November 21, 2011

Hurricanes @ Flyers

Hurricanes win 4-2

Although Cam Ward gets praise for his play every once in a while, he's still under-appreciated. He carried his team to a win in this one with 30 saves. Just watch the highlights, they're filled with 'em.

Matt Read now has a goal in the last five games. He also leads rookies with nine.

Of course Read's goal in this game was from a sweet, one-handed feed by James van Riemsdyk. JVR also tallied a goal himself by using his size and driving to the front of the net. He's an elite, power forward in the making.

Chad LaRose had a goal and two assists. Alexei Ponikarovsky had two goals and an assist. Each got two of their points on the power play. Hopefully this continues because prior to this game, their power play has not worked very well (bottom five in the league).

Jeff Skinner was probably the butt of a few figure skating jokes in his past. I don't think he cares.

Islanders @ Penguins

Penguins win 5-0

Sidney Crosby returns and contributes two goals and two assists. All of these points came with his backhand. I WAS NOT JOKING! #backhandswork

The Penguins are officially the scariest team in the league, hands down. Where is their weakness? Do they have one?

Marc-Andre Fleury had another stellar performance. Even if it was against the Islanders, he did make 29 saves for his second shutout of the year. He should be a Vezina Trophy candidate at season's end.

Watch Evgeni Malkin's pass on Steve Sullivan's goal. #mmmmmmgood

Pascal Dupuis now has 13 assists on the season. He also has four goals. That's not bad for a guy who's played in five different cities. How did he get passed up so many times?

And finally, the Islanders lose again. A team needs more than three wins a month to succeed. In November, the Isles have obtained five of a possible 18 points. #eeek

Coyotes @ Capitals

Capitals win 4-3

Radim Vrbata starts the game with a nifty, short-handed breakaway. #NHL12favorite

Lauri Korpikoski net two of his own. On the second one, Joel Ward makes a terrible turnover. Luckily for him, it didn't cost his team the game...this time. #crucialturnovers

The Capitals finally get two points after a four-game, winless streak. While good news, they've still only won two of their past eight games. It's time to pick it up.

Tomas Vokoun didn't look great, but at least came away with the "W." If this team is going to succeed, he needs to return to his NSH/FLA form.

Nicklas Backstrom gets a goal and an assist after failing to register a point in his last four. Relax, he'll probably be at 100 points come April of next year.

Flames @ Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets win 4-1

Curtis Sanford and Son came to the rescue again. He stopped 27 of 28 shots for his second consecutive win. That means he was in net for half of the Jackets' wins this season. He is now 2-0-1.

Jeff Carter is finally doing what he does best: scoring. Another game, another SNIPE. 

Vinny Prospal had three assists. It looks as though he's following his career trend. Stay healthy sir!

Bruins @ Canadiens

Bruins win 1-0

I love the rivalry between Boston and Montreal! This game did not disappoint.

The goaltenders shined in this one. If it wasn't for Tim Thomas's effort, the Canadiens would have easily won this match. Thomas stood on his head and made 33 saves for his league-leading, third shutout of the season. Carey Price also had a great game, stopping 17 of 18. 

Andrew Ference had the lone goal with five minutes left in the first period. He also lost his skate blade.

The Bruins have now won nine straight. #dannng

Devils @ Panthers

Panthers win 4-3

Twelve minutes into the game, the Devils were up 3-0. With two minutes left in the game, they were down 4-3. Despite some strong saves by Martin Brodeur, Jose Theodore and the Panthers battled back in spectacular form.

The three goals for the Devils all came within four minutes of each other in the first period. Ilya Kovalchuk, Petr Sykora and Dainius Zubrus all cashed in early. 

Then came the Panthers. Kris Versteeg netted two, consecutive goals the second period, followed by a Stephen Weiss shortie and a finishing blow by Tomas Fleischmann with just over two minutes left in the game. Worth noting - on Stephen Weiss's goal, Mike Weaver blocks a shot and Jason Garrison tosses some perfect sauce. 

The Panthers have accumulated 12 of a possible 18 points in November thus far. Not too shabby.

Oilers @ Stars

Stars win 4-1

The Stars finally ended their five-game losing streak. 

Kari Lehtonen bounces back with 17 saves for his league-leading, 12th win of the season. That stops his personal, three-game skid.

Mark Fistric lays the smackdown. 

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins records his 8th goal of the season. Man, this kid has some great hockey sense and the skills to match. On this goal, it's important to point out that Ryan Smyth caught the puck at center ice and set this whole thing up.

Michael Ryder hadn't registered a point during the Stars' losing streak. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Michael Ryder Snipeshow.

Other news: 

Tyler Myers is out for a month with a broken wrist. I guess that's why Buffalo bolstered its blue line this off-season.

Kyle Turris has been signed by the Coyotes to a two-year deal worth $2.8 million. Efficiency at its finest. #pfft