Yesterday's Notable Pre-Season Players (Sep 30)

On Tuesday, the Rangers opened up their European pre-season schedule against SC Bern, participating in the IIHF Victoria Cup. It was fair to say the level of competition from Switzerland was not comparable to that of the NHL, as the Rangers opened up the flood gates for six goals in the third period to defeat Bern, 8-1. Brandon Dubinsky had a pair of goals for the Rangers, while roster hopeful, Cory Potter had a goal and an assist for the NHL club.

The Lightning also had a pre-season tilt in Europe as well, taking on HC Slovan in Slovakia. Mike Smith was the difference in the shootout, as the Lightning defeated their European counterparts, 3-2 in the extra session. Jussi Jokinen and Vincent Lecavalier both tallied for Tampa in the shootout.

Rookie hopeful, Max Pacioretty scored a goal in regulation and a goal in the shootout to lift the Canadiens past the Red Wings on Tuesday night. Pacioretty, 19, hopes to land with the club after one season in NCAA hockey last year in Michigan, but he has an uphill climb to try and crack an already offensively potent line-up. Showing off some good hands in the game against Detroit, he should be earning an extra look for this week, just to make sure. If he can crack the club, he might be a good rookie to have on your side.

The Minnesota Wild defeated the up-and-coming Blackhawks, 3-2 in overtime, on Tuesday night and it was Stephane Veilleux who led the charge with two goals, one in the third to tie the game at two and the overtime winner. Veilleux isn't rated terribly high among fantasy outlets and likely won't be, even after this small goal outburst, but showing a flash does give a little more hope than some of the lumps who are on the bench.

The Flames continued their preparation to be scary in the Northwest Division with a 4-0 win over the Oilers. Calgary was able to dominate Edmonton, keeping them to only 19 shots, which Curtis McElhinney stopped all of. Offensively, it was David Moss who led the charge with a couple more goals in the pre-season, as he's done well to earn himself a full-time ride this year with the team. He could very well hit the 30-point plateau this year, if not more, if he plays as well as he did last night.

The Ducks and Kings took part in another shootout last night, where Anaheim won 2-1 in the end. Jonas Hiller made 22 stops in regulation time and stopped all three shooters in the shootout to earn the win. The only tally for Anaheim in regulation was a powerplay goal coming from Kent Huskins.

Finally, the Sharks tangled with the Coyotes at home last night and defeated them, 4-3 in overtime. Joe Thornton scored the game-winning goal in overtime and added two assists in regulation time for a three-point night. Also having a three-point night for San Jose was Patrick Marleau, who has been somewhat forgotten in the shuffle. It looks as though Thornton and Marleau are seeing a lot of ice-time together, which could likely shoot Marleau's fantasy stock up through the roof.