Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our weekday look at the previous night's action and some of the story lines taking place around the league. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.Lightning 2, Maple Leafs 1: Phil Kessel made his long-awaited debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, and it got off to a rather scary start when he had to leave the game in the first period after Tampa Bay's Mattias Ohlund ran him over with a crushing hit at the blue line (video after the jump).
He would eventually return and finish with an incredible 10 shots on goal in Toronto's 2-1 overtime loss to Tampa Bay, which finally received some goal-scoring production from its captain.
After spending most of Monday's game on the third line -- after getting called out by head coach Rick Tocchet -- Vincent Lecavalier started Tuesday's game on a line with Ryan Malone and Alex Tanguay, before also seeing time with Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis. He scored his second goal of the season late in the second period to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead. Malone scored the game-winner -- his ninth goal of the season -- at the 2:21 mark of the overtime period.
The star of the game for the Lightning, however, had to be goaltender Antero Niittymaki, who stopped 40 of the 41 shots he faced throughout the night. At the other end of the ice, Jonas Gustavsson was strong between the pipes for Toronto, stopping 30 shots in the loss.
Tuesday's Other Games
Red Wings 2, Bruins 0: The already-shorthanded Red Wings were without the services of defensemen Brian Rafalski and Jonathan Ericsson on Tuesday night, and, as it turns out, it didn't matter as Chris Osgood stopped 29 shots to help lead Detroit to a 2-0 win. Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom each scored goals, while Pavel Datsyuk registered two assists.
Thrashers 5, Canadiens 4: Atlanta let a 3-1 lead slip away in Montreal, but still managed to pull out a back-and-forth 5-4 win thanks to Colby Armstrong's second goal of the season, which proved to be the game-winner, at the 13:14 mark of the third period. Bryan Little, who tallied over 30 goals a season ago, finally scored his first of the season for the Thrashers in the win.
Penguins 4, Ducks 3: The Penguins improve to 7-0 on the road and 12-3 overall with a 4-3 win in Anaheim. Pascal Dupuis gets the winning tally, while Alex Goligoski, Mike Rupp and Kris Letang also contribute on the score sheet.
Canucks 4, Rangers 1: Vancouver wins a wild one that features six 10-minute misconducts and multiple fights in the third period. Mikael Samuelsson scores two for the Canucks, while Ryan Kesler records three assists.
Loose Pucks
-- Ken Hitchcock, head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, responded to allegations that his team was targetting Alex Ovechkin and looking to hit him during Saturday's game: "That would be correct," Hitchcock said. "That's the name of the game. Why, is that against the rules now?" [Puck Rakers]
-- The Philadelphia Flyers terminated the contract of Lukas Kaspar so he can play in Europe. [Broad Street Hockey]
-- Interesting post from Gabriel Desjardins about Colorado Avalanche defenseman Kyle Quincey that asks whether or not he's a No. 1 defenseman. [Behind The Net]
Video Of The Day
Mattias Ohlound welcomes Phil Kessel back to the ice.
Wednesday's Key Games
Capitals vs. Devils: The Capitals play their first game without Alex Ovechkin as they travel to New Jersey to take on the Devils. Since he entered the league in 2005-06, Ovechkin has missed just four games. The Caps have earned a point in nine straight dating back to October 10.
Islanders vs. Sabres: Break up the Islanders! New York enters its game with Buffalo riding a four-game winning streak, including a 5-0 win against the Sabres on Saturday. It was only the second loss in regulation this season for Buffalo.
Coyotes vs. Avalanche: The two most surprising teams in the Western Conference face off in Denver. Phoenix blew a 3-1 lead on Monday against the Kings, a loss that snapped a three-game winning streak, while the Avs enter play still atop the conference standings with 22 points.
