A Day in the NHL: Wednesday, November 17

After a light night last night, devoted fans are getting rewarded with one of the busiest nights for the NHL in a few weeks.

The Night that Was:

Great news for Toronto Maple Leafs fans: The finally broke out of their elongated losing streak! It had been eight games since the Leafs had won, so last night’s victory was long overdue, but they certainly made their fans sweat it out. At one point down 3-0 to the Nashville Predators, Luke Schenn scored with just 30 seconds left in the first to cut the lead to two. After Marcel Goc scored shorthanded to make it 4-1 Predators, Toronto rallied to score four-straight power play goals, with two coming from Kris Versteeg. Clark McArthur recorded three assists as four Leafs had multi-point nights.

Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens got the best of the Philadelphia Flyers last night. Price continues to prove that he was more than ready to be the number one in Montreal, at least early on. He stopped all 41 shots he faced last night as the Canadiens won 3-0. Offensively Brian Gionta did the heavy lifting, netting a goal and two assists.

In Dallas, the Stars broke out of a three-game slide with a 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. A win would’ve put Anaheim into a deadlock for first place in the Pacific Division with the Los Angeles Kings, but it wasn’t to be. Brad Richards, Dallas’ leading scorer this season, was in on both goals for the Stars, scoring the game winner. For Richards, the two-point game was pretty welcome, as he had registered just one goal and a minus-one rating over that three-game losing streak.

What’s on Tonight?

If you can’t find a game to watch, then you’re probably reading the wrong article. Twelve games going on tonight, making this one of the busier evenings of the season. There’s the Boston Bruins taking on the New York Rangers for Original Six fans and a Central Division showdown between St. Louis and Detroit. The Vancouver Canucks visit the Pittsburgh Penguins in a game that could bode very well for Vancouver’s offense. Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals are also playing Thomas Vanek and the Sabres tonight. And if you’re really searching for something to watch? Florida is visiting Atlanta.

The Injury Bug:

Fredrik Modin (ATL), Cody Sarich (CAL), Anton Stralman (CBJ), Magnus Paajarvi (EDM), Cal Clutterbuck (MIN), Chuck Kobasew (MIN), Dan Girardi (NYR), Brian Lee (OTT), Tyler Kennedy (PIT), Douglas Murray (SJS), Ryan Parent (VAN), and Tom Poti (WSH) are all questionable for tonight’s action.

The Sabres’ Craig Rivet is questionable too, while Patrick Kaleta is doubtful. Rivet didn’t play in Buffalo’s last game on Monday, and Kaleta left it with an upper body injury.

David Koci, who was taken off of injured reserve Monday by Colorado but didn’t play is likely to go tonight.

Rick Nash has a twinge in his groin but he’s still expected to go against the L.A. Kings tonight. He’s not the only one though, as Mike Modano’s groin has been a bit of a nagging injury too for the veteran, as he remain probable for tonight.

Scott Parse of the L.A. Kings had surgery yesterday to repair a torn labrum in his hip. It’s been a tough year for Parse, only playing five games and missing all of training camp, and the next three or four months make it all the more difficult.

No word on J.S. Giguere’s groin tweak from last night. We’ll probably find out more later today following Leafs’ practice or Thursday before their game against New Jersey.

Rumours Around the League:

More Troy Bodie news! The forward, who was placed on waivers by the Ducks, was claimed by Carolina yesterday.

There are rumblings out of Ottawa that they’ll be trimming the roster to seven defensemen fairly soon, and the odd man out might be David Hale and his two-way contract.

And…after yesterday’s news about the staples being removed from his cut, Dion Phaneuf will be skating earlier than expected and might be in line for an early return. Yes it’s injury news, but we’re pretty light today, so we snuck it in to rumours.

The Overlooked Fantasy Line of the Night:

In a losing effort, David Legwand registered two assists for the Predators last night and nabbed himself a plus-one rating. Not too shabby when your team blows a three-goal lead.

All photos are courtesy of Yardbarker.

Bryan Thiel is a columnist for both TooManyMenOnTheSite.com and Hockey54.com—The Face of the Game! If you want to get in contact with Bryan, you can e-mail him at bryanthiel74@hotmail.com, and you can also follow him on Twitter at BryanThiel_88.