The Night that Was:
Petr Sykora had the first two goals for the Devils last night to but the Devils up 2-0 on Buffalo before Zach Parise’s 12th made it 3-0. Tomas Vanek’s 18th would round out the scoring, as Buffalo fell 3-1. The game showcased an ugly kneeing incident partway through the second that led to a series of fights, and four 10-minute misconducts handed out to Paul Gausta, Patrick Kaleta, Cam Janssen and Bryce Salvador. Patrick Elias assisted on both of Sykora’s goals.
The New York Rangers were looking to keep their winning streak going last night, but the Washington Capitals were just too much. The game was tied at one after one before Troy Brouwer and Alex Semin scored in the second, and Semin added a second in the third for a 4-1 win. Alex Ovechkin finished the game with two assists, as Tomas Vokoun made 31 saves for the win. Brandon Dubinsky had the only goal for the Rangers.
It was a tight one in Nashville as Jordin Tootoo and Dany Heatley exchanged third-period goals, the only tallies of regulation or overtime. After Matt Cullen stick handled himself out of the first shootout shot, Colin Wilson scored for the Predators, and Mikko Koivu and Pierre-Marc Bouchard were stopped to give the Preds a 2-1 win. Pekka Rinne made 34 saves to earn the win, while Josh Harding made 24.
It was certainly Jonathan Quick’s night last night in Chicago. After a scoreless first, Trent Hunter gave the Kings a 1-0 lead in the second and Jarret Stoll increased it to 2-0 early in the third, and it would finish that way thanks to 18 third-period saves from Quick and 38 overall. Drew Doughty recorded an assist in the game, extending his point-streak to five games.
Like Nashville, Boston and Phoenix stymied each other in a low-scoring affair. David Krejci opened the scoring 47 seconds in to the first and Ray Whitney tied it with just five minutes left in the period. Tuukka Rask and Jason Labarbera would duel the rest of the way until overtime, when Chris Kelly tipped home a Dennis Seidenberg shot from the slot for a 2-1 Boston win. The win was Boston’s seventh in a row.
Daniel Sedin had the Canucks out to a 1-0 lead in the first and Ryan Kesler made it 2-0 in the second, but San Jose stormed back with one from Logan Couture and another from Joe Thornton. With the game tied at two, the Sharks fired 16 shots are Roberto Luongo in the third period but he stopped them all. In overtime, the Canucks had three shots, one fewer than their total from the third, but it was Andrew Ebbet’s shot that snuck through, his fourth, the game-winner. Alex Edler and Kevin Bieksa each had two assists for the Canucks in the win.
What’s on Tonight?
Calgary heads to the New York to take on the Islanders, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh meet up in an Atlantic Division battle, and the Maple Leafs head to Carolina to take on the Hurricanes. Montreal goes toe-to-toe with Tampa Bay, Edmonton meets up with the Wild in Minnesota, and L.A. makes the trip up to Winnipeg. Columbus meets Dallas, Colorado hosts Phoenix, and Vancouver stops by in Anaheim.
The Injury Bug:
-Update on Nashville’s Shea Weber: He’s been ruled out of the team’s game on Friday and potentially Sunday as well with his concussion.
-How about an update on Sidney Crosby? The Penguins star is doing ‘light exercises’, which is a good sign, but there’s still no timeline for his return.
-One player did return to action from a concussion last night. Jay Beagle played for the first time since he was knocked out by Arron Asham in October.
-The Blackhawks were without both Dan Carcillo and Marcus Kruger last night. Both missed the ‘Hawks game against the Kings with upper-body injuries.
World Junior Update
In World Junior news, the Finland stunned the Americans yesterday with a 4-1 win, thanks to two goals and an assist from Joel Armia (Buffalo Sabres) and 40 saves from Sami Aittokallio (Colorado Avalanche). Two goals from Mark Scheifele (Winnipeg Jets) and 26 saves from Scott Wedgewood (New Jersey Devils) paced Canada to a 5-0 win. Sweden and Switzerland went to a shootout tied at three when Sebastian Collberg won it for Sweden. Lukas Meili made 50 saves in a losing effort for Switzerland. Slovakia led 1-0 after one, but three unanswered Russia goals handed the defending champs a 3-1 win.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line(s) of the Night:
Petr Sykora’s two goals get the nod. Two goals, a plus-two rating, and the game-winner in 16:18 of ice time.