Last Night's Preseason Performers (Sep 22)

The preseason kicked off on Sunday with an afternoon tilt between the Blue Jackets and Hurricanes, with a Columbus split squad earning the opener, 4-3.  Notable players in this one, and by notable, I mean multiple point players, were Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno and Mark Letestu each picked up a couple of points each for the visiting Jackets, while Jeff Skinner had a pair of assists.

It was a full game for Jackets prospect goaltender, Anton Forsberg, so he will also get a nod in the blog post.  The 21-year old keeper made 29 saves for the win.

The Sabres and Capitals kicked off their preseason schedule later in the afternoon and it doesn't appear that anything fantastic happened in this one.  It was a 1-0 win for the Capitals, which doesn't help the notable players, not to mention that the goaltending duties were split, so there isn't even a mention there.  I guess we're moving on.

The second half of the Columbus split squad hosted the St. Louis Blues preseason squad on Sunday night and also came away with a win.  Boone Jenner came away with a goal and an assist and Dalton Prout had a pair of assists in the 4-3 overtime decision, boosting the Jackets preseason record to 2-0-0, before most teams even thought about icing a team.

Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and an assist for the visiting team, while prospect defender Thomas Vannelli had a pair of assists in the loss.

The Battle of Alberta was alive and well to start the NHL preseason schedule, as they both put split squads in each other's city for a pair of games on Sunday night.  Each team kept most of their best players for their home crowds and each team recorded a home win in the process.

In Edmonton, Justin Schultz led the way for the Oilers in their 3-1 victory, picking up a goal and an assist.

In Calgary, it was only a 1-0 game and the goaltending duties were split by the Flames, so there are no mentions to be had there.

On Monday, preseason action gets underway early and happens often. I'm not too sure if the blog posts will be close to the same, but we'll see.  I do want to keep an eye on all the multiple-point players in the preseason, possibly offering up some insight on them going forward.

Boy, I'm so glad that hockey's back.