Tuesday night was a busy one with 10 NHL games on the docket, but first, I’d like to begin with a side note.

Remembering "Ryper" - The Canucks paid tribute to a fallen brother tonight. It was a very emotional proceeding which brought tears to many, including Rick’s mother Shelly, father Wes Sr., and brother Wes Jr., who were in attendance. They were presented with Rick’s game-worn 40th Anniversary Jersey by Kevin Bieksa, who was a close friend of his. The Canucks will be playing with Rypien’s "37 RYP" decal on their helmets this season in honour of their friend who always had their back. The organization also made a $50,000 donation in Rypien’s name to BC Children’s Hospital Foundation "to develop a website that will help BC youth and young adults, as well as family members and friends, recognize the symptoms and better understand the challenges of mental illness". I think it’s safe to say nobody is ever going to forget the Giant Killer. (The full tribute can be found here)

Without further ado, here are your Studs and Duds!


3) The Scranton Branch - With superstars Crosby, Malkin, and Letang all missing from action, the Wilkes-Barrie/Scranton (Pittsburgh) Penguins still managed to pull off the win against the Minnesota Wild. Some of the team's younger leaders stepped up and led the merry band of misfits to the 4-2 victory, backstopped by backup Brent Johnson. Reigning Jack Adams award winner Dan Bylsma continues to show why he is one of the best coaches in the game today.

2) Read-y Set Go! - Philadelphia prospect (huh?) and TSN's Bob Mckenzie's early pick to win the Calder Trophy continued his early season success as the Flyers ravaged the Senators for seven goals. Matt Read had an incredible night, scoring four points (1G 3A) and going plus-three in just over 16 minutes of play.

1) A Night of Kings - The Los Angeles Kings returned from Berlin and clearly were no worse for wear as they scored five goals against the struggling Blues, capped off with a three point night (2G 1A) from Simon Gagne and a 24 save shutout from Jon Quick. While the Kings were busy destroying the Blues, another King proved once again why he is the best in the game. Henrik Lundqvist was absolutely brilliant against Vancouver, making 40 saves and shutting down the Canucks powerplay (0-8).

3) Neutered Cats - One night after lighting up the Lightning for seven goals while converting four out of eight opportunities on the powerplay, the Panthers were unable to get their mojo going tonight wasting a stellar performance from rookie Jacob Markstrom. Vokoun got revenge against his former team stopping all 20 shots that he saw. He really didn’t have much to do in the first period as the cats only managed two shots on goal, the first coming at the 8:21 mark. It was truly a performance that last night’s other cats (The Predators) would have been proud of.

2) Bounty-less Blue Jackets ft. Steve Mason - The Columbus Blue Jackets still search for their first win as they dropped to 0-5-1 to start the season. To the team's credit, they came out with a strong offensive performance as they amassed 40 shots on goal, but alas, they could not solve Kari Lehtonen. On the other end, Steve Mason continued to stink and managed to allow three goals on 18 shots. At this point I’m wondering if this team can get out of October with a single win.

1) Bears gone berserk - The Boston Bruins came undone tonight and lost all composure against the Carolina Hurricanes. That is fantastic news for poolies however, who were hoping for any sign of life from the Bruins' stars. Things got extremely heated, as Chara and Cam Ward had words, bringing stick-slapping Tuukka Rask across the ice. Ward however took the high road and refused to put his team in jeopardy. The B's captain truly led by example as he and the rest of his squad amassed a total of 68 penalty minutes including four misconduct penalties, at one point saturating the Bruins’ sin bin



Quick Hits

Ryan Kesler - RK17 returned to the Vancouver lineup, logging a TOI of 19:07. He came out strong with three hits, 10 faceoff wins, and three shots on goal, while managing to go even among a sea of minus players.

Ryan Miller - Continues to prove why he is one of the best goalies in hockey. Miller made 40 saves allowing just one goal against for the 3-1 victory against the Habs. Miller`s record improved to 3-1 with a .942 save percentage and 2.01 goals against average.

Erik Karlsson - While the Senators have continued to struggle, Erik Karlsson has quietly put up eight points in six games (1G 7A), while only going minus five overall with five powerplay points and 13 shots on goal.

James Neal - Many doubted his ability to put up points without the superstars to help boost him, but Neal has had himself some success. With Tuesday night`s goal, he now has seven points in eight games (6G 1A)

Jaroslav Halak - Boy, what to do with this guy. Halak continues to struggle to perform even remotely close to what poolies expected of him this season. With this loss against the Kings, his record slips to 1-4, with an abysmal .835 save percentage and 3.47 goals against average, making Steve Mason look like a good option.

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@B0ndon

Goalies: If I'm pickin em you best be sittin em!

I believe calder cup is the ahl championship & calder trophy is for nhl rookie of the year.

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Formerly known as Ziggy

My mother's gonna find me like a moose finds moose juice!

20 TEAMS/ KEEP 10/ FAN PTS
C: Benn, M.Richards, Galchenyuk
LW: Pacioretty, Conacher
RW: Semin, Carter
W: Fehr, Roussel
F: Cullen, Atkinson, Silfverberg
D: Letang, Edler, Hedman, Faulk, Zidlicky, Mcdonagh
G: Rask, Lehtonen
BN: Khudobin, Ellis, Desjardins/ Havlat, Laich
IR: Letang, Faulk

Woops lol, thanks Nifty.

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@B0ndon

Goalies: If I'm pickin em you best be sittin em!

Payne from STL and Arniel might be the first coaches to go I think.

That STL team is too good to be struggling right now since they're fairly healthy minus Perron/McDonald/Colaiaccovo. Their fans don't like him either.

FYI - the Buffalo/Montreal game was 3-1, not 4-1.

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12 Team H2H League - Keep 6 (+5 under 23yrs)
G / A / +/- / PIM / PPP / SHP / SOG / W / GAA / SV% / SO
C - Thornton, Tavares, Laich(L), J.Staal(L), Smith, Adam
LW - D.Sedin, Gagne, Dubinsky(C), Doan(R)
RW - Malkin(C), Perry, Hemsky, Vrbata, Read
D - Keith, Karlsson, Carlson, Girodano, Girardi, White, Larsson
G - Rinne, Varlamov, Sanford, Elliott

Setting up the play.

This Reid fellow should not even be allowed to win the Calder. 25 years old is no rookie.

+1 over 23 no Calder in my books.

You thread is a wonderful tribute to Mr.Rypien in it's self b0ndon. Awesome piece!!!

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Bigbabybuda is the Hawking of fantasy hockey. Greatest hockey mind of our generation!

Good job man, welcome aboard!

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Twitter: @TK12555