Saturday December 29

There were 26 teams battling in 13 hotly contested tilts around the NHL on Saturday. Former Islander efforts abound league wide. Let us take a look at the FI efforts:

* Derek Armstrong has struggled to find net this season, yet found a goal Saturday to spur a Los Angeles come-from-behind win. The Kings downed the host Colorado Avalanche 3-1. Armstrong's goal midway through the 3rd period briefly knotted up the game. He now has 16 points (3 goals, 13 assists) on 39 games. Armstrong snapped another cold streak, this time an 8 game goal-less and point-less stretch.

* It was a crazy game north of the border as the Washington Capitals beat the host Ottawa Senators 8-6 in a score-a-thon. Footnote points to Caps' defenseman Tom Poti who assisted on the 2nd of 4 Alexander Ovechkin goals. The helper was Poti's 12th of the season on 33 games. Poti snapped a 4 game point-less streak. Credit is also due to Viktor Kozlov who assisted on Washington's 5th goal with 3 seconds remaining in the 2nd period. Kozzer now has 23 points (3 goals, 20 assists) on 39 games. Kozzer has 4 assists over the last 4 games.

* Martin Straka notched some more points as the New York Rangers thumped the host Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1. Straka assisted on a powerplay goal in the 2nd period and had one of his own later in the frame. Second star of the game, Straka has 16 points (7 goals, 9 assists) on only 23 games. Over the last 5 games, Straka has 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points, half his season production.

* Thrashers' d-man Alexei Zhitnik finally scored! Zhitnik had a powerplay assist and then capped the scoring as Atlanta blanked the visiting Boston Bruins 5-0. Recipient of the third star of the game honor, Zhitnik scored a goal for the first time this season. He went goal-less in his last 50 games (including 4 playoff games) dating back to March 18 of last season. Zhitnik now has 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) on 39 games this year. Over the last 2 games, he has 3 points on 1 goal and 2 assists.

* Wild defenseman Sean Hill and forward Mark Parrish lent assists in a big time Minnesota come back as they edged the visiting Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in OT. Hill had an assist as the Wild scored 4 straight goals to turn around a 4-1 deficiit. It was Hill's 2nd assist on 15 games. With the helper, Hill snapped a 9 game point-less slide. Parrish assisted on the 3rd Minnesota goal. Parrish has 15 points (8 goals, 7 assists) on 35 games this year. Over the last 5 games, Parrish has 3 points on 1 goal and 2 assists.

* Chris Osgood's season of excellence continued on Saturday night as he stopped 32 of 34 shots to backstop the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-2 win over the host Phoenix Coyotes. Ozzie is 17-2-1 on the year on 21 games (20 starts) with a skimpy 1.75 goals against average, a healthy .930 save percentage and only 2 shutouts.

* Todd Bertuzzi recent good play continued as the Anaheim Ducks fell to the host Calgary Flames 5-3. Bertuzzi opened the scoring for the Ducks with his 6th goal of the year, a powerplay tally. Bert has 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists) on 26 games. He has 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) in the last 3 consecutive games.

Check soon for more updates.