FanHouse AlesHemsky

For the second game in a row Jamie Langenbrunner scored the game-winner in overtime, leading the Devils to a 4-3 come-from-behind win against Pittsburgh. Langenbrunner has now scored two goals in three consecutive games, while registering seven points.

It's the Devils' eighth win in a row, as they overcame a 3-1 deficit with eight minutes to play in regulation. Brendan Shanahan started the rally for the Devils with a power play goal, while Langenbrunner was credited with the game-tying goal with 30 seconds remaining when his centering pass deflected in off of Ryan Whitney's skate.

The Penguins and Hurricanes entered Tuesday's game in Pittsburgh separated by one point in the Eastern Conference standings, and when you consider the two teams occupied the No's. 9 and 10 seeds respectively, with an opportunity to jump into the No. 8 seed closing out the first half the season, well, it was a pretty big game. Cam Ward rose to the occasion for the Hurricanes, stopping 32-of-33 shots, leading them to a 2-1 win.

Ward was fantastic most of the night, but saved his best play for the final five minutes of regulation when the Penguins were on a four-minute power play. Over the past two nights, the 24-year-old netminder has stopped 66-of-67 shots.

There are certainly at least two really good teams in the NHL's Western Conference. Defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit and fast-starting San Jose appear in the clear to duke it out for the right to play for the Stanley Cup later this year.

Of course, we know that anything can happen in a best-of-seven series. In addition, we still have half a season left to play. What we don't know is which team in this conference is set up to challenge either the Red Wings or Sharks. They've beaten - at least once - pretty much everyone who has stood in their way, including each other.

While the top of the conference appears to virtually locked in place at this point, there are still serious battles to be fought, especially for the last four positions in the West. Currently, eight teams are separated by just six points. St. Louis, the last-place team in the West, is just nine points out of eighth.

Oh my, they're not going to like this in Buffalo. After the Penguins and Sabres skated to a 3-3 tie in regulation, Sidney Crosby deflected an Evgeni Malkin slap shot behind Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller in overtime, giving the Penguins a 4-3 win. As you can see from the above video, it was oh-so-close to being a high-stick.

They key, however, is that the call on the ice was that it was indeed a goal, meaning they would need conclusive evidence to overturn it. Is that conclusive? It's pretty darn close. The fact it's Crosby on the positive end of the call isn't going to sit well with anyone outside of Pittsburgh, I'm guessing, especially after he got away with punching some guy in the goods a week ago. So, cue the conspiracy theories! Anyway, what's done is done, Penguins win, and the Sabres blew three different leads on the night, including a 2-0 advantage in the second period, while going 1-for-6 on the power play.

Pittsburgh's Alex Goligoski picked up three points (two goals, assist) in the win, while Malkin added three helpers in his quest for 100. Malkin, by the way, now has 43 assists on the season -- an amazing number when you consider there were only three players in the NHL entering play on Monday with 43 points (Malkin, Crosby and Alex Ovechkin).

Thanks to a series of injuries to goalies Jose Theodore and Brent Johnson, the Washington Capitals have had some rather unfamiliar faces suiting up the past two nights. On Friday, Ted Starkey told you the story of Brett Leonhardt, the Capitals web producer who had the opportunity to sit on the bench and serve as the backup goalie until Simeon Varlamov could make it to the arena, fresh off his callup from the minors.

On Saturday, it was Varlamov's moment to shine, as the 20-year old rookie turned aside 32 shots in his first NHL start, helping lead the Capitals to a 2-1 win in Montreal. The Canadiens peppered the former first-round pick with 27 shots over the final two periods, but he was up to the challenge, keeping the game tied at one until Michael Nylander scored his third goal of the season at the 17:28 mark of the third period, giving Washington the lead.

Nicklas Backstrom also scored for the Capitals, while Patrice Brisebois tallied the lone goal for Montreal. Jaroslav Halak picked up the start filling in for Carey Price, stopping 24 shots.

Welcome to the NHL FanHouse 2008-09 season preview. While other sites are previewing "30 teams in 30 days," we decided to take advantage of the extra time off before the start of the season to bring you all 30 previews over the next three weeks. We're counting down in reverse order of finish from last season in each conference every weekday from now until October 3. Look for an Eastern Conference preview every morning and a Western Conference preview every afternoon. Click here to read them all.

Who's In: Erik Cole, F (Trade-CAR); Lubomir Visnovsky, D (Trade-LA); Ryan Potulny, F (Trade-PHI), Gilbert Brule, F (Trade-CBJ)

Who's Out: Jarret Stoll, F (Trade-LA); Marty Reasoner, F (FA-ATL); Joni Pitkanen, D (Trade-CAR); Matt Greene, D (Trade-LA); Curtis Glencross, F (FA-CGY); Raffi Torres, F (Trade-CBJ)

What's Changed: Edmonton finished last year on a 18-10-1 run, so the idea in the offseason was to improve this team. The Oilers made their run on the backs of an assortment of young players, and hopes are high in the Land of Oil for this team. Edmonton brought in Cole from Carolina, giving their top line the punch and experience it needed. Cole will likely work with "veteran" Shawn Horcoff (just turned 30) and the greatly-talented Ales Hemsky on the top line.

The other significant move the Oilers made involved replacing offensive-minded defenseman Pitkanen, who was dealt for Cole. Edmonton packaged Stoll and Greene in a deal for Visnovsky, who was minus-18 last year but on a painfully bad Los Angeles team. He'll make sure that the defensive corps doesn't miss Pitkanen too much.

Outside of those two moves, not much has changed in Edmonton, except that the kids are a year older. Andrew Cogliano (45 points in 2007), Hemsky (71), Sam Gagner (49), Robert Nilsson (41), Kyle Brodziak (31), Tom Gilbert (33), and Dustin Penner (47) all were a big part of the team's late-season resurgence, and Penner - at age 26 - is the oldest of this group. Saying that their best days are ahead of them is an understatement.

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

Prior to last night's action, the Edmonton Oilers were suddenly looking like they might just be able to sneak in and grab the 8th and final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. Despite a putrid goal differential of -15, the Oilers were just five points out of a playoff spot and had an essentially .500 record.

After four straight wins, the Oilers went to 8-2 in their past 10 games, and had that dangerous 'nothing to lose' mentality that helped their players relax and just play their guts out.

Of course, being five points out in this point in the season is a dangerous proposition, and one big loss, such as the 4-1 defeat the Oilers were handed by the Vancouver Canucks last night, can pretty much end your playoff aspirations faster than you can say 'Kevin Lowe Sucks!'

While the Edmonton Oilers have a butt-ugly looking roster, and are about defensively inept as Todd Bertuzzi on one of his lazy days, they are still within striking distance of a playoff spot. With 25 points in 27 games, the Oilers are just three points behind 8th place Nashville, San Jose, Columbus, and Anaheim, as the Western Conference has a huge logjam for that final, precious playoff spot. As much as I deride the Northern Albertan club, you can generally count on the Oilers to go down fighting. I'm quite shocked that they aren't lurking deep in the Western Conference basement.

The fact that the Oilers have even a sniff of the playoffs is thanks to two major factors.

1. The Oilers rock the shootout. The Oilers aren't simply loading up on cheapie OT-loss points, since the Edmonton boys are a league best 6-1 in the post-OT skills competition.

Ales Hemsky leads the league with four shootout goals (in seven attempts), while young Sam Gagner is three-for-six, himself. The Oilers are scoring at a 50% clip, well above the league average of 34.29%.

2. The goaltending of Mathieu Garon. Old man Dwayne Roloson, and his wonky knee, has struggled to maintain his #1 status this season. In comes Garon to save the day for the Oilers, and put up the kind of numbers that were expected of him many years ago, when Garon was a top prospect.

Garon: 12GP 6-4-0 2.37GAA 91.4SV%
Roloson: 18GP 6-10-1 2.97GAA 90.3SV%

We must also note that Garon has let in just one goal in 10 shootout attempts against, helping pump up that impressive shootout record.

Shootout mastery is a skill that can't be counted on, but perhaps Garon's fine goaltending can be. If the Oilers can hold the fort until some of their injured stars come back (Sheldon Souray, big time), they might still be in the thick of things come February and March. I don't expect the Oilers to be that good, but we know they are always capable of surprising us pundits.