November 12, 2011
Jeff Angus
2011-11-12
Paul Byron played 11 minutes last night in his season debut with the Flames. He was originally acquired in the Robyn Regehr trade. He’s got some offensive upside, but it remains to be seen if he’ll stick around in the short term.
Ray Emery got the start for the Hawks and was very solid. Definitely his best game of the season.
Blues prospect Phil McRae had a hat trick in the AHL last night.
Jeremy Morin and Ben Smith each had three points for Chicago’s AHL affiliate. Both should/could be in the NHL right now. Morin had a shot to earn a roster spot out of camp, but injuries derailed his start to the season. He’s got top six upside – really solid player.
Gustav Nyqvist had three helpers for Grand Rapids (8-0 win).
Tanguay, Backlund, and Iginla were a combined minus-8 last night.
It was Backlund's first game of the season. He played about 16 minutes. Expect him to get all sorts of opportunities to produce, as the Flames are desperate to find a long-term solution for that top line.
Jannik Hansen rewarded the coaches for putting him out there with the Sedin twins last night – two goals. Alex Burrows started the game on the top line, but he slid down to play with Higgins and Kesler after Anaheim got up 4-0.
No goals in period one. The Ducks scored four on 10 shots on Luongo in period two. The Canucks replied with three in the third. Was a pretty entertaining game.
Cam Fowler had a rough game defensively, but he was bailed out a few times by Jonas Hiller. The Ducks have no offense to speak of outside of their five or six top guys up front, and it is going to be an issue over the course of the full season.
Aaron Rome was kicked out of the game for a late, high hit on Smith-Pelley of the Ducks. If he got four games in the Cup Final, this one should get him 20. In all seriousness, he could he receiving a game or two for it. Reckless.
Peter Holland scored his first career goal. Big, good skater, good shot. Looked a little bit like a poor man's Getzlaf.
Ville Leino scored his second goal of the season last night.
Jhonas Enroth stopped 36 shots and is now 5-0-0 on the season. Certainly providing the rest that Ryan Miller hasn't gotten in the past few years.
Mike Green left the game after going knee on knee with Ryan Carter. Can't buy a break these days….
Alex Semin was benched for the second half of the game last night.
Neal and Niskanen combined for nine shots on goal against their former team. Neal had two goals as well.
Eric Tangradi played for the Pens last night. Only seven minutes of ice time with a single shift on the PP, though.
Eric Nystrom is on fire right now – four goals in four games for Dallas.
First goal of the season for Brandon Dubinsky last night.
I didn't catch the Wings game, but it sounds like Jimmy Howard had a great game. Shutouts usually indicate that, but not always.
I'm excited to see Kris Russell in St. Louis. Expect at least a short term production increase. He should be energized from a fresh start and playing for a coach who really wanted him.
Mark Dekanich injured himself in warm-up in the AHL yesterday. It was his first start since spraining his ankle during training camp. No word on how long he'll be out for this time…. Steve Mason's reign of error continues on.
Adam Larsson scored his first career NHL goal last night. The proof: