The Nashville Predators are doing very well this season, and are closing in on their Central Division rivals the Chicago Blackhawks. Right now the Preds are 6 points back of the Blackhawks who are justifiable argued as one of the best teams this year.
Last season, Nashville ended the year in the basement of the Central with 88 points, missing the playoffs by a scant 4 points, while in 2007-08 they finished 2nd in the division and squeaked into the playoffs with 91 points to grab the last spot.
Nashville is currently sitting at 49 points after 40 games and could end up with a 100 point season for the first time since 2006-07. Last season was the first time that Nashville had missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2002-03. The problem has been getting past the first round, which Nashville has failed to do, losing twice to the San Jose Sharks (2005-06 and again in 2006-07), and in 2007-08 to the eventual Cup winners from Detroit.
The Nashville Predators have been looking good recently, bouncing back after losing a home-and-home series against the Blackhawks, and are 6-3-1 in their last ten games.
They face the Columbus Blue Jackets today. Columbus has an abysmal record recently as they have only one win in their last 10 games, but this is also a divisional matchup with the Blue Jackets 11 points back of Nashville, so the Preds really need this one if the hope to make up some more ground on the Blackhawks.
Eight games last night in the National Hockey League.
Boston 4, Atlanta 0 Rask got the shutout Pittsburgh 0, New Jersey 2 Surprise, Brodeur got his 105th shutout Philadelphia 6, Rangers 0 What's up with all the shutouts? Montreal 2, Tampa Bay 1 Habs win in overtime Colorado 4, Ottawa 3 L.A. Kings 1, Calgary 2 Toronto 1, Edmonton 3 Washington 2, San Jose 5
Martin Brodeur got his record 105th career shutout against Sidney Crosby and the Pens. How many times has Brodeur shut out Pittsburgh in his career?
The win by the Devils gives them 57 points so far this season, so they are tied with the San Jose Sharks for the overall lead in the NHL. The Sharks beat up on the Capitals and won their 6th straight.
The Bruins win opens up a little breathing room over the Ottawa Senators. Boston has 47 points (five back of the Sabres), and the Senators are now three back of Boston but the Bruins have a game in hand on Alfredsson's crew. The Habs are still lurking just a point behind the Sens.
Philly won last night, but the Flyers, Rangers and Islanders are all fighting it out for last place in the Atlantic Division, at least 13 points back of the Penguins, let along the high flying Devils.
Even with the loss to the Sharks, the Capitals are still way out front in the Southeast Division, 14 points up on Atlanta and Tampa who are tied with 40 points. The Kings loss to Calgary was their 4th straight.
Finally! Here are the names of what is expected to be one of the best overall teams that Canada has sent to the Olympics. Taking a quick look, all I can say is that it looks pretty scary. Balanced with a lot of grit and finesse, all are veteran players from the National Hockey League, with almost all having significant international experience. Brodeur looks like the number one goaltender, but who wouldn't want to have Luongo or Fleury parked on the end of the bench as a back-up?
The team captain is defenseman Scott Niedermayer of the Anaheim Ducks who is one of only four players who won gold for Canada back in Salt Lake City. Brodeur, Pronger and Iginla are the others from that year.
Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla and Chris Pronger are the assistant captains. I'm really looking forward to see what Crosby, Iginla and and Rick Nash will look like on the same line.
Goaltenders Martin Brodeur
Roberto Luongo
Marc-Andre Fleury
Defensemen Chris Pronger (A)
Shea Weber
Brent Seabrook
Scott Niedermayer (C)
Dan Boyle
Drew Doughty
Duncan Keith
Forwards Sidney Crosby (A)
Jarome Iginla (A)
Jonathan Toews
Rick Nash
Eric Staal
Mike Richards
Brenden Morrow
Dany Heatley
Joe Thornton
Ryan Getzlaf
Patrick Marleau
Corey Perry
Patrice Bergeron
What do you think of this latest version of Team Canada? How will they fare against the Russians, Swedes and Americans?
GOAL SCORERS:
NSH: Goc, M. (05:04 in 1st), Hornqvist, P. (12:43 in 1st), Ward, J. (PPG, 04:09 in 2nd), Dumont, J. (05:16 in 3rd)
STL: Colaiacovo, C. (01:29 in 1st), Steen, A. (09:08 in 3rd), McDonald, A. (PPG, 12:30 in 3rd)
GOALIES:
NSH: P. Rinne (W) STL: C. Mason (L)
The Nashville Predators beat the St Louis Blues for the 24th time in the teams last 33 games going back to the 2005-06 season. Now if only the Preds could spread some of that mojo to other teams in the NHL, they might do a little better. Not that they should be complaining too loudly as they now sit solidly in 2nd place in the Central Division, six points back of the mighty Chicago Blackhawks.
The Predators jumped out to a 4-1 lead in this game before allowing 2 late goals by the Blues to make it look closer than it actually was. Defenseman Shea Weber led the way with seven shots on St Louis netminder Chris Mason, while adding 3 assists. Nashville center Marcel Goc also had a goal and an assist in the victory which snapped a 3 game losing streak for the Predators. The Blues lost for the third straight time.
Nashville will be playing the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Thursday, while the Blues host the Vancouver Canucks also on Thursday.
Ryan's 3 Points Lead Ducks To 4-2 Win Over Wild
GOAL SCORERS:
MIN: Miettinen, A. (15:41 in 1st), Johnsson, K. (PPG, 13:07 in 3rd)
ANA: Ryan, B. (07:08 in 1st), Sexton, D. (16:16 in 1st), Ryan, B. (PPG, 18:44 in 2nd), Marchant, T. (EN, 19:50 in 3rd)
GOALIES:
MIN: J. Harding (L) ANA: J. Hiller (W)
Anaheim Ducks right winger Bobby Ryan stepped up in the absence of Ryan Getzlaf, netting 2 goals and adding an assist as his Ducks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-2. The Ducks, who are still in the basement of the Pacific Division, have now gone 6-3-1 in their last ten, and are clawing their way into respectability.
Ryan's second goal of the game was the eventual game winner and his 19th this year. He is also closing in on his own career high for goals, having scored 31 in 64 games last year, his second in the NHL. That second goal was Ryan's 100th career point in the National Hockey League.
Minnesota's Kim Johnsson got the Wild to within one goal at 13:07 of the 3rd, but Todd Marchant's shorthanded, empty net goal with 10 seconds left in regulation closed out the scoring.
On a side note: Saku Koivu and his younger brother Mikko played against each other, with both brothers getting a pair of assists each in the latest battle between the brothers Koivu.
Coyotes Get 10th Straight Home Win Beating Canucks 2-1
GOAL SCORERS:
VAN: Samuelsson, M. (10:49 in 2nd), Wellwood, K. (13:48 in 3rd)
PHX: Jovanovski, E. (PPG, 10:00 in 2nd), Prucha, P. (17:02 in 2nd)
SHOOTOUT:
Radim Vrbata PHX Save
Kyle Wellwood VAN Miss
Peter Mueller PHX Miss
Mason Raymond VAN Miss Lauri Korpikoski PHX Goal
Mikael Samuelsson VAN Save
GOALIES:
VAN: R. Luongo (L) PHX: J. LaBarbera (W)
The Phoenix Coyotes are for real this year! They beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in a shoot out victory giving the Coyotes a team record for most consecutive home ice wins with ten. Last year's backup to Canucks' star goalie Roberto Luongo, Jason LaBarbera, got his 3rd victory in 7 starts this year.
The first period was scoreless, but former Canucks defenseman Ed Jovanovski got his 7th of the year at 10 minutes of the 2nd period, but the lead was shortlived as Mikael Samuelsson scored 49 seconds later. Late in the 2nd, Coyotes right winger Petr Prucha gave Phoenix the lead again on a shot that beat Luongo.
Kyle Wellwood tied it beating LaBarbera at 13:48 of the 3rd forcing overtime, where neither team could end it. Phoenix left winger Lauri Korpikoski was the only player to beat either Luongo or LaBarbera in the shootout giving the Coyotes the win, moving them a mere 2 points back of the high flying San Jose Sharks for the lead in the Pacific Division. Vancouver remains tied with the Calgary Flames at 47 points each, trailing the Colorado Avalanche by three for the lead in the Northwest Division.
GOAL SCORERS:
CHI: Brouwer, T. (PPG, 03:10 in 1st), Kane, P. (PPG, 16:50 in 1st), Fraser, C. (17:49 in 1st), Kane, P. (19:56 in 2nd)
DAL: Modano, M. (PPG, 05:14 in 1st), Ribeiro, M. (15:37 in 1st), Eriksson, L. (00:57 in 2nd), Ott, S. (01:32 in 2nd), Ott, S. (PPG, 04:07 in 3rd)
GOALIES:
CHI: C. Huet , A. Niemi (L) DAL: M. Turco (W)
The Dallas Stars hung on to win 5-4 against the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago took a 3-2 lead in the first period, but Dallas came back with 2 more goals. Blackhawks Patrick Kane tied it up again 4-4, before Dallas left winger Steve Ott won it with his 2nd of the game early in the 3rd.
Ott had a great game, getting two goals including the game winner, along with an assist. Kane had his 16th and 17th of the year, giving the Chicago right winger 10 points (7 goals, 3 assists) in his last 5 games and he is on a 5-game goal scoring streak. This was also Kane's 2nd straight 2 goal performance.
Chicago netminder Cristobal Huet was yanked in favor of Antti Niemi after letting in 4 goals on the first 10 Dallas shots. Stars veteran center Mike Modano scored his 549th career goal in the first period, his 6th so far this season. This was also Modano's 1,600th NHL game.
Jonathan Toews picked up assists on both of Kane's goals, giving the Chicago captain 31 points. Kane leads the Blackhawks in points this season with 44, followed by defenseman Duncan Keith with 35 points and then Toews is third.
GOAL SCORERS:
CBJ: Umberger, R. (09:47 in 3rd)
NYI: Bailey, J. (10:04 in 1st)
SHOOTOUT:
Jeff Tambellini NYI Save
Kristian Huselius CBJ Save
Frans Nielsen NYI Save
Rick Nash CBJ Save Rob Schremp NYI Goal
Fedor Tyutin CBJ Save
GOALIES:
CBJ: S. Mason (L) NYI: D. Roloson (W)
New York Islanders center Rob Schremp's goal against Steve Mason in the shoot out gave the Isles a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. For the Blue Jackets, this was the teams' 12th straight loss on the road which is why they are hovering just above the worst teams in the NHL standings.
Josh Bailey put the Islanders on the board midway through the 1st period with his 8th and that goal held up until R.J. Umberger backhanded the tying goal past Islanders' goalie Dwayne Roloson at 9:47 of the 3rd. Columbus held a large advantage in shots in the game, 42-25, but New York carried the play in overtime, out-shooting Columbus 5-2.
GOAL SCORERS:
PIT: Staal, J. (04:08 in 1st), Guerin, B. (18:31 in 1st), Kunitz, C. (01:28 in 2nd)
BUF: Stafford, D. (PS, 12:46 in 2nd), Stafford, D. (14:55 in 2nd), Gaustad, P. (07:28 in 3rd), Pominville, J. (PPG, 10:55 in 3rd)
GOALIES:
PIT: M. Fleury (L)
BUF: P. Lalime (W) , R. Miller
The Buffalo Sabres came back from a 3-0 deficit, scoring 4 times in the second half of the game to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3. Jordan Staal opened the scoring at 4:08 of the first with his 11st. Pittsburgh right winger Bill Guerin tucked one behind Ryan Miller putting the Penguins up 2-0 late in the 1st period. Miller was pulled after Chris Kunitz beat him early in the 2nd and replace by Patrick Lalime who was solid in Buffalo's net, stopping 27 of Pittsburgh's shots and blanking them for the remainder of the game.
Right winger Drew Stafford scored twice in the 2nd, with his first on the night being a penalty shot where he beat Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury cleanly with a quick wrist shot. Stafford also assisted on Paul Gaustad's 8th of the season that tied the game 3-3 at 7:28 of the third. Jason Pominville scored the only power play marker and eventual game winner midway through the period. Sidney Crosby was held to a single assist in the game and Evgeni Maklin was pointless although he had 5 shots on net.
It's now just days away ~ the Boston Bruins vs the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway in the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New year's Day. I always like watching these games (and doing a little celeb-spotting).
Did you see last year's game? the Chicago Blackhawks jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but the Detroit Red Wings came back to win 6-4.
A lot has happened since the turn of the century and TSN shows what the most important stories were reported over the course of the last decade. Do you agree or disagree with their choices? Are there any stories that you think should have been included?
It does feel like just yesterday that Mario Lemieux returned to the Penguins.
GOAL SCORERS:
PHX: Prucha, P. (09:20 in 2nd), Doan, S. (18:22 in 2nd)
SJS: Setoguchi, D. (02:54 in 1st), Pavelski, J. (SHG, 05:17 in 2nd) GOALIES:
PHX: I. Bryzgalov (L) SJS: E. Nabokov (W)
The San Jose Sharks reclaimed a share of first-overall with a 3-2 shoot out victory over the Phoenix Coyotes. The win is San Jose's 5th straight and are now tied for the overall points lead in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks and the New Jersey Devils. The Washington Capitals are lucking in the weeds, only a single point back.
Evgeni Nabokov stopped Coyotes center Robert Lang to give the Sharks the win after Joe Pavelski scored the only goal in the shoot out, beating Phoenix netminder Ilya Bryzgalov with a lightning fast wrist shot. Pavelski also scored a shorthanded goal early in the 2nd period to give San Jose a 2-0 lead before the Coyotes tied it with 2 even strength goals in the second from Petr Prucha and Shane Doan.
GOAL SCORERS:
ATL: Kovalchuk, I. (09:43 in 1st), Reasoner, M. (07:28 in 3rd)
NJD: Parise, Z. (10:46 in 1st), White, C. (16:34 in 1st), Parise, Z. (PPG, 00:59 in 3rd)
GOALIES:
ATL: J. Hedberg (L) NJD: M. Brodeur (W)
Zach Parise scored twice, including the game winner as the New Jersey Devils won 3-2 over the Atlanta Thrashers for the Devils' 10th victory in their last 12 games. Parise had been goalless for the last 12 games, so he was obviously relieved to break out of that drought. The Thrashers have now lost their last 3 straight, and fall 14 points back of Southeast Division leading Washington Capitals, with both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers one point back of the Thrashers.
The Ottawa Senators spotted the Montreal Canadiens to a 2-0 first period lead before rallying to win 4-2. The win over Northeast Division rival Montreal puts Ottawa one point back of 2nd place Boston and six back of the Sabres. Michael Cammalleri gave the Canadiens the early lead 4:59 into the first period with his 19th on a nifty tic-tac-goal passing play as Andrei Kostitsyn tapped a pass to Cammalleri in the slot where he wristed a quick shot past Sens netminder Pascal Leclaire.
Benoit Pouliot got his first as a member of the Montreal Canadiens midway through the first. Pouliot is just 3 games up to the big club after joining Montreal from the Minnesota Wild after being traded for Guillaume Latendresse last November 23rd. Leclaire was solid after that, stopping 29 of Montreal's 31 shots to give Ottawa their 2nd win in a row. Peter Regin cut Montreal's lead to 2-1 at 12:48 of the 1st, and Ryan Shannon tied it late in the 2nd with a power play marker.
Chris Neil tipped in the eventual game winner on a shot by the newly-engaged Mike Fisher at 6:15 of the third period past Habs goalie Jaroslav Halak. Chris Campoli got the insurance goal with an empty netter with 46 left in regulation.
Bolts Edge Bruins 2-1
The Tampa Bay Lightning needed only a couple of goals from Alex Tanguay and Martin St Louis to drop the Boston Bruins 2-1. Despite a 3rd period rally, the Bruins couldn't muster enough goalscoring power to beat Tampa Bay. The win gives the Lightning their 4th win in their last 5 games, while Boston's 3 game winning streak is snapped with the loss. Left winger Marco Sturm's 12th of the season at 12:30 of the 3rd raised some hope, but
Tampa netminder Mike Smith stopped 15 of Boston's 16 third period shots to secure the win. Half of Boston's shots came in the 3rd as they pressed for the equalizer.
The win puts the Lightning one point back of the Atlanta Thrashers for 2nd in the Southeast Division, but well back of the high flying Washington Capitals. The Bruins remain 2nd in the Northeast, five back of the Buffalo Sabres with the Ottawa Senators breathing down their necks.
Carolina Hurricanes center Eric Staal scored twice while adding 3 assists for his 2nd career five point game helping lead the Canes to a 6-3 win over the Washington Capitals. Caps sniper Alexander Ovechkin had a goal and an assist. Ovechkin's goal was his 26th which ties the left winger with Rangers' Marian Gaborik for most so far this season. The 2 points also move him into a third place tie with Gaborik in the overall points race with 49, five back of NHL points leader Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks.
Belanger's Late Goal Give Wild 4-3 Victory Over Kings
Eric Belanger scored twice and added an assist garnering first-star honors as the Minnesota Wild salvaged a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings after allowing LA back into the game from a 3-1 deficit. The Kings outshot Minnesota 32-23 overall, but netminder Niklas Backstrom turned aside enough of the Kings' shots to give Minnesota their 3rd win in a row. The Kings have dropped their last 3 straight.
Fredrik Modin's OT Goal Gives Blue Jackets A 1-0 Win Over Detroit
Columbus Blue Jackets netminder Steve Mason earned his second shutout of the season in a goaltending battle with Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings. Both were stellar, with Howard stopping 39 of the 40 shots he faced, while Mason stopped 34 Red Wing shots. The teams went to overtime before either goalie was beaten, with left winger Fredrik Modin finally getting one by Howard, 3:12 into the extra period giving Columbus the 1-0 win. The victory snapped a nine game losing streak for the Blue Jackets who have gone without a win for well over a month, and they sank to dead last in the competitive Central Division.
Any time a player gets deposited into the bench area after a hit is a good hit. Nice hit by Isles' Sutton laying out Travis Moen. Dion Phaneuf crushes Paul Kariya with a mid ice hit.
What would a week be without a great save by Vancouver's Roberto Luongo? And the Pens' Marc-Andre Fleury snagging that Briere shot floating over his body and into the net. Ryan Miller uses his stick on the goal line to save a sure goal. I really liked Craig Anderson's last second save as he dove to swat away the puck.
This was the 2nd time we've seen Edmonton Oilers' center Robert Nilsson make the top 10 goals highlight reel. I was watching the Caps-Oilers game when Ovechkin got that sweet goal from the sharp angle. And great hands on Vancouver's Mason Raymond. He got his first career hat trick last night.
The Buffalo Sabres rallied from a 3-2 lead for the St Louis Blues lead by center Tim Connolly's 2 goals to win 5-3.
Alex Steen put the Blues up 1-0 on an unassisted goal as he beat Patrick Lalime midway through the 1st period. Jochen Hecht was able to draw the Sabres even with a wrap-around with 4:08 left.
Mike Grier, with his 1st of two on the night, put Buffalo ahead at 7:47 of the 2nd, but Eric Brewer and Steen (with his 2nd of the night) replied for St Louis to restore their lead.
In the 3rd, Grier got his 8th of the year to cue the comeback, but it was Connolly, with a power play goal followed by a shorthanded marker that put the game away. Grier got an assist on Connolly's 2nd goal. Connolly also had an assist on Hecht's goal in the first, so both ended the night with a pair of goals and an assist. The win puts the Sabres 5 points up on the Boston Bruins for the lead in the Northeast Division, and Buffalo is trails the Washington Capitals by 4 points for the top of Eastern Division.
Highlights of the past decade, 2000-2009, as reported by Hockey Night In Canada. Mario returns, and Saku Koivu's return from a cancer scare, as well as wins on the world stage. Drafting of Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.
The Chicago Blackhawks needed a last minute goal by right winger Patrick Kane to salvage a great rally to take a 5-4 win over the Nashville Predators. The Preds came back from a 4-2 deficit with 2 quick goals in the 3rd to tie it 4-4 after Nashville had given up 3 Chicago goals earlier in the 3rd period before Kane's heroics.
Both Kane and John Madden got 2 goals each in the game, Kane added an assist for his third 3-point night of the season. Chicago captain Jonathan Toews added 3 assists of his own, getting one on Kane's game winner.
Tim Thomas had to come up big in the dying seconds to preserve his Boston Bruins' win over the Florida Panthers on a shot by defenseman Jordan Leopold. Boston came back after giving up Florida's only goal, Dominic Moore's wrist shot that beat Thomas 4:09 into the game, but Thomas shut down the Panthers from there, stopping 26 shots. The Panthers had Scott Clemmensen in net rather than Tomas Vokoun who had shut out the Bruins in the last two meetings of the teams. Clemmensen did play great, stopping 26 of 28, but Michael Ryder was able to tie it in the 2nd and Marco Sturm gave Boston the win with his 11th on a wrist shot that beat Clemmensen with about 16 minutes left in the third.
The win gave Boston their 3rd win in a row, but they still trail the Buffalo Sabres by 5 points in the Northeast Division, as the Sabres also won last night. Florida dropped their 2nd straight and sit in third place in the Southeast.
The Toronto Maple Leafs got a late goal from defenseman Ian White with 1:22 left in the third period to give the Leafs a 4-3 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins at Melon Arena. Sidney Crosby got 23rd of the season. Toronto defenseman Luke Schenn got his first of the year early in the 1st period. The Penguins kept tying the score each time the Leafs took a lead, but White's 8th of the season proved to be the winner.
Flyers Beat Islanders 2-1
Jeff Carter scored late in the 2nd period to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders. Danny Briere had given the Flyers a 1-0 lead 1:51 into the game and almost had a second goal, but it was disallowed as it was ruled a kick-in. Philadelphia has now won 3 in a row on the road and continued their dominance over the Islanders, winning for the 13th time against the Isles. The Flyers look like they may have finally put their string of bad games behind them.
Raymond's Hat Trick Helps Canucks Over Flames
Mason Raymond scored 3 times for his first ever NHL hat trick as his Vancouver Canucks romped over the Calgary Flames 5-1. Raymond's 2nd goal was one of those flukes that give goalies nightmares. He flipped the puck into the Flames zone and it fluttered into the net after hitting Calgary netminder Miikka Kiprusoff's shoulder. So far this season Raymond has 17 goals in 39 games. Last season the Canucks' left winger mustered a career high 11 goals in 72 games. Kiprusoff was pulled after giving up 4 straight first period goals and replaced by Curtis McElhinney at the start of the second. Flames captain got the only Calgary goal, opening the scoring 7:15 into the first, tipping in his 20th past Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo.
Highlights of Philadelphia's win over the Islanders, Boston taking Florida, Buffalo getting two points from the St Louis Blues. The Blackhawks keep rolling, with a win over Nashville, and the surprising Leafs beating Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. Mason Raymond's 3 goals power the Canucks over Calgary.
The Buffalo Sabres continued their mastery over the Toronto Maple Leafs with Buffalo's eight straight victory over division rival Toronto. GOAL SCORERS: TOR: Stalberg, V. (03:06 in 1st), Stempniak, L. (19:40 in 3rd) BUF: Roy, D. (01:32 in 2nd), Lydman, T. (07:02 in 2nd), Grier, M. (09:14 in 2nd), Ellis, M. (12:48 in 2nd), Vanek, T. (11:09 in 3rd) GOALIES: TOR: V. Toskala (L), J. Gustavsson BUF: R. Miller (W)
Tampa Bay Snaps 6-Game Losing Streak With 6-3 Win Over Blues
Both Steven Stamkos and Jeff Halpern scored twice, with Halpern getting the game winner as his Tampa Bay Lightning finally won after a six game slide. The Blues remain in last place in the Central Division with the loss. GOAL SCORERS: TBL: St Louis, M. (10:37 in 1st), Stamkos, S. (00:36 in 2nd), Foster, K. (06:24 in 2nd), Halpern, J. (04:12 in 3rd), Halpern, J. (11:15 in 3rd), Stamkos, S. (EN, 19:02 in 3rd) STL: Winchester, B. (PPG, 10:04 in 1st), Oshie, T. (03:58 in 3rd), Tkachuk, K. (PPG, 09:03 in 3rd) GOALIES: TBL: A. Niittymaki (W) STL: C. Mason (L)
Panters Take 3rd In A Row With 6-3 Victory Over Carolina
The Florida Panthers won their third straight beating the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3 at home. The Panthers now trail 2nd place Atlanta by 2 points in the Southeast Division. GOAL SCORERS: CAR: Dwyer, P. (05:27 in 2nd), Walker, S. (08:19 in 3rd), Staal, E. (10:21 in 3rd) FLA: Leopold, J. (06:29 in 2nd), McCabe, B. (09:25 in 2nd), Ballard, K. (11:05 in 2nd), Olesz, R. (04:10 in 3rd), Dvorak, R. (04:47 in 3rd), Moore, D. (SHG, 07:57 in 3rd) GOALIES: CAR: M. Legace, C. Ward (L) FLA: T. Vokoun (W)
Here's many of the highlights of National Hockey League games from December 18th, 2009. Below you will find much more detailed highlights and game play for each of the individual games.
Devils Win 4-2 Over Senators: Brodeur Sets Most Career Games Record
Martin Broeur set a new standard for goaltenders with his 1,030th appearance (all with the New Jersey Devils). Brodeur remains tied with Terry Sawchuk for the most career shutouts with 103. GOAL SCORERS: OTT: Picard, A. (00:39 in 2nd), Ruutu, J. (06:06 in 2nd) NJD: Langenbrunner, J. (PPG, 11:53 in 1st), Rolston, B. (01:53 in 2nd), Pandolfo, J. (18:22 in 2nd), Salvador, B. (09:52 in 3rd)
Blackhawks Beat Bruins 5-4 In Shootout
Patrick Kane was the 2nd Chicago shooter in the shootout and scored the game winner lifting the Blackhawks to a 5-4 victory over the Boston Bruins. GOAL SCORERS: BOS: Krejci, D. (09:22 in 1st), Paille, D. (16:32 in 2nd), Boychuk, J. (06:01 in 3rd), Krejci, D. (17:17 in 3rd) CHI: Versteeg, K. (01:55 in 2nd), Sharp, P. (08:22 in 2nd), Toews, J. (19:33 in 2nd), Ladd, A. (07:41 in 3rd) GOALIES: BOS: T. Thomas (L) CHI: A. Niemi (W)
The New York Islanders are playing the New York Rangers and Nate Thompson misses the open net as Henrik Lundqvist rushes out to clear the puck and falls. Thompson, who is in the middle of a long goal-scoring slump (59 games without a goal), hangs his head in embarrassment at the Isles bench.
Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard earned his first-ever National Hockey League shutout with a 3-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The win gives Detroit their 4th in a row and 5th in the team's last 6 games. The Lightning are heading in the other direction, dropping their 3rd in a row.
Howard stopped all 30 Tampa Bay shots as the 25-year-old got his first shutout after 28 NHL games. Before the 19 games he has appeared in this season, Howard had been in 9 Detroit games since the 2005-06 season. The win gives him an 11-6-1 record this season.
Left winger Drew Miller scored his 4th of the year 8 minutes into the 1st period, snagging a breakaway pass at the Tampa Blue line from Brian Rafalski and swooped down on Lightning goaltender Mike Smith, sweeping the puck around Smith and into the net to put the Red Wings up 1-0.
Detroit's points leader, Henrik Zetterberg was forced to leave the game in the 1st period with a suspected shoulder injury after a crushing hit by Tampa Bay defenseman Mattias Ohlund 1:43 into the game.
Todd Bertuzzi continued with his hot goal scoring, getting his 9th of the season 6:48 into the 3rd. For Bertuzzi, that was his 5th goal in his last 4 games.
Patrick Eaves put the Wings up 3-0 at 10:10 beating Smith with a tip-in off a shot from defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom.
Both teams will play on a busy Saturday night with 12 games scheduled. Tampa Bay will travel to St Louis to play the Blues, while the Red Wings head to Chicago. The Blackhawks are 4 points up on Detroit for the lead in the Central Division.
The red hot Phoenix Coyotes continued winning, as Robert Lang's shoot out goal gave Phoenix their 8th win in their last 10 games with a 2-1 victory over the slumping Columbus Blue Jackets.
Keith Yandle's early goal, 1:48 into the game stood until the 3rd period when right winger Rick Nash scored his 18th of the season on the power play to knot the game 1-1. Nash's goal gives him 35 points on the season, 10 more than 2nd place Antoine Vermette. Defenseman Fedor Tyutin flubbed a slap shot from the Phoenix blue line and the puck drifted over to Nash who was parked off to the left of Coyotes' netminder Jason LaBarbera and Nash slapped it past the goalie who got a piece of the puck.
The game went to overtime, where both teams had 5 shots each, but they had to go to the shoot out to decide things. LaBarbera was solid, allowing on Nash to get one behind him, while his counterpart in the Blue Jackets' net, Mathieu Garon was victimized twice, once by Shane Doan and then by Land for the game winner.
Kristian Huselius CBJ Save Radim Vrbata PHX Miss Rick Nash CBJ Goal Shane Doan PHX Goal Fedor Tyutin CBJ Miss Robert Lang PHX Goal
For Doan, this was the Phoenix captain's 1,000th NHL game, all with the same franchise that had drafted him way back in 1995 when he was taken by the then-Winnipeg Jets in the first round, 7th over-all. Doan's career stats show him with 265 goals, 377 assists for 642 points in his 1,000 games.
Columbus plays the Avalanche in Colorado on Saturday, while the Coyotes visit the Anaheim Ducks.
The Nashville Predators were down 2-0 early in the first period, but came back with a vengeance, handing the Edmonton Oilers a 6-3 home ice loss. The win was Nashville's 3rd in a row, while the Oilers slip to a 5-4-1 record over their last 10 games having dropped their last two.
Robert Nilsson opened the scoring with a power play goal 3:05 into the game, splitting the Edmonton defense and putting a shot off the shoulder of Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne and into the net. Just about 2 minutes later, Lubomir Visnovsky tapped in a rebound past Rinne after the netminder had stopped Gilbert Brule. For Visnovsky, it was the defenseman's 8th of the year and 7th point in his last 7 games. At this point, Nashville coach Barry Trotz called a timeout and replaced Rinne with Dan Ellis, which seemed to turn the Predators around as they came back with 3 goals of their own.
Right winger Ryan Jones beat Oilers goalie Jeff Deslauriers with a quick shot on a rebound after Wade Belak had taken 2 shots at Deslauriers from the right of the netminder. Joel Ward tied it 2-2 at 16:09 of the 1st and Marcel Goc gave the Predators the lead 50 seconds later as he recovered the puck at the Oilers' endboards and passed to J.P. Dumont behind the net. Dumont slipped to Deslauriers' right and passed to Goc as he moved to the other side of the net flipping the puck behind the Edmonton netminder for the 3-2 lead.
The 2nd period started with more of the same as right winger Patric Hornqvist got his first of two in the period at 8:18 of the middle period, taking a pass from Predators captain and former Oiler Jason Arnott. Hornqvist had a kinds of time to beat Deslauriers who was down after expecting Arnott's shot. Nilsson got his 2nd power play goal of the game with Nashville's Shea Weber off for a delay of game penalty after the defenseman had shot the puck over the glass in his own end. Nilsson's goal was another highlight goal, as the center flipped the puck past Predator defenseman Dan Hamhuis at the Nashville blue line and corraled the bouncing puck pulling to the left and stuffed the puck behind a sprawling Ellis to make it 4-3.
The Oilers celebration was shortlived as Hornqvist got a power play marker of his own with 4 seconds left in the 2nd, tipping Ryan Suter's point shot and catching the corner behind Deslauriers to restore the Preds 2 goal cushion. Jerred Smithson added to the margin with his 6th late in the 3rd period.
Both teams play on Saturday, with Nashville will be in Calgary, while the Oilers face the red-hot Washington Capitals.
Did you just see that goal? William Wallen of the St Michaels Majors scores the best shootout goal of the season against the Windsor Spitfires on December 11th.
The Colorado Avalanche seem to have the number of the Calgary Flames, winning for the 3rd straight time over Calgary 3-2. With the win, Colorado jumps over the Flames to take first place in the Northeast Division, compiling 44 points to Calgary's 42.
Left winger Wojtek Wolski scored his team-high 13th at 13:05 of the opening period blasting a shot past Calgary netminder Miikka Kiprusoff as the Avalanche had a 5-on-3 power play advantage after Aaron Johnson and Curtis Glencross were sent off, with Glencross receiving a highsticking double-minor. Chris Stewart put Colorado up 2-0 9:17 into the 2nd, shovelling his own rebound over Kiprusoff after Wolski had been stopped on a break and then passed to center Paul Stastny whose shot rebounded to Stewart. You couldn't ask for more from Kiprusoff, as he faced 33 shots in the first two periods alone, while Avs netminder Craig Anderson had only 14 over the same span.
Calgary finally got on the board when Rene Bourque beat Anderson at 10:34 of the 2nd period, but right winger Darcy Tucker restored Colorado's 2 goal margin with 2:41 left in the period just as the Flames had killed off another Avalanche man advantage.
Flames defenseman Mark Giordano got Calgary back with his 2nd of the season while Colorado had a man in the box, but they couldn't get the equalizer.
Both teams are off until Tuesday, with Calgary heading to St Louis while Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals head to Colorado.
Chicago Blackhawks' backup goaltender Antti Niemi is starting to get some notice around the NHL after the rookie netminder got his 3rd shutout in only 8 starts, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0.
Niemi has been used sparingly as Chicago usually goes with Cristobal Huet in net, but the 26-year-old native of Finland has risen to the challenge with a 6-1-1 record in the 8 games he's appeared, with a stingy 1.50 goals-against-average. He was in net for 3 Chicago games last year, going 1-1-1 before finishing the season with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL. Niemi faced only 18 shots while his counterpart in Tampa Bay's net, Antero Niittymaki had to contend with 29 Blackhawk shots.
Patrick Kane opened the scoring 7:42 into the game, getting his 10th past Niittymaki before having to leave the gave after being tripped in the corner by Lightning defenseman Matt Smaby with about 7 minutes left in the first. Kane hit his head on the ice, receiving a cut above his eye and didn't return.
Left winger Ben Eager put the Blackhawks up 2-0 snapping a shot that snuck past Niittymaki with 9:18 left in the 2nd. Marian Hossa recovered the puck on a shoot in, outracing the two Tampa defensemen and flipped the puck to Eager alone in the slot.
Hossa wasn't done, as he scored a highlight reel goal himself at 19:44, as Patrick Sharp crossed the Lightning blue line and tried to pass to Hossa as he skated in on the right side of the Tampa Bay net, but it hit the stick of defenseman Andrej Meszaros and flipped up and over to Hossa, who coolly grabbed the puck in midair and dropped it to the ground and swatted the puck behind Niittymaki.
The Blackhawks went up 4-0 at 6:01 of the 3rd period when captain Jonathan Toews pounced on a rebound in the slot on a shot from right winger Dustin Byfuglien.
The win puts Chicago 2 points behind both the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks for the lead in the Western Conference, and one back of the Colorado Avalanche. Tampa Bay remains tied with the Florida Panthers in 3rd place in the Southeast Division.
The Lightning play Tuesday night in Nashville, while Chicago is off until Wednesday when they will host the St Louis Blues.
Have you seen this one? I was watching the Tampa Bay Lightning playing Chicago Blackhawks and had to see this Antero Niittymaki save 3-4 times - unbelieveable!
The Blackhawks eventually won the game 4-0 and Chicago's rookie netminder Antti Niemi got justifiable praise for getting getting his third shutout in only 8 games this season, but Niittymaki's play reminds you that there are two teams and two goalies playing the game.
Kudos to Niittymaki for this highlight, which should be the number one highlight for at least this week.
The Buffalo Sabres won for the 3rd straight game, dropping the New York Rangers 3-2 with a 2-goal performance by right winger Patrick Kaleta. The win puts the Sabres 2 points up on the Boston Bruins for first in the Northeast Division, while the Rangers remain one point up on the Philadelphia Flyers who sit in last place in the Atlantic Division, although the Flyers have a game in hand on the Rangers.
Derek Roy put Buffalo into an early lead backhanding his 7th of the season under Rangers' goalie Henrik Lundqvist after picking up the rebound from Thomas Vanek's backhander in front of the netminder. For Lundqvist, the loss was his 5th in his last 6 starts and he now sits with a 12-12-2 won/loss record.
The Rangers took over the lead with 2 quick power play goals midway through the period, with right winger Marian Gaborik figuring in on both. The right winger assisted on Ryan Callahan's tying goal at 10:22 at Callahan was left alone in the slot and he snapped a shot glove side on Buffalo's netminder Ryan Miller for his 6th of the year. Gaborik scored a power play marker less than 2 minutes later as he cruised in and shot from the face off circle beating Miller's glove just like Callahan had done moments before.
At 14:28, Kaleta struck for his 4th of the season, diving in the Rangers' crease and tipping the puck past Lundqvist's outstretched trapper to tie the game 2-2.
Buffalo defenseman Steve Montador was sent off at 8:35 of the 2nd period for a tripping penalty, but Kaleta got the winner with a shorthanded goal less than a minute later beating Lundqvist on a breakaway.
The Sabres head to Montreal Monday to face the Canadiens at home. The Rangers will also play Monday, hosting the Atlanta Thrashers.
The Montreal Canadiens slip to a 3-4-1 record in their their last 8 games after dropping a 4-3 overtime loss to the Atlanta Thrashers. The Canadiens were ahead 2-0 halfway through the 2nd, but Atlanta kept coming back to tie the game, with Thrashers' sniper Ilya Kovalchuk beating Habs' netminder Carey Price in the extra frame.
Canadiens' center Glen Metropolit got his 7th with a power play goal 3:33 into the 1st period with a backhand that got past Atlanta goalie Johan Hedberg as Metropolit came from behind the icing line squeezing the puck behind Hedberg's left pad and the post. Montreal outshot Atlanta 10-9 in the period, but could only manage another 9 shots through the rest of the game on the Hedberg, while the Thrashers got 26 more on Price, including 2 in overtime.
Andrei Kostitsyn scored the first of his 2 goals on the night at 6:44 of the 2nd to give Montreal a 2-0 lead. Atlanta answered with a couple of goals from Christoph Schubert and Colby Armstrong as the Thrashers dominated in the shots department in the middle period, outshooting the Habs by more than 4-1, getting 17 on Price, while the Canadiens could only direct 4 at the Atlanta goal. Despite the onslaught, Montreal took a 3-2 lead at Kostitsyn got his 6th of the season with 4:47 left in the period.
Atlanta's Nik Antropov got his 4th of the season, beating Price with a wrist shot after getting a pass from defenseman Tobias Enstrom, and tucked it stickside past Price to tie the game 3-3. There was no scoring in the 3rd period and the Thrashers had 3 power plays with Metropolit being sent off with 40 seconds left in regulation for high-sticking which meant Atlanta would have the man advantage for the first 1:20 of overtime.
Kovalchuk beat Price to complete the comeback at 1:18 of OT, giving the left winger his 17th of the season.
Both teams play Monday with Atlanta heading to New York to take on the Rangers and the Habs heading home to face their division rival Buffalo Sabres.
The Toronto Maple Leafs came back twice to tie the league-leading Washington Capitals before scoring three unanswered goals to win for their 7th win in their last 10 games. With the win, the Leafs are now 4 points back of the Montreal Canadiens for 4th in the tough Northeast Division with a game in hand on the Habs.
The Capitals opened the game with 2 quick goals and it looked like it may be another long night for the Leafs, as Alexander Ovechkin scored a power play goal 2 minutes into the game for his 21st of the season. Ovechkin assisted on Nicklas Backstrom's 9th goal at 5:15, as Backstrom took a pass from Ovechkin right through Leafs netminder Vesa Toskala's crease snapping the puck into the wide open net to put the Caps up 2-0.
Early in the 2nd, Toronto center Matt Stajan picked up his 10th on the rebound after Washington goalie Michal Neuvirth stopped Phil Kessel's quick shot after carrying the puck into the Capitals' zone. Stajan has been playing great since joining Kessel's line as both ended the night with a goal and 2 assists each. Kessel got his 11th on the power play at 5:54 with Ovechkin in the box after Washington received a penalty for too many men on the ice. Defenseman Tomas Kaberle got his team-high 29th assist on the play. Kaberle also leads the Leafs with 31 total points.
Backstrom put Washington back into the lead 3-2 converting another Ovechkin pass at 8:33 of the 2nd, but Toronto left winger Niklas Hagman snapped his 15th behind Neuvirth with 3:21 left in the 2nd period. Last season Hagman had 22 goals in 65 games with the Leafs and a career-high 27 the year before with the Dallas Stars. Kessel's assist on Hagman's goal gave the center his 3rd point of the period.
In the 3rd period, Toronto scored 3 times despite being outshot 13-11 by Washington, with Stajan scoring the eventual game winner 5:03 into the period. Jason Blake was called for a high-sticking infraction at 8:26, but Lee Stempniak got a shorthanded goal as defenseman Ian White blocked a pass at the Toronto blue line, and Stempniak recovered the puck as it flew high into the air and passed it back to White. White gave it back to Stempniak as the right winger broke in on Neuvirth and Stempniak backhanded it through the legs of the Washington goaltender for his 8th of the season. With 50 seconds left in regulation, Capitals' defenseman Mike Green was collared for interference and Alexei Ponikarovsky scored on the ensuing power play to finish off the Caps.
With the loss, Neuvirth slips to a 0-2-0 record in the two games he's appeared, while Toskala 3rd win in his last 4 games moves him to 4-5-2. Toskala played great, stopping Ovechkin, Backstrom and left winger Alexander Semin several times in the game. It could easily have been 4 or 5-0 in the first period if not for the play of the Toronto netminder. Ovechkin, Backstrom and Semin combined for a total of 15 of Washington's 37 shots on the Leafs. Ovechkin ended with a goal and 2 assists, while Backstrom had 2 goals, and Semin was limited to a single assist.
Toronto continues their home stand, facing their provincial-rivals the Ottawa Senators on Monday, while the Capitals will head to Colorado for a Tuesday night game against the Avalanche.
Evgeni Malkin scored a power play goal 37 seconds into overtime to lift his Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers. The win keeps the Penguins tied at 45 points with the New Jersey Devils for the lead in the Atlantic Division and one point back of the Eastern Conference leading Washington Capitals.
The Panthers struck first, with Steven Reinprecht backhanding a shot past Pens netminder Brent Johnson at 10:25 of the 1st period. The goal was Reinprecht's 11th since the center joined Florida from the Phoenix Coyotes after last season where he had 14 goals in 73 games. Pascal Dupuis tied it 1-1 a couple of minutes later beating Florida goalie Tomas Vokoun with a quick wrist shot as Panthers' defenseman Dmitry Kulikov fell opening up a lane for Dupuis to move in on Vokoun.
Ruslan Fedotenko tipped in a soft pass from Malkin right on Vokoun's doorstep after Malkin snapped up the puck when Pens center Mike Rupp took out two Florida players and forced a turnover deep in the Panthers' end. That goal marked Fedotenko's 5th of the season and his first since November 12th.
Panthers' center Stephen Weiss tied it 4:39 into the 3rd, snapping up a rebound after Bryan McCabe stepped out of the penalty box and broke in on Johnson, but the goalie stoned him. The puck went to Weiss who was trailing and he pulled the puck away from Johnson's poke-check throwing it into the open net as Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang dove almost preventing the goal. For Weiss, that was his 14th in 33 games this year, matching the goal total he had last season in 78 games. He might beat his career high 20 goals this season.
30 seconds into overtime, Florida defenseman Jordan Leopold was sent off for holding, setting up a 4-on-3 power play for Pittsburgh. The Penguins won a faceoff in Florida's end and Sergei Gonchar pass over to Malkin on the right point, with Malkin blasting the game winner past Vokoun. Sidney Crosby got an assist on the play, giving the Pittsburgh captain 38 points, 4th best in the NHL.
The Panthers face the Islanders in New York on Monday, while the Penguins will be at home Tuesday night to take on the Philadelphia Flyers.
Patick Elias became the 174th National Hockey League player to hit the 300 career goal milestone as his New Jersey Devils won their 5th in their last 6 games, 4-1 over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers have been slumping badly, losing 10 of their last 12 games, and 4 of the last 5 since replacing coach John Stevens with Peter Laviolette.
The Devils easily handled the Flyers, scoring three 1st period goals and limiting Philadelphia to a meager 5 shots on New Jersey netminder Martin Brodeur in the period. Rookie right winger Niclas Bergfors scored his 10th and 11th goals of the season with both goals coming on the power play. Bergfors trails only New York Islanders John Tavares in the rookie point-scoring race this season. Elias got his 300th goal as a New Jersey Devil with 4:13 left in the 1st as he beat Flyers' netminder Brian Boucher with a one-timer from the faceoff circle. He now trails only John Madden with 347 goals as the Devils' all-time goal scorer.
Flyers right winger Claude Giroux got one past Brodeur at 15:03 of the 2nd on the power play for Philadelphia's only goal, one Brodeur would likely want back as Giroux came in the Devils' zone snapping a shot that when through the goalie's pads. The goal broke Brodeur's latest attempt at breaking the career shutout mark of 103 he tied December 7th against Buffalo.
Elias got his 2nd of the game with 34 seconds left in the 2nd period, easily tipping Brian Rolston's pass behind Boucher. The Flyers didn't really press hard in the 3rd, mustering only 6 more shots at Brodeur and there was no further scoring.
Thw win keeps New Jersey in a tie for the lead in the Atlantic Division with the Pittsburgh Penguins as the Pens also won last night. The Flyers remain in the basement of the same division, one point back of the New York Rangers.
The Flyers head to Boston for a game against the Bruins on Monday, while New Jersey is off until Wednesday when the Montreal Canadiens come to town.
The New York Islanders snapped a 3 game losing streak beating the Boston Bruins as Frans Nielsen scored 24 seconds into overtime.
Isles center Rob Schremp opened the scoring 3:58 into the game with his first ever National Hockey League goal through a crowd in front of Bruins' netminder Tim Thomas. Michael Ryder tied it 1-1 at 14:53 snapping a shot past New York's Dwayne Roloson from the top of the slot moments after Boston's Marc Savard had hit the goal post.
Midway through the 2nd period, the Bruins took their only lead in the game as David Krejci tipped a crease pass from Ryder behind Roloson. Matt Moulson with his 15th put the Islanders back into a tie at 14:26 as he backhanded the puck past Thomas into the open Bruins net after John Tavares had passed from behind the goal. For Tavares that was his 12th assist and 27th point, tops for all rookies this season.
The game remained tied through the 3rd period as the Bruins pressed for the go-ahead goal, outshooting the Islanders 17-3, but Roloson kept turning Boston away.
Nielsen won it for New York breaking away after a turnover at the Isles' blue line. Right winger snapped up the puck passing to Neilsen at center ice. Neilsen blew past Bruins' defenseman Andrew Ference and beat Thomas, deking to his right and putting it over the goalie's left pad for his 4th goal of the year.
With the win, the Islanders moved one point ahead of the New York Rangers into 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, but they trail division leading New Jersey and Pittsburgh by 14 points. The Bruins slip back into 2nd in the Northeast as the Buffalo Sabres moved ahead of Boston with their 3-2 win over the Rangers last night.
The Islanders will be at home on monday to take on the Florida Panthers, and Boston is also at home Monday to face the wobbly Philadelphia Flyers.
Todd Bertuzzi scored his 100th career power play goal to complete the comeback of his Detroit Red Wings over the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in overtime. Bertuzzi's 5th of the season forced overtime and his 6th ended it as the Red Wings came back from 2-0 to start the 3rd.
Saku Koivu got his 5th of the year at 8:05 of the 2nd after a scoreless first period as he tipped in a Dan Sexton pass behind Detroit's Jimmy Howard. Sexton put Anaheim up 2-0 with a wrist shot that beat Howard with about a minute left in the second period. Sexton had his 2nd straight multipoint night with a goal and an assist after getting 2 goals against Dallas 3 nights earlier.
Detroit left winger Tomas Holmstrom got a power play goal at 2:17 of the 3rd with Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf off on a hooking call to start the Red Wings on their comeback. Bertuzzi beat Anaheim netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere with 10:24 left in the 3rd forcing overtime.
Defenseman Nick Boynton was nabbed for hooking with 14 seconds left in regulation, putting the Ducks down a man and Bertuzzi ended it by taking a pass from Brad Stuart as he was parked to Giguere's left and snapped a shot high over the Anaheim goalie's shoulder as he hugged the post.
The Washington Capitals came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in overtime. With the win Washington moves into the overall lead in the National Hockey League with 46 points, one up on the San Jose Sharks.
Newly acquired Jiri Tlusty opened the scoring with his 1st goal since the 2007-08 season when he broke in with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tlusty, a center, tipped a shot from Brandon Sutter 2:01 into the game past Caps goalie Jose Theodore. Eric Staal got his 4th of the season on a wrap around play with 6:04 left in the period.
In the 2nd, Alexander Semin scored twice on Canes netminder Cam Ward with the tying goal coming with one second left in the period. Tomas Fleischmann put Washington into their first lead in the game at 2:52 of the 3rd, but Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason forced overtime scoring a shorthanded goal at 13:30.
Defenseman Mike Green ended it with his 6th goal of the year. Both Alexander Ovechkin and Niklas Backstrom got their 2nd assists of the night on Green's winning goal. That was Backstrom's 27th assist, the most on the Capitals and also put him in the lead on the team for most points, one up on Ovechkin.
Washington next plays the Maple Leafs Saturday night in Toronto, while the Hurricanes head to Ottawa to play the Senators the same evening.
Florida Panthers' netminder Scott Clemmensen stopped 26 of 28 shots from his former team, the New Jersey Devils, as the Panthers won 4-2 for their 1st victory in 5 games. Clemmensen beat Martin Brodeur, who he backed up for 5 seasons before joining Florida this season. Brodeur faced 22 shots, stopping 18.
Defenseman Jordan Leopold put Florida up 1-0 beating Brodeur taking a pass in the slot from Nathan Horton as Horton came from behind the Devils net. Leopold snuck in from the point into open ice in front of Brodeur netting his 4th this season.
Michael Frolik tipped in a power play goal about a minute after New Jersey defenseman Bryce Salvador was sent off for a hooking call to give Florida a 2-0 lead. one minute later it was 3-0 Florida as Shawn Matthias tipped one past Brodeur on a shot from Steven Reinprecht. Brian Rolston got one back to cut the lead to 3-1 on a slap shot as he crossed into the Panthers zone, blowing it by Clemmensen giving the 36-year-old Rolston his 11th of the year.
Early in the 3rd, Devils center Dean McAmmond, who was signed as a free-agent after playing with the Senators and Islanders last season, got New Jersey back into it with his 1st goal, 11 games into the season. McAmmond was trying to pass back to the right point when the puck deflected off defenseman Keith Ballard's right skate through a surprised Clemmensen.
At 2:23, Frolik got his 2nd of the game as the speedy forward took a breakaway pass from defenseman Nathan Horton beating Brodeur lifting the puck over the goalie's right pad restoring Florida's 2 goal lead.
The Devils are at home Saturday to face the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Panthers head to Pittsburgh to do battle with the Penguins the same night.
Wojtek Wolski got the tying goal and the shootout winner to help his Colorado Avalanche win their 3rd in 4 games with a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tampa Bay opened the scoring with Steve Downie getting his 6th of the season as Colorado failed to clear the zone, turning over the puck to Downie who flipped the puck up to right winger Martin St Louis and St Louis flew to the net and being stopped by Avs' netminder Craig Anderson. The puck rebounded to Vincent Lecavalier but Anderson stopped him too with the puck bouncing over to Downie who had an open net but had to get it past defenseman Kyle Quincey who fell to block the shot, but Downie put the upstairs for the goal.
It took until past the midpoint of the 3rd period before Colorado could get anything past Lightning goalie Antero Niittymaki who faced a total of 34 shots. Wolski got his 12th of the season, tying him with Milan Hejduk for most on the team, at 12:11, as the puck bounced off Wolski past Niittymaki after center Paul Stastny shot from the low side boards and the rebound going out front where Wolski was tied up with defenseman Mattias Ohlund. The score remained tied through the final 8 minutes and overtime.
Wolski was the only player to score in the shootout and that stood as the game winner as Anderson stopped former Avalanche left winger Alex Tanguay.
Chris Stewart COL Save Stephane Veilleux TBL Save Matt Duchene COL Save Vincent Lecavalier TBL Save Wojtek Wolski COL Goal Alex Tanguay TBL Save
The Avalanche remain at home, facing the Calgary Flames Sunday, while Tampa Bay will head to Chicago the same day to meet the Blackhawks.
The Minnesota Wild are on quite a roll winning 2-1 in overtime to beat the Calgary Flames for their seventh win in the Wild's last eight starts. Calgary netminder Miikka Kiprusoff played a great game in the losing effort, stopping 44 of 46 Minnesota shots while his counterpart Niklas Backstrom faced a total of 23 from the Flames.
Neither team could get anything past either goalie until the 3rd period when Calgary took a 1-0 lead Aaron Johnson with his first of the year at 5:10 as he blasted a rebound past Backstrom. That was Johnson's first in his 11 games with the Flames since being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks. James Sheppard tied it at 9:30 snaring a rebound off the end boards after defenseman Shane Hnidy's point shot. Sheppard tucked the puck Kiprusoff with as the Calgary netminder was turned away expecting the puck to emerge from the other side of the net.
In the extra 5 minute overtime, Martin Havlat got his 3rd of the season on a nifty cross-ice pass from defenseman Marek Zidlicky and fired a shot behind Kiprusoff, who had no chance on the play.
Calgary heads to Colorado for a Sunday game against the Avalanche while Minnesota jumps across the mountains to take on the Vancouver Canucks Saturday night.
The Phoenix Coyotes came back from a 2-0 deficit against the Los Angeles Kings, but couldn't finish it in the shoot out, which went 8 rounds, eventually succumbing 3-2 to the Kings.
The Kings got on the board first when Oscar Moller, a recent call up from the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL, got his 1st of the season, beating Phoenix netminder Ilya Bryzgalov at 4:11 of the opening period. Right winger Wayne Simmonds carried the puck behind the Coyotes' net and fed Moller as he went to the front and the 22-year-old center snapped a quick shot past Bryzgalov's glove. Jack Johnson put the Kings up 2-0 putting in his own rebound after hitting the post from just inside the Phoenix blue line.
Scottie Upshall got his 9th to get the Coyotes within one with 3:05 left in the 1st period, as center Matthew Lombardi grabbed the puck and carried it over the Kings' blue line before passing off to Upshall who snapped a quick wrist shot past L.A.'s Jonathan Quick. No goals were scored until the 3rd period.
Phoenix right winger Radim Vrbata scored a power play goal at 3:12 of the 3rd to tie it 2-2. Peter Mueller took a point shot and center Martin Hanzal tipped it past Quick leaving Vrbata with an open net for his 8th of the year. Phoenix had the edge in shots in overtime, 4-2.
Anze Kopitar LAK Miss Radim Vrbata PHX Save Jack Johnson LAK Goal Peter Mueller PHX Goal Dustin Brown LAK Save Shane Doan PHX Save Wayne Simmonds LAK Save Lauri Korpikoski PHX Miss Michal Handzus LAK Goal Petr Prucha PHX Goal Scott Parse LAK Save Matthew Lombardi PHX Save Drew Doughty LAK Goal Robert Lang PHX Goal Justin Williams LAK Goal Scottie Upshall PHX Save
In the shootout, Phoenix answered each goal the Kings scored with one of there own until Upshall couldn't get one by Quick, so Justin Williams' goal stood up as the winner. The Kings took the win, moving to 43 points on the season, one point back of the Pacific Division leading San Jose Sharks and 5 up on the Coyotes who remain in 3rd.
Phoenix mixes it up with the visiting Sharks on Saturday, and Los Angeles, also playing Saturday, host the Dallas Stars.
It was a goaltendering duel up until the 3rd period when the Ottawa Senators scored two goals to beat the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers have now lost 6 of their last 7 games, going 1-2-0 since replacing their head coach with Peter Laviolette. Ottawa hasn't faired much better, winning only their 2nd game in their last six. Neither teams' netminders were particularly busy with the Senators outshooting the Flyers 25-23, but Ottawa goalie Brian Elliott came away with the shutout, his 1st of the season and second in 48 NHL games.
Left winger Nick Foligno was the only one to beat a goaltender this night, knocking in his own rebound past Brian Boucher at 11:31 of the 3rd. Jesse Winchester got some insurance with an unassisted empty net goal while the Senators were shorthanded.
Thw win moves Ottawa 2 points up on the Montreal Canadiens in the Northeast Division standings, but the Senators trail Boston and Buffalo. The Flyers remain tied with the New York Islanders with 29 points for dead last in the Atlantic Division.
Both teams play again on Saturday, with Ottawa at home to the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia visiting the Devils in New Jersey.
The National Hockey League has announced that they have signed a letter of intent to sell the Phoenix Coyotes to Ice Edge Holdings.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly issued the statement that NHL and the company hope the transaction will be completed "as expeditiously as possible" and that Ice Edge has committed to keeping the franchise in Glendale, Arizona. Details as to the price to be paid were not disclosed.
The Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2, ending their own 2 game losing streak and snapping the Habs' winning streak. The Penguins outshot the Canadiens almost 2-1 but even with Carey Price's heroics, the Habs couldn't contain Pittsburgh. Both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were held pointless though between them they had 10 shots on Price.
Defenseman Sergei Gonchar got the Penguins up 1-0 at 6:38 of the first, beating Price with a quick shot from the slot after slipping to the net and receiving a sweet backhand pass from Bill Guerin. The Habs got the equalizer midway through the 2nd when Matt D'Agostini corralled the puck after Glen Metropolit forced a turnover along the boards in the Penguins' zone. D'Agostini snapped a wrist shot from the faceoff circle beating goalie Marc-Andre Fleury on Montreal's 1st shot on goal in the period.
3 minutes later, defenseman Roman Hamrlik scored his 5th of the season blasting a shot past Fleury from the top of the faceoff circle for a power play goal with Pittsburgh left winger Ruslan Fedotenko off for a delay of game penalty. Matt Cooke tipped in Gonchar's point shot with 2:15 left in the 2nd to tie the game 2-2.
Pascal Dupuis stepped over the Habs' blueline and blasted a shot through Price's glove that fell into the net behind the netminder for the game winner with 6:39 left in regulation.
The win puts the Penguins back into a tie for the lead in the Atlantic Division with the New Jersey Devils as each team has 43 points, although the Devils have 3 games in hand on the Pens. Montreal remains 4th overall in the Northeast, 5 up on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Pittsburgh will head home to face the Florida Panthers on Saturday, while the Canadiens will visit the Thrashers in Atlanta the same night.
For the second time in five days the Boston Bruins have beaten the Toronto Maple Leafs. this time 5-2. Last Saturday the Bruins demolished Toronto 7-2 spoiling Phil Kessel's return to Beantown, after themselves being clobbered by the Montreal Canadiens the evening before. The Leafs were a little tougher in this game, coming back from a 3-0 deficit before Boston put it out of reach with 2 late goals.
Like last Saturday, the Bruins jumped out to a 3-0 lead with Mark Stuart getting his 2nd goal of the season 8 minutes into the opening period blasting a shot from the blueline that beat Leafs goalie Vesa Toskala. Derek Morris put Boston up 2-0 35 seconds into the 2nd period on another long slap shot the went through Toskala. Zdeno Chara got his team high 17th assist on the power play goal.
David Krejci scored his 4th this season after blocking a shot by Leafs defenseman Luke Schenn and sprinting to the Toronto goal beating Toskala with a forehand, backhand, forehand move and stuffing it behind the goalie before crashing into the end boards. Boston took a 3-0 lead into the dressing room.
The Leafs started their comeback with center Mikhail Grabovski 45 seconds into the 3rd as Niklas Hagman stole the puck behind the Bruins net, passed out front to Jason Blake who was stopped by Tuukka Rask, but Grabovski shovelled the rebound past the Bruins netminder to make it 3-1. Nikolai Kulemin got the Leafs to within one goal as he tipped a point shot from Mike Komisarek behind Rask 4:09 into the period.
Mark Recchi put the game out of reach with 2 goals, one being a power play marker, but it was Rask that saved Boston's bacon as he made several great saves to keep it 3-2 as the Leafs pressed for the equalizer. The two goals by Recchi were his 6th and 7th with the second an empty netter with 12 seconds left in regulation.
The two teams will tangle again December 19th when Boston heads to Toronto. The win gives the Bruins 37 points, one up on the Buffalo Sabres for the lead in the Northeast Division. The Leafs remain last in the Atlantic, 5 points back of 4th place Montreal.
Both teams play this Saturday, with the Bruins visiting the New York Islanders and Toronto at home to the Washington Capitals.
The Toronto Maples Leafs got a taste of what the NHL can expect in the future from New York Islanders rookie John Tavares. Tavares scored two power play goals in the 3rd period to tie the game, but couldn't finish the comeback as the Leafs got a lucky bounce to win the game 3-2. Tavares has scored the last 4 goals in both of the Islanders' last two games.
Francois Beauchemin opened the scoring with a power play goal at 6:03 of the 1st period when the Leafs defenceman took a one-timer from his defensive partner Tomas Kaberle. Toronto had the Islanders hemmed in their own zone for most of the 1st and that was shown on Ian White's goal with 5:10 left in the opening period as the Leafs defender called for the puck and blasted it past Dwayne Roloson to put Toronto up 2-0. The 2nd was scoreless.
John Tavares got his first of the game on a goal crease tap-in past Vesa Toskala on a pass from right winger Kyle Okposo at 1:32 of the 3rd with Toronto's Mike Komisarek off for an interference penalty. Tavares scored another power play goal six seconds into a 4-on-3 advantage as Islanders Brendan Witt and Jamal Mayers were sent off for coincidental minors and Mayers receiving an extra 2 minutes for boarding. The score could have been much worse for the Leafs if not for the play of netminder Toskala who robbed both Okposo and Matt Moulson in close in the 3rd after Tavares' first goal.
With the two goals last night, Tavares leads a National Hockey League rookies with 15, six more than 2nd place Niclas Bergfors, right winger for the New Jersey Devils and Tavares also has the lead for most points by a rookie with 26, six ahead of Bergfors.
The Leafs quelled the comeback with an even strength marker by Jason Blake scored his 5th of the season with 4:05 left in regulation.
Toronto heads back to Boston tonight, where they lost 7-2 last Saturday and the Islanders will be at home on Saturday to take on those same Bruins.
Columbus Blue Jackets' netminder Steve Mason won the Calder Trophy last year as the NHL's Rookie of the Year after compiling 10 shutouts. He looks like he is finally rounding into form after blanking the Florida Panthers 3-0 last night for Mason's 1st shutout victory this season. The loss was Florida's 4th straight and 9th in the team's last 10 games.
The Blue Jackets got on the score sheet late in the 1st period as left winger Jason Chimera knocked in his own rebound past Florida'a Tomas Vokoun at 18:19. Columbus added to their lead late in the 3rd when Derick Brassard lifted a shot over Vokoun's shoulder with 5:50 left in regulation. Sammy Pahlsson added an empty net goal off a center ice faceoff at 18:32 to seal the win.
Columbus next faces the Predators in Nashville on Thursday night, while Florida is heading to New Jersey to play the Devils on Friday.
Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller earned his 4th shutout of the season blanking Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals 3-0 last night while facing 35 shots. Miller's won/loss record improved to 17-6-2 in the 25 games he's appeared this season. The Capitals' six game winning streak was snapped as Washington was held goalless for the first time this season and Ovechkin was blanked for the first time in his last 6 games.
Sabres defenseman Steve Montador got Buffalo on the board early in the 1st period, with a long point shot that deflected in past Washington goalie Jose Theodore off Capitals' defenseman Milan Jurcina for Montador's 2nd of the season.
Rookie center Nathan Gerbe put Buffalo up 2-0 with his first ever National Hockey League goal beating Theodore shortside while coming from behind the Capitals net at 14:42 of the 2nd. Washington's defenseman Mike Green was off for high-sticking for Gerbe's goal. About 3 minutes later, defenseman Henrik Tallinder got his own rebound after a shot from the slot and snapped his 2nd of the season behind Theodore to give the Sabres the 3-0 lead that they carried into the 3rd period.
Washington outshot Buffalo 13-4 in the 3rd, but couldn't get anything past Miller and Capitals' left winger Alexander Ovechkin wasn't really noticeable in the game, going minus one, but he did get 6 shots on Miller.
The Sabres and Caps both have games on Friday, with Washington at home to the Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo continuing their home stand against the Chicago Blackhawks.
have been looking good recently, bouncing back after losing a home-and-home series against the Blackhawks, and are 6-3-1 in their last ten games. 
got his record 105th career shutout against Sidney Crosby and the Pens. How many times has Brodeur shut out Pittsburgh in his career?
? How will they fare against the Russians, Swedes and Americans?
had a goal and an assist. Ovechkin's goal was his 26th which ties the left winger with Rangers' Marian Gaborik for most so far this season. The 2 points also move him into a third place tie with Gaborik in the overall points race with 49, five back of NHL points leader Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks.