The Night that Was:
Tampa Bay has struggled since winning three-straight, losing three of their last four heading in to last night and things didn’t get any easier. The Toronto Maple Leafs opened the scoring just 41 seconds in when Clarke MacArthur scored his seventh of the season. Vincent Lecavalier’s ninth tied the game soon after before Tim Connolly and Tyler Bozak each scored their third goals of the season to give the Leafs a 3-1 lead. Joe Colborne’s first NHL goal was the only tally of the second period as Colborne scored his first career NHL goal, as Bozak’s second of the game opened up the scoring in the third period. Joffrey Lupul got in on the scoring with his 11th, and Joey Crabb’s third of the season capped off a 7-1 Leafs win. Dwayne Roloson allowed six goals on 21 shots in just over two periods of work while Jonas Gustavsson made 27 saves for the victory. Only five Leafs finished the game pointless, with Tyler Bozak and Tim Connolly finishing with three points and Jake Gardiner and Matt Frattin each had two points.
The St. Louis Blues were looking to stay unbeaten in regulation under Ken Hitchcock last night as they hosted the Los Angeles Kings. Things started well too, as Alex Steen scored his eighth of the season to put the Blues up 1-0 1:07 in. A lead they would hold on to throughout the first period. Anze Kopitar would tie things up on a power play in the second period before Mike Richards gave the Kings the lead early in the third, giving him four-straight games with a goal. Vladimir Sobotka’s second of the year would tie things up, but just two minutes after that Willie Mitchell won it for the Kings. Jonathan Bernier was in net for the win, making 23 saves to Jaroslav Halak’s 25, as Richards was the only player between the two teams to finish with multiple points.
The Edmonton Oilers needed a big first and final period to handle the Nashville Predators yesterday. Shawn Horcoff, Ales Hemsky, and Jordan Eberle all scored in the first period, with the kid line (Eberle, Taylor Hall, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) all finishing the period with two points. Eberle opened the scoring in the third period with his seventh of the season before Jordin Tootoo got the Preds on the board, but Jeff Petry and Shawn Horcoff made it 6-1 before Jonathan Blum scored, making it a 6-2 final. Tootoo was in on both of the Preds goals, while Eberle (3 points), Horcoff, Hemsky, Hall, Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan Smyth all finished with two points each. Devan Dubnyk made 30 saves for the victory as the Oilers moved in to seventh in the West with the win.
What’s on Tonight?
Well our American friends, it’s a busy day before you celebrate Thanksgiving…especially with nothing happening on Thursday. Boston heads to Buffalo in a divisional game, Columbus takes on New Jersey, and Philadelphia travels to the Island. The spread for Sidney Crosby hosting the St. Louis Blues? 13.5 points. Winnipeg visits Washington, the Carolina Hurricanes host Montreal, the Red Wings welcome Calgary to Detroit, the Rangers head south to face the Southeast-leading Panthers, Nashville takes on Minnesota and L.A. plays two in a row on the road with this one in Dallas. Anaheim faces Phoenix, Vancouver makes their way to Colorado, and Chicago will spend the night in San Jose.
The Injury Bug:
-Brayden Schenn was activated off of long-term injured reserved by the Philadelphia Flyers and was assigned to Adirondack of the AHL.
-Often injured Montreal defenseman Andrei Markov was cleared for contact practices yesterday. There is still no timetable for Markov’s return, although Jacques Martin has said it won’t be before December.
-James Reimer is scheduled to return to full practices for the Leafs soon. Reimer has been out since October 22nd with concussion-like symptoms.
News and Rumours Around the League:
-The standoff between Kyle Turris and the Phoenix Coyotes ended yesterday. The two sides agreed to two-year, $2.8-million deal before a December 1st deadline. Turris will earn $1.2-million the first year of the contract and $1.6-million the second. Had Turris not signed by the first, he would be ineligible to return to the NHL this season.
-The Nashville Predators placed forward Niclas Bergfors on waivers. He has two points in 11 games this season.
-Stuart Percy, a first-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs this past draft, was signed to a three-year entry-level contract yesterday. Percy has 17 points in 18 games for Mississauga of the OHL this year, along with a plus-nine rating.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line(s) of the Night:
Jordan Eberle finished the night with 2 goals and an assist and a plus-two rating with all of his points coming even strength. Jake Gardiner and Matt Frattin each had their first career multiple point games (2 assists each) for the Leafs last night. Neither player scored on the power play as Gardiner finished with a plus-four rating and Frattin was a plus-two.
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