Last Night's Preseason Performers (Sep 25)

New Jersey and New York had themselves a back-and-forth affair at Madison Square Garden on Monday night and it needed overtime for it to be settled, with the home team getting the better result, winning 4-3.  Prospect defenseman Neal Pionk was the only one on the Rangers roster to pick up multiple points, as he picked up a pair of assists in the win.  Pionk has had a pretty good preseason so far and he has a real shot at a roster spot for next week.

The Devils will be out to prove that last year wasn't a fluke and they'll need Kyle Palmieri, Taylor Hall and Nico Hischier to do what they did tonight and that was pick up at least a pair of points, Palmieri with a goal and 2 assists.

The Rangers did not escape this game very healthy, as both Jesper Fast and Matt Beleskey left the game with injuries, not to return.  Fast's injury was not disclosed, but the team said he was pulled for precautionary reasons, while Beleskey suffered a shoulder injury and he'll need to be reevaluated in the next day or so for the extent of the damage.  The coaching staff didn't believe that Beleskey's injury was serious, but time will tell.

The Bruins and Flyers tangled on Monday night, the debut of Philadelphia's new mascot, Gritty, to much fanfare in the league. Unfortunately for Gritty, his team couldn't celebrate his arrival with a win, as the visiting Bruins got the best of the Flyers, 4-3 in regulation time.  Lee Stempniak, still a PTO with the Bruins, led the way with a goal and 2 assists, while Peter Cehlarik had a goal and an assist and prospect goalie Dan Vladar made 34 saves for the win.

Claude Giroux kept it rolling on his side of the ledger, picking up a goal and an assist in the loss.


The Montreal Canadiens took advantage of a bubble spot roster team for the Toronto Maple Leafs and picked up a 5-1 win on Monday night, possibly giving their own squad a little more confidence moving forward.  Antti Niemi got the call for the whole game, making 29 saves for the win, while Artturi Lehkonen and Xavier Ouellet each scored 2 goals and Joel Armia added a 2 assists in the victory.

Ouellet is the only one of the four that is really sitting on the bubble for a roster spot and there's a good shot that he can be on the opening night roster after a good preseason, so far.

Rosters were starting to come together for both the Minnesota Wild and the Dallas Stars, as they went toe-to-toe at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, and it was a back-and-forth affair, taken 5-3 by the home side on the night.  Jamie Benn scored a pair of goals, including the eventual winner in the 3rd period.  Forward Roope Hintz and defenseman Esa Lindell each had a goal and an assist in the win and Anton Khudobin made 27 saves for the victory on the night.

There are a couple of bubble positions left in the Dallas forwards and Hintz has certainly put his name forward for one of those spots with a good game last night.

Another back-and-forth affair in Calgary on Monday night, when the Jets invaded the Saddledome to take on the Flames and this game needed some overtime... okay, very little overtime, to get this one settled in the end, with the Jets only needing 31 seconds to send the fans home disappointed.  Nikolaj Ehlers scored his 2nd goal of the game in overtime to end it for the Jets and prospect forward Sami Niku also had a pair of goals in the win.  Jacob Trouba had a pair of assists and backup goalie Laurent Brossoit made 34 saves for the victory.

Mark Giordano continued his good preseason with a goal and an assist of his own in the loss.

The Canucks and the Kings took to the ice in Salt Lake City, UT for a neutral site game, the first NHL preseason game played there in 10 years.  Los Angeles took the Salt Lake Shootout, as they called it last night, 4-1 over the visitors from Vancouver.  Jonathan Quick got the whole game for the Kings, making 28 saves for the win, while Tyler Toffoli was in the right place at the right time, twice, scoring a pair of goals and bubble forward Michael Amadio had a couple of assists as well.

Injuries for the Kings have opened up some bubble spots and Amadio is one of those forwards favoured to snap up one of those spots, more likely in a bottom six spot.  He may not find his way into the pool conversation, but he at least has the chance to do so.

A somewhat uneventful game, in terms of this blog post, in Anaheim last night, when the Coyotes and Ducks faced off against each other.  The home side took the game 4-2, but the scoring was spread out enough that anyone who got a point only got 1 point, except for John Gibson, who played the whole game for the Ducks, making 29 saves and earning the win.

A couple of roster notes in this one though, as Dylan Strome returned to action for the Coyotes and Corey Perry was set to play, but left in warm-up, due to a lower-body injury and was a scratch for teh game.  He's currently listed as day-to-day, but we're still waiting for the official word from Ducks camp.

Finally, the Golden Knights were taken down in this preseason and the loss fell at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night, 5-3.  The Avalanche took a 3-1 lead into the 3rd period, added one for a 4-1 advantage and then held on for dear life, as the Golden Knights to try and claw their way back, but just fell short.  Avalanche third string goalie Pavel Francouz got the crease for this one and made 29 saves for the victory and was the only notable Colorado player on the night. 

Vegas defenseman Brad Hunt had a goal and an assist and forward Alex Tuch had a couple of helpers in the loss.