Saturday October 18

Busy, busy, busy. The NHL was buzzing on Saturday with 13 games including 12 nighttime matchups. One week removed from a full 15 game schedule, the competition definitely seems to be heating up. Former Islanders are making their efforts known and continued to make noise in 6 of those rumbles. Here is a recap of their workload:

Colorado winger Ryan Smyth continued to show off what he can do when he is healthy as he notched the Avalanche's 4th goal of the game as they beat the host Dallas Stars 5-4. Smyth popped in a powerplay goal for his 2nd tally of the season. He now has 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) on 5 games with all 4 points coming in the last 3. All 4 of Smyth's points have come on the man advantage.


Washington defenseman John Erskine made his first offensive impact of the year receiving the primary assist on the game tying goal as the Capitals eventually fell 4-3 to the visiting New Jersey Devils in the SO. Erskine now has 1 assist on 4 games this season.




Detroit goalie Chris Osgood improved to above .500 by holding off the pesky New York Rangers for a 5-4 OT win. Ozzie stopped 28 of 32 shots faced to improve to 2-1-1 on the season. He currently has a 3.25 goals against average and an .884 save percentage. Osgood has not dropped a decision in regulation since the season opener going 2-0-1 over his last 3 starts.


Quiz: Who has as many goals as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, combined? Answer: Miroslav Satan. Miro continued his quick start by netting the game winning powerplay goal midway through the 2nd period as the Pittsburgh Penguins knocked off the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1. Satan has 3 goals and 2 assists for 5 points on 6 games. All 3 of Satan's goals and 1 assist have come on the man advantage. Also getting involved in the extra man action was former teammate and current Leaf Jason Blake. Blakey had an assist on the opening goal of the game, a powerplay special courtesy of Nik Antropov. Blake has 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points on the first 5 games of the year.

Chicago d-man Aaron Johnson assisted on a Brian Campbell goal for the 2nd time is as many games. Johnson now has 2 assists on 3 games with the Blackhawks and helped his new team as Chicago fell 4-3 in SO to the host St. Louis Blues. The last time Johnson had assists in consecutive games was between March 28-31, 2006 while in his sophomore year with the Columbus Blue Jackets.


Calgary winger Todd Bertuzzi kept his scoring streak going on Saturday netting his 5th goal in 4 games as he opened the scoring with a powerplay goal only 4:17 in to play as the Flames fell to the host Edmonton Oilers 3-2. Bert has 5 goals on only 5 games to lead the Calgary offense. As well, Bertuzzi is riding a 3 game powerplay goal scoring streak. Considering he has only taken 13 shots, Bertuzzi is doing remarkably currently scoring at a 38.5% rate.

Check in soon for more news and updates.