TOP STORY
Anaheim Clips the Red Wings
(Photo Credit: AP Photo)
The Ducks Win The Battle of the Last Two Stanley Cup Champions
Anaheim Ducks (6-5-0) over the Detroit Red Wings (7-1-2) 5-4 (OT)
Both teams came in to this game on big winning streaks (Detroit had won 5 in a row, Anaheim won 4). It would be 2007 Stanley Cup champions defeating the defending champions thanks to a strong night from Teemu Selanne and some quick thinking from Francois Beauchemin.
Selanne had three goals on the season coming in to the game and would match that total by scoring his 21st career hat trick. All of those goals came on the PP and it tied the franchise record for power-play goals in a game (Paul Kariya). It gives the Finnish Flash 558 career goals and moved him past Johnny Bucyk into 21st place on the NHL career list, two behind Guy Lafleur.
Brian Sutherby would score Anaheim's 4th goal, but the winner would come on a heads-up play from D Francois Beauchemin in OT. Red Wings G Chris Osgood attempted a poke-check that sent the puck fluttering into the air. Beauchemin swatted at it and it went in the net. The Ducks waited out a video replay before they could celebrate their fifth straight victory.
Ryan Getzlaf had a career-high five assists in the game and Jean-Sebastian Giguere made 34 saves. It was also a career night for D Scott Niedermayer. His two assists set the Ducks' career record for assists by a defenseman with 127. The Ducks next game is tomorrow night when they host the Vancouver Canucks.
Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk each had two goals (one of Zetterberg's came on the PP) and Marian Hossa contributed two assists. G Chris Osgood made 29 saves in the loss. The Red Wings have scored at least one power-play goal in eight straight games and are 14-for-44 overall (31.8%). The Red Wings play tonight in San Jose.
OTHER HEADLINES
-Per an agreement between the NHL and NHLPA, the 2008-09 trade deadline will be 3:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, 3/4/09. It was originally scheduled for 3/3/09.
-Brendan Shanahan is done waiting for the Rangers to make an offer (a NY Post exclusive):
RUMOR MILL
-Look for Toronto to make a deal for a defenseman from a Southeast Division team (Carolina or Atlanta).
-Red Wings D Andreas Lilja could be on the move as well. Rumored destinations are the Islanders or Thrashers.
LAST NIGHT'S RECAP
Toronto Maple Leafs (4-3-3) over the New Jersey Devils (5-2-2) 6-5 (SO)
-Niclas Hagman proved to be the hero in the 4th round of the shootout last night with a nice move to put the puck by Martin Brodeur. The Maple Leafs got two goals and an assist from Matt Stajan and a goal and an assist from Alexei Ponikarovsky. Tomas Kaberle also chipped in with two assists. G Vesa Toskala made his fifth straight start for the Leafs and earned his first win against New Jersey in four tries. Brodeur was certainly tested in regulation and OT, making 43 saves. Five different Devils scored and D Andy Greene contributed three assists. Injuries to Brian Rolston (ankle) and Bobby Holik (broken pinkie) opened the door for RW Matt Halischuk to become the fourth player to make his NHL debut with the Devils this season.
Dallas Stars (4-4-2) over the Minnesota Wild (6-1-1) 4-2
-The Stars controlled this game from beginning to end to hand the Wild their first regulation loss of the season. Four different Stars scored for Dallas and Sean Avery had two assists. Rookie G Tobias Stephan earned his first NHL win with 19 saves. Marc-Andre Bergeron and Andrew Brunette had power-play goals for the Wild and RW Antti Miettinen, who signed with the Wild as a free agent after playing in Dallas last season, had an assist in his first game against his former team. Minnesota, which is 0-7-2 in Dallas since 2003, had only 11 shots in the final two periods.
AROUND THE BOARDS
-The Maple Leafs are the NHL's most marketable franchise (courtesy of AP/ESPN.com)
-Sabres F Paul Gaustad will return to the lineup after recovering from thumb surgery. The injury occured in a pre-season game against the Wild.
-The Phoenix Coyotes assigned right wing Enver Lisin to the San Antonio Rampage (AHL). The 22-year-old Lisin has scored one goal in two games for the Coyotes this season.
-The Rangers have sent C Lauri Korpikoski down to the Hartford Wolfpack (AHL)
-This is a hockey site, but congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies for winning the World Series last night. They defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in 5 games. It was the Phillies first championship since 1980 and the city of Philadelphia's first championship since 1983.
GAME OF THE NIGHT
Detroit Red Wings (7-1-2) @ San Jose Sharks (8-2-0) – 10:30PM
-We get out first clash of two Western Conference titans. This will settle the argument of who is the best team in the west in the early stages of the season. This will be Sharks HC Todd McLellan's first game coaching against the team he used to be an assistant coach for. McLellan has led the Sharks to their best start in franchise history (not bad for your first NHL head coaching gig) and San Jose is undefeated at home so far this season. The Sharks are coming off a 2-1 win over the Penguins where they played there best defensive hockey of the year. Evgeni Nabokov is expected to start in goal for the Sharks, but is 0-3-0 with a 6.35 GAA in his last four home starts versus Detroit. The Red Wings are coming off a 5-4 OT loss to the Ducks in Anaheim last night.
Other Action:
Tampa Bay (2-3-3) @ Buffalo (6-1-2) – 7PM
Atlanta (2-5-2) @ NY Rangers (9-2-1) – 7PM
NY Islanders (2-6-0) @ Philadelphia (3-3-3) - 7PM
Ottawa (3-5-1) @ Florida (4-4-0) - 7:30PM
Edmonton (4-3-1) @ Nashville (4-4-1) - 8PM
Montreal (6-1-1) @ Minnesota (6-0-1) - 8PM
Carolina (4-2-2) @ St. Louis (5-3-0) - 8:30PM
Columbus (3-6-0) @ Colorado (5-4-0) - 9PM
Boston (5-2-3) @ Calgary (5-3-1) - 9PM
Pittsburgh (5-3-2) @ Phoenix (3-4-0) - 10PM
Vancouver (4-5-0) @ Los Angeles (3-4-1) - 10:30PM
^All times Eastern
*My weekly power rankings, "PLUS/MINUS", comes out on Monday evenings
~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes out on Wednesday evenings
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