SURPRISE 1 SORTA: Well, the first game on the night wasn't much of a surprise as the Montreal Canadiens behind backup Peter Budaj earned the extra point in a shootout victory over the New Jersey Devils and goaltender Cory Schneider. It was Schneider's first loss after winning three in a row but the surprising thing about this match was that 5 of the 6 goals scored in regulation were scored in the 3rd period.  The Habs took both matches of a home-and-home series....David Desharnais has found the confidence since being reunited with Max Pacioretty. DD has points in six of the last 8 games helping the Canadiens win 7 of those 8 games.  It may be your last chance to grab Desharnais from a disgruntled owner but that may have been easier a week ago.  The streak has them in 3rd place of the Eastern Conference with Boston and Pittsburgh ahead of them. They have a chance to move into a tie for first place if they win tonight over the Bruins and the Penguins lose in regulation to the San Jose Sharks.....SURPRISE 2: The Detroit Red Wings, without the services of Pavel Datysuk and Henrik Zetterberg because of injuries, took a 3-1 lead late into the second period before Jimmy Howard let in 5 unanswered goals (4 of those in the 3rd period) by the Philadelphia Flyers, stunning the Joe Louis Arena crowd with the Flyers winning 6-3.  Howard's play has at best erratic this season as he has been counted on to carry this talented Red Wing team.  Backup Jonas Gustavsson has a better record and better numbers so far this season. If you need goaltending help, and want to take a chance that Howard will return to form, then this is your best shot at getting him on the cheap...Philly G Steve Mason continued his superb season by turning aside 32 of 35 SOG, raising his record to 10-8-2. He has been the beneficiary of the resurgent Flyers offense as he has kept them in games even when they started the season off horribly.  Continue to start Mason with extreme confidence.... C Sean Couturier was the offensive star of the game with 2 goals and 2 assists in the contest. With only 14 points in 28 games, he hasn't been what the team hoped he would be, but he does have 10 points in his last 9 games.  Might be worth a, pardon the pun, flier....Matt Read and Scott Hartnell both chipped in with a goal and 2 assists each. Keep an eye on these two as they could get more involved in the Flyer offense....SURPRISE 3: After Coyote D-man Keith Yandle scored early in the first period, it was all ...

Well, the first game on the night wasn't much of a surprise as the Montreal Canadiens behind backup Peter Budaj earned the extra point in a shootout victory over the New Jersey Devils and goaltender Cory Schneider. It was Schneider's first loss after winning three in a row.  The Habs took both matches of a home-and-home series....David Desharnais has found the confidence since being reunited with Max Pacioretty. DD has points in six of the last 8 games helping the Canadiens win 7 of their past 8 games.  It may be your last chance to grab Desharnais from a disgruntled owner but that may have been easier a week ago.  The streak has them in 3rd place of the Eastern Conference with Boston and Pittsburgh ahead of them. They have a chance to move into a tie for first place if they win tonight over the Bruins and the Penguins lose in regulation to the San Jose Sharks.....The Detroit Red Wings, without the services of Pavel Datysuk and Henrik Zetterberg because of injuries, took a 3-1 lead late into the second period before Jimmy Howard let in 5 unanswered goals by the Philadelphia Flyers, stunning the Joe Louis Arena crowd with the Flyers winning 6-3. Howard's play has at best erratic this season as he has been counted on to carry this talented Red Wing team.  Backup Jonas Gustavsson has a better record and better numbers so far this season. If you need goaltending help, and want to take a chance that Howard will return to form, then this is your best shot at getting him on the cheap...Philly G Steve Mason continued his superb season by turning aside 32 of 35 SOG, raising his record to 10-8-2. He has been the beneficiary of the resurgent Flyers offense as he has kept them in games even when they started the season off horribly.  Continue to start Mason with extreme confidence.... C Sean Couturier was the offensive star of the game with 2 goals and 2 assists in the contest. With only 14 points in 28 games, he hasn't been what the team hoped he would be, but he does have 10 points in his last 9 games.  Might be worth a, pardon the pun, flier....Matt Read and Scott Hartnell both chipped in with a goal and 2 assists each. Keep an eye on these two as they could get more involved in the Flyer offense....After Coyote D-man Keith Yandle scored early in the first period, it was all Karri Ramo as he turned aside the other 29 SOG to earn his first victory after 4 straight losses. The surprising number is that Phoenix backup G Thomas Greiss let in 4 goals on only 18 SOG, ...

Smith gave up four goals on 35 shots in a loss to the Blackhawks on Saturday. It was the sixth straight game that Smith allowed at least three goals... Ouch. His GAA has inflated to 3.07 during his four game losing skid. Smith is the first one to say he needs to be better and that starts tonight in Edmonton.

Smith was given Wednesday off, but will be back in goal tonight vs. Chicago. He gave up three goals on 28 shots in his third straight loss on Monday. He has a tough matchup to close out a tough month, he went 5-3-2 with a 3.08 GAA and .910 SV% in November.

Well he has come back with a big bang as he shutout the Nashville Predators with a 33 save performance last night. Based on this start Ilya Bryzgalov will likely be the Oilers starter for a while, since Devan Dubnyk just can't cut the mustard in the NHL. Bryzgalov's history is very interesting because he played extremely well when he was in Phoenix playing for Dave Tippett.  Tippett is probably the best goaltender Coach in the NHL, and under him Bryzgalov in 2009-2010 went 42-20 with a 2.29 goals against and a .920 save percentage with 8 shutouts.  It was those type of numbers that convinced Philadephia General Manager Paul Holmgren to give  Bryzgalov a 9 year $51 million contract in 2011.  Holmgren thought that Bryzgalov would be the solution to the Flyers long term goalie problems.  Holmgren had to trade Jeff Carter to Columbus and Mike Richards to Los Angeles in order to free up the cap space to sign Bryzgalov for players like Jacob Voracek and young forward Brayden Schenn. Quite a couple of trades.  In his first year with Philadelphia he  was 33-16-7 with a 2.48 goals against and a .909 save percentage.  I drafted him that year expecting him to have a great season, but watching him game after game, he would always go down too soon rather than squaring up to the shooter, and he would get beat up top. Big mistake on my part.  The reality is that Bryzgalov's career save percentage is only .914, which means that he is only an average goaltender at best.  He may have suffered from his time in Philadelphia, with the crazy media exposure he was not ready to deal with.  He may be okay in Edmonton, but don't expect to much, and if you see him dropping to his knees too quickly, well you know what is going to happen.  He is not going back to Phoenix with Mike Smith there, but he is an okay second goaltender if you need one. Stick saves: While he plays for an offensively challenged Nashville team, young goaltender Marec Mazanec has really impressed me so far in 10 games played this season. The Czech is very quick and athletic and he has played great in Pekka Rinne's absence. While he lost last night, he still played great.  His 2.01 goals against and .934 save percentage after 10 games are very solid.  This kid is going to be a really top notch goalie in the NHL somewhere and some day.  When Rinne comes back he will likely go back to the bench, but he is going to be good one.  Don't forget about him.   

Smith gave up four goals on 23 shots in Saturday's loss to the Ducks. It was the fourth straight game that Smith has allowed three or more goals, pushing his GAA to 3.02. He catches a break tonight when the Coyotes travel to Nashville to take on the 24th ranked Predators offence (2.26 G/PG).

Smith allowed four goals on 30 shots in an overtime loss to the Avalanche on Thursday. It was his second loss at home this season, but he has yet to lose one in regulation. He has another tough matchup against the Ducks tonight. In two starts vs. Anaheim this season, Smith is 0-1-1 with a 2.89 GAA and .910 SV%.

Smith surrendered three goals on 30 shots but still walked away with the win over Saturday. The W moved him to 8-0-1 with a 2.39 GAA and .921 SV% at home this season. Tonight the Coyotes welcome the Avalanche to town for the first time this season. It is a tough matchup for Smith, but his home record suggests he should have a strong night.

Smith allowed four goals on 52 shots against the Blackhawks on Thursday. He has seen a ton of rubber this season, 607 shots in 18 starts (33.7 per game) which is 39 more than the next highest (Ryan Miller - 568). Tonight he faces his former team and a scorching hot Ben Bishop, winner of six-straight.

Smith was great stopping 37 of 39 shots in an OT win over the Blues on Tuesday. The win was Smith's 11th of the season, and sixth in his last seven starts. His GAA (2.81) and SV% (.917) don't blow you away, but he has keeps the Coyotes high-powered offence in every game and that is why he is 11-3-2. Smith has a tough matchup when the Coyotes travel to Chicago tonight.