A Day in the NHL: Tuesday January 25

We’re just two days away from the NHL’s All-Star break, and the action is picking up. Yesterday was the first of three-straight busy days for the league.

The Night that Was:

This was supposed to be the game of the night in the NHL. Despite the Canucks having lost four-straight, Vancouver and Dallas were two of the top teams in the West and this was promising to be a good one. Someone just forgot to tell the Stars. Vancouver finally won (and big) 7-1 as they became the first team in the West to 30 wins thanks to seven different goal scorers. Just four Canucks failed to record a point while six Canucks recorded multiple points, including Henrik Sedin with three. Roberto Luongo made 25 saves for the win in a game that was marked by some hostilities in the third period between Dan Hamhuis and Mike Ribeiro, and Keith Ballard, Alex Burrows, Adam Burish and Krys Barch. Dallas has now lost two-straight after winning five in a row.

You can make it three in a row for the Calgary Flames as they defeated Nashville 3-1 last night for their third-straight win. This was also the most defensive of those wins, as Miikka Kiprusoff allowed just one goal on 24 shots. Alex Tanguay and Matt Stajan each had two assists and Jarome Iginla scored his 21st of the season and recorded his sixth point in his last five games. It was just the third loss of the month for the Predators who got a goal out of David Legwand for the second time in three games. The Flames now sit just three points out of a playoff spot.

The Toronto Maple Leafs could do little with career nights from Mike Brown (1 goal/1assist) and Tim Brent (2 goals/1 assist) as they fell to Brandon Sutter and the Carolina Hurricanes. Sutter had two goals and rookie Jeff Skinner’s 18th was the winner was the Hurricanes topped the Leafs 6-4. For the Leafs, the game was marred in the first period by Tim Gleason’s sucker-punch to Nikolai Kulemin, as Kulemin suffered a facial injury and didn’t return. Neither did Gleason though, as he was ejected from the game. It was Toronto’s fifth loss of their last six, while Carolina’s win moved them within one point of Atlanta and eighth place in the East.

Stefan Della Roevere was back in the NHL last night for St. Louis but Brandon Yip’s fourth-career two-goal game and first this year helped Colorado to the 4-3 win. Brad Boyes had a night to remember for St. Louis though as he recorded three assists for the Blues and was the only player with three points in this game. Colorado had dropped two in a row going in to Monday’s competition, while St. Louis has lost three straight and won just two of eleven games this month.

Quick Hits:

-The L.A. Kings finally scored a power-play goal after going 0/22 and Jonathan Quick out-dueled Tim Thomas, something not many can do, for the 2-0 win.

-Five players scored goals in the shootout, but ultimately it was Artem Anisimov with the one that truly mattered, sending the New York Rangers to a 2-1 over Washington.

What’s on Tonight?

Florida heads to Broadway to take on the New York Rangers, while the Islanders are on the road visiting Pittsburgh. Anaheim heads to Ohio to meet the Blue Jackets, Montreal goes toe-to-toe with Philadelphia, while Buffalo and Ottawa meet in a divisional matchup. Toronto will try to tame Stamkos in Tampa Bay, Minnesota visits Chicago, while Edmonton takes on Phoenix on the second-last day before the All-Star break.

The Injury Bug:

Marc Savard, not surprisingly, has a concussion. It’s being called “moderate” by the team, but that doesn’t give a timetable for Savard’s return.

-Atlanta’s Tobias Enstrom will be out for the next two-to-three weeks with a broken finger. He’ll also miss the All-Star game.

Rumours and News Around the League:

Brent Seabrook and the cap-dictated Chicago Blackhawks are reportedly in talks on a contract extension. He’s currently making $3.5-million a season on his most-recent contract.

-No one will be fired in Ottawa, at least until the end of the season. Bryan Murray addressed those worries yesterday saying that decisions will be made at the end of the season.

The Overlooked Fantasy Line of the Night:

It’s Tim Brent. A career night for the grinder didn’t get him any love, but his two goals and one assist certainly should.


You can e-mail Bryan at bryanthiel74@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter at BryanThiel_88.