Matt Moulson was sent from the NY Islanders to the Buffalo Sabres with a couple of draft picks for Thomas Vanek over the weekend. Moulson made his debut last night when the Sabres hosted the Stars. Moulson scored twice and Tyler Ennis had two assists but it wasn’t enough as Buffalo fell 4-3 to Dallas.
Tyler Seguin paced Dallas with a goal and an assist in the win. Kari Lehtonen turned away 22-of-25 shots for the win. Ryan Miller stopped 25-of-29 in the loss. Lehtonen has performed will since coming back off of IR with a groin issue. He looks to be reliable. Miller ‘s falling apart allowing 12 goals in his last three games and taking three straight losses. The clock’s ticking on a Miler trade but for now he needs to sit on your bench unless you’re dead out of options.
I still want to see Moulson play more in Buffalo before evaluating him but it was a nice start. It’s like making that positive impression on your first day of work on a new job but we need to see if it holds up.
Around the league we go…
Jayson Megna had a goal and an assist and Sidney Crosby added two helpers as Pittsburgh bumped off Carolina 3-1. Brooks Orpik pocketed three assists on the night to give Marc-Andre Fleury the win. Jason Peters took the loss in goal for Carolina. He’s their third-string goaltender so I wouldn’t want anything to do with him. Hopefully Anton Khudobin is back soon to stabilize the position for Carolina. The Hurricanes have allowed at least three goals in each of their last four games. Yep, bench it is.
Chicago cruised to a 5-1 win over Minnesota. Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad each recorded a goal and an assist in the win. Corey Crawford picked up an easy win with 29 saves on 30 shots. Niklas Backstrom isn’t looking too hot with eight goals allowed in his last two games, both losses. While Backstrom is the guy making the bucks, Josh Harding is the guy making the wins. Harding might be the better option right now for the Wild. Chicago should keep going with the offense as they face Winnipeg twice an Calgary to open the month of November.
(We’re still in October? Really? Geez.)
Peter Budaj threw the 27-save shutout as the Canadiens knocked off the NY Rangers 2-0. Tomas Plekanec scored his sixth of the season and has 10 points in 12 games for a nice surprise in the early going. Henrik Lundqvist payed better but is still sporting a 2-5 record after stopping 25-of-27 shots in the loss. Alex Galchenyuk scored the other goal for the Habs.
Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist to lead Vancouver to a 3-2 win over Washington. Michael Neuvirth got the call in goal and was peppered with 41 Vancouver shots, stopping 38. He’s gotten the last couple of starts since Braden Holtby has had issues in his last few games. Right now, neither goaltender looks appealing from the Caps. Sunnier days are ahead as the Caps take on PHI, FLA, NYI and MIN in their next four games. But if they can’t get it done there, it’s time to look for other options. Jason Chimera paced the Caps with a goal and an assist in the loss.
Tuesday’s Action (all times ET) 8 games on the docket.
NY Rangers at NY Islanders 7pm Vanek makes his debut.
Anaheim at Philadelphia 7pm
Dallas at Montreal 7pm
Tampa Bay at New Jersey 730pm
Ottawa at Chicago 8pm
Winnipeg at St. Louis 8pm
Toronto at Edmonton 9pm
Los Angeles at Phoenix 10pm This could be the game of the night. Each team has 16 points in the early going.
