Six games in exhibition action last night, and plenty of results coming from the 2011 Draft Class and even the top pick of the 2010 class.
The Night that Was:
-Mika Zibanejad opened the scoring in the first period but the opening frame was in for a whole lot more than that. Five goals total were scored in the first, as Ottawa got out to a 3-2 lead. The Leafs would rebound with goals from Darryl Boyce, Nikolai Kulemin, and Clarke MacArthur for the 5-3 win behind 32 saves from James Reimer. Mikhail Grabovski paced the Leafs with three points, while Zach Smith and Chris Neil had two assists each for Ottawa as Lehner made 26 saves. Neil also added a questionable hit to his totals as he hit Mikhail Grabovski in the head during the game. Grabovski left for baseline testing but did return to the game.
-An eight-round shootout was finished off by the Penguins’ Matt Niskanen as Pittsburgh defeated Los Angeles 3-2. Alec Martinez and Jarrett Stoll scored for the Kings, while Deryk Engelland and Chris Kunitz counted for Pittsburgh.
-It took overtime but the Dallas Stars defeated the Florida Panthers 4-3. Two-point nights from Dmitry Kulikov and Tomas Fleischmann led the way for the Panthers while Jonathan Huberdeau added a goal of his own. Florida actually rebounded from a 3-1 deficit, after scoring in the first but allowing three unanswered goals in the second to the Stars. Jake Dowell had two assists for the Stars as Kari Lehtonen made 43 saves for the OT victory.
-St. Louis got goals out of four NHL-bound Blues as they eked out a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild. Carlo Colaiacovo had the winner with just over a minute to go in the third, as Matt D’Agostini, Scott Nichol, and Patrik Berglund all scored for St. Louis, who finished the game without a multi-point scorer. Both Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley had two assists for the Wild as both teams deployed their starters: Jaroslav Halakmade 17 saves while Niklas Backstrom made 22.
-Three point nights are hard to ignore and the Edmonton Oilers got two of them. Both Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (consecutive first-overall picks) had three point efforts for the Oilers as they beat Phoenix 3-2. Patrick O’Sullivan and Daymond Langkow each chipped in with two assists each for the Coyotes as Nikolai Khabibulin earned the win with 18 saves. Mike Smith made 29 in a losing effort.
-Henrik Karlsson had to make just 13 saves for the shutout last night as the Calgary Flames beat the New York Islanders 2-0. Curtis Glencross and Lee Stempniak had the goals for Calgary. Many of the Isles top talents were not dressed for the game, although first-round pick Ryan Strome was, going minus-one in 16 minutes of ice time. Both Evgeni Nabokov and Mikko Koskinen allowed goals for the Isles.
What’s on Tonight?
Washington heads to the Music City to take on the Predators, Detroit and Chicago hook up in a pre-season Central Division showdown, Carolina and Winnipeg tangle after Winnipeg trimmed their roster Tuesday, the Los Angeles Kings take on the Colorado Avalanche, and the Vancouver Canucks visit the Anaheim Ducks.
News and Notes:
-Wayne Simmonds will not receive a suspension for his assumed homophobic slur towards Sean Avery. After the investigation into the incident however, the league stated their position on such incidents, explaining that players in the league “have the right to function in a work environment that is free from racially or sexually-based innuendo or derision”, meaning that harsh punishments for confirmed encounters will be used in the future.
-Anaheim Ducks forward J.F. Jacques was not as lucky however. Jacques was handed a suspension by the league for the rest of the pre-season and five regular season games, after violating rule 70 (A player entering the ice on a legal line change with the sole purpose of fighting).
-As the Edmonton Oilers decide whether or not centreman Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be with the NHL club this year, the loss of another centreman may have boosted the first-overall pick’s odds. The Oilers announced Sam Gagner is now week-to-week with a sprained ankle.
You can follow Bryan on Twitter at BryanThiel_88.