Six players scored two goals last night, while the standings were re-jigged once again thanks to some big wins and losses.
The Night that Was:
Sidney Crosby didn’t seem to like the suspense of leaving his streak to the last minute against Ottawa, so he got it out of the way in the first period against Atlanta. After Evander Kane made it 1-0 Thrashers 47 seconds in, Crosby scored midway through the first to tie it at one, and then tied it at two after Dustin Byfuglien made it 2-1 Thrashers. Atlanta would only score once more however, as the Penguins would eventually score five unanswered goals on their way to a 6-3 win. Crosby had the home crowd fooled into thinking he had the hat-trick at the 16-minute mark of the third, but Matt Cooke’s re-direction forced Super Sid to settle for just a two goal, two assist night. Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves for the win, as Pittsburgh tied Colorado for the league-lead in goal-scoring with 125.
With the Penguins win, the Philadelphia Flyers needed a win to stay just one point back in the division. Instead, the Flyers dropped the battle of the second-place teams to Vancouver, 6-2. Philadelphia never really figured things out defensively, allowing 49 shots on the evening, and it showed. Although Manny Malhotra had the only goal of the first period, but the Flyers let 22 shots through and it only got worse from there. Ryan Kesler had two of the three Canuck goals in the second period, while two more were added in the third. Danny Briere had the big night for Philly with a goal and an assist, and Jeff Carter had the other goal, but with Kesler’s three points and the Sedins combining for five, it was no use.
A night after Chris Osgood became the tenth goalie to win 400 career games, Ryan Miller completed 50% of the journey, winning his 200th NHL game. Miller was faced with 31 Edmonton shots and stopped 29, as Mike Weber’s first NHL goal (and first two-goal game) paced a 4-2 Sabres win. Ales Hemsky recorded an assist in his return to the Edmonton lineup after being out since December 1st and the Oilers limited the Sabres to 21 shots, but it simply wasn’t enough. Weber also recorded an assist to make it a three-point evening.
The Washington Capitals seem to be figuring things out once again as two first period goals took them to a 3-0 win, their second in a row and fourth in their last five. Jay Beagle’s second goal of the season also became his second game-winner, while Mike Green added his second goal in three games after going nearly a month between markers. Smeyon Varlamov picked up his second shutout of the year in his third-straight strong start, while Alexander Ovechkin recorded a goal in back-to-back games for the fourth time this season. Montreal could only muster six shots in the third period, and have won just two of their last nine.
Quick Hits:
-Mark Recchi scored with just 20 seconds left for his second point of the night as Boston beat Tampa Bay to move into first in the Northeast Division.
-Phil Kessel had two goals and nearly had the hat-trick, but Eric Staal scored two of his own and Jeff Skinner scored in his homecoming to give Carolina the 4-3 win in Toronto.
-Jake Dowell was the only Blackhawk to score in Patrick Kane’s return to the lineup as Chicago fell 3-1 to the St. Louis Blues.
-Colin Wilson had two goals, but Dallas scored three in the third period to overcome a 2-1 deficit and win 4-2 in Nashville.
-Luca Sbisa notched his first of the season and Joffrey Lupul scored his fourth goal of the season and it stood as his first game winner as the Ducks won 3-1 against the Coyotes.
What’s on Tonight?
The New York Rangers make the long trek to New Jersey, while Pittsburgh swims out to visit the Islanders. Jeff Skinner continues his Ontario tour as the Hurricanes make their way to Ottawa, while San Jose and Minnesota clash, Detroit visits Dallas, and Dustin Brown looks to stay hot as Los Angeles touches down in Phoenix.
The Injury Bug:
Ryan Getzlaf took a puck to the face last night, but the word is that it’s just a lacerated forehead. The Ducks kept him from returning in their game against Phoenix for precautionary reasons.
As soon as Patrick Kane comes back, three more Blackhawks go down in the same game. Jonathan Toews was shoved into the boards during last night’s game and suffered an upperbody injury on his hard landing, while Troy Brouwer and Tomas Kopecky also sustained injuries last night, but were able to stay in the game.
Ryan Whitney joined the list of players to leave last night’s action as the Edmonton Oilers lost their top producer to an ankle injury. Whitney’s status is currently up in the air, and the Oilers will know more today.
Rumours and News Around the League:
Darryl Sutter stepped down as the General Manager of the Calgary Flames yesterday. Former Tampa Bay Lightning GM and Sutter’s assistant Jay Feaster takes over in the interim.
The Montreal Canadiens made a move to solidify the puck-moving presence on their blueline yesterday as they acquired James Wisniewski from the New York Islanders. Wisniewski is in the midst of a career year and brings the offensive flare lost when Andrei Markov went down.
The New Jersey Devils assigned Brian Rolston to the AHL, but don’t expect the assignment to last long. New Jersey’s hope is that Rolston will be claimed on re-entry waivers for half the price.
St. Louis has laid claim to a reclamation project of sorts, signing Marek Svatos to a one-year deal. While well-removed from seasons of 32 and 26 goals, the hope is that Svatos can still add a little spark to the only team currently holding a playoff spot in the West that hasn’t scored 100 goals this season.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line of the Night:
While not enough can be said about Andrew Raycroft’s 44-save performance for Dallas, he was the NHL’s second star of the evening. With that being said, both Pavel Kubina and Dennis Seidenberg had two assists and were a plus-one in the Boston/Tampa Bay game. A good night for the two defenders.
You can email Bryan at bryanthiel74@hotmail.com, and you can follow him on Twitter at BryanThiel_88.