It’s safe to say that after this trip to Tampa, Ondrej Pavelec and the Winnipeg Jets won’t be fans of Lou Christie anytime soon. Pavelec and backup goaltender Al Montoya combined to do a re-mix of Christie’s #1 hit from 1966, “Lightning Strikes” as they allowed eight goals to Tampa Bay and got thumped 8-3.
Tampa scored three power-play goals in the first period and picked up two more in the first 4:43 of the second. That was enough to send Pavelec to the showers and Montoya replaced him. He didn’t fare much better, allowing his first goal of the night a minute after he got on the ice. Even being up 6-0 through two periods, the Lightning still struck Montoya as he also got burned for two more cosmetic goals in the third period.
So which members of the Lightning were striking…again and again and again and again? Cory Conacher was the only two-goal scorer. Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos each had a goal and two assists while Eric Brewer had a pair of helpers as well. All told, 12 skaters and goaltender Anders Lindback (assist) had at least one point in the rout. Tobias Enstrom had a goal and two assists in the too-little-too-late third period for the Jets.
Let’s take a look at the rest of the night on the ice and we might get a song to describe each of them.
Washington knocked off Philadelphia 3-2. Nicklas (Baby Got) Backstrom had a goal and an assist in the win. Alex Ovechkin fired off seven shots in the win and is getting more involved in the offense.
Carolina goaltender Dan Ellis turned aside all 33 Ottawa Senator shots and Eric Staal scored the only goal in the 1-0 for the Hurricanes over the Senators. You could say the Senators got Rocked Like A Hurricane by the journeyman backup goaltender.
Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg had a hat trick and picked up five points in a 5-3 win over St. Louis. Zetterberg finished his hat trick with a short-handed empty net goal that he picked up off of a scrum with TJ Oshie of the Blues. When it came to this game, Zetterberg was like that Rob Zombie tune, “Never Gonna Stop Me.” Vladimir Tarasenko had a first period assist to extend his point streak to five games. Damien Brunner’s assist also gave him a five-game point streak as well.
Dallas needed to go to the shootout to knock off Phoenix 4-3 on Jaromir Jagr’s goal in the fourth round. Martin Hanzal scored twice in the second period to forge ties at 2-2 and 3-3. Brenden Dillon had a goal and an assist in the win for Dallas, which was a chart-topper for Alan Jackson.
The Ducks got a pair of goals from Kyle Palmieri and three assists from ageless wonder Teemu Selanne as Anaheim knocked off Minnesota 3-1. Bobby Ryan and the other goal and two assists. Anaheim is quietly 4-1-1 this season. There’s only one song I can come up with that has duck in the title. Listen at your own risk is all I can say.
The Canucks went to a shootout to knock off Chicago 2-1 as Jordan Schroeder scored the winner in the shootout. After six straight wins to open the season, the Hawks have lost their last two in the shootout. Roberto Luongo picked up his third straight win for the Canucks. It may leave fans saying “Chicago, Damn!” just like Bobbi Humphrey did in the 1970s.
Multiple Goal Scorers
Zetterberg-DET HAT TRICK
Hanzal-PHX, Palmieri-ANA, Conacher-TB
Three Stars of the Night
1. Zetterberg Five-point night in the Wings’ win
2. Tampa Bay The whole team. Yeah, we’re putting a team that scored eight as the second star.
3. Ellis Shutout and quietly becoming the best backup goaltender to own in fantasy.
Stat of the Night
Ellis leads the league in GAA and save percentage.
Saturday’s Schedule (all times ET)
New Jersey at Pittsburgh 1pm Will the Penguins be the first team to beat the Devils in regulation?
Buffalo at Montreal 2pm Will Ryan Miller be up to the task against a tough Canadien power play?
Edmonton at Colorado 3pm Can the Avalanche improve to 3-0-0 at home this season?
Boston at Toronto 7pm Could Toronto get a third straight win?
Carolina at Philadelphia 7pm Would a win over Carolina make it sunny in Philadelphia?
NY Rangers at Tampa Bay 7pm Is Henrik Lundqvist able to slow down the Tampa offense (37 goals in 7 games)?
Detroit at Columbus 7pm Could Zetterberg have another multiple-point night?
Dallas at Phoenix 8pm It’s the back end of a home-and-home series
Chicago at Calgary 10pm Hawks continue to learn lyrics to “O’ Canada” while Disney on Ice takes over the United Center.
Los Angeles at Anaheim 10pm One of these teams is the road team. Really. It’s 25 miles from city to city.
Nashville at San Jose 1030pm Can Pekka Rinne be the one to sink the Sharks for the first time this season?
