The Night that Was:
Roberto Luongo made his return to the Canucks’ crease last night, hoping for a victory over the Calgary Flames. In addition, after a paperwork issue, Mason Raymond made his return to the Canucks lineup after he was supposed to return in the middle of last week. It was the Flames who got on the board first though, thanks to Alex Tangauy banking in his fifth off of Luongo from a bad angle. The Canucks would get it back in the second though, as Kevin Bieksa’s second (on the power play) tied it at one, and Chris Higgins’ eighth gave Vancouver the lead with just 59 seconds left in the second. The Canucks would explode for three more however, as David Booth (40 seconds), Jannik Hansen (1:54) and Daniel Sedin (5:42) would all score before the six-minute mark of the period, to seal a 5-1 win. Booth and Higgins would both finish with a goal and two assists, with Ryan Kesler had a pair of assists in the win, as Luongo made 21 saves. Henrik Karlsson got the start, but was crashed into halfway through the third period and left with a knee injury. Mikka Kiprusoff finished the game for the Flames.
The Red Wings traveled to Colorado last night, as Detroit and the Avalanche wrote another chapter in their storied rivalry. Johan Franzen was the only player to score in the first, knocking home his 12th on the power play with five minutes to go in the opening frame. Colorado would get that one back just 26 seconds in when Ryan O’Reilly scored, while Paul Stastny added his eighth soon after that. Dan Cleary tied things up five minutes into the third, before TJ Galiardi would score his third halfway through, shorthanded. Ryan O’Reilly would add his second of the game to give the Avs a 4-2 win, as Semyon Varlamov would make 27 saves for the win. Both O’Reilly and Gabriel Landeskog (2 assists) would finish with multiple points. Ty Conklin got the start for Detroit and made 31 saves in the loss.
It was back and forth all night between the Minnesota Wild and Anaheim Ducks yesterday. First, Ryan Getzlaf’s sixth opened the scoring, and the the Ducks made it 2-0 before the game was ten minutes old when Saku Koivu chipped home his fifth. Dany Heatley would just beat the clock, making it 2-1 with his eighth with just four seconds left in the first. The second would go by scoreless until Casey Wellman scored his second of the season to tie it, and thirty seconds after that Pierre-Marc Bouchard gave the Wild the lead. Cam Fowler would tie it up on a puck that deflected it’s way past Josh Harding, but Nick Johnson would take the lead back for Minnesota, and Cal Clutterbuck would score an empty-netter to give the Wild a 5-3 win. Teemu Selanne was the only Duck to record multiple points (two assists), while Matt Cullen had a three-assist night to help out his three teammates who had a goal and an assist (Clutterbuck, Wellman, Bouchard).
What’s on Tonight?
No late night tonight, as everything will be over by 10:30 probably. Boston visits Pittsburgh, Toronto heads to New York to take on the Rangers, Ottawa welcomes Tampa Bay to Canada, Washington and Florida face off down south, and Phoenix and Chicago get underway at 8:00. Check the sportsbook review for odds.
The Injury Bug:
-The Flames not only lost Henrik Karlsson to a knee injury last night, but they were also without David Moss, Anton Babchuk, and Mark Giordano due to injuries.
-The Red Wings lost Valtteri Filppula last night to a laceration just above his skate. He didn’t return to the game.
-Chuck Kobasew missed last night’s game for Colorado due to a leg injury.
News and Rumours Around the League:
-Rumours surrounded the Calgary Flames over the weekend, as many wondered whether Jarome Iginla had asked for a trade or been asked to waive his no-trade clause. Jay Feaster met with the media and declared that none of that had happened and Iginla isn’t going anywhere. Rumours persist around Cory Sarich however, and it didn’t help that he was a healthy scratch yesterday.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line(s) of the Night:
In Minnesota’s 5-3 win, Matt Cullen had three helpers, four shots, and a +2 rating. Two of his assists came at even-strength while one of Cullen’s helpers came on the powerplay. It was Cullen’s first multi-assist game this season.
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