With a total of eleven games on tonight and not enough time for me to recap them all tomorrow along with a football game, I'll take care of some of them now. All games will be recapped in this post, pending any technical difficulties, with the final game of the night being added on tomorrow morning. With that said, we start in...
Washington D.C., where the Capitals hosted the Anaheim Ducks. Semyon Varlamov played in net for the hosts, while Jonas Hiller tended the twine for the Ducks. Brooks Laich drew first blood for Washington, scoring his eighth of the season, assisted by John Carlson and Nicklas Backstrom. Anaheim answered in the second period with a power play goal from Joffery Lupul, his second of the year, assisted by Cam Fowler and Lubomir Visnovsky. Going scoreless through the third period, Ryan Getzlaf's eleventh of the year won it in overtime for the Ducks, 2-1. Assists were credited to Corey Perry and Toni Lydman. Jonas Hiller earned the first star with his 31 for 32 save outing, followed by overtime hero Getzlaf, and Brooks Laich, both of those two having a goal.
Staying with the east hosts west theme, we have the New Jersey Devils welcoming the Phoenix Coyotes. Martin Brodeur started for the Devils, while Ilya Bryzgalov was in between the pipes for Phoenix. That-Other-Ilya, Kovalchuk, scored first, giving New Jersey a 1-0 lead with his sixth of the year. Dainius Zubrus picked up the assist. Mark Fayne also scored for New Jersey in the first period, recording his first of the season, with the help coming from Patrik Elias and Travis Zajac. After leaving the second period scoreless, the Devils made it 3-0 with Kovalchuk's second of the night and seventh of the year, with Zajac and Elias both picking up assists on the power play goal. This held on to be the final, with Martin Brodeur getting the first star for his 29 save shutout. Kovalchuk's two goals were the second star, followed by Fayne's goal at the third star slot.
Onward to Pittsburgh, where the Penguins hosted the New York Rangers. Brent Johnson got the start for Pittsburgh, while Henrik Lundqvist was in the paint for the Rangers. Evgeni Malkin struck late in the first period with his eleventh of the season, from Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. After going scoreless in the second period, the Rangers woke up in the third period, with the sixth of the year for Erik Christensen, a power play goal from Marian Gaborik. Fifteen seconds later, Alexander Frolov had his sixth of the year past Brent Johnson, assisted by Brian Boyle and Dan Girardi. Artem Anisimov made it 3-1 with his ninth of the year, helped by Michal Rozsival and Michael Del Zotto. Boyle tacked on his 12th of the season to give us the final of 4-1, with the helpers on his goal coming from Frolov and Marc Staal. Frolov and Boyle earned the first and second stars, respectively, for a goal and an assist each, followed by Henrik Lundqvist, who was 27 for 28 in saves. Sean Avery of the Rangers and Aaron Asham of the Penguins also had a dance in the early third period.
Traveling to Buffalo, where the Sabres hosted the Boston Bruins. Ryan Miller was in net for the Sabres, and Tuukka Rask was given netminding duties for Boston. David Krejci got the Bruins up first with his fifth of the year, assisted by Dennis Seidenberg. Drew Stafford answered for Buffalo with his sixth of the season, a power play goal from Derek Roy and Tyler Myers. Both teams went dry in the second period before Boston retook the lead in the third, with Michael Ryder's ninth of the year, a power play goal assisted by Steve Kampfer. Stafford added his seventh and eighth of the year to complete his hat trick, with Derek Roy picking up assists on both, and Jason Pominville nabbing the second assist on the latter power play tally. The 3-2 score held up for Buffalo, defeating the Bruins. Stafford took the first star with his hat trick, complemented perfectly by Roy's second star sock trick. Tyler Ennis managed to receive the third star for unknown reasons.
Continuing along into Florida, where the Panthers hosted the Carolina Hurricanes in a Southeast division match. Tomas Vokoun started for the Cats, while Cam Ward got the nod for Carolina. Evgeny Dadonov struck early, with his first of the year just twenty-nine seconds into the game. Marty Reasoner and Shawn Matthias picked up the assists. Michael Frolik extended the Florida lead to 2-0, chasing Cam Ward with his seventh of the year, courtesy of Chris Higgins and Stephen Weiss. Justin Peters came on in relief. Bryan McCabe followed not too long after with his third of the year, a power play goal from Dennis Wideman and Mike Santorelli. Erik Cole got Carolina on the board in the second period, with his sixth of the year, assisted by Jeff Skinner and Eric Staal. Jamie McBain made it closer in the third period, with his first of the season thanks to Joni Pitkanen and Sergei Samsonov. The Hurricanes took the lead with two goals from Tuomo Ruutu, his sixth and seventh of the season. The first was a power play goal assisted by Skinner and Samsonov, and the second was unassisted and at even strength. Carolina would hold on for the 4-3 victory. Ruutu was the first star with two goals, followed by Skinner, who had two assists. Relief goaltender Justin Peters was the third star, going 21 for 22 in saves.
Into Quebec, where the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Philadelphia Flyers. Carey Price guarded the Habs net, while Sergei Bobrovsky returned to the crease for Philadelphia. Jeff Carter allowed the Flyers to strike first, registering his 13th of the year, assisted by Matt Carle. James van Riemsdyk extended the lead to 2-0 in the second period, with his sixth of the year coming from Carter and Andrej Meszaros. P.K. Subban got Montreal on the board late in the second period, with his second of the year coming off of Scott Gomez and Michael Cammalleri on the power play. Nikolay Zherdev gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead with his eleventh of the season, assisted by Sean O'Donnell. Restarting the Montreal rally was Tomas Plekanec, potting his tenth of the year with help from Benoit Pouliot and Cammalleri. Brian Gionta tied it at 3 with his tenth of the year, from Gomez and Subban. Van Riemsdyk retook the lead for Philadelphia, scoring his second of the night and seventh of the year, a power play goal courtesy of Zherdev and Carter. Claude Giroux ended the scoring with his 16th of the season, from Mike Richards, and the Flyers would cruise to a 5-3 victory over the Canadiens. Sergei Bobrovsky was the first star, turning away 38 of 41 shots fired at him, while Gionta followed at second star with a goal and Subban at the third star with a goal and an assist. Gionta and Subban were both part of the losing Montreal team, despite getting those stars.
Heading back stateside, where the Detroit Red Wings hosted bitter Central division rivals in the St. Louis Blues. Jimmy Howard got the start for the Red Wings, while Jaroslav Halak was sent out to guard the visiting cage. Nicklas Lidstrom broke the silence in the second period, giving Detroit a 1-0 lead with his fifth of the year. Assists go to Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. Carlo Colaiacovo answered with his fourth of the year, with Dave Scatchard and Eric Brewer picking up the assists. Niklas Kronwall gave the Red Wings the lead back with his seventh of the season, from Danny Cleary and Darren Helm. Cleary later added his own goal in the late second period, his 14th of the year coming on the power play from Lidstrom and Zetterberg. Lidstrom made it 4-1 with his second of the night and sixth of the year, assisted by Zetterberg and Brian Rafalski on the power play. Brad Winchester answered to make it 4-2 with his own power play goal, his third mark of the season assisted by Alex Steen and Patrik Berglund. Lidstrom completed the hat trick into an empty net, good for his seventh of the year, from Cleary and Zetterberg. Detroit went on to beat St. Louis 5-2. Lidstrom had the first star with his hat trick and bonus assist, followed by Cleary, who had a goal and two assists, and Zetterberg, who had a four-pack of helpers.
Going back into Florida, where the Tampa Bay Lightning hosted their Southeast division rivals from Atlanta, the Thrashers. Mike Smith got the nod for the Lightning, while Ondrej Pavelec was in between the pipes for the Thrashers. Atlanta struck first with Rich Peverley's eighth of the year, a shorthanded goal helped along by Ron Hainsey. Sean Bergenheim answered for Tampa Bay in the second period, his sixth of the year assisted by Randy Jones and Pavel Kubina. The third period and overtime preserved the 1-1 tie, and it was the Lightning's Victor Hedman who broke it with the only goal in the shootout. Bergenheim did receive the first star for his goal, while Dustin Byfuglien was obviously amazing enough to earn the second star (what's in a name, anyway?), and Mike Smith's 27 for 28 save outing was nice enough to be the third star.
Getting into Tennessee, where the Nashville Predators hosted the still-traveling San Jose Sharks. Anders Lindback made another appearance for Nashville, while Antti Niemi was given goaltending duties for San Jose, who scored first, with a goal by Niclas Wallin, his third of the year coming via Benn Ferriero and Justin Braun. The Predators answered in the second period with Jordin Tootoo's fourth of the year, an unassisted goal by the fluffy-skirted man. Dany Heatley gave the Sharks the lead back with his 14th of the season, assisted by Joe Thornton on the power play. With time running down in the third period, under five minutes left, Sergei Kostitsyn tied it with his fifth of the year, courtesy of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. Nashville took the lead less than a minute later with a Colin Wilson goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Steve Sullivan and Marcel Goc. The Predators would hold on for the 3-2 victory over San Jose. Wilson was the first star, with a game winning goal, followed by Anders Lindback, who was 25 for 27 in saves, and lastly, Kostitsyn, whose goal gave him the third star.
Heading into Chicago, to the tune of Chelsea Dagger at the United Center, the site of the Blackhawks hosting their last opponent, the Colorado Avalanche. The two teams met at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Monday, and the rematch came Wednesday. Craig Anderson started for the visiting Avalanche, while Corey Crawford got the honors for the Blackhawks. Greg Mauldin opened the scoring for Colorado, netting his fifth of the year thanks to Daniel Winnik and the ageless Adam Foote. Chicago answered early in the second period with a Bryan Bickell goal, his eighth on the campaign, from Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. Colorado took a 3-1 lead with two power play goals fairly close together from Tomas Fleischmann, his seventh and eighth goals of the year. Picking up assists on the first one were Paul Stastny and Matt Duchene, who also assisted on the second one alongside Kevin Shattenkirk. Jonathan Toews tried to get Chicago back into it with his 14th of the year, assisted by Jassen Cullimore and Tomas Kopecky, but Fleischmann completed the hat trick with his ninth of the year, getting help from David Jones and Ryan O'Byrne. Troy Brouwer sent one last message to the Avalanche with his ninth of the year to make it 4-3, with assists coming from Bickell and Brian Campbell. Fleischmann was the first star with his hat trick, followed by Craig Anderson, who was 35 for 38 in saves. Bryan Bickell's goal and assist in the losing effort was third star worthy.
Lastly, we join the Vancouver Canucks hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets in progress. Roberto Luongo is in net for the Canucks, while Mathieu Garon earned another start for the Blue Jackets. In the first period, Ryan Kesler scored late, his 13th of the season, assisted by Alexander Edler, to give Vancouver a 1-0 lead. Derick Brassard answered with his seventh of the season in the second period, assisted by Jakub Voracek and Marc Methot. Kesler added his second of the night and 14th of the year shortly after, from Mikael Samuelsson. Tom Sestito tied it in the third period with a power play goal for Columbus, from Mike Commodore and Fedor Tyutin. It was his first score of the year. The 2-2 tie held up into overtime until Kesler completed his hat trick with his 15th of the season, assisted by the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, on the power play, and the Canucks won 3-2 over the Blue Jackets. Kesler earned the first star for his trick, followed by Tyutin, who had one assist for the losing Columbus team, and Alexander Edler had the third star with his assist.
There are eight games being played Thursday and recapped Friday. Also, keep posted for the Thursday Night Football post tonight.
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