Seeing as Monday was Thanksgiving for people like me (Canadian that is…don’t go getting any ideas), and Columbus Day for Canada’s neighbours to the South, we’ll start with bird themed teams and…well…Columbus.
The Night that Was:
The Columbus Blue Jackets looked to be in pretty good shape yesterday against the Vancouver Canucks after two periods. Although Cam Atkinson and Chris Higgins exchanged goals in the first, Vaclav Prospal’s second withe the Jackets gave them a 2-1 lead. The Canucks weren’t about to go winless to start the season though, and the responsibility fell to Cody Hodgson and Alex Burrows. The two scored before the 10-minute mark of the third to give Corey Schneider and the Canucks their first win of the year. Schneider made 23 saves as Columbus falls to 0-3.
And here’s where we find out that, while my Columbus/Thanksgiving schtick was cute. It’s pretty useless….the closest thing to a team having to do with a bird is….
The Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning put on an 11-goal show for the fans last night, with the only person netting multiples being Jason Chimera who scored his second and third of the season. Four-goal first and third periods led to just two scored in the second, and a scoreless overtime paved the way for a shootout. Matt Hendricks and Alex Semin (who didn’t score during regulation) opened and closed the shootout with goals respectively as Washington won 6-5. Marcus Johansson, Dominic Moore, Brett Clark, Bruno Gervais, and Teddy Purcell all had multiple points too.
The start to the Calgary Flames’ season certainly isn’t as promising to the finish of last season. Despite being tied 1-1 with the St. Louis Blues after one, the Blues got two in the second from defensemen (Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo) and two in the third (Chris Stewart and Jason Arnott) to cap a 5-2 victory. Captain Jarome Iginla scored the second goal for the Flames who are 0-2.
Zach Parise’s first goal as Captain of the New Jersey Devils had them up 1-0 for a frame until Carolina’s Alex Ponikarovsky tied things at one. Mark Fayne and Chad Larose would trade second period markers before Ilya Kovalchuk and Parise would bang home a couple in the third for a 4-2 Devils win. Kovalchuk finished the day with three points and Parise had two, and Johan Hedberg made 24 saves in a winning effort.
The Rest of the Story:
No revamped offense here: Frans Nielsen and Andrew MacDonald helped the Islanders slid by the Wild 2-1. Al Montoya made 20 saves for the Isles.
Milan Hejduk scored the only goal of the game and it didn’t come until 8 minutes into the third as Colorado and Semyon Varlamov (30 saves) shut out Boston 1-0. Tuukka Rask did make 35 saves in a losing effort though.
Loui Eriksson and Radim Vrbata scored to send Dallas and Phoenix to a shootout tied at 1. Eriksson would score, but Shane Doan would negate that before Mike Ribiero won it for the Stars.
What’s on Tonight?
Hopefully there’s a reality show or something on. Pittsburgh finally opens the home portion of their schedule against the Florida Panthers, while Minnesota and Ottawa tangle in Canada’s Capital.
Injury Bug:
-Montreal is expected to be without Mike Cammalleri due to a leg laceration for at least two weeks. Aaron Palushaj has been recalled from Hamilton.
-Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mattias Ohlund could be missing a good chunk of the first part of the season after it was announced he would undergo surgery on both knees. He is expected to be out 4-to-6 weeks.
News and Notes:
-In case you missed it, the Montreal Canadiens’ waiver claim of Blair Betts has been reversed and the forward has been sent back to Philadelphia. Betts is recovering from a knee injury, and Montreal doctors deemed him ‘too unfit to play’, meaning that the claim is reversed.
-Despite his appeal, the Minnesota Wild will be without forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard for 2 games after he high-sticked Matt Calvert of the Blue Jackets. Bouchard’s camp appealed, but it was turned down.
-The Florida Panthers came to an agreement with Jonathan Huberdeau on an entry-level deal yesterday. Huberdeau was already returned to the QMJHL however, so he cannot be made a permanent roster of Florida’s NHL (or AHL) roster this season.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line of the Night:
Jason Chimera’s two-goal day earns him the nod this time. Chimera scored twice on seven shots in just under 15-minutes of ice time. He finished the day with a plus-one rating.
You can follow Bryan on Twitter at BryanThiel_88