Today is Game Day 2 of the pre-season. In the news today… the NHL and NHLPA have decided to meet… to sign off on the accounting documents for last season. You know what would be great? They could sign off on some documents for this season and drop the puck already!
Ah yes… there’s also the tweet from a stenographer concerning the Oilers’ future in Edmonton should their arena deal fall through. Did you also know the owners had already gone to Quebec City to have a look at the plans for their new state of the art facility that they plan to build? Coincidence? I don’t believe in that.
Florida Panthers 5 vs. Carolina Hurricanes 2
Stephen Weiss had a goal and two assists in the victory for Florida. Although the first period’s shot totals didn’t favour them so well, the Panthers scored twice on three shots. Carolina was able to bounce back in the second with goals from LaRose and Pitkanen (PP). Ellerby (PP) notched one early in the third period that ended up being the game winner.
Toronto Maple Leafs 4 vs. Buffalo Sabres 1
The Leafs started out the game strong with three unanswered goals in the first period from Phaneuf, Lupul and Lombardi. Buffalo was able to make it interesting on a PP goal from Vanek, but Phaneuf notched an empty netter for his second goal of the night to secure the win.
Vancouver Canucks 5 vs. Minnesota Wild 4 (Shoot-Out)
This was a wild one… no pun intended. Vancouver had two goals from Bieksa (one SH), Kesler and Hansen. The Wild had goals from Heatley, Parise, Clutterbuck and Koivu (SH). It was a goaltender’s duel in the shoot-out. Backstrom and Luongo were both solid. In the sixth round, Hamhuis finally got one past Backstrom. Luongo stopped Cullen to give the Canucks the win.
New Jersey Devils 1 vs. New York Rangers 3
Although the Devils came out strong in the first period they just couldn’t keep up with the Rangers for the rest of the game. It had the look of a wild one as the teams combined for 27 shots in the first period alone. The Rangers maintained their pressure while the Devils managed 7 shots in the second period and a miniscule 1 shot in the third. The Rangers won on goals from Stralman (PP), Del Zotto and Gaborik.
New York Islanders 0 vs. Philadelphia Flyers 1 (Shoot-Out)
The Flyers really took it to the Islanders tonight doubling their shot totals 39 – 19. Nabokov played great in goal stopping all 39 Flyers shots. Overtime solved nothing so the teams went to a shoot-out. Bryzgalov and Nabokov equally played well but it wasn’t until the final shot of the fifth round that Coburn managed to sneak one past the Islanders netminder.
Dallas Stars 6 vs. Anaheim Ducks 3
This game was decided by special teams… seven of the nine goals scored came on the powerplay. Dallas went 4 / 9 while Anaheim went 3 / 8. Anaheim had goals from Ryan (PP), Allen (PP) and Selanne (PP). The Stars won the game with goals from Fiddler (2, 1 on the PP), Nystrom (PP), Robidas (PP), Eriksson (PP) and Rome.
Colorado Avalanche 2 vs. Edmonton Oilers 4
This was a pretty tight game. Goals from Schultz and Eberle for Edmonton and McGinn (PP) and O’Reilly for Colorado had this game tied at two until the late stages of the third period. Horcoff scored the go-ahead goal (and game winner) with less than two and a half minutes remaining in the third period. Hemsky potted an empty netter to finish the Avs off.
Tampa Bay Lightning 4 vs. Washington Capitals 3 (Over-Time)
The Capitals seemed to have this game in hand even after they had a sloppy first period. Tampa scored twice on seven shots. While the Caps came out strong in the second, both clubs notched goals and it wasn’t until the Caps pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker that they could tie the game up. Backstrom scored with just under a minute to force the game to OT. Tampa wouldn’t hear any nonsense… specifically Stamkos scored fourteen seconds into OT to give Tampa the win.
Boston Bruins 4 vs. Ottawa Senators 8
It’s possible that Tim Thomas could be showing signs of his age. He allowed all 8 goals in the Bruins loss and was pulled half-way through the third period. Daniel Alfredsson (2-2), Milan Michalek (1-3) and Erik Karlsson (1-3) all had four-point nights. Despite the blow-out, the Bruins Bergeron was the lone bright star for the team scoring twice and having a zero plus-minus.
Phoenix Coyotes 1 vs. Los Angeles Kings 4
The Coyotes were just no match for LA. Gordon scored the lone goal for Phoenix on the powerplay half-way through the first. The team weathered a 15-shot first period by the Kings but finally showed weakness in the second and third. Goals from Scuderi (2 on the PP), Williams (PP) and Greene (EN) finished the ‘Yotes off.
Nashville Predators 3 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets 1
Columbus put out a great effort tonight but just didn’t have enough to solve Pekka Rinne… what else is new? Dubinsky did score for the Jackets on the powerplay in the second period but goals from Gill, Smith (PP) and Erat (PP) gave Nashville the win. Rinne allowed only the one goal on 43 shots.
Detroit Red Wings 2 vs. St. Louis Blues 1
This one was decided early on. Powerplay goals from Bertuzzi and Filppula were enough for the Red Wings victory. St. Louis had a powerplay marker from Backes in the dying seconds of the second period. While St. Louis pressed in the third, Jimmy Howard just closed the door and held on for the win.
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