Yesterday's Newsmakers in the NHL: Steven Stamkos vs. Nikolai Zherdev

What an incredible night of hockey. Let's get right to it.

The last time the Lightning and Rangers met, way back on November 6, Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith went crazy on Rangers forward Aaron Voros, giving him a few subtle hacks to the leg, shots to the head, and various other random acts of violence. As a result, the two had a "fight" that led to Voros trying to punch Smith through his mask, and Rangers coach Tom Renney calling for the Tampa goalie to face some sort of suspension.

This time around, there was another fight involving two unlikely participants, as Rangers forward Nikolai Zherdev squared off against No. 1 overall pick, Steve Stamkos. And it was actually a pretty good showing.





You have to give the decision to Stamkos. Each player landed a few, but I think that, ultimately, you have to give the 18-year old Stamkos credit for the take down.

As for the game itself, Markus Naslund picked up two goals in regulation -- and one in the shootout -- for the Rangers, while Ryan Malone and Mark Recchi scored for the Lightning. Recchi's goal came with less than a minute to play in regulation, tying the game at two.

Zherdev ended up getting the last laugh on the night, potting the game-winner in the shootout. Somewhere in the arena district of Columbus, Ohio, there's a bar with a group of loyal Blue Jackets fans, looking at one another, jaws agape, wondering where this fire, passion and all-out awesomeness was when he played for them.

After giving some attention to the fact Dany Sabourin, entering play on Wednesday, was leading the league in Goals Against Average, he went out against the Islanders and laid a massive egg, giving up three goals on 14 shots, resulting in an early trip to the showers. Upon his exit, the Islanders had a commanding 3-0 lead, and looked like they had Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier skating up and down the ice.

Brooks Orpik, an unlikely source, finally put the Penguins on the board late in the second period, and from that point on Evgeni Malkin put the Penguins on his back and helped carry them to a 5-3 win. It's the seventh game the Penguins have won this season when trailing after two periods, and they did so by scoring four goals in the final 14 minutes of regulation.

Malkin picked up his third career hat trick -- a natural hat trick -- and an assist, pushing his league-leading point total to 35. Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby added a goal and two assists, as John Curry stopped all 11 shots he faced in relief to pick up his first career win.

I'm not sure how long the Penguins can keep coming from behind like this, but I suppose they're never out of any game with a duo like Malkin and Crosby.

Had it not been for the performance of Malkin, Alex Ovechkin would have probably turned in the game of the night, picking up a hat trick of his own -- on his first three shots of the game -- helping lead the Capitals to a 5-3 win over Atlanta.

Washington, playing with a roster that has been crushed by injuries, resulting in the call-up of half of its minor league team, outshot the Thrashers by a staggering 33-18 margin.

Ovechkin now has 12 goals on the season, including ten in the past nine games.

Finally, the Canadiens picked up a 3-1 win in Detroit on Wednesday, and the highlight of the night was probably this goal scored by Red Wings forward Johan Franzen. And, yes, the man turning the puck over to him at the blue line -- and getting turned eight ways from Tuesday -- is none other than Ryan O'Byrne, the man who scored on his own goal just two nights ago. Talk about a rough week.

Franzen, meanwhile, has ten goals in 16 games this season, and is sure to make himself quite a bit of money this offseason as an unrestricted free agent.

And one final random note, yesterday was the National Hockey League's birthday, as the league was founded on November 26, 1917. And I would have never known that had it not been pointed out on the Penguins television broadcast. So, thanks Fox Sports Pittsburgh.