Devils Fall as Rangers and Isles Pick Up Wins

As the NHL started stateside this week all 3 local teams found themselves in action. The New Jersey Devils lost at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning while both the Rangers and Islanders won their season openers. The Devils game marked the debut of head coach Brent Sutter along with new comers Aaron Asham, Vitaly Vishnevski, and Danius Zubrus. All three remained off the score sheet as the Devils lone goal came just after the halfway mark of the first period. Brian Gionta deflected Zach Parise's backhander past Johan Holmqvist to put the Devils ahead. The Devils remained ahead until Vincent Lecavalier beat Martin Brodeur blocker side to knot the score at 1-1. The game remained deadlocked until Lecavailier gave the Lightning the go-ahead goal by slamming the puck past a helpless Brodeur who couldnt go post to post fast enough. With time winding down, the Devils pulled Brodeur in hopes of getting a late equaliser but instead gave up another goal, this time to Vaclav Prospal, to seal their fate for the night. The Devils will continue to play on the road for 8 more games until the Prudential Center is officially opened on October 28th versus the Ottawa Senators.
The New York Rangers felt the effect of their off-season spending in their home opener as they cruised past the Florida Panthers 5-2. 37 seconds into the game Michal Rozsival gave the Rangers the lead which they took into the first intermission. All was squared 1-1 when Brett McLean beat Henrik Lundqvist early in the second period. The Panthers grabbed the lead seven minutes later as Natan Horton whipped a shot into the top shelf, initiating boo's from the garden faithful. The third period was all Rangers as they out-shot the Panthers 16-8 and scored four unanswered goals. New signing Chris Drury scored the winning goal and added an assist on a goal by Martin Stratka to ensure the Rangers would not be upset by a team which hasn't qualified for the playoffs in seven seasons.
On Friday, The New York Islanders opened their season against a team that ended their Stanley Cup dreams in the Buffalo Sabers. The 10 goal affair featured debuts for the Islanders' Mike Comrie, Bill Geurin, and Ruslan Fedotenko who all collected 3 points with the exception of Comrie who had 4. The off season loss of Daniel Briere and Chris Drury was evident for the Sabres who couldn't keep up with the surprisingly high-powered Islander offense. The Isles out-shot the Sabres 34-26 and saw Fedotenko collect the 100th goal of his career. Buffalo who started last season with a 10 game unbeaten streak will have to go back to the drawing board if they want a have a shot at making the playoffs
All three teams are in action tonight as the Devils take on the Panthers, the Rangers are in Ottawa to take on the Senators, and the Islanders square off against the Sabers for their home opener.

All games can be seen on NHL Center Ice which is having a free viewing until October 9th

NHL drops the puck on the 2007-2008 season

For many Americans, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. For hockey fans across North America Christmas is upon us. Today marks the official opener of the NHL's 2007-2008 regular season campaign as the Los Angeles Kings face-off against state rivals and defending Stanley Cup Champions Anaheim Ducks. The two game series will not be played in the Golden State but across the pond in London, England. The mini series is to be played at the 02 Arena which is heralded as Europe's most state-of-the art venue and will also mark the first time a NHL regular-season game is played in Europe.
The defending champs enter the 07-08 campaign without arguably their two most important players from the cup run in Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne. Niedermayer who captained the team since his arrival from the New Jersey Devils has supposedly gone into retirement but has the option to return. If he chooses to lace up for one more season he will find the captain's C on line mate Chris Pronger's jersey as it was announced yesterday that Pronger will take over that roll for the Ducks regardless if Niedermayer returns. It is unclear whether Selanne has retired or is still entertaining offers from other teams since he is a free agent. The Finnish Flash, who tied for most points in the playoffs among the Ducks, had not shown up to training camp and his status remains unclear. With the addition of Mathieu Schneider and Todd Bertuzzi the Ducks should have no problem in reaching the playoffs and defending their cup.
Unlike their division rivals, The Los Angeles Kings finished last season with the third worst record in the league leaving many fans wondering what happened to the team that at least contended with the teams in the early 2000's. During the summer General Manager Dean Lombardi opened his checkbook and brought in forwards Michal Handzus and Ladislav Nagy along with defensemen Tom Preissing and Brad Stuart. He also resigned top defensemen Lubomir Vishnovsky to a 5-year deal worth $28.5 million. The Kings look to compete for a playoff berth, something they haven’t accomplished since 2002. The only question mark that remains is what will the goalie situation be like with Dan Clouiter being placed on waivers and having their top goalie in Jean-Sebastien Aubin having his first starting job after eight seasons in the NHL.

Who will prevail in the opening weekend of the NHL's regular season? Only time will tell.

As the new season opens be sure to check back for constant NHL updates along with news from the NFL, MLB, and NBA