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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