Eight exhibition games were going last night, but the big news came from a certain star defenseman who finally came to an agreement with his club.
The Night that Was:
-Wayne Simmonds finally made a headline for scoring a goal. Simmonds scored one of the Flyers goals, while Jaromir Jagr had the other one (to go along with an assist), and Claude Giroux had two assists as Philadelphia beat New Jersey 2-1. Stephane Veilloux scored the lone goal for the Devils as Martin Brodeur made 25 saves in a complete game effort. The Flyers split things between Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky.
-Daniel Alfredsson and David Rundblad scored for Ottawa as they were able to down the Boston Bruins 2-1. Craig Anderson made an almost unbelievable 39 saves in the game, while Tim Thomas faced a mere 20 in comparison. Milan Lucic had the goal for Boston.
-After going down 1-0 in the first, the Columbus Blue Jackets stormed back with three unanswered in the second en route to a 4-2 win. Fedor Tyutin, Rick Nash, and Jeff Carter had the goals in the second, as Cam Atkinson added the insurance in the third. Tyutin and Atkinson finished with two points each along with Tomas Kubalik and Antoine Vermette. Steve Mason played the entire game, making 32 saves. Guillame Latendress and Mikko Koivu scored the goals for the Wild as Josh Harding went 22/26.
-Brett Connolly was making a strong case to make the Tampa Bay Lightning before. Now, he may be writing his name in with pen on the depth chart. Connolly and Steven Stamkos slammed home two goals each and Martin St. Louis had two helpers as Dwayne Roloson’s 24 save-shutout outdid Montreal’s Peter Budaj (30/34).
-The young players are hoping to mature in St. Louis, and if last night was any indication, they’re well on their way. David Backes, T.J. Oshie, and Patrik Berglund all scored last night in the Blues 3-1 win over Colorado. Oshie and Andy McDonald had 2 points each and goaltender Ben Bishop had to make just 18 saves as Joakim Lindstrom was the only man to beat him for Colorado. J.S. Giguere started for Colorado, stopping 29 of 32 pucks thrown at him.
-Dallas blew out the Florida Panthers last night 7-1. Rookie Jonathan Huberdeau had the lone goal for Florida, who left Jose Theodore in for all seven goals. Dallas got a huge night out of Mike Ribeiro (1g/5a) and Alex Goligoski (1g/3a), and two-point evenings from Tom Wandell, Vernon Fiddler, Stephane Robidas, and Michael Ryder.
-Miikka Kiprusoff’s 21-save effort led the Flames to a 4-2 win over Phoenix last night. David Moss had a pair of goals and an assist while Olli Jokinen and Curtis Glencross had two points each. Glencross and Babchuk had the other goals. Boyd Gordon and Ray Whitney scored for the Coyotes.
-Thomas Greiss made 25 saves in a shutout of the Vancouver Canucks last night. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau had two assists each and Joe Pavelski, Dan Boyle, and Jamie McGinn all scored in the Sharks 3-0 win.
What’s on Tonight?
Buffalo visits Washington, the Islanders face off against the Devils, Columbus and Carolina go at it and Toronto heads to Detroit. Edmonton faces Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Chicago tee-off, Winnipeg plays host to the Predators, and the L.A. Kings battle the Anaheim Ducks.
News and Notes:
-Reports surfaced last night that Drew Doughty and the Los Angeles Kings have solved their contract impasse. Doughty, an RFA without a contract, apparently came to a verbal agreement last night on a new deal with L.A. The deal is for eight-years and $56-million. The Kings did not want to go above $6.8-million per season, but obviously in how the deal breaks down, Doughty gets $7-million a season.
-Brendan Smith has received a suspension for the rest of the pre-season and five regular season games for his hit on Chicago’s Ben Smith. The ruling came down Friday morning from Brendan Shanahan, Vice President of Player Safety, who handed out his eighth suspension of the pre-season.
-If you’re wondering whether or not the Winnipeg Jets have made a decision on Mark Scheifele, they haven’t. Scheifele will play in the Jets last game of the pre-season and the team will decide from there. Scheifele is leading the pre-season in scoring.
-Jarome Iginla returned to the ice for the first time since suffering a back injury at the beginning of camp. Iginla stated that there was no rush to heal his injury and that the pre-season afforded him the time to properly heal.
-Jason Chimera and the Washington Capitals came to an agreement on a new two-year deal. The deal is worth $3.5-million total. Chimera is entering his second full season as a Capital.
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