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Newsmakers in the NHL: Columbus' Steve Mason Finally Gives Up a Goal

Columbus goalie Steve Mason entered Friday's game in Colorado having registered three consecutive shutouts. He managed to keep the Avalanche off the board for 17 minutes, until Darcy Tucker snapped Mason's streak with his fifth goal of the season at the 17:20 mark of the opening frame. The 20-year old rookie posted 199 consecutive minutes of shutout hockey for Columbus, and Tucker's tally in the first period was the only goal he surrendered on the night, as he turned aside 23-of-24 shots in a 6-1 Blue Jackets win.

Mason has been a great story for the Blue Jackets, as he's pretty much carried them this season when you consider they've scored only nine goals in the eight games he's lost, including being shutout three times. He's allowed more than three goals only two times this season, and has yet to surrender more than four in a single game. Should be interesting to see how long he can continue to ride this hot streak.

As for the rest of the Blue Jackets, following Tucker's goal they pretty much took this game over and erupted for six goals over the final two periods. Rick Nash finished with a four-point night (penalty shot goal, three assists) while Kristian Huselius (two goals), Mike Commodore, Jakub Voracek and R.J. Umberger also scored for Columbus.

The win actually puts Columbus one-point ahead of Colorado for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, while the Blue Jackets are 3-0 to open their current six-game road trip, extending their winning streak to four games overall.

Newsmakers in the NHL: Ducks Win Game, Lose Teemu Selanne

Costly win of sorts for the Ducks on Friday, as they lost Teemu Selanne to a leg injury in the first period when it appeared his own skate cut his left leg. He was helped off the ice and didn't return to the game. If he's out for any extended period of time it would obviously be a tremendous blow to Anaheim's offense, as the 38-year old forward leads the team in goals (14) and is third on the team in points (27).

As for the game itself, Anaheim took it, 3-2, in a shootout, thanks to some stellar goaltending from Jonas Hiller, who stopped 51 shots in regulation and overtime, and all three shots he faced in the shootout. The 51 saves actually matched a franchise record, so, way to go Jonas.

The Ducks special teams provided the offense, as Rob Neidermeyer picked up a shorthanded goal with 20 seconds to play in the first period, while Corey Perry notched a power play goal midway through the second period, giving the Ducks a 2-0 lead.

That lead would hold up until the third, when Kyle Brodziak put Edmonton on the board at the 6:32 mark, while Erik Cole tied the game seven minutes later with a power play goal.

Perry scored the only goal in the shootout, giving Anaheim the win.

Yesterday's Newsmakers in the NHL: Ryan O'Byrne Scores On Own Goal



Montreal Canadiens defenseman Ryan O'Byrne has yet to score a goal this season, and thus far, only has one in his brief NHL career. Unfortunately for Montreal, the 24-year old rearguard scored on his own net with just under five-minutes to play in regulation on Monday night, sending the game to overtime. The own-goal proved to be costly for Montreal, as the Islanders took the game in a shootout, 4-3, picking up the extra point and winning for the fifth time in their past six games.

The O'Byrne gaffe happened on a delayed penalty call, which led to Canadiens goalie Carey Price heading to the bench for the extra-attacker. O'Byrne, unfortunately, sent the puck backwards toward the yawning net -- as seen in the above video -- tying the game at three, much to the chagrin of the Bell Centre crowd.

Seriously, that's just painful to watch. O'Byrne instantly covered his face and looked like he wanted to dig a hole in the ice and crawl out of the arena. What do you even say after that?

Islanders forward Bill Guerin was credited for what will surely be the easiest goal of his career.

Richard Park and Trent Hunter scored the other goals for the Islanders, while Steve Begin, John Gorges and Maxim Lapierre scored for Montreal.

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