Last Night's Preseason Performers (Sep 26)

It was Hockeyville, USA night in Clinton, NY on Tuesday night and the residents of the American-winning town got themselves a pretty good treat between the Blue Jackets and the Sabres, as the stars were out in full, showcasing some of the league's top talent, both established and up-and-coming.  Artemi Panarin was one of those established players making his mark on the night, scoring a goal and adding a pair of assists in a 4-2 win for the Blue Jackets.  Anthony Duclair had a goal and an assist and Joonas Korpisalo made 17 saves for the victory.

Panarin has been solid since he finally arrived in this preseason and he could be a real catch in the early parts of the draft this year.

A point of concern in this one, as defenseman Seth Jones left the game with a lower-body injury, not to return, and his status moving forward is looking a bit murky.  We'll certainly be keeping an eye out for more on this one, since Jones is projected to be a top end pick this year.

It was a good start to the 2nd period for the home side, in this Battle of the Sunshine State, as the Lightning found a 2-0 lead in the middle frame, but they just couldn't hold on.  The Panthers, led by Evgenii Dadonov, managed a comeback and ended up holding on to win 3-2 on Tuesday night.  Dadonov had a goal and an assist in the win and Jame Reimer made 27 saves for the victory.

J.T. Miller had a couple of assists to help the Lightning get out to that lead, but couldn't do any more after the fact.

Busy night on the news page in this game, as Aaron Ekblad returned from his broken nose and scored a goal in the process.  Nikita Kucherov of the Lightning and Jared McCann of the Panthers both left the game early with lower-body injuries, Kucherov's injury isn't supposed to serious, but there was no immediate word on McCann's injury.

The Carolina Hurricanes blew into Nashville and left a path of destruction through the town, beating the Predators, 4-1, in preseason action.  The Canes kept the pressure on for the entire game, getting 42 shots on Pekka Rinne in total and hardly letting the Preds have a sniff in their own end.  Forwards Warren Foegle and Valentin Zykov were the skaters of note in this game, each coming away with a couple of points each, while Scott Darling registered a win with 28 saves,

The game between the Capitals and the Blues on Tuesday night may have been more about Washington's backup goalie race, than anything else.  The Capitals shut out the Blues, 4-0, those who hit the scoresheet, only did so once, but goalie Pheonix Copley made 42 saves for the shutout victory and he may be earning himself some consideration to sit behind Braden Holtby to start the regular season.  Nothing is certain at this point, but shutting out a team like the Blues, even in the preseason, has to be worth something.

The Capitals did not come away unscathed out of this victory, however.  Defenseman Michal Kempny took a high hit in the game and left the game with an upper-body injury.  There was no word immediately after the game, but he'll likely receive his evaluation on Wednesday and we'll know more before too long.

Some very good news for the Blues, as Jake Allen, Tyler Bozak and David Perron were all dressed for this game, not that it helped them a great deal, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.

It was quite the shootout at the United Center in Chicago on Tuesday night, as the Red Wings and Blackhawks game turned into a goal scoring slug fest.  When the dust settled, the Red Wings were crowned victors, with an 8-6 win on the road and renewing some hope that the 2019 season may not be all that bad.  Let's see who all the notable players were in this one!

Andreas Athanasiou led the way for Detroit, picking up a pair of goals and a pair of assists in the win, Thomas Vanek had 2 goals and an assist, Anthony Mantha had a goal and 2 assists, while both Dylan Larkin and Darren Helm each had a goal and an assist.  The Red Wings even left Jimmy Howard in net for the whole game, making 30 saves for the victory.  That looks like a fairly full roster of players right there.

The Blackhawks scored six of their own and that means they probably had some notable players of their own.  Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith all had 3 points, in descending order of goals scored, Toews with a pair.  Rookie defenseman Adam Boqvist also chipped in with a couple of assists, as he quietly makes his mark for a roster spot this season.

How about another shootout?  It was another big treat for the fans at the rink, this time at the Saddledome in Calgary, where the Sharks and Flames went toe-to-toe and put a lot of biscuits in the basket.  In the end, the Flames scored three straight, starting at the end of the 2nd period, to finish the game with a 7-5 victory, topping one of the favourites for the Western Conference title this year.

The Flames were led by Johnny Gaudreau, who scored a pair of goals in this one, followed closely by Matthew Tkachuk and Sean Monahan, each having a goal and an assist, while Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik each had a pair of assists.  The big guns for the Flames were on point in this one, which bodes well for the start of their season.

On the other side, rookie forward Lukas Radil was the only Sharks player of note, picking up a goal and an assist in the loss.  The Sharks didn't exactly bring the most talent-laden side to this game, but they still put on a show.

Finally, we close off with a one-sided shootout, where the Edmonton Oilers laid a firm beating on the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place, 6-0.  Cam Talbot did have some work to do in this one to get his shutout, believe it or not.  The Oilers keeper had to stop 35 pucks that came his way for what would be a 4-point night in the regular season.  Ty Rattie continues to see his draft stock go up, up and up some more, scoring hat-trick on the night, while Connor McDavid scooped up 3 assists as well.  Jesse Puljujarvi had a couple of goals and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jujar Khaira each had a couple of assists in the victory.