Last Night's Preseason Performers (Sep 23)

Saturday's action kicked off early with a 1pm MT start between the Blue Jackets and the Penguins and it was the home side that was ready to go from the outset and they kept the pedal down in this one, posting a 7-3 win over their division rivals.

Veteran forward Matt Cullen and up-and-comer Zach Aston-Reese each came away with 3-point games in this one, Cullen scoring a pair of goals and Aston-Reese had all helpers.  Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby each got in the act as well, each posting 2 points, while Matt Murray got the whole game for the Penguins, making 30 saves for the win.

It wasn't all doom and gloom for the Jackets, as Oliver Bjorkstrand was all of their scoring, picking up the hat-trick on the losing side, while his centre for the day, Kevin Stenlund, posted a couple of helpers.

The Minnesota Wild laid a solid beating on the Colorado Avalanche at home in an early evening game, hitting one of those popular scores in this preseason, 7-0.  Alex Stalock was given the benefit of a ton of offense, but also had to make 16 saves for the shutout win.  Charlie Coyle led the offense with a hat-trick, while Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Joel Eriksson Ek, Matt Dumba, Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon all came away with 2 points each.  It was a great effort from a strong Wild side over a weaker, travelling Avalanche team.

A very good back-and-forth affair in Buffalo between the Maple Leafs and the Sabres, as they played the second half of a home-and-home series in this preseason schedule.  The Leafs took the first one at home and they were able to squeak out the second game on the road as well, winning 3-2 in regulation.  Prospect centre Adam Brooks was the only notable Leafs player, picking up a pair of assists and was certainly all over the ice in this one.

On the other side, both Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart looked like they hadn't missed a beat, also picking up pairs of assists and providing some extra hope for the coming season.

The Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings needed overtime at Little Caesar's Arena on Saturday night and it was the home side that came away victorious, 4-3, in the end.  Jimmy Howard got the nod for the whole game for Detroit, making 23 saves for the win.  On the score sheet, only Luke Glendening was notable for the home side, picking up a pair of assists to help guide the offense.

New blueline signing Steven Kampfer and pro tryout forward Lee Stempniak each had a couple of assists for the visitors, but it just wasn't enough in the end.

It was a battle of low expectations in Montreal, when the Senators came in to visit the Canadiens.  The Habs came back from a 2-0 deficit in the 2nd period to win it 3-2 in regulation, which is certainly a positive.  Carey Price, the only notable player in this game, kept his team in the game, even down a couple, only having to make 15 saves, but still registering a preseason win in his first full game.

The Rangers and Islanders took their show on the road to Bridgeport, CT on Saturday night, where the farm team for the Islanders play, and it was their boys that were the better of the two sides on the night, Long Island picking up a 5-2 win.  Josh Bailey was the leader on the night, scoring a goal and adding a pair of assists, picking up where he left off last year.  Jordan Eberle, Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier and Parker Wotherspoon all walked out of this one with 2 points each as well to get their nods.  Thomas Greiss made 27 saves for a complete game win as well, as he tries to stake his claim in the number one job.

Kevin Shattenkirk was tops for the Rangers, trying to assume a larger leadership role, picking up a pair of assists in the loss.

It was a pretty even contest between the Predators and the Lightning through two periods, the score tied 2-2, but the Tampa depth players came out to play yet again, scoring three more goals in the 3rd period, to tip the scales in their favour, 5-2 in the end.  Rookie goalie Connor Ingram got a good look, playing the entire game, making 22 saves for the victory.  Defensemen Mathieu Joseph and Braydon Coburn were the notable offensive players in the win, each picking up 2 assists.

Nashville also had a pair of players picking up a pair of assists each, but both of their players were forwards, Kyle Turris and Viktor Arvidsson.

A neutral site game in Tulsa, OK saw the Florida Panthers taken on the Dallas Stars and those fans were treated to some free hockey, when the Panthers scored in the 3rd period to force overtime.  In the end, it was the visiting team that got the better of it all, the Panthers taking the game 4-3.  James Reimer got the nod for the Panthers, making 20 saves for the win, and rookie forward Anthony Greco had a pair of assists in the win.

We all may have been waiting to see the Coyotes break out of their funk in this preseason and they certainly did so against the Ducks on Saturday night, stomping the winged ones for a 6-1 victory at home.  The Coyotes, who are reeling from injury already in this preseason, ended up with some good performances from Lawson Crouse, who scored a pair of goals and both Clayton Keller and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who each picked up a pair of assists.  Otherwise, it was a strong performance across the board from the dogs, with points in most players' back pockets.

Matthew Tkachuk returned from a minor lower-body knock in the China Games to help guide the Calgary Flames to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Vancouver Canucks.  Tkachuk set up the whole hat-trick for new signing Austin Czarnik, who lit the lamp early and often for the home side.  Mikael Backlund also had a pretty good game, scoring a goal and adding an assist in the victory.

Elias Pettersson had a goal and an assist for the Canucks, while Alex Edler had a couple of assists in the loss, keeping things interesting for a while in this game.

The toughest preseason test for the Vegas Golden Knights came in San Jose on Saturday night, as they were taken to the shootout, but they still prevailed after a 6-round skills competition, finished off by rookie defenseman Erik Brannstrom.  Maxime Lagace got his turn in the Vegas net and he made 20 saves for the victory.  Oscar Lindberg scored a pair of goals for the Knights, while Alex Tuch and defenseman Jake Bischoff each came away with a pair of assists in the win.  Vegas continues to get scoring from all over.

For the Sharks, Tomas Hertl had 3 assists in the loss and Timo Meier had a goal and an assist to get a mention on the post.