NHL Recap: Jan 26, 2013 – Wade Redden Scores, Leafs Can’t Handle Rangers’ Big Three

It was an off day for the Ottawa Senators, but there were 8 games on the NHL schedule Saturday night.  Here is a quick tour around the league:

Jan 26, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; St. Louis Blues center Vladimir Sobotka (17) and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (27) and defenseman Wade Redden (6) and center Scott Nichol (12) and right wing Ryan Reaves (75) celebrate Redden’s first goal in almost three years during the first period against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Blues defeated the Stars 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

1. Patrick Marleau scored twice for the San Jose Sharks who cruised to victory over the Colorado Avalanhe 4-0.  It was the fourth straight game that Marleau had a pair, and he now has a league leading 8 goals to help the Sharks remain perfect this season.  Thomas Greiss made 24 saves for his first career shutout.  Marleau leads the NHL in goals, Joe Thornton leads in assists, and the duo are tied for the league lead in points with 11.
2. The Toronto Maple Leafs jumped out to a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes, but the Rangers’ top line of Rick Nash, Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik combined for 3 goals and 8 points over the last 40 minutes to outlast the Leafs 5-2.  With each passing game, the price tag for Roberto Luongo increases.
3. The Columbus Blue Jackets scored the first and last goals of the game, by Mark Letestu and Artem Anisimov respectively, but the Chicago Blackhawks scored three times in between as they stayed perfect on the season.  Dave Bolland, Bryan Bickell and  Jonathan Towes did the damage for the Hawks, and Corey Crawford did the rest as Chicago moved to 5-0-0 this season.
4. Led by Matt Read‘s hat trick, the Philadelphia Flyers beat up on the Florida Panthers to the tune of 7-1 in Florida.  The Flyers win means that there are now 2 points separating first from last in the Atlantic Divison, with the Flyers tied with the Rangers, Penguins and Islanders trailing the Devils by 2 points.  The Panthers have dropped 4 straight after winning their season opener in Carolina.
5. Wade Redden continued his Cinderella return to the NHL, scoring his first goal in almost three years to open the scoring for the St. Louis Blues.  From there, David Perron took over and had 2 goals and an assist in the Blues’ 4-3 win over the Dallas Stars.  Dallas played without 2 of their top forwards as Jaromir Jagr and Derek Roy both sat out with (hopefully) minor injuries.
6. The LA Kings finally got their first win of the season as Anze Kopitar had a pair to lead his team to a 4-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes.  Jason Labarbera made his second straight start for the Coyotes as Mike Smith is stil suffering from the lower body injury that forced him out of this past Wednesday’s win over Columbus.
7. The Calgary Flames finally got in the win column with a 4-3 win in the Battle of Alberta against their rival Edmonton Oilers. Lee Stempniak had two goals and an assist while Jay Bouwmeester had one goal and a helper, as did Jordan Eberle in a losing cause.
8. Corey Perry got the shootout winner to give the Anaheim Ducks a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators.  A day after Jonas Hiller was shelled for 5 goals against the Vancouver Canucks, Victor Fasth got his first career start, and earned the win in the Ducks’ cage.

There are 8 games on tap for Sunday including the Pittsburgh Penguins visiting the Ottawa Senators, while New Jersey and San Jose will look to remain undefeated when they play Montreal and Vancouver respectively.