FTS 11/19/08

TOP STORY

PENGUINS SLIP AT SIX

(Photo Credit: Gene J. Puskar - AP)

Nicklas Backstrom and the Wild end the Penguins winning streak at six games

Minnesota Wild (11-4-1) over the Pittsburgh Penguins (11-4-3) 2-1 (SO)

When I saw this game on the schedule, I knew this was a must-watch. Minnesota is arguably the best defensive team in the league (and wins a lot of games that way) and the Penguins are arguable the best offensive team in the league. It's not often someone can beat the Penguins by only scoring one regulation goal, but Minnesota managed to pull it off at Mellon Arena.

Mikko Koivu would open the scoring with his 3rd goal of the season about 8 minutes in to the 1st period. Matt Cooke tied the game up for Pittsburgh only 10 seconds later. That would be the end of the scoring for the night until the shootout. D Marek Zidlicky would score the lone shootout goal to get Minnesota the road win. Wild G Nicklas Backstrom and Penguins G Dany Sabourin each made 24 saves in the game (both faced some really tough shots). Backstrom is 3-0 in shootouts this season. Evgeni Malkin's 13-game assist streak ended when he was held without a point. Since 1998, the only NHL player to record an assist streak of more than 13 games was Jaromir Jagr, who had assists in each of 16 consecutive games for Pittsburgh in January/February 2001.

The Wild have now won 3 in a row and look to build on that winning streak tomorrow when they begin a 5-game homestand against Vancouver. The way the Northwest is looking, the Wild-Canucks games will probably decide the division champion. The Penguins will try and start a new winning streak when they travel to Atlanta to play the Thrashers tomorrow night.

For more on this, NHL/AP Link: http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2008020262

OTHER HEADLINES

-Just when you thought things couldn't get worse in Ottawa, C Mike Fisher and forward Chris Neil are both nursing knee injuries suffered during a weekend road trip to New York. Head Coach Craig Hartsburg said it's "probably not realistic" that either will suit up against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night at Scotiabank Place. Both were awaiting medical reports later this afternoon.

RUMOR MILL

-Brian Burke becoming the GM of the Maple Leafs sounds like it's getting closer and closer. Keep in mind that Burke and Leafs HC Ron Wilson are pals and that will only help things. Staying with the Leafs, don't be shocked if Mats Sundin ends up back in the Air Canada Centre after his whole saga.

-Brendan Shanahan to the Flyers isn't the lock it was a couple of weeks ago (apparantly it's $ issues). Expect Shanny to sign somewhere soon though.

LAST NIGHT'S RECAP

Carolina Hurricanes (10-7-2) over the Montreal Canadiens (10-5-2) 2-1
TOP PERFORMER = Hurricanes LW Sergei Samsonov - 1G (GWG)

-The Canadiens scored in the 2nd period (Robert Lang on the PP) but couldn't hold on thanks to goals from Ray Whitney and Sergei Samsonov. Carey Price made 46 saves in the loss (career high) while Cam Ward made 28 saves for the Hurricanes, who have won two straight after dropping three in a row.

Edmonton Oilers (9-8-2) over the Columbus Blue Jackets (8-8-3) 7-2
TOP PERFORMER = Oilers G Dwayne Roloson - 37 saves

-The Oilers jumped out to a 3-0 lead midway through the 1st period and never looked back. Ales Hemsky had a goal and two assists for Montreal while Ales Hemsky chipped in with three assists. Rick Nash had a goal and an assist in the loss. Edmonton won despite Columbus outshooting them 39-19.

Florida Panthers (7-9-2) over the Tampa Bay Lightning (5-7-6) 4-3 (SO)

TOP PERFORMER = Panthers D Bryan McCabe - 2 Goals (1 on the PP)

-The Lightning would rally from a 3-0 deficit to lose in the shootout. Nathan Horton scored the lone shootout goal. Panthers G Tomas Vokoun made 49 saves for the win while Mike Smith stopped 33 pucks for the loss. Lightning D Steve Eminger had a goal and two assists.

Calgary Flames (10-8-1) over the Colorado Avalanche (8-9-0) 4-1
TOP PERFORMER = Avs G Peter Budaj - 49 Saves

-This game was a lot closer than the score would indicate as the Flames added an empty netter (Jarome Iginla) and a PPG (David Moss) within the last minute. Flames D Adrian Aucoin would have a goal and an assist in the win. Miikka Kiprusoff made 22 saves to improve Calgary to 2-0 against Colorado this season.

Chicago Blackhawks (8-4-5) over the Phoenix Coyotes (8-8-1) 3-2 (SO)

TOP PERFORMER = Blackhawks RW Patrick Sharp - 1G and the SO winning goal
-Chicago would score the first two goals (Kris Versteeg and Sharp) in the 1st period. Phoenix would rally back with PP goals from Zbynek Michalek and Shane Doan. Chicago G Nikoali Khabibulin made 36 saves in the win while Ilya Bryzgalov made 38 saves in the loss. Doan played in his 900th NHL career game, all with the Phoenix-Winnipeg franchise. Chicago improved to 2-5 in overtime.

AROUND THE BOARDS

-The Blues claimed forward B.J. Crombeen off waivers from the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. The 23-year-old Crombeen had a goal and four assists, along with 26 penalty minutes, in 15 games with Dallas this season.

-The Detroit Red Wings placed forward Darren McCarty on waivers on Tuesday. McCarty, 36, signed a one-year contract with the Wings in the offseason after re-joining the club last winter and helping lead the team to its fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years. He returned to Detroit after stints with the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins and the International Hockey League's Flint Generals. McCarty played for Detroit from 1993 to 2004, helping the team win Stanley Cups in 1997, 1998 and 2002. He scored one goal in 10 games this season.

-The Minnesota Wild waived defenceman Tomas Mojzis.

GAME OF THE NIGHT

Buffalo Sabres (9-5-3) @ Boston Bruins (11-3-4) - 7PM

The Bruins have won 9 of their past 11 and are going for 6 straight tonight against their division rivals. One of those victories was a 3-1 home win over Buffalo on Nov. 8, as the Bruins peppered Sabres goalie Ryan Miller with 40 shots while Fernandez made 32 saves of his own. Buffalo has dropped four of its last five, allowing 22 goals over that span. Since earning back-to-back shutouts earlier this month against Washington and New Jersey to start November, Miller is 1-2-1 with a 3.75 GAA in his last four starts. He's typically played much better against Boston, going 12-4-4 with a 2.49 GAA in his career against the Bruins. This might surprise you when I say this, but Boston needs this game more than Buffalo does. Boston will only have one home game remaining against Buffalo the rest of the way and need to take advantage of it.

Other Action:

Vancouver (10-6-2) @ NY Rangers (14-5-2) - 7:30PM

Washington (10-4-3) @ Anaheim (10-7-2) - 10PM

^ALL TIMES EASTERN

*My weekly power rankings, "PLUS/MINUS", comes out Monday evenings

~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes out tonight!

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