FTS - 10/20/08

TOP STORY

BLACKHAWKS BLOW BY CANUCKS

(Photo Credit to Frank Polich of Reuters)

Chicago Blackhawks (2-2-2) defeat the Vancouver Canucks (3-3-0) 4-2

AP Story - http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iv3ftNM9FTFOZn0Hj5iDWQERSo5gD93TU9D00

-Patrick Sharp had two goals and an assist and the Chicago Blackhawks won for the first time under new coach Joel Quenneville. Patrick Kane added a goal and two assists, Brent Seabrook also scored and Cristobal Huet made 28 saves for his first victory with Chicago. D-Man Niklas Hjalmarsson missed his fifth game because of bruised ribs.

-The Canucks lost more than the game Sunday night. Injuries started piling up and caught up in the snowball were Sami Salo, Rick Rypien, Darcy Hordichuk and seemingly Pavol Demitra. That’s a lot worse than a 2-3 road trip. They did get back D Kevin Bieksa from a knee injury though.

RUMOR MILL

-Big shock, more about the Gaborik to Montreal rumors. The package that could be coming back is LW Christopher Higgins, G Jaroslav Harak and a #1. What's interesting here is that the Wild are already developing a young G that is at the same talent level as Halak (Josh Harding). Does that mean one of those guys will be on the move? It would also mean that Marc Denis would be on an NHL roster backing up Price on the Canadiens.

LAST NIGHT’S RECAP

Carolina Hurricanes (3-1-1) over the Anaheim Ducks (1-5-0) 3-1

-Rookie G Michael Leighton turned away 32 pucks in an impressive performance between the pipes. Carolina was outshot 22-10 in the final two periods, but timely goals from Ryan Bayda and Rob Brind'Amour proved to be the difference in the 2nd game of Carolina's road trip (Eric Staal added an empty-netter). Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette, moved past the late Bob Johnson into second place among U.S.-born coaches with 235 career victories. Former Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella tops the list with 239. Forward Tuomo Ruutu was scratched from the Carolina lineup because a groin injury. Anaheim will begin a four-game road trip at Toronto on Tuesday night.

AROUND THE BOARDS

-The Columbus Blue Jackets sent goaltender Dan LaCosta to the club's American Hockey League affiliate in Syracuse. LaCosta stopped 15 of 17 shots in 35 minutes Saturday night at Nashville in relief of Fredrik Norrena.

-The St. Louis Blues have recalled goaltender Ben Bishop from the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. In addition, the Blues have assigned goaltender Marek Schwarz to Peoria.

GAME OF THE NIGHT

Pittsburgh Penguins (3-2-1) @ Boston Bruins (2-1-1) – 7PM

-The Penguins are coming off a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in a big night for Sidney Crosby (scroll down for more details). The Bruins are coming off a solid 4-2 win on the road at Ottawa Saturday night. These are both teams with high-octaine offenses. Both also have goalies that can be outright dominant at times, but can also let in some easy ones at times. Expect a shooting gallery.

Other Action:

Dallas Stars (1-3-1) @ New York Rangers (6-1-1) - 7PM (Sean Avery's return to MSG)

Florida Panthers (2-2-0) @ Montreal Canadiens (4-0-1) – 7:30PM

Colorado Avalanche (2-3-0) @ Los Angeles Kings (2-2-0) – 10:30PM
^^All Times Eastern

**My weekly power rankings, “Plus/Minus” comes out every Wednesday evening

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