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Colorado Avalanche 3 @ New Jersey Devils 2
Goaltending match-up: Craig Anderson (41/43, .953 SV%) vs. Martin Brodeur (19/22, .864 SV%)
Combos: Milan Hejduk – Paul Stastny – Chris Stewart/ Daniel Winnik – Matt Duchene – Cody McLeod/ David Jones – Ryan O’Reilly – Brandon Yip/ Mark Olver – Pascal Dupuis – T.J. Galiardi/ John-Michael Liles – Ryan Wilson/ Kyle Cumiskey – Adam Foote/ Scott Hannan – Kyle Quincey
Scratches: Holos, Porter
Top PP times: Hejduk (4:36), Liles (4:34), Duchene (4:07), Yip (4:06), Quincey (4:01)
Trending: Matt Duchene (1A, 1 SOG) has a four-game point streak rolling along for every one of his starts to date. T.J. Galiardi (1G, 1A, +1, 2 PIM, 0:18 PP) earned his first and second points here, as did Cody McLeod (1G, 15 PIM) for his first in addition to his big PIM contribution. Early on at least, Chris Stewart (1G, 1A, +1, 2 PIM, 11:22 TOI) is following up on last year’s breakout success and is once again a really good standard league asset on the wing. Paul Stastny (2A, +1, 3:50 PP) had been blanked in two straight after opening the year with two goals. John-Michael Liles (1A, +, no SOG) already had 0-5-5 in 3 GP coming in.
Combos: Zach Parise – Travis Zajac – Ilya Kovalchuk/ Patrik Elias – Jason Arnott – Jamie Langenbrunner/ Dainius Zubrus – Jacob Josefson – David Clarkson/ Rod Pelley – Tim Sestito – Adam Mair/ Henrik Tallinder – Andy Greene/ Colin White – Matt Taormina/ Alex Urbom – Matt Corrente
Scratches: Fraser, Volchenkov
Top PP times: Taormini (5:46), Kovalchuk (5:41), Elias (5:23), Parise (5:22), Zajac (4:50)
Trending: Ilya Kovalchuk (1G, 1A, +1, 7 SOG) had three points in four games coming in and this was his fourth straight game with at least 4 SOG. Patrik Elias (1A, 4 SOG) had 1-2-3 coming in, while Matt Taormina (1G, 1A, 24:42 TOI, 6 SOG) has points in two of five and he continues to receive great PP minutes.
Toronto Maple Leafs 4 @ New York Rangers 3 (OT)
Goaltending match-up: Jean-Sebastien Giguere (21/24, .875 SV%) vs. Henrik Lundqvist (34/38, .895 SV%)
Combos: Kris Versteeg – Tyler Bozak – Phil Kessel/ Clarke MacArthur – Mikhail Grabovski – Nikolai Kulemin/ Fredrik Sjostrom – Tim Brent – Colby Armstrong/ Colton Orr – Mike Zigomanis – Mike Brown/ Dion Phaneuf – Francois Beauchemin/ Luke Schenn – Tomas Kaberle/ Mike Komisarek Carl Gunnarsson
Scratches: Mitchell
Top PP times: Phaneuf (7:52), Kaberle (7:00), Kessel (6:13), Bozak (6:08), Versteeg (5:17)
Trending: Phil Kessel (2G, 1A, +1, 7 SOG) has goals in three of four and he connected for the OT GWG in a two-goal effort. Clarke MacArthur (1G, +1, 2 PIM, 3:31 PP) already had 4-1-5 in 3 GP before adding to his totals tonight. Nikolai Kulemin (1A, 3:51 PP, 2 SOG) has points in all four of his starts to date. He had 16-20-36 last year. Tyler Bozak (2A, 1 SOG) has helpers in two of four overall.
Combos: Alexander Frolov – Chris Drury – Marian Gaborik/ Brandon Dubinsky – Artem Anisimov – Ryan Callahan/ Sean Avery – Derek Stepan – Ruslan Fedotenko/ Derek Boogaard – Brian Boyle – Brandon Prust/ Marc Staal – Michal Rozsival/ Michael Del Zotto – Daniel Girardi/ Matt Gilroy – Steve Eminger
Scratches: White, Christensen, Sauer
Top PP times: Del Zotto (7:33), Rozsival (6:33), Callahan (3:44), Anisimov (3:44), Dubinsky (3:44)
Trending: Chris Drury (9:11 TOI) was back in action tonight but he left injured again and will apparently miss six weeks with a broken finger. Marian Gaborik (7:59 TOI) also left this one hurt. He seems to have a separated shoulder and will miss two-to-three weeks. He was boarded and may have injured his shoulder. Sean Avery (2A, +3, 4 PIM, 2:09 PP) is averaging a point-per-game so far and came into tonight still looking for his first PIM, which he found. Only a matter of time for that guy. He took an incredibly stupid slashing penalty on Mike Komisarek in the third. Twice he slashed him. Plain as day. Almost cost his team the game right there, but his play after that penalty was really strong. Michael Del Zotto (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 1 SOG) is averaging a point-per-game early on.
New York Islanders 2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3 (OT)
Goaltending match-up: Rick DiPietro (26/29, .897 SV%) vs. Brent Johnson (22/24, .917 SV%)
Combos: Blake Comeau – Josh Bailey – P.A. Parenteau/ Matt Moulson – Frans Nielsen – Trent Hunter/ Nino Niederreiter – Doug Weight – Michael Grabner/ Trevor Gillies – Zenon Konopka – Trevor Sim/ Mike Mottau – Milan Jurcina/ Mark Eaton – Radek Martinek/ Jack Hillen – Andrew MacDonald
Scratches: Gervais, Wisniewski, Tavares
Top PP times: Weight (8:37), MacDonald (7:22), Bailey (6:53), Comeau (5:56), Parenteau (5:05)
Trending: Josh Bailey (1G, 2 PIM, 21:40 TOI) had a pair of two-pointers in three tries coming in and he’s off to a great start this season. Blake Comeau (2A, +1, 21:47 TOI, 5:56 PP) had a strong 3-1-4 in 3 GP before this evening, while Doug Weight (1A, 18:47 TOI) added to the 1-3-4 he had while continuing to play a major role on PP1. Matt Moulson (1A, 4:56 PP) already had 2-1-3 before this one got underway.
Combos: Chris Kunitz – Sidney Crosby – Pascal Dupuis/ Eric Tangradi – Mike Comrie – Evgeni Malkin/ Matt Cooke – Max Talbot – Tyler Kennedy/ Michael Rupp – Mark Letestu – Eric Godard/ Paul Martin – Kris Letang/ Alex Goligoski – Ben Lovejoy/ Andrew Hutchinson – Deryk Engelland
Scratches: Michalek, Adams, Orpik
Top PP times: Malkin (10:18), Crosby (9:23), Kunitz (9:11), Martin (7:40), Goligoski (7:24)
Trending: Alex Goligoski (1G, 28:41 TOI, 1 SOG) connected for the OT GWG and has 3-2-5 in 5 GP. Sidney Crosby (1A, 5 SOG, 60 FO%) added his third point and Evgeni Malkin (1A, +1, 4 SOG) his third as well on that play. Eric Tangradi (1G, +1, 11:57 TOI, 2:31 PP) scored his first NHL goal tonight. He had 0-1-1 coming into tonight in 4 GP. Mark Letestu (2A, +2, 14:57 TOI, 4:04 PP, 4 SOG) has points in three of four. Paul Martin (1A, +1, 4 SOG) already had 1-3-4 in 4 GP before adding more here.
Chicago Blackhawks 5 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 2
Goaltending match-up: Marty Turco (30/32, .938 SV%) vs. Steve Mason (35/40, .875 SV%)
Combos: Tomas Kopecky – Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa/ Bryan Bickell – Patrick Sharp – Troy Brouwer/ Fernando Pisani – Dave Bolland – John Scott/ Viktor Stalberg – Jake Dowell – Jack Skille/ Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook/ Jason Cullimore – Nick Boynton/ Nick Leddy – Jordan Hendry
Scratches: Hjalmarsson, Kane
Top PP times: Toews (2:26), Kopecky (2:26), Sharp (2:23), Hossa (2:23), Keith (2:21),
Trending: Marian Hossa (1G, 1A, +1, 3 SOG) is off to a fiery start thus far and had 3-3-6 in 4 GP coming in. He has points in all five starts. Tomas Kopecky (1G, 1A, +1, 4 PIM, 6 SOG) is averaging a helper per game after five, while Viktor Stalberg (1G, +1, 11:44 TOI, no PP) made his first scoring summary appearance tonight. Patrick Sharp (2G, +1, 13 SOG!!!) had 2 SHG last year and he potted another one tonight to add to the 1-2-3 he had on the season. He was everywhere tonight. Bryan Bickell (1A, 13:21 TOI, 1:34 PP) has a point in four of five now, while Troy Brouwer (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 1:37 PP, 2 SOG) has them in three of five.
Combos: Kristian Huselius – Antoine Vermette – Rick Nash/ Nikita Filatov – Derick Brassard – Jakub Voracek/ Ethan Moreau – Samuel Pahlsson – R.J. Umberger/ Derek Dorsett – Derek MacKenzie – Chris Clark/ Marc Methot – Rostislav Klesla/ Anton Stralman – Jen Hejda/ Kris Russell Fedor Tyutin
Scratches: Commodore, Wilson, Boll
Top PP times: Filatov (4:48), Huselius (4:38), Nash (4:38), Brassard (4:00), Vermette (3:58)
Trending: R.J. Umberger (1G, 1A, +1, 2 SOG) has goals in two of three and he struck for his 4th SHG of his career. Kristian Huselius (1G, 4 SOG) has goals in all three starts.
Montreal Canadiens 2 @ Buffalo Sabres 1
Goaltending match-up: Carey Price (22/23, .957 SV%) vs. Ryan Miller (26/28, .929 SV%)
Combos: Michael Cammalleri – Tomas Plekanec – Andrei Kostitsyn/ Travis Moen – Scott Gomez – Brian Gionta/ Lars Eller – Jeff Halpern – Maxim Lapierre/ Benoit Pouliot – Dustin Boyd – Tom Pyatt/ Josh Gorges – Hal Gill/ Jaroslav Spacek – Roman Hamrlik/ Alexandre Picard – P.K. Subban
Scratches: O’Byrne, Darche
Top PP times: Spacek (3:50), Cammalleri (3:50), Plekanec (3:50), Kostitsyn (3:50), Subban (3:50)
Trending: P.K. Subban (1A, +1, 3 SOG) hadn’t registered a point this season before this outing. Scott Gomez (1A, 1:30 PP) has points in two of four overall. He had 12-47-59 last year.
Combos: Thomas Vanek – Tim Connolly – Jochen Hecht/ Tyler Ennis – Derek Roy – Drew Stafford/ Paul Gaustad – Rob Niedermayer – Mike Grier/ Nathan Gerbe – Cody McCormick – Patrick Kaleta/ Jordan Leopold – Tyler Myers/ Andrej Sekera – Craig Rivet/ Chris Butler – Steve Montador
Scratches: Weber, Morrisonn, Pominville
Top PP times: Myers (1:03), Vanek (1:03), Roy (1:03), Connolly (1:03), Stafford (1:03)
Trending: Derek Roy (1G, +1, 1 SOG) broke the shutout bid early in the third period and kept his goal-per-game pace going five games in. Thomas Vanek (1A, +1, 1 SOG) got his first point of the year. This guy just has to do more production-wise. 64, 64 and 53 points over his past three seasons? 36 and 40-goal campaigns in that period, sure, but he’s capable of so much more. Drew Stafford (1A, +1, 4 SOG) has 1-3-4 in 5 GP.
Atlanta Thrashers 5 @ Anaheim Ducks 4 (SO)
Goaltending match-up: Chris Mason (37/41, .902 SV%) vs. Jonas Hiller (29/33, .879 SV%)
Combos: Rich Peverley – Nik Antropov -Evander Kane/ Andrew Ladd – Bryan Little – Anthony Stewart/ Nigel Dawes – Jim Slater – Patrick Modin/ Ben Eager – Alexander Burmistrov – Chris Thorburn/ Dustin Byfuglien – Tobias Enstrom/ Freddy Meyer – Johnny Oduya/ Brent Sopel – Ron Hainsey
Scratches: Bogosian, Bergfors, Boulton
Top PP times: Enstrom (5:20), Byfuglien (4:12), Little (2:57), Ladd (2:57), Kane (2:14)
Trending: Dustin Byfuglien (2A, 22:51 TOI) earned his first point of the season on D and Tobias Enstrom (2A, +, 27:47 TOI, 3 SOG) has points in two of three. Byfuglien had a couple of glorious chances in overtime and showed off some of his skills in the process. Anthony Stewart (3G, +1, 13:11 TOI, 0:59 PP, 5 SOG) blasted home his first goal of the year only 17 seconds into this affair and he added another one later in the third period. Um, then he scored again to officially make it his first NHL hat trick. He nearly had his fourth in OT too. Andrew Ladd (1A, +1, 3 SOG) has points in three of four, while Bryan Little (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 4 SOG) picked up his first point of the season. Rich Peverley (1A, 2 PIM, 2:13 PP, 3 SOG) had nadda before tonight. Nigel Dawes scored the only goal of the shootout for the win.
Combos: Bobby Ryan – Ryan Getzlaf – Corey Perry/ Jason Blake – Saku Koivu – Teemu Selanne/ Matt Beleskey – Kyle Chipchura – Dan Sexton/ Troy Bodie – Todd Marchant – George Parros/ Lubomir Visnovsky – Toni Lydman/ Paul Mara – Cam Fowler/ Brendan Mikkelson – Sheldon Brookbank
Scratches: Sbisa, Carter, Voros
Top PP times: Visnovsky (8:55), Selanne (8:31), Ryan (8:31), Perry (8:15), Getzlaf (8:11)
Trending: Corey Perry (1G, 2A, 2 PIM, 5 SOG) has goals back-to-back after three without one. Ryan Getzlaf (1G, 1A, 2 SOG, 69 FO%) was coming off that sweet four-point effort vs. VAN. Lubomir Visnovsky (1A, 2 PIM, 4 SOG) also has points back-to-back after three without one. Teemu Selanne (1G, 2A, 8 SOG) has points in three of four and he has been averaging just shy of five shots a game. Saku Koivu (1A, 1:52 PP, 1 SOG) has points in three of his last four.
Vancouver Canucks 1 @ Los Angeles Kings 4
Goaltending match-up: Roberto Luongo (15/19, .789 SV%) vs. Jonathan Quick (25/26, .962 SV%)
Combos: Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Mikael Samuelsson/ Mason Raymond – Ryan Kesler – Jannik Hansen/ Peter Schaefer – Manny Malhotra – Raffi Torres/ Tanner Glass – Rick Rypien – Guillaume Desbiens/ Dan Hamhuis – Kevin Bieksa/ Alexander Edler – Christian Ehrhoff/ Keith Ballard – Andrew Alberts
Scratches: Tambellini, Parent, Rome
Top PP times: Ehrhoff (3:43), Sedins (3:32), Edler (3:27), Kesler (3:27)
Trending: Daniel Sedin (1G, 2 SOG) had 3-2-5 coming in, while Henrik Sedin (1A, 2 PIM, 3 SOG) had 0-4-4. Alexander Edler (1A, 2 SOG, 5 hits) has points in two straight. He had a pair of helpers @ANH.
Combos: Alexei Loktionov – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown/ Ryan Smyth – Jarret Stoll – Justin Williams/ Alexei Ponikarovsky – Michal Handzus – Wayne Simmonds/ Brad Richardson – Brayden Schenn – Kevin Westgarth
Scratches: Harrold, Clifford, Lewis
Top PP times: Johnson (6:35), Doughty (6:35), Smyth (5:29), Kopitar (5:17), Loktionov (5:11)
Trending: Ryan Smyth (2A, +3, 23:26 TOI, 3 SOG) is putting up a point-per-game average so far, as is Justin Williams (1G, +2, 3:21 PP). Jake Muzzin (1A, 2:05 PP) came up with his first NHL point in his fourth game. He’s a guy with definite offensive upside down the line. Anze Kopitar (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 3 SOG, 38 FO%) made an incredible play to feed Dustin Brown (2G, +2, 2 PIM, 3:15 PP, 2 SOG, 5 hits) for a goal and the Kings hope to see a lot of that this season. Jarret Stoll (1G, +2, 2 PIM, 0:47 PP, 2 SOG) has points back-to-back after registering 1-1 vs. ATL the other night. This was Jack Johnson’s (1A, +3, 2 PIM) first scoring summary appearance of the year.