-So in this Stars-Flames game which Calgary leads 2-1 in the third, the washed up Tony Amonte has both goals and missed a hat trick off the crossbar. When’s the last time he turned a trick? Probably have to go back to his Blackhawk days when that Original 6 Franchise was still relevant. The Flames desperately need this game to gain some momentum after a brutal beginning. In the same period, Eric Lindros was cleanly hipchecked off the puck and into the boards by Robyn Regeh and even flipped over. Classic. The good news for Dallas: He got up and continued to look okay. He also is in the box now for one of those obstruction penalties. Second game tonight I’ve seen where the refs appropriately called the Delay of Game minor when a shorthanded player covered up the puck. Mike Commodore got burned by it in the Canes-Devils game and now Stu Barnes was victimized. Now if they’d just call the goalies when they cover the puck nine feet from the crease.

-So the shootout is about to start at Bell Centre. The Habs elect to shoot first with Koivu. The Habs captain converts a beautiful forehand deke twisting and turning fooling Roloson. 1-0 Montreal. As pretty as it comes. Here comes Sykora for Edmonton. He tries his patented backhand deke but rang the puck off the crossbar. So now it’s the rookie Guillaume Latendresse but his backhand try sails wide. Now Ales Hemsky to try to level it. LMAO…Ferraro said forehand deke high and Hemsky deked and fired past the blocker. Nice call. Now Sergei Samsonov’s backhand is denied by Roloson. Playoff hero Fernando Pisani for the win but his forehand deke is denied. He has really struggled thus far this season with only 2 goals. New contract. Too much pressure? Woh. And Kovalev pulls off an unreal deke to the forehand to put Montreal on the cusp. Similar to Koivu’s but even a better angle if possible as fans chant “Kovy Kovy Kovy.” And that does it as Aebischer shuts the five-hole on Stoll. All in all, another great end to a thrilling game which had a lot going on. Good stuff.

-The Sportsnet announcers are raving about all the room out on the ice during an odd three-on-three which began OT up in Montreal. Petr Sykora’s ninth off a blast from the point got it to this point. But here’s a point on three-on-three. When have you ever seen a goal scored during it? It’s just not as easy to score unless someone gets a clearcut 2-on-1 or breakaway. Four-on-four is better! And already in this session with 2:45 encounting, it’s proving so as Roloson turns away a Habs’ chance. This Canadian battle has also featured three fights, including the intigator and misconduct of Montreal D-man Sheldon Souray, who stuck up for a teammate. So it’s been excellent. Ferraro astutely points out that Sykora has not seen the ice yet thru the first three minutes. Why not? He’s an electric skater and perfect for this kind of situation. Also love that new No.71 which seems to be working wonders thus far on his fourth team. Wow. Saku Koivu almost sets up Souray on the doorstep for the winner. A D jumping up. Got to love it. Under 50 to go and Michael Ryder’s wraparound attempt is snuffed out by Roloson. Then David Aebischer shuts down Jarret Stoll’s wrister to which a pleased Ferraro points out how “enjoyable” this game has been concluding, “that it’s been the best 65 minutes he’s seen in a long time.” In the bits we’ve seen, it’s hard to disagree. It’s been great! If you have the Center Ice package, you’re eyes are glued to the set after that fun Devils-Canes finish. Shootout again? 30 secs till it. Habs trying to be too fine here as Alexei Kovalev’s centering feed doesn’t connect. And a solid closeout on Stoll there. Then Kovy slaps one from beyond center on Roloson, who closes it up as the buzzer sounds.

-Well, the Devils post yet another comeback to win an exciting shootout 3-2 over the Hurricanes. This was probably about as good a game as fans at CAA will see. It had everything. Unpredictable finish too. A game which looked like it was headed to overtime was untied by Rod Brind’Amour with a little over 4:00 to go when his shot from an angle banked off Brian Rafalski and in. After failing on a late power play to connect on a weak Brind’Amour call (players really can’t do much of anything sometimes), the unusual tying goalscorer turned out to be Brick NJ native Jim Dowd. In an odd move, New Jersey coach Claude Julien rolled the dice and put the gritty 37 year-old vet out as an extra attacker. The gamble paid dividends when Dowd was left all alone and took a Paul Martin touch pass and beat Ward with a minute remaining. And so what occurred after that was one of the best four-on-four OT’s you’ll ever see. After each team got a couple of chances early off rushes, the Canes took control by somehow keeping the puck in for an extended period. So long did they have it in that you had to figure they’d wind up winning it right there in the final minute. But only some heroic goaltending from Brodeur with big stops on Scott Walker and Brindy allowed them to escape. Amazingly, at the end of a shift in which he and his three teammates were dominated, Patrik Elias nearly ended it but was robbed point blank by Ward at the doorstep with eight seconds left, forcing the deciding shootout. In it, it looked like Gionta’s goal topshelf would be enough as Brodeur looked very tough. But Brind’Amour patiently found the five-hole to extend it. After three consecutive Devils failed to end it and Walker was denied by Brodeur, it took a tricky play by John Madden to win it. Outwaiting Ward, he flipped the puck shortside with little room to give the Devils the extra point.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the lack of attendance at NHL arenas including the outdated CAA. Many have pointed to the lack of the game’s appeal. Okay critics and cynics. But if you watched the end of this game, there was plenty of entertainment value and bang for its buck. Those who went were fortunate and the beneficiaries of the kind of hockey that can make anyone fans. An excellent played game by two solid hockey teams who should both be in the mix again next Spring.

-Some Oilers-Habs second period rumblings. Very good skating. Loved hearing analyst Ray Ferraro take the refs to task for a soft interference call. How many will be called in this new NHL? And just now, another fun fisticuffs between Oiler captain Jason Smith and Aaron Downey. Downey lost his jersey and got the extra two which enabled him to knock down the rugged Smith. Fun stuff we tell ya.

-So the second period of this Canes-Devils tilt was pretty good. Each team traded a PPG a few minutes apart. The Devils grabbed the lead thanks to some hard work from Jamie Langenbrunner, Zach Parise and Travis Zajac. Langenbrunner found an on-rushing Parise for a redirect which Ward stopped but Zajac came in and backhanded it home for his fourth. The North Dakota combo of Parise and Zajac have been terrific. They have been their team’s most consistent forwards lately. So it was not surprising they’d factor in for what otherwise is a lifeless New Jersey power play. The Canes were able to tie it thanks to back-to-back Delay of Game penalties to which Eric Staal rocketed a one-timer from the point past Martin Brodeur and popping the Gatorade bottle. What a laser beam. He sure is a fun player to watch. Versus color analyst Ed Olczyk was remarking that he’d never seen two Delay of Game calls so close together. Guess he missed last night’s Stars-Canucks game where Dallas took two straight five seconds apart. In any event, the action after the two goals in this game was fast and furious. Both teams traded solid chances generated off the cycle, forcing both Canadian netminders to be good. While the play was dogged at times due to the diligent backchecking and hustle of these two teams, it was fun to watch from an intensity standpoint. These guys are really battling which should setup an intriguing third. It’s heating up!

-Oilers-Habs update: Montreal ties it on a Craig Rivet right circle blast on the power play, beating Dwayne Roloson with a perfect slapper inside the crossbar. A few minutes earlier, there was an entertaining scrap between the Edmonton goalscorer Winchester and New York native Mike Komisarek. Winchester got the better of the Montreal defenseman but kudos to Komisarek for continuing to throw’em with his jersey over his head.

-Oilers-Habs update. Fourth liner Brad Winchester deflects home his first to put Edmonton up one against Montreal. The fun part is there’s still 5:30 left in the first. We’ll flip to some Canes-Devils too.

-So the last minute of this Oilers-Habs game has more action in it than the entire first period out at East Rutherford. End to end stuff. A few near misses too. The question of the night is this: Who’s grittier? Oilers’ forward Ryan Smyth or Devils’ mighty mite Brian Gionta?

-So not much happened in the first between the Canes and Devils. Just a very ho-hum seesaw period between the teams as they played very solid defensively. There were few chances until the end where Cam Ward made a couple of good stops. I know the league says they’re watching the diving and there have been a few calls made but did anyone else think Erik Rasmussen went down just a little too easy on what was a solid defensive play by Carolina’s Niclas Wallin to draw a penalty? You decide.

-Oilers visiting the Habs tonight. Ah. Anytime you get a Canadian battle, it usually makes for compelling hockey. And already Edmonton’s had some solid chances. Lots of skating and playmaking at The Bell Centre thus far.