Studs and Duds for October 19th

Studs


Three for thee

Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz, Kevin Bieksa, Martin Erat, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each led their teams today by scoring three points each. Crosby and Kunitz led the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks by scoring one goal and two assists each. On the other end of the rink, Kevin Bieksa assisted three times for each of Vancouver's goals.

Adam Oates' whipping boy Martin Erat finally saw sufficient ice time in Washington as he assisted on three goals against the Columbus Blue Jackets. To add to Erat's endeavours includes a journey onto the Capitals' top powerplay line with Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Ovechkin where he got one of his assists. Hopefully Erat is coming out as a fantasy sleeper in Washington.

Ryan Nugent Hopkins also totalled 3 points against the Ottawa Senators on Friday afternoon as the Oilers won 3-1. Nugent Hopkins scored two goals (one empty netter) and added an assist on a Jordan Eberle goal.


First Goals

Congratulations to Olli Matta for scoring his first career NHL goal against the Vancouver Canucks. The goal was scored shortly after Canucks took the lead midway through the 3rd period of the game.

Congratulations also goes out to Mike Smith for scoring his first goal of the NHL season as well. Smith sent a "Hail Mary" with 4 seconds left on the clock in the 3rd period. The Coyotes had come back from a 2-0 deficit to take the lead 4-2, and with a late shot by Mikael Samuellson, Smith dropped and fired that puck right down the ice and into an open net. Smith now has more goals than Claude Giroux this season and could "potentially" be the answer to the Coyotes offensive woes.


Goalies coming out hot

Tuuka Rask and Cory Schneider both collected shutouts Friday night as the Devils collected their first win of the season while the Bruins won their second straight. Rask stopped 23 shots while Schneider blocked 22.

Devan Dubnyk also had a great game for Edmonton tonight as he stopped 35/36 shots, ending the night with a .972 save percentage. Dubnyk is a goalie who can give fantasy owners heartaches about who they will see. Chris Neil was the lucky player to get one by.


Pavelscore

Joe Pavelski had an incredible night against the Calgary Flames as he scored two goals and two assists in the Sharks 6-3 win. Pavelski ended the night with four points and a -1 rating. Pavelski scored three points on the powerplay and assisted Brent Burns' goal 59 seconds into the first period.



Duds


King D-throned

Henrik Lundqvist has continued to perform poorly this season as he allowed four goals on 19 shots from the wait for it... New Jersey Devils. Lundqvist ended the night with a .789 save percentage and helped the New York Rangers' goals differential to -18, worst in the league. Lundqvist's season totals so far include seven games played, 20 goals against, two wins, four losses, one shutout, and a .890 save percentage. Lundqvist may be finding it difficult with his players not diving in front of him to help block shots and help do the dirty work.


Jason Spezza

After scoring six points in his last two games, Jason Spezza was unable to add any offensive flair against a 2-6-1 Edmonton Oilers team. Spezza scored a natural hat-trick against the Coyotes, followed by one goal and two assists against the New Jersey Devils. The seemingly "hot stick" of Spezza shorted out with a lacklustre performance and ending the night with a -3 rating.


The Curious Case of Benjamin Bishop

Ben Bishop allowed four goals on 17 shots against the Boston Bruins on Friday night. While it was only his first loss of the season for Tampa Bay, his performance was the only thing worse than Henrik Lundqvist's. Bishop played a whole 35:47 TOI and ended his night with a .765 save percentage. Bishop has proven himself to be the Lightning's starting goalie for now, but Lindback may be getting a chance to start in their next game.


The New York Rangers

While no team has ever recorded a winless season in NHL history, New York was not expected to be the team that would allow the Devils to get their first win. Without the offensive power of Rick Nash to help support the Ranger's scoring woes, Vigneault will have to do some line shuffling to work some magic. The Rangers have scored a mere 11 goals in seven games, and are currently tied for last in "Goals For" with the Philadelphia Flyers. This could be an interesting season for the Rangers if the cannot find a way to put the puck in the net... especially without their star Rick Nash.