Last Night's Preseason Performers (Sep 25)

The Boston Bruins got the best of the New York Rangers on Thursday night, defeating them 4-3 in the shootout.

The only notable Bruins player was their keeper, Jeremy Smith, who got the crease for the entire game, making 22 saves through overtime and then four key stops in the shootout for the win.  Smith is the fourth goalie on the depth chart, by my count, so it would seem unlikely that he'll feature much this season.

For the Rangers, Mats Zuccarello had a goal and an assist in his return from injury, while defensemen Brady Skjei and Dan Boyle each had a couple points as well in the loss.

The Minnesota Wild started their number one goalie for the first time in the preseason and Devan Dubnyk kept the magic going, making 22 saves for the win in a 5-2 victory against the Blue Jackets.

Also notable for the Wild were Jason Zucker and Charlie Coyle, who each had 3-point nights and Nino Niederreiter and Jonas Brodin each had 2-point nights.

The early returns on the Wild have been pretty good in this preseason and if they can string some of these games together in the regular season, they could be a dangerous team in the Central Division.

The one knock on the Detroit Red Wings in recent years was that their cupboards were getting bare and there were not very many prospects in waiting.  Well, the Wings put a pin in that thought, as they had a number of their top prospects get the best of an under-manned Penguins team, beating them 6-1 at home last night.

Teemu Pulkkinen and Tyler Bertuzzi each had 4-point nights, while Dylan Larkin and Nicklas Jensen each had 2 points a piece.  The Red Wings lineup is going to be hard to crack for any of these guys, but at least they are showing some promise below the projected roster.

The goaltending battle continues to be an interesting conundrum and Jimmy Howard did his best to keep it interesting, making 34 saves, playing the whole game for the squad, earning the win.

Two high-powered, good skating teams went head-to-head in Montreal on Thursday night, as the Capitals and Canadiens went at it and they needed the skills competition to sort their game out, as the Capitals took the game, 4-3 in the end.

Justin Williams was the only notable Caps player through regulation and overtime, picking up a pair of assists in the game.  He appears to be fitting in with the Capitals quite well and should add the element that they're looking for this year.

Tomas Fleischmann and David Desharnais each had a goal and an assist in the loss for the Habs, one trying to earn a contract with the team, while the other coming back from a minor injury.  Both earning some praise in this preseason.

The Dallas Stars traveled to St. Louis to take on the Blues and they were punished for one thing or another in that game.  The Blues handed a 6-0 walloping on the Stars, as their offense ran wild for a game.

Brian Elliott made 22 saves in the shutout victory, further clouding the decision making process for the number one goalie.  Vladimir Tarasenko and Paul Stastny each had 3-point nights in the victory, while Ty Rattie and Kevin Shattenkirk each had 2-point nights.

The Blues could be ready to start steamrolling in the Western Conference this year, but will they have the right chemistry in place to do something in the playoffs?

Finally, it was a goaltending battle in Colorado, as the Flames came a callin' against the Avalanche and the goaltending battle in this game made the fight for the Calgary crease a whole lot more intense through camp.

Joni Ortio made 35 saves in the 1-0 win over the Avalanche and he is trying to jump either Jonas Hiller or Karri Ramo for a job on the big club this year and all three have a real fight on their hands.

With a little over a week until the draft, the Flames goaltending situation becomes a pretty big gamble on who's in or out.  I'm sure there are many who want to jump on one of those three goalies, because the Flames have some real potential this year, but uncertainty may see them drop in the draft.