Saturday NHL Recap

There were 12 games being played on the big day of the week in the NHL, which was yesterday. Of those 12, six of them required more than the allotted 60 minutes to complete, and three of those went into the shootout. One game that didn't take absurdly long was the first game of the day, hosted in...

Philadelphia, where the Flyers welcomed the New Jersey Devils. Johan Hedberg started for the Devils, while Sergei Bobrovsky tended the Flyer twine. Ilya Kovalchuk got things going early with his fifth of the year, coming on the power play. The hundred million dollar man was assisted by Jamie Langenbrunner and Patrik Elias. James van Riemsdyk answered seventeen seconds later with his fourth of the season, assisted by Mike Richards and Andreas Nodl. Travis Zajac restored the Devils lead with his third of the year, from Langenbrunner and Colin White. Claude Giroux re-tied it early in the second period, with his 13th of the year being assisted by Darroll Powe and Jeff Carter. After a period-long lull, Mike Richards netted his tenth of the year in the third period, with assists by Chris Pronger and Matt Carle. Danny Briere extended the Flyer lead with his 13th of the season, with the helpers credited to Carter and Carle. Elias tried to rally the New Jersey troops with his fourth goal of the season, coming on the power play, from Zajac and Jason Arnott, but Philadelphia finished it off with Carter's 12th of the year into an empty net, with the assist going to Kimmo Timmonen. Philadelphia won 5-3. Richards was the first star, with a goal and an assist, followed by Carter, who had a goal and two assists. Jamie Langenbrunner was the third star for his two assists in the losing effort.

Onward to Montreal, where the Canadiens hosted the San Jose Sharks. Carey Price got the goaltending honors for the Canadiens, while Antti Niemi was in between the pipes for the Sharks. Mathieu Darche was the first to dent the scoreboard for Montreal, scoring his fifth of the year, from Benoit Pouliot and Hal Gill. Benn Ferriero answered for the Sharks, with his third of the year, assisted by Logan Couture. Tomas Plekanec broke the tie for Montreal, scoring his ninth of the year with assists coming from Andrei Kostitsyn and Yannick Weber. Michael Cammalleri provided the insurance goal in the third period, his eighth of the year, assisted by Roman Hamrlik. Montreal rolled to victory, 3-1. Carey Price earned the first star, going 26 for 27 in saves, while goal scorers Plekanec and Darche were the second and third stars.

Staying above the border, where the Ottawa Senators hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller started for the Sabres, while Brian Elliot handled the crease for the Senators. It took until a shootout for either goaltender to crack, and the only one to pierce the armor was Thomas Vanek for the Sabres, giving them a 1-0 win in the shootout. Miller, the winning goalie took first star for 32 saves, while Elliot, the losing goalie, had 31 saves. They were perfect throughout the game. Chris Phillips was the official third star, but honors should definitely go to Vanek for the winner.

Onward to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins. Steve Mason was in net for the hosts, while Marc-Andre Fleury tended the Penguins twine. Paul Martin opened the scoring with a power play goal, unassisted, his second tally of the season, followed by a Michael Rupp goal, also his second of the year, from Eric Godard and Craig Adams. Martin added a later power play goal, also unassisted, his third of the year. Sidney Crosby also had a first period goal, another power play mark, good for his 22nd of the year, coming from Mark Letestu and Kris Letang. This chased Columbus starter Steve Mason away and he was relieved by Mathieu Garon. Tyler Kennedy made it 5-0 in the early second period, with his fifth of the year, assisted by Letestu and Chris Connor. Columbus showed some signs of life with Samuel Pahlsson's second of the year, with helpers by Rostislav Klesla and Ethan Moreau. Crosby responded by potting his 23rd of the year and second of the night, with assistance from Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang. Deryk Engelland added his second of the year, needing no additional help. Columbus scored early in the third period with Chris Clark's fifth tally on the season, coming on the power play from Fedor Tyutin and Ethan Moreau, but the hole was already dug and they couldn't muster any more goals, giving Pittsburgh the 7-2 victory. Sidney Crosby was the first star with two goals, followed by Paul Martin, who had the same spread, and Kris Letang was the third star with two assists. There was a second period fight between Jared Boll of the Blue Jackets and Michael Rupp of the Penguins.

Back up to the north, with the Toronto Maple Leafs hosting trade partners in the Boston Bruins. (sorry Leafs, couldn't help that barb.) Tim Thomas started for Boston, while Jean-Sebastien Giguere was given the start for Toronto. Nathan Horton allowed Boston to draw first blood with his ninth of the year, an unassisted goal. Carl Gunnarsson responded for the Maple Leafs with his first mark of the year, from Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri. Gregory Campbell waited until the third period to break the tie, scoring his third of the year for the Bruins, with assists by Tyler Seguin and Johnny Boychuk. Kris Versteeg re-tied the game late in the third with his eighth of the season, a power play goal from Clarke MacArthur and Tomas Kaberle. After a scoreless overtime, Nazem Kadri and Tyler Seguin traded barbs in the shootout before Phil Kessel won it for the Maple Leafs against his former team. Kessel went on to be the first star, while Tim Thomas' 38 for 40 save performance was good for the second star, and Colby Armstrong did who knows what to get the third star. Jay Rosehill of Toronto and Shawn Thornton also shared a dance and other minor penalties in the first period.

Moving into Washington D.C., where the Capitals hosted the Atlanta Thrashers in a battle of division rivals. Ondrej Pavelec was given the start, despite passing out in a previous game against the Capitals (maybe the lack of Fleischmann helped him stay conscious in this one) while Semyon Varlamov blocked the rubber for the Capitals. After a scoreless first period, Rich Peverley scored for Atlanta, his seventh of the year coming from Dustin Byfuglien (buff-lin) and Andrew Ladd. Alex Burmistov extended the Thrasher lead with his fourth of the season asissted by Nik Antropov and Ben Eager. Alex Ovechkin cut the lead by scoring his eleventh of the season for Washington, with helpers from Alexander Semin and John Carlson. Andrew Ladd restored the Atlanta lead of two goals by making it 3-1 with his ninth of the year on the power play. Peverley and Antropov provided the assistance on what would be the final goal of the game. Ondrej Pavelec earned the first star for going 45 for 46 in saves, followed by Peverley and Ladd, who had a goal and an assist each. The lone fight of the game was between Dave Steckel of the Capitals and Jim Slater of the Thrashers.

Down to Tampa Bay, where the Lightning hosted the Colorado Avalanche. Peter Budaj played goal for the visiting Avalanche, while Dan Ellis was in goal for the Lightning. Nate Thompson started the scoring, registering his fourth of the season for the Lightning, receiving help from Adam Hall and Victor Hedman. Phillipe Dupuis tied it up for the Avs with his third of the year from newcomer Matt Hunwick. Martin St. Louis scored for the Lightning in the second period, his eleventh tally of the year, from Simon Gagne and Mattias Ohlund. Mattias Ritola added on with his second of the season, assisted by Johan Harju and Dana Tyrell. Matt Duchene gets Colorado going again with his eighth of the year, assisted by the other newcomer Tomas Fleischmann and John-Michael Liles. Simon Gagne restored the Tampa Bay lead, making it 4-2 with his second of the year, assisted by Martin St. Louis and Teddy Purcell on the power play. Paul Stastny scored early in the third period for the Avalanche, his tenth of the season, coming from Kevin Shattenkirk and Milan Hejduk. Ryan Malone answered later with his seventh of the year, a power play goal assisted by Gagne and St. Louis. Sean Bergenheim added his own tally for the Lightning, his fifth of the season, with assists by Mike Lundin and Malone. Brandon Yip scored his sixth goal to get Colorado going again, on the power play from Daniel Winnik and Matt Duchene. Hejduk added another one later, his tenth of the year, from Fleischmann and Shattenkirk, but Tampa Bay held on to win 6-5 over the Avalanche. Gagne was the first star with a goal and two assists, followed by St. Louis, who tallied the same results on the sheet. Victor Hedman received the third star for his assist.

Into the desert, where the Phoenix Coyotes hosted the Florida Panthers. Ilya Bryzgalov was in between the pipes for the hosts, while Scott Clemmensen got a spot start for the Panthers. After a scoreless first half of the game, Michael Frolik netted his fifth of the season with an assist from David Booth. Martin Hanzal responded later in the second with his seventh of the year from Ray Whitney and Keith Yandle, coming on the power play. The game remained 1-1 through the overtime period, and goals were traded between Mike Santorelli of the Panthers and Radim Vrbata of the Coyotes, followed by Scottie Upshall giving the Coyotes a lead that was stolen away by Stephen Weiss, with Frolik finally burying the winning shot for Florida. Clemmensen was the first star, going 40 for 41 in saves, followed by the losing goalie Bryzgalov, who was 36 for 37 in saves. Frolik, who had a goal and the game winning shot in the shootout, was the third star.

Back east to Nashville, where the Predators played host to the Carolina Hurricanes. Anders Lindback started for the Predators, while Cam ward was given the nod for the Hurricanes. Patric Hornqvist opened the scoring for the Predators, with his sixth of the year, assisted by Cody Franson and Shane O'Brien. Eighteen seconds later, Joe Corvo netted his fifth for the Hurricanes, from Jussi Jokinen and Brandon Sutter. Shea Weber restored the lead for Nashville with his fourth of the year being produced via Martin Erat and Sergei Kostitsyn. Marcel Goc extended the lead for Nashville with his sixth of the season, assisted by Kevin Klein and Erat. Jiri Tlusty cut the lead to 3-2 in the second period, with his second of the season coming from Ryan Carter and Joe Corvo. Cal O'Reilly made it 4-2 with his sixth of the season for the Predators, assisted on once again by Erat and Kostitsyn. Steve Sullivan put the nail in the Hurricane coffin with his unassisted seventh of the year into an empty net. Nashville defeated Carolina, 5-2. Erat was the first star with his sock trick of three assists, followed by Kostitsyn, who had two assists and Marcel Goc was the third star with a goal.

Down to Dallas, where the Stars hosted the team from where they used to be headquartered, the Minnesota Wild. Jose Theodore started for Minnesota, as did Kari Lethonen for Dallas. Karlis Skrastins opened the scoring with his first of the year, courtesy of Steve Ott and Brandon Segal. Ott added a goal in the second period, his sixth of the year, with this one coming of the power play from James Neal and the goaltender Kari Lethonen. Antti Miettinen got Minnesota on the board with his seventh of the year, receiving help from Mikko Koivu. Chuck Kobasew tied it with his second of the year, helped by Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Cullen. Dallas broke the tie with Adam Burish's third of the year, assisted on by Trevor Daley and Brandon Segal. Martin Havlat's seventh of the year re-tied it for the Wild, and forced an overtime. Marek Zidlicky and Pierre-Marc Bouchard assisted Havlat. In overtime, Stephane Robidas and the Stars benefited from a power play, which allowed Robidas' third goal of the year, the game winner. Mike Rebeiro and Brad Richards picked up the assists. Steve Ott was the first star with a goal and assist, followed by Burish and Robidas, who had one goal each.

Going into Alberta, where the Edmonton Oilers hosted the St. Louis Blues. Nikolai Khabibulin got the start for Edmonton, while Jaroslav Halak was in the paint for the Blues. After two scoreless frames, Edmonton awoke with Ryan Jones scoring his sixth of the year, from Magnus Paajarvi and Sam Gagner. St. Louis tied it with Eric Brewer's fourth of the season, assisted by Erik Johnson and B.J. Crombeen. The tie held up until twenty-three seconds into overtime, where Taylor Hall snapped it with his ninth of the year, assisted by Ryan Whitney. Nikolai Khabibulin was the first star with his 31 of 32 save performance, followed by second star Jaroslav Halak, who went 24 for 26 in saves. Taylor Hall's game-winner was the third star. There was one fight in the first period, between St. Louis' Stefan Della Rovere and Edmonton's Colin Fraser.

Lastly, in Los Angeles, where the Kings hosted their rhyming partners from Detroit, the Red Wings. Jonathan Quick started for the Kings, while Chris Osgood was given the green light for the Red Wings. Detroit struck first with Jonathan Ericsson's second of the year, with the lone assist going to Pavel Datsyuk. Justin Williams tied it for the Kings early in the second period, with his tenth of the year coming from Rob Scuderi and Anze Kopitar. Todd Bertuzzi answered less than a minute later, giving the Red Wings the lead back with his fifth of the year. Johan Franzen received credit for the lone assist. Alec Martinez re-tied it, with his second of the year coming from Peter Harrold and Justin Williams. After a scoreless third period, Anze Kopitar managed to win it for the Kings in overtime, with his tenth goal of the season, courtesy of Dustin Brown and Alec Martinez. Justin Williams was the first star, with a goal and an assist, followed by Detroit's Jonathan Ericsson, who had one goal in the losing effort. Anze Kopitar was the third star with a goal and an assist.

That's all the action for Saturday's game. Special thanks to the Sabres and Senators for making my job easier on here, way to keep it low scoring. Sunday has five games going, which will be recapped on Monday, since there is a 6 PM game that I won't be able to include. Football posts will come soon, as needed.