What’s been lacking in Florida this season? See Dr. Ryan Carter – a master in Hitology – for details above.
Notes: Scott Clemmensen stopped 24 shots for his first shutout victory of the year. Jean-Sebastien Giguere finished with 22 saves. Scorers: Sergei Samsonov, Stephen Weiss, Mike Santorelli, Keaton Ellerby; assists to Jason Garrison, Niclas Bergfors, Dmitry Kulikov, Michal Repik, Samsonov, Weiss, Carter. Marty Reasoner (+1, 3 blocked shots) led all players by going 11-6 on faceoffs; FLA dominated 25-18 overall. More Carter: +1, a fighting major, and a team-leading 4 hits. Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf (-1, 3 hits) went knee-on-knee against David Booth, resulting in a minor penalty, a grimacing Booth, and embarrassment for the home club as – we’ve been groomed to expect – no one initially challenged Phaneuf. FLA scored on the PP opportunity. Ellerby made peace with a late puck-over-the-glass penalty by scoring into an empty net with 3:24 remaining in the third; the goal was his second of the year. Garrison is becoming an absolute beast on the blueline, logging a team-high 24:47 with 2 SOG, 4 blocked shots, and 3 hits. SOG: 25-24, FLA. TOR notables – Phil Kessel: -1, 2 shots; Mikhail Grabovski: -1, 3 shots, 4-8 on FO; Nazem Kadri: 1 shot, 2-7 on FO; Joffrey Lupul: even, 5 shots; Clarke MacArthur: -2, no shots.
And what of Mike Duco‘s second game with the Big Club this year?
Gotta think the guy is happy to be here, as he explains in no uncertain terms while on top of Mike Brown.
More from Pension Plan Puppets here. Next up: New York Islanders, Saturday at 7. Live Game Thread at 6:30.