The Night that Was:
Five or six years ago, these New Jersey/Toronto rivalry games were tight-checking affairs with low scores. Not anymore. The Leafs got things going last night when the recently-called up Joey Crabb scored his first of the year halfway through the period before Danius Zubrus tied it a little later on the power play. Mikhail Grabovski ensured the Leafs would take a lead to the second though, as his fifth gave them a 2-1 lead. The Devils tied it in the second when Patrick Elias scored on the power play before Joffrey Lupul put the Leafs up by one again. Then David Clarkson tied it. Then Joffrey Lupul scored to give the Leafs the lead…and then he capped off the hat-trick, giving the Leafs a 5-3 lead—one that would survive the third period and become a final. Along with Lupul’s hat-trick, Grabovski had a pair of points to go along with two-assist nights from Phil Kessel and Tim Conolly. No Devils had multi-points as Jonas Gustavsson made 19 saves and Martin Brodeur made 18 in his return to the lineup.
In a penalty-filled affair, the Flyers were able to hold on to a 3-2 victory over the rival Sabres. It was six minutes in by the time Sean Couturier, James van Riemsdyk and Scott Hartnell gave the Flyers a 3-0 lead and chased Ryan Miller from the net. Jhonas Enroth came in and stopped all 15 shots he faced from there on out (in that six minute span Miller faced 11), as the Sabres chipped away. Andrej Sekera scored his first of the season in the second, and then Luke Adam chipped in with his fourth during the third period. The comeback wasn’t there however, as Ilya Bryzgalov stood tall in the last five minutes, and made 29 saves overall. Despite the early goal for the Flyers, the only player with multiple points was Luke Adam.
Phoenix and Colorado was the other game on the schedule last night, and despite Colorado’s best efforts, they fell 4-1. The Avalanche fired 40 shots on Mike Smith and the Coyotes last night, but the only player to beat him was Ryan O’Reilly in the second (with his second). Phoenix got goals out of Taylor Pyatt in the first, Radim Vrbata in the second, and Lauri Korpikoski and Vrbata (again) in the third en route to their victory. Vrbata and Ray Whitney (2 assists) both finished with multiple points for Phoenix as their win moved them from ninth to fifth in the west. Yes, it’s early, but if things stay this tight, jumps like this may keep happening.
What’s on Tonight?
It’s the busiest night of the week so far as Winnipeg visits the New York Islanders, Anaheim travels to MSG to meet up with the Rangers, and the New Jersey Devils meet up with the Philadelphia Flyers. Toronto plays their second in as many nights as they head to Columbus, Florida hosts the Chicago Blackhawks, and Detroit welcomes Calgary to the Joe. Vancouver and Minnesota meet up, Nashville and Phoenix face each other in the desert, while the glitz and glamour of L.A. welcomes the Oilers and Kings. The Pittsburgh Penguins also make their way out to San Jose to face the Sharks.
The Injury Bug:
-After hurting his hand blocking a shot earlier in the week, Duncan Keith will not play tonight, although he returned the practice yesterday.
-Word was released on Jussi Jokinen’s leg injury, and Jokinen will be out up to a month.
News and Rumours Around the League:
-Brendan Shanahan continues to be busy. He’ll be meeting with Patrick Kaleta of the Buffalo Sabres after a head-butting incident during Wednesday night’s game. Kaleta head-butt Jakiub Voracek five minutes in to the game, but the incident went unpenalized.
-Sean Avery has returned to the New York Rangers but will not play this evening.
-The Montreal Canadiens and prospect Jarred Tinordi came to an agreement on a three-year entry-level contract yesterday. Tinordi was taken 22nd in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line of the Night:
They don’t get talked about very often, but Radim Vrbata and Ray Whitney are key cogs in that Phoenix offense and don’t get talked about that often. Vrbata had two goals, Whitney two assists, and they combined to go +2 with 2 PIM and 6 shots as well.
You can follow Bryan on Twitter at BryanThiel_88.