Boston Bruins 2; Detroit Red Wings 4
An Original Six home-and-home went in favor of the what had recently been slumped Red Wings. Todd Bertuzzi should play against the Bruins more often as he scored two goals in each game. Was he spurred on by the booing? The last home game the Red Wings had before the home-and-home with the Bruins the Red Wings were booed, in hockey town. Not a common occurrence but after falling 4-1 to central division rival Nashville that is what they got.
“We deserved it,” said long time Red Wing Kris Draper (who had a goal and was second star of the night, “It bothered us … not the boos, but the fact we gave ’em a reason to boo us.”
Is that the motivation those adorned with a winged wheel needed? Should the rest of the Western conference worry that Detroit is getting injured players back and now they are out to proven themselves to their fans?
New York Islanders 7; Buffalo Sabres 6 (OT)
Bursting on to the NHL scene is Mikko Koskinen. Brought up to be in net for the New York Islanders as everyone else is going down injured (and people wonder why Evgeni Nabokov wont report). Koskinen now 3-1 and the one loss being in his first start that he found out was his during the pre game skate when yet another goaltender was injured. Maybe that Finnish Sisu keeps him going when things get tough including against Ryan Miller.
Islanders needed extra time to settle the score with the Sabres; but fellow rookie Michael Grabner pulled off a hat trick in his case for Calder Trophy discussion.
Pittsburgh Penguins 3; New York Rangers 5
Patience is a virtue and eventually your hard work and perseverance pays off. It may have taken weeks; including a week of not starting star goaltender Henrik Lindquist. but the New York Rangers got a win.
New York Daily News Jeese Spector has the details in how the Rangers steadied themselves after dropping 2-0 to the Penguins.
Columbus Blue Jackets 2; Dallas Stars 1
Blue Jackets road game is surging as they have now won five straight on the road. Former Calder winner Steve Mason boasted a 0.967 save percentage while his counterpart Kari Lehtonen had a 0.949 saver percentage; they took the top two star honors.
Los Angeles Kings 1; Philadelphia Flyers 0
Kings edge out the Flyers but not from lack of effort on the Flyers part. Kings’ goaltender Jonathan Quick shut out the Flyers and all 40 of their shots to gain the extra two points. The Kings only put 25 shots on Flyers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky but that was enough to take the win.
Carolina Hurricanes 3; Atlanta Thrashers 2
The Hurricanes ended a three game losing skid and moved into 8th place in the Eastern Conference.
San Jose Sharks 2; Florida Panthers 3
Panthers pounced on the Sharks who had taken a first period lead with a goal from Kent Huskins, his second of the season. Eight penalties were called in the second period after none had been called in the first; five of the eight came at the 18:13 mark as Sharks Jamal Mayers and Panthers Bryan Allen received coincidental fighting majors (along with an instigator and a misconduct for Allen and a roughing for Mayers). Panthers Jason Garrison scored the game winner, a slap shot, late in the third.
Anaheim Ducks 4; Edmonton Oilers 0
Teemu Selanne became one of just a handful of others to record 100 game winning goals as the Ducks shutout the Oilers. Selanne, 40, has 46 career goals against Edmonton (and 86 points in 73 games verse the Oilers). Bobby Ryan scored twice and Brandon McMillan rounded out the Ducks scoring while Jonas Hiller in his first game back recorded his 11th career shutout; blocking all 12 Oilers shots.
Up into the Netting
Mike Miccoli takes a look at how trading the prized pick could only benefit the Boston Bruins.
Mayhem on long island, Brett Johnson fights again, suspensions fines and Mario Lemieux speaks out.
With all of the talk about the Bruins/Habs and the Penguins/Islanders did you see the fight between St. Luois Blues David Backes and Minnesota Wilds Clayton Stoner on the 12th? No? Lucky for you I have the video here fresh off of you tube….
$50,000 donation void? Is anyone winning?
One of the best way to start any day, much less the week, is with a piece from Risto Pakarinen.
Live in New Jersey? Even if you don’t check out this piece on one of the newest American Special Hockey Associations programs.
Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you and a Happy Birthday to Marian Gaborik (29).