A few disconnected musings from last night in the NHL...
- Washington's 11th consecutive win puts them 10 points ahead of 2nd-place New Jersey ... the Devils, who started Yann Danis, lost 3-0 to the Maple Leafs. J.S. Giguere threw the shutout in his Leafs debut, and Dion Phaneuf had a fight and probably a dirty hit (I don't know, I didn't watch, but it's Phaneuf so you just assume). Frankenphaneuf even showed the early signs of developing an opposable thumb. Which means the Leafs will make the playoffs and win the Cup this year, for sure.
- Olli Jokinen made his debut for the Rangers, and it was same as it ever was: Jokinen was minus-2, and the Rangers' only goal came from Marion Gaborik in the 2-1 loss in Los Angeles.
- Oh, and the Kings? Supposedly they're after Kovalchuk in a deal with Atlanta.
- And the Thrashers? They lost to the Lightning at home, 2-1, but at least it was in regulation. With the Islanders' four days off, teams are burning their games in hand, but the Isles are still just three points out of 8th.
- Out West, ex-Islander Adrian Aucoin was the hero in the 10th round of a shootout in a scoreless Coyotes-Predators tilt. ... And Wade Dubielewicz made a most rare start for Minnesota, giving up four goals on 18 shots. ... And in San Jose, the Red Wings beat the Sharks for the third time this season. Talk about being in someone's kitchen? The 8th-place Wings are 17 points behind 1st-place San Jose, but when they play each other...different story.
You maybe didn't need all that, but it was an interesting night anyway. Maybe you saw some goodness you want to talk about.