NFHL Game of the Night

 
Day of the Underdogs

 

It was a relatively light schedule today, but many of the league underdogs were in action.  And the teams they played may be guilty of overlooking them because 3 of the 5 worst teams this season earned points tonight, though to be fair, two of them were playing each other so someone was going to get points.  The San Jose Sharks and Tampa Bay Lightning were those two teams, with the Sharks escaping with a 4-3 win, despite dominating the game.  Kevin LaVallee, James Black, Bruce Driver and Rich Sutter scored, with Ron Sutter picking up 3 helpers.  Brent Fedyk, Andrew McBail and Shane Churla scored for Tampa.  In Detroit, Nevin Markwart burst out, scoring a goal and finishing with 4 points as the St. Louis Blues shocked the Detroit Red Wings 5-2.  Paul Broten, Joe Juneay, Iiro Jarvi and Robert Reichel also scored.  Jimmy Carson had both Detroit goals.  Finally, the Buffalo Sabres.  Oh, those Sabres.  They didn't win today, but they did get a point against a top team. Pavel Bure scored twice and Marcus Ragnarsson once as they drew 3-3 with the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Scott Young, Zarley Zalapski and Tony Amonte scored for the Penguins.

The NFHL announced the Skater and Goalie of the Weeks today.  The Minnesota North Stars, holders of a 9-game win streak, unsurprisingly dominate the skater category.  It was given to Daniel Alfredsson, who had 5 goals and 8 assists for 13 points in 5 games this week.  He was +8 with 17 shots and 14 hits in those 5 games to win $100,000 for his team.  Teammates JJ Daigneault, Mathieu Schneider and Dmitri Khristich were also considered, as were Boston's Owen Nolan and Colorado's Jeremy Roenick.  Colorado wasn't shut out of the awards, though.  Kelly Hrudey was the Goalie of the Week with a perfect 6-0 record in 6 appearances.  He was one by shut out and had an overall 0.914 save percentage on the week with 138 stops on 151 shots.  Colorado earns $100,000 for the prize.  Martin Brodeur of the North Stars, Evgeni Nabokov of the Jets and Tommy Salo of the Oilers were also considered.

Three Stars of the Night

Teemu Selanne (EDM) - 2 Goals (31), 2 Assists, +4, 6 Shots
Nevin Markwart (STL) - 1 Goal (10), 3 Assists, +2, 1 Shot, 3 Hits
Craig Janney (EDM) - 1 Goal (17), 3 Assists, +4, 3 Shots, 1 Hit