Caps keep rolling, with 4-1 win over the Blues last night. Alex Ovechkin tied Alex Steen with most goals, potting his 16th and 17th of the year, during yesterday's contest. Teammate, Nicklas Backstrom had 2 apples, and John Carlson got in the mix, tallying a PP goal of his own.
Caps chased Jaroslav Halak from the crease just 15 minutes in, after he gave up three goals on six shots. But the real story this year has been Braden Holtby. I think as of right now, he's in serious contention for the Vezina, and I know it's early but with the win last night, his record is now 10-6-0 with a 2.26 GAA & .925 SV%. He backstopped his team to the win, stopping 46 shots in the process.
Vladimir Sobotka had a career high, 9 SOG and netted 1 goal on the PP as it was the only bright spot for the Blues.
L.A. defeat the Rangers 1-0, on Scriven's excellent play. Ben Scriven's now has back to back shutouts after stopping all 37 shots fired at him yesterday. I think the Kings are a little at ease now knowing that they can win, even with Quick on the shelf.
The lone goal came from Tyler Toffoli, after a lucky tip off a Rangers defensemen, but hey a goal is a goal. It was Toffoli's 4th of the year, and he now has 8 points in 7 games (4G/4A). The assists were from Richards and Voynov.
WINNIPEG vs. MINNESOTA:
Wild edge the Jets in the final minutes of the third, 2-1 Sunday night. Miko Koivu was the hero, notching both goals for the Wild, and Zach Parise had 1 assist.
Dustin Byfuglien notched his 4th goal of the year, with Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler getting the assists. Josh Harding getting the win, stopping 21 shots. He's put a strangle hold on the starting job. I don't think Backstrom really has a shot after suffering a concussion, and Harding now leads the NHL in SV% and GAA.
DALLAS vs. VANCOUVER:
Stars best the Canucks at home, 2-1. Dallas won, but in all reality if Kari Lehtonen wouldn't have been in net, this could have gotten ugly real quick.
Lehtonen was solid, stopping 42 shots to get the victory and his team needs to thank him. Valeri Nichushkin potted his 2nd goal of the year, with the assists coming from Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. It's no 11 points, but they'll take it. Nichushkin now has 7 points in 7 games, and is a +9 rating in that time frame.
Erik Cole joined the party, getting a goal to help his team. Vancouvers lone tally came from who else, Henrik Sedin on the PP with the assists from Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa.
What worries me is that everytime I see goals from the Canucks, is that it's from the same line, game after game. I thought they dealt for David Booth to help with secondary scoring?
It's good to see James Wisniewski sticking up for his teammate, even though I'm not a huge fan of Jared Boll. This hit was illegal, and he's going to see some suspension time.