Five games on the schedule last night, and two of them featured teams making comebacks to win. Not a good night for home teams though as just two of them won.
The Night that Was:
You want goals? You’ve got goals. After a first period wher Tomas Kopecky, Teddy Purcell, Victor Hedman, and Stephen Weiss all scored, the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning were tied at two after one., with three of those four goals coming on the power play. Kris Versteeg (PPG) and Sean Bergenheim (SHG-first as a Panther) added goals in the second, before Vincent Lecavalier cut the Cats’ lead to one. In the third, Versteeg and Weiss added their second goals of the game each along with Jason Garrison’s second of the season to off-set one from Steven Stamkos, as the Panthers paved the way to a 7-4 win. Weiss and Versteeg both finished the night with four points, while Brian Campbell notched four assists and Ed Jovanovski had two. Marc-Andre Bergeron (3 assists) and Matt Gilroy (2 assists) were the only Lightning with multiple points, as Tampa surrendered five power play goals.
The Winnipeg Jets are winless no more. Opening the scoring just seconds into the game when Zbynek Michalek fell down and turned the puck over, Kyle Wellwood scored his second of the year, and Tanner Glass added another one late in the frame. Michalek would try to make amends late in the second, cutting the lead in half with his first, but that’s as far as the scoring would go. Alexander Burmistrov assisted on both Winnipeg goals, while Matt Cooke continued to high-scoring start to his season with an assist. The game was marred by a couple of incidents however, as Kris Letang hit Burmistrov from behind in the third, earning him a 2-minute boarding minor that could warrant a look from Brendan Shanahan and the league. After that, Chris Kunitz and Chris Thorburn mixed it up, while Jim Slater and Ben Lovejoy fought following Kunitz and Thorburn’s run-in. Ondrej Pavelec made 28 saves in the 2-1 win while Marc-Andre Fleury made 32.
Toronto is undefeated no more, while Colorado now leads the west. After a scoreless first period, the Leafs’ Phil Kessel opened the scoring 19 seconds into the second with his sixth of the season. Soon after that however, Daniel Winnick tied it up and Milan Hejduk put the Avs ahead on the power play. Nikolai Kulemin scored with just five minutes left in the third to salvage a point and send it to overtime, but the Avs won the battle for the extra-point. David Jones scored a minute in to give Colorado a 3-2 win, and make Jean-Sebastien Giguere a winner (27 saves) in his return to Toronto.
Teemu Selanne had a pair of first-period goals and came within an Antti Niemi pad save of a first-period hat-trick, and putting the Ducks up 3-0. The Ducks would settle for that 2-0 lead, which Marc-Edouard Vlasic promptly cut to 2-1, six and a half minutes into the second. Last year’s MVP Corey Perry put Anaheim up by a pair in the third, and it’s a good thing he did, because a power play goal from Brent Burns made it a 3-2 Ducks final. Saku Koivu finished the night with a pair of assists to go along with Selanne’s two goals, as Dan Ellis made 41 saves for the victory and Anaheim won their fourth game (first on the road) of the season.
The Rest of the Story:
The Oilers saved all their scoring until the third period last night. Sergei Kostitsyn had Nashville’s goal in the second, but Taylor Hall, Ryan Smyth and Ryan Jones all scored in the third for a 3-1 win. Shawn Horcoff had 3 assists.
What’s on Tonight?
The Carolina Hurricanes visit the Boston Bruins, Florida hopes their high-flying power play can carry over against the undefeated Washington Capitals, and Dallas will play the Jeff Carter-less Blue Jackets in Columbus. Buffalo heads to Montreal for a divisional matchup, Philadelphia takes on Ottawa in Canada’s Capital, and Pittsburgh rolls their way to Minnesota. It’s the Battle of Alberta: Edmonton against Calgary, the New York Rangers take on the Canucks, Chicago heads to Phoenix, and the St. Louis Blues visit the Los Angeles Kings.
The Injury Bug:
-After getting hit by Zac Rinaldo last week, the Kings will be without Drew Doughty because of an upper body injury. Slava Voynov was called up after Doughty was placed on the injured reserve.
-There was a good sign for the Canadiens yesterday, as Mike Cammalleri skated for the first time since suffering a leg laceration against the Jets. He might be back some time this week, but it’s up to how he feels.
-Jeff Carter has a hairline fracture in his foot, but he is only listed as day-to-day. It’s doubtful that he’ll be in the lineup on Tuesday though.
-In Canucks news, Ryan Kesler is prepared to return to the lineup this evening after recovering from off-season hip surgery. Kesler won the Selke Trophy last year, and the Canucks are off to just a 2-2-1 start.
-Both Tyler Kennedy (Penguins) and Andy McDonald (Blues) have found themselves out indefinitely with concussions and concussion-like symptoms.
News and Rumours Around the League:
-Nail Yakupov of the Sarnia Sting (OHL) topped International Scouting Services’ Top 30 prospects list for October. Yakupov leads the OHL in scoring with 25 points in 10 games and is second in the entire CHL in scoring.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line of the Night:
Ryan Smyth finished the night with a goal and an assist, to go along with a plus-one rating and three shots in the Oilers’ win. He may be getting a little extra credit because it was Ryan Smyth bobblehead night in Edmonton last night too….
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