Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our Weekday look at the previous night's action and some of the storylines taking place around the league. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.After all 30 teams hit the ice on Saturday, there were zero games on the schedule for Sunday. So, let's rewind back to some of the bigger performances and stories of the weekend, starting with Colorado Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson. Not much is expected from the Avalanche this year, as most preseason predictions -- including yours truly -- have them pegged as the No. 13, 14, or 15 team in the Western Conference.
You wouldn't know it by watching their first two games, as first-year head coach Joe Sacco and his group have stormed out of the gate with a 2-0 mark, knocking off Western Conference powers San Jose and Vancouver. Leading the way is Goaltender Craig Anderson.
After the jump: St. Louis' quick-strike offense, video of the day, and more
After turning aside 38 of 40 shots Thursday's season opening win against San Jose, Anderson one-upped himself on Saturday by blanking the Vancouver Canucks. Through two games the 28-year-old netminder has stopped 73 of 75 shots for an impressive .973 save percentage. A former third-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2001, Anderson spent the past three seasons as a backup in Florida, posting a .928 save percentage in 43 starts.
It's still early, and we're still dealing with a relatively small sample size when it comes to Anderson's performance in goal (only 90 starts in seven years), but Colorado couldn't have asked for a better start from their free agent goaltender.
Speaking of fast starts. At the start of the 2008-09 season, the St. Louis Blues would have been considered a long shot to qualify for the postseason before they lost a number of key players (Andy McDonald, Erik Johnson, and Paul Kariya, just to name a few) to injury. The fact they not only made the playoffs, but finished in the top-six of the Western Conference, made them one of the best stories of the season. They're off to a fantastic start this year, winning back-to-back games against the Detroit Red Wings, the team that's represented the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final the past two seasons, in Stockholm, Sweden, and doing so in impressive fashion.
After falling behind, 3-1, in the second period on Friday, the Blues rebounded with three goals in five minutes, including a pair from Kariya, and held off the Red Wings for a 4-3 win. On Saturday, they were once again scoring goals in bunches as they beat Detroit backup goaltender Jimmy Howard twice in 14 seconds to take a 4-3 lead, before going on to win 5-3 to complete the weekend sweep.
For Detroit, the goaltending duo of Chris Osgood and Howard surrendered nine goals on just 55 shots (.836 save percentage), and will likely be under the microscope much of the regular season - until April rolls around and Osgood once again flips the switch and turns into a brickwall in net.
Loose Pucks
-- During Pittsburgh's 4-3 shootout win against John Tavares and the New York Islanders on Saturday, defenseman Brendan Witt leveled Penguins forward Ruslan Fedotenko with a clean, legal, open-ice hit at the blue line. Almost instantly, Witt was under seige from Penguins Jay McKee and Evgeni Malkin, challenging him to a fight, and continuing a disturbing -- and, frankly, a very annoying -- trend in the NHL where every clean hit must be answered with a fight. Why? Why should Witt, or any player, have to stand up for himself, and defend himself, for playing within the rules? As a result of the actions of Malkin and McKee, the Penguins handed the Islanders a full two-minute, two-man advantage, resulting in New York's first goal of the night. [Video of the Hit]
-- Was the instigator rule used improperly in the Daniel Carcillo vs. Tim Gleason bout Friday night? [Broad Street Hockey]
Video Of The Day
Tomas Vokoun makes the best of his 52 saves in Florida's season opening 4-3 win against Chicago in Helsinki, Finland.
Monday's Key Games
New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils: Always a good time when the Rangers and Devils get together. The Devils dropped their opening on Saturday to the Flyers, while the Rangers are coming off their first win of the season, a 5-2 victory against Ottawa.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Vancouver Canucks: Vancouver has dropped its first two games of the season, losing at Calgary and Colorado. The Canucks open their home schedule against Steve Mason and the Blue Jackets.
