The Montreal Canadiens became the first Eastern Conference team to hit the 40-point mark with a 4-3 shootout win over the slumping Ottawa Senators. PK Subban, Lars Eller and Brendan Gallagher scored for Montreal. Mika Zibanejad, Patrick Wiercioch and Daniel Alfredsson all picked up goals for the Senators.
SPIN: Robin Lehner stole a point for the Senators with his 42-save effort in the loss. We haven’t seen much out of Ben Bishop lately as he’s gotten one of the last four starts so Lehner looks to be the go-to guy while Craig Anderson recuperates. Ottawa has lost six of its last seven but picked up a couple points for going to overtime to avoid this stretch being a total disaster. Anderson’s ankle reportedly got sore again during a rehab workout so he’ll be a while longer before he comes back into the fold.
Montreal shows its offensive balance as seven different players each had a point. Subban had two (goal, assist) and that balanced offense is a big reason why they are 18-5-4 this season. Carey Price is another and he made 29 saves on 32 shots. Each of these teams scored twice on the power play in this game.
New Jersey thumped Philadelphia 5-2 with Adam Henrique scoring twice in the win. Andrei Loktonov had a goal and an assist in the win. Scott Hartnell had a goal, an assist and eight penalty minutes for the Flyers.
SPIN: Hartnell looks like he’s finally back after missing several weeks with a broken foot. Jakub Voracek also had a goal and an assist and continues to be a solid play for the Flyers. Patrick Elias and Ilya Kovalchuk each scored for the Devils and continue to be among the few reliable fantasy options in New Jersey. Ilya Bryzgalov has lost three of his last four in goal for Philadelphia and that’s enough to return him to the bench if your team can afford to do so.
Calgary knocked off Detroit 5-2 behind a 36-save effort from Miikka Kiprusoff and five different goal scorers. Niklas Kronwall and Valterri Filppula each scored in the loss.
SPIN: Kiprusoff was able to keep the Red Wings at bay and picked up his first win in four starts. He’s starting to show flashes of the Kipper of old so take a look and see if he’s still out there on the waiver wire. Most owners forgot about him when he went down with the knee injury. We know he will get the bulk of the starts in Calgary the rest of the way. Alex Tanguay and Curtis Glencross each scored for Calgary and are lower-end options at this time. Matt Stajan added a pair of assists in the win and defenseman Jay Bouwmeester lit the lamp in the win.
Multiple Goal Scorer
Henrique-NJ was the only one
Stat of the Night
Montreal joins Anaheim (19-3-3) and Chicago (21-2-3) as the only three teams with more than 40 points this season.
Three Stars of the Night
1 Kiprusoff
2 Henrique
3 Lehner
Thursday’s Games (all times ET)
Florida at Boston 7pm Yeah. this looks to be a squash on paper. Florida has allowed a league-worst 101 goals this season.
Pittsburgh at Toronto 7pm The Pens could get their 20th win; they’ve won six straight.
Washington at Carolina 7pm It’s almost now or never for the Caps in this one.
Chicago at Columbus 7pm Hawks better not look ahead on the Jackets.
NY Islanders at Tampa Bay 730pm Mediocre teams go head-to-head here.
NY Rangers at Winnipeg 8pm The winner gets the 8th spot in the East.
Phoenix at St. Louis 8pm The Coyotes try to make amends for a 6-3 loss to the Blues last week.
Colorado at Minnesota 8pm The Avalanche needs a win to keep pace with the ever-changing standings.
Anaheim at Dallas 830pm Can the Ducks go for five in a row in this one?
Nashville at Vancouver 10pm The Canucks need the win to fend off their division rivals.
Los Angeles at San Jose 1030pm Very important game as the rest of the Pacific chases the Ducks.
