Leafs and Habs Are Tonight's Winners!

We'll start in New York, where the Habs hit NHL Defensive Player Of The Week Henrik Lundqvist for three goals, and added an empty netter to win the game 4-1. Steve Begin had a goal and two assists for the Habs, while Jagr scored the Rangers' lone goal. Sundstrom, who had been struggling so far this season, had a goal and an assist.

In Toronto, the Leafs rebounded from a tough weekend loss and beat the Panthers 2-1. Gary Roberts scored his first goal of the season against his former team, just 26 seconds into the game. Darcy Tucker responded for the Leafs to tie the game, and Ponikarovsky scored mid-way through the third to give Toronto the lead. Belfour played great, stopping 31 of 32 shots.

Not many rumours floating around right now. Something that isn't a rumour, the Leafs are going to make a trade very soon. Sundin, Czercawksi and Antropov will all be back by the weekend, which means Wilm, Kilger, and Wellwood could be without spots. This is something to watch over the next week or two.

Happy Halloween!

Just a quick look at last nights games :

Ottawa lost only their second game of the season, loosing 5-3. Knuble led the way for the Flyers scoring two goals, while Esche played his best game of the season in net. Chara, Redden and Heatley all had two points each for the Sens.

Anaheim slid by Phoenix 3-2. Sanderson and Leclerc scored for the Yotes', while McDonald scored twice and Selanne added his ninth of the season for the Ducks. Giguere stopped 34 shots to pick up the victory.

Two games tonight : The Leafs look to get back on track when they play host to Luongo and the Panthers, while Montreal visits the Rangers in a rematch from Saturday night. New York won that one 5-2. Note for the Toronto game : It looks like Belak will be moved to forward, which means Berg and Kronwall are the likely 5-6 defenseman for tonight's game.

The Pens called up Ryan Whitney today. He currently leads all AHL defenseman with 14 points. Martin Biron could be on his way to Edmonton, while Conklin may find a new home as well. Ryan Miller is Buffalo's #1 goalie and will be for a long time.

My power rankings are done, but they are not up on the mainpage yet. To view them right now, check out http://www.lifeofsports.com. I also have a new article up there. Thanks all for now, enjoy your Halloween.

Great Night For Hockey!

What a crazy night last night was in the NHL. Lets start in Toronto, where Ottawa crushed the Leafs, 8-0. Heatley scored four goals, and Hasek got the shutout. Berg missed this game with a minor injury, which makes you wonder how important Berg is to the Leafs. Nah, I'm sure if Berg was in, nothing would have been different.

The Devils beat the Bruins 5-4 in a shootout. Kozlov and Mogilny led the way for the Devils, each scoring three points. Clemmensen got the win in net, replacing an injured Brodeur.

The Rangers beat the Habs 5-2 last night. Rucinsky had two points for the Rangers, while Koivu and Zednick had a pair of points each for the Habs. Theodore was pulled after three goals and replaced by Danis, who didn't fair too much better.

Kotalik, Briere and Hecht all had two point nights, as the Sabres beat the Islanders 6-4. Yashin and Satan each had two points for the Isles. DiPietro started this game, but was replaced by Snow in the third period.

Tampa slipped by Atlanta last night, winning 3-2. Richards and Modin each had two points for the Bolts, while Savard and Kozlov had the Atlanta goals.

The Hurricanes came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Penguins 5-3. Staal led the way for Carolina with four assists. Stillman and Whitney had three point nights, as Carolina improves to 8-2-1 on the season. Gerber gets the win for the Canes, while Caron picks up another loss for the Penguins.

Edmonton won their second straight, as they smoked the red-hot Preds 5-1. Hemsky had a goal and three assists for the Oilers, while Smyth picked up two points. Pronger picked up his fourth assist of the season, and Oilers' fans are really hoping he starts to produce sooner than later.

Minnesota charged past Columbus 3-1. Todd White had two goals, while Kuba picked up two assists. Fernandez got the win for the Wild, who only faced 16 shots.

Detroit doubled up Chicago 4-2. Zetterberg and Samuellson each scored their seventh goals of the season, and Osgood picked up the win for Detroit.

Colorado beat Vancouver 4-3 in Overtime thanks to Laperriere's fourth goal of the season. Cloutier was once again pulled and replaced by Auld! Cloutier could find himself loosing his job soon.

Other scores to tell you about : Dallas beat Phoenix 5-3, LA beat St.Louis 5-2 and San Jose beat Calgary in OT 3-2.

Player of the night? I want to say Heatley, but Staal led the Canes to a win with four assists, so the Hockey Leaks Player Of The Night Is...ERIC STAAL!

Apologizing In Advance!

There will be no blog tonight or tomorrow afternoon, so after this you have to wait until tomorrow night! I'm sorry, but I will not be home at all in the next day. Tonight's game of the night is definitely Philly at Carolina. The Hurricanes have really been on a roll lately, and Martin Gerber has been great in his return.

Dick Tarnstrom is out indefinitely after suffering a torn MCL ligament in last night's 7-5 win over Atlanta. This is a huge blow to Pittsburgh's already terrible defense. At least Gonchar and Jackman have started scoring, making Pittsburgh's defense have some purpose. Does anyone remember Donald Audette? Apparently Boston and Toronto are showing interested in the free agent forward. I don't believe Toronto will sign him, as they already have too many forwards. Who do the Leafs send down when Antropov and Sundin come back? I could see Boston signing him, as Audette could still contribute.

Atlanta is currently over the cap, so look for something to happen there soon. I read a rumour today that Comrie may be traded to Pittsburgh, but trust me, that won't happen. Comrie is playing great, and Pittsburgh doesn't need another big name. Dagenais' time in Montreal could soon be over. He has only played in six of Montreal's ten games, being a healthy scratch in the other four games. He could be sent down, but they would have to pay him in full because he is only on an NHL contract. Apparently there is not much interest in him, so Montreal may be stuck.

Speaking of Montreal, I will be in Montreal next weekend, so Yick will be doing the blog while I am away (unless the hotel I am staying at has internet access, I'm keeping my fingers crossed). I will be going to the Sabres/Habs game next Saturday, which will be my first regular season NHL game in the "new" era, so I'll post a full report. I'm thinking of wearing my Eric Lindros jersey...

We are looking for new writers, so if you are interested in writing for us, and getting your work on a page with over a million hits, email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com. Hockeyleaks.com is our web address, so check it out. I've been super busy, expect my new Power Rankings no later than Sunday. I'll try to get them up tomorrow around 6 or 7. Enjoy your Halloween Weekend!

Pens Win?

10 straight losses for Pittsburgh? Not this season, as Mario Lemieux scored five points, including two goals, to push the Pens past the Thrashers 7-5. Gonchar had two goals and an assist, Jackman had a goal and two assists, while Rechhi, Crosby, Palffy, and Leclair all had two points each. Kovalchuk had two goals and two assists in this game. The Thrashers had a 4-0 lead, but Shields struggled as the game went on. Caron gets the win for the Penguins.

Boston slid by the Leafs tonight, winning 2-1. Slegr and Samsonov scored for Boston, while Lindros scored for Toronto. Toivonen was the star of this game, making some key saves to keep Boston in the lead.

Jagr had two assists, as the Rangers beat the Islanders 3-1. Straka, Tyutin and Betts scored for the Rangers, while Campoli scored for the Islanders.

The Flyers scored three straight goals to beat the Panthers 5-4 in OT. Forsberg scored his first goal of the season, and added two assists. It was Pitkanen who scored the OT winner. Esche picks up the win.

Montreal led going into the third period, but couldn't hold on, as the Sens beat the Habs 4-3 in Overtime. Spezza scored the game winner, as well as adding an assist. Ryder led the Habs with three points, while Ribeiro had two goals. Emery gets the win for the Sens, as Hasek had the night off.

The Wings beat up the Blackhawks tonight, winning 5-2. Schneider had two goals, while Datsyuk added two assists.

Colorado currently leads Vancouver 6-2 in the third period. Brunette has three assists for the Avs, while Liles has two helpers as well. Cloutier was replaced by Auld in the second period, as Auld is looking to steal the #1 job in Vancouver.

Finally, Calgary and Phoenix are tied 0-0 after the first period. Curtis Joseph is looking for his 400th career win tonight, and I'm guessing he gets it. Sauve is in net for Calgary.

Player of the night? Well, two games are still in progress, but I feel safe announcing it now...: Super Mario, as he finally returns to form, and scores five points to give his team their first win? 9 game winning streak on the way from Pittsburgh? Not likely. Enjoy your night.

Preds Lose! Preds Lose!

Wow, it took awhile, but there are no longer any undefeated teams in the NHL. Nashville falls to 8-0-1 after loosing 3-2 in OT, after charging back to score in the final minute of the third to tie the game. Adam Foote gets the game winner for the Blue Jackets, who pick up just their third win of the season.

Martin Gerber won his second straight game, as the Hurricanes beat the Bruins 4-3 in OT. Matt Cullen had two goals, including the game winner, while Eric Staal and Aaron Ward had two assists each. Leetch had two goals for the Bruins, while Boyes had two assists.

Lots of games still in progress. Jeff Freisen finally has scored his first goal of the season, and the Caps currently lead the Sabres 3-2 in the third period. Eminger has two assists. Ovechkin has one assist.

Tampa Bay currently leads New Jersey 4-3 in the third period. Richards and Modin each have two points for the Bolts, while Langdenbruner leads the Devils with two points. Brodeur is in net tonight, and has yet to sit out a game thus far. Look for him to get some rest this weekend.

Dallas leads San Jose 3-2 midway through the second period. San Jose's goaltending problems continue, as Toskala has been pulled by the Sharks and replaced with Schaefer. This is likely due to Toskala's performance, as he allowed 3 goals on 10 shots.

Calgary visits Anaheim starting at 10:30. Thats all for now, see you tomorrow (unless I win the $40 million lottery, then you may not see me for awhile.

Good Morning

Lets go over the three late games, shall we?

The Avs beat the Oilers 5-3. After a hot start, the Oilers are struggling with a 3-6-1 record. Svatos and Laaksonen each had two points each for Colorado, while Torres scored twice for the Oilers.

Nedved scored in OT, lifting the Coyotes over the Blues 5-4. Johnson, Leclerc, and Nagy all had two points, while Comrie led the way with three. Mayers led the Blues with two goals. Leneveu was in net for the Coyotes, and it is likely Boucher or Joseph will be dealt when they are both healthy to give the rookie goaltender more playing time.

Finally, the Kings continued to play great hockey, beating the Ducks 3-1. Giguere missed another day due to his groin injury. Cammalleri, Robitaille and Conroy all scored for the Kings, while McDonald scored for the Ducks. Labarbera got the win for the Kings.

Player of the night? Mike Comrie, who had three points in his return. He was benched earlier in the week by the Coyotes, and responded perfectly.

Huge trade last night! Phoenix traded Rick Berry to Nashville for future consideration. I am hearing the Penguins are talking to a lot of teams about a lot of players. After 9 losses in a row, something has got to happen in Pittsburgh. Thats all for now, more later...

Those Poor Penguins

Well, finally, after a few days off, I have returned. Thanks to all the comments and emails wishing me a quick return, I feel better, though I'm not done seeing doctors just yet. Who cares about me though, lets get to some hockey!

The Pens lose another game in Overtime. Weiss scored his first goal of the season 53 seconds into the fourth period, as the Panthers win 4-3. Pittsburgh has now lost nine in a row, which means a coaching change could be on the way...

Kovalchuk scored twice, but it wasn't enough, as the Islanders beat the Thrashers 4-3. Zhitnick, Yashin and Satan all had two points a piece. The Thrashers are still desperately awaiting the return of Dunham and Lehtonen.

Mike Ribeiro tied it in the third, and won it in Overtime, as the Habs beat the Flyers 3-2. Handzus and Richards both had two points for the Flyers, and Savage scored his first as a Flyer. Plekanek added two assists for the Habs.

Vancouver beat the Wild 3-1 tonight. Auld improves to 3-0, and looks ready to steal Cloutier's starting job. Naslund scored his seventh goal of the season in this game, while Vancouver improves to 8-1-1.

Still some games going on. Nashville will stay unbeaten unless something horrific happens to them. They lead Chicago 5-2. Kariya and Erat each have a goal and an assist for the Preds, while Keith has two assists for the Blackhawks.

The Oilers and Avs are tied at 0's after one period of play, while the Blues and Coyotes are also scoreless, this one is in the first period. The Kings play host to the Ducks at 10:30 PM EST.

Too early to name a player of the night, but I'm going to guess it'll be someone from Phoenix. That game is going to be a dandy, so if you get it, watch it. Check the blog tomorrow, I've got a few good rumours that I will clarify later tonight and post tomorrow morning. Enjoy!

A Quick Little Flight.

Just a quick up-date tonight, by me, your friendly, neighborhood ryan.c., cj is a healthy scratch tonight. He'll return tomorrow night.

Anyway, how about some scores. First off, Ottawa's unbeaten streak is BROKEN! And, as a Leaf fan, i say, 'it's about damn time.' The Sens got knocked off 3-2 by the surprisingly good Carolina Hurricanes, who's record improves to 4-2-1, and the Sens record sits at 6-1-0. Ottawa goals were scored by Patrick Eaves, and Jason Spezza, who got his fourth of the year. Carolina scorers were Eric Staal, with his sixth, Matt Cullen, and Frankie Kaberle.

Elsewhere, Detroit knocked off Columbus, 6-2. Pavel Datysuk led the way with 2 goals and an assist for Detroit, and Brendan Shanahan also got a pair. Zetterberg and Schneider got the other two Detroit goals. Trevor Letowski and Bryan Berard both scored for Columbus.

Finally, Toronto won in a shoot-out, finally! Albeit, not against the Senators, but another division rival, in the Bruins. B's goals were scored by Glen Murray, Ian Moran, Pat Leahy, and former Leafs draft pick, Brad Boyes. Leafs goals came courtesy of Tie Domi, Alex Khavanov, Alex Ponikarovsky, and Bryan McCabe. McCabe also got an assist, which pulls him into a tie with Jaromir Jagr, for the league lead in points, with 15.

League notes to pass on, Thrashers' Eric Boulton was suspended 6 games, for a check on Lightning player, Paul Ranger. In Edmonton, the Oilers have sent goaltender Ty Conklin to the minors. The tandem of him and Maarkanen just isn't cutting it for them this year.

And finally, the Hockey Leaks Player of the Night. The award goes to... (drum roll...) Leafs' Goaltender Ed Belfour, for his performance tonight, against the Bruins. Belfour allowed 4 goals on (get this...) 53 shots, not to mention his play in the late stages of the third period, over time, and shootout was Prime Belfour. Honerable Mention goes to Wings Pavel Datysuk for his 3 point performance against the Jackets.

Anywho, that's all for now.

Seacrest out.

(wait...)

ryan.c. out.

Chicago Has A Wild Time!

Ya that was quite corny, but I'm sick, so who can blame me? Chicago doubled up Minnesota today, winning 4-2. Rookies Bourque and Vorobiev led the way for the Blackhawks, while Gaborik had both Minnesota goals. Khabibulin gets the win, Roloson gets the loss.

The other final to discuss is Anaheim over Phoenix 5-3. Mike Leclerc tried to keep Phoenix in this one, has he scored twice, but Anaheim's offense was just too good. Sykora, Selanne, McDonald, Hedstrom and Rob Niedermayer scored for the Ducks. Giguere is still out with a groin injury, but Bryzgalov has 24 saves to lead the Ducks to victory. Cujo was pulled after allowing 3 of 11 shots in the first period. Leneveu replaced him.

Not much else to discuss. Nik Antropov has returned to his home country due to a death in his family. He is currently injured, no time table is known for when he'll be healthy/back from overseas. Thats all for now, email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com. And for whoever emailed me telling me that I sold their email address, all I can say is I wish, as I've yet to see any money from this site, and most likely never will. To everyone, don't worry, your email address' are safe with me.

My Apologies

I'm sorry for not doing a blog at all yesterday, I have come down with something and havn't had much energy to do much. I see a doctor tomorrow so hopefully I'll get back to normal soon. I won;t go over last night's games, but I will tell you that Jason Williams was the HockeyLeaks Player Of The Night. Three goals, his first three of the season, win him the award. This kid has been fantastic this far, and one of Detroit's top scorers.

Add Calgary to the list of teams interested in Nolan. Also, Havlat apparently is not available, and will not be traded. Karel Pilar is back in Toronto and could play in December. Don't expect the Leafs to wait that long before making a change on their defense. We could see something this week.

Stats are up for the Powerplay Fantasy League, and I currently lead by five points! Catch me if you can...

Thats all for now, if I feel good tonight I'll do a rundown of all tonights games. Tonight's game of the night? Calgary at LA, as Conroy plays his old team. Conroy has been on fire, scoring 7 points in his last two games.

Colorado Snaps In Hejduk's return!

I know I usually start with the games that are already finished, but wow, Colorado currently leads the Oilers 7-1 with ten minutes left in the third. Liles and Turgeon and Hejduk (yes, he's back!) each have three points, while Blake and Brisbois each have two points. Moreau has the only Oiler goal.

Columbus finally looked good, beating the Sharks 4-1. Nabokov left the game with an injury that could be pretty severe. We'll keep you updated. Chimera led the way for the Blue Jackets with two goals, while Foote and Vyborny also scored for the Jackets. Scott Thornton had San Jose's lone goal.

Ottawa improved to 6-0, beating the Lightning 4-1. Heatley, Shaeffer and Neil all had two points. The Wings got win number seven tonight, beating the Ducks 3-2. Wooley had two assists for the Wings, while Samuellson scored his sixth goal of the season. Selanne continued to play well, scoring the Duck's first goal. Getzlaf had the other Duck goal. Giguere missed this one with a groin injury, and is listed as Day to Day.

Trade rumours? I have a few for you. The rumour came up today that Havlat might be traded by Ottawa, and it is a possibility. Though most would assume he would be traded to the west, the most likely destination may be Carolina. Erik Cole would be involved. St.Louis is another possibility, with Brewer or Jackman being part of a deal.

Antropov for Witt is being thrown around a lot, and it's not that far-fetched. Do I think it will happen? Not really, but don't throw the idea away just yet. I am hearing Boston really wants Witt as well.

I was reading hockeytraderumors.com today and noticed something about the Pens, and how Olczyk may be fired. I said the same thing to Yick today, and I believe it's just a matter of time. With that much talent, something is wrong with Pittsburgh.

7-1 Final now in Edmonton. The HockeyLeaks Player Of The Night Is...Milan Hejduk! He returns from injury and sparks a fire in Colorado. He earns himself three points along the way! Thats all for now, email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com for all questions. Enjoy your night!

The New Guys Are Paying Off

All around the league, your seeing it. Your seeing the new guy on the team excelling. Tonight is a good example. Lets start in Toronto!

Toronto beat Carolina 5-4 in Overtime. New Guy Eric Lindros had a goal (his sixth in seven games), while Tucker and McCabe each had two points. Eric Staal had three assists for Carolina. Ken Klee scored to the overtime winner. Rookie Steen scored his third goal of the season for Toronto.

Vanek is the new guy in Buffalo, and he is playing well. He added two assists to lead the Sabres to a 4-3 win over Boston. Dumont had two points for the Sabres as well, while Samsonov scored twice for the Bruins.

What a crazy game in New York tonight. The Islanders beat the Rangers for the second straight time, but the story of the night is Jagr, who scored three goals tonight, giving him the league lead at 10. This Jagr is not the same one Ranger fans have seen previously, as he looks very dangerous. Could it have anything to do with former Penguin pal Martin Straka? Straka, another new guy, scored two assists tonight, giving him 11 on the season. As for the Islanders, Zhitnik and Sopel each had a pair of assists, while Parrish had two goals. 5-4 Islanders was the final.

Atlanta continues to struggle, as they got beat 6-0 by Tampa Bay tonight. Grahame picks up the shutout. Richards and Prospal each had two points, while Lecavalier had a goal and two assists. Atlanta really misses their top two goalies.

The Ovechkin show continues in Washington, with him scoring twice tonight. Unfortunately, that was all the offense Washington would get, and they lost 3-2 to Florida. Steward, Kolnik and Van Ryn had the goals for Florida. Bouwmeister finally got his first assist of the season.

Pittsburgh is still without a win, as they lost 6-3 to New Jersey. So much for Thibault's return, as he was pulled halfway through the third. Gionta led the way for the Devils, scoring twice and adding an assist. Lemieux, Rechhi, Rafalski, Jackman, Brylin and Mogilny all had two point nights. Scott Gomez had a goal and two assists.

Nashville improves to 6-0, as they beat the Blues 3-2 in Overtime. Sullivan scored the Shootout winner, while Eric Brewer scored for the second straight game for the Blues. Currently in the 3rd period, LA is beating up on Dallas, leading 7-2. Conroy's three points give him seven over the last 24 hours. Boucher and Modano both have two points for the Stars, while Visnovsky has a goal and two assists for the Kings.

After two periods the Flames lead the Oilers 2-1. Moreau has the Oiler goal, while Reinprecht and Kobasew have the Calgary goals. Finally, Vancouver and Phoenix are scoreless in the first period.

The new power rankings are up, so be sure to check them out. Ottawa sits at #1, while Columbus sits at the bottom. Rankings do not include tonight's games. Thats all for now, check hockeyleaks.com for all the latest. Email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com for all questions/comments or inquires. Have a great night!

Craig Conroy!

Craig Conroy is the Hockeyleaks Player Of The Night for Oct.19/2005. Though he has struggled early on for the Kings, he broke out last night with four points, including the game winning goal. Other's considered included Gaborik, who had two assists in his season debut, and Alexei Yashin, who had two points in the Islanders 3-2 Shooutout win over the Rangers.

Eklund reported this morning that Owen Nolan could end up with Phoenix. Don't get too excited yet, Coyotes fans, as I've heard a few other teams have shown serious interest in the veteran winger. The most likely destination for Nolan? San Jose. They have the cap room, and would love to add him to their roster. Nashville is another team that has inquired about Nolan.

Kris Draper will wear a visor full time, after he suffered an eye injury last week. Sundin, who is still several weeks away from returning, says he will try one, but he isn't sure if it will stick. George Laroque could be traded by the Oilers once Smyth returns. When Smyth will return is a mystery, as his injury is being kept very quiet.

Colorado has already declined options on Joe Sakic and Rob Blake for next season, making both UFA's next summer. I can hear the Toronto rumours already...

Remember, all the new articles,power rankings, etc will be up tonight. I'm doing the Power Rankings as I type this. Hockeyleaks.com for all the latest. Enjoy your Thursday.

A Night Of Surprises

Boy am I glad I didn't play proline tonight. Lets start in New York, where the Islanders beat the Rangers. Yashin finally stepped up and got two points, while Satan scored once, plus the shootout winner. Final score was 3-2 for the Isles, in a shootout. Jagr continued to play well, scoring his 7th goal of the season, tying him with Gagne for the league lead. DiPietro was back in net for the Isles after he suffered a concussion last week.

The Blues beat the Ducks in another upset. Backman, McAmmond and Brewer scored for the Blues, who get their second win of the season. 3-2 St.Louis was the final score, with Ozolinsh and Selanne scoring the Duck's goals. Rob Niedermayer had two assists for the Ducks.

Gaborik finally returned to the ice, as the Wild beat up on the Sharks 6-1. Gaborik had two assists in his return, while White and Daigle also had two points each. Nabokov allowed five goals on nine shots in the third period. Fernandez got the win the Wild, who improve to 4-2-1.

Final game of the night is still going on, between the Kings and the Avs. It's tied 4-4 through two periods. Tanguay has three assists for the Avs, while Demitra has two goals for the Kings. My prediction? 6-5 Avs win.

Did everyone see Canada's list of 81 players who could possibly play in Turin? If you haven't, the full list is posted in the forums. I know this is the Leaf fan in me saying this, but after the injury problems Jason Allison, Eric Lindros and Jeff O'Neill have had, how great is it to see them on that list? Should be interesting to see how they cut that list down to 23. I got asked earlier if I thought the rookies (Crosby, Richards, Phaneuf) should make it, my answer is no. These kids will have their time to shine, but they're not ready for this yet. I know some have been to the world championships and world juniors, but let the vets have their moment, the young kids will have their time soon enough. The most surprising name on that list? Dan Cloutier...no, just kidding, Cam Ward, I was shocked to see him included, though with his numbers so far this season, he's a smart choice.

I know I said updates would be up tonight, but I remembered that I did the updates last Thursday, and really, every seven days is better than six. I promise all the new updates will be up tomorrow night, and from now on Thursday will be the day you will see all my new rankings, articles and fantasy fun. Hockeyleaks.com is our web address, and cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com is my email address. Have a good night.

Morning Report!

Just a quick look at last night's late games :

Does anyone remember last night's blog, when I said watch the Edmonton/Phoenix game, because it is going to get exciting? Wow was it ever, with Phoenix loosing it's two goal lead, only to come back and win 4-3 in overtime. Saprykin had two goals for the Coyotes, while Doan added one and Morris scored the OT winner. Ulanov had a goal and an assist, while Reasoner and Peca had the other Edmonton goal. Phoenix has now won two in a row, while the Oilers fall to 3-3-1.

Chicago continued to struggle, loosing to Vancouver 6-2. Khabibulin allowed all six goals on 25 shots. Morrison and Salo each had a goal and an assist for Vancouver(edit : my mistake, Morrison had a goal and two assists), while Bertuzzi had three assists, finally showing some offensive talent. Ohlund had two goals for the Canucks, while D. Sedin and Naslund round out the scoring for Vancouver. Rookie Vorobiev had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks. Vancouver improves to 5-1-1, while Chicago drops to 2-5.

As first reported in the forums last night, Phoenix traded forward Jeff Taffe to the Rangers for Jamie Lundmark. It will be interesting to see if Taffe can improve his play with the Rangers, as Marcel Hossa has really excelled since his trade. Chris Kuntz was claimed off waivers by the Ducks. Kuntz attended the Ducks' training camp, before he was claimed off waivers by Atlanta. The Ducks have now stole him back.

As Gaborik returns tonight, a few cuts will have to be made my Minnesota. Don't be surprised to see Nazarov or Tjarnqvist sent down by the Wild, as both have been healthy scratches as of late. According to The Score, Andy Hilbert of the Bruins still wants a trade. There is very little interest in Hilbert, so don't expect anything to happen soon.

Code is reporting that Tom Poti will likely be the next player traded from New York. If New York continues to make trades that improve them, maybe they could become a playoff team? They sure look like one so far.

Remember to check Hockeyleaks.com later tonight, as hopefully my new power rankings and articles will be up. If you have any questions, or would like to become one of our columnists, please email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com. Have a good day everyone!

Montreal Continues To Roll

The Canadiens fell behind quickly to the Bruin's tonight, trailing 2-0 after the first period. They stormed back and finished the night with a win, beating Boston 4-3. Boynton scored his first goal of the season for Boston, and Scatchard and Leetch had two points a piece. Kovalev, Ribeiro and Perezhogin each had two points for Montreal. Montreal is now 5-2, while Boston falls to 3-4.

In another comeback, New Jersey beat Florida 4-3. Mogilny led the way for the Devils, scoring once and adding two assists. Florida was without both Roberts and Nieuwendyk, both are currently injured. Phoenix continues to look strong, as they lead the Oilers 2-0 after the first period. Saprykin has both Coyote goals, while Joseph has stopped all seven shots he has faced.

Last game of the night is still in the first period. Vancouver and Chicago are both tied at 0's. Khabibulin and Cloutier are the goalies in this one. Reminder to check hockeyleaks.com often tomorrow as Wednesday is my update day. I will have my new power rankings up, as well as a new article and a new fantasy page feature. If you get centre ice, I have a feeling the Phoenix/Edmonton game will get exciting, so check it out.

Good News, Bad News For Phoenix

The Coyotes got a big win last night, beating the Flames 2-0. Curtis Joseph got his first shutout of the season, earning him the Hockeyleak's Player Of The Night award. Ricci and Devereaux scored for the Coyotes. The bad news for Phoenix is they have lost Denis Gauthier for at least a month with a broken pinky finger. The injury happened on the weekend. Phoenix plays Edmonton tonight.

The Islanders, Leafs, Canadiens and Penguins are all apparently interested in Witt. Tom Poti is apparently being shopped around. Rumour has the Bruins being seriously interested. I got an email asking about the rumour going around that Vancouver and Nashville are working on a trade that could involve some big names (names include Jovo, Bertuzzi, Walker and Vokoun). As far as I've found, there is no truth to this rumour at all. Steve Shields has signed a tryout contract with Atlanta's AHL affiliate and likely will be signed to an NHL deal soon.

Pierre Dagenais has been demoted to Montreal's fourth line. The Habs play Boston tonight, and my money is on Montreal. The Bruins will be without Thorton and Zhamnov tonight, both will sit out with injuries.

Thats all for now, check hockeyleaks.com for the latest. My email is cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com, feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments.

How About Those Rangers?

The New York Rangers continue to play well, and seeing as I was the only one in the Powerplay Fantasy League to take Jagr, am I the only one who thought this could happen? I don't think it will last, but picking up Hossa and Rucinsky has really paid for the Rangers. Jagr had two goals, while Rucinsky had three assists, and Straka had two helpers. Hossa had an assist as well. Lundqvist gets the shutout for the Rangers. Rangers easily beat the Panthers 4-0.

Detroit took one in overtime tonight, beating the sharks 4-3. Samuellson scored his team leading 5th goal of the season, while Jason Williams continues to impress with his 8th assist of the season, putting him two short of Forsberg's league leading 10. Fischer scored the OT winner for the Wings, who now have a record of 6-1. One other game tonight, and it's scoreless in the 2nd period. Phoenix vs. Calgary, I predict Phoenix will win.

Martin Havlat received a five game suspension for a kicking incident over the weekend. I great article by the Ottawa media is posted in the forums, it's worth the read. Thats all for now, remember to check hockeyleaks.com for the latest, or you can email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com for all questions/comments or inquiries about getting your link on our homepage. Have a good night!

A Look Around The League

Lets just take a look at the four games that went on/are still going on around the NHL tonight. We'll start in Washington, where the Caps beat the Lightning 3-2 in a shootout. Zubrus led the way for the Caps, with a goal and an assist. Ovechkin added an assist. Lecavalier and Prospal both scored their fourth goals of the season.

The Wild upset the Ducks tonight, winning 4-1. Marc Chouinard may be the Hockey Leaks player of the night tonight, as he had three assists, but not so fast, his teammate Todd White also had three assists. Things are going well for the Wild early on. Fernandez got the win in this one.

The Kings continued to play well, beating the Blue Jackets 3-1. Visnovsky had two assists for the Kings, while Zherdev scored for the Blue Jackets. It was his first goal of the season. If this team is going to succeed, Zherdev will have to score more goals than he has been.

Final game of the night is Dallas at Vancouver. Vancouver currently leads 2-0. Daniel Sedin and Sami Salo have the goals for Vancouver. Auld is in net for the Canucks. This game is still in the first period.

Jeff Jillson was sent down to the AHL by Buffalo. I remember when he was with the Sharks he was really good, how times have changed. Guys like Delmore and Jillson could still turn out to be good defenseman, and I wouldn't be surprised if both were back in the NHL soon. Thats all for now, remember to check hockeyleaks.com for the latest, and email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com, I do answer every question, even the really dumb ones...

I Won Again!

Wow, three straight proline wins, I really have to start betting more than two dollars. Sorry for the lack of update last night, did not get home until late, and instead of doing a quick update, I decided to leave it till this morning to do a full update! So here we go!

Lindros scored his fourth and fifth goals of the season, and Steen added two assists, as the Leafs edged the Canadiens 3-2. Leafs are now 3-1-2 while Montreal is now 4-2-0. Allison also scored for the Leafs, while Kovalev and Plekanek scored for the Habs. Steen's two assists give him six points in six games.

Ottawa remained unbeaten, as they beat up the Bruin's 5-1. Alfredsson had two assists, and Bochenski scored his first career NHL goal. Smolinski, Neil, Vermette and Volchenkov also scored for Ottawa, while Leahy had Boston's lone goal. The Rangers improved to 3-1-2 last night, as they beat the Thrashers 5-1. Rucinsky had a goal and an assist, and Marcel Hossa and Jaromir Jagr had two assists each. Kovalchuk scored Atlanta's lone goal.

The Flyers easily defeated the Islanders, winning 5-1. Handzus has two goals, and Richards had two assists. Forsberg also picked up his league leading 10th assists, while Gagne scored his league leading 7th goal. Jeff Carter got his first career NHL point when he assisted on a goal from Patrick Sharp. Mike York scored for the Islanders, who fall to 2-3-0.

Another blowout from last night was Carolina over New Jersey 6-1. It's an odd occasion when Brodeur allows 6 goals. Matt Cullen had a goal and two assists, and Brind'Amour had two goals. New Jersey falls to 2-3, while Carolina is 3-2. Rookie Cam Ward improved his record to 3-1.

The Penguins lost again, and it wasn't even in overtime. Lecavalier had a goal and two assists as the Lighting beat the Pens 3-1. Crosby picked up an assists on Pittsburgh's only goal, which was scored by Ziggy Palffy.

The Panthers slid by the Sabres 3-2. Van Ryn had three assists for the Panthers, while Briere had both of Buffalo's goals. The Preds improved to 5-0 on the season, by beating the Blues 4-1. Sullivan and Kariya each picked up a point in this game.

Calgary looked like their old selves last night, winning 3-0 over the Oilers. Kiprusoff picked up his first shutout of the season. Iginla, Langkow and Warrener all scored for Calgary. Calgary now sits at 2-3-1, while the Oilers drop to 3-3, after starting the season 3-1.

Curtis Joseph returned for Phoenix, but it wasn't enough, as Manny Legace shut Phoenix down. Detroit won this one 2-0. Zetterberg and Datsyuk scored for the Wings, while Jason Williams picked up his seventh assist of the season. Finally, the Sharks edged the Blackhawks 4-3. Marleau led the way with two goals and one assist. Sturm had a goal and an assist, while Brad Stuart had two assists. Jim Dowd had two assists for the Blackhawks.

Player of the night goes to....Vinny Lecavalier, who got a point on each of his team's three goals. Runners up are Patrick Marleau, who equaled Lecavalier in points tonight, and Mike Van Ryn who got an assist on all three Florida goals.

Eklund mentioned this morning that Biron may be dealt by Buffalo to Atlanta. This would make sense as Atlanta had their fourth string goalie in net last night. Atlanta has allowed 14 goals in their last two games, while only scoring two. Brian Boucher could apparently be on the trading block once he gets healthy, as Phoenix would like to keep LeNeveu as their backup. Owen Nolan is working hard to get back into shape, and could be ready to return by Christmas. David Aebischer is another goalie who may be on the trade market, as the Avs are really impressed with Peter Budaj. If the Islanders continue to struggle, rumour is that Janne Niinimaa will be traded.

Make sure to check http://www.hockeyleaks.com, as we did several updates yesterday. New articles are up, as well as few other added features. Email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com if you have any questions or comments.

Bret Hull Retires

Brett Hull will announce his retirement at 8 pm tonight. After a rough start in Phoenix for the veteran forward, he has decided to call it quits after 1,269 games. Hull scored 741 goals and 650 assists for 1,391 points. Phoenix plays Detroit tonight, Hull will not be in the lineup. Hull played the last few seasons in Detroit.

Joe Thorton will not be in the lineup for Boston tonight.

How about some trade rumours? The Rangers may be talking to the Caps about trading Lundmark to Washington for Alexander Semin. The Rangers are unhappy with Lundmarks play, and Semin has had a lot of problems with Washington.

A rumour from code : Daze could be on his way to Montreal...I don't believe this one at all. Why would a young team like the Habs be interested in an injury prone Eric Daze. Code also said Pat Quinn is on a short leash, which makes sense since he just got a new contract...

Andy Sutton was suspended for four games after driving Darcy Tucker's face into the glass last night. I played proline again today, and I've won two straight nights. Since I've been so lucky the last two nights, I will share my picks with you. Take Nashville, Philly and NYR tonight...you'll win 8.20 on a $2 bet...it's not my fault if I'm wrong.

Enjoy the games. Game of the night may just be Toronto and Montreal, but to tribute Bret Hull, everyone watch Phoenix and Detroit, that should be a good game.

Goals, Goals and More Goals

Lets get right to tonight's action. Toronto vs. Atlanta was crazy, with so many goals and so much fighting. I'm not going to get into the brawl, I'm just going to see that the attempted elbow on Lindros was disgusting, and Sutton should get suspended for his hit on Tucker. Tucker and Lindros got the last laugh though, as the Leafs won 9-1. A big night for a lot of Leafs. O'Neill had three goals and an assist, Tucker had a goal and three assists, as did Allison. Wellwood scored a goal and an assist, while McCabe had four assists. Lindros, Steen and Ponikarovsky also scored for Toronto. Savard had Atlanta's only goal, Kovalchuk is still pointless this season.

Pittsburgh lost in Overtime for the fourth time this season. Philly beat them 6-5 in OT. Gagne led the way for the Flyers, who had two goals and two assists. Forsberg had four assists. On Pittsburgh's side, Lemieux had two assists, Crosby had a goal and an assist, and Ric Jackman had two assists.

Vancouver got some revenge on Minnesota, beating them 5-3. Naslund had two points, and Park had three, including two assists. Chicago beat Colorado 3-2 in a shootout. Liles had two points for the Avs, while Ruutu scored the shootout winner, while also adding a regulation assist.

In a rivalry going back years, Dallas beat Edmonton 3-2. Guerin had two points for the Stars, while Stoll had two points for the Oilers. Conklin was pulled in this game after allowing 2 goals in 7 shots. One game still going on tonight, and thats Columbus at Anaheim. The Ducks lead 2-1. Moen and Lupul have Anaheim's goal, while Hrdina scored for the Blue Jackets. Edit : Berard just scored, 2-2 tie in the third.

Tonight's player of the night goes to Jeff O'Neill, who scored his third career hat trick. Runners up go to Darcy Tucker, who got four points, and got his face busted open, Jason Allison, who had three assists and probably the goal of the night, and Peter Forsberg, who still hasn't scored, but added four assists. Gagne is close too, with his two goals and two assists.

Finally, email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com for all questions. I still want one of those mini-stanley cups from opening night, so if anyone has any extra's maybe we can work something out? Hockeyleaks.com for all the latest. The next blog probably won't be until around 6 pm tomorrow, as I will be away most of the day. Enjoy your Saturday!

Player Of The Night Goes To...

A look at last night's two late games. Steve Sullivan had three points, and Kariya had two as the Predators beat the Coyotes in a shootout. Paul Kariya was once again the difference in the shootout. Nashville improves to 4-0 on the season. Mason got his first win of the season.

Shanahan, Maltby, Franzen, Zetterberg and Fischer all scored for Detroit, as they beat LA 5-2. Detroit scored twice into an empty net. Roenick and Avery scored for LA, who fall to 3-2. The Wings improve to 4-1. For those who read last nights blog, just to update you, I did win my proline ticket! I'm going to start having a player of the night for each night. Last night's player of the night? It's a tough one, but I will have to go with Mike Modano, who assisted on all three Dallas goals. Steve Sullivan is the runner up, who scored twice and added an assist for the Preds. Sullivan now takes over the NHL points lead with 9 points in four games.

Few rumours this morning. Apparently Buffalo isn't planning on moving a goalie. However, it seems the Jeff Jillson may be moved by the Sabres. Several teams would have interest in this defenseman. I also forgot to mention yesterday that Luongo was pulled by Florida during the second period. I am not sure whether he is injured or was just struggling, but when your goalie allows three goals in four games, you can't pull him when he allows 3 goals on 15 shots. That doesn't send him the right message.

The site is all updated, including the PowerPlay Fantasy League standings. The NHL standings and stats are the only things not updated, but they will be later today. I'll post a much larger blog later on tonight. Enjoy your Friday!

The Beast Of The NorthEast

Sure Ottawa has been sharp, but how about those Sabres. They beat Tampa 4-3 in a shootout tonight, improving their record to 4-1. Rookie Tomas Vanek led the way for the Sabres, recording two assists. Richards, Lecavalier and Prospal all scored their second goals of the season for the Lightning, who drop to 2-3.

Jagr scored, and Straka added two assists in the Rangers 4-1 win over the Devils. Gionta scored the only goal for the Devils, who are off to a 2-2 record. The Rangers are 2-1-2. The Islanders beat up on the Capitals, winning 5-3. DiPietro did leave the game in the third period, and his status is currently unknown. Zubrus had two assists for the Caps.

Boston finally played a solid game, beating the Panthers 5-2. The five goals against by the Panthers is more than they've allowed in their previous four games. Glen Murray had three points, and Bergeron and Samsonov each had a pair of assists. Horton and Kolnik scored for the Panthers, while Gary Roberts is still pointless through five games.

Time for the three games I played proline with. Game 1 : I picked Dallas over Calgary, and thats how it stands right now after two periods. The score is 2-1. Modano has two assists for Dallas, while Reinprecht has Calgary's only goal. Game 2 : I picked Nashville over Phoenix, and things are looking good. After one period, Nashville leads 2-1. Sullivan and Timmonen each have a goal and an assist for the Preds. Nedved has Phoenix's lone goal.

Game 3 : I picked Detroit over LA, and this game is just underway. Yzerman is in the lineup for the Red Wings. Both teams are 3-1 on the season.

Thats all for now, check out the site as a lot of new articles/power rankings/fantasy stats are updated! Hockeyleaks.com is the address, and cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com is the email address where you can get in touch with me! Enjoy!

Boynton Signs With Boston

Will he be traded? Doubtful, but Eklund did bring up an interesting possibility. What about Witt and something, for Boynton. I don't think Boynton will be dealt, but I do believe Witt will be dealt. Don't be surprised if Semin is packaged with Witt. By the way, Boynton's deal is a one year deal worth 1.75 million.

With Atlanta short on goaltending, they make go out and attempt to get Noranen or Biron from Buffalo, or possibly Prusek from Columbus. A few big games in the NHL tonight. The one I am most looking forward to is Nashville and Phoenix. Kariya had a big night last night, scoring a goal and adding two assists. Him and Sullivan will both have to continue to play if Nashville wants to succeed.

Calgary hopes to turn things around tonight when they face Dallas. Don't forget to make all your game predictions in the forums! I continue to struggle, having one of the worst records. Too many surprise teams for me liking. Finally, my first article for Lifeofsports.com is up, and can be found here : http://www.lifeofsports.com/featured_news.php?Featured_news=305. A similar article, as well as an update to the fantasy page, and my new power rankings. Check hockeyleaks.com frequently tonight to read all the updates!

More Of Me?

We'll get to that title in a little bit, but first, I want to talk about tonight's games, because there were a few dandys! Lets start in Carolina, where Staal and the Hurricanes beat up on the lowly Capitals, who have allowed 26 goals in their first five games. Staal had a goal and three assists for the Canes, which puts his at 8 points on the season, good enough for a share of the points lead with Atlanta's Marc Savard. Ovechkin and Zubrus scored for the Caps.

Jose Theodore is back! Wait a second, that wasn't Theodore....Jan Danis started in goal for Montreal tonight, and got his first career shutout against the offense powerhouse Thrashers, who welcomed Ilya Kovalchuk back. Bulis and Koivu scored for the Thrashers. Bad news for the Thrashers, as Mike Dunham left this game with a groin injury. This leaves third string goalie Micheal Garnett as the starting goalie until one of Dunham and Lehtonen return. Garnett did play well tonight, allowing one goal on thirty shots.

Vancouver had a rough night tonight, getting beat up by Minnesota. The final score in this one was 6-0. Randy Robitaille had two points for the Wild, who were once again without Gaborik. Gaborik's return has been pushed back until next week. Roloson picked up the shutout in this game.

Two games currently in progress. Colorado currently leads Nashville 4-3. Svatos scored his 5th of the season in this one, while Konawalchuk, Sauer, and Liles also have goals for the Avs. Hordichuk, Zidlicky and Kariya have goals for the Preds, who were 2-0 going into this one. This one is in the third period. Wait, as I'm typing this Nashville has tied it up, thanks to Steve Sullivan. Kariya's assist on the goals gives him his second point of the night. 12:03 remaining in the third period.

The other game in progress is Columbus at San Jose. The Sharks currently lead 2-0, thanks to goals by Sturm and Primeau. This one is still in the first period.

Ok, to the title! First, I will be writing a weekly column for http://www.lifeofsports.com. This is a really great site that has a lot of fantasy games, as well as articles written by all sorts of people, including actual athletes from the MLB and other major leagues. I sent my first article to them, and I'll post a link to it when it's up. It will be the same as my hockeyleaks article this week, but starting next week they will be separate. Speaking of my article, my power rankings and article are both done, as is the fantasy page update, but they won't be posted until tomorrow.

On another note, I had a phone conversation with Eklund on Monday, and I will be writing a blog for him starting soon (within the next month or so). He also links to us at hockeybuzz.com now. We're hoping to work on a bigger project soon as well, so keep checking the blog and hockeyleaks.com for any news regarding that. Both of these new jobs for myself will hopefully give hockeyleaks more exposure, which will be better for all of us.

Thats all for now, if you want to contact me, it's cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com. Updated Powerplay Fantasy League stats should be up in the next few days, so check for them. My article is about the 5 unluckiest people in the NHL thus far, so make sure you check that out tomorrow! Enjoy whats left of your night!

Injury News

First, just to re-cap last nights late games. Dallas beat Phoenix 3-2. Modano led the Stars with a goal and an assist, while Kolanos was the most offensive Coyote, notching two assists. Kolanos' name is popping up in a lot of trade talk lately, so maybe this will help his value.

In the other late game, the Oiler's finally lost a game, loosing 3-1 to the Kings. Labarbera continues to play strong in net for the Kings, who improve to 3-1 on the season. Horcoff continued to play well for the Oilers, getting another assist. Corvo, Brown and Belanger all scored for the Kings.

Lets get to some injury news. Thanks to a huge hit from Eric Lindros on Monday night, Mike Fisher will be out for at least a week. He suffered a mild shoulder strain. Mats Sundin will not need surgery, which means Sundin shouldn't be out as long as first though. Late October/Early November is when we will likely see #13 back for Toronto. Rookie Gilbert Brule will be out six weeks after he suffered a fractured sternum in only his second NHL game. The rumours are that he will be sent back to his junior club by Columbus, which would end his NHL season. Finally, some good news for Detroit fans, Steve Yzerman will be back in the lineup tomorrow night when they face the Kings. Both teams are 3-1 on the season.

The last note I have for you this morning is that Ilya Kovalchuk will make his season debut tonight against the Canadiens. Montreal is looking to rebound after loosing their first game of the season last night to the Senators.

All my updates for the site should be up today, so check hockeyleaks.com often. Also, remember to make your game predictions in the forums! Fury leads with a 31/17 record. Email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com for all questions, comments, or inquiries. If you want your site advertised on hockeyleaks.com, send me an email!

A Couple Of Firsts

Another great night in the NHL! I'm watching the Dallas vs. Phoenix game as I type this, but we'll get to it in a few minutes. I'm going to start in Toronto where the Leafs beat the Flyers 4-2. Mikeal Tellqvist got the win for the Leafs, who picked up their first win of the season (though thanks to two OT losses, they have 4 points). Kyle Wellwood scored his first NHL goal and Jeff O'Neill returned to the lineup, eventually scoring the game winner in the third. Lindros scored against his old team, and Tucker added his second goal of the season. Gagne and Knuble scored for the Flyers, who drop to 1-2 on the season. Allison, O'Neill and Gagne all had two point nights.

The Montreal Canadiens took their first loss of the season, getting beat 4-2 by the still undefeated Sens. Ray Emery picks up the win. Alfredsson led the way for the Sens, scoring two goals. Chara and Vermette had Ottawa's other goals, while Koivu and Begin answered for the Habs.

Another team who got their first win is St. Louis, who beat up on Chicago 4-1. McAmmond, McClement, Young and Drake scored for the Blues, while Arnason scored Chicago's only goal. Lalime gets his fist win as a member of the Blues. Dallas currently leads Phoenix 3-1 in the third. Modano is leading the way with a goal and an assist. Gautier has Phoenix's goal. Lenevue is in net for Phoenix, who has both Boucher and Joseph on the IR. Edmonton and LA is just underway, and has no score.

Expect full recaps of the two late games tomorrow morning. Also, be sure to check hockeyleaks.com tomorrow as my new power rankings, article and fantasy page will be up! A hot and cold list will be in the fantasy page, while my article will focus on who's been unlucky so far this season. Be sure to check that out tomorrow! Enjoy your night, and watch some hockey!

Marchment Signs With Calgary

In reaction to Calgary starting the season 1-3, and struggling on defense, the Flames have signed veteran defenseman Brian Marchment. He could play as early as this weekend.

The NHL has signed a European TV deal, which is great news for all of our European readers. Starting almost immediately, European fans will be able to watch a couple of NHL games per week.

Some game notes for tonight :

Jeff O'Neill is going to be a game time decision. I have checked several sources, some say he's in, others say he will be out until the weekend.

Ray Emery will start in net for Ottawa tonight. Richard Zednik, Pierre Dagenais and Mike Komisarek are all out tonight for Montreal.

Andy Delmore has been sent down to the AHL

Oilers Stay Undefeated

Two late games I missed last night, so here they are!

The Oilers continued to play well, beating Anaheim 4-2. Stoll, Pronger and Hemsky all had two assists. Selanne and Perry each scored for the Ducks, while Torres scored two for the Oilers. Reasoner and Dvorak also scored for Edmonton, who is now 3-0.

The other game last night was Calgary and Colorado. The Avs beat up on the Flames, winning 7-3. Svatos led the way for Colorado, scoring three goals and an assist. Wolski also played well for Colorado, scoring a goal and two assists. Amonte had two goals for the Flames, and Phaneuf scored his first NHL goal, along with his first NHL assist. The Flames continue to struggle, now sitting at 1-3-0.

Got something here for our Leafs' fans. Quinn was quoted late last night as saying the following..."Whether it was pond hockey out there or not, you need big saves to win games and (Belfour) did that," "But we've got two guys sitting with their fingers in the wrong place." For those who are slow, he is referring to Belak and Berg. Both could sit tonight against the Flyers.

Steve Yzerman will be back on Thursday, Kovalchuk could return on Wednesday to play Montreal. Remember to check Hockeyleaks.com often, as new features and articles are added all the time! More To Come Later...

Why I Love The New NHL...

If you like fantasy leagues, you love the new NHL. With all the points being scored, it's going to be fun to watch this season's point race. Every game you watch, there's a good chance you are going to see at least six goals. Look at all the players playing over a point a game hockey, it's great, and it makes the NHL really fun to watch. The NHL was looking to bring new fans to the game, and I think everyone who watches a game will be tempted to watch another.

So what happened tonight? Thrilling game in Ottawa just ended, the Sens beat the Leafs 6-5 in a shootout. Heatley scored the only shootout goal. Leafs trailed 4-2 after two, but came back and went up 5-4 before Ottawa tied it up at 5's, forcing overtime. McCabe had a goal and two assists, while Kaberle added 3 assists. Spezza led the way for Ottawa with a goal and two assists.

The Leafs are not the only winless team in the NHL. Pittsburgh got their third OT loss of the season tonight, this time against Buffalo. Final score was 3-2 for the Sabres. Palffy led the way for the Pens with a goal and an assist, while Lydman was Buffalo's top scorer with two assists. Boston just wrapped up a game in Tampa, winning 4-2. Isbister and Bergeron both had two points for Boston.

Vancouver ended Detroit's winning streak, beating them 4-2. Henrik Sedin led the way with a goal and two assists. Samuellson continued to show Detroit fans that he belongs, scoring his fourth goal of the season. Two afternoon games today...Florida beat the Islanders 3-1, and Washington beat the Rangers 3-2. Ovechkin got the game winner in that one.

One game is going on right now, as Colorado leads Calgary 3-0 in the second. Wolski and Svatos each have a goal and an assist. The young stars are leading the way for the Avs early on this season. Edmonton and Anaheim is just about to get started.

Some big games to watch tomorrow night, so make sure your home. The Leafs are at home to face the Flyers (O'Neill expected to be in the lineup). Montreal and Ottawa play tomorrow night, where one of them will pick up their first loss of the season. Another game to watch will be Phoenix and Dallas, though Phoenix is without both Boucher and Joseph, so they could be in for a rough week. My email address is cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com, so email me if you have anything to add, we are always look for new writers and new opinions. Http://www.hockeyleaks.com is our website, so make sure to check it out!

Jason Williams!

We all make mistakes, right? I keep reporting that Jeremy Williams is on fire for the Wings, but Jeremy is actually a Leafs' prospect. Jason Williams plays for Detroit, and is on fire with 5 assists in his last two games. Are you in the Powerplay Fantasy League? The updated stats are up! Radamski leads the way with 26 points, I'm 8 points behind, so watch out! Don't forget to make your picks for tonight's games in the Game Predictions forum. Fury currently is in the lead, with a record of 25/15.

Brad Bombardir has signed with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL. This is a tryout contract, and if he plays well enough he could end up on Springfied's affiliate the Tampa Bay Lightning. Every once and awhile I like to throw the craziest rumours I hear out there to you. From spectorshockey : Poti, Lundmark and Tyutin to Vancouver for Bertuzzi. I don't believe it, but hey, you never know right?

A look at a few of tonight's games. Leafs vs. Sens 2 goes tonight. Jeff O'Neill will not play in this game, but is expected to play Tuesday vs. the Flyers. Varada will not be in the lineup for Ottawa, but is expected to return later in the week. Edmonton plays in Anaheim tonight, but they will be without Ryan Smyth. Smyth has a knee injury and I am hearing he will miss at least the next five games. He will miss the next two for sure.

Other games are : Florida at New York Islanders, Rangers at Washington, Pittsburgh at Buffalo, Boston at Tampa Bay, Calgary at Colorado, and Vancouver at Detroit. If you have Bell expressview, as far as I know Center Ice is still on free preview, so watch as many games today as you can! Enjoy your Thanksgiving Monday!

Leafs Trade Aki Berg!

Just kidding, that was probably the meanest thing I've ever done. The Leafs are apparently going after Brendan Witt again, though this is according to Code, who I feel is a joke. I laughed when I got an email from HockeyNations.com today, saying "Cjohnson202, Code will answer your questions in the free forum today". I would never pay to get in his insider program, and to be honest, I spent a total of 5 seconds reading his "free" Q & A today. I know a lot of you read his stuff, just remember to take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Who would the Leafs have to give up to get a Witt? Why not throw together something like Ian White and Aki Berg? Washington is one of the few NHL teams that could afford to take Berg's 1 million dollar salary.

Tonight's games were great! Calgary continued to struggle, loosing 6-3 to the Red Wings. Zetterberg led the way for Detroit with a goal and three assists. Jeremy Williams continued to play well, notching another two assists. Calgary's top scorer was Hamrlik, who had a goal and an assist.

Columbus got their first win of the season, beating Chicago 3-2. Jason Chimera had a nice debut, scoring the Blue Jacket's first goal of the night. Berard had a good game as well for the bugs, scoring a goal and adding a helper. Vorobiev continued his strong play in Chicago, scoring both Chicago goals, giving him four goals in three games. Marc Denis got the win for Columbus. Expect him to be Columbus' #1 goalie over LeClaire.

The final game of the night was in LA, where the Kings beat the Wild 2-1 in a shootout. Walz scored Minnesota's only goal, while Belanger and Demitra scored for the Kings. Manny Fernandez got his first start in goal of the season.

The Penguins made a surprise move today, by calling up goaltender Marc Andre Fleury. It was expected that they would not call the young goalie up, but they did, which now leaves me thinking he may start for the Penguins until Thibault gets back. Fleury is 2-0 in the AHL this season with a 1.00 GAA. The Pens would not have called him up if they were not going to let him play. If they play Caron over him, then they should send him back down, as this kid needs to be playing.

Thats all for now, hopefully we'll have the Fantasy Standings up sometime tomorrow. Email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com for any questions. Also, don't forget to check out hockeyleaks.com. New Power Rankings by Yick and ryan.c are up (I am doing my new rankings, fantasy page update and article all for Wednesday. Wednesday will likely be the day most of my updates go up). We also have a new scores ticker! It was asked for in the forums, and we're going to do our best to keep it updated! Enjoy your night, see everyone in the morning!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know the Canadian thanksgiving is technically tomorrow, but I'm having my turkey dinner tonight, so I'm declaring today the official thanksgiving in Canada! Lets get back to the two late games last night (I watched both thanks to the free preview of NHL Center Ice).

Sami Salo scored late in the third to give Vancouver a 3-2, but Rafi Torres scored with only 23 seconds left to push overtime! The game went to a shootout, where Edmonton blanked Vancouver 2-0, thanks to goals from Torres and Hemsky. So much for me winning my proline last night...

Shane Doan tipped an O'Donnell slapshot home, and the Coyotes went on to beat the Wild 2-1. Wayne Gretzky got his first win as an NHL coach, and Curtis Joseph looked like his old self. Overall, it was a pretty good game by the Coyotes.

Rumour time! With Atlanta signing Kovalchuk, many are expecting some sort of trade by Thrashers to give them a little more cap room. They are also interested in Noronen or Biron from Buffalo, as Kari Lehtonen's injury may be more serious than first believed. Not sure who would be dumped by Atlanta if a trade does happen. Bob Boughner could be on his way out of Colorado. Tampa Bay is where I am hearing he could end up.

Columbus is shopping Martin Prusek. Edmonton, Vancouver, Atlanta and Detroit are all said to be interested. If you believe the entire Leaf Nation, Aki Berg is also being shopped. Wishful thinking, nobody wants him for his price. One Leaf note this morning, Eric Lindros is by the far the most dominant Leaf so far. If you have him on a fantasy team, don't let him go.

Thats all from me for now. Unfortunately, because of my turkey eating, I will not be able to get the fantasy standings up today. Hopefully tomorrow. I received a few emails with offers to help me count the numbers, so if anyone would like to help me, that'd be great! If your eating turkey today, enjoy it! We could be close to a big announcement for the site as well, I have a very important phone meeting with someone tomorrow.

Plenty Of Offense

Have the new rules opened up the game? The short answer is yes. What a night in the NHL, a lot of high scoring games. Lets start in Toronto, where Montreal slipped by Toronto 5-4. Saku Koivu and Alexei Kovalev led Montreal to victory with 2 assists a piece. Lindros led Toronto with 2 assists. Alexander Steen got his first NHL goal by scoring Toronto's first of the game during the 2nd period. Expect a shakeup of Toronto's defense, as Berg and Belak were both -3 in this game, and both looked terrible.

Hasek got his first shutout of the season, as Ottawa beat Buffalo 5-0. Wade Redden had a goal and an assist, while Dany Heatley scored two powerplay goals. Eric Staal scored his third and fourth goals of the season, but it wasn't enough to beat the Islanders, as New York 3-2. Bates, Satan and Blake scored for the Islanders.

Without Kovalchuk, a lot of people felt Atlanta would struggle to score goals. On a day they announced that Kovalchuk would be back in their lineup sometime next week, Atlanta celebrated with an 8-1 win over Washington. Ovechkin scored Washington's lone goal, but Marc Savard was the story of the night. Savard scored a goal and four assists, while Peter Bondra quietly scored 2 goals.

New Jersey snuck by the Rangers in OT. Rafalski had two points, including the game winner. The Bruin's came from behind, and beat the Penguins 7-6 in Overtime. Crosby scored his first NHL goal and added two assists, but Glen Murray was the difference, scoring 4 points, including the game winner.

The lowest scoring game of the night so far goes to Tampa Bay and Florida. Tampa Bay slipped by Florida 2-1. Luongo has allowed just two goals in his first three games. Back to high scoring games, where in St.Louis the Blues got beat 7-6 by the Sharks. All scoring was pretty balanced in this game, but the story is the goaltenders. Both Lalime and Nabokov continued to struggle.

Another shootout in the NHL! Nashville beat Anaheim 3-2 in a shootout. Yanic Perrault had the two regulation goals for the Preds, and Paul Kariya scored the shootout winner. Colorado beat Dallas 3-2. Sakic and Turgeon both had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche.

Two games still going on. The Oilers currently lead the Canucks 2-1. Sean Horcoff and Rafi Torres have the goals for the Oilers, Naslund has Vancouvers goal. Minnesota is currently tied at 1's with Phoenix. Randy Robataille scored for the Wild, while Nagy scored on a penalty shot for the Coyotes. Gretzky is searching for his first victory as a coach.

I will try to get the Power Play Fantasy League updated tomorrow, but as many of you know this weekend is the Canadian Thanksgiving, so I do have a little running around to do for the next few days. I'll do my best. I am thinking of using office pool, but it is $20 US, so if any of you want it, feel free to donate some money. If I get $10 US, I'll pitch the other $10 in. Anyways, have a great night, I'll post recaps of the Van/Edm and Min/Phx games in the morning (If Vancouver wins, I win my proline ticket!). How did we ever go 16 months without hockey?

A Trade! And Some Fantasy Notes...

Breaking News : We have a trade! The Phoenix Coyotes have traded Mike Rupp, Jason Chimera and Cale Hulse to Columbus in exchange for Geoff Sanderson (I dropped him on my yahoo league today, wish I didn't do that now) and Tim Jackman. Both teams were off to 0-2 starts, so this should shake things up.

Some Fantasy notes for you.

Toronto - Ken Klee will Play, O'Neill will not.
Pittsburgh - Jocelyn Thibault has injured his knee, Caron will get the start in net tonight.
Edmonton - Jussi Markkanen gets the start in net tonight, and may replace Conklin as the #1 goalie.
Columbus - As far as I've heard, Rick Nash will not be in the lineup tonight
Minnesota - Gaborik will not play tonight.
Phoenix - Nagy and Sjostrom will both be in the lineup tonight. Curtis Joseph is expected to start in net.
Atlanta - The Kovalchuk deal hasn't got league approval yet, so he won't be in the lineup tonight. Wednesday is likely the date when he will make his season debut.

cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com for any questions, and don't forget to check out the new main page (hockeyleaks.com) if you haven't already!

Hockey Night In Canada!

For all of our Canadian readers, tonight is special. The return of Hockey Night In Canada, and what a way to kick things off. Toronto plays host to Montreal, in what should be a great game. Obviously Mats Sundin will not be in the line up, and Jeff O'Neill is very doubtful. His shoulder did get examined yesterday, and the injury is nothing more than a bruise, which is good news for Leaf's fans. Can Michael Ryder keep his scoring streak alive tonight? Should be a great game.

Lots of good games to watch tonight, one that could be interesting is Ottawa and Buffalo. Hasek will play his former team in the Sabres, who are red hot. The Sabres have outscored their opponents 10-5 in their first two games, and Ryan Miller has been great. I heard a rumour that Biron will start in net tonight, but I cannot confirm this.

The Crosby watch continues, as Sid the Kid looks for his first NHL goal. The Penguins are in Boston tonight. Both teams are looking for their first win of the season. The Caps and Thrashers meet in a rematch from last night, and Carolina looks to win their second straight game, when they play on the road against the Islanders.

Can Jagr continue to put points on the board? Tonight will be his biggest test so far, when the Rangers travel to New Jersey to face Brodeur and the Devils. The Devils allowed 5 goals last night against the Flyers. In another rematch of last night, the Bolts hope to get some revenge against the Panthers. Luongo looks for his third straight shutout.

The Blues and Sharks play each other tonight, and one of them will get their first win of the season. The Sharks are off to a disappointing 0-2 start. The Ducks' look to continue their winning ways when they play in Nashville against the Predators. Colorado looks for their first win against Dallas, and Vancouver and Edmonton battle in Edmonton. Chris Pronger and Mike Peca are both still looking for their first points as Oilers.

Finally, The Great One continues to search for his first win as a coach. The Coyotes are at home tonight against the Wild. The Coyotes should have some more speed tonight, as Nagy and Sjostrom will both be in the lineup after being activated from the IR. Don't forget to make your game predictions in the forums! TMcCoy now has the lead with an 18-9 record! I am also considering making this a game with a prize at the end, so make sure to participate every day!

Thats all for now! Check back tonight for a full recap of all of the nights games. Make sure to check out hockeyleaks.com, because it is updated Daily with standings, and league leaders. Fantasy stats should be up tomorrow, hopefully around 1 PM. Email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com, I love getting questions and I'll respond as quick as I can! Enjoy your Saturday night!

Kovalchuk Signs With Atlanta

5 Year deal worth 32.5 million bucks. How bout those Thrashers? They beat Washington 7-2 tonight, with Peter Bondra leading the way. Bondra had a goal and two assists against his former team. As for the Ovechkin watched, he tallied one assist.

The Flyers got their first win of the season tonight against the Devils. Simon Gagne has two goals, while Forsberg and Richards each added two assists. Mogilny and Langdenbruner scored for the Devils. Carolina beat Pittsburgh in a shootout, as Pittsburgh has yet to find their offense. Cory Stillman won the shootout for Carolina, as well as scoring their second goal of the game. Sidney Crosby remains a point-a-game player, as he added an assist.

Calgary got back on track tonight, winning 3-1 over Columbus. Daymond Langkow continued to play strong for his new team, scoring a goal and adding an assist. Darren McCarty scored his first goal as a Flame in this game. Trevor Letowski scored the lone goal for Columbus.

Roberto Luongo continues to show Florida why they should pay him every penny he wants, as he recorded his second straight shutout tonight. This one game against the Lightning, who were shutout despite having all three of their big scorers in the lineup. Jokinen and Kolnik scored for the Panthers. The Bruin's lost their second straight, as Buffalo won their second straight. 4-1 was the final in that game. Vanek had an assist in the win.

Finally, the Blackhawks' doubled up San Jose 6-3. Rookie Brent Seabrook had four assists in this game, bringing him to 5 assists in just two games. He's the early leader in the Calder Trophy race, who would've thought? Michelek had a goal and an assist for the Sharks. Looking around the league, it appears the new rules are definitely producing more goals.

My cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com is working again, so feel free to email me with anything you have. Don't forget to make your game predictions for the weekend!

Injury Update

During the season I will try and update about injuries as much as I can. This way you know who to start, and who to sit, in your fantasy leagues.

Rick Nash is very doubtful for tonight's game against Calgary. Jeff O'Neill is also very doubtful for tomorrow night's game against Montreal. The shoulder O'Neill is struggling with is the same one he had surgery on during the 03-04 season. Marc Denis will start in net for Columbus tonight, replacing Pascal LeClaire, who started the season opener against Washington. For Calgary, Byron Ritchie will start on defense tonight. Jason Wiemer will be scratched. Finally, Andy Delmore will be in the line up for Columbus tonight.

Don't forget to check http://www.hockeyleaks.com, as it is updated daily. On the main page you will find full NHL standings, stats leaders, and articles written by all of the hockeyleaks' writers.

Moments Of Truth

Another wonderful night of hockey last night. The Habs beat the Rangers 3-2 in overtime last night. What a night for Michael Ryder, notching another two goals. I watched most of this game and was praying for it to go to a shootout. I'm not sure I like the shootout yet, as the first one I saw didn't impress me. First off, it has nothing to do with me being a Leaf's fan, and Toronto loosing. I watched all of the Ottawa/Toronto game, and it was a great game, close from start to finish. The teams played very well, and it was a well fought game. For the game to be decided by a gimmick, it just didn't suit the rest of the game. The shootout was fun to watch, but instead of a shootout, I'd be more impressed with continuous overtime all season long. How awesome would that be? Anyways, Habs are now 2-0, and play their home opener this Saturday against Toronto. Jagr picked up an assist in this game, giving him four points in two games.

The Great One's second game didn't go any better than his first. Not only did he lose the game, but he made a line up error, forcing the team to play a man short. He had Sjostrom as a scratch, even though Sjostrom was in the lineup. Nedved was listed on the lineup, even though he was a scratch. In the end, Gretzky had neither Nedved or Sjostrom in the lineup to face the Kings. Phoenix dropped their second straight game, loosing to the Kings 3-2. Kolanos and Saprykin scored for Phoenix, while Robataille, Frolov and Demitra scored for LA.

The other game last night was the second of a home and home featuring St.Louis and Detroit. Detroit took both games, winning last night's 4-3. McAmmond, Weight, and Roach scored for the Blues, while Shanahan, Fischer, Samuellson and Lang scored for the Wings. Jeremy Williams had three assists for the Wings.

Tonight is a night I am really looking forward to, as I am interested to see how a few teams perform. There were a lot of surprises opening night, and tonight is a night to see which teams are for real, and which teams just got lucky. Pittsburgh has a rough opening night, loosing 5-1 to New Jersey. They hope to rebound when they face Carolina tonight. Rookie Cam Ward will be in net for the Hurricanes. Philly lost their opener to the Rangers, and hope to turn things around against the Devils, who found some offense against the Pens on Wednesday.

Calgary also lost their season opener to Minnesota, a team that many predicted to own the basement in the West all season long. Calgary looks to improve to 1-1 when they face the Blue Jackets. Columbus also wants to win this game bad, after loosing to Washington.

Speaking of Washington, can this team really compete? If they are going to compete, Ovechkin would have to keep up his two goals a game performances. Washington plays host to Atlanta tonight. Mike Dunham will replace Lehtonen in net for the Thrashers, as Lehtonen was placed on the IR yesterday by Atlanta with a groin injury.

Other games tonight are Boston at Buffalo, Tampa Bay at Florida and San Jose at Chicago. A reminder for those in the yahoo fantasy leagues, to make sure your rosters are kept up to date on both yahoo and our forums. Speaking of the forums, Yick and Jordan still lead the game predictions league, with records of 12-6. I'm doing awful with a 7-11 record!

Rumours are still pointing to Kovalchuk going back to Russia. I don't believe it, and I feel that her will sign with the Thrashers early next week. With Sundin going down, maybe the Leafs should tender him an offer? Just Kidding. Jeff O'Neill may miss Saturday's game against Montreal, and the Leafs have called up rookie Kyle Wellwood, who will likely play tomorrow night.

Thats all for now. Email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com for any questions or comments you might have. Make sure to watch a few games tonight, as some are going to be great. New Jersey and Philly is definitely the game of the night, though Pittsburgh and Carolina will probably be the game I watch, as I'm still waiting for Crosby's first goal.

More Injuries

The new NHL has been full of injuries, and I have two more to tell you about. First, Mats Sundin has broke his orbital bone, and will be out of Toronto's line up for 4-6 weeks. This is not good news at all for Leafs's fans. Jeff O'Neil is also day to day with a shoulder injury. Martin Gerber, goalie of the Hurricanes, has a muscle pull, and will be replaced by rookie Cam Ward until he recovers.

Three games tonight. Montreal play in New York and face the Rangers, in which should be a great game. Both teams won last night, and it will be interesting to see how Jagr plays. He was great for the Rangers last night. In a rematch of last night, St.Louis will play at home, against the Detroit Red Wings, who beat them 5-1 last night. Finally, #99 will get another chance to win his first NHL game as a coach as his Coyotes travel to LA to play the Kings. Remember to make your picks in our "Game Predictions" forum. Jordan and Yick are the early leaders, going 10-5 last night. Also, if you have Sundin on your Power Play Fantasy League team, and you wish to switch him, remember you must change him with someone of equal or lesser points, which means that must have 0 pts (Sundin's point total), so make sure to do that soon before more players get points.

Finally, I have received a few emails about being asked to be removed from the mailing list. If you want removed from the mailing list, you can do it by going to the google groups website attached to the mailing list sign up form. Have a great night, I'll post game recaps and injury updates later on tonight

The Future Of The NHL

If tonight's games were any indication, the NHL has a very bright future. Tonight belonged to the rookies, and wow, did they shine. Lets take a look at what has happened so far tonight.

We'll start in Toronto where the Leafs fell 3-2 to Ottawa in the NHL's first ever shootout. Eric Lindros scored with 1:32 left in the third period to make it 2-1 Toronto, but Alfreddson scored shortly after, forcing overtime. It went to a shootout, which Ottawa won 2-1. Sundin left early in the first period after being struck by the puck above the eye. He missed the whole game, but the early rumour is that he will be fine to play by Saturday. More won't be known until tomorrow.

The Flyers, ranked by many as the top team in the NHL, fell to the lowly Rangers. Jagr had two goals and one assits (Did you take him in the Powerplay Fantasy League? I Did..). Mike Richards had a very nice goal for the Flyers. Sidney Crosby's debut was nothing special, as Pittsburgh lost 5-1. Crosby assisted on Pittsburgh's only goal, and Zach Parise scored his first NHL goal for New Jersey.

Montreal scored on the powerplay with 11 seconds left to beat Boston 2-1. Micheal Ryder scored the game winner. Buffalo showed the rest of the league that they have a solid offense, beating the Islanders 6-4. Maxim Afinogenov scored twice and J.P. Dumont notched a goal and an assist. Rookie Tomas Vanek also played well for Buffalo, getting one assist.

Alexander Ovechkin has a nice debut, scoring two goals in Washington's 3-2 victory over Columbus, and Paul Kariya scored his first goal as a Predator in Nashville's 3-2 win over San Jose. Back to that Columbus game, rookie Danny Fritsche scored both Columbus goals. Rick Nash left early with a leg injury.

Other scores to tell you about, Detroit rolled over St.Louis 5-1. Datsyuk had a goal and an assist. Tampa Bay cruised to a 5-2 win over Carolina, and Calgary got upset by Minnesota loosing 6-3. Marc Chouinard of the Wild scored his first career hat trick.

Roberto Luongo and the Florida Panthers shut out Atlanta 2-0, rookie goalie Lehtonen left the game in the first period with an undisclosed as of yet injury. Dallas came from behind and beat LA 5-4, Jeremy Roenick did score in this one for the Kings. The other final score to tell you about is Anahiem beat Chicago 5-3. Lupol scored twice for the Ducks, and Selanne and both Niedermayer brothers round out the scoring for Anahiem.

Two games still going on. Colorado and Edmonton are tied 2-2. Smyth and Horcoff have the goals for Edmonton, while Laaksonen and Clark have goals for Colorado. That game is in the second period. Finally, Vancouver leads Phoenix 2-0. Naslund and Ohlund have the goals for Vancouver.

Wow, hockey is back and I'm lovin it. The rookies appear to have taken over the NHL, and I can't wait too see how this season turns out. Who would have thought Philly and Calgary, two teams predicted to meet in the stanley cup, would lose their season opener? Did anyone see Buffalo scoring 6 goals, and how about the offensively challenged New Jersey Devils beating up on Pittsburgh 5-1? Then there was the battle of Ontario, which got off to a great start, with a great game in Toronto. These two teams meet again early next week, and hopefully the Leafs will have Klee and Sundin back for that one.

If you didn't notice, the full Power Play Fantasy League rosters are now up on the main page at http://www.hockeyleaks.com, so make sure to check them out. Remember, stats will not be updated till this weekend, probably Sunday morning. For any of you that attended a game tonight, I'd love for you to email me your stories, as I'd love to know what each team did to make sure they thanked you for coming back. After watching the game tonight, I really do believe that this is my NHL. Have a good night everyone!

Oct. 5, What A Beautiful Day!

It's finally here, isn't it? It doesn't seem real, but hockey is finally wait, and I must tell you, I've had a smile on my face all day. I cannot wait until 7 tonight, with so many great games to watch, it's going to be amazing. A few game day notes for you...

Carlo Colaiacovo will start on defense for Toronto tonight. The 6 D for Toronto will be McCabe, Kaberle, Khavanov, Wozneiwski, Berg and Colaiacovo. I find it funny how sportsnet had posted the fact that Allison shaved his beard off, because that is just huge news!

Marian Gaborik is out for Minnesota tonight, and Vaclav Varada is out for Ottawa tonight. Rhett Warrener was questionable for tonight's game, but he will play.

All the Power Play Fantasy League team information should be up tonight, but remember, the stats will only be updated 1-3 times a week. Expect the first update to come this weekend. Our standings on the main page will be updated daily, so make sure to set us as your homepage! Have a great night, and watch as many games as you can! If you do attend again, feel free to write something about it, and I'll try to post it on the blog. Email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com.

Thats One Crowded Net In Buffalo

We've heard for months that Buffalo has too many goalies, and that one of Brian, Miller and Noranen would have to be traded. Buffalo apparently has made a mistake, and instead of getting rid of a goalie, they added one. Thats right, Buffalo has aquired Mikeal Leighton from Chicago for Milan Bartovich. So Buffalo now has four NHL ready goalies to deal with, does anything make sense anymore?

Leafs sent Colaiacovo and Kronwall back down to the AHL, as well as Kyle Wellwood and J.S Aubin. A lot of waiver action today...Brent Johnson was stolen from Vancouver by Washington, Andy Delmore was picked up by Columbus, and Randy Robataille was picked up by Minnesota.

Another injury in the "New NHL". Ladislav Nagy will miss tomorrow's game, and a few others with a shoulder injury. I have no idea how serious the injury is. Anthony Stewart got sent down by Florida today, I really think Stewart could be a solid NHLer if he was given a chance. I hope he gets a shot sooner rather than later.

One Last Reminder : You have until Noon tomorrow to send me your 10 players. If you have any questions email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com. Please send me your 6 forwards and 4 defensemen even if your not 100% sure your going to join, as no sign ups are permitted after noon EST tomorrow! Have a good night everyone

A Promise Is A Promise

I promised to do an update around 3:30 with some updates, but I have no solid information yet on who made the final rosters, so hopefully I'll be able to post that later on tonight. One thing I did see was that Columbus has picked up Andy Delmore off waivers from Detroit. First of all, why did Detroit not keep this guy? They are already struggling on defense, with an injury to Kronwall and a few big losses over the summer, and Delmore is only two seasons removed from really solid numbers. I think Columbus really picked up a steal today, and their blueline is going to be very solid this season.

Chicago has a few injury problems already. Martin Lapointe and Jaroslav Spacek will both miss Wednesday's opener because of injury. Neither injury is serious, and both should be back within a week or so. One injury that didn't surprise me at all is the one suffered by Alexander Mogilny. A hip flexor will keep him out of the Devil's opener tomorrow night against New Jersey. I can't wait to see how the offense juggernaut that is the Penguins perform against Marty Brodeur. I pick New Jersey to win that game, by the way.

If you like to guess on who will win games, check out the forums as we have a cool new game predictions game, run by Cdog77. Each night you pick who will win out of all the games, and you try and finish the season with the best record. For more information check out the forums. Less than 24 hours to join the Powerplay Fantasy League! Email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com. Finally, Jeff Marek of Mojo Radio is going to do a Q & A with us, so email me with any questions that you may have for him. Have a good night everyone, I'll post something around 10:30ish.

Good Morning Hockey Fans!

It's a real nice day in my area today, doesn't feel like Fall at all. What it does feel like, however, if hockey season! Never have I been more excited about return of NHL hockey, as with all these new players and new rules we all really do have a lot to look forward to. Before I jump into some hockey news, I want to remind all Powerplay Fantasy Leaguers that your 10 picks must be in by Noon EST tomorrow! Payments are preferred by then as well, but if your picks are not in to us by Noon Eastern Time tomorrow, you cannot be in the pool. You have until Oct.31 to send the payment to me, if I do not have a cheque, money order or paypal receipt in my hand by Oct.31 your team will be removed. A lot of last minute sign ups have already happened, and I expect a few more to join by tomorrow's deadline. Email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com for any extra information you may need (like where to send the cheque/money order/paypal payment)

Ok Hockey Time! Rem Murray was cut by the Wings yesterday. I really expected him to make it, but Detroit really didn't have any room for him under the new cap rules. I am hearing Minnesota has some interest in him, so Murray may still have a shot at playing NHL hockey this season. Minnesota may also be interested in acquiring Marty Reasoner from Edmonton. Both these rumours come after the news that the Wild have lost forward Mikko Koivu for 2-4 weeks with a knee injury.

A few other cuts to tell you about. Montreal has cut Ron Hainsey, while the Wings also cut Dan LaCouture and Blake Sloan and Vancouver released Jason Doig. I also forgot to announce on yesterday's blog that Curtis Leschyshyn has retired from the NHL after struggling through Colorado's training camp.

We all know Tampa has a problem on their hands, with Vinny and Marty signing huge deals, and Brad Richards needing a new contract for next season. Tampa will struggle to find money for Richards, which will lead to everyone throwing around Brad Richards' trade rumours. Today's comes from Eklund, who apparently is hearing that Brad Richards could be on his way to the Rangers sometime this season in exchange for Lundqvist and a lot more. Remember, the Rangers have pretty solid, young goaltending, with Lundqvist, Weekes and Montoya all in their organization. As I said to Yick earlier this morning, can you imagine a Straka - Richards - Jagr line? That could be pretty impressive.

Just got word that J.S Aubin has been sent to the Marlies, making Mikeal Tellqvist the backup goalie in Toronto. Also getting word that Carlo Colaiacovo and Steffan Kronwall have been re-called by the Leafs, likely meaning that Berg and Belak will not be healthy enough to play in tomorrow night's opener against the Sens. Remember, teams have until 3 pm EST today to submit their final rosters. I will try to update the blog around 3:30 with some final notes about who stayed and who went around the NHL. Thats all for now, remember to check out the new site at http://www.hockeyleaks.com

Some More Cool News

First I want to thank everyone for joining the fantasy league, we've had a lot of new members join in the last 24 hours. I don't know why I'm thanking you actually, since I've actually lost a bit of money from this (damn paypal and them taking a %, which is why I prefer cheques, but paypal is still fine). Remember, picks must be submitted by Oct.5 at Noon. When sending a cheque, please make it out to Corey Johnson. For my address please email me. The winnings pool continues to grow, so keep joining, still time left!!

Gilbert Brule is officially a Columbus Blue Jacket, and will start the season with the big club. Montreal is going to regret taking Price over him all season long, believe me, this kid has some magic. For our Yahoo Fantasy League players, rush out and grab Yanic Perrault! He's been signed by the Predators after an impressive training camp. Greg Johnson's fantasy value just dropped, and I have him in two of the three yahoo leagues. He'll be available as soon as I finish this blog ;).

Colaiacovo and Kronwall may be back with the Leafs sooner than we thought. Aki Berg left today's practice with a rib injury, though the severity is not yet known. Belak also didn't practice because of a foot injury. Klee is getting closer to return, and could play Saturday against Montreal. Wow it feels great to talk about the regular season doesn't it?

Our most popular feature on the new site so far has been the power rankings. I want to comment on a few other sites power rankings for a second. First, Damien Cox's power rankings are the worst I've ever seen. He had Phoenix 28th, Buffalo 14th, Toronto 18th, and Montreal 6th. I also disagree strongly with Atlanta 24th. TSN's power rankings are much better, the only things I completely can argue with are Columbus at 29th, and LA at 15th. The one thing all three of our power rankings have in common? Ottawa is the best team in the league at this moment. How I would love to see Toronto do some damage against Hasek on Wednesday...

It looks like Nick Boynton and Ilya Kovalchuk will both miss the start of the season. I expect Kovalchuk to sign in the next week, as him and Waddell will meet this week in hopes of getting something done. At this point, things look terrible for the Bruins and Boynton, but when I said that about Raycroft, they had a deal the next day.

For all our Canadian fans, in case you haven't heard, the CBC strike ended today, so Hockey Night In Canada will be back in full force this Saturday. I also got a lot of positive feedback from the interview I did with Blueline. The full Friday show, including the 10 minute call in I did and the full interview from Thursday, will be posted on the media section at http://www.hockeyleaks.com later tonight or tomorrow.

16 months without hockey? How did we all survive? All the pain is about to end, NHL IS BACK! Wow I love saying that...

What A Day For Crazy News

Things seem very odd today, as all the news is kind of surprising. We'll start with the NHL in general, as it announced today that referee's will be miked for the upcoming season. This means viewers at home will be able to listen in on what the referee is saying. If anyone watches the NFL, picture an NHL referee announcing to the crowd each and every penalty. This will be something that will be hard for me to get used to, and though I see what the NHL is trying to do, I don't agree with it.

Another NHL side note, those lucky enough to get opening night tickets will also be lucky enough to recieve a mini-replica stanley cup. If the NHL really wants to win it's fans back, I think they should send every fan of the game a mini-stanley cup, because half the people attending the games are business people, and not real hockey fans. As for one of those mini-stanley cups, if anyone can score two, I'd love to get my hands on one and add it to the list of prizes available for the Powerplay Hockey League. Maybe we could make a trade? Only two days left to join the PP Fantasy league, so email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com if your interested.

Ok, back to the odd hockey news. The Edmonton Oilers sent Robbie Shremp back to junior. They also sent Danny Syvret to the AHL. What does this mean? The Oilers will not be able to call Shremp up at all this season, which means he will not play any NHL games this season. Syvret can be called up, but I'd only see him being called up if the Oilers run into some injuries.

Two other send downs that shocked me today are the two made by the Toronto Maple Leafs. They sent down both Colaiacovo and Kronwall, making unknown defenseman Andy Wozniewski the Leafs' 6th defenseman until Klee returns. I expect either Colaiacovo or Kronwall to be called back up within the first 10 games.

Some non-shocking news, both Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf have made the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, and expect both to have huge rookie seasons.

Final note, check out
http://www.bluelinetalkradio.com/main/modules.php?name=Audio_Archives
for my interview as well as the call in I had, which lasts about 10 minutes. Blueline is a great supporter for hockeyleaks, and I want to thank them for everything they've done for us. Anyways, thats all for now, if you havn't already, check out the new site at http://www.hockeyleaks.com. Have a good night, more to come later