In his first season as the full time back-up for the Toronto Maple Leafs Tellqvist has looked very sharp, and last night he looked like the future. Tellqvist stopped all 28 shots he faced as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Atlanta Thrashers 4-0. It was Telly's first NHL shutout. Tucker scored twice for Toronto, while Steen and Ponikarovsky also scored for Toronto. In three games this year, Toronto has outscored Atlanta 18-2.
Marco Sturm, welcome to Boston! Sturm scored a goal and an assist, and Hannu Toivonen stopped all 26 shots he faced as Boston beat the Ottawa Senators 3-0. Heatley was held without a point for the first time this season, ending his point streak at 22 games. Brad Stuart had one assist in his Boston debut.
Kondratiev scored his first NHL goal, and Marek Malik scored his first goal of the season as the Rangers beat the Penguins 2-1. Ryan Whitney scored Pittsburgh's only goal, while Henrik Lundqvist, another rookie goalie, was sharp stopping 35 of 36 shots. The Rangers are on fire, now having won six straight.
Florida got a rare win last night, beating the lowly Caps 3-2. Van Ryn had two assists for the Panthers, while Weiss, Horton and Jokinen scored the Florida goals. Muir and Cassels scored for Washigton, but Luongo made 37 saves to keep the Panthers in the lead. Brent Johnson gets the loss.
After falling behind 2-0, Tim Connolly led charge, and the Sabres faught back to beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in OT. Connolly had a goal and two assists, Drury and Campbell also scored for Buffalo. Martin Biron continues to show Buffalo that he's a #1 goalie, as he got another win. Buffalo has now won five straight.
Calgary fell down 2-0 early in the game, but they came back to beat Detroit 3-2. Langkow, Kobasew and Amonte scored for the Flames, while Langkow and Kobasew also added an assist each. Detroit's Jason Williams continued his great season, getting two assists in the loss.
In the battle of the NHL's basement, the St.Louis Blues beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1. Tkachuk is back and playing well, as he gave the Blues a little hope tonight, scoring once and adding two assists. Another bright spot for the Blues is that Patrick Lalime stopped 25 of 26 shots, and St. Louis had a total of 44 shots on goal. St.Louis about to make a comeback? Don't bet on it, as it was Columbus who they played...
Sullivan and Kariya were limited to a combined one assist, but Hall and Smithson's goals were all Nashville needed, as they doubled up Minnesota 2-1. Kurtis Foster scored his fourth of the season for the Wild, who started Dwayne Roloson in net. Vokoun picks up the win, and continues to play strong.
Finally, in an all Canadian battle, the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-3. Stoll score twice for Edmonton, while Ohlund assisted on all three Vancouver goals. Torres continued to have a solid season, scoring once and adding as assist. Markkanen won his first start in two weeks, as Morrison got the night off.
On the rumour front? There isnt much, as everyone I talk to seems to only want to talk about the Thornton trade. Apparently the Sharks are not looking for a replacement for Stuart right away, and they plan on giving their young guys a shot before making any moves.
Huselius and Thibault may both be sent to the minors, and then placed on re-entry waivers. If this happens, I'd be surprised if both were not claimed. Thibault would be a bargain at half price, as would Huselius.
Other than that, I got nothing. Hopefully more happens throughout the day, and I can post an update later in the day. Power Rankings will be up today, so check hockeyleaks.com for the latest.
