A split squad Blue Jackets team played host to a split squad Jets side in their first preseason game before opening up the 2012 campaign and they were not the most gracious of hosts. A 5-1 win by the home team was the eventual result and it was a very balanced scoring attack, as only one player,
Maksim Mayorov, finished with 2 points, a goal and an assist. The 4th round pick in 2007 has had trouble cracking the Jackets' line-up in the last few seasons, so he's really got to put a push on for a spot soon.
The Nashville Predators played another preseason game right away, going in Baltimore against the Capitals on Tuesday night and since they had already worked the rust out of their system, they handled Washington quite well, beating them 2-0. The bright spot for the Predators was
Chris Mueller, who had a goal and an assist in the win.
Pekka Rinne and
Jeremy Smith split the time in the net for Nashville, which would have been a split shutout and no points in the regular season, for those keeping score.
The Philadelphia Flyers opened their preseason campaign with a 4-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, giving
Sergei Bobrovsky the full 60 minutes of ice time to show that he should still be in the mix for backing up
Ilya Bryzgalov this season. Bobrovsky made 27 saves for the shutout, which would be good for 4 points in the pool. 2011 1st round pick in the Entry Draft,
Sean Couturier, had a goal and an assist in the win, while
Matt Carle had a pair of assists as well. The Flyers, with all their off-season movement, may have some reasonable replacements in Couturier, who will battle for a spot this year or head back to junior.
The Dallas Stars showed off some offensive skill on Tuesday night against the Canadiens, beating up on the Habs in Montreal, 6-3.
Mike Ribeiro and newcomer
Michael Ryder, each finished the game with a goal and an assist to lead the way for the Stars. Ribeiro will be leaned upon heavily this season, due to the loss of
Brad Richards to free agency, while Ryder was brought in to help ease the burden on teammates like Ribeiro. A good start for each player.
The Blues let
Brian Elliott open up the preseason schedule with a full 60-minute effort against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night and he rewarded them with a 21-save effort in a 3-1 win. Also chipping in for the Blues was the line of
Evgeni Grachev, Jamie Langenbrunner and
David Backes, which scored two of the team's three goals, in that order on the scoresheet. Finding some early chemistry will be key for the Blues, who will be a tough team to play against in the 2012 season and possibly a great team to choose from for the pools.
The Jets opened up the MTS Centre with the second half of a split squad preseason match-up with the Blue Jackets, as you probably read above, and they didn't disappoint their home crowd. The Jets, led by 2011 1st round pick
Mark Schiefele and defenseman
Paul Postma, each of which had 4 points on the night, giving the hockey-starved crowd something to cheer about. Schiefele had 2 goals and 2 assists, making a big push for an opening night spot, while Postma had a goal and 3 assists, also trying to break into a very thick blueline in Winnipeg.
Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien and
Nikolai Antropov all had 2 points in the game as well, but they are already locks for the line-up.
The Flames played the Canucks in two split squad games on Tuesday night and the game in Calgary definitely favoured the home team, as they came away with a convincing 5-1 win. A number of Flames all chimed in on the scoresheet in the win, pumping up the tires a bit on their preseason.
Tom Kostopoulos had a goal and an assist,
Alex Tanguay had the same, while
Brendan Mikkelson had a pair of assists. The Flames gave the home crowd a good show by the looks of things, but some key players were still not on the ice.
Not too much to report from the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks game in Saskatoon on Tuesday night. The other venue games are not great for details, but the game recaps showed that the Oilers put together a 4-2 win, with
Josh Green scoring a pair of goals and
Ryan Smyth adding a goal and an assist in the win. The return of Smyth is big news for the Oilers and if he can get on some previous form early, he'll be a great addition to the team.
The Oilers, in fact, were a split squad in Saskatoon and home in Edmonton on Tuesday night, as the team that stayed at home played against the Minnesota Wild, but could get the win, losing a 4-3 effort. In that game, the Oilers had a goal and an assist each from rookie
Anton Lander and
Magnus Paajarvi, who played together on a line for the club. Lander is moving closer to an opening night spot and should quickly be pencilled into your projections as a good pool candidate.
On the winning side in Edmonton, the Minnesota Wild had a great game from defenseman
Jared Spurgeon, who scored a pair of goals in the win, and
Matt Cullen, who had a couple of helpers. Spurgeon generally flew under the radar last season for the Wild, yet put together a pretty respectable campaign. If he can put together that kind of season again, I like the possibility of him being a good pool defenseman, especially late in the draft.
It was a bit of a barn burner in Anaheim on Tuesday night, with the Coyotes crashing the preseason opener for the Ducks. The desert dogs poured in seven goals on the young goalies that the Ducks had dressed, which meant a lot of points to go around.
Patrick O'Sullivan led the way with 2 goals and 2 assists, rookie
Andy Miele had a goal and 2 assists,
Brett Hextall and
Maxim Goncharov had a goal and an assist each, while
David Schlemko had 2 assists in the win. The Coyotes have some punch in their depth, which they may desperately need this year.
The Ducks did have a couple of bright spots in the loss, as newcomer
Andrew Cogliano and youngster
Kyle Palmieri each had a goal and an assist in the losing cause. Cogliano will be about come opening night to give the Ducks some depth, while Palmieri is fighting for one of the last spots on the roster and 2 points on Tuesday will go a long way to help out.
In the second half of a split squad evening between the Canucks and Flames, the Canucks had to come from behind in the 3rd period to get a win over the visiting team, giving the home crowd something to cheer about.
Marco Sturm, Jordan Schroeder and
Niklas Jensen each had a goal and an assist for the club in the 4-3 win, while tough guy
Steve Pinizzotto had a couple of assists to help out. The Canucks had a lot of new faces in the line-up at home and the coaching staff was likely pleased to see them stand out on Tuesday.
In the loss in Vancouver, the Flames saw one bright spot, as
Niklas Hagman had a pair of goals in the loss, as he tries to work himself back into the favour of the team and its fans. Hagman has struggled over the past couple of seasons, but a strong start in the preseason may get his confidence back up to a level where he can compete at a high level again.
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