The NHL suspended Edmonton Oilers defenseman Andy Sutton for eight games for last Wednesday's incident when he charged Carolina Hurricanes forward Alexei Ponikarovsky, the league announced Sunday. Sutton will be forced to forfeit his pay based on a pro-rated scale for the games...

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The judge was not lenient. In fact, the eight-game suspension Brendan Shanahan handed down to Edmonton Oilers defenceman Andy Sutton equals the longest he has rendered since taking over as the NHL's senior vice-president of player safety.

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VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Canucks made Roberto Luongo's first start in eight games a memorable one Sunday night.

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On Monday, Brendan Shanahan announced the NHL has suspended Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman James Wisniewski for the remainder of the pre-season and the first eight games of the regular season.

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No. 1 Star: Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs The Leafs star scored for the eighth time in eight games with a...

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Anders Lindback is making shutouts seem easy. Lindback made 28 saves to record his second consecutive blanking in the NHL, and Swedish countryman Patric Hornqvist had two goals to lead the Nashville Predators to a 5-0 victory over the New York Islanders late Monday. The Predators have won three straight and won six of their last eight games.

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Anders Lindback is making shutouts seem easy. Lindback made 28 saves to record his second consecutive blanking, and Patric Hornqvist had two goals to lead the Nashville Predators to a 5-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Monday night. The Predators have won three straight and are 6-0-2 in their last eight games.

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Well, that was a fun game wasn’t it?

There’s a reason why the Rangers are in first place and there’s a reason why the Isles have only two wins through eight games this season.

Goaltending and offense my friends. Something the Isles don’t have much of right now.

Through the first 40 minutes though, the Islanders looked like they were holding their own. Kyle Okposo, despite flubbing a few golden opportunities through he first half of the first period, really stepped up his game and easily had his best contest of the season. See what happens when this kid gets his legs moving and isn’t scared to initiate contact in the corners? The same thing goes for Frans Nielsen, who was all over the puck through the first two periods.

Speaking of solid performances tonight, Mark Streit was on top of his game as well. With seven points in eight games, the guy is doing everything he can on both ends of the ice to keep this team alive. Even his defense has been better than expected, as he’s did a solid job of clearing the crease, in addition to his prowess on the powerplay.

If there were anything really positive to take from this game, those would have to be it.

On the negative side, Joey MacDonald, while playing decent overall, has got to improve his play with traffic in front of the crease and with loose pucks around him. The Rangers first goal tonight was one that any decent goaltender in this league would have stopped. That’s not to say that Joey Mac isn’t a good netminder, he just has one glaring weakness that needs to be addressed and addressed soon.

Something else that needs to be addressed is the play of Jeff Tambellini. This guy has to get going offensively and soon. He’s taking shots, but isn’t getting any lucky bounces or help. I say throw him on a line with Mike Comrie and Kyle Okposo. Trent Hunter and Nielsen aren’t bad guys to play with, but the combination of speed and offensive ability that Comrie and Okposo have may give Tamby a bit more room on the ice to thrive.

In injury news, it seems that Freddy Meyer is only going to be day to day with an abdominal injury. Nothing against Brett Skinner, but Meyer was playing solid hockey before his injury and with Radek Martinek, Brendan Witt [who allegedly will be out for the next four weeks]and Andy Sutton all out of the lineup, the Isles need all the help they can get.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants