Last Night's Preseason Performers (Sep 19)

The Hurricanes needed overtime to beat the hosting Sabres on Monday night, but it was only a little bit more than two minutes in before the deed was eventually done.

Derek Ryan, who finished 198th among all forwards in scoring, is certainly out to prove that he is pool worthy and made a good case for himself in his first preseason outing, scoring a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, and added an assist as well for a 3-point night.  He might get some consideration for a quick boost to his projections here this week.

On the Sabres side, forward Evan Rodrigues made a good case for one of those bubble spots this year with a couple of assists in the loss.

The new-look New Jersey Devils debuted a few new faces on Monday night, playing in their first preseason tilt against the Washington Capitals, also playing their first, and it was enough for the squad to put together a solid 4-1 win up for their home fans.

Sure, the new guys were the big story I'm sure, but preseason performers are all about those multi-point guys and the only one in this game was Devils forward Joseph Blandisi, who picked up a pair of helpers.  Blandisi appeared in 27 games for the Devils last season, picking up 3 goals and 9 points and his goal will be to try and push through the bubble for a regular job this season.

It was all Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Monday night, as they thumped their provincial rivals, 6-2, in some preseason action on Monday night.

Leading the way for the home side was Mark Stone, who looked sharp with a goal and a pair of helpers for a 3-point night, leading the way among all players.  Mike Hoffman was no slouch, potting a pair of goals, newcomer Tyler Randell had one and one, while Dion Phaneuf rounded out the Sens scoring with a pair of assists.  The Stone/Hoffman combo looked really good early and it'll be hard to argue against them this year.

The Leafs are hoping to get big results out of Morgan Rielly this year and he kicked off his preseason campaign with a pair of helpers in the loss.  Oh, don't forget about that Auston Matthews fella... he was one and one as well.

The first of two split squad games between the Flames and the Oilers was listed as played in Edmonton and it was the home side that held court at Rogers Place, beating half of their divisional rivals, 5-2, in convincing fashion.

Patrick Maroon was the top dog for the Oilers on the night, finishing with a goal and 2 assists, while Ryan Strome, Mark Letestu and Connor McDavid all figured into the scoring with 2 points a piece in the win.

On the other side, defenseman Michael Stone got a helper on each one of the Flames goals in the loss, as he tries to solidify his spot on the team's top six.

Down at the much maligned Saddledome in Calgary, the Flames tried to make a late game come back, down 5-2 early in the 3rd period, but came up just a bit short, losing 5-4 to the Oilers and getting swept through the split squad games.

Drake Caggiula scored a pair of goals for the visiting Oilers, while 1st round draft pick Kailer Yamamoto chimed in with a goal and an assist in his first NHL preseason action.  The Oilers will certainly have some tough decisions to make, in terms of their depth in the coming season.

And finally, for the Flames, Johnny Gaudreau and Micheal Ferland were the only two highlights in their home barn, each picking up a pair of assists in the loss.