NHL Recap 10-29-09

Stars of the night
--Yann Danis, 31 saves in his first appearance; New Jersey beats Boston, 2-1. Not just first start. First appearance, period.
--Steven Stamkos 2 goals, 1 assist; Ryan Malone 1 goal 2 assists; Tampa Bay beats Ottawa, 5-2.
--Alex Ovechkin 2 goals, 1 assist; Washington edges Atlanta, 4-3.
--Ilya Bryzgalov 32 saves; Phoenix beats St. Louis, 2-0. Another shutout for Bryzgalov, his third. And the Blues continue to suck at home.

Step-up complete?
I said yesterday that someone needs to step up in goal for Nashville. Well, Pekka Rinne blanked Chicago (22 saves) in a 2-0 win, on the heels of his scoreless relief effort against Minnesota. Dan Ellis has been better overall, but maybe Rinne is figuring things out. This team still can't score much though.

I am Russo
Going to go all Mike Russo on you by praising a prediction I made. I said if Edmonton was going to score against anybody after being shut out in two straight games, it would score against Detroit. Well, less than a minute in, the Oilers scored on a goal by J-F Jacques, and midway through the second period they were up 5-1. Never mind that they blew that four-goal lead, but they won 6-5 in a shootout.

Patrick O'Sullivan rung his shootout attempt off the near post and off the bar in the back of the net for the winner. Dustin Penner had four points (1-3) and Ales Hemsky scored twice with an assist for Edmonton. Linemate Shawn Horcoff had three points (1-2).

Detroit's goaltending is bad. Jimmy Howard made some good stops at the end of overtime but before that? Yeesh. Chris Osgood has been no better.

Oops, we did it again
For the second straight game, Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead, allowed the tying goal a few minutes later and lost 2-1 in a shootout. On Wednesday it was to San Jose. Thursday it was Vancouver, playing without Bob Luongo. Andrew Raycroft made 30 saves in his place and Mikael Samuelsson had the shootout winner. He also scored in regulation for the Canucks. Scott Parse scored his first NHL goal for the Kings.

Quote of the night
"It's a useless part of the game, the shootout. I hate it, but the fans love it. For that reason I like it, because the fans are excited, they're standing waiting for the next shooter. It is good for the game, but boy, do I hate it."
Kings coach Terry Murray

Marquee matchup
Friday, Oct. 30 (8 games)
Colorado (10-1-2) at San Jose (8-4-1), 10:30 p.m. ET. This year's NHL leader against last season's NHL leader.