FTS - 12/18/08

TOP STORY

STUNG!

(Photo Credit: Jay LaPrete - AP)

Blue Jackets C RJ Umberger celebrates his game-winning goal over the Sharks

Columbus Blue Jackets (14-14-3) over the San Jose Sharks (25-3-3) 2-1 (OT)
TOP PERFORMER = Blue Jackets G Steve Mason - 47 Saves
When a team like the San Jose Sharks comes to town, you're probably not going to outscore them. If you want to beat them, you need to play sound defense and have a goalie at the top of his game. Columbus had both working in their favor last night and it resulted in the Sharks losing their 3rd game after regulation this season.

Defense would be the name of the game through the first two periods as the teams remained scoreless. In the 3rd period, Sharks RW Devin Setoguchi broke the scoreless tie on a feed from Rob Blake and Patrick Marleau. Michael Peca would tie the game for Columbus about nine minutes later on a set up from Jakub Voracek and Rick Nash. In overtime, RJ Umberger beat Evgeni Nabokov on a 2-on-1 at the 2:55 mark from Kristian Huselius and Fedor Tyutin. Blue Jackets rookie G Steve Mason faced a shooting gallery and turned away 47 of 48 shots. Evgeni Nabokov made 30 saves in the loss. San Jose coach Todd McLellan didn't look at the outcome as an upset. "It's funny. When you win some games and you come in to play against teams, they expect you to absolutely run over people," he said. "That's not the case. It's a hard league to win in and other teams are prepared for you."

Despite the loss, San Jose still has some ridiculous stats. Their 48 shots were a season high against (the previous high was 37. The Sharks dropped to 15-2-2 when scoring first and are 5-3 in overtime. This is one of those losses where you're never happy to lose, but whenever David beats Goliath, it's always going to garner some extra attention. The Sharks upcoming three game stretch (@ Detroit tonight, hosting the Rangers on Saturday and the Canucks on Tuesday) will be a true test to see how they respond to the loss.

On the flipside, Columbus played one of their best games of the season. A win over a team like San Jose can provide a huge mental boost for a team and could put Columbus on a roll, and the Blue Jackets have the games on their schedule to build some momentum. They have a two game road trip starting tonight at Dallas and Phoenix before returning home to play the Kings.

OTHER HEADLINES

-To Vancouver hockey fans, Trevor Linden will always be "Captain Canuck." Last night, they had one more chance to cheer him as the Canucks officially retired his jersey. Linden combined his considerable on-ice skill with an award-winning commitment to the community. Those contributions on and off the ice were remembered when the Canucks retired his No. 16 prior to their 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Earlier in the day, the team surprised Linden by renaming the main entrance and reception area for guests entering GM Place Gate 16 in honor of his number. Linden wiped tears from his eyes as the retirement ceremony, attended by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, his family and a number of former teammates and coaches, was capped when the banner with his number was raised to the building's rafters, joining former teammate Stan Smyl's No. 12. "To share this honor is a great thrill," Smyl told the sellout crowd before the banner-raising. "Your leadership inspired your teammates to play not only at a high level for themselves, but for each other." Canucks defenseman Mattias Ohlund, a teammate and roommate for seven years with Vancouver who represented the current team, cited Linden for setting "a perfect example on and off the ice" and praised him for being "a friend and mentor." After several other tributes, Linden was introduced to a rolling, roaring ovation. He noted at the start of his speech that the last time he had been on the floor of GM Place, in his last NHL game in April against Calgary, "I was being chased around by 200-pound defensemen. Now all I have to do is deliver this speech in a suit — and I can tell you, this seems way harder." He thanked former teammates, management and coaches, especially Pat Quinn — "not did you teach me about the game, you taught me how to be a professional. Your guidance allowed me to reach my full potential." — as well as the team's current and previous owners and, especially, the fans. "To the fans of Vancouver and British Columbia, it's hard to express my gratitude to you," he said. "Thank you for letting me into your lives. Thanks for being incredible, passionate hockey fans." Linden played 1,382 NHL games with the Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders and Washington Capitals. He had 375 goals and 492 assists for 867 points in his career and was 318-415-733 in a team-record 1,140 games with Vancouver. He was traded by the Canucks to the Islanders in February 1998 and returned to Vancouver in a deal with Washington in November 2001. - CREDIT NHL.com

-Ottawa Senators coach Craig Hartsburg sent his players a stern message on Wednesday. After finishing a tough practice with 12 minutes of hard skating, Hartsburg said it was time for the players to wake up and get to work. "You've got to work - you've got to do things right," Hartsburg said. "If you work, do things right and are prepared, you have a chance to win hockey games." For starters, Hartsburg is breaking up the struggling line of Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza. "The three guys that we have counted on, for lots of different reasons, haven't been able to produce - and I can get in to all of them, but it is what it is, and we've got to change it," Hartsburg said. "That line - there were times earlier I said we can't play them together. Then we had to play them together because we need a spark, but you know what, we have to look at this team and we are struggling to score goals - and these guys aren't scoring goals together maybe as much as they did in the past. We have to do something different." Hartsburg said he just didn't think it was realistic to expect the well-paid trio to carry the team. "I think the fact for all three of them, and I don't like to talk about money and all that, but they are paid a lot of money," Hartsburg noted. "They should be able to make players around them better and in the past they have counted on the three of them playing together to carry the team. From what I have seen so far that's not going to happen."

LAST NIGHT'S RECAP

New Jersey Devils (17-9-3) over the Buffalo Sabres (15-13-3) 5-3
TOP PERFORMER = Devils RW David Clarkson - 1 Goal, 1 Assist
-Drew Stafford scored his 7th goal of the season in the 1st period sandwiched between goals by Travis Zajac and Zach Parise (PPG - 18th goal of the season). In the 2nd period, Bryce Salvador made it 3-1, but Patrick Kaleta would answer back :18 later to make it 3-2. In the 3rd period, David Clarkson and Brian Rolston scored to put the game out of reach for the Sabres. Paul Gaustad tallied the final Sabres goal. Buffalo C Derek Roy stretched his point streak to seven games with an assist on Stafford's goal.

Calgary Flames (18-11-3) over the Minnesota Wild (15-13-2) 3-2 (OT)
TOP PERFORMER = Flames RW Todd Bertuzzi - 1 Goal (GWG)
-This was the first meeting of the season for these division rivals. There was no scoring in the 1st period, but Daymond Langkow, Andrew Brunette, and Craig Conroy would all score goals within a 3:28 span of the 2nd period to give Calgary a 2-1 lead. In the 3rd period, Marian Gaborik scored in his first game back for the Wild with 4:43 remaining in the 3rd period. In overtime, Todd Bertuzzi potted the winner on a feed from Daymon Langkow and Robyn Regehr. Flames G Miika Kiprusoff won his 18th game of the season (ranks 2nd among goalies in the league) with 25 saves while Nicklas Backstrom made 27 saves in the loss. Minnesota hasn't won a game since 12/3.

New York Rangers (22-11-2) over the Los Angeles Kings (13-12-6) 3-2 (OT)
TOP PERFORMER = Rangers D Michal Rozsival - 2 Goals (GWG)
-In a rare meeting between the teams, Patrick O'Sullivan put the Kings on the board first with his 8th goal of the season on the power play. Chris Drury would tie the game for the Rangers with :44 remaining in the 1st period. In the 2nd period, Rangers D Michal Rozsival scored on a penalty shot on the power play to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. In the 3rd period, Dustin Brown scored his 12th goal of the season on a deflection to tie the game. In overtime, Rozsival scored his 2nd goal of the game on a blast from the top of the circles. Rangers backup G Stephen Valiquette made 39 saves while Jason LaBarbera stopped 27 shots in a battle of former Hartford Wolfpac (AHL) teammates. The Rangers have now won three in a row and have taken the first two games of their California road trip. Rangers opponents are 2-for-34 on the power play over the last nine games, but New York is only 3-for-40 over their last 10 contests.

Vancouver Canucks (18-11-3) over the Edmonton Oilers (14-14-2) 4-2
TOP PERFORMER = Canucks LW Daniel Sedin - 2 Goals, 1 Assist
-The teams would remain scoreless in the 1st period, but Vancouver would put on a clinic in the 2nd period. Daniel Sedin (PPG, Ryan Kesler, and Daniel Sedin would again score to give the Canucks a 3-0 lead heading in to the 2nd intermission on Trevor Linden night. In the 3rd period, Edmonton would tighten the game with an early goal from Dustin Penner and a late power play goal from Sam Gagner. Jannik Hansen sealed the deal for the Canucks with an empty net goal. Curtis Sanford made 22 saves in the win while Dwayne Roloson made 24 saves in the loss. Canucks D Sami Salo's return to the lineup lasted just 38 minutes. Salo appeared to injury his ribs after being hit hard into the boards by Edmonton captain Ethan Moreau. Also, D O'Brien sustained a charley horse when he left midway through the first period following a hit from Edmonton LW Zach Stortini. Both players will be reevaluated today.

RUMOR MILL

-A Mats Sundin decision is expected to happen today. If the Rangers are the choice, it appears that Colorado will be a trade partner to make room under the cap for the Blueshirts to bring Mats on board.

AROUND THE BOARDS

-St. Louis Blues D Jay McKee is out indefinitely with a fractured left ring finger. He sustained the injury in the third period of St. Louis's 6-3 loss Tuesday night to the Calgary Flames. The Blues have recalled defenceman Jonas Junland from the AHL's Peoria Rivermen. Junland, 21, has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 21 games with the Rivermen.

-Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will start tonight in Atlanta, the first time he has played since injuring his groin Nov. 15. Fleury was the backup goalie during a 6-3 loss in Philadelphia on Saturday, his first time in uniform since getting hurt against Buffalo. The Penguins have been off for four days, but will play four games in six days beginning Thursday. Fleury, who helped lead the Penguins to the Stanley Cup finals last season, is 8-3-2 with a .907 save percentage and 2.86 goals-against average in 14 games. The Penguins also recalled forwards Jeff Taffe and Ryan Stone from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL). Injured forwards Max Talbot and Mike Zigomanis are not expected to play in Atlanta.

-Western Conference All-Start Voting Update:
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=259974&lid=sublink07&lpos=headlines_nhl

TONIGHT'S ACTION
Toronto (12-12-6) @ Boston (21-5-4) - 7PM
Florida (14-13-3) @ Carolina (14-12-5) - 7PM
Philadelphia (17-7-6) @ Montreal (16-9-5) - 7PM
St. Louis (12-15-3) @ Washington (19-10-3) - 7PM
Pittsburgh (16-10-4) @ Atlanta (10-16-4) - 7PM
%San Jose (25-3-3-) @ Detroit (20-6-4) - 7:30PM
Colorado (15-15-1) @ Tampa Bay (7-15-8) - 7:30PM
Columbus (14-14-3) @ Dallas (12-14-4) - 8:30PM
Nashville (15-12-3) @ Phoenix (14-13-4) - 9PM

% = Game of the Night
^ALL TIMES EASTERN

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

~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes Wednesday evenings

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