11:58 AM: Alright...mystery solved...here's verbatim from the "Who Is This Guy" piece from the Semi-Finals in 2009, just before Chicago faced Detroit for the Western Conference (Puckin Around #97 - "What Happens Next?" - I actually remember researching this quite vividly:

"Believe it or not, Dustin started out his hockey career and was drafted as a defenseman, but has quickly graduated to right wing, and for good reason – he can get into the dirty areas of the ice and cause problems for the opposition, but still look after his own end as well.  A veteran of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings and Prince George Cougars, as a member of the Norfolk Admirals, he was named to the AHL’s second all star team in 2007.  He was called up to the Blackhawks on November 3, 2007, after scoring 7 points in 8 games with the Rockford Icehogs.  He has called Chicago home ever since thanks to his big body presence and soft hands around the net.  Of course, it didn’t hurt to get a goal his first shift against the St. Louis Blues, and his first career hat trick versus the Phoenix Coyotes on November 30, 2007."

So...I'm NOT crazy after all...hey - if Bruno Gervais can play forward this year for the Islanders, anything's possible - RIGHT?!!?

Picks to be posted soon...

11:49 AM: OK, maybe it's just a testament to how good of a player he really is, but I just realized this morning that Dustin Byfuglien is a Defenseman...please...don't laugh...

It all started when I watched highlights of his OT goal last night against Buffalo - he literally went end to end, and seriously - Sidney Crosby eat your heart out...the Thrashers' announcer quipped "Not bad for a defenseman!!" which my immediate reaction was they still don't know hockey in Atlanta...well evidently they had one up on me...

How could one not think he's a forward when he got so many of his goals last season from "Ryan Smyth's Office"...the guy joins the rush all the time...

So I looked up the Chicago roster from last year, and sure enough...position, "D"....as in DOH!!!!!!!  Maybe I should go back and read my article where I featured him in "Who Is This Guy"?!

I already had a great deal of respect for the man, well, more now...now I fully understand the Cap debacle...too many Defensemen making too much money...

How did I possibly make that mistake for this long?!?

Now if Atlanta can actually make some noise this year, I'll be even more impressed...

10:59 PM: Chicago peppered Nikolai Khabibulin with 41 shots, and were relentless in the 3rd with an 11-2 shot advantage, but it was Sam Gagner, on just the 2nd shot for the Oilers of the 3rd, with an empty net goal to seal the deal...Oilers go into the barn of the defending Stanley Cup Champions and win convincingly, 7-4...all of a sudden the road trip wasn't such a write off after all...they got 4 out of a possible 8 points, and now head home to face Vancouver and Detroit next week...a win Tuesday and they're right in the thick of things in the division...Canucks don't play again until Monday against New Jersey...

As I say, it doesn't get any easier...but for now I'll enjoy this one...especially given some of the lopsided games these two have played over the past couple of years...

Still scoreless between the Devils and Ducks...they're in the 2nd period...I think I'm passing on that one...

Tonight it's either Rocky Horror or Back To The Future Part III...or maybe both...I want to try and get The Haunted Mansion in this weekend too...maybe tomorrow night...

Weird hockey schedule this weekend - 14 games on Saturday, ZERO games on Sunday...?!?!!?!?!?!?  Not sure what the NHL was thinking about there...maybe they wanted to give the players a chance to go trick or treating?!?!

10:48 PM: 6-4 as the Oilers took a penalty for too many men on the ice...and Patrick Sharp matched his number with goal #10 of the year...quietly he has 1G 2A on the night...the goal was a blast that hit iron on the way in...Duncan Keith is also quietly working on a 3 point night...he hit the crossbar moments before Sharp's goal...

4:46 left...Chicago is once again coming on...

10:32 PM: The Oilers are having themselves a game in Chicago...Taylor Hall took 8 games to score his first NHL goal, but it only took him until 1:53 of the first period of his 9th game to score his 2nd...Jonathan Toews would reply on the power play at 9:49 and Chicago appeared to have all the momentum...but then all of a sudden the floodgates opened...Ales Hemsky at 16:55, Jordan Eberle 35 seconds later at 17:30, and Sam Gagner 34 seconds after that, at 18:04...all of a sudden it was 4-1, Oilers...Patrick Kane would tally before the period was 20 minutes old, and it was a 4-2 lead for Edmonton at the first intermission...that would be all she wrote for Marty Turco - Corey Crawford would start the second period...Andrew Cogliano got his 1st of the season 2:08 into the middle frame, and the 3 goal lead was restored...Jake Dowell would score his 2nd in as many games at 10:46 and all of a sudden the Hawks were coming back to life again, until Ryan Jones got his 2nd of the season at 17:26 - Edmonton 6  Chicago 3 after 40 minutes, and that's where we stand in the 3rd...Hall and Eberle both have 1G 1A, Shawn Horcoff, who I've never seen skate faster than he has this season so far, has 2A, as does Magnus Paajarvi and Kurtis Foster...total team effort tonight...and finally they're getting some breaks...

Fernando Pisani is playing in his first game against his former team...was a pretty solid signing for Chicago considering all the bodies that moved out over the summer...he's been pretty invisible in this game, though...

13:45 remaining...this one is far from over, however...this is Chicago after all...

Philadelphia 3  Pittsburgh 2 - There were broo-ha-has before the game was 25 seconds old...Mike Richards went with Matt Cooke right off the faceoff, and Jody Shelley went with Deryk Engelland 17 seconds later...a little more roughing and interference later, finally we got down to hockey...another close one between these two...Claude Giroux' 2 goal effort was the difference, as he scored on the power play and shorthanded (that's something like 3 shorties already for him)...Daniel Carcillo the other Flyers goal...Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy for the Penguins...Letang added an assist, Crosby and Malkin as well got an Apple each...

Montreal 3  NY Islanders 1 - Alex Auld gave Carey Price the night off, and the Habs sweep the home and home against the Islanders, thanks to Benoit Pouliot and Travis Moen's second goals of the year, Tomas Plekanec with his 5th...Matt Martin, called up from Bridgeport, scored his first NHL goal...

Carolina 4  NY Rangers 3 - Back on the road after having only played one home game so far, the Carolina Hurricanes had a big two goal night from Jeff Skinner, as well as scoring from Erik Cole and Tuomo Ruutu...Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky and Marc Staal for the Rangers...Cam Ward rebounded from last night's loss with a 40 save effort...

Atlanta 4  Buffalo 3  F/OT - The Thrashers are on fire...but they almost let Buffalo steal one...Tim Connolly and Jordan Leopold had the Sabres out to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes, then Atlanta went to work...Nik Antropov and Alex Burmistrov tied it 2-2 through 40 minutes...Niclas Bergfors and Derek Roy traded goals in the 3rd, and we were tied 3-3 after regulation...looked like this one was headed to the shootout, until Dustin Byfuglien scored his 4th at 4:29 into overtime, and Thrashers win again...Ondrej Pavelec is expected back tomorrow night...but Chris Mason was no slouch, making 25 saves vs only 18 for Ryan Miller...a rather ordinary start for the Swordsmen...

Aside from Edmonton-Chicago, the only other game tonight has the New Jersey Devils in Anaheim to face the Ducks...so far nothing to report there halfway through the 1st...heading to the 3rd period at the United Center...

So we know Columbus beat Edmonton 3-2...here's what else happened last night:

Boston 2  Toronto 0 - It was Milton Schmidt night, as the B's retired their former captain's #15 - Schmidt has also coached and managed the team...it was Phil Kessel's fourth visit to Boston since being traded to the Leafs, but first time the Leafs faced the Bruins since Tyler Seguin was drafted and made the team...and poetic justice was served - Seguin scored a goal and sent the crowd into a frenzy - "Thank you, Kessel!" was the chant...in case you've been living under a rock, Seguin was the first round draft pick Boston ended up with as part of the Kessel trade...Patrice Bergeron scored the other Bruins goal...Tim Thomas made 20 saves for the shutout...Kessel, on the other hand, has a mere assist in the four visits to TD Banknorth Garden...

Ottawa 5  Florida 3 - 8 different goal scorers, the Sens scored 3 in the 2nd period and cruise past Florida 5-3...Chris Higgins, Brian McCabe (who actually scored the first goal of the game), and Mike Santorelli scored for the Cats; Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher, Alex Kovalev (who all of a sudden has 3 goals in 2 games), Milan Michalek, and Zack Smith for the Senators...Ottawa has their first 2 game winning streak of the season...

Phoenix 4  Detroit 2 - Usually when Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom score, the Red Wings end up having a good night - not the case tonight...43 saves for Ilya Bryzgalov, and a 2 goal night for Lauri Korpikoski along with Radim Vrbata's 3rd and Keith Yandle's 2nd in as many games - Dogs bite hard...

St. Louis 3  Nashville 0 - Nashville can't seem to buy a goal at home, but somehow still lead the Central Division...but maybe not for long...Jaroslav Halak could end up being the reason why...24 saves for his second shutout of the season...Patrick Berglund, Matt D'Agostini and Alex Steen provided the Blues offense...they aren't singing the Blues so far...it was Nashville's first loss within their division this season...

Minnesota 2  Washington 1 - Alex Ovechkin's goalless streak is over, but the Wild win 2-1 on the strength of goals from Chuck Kobasew and Mikko Koivu...

Los Angeles 5  Dallas 2 - Guess who's leading the Western Conference?  If you said Los Angeles, you're right...30 save performance for Jonathan Quick, and 5 different scorers for the Kings...Dustin Brown, Willie Mitchell, Alex Ponikarovsky, Wayne Simmonds and Justin Williams...Brad Richards and Brandon Segal for Dallas...not only did Richards score, he broke the glass...

Colorado 6  Calgary 5 - In a key Northwest Division match up, the Flames were looking for some breathing room...they didn't get it...Chris Stewart scored a hat trick, T.J. Galliardi, Brandon Yip and Daniel Winnick bested five different Flames scorers, Nik Hagman, Tim Jackman, Matt Stajan, Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay...aside from Hagman and Tanguay, the rest get their first goals of the year...

9:36 PM: Edmonton is having a field day in Chicago, of all places...more on that to come after I deal with the rest of the action from yesterday...in fact, when I last reported on the Oilers, it was 3rd period of last night's game after Taylor Hall had scored his 1st NHL goal...well, the game needed overtime, nothing decided there, so we'd need a shootout for the second straight game...and same result...both Rick Nash and Nikita Filatov scored goals in the shootout, Sam Gagner and Gilbert Brule could not - although Brule did hit the post...and the Blue Jackets pulled it out 3-2...Oilers can't seem to buy a break - they even killed off a boarding penalty in OT to get it to the shootout...

Tonight, however, different story...so far...more to come...

9:35 PM: Overtime at Nationwide Arena...Oilers carry over a power play...

9:21 PM: Moments ago, Taylor Hall finally got one...took until 9:57 of the 3rd period of his 8th NHL game, but it's a Theo Peckham blast on a power play that hit Hall's stick and redirected through Steve Mason's 5-hole...the goal tied the game 2-2 between Edmonton and Columbus...

Devan Dubnyk is giving Nikolai Khabibulin the night off, and is keeping his team in it...

Samuel Pahlsson got the scoring started 4:11 into the 1st...Shawn Horcoff tied it at 7:20, on another powerplay...Kyle Wilson, however, at 18:09 of the first, made it 2-1 Jackets...that's where it stayed until Hall's goal...

The Oilers just killed off a big penalty, and have 5:33 left to either score another or get it to overtime...

6:08 PM: Looks like I could be channel surfing tonight...Boston hosts Toronto, the Oilers are in Columbus, Ottawa is home to Florida, and Phoenix invades Detroit, where the Coyotes might think they're actually home - they've been getting Tornado warnings over in Windsor/Detroit thanks to a massive tropical warm front going thru there...of course, all that hot air is pushing a cold front over here...

In other action, St. Louis travels to Nashville to meet up with the Western Conference leading Predators (could this be Nashville's year?)...Washington is in Minnesota...Los Angeles, stymied by Marty Turco last night, meets his former team in Dallas tonight...and Calgary hosts Colorado...

Looks like the Islanders have sent "El Nino", Nino Niederreiter, back to junior, where he'll play for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL...of course, there's now a very good possibility he could play for Switzerland again in the upcoming World Junior tournament in Buffalo...apart from some guy named Eberle, he was one of the top scorers in last year's tournament...

Today news came out of Toronto that Graham James, convicted sex offender, had surrendered to police...one of James' many accusers, Theoren Fleury, fresh off his Battle of the Blades stint, was on the record with this "I think there's one less predator on the street and he can't hurt any more kids".  Fleury further went on to say while he is not happy with how slowly justice is being served, he'll not only be willing to testify in court, but willing to do whatever he can to put an end to the saga which he made no secret of when he released his autobiography just over a year ago...

In the World Series, it was Game 1 between the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers...and it wasn't even close...tied 2-2 thru 3, a 6 run 6th inning for the Giants was enough to win - the final score ended up being 11-7, but only because the Rangers rallied late with a 3 run 9th...too little too late...Cliff Lee had his worst showing of the post season for the Rangers...Giants lead the series 1-0...

Incidentally, Sony's "MLB 10 - The Show" video game predicted the Giants in 7...we'll see...this definitely has the potential of being of those homefield advantage series...Game 2 tonight back in San Fran and then the scene shifts to Arlington for the next 3...

Back to Hockey...

Washington 3  Carolina 0 - Michal Neuvirth made 29 saves for his first NHL career shutout, Nick Backstrom scored twice, including an empty netter, Capitals, again without much of a contribution from Ovie (although he did register an assist), shut out the Hurricanes 3-0 in what was their home opener...since taking the Finland trip to start the season they've been on the road ever since...by the team's estimation they've travelled more than 15,000 miles across 11 time zones...one would think they'd get a nice long home stand now, but they are back on the road Friday as they face the NY Rangers at MSG, then head right back home to face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday...the games don't get any easier...

Atlanta 6  NY Rangers 4 - The Rangers were looking to continue their winning ways, but ran into the Thrashers and 6 different goal scorers, Nik Bergfors (1), Eric Boulton (1), Dustin Byfuglien (3), Evander Kane (6), Andrew Ladd (4) and Brian Little (1)...Sean Avery (1), Brian Boyle (3), Ryan Callahan (2) and Todd White (1) couldn't keep up the pace...Martin Biron made 20 saves in a losing cause vs Chris Mason's 24 saves...there was word this week in the New York Post that White was on the verge of being released by the Rangers after being a healthy scratch more often than not...his 1st of the season and first in a Ranger uniform should help his cause...if he doesn't remain with the club, perhaps Bryan Murray should re-sign him...Ottawa could use all the grit they can get...he still owns a home in Kanata from what I understand...

Montreal 5  NY Islanders 3 - It had the potential of being a real barn burner, and looks like it was, as the Habs welcomed John Tavares and the Islanders to le Centre Bell...8 total goals scored, 8 different goal scorers...Tomas Plekanec led the way with 1G 1A, Mathieu Darche, Travis Moen got their 1st goals of the season, Moen's shorthanded, Jeff Halpern scored the GWG, and Andrei Kostitsyn scored into an empty net...John Tavares with his 6th of the season, James Wisniewski scored 1 and assisted on 2 - Habs win another one as the Islanders start to come down to earth a little bit...

Tampa Bay 5  Pittsburgh 3 - Hell of a start for the Bolts, as once again the usual suspects of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are kept off the scoresheet for Pittsburgh, relatively speaking...Crosby got an assist...Martin St. Louis scored twice including the GWG, and assisted on another; Vinny Lecavalier scored his 3rd, Dana Tyrell and Teddy Purcell each scored their 1st of the campaign...Steven Stamkos with 2 assists to add to his point total...for the Penguins, Craig Adams and Matt Cooke both scored shorthanded goals on the same penalty, and Pascal Dupuis got the 3rd Pens goal in a losing cause...

Chicago 3  Los Angeles 1 - The Kings, winners of 5 of their last 6, couldn't get enough pucks by Marty Turco - Justin Williams' 3rd of the season was the only one to beat him, Turco made 33 saves the rest of the way, one of them a shot from Alex Ponikarovsky that beat him, but not the goalpost...Jake Dowell and Viktor Stalberg scored all the Hawks would need to win, Patrick Sharp added his 9th as insurance...the Champions are tied in points with Nashville for 1st in the Central Division and the Western Conference - the Predators have 3 games at hand on Chicago...they may have lost Marian Hossa for 2 weeks or more, as he left the game and did not return with an "upper body injury"...either a shoulder or an arm...coach Quenneville says it's not serious...

San Jose 5  New Jersey 2 - The only other team in the NHL as pathetic as the Oilers right now are the New Jersey Devils...both teams are tied in points with 5, with Edmonton having played 3 less games...well, as they say it's still early...with all due respect to both teams, last night was the Joe Thornton show - he figured in on all five San Jose goals, scoring a hat trick and assisting on the other two...Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau got their 3rd goals of the year...much like last Saturday night, it was 3-0 Sharks before the game was 20 minutes old...David Clarkson and Andy Greene made it interesting, but this one in all fairness wasn't even close...Martin Brodeur, despite giving up five goals, still made 34 saves to Antero Nittymaki's 27...they don't ask how, they just ask how many...

But before we get to that...when I signed off on Tuesday night, it was tied 2-2 between the Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche after 40 minutes...4:58 into the 3rd, Peter Schaefer scored his 1st of the year and 1st since rejoining the Canucks, and it looked like Vancouver was good for the win...Matt Duchene, however, tied it 3-3 with the goalie pulled at 18:27, his 2nd, and we'd need OT...it only took 28 seconds for Mason Raymond to get the win...Canucks win 4-3 in OT...Canucks and Avalanche attempt to keep the pace with Minnesota and Calgary...and then you have Edmonton at the bottom of the Northwest with 5 points...OUCH!!...how important is the season series between Edmonton-Vancouver and Edmonton-Colorado going to be?

11:43 PM: Calgary opts to let Edmonton go first...Ales Hemsky - no goal...Nik Hagman - no goal...

Here comes Eberle...No Goal...but nice moves...Kipper got him with the pad...

Alex Tanguay...goal...

It's all up to Dustin Penner...no...

Flames win 3 in a row...Oilers get a point but one could argue they deserved a better fate...Kipper says Happy Birthday to me...

11:39 PM: First shootout of the season for Edmonton...back and forth during overtime, both teams getting their chances...

This should be interesting...Eberle?  Hall?  Horcoff?  Hemsky?

Tied 2-2 in Vancouver...Anaheim won 5-2 in Dallas...since the last update, Selanne and Perry getting on the board for the Ducks, Brian Sutherby for Dallas...Winnik for Colorado, Kesler for Vancouver...

11:11 PM: As if it wasn't already - here's the official Barn Burner Alert:...tied 4-4 in Calgary...Tom Gilbert's 2nd of the season gets through the Dustin Penner and Sam Gagner screen...Kipper never saw it...

10 minutes left...

11:05 PM: Magnus Paajarvi's 2nd of the season gets the Oilers within 1...it wasn't pretty, but they all count!!  It's 4-3...Paajarvi has an assist on the Foster goal too...

12:50 remaining...I told you this would be a barn burner...

10:35 PM: Jordan Eberle gets his 3rd of the season, and 1st even strength goal...there was just 17 seconds remaining in the 2nd...Oilers still trail 4-2 but now hopefully have some momentum...

10:33 PM: 9 goals, 9 different goal scorers in Philadelphia, as the Buffalo Sabres were visiting...Steve Montador (1), Tyler Myers (3) and Thomas Vanek (4) were no match for Danny Briere (6), Jeff Carter (3), Claude Giroux (4), Andreas Nodl (1), Darroll Powe (2) and Nik Zherdev (2)...Zherdev finally looks like the player he was expected to be in Columbus and New York...Flyers double up 6-3...

Ottawa's Alex Kovalev finally joined his team tonight on the scoreboard as the Phoenix Coyotes deposited two goals at the Bank...Sami Lepisto and Keith Yandle tried to get the Dogs into it late, but the Senators finally played a well rounded game, thanks to Kovalev's 2, Chris Kelly's 2nd, Erik Karlsson's 2nd, and Daniel Alfredsson's 1,001st career point, 5th goal of the season...Sens win 5-2...Karlsson and Kovalev scored 9 seconds apart, a new franchise record...Sergei Gonchar played in his 1,000th NHL game...

There are members of Ottawa's scouting staff present in Calgary...rumors are already starting that Bryan Murray could have his eye on Dustin Penner...again...

It's late in the 2nd period in Dallas, where Bobby Ryan has 2, George Parros has his 1st of the year, and Loui Eriksson has his 5th...Ducks are up 3-1 on the Stars...

Tied 1-1 in Vancouver...Davy Jones for the Avs, Jeff Tambellini for the Canucks...they're past the halfway mark of the 1st...

Flames are relentless in their attack on the Oilers...still 4-1 there, but could be 7-1 by now...

10:19 PM: Brendan Morrison got a second shorthanded break and made no mistake this time - 4-1 Flames...

Mark Giordano just got into a fight with Colin Fraser...Fraser sticking up for his teammate Taylor Hall who took a good hit from him seconds earlier...Hall was no worse for wear...

10:00 PM: Just about to drop the puck on the second period in Calgary - Flames scored a late 1st period goal - Jay Bouwmeester got his 1st of the season with just 20 seconds left...Olli Jokinen and Sam Gagner, of all people, got into a fight at 19:45...

Toronto was home to Florida - and it was Colton Orr getting the game winner, his 2nd...Tyler Bozak scored his 1st, and Phil Kessel got some insurance, his 7th - Denis Wideman with his 2nd, and the Leafs beat the Panthers 3-1...

5-3 lead for Philadelphia over Buffalo and a 5-2 lead for Ottawa over Phoenix late in the 3rd...tied 1-1 between Anaheim and Dallas, and the late start has Colorado up against Vancouver...

Flames lead 3-1 on Curtis Glencross' 2nd...Brendan Morrison almost got a shorthanded goal...

In action from Monday October 25th,

The Columbus Blue Jackets edged the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 at home thanks to Derrick Brassard's 2nd in as many games, and Kyle Wilson's first NHL goal...Ville Leino scored for Philly...Mathieu Garon made 28 saves for the win...hopefully now they can get more fans out to the games...they had 11,727 at Nationwide Arena...

Phoenix started their Canadian road trip against Montreal...and held their own...Derek Morris and Kyle Turris for the Coyotes, Mike Cammalleri and Tomas Plekanec for the Habs...we needed overtime, and Andrei Kostitsyn scored the winner 1:25 into the extra frame...

Los Angeles and Minnesota also went to OT tied 2-2 and solved nothing after 65 minutes...the shootout needed 10 shooters - and the Kings' Michal Handzus got the winner, Jonathan Quick saved Antti Miettinen's attempt, Kings win 3-2...Anze Kopitar and Jarret Stoll not only scored in the shootout, they got their 3rd goals of the season, John Madden and Nick Schultz replied for the Wild...

Missed reporting about 2 more games from Saturday...the Los Angeles Kings scored a 6-4 win against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver...Brad Richardson with a hat trick for the Kings, Milan Hejduk and Paul Stastny both with 2 goals...wasn't enough...and the Carolina Hurricanes blew a 3-0 lead but hung on for the OT win 4-3 against the Phoenix Coyotes...Anton Babchuk, Patrick Dwyer, Jussi Jokinen and Sergei Samsonov all with their 2nd of the year, Babchuk's tally the GWG - Kyle Turris with 2 goals for Phoenix, Scottie Upshall with the tying goal...all 3 goals for the Desert Dogs scored in the 3rd...

On Sunday, in Tampa Bay, 7 goals went up on the board from 7 different players...Cody Franson (2), Sergei Kostitsyn (1), Shea Weber (1), and Colin Wilson (2) bested Sean Bergenheim (3), Adam Hall (1) and Martin St. Louis (3), and the Nashville Predators beat the Bolts 4-3...

In New York, Ilya Kovalchuk was back in the New Jersey Devils lineup and scored his 3rd of the season, but it was Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky and Michal Rozsival getting 3 on the board for the Rangers and their 3rd straight win...

And after blowing out the Oilers 6-1 on Saturday, no such luck for the San Jose Sharks on Sunday...Rene Bourque had 2, Jarome Iginla and Craig Conroy scored their 2nd goals of the year, Mikka Kiprusoff made 27 saves as the Calgary Flames get the 4-0 shutout...

9:19 PM: 3rd game of the season between the Oilers and Flames...and Brendan Morrison has Calgary out to an early 1-0 lead with a power play goal...but Edmonton is heading to the power play...

Plenty of hockey to catch up on since Saturday night...

Kurtis Foster gets one - 1-1...power plays are 1 for 1 for both teams...11:11 left...I get the feeling this could turn into a real barn burner...it's Miikka Kiprusoff's birthday today...#34 is 34...

Oilers will have to be aware of Rene Bourque...he didn't play in either of the first two Battles of Alberta, but since returning he has 6 goals in as many games...5 of them scored in the last two...

12:39 AM: OK...so the World Series is set - the Texas Rangers will meet the San Francisco Giants...the series will start Wednesday in the city where Rice-R-Roni was invented...last possible date to crown a winner will be Thursday, November 4...should be an interesting one between two small market teams...

Oilers got absolutely schooled by the Sharks...6-1 the final...John McCarthy got his first NHL goal somewhere in there for San Jose...Heatley looks like he may have got 2...still nothing from the two time Memorial Cup MVP...

More on the rest of the action before this weekend is over...now, it's to my basement...Back To The Future Part II...the 25th anniversary Blu Ray came out this week...bought the original trilogy release back when it first came out on DVD...watched the 1st one last week...again...

Will pop that in right after Jordan Eberle's appearance on After Hours...

11:32 PM: 2-1 Sharks in the 2nd, thanks to another goal from Logan Couture...

In the bottom of the 9th in Philadelphia, it's San Francisco with a 3-2 lead in the game and in the NLCS...last chance for the Phillies...

10:46 PM: Tied 1-1 after 1 period of play in Edmonton between the Oilers and San Jose Sharks...Jordan Eberle and Dany Heatley have traded goals...Eberle with his 2nd of the year and 2nd career NHL goal...hard to believe Heatley only has 2...

A lot of games already over...starting at the top...

Boston Bruins were home to the New York Rangers...and it was Marc Staal with what would end up being the GWG just 48 seconds into the 2nd...it was 2-1 after one period on the strength of Artem Anisimov's 3rd of the year, on a power play, and Alexander Frolov's 2nd of the year...Zdeno Chara replied...after Staal's goal in the 2nd, Nathan Horton would score his 5th for Boston, but Henrik Lundqvist would shut down the Bruins the rest of the way...Rangers win 3-2...

In Detroit, a barn burner between the Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks...Henrik Zetterberg and Bobby Ryan traded their 2nd goals of the year, and after the 1st period it was 1-1...3-3 after 40 minutes, after Ryan Carter and Danny Syvret tallied for the Ducks, then Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom went to work for the Wings...all of the goal scorers in the second got their first of the year, except for Franzen - his 5th...in the 3rd, Teemu Selanne put the Ducks ahead again with his 4th, but Detroit would have none of it...Henrik Zetterberg would tie it with his 2nd of the game, 3rd of the season...looked like we might have overtime, but Pavel Datsyuk scored his 4th of the season, with only 12 seconds left on the clock...Detroit will take it...4-3 the final...Zetterberg had 2 assists to go along with his 2 goals...

A bit of a surprise move - in New Jersey, first year head coach John Maclean announced not long before the game against Buffalo that their big money man, Ilya Kovalchuk, would be a healthy scratch?!?!  Maclean would only address the media by saying "he knows why...I'll decide if he plays tomorrow against the Rangers"...well, if he intended the move would shake up his team, it didn't work...Buffalo put 6 on the board, and only Zach Parise could get one for the Devils...Martin Brodeur, by the way, had the night off - it was Johan Hedberg in goal for NJ...speaking of big money men, Thomas Vanek had 2 for the Swords...Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers, Tyler Ennis and Patrick Kaleta all figured in the box score...

Atlanta and Washington needed overtime to decide their game - after regulation it was Alex Semin 3, Evander Kane 2, Andrew Ladd 1...Tomas Fleischmann won it for the Capitals 1:37 into the extra period...Capitals 4  Thrashers 3...don't be surprised to see Alex Ovechkin scratched soon...nothing from him for about the last three games or so...

Same score in Sunrise, as John Tavares had a hat trick for the NY Islanders, against 4 different scorers for the Florida Panthers...Steve Bernier, David Booth, Radek Dvorak and Mike Weaver...Cats eat the Fish Sticks 4-3...

Ottawa couldn't carry the momentum from last night into their game against Montreal tonight...a big fat goose egg on the scoreboard for the Sens...3 for the Habs, including 2 from Andrei Kostitsyn...Benoit Pouliot gets his 1st of the year...so far this season that trade (Latendresse) is advantage Minnesota...Montreal 3  Ottawa 0...Carey Price gets his first shutout in 2 years...

In St. Louis, it was a story of anything you can do, I can do better...scoreless after regulation between the Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins - Eric Johnson with the winner in overtime - Jaroslav Halak still has Pittsburgh's number, and the Blues win 1-0...

Same score in Dallas where the Nashville Predators were in town - Pekka Rinne with his 15th career shutout, Cal O'Reilly with his 1st of the season - Preds shut out the Stars 1-0...

Toronto went 4-0 to start the season, and now all of a sudden have come back to earth - the Leafs are now 4-2-1 after dropping a 5-2 decision to Philadelphia at Wells Fargo Center...the Flyers snap a 3 game skid...Phil Kessel and Clarke MacArthur for Toronto, Blair Betts, Danny Briere, Scott Hartnell, Ville Leino and Mike Richards for Philly...

It was a big night for the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road in Chicago...after falling behind 2-0 in the first thanks to goals from Patrick Sharp (8) and Jonathan Toews (2), back came the Jackets...Derrick Brassard got on the board with his 1st of the year in the 2nd, and it was 2-1 after 40 minutes...R.J. Umberger tied it with his 4th on a power play 1:33 into the 3rd, and Antoine Vermette (who Ottawa must miss big time) scored the GWG to complete the rally at 6:29...Steve Mason made 30 saves versus Corey Crawford's 37, but no matter, Columbus with the 3-2 win...

The Vancouver Canucks won the rubber match at home against the Minnesota Wild - they cruised to a 5-1 win - it was 2-0 after 2 periods of play, and in the 3rd, it was the Manny Malhotra show - he got 2 goals and assisted on another...Antti Miettinen had the lone Wild goal...

13 games on this Saturday - the Ottawa Senators head home where Montreal is waiting for them...it'll be interesting to see if the Sens can carry over the momentum from last night's historic win...Toronto is home to Philadelphia - and the night cap on HNIC has the Edmonton Oilers hosting San Jose...wedged in between, the NY Rangers are in Boston, the Anaheim Ducks are in Detroit, Buffalo heads to Newark, Atlanta is in Washington, the NY Islanders are in Sunrise, Nashville travels to Dallas, Pittsburgh goes to St. Louis, Columbus visits the Champs, Los Angeles are in the Mile High, Carolina takes their storm to the Desert...

On Sunday, Nashville heads across the Gulf of Mexico to Tampa Bay, the Devils invade Manhattan, and San Jose makes their way south to Calgary...

11:11 PM: You can put it in the win column...the Texas Rangers are American League Champions...final score 6-1...they're going nuts in Arlington...in New York?  Not so much...the Yankees are going home...for a lot of teams a loss in Game 6 of the ALCS would be considered a good season...for the Yankees, anything less than a World Series ring is considered failure...oh well...I guess what must hurt the most for New York is they spent well over $200 million in player salaries (I think it was more like $220 million actually) and were beat soundly by a team with a combined payroll just slightly more than what Alex Rodriguez makes...$55 million - that's combined team payroll for the Texas Rangers...A-Rod made a disgusting $33 million just for THIS season...just to look pretty and get busy with the stars it would seem...the lasting image of this series will be Neftali Feliz catching him looking for Strike 3, and the last out, earning the save and the AL Pennant...mighty Casey has struck out...

Josh Hamilton was named MVP of the ALCS - I've been reading up on this guy after hearing Howard talk about him on his show earlier in the week...it's the sort of thing that'll bring a tear to your eye, when you see where he was, and where he is now...unbelievable...they always talk about how people who play professional sports are overpaid...well for this guy, you can't pay him enough money to relive what he went through...

Of course...the joke is already out there...Rangers are moving on to the "Y'all Classic"...hey, look it up...it's on WorldSeries.com...

Giants-Phillies tomorrow night...Flyers are home to the Leafs at 7 PM...there'll be no changing the time on that one...it's on HNIC and NHLNET...

10:55 PM: Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports Alfie scored his 1st NHL point against, guess who?  Buffalo...on October 7, 1995...upon further review, I found a box score from the game at hockey-reference.com (very informative site!) - he assisted on a goal by, get this...Michel Picard...Sens lost the game 3-1...goaltenders of record?  Dominik Hasek for Buffalo...Don Beaupre for Ottawa...

Here's an interesting stat...with the 3 goals tonight, Alfredsson ties Claude Lemieux for 97th on the all-time goal scoring list...in 1996 Alfie won the Calder Trophy, Lemieux won the Stanley Cup...hmmm...

10:51 PM: More hat trick heroics...out of five games on the schedule, a player has a hat trick in three of them...Steve Stamkos had 3G 1A in a 5-2 win for the Tampa Bay Lightning against Atlanta...Vinny Lecavalier and Brett Clark also tallied for the Bolts...Dustin Byfuglien and Jim Slater for the Thrash...Lecavalier and Byfuglien both had 1A to add to their goals, and Martin St. Louis had 2A...

Byfuglien, Ben Eager, Brent Sopel and Andrew Ladd along with assistant coach John Torchetti were presented with their Stanley Cup Rings by Chicago Blackhawks vice president Al MacIsaac on Friday afternoon...he just happened to be in the neighborhood...might have been more fitting, however, if he would have waited until November 6 when Chicago visits Atlanta...

In St. Louis, Byfuglien's former team dropped a 4-2 decision to the Blues...David Perron with 2 goals, 23 saves for Halak vs 24 for Turco...Roman Polak's 1st of the season was the GWG...Brent Seabrook and Patrick Sharp for the Hawks...Sharp has lit the lamp 7 times so far...

Vancouver leads 1-0 after 20 minutes against Minnesota...Raffi Torres with his 2nd...

10:20 PM: Game 6 of the ALCS, and the Texas Rangers are poised to put the New York Yankees out of their misery and move on to their first ever World Series...it's 5-1 in the 6th inning...

Tomorrow night, a win for San Francisco against the Phillies, and they'll be in too...Philadelphia has Game 6 and 7 at home, however...

10:11 PM: Daniel Alfredsson, like he meant to do it...scored into an empty net with just 22 seconds left...give him the hat trick and his 1,000th NHL point...Ottawa was on a power play late but the Sabres pulled Ryan Miller to at least make it a 5 on 5 situation...no matter...Sens win the game 4-2...like I said...we've seen this movie before...slow start...go into Buffalo and get it going...

Now let's see if this is the kick in the rear end they need...it's funny - over the years we've seen the best AND worst out of Ottawa, against Buffalo...so only fitting that Alfie scores his 1,000 against them...certainly not his biggest ever goal against them, but for now, the Sens will take it...

Was just checking Wikipedia to see if it tells me who he scored his 1st against...they've already updated the page to reflect the 1,000th point...that was fast...

9:36 PM: A light five game schedule tonight, before it kicks into high gear Saturday...

They haven't yet announced the official attendance in Columbus tonight, but chances are with Calgary in town it's better than last game...at least maybe for the first period anyway...Nik Hagman, Ian White and Rene Bourque had all scored for Calgary before the game was 20 minutes old...Derek Dorsett for the Jackets, and it was 3-1 Flames at the first Intermission...Bourque would add his 2nd of the game, shorthanded, just 5:08 into the second...Jan Hejda would reply for Columbus in the 3rd, but Alex Tanguay made it 5-2, and Rene Bourque completed the hat trick, and the Jackets proved they aren't fireproof...after losing a tough one last night, Calgary goes into Columbus with a chip on their shoulder and clobbered them 6-2...

Speaking of chips on shoulders...the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres were both expecting a better start to the season than what has transpired so far...seems to me we've seen this movie before - Sens go into Buffalo and steal two points...well, it's not over yet, but the Senators are up 3-2 in the 3rd on the strength of 2 goals by Daniel Alfredsson...Ryan Shannon has the other Ottawa goal...Tim Connolly has both Buffalo goals...if Alfie scores another goal or assists on one he will have reached 1,000 career NHL points...he came into tonight with 997...maybe he's saving it for tomorrow night against Montreal...or, maybe...just maybe...like Gretzky, Bossy and countless others before him...it'll be an empty netter??

Rest of the action still going...it's tied 2-2 between Chicago and St. Louis after 2...Bolts are up 4-1 on the Thrashers in the 3rd, and Vancouver-Minnesota is a 10 PM EST start...

New Jersey 3  Montreal 0 - As mentioned briefly last night - Martin Brodeur posted his 112th career NHL shutout, Jason Arnott, Zach Parise and Matt Taormina provided the Devils' offense...Arnott 1G 1A...New Jersey has won 5 straight games at le Centre Bell...Habs are 0 for 11 on the power play on home ice...as for the man who is supposed to be the savior in Montreal - Carey Price has a 2-4-1 record for his career against Marty and the boys...

Boston 4  Washington 1 - The Bruins start every season on a long road trip because the TD Banknorth Garden hosts the Circus during the first week and a half...well they finally got to play their home opener yesterday, and it was the back end of a home and home against the Washington Capitals...you may have caught his picture on the front page briefly - Steven Tyler of Aerosmith sang The Star Spangled Banner and came out decked in a Bruins T-shirt...it was more of the same for Boston, as they sweep the two game set against Ovie and company, who was kept of the scoresheet for both games...Bruins power play was 3 for 4 as Michael Ryder, Zdeno Chara and Nathan Horton all tallied...Jordan Caron scored his 2nd career goal...Patrice Bergeron had 2A...Jason Chimera replied with an unassisted effort but it was nowhere near enough...

Anaheim 3  Philadelphia 2 - A late ugly goal from Ryan Getzlaf was the difference in this close, hard fought affair...Curtis McElhinney made 40 saves...Jason Blake and Lubomir Visnovsky with their 1st goals of the year...Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell replying for the Flyers...

NY Rangers 2  Toronto 1 - Leafs lose their first in regulation - Colby Armstrong scored his first in a Toronto uniform...despite making 30 saves, the Monster couldn't stop shots from Ruslan Fedotenko or Artem Anisimov...no matter, the rest of the Northeast Division has some catching up to do...particularly the two teams going at it tonight...Ottawa and Buffalo...more to come...

Detroit 4  Calgary 2 - Mikael Backlund scored both goals for the Flames in the 1st, but it was the Red Wings who seemed to feed off Johan Franzen's return after missing a game with a head injury...you've got to be lucky to be good sometimes, and Franzen was just plain lucky, getting a puck to trickle in off Miikka Kiprusoff's shoulder pad for the GWG...Henrik Zetterberg and Todd Bertuzzi both with 1G 1A...Pavel Datsyuk 2A, captain Nick Lidstrom chipped in with a goal...34 saves for Jimmy Howard...Wings have scored four goals in all of their home games so far...they are getting it done again with a different goalie...

NY Islanders 3  Tampa Bay 2  F/OT - The surprise team so far in this young season has to be the Islanders, hands down...they lead the Atlantic Division tied with Pittsburgh with 10 points...the other 3 teams in the division have 5...Matt Moulson won the game 1:56 into overtime with his 4th...P.A. Parenteau and Michael Grabner getting on the score sheet...Martin St. Louis and Sean Bergenheim for the Bolts...

Dallas 4  Florida 1 - Hard to read the Cats this season...they blow out their cross state rivals 6-0, then lay an egg against the Stars...Tom Wandell got his first two of the season, along with James Neal and Steve Ott getting it done for Dallas...Steve Weiss for the Panthers...does anybody else wonder how long it will take Atlanta to regret letting Kari Lehtonen go?

Pittsburgh 4  Nashville 3  F/OT - The Penguins are in mid season form, and that's bad news for everyone that gets to play them...Sidney Crosby with 2G 1A, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin spreading the wealth...how good is this team going to be when Jordan Staal gets back?  Take nothing away, however, from Nashville's Pekka Rinne - his 34 saves salvages a point despite his team getting 3 past Marc-Andre Fleury...Patric Hornqvist, David Legwand, and Cody Franson for the Preds...

San Jose 4  Colorado 2 - If you ask me, the Sharks should have chosen "Little Joe" as their captain insted of "Big Joe" - Joe Pavelski with 2 more goals, Logan Couture and Scott Nichol helped double up on the Avalanche...Kyle Cumiskey and Milan Hejduk replied...

Minnesota 4  Edmonton 2 - Already blogged at great length about this one...better effort for the Oilers, same result...Taylor Hall...when are you going to score?

Phoenix 4  Los Angeles 2 - Another double up score...Wayne Simmonds with both Kings efforts, Lee Stempniak had a hat trick...Andrew Ebbett with a shorty...Brayden Schenn registered his first NHL point by assisting on one of the Simmonds goals...Martin Hanzal will miss 1-2 weeks with a lower body injury, and Shane Doan sat out his 1st of a 3 game suspension...Ebbett was called up from San Antonio...

More on yesterday's schedule as well as what we can expect this weekend coming sometime this evening...tonight, Ottawa visits Buffalo, Minnesota meets Vancouver, Calgary is in Columbus, Tampa Bay heads to Atlanta, and St. Louis hosts Chicago...

Lots more to come...

12:13 AM: After the Wild missed the open net twice, Brent Burns banked it off the boards and finally got the empty netter to seal the deal...Burns has 3 on the year already...

Better effort, same result...Wild 4  Oilers 2...Taylor Hall had 11 shots on net...eventually he has to bury one of those...

11:48 PM: Shawn Horcoff's backhand on Edmonton's umptillionth power play, has the Oilers within 1...it's 3-2...Taylor Hall was inches away from tying it moments later...one has to wonder how many he's going to pot once he gets his 1st...

8:51 remaining...

11:37 PM: It has not been a good night for Canadian teams...Leafs lost their first game of the season in regulation, a 2-1 loss to the Rangers at home...the Habs were shutout 3-0 by New Jersey, at home (check out some of the highlight reel saves from Marty Brodeur - he has my vote for save of the year so far)...and the Flames were doubled up 4-2 in Motown...

...And the theme continues in Edmonton...in the 3rd, the Oilers are trailing the Minnesota Wild 3-1, and have been since the first period...still 15:44 remaining...Ales Hemsky with the lone Oilers goal, and it's former Oiler Kyle Brodziak with his 1st 2 goals of the season, and a power play marker from Guillaume Latendresse...Minnesota's power play is LETHAL...give the Oil credit, they are working hard to get this one nodded up...

Buffalo 4  Atlanta 1 - The Sabres win just their 2nd game of the season, ending a five game skid - Tyler Ennis, Cody McCormick, Tyler Myers and Thomas Vanek bests Tobias Enstrom's 2nd of the year...Chris Mason made 38 saves in a losing cause...Ryan Miller had an easy 17 save night...

Columbus 3  Anaheim 1 - A franchise record small crowd of 9,802 fans saw the Jackets beat the Ducks on the strength of 2 from Rick Nash and a 31 save performance by Steve Mason...clearly they don't like the Ducks in Columbus - the previous record for least number of fans at a Jackets home game was 10,494, and it was also a game against Anaheim on October 27, 2008...609th career goal for Teemu Selanne, his 3rd of the year...he now moves into sole possession of 16th on the all time list...breaking a tie with Dino Ciccarelli...Ethan Moreau left this game with a broken hand...sound familiar Edmonton?!

Chicago 2  Vancouver 1  F/SO - It seems Daniel Sedin is the only player who can score lately for the Canucks...Viktor Stalberg scored his 2nd for Chicago...overtime solved nothing...in the shootout all of the first five shooters scored, then it came down to Mikael Samuelsson...he was beat by Marty Turco, and Hawks win the shootout 3-2...

Los Angeles 4  Carolina 3 - The Canes couldn't duplicate their effort from San Jose...Andrei Loktionov's 1st NHL goal was the GWG...Michal Handzus, Ryan Smyth and Anze Kopitar provided the rest of the Kings' offense...Chad LaRose, Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner replied for Carolina...Justin Peters takes the loss, Jonathan Bernier with the win...

Boston 3  Washington 1 - Hunwick, Krejci and Lucic for the Bruins, Johansson for the Caps...Michal Neuvirth was yanked after giving up 2 goals on 5 shots...Semyon Varlamov gave up the 3rd goal...Tim Thomas, 35 saves...Bruins only needed 21 shots on goal, but get the win...

Calgary 1  Nashville 0  F/OT - Rene Bourque with the GWG 2:10 into OT, as the goalies put on a show...Miikka Kiprusoff and Pekka Rinne both made 34 saves...Kipper with the shutout...

Minnesota 6  Vancouver 2 - The Wild are relentless with the man advantage so far this year (even in the game I'm watching), and are getting goaltending...Daniel Sedin made up Vancouver's offense, 6 different scorers for Minnesota - Andrew Brunette, Cal Clutterbuck, Matt Cullen, Guillaume Latendresse, John Madden and even Marek Zidlicky - he actually had 1G 2A...but this game will be remembered for all the wrong reasons - Vancouver's Rick Rypien had fought with Brad Staubitz in the 1st period, and Rypien tried to get something going in the second, but to no avail - was assessed a double minor for roughing and a 10 minute misconduct - while linesman Don Henderson tried to escort him off the ice, Rypien appeared to push the official, and then actually pushed a cheering fan on his way down the tunnel...he's been suspended indefinitely pending a hearing with the NHL...a lengthy suspension is most likely forthcoming...the teams meet again Friday night in Vancouver...

Carolina 5  San Jose 2 - Patrick Marleau with all of the Sharks goals, and 5 different players with goals for the Hurricanes - Erik Cole, Patrick Dwyer, Chad LaRose, Joni Pitkannen and Eric Staal...41 saves for Cam Ward...after losing large in Vancouver, the Canes evidently had something to prove...

10:55 PM: Watching the Wild-Oilers game, but will have information on all 11 games tonight, as well as the 8 games that have been played since Monday...stay tuned...

11:30 PM: Brad Richards helped James Neal get his team within a goal, but too little too late...the Bolts hold on for the 5-4 win, snapping Dallas' win streak at 4...Moore's second of the game turned out to be the GWG...

In Chicago, it looked like David Perron would constitute the only offense of the night, as he added his second of the game and season 9:28 into the 3rd period...at that stage it was 2-0, Blues...well, Marian Hossa would have none of it...off to his best start, ever, he'd score his 6th of the year, on a power play, at 13:12...Perron served the penalty from Jaroslav Halak - interference on Patrick Sharp...Hossa wasn't done there...just 2:31 later, at 15:43, he'd tie the game 2-2 with his 7th...momentum shift, advantage Chicago...still tied after regulation...3:50 into overtime, another player off to a great start - Patrick Sharp, would score his 2nd GWG in as many games, and the Hawks win, 3-2...I'm starting to believe even though Chicago lost a lot of their roster, they didn't lose the main components of it...I still think they'll miss Byfuglien and Ladd at some point, but isn't that what the trade deadline is for, to add those missing components...do a little tweaking?  Never count out the defending champs...never...

And now you're up to date...4 games tomorrow, and 4 more on Wednesday...no Oilers until Thursday, when they'll be looking for revenge against the Minnesota Wild, at home...get this - 11 games on Thursday night...better get my workouts in before...

9:41 PM: Brett Lebda returned from injured reserve to Toronto's lineup, and took an interference penalty in overtime, where John Tavares capitalized on a great pass from James Wisniewski, back from a 2 game suspension...Islanders win 2-1 on the strength of Dwayne Roloson's 29 saves...Kris Versteeg had the game on his stick but the puck rolled into the corner on him...Leafs still remain undefeated in regulation - fall to 4-0-1...the Islanders, on the other hand, are keeping the pace with Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division...go figure...

If the Penguins' stars were criticized for getting off to a somewhat slow start, nobody's complaining now...the Ottawa Senators were paying their first visit to the Consol Energy Center, and it's a visit they'd probably like to forget quickly...it was 3-0 Pens before the game was 20 minutes old...former Senator Mike Comrie had two assists, Evgeni Malkin one goal and one assist, Sid with his 4th...and that was just in the 1st period...Daniel Alfredsson scored a power play goal 5:40 into the 2nd, but then the wheels fell off...Pascal Dupuis and Kris Letang scored 25 seconds apart, and that was it for Brian Elliott...Robin Lehner would come on in relief, and only had to stop 7 shots the rest of the way...Brent Johnson on the other hand, 32 saves...only 2 goals against...Chris Campoli made it 5-2, but it was as close as they'd come...Sens lose another one...5-2...Crosby finishes the game with 1G 2A and finally is starting to pay dividends in my hockey pool...anybody have Mark Letestu?  He has 4 on the season after a 1G 1A effort...

The Colorado Avalanche beat the New York Rangers 3-1 thanks to a 2 goal effort from Chris Stewart...give him 5 on the year...Daniel Winnik has his 2nd...Alex Frolov for the Rangers...rookie Derek Stepan gets an assist and continues to rack up points...he'll be a pretty good candidate for the Calder trophy if he keeps this up...if only he can help the Rangers win a few games...

Tampa Bay Lightning are 7 minutes away from halting Dallas' bid to go 5-0, they're up 5-3...2 on the board from Dominic Moore and Steve Stamkos has his 5th...

David Perron has just scored in Chicago as the St. Louis Blues lead the Hawks 1-0 with about 7 minutes left in the 2nd...

More to come before I turn in...

9:27 PM: 5 games on the sched tonight...and 2 4-0 records are in jeopardy tonight...it's 1-0 for the NY Islanders late in the 3rd against Toronto, and Tampa Bay is up 4-2 against Dallas with the 3rd period just starting...

Actually...Leafs have tied it 1-1...shutout bid for Dwayne Roloson was busted with just 2:05 remaining...Matt Moulson with his 3rd...and for Toronto...who else??  Phil Kessel...looks like OT could be coming again...

Not a good night in Pittsburgh for Ottawa...but more to come on that and the rest of the action...

9:16 PM: On Sunday there were 2 games...Carolina was in Vancouver and Phoenix was in Anaheim...

Former Oiler Patrick O'Sullivan got one for the Hurricanes, but the Canucks scored 5 on the strength of 2G 1A from Mason Raymond, a 3 point night for Mikael Samuelsson too (1G 2A)...Cory Schneider gave Roberto Luongo the night off and made 32 saves...Vancouver 5  Carolina 1

And the game everybody's talking about today - the Ducks edged the Coyotes 3-2...Cam Fowler's 1st NHL goal, Toni Lydman's 2nd of the season, Bobby Ryan's 3 assists, including the game winner from Corey Perry...no, that's not why everybody's talking about this game...Shane Doan, known more for his on the edge play than for getting suspended, today was assessed three games for his hit on Dan Sexton in the 3rd period...while he wasn't penalized on the play, it was deemed by NHL head disciplinarion Colin Campbell that it was one of those blindside hits the league is trying to crack down on...

8:54 PM: OK...picking up where I left off late Saturday night/early Sunday morning...Flames had beaten the Oilers 5-3...Habs won 4-3 over the Sens (who aren't doing much better this evening)...Pens won 5-1 over the Flyers in a cakewalk...Phillies lost too, despite Roy Halladay's best efforts...there were 12 games in all...here's a quick synopsis:

Boston 4  New Jersey 1 - 1st NHL goal for rookie Jordan Caron...31 saves apiece for Tim Thomas and Martin Brodeur, Thomas made 3 more saves...

NY Islanders 5  Colorado 2 - 2 goal effort from Milan Jurcina, who on today's HNIC Radio broadcast it was observed that he probably hasn't scored since 2006-07...really?  John Tavares returned from a concussion and got rewarded with a goal...Josh Bailey with his 3rd...Islanders all of a sudden are the little engine that could...

Florida 6  Tampa Bay 0 - Panthers' home opener...enough said...David Booth with 2G 1A, "Rusty" Olesz 1G 2A...Bolts, however, are still 2 points better in the standings, but not for long if the Cats have more games like this...must have been Welcome Snowbirds night in Sunrise...

Washington 3  Nashville 2  F/OT - Ovechkin set it up, Brooks Laich scored the winner in OT...Predators still without a loss in regulation...both J.P. Dumont and the Tootoo train got going...

Columbus 3  Minnesota 2 - In this battle of expansion cousins, R.J. Umberger's goal was the difference as the Jackets are .500...

Chicago 4  Buffalo 3 - With Patrick Kaletta on his best behaviour, Patrick Sharp started and ended the scoring for the Champs as they finally win one at home...

Dallas 3  St. Louis 2  F/SO - Led by Brad Richards, the Stars got goals from all three shooters to stay undefeated at 4-0...

Detroit 2  Phoenix 1  F/OT - Nicklas Kronwall in OT, and the Red Wings keep it going...

Atlanta 4  San Jose 2 - Dany Heatley's 300th NHL goal celebration was spoiled by two former Blackhawks - Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd...guess they must know Antti Niemi better than anybody...

12:55 AM: Alex Tanguay scored into an empty net with a split second left in the game...Flames win 5-3 and all of a sudden the fans are on their side again...looks like the Northwest Division is going to be tight again...

12:18 AM: Jarome Iginla is finally on the score sheet with his 1st of the year...a power play marker, at 7:49...he'd been criticized for his lack of production...look out now...

4-3 Flames lead with still lots of time...

12:16 AM: Niklas Hagman ties the game 3-3 as he got his own rebound and got it by Khabibulin...goal came at 4:29...both teams trading penalties at this point...1st point for Olli Jokinen...

12:35 remaining...

11:20 PM: Magnus Paajarvi has his first NHL goal...it wasn't pretty, but upon further review, it counts!...bunch of scoring so far in the 2nd and it's not even 5 minutes old...Dustin Penner 22 seconds in, Sam Gagner was given an assist...they should give one to Ian White as well, Penner's shot deflected into the net off his face...ouch!!

Matt Stajan's return has been a welcome one...he sent Alex Tanguay on a break to tie the game 1-1 at 9:02 of the 1st...we had Penner at 22 seconds of the second...and Stajan connected again, helping Brendan Morrison score his 1st of the year at 2:57...Paajarvi's 1st comes at 4:16...it's 3-2 Oilers...but Nikolai Khabibulin has been under siege since...

12:30 remaining...

10:19 PM: Ales Hemsky has his 2nd of the season, a wrap around into a half empty net...1st NHL point for Marcus Paajarvi...5:21 the time of the goal...Oilers lead 1-0...Calgary seems to have problems keeping up with teams that have any degree of speed...even against Florida on Thursday they were handcuffed...

10:10 PM: In Philadelphia, the Flyers were allowed to start an hour early to allow fans to see the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS...they may as well have started at the normal time...fans probably started to leave this one early as it was...the one thing that's neat in Philly, though - the Ballpark is right next door to the hockey rink, so if you have tickets to both, you don't have far to go...

Anyhow, the highlight if you're a Flyers fan was Daniel Briere's 4th, a power play marker, 6:43 into the 1st...after that it was all Pittsburgh...Sidney Crosby, 2 goals, 1 assist, Chris Kunitz his 2nd, Mark Letestu already with his 3rd, and Matt Cooke shorthanded into an Empty Net - Pens 5  Flyers 1...well, maybe Doc Halladay will pitch another no hitter...

More on all the other action after the Oilers-Flames...just about 5 minutes into that one...

9:53 PM: Tomas Plekanec got his 2nd of the year, at 16:01 of the 3rd - Habs hang on for a 4-3 win and improve to 3-1-1...for the Sens, the exact reversal of fortune in the W-L column...1-3-1...they had to put recent call up Robin Lehner in goal for 4:42 while Brian Elliott was getting a skate blade fixed...stopped all 3 shots he faced...maybe they should have left him in...

2nd part of the HNIC double header - Battle of Alberta - Round 2...coming up...

8:49 PM: Andrei Kostitsyn ties it...3-3...Price is making some big saves...dying seconds of the 2nd period...

--------------------

8:38 PM: 3 goals in the 2nd so far...Ottawa has 2 goals on 2 shots that didn't come until 1/2way through the period, and Montreal has just replied with one of those follow the bouncing puck plays...Erik Karlsson with his 1st at 10:20, Milan Michalek with his 3rd and 2nd of the game, at 11:13...Jeff Halpern with his 2nd at 13:39...we're 3-2 in favor of Ottawa with 5 minutes left in the 2nd...

7:52 PM: After Alfie's shot from the hash marks almost fooled Carey Price, Milan Michalek was there for the rebound goal at 10:32 - 1-1...we're now at the first intermission...

Florida Panthers are through 20 against their cross-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and already have a 4-0 lead...Cory Stillman, David Booth, Steve Reinprecht, and Denis Wideman all have their 1st goals of the season...

7:21 PM: 1st meeting of the season between Ottawa and Montreal - and it's an early 1-0 lead for the Habs on Brian Gionta's first of the year at 1:06...nice breakaway goal...Jason Spezza has coughed up the puck early two Saturdays in a row on HNIC...ouch!!

Sens are getting a PP thanks to an interference call on Andrei Kostitsyn, but it could have been a call on Ottawa too...

Chicken Wings and Dark N Stormies...MMMMMMM...my last can of Ginger Beer from the Bahamas...

Alright!!  Back for another season of the picks!!  Since we didn't get a chance to pick on Weekend One, we both get a free pass - not the best idea starting a new season on Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend...who knew?

Anyhow - as I've been doing all week, I'll keep up with the action on the Blog...have to update yesterday's games, but I will do that as the weekend progresses...let's get it on!!!

Of particular note this weekend - CBC starts a Sunday AHL package of 10 games over the course of the season, where an affiliate of a Canadian team that played on Saturday will be featured Sunday - tomorrow afternoon, they'll be featuring the Binghamton Senators going up against the Toronto Marlies...game time is 1 PM at the Ricoh Colliseum in Toronto...this is great that they want to give the NHL's farm league more exposure...it'll be a great day when our Centre Ice package gives us all the leagues...NHL, OHL we have now...the rest of the CHL (Q league and the W) and the AHL would be awesome...how much hockey can one possibly watch you ask?  Try me...

7 games on this Friday night...starting in New Jersey, where it was the rematch of the 2001 Stanley Cup...Colorado, who many thought last season was a fluke, keep on rolling - in this game, Cody McLeod got his 1st on a power play, 11:50 into the first...after 20 minutes it was 1-0 Avs...11:48 into the 2nd, another Colorado power play, another goal - and the Avalanche led 2-0...New Jersey's Matt Taormina would respond with a power play goal of his own - his first of the season, Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrick Elias assisted, and after 2 periods it was 2-1...4:31 into the 3rd, Chris Stewart would ice it with his 2nd of the season - 3-1 Colorado...Ilya would get his 2nd of the season at 8:49, but it wasn't enough...Colorado Avalanche win 3-2 and improve to 3-1...Devils drop to 1-3-1...

The last time Toronto started a season 4-0 was back in 1993-94, right after that outstanding run they made in the playoffs, stopped only by Wayne Gretzky's monumental performance in Game 7 of the conference finals...the Leafs would actually go 10-0 before they'd finally lose a game, but to put things in perspective - Toronto didn't have a 4 game winning streak all of last season...they were at Madison Square Garden on this night for the New York Rangers' home opener...Michael Roszival got the Rags off to a good start, at 7:58 it was 1-0 New York...2nd period it was all Leafs...Clarke MacArthur with his 5th, Mike Komisarek with his 1st, and Phil Kessel with is 3rd...it was 3-1 for the Buds after 40 minutes...Rangers would rally with Brian Boyles first 2 goals of the season, and we'd need overtime, tied 3-3...Marc Staal would take an interference penalty at 2:48 of the overtime period...and you could see the outcome a mile away...Tomas Kaberle...to Tim Brent...Dion Phaneuf with the screen on Henrik Lundqvist...Phil Kessel in the high slot/low circle...goal...Leafs win 4-3 and are 4-0...Rangers get a point...

It hasn't been a great start for Pittsburgh in their new barn, but that all changed tonight...the Pens still aren't seeing a lot of production from their top players, but they are scoring...Mike Rupp got on the board at 4:07 into the 1st...and it was 1-0 Pittsburgh...not long after that, at 6:57, it was 2-0 on Eric Tangradi's 1st...the Islanders would tie the game before we were 20 minutes old...11:18, Josh Bailey on a power play, his 2nd, and Radek Martinek, his 1st, at 13:06...no scoring in the 2nd or 3rd...we would need overtime...like in the Toronto-Rangers game, it was a power play goal that would decide it...Milan Jurcina would get called for the hook on Sidney Crosby - no goals for him in this game, but he draws the penalty and would assist with Evgeni Malkin on the game winner...Alex Goligoski, of all people, gets already his 3rd of the season, on a power play, at 1:51, Penguins win their first game at the Consol Energy Center...all of a sudden they are a respectable 2-3...Islanders are 1-1-2...

Chicago was in Columbus to meet the Blue Jackets, home from their trip to Stockholm...but it was another home opener spoiled...all Chicago through most of this one...Viktor Stalberg with his 1st of the season, first in a Chicago uniform, Marian Hossa with his 4th (7 points already in five games played), Patrick Sharp with a shorthanded and even strength for his 2nd and 3rd, and Tomas Kopecky with his 1st...R.J. Umberger with a goal and an assist, his 2nd of the year was also shorthanded, Kristian Huselius' 3rd...wasn't enough...Hawks win 5-2 and despite their home losing streak, are 2-2-1...

Buffalo was celebrating their 1st game in the NHL, exactly 40 years ago on this night...and they had the Montreal Canadiens in town to help commemorate the occasion...it was of little surprise this was a low scoring affair...I'd like to know how many times these two have ended 2-1 over the years...well, same story tonight - Derek Roy with his 5th, and Josh Gorges and Alex Picard with their 1st - Habs edge the Sabres 2-1...

Anaheim finally won their first game of the season on Tuesday night, but the streak ends at 1...the Atlanta Thrashers roosted at the Pond...Anthony Stewart had a hat trick for his first 3 goals of the year, and Chris Thorburn scored his 3rd - Toni Lydman was finally in the lineup for the Ducks and got his first, Corey Perry, Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf squared the affair - overtime solved nothing, we'd need a shootout - Nigel Dawes the hero for Atlanta in extra shooters...8 total breakaways...

And down the road in Los Angeles, the Vancouver Canucks were looking for revenge for last Saturday's defeat at the hands of the Kings...Daniel Sedin scored his 4th, but it wasn't even close...Dustin Brown with 2, give him 3...Jarrett Stoll and Justin Williams with their 2nd...Kings win 4-1...

12 games on Saturday, including Ottawa in Montreal, and the Battle of Alberta Part Deux...

11:41 PM: Last night I turned in before seeing the Ducks come up with their first win of the season...in the 3rd, Vancouver's Christian Ehrhoff actually put the Canucks ahead 3-2 with his 2nd of the year, on a power play - then it was the Ryan Getzlaf show, as he set up goals from Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan...goalie Jonas Hiller would go on to make 36 saves vs Roberto Luongo's 28, and the Ducks win 4-3 to improve to 1-3...

So after a night of coffee with a few team members, I come home to the news that Ottawa's Pascal Leclaire is, once again, hurt...and, the Senators finally get in the win column...so Cory Clouston's best player is on the shelf again...surprise, surprise...the Carolina Hurricanes were in Kanata, and only saw Leclaire for 2:06...Senators built a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes, Mike Fisher at 17:39 of the 1st, his first, unassisted, and Milan Michalek with his 1st at 10:23 of the 2nd...Hurricanes would "storm" their way back into this one...Sergei Samsonov on the power play at 7:20 of the 3rd, and Eric Staal not long after at 8:59...we were tied 2-2...here we go again, right?  Well, Mike Fisher scored his 2nd of the year and of the game, and it was a GWG at 14:03...a power play marker...Brian Elliott only had to make 19 saves, but he got the win...Sens improve to 1-2-1, Canes are 2-1, but winless in North America...

Seems like it was another "Wild" night in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the young Edmonton Oilers came calling...the difference in this game, put simply - Minny scored all their goals on the power play (they were 4 for 6), and Edmonton was only able to score once in 7 opportunities...Wild win 4-2 on the strength of a 2 goal 1 assist effort from Mikko Koivu - Matt Cullen, the former Senator and Hurricane, had 1 goal 1 assist...Tom Gilbert and Dustin Penner getting the Oilers goals...nothing from the kids in this one...

Edmonton's next opponents, the Calgary Flames, tonight are home to the Florida Panthers, and are down 3-0, late...Radek Dvorak with 2, Shawn Matthias with another...and it's now official - that is a final score - Flames and Panthers are both 1-2...Tomas Vokoun, a 27 save shutout...

In other action - the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators are all now 3-0...

The Bolts were in Philadelphia with Simon Gagne in the lineup...Kubina, Moore and Stamkos; Briere and Zherdev for Philly - Lightning win 3-2...

Mike Modano was in Dallas for the first time on the opposing side, and the crowd gave him several ovations...unfortunately for the Red Wings, they couldn't generate much against Kari Lehtonen...Brad Richards (1G 2A), Loui Eriksson already with his 3rd, James Neal (1G 1A), and Brenden Morrow with his 4th...Niklas Kronwall the lone goal for Detroit...Stars win 4-1...

And finally, the Predators had a 2 goal effort from Steve Sullivan, give him 4 on the season, Marcel Goc and Patric Hornqvist with their 2nd...Berglund, D'Agostini and Oshie for the Blues...Halak only stopped 18, but it was the one he didn't stop which was the difference...Blues are 2-1...

They're all happy in Toronto - if the Buds win tomorrow night it'll be their first 4-0 start since 1993-94...they're at MSF in New York to play the 1-1 Rangers...7 games tomorrow, 12 on Saturday, only 2 on Sunday...

uLAr tells me he does want to do Weekend Picks, so that'll most likely get going this weekend...

11:37 PM: Teemu Selanne has his 1st, scored on a 5 on 3...tied 2-2 with about 2 minutes left in the 2nd...

Nice seeing Peter Schaefer back...back where it started for him in Vancouver...does he get traded back to Ottawa next?!

11:25 PM: Just watched the end of the Habs' home opener against the Bolts...

Before I get to that, here's what else has been happening tonight...six games in total:

Toronto was checking out Pittsburgh's new digs...and despite Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz and Max Talbot getting their first goals of the year, the Leafs are 3-0...say what?!?!  It's been a decade since Toronto started 3-0...that year they won the Northeast...Clarke MacArthur with 2, he already has 4 on the season, Francois Beauchemin and Colton Orr (?) both got their first...the Monster got his first start of the year and made 22 saves versus Marc-Andre Fleury's 19...Pens are not doing well in their new home...

The New York Islanders were visiting Washington...of note in this game - El Nino got his first NHL goal...unfortunately for the Islanders, the Caps were one better...O.V. got his 4th, and Backstrom got his 1st, but it was a GWG...2-1, Capitals win and improve to 3-1...

The Buffalo Sabres were home to the New Jersey Devils...the big news since yesterday, Niklas Hjalmarsson ended up getting a 2 game suspension for the hit on Jason Pominville...so you would think the Sabres would be on their best behavior...right?  Wrong...Patrick Kaletta, who called out Hjalmarsson for his "irresponsible play", went and head butted Travis Zajac...is that what we call "responsible" play?!!?  just wondering...anyhow, the Devils finally win one...it went to OT scoreless, but the man making all the money, Ilya Kovalchuk, scored 53 seconds into the 5 minute overtime...Martin Brodeur earned his first shutout of the season and extends the all time record...Devils led 15-1 in shots after 20 minutes...ouch!!!...both Buffalo and New Jersey are 1-2-1...Sabres next game...Saturday...against, drum roll please...Chicago...and yes, Hjalmarsson will be eligible to return in that game...

Just finishing in Chicago, where the Nashville Predators were in town...it was Anters Lindback in net for the Beasts, Corey Crawford for the Hawks...Rinne is day to day with a concussion...Patrick Kane's 2nd and Jonathan Toews 1st wasn't enough to send the United Center faithful home happy...Steve Sullivan scored his 2nd, Colin Wilson his 1st, and Joel Ward, his 1st...Predators win 3-2...Nashville is 2-0...

In Anaheim, the 0-3 Ducks are in a 2-1 hole against Vancouver in the 2nd...

And I'm still reeling over this...the Montreal Canadiens were home to a raucous crowd after what went down last spring...they even gave Gary Spice, um, I mean, Carey Price, a standing ovation!!!  The Habs got going early, too, building a 2-0 lead on goals from Maxim Lapierre and Tomas Plekanec...Mike Cammalleri took a penalty early in the 2nd, and Brett Clark got the Tampa Bay Lightning on the board...all of a sudden it was 2-1...it stayed that way until 10:54 of the 3rd, when Martin St. Louis scored his 1st of the year to tie the score 2-2...that's where it all fell apart for Montreal, as if it hadn't already...Andrei Kostitsyn made it 3-2 at 11:25 with his 1st, but P.K. Subban got called for a slash late in regulation time (I watched the replay twice and I'm still looking for the slash...not sure about that one)...Steven Stamkos converted an unbelievable play from Vinny Lecavalier...the crowd went wild in the wrong way, and out came the boo birds, not to mention beer cups, water bottles and other debris hit the ice...we were tied 3-3 at 18:41, when all the Habs had to do was get the puck and shoot it at an empty net...we would go to Prolongation at le Centre Bell...and the Bolts took a page from the Habs' book of tricks...in the last minute, at 4:09, it was Ryan Malone icing it for Tampa...4-3, Lightning win...the fans probably started a riot...Tampa is 2-0, Montreal is somehow 1-1-1...it's still early, I guess...

Still 2-1 in Anaheim, 9:17 left in the 2nd...Ryan Getzlaf for the Ducks, his 1st, and for Vancouver, Daniel Sedin with his 3rd, Raffi Torres with his 1st...he's working on the Gordie Howe Hat Trick...just needs an assist, already has a goal and a fight (not to mention a 10 minute misconduct and an instigator penalty)...

11:01 PM: Alright, so tonight in Detroit, the ongoing rivalry between the Avalanche and Red Wings...before I summarize the box score, Kirk Maltby announced his retirement today...Kris Draper, the guy Claude Lemieux leveled face first into the boards back in 1996 to start the rivalry in the first place, is still on Detroit's roster, but on injured reserve...

Johan Franzen got this one going early, scoring his 2nd at 2:34 of the 1st...David Jones would reply with his 1st of the season at 16:56 of the 1st - we were tied 1-1 after 20 minutes...2:50 into the 2nd, Pavel Datsyuk would score his 2nd on the power play, and Franzen would score his 3rd and 2nd of the game at 13:02, and the Red Wings led 3-1...Ryan O'Reilly scored his 1st at 19:11, and we were 3-2 Wings after 40...David Winnick would tie the game 4:43 of the 3rd...Patrick Eaves would get a shorty at 7:52 for his first, but tying the game again at 11:24 would be David Jones with his 2nd of the game...overtime would solve nothing, so we'd need a shootout...this one wasn't decided until the 6th round, and the 12 shooter, Brandon Yip, would be the hero - Avalanche win 5-4, in a shootout...Red Wings get another point...

At the Staples Center - 2 teams, Atlanta and Los Angeles, both 1-1 on the season...something will have to give tonight...scoreless in the 1st at this time...

Guess I can always fire up the PS3 and get some more hands on NHL 11...hillbilly45 if you're looking for an opponent...

They've just rescued the first miner over in Chile where 33 miners have been trapped underground since August...originally it was thought they'd be waiting until January at the earliest...they're using oil drilling equipment on loan from Calgary...

10:18 PM: Turned on TSN 2 and discovered the game was in a shootout...took 12 shooters to decide...more to come after I complete yesterday's round up...

10:12 PM: Not sure if ESPN.com is having problems with their scoreboard or if something happened, but they've been stuck on 30 seconds left in the 3rd period in Detroit for about the last 10 minutes...

9:52 PM: 4-4 tie at the JLA...8 minutes left...either the Red Wings will be 3-0 or the Avalanche will be 2-1 at the end of this one...box score coming up after I finish summarizing Monday...

While a lot of us were enjoying our Turkey/Ham/Roast Beef/Fish & Chips (hey, no joke, Lapointe behind my house was open!), there were 7 games in the NHL - a few of them with early starts to celebrate Columbus Day stateside...

The battle of New York got underway as the Rangers invaded Long Island - there were 10 goals scored, 9 different scorers...for the Rangers, Brandon Dubinsky already with his 3rd, Michael Del Zotto, Daniel Girardi, and Artem Anisimov, all with their 1st goals of the season...for the John Tavares-less Islanders (concussion), Josh Bailey, P.A. Parenteau all with their first goals, Blake Comeau with his first two, Matt Moulson with his 2nd, and Frans Nielsen into an Empty Net...Rick DiPietro with 29 saves, Henrik Lundqvist with 26...Islanders win the first of 6 sets between these two by a score of 6-4...today, however, everybody's talking about what happened between Sean Avery and James Wisniewski - Wisniewski received a 2 game suspension for what was believed to be him giving Avery the bird during the game...the official word from Colin Campbell's office was he "directed an inappropriate gesture" towards him...

Ever since the Jaroslav Halak trade, there's been a real sense in St. Louis the Blues are destined for a much better outcome this season...although, yesterday, Halak's 13 saves were hardly the story du jour...a franchise record was broken, as David Backes and Andy McDonald both scored goals just six seconds apart...Backes at 3:53 of the 1st, and McDonald at 3:59...the Anaheim Ducks never recovered, despite Saku Koivu's 2nd of the year...B.J. Crombeen scored a shorty 5:10 into the 2nd, and by then it was too late...Koivu's goal on the power play at 6:08 made it interesting, but this game was all Blues...Matt D'Agostini would score 2...the Blues peppered Jonas Hiller and Curtis McElhinney with shots...it was like a Duck shooting gallery...34 shots came Hiller's way, he only stopped 30 of them...and McElhinney would see 19 shots, 18 of which he managed to stop...5-1 Blues, they are 2-0...Halak only needed to stop 13 of 14 Ducks shots...

After opening their new barn to the tune of two straight losses, the Pittsburgh Penguins were looking for something good to happen...and they got it done in Newark at the expense of the New Jersey Devils...Alex Goligoski in the 1st, Mark Letestu in the 2nd, and after 40 we were 2-0 Pens...is it just me or have Sidney and Geno made themselves invisible?!...Patrick Elias would get the Devils within 1 at the 8:20 mark of the 3rd, but it was the former Devil finally getting his due - Paul Martin, into an empty net...Penguins get their first win by a score of 3-1, again, no thanks to Crosby and Malkin...the Devils...they're just looking for answers...

I don't now what it is about Buffalo...just see some of the freakiest injuries happen there...yesterday it was Jason Pominville getting carted off the ice on a stretcher after taking a vicious hit into the glass from Niklas Hjalmarsson, with just 5:42 to go in the 1st period...so Chicago hasn't exactly been lighting up the lamp 2 games into the season, but they were looking to hit the win column in Game 3...and they did...Marian Hossa with his 2nd and 3rd of the season (might have had a hat trick if it wasn't for Miller, who you can see a stack the pads save on the front page), Patrick Kane and Nick Leddy both with their 1st...for Buffalo, Tim Connolly and Drew Stafford with their 1st, Derek Roy with his 4th already, but no matter...Sabres lose the game 4-3 and lost Pominville...Hawks are 1-1-1...doesn't look like Hjalmarsson will receive any further punishment beyond a five minute major and game misconduct, but apparently the league is reviewing the play...

It was Eastern Conference Champions banner raising night in Philadelphia - and the Colorado Avalanche were in town...after hearing Michael Leighton will miss time due to back surgery, it's now Sergei Bobrovsky's starting job to lose...Jeff Carter scored 2, Claude Giroux got his 2nd of the season (and second shorthanded goal), Darroll Powe scored into an empty net...Brandon Yip and Milan Hejduk responded with their 1st of the season...even though Craig Anderson stopped 34 shots it wasn't enough - Flyers win 4-2, and quietly are 2-0-1 to lead the Atlantic Division with 5 points...the Wachovia Center is now the Wells Fargo Center...they can't seem to find a name that sticks in Philadelphia...

Another team not off to a great start is Ottawa...and it didn't get any better as they were in Washington to face Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals...was a pretty close game, but the Senators were behind most of the game...Alex Semin got things going late in the 1st, and Caps led 1-0 after 20...Jarkko Ruutu tied it halfway through the 2nd, but Eric Fehr broke the tie again not even 2 minutes later...it stayed 2-1 in favor of Washington until 7:20 of the 3rd, when Ryan Shannon would score a beauty off a Peter Regin feed...2-2 tie, we would need overtime...and almost a shootout...guess who?  Alex Ovechkin, with only 32 seconds left in overtime, won the game 3-2...Sens are 0-2-1...the Caps haven't lost since the opener against Atlanta, they are 2-1...

The Florida Panthers were in Vancouver to face the Canucks barely 24 hours after losing to Edmonton...and they didn't fare much better...41 saves for Roberto Luongo...Daniel Sedin scored his first two goals of the season, Rostislav Olesz replied for Florida...Canuckleheads win 2-1...

9:41 PM: Tied 3-3 in the first meeting of the year between Detroit and Colorado...about 12 minutes left in the 3rd...more on this game later...Atlanta-Los Angeles is a 10:30 start...

3:56 PM: Only 2 games to speak of tonight, so at some point this afternoon/evening I'll update the action from a fairly busy Columbus Day/Thanksgiving Monday...already at the Hump tomorrow, can you believe it?

12:26 AM: Hope everybody's enjoying their Columbus Day/Thanksgiving weekend (depending on what side of the 49th parallel you live on)...funny, I just came back from a long holiday and now I get another one...no complaints here...

Only 3 games on the NHL schedule on Sunday - in Prague, Boston was looking for revenge over Phoenix, and they got it - Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton scored laser beams on Ilya Bryzgalov, Tyler Seguin scored his 1st NHL goal, Tim Thomas made 29 saves for the shutout, and the Bruins split their European series 1-1, winning by a score of 3-0...David Krejci had 2 assists, Horton already has 3 on the season, also added an assist...Thomas not only got the shutout, but he gets a secondary assist on Seguin's goal...

Calgary had their home opener against Los Angeles...and they were hoping for a better fortune than their game on Thursday...this game was scoreless until 11:31 of the second period, when the Edmonton traitor, um, I mean, the former Oiler, Curtis Glencross, scored shorthanded to make it 1-0 Flames...no further scoring until 1:20 of the 3rd, when Craig Conroy thought he was Guy Lafleur with a seeing eye shot that fooled Jonathan Bernier...Dustin Brown would make it 2-1 late at 14:06, but Nik Hagman got the empty netter on the power play at 19:37...Brendan Morrison had two assists, and the Flames win 3-1 and improve to 1-1...

And after that game on Thursday, what, just what could Edmonton do for an encore?  The Florida Panthers were in Rexall Place, and they came to play...the Oilers were badly outplayed, badly outshot in the first period, but managed to escape with a scoreless draw...Nikolai Khabibulin had another good game, and it was a good thing...Panthers outshot the Oilers 11-3...in the 2nd, Oilers would get going on the scoreboard - Dustin Penner, with just the team's 5th shot, would deflect a Tom Gilbert shot past Tomas Vokoun, and just like that it was 1-0...at 5:34, another deflection goal from Ryan Jones, off of a Jim Vandermeer shot (I've never seen him play a whole lot, but I'm really starting to like this guy...solid stay at home defenseman)...and it was 2-0...the former Oiler Marty Reasoner had himself a night...scoring not once, but twice...his goal at 6:11 made it 2-1, but Shawn Horcoff would deflect a puck into the net off his skate at 7:20 - they reviewed it, determined it was not a distinct kicking motion, and the Oilers led 3-1...Taylor Hall registered his first career NHL assist on the play...incidentally - Horcoff was given the goal from Thursday's Jordan Eberle shot - he must be saying to these two kids, just shoot the puck, I'll let it deflect in off me...so far it's worked...Reasoner's second goal came at 17:51 of the second, and after 40 minutes it was 3-2...no scoring in the 3rd, but the Panthers were relentless on their forecheck - the Bulin Wall stood tall, making 26 saves on the night...Oilers only got 13 shots on Vokoun, but 3 pucks somehow found their way behind him...last season, the Oilers would have found a way to lose a game like this...it wasn't pretty, but they'll take it...they're 2-0...they face Minnesota on Thursday, and Calgary again on Saturday...Florida heads to Vancouver tomorrow, and will also face Calgary on their western Road trip...Darcy Hordichuk, who is now in his 2nd stint on the Panthers' roster, was nowhere to be seen in the 3rd...it's not immediately known if he was benched or injured...was good to see David Booth back and playing well...Hordichuk has a former Canucks teammate with him - Steve Bernier of course was sent to Florida in that deal for Keith Ballard...

12:56 AM: 40 years ago, the Los Angeles Kings beat the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 3-1 to spoil their inaugural home opener...tonight, celebrating 40 years of NHL hockey in Vancouver, they came into the newly minted Rogers Center and did it again...this time winning 2-1, in a shootout...had it not been for Roberto Luongo, though, it would have been over in OT...the Kings had 4 on 3 opportunity and played catch with it...seeing Jarret Stoll load up with Ryan Smyth in front of the net...ah, the memories...

In the shootout, Jonathan Quick stopped both shooters he faced, and Roberto Luongo gave up goals to Anze Kopitar and Jack Johnson...the Canucks get a point, and the Kings spoil the home opener and anniversary celebration...

12:33 AM: Ryan Kesler may want to think about what it means to wear the 'A' if the Canucks end up losing this game...he took an ill advised penalty, and at 14:55 of the 3rd, Justin Williams tied the game 1-1...less than 3 minutes remaining and the Kings are buzzing...

12:12 AM: Nice touch in Vancouver tonight - they're wearing 1970 replica sweaters...with no names on the back, just numbers...

Not surprisingly, Henrik Sedin was named Canucks captain, and his brother Daniel was named assistant...Ryan Kesler gets the other 'A'...

Fairly uneventful game on the scoreboard...the lone goal from Christian Ehrhoff, assisted by the Twins, and it's still 1-0 Canucks with 13 minutes left...the goal came on the power play at 11:58 of the 2nd...

11:48 PM: Too hard to blog when you're channel surfing...trying to keep track of 6 games at the same time will do that to you...

Alright...so getting back to Toronto - when I last left off, Mike Fisher got into a fight with Kris Versteeg, not long after Matt Carkner went with Colton Orr...it was a typical battle of Ontario with all the fisticuffs, but it was all Toronto...it was 5-1 when we last checked...and that was the final...Ottawa couldn't get anything going, and while many will point the finger at the goalie Leclaire - he was the best Ottawa Senators' player on the ice...again...it could have been uglier than 5-1 had it not been for him...box score - Nikolai Kulemin, Phil Kessel, Clarke MacArthur, Kris Versteeg and Tim Brent for the Leafs...Jason Spezza for Ottawa...Versteeg had the proverbial Gordie Howe Hat Trick - goal, assist and a fight...Pavel Datsyuk, of all people, accomplished the feat last night...the Leafs are 2-0 for the first time since 1999...

Sens are in Washington Monday to celebrate Columbus Day with the Capitals, while we celebrate Thanksgiving here in Canada...Toronto's next game, Wednesday against Pittsburgh...

Back in Buffalo - Derek Roy scored his 3rd of the year, but Brandon Dubinsky would score his 2nd of the game into an empty net, and the NY Rangers, on the strength of a hat trick from newcomer Derek Stepan, win 6-3...Jordan Leopold assisted on the 3rd Buffalo to add to his 2 goals...

Big news out of Long Island - John Tavares left the ice with 3:17 left in the first period between the Islanders and Dallas Stars after colliding with Adam Burish...while he left the ice by his own steam, he didn't return...Benn, Robidas and Brenden Morrow with 2 gave Dallas 4, while Comeau, Moulson, Weight and Wisniewski put 4 on the board for New York - overtime solved nothing, shootout was won by Dallas on a Mike Ribeiro goal...and the Stars are 2-0 on the strength of 2 straight overtime wins...Kari Lehtonen - 43 saves on 47 shots...

Montreal was in Pittsburgh to face the Penguins for the first time since closing the Igloo in Game 7 of their second round playoff series...both teams lost their opening night games...tonight in the new Consol Energy Center, Mike Cammalleri returned after serving a one game suspension, and he got on the board 15:24 into the first...after 1 it was 1-0 Habs...40 seconds into the second, Evgeni Malkin scored his 1st, and we were tied 1-1...no further scoring until Mark Letestu got his 1st of the year to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead 8:42 into the 3rd...but then the Habs took over...late...Cammalleri would tie it at 17:48 with his second of the game and season...and just 24 seconds later, Scott Gomez won it with his 1st at 18:12...Canadiens win 3-2 and improve to 1-1...Penguins are 0-2 and have the 2-0 Leafs coming to town on Wednesday...they will travel to New Jersey for a 4 PM afternoon start on Monday...Montreal will head home for their home opener against Tampa Bay on Wednesday...

Back in Washington...it was 6-2 when we last checked...Alex Ovechkin with 2 (including one on a penalty shot), John Carlson, Tomas Fleischmann, Brooks Laich, Jason Chimera, and Eric Fehr all with 1...shooters are 2-0 over the goalies on penalty shots so far...final score from Washington - 7-2...Ilya Kovalchuk and Mike Green got into a fight!?!?...from the looks of it there was a brawl...Ilya went with Green, Rod Pelley went with Matt Hendricks, Matt Bradley went with David Clarkson...and John Carlson got 2, 10 and a game for roughing on Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond who appears to have started the whole thing with a slash on Marcus Johansson...in turn Pierre got 2, 5, 10 and a game...Ottawa, be afraid...be very afraid...I doubt we've seen/heard the last of that game...

4-2 after two for Tampa Bay over Atlanta, they would trade goals in the 3rd - Steve Stamkos would get his 2nd of the game and season, and Atlanta's Chris Thorburn his 1st...final score was 5-3...just like that, the Bolts are in 1st place in the Southeast...

Close game in St. Louis between the Blues and Philadelphia Flyers - Brad Boyes gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead which they would hold until the 3rd, when Danny Briere would score his 2nd of the season at 2:15...we would need overtime, and at 1:47, two former Leafs, Carlo Colaiacovo and Alex Steen would combine for the winner, scored by Carlo...on Brett Hull night (they raised his number and unveiled a statue outside Scottrade Center)...

The Nashville Predators had their home opener tonight, and their opponent was the Anaheim Ducks...and much like last night, it was a long night for Randy Carlyle's crew...no scoring until 4:10 of the 2nd, when Marcel Goc scored his 1st, and Nashville was up 1-0 for a full minute and 15 seconds, when Saku Koivu tied it at 5:25...Steve Sullivan would score a power play goal at 8:33, and that would turn out to be the GWG...Patric Hornqvist would make it 3-1 at 16:12, and that was where we stood after 40 minutes...the veterans David Legwand and J.P. Dumont would combine for a goal, scored by Legwand, and it was 4-1 - that turned out to be the final score...despite the loss, Jonas Hiller made 45 saves for the Ducks, who are already 0-2...Pekka Rinne took a hit from Troy Bodie of Anaheim and his own teammate, Francis Bouillon, Rinne ended up leaving the game in favor of backup Anders Lindback, who only faced 7 shots the rest of the way...he stopped them all...

And finally, while they're at the 2nd intermission in Vancouver with the Canucks leading 1-0, in Chicago tonight, they raised the Stanley Cup banner, and it was game on between the Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings...the teams swapped goals in the 1st, with Valtteri Filppula getting his first of the year at 12:59, and Brent Seabrook scored on the power play with only 3 seconds left in the period...unfortunately the momentum didn't carry over, as Todd Bertuzzi made it 2-1 just 1:12 into the middle frame...Brian Bickell, however would tie it just 37 seconds later, at 1:49...and we were tied 2-2 after 2...Dave Bolland, who on many nights during the playoffs last spring was the hero, was the goat tonight, taking a hooking penalty on Jiri Hudler...Filppula would get the GWG at 6:01, and it was 3-2 Red Wings, and this was how it ended...Hawks are 0-1-1 and the Wings are 2-0...

9:22 PM: With all due respect to Washington, they didn't look like their usual selves last night...especially after the penalty shot goal from Evander Kane went in...but tonight, yowsah!!!  Alex Ovechkin has 2, and Fleishmann, Chimera, Laich and Carlson have all tallied...Jason Arnott has his 2nd of the season, Henrik Tallinder his 1st as a Devil...it's 6-2 Washington over New Jersey in the 3rd with 10 minutes left...

In Buffalo, the Rangers are in town - rookie Derek Stepan was being touted as a Calder candidate without having played a regular season game, he was that impressive in the preseason...and in this game, he has a hat trick...Erik Christensen and Brandon Dubinsky have their first of the season...Jordan Leopold has 2 for Buffalo, and it's a 5-2 Rangers lead, with 8 minutes left...

In Tampa, 4 different players have their first - Steve Downie, Vinny Lecavalier, Dominic Moore and Steve Stamkos...Ben Eager and Tobias Enstrom have their first for Atlanta, and this game is a 4-2 lead for the Bolts after 2 periods of play...

More hockey to come...

It's all Leafs in the first installment of the Battle of Ontario - Ottawa has just finally got on the board to break the shutout in the 3rd, but it's 5-1..Toronto, with about 11 minutes left...Jason Spezza is playing but has not had a good game, aside from the goal...

Matt Carkner and Colton Orr just dropped the gloves...

I'll come back to this game...

5:39 PM: Just finished in Stockholm, and just our 3rd overtime game of the season - so far...after heading into the 3rd period tied 1-1, Columbus and San Jose traded power play goals - Kristian Huselius at 5:07, his 1st, and then Joe Thornton at 7:05, his 2nd...this one would need extra time - and it's the former Oiler captain - Ethan Moreau, converting on a nice play from Sammy Pahlsson which he won't get an assist for - at 1:56 of OT, and the Jackets win 3-2...I can't remember how long it took Moreau to score last year, but it wasn't in the 2nd game of the year, that much I know for sure!!

4:25 PM: Another overseas season start today - this time the Boston Bruins took on the Phoenix Coyotes at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic - Nathan Horton scored 2 in his Bruins regular season debut, but the Coyotes got 5 by Tuukka Rask, including 2 by Radim Vrbata...Taylor Pyatt, Eric Belanger and Scottie Upshall with the other 3 goals, and the Desert Dogs win 5-2, and pick up right where they left off last season (Game 7 against Detroit excepted)...

It's tied 1-1 in Game 2 between San Jose and Columbus in Stockholm, Sweden - Rick Nash and Devon Setoguchi with their 1st of the season...the goals were scored 1:11 apart in the first - they're late in the 2nd at the Ericsson Globe...

So, after I thought Atlanta just had an especially long home opening ceremony, I came to find out that the goalie Ondrej Pavelec actually collapsed on the ice, just 2:35 into the Thrashers' first game against the Washington Capitals...I was channel surfing through all of the games, and didn't think anything of it when I saw Chris Mason in net, just thought he had been given the start...so, after hearing the commentators late in the game mention the PA announcer at Philips Arena had announced to the crowd Pavelec was OK and resting comfortably in hospital, I needed to check this out...Pavelec fell on his back in front of the Atlanta net and didn't move - medical staff rushed to him and after several minutes he was taken off ice on a stretcher...reports tonight are he is conscious and preliminary tests are negative - he'll be held overnight for observation...

The game itself, was a 4-2 Atlanta win - Evander Kane scored 2, including the game winner, on a penalty shot, after, get this - Mike Green put his hand on the puck in the crease...The Thrashers lost all six meetings against the Capitals last season...the little bit of the game I saw, the team looked good...Dustin Byfuglien doesn't look right in baby blue, though...but the team looks like it will be much improved...of course, the game secondary after seeing a scary situation like that unfold...

Very nice to see every game has had an HD feed so far...even found HD feeds of a couple of OHL games...sweet!!!!  Couldn't find the Ottawa game in HD until it actually started - Sportsnet is covering the baseball playoffs in their entirety, and didn't cut to the game at The Bank until it started...Denis Potvin joins Dean Brown this year, and seemed to fit in fairly nicely, but he's no Garry Galley...

In the New Jersey - Dallas game, the score was much closer than uLAr and I could have ever predicted...the Devils got the crowd going early - Travis Zajac scored his first of the campaign just 2:45 in, and Zach Parise added another at 7:13...Brenden Morrow, however, settled things down at 11:16 and after 1 period at The Rock it was 2-1 Devils.  In the second, Loui Eriksson tied the game 2-2 with his 1st at 3:02, and seemed to gain some momentum, but they took a charging penalty at 8:53 - Steve Ott on the rookie Alexander Urbom.  Jason Arnott scored his first as a Devil in some time, on the power play at 10:22 and it was 3-2.  The lead was shortlived.  Brad Richards tied it again at 11:38.  At this point in the game, James Neal had two assists on the night for Dallas, and the big money man Ilya Kovalchuk had assisted on two as well.  The period would end tied 3-3.  Nothing doing in the 3rd period, so we needed Overtime - 1:36 in, Loui Eriksson would get his 2nd of the night and season, unassisted - used Brad Richards as the decoy and went roof daddy...Stars win the game 4-3, Devils get a point which shouldn't mean much in the Eastern Conference/Atlantic Division scheme of things, but remember this point down the road...I get the impression this season teams will need all the points they can get, this season more than ever...

Detroit hosted Anaheim in their home opener...and this one ended the same way Edmonton-Calgary ended - 4-0 in favor of the home team...didn't catch much of this one, but you could tell the Ducks miss Scott Niedermayer...they're a team looking for an identity...seems they couldn't stay out of the penalty box, and that is a no-no against the Red Wings...although on this night, the PP was not a factor (0 for 6)...it was all the old salts getting it done...1st period they scored two goals 24 seconds apart - Johan Franzen with his first at 5:11, and Mike Modano at 5:35, his first shot of the season is a goal...2-0 Detroit after 1.  More of the same in the second - Pavel Datsyuk with his first at 5:29, 3-0 Wings - Datsyuk, the former Lady Byng winner, had a Gordie Howe hat trick - goal, assist and a fight...Daniel Cleary would put the icing on the cake at 16:55, 4-0...that's all they would need...in the 3rd, it was a parade to the penalty box...44 minutes in penalties called in the 3rd...including two 10 minutes misconducts (that darn George Parros)...Jonas Hiller faced 43 shots and stopped 39 of them...had his team got any offense, it might have helped...Jimmy Howard only needed to make 21 shots for the shutout...just another season opener at the office for Detroit...I have to wonder how much longer Randy Carlyle will be coach of the Ducks...his style hasn't changed, even though the key components of their 2007 Cup run are long gone (I mean, Brad May is now a commentator on HNIC Radio for crying out loud)...with the way the face of this team has changed, philosophies will have to change...and if they don't - the Detroit commentator put it perfectly - Anaheim could find themselves finishing worse than 24th...

The only other game tonight was here at home - Ottawa opened their season at The Bank against their division rivals from Buffalo...final score Derek Roy 2  Senators 1...Roy banked a puck in off the back Pascal Leclaire's pads for the GWG midway through the 3rd...Chris Kelly had the lone Sens goal...not too impressive a start...I was not at all impressed with Sergei Gonchar's game...but like Ottawa historically has done, they get better as the season moves on...they'd better figure out something quick, because they have Toronto tomorrow night, and Washington on Monday night...the games don't get any easier...

No Jason Spezza in tonight's game...he was a late scratch due to that groin he tweaked the other day...and that seemed to be a factor on face offs...despite losing the game, they gave Leclaire 2nd star...he saw 36 shots, stopped 34 of them...

There was a report in the Sun today that says Eugene Melnyk is still waiting to have his greivance heard over Dany Heatley's $4 million signing bonus - he wants it back...apparently the NHL is experiencing a backlog of grievanes...Melnyk has been waiting close to 4 months to hear something...even if it means just setting a date...

And now...I start my weekend Hallowe'en theatre...seems like a good time to put in "The Shining"...I don't think I've played the DVD on my widescreen yet...nothing like a classic to get in the mood...even though I got a head start on Hallowe'en at Disney...I'll have to dig out my copy of "The Haunted Mansion" sometime too...

6:30 PM: We had our first shootout of the season this afternoon - Carolina and Minnesota played their 2nd of 2 games in Helsinki Finland, and this one was a little closer to call than yesterday...I'm getting the feeling, though, two games into the season that Paul Maurice is going to want to try and get his squad to try and refrain from giving up the first goal...at 15:46 of the first, Eric Staal took a Slashing penalty on Brent Burns, and Andrew Brunette cashed in on the power play, his 1st, at 17:23, and after one period the Wild led 1-0.  Exactly 2 minutes into the second, Tuomo Ruutu scored his first off a great feed from Jussi Jokinen - the two Finns connected to tie it 1-1...3rd period nothing doing, and OT solved nothing.  Martin Havlat had his chances, including one in OT off a slash that could have resulted in a penalty shot, but with seconds to go, the referees opted for a slashing penalty, and we went to a shootout.  Jeff Skinner, the promising young Hurricanes rookie, got the only goal they'd need, Cam Ward stopped all 3 shooters he faced, and the Hurricanes are 2-0...it took them 18 games last season to get their 2nd win...Canes will head back to North America, and will be in Ottawa next Thursday...the Wild will head home to St Paul where they will hold their home opener against Edmonton, also next Thursday...Carolina's home opener isn't until October 27th against Washington, as in between now and then they'll visit Ottawa, Vancouver, San Jose, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

San Jose got their season going this afternoon in Stockholm, Sweden, against the Columbus Blue Jackets...Joe Thornton is the new Sharks' captain...for the Jackets, who else, Rick Nash...I'll tell you one thing I didn't miss last night was Ethan Moreau taking dumb penalties...in this game, the teams got the Swedish faithful into it early - 4 goals in the first - Torrey Mitchell got his first just 2:11 into the 1st, and the Sharks led 1-0...at 10:57, Thornton on the power play, 2-0...the Jackets would storm back, though - at 16:55 Kristian Huselius would score on a power play and it was 2-1 (Calgary might be wondering why they couldn't manage to keep him under contract), and 15 seconds later, at 17:10, R.J. Umberger tied it 2-2...no scoring in the 2nd - in the 3rd, another power play, another goal - Logan Couture, the former Ottawa 67, got the go ahead and GWG, at 10:15 - Sharks win their first of the season by a score of 3-2...

Columbus celebrates their 10th season as an NHL franchise this year (as do the Minnesota Wild too, I guess)...hard to believe...

Not suggesting anything, but so far, it's been all one goal games with the exception of one...

uLAr's fearless prediction for tonight's rematch of the 2000 Stanley Cup Final: Devils 5  Stars 2...to which I say this - without Mike Modano around anymore to, ahem, scratch their backs, can the Stars score more than one goal per game?  I realize Brenden Morrow has been the captain for the past couple of seasons, but Modano, make no mistake, has been the Stars' bread and butter even dating back to the Minnesota North Stars...

Buffalo-Ottawa to celebrate the Sens' home opener is tonight...Sabres have gone back to their throwback logos and a modernized version of their original jerseys this year...never really understood what was wrong with those original logos anyway...

12:46 AM: 37 saves and 1st shutout of the year for the Bulin Wall...4-0 is the final...1 down, 81 more to go...WOW!!!  What more can I say?!  That was as advertised and more...

They're in OT in Denver...actually looks like Stastny just got his 2nd of the game and of the season, and it's a game winner...3:40 into OT...Avs win their home opener...Hawks get a point...one thing that changes this year - tiebreakers this year will give preferential treatment to regulation wins vs OT/Shootout wins...which means the Habs run last year, wouldn't have happened...Florida would have taken their spot...how do you like them apples MTL!?!?

Tomorrow - Game 2 between Carolina and Minnesota from Helsinki - Game 1 between San Jose and Columbus from Stockholm, Sweden...Senators open their season against the Sabres...next game for Edmonton is Sunday against Florida...and we've got 12 on the docket for Saturday...

Can't believe it's already Friday...Thank God Hockey's Back!!!

12:42 AM: Steve MacIntyre and Raitis Ivanans have been jawing at each other all game, and finally dropped the gloves...Ivanans got the worst of it, as a MacIntyre uppercut absolutely KOed him...he was down for the count and left the ice bleeding...seems like he'll be OK though...don't know if that was necessary so late in the game...I know the Flames wanted to get something going, but kind of late...

Last minute of play...only one thing to be decided now...

12:25 AM: Tied 3-3 in Denver...Patrick Sharp with his 1st...less than 9 minutes left there...9:33 left in Edmonton...

12:19 AM: Eberle's 2nd looks like it might end up being Shawn Horcoff's first...replay shows it may have deflected off his shin...

12:16 AM: 2nd for Eberle...at 5:04...on the PP...4-0...I am LOVING this...and it's only game ONE...

Flames are getting frustrated and they're taking penalties...Curtis Glencross just ran Khabibulin...

12:09 AM: I've been saying for the last couple of years how much I'm chomping at the bit to see Jordan Eberle play - well it's been worth the wait...late in the 2nd Magnus Paajarvi took a penalty which carried over into the 3rd...Eberle has been close all game, but he's just scored his 1st career NHL goal, and it was a beauty...a shorthanded marker, at 1:24 of the 3rd...moments later, at 2:43, Ales Hemsky has taken the roof off...just like that it's 3-0, Oil...they're going nuts at Rexall Place...

3-2 in Denver...Marian Hossa got the Hawks within 1 late in the 2nd...

11:44 PM: The Colorado Avalanche have a 3-1 lead against the Chicago Blackhawks, late in the 2nd...Matt Duchene, Paul Stastny and Chris Stewart for Colorado...former Ottawa 67 Brian Bickell for Chicago...Hawks raise their banner on Saturday against Detroit...

11:02 PM: 1st period done at Rexall Place...WOW!!!!  That was fun to watch!!!!  It's 1-0 Oilers on a power play goal from Gilbert Brule.  Perhaps it should probably be 2-0, but a Dustin Penner goal was waved off - the call was goalie interference - replays were close, looked more like Ian White pushed him into Kipper, but that's just me...without Kipper, it'd probably be about 4-0 by now...

Either way, Oilers are playing with plenty of speed, and the Flames can't keep up, they're generating penalties...it'll be a long night for them if this continues...Hall and Eberle are as advertised - had a couple of chances...Paajarvi looks like he could sneak in at any point and surprise us...but so far he looks flat...

Great to see the team healthy for a change, and play with a sense of purpose...even Ryan Jones and Colin Fraser look good...

I'll be a very happy man if they keep this up...win or lose...that is some exciting hockey!!

So Brendan Morrison tried out for the Canucks, didn't make it, now signs with the Flames?  His timing seems way off...then again so does Jarome...

40 minutes still to come...tied 1-1 in Denver in the 2nd between the Avs and the Champs...

9:41 PM: Penguins made a game of it - Tyler Kennedy got it going for Pittsburgh, but it was Claude Giroux with the GWG, on a great shorthanded effort...Alex Goligoski would score with a second left on the same power play, but it wasn't enough...Flyers win 3-2...same score in Toronto - it's Clarke MacArthur, the former Buffalo Sabre, with his first as a Leaf, made it 3-1 (nice goal), but Jeff Halpern replied with his first moments later - J.S. Giguere did the rest and Leafs win 3-2...

Now, the game I've been waiting six months for...in about 20 minutes...between 2nd and 3rd Scott Oake was asking Mike Milbury if Hall, Eberle and Paajarvi can get it done, to which he feels no, they can't...am I sensing sour grapes from 1990 still there Mike?!!?

8:43 PM: Blair Betts has his first of the year from Darroll Powe and James van Riemsdyk, and it's 2-0 Philly - they're at the 2nd intermission in the Pitts...no change in the Leaf game with about 3 left in the 2nd there...they seem to have caught up in time...

8:21 PM: Hockey trivia for you - who scored the first ever goal at Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center?  Answer: Danny Briere...at 2:51, on a power play, gives Philadelphia their first goal of the year, and a 1-0 lead...just in case there are bonus points for the assists: Mike Richards and Ville Leino...about 9 minutes left in the 2nd...2nd period in Toronto just underway...after a brand new Coach's Corner where Don says he likes the new look Leafs, but hates the way they treated Nazem Khadri (I happen to agree with him there)...also feels Carey Price should have been the goalie traded to St. Louis, not Jaroslav Halak.....likes that Roberto Luongo is no longer captain in Vancouver, but credits Andrew Ladd and Kris Versteeg for winning the series against the Canucks last spring...

Never a dull moment with Grapes...

7:49 PM: Almost a full period done in Pittsburgh at the brand new Consol Energy Center, but it's Philadelphia rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky who is stealing the show...Michael Leighton is day to day with a back injury.  It was expected Brian Boucher would start, but after Sergei had such a good showing in the preseason, coach Laviolette couldn't sit him out...it's early, but it looks like he's been playing in this league a couple of years...I always said Philly needed goaltending, well...now they might have it...

Scoreless in the battle of Pennsylvania with about a minute left in the first...

Took a little longer to get underway in Toronto as the Face Off 2010 festivities were held in Dundas Square, as well the Leafs' typical season opener ceremony took place - OK, we know Johnny Bower and all those people were great, let's just get on with it already...

Leafs have opened the scoring, though - former Anaheim 3rd rounder Tim Brent has Toronto up 1-0 against Montreal in the 1st...Phil Kessel actually has just added another one...but Dustin Boyd has replied for the Habs...2-1 with about 7 left in the first in the Big Smoke...

3:35 PM: This afternoon in Helsinki, Finland, the NHL season got underway as Carolina hooked up with Minnesota - Guillaume Latendresse scored the first goal of the new season, 3:33 into the first period and the Wild led 1-0, assists - Mikko Koivu and Kyle Brodziak...Brandon Sutter would score his first of 2 at 19:50, on the power play, Jussi Jokinen and Jamie McBain assisting, and after 1 period of play in Finland it was 1-1 - 5:58 into the middle frame, Anton Babchuk fired an Erik Cole shot past Nik Backstrom, and it was 2-1 Canes.  At 9:15, Tim Gleason took a cross checking on Andrew Brunette, and the former Hurricane and Ottawa Senator, Matt Cullen, made them pay - Martin Havlat assisted, at 9:52.  I was taking my lunch break and saw the next goal...Jussi Jokinen got a trickler by Backstrom at 11:16, another power play goal, Joe Corvo and Joni Pitkanen assisted, and it was 3-2 Carolina...Sutter would get his second of the game late, at 18:03 - Backstrom did not look good, nor did the Wild during the second half of the 2nd - after two it was 4-2...Brent Burns would get his first of the season on the power play (and first in a while I think!) at 16:39 of the 3rd, Antti Miettinen and Matt Cullen assisted, and it was 4-3...and that was as close as they'd come - Hurricanes win game 1 by a score of 4-3...

HNIC Radio for those of you who listen is back on Sirius CH 97 - M-F from 3PM-6PM, repeated from 7-10 and 11-2...usual host Jeff Marek along with the usual fixtures from HNIC including Ron Maclean, Kelly Hrudey, Scott Morrison, Mike Milbury, and a barrage of guests make for an interesting listen, even after the last puck is dropped on the season...

Rule 48 goes into effect tomorrow - that's the new rule outlawing blindside hits to the head, which will now result in a 5 minute major along with an automatic game misconduct, not to mention further review by the league, and supplemental discipline where deemed necessary...illegal checks to the head, defined as a "lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principle point of contact is not permitted"...the goal is to reduce concussions...let's see how successful it is...it's not going to mean every hit to the head will be called, it's the ones the players can't see - David Booth or Marc Savard being the examples they're looking for...

10:37 PM: So I guess the rationale in Pittsburgh is nobody gets a number higher than Sid...one thing I had noticed the rare occasions I did catch some preseason highlights (mostly last weekend after I got back from Florida) was the influx of former Oilers in Pennsylvania - Bill Guerin was invited to Philadelphia camp - not surprisingly, he didn't make the final cut...no disrespect, but after what the Flyers accomplished last season, and what they still have, Guerin is not something they need...so he becomes a UFA.  In Pittsburgh, however, Mike Comrie got a chance to show what he can do...and he made the team...so, now with Sid wearing #87, Comrie gets #19 on his jersey...no number higher than Sid I guess...wore #91 last year because Sam Gagner wears his old #89, not too bad I guess, just reverse the numbers around...Penguins open their new arena tomorrow, the Consol Energy Center...a red carpet for the players and outdoor screens will don the outside of the building for the game...should be interesting...it will mark the first official sellout of the new building, but the 167th consecutive home sellout for Pittsburgh...a far cry from where they were before Mario decided to come out of retirement...

Aside from Comrie, a couple of new names you'll hear in the Pitts this year - Casey Pierro-Zabotel, who is on the roster but is on injured reserve, from Ashcroft BC, as well as a name you might remember from Team Canada's juniors - Mark Letestu of Elk Point, Alberta...both rookies should fit in nicely with Sid and the gang...on D, big acquisition was Milan Michalek's brother Zbynek - comes over to PA from Phoenix...not to mention Paul Martin joins from NJ...I don't think they'll replace Sergei Gonchar, but they will at least keep the offense honest...or they'll try to...look for #47, Simon Despres of Laval QC, he'll be making his Penguins debut tomorrow too...

Only change on the Flyers will be no Laperriere for reasons already mentioned, and Simon Gagne who was traded to Tampa for Matt Walker...Andrei Meszaros will be the only new name on D as Walker already played for Philly previously...and biggest new name on forward is Nik Zherdev, who played in Russia last year, previously was a Columbus draft pick that didn't work out...in New York (Rangers) he wasn't much better...in Philly he better produce or he can kiss his NHL career goodbye...of course, Flyers still have big Chris Pronger...shouldn't really notice much of a change from the team that finished Game 6 of the finals...not really sure what Jody Shelley is doing on this team...a little grit for the Broad Street Bullies??  Seriously?!

Flyers-Pens to open the season and new arena, tomorrow...I think I might even watch that one over the Leafs-Habs...personally I've seen enough of the Habs...I almost felt bad for them for going out in 5 to Philly last spring, but then Mike Cammalleri had to go and pull that little stunt on El Nino (hacked him behind the knee, earning him one game - Neiderreiter was OK, but Cammy should know better...)

I was completely floored when I was checking NHL.com in Orlando last Tuesday when I found out that Wade Redden had been sent down to the AHL...upon reading more about it, though, understanding is he came to camp out of shape, and was not very effective at all (not that he had much of an impact on the team as it is)...upon clearing waivers it was clear that barring a miracle, the former Ottawa stalwart (or so we thought) may have played his last game in the NHL...read an article in the Sun where Alfie was feeling bad for the guy...to me, though, it comes down to careful what you wish for...he didn't want to accept less money to play here, took the money and ran with it...less spotlight on him in NY...happens to the best of them...

Another former Ottawa player, at least for half a season, didn't fare much better in his tryout in Dallas - Jonathan Cheechoo, who expected big things after being invited to the Stars' camp, was also cut...

The hardest part of the next week or so is going to be getting used to who went where...if you do a double take next time you see Atlanta play, don't say you weren't warned...the big Buff is there, first of all...Thrashers could actually make the playoffs this year...and make some noise...

Time to take out the trash...finally looks to be clearing up...was raining all day today...we're supposed to be nice all Thanksgiving weekend...why doesn't it feel like a holiday after you come back from one?

6:25 PM: Hard to believe, but we're dropping the puck on yet another NHL season tomorrow.  At least, it doesn't seem like that long ago that Chicago was celebrating their Stanley Cup victory - but as uLAr pointed out to me today, for some teams it's been almost six months since their last regular season game was played...the time is just moving way too quickly because six months should seem like it was a long time ago, but it doesn't seem that long ago...you can tell I enjoyed my summer a little too much, can't you?!?

Anyway - there will be a lot to talk about, no doubt, over the coming weeks - I'm planning both a season preview and a review of NHL 11/NHL Slapshot...for sure this time...

A few things today:

Sadly, it seems Ian Laperriere might be forced to retire due to the brain contusion/eye injury he suffered in last year's playoffs.  Even though he was able to return for Philadelphia's series against Montreal and for all of the finals, apparently he's still been experiencing symptoms related to post concussion syndrome, and a Philalelphia neurologist fears for his eyesight more than anything if he was to resume playing.  Too bad really...he definitely gave the team a boost when it needed it most - I still say it was the image of him waving to the crowd during the Boston series that motivated the Flyers more than anything...of course, we all know what happened there...

"El Nino" has arrived on Long Island - the NY Islanders' first rounder Nino Neiderreiter has made the opening night roster...Neiderreiter holds the distinction of being the youngest Islander to play a regular season game in franchise history...should be a pretty good young core of scorers - Tavares, Moulson, Neiderreiter?  Times are looking good on the Island...if they could only get a goalie...

Happy to see Shawn Horcoff get the "C" in Edmonton - not sure if you could give it to anyone else at this point, other than maybe Ales Hemsky...I'm looking forward to Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle playing their first regular season games tomorrow against Calgary...the Flames went 7-0 in the preseason??!?!?  Evidently Kipper was insane...I didn't see any of the preseason as I was busy galavanting in the Bahamas and Orlando...

The question now, though, is can the Flames translate that into regular season success...preseason is preseason...

It's not possible that the St. Louis Blues can top the central division with Halak, is it??  Too early to tell...

Another player apparently to watch in Edmonton this year - Magnus Paajaarvi...played last season in the Swiss Elite League, was apparently impressive through camp and preseason...

Big surprise in Ottawa - David Hale made the team...then he didn't...I couldn't imagine how he'd make it over Brian Lee...

Staying home for a second - they're saying Jason Spezza left practice today with "a bit of a tweak"...Mike Fisher and Chris Neil should both be OK for opening night...Filip Kuba has another broken leg?!?!  Fisher/Phillips remain Alternates and Alfie remains the captain...no surprise there...

This is interesting - saying that too many folks were switching over to the traditional English version to remain viable, the CBC has canned the HNIC Punjabi broadcasts moving forward...I have news for the CBC - most people who speak Punjabi prefer Soccer or Cricket...at least most that I speak to on a daily basis that is...can't really blame the CBC for trying to be multicultural...personally, though, if I was in charge of immigration - becoming a Hockey fan would be mandatory..."You'll see...it's like Cricket on ice played with sticks and nets...just doesn't take all weekend to get through a game!!"...

Now before you e-mail me hate mail for poking fun at Cricket, just be aware I used to play it in the street with tennis balls in Bermuda...if a tennis ball wasn't available - rocks...Soccer they call the beautiful game...Cricket, not so much...Todd Bertuzzi's got nothing on some of the greatest Cricket stars to ever pick up one of those paddle-bats...

Two Canadian rock bands set to appear on NHL Face Off 2010 - the NHL's now annual kick off the season show - Hedley and Down With Webster...I guess they wanted bands who won't hold the Cup upside down...no soccer boys in these groups...

I'll be posting updates as I see them...should be getting the Weekend Picks underway this weekend too...stay tuned...Hockey is BACK!!!!  NHL Centre Ice is in free preview from Oct 7-24...enjoy...

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