Jonas Hiller turned aside all 18 Phoenix shots and Ryan Getzlaf posted an empty-net goal and an assist as the Anaheim Ducks blanked the Phoenix Coyotes 2-0. Corey Perry had the Ducks’ other goal.
SPIN: Perhaps Hiller’s demise was a little exaggerated. He rode the Ducks’ coattails at the start of the season but got replaced by Victor Fasth between the pipes. Hiller was able to turn away a Phoenix team that has the third-best offense in the Western Conferfence so he’s back on my radar if I’m looking for a waiver-wire goaltender. Phoenix struggled to generate offense in this game but got a good game out of backup goaltender Jason LaBarbera who made 22 saves.
Daniel Carcillo’s goal with 49.3 seconds left in regulation broke a 2-2 tie and lifted Chicago to its 11th straight win, this one a 3-2 triumph over Colorado. The Hawks are 21-0-3 halfway through the season. Take a moment and meditate on that. Go on. We’ll wait.
Okay, Andrew Shaw and Johnathan Toews had the other goals for Chicago while John Mitchell and Matt Duchene lit the lamp for Colorado.
SPIN: Colorado has now lost six of its last seven and is starting to see its season slip away. Duchene and PA Parenteau are having good seasons for the Avs. (Parenteau had an assist in this game.) Ray Emery is 10-0 after making 20 saves for Chicago and has been one of the best fantasy pickups in goal this season. Semyon Varlamov made 29 saves in the losing effort and continues to be one of the most-peppered goalies in the league.
Chicago lost Patrick Sharp and Andrew Shaw to injuries in this game. Sharp may have suffered a shoulder injury when he got run into the boards with 12 minutes left in the game. He didn’t return and neither did Shaw after suffering an upper-body injury in the second period. Marian Hossa was a late scratch with his own upper-body issue but is likely to get back in the lineup for the next game. Keep an eye out on tomorrow’s news and see how serious Sharp’s injury is.
Calgary welcomed back goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff and he turned aside 32 of 33 San Jose shots in a 4-1 win over the Sharks. Kiprusoff missed 13 games with a sprained ligament in his knee. Jarome Iginla had a goal and an assist for Calgary and Curtis Glencross iced the game with a shorthanded empty-net goal. Joe Thornton scored the lone San Jose goal.
SPIN: Kiprusoff is coming back at the right time as Calgary is trying to make a second-half surge and take a run at the playoffs. Tomas Griess got the start in goal for San Jose as Antti Niemi got a night off after making 10 straight starts. San Jose is 3-of-42 on the power play in its last 10 games and that is a huge issue for the Sharks. As their power play goes, so go the Sharks. As of late the power play has stopped swimming…and we all know what happens when sharks stop swimming. (That’s a little ironic since Niemi is nicknamed Nemo and we know what Dory told Nemo in that Disney movie.)
Check your waiver wire and see if the Kipper is out there if you need some help between the pipes. We know he’s going to get the lion’s share of the starts in the second half. I’d expect him to get 20 starts in the second half of the season if he can stay healthy.
Toronto slipped past Ottawa 5-4 and was fueled by Phil Kessel’s goal and two assists. James van Riemsdyk added a goal (his 13th of the season) and an assist in the win.
SPIN: Nazem Kadri continues to be hot as he scored his 10th goal of the season in the win for the Leafs. James Reimer made 39 saves and picked up his sixth straight win. Toronto is standing out this season as they’ve gone to 15-9-0 and have won every game in regulation this season which comes in handy in tiebreakers.
It was nice to see Ottawa put up a four-spot for the first time in a few weeks and hopefully the Senators can sustain it. They’ll be without goaltender Craig Anderson for the next couple games but he should be back within a week. Ottawa needs it since they’ve dropped four in a row.
Multiple Goal Scorers-NONE
Stat of the Night
The Hawks have a shot to try and take down the Flyers’ 25-0-10 run from 1979-80 as the longest streak without a regulation loss in NHL history. The streak is now at 30 games including Chicago’s 3-0-3 finish to last season.
Three Stars of the Night
1 Hiller
2 Iginla
3 Kessel
And some sad news…
Word came out earlier tonight that Stompin Tom Connors passed away at age 77. Connors was a Canadian music icon and the artist behind this song. While the clock ran out on Connors, that song will probably live on as long as there are blue lines and pucks.
Thursday’s Games (all times ET)
Toronto at Boston 7pm
Buffalo at New Jersey 7pm
NY Rangers at NY Islanders 7pm
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia 7pm
Florida at Washington 7pm
Montreal at Carolina 7pm
Vancouver at Columbus 7pm
Winnipeg at Tampa Bay 730pm
Edmonton at Detroit 730pm
St. Louis at Phoenix 9pm
Dallas at Los Angeles 1030pm
