Saturday 1/5

First Saturday rundown of the New Year.....

Washington 5 Montreal 4 (OT): I told you all to watch out for this team a few weeks ago! The Caps are beginning to climb up the standings and have gotten at least a point in 8 of their last 10 games. Ovechkin's wrist shot is sick.........

Pittsburgh 3 Florida 0: Pens got two quick ones and never looked back. Nice game for Ty Conklin, who makes 35 saves in a shutout effort.

Boston 4 New Jersey 3: The Devils did everything but win this one. They outshot the Bruins 20-1 in the 3rd and still couldn't come away with the victory. Tim Thomas gets most of the credit for this Boston victory.

Philadelphia 3 Toronto 2: Another game where a team outshots the hell out of their opponent and loses. 54, that's right, 54 saves by Niittymaki as the Leafs find a way to lose another big game. Only 2 wins by the Leafs in their last 10. That's unacceptable in Toronto.

Ottawa 4 Tampa Bay 3 (OT): Tampa Bay was looking sharp in the first, and then blew it. They did get a bad break on the game-tying goal by Heatley as the puck hit a broken stick to set up the play. Tampa is getting no offense from their 3rd and 4th liners and their goaltending is atrocious.

Nashville 4 Minnesota 1: Big 3-goal first carries the rednecks.

St. Louis 1 Carolina 0: Good for Manny. This was pretty boring.

Colorado 2 Islanders 1 (OT): What Colorado does during this time without Sakic and Smyth will make or break their season. I thought they were locks to win the Northwest until these injuries.

Phoenix 3 Anaheim 2 (SO): And the Coyotes continue to roll (Caps/Coyotes finals?). They're 7-2-1 in their last 10 and a few points out of a playoff spot. Great recovery after a tough start by Gretzky and the gang.

Edmonton 3 Rangers 2 (SO): Rough western road trip for the Rangers (0-2-1). Drury steals the Rangers a point in this one with a thrilling goal with 7 seconds left in the third period.

Calgary 6 Los Angeles 4: As Jarome Iginla goes, so do the Flames. He's taken over the NHL scoring lead and the flames are 7-1-2 in their last 10.

San Jose 3 Columbus 2: The Sharks, in my opinion, are a very scary team. They're two points ahead in their division with two games in hand, and are playing outstanding physical hockey. They almost blew this one in the third, though.