FTS 11/12/08

TOP STORY

PENGUIN PAYBACK

(Photo Credit: Paul Sancya - AP)

Jordan Staal celebrates the first of his three 3rd period goals in the comeback win

NHL AP Link: http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2008020216

Pittsburgh Penguins (9-4-2) over the Detroit Red Wings (9-2-3) 7-6 (OT)

Seeing another team win the Stanley Cup on your home ice is always tough. It does provide good motivation for the next time the teams meet, and Jordan Staal was certainly motivated to rally the Penguins back to victory. Staal had a hat trick in the 3rd period (including the tying goal with 23 seconds remaining) and set up Ruslan Fedotenko's game-winning goal in OT with just 1:11 remaining.

Sidney Crosby would open the scoring, but the Red Wings would score 3 straight goals after that (McCarty, Holmstrom-PP, Franzen-PP). Maxime Talbot would narrow the lead to a goal, but Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg (PPG) would answer right back to give the Red Wings a commanding 5-2 lead early in the 3rd period. Evgeni Malkin (PPG - extending his point streak to 11 games) and Staal's first goal would narrow the lead back to one goal again, but Jiri Hudler would give Detroit a 6-4 lead with just under 10 minutes to go in the game. Jordan Staal would carry the Penguins the rest of the way with his clutch performance. "We have a lot of talent on this team and we have good heart," Staal said about the big road come back.

The lone brightspot in the loss for Detroit was Nicklas Lidstrom's two assists, giving him 949 career points to move past injured teammate Chris Chelios for ninth place among the highest scoring blue-liners in NHL history. Johan Franzen played after missing five games with a sprained left knee. He has 34 goals in his last 41 games, including the playoffs. Detroit forward Dan Cleary (eye infection) was scratched for the first time this season. The Red Wings will try to rebound with a two-game road trip through Florida, starting at Tampa on Thursday night.

Pittsburgh defenseman Rob Scuderi barely got off the ice in the first period after Lidstrom's slap shot hit him on the left ankle. He returned to play four-plus minutes later but finished with just under seven minutes of ice time. "We don't know anything yet," coach Michel Therrien said. The Penguins will try to extend their four game winning steak tomorrow night when they host the Flyers.

RUMOR MILL

-Brendan Shanahan is VERY close to signing a deal with somone (like within the week close). Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, NJ, Montreal, and Boston are the rumored teams.

LAST NIGHT'S RECAP

Philadelphia Flyers (5-6-3) over the New York Islanders (4-9-2) 3-1

-The Flyers snapped their three game losing streak thanks to goals from Daniel Briere and Mike Richards (shorthanded). Kimmo Timonen would add an empty net goal and Marty Biron made 35 saves int the win. Trent Hunter scored the lone Islanders goal and Joey MacDonald made 29 saves in the loss. C Josh Bailey made his NHL debut for New York and took 2 penalties. The big story here is Flyers Daniel Briere leaving the game midway through the 2nd period with a lower-body injury. This was Briere's second game back since returning from abdominal surgery. "I am playing it on the cautious side," Briere said. "It's a lower body injury and at this point I'd rather not say more. It has nothing to do with the surgery. It's just another thing that popped up."

Montreal Canadiens (9-2-2) over the Ottawa Senators (6-7-2) 4-0
-It was a night of firsts for the Canadiens. Christopher Higgins scored his first career hat trick (1 of the goals was SH) and Carey Price posted his first shutout of the season. Price would make 28 saves in the win and Guillaume Latendresse scored the other Montreal goal. Alex Auld returned to the net for Ottawa after sitting out a game and made 27 saves in the loss. Montreal's Tom Kostopoulos began serving a three-game suspension handed down by the league Monday for his hit from behind on Toronto's Mike Van Ryn on Saturday.

Calgary Flames (9-7-1) over the Toronto Maple Leafs (6-6-4) 4-3
-Dustin Boyd took advantage of moving up to the top line to replace Mike Cammalleri (out w/ the flu) and scored two goals in the Flames fourth straight home win over Toronto. Jarome Iginla (PPG) and Dion Phanuef would score the other Flames goals to help them jump out to a 4-1 lead early in the 3rd period. Alexei Ponikarovsky (PPG), Nik Antropov and Matt Stajan potted the three Maple Leaf goals. Flames G Miikka Kiprusoff made 29 saves and improved to 6-2-1 at home this season. Toronto is now 1-3-1 in its last five games. Flames rookie D Adam Pardy took the spot of D Jim Vandermeer, who broke a bone in his ankle Sunday and will be sidelined for six to eight weeks. Calgary RW Rene Bourque played in his 200th game. Toronto LW Jason Blake was a healthy scratch (he's unhappy and could be on the move) with LW Ryan Hollweg inserted in his spot.

Los Angeles Kings (6-6-2) over the Dallas Stars (5-7-3) 3-2 (SO)

-Alexander Frolov's goal in the 5th round of the shootout got the Kings back to .500 in the first game of this home and home. Jarett Stoll scored a PPG in his 300th career NHL game and Anze Kopitar had two assists (Dustin Brown scored the other goal) in the LA victory. Jere Lehtinen and Mike Modano (career goal #533) scored both of Dallas' goals. Kings backup G Erik Ersberg made 19 saves to improve to 3-1-1 on the season (he may not be a backup too much longer at this rate) and Marty Turco made 24 saves to drop to 4-6-3. The Stars finished their five-game road trip with just one win. Dustin Brown and Brendan Morrow would both receive game misconducts (Brown for boarding, Morrow for instigating a fight with Brown after the boarding).

NashvillePredators (7-7-1) over the San Jose Sharks (13-3-1) 4-3 (OT)
-The big game of the night was the Pens-Wings Stanley Cup rematch, but Sharks-Preds has been a heated playoff match-up the past two seasons. Like Pittsburgh, Nashville got a bit of revenge by handing the Sharks their first home loss of the season last night. San Jose took a franchise-record 57 SOG, but Dan Ellis stood tall and turned away 54 of them. Devin Setoguchi scored twice and Rob Blake added a PP goal for San Jose while Jason Arnott, Vernon Fiddler and Ryan Suter would score the regulation goals for Nashville. Ville Koistinen scored the game winner 2:28 in to OT. RW Jonathan Cheechoo missed his third straight game with an upper body injury from a hard check in last week's win over St. Louis. D Dan Boyle missed the game because his wife, Amber, gave birth to daughter Eastin Sky Boyle on Tuesday morning (congrats to the Boyle's).

AROUND THE BOARDS

-The Edmonton Oilers have claimed forward Jesse Boulerice off waivers from the Colorado Avalanche. They have also placed LW Steve MacIntyre on the IR. Boulerice has 4 points (2G, 2A) with 46 penalty minutes in 12 games this season with the Lake Erie Monsters (AHL).

GAME OF THE NIGHT

Boston Bruins (8-3-3) @ Chicago Blackhawks (7-3-3) - 8:30PM

Washington-Carolina might be a more important game, but I'm a sucker for Original 6 match-ups. Tonight's game happens to match two of the hottest teams in the NHL. Chicago is 6-0-2 at home and they are averaging the highest home attendance in the league (if I had said that about the United Center 3 years ago, I would have been committed). The Blackhawks have won four in a row and are seeking their longest winning streak in nearly seven years. Boston is getting stellar goaltending regardless of who is in net, having allowed seven goals over the last six games. Tim Thomas has made at least 30 saves in each of his last four starts and owns a .944 save percentage on the season. Manny Fernandez got the start Saturday and stopped 32 shots as the Bruins beat Buffalo 3-1 to complete a perfect three-game homestand. The Bruins have won the last two meetings with the Blackhawks, including a 5-3 victory Dec. 29, 2006 in their last visit to Chicago.

Other Action:

St. Louis (5-7-1) @ Buffalo (8-3-3) - 7PM

Washington (8-4-2) @ Carolina (8-5-2) - 7PM

NY Rangers (11-5-2) @ New Jersey (7-5-2) - 7PM

Phoenix(7-6-0) @ Columbus (7-6-2) - 7PM

Tampa Bay (5-5-4) @ Florida (5-8-1) - 7:30PM

Colorado (6-8-0) @ Vancouver (9-6-0) - 10PM

^ALL TIMES EASTERN

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

~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes out Wednesday evenings

FEEL FREE TO COMMENT OR EMAIL ANYTIME HERE OR AT FROMTHESLOT@GMAIL.COM

TODAY'S FTS IS BELOW PLUS/MINUS

PLUS/MINUS - 11/10/08

*PLUS/MINUS is my weekly Power Rankings Column. The + or – is based on the previous weeks rankings.

PLUS/MINUS

Patrick Marleau and the Sharks are firing on all cylinders

1) San Jose Sharks {13-3-0} (EVEN)
They went 3-1 in the past week (wins vs. MIN, STL, DAL, loss @ PHO). San Jose was on a 7-game winning streak until the loss at Phoenix last night. They were bound to lose at some point and divisional games have a way of hampering big streaks like that. The bottom line is that the Sharks are playing the best hockey in the league right now. They can blow you out or win the close one. Could you imagine if their PP was better than 24th in the league (14.7%)? LW Ryane Clowe has been on fire with 4G and 2A in their past four games. As long as G Evgeni Nabokov isn't out too long, San Jose will continue their domination.

2) Detroit Red Wings {9-2-2} (+3)
They've only played one game since the last P/M, and they beat the Devils 3-1. Their Power Play is still tops in the league at 30.9% and their PK is a pedestrian 81% (16th in the league). If you're a hockey fan, pray that Detroit and San Jose have no major injuries and meet in the Western Confernce Finals. RW Marian Hossa is fitting in just fine, leading the team with 17 points (8G 9A).

3) New York Rangers {11-5-1} (EVEN)
The Rangers went 1-2-0 in the past week (loss vs. NYI, won vs. TB, loss @ WAS). The Blueshirts looked very lazy against the Isles but rebounded with a very good game against the Lightning. A questionable goal did them in against Washington on Saturday night. The two problems with this team is their power play (ranked 19th in the league @ 16.5%) and that HC Tom Renney needs to stop switching line combinations so much. Their PK is still clicking well at 89.4% (2nd in the league).

4) Montreal Canadiens {8-2-2} (-2)

This past week was a tough one for Les Habitents (0-2 loss @ CLB in a SO and loss 6-3 to TOR). With the way Boston and Buffalo are playing, Montreal can't afford too many slip ups. Their power play (11th in the league @ 19.14%) and penalty kill (13th in the league at 82.4%) can both stand to be improved a bit. With more and more names popping up in trade rumors, it'll be interesting to see what Montreal does now that the Gaborik rumors have cooled down.

5) Boston Bruins {8-3-3} (+3)
The Bruins are the hottest team in the Eastern Conference. The B's have won three in a row and six of their past seven. Tim Thomas is posting a ridiuclous 1.85 GAA and .944 save percentage. Their PP is steadily improving (now at 20.8%, tied for 8th best in the league), but they MUST improve their PK at 77.2% (tied for 25th in the league). Marc Savard is leading the team in assists and points (10A, 16P) and Phil Kessel still leads the team in goals with 7.

6) Buffalo Sabres {8-3-3} (EVEN)
Buffalo had a tough 1-1-1 week. They opened it up by beating a Brodeurless-Devil team and then followed that up with an OT loss to the Thrashers (who they can't seem to beat ever) and a road loss to the red-hot Bruins. Their special teams are doing very well. Buffalo's PP is ranked 6th (20.6%) and their penalty kill is ranked 4th (88.7%). The Sabres have two easy home games this week to get back on track against St. Louis and Columbus.

7) Minnesota Wild {8-4-1} (-3)
A 1-2 week for Minnesota (loss @ SJ, won @ COL, loss @ VAN) wrapped up a four game road trip for them. The Wild had the misfortune of running in to a hot Sharks team and Roberto Luongo playing in top form. Their PK is still tops in the league at 92.5%. C Mikko Koivu is playing the pivot well, registering 13 assists and leading the team with 15 points. G Nicklas Backstrom has started all but one game this season and is posting a 2.19 GAA with a .931 save percentage.

8) Pittsburgh Penguins {8-4-2} (+2)
A 2-0 week could have very easily been an 0-2 week for the Penguins. The bottom line is good teams win close games. Pittsburgh beat the Oilers 5-4 after jumping out to a 5-0 lead and beat the Islanders on a questionable shootout goal on Saturday night. For a team that is known for their offense, Pittsburgh's PK is clicking very well at 88.5% (5th in the league). While Evgeni Malkin (18A, 4G) and Sidney Crosby (13A, 3G) are doing a fantastic job setting up their teammates, both are too good to be passing off as much as they are. They need to start lighting the lamp themselves.

9) Anaheim Ducks {9-7-1} (+4)
The Ducks started off the week a strong 2-0, but finished with two losses. After beating the Kings in a shootout and beating down the Kings, the Stars outplayed the Ducks badly and Panthers G Craig Anderson had a stellar 44 save performance against them. The Ducks have been winning by scoring a lot of goals, but Jean-Sebastian Giguere needs to settle down and get more consistent between the pipes (3.07 GAA, .907 save percentage). Their top 3 point-men are the usual suspects (Getzlaf-19, Perry-18, Selanne-15).

10) Chicago Blackhawks {7-3-3} (+2)
I have to eat my words on the Denis Savard firing. The Blackhawks are 6-1-2 since they hired Joel Quenneville. They are averaging just over 4 goals in their wins under Quenneville and the 3 losses have all been by 1 goal (2 in the shootout). Their special teams are clicking on both ends (7th on the PP at 21.2%, 3rd in the PK at 89.3%). If the Blackhawks can get some quality depth players for G Nikolai Khabibulin, they could be a team that no one wants to play.

11) Vancouver Cancuks {9-6-0} (+7)
Everyone is paying attention to San Jose, Detroit and Anaheim in the West, but look out for the Canucks. They went 3-0 this week (vs. NAS, PHO, MIN) and all three wins were shutouts by Roberto Luongo. If Luongo can get hot for a long stretch like we've seen him do in the past, Vancouver can distance themselves from Calgary, Edmonton and Colorado. A lot of names are floating in and out of Vancouver in trade rumors, so it will be interesting to see what the make up of this team will be in the coming weeks. A little more offense and they could be dominant.

12) Carolina Hurricanes {8-5-2} (-1)
A 2-2 week for Carolina (won @ TOR in OT, lost @ WAS, won vs. OTT, los vs. ATL) keeps them in the division lead, but they will need to play better. Washington is heating up and blowing the game at the end of the 3rd period on Thursday night gave the Caps a huge boost. The Hurricanes are getting a pretty even points distribution throughout the team, but guys like Erik Staal and Sergei Samsonov need to step up and be the scorers they are soon. Carolina has been impressive on the road (5-2-2) but need to improve on their .500 home record (3-3-0).

13) Washington Capitals {7-4-2} (+4)
Now that the Capitals have found some consistency in net, they may be able to get in to the same late-season form that propelled them in to the playoffs last year. Brent Johnson is 2-0-1 in his last three starts, and while HC Bruce Boudreau has said he'll go with the hot goalie, Johnson is clearly the best goalie in DC right now (Theodore just hasn't gotten it done). Alexander Semin continues his dominant play (11G, 10A), but Alexander Ovechkin needs to get back in to a groove.
14) Calgary Flames {8-7-1} (-7)

15) New Jersey Devils {7-5-2} (-6)
Any hockey fan has always known that the Devils go as Martin Brodeur goes. Since Marty went down, the Devils are 1-3 (and had to go to a SO to beat Tampa). Zach Parise has been the only player with a pulse on offense for New Jersey, scoring 11 goals and adding 5 assists. It will be interesting to see if the Devils make a trade for a goaltender (Khabibulin or Roloson perhaps) or if they stand pat with Kevin Weekes. New Jersey plays good enough defense that Weekes will be okay in net and that they should make a trade to help bolster their anemic offense and 28th ranked power play.

16) Columbus Blue Jackets {7-6-2} (+7)
When Columbus was playing mediocre (at best) hockey in the beginning of the year, HC Ken Hitchcock said the team was playing better hockey than their record indicated. That better hockey is starting to show. The Blue Jackets went 3-0-1 on the week (won vs. EDM, MON, CAL) and could have easily been 4-0 if they didn't blow the road game to the Islanders in OT. Goalie prospect Steve Mason is 3-0 in his first three NHL starts and looks like he's about to put Frederik Norrena out of the backup job. If Columbus can play more consistent and improve their 29th ranked PP, they might be able to shake the title of the only NHL team to never make the playoffs.

17) Edmonton Oilers {7-6-1} (-2)
The Oilers are 1-2 on the week (lost @ COL and @ PIT, won @ NJ), but are 3-3 on their 7 game road trip (which will end tonight against the Rangers). For a young team, Edmonton is playing well on a season long (and tied for 2nd longest in team history) road trip. LW Ales Hemsky is leading the team in points (15) and assists (10) and is providing a good offensive spark. The rest of the team needs to feed off of that. The Oilers seem to be missing something and their name has also been involved in trade rumors.

18) Toronto Maple Leafs {6-5-4} (-2)
The Maple Leafs finished the week 1-1-1 (OTL vs. Carolina, loss @ Boston) but the one win was a big one. The Leafs broke away from the Canadiens in the 3rd period on Hockey Night in Canada to get a 6-3 win. They lost D Mike Van Ryn in the process thanks to a cheap hit from Tom Kotsopoulis. While their high-energy power play is doing well at 20.8% (8th in the league), but must improve on their league worst penalty kill at 72.6%.

19) Ottawa Senators {6-6-2} (+3)
If the Northeast Division wasn't competitve enough, here come the Senators. They went 2-1 for the week (won vs. WAS, won vs. PHI), but their lone loss came in Martin Gerber's return back to the lineup. He made 23 saves in the 2-1 loss and looked a little rusty. Alex Auld was due for a rest, but Ottawa needs to keep Auld in net while he's hot. Both of their special teams units rank in the Top Ten in the league (PP = 4th @ 21.9%, PK = 8th @ 86.7%).

20) Phoenix Coyotes {7-6-0} (+7)
Phoenix had a big week, going 3-1 (won @ CAL, lost @ VAN, wins vs. FLA & SJ). Their lone loss was 1-0 to a unbeatable Roberto Luongo. They also ended the Sharks seven game winning streak and got their record above .500 for the first time this season. Not a bad week for Wayne Gretzky and co. They are 10th in the league on the penalty kill (84.4%) but need to improve their 26th ranked PP (14.3%). G Ilya Bryzgalov finally seems to be settling in to a groove.

21) Nashville Predators {6-7-1} (-7)
The Preds had a great week last week. Too bad they couldn't build off of it. They went 0-3 on the week and looked miserable in every game. They started off with a 4-0 loss to the Canucks (another Luongo victim), put themselves in such a whole at Calgary that 6 goals couldn't win the game (lost 7-6), and were shutout 1-0 by Peter Budaj (of all people) and the Avs. It doesn't get any easier for Nashville as they continue their road trip with the three California teams to close out the 6 game road trip.

22) Tampa Bay Lightning {5-4-4} (+4)
The Lightning finished off the week at 1-1-1. They lost in a SO to the Devils, then were beaten soundly by the Rangers, and then rebounded with a 2-1 road win in Philly. Vinny Lecavlaier has been good (6G 5A) but needs to produce more and the Tampa needs to stop underachieving on the power play (they are much better PP team than 25th in the league). G Mike Smith has played well, posting a 4-3-3 record with a 2.32 GAA and a .934 save percentage.

23) Atlanta Thrashers {6-7-2} (+6)
The Thrashers are finally beginning to wake up. Coincidentally, it's at the same time as their offense. They are on a 4 game winning streak and are averaging just under 5 goals scored a game in those wins. They are also getting better play in net with Johan Hedberg and Ondrej Pavelec, so Kari Lehtonen's days are numbered in Atlanta. Lehtonen would make a good goalie on a team that has a good defense in front of him (young goalie, Martin Brodeur is getting older, hello Lou Lamoriello). Atlanta needs to improve on their 2nd worst PK (73.1%)

24) Los Angeles Kings {5-6-2} (+4)
The young Kings had just about as good of a week as a Kings fan could hope for this season. They pushed Anaheim to a 1-0 SO loss and beat Florida 3-2 and St. Louis 5-3. No one is expecting hte Kings to make the playoffs this year, but if they can put together a few weeks like this, it will give them something to build off of as the season progresses. Their PK is surprisingly good at 87.9% (6th in the league).

25) Dallas Stars {5-7-2} (-1)
This has been an extremely disappointing season for the Stars so far. This was a team that was expected to finish no worse than a competitive 2nd or 3rd in the Pacific, and could very well finish in 5th if they keep playing like this. You can argue this team got better with their off-season acquisitions, but it all boils down to Marty Turco not playing like his usual regular season-self. He has posted a 3.93 GAA and a ghastly .858 save percentage for a 4-6-2 record thus far. The other problem is their 4th worst PK (76.9%).

26) New York Islanders {4-8-2} (+4)
A decent week for the Isles led to a 2-1-1 week. They came from behind to beat Columbus in OT, took advantage of a flat Rangers team, blew yet another lead to the Thrashers, and lost in the shootout to the Penguins on a questionable goal call. G Joey MacDonald has stepped in given a solid effort in the absence of Rick DiPietro. (4-5-2, .899 save percentage, 3.14 GAA). If the Isles want to do any damage, they need to improve their power play quickly (14.3% - 4th worst in the league).

27) Colorado Avalanche {6-8-0} (-7)
The Avs snapped a 5 game losing streak and salvaged a 1-2 week with a 1-0 win over Nasvhille. Other than that, there is nothing positive going on with this team right now. Whatever Tony Granato was doing during the team's five-game winning streak, he needs to go back to doing it. G Peter Budaj is coming off a 1-0 win, but hasn't done much else. It might be time to give Andrew Raycroft a legitimate chance to start between the pipes.

28) Philadelphia Flyers {4-6-3} (-9)
After Philly made so much progress to get away from a really bad start to the season, they reverted back to old ways and went 0-2 on the week. They were outplayed by Ottawa and just couldn't get anything going against Tampa Bay. The one bright spot on this team is their 3rd ranked power play (24.2%). Where is the Marty Biron that the Flyers had in the playoffs last year?

29) Florida Panthers {5-8-1} (-4)
You know things aren't going well offensively when a defenseman is leading your team in points (Keith Ballard - 2G 8A). Florida managed to break a 6 game winless slump and an 0-2 week with a 3-1 win over the Ducks (thanks to a David Booth hat trick). They finished the road trip at 1-3-1. Their 23rd ranked PK (78.1%) and their dead-last power play 10%) both need to find their touch quickly otherwise this could be a long season in Sunrise, FL. Is it just me, or does backup G Craig Anderson play better as he faces a higher number of shots?

30) St. Louis Blues {5-7-1} (-9)
The Blues team we saw at the beginning of the season looks to be the exception to the rule for St. Louis this year. After opening the year 4-1, they have now dropped 5 in a row (0-4-1). Losing Manny Legace hurt this team bad, but they were beginning to show signs of decay before the Sarah Palin visit. The ONLY bright spot for this team right now is their 2nd ranked power play unit. If they can keep their PP clicking, it will get the rest of the team going soon.

BIGGEST GAINER = Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Phoenix Coyotes (All a +7)
BIGGEST LOSER = Philadelphia Flyers & St. Louis Blues (Both are a -9)
-14 Teams Moved Up
-13 Teams Moved Down
-3 Remained Even

FTS 11/11/08

HAPPY VETERANS DAY AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE WHO HAVE SERVED

TOP STORY

2008 HOCKEY HALL OF FAME CLASS

(Photo Credit: Reuters)

Accepting the awards and posing with their Honoured Member Rings are (from) Jeff Chynoweth, accepting on behalf of his posthumously awarded father Ed Chynoweth, Glenn Anderson, Ray Scapinello, and Igor Larionov.

Canadian Press Link: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=255418&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_nhl

Also, the 2008 Foster Hewitt Memorial Award (awarded to members of the radio and television industry who make outstanding contributions to their profession and the game of hockey during their broadcasting career) went to Devils/NBC/Versus Broadcaster Mike "Doc" Emerick.

OTHER HEADLINES

-The NHL suspended Montreal Canadiens forward Tom Kostopoulos for 3 games for a hit from behind on Toronto defenseman Mike Van Ryn in a game Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Seven minutes into the game, Van Ryn chased a puck into his end, with Kostopoulos trailing. When he caught Van Ryn, Kostopoulos cross-checked him and drove him face-first into the end boards. Van Ryn suffered a concussion, a broken nose and a broken hand on the play. He had to be taken from the ice on a stretcher, and is expected to miss a month. Kostopoulos was assessed a roughing minor, a boarding major and a game misconduct."While it is my determination that Kostopoulos did not deliver a check to an unsuspecting opponent, his actions caused injuries," said NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell.

RUMOR MILL

-Nothing specific to report today, but a lot of names and team's floating around. Expect a big deal or two before Thanksgiving.

LAST NIGHT'S RECAP

Edmonton Oilers (8-6-1) over the New York Rangers (11-5-2) 3-2 (SO)
-If you're and Edmonton Oilers fan, start practicing your pronunciation of Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers. (Drew-in Deh-laur-ee-ay). Deslauriers made 40 saves and went 3 for 3 in the shootout to help the Oilers close their road trip at 4-3. He is now 3-0 and has looked sharp in each start (either Garon or Roloson will be on their way out the door soon, that's for sure). Erik Cole and Kyle Brodziak gave the Oilers a 2-0 lead. Paul Mara and Chris Drury would rally the Rangers to tie it at 2. In the shootout, Ales Hemsky scored the lone goal (Lundqvist made the save but it deflected off of him in to the net) to give Ottawa the win @ MSG. New York is 1-3-1 since a 10-2-1 start.

Washington Capitals (8-4-2) over the Tampa Bay Lightning (5-4-4) 4-2

-Lightning G Olaf Kolzig's first game against his old team was a forgettable one. After 711 games in a Capitals uniform, he would surrender 4 goals (made 26 saves) in his first game in DC for another team. Washington scored three goals in the 1st period (Tom Poti, Mike Green, Erik Fehr) and would never look back. Alexander Ovechkin scored his first goal in 10 games (and added an assist) and G Brent Johnson made 34 saves. Gary Roberts scored two PP goals for Tampa. Washington is 6-0-1 at the Verizon Center, the only Eastern Conference team without a regulation loss at home. Alexander Semin's assist on Ovechkin's goal gave him 22 points, tying him with Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin for the league lead.

AROUND THE BOARDS

-For the second year in a row, the Islanders will have General Colin Powell as a special guest at the Nassau Coliseum. As part of Military Appreciation Day, General Powell will drop the ceremonial first puck along with Islanders owner Charles Wang, prior to the Islanders' Veterans Day matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers today at 2 pm.

-The New Jersey Devils placed D Paul Martin on the IR with upper back soreness on Monday. Martin is the sixth Devils player on the injured list, joining goalie Martin Brodeur, centres Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik, winger Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond and defenceman Andy Greene.

-It's a goalie sweep for the NHL's 3 Stars of the Week:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=391617

-The St. Louis Blues are responding to tight economic times with a fan bailout plan. The team announced Monday that at every remaining Saturday home game beginning Nov. 29, the organization will call the seat number of a fan and pay that person's mortgage or rent for four months, up to US$4,000 total. The team also is offering discounted tickets, with 500 plaza-level seats available for $25 a ticket and another 500 in the mezzanine for $11.20 a ticket for each game this season. The team will also continue its Free Food game, where fans can receive some free food when they attend the March 15 game against Minnesota.

-Some of the NY Rangers will model in this month's Mens Journal (hits newstands today): http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=391588

GAME OF THE NIGHT

Pittsburgh Penguins (8-4-2) @ Detroit Red Wings (9-2-2) - 7PM
When it's a rematch of the two Stanley Cup finalists from last season, not much hype is needed. For Red Wings RW Marian Hossa, this will be his first game against the team he helped to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Hossa currently leads his team in scoring with 17 points (9G 8A). Detroit is coming off a 4-2 win over the Devils on Saturday night and have won two in a row. The Penguins have won three in a row and are coming off a 4-3 SO win over the Islanders. This visit marks Pittsburgh's first regular-season trip to Detroit since Crosby's rookie year, a 3-1 loss on Dec. 12, 2005.

Other Action:
Philadelphia (4-6-3) @ NY Islanders (4-8-2) - 2PM

Ottawa (6-6-2) @ Montreal (8-2-2) - 7PM

Toronto (6-5-4) @ Calgary (8-7-1) - 9:30PM

Dallas (5-7-2) @ Los Angeles (5-6-2) - 10:30PM

Nashville (6-7-1) @ San Jose (13-3-0) - 10:30PM

^ALL TIMES EASTERN

*My weekly power rankings, "PLUS/MINUS", comes out on Monday evenings
~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes out Wednesday evenings
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