Friday, March 20, 2009

Tuesday March 17

It was a Happy St. Patrick's Day for 11 teams as there were a boatload of beer-fueled games around the NHL on Tuesday. With Monday's 2 games a wash for Former Islander action we received a with FIs posting their help in 8 games on St. Patty's Day. Here is a look at the plethora of FI contributions:

Toronto winger Jason BLake notched a goal and added an asssist as the Maple Leafs came back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the host Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in SO. Blake has 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) over the last 4 games and now has 23 goals and 32 assists for 56 points on 67 games. For the 4th time Blake has reached the 55+ point mark surpassing his 52 point effort from his first season with the Leafs. Center Jeff Hamilton scored a goal with about 5 and a half minutes remaining in regulation to tie the score and then popped home a goal in the 1st Round of the 6 Round SO. Later in the frame (3rd Round) Blake missed on his attempt. Hammy has goals in 2 straight games and now has 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) on 7 games. The point was career #75 coming in his 149th game which means Hamilton is a point-per-every-2-games kind of player.

Pittsburgh winger Bill Guerin had an assist on his team's first goal as the Penguins crushed visiting Atlanta Thrashers 6-2. Guerin has 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) over the last 2 games and now has an impressive 9 points (2 goals, 7 assists) in 7 games since joining the Pens. Billy G has 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists) on 68 games. For the 10th time on his career Guerin has reached the 45 point level.


Montreal defenseman Mathieu Schneider had an assist on the Canadiens' first goal as the Habs were edged by the visiting New York Rangers 4-3 in SO. Schneids now has 7 goals and 18 assists for 25 points on 57 games. Since re-joining Montreal he has 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) on 14 games. Eight of those points (3 goals, 5 assists) have been with the extra man. For the 17th time on his career Schneider has notched 25 or more points.


Recently refreshed goaltender Chris Osgood stopped 24 of 26 shots for another win as the host Detroit Red Wings downed the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2. With 3 straight wins Ozzie is now 23-6-7 on the season with a 3.14 goals against average and an .884 save percentage. He has stopped 77 of the last 81 shots he has faced for a recent save percentage of .951 while surrendering only 4 goals for a slim 1.33 goals against average.


Washington d-man John Erskine had 2 assists including 1 on the shorthanded game winner as the Capitals blanked the host Florida Panthers 3-0. Erskine snapped a 31 game point-less streak with the helpers and now has 4 assists on 44 games this season. The 2 point night was a first for Erskine since December 10, 2007 during his 2nd season with the Caps. Notching the first insurance goal for the Caps was forward Viktor Kozlov. He snapped a 3 game point-less streak and an 11 game goal-less streak with the netter. He now has 12 goals and 22 assists for 34 points on 57 games. Kozzer is only 3 goals shy of career #200.


Winger Ryan Smyth scored the Avalanche's 2nd goal as Colorado was toppled by the host Minnesota Wild 3-2 in SO. Smyth now has 26 goals and 32 assists for 58 points on 71 games. Eight times this season Smyth has scored goals in consecutive games.



Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo stopped 24 of 26 shots as the Canucks doubled up on the visiting Dallas Stars for a 4-2 victory. Lu is an unbelievable 15-2-1 over his last 18 starts and is now 26-9-6 on the season. He has won 3 straight games, his 3rd winning streak of this 18 game stretch which has also including 4 and 8 game streaks. He has been even more consistent in these last 3 games surrendering exactly 2 goals-per-game while his team has staked him to consecutive 4-2 wins.

Edmonton d-man Denis Grebeshkov had a powerplay assist on the opening goal midway through the 1st Period as the Oilers slipped by the visiting St. Louis Blues 2-1 in SO. Greb has 5 assists over the last 6 games and now has 4 goals and 27 assists for 31 points on 59 games pushing his single season highs further and further up. For the first time on a season Greb has 10 powerplay points (1 goal, 9 assists).


Check back soon for more updates and highlights at FIW.

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