Nightly Scrap: Kovalchuk the hero in overtime
Despite two early goals by Colin Fraser the Edmonton Oilers still fell in overtime. Sam Gagner also added a goal as the team continues to fall in the standings; they currently are tied with the New York Islanders for the worst record in the League.
A few weeks ago we featured the matchup of coach Guy Boucher and Sidney Crosby, with the Lightning coming out on top. Last night, the Pittsburgh Penguins got their revenge, by winning 5-1 on the strength of their key players. Pascal Dupuis, Max Talbot and Crosby all finished with multi-point games and the team got goals from defenseman Alex Goligoski and Deryk Engelland. Steven Stamkos scored the lone goal for his team and now leads the League with 15.
In summary, Crosby 1 Boucher 1.
Even though the injuries continue to pile up in Colorado the team continues to win. Last night the hero happened to be journeyman 28-year-old rookie Greg Mauldin who got the game winning goal shorthanded and against the team who drafted him. In addition, the second line of Matt Duchene, Milan Hejduk and David Jones combined for two goals and Kevin Porter seemed not to miss a beat filling in for TJ Galiardi on the top line.
Peter Budaj made 28 saves as his team defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-1.
Over in South Florida, the Panthers defeated the Minnesota Wild 2-1. Mike Santorelli and Christopher Higgins got their team out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period and Tomas Vokoun shut down his opposition with 22 saves.
When the Phoenix Coyotes and Calgary Flames squared off, most believed this would be a low-scoring game. Both teams have struggled with putting the puck in the back of the net and featured world-class goalies in Miikka Kiprusoff and Ilya Bryzgalov. However, last night was just the opposite as the Coyotes scraped by the Flames 5-4.
Known mostly for his penalty killing, Vernon Fiddler posted a hat trick after not scoring in his first 15 games. Adrian Aucoin assisted on two while Lauri Korpikoski got apples on all three. Combined with goals from Lee Stempniak and Scottie Upshall, the Coyotes had just enough to spoil goals from Rene Bourque, Ian White, Tim Jackman and Alex Tanguay.
Our last contest brings us to sunny California, where the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Dallas Stars for their sixth straight win. Saku Koivu opened the scoring followed by one from Ryan Getzlaf and two by Bobby Ryan. Brandon Segal and Brad Richards added goals of their own but the Stars ultimately fell to their fellow Pacific Division foe. Want to know why the Ducks are finally succeeding, Curtis Zupke of The OC Register has 10 reasons for you.
That just about wraps up another great night of hockey. Be sure to check us all day as we bring you the most relevant fantasy hockey news possible. You can follow us on twitter @dailyfaceoff as we continue to bring you information on starting goalies, team lineups and major injury updates as well as provide in-depth injury updates and player rankings in the future.