Atlantic:
- Penguins billionaire co-owner Ron Burkle hosted his Stanley Cup champions at the Beverly Hills mansion that goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said required “too much math” to count all the rooms. It was a red-letter day, a red-jersey day and a day Evgeni Malkin was more than ready for.
- For most of the night, it was reminiscent of past Western Division battles between the Flyers and their old rivals, the St. Louis Blues. Flyers coach John Stevens could have easily started backup goaltender Brian Boucher Saturday night against the St. Louis Blues and no one would have questioned him but instead went with Ray Emery and he led the team to their fourth straight win.
- Most of the Rangers on the bench didn’t see the hit, but the ones who did were incensed by Curtis Glencross’ blindside, away-from-the-puck hit on a helpless Chris Drury that left the Ranger captain laid out with a concussion and out of action for who knows how long.
- Though it wasn’t a textbook performance, the New Jersey Devils played well enough to earn their eighth straight road win.
- The Islanders got offense from unlikely places as they beat the Thrashers 6-3 before they leave on a long road trip. Oft-injured New York defenceman Radek Martinek is out for the season with a knee injury.
Northeast:
- The B’s scored as many goals in a 4-2 victory over the Northeast Division-leading Buffalo Sabres last night at the Garden as they had in their last five games. Although the US squad is considered a dark horse, one of the Stars and Stripes’s strengths – one that could be a difference-maker in a short tournament – is between the pipes as Tim Thomas‘s play invites consideration.
- With the Leafs first win at home, paired with Friday’s 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes it is their first winning streak of the season. Phil Kessel is on the board, and the Maple Leafs appear to be on their way. Brian Burke’s planfinally comes together with Kessel on scoresheet and a Monster in net.
- The Senators (7-5-2) continued their trend of letting games and points slip away because of their mistakes after they blew a 2-1 lead against the Devils.
- The Canadiens have now dropped two in a row at home, although they were coming off a 2-1 win in Boston on Thursday.
Southwest:
- The Carolina Hurricanes went into the game with an 11-game winless streak and without forwards Eric Staal and Ray Whitney. They left with a 12-game streak and without their goalie.
- The Caps Mike Knuble followed up a strong performance Friday night in South Florida with a dominant one Saturday at Verizon Center.
- For his third start in a row, Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen struggled, giving up five goals in the third period alone but was not pulled from the game.
- Lightning goalie Antero Niittymaki was stellar in the final two periods with 30 saves to fend off Montreal. It has taken Alex Tanguaysome time to find his legs in Tampa, but he came back to haunt the Canadiens Saturday night.
