Talk about a seesaw game. Things looked pretty normal after the first period with Anaheim holding on to a 2-1 lead. In the 2nd period, both teams would combine for seven goals. Vancouver would jump out to a 5-3 lead before Anaheim would storm back to tie it before the intermission. In the 3rd period, Steve Bernier would score a PPG to give Vancouver a lead until just under a minute remained. Corey Perry, who had four assists on the game already would net one of his own to force overtime.
Both goalies would stand tall in OT (Ducks G Jean-Sebastian Giguere would be pulled midway through the 2nd period for Jonas Hiller). The shootout would go 13 rounds before Canucks D Mattias Ohlund would finally send everyone home. D Kevin Bieksa would chip in a G and 2A for Vancouver while Steve Bernier scored twice. For Anaheim, Perry had a goal and four assists while Teemu Selanne (who has been red hot the past week) scored two goals and assisted on two of his own.
This was certainly a memorable game for Roberto Luongo's 500th career start. He is the 51st goalie to reach that plateau. Anaheim center Brendan Morrison played his first regular-season game against the Canucks since signing with the Ducks in July. The win gives Vancouver a California weekend sweep (beat LA on Friday 4-0) and there next game is Sunday when they host the Red Wings. The Ducks loss snaps a five game winning streak and their next game is tomorrow night when they host Calgary.
-Penguins C Sidney Crosby is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury (it appears to be a lower body injury). It still isn't known if he will dress tonight against St. Louis.
-The late Alexei Cherepanov was playing illegally with Avangard Omsk apparently (courtesy TSN.ca)http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=254342&lid=sublink03&lpos=headlines_nhlYou know what's great about this story? Absolutely nothing! A 19 year old hockey player passes away due to an unknown heart condition. He could have potentially been saved if the ambulance had been at the arena, like it was supposed to have been. Oh, and the defribulator's battery was dead. Lets not figure our why those two statements ended up being fact and being major contributors to the tragic death of Cherepanov. Lets talk about how he "should" have been in the military (I say "should" because Russian hockey players not serving in the actual military is a practice that has been going on since the days of the Steel Curtain). Frankly, it has nothing to do with anything. Like I've said in this blog before, if the KHL wants to be on par with the NHL, than things like this CAN'T happen. Get your stuff together KHL and Russia.
-Rumors were beginning to heat up that LW Brendan Shanahan would sign with the St. Louis Blues. He spent time on the Blues from 1991-1994
-With the Maple Leafs actually playing good hockey, it looks like they are ready to start making deals now. Shockingly, Mats Sundin's name isn't coming up much here. Thrashers winger Ilya Kovalchuk and Panthers D Jay Bouwmeester are the rumored names.
Chicago Blackhawks (4-3-3) over the Dallas Stars (4-5-2) 5-2
-This was a close game through the first two periods. Dallas and Chicago were trading rushes and both moving the puck well. In the third period, the Blackhawks truly took control of the game and put it away with goals from Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien. RW Patrick Kane had a G and 2A while Brent Sopel and Cam Barker had the other goals for the 'Hawks. Nikolai Khabibulin made 21 saves in the win (perhaps showcasing him for a deal?). Loui Eriksson and Steve Ott had the two goals for Dallas. Dallas C Brad Richards missed the game with a lower-body injury. The Stars did not disclose how long Richards might be out. Dallas RW Jere Lehtinen missed his 11th game with a groin injury and D Doug Janik missed his sixth straight with an eye injury. Both are day to day and could return within a week.
-Devils D Andy Greene will miss 4-6 weeks with a broken hand
-NHL hands disciplinary action down to Columbus (courtesy NHL.com)http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=389725
-The Dallas Stars recalled left wing Chris Conner under emergency conditions from the Peoria Rivermen (AHL) The club also placed center Joel Lundqvist onto the Injured Reserve, as he is expected to be out four to six weeks with a shoulder injury.
-The Panthers reassigned C Shawn Matthias to Rochester (AHL). The move was made to make room for D Jassen Cullimore will return to the lineup tonight against Nashville.
-D Tyler Sloan was sent back down to the minors by the Washington Capitals on Friday after he finally got a chance to play in the NHL. Sloan returns to AHL-Hershey after four games with the Capitals, including one goal.The Calgary native was called up while defenceman Tom Poti was sidelined with a groin injury. But Poti returned to practice Thursday after missing two weeks.After more than 400 games in the minor leagues, the 27-year-old Sloan made his NHL debut Oct. 21 against the Calgary Flames in his hometown.
-The Montreal Canadiens suspended D Pavel Valentenko without pay on Friday after the prospect left the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) to sign a three-year contract with Dynamo Moscow. Valentenko was in the second year of a three-year, entry-level deal with the Canadiens organization, but opted to sign with Dynamo at the urging of his family. The NHL has raised the issue with the International Ice Hockey Federation. Valentenko will also need clearance from the Russian Hockey Federation before he can play for Dynamo in the KHL.
-The big story in this game is that LW Alexander Ovechkin will miss his 2nd straight game (he's back in Russia helping with a family illness issue). Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau says he thinks Ovechkin will be back for practice Monday. The Capitals have won two in a row and are coming off a 4-3 SO win over Nashville. Capitals D Tom Poti returns to the lineup after missing five games with a groin injury. The Sabres have lost three in a row (1 in the SO - @ Colorado) and are coming off back to back 5-2 home losses (Ottawa & Tampa Bay). The Sabres outscored the Capitals 16-10 as they won three of four meetings last season. The teams split two matchups in Buffalo.
Other Action:
Edmonton (4-4-1) @ Carolina (5-2-2) - 3PM
Dallas (4-5-2) @ Boston (5-3-3) - 7PM
NY Rangers (10-2-1) @ Toronto (4-3-3) - 7PM
Atlanta (2-6-2) @ New Jersey (5-2-2) - 7PM
Montreal (7-1-1) @ NY Islanders (2-6-1) - 7PM
Chicago (4-3-3) @ Columbus (4-6-0) - 7PM
Ottawa (4-5-1) @ Tampa Bay (3-3-3) - 7:30PM
Florida (4-5-0) @ Nashville (5-4-1) - 8PM
Pittsburgh (5-4-2) @ St. Louis (5-4-0) - 8:30PM
Minnesota (6-2-1) @ Phoenix (4-4-0) - 10PM
Calgary (6-3-1) @ Los Angeles (3-5-1) - 10PM
^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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