We’ll recap the desperate late game between the ailing New Jersey Devils and the struggling Anaheim Ducks tomorrow morning or afternoon. In the mean time, here’s a summary of the five other games on the NHL slate tonight.
Alex Auld proved that he’s one of the better backups in the NHL, stopping 30 shots to win in his first start of the season. Matt Martin scored the Isles’ only goal while the Habs received tallies from red-hot Tomas Plekanec, Benoit Pouliot and Travis Moen.
Jeff Skinner made a strong case for the Canes to keep him at the NHL level, putting together two goals and one assist in what probably won’t be his last game with the team this season. Cam Ward continues to look strong this season, stopping 40 out of 43 shots for a narrow win.
This game started off with plenty of scraps, as 11 penalties were handed out in a mess of a first period. Claude Giroux killed the Penguins on special teams, scoring a power-play goal and a shorthanded goal in this one. The Pittsburgh goalie controversy talk keeps building (I’ll admit to fanning those flames myself).
You can really summarize this game with two recent posts from PHT and the sequence that produced the overtime game-winner: Dustin Byfuglien won it for Atlanta thanks to his strong play while Buffalo’s defense left Ryan Miller out to dry.
Wow, I can’t say that I saw this one coming. After taking eight games to score his first NHL goal, Taylor Hall now has a two-game goal scoring streak (he also added an assist). The Oilers did most of their damage in the first period, gaining a 4-2 lead thanks to a three goal outburst in 1:09 of game time.
(Hope Oilers fans didn’t take a poorly planned restroom break while watching this game on TV.)