On a busy night in the NHL there were plenty of high-scoring games, a couple of tight-checking ones, and a late collapse in Edmonton that left Oilers faithful heartbroken.
The Night that Was:
In a potential Eastern Conference Final, the Washington Capitals came out on top in their first meeting with the Philadelphia Flyers. Claude Giroux opened the scoring on a beautiful move on a breakaway as he picked up a loose puck right out of the penalty box before Mathieu Perreault and Alex Ovechkin capped off the first period scoring. The second period passed scoreless, before the Caps got three-straight to open the third period including Roman Hamrlik and Joel Ward’s first as Caps along with Ovie’s second of the night. Sean Couturier capped the evening’s scoring with his second of the season with just 15 seconds left in a 5-2 Capitals win. Tomas Vokoun made 40 saves for the victory.
Michael Cammalleri returned to Montreal’s lineup, but it wasn’t enough to help them against the Penguins. James Neal scored nine minutes into the game (his seventh) to give the Pens a 1-0 lead. Joe Vitale would be the lone scorer of the second period, as he potted his first of the year, before the teams traded goals in the third with Aaron Asham’s first and Brian Gionta’s second capped off the scoring in a 3-1 win. Deryk Engelland led the Pens in scoring with two assists, as Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves for the win.
The Winnipeg Jets capped off back-to-back games in Canadian cities as they stopped off in Ottawa last night, hoping for their second win of the season. Things started promisingly when Dustin Byfuglien notched his first of the season to give the Jets a 1-0 lead. The second period was all Ottawa however, as Milan Michalek and Jason Spezza both scored to give Ottawa the lead, and Daniel Alfredsson would score in the third before Michalek’s second of the game sealed a 4-1 Ottawa home win. Spezza and Michalek both finished the evening with three points each while Craig Anderson backstopped the Sens with a 35-save performance.
The Stanley Cup Champion Bruins hosted the Leafs last night, and it was a much-quieter came than against the Hurricanes earlier in the week. Things started well for the Leafs when Naem Kadri earned his first assist of the season setting up David Steckel’s first as a Leaf. It quickly went downhill from there as Nathan Horton, Zdeno Chara, and Chris Kelly made it 3-1 before the second. All the first period scoring came in handy thought because the second sailed by without a blip on the scoresheet. In the third though, the Bruins buried the Leafs. Milan Lucci, Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin buried the Leafs 6-1, before Mikhail Grabovski made it a more ‘respectable’ 6-2. Jake Gardiner at least earned his first NHL point for the Leafs, as Jonas Gustavsson was bombarded all night with 43 shots.
The Rest of the Story
The Lightning got their season back on track at home against the Islanders with a 4-1 victory. Matheiu Garon got the start but only had to make 16 saves.
Thomas Vanek had a pair and Jason Pominville scored one as well in a 3-0 Sabres win. Ryan Miller made 22 saves for the shutout for his first shutout of the year.
Three of the big names scored for Chicago last night as Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, and Marian Hossa led the Blackhawks to a 3-1 win.
After a first period that featured four goals, the New York Rangers and Calgary Flames went to OT tied at two. It was there that Ryan Mcdonagh scored his second career game-winning goal, handing the Rangers a 3-2 win.
Edmonton had a 1-0 lead wrapped up until there was 0.5 seconds left in the game before Dany Heatley tied things up on a grimy goal that snuck through Nikolai Khabibulin. Matt Cullen was the only player to score in the shootout, giving the Wild the 2-1 win.
The Kings locked down a 2-0 win last night as Jonathan Quick won his 100th career game. Quick made 28 saves.
Roberto Luongo made 25 saves and the Vancouver Canucks offense finally showed up, earning a 5-1 win over Nashville. Daniel Sedin had a goal and two assists to lead the team in scoring.
What’s on Tonight?
It’s a four-game evening tonight as San Jose heads to New Jersey, Detroit hosts Columbus, Carolina visits St. Louis, and Dallas goes head-to-head with Anaheim.
The Injury Bug:
-Colby Armstrong was placed on injured reserve yesterday with a sprained ankle. Armstrong suffered the ankle injury during Wednesday’s game.
-Former first-round pick and Flame Kris Chucko has retired due to concussions. Citing constant headaches and a decreased quality of living, Chucko said the ‘decision doesn’t come too hard.’
News and Rumours Around the League:
-The Calgary Flames sent enforcer Raitis Ivanans to the AHL yesterday. The 32-year old has played just one game this season.
-Victor Rask and the Carolina Hurricanes reached an agreement on a three-year, entry-level contract yesterday.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line of the Night:
Four players (Chara, Seguin and Lucic too) had three points for the Bruins last night, but we’re going to pay attention to Andrew Ference. Ference had three asisists, three shots, and a plus-two rating for the Bruins. A great night for the Bruins’ defender.
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