FanHouse TimConnolly

It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We begin our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northeast Division.

Brian Burke begins his rebuild of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dany Heatley wants out of Ottawa and just what is Boston going to do with Phil Kessel and a limited amount of salary cap space?

Sharks 1, Stars 0: The only game on the schedule Monday night was a goaltending battle as San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov turned aside all 29 shots he faced to lead the Sharks to a 1-0 win in Dallas. Devin Setoguchi scored the game's only goal at the 7:55 mark of the third period, giving San Jose its fourth straight win.

Marty Turco was strong for Dallas, stopping 24-of-25 shots in what was his 30th consecutive start in goal. He's been outstanding the past three months.

Devils 5, Thrashers 1: The Devils jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and never really looked back on their way to a 5-1 dismantling of Atlanta. At one point, the Thrashers were being outshot by a 22-5 margin in the second period, while they went 0-for-7 with the man advantage. Travis Zajac, John Madden, Zach Parise, David Clarkson and Brian Gionta all scored goals for the Devils, who have now won nine of their past 10 games. Atlanta has lost five of six.

Stars 10, Rangers 2: Sean Avery's old team dismantles what could be his future team, as the Stars erupt for five third period goals on their way to a 10-2 win. Rough night for Rangers goalie Steve Valiquette who was in net for all 10 goals.

Here's one last look at Tuesday night's debacle in Edmonton, when the Sabres beat the Oilers 10-2. I know we ran the official NHL.com highlight clip on this already, but there was a moment that you won't find on that video that you will hear in the clip we've embedded in this post. I'm talking about a knot of Oilers fans at Rexall Place who started to derisively chant, "We want ten," with the Sabres ahead 9-2 as time ran down in the third period. They didn't have long to wait, as Buffalo's Tim Connolly was happy to finish off a two-on-one break to score the tenth goal.

As it turns out, it's not the first time the fans in Edmonton have broken out the chant this season. The first time came back on December 16, when the Blackhawks dumped the Oilers 9-2. In case you didn't already know, Tuesday night's game was the worst home loss in franchise history.

Brendan Shanahan made his season debut for the New Jersey Devils on Monday night, and it didn't take him long to make an impact. At the 1:38 mark of the second period, the 39-year-old forward beat Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne from right on top of the crease, giving the Devils a 1-0 lead on their way to a 3-1 win over the Predators.

Shanahan registered nearly 14-minutes of ice-time, while firing six shots on goal. His tally came on the power play, which is where he should make his biggest impact for a New Jersey team that entered play on Monday ranked 15th in the league with the man advantage.

Scott Clemmensen stopped 31 shots to pick up the win for the Devils, while Brian Rolston recorded a pair of assists.

Fantastic game in San Jose between the top two teams in the Western Conference, as the Sharks and Red Wings entered Saturday's tilt separated by just one point in the standings. In a game that featured 11 goals and 75 shots on goal, San Jose emerged with a 6-5 win, extending its lead to three points for the top spot in the conference.

Patrick Marleau's goal with 6:36 to play in regulation proved to the be the game-winner, while Detroit goalie Chris Osgood surrendered six goals on 42 shots. Ryane Clowe picked up four assists for the Sharks, while Milan Michalek registered a goal and an assist in the win.