Last Night's Preseason Notable Players (Sep 25)

The Penguins had a fairly strong statistical effort against the Blue Jackets on Saturday night, beating Columbus 3-1 in the process. Marc-Andre Fleury got the whole 60 minutes in the net for the Penguins, making 32 saves and earning the win in the process. Not a lot of combined offense in this one though, only Arron Asham came away with a multiple-point game on the scoresheet, picking up a goal and an assist. Asham may have found a good new home to pick up some extra points in.

The Rangers topped the Devils in overtime on Saturday night in a high-scoring change of pace, winning 5-4 in dramatic fashion. Henrik Lundqvist took the entire game for the Blueshirts, making 25 stops in the win and gaining that extra little bit of help to be drafted a little higher on Tuesday. Michael Del Zotto scored the overtime winner and had 3 assists for a 4-point night, while training camp tryout Ruslan Fedotenko had a goal and 2 assists, as did Ryan Callahan.  Defenseman Matt Gilroy also had a goal and an assist to have his name added to the paragraph, so all in all, it was a pretty good night for the Rangers.

The Devils were no slouches in the loss tonight, having a few names rise to the top. Zach Parise came back again for another big night, picking up 3 assists, while linemate Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and an assist as well. Andy Greene joined the Devils party with a goal and an assist as well, giving New Jersey a little more credibility from the back end.

The Sabres hosted the Leafs on Saturday night and were not the best of hosts for this one, beating their guests 3-1. The only player of note from this contest is Derek Roy, who had a pair of assists in this contest. I don't think Roy needs too much help getting a good pick in the draft, but everything helps, right?  Roy should be a pretty safe bet again this year, especially in the high-to-mid level picks.

The Hurricanes and Thrashers wet in a chippy affair, by the looks of the 3rd period penalty summary. Still, the Hurricanes came out on top 1-0, with Jeff Skinner getting the only goal for the Hurricanes and Cam Ward making all 32 saves for the shutout win.  Both players might be making enough of an impression to get some higher consideration for the draft this year, as it looks like Skinner should be making the squad and Ward should be returning to his number one post.

The Panthers and Bruins clashed at the TD Gardens on Saturday night and regulation and overtime couldn't solve anything, so it was a shootout to decide the result. Scott Clemmensen, who played all 65 minutes for the Panthers tonight, stopped Tyler Seguin for the win and earned a mention on the post today. Clemmensen made 23 stops in the 4 periods and also made two saves in the shootout for the victory.  On the scoresheet, Marty Reasoner, more of a defensive forward, picked up a pair of assists in the win as well.

The Senators laid waste upon Carey Price and the Canadiens on Saturday night and it really looked good on the team from Ottawa. Jason Spezza jumped into the forefront with 2 goals and an assist, which the Sens will need more often, if they want to make a bigger name for themselves in the playoffs this year.  Nick Foligno had a pair of goals, Bobby Butler had a goal and an assist and Chris Campoli had a pair of assists in the game as well.  The Sens might be in good shape scoring-wise, by the looks of things.

The Blackhawks took control of their game against the Red Wings late in the 1st period and did not give up control afterwards, leading themselves to a 4-2 victory. Marty Turco made 23 saves in the win, playing the entire game for Chicago. Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith and Jack Skille all had a goal and an assist in the game, while Fernando Pisani had a pair of assists. If the Blackhawks offense is going to score like this, Turco may turn out to be a pretty good option for your draft goalie, possibly even in a high pick.

A 3-2 shootout win for the Flyers over the Wild didn't do too much for the scoring numbers, but it may have made the goaltending decision a tad more difficult, with Sergei Bobrovsky earning the victory, playing all 65 minutes for Philadelphia last night.  The Russian rookie had to make 26 stops in the first 65 minutes and all 3 saves in the extra time exhibition.  I think he's still technically behind the 8-ball for a roster spot this season, but at least he's making his case to be the first call up for injury or poor production.

The Dallas Stars earned a preseason victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night, with Brent Krahn earning a preseason victory, playing the entire game and making 19 saves. Krahn is in place to possibly steal the back-up job away from Andrew Raycroft and a win will help his cause. Brendan Morrow scored a pair of goals and Mike Ribeiro had assists on both those goals to guide the offense to the win as well. Ribeiro has been in the middle of plenty of trade rumours out of town, but it'd be hard to trade a guy that helps the captain score like this.

The Capitals brought a good number of their big guns out to Nashville, but the Predators only held their offense to two goals. The Capitals defense was just a shade better though, helping beat Nashville 2-1 in the end. Mike Green was the most notable player in this one, scoring a goal and an assist, leading whatever offense the Capitals could generate on the night.  I'm beginning to wonder if Green is going to be a 1st round pick in the draft on Tuesday... if its going to be as deep as I think it will be, Green might just go near the end of the round.

It was a good ol' fashioned shootout at the Saddledome, that coincidentally ended up in a shootout, which the Flames took in the end, 5-4. Ales Kotalik had a goal and 2 assists to lead the way for the Flames and he also scored the shootout winner in the exhibition frame. Marc Giordano chimed in with 3 assists, while rookie defenseman T.J. Brodie potted a pair of 1st period goals as well.  The chances of Brodie jumping onto this stacked blueline are fairly slim, but he does make a point for first call-up notice when the season starts.

The Lightning brought all of their big guns out to Calgary for this game and they didn't disappoint the scoresheet at all.  Martin St. Louis had 3 assists, Vincent Lecavalier scored a pair of goals, Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist and Pavel Kubina had 2 assists as well.  The Lightning are going to be ripe with players to choose early and often for the draft on Tuesday, I don't imagine many will stick around too long.

The Canucks finally flexed their division winning muscle on Saturday night, beating Anaheim 4-1 at home. Roberto Luongo made 28 stops and played the entire game for the Canucks, looked fairly sharp throughout. Offensively, it was none other than the Sedin twins working their magic on the ice. Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin each scored a goal and an assist in the win, looking steady throughout the game.

The Sharks and Coyotes played in a set of split squad games on Saturday night, with the home teams taking each game. In Phoenix, Ilya Bryzgalov got the nod for the entire game, making 21 saves in the 2-1 win. He will have to be the backbone of this team again, if they want the same kind of success that they had in 2010. Radim Vrbata had a couple of goals in the win, while Ray Whitney added assists to each goal. That doesn't sound like a bad tandem right there, don't you think? Not much to speak of in the other game though, since they only had one goal in the loss.

The Sharks only had one goal in the game in Phoenix, but their home team squad had a little better outing, beating the Coyotes 3-1. Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley each scored a goal and an assist in the win, while defenseman Justin Braun had a pair of assists in this game. There does look like there is still an opening for the 7th defenseman on the team, where Braun is likely aiming to finish after this camp, but even as a number seven, he won't be a great candidate for many points this year.