Wednesday January 21

Wednesday night was the final evening before the interminably long (5 days of no real hockey!) All-Star break. With 9 games on tap it was bound to be a Former Islander kind of night... well not exactly. FIs only made impacts in 2 of those tilts. Here is a look:

Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara tied the game up with less than 6 minutes remaining in play to force OT and an eventual SO which the Bruins won 4-3 over the host Toronto Maple Leafs. The tally came on the powerplay and was Chara's 4th goal in the last 5 games. Heading in to the All-Star Game Chara has an impressive 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points on 47 games. He sits only 2 points away from career #300 and 4 goals away from #100, feats he should be able to accomplish soon after the cavalcade of stars is over. Toronto winger Jason Blake had a good night posting the opening goal, adding a powerplay helper and scoring on his attempt in the SO (round 3 of 4). Blake heads to this midpoint in much better shape than he started having really picked up his offensive play. Blake has 14 goals and 17 assists for 31 points on 43 games. Over the last 4 games he has lit it up with 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists).

Calgary winger Todd Bertuzzi was lights out in the 3rd round of the SO sealing the victory as the Flames edged the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4. A lack of a game time point, however, means that Bert's recent 3 game point streak was snapped. He has 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points on 41 games. Proving some help on the charge was d-man Adrian Aucoin he tallied to assists including one on the man advantage. Aucoin enters the break on a high note with 5 assists over the last 4 consecutive games. He has 6 goals and 15 assists for 21 points on 46 games. For the 2nd straight season and 8th time on his career Aucoin has reached the 15+ helper mark.

Check back for more soon as we take a breather during the All-Star festivities.