Tuesday March 6

With 10 games played on Tuesday night there was a lot of happenings for FIW. Former Islanders accounting for 4 goals and 8 assists for a total of 12 points. Here is the breakdown:

• Bryan McCabe notched an assist Tuesday night on the second goal in the Maple Leafs' dominating 3-0 home win over the Capitals. With 47 points on the season McCabe is closing in on his third straight 50+ point year.
• Brad Lukowich is a Devil? Lukowich scored the goal to force OT in New Jersey's 5-4 OT loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia. The goal, his 4th of the season, came with only 5:35 left in regulation. This was Luko's first point in his last 7 games and his first goal in 15 matches.
• Alexei Zhitnik likes being a Thrasher it seems. At least a lot better than he liked being a Flyer. He had two assists Tuesday, including the secondary on the game winner in Atlanta's 4-2 home win over the Florida Panthers. Since the trade Zhitnik has 4 points in 4 games. Also of note was the goal by Juraj Kolnik that knotted the game at 2, albeit temporarily. The 9th goal of the season, Kolnik has been on a little bit of a tear tallying 6 points in his last 6 games.
• Eric Brewer, on the other hand, seems to appreciate not being traded. (Though I think most players would rather be on a contender.) Brewer is the defensive leader of the Blues and Tuesday he received another assist. Since the deadline he has 4 assists in the last 4 games. But it was not the Blues' night and Calgary walked away with the 4-2 come-from-behind road win. For the Flames Roman Hamrlik has been very productive. He supplied an assist on Calgary's first goal and now has 5 points in his last 5 games.
• Redwing Mathieu Schneider is on fire. With a goal and a powerplay assist in Tuesday's 4-3 SO win over the Predators Schneider has scored 16 points in his last 11 games. Chris Osgood, filling in for an injured Dominik Hasek, improved his record to 8-3-4 while stopping 24 of 27 shots in the first 65 minutes and stopping 3 of 4 in the shootout frame.
• Jeff Hamilton had 2 assists on Tuesday including one on the game winner in Chicago's 3-0 home win over Los Angeles. His breakout year keeps getting better as he has matched his 14 goals with 14 assists for 28 points in on 56 games played.
• And finally the cross-conference matchup of the night: Tampa Bay v. Vancouver. Though it was close for the first half of play but the Canucks eventually thumped the Lightning 5-1 at home. Roberto Luongo, arguably the best backstopper in the game, had an easy night fending off 16 of the 17 shots tossed at him. He also keeps extending his season his wins, now at 38. Byran Smolinski has been a boon to Vancouver it seems playing alongside the Sedin twins but it was on the penalty kill that he did damage last night. Smoke tallied his first shorthanded goal of the season and 15th overall. He now has 3 points in his first 4 games with the Canucks.

There are 4 mostly Western Conference games last night but action should be tense as teams everywhere are battling for ground, especially in those top 8s. Until next time, enjoy!