Last Night's Preseason Performers (Sep 27, Draft Day Edition)

It's draft day today! Hoorah!

This will be the last edition of the preseason performers for the year, as my poolies won't need to know these tiny bits of information, as they will have their teams picked by the end of the day.  With eight more games on tap, there should be more than enough to go on at the pub today.  Oh yeah, there will be some injury notes as well, so sit tight.

It was an offensive feast in Buffalo, as the visiting Maple Leafs bested the Sabres, 6-4, in a game where defense was not on the menu.

James Reimer was in net for the Leafs for the whole game, making 34 saves for the win, while Tyler Bozak, Josh Leivo and defenseman Roman Polak each had a goal and 2 assists in the game.  Leo Komarov and Dion Phaneuf also counted for 2 points, each picking up a goal and an assist.

On the other side, it looks like Chris Stewart has returned to form, scoring a pair of goals, while Brian Flynn had a pair of assists in a losing cause.

By the highlights, it looked like it was a sloppy game in Washington as well, but the home team came away victorious, so the crowd went home happy for the result, at the very least. The Capitals came away with a 5-4 win in overtime, in another big goal game.

For the home side, Alex Ovechkin opened his preseason account with 2 goals, while tryout Liam O'Brien had a goal and an assist and Brooks Laich had a pair of assists.

The Bruins had a couple name of their own in the loss, as Seth Griffith had a pair of goals and Jordan Caron had a pair of assists.

The Battle of Quebec took a turn in Quebec City on Friday night, as the Colorado Avalanche came back to their old stomping grounds, but in the end, fell short to their former provincial rivals from Montreal, 3-2.

Dustin Tokarski made another argument to stay with the big club with a 28-save effort for the win, playing the whole game.  Former Habs defender, now on a tryout, Francis Bouillon had a pair of assists in the win, leading all skaters in that fashion.

On the Avalanche side, Matt Duchene had a pair of assists in the loss.

The Tampa Bay Lightning did not prove to be hospitable hosts to the Dallas Stars, laying a 6-3 whooping on them in some Friday preseason action.

For the home side, defenseman Anton Stralman had a pair of goals to lead the way, followed by Ryan Callahan with a goal and an assist and then Brian Boyle had a pair of assists.

Brendan Ranford had a goal and an assist for the Stars and another prospect, Brett Ritchie, had a pair of assists.

The Islanders polished up their future new digs in Brooklyn, the Barclay's Center, before their game with the swamp dwellers from New Jersey and they came away with a 3-2 shootout win.

Newly acquired back-up goalie Chad Johnson got the call under the brand new lights, making 26 saves in regulation and overtime and then another two key stops in the shootout for the win.  Johnson was the only player of note in this game and may be a good late option for a goaltender, if you don't sort them out early today.

The Madhouse probably wasn't rocking too badly in this preseason game, as the Blackhawks played host to the Eastern Conference champs from the Big Apple.  This one looked like a sloppy affair as well and it was the Rangers who owned the scoreboard, 4-1, the final.

Prospect forward Anthony Duclair, who has reportedly had a decent camp, picked up a goal and an assist in the win, the only notable Rangers player and the only notable player in this game.

It was the second game in as many nights for Pacific Division rivals, Calgary and Vancouver, and with the Canucks taking night one in Flames territory, the visitors were looking to take out some revenge.  Revenge wasn't to be, however, with the Canucks finishing up strong, with a 3-0 win.

Henrik Sedin was the man of the match, picking up 3 assists, while his brother Daniel had a pair for himself, leading the way for the Canucks in the win.

Finally, in the Shark Tank, it was a preseason stinker for the blog post, as the Coyotes beat the Sharks, 2-1 in the shootout, and the winning side split their goaltending duties, which means there was nothing there for us to read about.

The Coyotes hanging in with the Sharks might be a good sign from the team from the desert, as they upgraded what they could in their budget and held on quite well.