The Night that Was:
The Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators wrapped up a home-and-home in Canada’s capital last night. Things started well when Daniel Alfredsson put his team up 1-0 54 seconds in. Andrej Meszaros tied it two minutes later before Chris Neil put the Sens up 2-1. With under five minutes to go in the first though, Philadelphia would re-take the lead with goals from Marc-Andre Bourdon (2) and Sean Couturier (6). Matt Read’s 13th was the only goal of the second, tying him for the lead in goals by rookies this year, giving Philly a 4-2 lead. Three minutes into the third Colin Greening cued the Ottawa comeback with his ninth, and Erik Karlsson tied it up when he forced a turnover and led a rush back up ice for Ottawa. Filip Kuba would score his fourth with just 1:11 left and Nick Foligno’s 12th would round out a 6-4 win. Karlsson, Neil, Foligno, and Alfredsson all finished with a goal and an assist, while Read was the only one with two points for Philly. Ilya Bryzgalov was torched for five goals on 37 shots while Craig Anderson made 33 saves. Karlsson also finished the afternoon with a plus-five rating and five shots on goal.
In Chicago, the Blackhawks welcomed the Red Wings in an always-edgy Original Six matchup. Things started well for the ‘Hawks when they had a 2-0 lead five minutes in after David Bolland (9) and Patrick Sharp (20) scored. Valtteri Filppula would cut the lead in half before the end of the period, but that was as close as Detroit would get until the third. With 15:15 gone in the final frame, Dan Cleary’s 10th would tie things up and send it to overtime where Pavel Datsyuk’s 13th won it from an impossible angle. Ty Conklin won his second game of the season (his first coming in the second game of the season when he shut out Colorado) and Filppula (goal and assist) and Henrik Zetterberg (two assists) each had multi-point efforts. Corey Crawford made 24 saves in a losing effort as Marian Hossa earned two assists.
If you like scoring, then you would have loved the Columbus/Anaheim game yesterday. Andrew Cogliano (8) and Corey Perry (16) got the Ducks out to a 2-0 lead before Rick Nash cut it in half with his 13th (which he banked in from the goalline). Teemu Selanne (13th of the season and 650th of his career)) and Saku Koivu (6) would make it a 4-1 lead for Anaheim in the first, but the bigger story was Jonas Hiller. The Ducks’ goalie would leave the game late in the first after stopping a one-timer, appearing to pull something in his lower body, paving the way for Iiro Tarkki’s NHL debut. Curtis Sanford would start the second for Columbus, but it didn’t stop the Ducks: After Derick Brassard brought the Jackets within two, Perry’s second of the game gave Anaheim a 5-2 lead. Selanne would score again before Rick Nash and Vinny Prospal scored to bring Columbus to within two, but Corey Perry would add an empty-netter for the hat-trick. Tarkki made just six saves in over 35 minutes of ice time (nine shots against) as Columbus mustered 18 shots all night. Curtis Sanford made 8 saves in relief (ten shots against), as Anaheim only had 27 shots. Perry and Koivu had three points each, while Selanne, Francois Beauchemin, Bobby Ryan and Lubomir Visnovsky all had two points. Nash and Prospal both had two-point nights.
What’s on Tonight?
Not a busy night, and if you want to watch both games then you certainly can. First, the Vancouver Canucks visit the Florida Panthers at 7:30 eastern, and then it’s Washington taking on L.A. at 10:30. Washington can jump into a tie with the Penguins for 8th in the East with a win, while a win would move the Kings into sixth in the West. Vancouver could get themselves a four-point cushion over Detroit at the top of the West with a win, but Florida could really use the win to put five points between themselves and Winnipeg.
The Injury Bug:
-There might be a few injuries coming out of the Anaheim/Columbus game. One is for sure as Jeff Carter separated his shoulder during a collision with Francois Beauchemin. Two players to monitor will be Bobby Ryan, who was hit from behind by Tom Kubalik, and RJ Umberger, who was elbowed by J.F. Jacques.
-The Pittsburgh Penguins are in eighth in the Eastern Conference, but may slide if the injury woes continue. Jordan Staal will be out 4-6 weeks after going knee-on-knee with Mike Rupp, while James Neal is out indefinitely with a broken foot.
-Sami Salo is out with a concussion after his incident with Brad Marchand Saturday. There is no immediate timetable for Salo, just the knowledge that he woke up Sunday with a headache.
News, Notes, and Rumours
-Following last night’s loss, the Blue Jackets relieved Scott Arniel of his Head Coaching duties. Todd Richards has been promoted from his post as assistant coach to fill the vacancy.
-Brendan Shanahan may have his hands full with both the Kubalik hit and the Jacques elbow. Kubalik did let up in his instance, only earning a minor, but Jacques earned a five-minute elbowing major for his hit.
-Shanahan will be dealing with Brad Marchand’s clipping incident first. The hearing for Marchand’s hit on Vancouver’s Sami Salo will be held Monday.
-And, as was reported over the weekend, the NHL’s realignment plan for next season will no longer happen. The Players Union opposed the changes on Friday, so the league will enter play next year with its current divisions, conferences, and playoff format. The Union identified concerns around the fact that their questions and concerns in regards to the playoff format and traveling conditions were not answered.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line(s) of the Night:
Corey Perry had the hat-trick, but Saku Koivu had a three-point night too. Koivu had one goal (the fourth goal of Anaheim’s night) and two assists, one of them coming on the power play. Koivu also finished the evening with a plus-two rating. While Erik Karlsson had just two points, he also finished the evening with a plus-five rating.