Notable Preseason Players (Sep 15)

The preseason is now completely under way with a pretty big night of action, as seven games took to the ice. Much like last season, I just wanted to recap a few of the more notable players that picked up some points, just to give a subtle reminder that they are out there and may need some of your love come draft day. Usually, the more notable players are the ones with multiple-point nights, mostly because I really don't want to spend all morning writing about everyone that scored.

Well, in a different notable sense, Tukka Rask of the Bruins got to play the entire game against the Rangers on Tuesday night, earning himself a 31-save win. Rask is currently vying for the back-up job behind Tim Thomas and is eventually expected to succeed him in the next few seasons. Rask has got a lot of work to do before earning the backup job, but should have the upper hand on Dany Sabourin.

It was a big blast back onto the season for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, beating the Blue Jackets, 5-4. Both Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz each had a pair of goals and an assist for a 3-point night each. The new name on the block for the Pens is Eric Tangradi, who played on the same line as the two stars and he picked up a pair of assists in the game. Tangradi was acquired from Anaheim in the same deal that brought Kunitz and it looks like it'll be paying off here right away. Stock is rising quite quickly here.

One notable on the Columbus side of this game was Maksim Mayorov, who picked up a pair of goals in the game. Mayorov, 20, skated with fellow countryman, Nikita Filatov, in the game and there could have been a hint of a good pairing for the second line in Columbus. It would be wise to keep a close eye on these two going forward in the preseason.

New faces to the Blues' line-up were the main attraction in their game against the Wild on Tuesday night. Veteran forward, Derek Armstrong, scored a goal and added an assist, while Brendan Bell had a pair of assists from the blueline. Bell has the more likely shot of cracking the line-up this year, as Armstrong may only be carried on for some veteran leadership. The Blues have plenty of talent coming up the ranks that may bring a little more speed to the game.

The Oilers brought a little bit more of a regular season feel to a preseason game on Tuesday night, wiping out the Flames, 4-1. Patrick O'Sullivan scored a pair of goals, Mike Comrie had a pair of assists and Tom Gilbert had one of each last night to lead the way. You could really tell that the Oilers wanted to get out to a bit of a head-start in the Battle of Alberta, so they dressed a few more vets for some chemistry lessons.

The Kings and Coyotes did a split-squad evening, playing two games at the same time. One in Los Angeles and one in Phoenix. A little harder to read up on, but since the actual games don't matter, we'll try and go with it.

For the Kings, they had notable evenings from Wayne Simmonds, who scored a pair of goals in Phoenix. Simmonds is quickly becoming a favourite of mine. In LA, Jack Johnson had a pair of goals and an assist for 3 points, plus Justin Williams and Teddy Purcell each had a goal and an assist to lead the way. It could be a big rebound season for Johnson, who only played in half the year in 2009.

For the Coyotes, it was David Spina who led the team in scoring at home. He had a goal and an assist in the 4-2 win. In the 4-3 loss in Los Angeles, Kevin Porter stepped up with a trio of helpers to really throw his name into the hat this season. Porter should be making the roster after playing 34 games last season and having a good camp this Summer. He'll also be on the Selection Sheet this season as well.