Last Night's Preseason Performers (Sep 24)

The Senators traveled to Buffalo to take on some new faces in the Sabres lineup on Wednesday night and came away 5-2 winners.

Ryan Dzingel was the most notable Sens player, picking up a goal and 2 assists in the win, while Zach Stortini, Max McCormick and Alex Chiasson each picked up 2 points each.

Yes, you read that correctly... former (or still?) enforcer Stortini is getting a look with the Sens, which appears to be a very long shot to make it, but a couple points makes it interesting.

Those new faces for the Sabres, Evander Kane (2 goals) and Ryan O'Reilly (2 assists) made an impact in the game, but couldn't carry their side to a win.

In Detroit, it was a big game for Tomas Tatar and Brad Richards as a pairing, as they almost single-handedly defeated the visiting Blackhawks in their preseason game.  Tatar finished with a hat trick, while Richards had an assist on each of the goals, as Detroit were 4-1 victors in the game.

This pairing has been set out since the start of camp and the early returns are promising on this one.  If they could stay together and work with this kind of magic, it could be a very good find for the hockey pool.

Niklas Kronwall also added a couple of assists as well in this game, earning a mention in this post as well.

The Nashville Predators swept a home-and-home series with the Tampa Bay Lightning in this preseason with a 5-2 win on Tuesday night.

Craig Smith led the way with a pair of goals, while Roman Josi, Colin Wilson and Mike Ribeiro each picked up a pair of helpers in the game.  Pekka Rinne got the whole game, making 30 saves in the win.

It looks like the Predators are warming up the big guys right away, looking to get a jump on the season and if they are going to be a team that can score five goals on any given night, they might be a little bit more pool worthy than years before.

The upswing Oilers played host to the blue collar Jets on Wednesday night and they played out a 3-2 win for the home side on the night.

Cam Talbot, the prize pick-up in the crease in the off-season, got the entire game and made 30 saves for the win.  Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was the only notable skater in the game, picking up a pair of assists in the contest.

Those two are going to be key parts of the Oilers success/failure in the 2016 season and they're off to good starts, which makes me believe that it may be one more than the other.  Which one is it though?