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Fun times for the Blues against the Sabres, Johansson a goal-scoring threat for the Capitals, the Habs-Stars trade, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Jori Lehtera – The first-year Blues centre recorded a natural hat trick in a 6-1 win against Buffalo. Linemates Jaden Schwartz (3 A) and Vladimir Tarasenko (2 A) got in on the act as the trio, led by Schwartz (20 shot attempts for, 7 against, 74.1%) controlled better than two-thirds of the even-strength shot attempts when they were on the ice. Lehtera, a third-round pick in 2008, has been a great addition to the St. Louis lineup, putting up 14 points in 16 games, falling behind only his emerging star wingers Schwartz (15 points in 15 games) and Tarasenko (19 points in 15 games). Shutouts – Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist, who has been off to a so-so start this season, turned aside all 33 shots sent his way by Pittsburgh and Canadiens G Carey Price stopped all 29 shots against Winnipeg. Marcus Johansson – The Capitals left winger scored two goals and had eight shots on goal, in a 4-2 win against Columbus. The pair of goals leaves Johansson with eight goals in 15 games this season, matching his 80-game total from last season, and he has seven even-strength goals this year, which is more than he’s scored in the previous two seasons (five even-strength goals in 114 games). ZEROES Viktor Fasth – The Oilers goaltender isn’t exactly pushing Ben Scrivens for the starting job. He gave up three goals on 17 shots, getting pulled after the first period at Nashville, and through six games has an .885 save percentage. Michal Neuvirth - It’s not an easy life goaltending for Buffalo, and for 90% of the game against the Blues, Neuvirth held his own, but after allowing three power play goals in a two-minute span in the third period, the night ended with six goals against on 29 shots. Even after that, Neuvirth still has a respectable .915 save percentage in eight games this year. Shotless – Wild RW Charlie Coyle recorded no shot attempts in 16:52 of ice time at New Jersey, while Coyotes RW Martin Erat failed to generate a shot attempt in 18:38 vs. Dallas. A single shot attempt shouldn’t be too much for forwards playing big minutes on a scoring line, especially in games that their teams ultimately lost. HABS-STARS TRADE There was a minor deal between Montreal and Dallas Tuesday, but there are some ramifications for others on those rosters. A quick look at the deal: Sergei Gonchar – A 40-year-old defenceman who was injured at the start of the year, Gonchar has played very little (13:02) in three games since returning to action. He was, at one time, an elite power play defenceman, but his role has decreased significantly since arriving in Dallas last season. He’s a third-pair defenceman who can help the second power play unit, which doesn’t seem like much contribution for a player who comes with a $4.6-million cap hit. Travis Moen – A fourth-line winger who has no points while playing a career-low 10:30 per game in 10 games for Montreal this season. There’s little reason to expect him to be anything more than a fourth or fifth-line winger for Dallas. The trade-off for Dallas is that they gain more flexibility this year, by taking on Moen’s contract, which comes with a $1.85-million cap hit, but runs through next season. John Klingberg – Called up to the Stars from the AHL, where he scored 12 points (4 G, 8 A) in 10 games, the 2010 fifth-round pick made his NHL debut at Arizona, playing 18:32 with team-best possession stats (21 shot attempts for, 13 against, 61.8%) alongside partner Alex Goligoski. Nathan Beaulieu – This is where the deal gets dicey for Montreal. They’ve already sent Jarred Tinordi to the AHL to make room for Gonchar, but if Gonchar’s going to get into the Montreal lineup, it’s likely at the expense of 21-year-old Beaulieu who has played sheltered minutes on the Habs’ third pair, but has been stellar in that role. POSSESSION STATS - MONTREAL DEFENCE Player Corsi% CorsiRel% Nathan Beaulieu 54.4% +4.9% P.K. Subban 52.3% +3.6% Andrei Markov 51.5% +2.1% Jarred Tinordi 50.5% -2.4% Mike Weaver 47.9% -2.1% Tom Gilbert 47.6% -3.9% Alexei Emelin 47.2% -2.5% Maybe Gonchar will get into the lineup in place of Weaver, but if it’s Beaulieu that gets bumped, there’s a decent chance that the Canadiens are going to suffer during 5-on-5 play. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Mikael Granlund – The Wild centre, who has no points in four games and only five points in 14 games this season, despite excellent possession (56.2%) stats, played a season-low 12:53 at New Jersey. Ales Hemsky – Off to a miserable start in Dallas, with no goals and one assist in 15 games, Hemsky played less at even strength (8:40) than any other Stars at Arizona. Brandon Prust – Played 19:02 to lead all Canadiens forwards against Winnipeg, and didn’t register a shot attempt. Jannik Hansen – With Radim Vrbata out with a leg injury, Hansen got a chance to play with the Sedins against Ottawa, and had a strong night possession-wise (19 shot attempts for, 8 against, 70.4%). Leon Draisaitl – The Oilers rookie was held to a career-low 7:25 ice time at Nashville. He has one point in the past eight games, and four points in 16 games this season, but does have favourable possession (53.8%) stats. Beau Bennett – After suffering a knee injury in the preseason, the 22-year-old Penguins winger was eased into the NHL lineup after racking up five assists in a couple of AHL games. Bennett played 9:35 against the Rangers, mostly on the fourth line with Marcel Goc and Craig Adams. John Moore – Returned from suspension to play 21:49 for the Rangers against Pittsburgh. Josh Gorges – Played 10:10 at St. Louis and left with a lower-body injury. Johnny Oduya – Left Tuesday’s game against Tampa Bay with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot. Tyler Johnson – Left Tuesday’s game against Chicago with an upper-body injury after a crosscheck in the ribs from Blackhawks D Brent Seabrook. Sharks resting – Trailing 4-0 early in the third period at Florida, the San Jose Sharks limited the ice time of C Joe Thornton, RW Joe Pavelski and LW Tomas Hertl, keeping all three under 14 minutes. Jesper Fast – Called up to the Rangers, to play on the fourth line with Tanner Glass and Dominic Moore, after scoring nine points (1 G,8 A) in 11 games with Hartford of the AHL. Anthony Duclair was a healthy scratch as a result. Drayson Bowman – Called up to the Canadiens, the left winger played 6:39 against Winnipeg, but was buried in his own end (1 shot attempt for, 9 against, 10.0%) Jonathon Blum – Inserted into the Minnesota lineup after five points (1 G, 4 A) in seven AHL games, the 2007 first-rounder played 8:35 in his first NHL game of the season. SHORT SHIFTS Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin scored a pair of goals, on a dozen shot attempts (8 SOG) against Columbus, giving him 10 points (3 G, 7 A) in the past six games… Islanders RW Ryan Strome (who also had 70% possession) had a goal and an assist in a 6-0 win over Colorado…Blue Jackets C Boone Jenner had a pair of assists and strong possession (26 shot attempts for, 8 against, 76.5%) at Washington, giving him four points in three games since joining the Columbus lineup. Capitals C Andre Burakovsky picked up a couple assists in a 4-2 win over Columbus. Burakovsky now has 12 points in 15 games, tied for second among rookies…Panthers rookie D Aaron Ekblad had a couple of assists in a 4-1 win over San Jose, giving him six points (1 G, 5 A) in the past five games…Predators rookie LW Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist, running his point streak (6 G, 4 A) to six games. Predators C Mike Ribeiro notched a goal and an assist, giving him 13 points (4 G, 9 A) in the past 13 games…Predators RW James Neal had an assist and 15 shot attempts (10 SOG) and dominated the shot share (26 for, 5 against, 83.9%) against Edmonton…Blues RW Joakim Lindstrom scored a pair of goals, his first points since the second game of the season…Blues LW Alex Steen recorded three assists and had the first fight of his career, against Buffalo’s Tyler Ennis…Score effects reign in a 5-0 loss, but Penguins LW Blake Comeau had a strong possession night (18 shot attempts for, 3 against, 85.7%). Jets RW Dustin Byfuglien is on a 10-game goalless drought, but had 11 shot attempts (7 SOG) at Montreal…Panthers RW Shawn Thornton had the best possession stats (11 for, 5 against, 68.8%) against San Jose…Stars C Tyler Seguin scored a pair of goals, giving him 12 goals in 15 games…Arizona’s fourth line – Kyle Chipchura, B.J. Crombeen and Joe Vitale – had better than 70% of the shot share, led by Chipchura (17 for, 5 against, 77.3%) when they were on the ice. FIRSTS John Klingberg – Made his NHL debut, had Dallas’ best possession stats (21 for, 13 against, 61.8%) at Arizona. 12 points in 10 AHL games. Seth Helgeson – The Devils defenceman, a fourth-round pick in 2009, played all of 6:14 in his first NHL game and recorded his first point, an assist, on Tuomo Ruutu’s goal. He did have a rough time (3 shot attempts for, 10 against, 23.1%) possession-wise. FANTASY FOCUS Two games on the NHL schedule tonight, two players to keep an eye on: Leo Komarov – The Leafs’ agitator is something of a surprise with four points in the past five games, and 10 points in 16 games this season, but he’s not completely lost offensively, putting up 14 goals and 44 points in 65 KHL games over the previous couple seasons. Devante Smith-Pelly – With no Corey Perry, the Ducks have Patrick Maroon and Smith-Pelly skating on the wings with Ryan Getzlaf. It’s a good opportunity for Smith-Pelly, who has played nearly 39 minutes, generating nine shots on goal, in the past couple games. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca Derrick White Jersey .Y. - Referee Ed Hochuli referred to replay official Tom Sifferman by his nickname Jungle Boy, which was heard on the in-stadium microphone during the Arizona Cardinals-Carolina Panthers NFC wild-card game Saturday. Patty Mills Jersey .J. - New York Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara left Monday nights game against the Indianapolis Colts with a torn biceps. http://www.cheapspursjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-dejounte-murray-jersey . Johansen scored twice and Derek MacKenzie, Brandon Dubinsky and Cam Atkinson also had goals to lead the Blue Jackets to a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night, ending a three-game losing skid. Cheap San Antonio Spurs Jerseys . But this time, the Gunners weathered the storm. Arsene Wengers team was on the ropes in the early stages of a lively FA Cup tie, until Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored a goal against the run of the play. Chimezie Metu Jersey .ca NHL Power Rankings, finally overtaking the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, who rank second and third this week. HOUSTON -- Tampa Bays David Price couldnt get his legs to stop shaking in the first inning against the Houston Astros in his return from the disabled list on Tuesday night. The AL CY Young Award winner eventually calmed down and pitched three-hit ball for seven innings in an 8-0 win over the Astros. Afterward, Price, who won 20 games last season, made a bold statement. "Thats probably the best Ive felt on a baseball field maybe in my entire life, honestly," he said. "I felt like thats the most control Ive had of a baseball game in a very long time. I think that was better than I threw the ball really at any point last year." Desmond Jennings homered and tied a career high with four RBIs to help the Rays shut out Houston for the second straight game and win their fourth in a row. Price (2-4) had missed the last 44 games with a left triceps strain in his first-ever stint on the DL. But he showed no signs of rust, allowing a season-low for hits and striking out a 2013-best 10. Eight of his strikeouts were called, which ties his career high. "He did it easily," manager Joe Maddon said. "He wasnt out there labouring. The fastball was there with good life at the end. He finished off every pitch well which means his arm felt great. Just pretty much a complete performance." Maddon had said hed be happy to get six innings out of his ace before the game, but Price was so efficient he got through seven with just 70 pitches. His low pitch count left Maddon in a quandary. "I didnt know what to do, really," he said. "I mean 70 pitches after seven innings. The up and downs matter, but youre trying to stretch the guy out pitch-count wise. Youre really caught in between right there. We felt that after the seven innings that would be enough just physically on him." Three relievers combined to finish the four-hitter, a night after the Rays two-hit the Astros. Tampa Bay hasnt allowed a run for 23 straight innings -- since Detroits Miguel Cabrera launched a homer into the Rays Touch Tank in the fourth inning on Sunday. Jennings, who finished with three hits, had a two-run single in the fourth to make it 3-0 and his two-run homer in the sixth pushed the lead to five runs. Price credited Jennings for helping him settle down after the first inning. Jennings was only joking when he asked him if he was nervous, and was shocked when he said he was shaking. "But you couldnt tell," Jennings said. "It didnt look like it. He lives for it. Hes a competitor and he loves to be out there." Houston starter Erik Bedard (3-4) yielded six hits and four runs with a season-high six walks in 5 1-3 innings. Price had a tough time in his nine starts before the injury, winning just once in that span. On Tuesday he looked crisp from the start, pitching a 1-2-3 inning before J.D. Martinez singled to start the second. But he still faced the minimum through two after Brandon Barnes grounded into a double play. He strucck out the first two in the third before a single by Jimmy Paredes, who was soon caught stealing to end the inning.dddddddddddd. The 27-year-old Price really got rolling after that, retiring 12 of the last 13 batters he faced with five strikeouts. Houstons only hit in that stretch came on a single by Carlos Corporan with one out in the fifth. The Astros have been in an offensive funk lately, and havent scored in 21 consecutive innings. But that run was unearned, leaving them without an earned run in 29 innings. Theyve managed just four earned runs over the last five games. But Houston manager Bo Porter thought Tuesdays struggles were less about his team and more about Price. "I think its called, Mr. Price," Porter said when asked what was wrong with his offence. "Thats why hes a Cy Young winner. And he pitched like it tonight." Tampa Bays Evan Longoria had two singles in his return to the lineup after missing three straight games with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The All-Star third baseman was Tampa Bays designated hitter against Houston as he continued to struggle with the condition. He was replaced by a pinch-runner after his single in the ninth. Houston had its best chance to score in the eighth with runners at first and second with no outs. But Joel Peralta replaced Jamey Wright, and he sat down the next three Astros to preserve the shutout. Yunel Escobar hit a two-run double in the ninth and James Loneys double sent him home to make it 8-0. Jennings led off with a single before Sean Rodriguez drew a walk. Longoria walked with one out and Tampa Bay took a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly by Wil Myers. Bedard limited the damage by striking out Escobar. Loney extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a one-out single in the fourth inning. Jose Molina walked before Loney advanced to third on a groundout. The single by Jennings, which sailed just out of reach of a diving Jose Altuve and into shallow right field, sent two home to extend the lead to 3-0. Molina doubled to start the sixth and Bedard was replaced by Josh Fields with one out. He was greeted by the towering homer by Jennings, which bounced high on the wall in left field, to leave Tampa Bay up 5-0. NOTES: Tuesday was the second time this season and the seventh time in franchise history that the Rays have thrown back-to-back shutouts. ... Houston 1B/DH Carlos Pena returned to the team after missing two games following the drowning death of his nephew in the Dominican Republic, but he did not play. ... The series continues on Wednesday when Houstons Bud Norris opposes Roberto Hernandez. ... Houston optioned RHP Hector Ambriz to Triple-A Oklahoma City and recalled LHP Brett Oberholtzer from there on Tuesday. ... The Rays optioned INF Ryan Roberts to Triple-A Durham on Tuesday to make room for Price on the roster. ... RHP Mark Appel, the No. 1 overall selection by Houston in the 2013 draft, will make his professional debut on Friday with Class-A Tri-City. 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