Thursday, September 25, 2014

Last Night's Preseason Performers (Sep 25)


The early game on Wednesday night was the Kraft Hockeyville game, starring the Calgary Flames and the Arizona Coyotes, playing in Sylvan Lake, AB.

The kind folks of Sylvan Lake were treated to one hell of a game, which couldn't be settled in regulation time, as the Flames and Coyotes found their way to extra time, where the home team from Calgary took the game in overtime, 4-3.

Remarkably, with four goals to their credit, the scoring was spread across the board and the Flames didn't register a multiple-point player in the game.  However, in a losing cause, forward B.J. Crombeen and defenseman Chris Summers were key for the Coyotes, each picking up 2 points, Crombeen having a goal to his credit.


The loss of Jordan Staal may not be really evident until the regular season starts and the Hurricanes' preseason game on Long Island will either be a showing where the team can rally around a fallen teammate or it's still just the preseason.  The Hurricanes mustered up a 4-2 win over the Islanders on Wednesday and they had some names show up for them for this one.

Jeff Skinner, Nathan Gerbe, Andrej Sekera and sophomore defenseman Ryan Murphy each had a goal and an assist in the game, leading the Hurricanes to their win.  Goalie Drew MacIntyre got the call for all 60 minutes, making 26 saves for the win.


How disappointing.  A game where there should have been a few more goals, both the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins played 60 minutes and there was only two tallies to show for it.  The Bruins took the game 2-0 and it was a split effort in goal, so there is absolutely nothing to talk about here.


Extra time was also on the menu at the BB&T Center in Florida, where the Dallas Stars came calling for the Florida Panthers.  After three goals a piece and five minutes of overtime, the two teams went to the ugly skills competition, where the Stars won 4-3.

Six goals in regulation time, split time in both creases... no mention-able players for the blog, sadly.


The Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs put on the Battle of Ontario in some split squad games on Wednesday night.  A game at the renamed Canadian Tire Centre and another at the Air Canada Centre and we found that the rivalry is alive and well.

In Ottawa, the Senators took their home game, 3-2, led by Bobby Ryan, who had a pair of goals and an assist and Craig Anderson, who played the entire game and made 20 saves for the win.  Clarke MacArthur also chipped in with a pair of helpers, so it was a very veteran push at home for the Sens.

For the Leafs, Morgan Rielly scored a goal and an assist, keeping the game interesting and possibly putting a good push on his stock for the draft on Saturday.

In Toronto, did anyone order more overtime?  How about another shootout?  Well, the visiting Senators took that one too, and like the game above, it finished 4-3.

According to the game summary, the Sens finished regulation and overtime with three unassisted goals, but Robin Lehner got the entire game, making 24 saves and three more in the shootout for the win.  In a losing cause, Jake Gardiner and James Van Riemsdyk each had a goal and an assist for the Leafs.


At the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, the hometown Jets got off to a good start, taking a 2-0 lead into the 1st intermission, but that's where all the good news ends.  The 2nd period was all Edmonton and the 3rd period had no answer from either team, so the game finished 3-2 for the visiting team.

For the Oilers, it was a pair of kids, who are vying for one of the open roster spots up front, Bogdan Yakimov and Vladimir Tkachev, who came away with 2 points each.  Yakimov has been impressive in the preseason camps, both rookie and training, and does have a legitimate shot at making the roster, thus far.  We might want to keep an eye on him.

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