The Blue Jackets twice gave up the lead to Dallas, including a two goal advantage which the Stars quickly erased in the final moments of the third. Rather than rollover, the Blue Jackets continued to battle and Nash deposited the game winner with 20 seconds left in the extra period.

Recent free agent acquisitions to the Blue Jackets made early contributions to their new club as well. Forward Kristian Huselius scored for Columbus and defenceman Mike Commodore welcomed Sean Avery back to the Western Conference by leveling him during the game.

Quick Shave:
How many of you in Washington are cringing after goaltender Jose Theodore performance last night? Theodore was chased during the Atlanta Thrashers 7-4 drubbing of the Washington Capitals. Theodore allowed 4 goals on 17 shots and backup Brent Johnson surrendered three more to complete the route. Caps defenceman Mike Green picked up right where he left off last season depositing a pair of power play goals, but Alexander Ovechkin was held off the scoresheet. Former Caps goaltender Cristobal Huet who left to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks didn't do much better as he allowed 4 goals. The New York Rangers defeated the Blackhawks in their home opener 4-2. Rangers forward Brandon Dubinsky scored a goal and added two assists, and free agent defenceman acquisition Wade Redden potted his second goal in two games for the Blueshirts. Goaltender Martin Brodeur got one win closer to Patrick Roy's record (which he will eclipse easliy this season barring injury) as he made 25 saves and helped lift the New Jersey Devils to a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders. Keith Tkachuk deposited a pair of goals to help the the St. Louis Blues easily defeat the Nashville Predators 5-2 in their home opener last night.

Ottawa Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson underwent arthroscopic surgery yesterday to remove bone chips in his right knee. Alftreddson was apparently injured during the second game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and he is expected to miss a few weeks of action.

Game of the Night:
NY Rangers at Philadelphia 7:00 PM

There are a ton of great games going on tonight... I'm so glad to have Saturday night hockey back! I'm going homer on this one mostly because I'm curious to see how the Rangers fare against the Eastern Conference semi finalist Philadelphia Flyers this evening... and I'm only interested in the game... not the political nonsense that has everyone and the mother in an uproar! I will definitely be looking at the Red Wings and Senators game, where I expect Detroit to bounce back hard after their home opening loss to the Leafs and I'm curious to see how the retooled Phoenix Coyotes will do this evening against the Blue Jackets.

Enjoy the games!

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

The Toronto Maple Leafs go into this season with nothing to lose, having bought out, traded, and basically sent packing every under performing high priced veteran (Sundin not included) and replaced them will a roster full of role players and grinders. That however was more than enough to spoil the Red Wings home opener (although Def Leppard definitely got an assist) in which Detroit raised it's Stanley Cup Championship banner.

The Leafs defeated the Red Wings 3-2. Defenceman Pavel Kubina, forwards Dominic Moore and Nikolai Kulemin (his first career NHL goal and game winner) scored and Vesa Toskala made 35 saves to complete the win.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

UFA defenceman pickup Wade Redden opened the scoring for the Rangers, and Scott Gomez potted the game winner to complete the 2 game sweep against the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 yesterday afternoon, drawing a close to their European road trip.

The Tampa Bay Lighntning, who were extremely active during the off-season neglected to focus on improving their defense, and most critics pointed out that as a major concern. In their first two matches of the season, the Lightning have allowed nearly 80 shots on net. On the positive side, Tampa has upgraded their goaltending with the tandem of Mike Smith and Olaf Kolzig. The pair allowed only 4 goals over the weekend, however, continuing to face 40 shots an evening will require a Luongian effort...

Speaking of goaltending.... have the Ottawa Senators found a keeper in backup Alex Auld? Auld made 30 saves yesterday to help the Senators to a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins and return from their European trip with a split. Auld's performance may give coach Craig Hartsburg something to think about as he clearly provided better support in net than Martin Gerber did a night earlier. Keep an eye on this one... and you may want to pickup Auld for your fantasy roster. Sens forward Dany Heatley had a great weekend collecting three goals against the Penguins, all on the powerplay.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

The Rangers badly outshot the Lightning throughout the game, but were stoned by Tampa Bay netminder Mike Smith (the featured acquisition for the Lightning in the Brad Richards trade last February) who made 39 saves on the game. Rangers forward Brandon Dubinsky scored a power play goal with roughly 5 minutes remaining in the game to seal the victory. The second part of the 2 game set will be played today at noon EST.

While goaltending was the strength for the Tampa Bay Lightning it is still a question mark in Ottawa. The Senators fell 4-3 in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins who were playing their opener up North in Stockholm, Sweden. Ottawa goaltender Martin Gerber failed to provide the confidence in net that his club was looking for and let in several soft goals including the overtime winner that was deposited by Penguins forward Tyler Kennedy (worth a fantasy look, as he's riding shotgun to Malkin for the time being... he scored two including the game winner yesterday). The Penguins and Senators will meet again later this afternoon to conclude their two game matchup.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

In an effort to showcase it's product, the NHL takes it's stars overseas to a European audience which thus far this pre-season has be very receptive.

The New York Rangers will play the Tampa Bay Lightning will open a two game series this afternoon in Prague, followed by the Ottawa Senators taking on the Eastern Conference Champion Pittsburgh Penguins in Stockholm.

GAME ON!

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

Khabibulin appeared to be the goalie on the way out after the Blackhawks made a surprising dip into the free agent pool and signed UFA keeper Cristobal Huet to a 4 year deal worth $22.5 million. Khabibulin was on the final year of a 4 year deal worth $27 million.

The Blackhawks are believed to working on a trade for the Khabibulin but his high salary makes moving him difficult, if not impossible.

The Pittsburgh Penguins got some rough news today (as did NHL Fantasy Managers) when they announced that the club would be without star defenceman Sergei Gonchar for 4-6 months. Gonchar will undergo surgery to repair his left shoulder. Gonchar was injured during the a pre-season game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Penguins also lost defenceman Ryan Whitney till December with a foot injury.

The Anaheim Ducks re-signed forward Teemu Selanne to a two year deal worth $5.25 million this week, just days after clearing cap space by trading defenceman Matthieu Schneider to the Atlanta Thrashers.

Selanne sat out more than half the season last year as he contemplated retirement, but with 26 games remaining chose to return to action.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

Last week Schneider was waived by the Anaheim Ducks in an effort to clear much need salary cap space. After clearing waivers, and then again re-entry waivers, Schneider was back with the Ducks, or in limbo rather as he agreed not to report to camp while Ducks GM negotiated a trade for the defenceman.

The Ducks traded Schneider to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for defenceman Ken Klee, and forwards Brad Larsen, and Chad Painchaud. The deal clears a little over $3 million in salary cap space for Burke and the Ducks.

This is the second time this summer Burke has had to deal with salary cap problems. The Ducks bought out the contract of forward Todd Bertuzzi earlier during the off-season.

Pre-Season is in full swing. I'm not sure how it is around the rest of the league, but the New York Rangers have been televising every game, and since Saturday, there has been one a night (which has left the players a little worn out, judging by their play last night), which has been a great teaser for the upcoming season. Nice to see some of the young guns on the Rangers battle for roster spots, as well as watch Tampa's new young stud Steve Stamkos showcase his goods (he showed first hand why he was drafted #1 by cranking a beautiful shot in their first meeting).

Hopefully all of you Fantasy GMs have your rosters fine tuned for the upcoming season!

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

League ID#: 27719
Password: playoffbeard

If you have any trouble signing up, drop me an email at pat@patdavid.com. Hope to see everyone on the ice! Virtually speaking of course.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

To get fans properly pumped up, the Panthers launched the Countdown to Opening Night driven by Hyundai on September 10th. It started off with a surprise guest appearance by head coach Peter DeBoer on Sports Talk 790 The Ticket with Sid Rosenberg.

If you missed that appearance though – don’t worry. The next month is absolutely packed with community, promotional, radio and television appearances leading up to the season opener. It will be highlighted by four exclusive invitation-only season seat owner parties that will take place at Mayors, North America’s leading luxury brand and manufacturer of fine jewelry, where fans will have the chance to meet Panthers players and enter and win prize packages worth over $2,000!

For a FULL list of events, please view the official press release below. This info can also be found at www.floridapanthers.com.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

Schneider was rumored to be on the trade block for a good part of the summer as a solution to clear cap space for the Ducks so they could re-sign forward Teemu Selanne. The Ducks are loaded with defencemen and Schneider was unfortunately the odd man out. He will likely find a new home by the end of the week.

Your friend on ice,

Captain Bosh

The pick up of Robert Lang means that Mats Sundin will unlikely be wearing a Canadiens jersey this year. When asked if the Canadiens had moved on and that Sundin would not be a part of their future plans, General Manager Bob Gainey said yes.

The Rangers have also been rumored to have informed Sundin that he has until next Tuesday to make up his mind, otherwise they also will be moving on.

Back to Lang... in him, the Habs acquired a veteran forward who collected 54 points (21 goals, 33 assists) through 76 games with the Chicago Blackhawks last year. Lang should help bolster a young Canadiens team with both leadership as well as production.... and he's excited to join the Habs.

The Carolina Hurricanes signed their super star forward Eric Staal yesterday to a monster long-term deal worth $57.5 million. The new contract will pay him an average of $8.25 million a year over the next 7 years. Staal is in the final year of his deal and would have been an unrestricted free agent this summer. He recorded 38 goals and 44 assists last season.

Speaking of unrestricted free agents... next summer their will be a few on the market worth looking at... more so for Fantasy Hockey Managers. It's no fluke that players in the final year of their contracts tend to play just a little bit harder in order to cash in over the summer. Those performances allow we the Fantasy GM's to be the beneficiaries. So here's a few worth looking at:

Marian Gaborik. The Minnesota Wild are desperate to re-sign him, but I've heard rumors that he has no desire to play there anymore. Even though his production is solid, I think he feels stifled by Coach Jacques Lemaire's defense first system. Regardless of what style he plays, look for him to play lights out this year, and if he hasn't been extended by February, I wouldn't be surprised to see him traded at the deadline.

Marian Hossa. Hossa went to Detroit to win a Stanley Cup. He took a modest one year deal at $7.5 million (in contrast to the long term deals that were apparently floating around in the $10 million range) in order to come to Detroit and compete for a Cup. Hossa is banking on his skill, and club to not only land him a championship, but a ridiculous contract this summer. Don't be shocked if he is playing for his 4th club in two years by July, and it should be no surprise whatsoever that he is going to post huge numbers this year.

Henrik Zetterberg. I'm sure Detroit will re-sign him, and there's a chance he could be extended prior to the season opener, but what if they don't? What if he's imagining what he would be worth on the open market? Imagine if Zetterberg decides to test free agency come July? All that being said, imagine the season he's going to have. Regardless, signed or not, this guy is awesome.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

The Panthers were reportedly waiting to make the deal official until the 1st of September, after McCabe was payed a bonus of $2 million by the Leafs... money they had no desire to be responsible for.

In exchange for McCabe, the Leafs recieve defenceman Mike Van Ryn and a 4th round pick in 2010.

Moving McCabe is perhaps the final cap on the roster-gutting interim GM Cliff Fletcher was brought in to oversee. The 2008-2009 Toronto Maple Leafs will look very different from the squad that was iced last season.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

The blueline, which to many was the one weak point that still needed to be addressed was quickly upgraded over the past few days with the addition of defenceman Andrej Meszaros.

The Lightning made their intentions clear this weak that they were planning to offer the then Ottawa Senators defenceman and offer sheet worth roughly $5 million a year over several seasons. With negotiations between the Senators and Meszaros clearly at an impasse, the Senators chose to deal him to Tampa Bay in exchange for defencemen Filip Kuba and Alexandre Picard, and a first round pick in next years entry draft.

The Lighting announced yesterday that Andrej Meszaros had signed a six year pact with Tampa.

Tampa Bay is looking to pull a page from the Philadelphia Flyers handbook, a team that went from last in 2005-2006, all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. The personnel they've acquired over the past few months from top to bottom has help changed the face of the club, and with any luck the culture as well.

Our friend Stache brought up a solid point. Will this club, with so many new faces, and a coach in Barry Melrose who hasn't seen NHL action from behind the bench in over a decade be able to develop the chemistry necessary to win? That's the big question. Heaven help the Eastern Conference, if the Tampa Bay Lightning does gel.

Now onto the important stuff!

Is it too early to pick Stanley Cup Finalists for the upcoming season? I've been thinking alot about a comment I made the day former Pittsburgh Penguin forward Marian Hossa signed with the Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings the very same club that bested he and his teammates. This has kharma written all over it. Am I a superstitious man? The beard on my face in early April would suggest that I am, and that being confirmed, I do believe that Hossa signed with the wrong club. His intentions were clearly to join forces with a team that would give him the best shot at winning a Stanley Cup. I see a rematch of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings in the Spring of 2009, but I think the outcome will be different this time.

Playoff Beard Prediction: Penguins in 7.

P.S. Sidney Crosby will be able to grow a playoff beard this year.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

The 39 year old Sakic signed a one year deal with the Avs worh $6 million.

Last season Sakic played just 44 games because of a hernia that required surgery, but he still posted a respectable 40 points (13 goals, 27 assists) during the regular season and another 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists) during the playoffs.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

Here's what's on the table thus far. Retirement, obviously something that has been beckoning Sundin for the past few years, and may truly be testing him this summer. Offers from the Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, and certainly one from the Toronto Maple Leafs should he decide to head back to his old team. This week Sundin's agent JP Barry also declared that there were three other clubs that are also very interested in acquiring the big free agent center.

August 1st however is a deadline that the media has speculated will be the day Sundin makes his decision, but not necessarily a date that he chose. His agent also stated that Sundin would make a decision by August, meaing sometime this month. So we may have to wait another 30 days. Start your rumors.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh