Jonas Gustavsson on a Hot Streak

Jonas Gustavsson the rookie goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs has been living up to his nickname "monster" lately with his six game winning streak against Ottawa (2 games), Boston, Edmonton, Montreal, and Atlanta.

In his last 6 games he has put up an impressive 0.925SV% and a 1.92GAA wich has really helped out his overall season stats.

"First of all I think we started playing better as a team," Gustavsson said after Saturday's win. "We back check even harder now, that helps me a lot. I can focus on the shooter, so I think when we start playing better that gives me self-confidence, too. We started scoring some goals, too, in the first period, which also gives some self-confidence."

Brian Elliott Post's 2 Consecutive Shutouts

Brian Elliott has earned his second shutout in two days with Chris Kelly and Daniel Alfredsson scoring to give the Ottawa Senators a 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Elliot turned aside 26 shots with an amazing glove save on James van Riemsdyk with only 3:55 remaining in the third to keep the shutout alive. Elliot was named first star of the game.
Only the night before Elliot faced the Montreal Canadians where he was faced with 29 shots and made all 29 saves and was named the first star of the game.
"He's played unbelievable the last two games and we've been able to score the first goals, too, in the last two games, which definitely helps. The way Elliott played was huge for us. I mean that gave us a lot of confidence" said team captain Daniel Alfredsson.

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Josh Harding Playing Great For Minnesota Wild

Josh Harding from the Minnesota Wild has been impressing everybody with his standout performances lately. Although he hasn't played as many games as he would like and his stats don't jump right out a you with a 0.911 SV% and a 2.78 GAA. The Wild have given him a chance to play a lot more since Nilas Backstrom is out with a groin injury.

He played his first game on March 11, it was his first game since February 4th so he was a little rusty letting in 5 goals on 30 shots. He states that his performance was "brutal" so he decided to play his next few games with a vengeance. Since that game he has played three more games and posted 3 wins against Buffalo, St Louis, and Edmonton while posting a 2.00 GAA and 0.95 SV%.

Ilya Bryzgalov Leads NHL in Shutouts

With 8 shutouts Ilya Bryzgalov now leads the NHL in shutouts this season. His most recent one was on March 13th against the Carolina Hurricanes where he was out shot 29-20 in a 4-0 win. Bryzgalov was also named the first star of the game.

"He was good and made saves," Maurice said. "He had a bunch that he just made a lot easier than they were. He didn't give any back."

Bryzgalov made a great breakaway save on Erik Cole in the first and robbed Rod Brind'Amour with his glove on a two-man Carolina advantage early in the third period.

"Tonight we played very well," Bryzgalov said. "This is kind of Coyotes road-game hockey."

The next closest goalies in the shutout column is Thomas Vokoun and Craig Anderson who are very close behind him with 7 shutouts this season.

Top 10 Last Hope Saves

Kiprusoff Gets 4th Shutout this Season and 1st Star

Last night Miikka Kiprusoff of the Calgary Flames recorded his 4th shutout of the season when they beat the Ottawa Senators 2-0 to get his 30th win this season. He was also named the first star of the game turning aside all 33 shots that came his way.

"Guys are paying the price and that's what you have to do if you want to win games like this," Kiprusoff said. "If you block a shot, there's not going to be a rebound and there's no scoring chance."

"We had some great efforts from guys blocking shots but Kipper deserves a lot of credit for this win," Mayers said "Kipper made some huge saves and kept us in the game when we weren't playing very well."

Kipper now sits in 3rd place for GAA at 2.18 and a 5th place for SV% at 0.924.

Miller Wins Olympic MVP

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Amid the celebrations that erupted as Canada won ice hockey gold on Sunday most people probably did not notice who won the media's vote as the tournament's most valuable player -- American Ryan Miller.

The U.S. goalie was on the wrong end of the overtime 3-2 final loss to Canada, his only defeat of the Games, and finished with a silver medal around his neck.

"We should be proud of what we accomplished, but everyone is a little disappointed," Miller told reporters as he headed to the locker-room at Canada Hockey Place, the pain of the loss etched on his face.

The 29-year-old Miller, who plays for the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, took the role of top goaltender in a U.S. Olympic team that went for youth in a bid to put them on the podium after a disappointing showing in Turin four years ago.

"We have a group that skates very well so you can take chances, and we're backed up by arguably the best goalie in the world," U.S. coach Ron Wilson said.

Miller was beaten in overtime by Canadian sniper Sidney Crosby with a shot the Pittsburgh Penguins forward admitted he did not know had gone in until the crowd erupted.

"I'd been aggressive all tournament, and (thought) maybe I'd try to surprise Sidney. But he got himself set up quicker than I thought. He got himself squared around to shoot quicker than I thought," Miller said.

Miller got some sympathy from Roberto Luongo, who was in goal for Canada.

"I've seen that release (by Crosby) before and it's hard to pick up," Luongo said.

Content Retrieved From: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6200FL20100301?type=sportsNews