Tuesday night's game against Edmonton is probably one that Columbus goalie Pascal Leclaire would like to permanently erase from his memory, seeing as how it's probably the worst game he's ever played in the NHL. Leclaire gave up seven goals on just 19 shots, as the Oilers rolled to a 7-2 victory, snapping a three-game losing streak. Columbus finished with a commanding edge in the shots department, firing 39 shots at Dwayne Roloson -- he stopped 37 of them -- and still managed to skate away losing by five goals.
Seven different players scored for Edmonton, including Dustin Penner, who returned to the ice after being banished to the press box for the past two games for, well, not being fit enough to help the club. Penner was also a factor on Edmonton's first goal, as he parked his massive frame in front of Leclaire, providing a screen on Sheldon Souray's blast from the point. Andrew Cogliano, Tom Gilbert, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Shawn Horcoff and Lubomir Visnovsky also scored for the Oilers.
Kristian Huselius and Rick Nash scored the only goals for the Blue Jackets.
Penguins Winning Streak Snapped
Crazy game in Pittsburgh last night between the Penguins and Wild. Nobody scored for the 60-minutes of regulation, save for a ten-second stretch in the first period where both teams scored. The Wild ended up taking the game, 2-1, in a shootout, as the Penguins six-game winning streak was snapped, though, they still pick up a point.
Mikko Koivu opened the scoring at the 7:57 mark of the first period on what was one of the most bizarre goals I've ever seen. What made it so bizarre? Nobody on Minnesota ever touched the puck. Here's the situation: faceoff to the right of Penguins goalie Dany Sabourin, which is won backwards by Penguins center Mike Zigomanis. The puck bounces over the stick of defenseman Hal Gill, and somehow sneaks through the five-hole of Sabourin, barely sliding across the goal line.
Just ten-seconds later, however, Matt Cooke scored on a feed from Jordan Staal, tying the game at one. The line of Staal, Cooke and Tyler Kennedy has been dominant over the past five games, combining for 18 points. Cooke has registered a point in his past five games for the Penguins, including his first two goals of the season.
Meanwhile, for Minnesota, Nicklas Backstrom was a wall, turning aside 24 shots in regulation and overtime, and all three Penguins shots in the shootout. Marek Zidlicky scored the only goal in the shootout to pick up the extra point for the Wild.
The Wild's league-best penalty kill was huge, effectively shutting down the Penguins' power play on all four opportunities, including a 4-on-3 during the overtime period. Minnesota has now allowed two goals or less in 12 of its 16 games this season.
Florida Holds Off Tampa Bay, Wins in Shootout
Despite jumping out to a 3-0 lead on Tuesday night, the Florida Panthers needed overtime and a shootout to beat cross-state rival Tampa Bay, 4-3.
The Panthers received a pair of goals from defenseman Bryan McCabe, while second-year forward David Booth picked up his eighth goal of the season to stake the Panthers to a 3-0 lead midway through the second period. Tampa Bay, still looking for its first win under new head coach Rick Tocchet, managed to erase the deficit thanks to goals from Radim Vrbata, Evgeny Artyukhin, and the recently acquired Steve Eminger. Eminger's goal tied the score with just under three-minutes to play in regulation.
The loss is the fourth in a row for the Lightning, who have now dropped seven of their past eight to fall to 5-7-5 on the season.
Steven Stamkos logged a season-high 17-minutes of ice-time for the Lightning, while picking up an assist and registering nine shots on goal, also a season-high.
Tomas Vokoun faced 52 shots during the game for Florida, turning aside 49 of them.
