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Pittsburgh 8, Tampa Bay 1

Not much doubt who the best active player in the league is tonight. Stamkos and Malkin went head to head tonight and Malkin obliterated the Lightning, scoring a hat-trick and picking up an assist to move 7 points out infront of Stamkos in the scoring race. Malkin also closed the gap in the race for most goals, although still trails Stamkos by 7. The Pens wiped out Roloson tonight who was on the hook for all 8 goals … pull a Patrick Roy?

St. Louis 3, Winnipeg 2, SO

Odd game for the Blues … they were outshot 41-16 … we are used to seeing the reverse in their games. Halak was fantastic for them tonight. He could not stop Blake Wheeler though who scored twice and has 13 on the year. David Perron scored in the 4th round of the shootout to give the Blues the win.

Phoenix 3, Edmonton 1

The Coyotes are just not losing lately and are now sitting at the top of their division. The Sharks better get moving. Smith has been great in goal lately for Phoenix. Doan got his 20th tonight, another productive year from the veteran power forward. Nugent-Hopkins scored the lone Oilers goal … been a while since I have heard of him. He has 14 goals.

Florida 3, Carolina 2, SO

Wojtek Wolski scored with a minute to go in his first game as a Panther to tie things up. Huge goal really for the Panthers who are clinging to a playoff spot. Weiss scored the shootout winner. The Panthers scored twice in the final 6 minutes of the game to steal a win. Peters was very good in goal for Carolina, making 42 saves in defeat.

Boston 5, Ottawa 3

Boston was up 4-1 with just 10 minutes to go but the Sens made it interesting, pulling to within one with just 2 minutes left. Bergeron scored his 2nd of the night into an empty net thought to put this one to rest. First game without Anderson goes as a loss, but the Bruins are tough, especially now that they have some urgency in their game due to their sliding position in the standings. Alfredsson scored two for the Sens, giving him 22 on the year.

NY Rangers 3, Buffalo 2, OT

Ryan Callahan delivered in overtime, scoring his 24th of the season. Great year for the new captain. Lundqvist only had to make 18 saves for the win. Miller stopped 25 but could not pick up the victory. Stafford scored twice, giving him 12 on the year. His name has come up a lot recently in trade talks.

Washington 4, Toronto 2

Michal Neuvirth had another strong night, making 28 saves and picking up back to back wins. He’ll be sure to grab a 3rd straight start as the Caps are forced to ride the hot hand. Ovechkin picked up two assists to help drive the offense.

Colorado 4, Detroit 3

A two game losing streak at home after 23 games straight. Steve Downie had a 3 point night for his new team, sure to be making some friends with efforts like that for an Avs team that is desperate for wins right now. Hudler scored twice and has 20 on the season. The Wings have settled a bit and Vancouver has passed them for top spot in the league.

Los Angeles 4, Chicago 0

The addition of Carter to the lineup has paid off so far, even if it was not Carter doing any of the scoring. It was actually captain Dustin Brown scoring a hat-trick amid rumors that he’s about to be traded. That will endear yourself to your current team in a hurry. The Hawks seem lost without Toews in the lineup. Quick only had to make 19 saves for the win.

Nashville 6, San Jose 2

The Sharks settled back into losing after beating Toronto earlier in the week. Should not be complacent, they just got passed by the Coyotes for the division lead. Shea Weber scored twice, giving him 14 goals on the season. Nice to see. Rinne made 32 saves for the win.

Philadelphia 5, Calgary 4, SO

Tough loss for the FLames tonight. They were up 3-0 midway through the game but they could not hold it. The Flyers outshot them 45-21 in the game and I guess on that deserved to win. Matt Read scored the shootout winner in the 6th round to complete the comeback for the Flyers. Kiprusoff gave his team a chance, but it was not good enough. Bryzgalov struggled again but did well when it really mattered. The Flames stay one point back of a playoff spot with the loss and loser point.

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Malkin’s Hat-Trick

Brown’s Hat-Trick

Big hit by Neil

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The Leafs woke up a little in the 3rd but not enough to really challenge, just enough to make the box score look a little more positive. I am not sure what the problem was tonight. Poor goaltending out of the gun, sloppy defense, no one moving their feet … seems to me when this team was rolling, coach Wilson was getting a lot of kudo’s and contract extensions … well now that things have fallen flat on their faces, think it’s time to call out Wilson. The power play is dreadful, the goaltending situation is a mess in how it has been handled, the team is not playing with enthusiasm or any kind of jump … cannot wait to see Wilson go in the offseason. The Leafs look destined to miss the playoffs again this year and that should force GM Burke’s hand to can the coach, his buddy, finally.

Positives tonight? Armstrong scored his first of the year … ok that was a negative. Connolly got his 10th … nope another negative. Not good enough for the money being paid to these two.

Schenn looked bad again tonight, far to lackadaisical with the puck, directly resulting in the 2nd goal against tonight and effectively taking what little wind there might have been out of the Leafs sails tonight. Wonder what’s up with this guy … the one good year followed by a bad year is getting annoying. Again though, Wilson is brutal coach when it comes to managing young players so maybe there is something there.

The Leafs have a couple days off now to find their legs. They have pretty much a must win against the 8th place Panthers on Tuesday, only a point back but Florida has two games in hand. Then it’s into Chicago on Wednesday. Two tough games. The Leafs had best figure it out quick. It would probably be best to be a seller on trade day Monday for the Leafs but can Burke really admit defeat on another year? This team is a long shot to make the playoffs at this point and what noise will they possibly make there should they make it? Bah! Bad night of hockey.

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Lots of guys struggle in their second seasons … it’s why terms like the ‘sophomore slump’ are around. Grabner’s short-handed play had been fantastic last year, constantly picking off pucks with his speed and blazing in for a scoring chance while his team was down a man. He had 6 short-handed goals last year. Just a single one this season.

A cause for optimism? Grabner scored 9 goals from March 1st on last season, a span of 17 games. Maybe he’ll get hot again. That same production would put him up at 24 on the season. If he could get to 25 or more I think the team would be happy enough with that given his early struggles. Just hard to see it happening given that he’s not all that involved offensively any more. Another real telling stat for Grabner’s struggles is his +/- this season … he’s a -15 on the ice. That’s way back of where he was last year and something that is not going to endear him to the coaches.

External factors weighing on the 24 year old? Well he’s got a baby that’s about a year old and a wedding coming up. That has to affect a guy, especially a younger guy like him.

Whatever the trouble, hopefully Grabner figures things out. He was fun to watch last year, guys with his kind of speed are exciting.

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Colorado 5, Columbus 0

The Avalanche took advantage of a Blue Jackets team that is selling off parts once again. Varlamov made 28 saves for the shutout but it hardly mattered as the Avalanche scored five time, led by David Jones, who now has 14 goals on the year. With the win, the Avs keep pace, just two points out of a playoff spot.

Washington 4, Montreal 1

Ovechkin came back, scored his 25th goal, and the Caps rolled over a punchless Montreal club. Going to be a tough finish to the year for Montreal. Neuvirth looked good, stopping 30 shots for the win. The win has Washington two points back of the Jets for the division lead and a single point back of the Panthers for the 8th spot in the East.

Vancouver 2, New Jersey 1

The Canucks got another strong game from Schneider in goal, he stopped 30 shots and was the game’s first star. Raymond and Rome scored, enough offense for Schneider. Clarkson got his 24th goal for the Devils. With the win, the Canucks move into top spot in the league, a point ahead of the Red Wings.

NY Islanders 4, NY Rangers 3, SO

The Rangers are slumping a bit and the Islanders took advantage. Matt Moulson scored in the 4th round of the shootout to win it for the Isles. Biron got the start in goal for New York and took the loss. Moulson also scored his 26th of the year in regulation. Gaborik got his 28th for the Rangers.

Buffalo 2, Boston 1, SO

The Sabres are refusing to disappear behind some solid goaltending from Ryan Miller. He has been rejuvenated this last month, it’s good to see if your a Sabres fan. Miller stopped 35 shots for the win. Derek Roy got the shootout winner in the 4th round for the victory. Tuukka Rask took the loss for the Bruins.

Dallas 4, Minnesota 1

Tom Wandell scored twice, just 6 for him on the year, to lead the Stars in a big win over the Wild. Lehtonen was good in goal, making 28 saves for the win. The Stars now sit in 8th all alone, two points up on the Flames, Kings and Avalanche. The Wild slip five points back with the loss.

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Mason bails himself out

Ovechkin gets his 25th

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Well Jack Johnson just got traded to the Blue Jackets. His response?

“This is going to be great. I’m a Midwestern boy at heart, and I see this as a great opportunity. I can’t wait to get there and meet the guys.”

“I want to be part of the solution there. I know they’ve had some bad breaks and some tough seasons, but it’s going to be great when it turns around. Really, I don’t think there’s anything sweeter in sports than being part of a team when they get it turned around.”

Johnson sounds ecstatic to be going to Columbus?? So odd. Leaving the Kings for Columbus and the guy is happy as can be. Was there some hidden issues in Los Angeles that we are not hearing about? Makes you wonder. Columbus fans have to be stoked about this, having a guy that genuinely wants to be there. I really hope it works out for Johnson and the Blue Jackets. They have a lot of work to do to get the team sorted out and turned around. They will have a fair number of picks to work with this year though so that’s a start. See what else the trade deadline yields for them.

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Best line I have heard about this so far …

“His injury opens the door for Alex Auld to see added opportunities between the pipes for the Sens.”

That is a door that no Sens fan wants to see open … ever.

He really did do this at home. He did it preparing food. Unreal.

So do the Sens become the biggest shoppers for a goalie now at the trade deadline or do they hope that Anderson recovers nicely in time to ensure that they make the playoffs?

Auld has a 3.28 GAA and a .880 Save%. He is not a viable option.

Maybe Robin Lehner can jump in? He has 341 minutes of NHL ice time to his name over the past two seasons. One start this year, a 2 goals against win over the Leafs back in October.

Anderson has started 54 games this year for Ottawa. He has often bailed them out. With the Sens so close to a playoff berth, this is so unfortunate. Here’s hoping for a quick recovery.

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