Last Night's Preseason Performers (Oct 7)

Defenseman Nick Schultz returned from a lower-body injury for the Flyers and forward Josh Jooris returned from a groin issue for the Rangers before their tilt last night, which was good news for both clubs, as they get closer to their opening night rosters for next week.

The Flyers blew up for three goals in the 3rd period to win this one, 4-2, in the end and it was Michal Neuvirth who earned the win in this one, making 24 saves in the victory.  Travis Konecny, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Claude Giroux and Mark Streit were all 2-point players in the victory, showing that the core group appears to be ready for the coming year.

Rangers rookie forward Pavel Buchnevich appears to be ready for the big show and his name pops up with a goal and an assist in the loss, almost a lock for the roster.

The Montreal Canadiens gave their storied rivals from Toronto a solid drubbing on Thursday night, beating the Maple Leafs 6-1 at the Bell Centre.  Carey Price made 28 saves in the win, while Andrew Shaw, Andrei Markov, Alex Radulov and Daniel Carr were all on the scoresheet twice in the win as well.

Habs defenseman Jeff Petry left the game with an undisclosed injury, not to return, and there still hasn't been much of an update on his condition.  On the plus side, the Habs had Andrew Shaw return from his 3-game preseason suspension and Torrey Mitchell returned from his minor upper-body injury.

The Maple Leafs also had the debut of their new number one goalie, Frederik Andersen, as his recovery from his Olympic qualifier upper-body injury was completed.  He was only able to stop 26 of 32 shots in the loss.

The Edmonton Oilers welcomed the Winnipeg Jets to town for a preseason tilt on Thursday night and it wasn't quite a warm reception, as the hosts offered a sound 5-2 beating on their guests.  Connor McDavid, Benoit Pouliot and Mark Letestu were the top players for the Oilers on the night, each picking up a couple of points each in the win. Jonas Gustavsson was credited with the win, but an equipment problem cost him a couple of minutes, but we'll give him the mention anyways.

There were no significant injury or return mentions in this one.

The Flames welcomed Sean Monahan and Mikael Backlund back to their lineup on Thursday night in Vancouver, but they couldn't make a dent on the scoresheet, as the Flames lost 4-0 to the Canucks.  The Canucks also had Jake Virtanen return in this one and he was able to get on the scoresheet, picking up a goal in the win.

Loui Eriksson made his Canucks debut on Thursday night and potted a pair of goals for the team, while Ryan Miller made 35 saves for the complete game shutout.