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Kurri Impresses in Debut Kurri had a slow start to the season with the Washington Capitals collecting just two goals and no assists through seven games, but appears to have been re-charged since joining the Jets. It took him almost half the game to get comfortable, but scored his first in his new uniform just over nine minutes into the second period. In the third period, he showed fans his shooting ability as he took a one-time shot off a pass from Don Sweeney that Pelle Lindbergh had to make an incredible save to make, but put him out of position for the rebound which was an easy tap in for Alexei Tkachuk. Kurri finished off the game with a nice passing play with Mike Gartner to score his second of the game. Kurri would finish with two goals and three points in helping lead the Jets to a convincing 9-2 victory. The second part of the recent trade was Sylvan Lefebvre who fit into the bottom pair and played just over nine minutes collecting one assist with a +1 rating while dishing out one hit. Al MacInnis earned first star of the game with four points and a +5 rating. MacInnis is the early season favorite for the Norris Trophy as he currently leads all defenseman with 17-points in nine games, while also leading the league in plus/minus and tied for the lead in assists. If he can stay healthy, MacInnis could take a run at Bobby Orr’s single points record as he now sits 64 points shy with 73 games to go. It was not all good news as both Gerard Gallant and Gary Leeman had to depart the game with injuries. Leeman appears to be able to play Monday night against the Buffalo Sabres, but Gallant is not expected back and it is unclear if he’ll be in the line-up during the clubs first real test of the season Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings. |