NHL Thursday recap

There were a total of eight games played this Thursday. We start in...

D.C., where the Washington Capitals hosted division rivals, the Florida Panthers. Semyon Varlamov started for the Capitals, while Tomas Vokoun got the nod for the Panthers. After near two whole scoreless periods, Michael Frolike scored his sixth of the year in the final second of the second period, assisted by Steven Reinprecht and Jason Garrison. Steve Bernier made it 2-0 Florida with his fourth of the season, assisted by Stephen Weiss and Dmitry Kulikov. Mike Santorelli put it away with his eighth of the year, a power play goal assisted by Weiss and Dennis Wideman. The Panthers held on for a 3-0 win. Tomas Vokoun earned the first star for his 36 save shotout, followed by Frolik, who had one goal, and Mike Weaver, whose contributions are a mystery. There was also a first period fight between Washington's Matt Hendricks and Kenndal McArdle.

Moving along to Toronto, where the Maple Leafs hosted the Philadelphia Flyers. Jean-Sebastien Giguere started for Toronto, returning from a groin injury, while Brian Boucher got the starting honors for the Flyers. Ville Leino opened the scoring for Philadelphia, with his seventh of the season, a power play goal from Kimmo Timmonen and Mike Richards. Chris Pronger made it 2-0 with his fourth of the year, assisted by Danny Briere and Matt Carle. Briere extendedthe lead farther with his 15th of the year in the second period, which got help from Andrej Meszaros and Sean O'Donnell. Mikhail Grabovski got the Maple Leafs on the board with his eighth of the year, assisted by Clarke MacArthur and Dion Phaneuf, who returned from injury. Briere made it 4-1 with his second of the night and 16th of the season, and Meszaros and Jody Shelley picked up the helpers. The third period went scoreless, and the Flyers won 4-1. Briere's two goals and an assist were good for the first star, followed by Meszaros' two assists. Brian Boucher picked up the third star for 31 saves on 32 shots.

Going back stateside, where the Boston Bruins hosted the lowly New York Islanders. Rick DiPietro was in between the pipes for the Islanders, while Tuukka Rask got the start for the Bruins. Milan Lucic and the Bruins struck first blood, with Lucic's 14th of the year, a power play goal from Marc Savard. Frans Nielsen evened it in the second period with his fourth of the year, a penalty shot. Brad Marchand restored the lead for Boston with his fourth of the year, shorthanded and unassisted. Michael Ryder made it 3-1 with his eighth of the year, a power goal assisted by Andrew Ference and Zdeno Chara. Rob Schremp attempted to rally the New York troops, with his fourth of the season, with the helpers being awarded to Travis Hamonic and Zenon Konopka. Lucic added on his second of the night and 15th of the season to make it 4-2, an empty net goal from Johnny Boychuk. Also adding an empty netter was Patrice Bergeron, with his fifth of the year, from David Krejci and Chara. Boston held on to win 5-2. Brad Marchand wasthe first star with a goal, followed by Lucic, who had a pair of goals, and Chara, who had two assists. There were two fights, between Boston's Adam McQuaid and New York's Zenon Konopka in the first period, and the second period duel between Shawn Thornton and Trevor Gillies.

Going to upstate New York, where the Buffalo Sabres hosted the well-traveled San Jose Sharks. Ryan Miller was given goaltending duties for the hosts, while Antti Niemi earned the start for the Sharks. Paul Gaustad started the scoring for Buffalo, with his second of the year helped along by Cody McCormick. Thomas Vanek kept the Sabres on track with his 12th of the year, from Derek Roy and Nathan Gerbe. Jason Pominville made it 3-0 with his third of the season, a shorthanded and unassisted goal. Logan Couture got San Jose's first goal, which was his 14th of the year, a power play tally from Dan Boyle and Ryan Clowe. The Sharks got closer to tying it up with Marc-Edouard Vlasic's first of the season, assisted by Couture and Clowe. The Sabres came back together, and McCormick scored his fourth of the season to make it 4-2. He was assisted by Gaustad. Douglas Murray scored his first of the season for the Sharks to make it close again, with Torrey Mitchell picking up the assist. Gaustad then put it out of reach with his second of the night and third of the season, an empty net goal from McCormick and Andrej Sekera. Vanek scored his second of the night and 13th of the year for good measure just eighteen seconds later, which was assisted by Roy and Gerbe. McCormick was the first star with a goal and two assists, and was followed by Gaustad, who had two goals and one assist. Vanek's two goals were good for third star status.

Back north of the border into Ottawa, where the Senators hosted the New York Rangers. Brian Elliott started for the Senators, while Henrik Lundqvist was in between the pipes for the Rangers. Mike Fisher's eighth goal of the season, a power play goal, opened the scoring. Nick Foligno picked up the helper. New York tied it with a Derek Stepan goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Marian Gaborik. Jason Spezza re-obtained the lead with his seventh of the year for Ottawa, a power play goal from Erik Karlsson and Sergei Gonchar. Ruslan Fedotenko re-tied it just over a minute later, with his fifth of the year, assisted by Gaborik and Michal Rozsival. Fisher made it 3-2 with his ninth of the season and second of the night, with helpers going to Foligno and Chris Campoli. Erik Christensen tied it back up, this time at 3, with his fifth of the year coming from Rozsival and Steve Eminger. Mike Sauer gave the Rangers their first lead with his first of the season, a power play goal from Brandon Prust and Sean Avery. Brandon Dubinsky wrapped it up with his 13th of the year going into an empty net unassisted, and the Rangers won 5-3 over the Senators. Mike Fisher got the first star for two goals in a losing effort, followed by Gaborik, who had two assists, and Prust, who had one assist. Matt Carkner of Ottawa and Derek Boogaard of New York also shared a first period fight.

Going to St. Louis, where the Blues host division rivals, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jaroslav Halak started for the Blues, while Mathieu Garon was in net for the Blue Jackets. St. Louis got on the board first, thanks to a power play goal by Alex Steen, his eighth mark of the year, from Carlo Colaiacovo and David Backes. Jay McClement added his own power play goal, his fourth goal of the year, assisted by Erik Johnson and Backes. Vladimir Sobotka made it 3-0 with his second goal of the season, also a power play goal, which was helped along by Johnson and Matt D'Agostini. Columbus finally put a goal on the board in the third period, Jan Hejda's second of the year, from Rick Nash and Anton Stralman. David Backes put the game away with an empty net goal, his fifth goal of the season going unassisted. Jaroslav Halak was the first star in the 4-1 win, going 27 for 28 in saves, followed by second star Erik Johnson, who had two assists, and finally Barret Jackman who did seemingly nothing. Dropping the gloves in the first period was Columbus' Jared Boll and St. Louis' Cam Janssen.

Going south to Phoenix, where the Coyotes hosted the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom was in front of the Wild cage, while Ilya Bryzgalov tended the twine for the 'Yotes. Andrew Brunette got the Wild on the board first, with his fifth of the season coming from Antti Miettinen and Mikko Koivu. Taylor Pyatt evened it with his own fifth goal of the year, from Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Vernon Fiddler. Brent Burns gave the Wild a 2-1 lead in the late first period with his seventh of the year, coming from Miettinen and Koivu. After a scoreless second period, Brunette scored his sixth of the year and second of the night, with assists by Marek Zidlicky and Pierre-Marc Bouchard on the power play. Pyatt tried to get Phoenix going with his second of the night and sixth of the season, a power play goal assisted by Shane Doan and Keith Yandle, but it wasn't enough, and Minnesota held on to win 3-2. Niklas Backstrom earned the first star, going 33 for 35 in saves, and the second star was Andrew Brunette, who had two goals, followed by fellow two-goal scorer Taylor Pyatt, whose goals came in a losing effort.

Lastly, we stop in Hollywood, where the Los Angeles Kings hosted the Calgary Flames, who started off on a California trip. Jonathan Quick started for the Kings, while Miikka Kiprusoff was in between the pipes for the Flames. Kyle Clifford started the scoring with his first of the year, assisted by Wayne Simmonds. After a scoreless second period, Anze Kopitar extended the lead to 2-0 with his eleventh of the year. The power play goal was assisted by Jack Johnson and Dustin Brown. Olli Jokinen put Calgary on the board with his third of the year, a power play goal from Jarome Iginla and Anton Babchuk, but they couldn't muster any more offense and fell 2-1. Jonathan Quick was the first star for his 26 for 27 save performance, followed by losing goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, who was 30 for 32 in saves. Rob Scuderi was the third star for reasons unknown.

There's six games on Friday, and I'll try to get the post out early Saturday, or else it'll have to wait until Sunday, as I will be with family for a majority of Saturday.