The Night that Was:
The New York Rangers and Dallas Stars dueled at Madison Square Garden last night as Brad Richards welcomed his old team to his new digs. Henrik Lundqvist and Richard Bachman went save-for-save through the first (8 saves apiece) and second (12 for Lundqvist, 13 for Bachman) periods. The third looked to be going the same way as the Rangers outshot Dallas 13-8, but Trevor Daley snuck his third of the year home when he coasted in from the point at 15:01 and gave Dallas a 5-1 win. Bachman made 34 saves for his first NHL shutout (he had six in the AHL last year), as Lundqvist made 27 saves in the loss.
Although Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal were both game-time decisions, both played, and Malkin even impacted the game, scoring his 11th of the season with just five seconds left in the first for a 1-0 Pittsburgh lead. Pavel Datsyuk would tie it late in the second, but the Red Wings would run away with it in the third. Johan Franzen scored his 14th to give the Wings a 2-1 lead and Dan Cleary would chip in with two more to give Detroit the 4-1 lead. Jimmy Howard made 25 saves for his 18th win, as Cleary and Datsyuk had two points each.
Even without Claude Giroux, the Philadelphia Flyers were able to exert some offensive dominance over Washington. Scott Hartnell scored his 15th 16:16 into the first, and the scoring in the second was opened by Marc-Andre Bourdon’s first NHL goal. Wayne Simmonds and Max Talbot would add goals to make it 4-0 before the end of the second, and after Jakub Voracek made it 5-0, Jeff Halpern scored Washington’s only goal. Halpern’s fifth broke Ilya Bryzgalov’s shutout bid, as he made 31 saves for his 14th win. Despite the five goals, James van Riemsdyk and Matt Carle were the only Flyers to score multiple points, netting two assists each. Tomas Vokoun and Michal Neuvirth split duty in the loss, although Vokoun gave up four goals on 21 shots.
It was Tuukka Rask’s turn between the pipes for the Bruins last night and he was spectacular against the Kings. Rask made eight saves in the opening period and Rich Peverley scored to give his goalie a 1-0 lead. Brad Marchand would extend it to 2-0, as Rask faced 13 shots in the frame. The third period was all Los Angeles, as the Kings outshot the Bruins 20-3. One of those three shots was a goal though (Marchand’s 11th), and Rask would stop all 20 shots for a 41-save, 3-0 shutout win. Patrice Bergeron earned an assist on both of Marchand’s goals and Zach Hamill added an assist as well, giving the winger two points in three games this season.
James Reimer and Cam Ward went toe-to-toe in Toronto last night and both looked unbeatable. Ward stopped 13 in the first and 13 in the second, while Reimer made 12 saves across the first two frames as the teams entered a scoreless third. It was 15 minutes before Tim Connolly opened the scoring with his fifth. Two minutes after, former Leaf Alex Ponikarovsky tied the game at one, sending things to an extra-session. It only took 44 seconds for this one to end though, as Tim Connolly’s second of the game gave Toronto the 2-1 win. Reimer finished the night with 18 saves while Ward stopped 36.
The Rest of the Story…
The Ottawa Senators opened the scoring but Buffalo came back to lead 2-1 before the end of the first. Things looked in control for Buffalo before Peter Regin tied it in the third. Jared Cowen’s third of the season was the winner in OT as Ottawa defeated Buffalo 3-2. Jason Spezza finished the night with two assists, the long multi-point game.
Columbus welcomed the Vancouver Canucks to town last night and certainly played up to their competition. Jeff Carter scored his third goal in three games before Max Lapierre scored in the third to send it to a shootout. Mark Letestu, Rick Nash and James Wisniewski all scored for Columbus in the shootout for the 2-1 win.
Kris Versteeg scored the first two goals of the game between Florida and New Jersey last night, but Patrik Elias and Zach Parise’s 10th goals each tied the game. A scoreless OT followed, and Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias scored in the shootout for the 3-2 Devils’ win. Kovalchuk added two assists in the victory.
Make it another win for Nashville. The Preds scored their third in a row last night with a 2-1 win over the Flames. Matt Halischuk scored his sixth in the first, and Curtis Glencross tied it in the second. Colin Wilson wasted little time in the third, as his 8th was the winner. Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 43 shots in the loss as Pekka Rinne made 35 saves.
The Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets played to a 2-1 decision as well. Guillaume Latendresse scored in the second for a 1-0 Wild lead, but Zach Bogosian would tie it soon after. Bryan Little scored his 11th with five minutes to go to give the Jets another win at home, their 10th. The game was marred by an incident late in the game when Bogosian cross-checked Pierre-Marc Bouchard face-first into the boards. Bouchard left the ice immediately under his own power with a towel pressed to his face, while Bogosian was give five minutes for boarding, a game misconduct, and a date with Brendan Shanahan.
Montreal trailed just once all night. Matt Moulson scored to put the Islanders up 1-0, before Andrei Kostitsyn and Mathieu Darche had the Habs up 2-1 before the end of the first. A scoreless second followed, and as Erik Cole made it 3-1, Josh Bailey and John Tavares tied the game. Petteri Nokelainen and Hall Gill sent the fans home happy though, as Montreal secured a 5-3 win. Nokelainen finished the game with a goal and assist while David Desharnais for Montreal and PA Parenteau for the Isles had two assists.
Colorado and San Jose went back and forth all night yesterday. Stefan Elliott gave the Avs the lead in the first before Jamie McGinn and Dan Boyle put the Sharks up in the second. Daniel Winnik and Matt Duchene turned it to a 3-2 Colorado advantage in the third before Patrick Marleau played heart-breaker, tying the game with 22 seconds left off a beautiful set up by Logan Couture. The teams traded goals in the shootout before Gabirel Landeskog’s first shootout goal won it for the Avs.
What’s on Tonight?
Three games on the schedule. Boston visits Ottawa as both teams wrap up ames on back-to-back nights, Chicago drops by Minnesota, and Phoenix takes on the Ducks in Anaheim.
The Injury Bug:
-The Ottawa Senators will be without Milan Michalek for at least their next game. Michalek collided with Erik Karlsson last night and left the game with a concussion.
-The official stance on Claude Giroux’s condition is that he is out indefinitely with a concussion. Giroux suffered the injury Saturday and they’ve gotten progressively worse.
-Don’t expect Martin St. Louis to return anytime soon. Guy Boucher has said that his star forward probably won’t be available until after Christmas with his facial/nasal fractures.
-Lubomir Visnovsky might take to the ice for the Ducks’ game tonight. Visnovsky has been out for the past month with a broken finger.
-Taylor Hall is expected to make his return to the Oilers’ lineup on Thursday. Hall’s shoulder injury has kept him out the last seven games.
-Marc Staal took place in part of a team skate yesterday with the New York Rangers, reportedly for the first time since training camp. It is nothing more than an encouraging for the Rangers’ blueliner.
News and Rumours Around the League:
-The Los Angeles Kings have contacted Darryl Sutter about their vacant Head Coaching position, after receiving permission to do so from the Calgary Flames. Sutter hasn’t stepped behind a bench since 2006.
-Although Tampa Bay signed him, he’s a Winnipeg Jet now. Antti Miettinen signed a two-year, $3-million deal with the Lightning on Monday but had to clear waivers. The Jets put in a claim and landed the veteran winger.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line(s) of the Night:
In terms of scorers, Petteri Nokelainen’s two point night (even strength goal and assist) earns him a little adoration. Richard Bachman’s 34-save shutout gets the backup goalie the nod as well, along with Tuukka Rask’s 41 save shutout, Ondrej Pavelec’s 34-save win, and Miikka Kiprusoff’s 43 save effort that didn’t end in a ‘w’.