Flames get 1st win.

The Calgary Flames won their first pre-season game Tuesday night, with a 3-2 SO win over San Jose.

Kristian Huselius scored both flames goals in regulation. While goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff played stellar in net for the flames. After letting the first two shots in, Kiprusoff would not allow another one past.

San Jose started fast with Marleau scoring just 30 seconds into the game. Patrick Rissmiller continued a minute and a half later with San Jose's second goal. The Sharks couldnt find the back of the net again though.

The Shootouts went to a fourth shooter untill Craig Conroy put it away. Kristian Huselius and Owen Nolan also scored in the shootouts, while Cheechoo and Marleau got the goals for San Jose.

Evgeni Nabokov made 18 saves on 20 shots, while Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 32 on 34 shots.

Next Game:

Calgary at Edmonton - Sept. 26, 2007. (9:00 p.m.)

San Jose at Vancouver - Sept. 26, 2007 (10:00 p.m.)

Maintenance break, gone until Saturday

The team here at this blog will be busy taking a break trying to make this site a better environment and more enjoyable for you the readers, we will be testing a lot of new things, but we will be back in commission on Saturday the 29th.


See you then.

Regards,
The Coolest blog team ever.

Panthers 3, Blackhawks 2

In a rare 12:00 start, Olli Jokinen scored two third period goals to lift the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Anthony Stewart had a first period goal for the Panthers as well. Patrick Sharp and Robert Lang had tallies for the Blackhawks.

Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 29 of 32 shots for the Blackhawks, and Craig Anderson stopped 14 of 16 for the Panthers.

3 Stars:

3. Robert Lang (CHI)

2. Cory Murphy (FLA)

1. Olli Jokinen (FLA)

Attendance: 4,414

Panthers record: 4-1-0

Blackhawks record: 2-3-1

Panthers next opponent: Wed, Sep 26 vs. Thrashers

Blackhawks next opponent: Sat, Sep 29 at Blues

Kings 7, Red Bulls 6

The Los Angeles Kings were in Austria for a game against the EC Red Bull Salzburg. No information is available for the game except the final score and a little bit of tournament info.

The Kings are participating in a single-elimination Austrian tournament with the EC Red Bull Salzburg, HC Davos, and Farjestads BK. Because of the Kings' victory over Salzburg, they will face the winner of the HC Davos and Farjestads BK game on Wednesday. Salzburg will play the losing club.

Another note about Austria is that their official language is German, and much of their hockey league is home to many former NHLers. The Red Bulls' roster alone includes former King Josh Green, forward Frank Banham, who saw 32 NHL games, defensemen Rick Jackman (231 NHL games), Doug Lynch (2 NHL games), and Brad Fast (1 game), as well as former St. Louis Blues netminder Reinhard Divis, who played 28 NHL games.

Separate but equal

To make everything a lot easier, we finally have separate accounts for each user, so it will say which specific member contributed each article. We also added a new member named Mike. We will still continue to post in the same colors:

Blue for me (Rangers fan)
Orange for Chris (Maple Leafs fan)
Red for Mat (Flames fan)
Purple for Erica (Penguins fan)
Gray for Mike (Avalanche fan)

I'd also like to mention that any post prior to this will have Chris's name with it, but are really from each of us, and just use the color coordination list above to know who posted it.

Wild 2, Sabres 1

Brian Rolston scored the Minnesota Wild's only two goals, but that was all they needed as they defeated the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in Grand Forks, North Dakota on Monday night. Philippe Gogulla had the Sabres' goal.

Jocelyn Thibault stopped 20 of 22 shots for the Sabres, and Josh Harding stopped 25 of 26 shots for the Wild.

Wild record: 3-1-0

Sabres record: 1-2-0

Wild next opponent: Wed, Sep 26 vs. Blues

Sabres next opponent: Wed, Sep 26 at Maple Leafs

Senators 4, Maple Leafs 3 OT

Patrick Eaves ended the game just 53 seconds into overtime to give the Senators the win. Christoph Schubert had a pair of goals to contribute to the Sens' cause, while Dany Heatley also added a goal. The Maple Leafs' goals from Mats Sundin, Johnny Pohl, and Alexei Ponikarovsky weren't enough to get them the win.

Martin Gerber stopped 35 of 38 shots for the Senators, while Andrew Raycroft stopped 28 of 32 for the Leafs.

Maple Leafs record: 2-1-2

Senators record: 4-0-0

Maple Leafs next opponent: Wed, Sep 26 vs. Sabres

Senators next opponent: Tue, Sep 25 vs. Flyers

Lightning 4, Red Wings 3

The Detroit Red Wings couldn't stop Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning Monday night. St. Louis had two goals, and the Bolts also saw goals from Andre Roy and Andreas Karlsson. The Red Wings saw goals from Jonathan Ericsson, Johan Franzen, and Brett Lebda.

Karri Ramo stopped 20 of 23 shots for the Lightning to get the win, while Chris Osgood gave up all 4 Lightning goals on 18 shots. Adam Berkhoel replaced Osgood and stopped all 12 shots he faced.

3 Stars:

3. Andre Roy (TBL)

2. Brad Richards (TBL)

1. Martin St. Louis (TBL)

Attendance: 16,126

Lightning record: 2-1-0

Red Wings record: 3-2-0

Lightning next opponent: Thu, Sep 27 at Red Wings

Red Wings next opponent: Tue, Sep 25 vs. Rangers

Islanders 5, Rangers 4 OT

The New York Islanders and New York Rangers played almost as if it were the regular season, with extremely high tension throughout the game, in which starting goaltenders Al Montoya and Rick DiPietro fought each other.

The Islanders saw a pair of goals from Mike Comrie, including the overtime game-winner, as well as Ruslan Fedotenko, Bill Guerin, and Josef Vasicek. The Rangers saw goals from Chris Drury, Ryan Hollweg, Thomas Pock, and Ryan Callahan.

Al Montoya stopped 5 of 6 shots before the fight with DiPietro, who stopped 15 of 17. Stephen Valiquette replaced Montoya and stopped 12 of 16. Wade Dubielewicz replaced DiPietro and stopped 14 of 16.

3 Stars:

3. Chris Drury (NYR)

2. Trent Hunter (NYI)

1. Mike Comrie (NYI)

Islanders record: 2-1-2

Rangers record: 1-1-1

Islanders next opponent: Wed, Sep 26 at Devils

Rangers next opponent: Tue, Sep 25 at Red Wings

Devils 3, Flyers 1

The New Jersey Devils took a 1-0 lead at 7:50 of the first period on a goal by Nicklas Bergfors, which remained the only scoring until they added another at 7:31 of the third period from Rod Pelley. 19 seconds later, the Flyers answered back to cut it down to a 1-goal game when Daniel Briere scored his first goal in a Flyers uniform. However, with an empty net, Nicklas Bergfors added another with 21 seconds left in the game to seal the game for the Devils.

Martin Brodeur played the entire game for the Devils, stopping 9 shots, and Martin Biron played the entire game for the Flyers, stopping 22 shots.

Flyers record: 2-2-0

Devils record: 2-2-0

Flyers next opponent: Tue, Sep 25 at Senators

Devils next opponent: Wed, Sep 26 vs. Islanders

Ducks 5, Canucks 0

The Anaheim Ducks closed out their preseason with a bang as Ryan Getzlaf scored 2 goals to help them clobber the Canucks. Francois Beauchemin, Corey Perry, and Todd Bertuzzi had the other three goals for the Ducks.

Jonas Hiller stopped all 38 shots he faced for the shutout, while Curtis Sanford stopped 34 of 39 for the Canucks.

3 Stars:

3. Ryan Getzlaf (ANA)

2. Jonas Hiller (ANA)

1. Bobby Ryan (ANA)

Attendance: 17,030

Ducks record: 3-3-1

Canucks record: 2-2-1

Ducks next opponent: Sat, Sep 29 at Kings (regular season)

Canucks next opponent: Wed, Sep 26 vs. Sharks

Blackhawks 4, Blues 3

Jason Williams had a pair of goals and an assist as he led the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues Sunday. Martin Havlat and Rene Bourque had the other two goals for Chicago. Lee Stempniak, Eric Brewer, and Jeff Woywitka had the goals for St. Louis.

Manny Legace gave up all 4 goals on 20 shots during the first two periods, then Jason Bacashihua only faced 2 shots and stopped them both. Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 17 of 20 for the Blackhawks.

3 Stars:

3. Yanic Perreault (CHI)

2. Martin Havlat (CHI)

1. Jason Williams (CHI)

Attendance: 7,717

Blackhawks record: 2-2-1

Blues record: 1-3-0

Blackhawks next opponent: Tue, Sep 25 at Panthers

Blues next opponent: Wed, Sep 26 at Wild

Sabres 3, Blue Jackets 2, SO

Maxim Afinogenov and Ales Kotalik both scored in the shootout and Ryan Miller stopped Adam Pineault and Sergei Fedorov to win for the Sabres. Kotalik also had a goal in the 2nd, and Jason Pominville had a third period goal for the Sabres. Derek MacKenzie and Sergei Fedorov had the Blue Jackets' goals.

Miller stopped 23 of 25 shots, then 2 in the shootout for the win. Pascal Leclaire stopped 30 of 32, then none in the shootout for the loss.

3 Stars:

3. Jason Pominville (BUF)

2. Pascal Leclaire (CBJ)

1. Derek MacKenzie (CBJ)

Attendance: 13,469

Blue Jackets record: 2-2-1

Sabres record: 1-1-0

Blue Jackets next opponent: Thu, Sep 27 vs. Hurricanes

Sabres next opponent: Mon, Sep 24 at Wild

Canadiens 4, Bruins 3

Thomas Plekanec scored a hat trick as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins, 4-3 Sunday afternoon in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Chris Higgins scored the other goal for Montreal. Chuck Kobasew, Glen Murray, and Phil Kessel scored the goals for Boston.

Jaroslav Halak made 27 saves on 30 shots for the Canadiens, while Manny Fernandez made 33 saves on 37 shots for the Bruins.

Bruins record: 1-2-1

Canadiens record: 3-3-0

Bruins next opponent: Thu, Sep 20 at Canadiens

Canadiens next opponent: Thu, Sep 20 vs. Bruins

Oilers put out Flames in overtime

Andrew Cogliano of the Oilers scored 2 goals against the Calgary Flames, including the overtime game winner, to make the final score 5-4.

Jarret Stoll, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, and Shawn Horcoff all scored goals for the Oilers in the close game. Jarome Iginla, Alex Tanguay, Adam Pardy, and Marcus Nilson had a goal each for the Flames.

Miikka Kiprusoff made 23 saves for the Flames. Dwayne Roloson stopped 33 shots for the Oilers.

Flames record: 0-2-2

Oilers record: 3-1-0

Flames next game: Tue Sep 25 vs Sharks

Oiler next game: Tue Sep 25 at Coyotes

Coyotes edge Dallas Stars

Phoenix's Shane Doan notched 2 goals to carry the Coyotes past the Dallas Stars, where the final score was 6-5. Daniel Carcillo, Ed Jovanoski, Peter Mueller, and Martin Hanzal scored a goal apiece in the win.

Joel Lundqvist scored 2 goals for the Stars, with Nicklas Hagman, Antti Miettinen, and Chris Conner each scoring one goal.

David Aebischer was in net for Phoenix and made a fantastic 21 saves. Dallas goaltender Marty Turco stopped 16 shots.

Three Stars:

3. Daniel Carcillo

2. Martin Hanzal

1. Shane Doan

Stars record: 1-2-1

Coyotes record: 3-1-1

Stars next game: Tue Sep 25 at Avalanche

Coyotes next game: Tue Sep 25 vs Oilers

Sharks sink Canucks at home

Devon Setoguchi, Jonathan Cheechoo, and Jeremy Roenick scored for the San Jose Sharks, all on the power-play, in a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

The Sharks outshot the Canucks 37-to-10, and Sharks goalie Dimitri Patzold stopped 9 out of those 10 shots.

Nathan McIver produced the only goal for the Canucks. McIver was also one of the players involved in one of the three fights that took place during the game. The other two Canucks involved were Jeff Cowan, and Alex Burrows, while the Sharks that were involved were Patrick Marleau, Ryane Clowe, and Craig Rivet.

Three Stars:

3. Devin Setoguchi

2. Roberto Luongo

1. Patrick Marleau

Sharks record: 3-0-1
Canucks record: 2-1-1

Sharks next game: Tue. Sep 25 at Flames
Canucks next game: Sun Sep 23 at Ducks

Avs fall to Kings in shootout

The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2 in a shootout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Saturday night. Tyler Arnason opened the scoring at 12:52 of the first period, and Paul Stastny had his 5th goal of the preseason in the second for the Avalanche. Anze Kopitar had a second period goal, and Dustin Brown tallied in the third to tie the game for the Kings. After a scoreless overtime, Dustin Brown scored the final goal in the shootout to win it for the Kings.

Tyler Weiman stopped 24 of 26 shots for the Avalanche and got the shootout loss. Jonathan Bernier stopped 27 of 29 shots and got the shootout win for the Kings.

Kings record: 3-2-0

Avalanche record: 3-0-1

Kings next opponent: Sat, Sep 29 vs. Ducks (regular season)

Avalanche next opponent: Tue, Sep 25 vs. Stars

Predators get revenge on Hurricanes

The Predators and Hurricanes game was all goaltending until 18:07 of the second period when Jason Arnott scored on John Grahame. The Hurricanes didn't answer back until 9:06 of the third when Justin Williams scored against Chris Mason. After that, it was all Predators as they added goals from Vernon Fiddler, Matt Ellison, and Janne Niskala.

John Grahame stopped 26 of 30 shots for the Hurricanes in a losing effort. Chris Mason stopped 39 of 40 for the Predators to get the win.

Predators record: 3-1-0

Hurricanes record: 2-1-0

Predators next opponent: Tue, Sep 25 at Thrashers

Hurricanes next opponent: Tue, Sep 25 at Capitals

Capitals beat Lightning

The Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning had a quiet, low-scoring game Saturday night, and the Capitals won, 2-1. Dave Steckel opened the scoring for the Capitals at 7:46 of the first, then Martin St. Louis scored for the Lightning at 11:17. In the second period, Alexander Semin scored for the Capitals just 1:41 in, and then it was all goaltending from there.

Brent Johnson stopped 18 of 19 for the Capitals to get the win. Johan Holmqvist stopped 18 of 20 for the Lightning to get the loss.

3 Stars:

3. Brent Johnson (WSH)

2. Martin St. Louis (TBL)

1. Alexander Semin (WSH)

Lightning record: 1-1-0

Capitals record: 1-1-1

Lightning next opponent: Mon, Sep 24 vs. Red Wings

Capitals next opponent: Tue, Sep 25 vs. Hurricanes

Red Wings sweep home-and-home with Penguins

Just a day after a 1-0 win over the Penguins in Detroit, the Red Wings and Penguins both scored more goals, however it was the Red Wings who scored more, for a 5-2 win. Mark Eaton and Evgeni Malkin both scored power play goals for the Penguins in the first and third periods respectively. The Red Wings saw 2 goals from Henrik Zetterberg, and one each from Kris Draper, Niklas Kronwall, and Mikael Samuelsson.

Dominik Hasek and Jimmy Howard each gave up a goal, Hasek on 12 shots, Howard on 10. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28 of 32. Samuelsson's goal came on an empty net.

Penguins record: 1-1-2

Red Wings record: 3-1-0

Penguins next opponent: Fri, Sep 28 vs. Sabres

Red Wings next opponent: Mon, Sep 24 at Lightning

Canadiens fall to Senators

The Ottawa Senators defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Saturday night. All the scoring came in the second period, when Jason Spezza and Shean Donovan each scored a goal for the Senators, and Kyle Chipchura scored one for the Canadiens.

Cristobal Huet played the whole game for the Canadiens, stopping 17 of 19 shots. Martin Gerber and Jeff Glass each faced 12 shots, and Gerber gave up Montreal's lone goal.

3 Stars:

3. Anton Volchenkov (OTT)

2. Andrei Markov (MON)

1. Jason Spezza (OTT)

Canadiens record: 2-3-0

Senators record: 3-0-0

Canadiens next opponent: Sun, Sep 23 at Bruins

Senators next opponent: Mon, Sep 24 at Maple Leafs

Blues defeat Thrashers

Martin Kariya, David Perron, and D.J. King scored for the St. Louis Blues, who came back from two 1-goal defecits to win, 3-2 over the Atlanta Thrashers. Marian Hossa had both Thrasher goals, one of which was shorthanded.

Juuso Riksman and Hannu Toivonen each stopped 10 of 11 shots for the Blues, while Johan Hedberg went the distance for St. Louis and stopped 23 of 26 shots.

3 Stars:

3. Johan Hedberg (ATL)

2. Martin Kariya (STL)

1. Marian Hossa (ATL)

Thrashers record: 2-2-0

Blues record: 1-2-0

Thrashers next opponent: Tue, Sep 25 vs. Predators

Blues next opponent: Sun, Sep 23 at Blackhawks

Flyers shutout Rangers

The Rangers' young, inexperienced defense was very sloppy Saturday night, and a revamped Flyers lineup took full advantage and won, 5-0. Mike Knuble had a pair of goals, while Sami Kapanen, Mike Richards, and Steve Downie also scored for the Flyers.

Henrik Lundqvist played the entire game for the Rangers, giving up an uncharacteristic 5 goals on 23 shots. Martin Biron stopped all 19 shots he faced through two periods, then Antero Niittymaki stopped all 14 shots he faced.

Rangers record: 1-1-0

Flyers record: 2-1-0

Rangers next opponent: Mon, Sep 24 at Islanders

Flyers next opponent: Mon, 24 vs. Devils

Bruins fall in shootout

In only the second shootout of the preseason, Pavel Kubina scored in the 7th round to give the Maple Leafs the 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins. The Leafs saw first period goals from John Mitchell and Chad Kilger, as well as a third period goal from Johnny Pohl. The Bruins saw second period goals from Phil Kessel and Bobby Allen, and a third Period goal from Nate Thompson.

Scott Clemmensen stopped 22 of 25 shots as well as all 7 shootout shots for the win. Tim Thomas stopped 33 of 36 and then 6 of 7 in the shootout for the loss.

Bruins record: 1-1-1

Maple Leafs record: 2-1-1

Bruins next opponent: Sun, Sep 23 vs. Canadiens

Maple Leafs next opponent: Mon, Sep 24 vs. Senators

Ducks bitten by Sharks

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Anaheim Ducks Friday night by a score of 3-1. Joe Pavelski had a goal in each of the first and third periods for the team from the San Francisco Bay area, and Devin Setoguchi scored the other in the second period. The Ducks saw their goal in the second period from Bobby Ryan.

Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 33 of 36 for Anaheim, while Evgeni Nabokov stopped 18 of 19 for the Sharks. Both goalies played the entire game.

3 Stars:

3. Craig Valette (SJS)

2. Devin Setoguchi (SJS)

1. Joe Pavelski (SJS)

Attendance: 14,837

Sharks record: 2-0-1

Ducks record: 2-3-1

Sharks next opponent: Sat, Sep 22 vs. Canucks

Ducks next opponent: Sun, Sep 22 vs. Canucks

Blue Jackets dominate Sabres

Gilbert Brule carried the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Brule scored his first goal in the 2nd period on the power-play only 25 seconds apart from a power-play goal scored by Kris Russel.

Jocelyn Thibault, Buffalo’s only off-season free agent acquisition, stopped a total of 18 shots. Steve Mason was the net-minder for Columbus, and made a total of 20 saves.

Blue Jackets star forward Rick Nash put a puck in net six minutes into the third. Clarke MacArthur scored the lone goal for the Buffalo Sabres, a short-hander ten minutes into the 3rd period, two minutes before Gilbert Brule notched his second and final goal of the night.

Blue Jackets record: 2-2-0

Sabres record: 0-1-0

Blue Jackets next game: Sun, 23 vs Sabres
Sabres next game: Sun, 23 at Blue Jackets

Wings sneak by Penguins

Chris Chelios put an end to a scoreless game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and simultaneously won it for the Detroit Red Wings 1 minute, 18 seconds into overtime. Tomas Holmstrom and Pavel Datsyuk picked up assists.

Detroit’s Chris Osgood stopped 16 shots over two periods, and Jimmy Howard made three saves after that. Ty Conklin stopped 22 shots for the Penguins.

Three Stars:

3. Chris Chelios

2. Ty Conklin

1. Chris Osgood

Penguins record: 1-1-1

Red Wings record: 2-1-0

Penguins next game: Sat, 22 vs Red Wings
Red Wings next game: Sat 22, at Penguins

Koivu's hat trick propels Wild to win

Mikko Koivu scored his third goal of the game with 5.3 left in overtime to give the Wild the victory in Chicago on Friday night. Marian Gaborik and Wes Walz had Minnesota's other two goals in the 5-4 win. James Wisniewski, Adam Burish, Patrick Kane, and Sergei Samsonov scored the Blackhawks goals.

Niklas Backstrom stopped 37 of 41 shots for the win, while Patrick Lalime stopped 21 of 26 for the loss.

From a personal standpoint, I can't even begin to fathom how the media could not pick Koivu as any one of the three stars, let alone #1 after scoring the hat trick and winning the game for his team. Instead, Patrick Kane was the #1 star, and the other two were Blackhawks. I guess it just goes to show that the 3 star selection really IS a popularity contest, unfortunately.

3 Stars:

3. James Wisniewski

2. Adam Burish

1. Patrick Kane

Attendance: 8,454

Blackhawks record: 1-2-1

Wild record: 2-1-0

Blackhawks next opponent: Sun, Sep 23 vs. Blues

Wild next opponent: Mon, Sep 24 vs. Sabres

Islanders fall to Canadiens in OT

Matt D'Agostini had two goals, one of which came 1:45 into overtime as the Canadiens defeated the Islanders, 3-2. Guillaume Latendresse had the other Canadiens goal, while Jeff Tambellini and Radek Martinek scored the Islanders' goals.

Wade Dubielewicz and Mike Morisson made 8 saves each for the Islanders. Dubielewicz gave up one goal, while Morisson gave up two. Carey Price stopped 24 of 26 while going the distance for Montreal.

3 Stars:

3. Jeff Tambellini (NYI)

2. Ryan O'Byrne (MON)

1. Matt D'Agostini (MON)

Attendance: 21,273

Canadiens record: 2-2-0

Islanders record: 1-1-2

Canadiens next opponent: Sat, Sep 22 vs. Senators

Islanders next opponent: Mon, Sep 24 vs. Rangers

Predators blown away by Hurricanes

Cam Ward shut out the Nashville Predators Friday night, stopping all 18 shots he faced. Dan Ellis and Pekka Rinne each gave up a goal while in net for the Predators. Ellis faced 10 shots, Rinne faced 13.

Casey Borer scored at 5:13 of the second period, and that's all the Hurricanes needed. Ray Whitney added a second goal for the 'Canes at 15:28 of the third, and Scott Walker added an empty netter at 18:52 of the third.

3 Stars:

3. Ray Whitney (CAR)

2. Casey Borer (CAR)

1. Cam Ward (CAR)

Attendance: 13,514

Hurricanes record: 2-0-0

Predators record: 2-1-0

Hurricanes next opponent: Sat, Sep 22 at Predators

Predators next opponent: Sat, Sep 22 vs. Hurricanes

Rangers hold off Devils in preseason debut

The Rangers wasted little time getting on the board, as Dane Byers scored a power play goal just 1:53 into the game. About 10-11 minutes later, the Rangers got their second power play, which turned into a 2-man advantage before Ryan Callahan caught Jordan Parise out of position after great puck movement by the Rangers. In the second period, The Rangers added to their lead at the same 1:53 mark when Jordan Parise mishandled the puck behind the net and Blair Betts picked it up after another Devil mishandled it as well, and shot it between Parise's pads. Dainius Zubrus finally put the Devils on the board when a pass intended for Patrik Elias hit off the skate of Darius Kasparaitis and past Al Montoya. Martin Straka then retook a 3-goal lead for the Rangers before Zach Parise cut it to just 2 again. Brian Gionta had the only goal of the third, and the Rangers held on to win, 4-3.

Al Montoya and Stephen Valiquette split time for the Rangers. Montoya stopped 12 of 13 shots, and Valiquette stopped 13 of 15 for the win. Kevin Weekes stopped 3 of 4 shots in the first period before Sean Avery pushed Johnny Oduya into him as they both barrelled towards the net, causing Weekes to hit the post and fall hard to the ice at 6:06 of the first. Weekes got up several minutes later and had to be helped to the locker room, but showed no memory loss from the collision during later tests. Weekes was replaced by Jordan Parise, older brother of teammate Zach Parise, who stopped 22 of 25 shots for the loss.

3 Stars:
3. Sean Avery (NYR)
2. Ryan Callahan (NYR)
1. Brandon Dubinsky (NYR)

Attendance: 18,202

Rangers record: 1-0-0
Devils record: 1-2-0

Rangers next opponent: Sat, Sep 22 vs. Flyers
Devils next opponent: Mon, Sep 24 vs. Flyers

Canucks barely edge out Oilers

With just 2.5 seconds left in the game, Brad Isbister scored a 2-on-1 odd man rush goal to win the game for the Canucks. The Canucks headed into the third period with a comfy 4-2 lead, but the Oilers stormed back with goals by Andrew Cogliano and Ales Hemsky to tie the game with just 3:22 left. Edmonton had a golden chance to win the game when Vancouver defenseman Patrick Coulombe was called for a delay of game penalty with 2:09 left in the third period. The Canucks killed off the penalty and Coulombe came out of the box and right into the odd-man rush, then passed the puck to Isbister who buried his shot over Mathieu Garon's blocker to win the game. Youngster Ryan Kesler had a goal and two assists for the Canucks. Mathieu Garon played the whole game for the Oilers, stopping 24 of 29 shots. Vancouver only allowed 10 shots on goal in the entire game. Cory Schneider and Curtis Sanford both let in 2 goals for Vancouver.

3 stars:

3. Brad Isbister (VAN)

2. Andrew Cogliano (EDM)

1. Ryan Kesler (VAN)

Avs remain undefeated

T.J. Hensick continued his superb preseason play scoring a the game winning goal and adding two assists. The teams exchanged goals in the first and second periods and the game was tied 2-2 heading into the third. Dallas struck first 0:47 into the third, but the Avs countered with four unanswered goals, the scoring was over and the game ended 6-3. It was a heated matchup with several brawls in the second and third periods. The teams combined for 96 penalty minutes. Sergei Zubov played a solid game for the stars getting a goal and an assist and registering a +2 in just over 20 minutes of ice time. Peter Budaj and Michael Wall split time between the pipes as did Mike Smith and Steve Silverman for the Stars. John-Michael Liles had 3 assists for the Avalanche.

3 stars:

3. Sergei Zubov (DAL)

2. John-Michael Liles (COL)

1. T.J. Hensick (COL)

Attendance: 14,895 (American Airlines Center, Dallas)

Panthers win goaltending battle

The Florida Panthers defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in a game that saw only one goal. Stephen Weiss netted the only score of the game at 12:54 of the 3rd period. The teams killed all 10 penalties in the game, 6 against the Blackhawks, and 4 against the visiting Panthers.

Craig Anderson stopped all 38 shots he faced for the shutout victory, while Corey Crawford gave up the Weiss tally on a total of 27 shots for the Blackhawks' loss.

3 Stars:

3. Corey Crawford (CHI)

2. Craig Anderson (FLA)

1. Stephen Weiss (FLA)

Attendance: 6,587

Panthers' preseason record: 3-1-0

Blackhawks' preseason record: 1-2-0

Panthers' next opponent: Tue, Sep 25 vs. Blackhawks

Blackhawks' next opponent: Fri, Sep 21 vs. Wild

Predators top Thrashers

The Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers saw eight different goal scorers Thursday night as the Predators won by a final score of 5-3. Marek Zidlicky, Jason Arnott, Vernon Fiddler, Alexander Sulzer, and Ryan Suter all had goals for the Predators, while Alexandre Giroux, Darren Haydar, and Brett Sterling had the Thrasher goals.

Each team played two goalies. Ondrej Pavelec and Fred Brathwaite played for the Thrashers, while Chris Mason and Pekka Rinne. Accurate numbers for the goalies were not available.

3 Stars:
3. Marek Zidlicky (NSH)
2. J.P. Dumont (NSH)
1. Jason Arnott (NSH)

Attendance: 13,430

Predators next opponent: Fri, Sep 21 at Hurricanes
Thrashers next opponent: Sat, Sep 22 vs. Blues

It was a Wild night in Detroit

The Minnesota Wild were dominant on their power play, as they went 3-for-5 in a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night. Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Brent Burns, and Brian Rolston each had a goal on the man advantage, while the Wild killed all four of their penalties. Detroit saw only a pair of even strength goals from Mark Hartigan and Mattias Ritola.

Dominik Hasek stopped 11 of 13 shots before being relieved by Jimmy Howard, who gave up only the game-winning goal on 8 shots. Josh Harding made 28 saves on 30 shots while backstopping the Wild to the win.

3 Stars:

3. Marian Gaborik (MIN)

2. Mark Hartigan (DET)

1. Pavol Demitra (MIN)

Attendance: 11,072

Red Wings next opponent: Fri, Sep 21 vs. Penguins

Wild next opponent: Fri, Sep 21 at Blackhawks

Coyotes win round 2

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Phoenix Coyotes played the second of a two-game set Thursday night, and after the Maple Leafs had won the first game in Winnipeg, the Coyotes won the second in Toronto, 3-2. Vesa Toskala gave up a soft goal to Danny Carcillo on the first shot he faced, but stopped 25 of the other 27 shots he faced. However, that wasn't good enough for the win as Mikael Tellqvist, the Coyotes' netminder for the night, gave up just 2 goals on 30 shots.

Zbynek Michalek scored the middle of the Coyotes' three goals before Carcillo scored his second of the night, which turned out to be the game winner. Tony Salmalainen and Darcy Tucker had the goals for the Leafs.

Maple Leafs next opponent: Sat, Sep 22 at Bruins

Coyotes next opponent: Sat, Sep 22 vs. Stars

Sens Capitalize on a win

The Capitals were facing the Ottawa Senators in a close ping-pong like match.

Ottawa's big boys were dominating early, With a reliable Gerber in net, the Ottawa Senators Tied the game up after a Chris Clark goal, Daniel Alfredsson from None other then Jason Spezza!

But from there it was back and forth, Fleishchmann for Caps, then Tom Poti For The Caps, But that lead wasn't long lived, cause here comes Spezza with a goal of his own! a goal and an assist for Jason Spezza, and then late in the second Foligno Scored for the Sens, Wow, What A Game! But we're still not done, Dany Heatly and Chris Kelly netted goals of their own to take a lead of umm... hmm.. Anyone good at math? (ok, ok, mmhmm.. Carry the 9.. OKAY) 5-3! But then the sleeping giant awakens, Alex Ovechkin scores one to make it 5-4, intense game.. But Ovie's goal was just to add excitement, because Ottawa walks away with a 5-4 win.


Game Notes: Kolzig played the whole game for the Capitals disappointing loss.

Washington's next game: September 22nd against Tampa Bay Lightning

Ottawa's next game: September 22nd against Montreal Canadiens

We Are Happy To Announce....

The newest addition to our NHL Junkies Team! Erica! Woooooo. She will be posting in yellow and will be a regular in which we happily welcome! So all you NHL Junkies keep a lookout for the new girl on the block.

Devils shut out Bruins

The Boston Bruins had a rough game after letting New Jersey score twice and not netting one of their own, Kevin Weekes and Frank Doyle Share this 3-0 shut out. New Jersey took the lead in the second period when Rod Pelley knocked one past the new Bruin, Manny Fernandez and took the game with two third period goals against Tuukka Rask from Karel Rachunek and Barry Tallackson.

So basically the New Jersey Devils are showing us that their young guns aren't scared to show what they got and to win them a game.

Game Notes: there was one fight, David Clarkson and Jeremy Reich.

New Jersey Next game: September 21st vs. The New York Rangers.

Boston Next Game: September 22nd vs. The Toronto Maple Leafs.

Canucks blank Flames

The Calgary Flames just can't seem to get things going, as they were shut out Wednesday night in Vancouver. Alexander Edler, Jason Jaffray, Michael Grabner, and Ryan Shannon scored the goals for the Canucks, giving them a 4-0 win.

Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider played for the Canucks, stopping 14 and 7 shots respectively. Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 14 of 15 shots for the loss, while Curtis McElhinney only stopped 2 of 5 shots in the third period.

3 Stars:

3. Alexander Edler (VAN)

2. Michael Grabner (VAN)

1. Mattias Ohlund (VAN)

Canucks next opponent: Thu, Sep 20 vs. Oilers

Flames next opponent: Sat, Sep 22 at Oilers

Sharks win defensive duel

Thomas Greiss made 19 saves for a shutout of the Anaheim Ducks Wednesday night. At the other end of the rink, Jonas Hiller stopped all but one of the Sharks' 21 shots.

The one goal that got by Hiller was scored by Dennis Packard at 15:08 of the third period. Anaheim was 0-for-4 on their power plays, while San Jose was 0-for-5.

3 Stars:

3. George Parros (ANA)

2. Todd Bertuzzi (ANA)

1. Dennis Packard (SJS)

Attendance: 16,498

Ducks next opponent: Fri, Sep 21 at Sharks

Sharks next opponent: Fri, Sep 21 vs. Ducks

Avalanche double up Kings

Just when the Kings thought they could get back in the game, Paul Stastny and and T.J. Hensick scored two insurance goals midway through the third period to seal the scoring in a 6-3 Avalanche victory. They were the second goals of the game for each player. The Avs also saw goals from Ryan Smyth and Andrew Brunette. The Kings saw goals from Peter Harrold, Derek Armstrong, and Brian Boyle.

Jean-Sebastien Aubin and Jason LaBarbera split time for the Kings in net. Aubin made 13 saves on 15 shots, while LaBarbera made 12 of 16 stops for the loss. Peter Budaj stopped 17 of 20, playing the whole game.

Avalanche next opponents: Thu, Sep 20 at Stars

Kings next opponents: Sat, Sep 22 vs. Avalanche

Coyotes fall to Maple Leafs

The fans in Winnipeg got to see the team that left 11 years ago for the Arizona Desert. However the homecoming wasn't so sweet for the Coyotes, as they lost to the Maple Leafs, 3-2. Chad Kilger scored the game-winning goal for the Leafs at 12:03 of the third period after Jason Blake tied it up at 5:01 earlier that period. The other Leafs' goal came from Alex Steen at 9:43 of the first period. The Coyotes' two goals came in the second period from Martin Hanzal and Daniel Winnik.

Andrew Raycroft played the entire game for Toronto, stopping 20 of 22 shots, while Phoenix's Alex Auld stopped 29 of 32 shots for the duration of the game.

Coyotes next opponent: Thu, Sep 20 at Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs next opponent: Thu, Sep 20 vs. Coyotes

Malhotra shoots Blue Jackets past Blackhawks

Manny Malhotra scored two goals in the third period to spoil Patrick Kane's preseason debut with a 4-3 Blue Jackets win. Robert Lang opened the scoring for the Blackhawks 4:47 into the game on a 2-man advantage. Yanic Perreault had the other two Blackhawk goals, scoring between the 2 and 3 minute marks of the second and third periods. Jason Chimera and Curtis Glencross had the other two Blue Jacket goals, scoring late in the first and second periods respectively.

Each team used one goalie for the duration of the game. Columbus played Pascal Leclaire, who stopped 25 of 28 shots. Chicago played Nikolai Khabibulin, who stopped 28 of 32 shots.

3 Stars:

3. Robert Lang (CHI)

2. Manny Malhotra (CBJ)

1. Yanic Perreault (CHI)

Attendance: 6,212

Blackhawks next game: Thu, Sep 20 vs. Panthers

Blue Jackets next game: Fri, Sep 21 at Sabres

Lightning bolt past Stars in OT

The Tampa Bay Lightning opened preseason with a game at home against the Dallas Stars---a game that was eventually won by the Lightning with only 19.6 seconds left in overtime. Left Wing Mathieu Darche of the Lightning notched the game winner. The final score was 4-3.

Tampa took the lead 3rd period thanks to a penalty-shot netted by Kyle Wanvig. Loui Eriksson of the Stars tied it back up on the power-play with 1:01 left in regulation. Tampa’s two other goals were scored by Andreas Karlsson and Jason Ward, both on the power-play. Dallas' other tallies were power-play goals scored by Stephane Robidas and Junior Lessard.

Brad Richards had a productive night, totaling 3 assists, including the set up of the game winner. He finished a +2. Tampa's three other big names, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, and Dan Boyle did not play tonight. Dallas played without regulars Marty Turco, Mike Modano, and Sergei Zubov.

Marc Denis was in net for the Lightning, stopping a total of 36 shots. Philippe Sauve was the starting net-minder for the Stars, until Tobias Stephan got a chance between the pipes about halfway through the 2nd period.

3 Stars:

3. Jason Ward (TBL)

2. Kyle Wanvig (TBL)

1. Brad Richards (TBL)

Attendance: 13,846

Lightning next game: Sat, Sep 22 vs Capitals
Stars next game: Thu, Sep 20 vs Avalanche

Vancouver needs Help.

After Defenceman Sami Salo suffered a wrist injury, Vancouver has been searching for an experienced replacement. There is a chance Salo may be sidelined for a long period of time.


Rumours have spread that the Vancouver Canucks have been interested in former Tampa Bay Lightning Nolan Pratt. Pratt stated that he has not been contacted at all by the Canucks, but admitted that he would like to play in Vancouver

Islanders snap winless preseason

After losing their first two preseason games, the New York Islanders finally won Wednesday night over the Montreal Canadiens, with a 3-1 score. Jon Sim scored two goals and Bill Guerin added a third, all in the first period for the Islanders. The Canadiens didn't get their only tally until 4:43 of the third period on a goal by Andrei Kostitsyn.

Cristobal Huet played the first two periods, giving up all 3 Islander goals on 26 shots. Yann Danis played the third period and stopped all 6 shots he faced. Rick DiPietro stopped all 19 shots he faced through two periods for the win, while Wade Dubielewicz played the third period, stopping 10 of 11 shots.

Islanders next opponent: Fri, Sep 21 at Canadiens
Canadiens next opponent: Fri, Sep 21 vs. Islanders

Panthers go 2 for 2.

The Florida Panthers won 3-2 over the Calgary Flames to win both games in the pre-season series

It was almost as if it was another home game for the Flames, although the crowd just couldnt help the Flames get a win.

Daymod Langkow opened the scoring in the first on the power play, when taking a shot from the circle that just snuck past Panthers goaltender Tomas Vokoun.

Florida got back into the game when Rostislav Olesz picked up on a turnover by Anders Eriksson and beat Flames goaltender Curtis McElhinney.

The Flames went up 2-1 when captain Jarome Iginla fed a pass to Grant Stevenson to score the goal. Didn't last long untill Florida's Martin Tuma hammered a shot from the blueline with 8 minutes left in the second period.

All three shooters for the flames could not convert, along with the first 2 shooters for Florida. Jozef Stumpel ended it on Florida's third shot.

McElhinney played the whole game for the Flames making 26 saves, while Tomas Vokoun and Tyler Plante split the time for the Panthers.

Next games:

Calgary at Vancouver. Wednesday, Sept. 19. (10:00 p.m.)

Florida at Chicago, Thursday, Sept. 20. (8:30 p.m.)

Kings win shootout

Dustin Brown scored the only goal in the shootout, giving the Kings a 6-5 victory over their cross-state rivals, the Sharks. He also had a shorthanded goal 1:05 into the third period. The Kings saw their other 4 goals from Derek Armstrong, Brian Willsie, Kyle Calder, and Brady Murray. The Sharks saw goals from Devin Setoguchi, a pair from Torrey Mitchell, Graham Mink, and Doug Murray.

Dimitri Patzold played the entire game for the Sharks, making 17 saves on 22 shots and getting the shootout loss. Jonathan Bernier and Dan Cloutier split time for the Kings. Bernier stopped 18 of 20, and Cloutier stopped 15 of 18 and got the win.

3 Stars:

3. Brian Willsie (LAK)

2. Devin Setoguchi (SJS)

1. Kyle Calder (LAK)

Attendance: 9,258

Kings next game: Wed, Sep 19 at Avalanche

Sharks next game: Wed, Sep 19 at Ducks

Blues fall to Stars

The Blues can't blame their 6-5 loss on Paul Kariya, who had 4 assists in the losing effort. This high-scoring game saw eleven different goal scorers in a back-and-forth game. Dallas saw goals from Junior Lessard, Stephane Robidas, Mattias Norstrom, Jeff Halpern, Brenden Morrow, and Brad Winchester. St. Louis saw their goals from Patrik Berglund, Martin Rucinsky, Lee Stempniak, Matt Walker, and Erik Johnson. Winchester's game winner came at 15:43 of the third period.

Jason Bacashihua stopped 8 of 12 shots and Hannu Toivonen stopped 8 of 10 for the loss for the Blues. Marty Turco stopped 9 of 13 shots and Mike Smith stopped all 7 shots he faced for the Stars' win.

3 Stars:

3. Mike Smith (DAL)

2. Stephane Robidas (DAL)

1. Paul Kariya (STL)

Attendance: 14,812

Stars next opponent: Wed, Sep 19 at Lightning

Blues next opponent: Sat, Sep 22 at Thrashers

Alfredsson to recruit.

Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson will try and convince Peter Forberg that if he infact returns to the NHL, to play with the Senators and not the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The main point for the Senators captain, would be the more likely chance of a stanley cup. The only thing giving GM Bryan Murray difficulties is their cap issues.


Alfredsson called the idea Forsberg joning the senators a "no-brainer".

Oilers Survive Leafs.

After Rallying back and forth, the Edmonton Oilers ended it 25 into OT.

Denis Grebeshkov took a pass, and fanned on the shot, but it fooled goaltender Justin Pogge and trickled into the net.

Vyacheslav Trukhno opened the scoring 15:22 into the game on the power play. Late in the same period Alexei Ponikarovski took a great feed from Darcy Tucker, and was sent on a breakaway. With a quick move, he shelved the puck on the backhand against Oilers goaltender; Mathieu Garon.

In the third period, Bryan McCabe scored on the power play to give the Leafs their first lead, which was quickly erased a few minutes later when Shawn Horcoff scored a goal of his own.

Pogge made 24 saves on 27 shots, while Garon and Devan Dubnyk split the time for the win.

Next Games:

Toronto at Phx. Wednesday, Sept. 19. (8:30 p.m.)

Edmonton at Van. Thursday. Sept. 20 (10:00 p.m.)

Senators blank Flyers

The 2006-07 Eastern Conference Champions showed their continued dominance as they easily rolled past the Flyers, 4-0. Their lead was 3-0 after the first period on goals by Ilja Zubov, Andrej Meszaros, and Nick Foligno, then after a scoreless second period, Patrick Eaves added the final goal of the game in the third.

Martin Gerber played the entire game for Ottawa, stopping the entire 52-shot onslaught by the Flyers, who saw Antero Niittymaki stop 21 of 24 shots through 40 minutes for the loss, and Brian Boucher stop 14 of 15 shots for the final period.

Flyers next opponent: Sat, Sep 22 at Rangers

Senators next opponent: Thu, Sep 20 vs. Capitals

Red Wings Burn Wild.

Johan Franzen netted 2 goals, and added an assist to lead the Red Wings to victory over the Minnesota Wild.


Chris Chelios and Pavel Datsyuk also scored goals of their own, while Tomas Holmstrom had 3 assists.


Detroit jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, as Franzen scored on Detroit's first shot of the game.

Pavol Demitra netted the lone Wild goal as Minnesota hopes for a better outcome when the teams meet again in 2 nights.


Next Game:
Minnesota at Detroit. Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007 (7:30 p.m.)
Detroit vs. Minnesota. Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007 (7:30 p.m.)

Penguins get revenge, top Habs.

Petr Sykora scored the game winner, before he left the ice with a facial injury caused by a collision with a teammate.

Evgeni Malkin scored on a shorthanded breakaway to increase the lead. And Tyler Kennedy topped it all off with a goal with 3 minutes left.

In his Debut, Canadien forward Bryan Smolinski Scored on the power play in the second period.

Ryan Stone and Jeff Taffe netted early goals in the first period.

Saku Koivu scored Montreal's only other goal in the game.

Pittsburgh played one goalie on the night, Dany Sabourin, making 21 stops through 3 periods. Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price split the time for the Habs, but didn't have the same luck in goal.

Next Games:

Montreal at NY Islanders. Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007 (6:00p.m.)

Pittsburgh at Detroit. Friday, Sept. 21, 2007. (7:30p.m.)