TOP STORY
Quack to .500
(Photo Credit: Jeff Hinckley - Columbus Dispatch)
The Ducks celebrate the go-ahead 3rd Period goal in the victory
Anaheim Ducks (5-5-0) over the Columbus Blue Jackets (3-6-0) 3-2
It's amazing what two weeks can day for a team. Anaheim got off to one of the worst starts in the league and people around the league were left scratching their heads. Going through customs must have done something to the Ducks, because they swept the 3 game Eastern Canada road trip and extended their streak to four tonight. The game would be tied at 2 until just under four minutes remained when Teemu Selanne scored on the power play. He now has points in his last three games.
Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf would score the other goals (and both had assists) for Anaheim while Blue Jackets Centers Jiri Novotny (SHG) and Derrick Brassard scored for Columbus. Ducks G Jean-Sebastian Giguere made 30 saves in the win while Frederik Norrena turned away 21 pucks in the Jackets third straight loss. The game was played before 10,494, the smallest NHL crowd ever at Nationwide Arena.
Columbus did get some good news in the form of RW Jared Boll returning after sitting out the last five games with a concussion. The Blue Jackets head out to Colorado to play the red hot Avalanche on Thursday night.
The Ducks will return home after a four game road trip with a three game home stand. The home stand kicks off on Wednesday with the Red Wings.
OTHER HEADLINES
-Caps LW Alexander Ovechkin will miss Tuesday night's game with the Nashville Predators. He will be in Russia, visiting his grandfather, who has health issues. AO’s status beyond that will be determined on a day-to-day basis.
-The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed goaltender Pascal Leclaire on IR and activated right wing Jared Boll off the IR
-Maple Leafs Rookie D Luke Schenn will not be sent back to the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL:
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=388922
RUMOR MILL
-Gaborik Update: Between Gaborik being hurt and the Wild winning lately, this makes things a bit easier for Minnesota. They can wait on a good deal coming to them. There might not be an updates here for awhile
-The Sens having Spezza on the trading block hasn’t been too high of a profile story, but it’s been there. With the Sens off to a rough start, look for Ottawa to start entertaining offers for him.
LAST NIGHT’S RECAP
Ottawa Senators (3-5-1) over the Buffalo Sabres (6-1-2) 5-2
-The Senators snapped a 4 game losing streak and the Sabres lost for the first time in regulation. Ottawa C Jason Spezza scored two goals and added an assist. The rest of the Senators goals came from Dany Heatly, Christopher Schubert and Shean Donovan. G Alex Auld made 25 saves in his 3rd straight start for Martin Gerber (pulled leg muscle). Ottawa D Filip Kuba had his eight-game point streak snapped. Clarke McArthur and Derek Roy had the Buffalo goals. Commissioner Gary Bettman was in attendance (see Around The Boards for why).
NY Rangers (9-2-1) over the NY Islanders (2-6-0) 4-2
-It took 12 games for Chris Drury to dent the goal column, but he did it twice tonight in Uniondale. Scott Gomez and Ryan Callahan also contributed goals, D Michal Rozsival had two assists and G Henrik Lundqvist made 28 saves for his 7th win of the season. Head Coach Tom Renney took over sole position of 4th place on the Rangers all time victory list. Kyle Okposo scored his first goal of the season for the Isles and D Mark Streit netted the other. G Rick DiPietro sat out again with a "lower-body injury" (no details on how long he'll be out) and Joey McDonald made 35 saves in the loss. Yann Danis got the call from Bridgeport of the AHL to be the backup.The Islanders also announced that D Brendan Witt would miss three to four weeks with an undisclosed injury.
Minnesota Wild (6-0-1) over the Chicago Blackhawks (3-3-2) 3-2
-Wild C Mikko Koivu is helping to fill some of the void left by the injured Marian Gabroik. His three assists were key in the one goal lead over Chicago last night. Andrew Brunette, Antti Miettinen and Brent Burns (who left the game with a lower body injury in the 2nd period) scored the goals for Minnesota while Patrcik Sharp and Duncan Keith had the two Blackhawk goals. Nicklas Backstrom made 34 saves en route to ending Chicago's seven-game point streak. The Blackhawks also remain winless on the road and the Wild's PK remains perfect on the season (22 for 22). Cam Barker, the #3 pick in the NHL draft in 2004, was called up from AHL Rockford before the game and made his season debut for Chicago.
Boston Bruins (4-2-3) over the Edmonton Oilers (4-3-1) 1-0 OT
-In a game that was filled with end to end action and some great saves, Bruins D Dennis Wideman ended the fun at 3:18 of OT with a shot over Dwayne Roloson's gloveside shoulder. Bruins G Tim Thomas made 27 saves for his 8th career shutout and Dwayne Roloson made 35 saves in the loss. This was the first time Boston has won back to back games this season. Edmonton begins a seven game road trip on Thursday in Nashville and won't return home until 11/13 against Toronto. Edmonton winger Fernando Pisani was back in the lineup after missing two games with a back injury. Bruins winger Chuck Kobasew skated for the first time since Boston's season opener this past weekend and may return during the current three-game road trip (he's been out with a broken leg).
Detroit Red Wings (7-1-1) over the Los Angeles Kings (3-4-1) 4-3 SO
-Red Wings C Valterri Flippula scored the game-tying goal with 1:54 left in the 3rd period off a turnover and the Red Wings extended their winning streak to five. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg scored in the SO for Detroit to clinch the victory. Zetterberg and Marian Hossa (PP) scored the other goals for Detroit while LA got goals from Oscar Moller (PP), Kyle Calder and Alexander Frolov. The Kings have allowed three goals in eight short-handed situations during their last two games, after killing off all 27 opponents' power plays in their first six contests. Detroit has scored at least one power play goal in seven straight games and is 12-for-37 overall.
AROUND THE BOARDS
-The NHL Network began producing and airing their own games last night
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=388902
-Canadiens forward Andrei Kostitsyn practiced Monday in his usual spot with Tomas Plekanec and Alex Kovalev. It's the second time he has skated since being concussed two weeks ago. Kostitsyn is awaiting medical confirmation to decide whether he will face the Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday or miss his third game. He was hurt last week when he was hit hard into the boards by Kurt Sauer of the Phoenix Coyotes. Kostitsyn's head slammed against the glass and he landed face-first on the ice after the hit.
-The Islanders unveiled their new 3rd jerseys tonight:
http://islanders.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=388905 (courtesy of islanders.com)
-Blackhawks Defensemen Jordan Hendry and Niklas Hjalmarsson were sent down on Sunday.
-The 2011 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships will be in Buffalo, NY:
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=253969&lid=sublink05&lpos=headlines_nhl
GAME OF THE NIGHT
Pittsburgh Penguins (5-2-2) @ San Jose Sharks (7-2-0) – 10:30PM
The San Jose Sharks look to remain undefeated at the HP Pavilion tonight when Sidney Crosby and the Penguins come to town. The Sharks have outscored opponents 18-7 in their 4 wins there this season. San Jose is coming off a 3-0 win at Tampa Bay on Saturday night while the Penguins are coming off a 3-2 SO loss to the Rangers at MSG after blowing a 2-0 lead. The Penguins, who haven't visited San Jose since Nov. 4, 2006, have lost five straight there.
Other Action:
Nashville (4-4-0) @ Washington (4-3-1) – 7PM
Philadelphia (2-3-3) @ Atlanta (2-4-2) – 7PM
Tampa Bay (1-3-3) @ Toronto (3-2-3) – 7:30PM
Carolina (4-2-1) @ Montreal (5-1-1) – 7:30PM
Colorado (5-3-0) @ Calgary (4-3-1) – 9:30PM
Boston (4-2-3) @ Vancouver (4-4-0) – 10PM
^All times Eastern
*My weekly power rankings, “Plus/Minus” comes out Monday Evenings
~Andrew Bogusch's weekly column debuts tomorrow
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