourth-straight game. The loss also put an end to the Isles’ five-game point streak.
Rick Nash became the Columbus Blue Jackets’ all-time leader in assists (he already held the top spot in points and goals) with two last night, but needed to display some shootout heroics to give the Blue Jackets the win over the Wild. Columbus took their first lead of the game partway through the third at 3-2, but while it had taken them a while to tie the game both times, it took Cal Clutterbuck just four minutes to score his tenth of the season to tie it at 3. Kyle Wilson would score along with Nash in the shootout, off-setting a goal by Pierre-Marc Bouchard, as Columbus won for just the second time since December 11, 4-3.
Quick Hits:
-Jarome Iginla scored a goal for the first time in six games and Ales Kotalik scored his first of the season as Calgary won 5-2 over Buffalo.
-Dustin Brown has scored goals in three of his last four including two last night, as Jonathan Quick made 24 saves for his fourth shutout and the 4-0 win over San Jose.
What’s on Tonight?
Jeff Skinner has a homecoming of sorts as Carolina visits Toronto, while Sidney Crosby looks to extend his point streak to 25 at home against the Thrashers. Montreal visits the Capitals as Boston continues it’s tour of Florida with a stop in Tampa Bay, as Chicago heads to St. Louis and Dallas goes to Nashville. Buffalo stays in Western Canada with a stop in Edmonton, Anaheim heads to the desert to face Phoenix, and it’s second-bests facing off as the second-best team in the East (Philadelphia) faces the second-best in the West (Vancouver).
The Injury Bug:
Corey Crawford won’t start for Chicago tonight. He’s still feeling the effects of a flu bug. Staying with Chicago, Patrick Kane plans on returning to the lineup this evening as well.
The Thrashers will be without Nik Antropov for a third-straight game as he recovers from a hip injury.
Rick DiPietro was activated from the IR by the New York Islanders. He had been placed there because of swelling in his knee.
New and Rumours Around the League:
Jordin Tootoo has voluntarily entered the league’s substance abuse-behavioral health program. The Predators will only go so far as to announce their support of Tootoo, as it is not known what Tootoo is being treated for. We wish him a speedy recovery.
The weather forecast has rain in it for the Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals at Heinz Field on January 1st. Along with the rain, which would cause unsafe conditions, the temperature is also expected to be abnormally high, although the rain will have a larger impact on the game than the above-freezing temperature that’s projected.
P.K. Subban, who has had trouble getting into the Montreal lineup, got into it with a couple of teammates at practice. Nothing serious came out of it, but frustrations must be running high for the 21-year old. He’s sat (healthily) in five of the last 12 games.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line of the Night:
On any other night this one would be first-star worthy, but seeing as Matt Gilroy’s first multi-goal effort landed him second star and teammate Chris Osgood is first star, it’s Nik Lidstrom’s four-point night. Anze Kopitar also had three assists while David Moss had a goal and an assist.
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