Saturday NHL recap, Part One

This post is made possible by low scoring games, and a little extra time I have. Also, keep posted, as it looks like that Marco Sturm to the Los Angeles Kings deal may eventually be completed. As for today's game action, we start in...

The nation's capital, where the Washington Capitals hosted the road-tested Colorado Avalanche. Craig Anderson was called for duty for Colorado, while Michal Neuvirth started for the Capitals. Kevin Shattenkirk scored his fifth of the year early, giving the Avalanche a 1-0 lead with the assist from Paul Stastny. Mike Knuble evened it for Washington with his sixth of the year, assisted by Alex Ovechkin and Karl Alzner. Ryan Wilson scored late in the first for the Avalanche, his first of the season, helped along by Stastny and Kevin Porter. Stastny finally scored his own goal, his 12th of the season coming on the power play courtesy of Shattenkirk and Daniel Winnik. Washington tried to jump-start things in the third period with a goal by Matt Hendricks, his fourth of the year being a power play goal, and it was assisted by Knuble and Nicklas Backstrom. The Capitals could muster no more offense, however, and fell 3-2. Stastny earned the first star for one goal and two assists, followed by Shattenkirk, who had a goal and an assist, and Knuble, who had a goal and an assist as well, but in a losing effort. One fight was fought between Washington's Matt Bradley and Colorado's Cody McLeod.

Heading into the Western Conference, with the Columbus Blue Jackets hosting the New York Rangers. Steve Mason was in between the pipes for the Blue Jackets, while Henrik Lundqvist got another start for the Rangers. New York took until the second period to open the scoring, with a power play goal by Marc Staal, his fifth of the year being with a man advantage, and assisted by Ruslan Fedotenko and Brandon Dubinsky. Antoine Vermette tied it later that same period, with his eighth of the year also being a power play goal, from R.J. Umberger and Rick Nash. Nash scored two of his own in the third period, his 15th and 16th of the season, with the first from Jakub Voracek and Jan Hejda, and the second one compliments of Rostislav Klesla. The Rangers could not recover, and Columbus won 3-1. Nash was the first star with two goals and an assist, followed by Steve Mason's 32 for 33 save outing, and lastly by Samuel Pahlsson, who did nothing overly spectacular.

Going back east to Boston, where the Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers played a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals. Tim Thomas was in the paint for Boston, while Brian Boucher played goal for the Flyers. It took until late in the second period to dent the scoreboard, but James van Riemsdyk allowed Philadelphia to do so with his fifth of the season from Claude Giroux and Jeff Carter. Nathan Horton tied it up for the Bruins with his eleventh of the season, thanks to David Krejci and Milan Lucic. The 1-1 tie lasted late into overtime, where Mike Richards' eleventh of the year gave the Flyers the edge, 2-1. The game winning goal was enough for the first star, followed by the 35 for 36 save outing by Brian Boucher, and Zdeno Chara earned the third star for what I'll presume as his usual stunningly good play, despite the losing result.

Going north of the border for an all-Canada game between the host Toronto Maple Leafs and visiting Montreal Canadiens. Alex Auld got the start for Montreal, while Jean-Sebastien Giguere was given the goalkeeping duties for Toronto. Phil Kessel put the Maple Leafs up 1-0 early with his eleventh of the season, with assists given to Tyler Bozak and Tomas Kaberle. Kaberle added his first of the year quite soon after, assisted by Fredrik Sjostrom and Tim Brent. Michael Cammalleri put the Canadiens on the board in the second, with his tenth of the year hoping to spark a rally. Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn had the assists. Alas, Montreal could muster no effort, and Kris Versteeg put the nail in the coffin with his ninth of the year sailing into an empty net, courtesy of Sjostrom. Kaberle was the first star for a goal and an assist in the 3-1 win, followed by Kessel, who had a goal, and Sjostrom, who had two assists.

Moving back stateside, with the Buffalo Sabres hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ryan Miller was in net for the Sabres, as was Marc-Andre Fleury for the Penguins. Dustin Jeffery opened the scoring, netting his first of the year for Pittsburgh, with the helpers going to Ben Lovejoy and Craig Adams. Aaron Asham extended the Penguin lead to 2-0 with his fourth of the year, assisted by Max Talbot. Tyler Ennis got Buffalo on the board with his seventh of the year, a power play goal from Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek. The teams went cold for over 35 minutes, before Pittsburgh scored again with Alex Goligoski's sixth of the season, assisted by Pascal Dupuis and Sidney Crosby. The Sabres answered with Jason Pominville's fourth of the year, helped along by Tyler Myers and Andrej Sekera. Michael Rupp made it 4-2 Pittsburgh with his third of the year, assisted by Dustin Jeffery, and Matt Cooke finished the game off with his fifth of the year into an empty net, courtesy of Craig Adams. Marc-Andre Fleury earned the first star with his 34 of 36 save performance, followed by Pominville, who had one goal in the losing effort, and Dustin Jeffery, who had one goal and an assist for the Penguins. Matt Cooke and Jason Pominville also had a first period fight.

Going to New Jersey, where the Devils hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Martin Brodeur got the start for New Jersey, while Chris Osgood guarded the Red Wings' cage. Detroit gave personification to "two quick goals" in the first period, starting with Tomas Holmstrom's ninth of the year, assisted by Pavel Datsyuk and Brad Stuart, and followed by Danny Cleary's 13th of the season, from Todd Bertuzzi and Justin Abdelkader. Henrik Zetterberg extended the lead to 3-0 with his tenth of the year, courtesy of Holmstrom and Datsyuk. The Devils finally got on the board in the early third period, with a power play goal from Patrik Elias, his sixth mark of the year, assisted by Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk. Datsyuk put it away with his eleventh of the year, helped along by Zetterberg and Jonathan Ericsson, the latter of which fought with the Devils' David Clarkson in the second period. Detroit went on to win 4-1. Datsyuk's goal and two assists were good enough for the first star, with Zetterberg's goal and assist being the second star, and Chris Osgood's 33 for 34 save outing good enough for the third star.

Going onto Long Island, where the New York Islanders hosted the Atlanta Thrashers, and where Quebec Nordiques fans crowded in to make a statement. The Islanders post a dramatic attendance increase, albeit, not with their own fans. All jokes aside, Rick DiPietro was sent out to stop pucks for the Islanders (okay, maybe we're not done with the jokes yet, since DiPietro is a noted sieve), and Chris Mason got a start for Atlanta. Matt Martin opened up the scoring for the Islanders, his second of the year being assisted by Blake Comeau and Rob Schremp. Matt Moulson extended the lead in the second period with his tenth of the year, an unassisted goal. Anthony Stewart answered for the Thrashers, scoring his eighth of the year via Brent Sopel. Johnny Oduya scored two in a row to open the third period scoring, his first two of the year, assisted by Jim Slater and Chris Thorburn on the first and Nik Antropov and Rich Peverley on the second. Schremp tied it for New York, scoring his fifth of the year from Andrew MacDonald and Comeau. Bryan Little took the lead back for Atlanta with his seventh of the year, shorthanded and unassisted. Alex Burmistrov made it 5-3 with his fifth of the year, helped by Sopel. Comeau tried to rally the Islander troops late with a power play goal, his fifth notch of the year coming from Schremp and Moulson, but they couldn't muster another goal and fell 5-4. Oduya earned the first star with his two goals, while Schremp's goal and two assists in the loss were good for the second star, and the third star honors went to Little, who had one goal. John Tavares and Alex Burmistrov shared a fight in the second period as well.

We're going to cut it off here, because of technical difficulties (thanks Yahoo!) in the Phoenix Coyotes-Dallas Stars box score. I'll recap the other six games tomorrow, along with football, Subway, and whatever else I blog on Sundays.

Friday NHL recap

Friday featured six games of hockey. We start in...

The Motor City, where the Detroit Red Wings hosted the Montreal Canadiens. Jimmy Howard was in net for the Red Wings, while Carey Price received starting honors for Montreal. The Canadiens scored first with Travis Moen, his third of the year assisted by Michael Cammalleri and Jeff Halpern. Detroit evened it up with a late first period power play goal from Nicklas Lidstrom, his fourth goal of the year, assisted by Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom. Niklas Kronwall gave the Red Wings the lead with his sixth of the year, from Danny Cleary and Johan Franzen. Datsyuk extended the leader farther with his tenth of the year, assisted by Jonathan Ericsson and Henrik Zetterberg. Benoit Pouliot tried to get the Canadiens going, scoring his seventh of the season from Alexandre Picard, but Patrick Eaves put the game way for the Red Wings with his fifth of the year, unassisted as it went in the empty net. Detroit beat Montreal 4-2, and Datsyuk was the first star for his goal and assist. Cleary was the second star with an assist, and Jimmy Howard earned the third star with 36 out of 38 pucks blocked.

Moving along to Ottawa, where the Senators hosted the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur was back in the net for New Jersey, after an elbow injury, and Pascal Leclaire got the nod for the Senators. Ottawa scored first with Erik Karlsson's fifth of the year, unassisted. Patrik Elias evened it for the Devils in the second period, with his fifth goal of the season, a power play tally from Ilya Kovalchuk and the goaltender Brodeur. Ottawa regained the lead with Milan Michalek's sixth of the season, assisted by Karlsson and Chris Phillips. Jarkko Ruutu made it 3-1 with his second of the year, and the helpers were awarded to Chris Neil and Chris Kelly. Dainius Zubrus tried to start a Devils rally, with his fourth of the year coming on the power play from Travis Zajac and Kovalchuk. The third period, however, went scoreless, and the Senators won 3-2. Karlsson was the first star with a goal and an assist, followed by Neil, who had an assist, and Kovalchuk, who had two assists in a losing effort.

Moving to Atlanta, where the Thrashers hosted the Colorado Avalanche. Ondrej Pavelec started for the Thrashers, while Craig Anderson was allowed to be tormented by the Thrashers Ice Crew. Niclas Bergfors put Atlanta on top first, with his seventh of the year being aided by Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien. Tomas Fleischmann got the tying goal for Colorado in the second period, his fifth of the season coming on the power play from Matt Duchene. The Avalanche took the lead with Greg Mauldin's fourth of the year, which was shorthanded and unassisted. The Thrashers tied it with Bryan Little's sixth of the year, assisted by Evander Kane. Colorado reclaimed the lead with Milan Hejduk's eleventh of the season, courtesy of Flesichmann and Duchene. Paul Stastny put it away at 4-2 with his eleventh of the year, unassisted into the empty net. Duchene was the first star with two assists, followed by Fleischmann's goal and assist. Bryan Little was the third star for his goal in the losing effort. Honorable mention for Craig Anderson, who stayed focused on the game.

Traveling into Texas, where the Dallas Stars hosted the Carolina Hurricanes. Andrew Raycroft got the start for the Stars, while Cam Ward handled the goaltending for the Hurricanes. James Neal opened the scoring with his 12th of the season, from Brad Richards and Aaron Gagnon, to give Dallas a 1-0 lead. Carolina tied it in the second period with the third goal of the season from Jiri Tlusty, assisted by Troy Bodie and Joe Corvo. The 1-1 tie lasted throughout the third period and overtime, into the shootout where Brad Richards had the deciding goal. Richards was the first star in the 2-1 Stars win, with an assist and the game winner in the shootout, followed by James Neal, who had a goal, and Andrew Raycroft, who was 22 for 23 in saves.

Going into Alberta, where the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Nikolai Khabibulin started for the Oilers, while Dan Ellis was in between the pipes for the Lightning, who scored first with Randy Jones' first of the year, which was unassisted. Magnus Paajarvi answered for Edmonton, scoring his third of the year, assisted by Dustin Penner and Andrew Cogliano. Ryan Malone retook the lead for Tampa Bay, netting his ninth of the season, a power play goal from Teddy Purcell and Mattias Ohlund. Edmonton took the lead in the second period with two power play goals, the first from Taylor Hall, his tenth tally of the season assisted by Ryan O'Marra, and the second, lead-obtaining goal coming off of the stick of Tom Gilbert, his fifth of the season, with helpers going to Linus Omark and Paajarvi. Steven Stamkos tied it back up in the third period with his 22nd of the season, assisted by Martin St. Louis and Pavel Kubina. The 3-3 tie lasted through the overtime that followed into the shootout, where rookies Jordan Eberle and Linus Omark won it for the Oilers, 4-3. Nikolai Khabibulin was the first star, facing a lot of rubber in blocking 38 of 41 shots, followed by Paajarvi, who had a goal and an assist. Adam Hall of the Lightning was the third star, for reasons that escape my knowledge. Enjoying an on-ice dance were Pavel Kubina and Dustin Penner in the second period after Kubina had committed a boarding penalty.

Lastly, we stop in Anaheim, where the Calgary Flames visited the Ducks. Jonas Hiller was in net for the Ducks, while Henrik Karlsson got the start for Calgary. The Ducks drew first blood with a Lubomir Visnovsky goal, his fourth of the year being helped by Ryan Getzlaf and Toni Lydman. Dan Sexton made it 2-0 for Anaheim with his second of the season, assisted by Brandon McMillan and Visnovsky. The Flames started a rally with a power play goal from Olli Jokinen, his fourth mark of the season being assisted by Mark Giordano and Jarome Iginla. David Moss tied it for Calgary with his third of the year, assisted on by Iginla and Giordano again. The tie was preserved into the shootout, where Getzlaf  and Alex Tanguay exchanged goals before Corey Perry put it away for the Ducks, who won 3-2. Jonas Hiller, who was 37 for 39 in saves, was the first star. Jarome Iginla's two assists in a losing effort were good enough for the second star, and Dan Sexton's goal earned the third star.

I'll be out with family for the rest of today, so I won't have any posts coming tonight. There are 13 hockey games on today (entirely too many) and they will be recapped, along with the football games, tomorrow.

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.

Thursday Night Football, week 14

Tonight's game is being played in Tennessee, where the Titans are hosting the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts struck first, with Javarris James running 1 yard for a touchdown, followed by an extra point from Adam Vinatieri. Peyton Manning struck twice in the air game, with two touchdown passes of 1 and 19 yards for Pierre Garcon. Vinatieri added both extra points. Tennessee got on the board with a 1 yard touchdown run by Chris Johnson, and Rob Bironas made it 21-7, which was the score at halftime. Kerry Collins connected with Craig Stevens to cut the lead even farther with the 7 yard touchdown pass. After the Bironas extra point, it was 21-14. Vinatieri extended the Colts lead farther with his 21 yard field goal in the third quarter, and then to 27-14 with a 28 yard kick in the early fourth quarter. Kerry Collins connected with Bo Scaife to trim the lead back down, good for 4 yards and the touchdown. Bironas added the extra point to make it 27-21 Colts. Vinatieri made it a two-score game with his 48 yard field goal later in the fourth. The Titans tried to rally to it, with a Collins pass to Scaife for the touchdown, and Bironas added the extra point, but it was too late, and the Cotls weathered the attack to win 30-28. They improved to 7-6, while Tennessee fell to 5-8.

Stay posted for the Thursday NHL recap tomorrow.

NHL Wednesday December 9th recap

There were another five games played on Wednesday. Most of them featured the winning team having 5 goals, which may not seem to bad to you readers, but it's a nice chunk of work for the writer. In baseball news, the Boston Red Sox grabbed up outfielder Carl Crawford for 7 years and 142 million. Some writers now label them as "the team to beat" in the American League. Going back to hockey, specifically in...

Philadelphia, where the Flyers hosted the San Jose Sharks. Antero Niittymaki started for the visiting Sharks, playing against his (one of many) old teams. Sergei Bobrovsky was in the pipes for the Flyers. Ryan Clowe scored late in the first to put San Jose up, his sixth of the season being assisted by Niclas Wallin and Jason Demers. Claude Giroux responded for Philadelphia in the second period with his 14th of the season, from Jeff Carter and Braydon Coburn. Ville Leino put the Flyers ahead with his sixth of the season, assisted by Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timmonen. Nikolay Zherdev continued the Flyers scoring spree with his ninth of the year, assisted by Matt Carle and Claude Giroux. Hartnell made it 4-1 in the third period with his seventh of the year, assisted by Carle and Leino. San Jose finally answered with Demers' first of the season, with the helper going to Dany Heatley. Logan Couture cut the lead farther with his 13th of the year, from Clowe and Justin Braun. Joe Pavelski's power play goal, his ninth goal of the season, tied it at 4. He was assisted by Joe Thornton. The tie lasted until the shootout, where the Sharks took the game 5-4 thanks to goals by Couture and Clowe. Couture was the first star with his goal, and a shootout mark, followed by Pavelski, who had a goal. Ville Leino, who had a goal and an assist, was the third star despite his team's loss.

Staying in Pennsylvania, where the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jonas Gustavsson started for the Leafs, while Marc-Andre Fleury played in net for the red-hot Penguins. Sidney Crosby opened the scoring for Pittsburgh, with his 25th(!) of the season, assisted by Chris Kunitz and Matt Cooke. Pascal Dupuis tallied a shorthanded goal for the Penguins in the second period, from Kunitz. Mark Letestu made it 3-0 with his fifth of the season, from Tyler Kennedy and Chris Connor. Crosby added his second of the night and 26th of the season afterward, with Kunitz and Brooks Orpik picking up the helpers on this one. Toronto finally got on the board with Tyler Bozak's fourth of the year, a power play goal assisted by Phil Kessel and Kris Versteeg. Mikhail Grabovski made it 4-2 with his seventh of the season, courtesy of Tomas Kaberle and Nikolai Kulemin. Letestu finished it off with his second of the night and sixth of the year, making it 5-2 with assists going to Tyler Kennedy and Alex Goligoski. Kunitz's sock trick was the first star, followed by Crosby and Letestu who had two goals apiece. Wednesday was fight night in Pittsburgh as well, with four fights. These will be listed in the Toronto versus Pittsburgh player format. Colton Orr and Deryk Engelland duelled in the first period, followed by Mike Komisarek and Aaron Asham in the second period. Komisarek fought with Michael Rupp in the third period, amidst a surrounding brawl. Forty (hockey) seconds later, Jay Rosehill and Eric Godard fought in the midst of another brawl.

Moving to Detroit, where the Red Wings hosted division rivals, the Nashville Predators. Jimmy Howard was given the nod for the Red Wings, while Anders Lindback played in the crease of the Predators. Colin Wilson opened the scoring for Nashville, his sixth of the season coming late in the first period. Cal O'Reilly and Steve Sullivan picked up the assists. Martin Erat added a quick goal to open the second period and extend the lead to 2-0. His third of the year came from Sergei Kostitsyn and Marcel Goc. Pavel Datsyuk got the Wings on the board with his ninth of the season, a shorthanded goal assisted on by Henrik Zetterberg. J.P. Dumont restored the two goal lead with his fourth of the year, an unassisted goal. Johan Franzen made it 3-2 with his 13th of the year, assisted by Datsyuk and Valtteri Fillpula, but Detroit couldn't muster another goal and fell 3-2 to Nashville. Anders Lindback was the first star, going 35 for 37 in saves, followed by Shea Weber, who did something right, and Pavel Datsyuk, who had a goal and an assist in a losing effort.

Moving into Chicago, where the Blackhawks hosted the Dallas Stars. Corey Crawford started for Chicago, while Andrew Raycroft got the nod for Dallas. Bryan Bickell opened the scoring for the Blackhawks, scoring his sixth of the season from Jassen Cullimore and Nick Boynton. Jonathan Toews added on to the lead with his 13th of the season, from Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. Jeremy Morin made it 3-0 with his first of the year, assisted by Dave Bolland. James Neal answered twenty seconds later for the Stars, with his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Brad Richards and Loui Eriksson. Troy Brouwer would have none of it, making it 4-1 twenty-five seconds later with his sixth of the year, helped along by Bolland and Bickell. Brandon Segal cut the lead back down with his fourth of the year, an unassisted goal. Eriksson made it 4-3 just over a minute later, with his eleventh being assisted by Richards and Neal. The Stars were unable to muster another goal, and Patrick Sharp sealed the deal with his 17th of the year into an empty net, from Toews and Keith. Bickell was the first star with a goal and an assist. Morin got the second star for his goal, and Brad Richards was the third star for two assists in a losing effort. One fight, in the first period, was between Chicago's Jake Dowell and Dallas' Steve Ott.

Finally, to British Columbia, where the Vancouver Canucks took on their rhyming friends from southern California, the Anaheim Ducks. Curtis McElhinny started for Anaheim, while Roberto Luongo was in between the pipes for the hosting Canucks. Corey Perry put the Ducks on the board first with his 13th of the year, a power play goal from Ryan Getzlaf and Teemu Selanne. Ryan Kesler evened it up with his eleventh of the season, also on the power play, assisted by Alexander Edler and Christian Ehrhoff. Eleven seconds later, the Canucks had the lead, with Jeff Tambellini's fifth of the year from Mason Raymond and Dan Hamhuis. Joffery Lupul evened it up again with his first of the year for Anaheim, from Todd Marchant and Lubomir Visnovsky. Teemu Selanne gave the Ducks the lead late in the second period with a power play goal, his tenth tally of the season, from Corey Perry. Cam Fowler made it 4-2 for the Ducks in the third period, with his third of the year being assisted by Marchant and Paul Mara. Vancouver started to rally back with Daniel Sedin's 15th of the season, a power play goal from Ehrhoff and Kesler. Kesler then notched the tying goal with twenty-two seconds left in regulation, his second of the night and 12th of the season, with assists going to Manny Malhotra and Henrik Sedin. The 4-4 tie lasted until the shootout, where Tambellini netted the only goal, and the Canucks won 5-4. Kesler was the first star with two goals and an assist, followed by Teemu Selanne, who had a goal and an assist in a losing effort. Tambellini was the third star, with his goal in regulation and shootout winner. There were two fights, with the first period dance between Luca Sbisa of the Ducks and Alexandre Bolduc of the Canucks. The follow up in the second period featured Aaron Voros and Kevin Bieksa.

That's all there was for Wednesday's hockey action. Following this post at the end of the game will be the Thursday Night Football post, and tomorrow, there should be an earlier recap of tonight's eight games of puck.

NHL recap for Tuesday

There were five more games played on Tuesday. Of news to reach the presses most recently were of Bill Guerin retiring after 18 seasons, and also Jere Lehtinen calling it quits after 14 seasons. Congratulations to both of them on wonderful careers. As for the games played on Tuesday, it all started it Quebec, with...

The Montreal Canadiens hosting divisional rivals, the Ottawa Senators. Montreal was backstopped by Carey Price, while Pascal Leclaire started for Ottawa. Michael Cammalleri got the scoring started for the Habs with his ninth of the year, an unassisted power play goal. Ottawa answered late with Nick Foligno's second of the year, a power play goal coming from Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson. The Canadiens broke the tie in the third period with Jeff Halpern's sixth of the season, from Maxim Lapierre. Brian Gionta made it 3-1 with his ninth of year, an unassisted goal, which was later followed by Roman Hamrlik's third of the year, from Gionta and Lars Eller. Montreal went on to win 4-1. Pascal Leclaire was replaced by Brian Elliot after the Gionta goal. Cammalleri was the first star, with a goal, followed by second star Gionta, who had a goal and an assist, and lastly, third star Halpern, who had a goal.

Moving right along to south Florida, where the Panthers hosted the Colorado Avalanche. Tomas Vokoun started for the Panthers, while Craig Anderson faced the man he used to back up. Bill Thomas scored his first of the season to put the Panthers up early, with the assists credited to Darcy Hordichuk and Bryan McCabe. John-Michael Liles tied it in the second period, with his fifth of the year being assisted by Paul Stastny and David Jones. Ryan O'Reilly gave the Avalanche the lead with his second of the season, thanks to Daniel Winnik and Liles. Stephen Weiss re-tied it for Florida just over a minute later, with his sixth of the year coming from Steven Reinprecht and Michael Frolik. Matt Duchene restored the Avalanche lead in the third period with his ninth of the season, from Kyle Quincey. David Booth's seventh of the year for the Panthers tied it up at 3, with the assist going to Evgeny Dadonov. The tie would last until Weiss won it in overtime with his second of the night, and seventh of the year, assisted on by Booth. Weiss was the first star for his two goals, followed by Booth, who had one goal and one assist, and Matt Duchene earned the third star, for a goal in the losing Colorado effort.

Moving along to Boston, where the Bruins hosted the Buffalo Sabres, in what was expected to be quite the brawl. Tim Thomas started for the Bruins, while Ryan Miller guarded the Sabres cage. Milan Lucic's 13th of the season allowed Boston to draw first blood, with the assists coming from David Krejci and Nathan Horton. Luke Adam tied it in the second period, with his first of the year coming from Jason Pominville and Mark Mancari. Thomas Vanek gave Buffalo the lead with his eleventh of the season, assisted by Tyler Myers and Jordan Leopold. Nathan Horton tied it for the Bruins with his tenth of the year, an unassisted goal. The tie at 2 persisted until overtime, where Mark Recchi's sixth of the year won it, thanks to Dennis Seidenberg and David Krejci on the power play. Recchi, Lucic, and Vanek were the three stars, in that order, with a goal each, Recchi's being a winner and Vanek's being in a losing Buffalo effort. Johnny Boychuk and Steve Montador also shared a first period fight, the source of the only penalized brawl.

Up to Calgary, where the Flames hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning in a pre-lockout Stanley Cup rematch. Miikka Kiprusoff was in net for the Flames, while Dan Ellis got the nod for the Lightning. Cory Sarich opened the scoring, putting the Flames on the board first, with his first of the year, from Adam Pardy and Brendan Morrison. Tom Kostopoulos extended the lead to 2-0 with his second of the season, thanks to Rene Bourque and Mark Giordano. Bourque tallied his own goal, 12th of the year, in the second period, assisted by Curtis Glencross and Mikael Backlund. Tampa Bay woke up with Johan Harju's first of the season, from Pavel Kubina and Randy Jones, and cut the lead down to one with Ryan Malone's eighth of the year late in the second period. Malone got help from Nate Thompson and Victor Hedman. Calgary was able to silence the Lightning with Jarome Iginla's 12th of the season, a power play goal from Jay Bouwmeester and Rene Bourque. The lead held up through the rest of the third period, giving the Flames a 4-2 win. Bourque was the first star with a goal and two assists, while Cory Sarich was the second star with a goal. Ryan Malone's goal in the losing Tampa Bay effort was the third star.

Ending the travels for the night in Alberta, where the Flames' rival from Edmonton, the Oilers, hosted the Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Hiller started for the visiting Ducks, while Nikolai Khabibulin was in the Edmonton paint. After a scoreless first period, Saku Koivu netted his tenth of the season to put Anaheim up 1-0, courtesy of Teemu Selanne and Cam Fowler. Selanne added his own goal, his ninth of the season, in the third period, with helpers being credited to Andy Sutton (the expert) and Koivu. Ryan Jones cut the lead to 2-1 with his seventh of the year, coming from Magnus Paajarvi and Tom Gilbert. Edmonton tied it on the power play with Dustin Penner's ninth of the season, assisted on by Kurtis Foster and Tom Gilbert. The 2-2 tie held up until a shootout, where Joffery Lupul scored for the Ducks, and was answered by Taylor Hall. After many rounds of ineptitude on both teams' parts, Cam Fowler wrapped it up in the tenth round. The first star was Dustin Penner, who had a goal in the losing effort, followed by Saku Koivu, with a goal and an assist, and the third star was given to Ryan Jones who had the other Edmonton goal in the loss.

That's all for Tuesday. Wednesday features another five game slate, which from the looks of it right now, is much higher scoring. The Wednesday post will come out tomorrow, with a Thursday Night Football post coming at the conclusion of the TNF game.

Fantasy Football All-Stars, week 13

It was brought to my attention that All-Stars in terms of the actual game aren't always the same as the person putting up the most points, as situational aspects can interfere. So, to be clear, this regards Fantasy Football only, and will be strictly points based. With that said, here's your players for the week, two at every position this time to represent more performances.

Quarterbacks: Michael Vick and Tom Brady
Running Backs: Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch
Wide Receivers: Reggie Wayne and Greg Jennings
Tight Ends: Vernon Davis and Benjamin Watson
Kickers: Josh Brown and David Buehler

There's your all-stars for this week. Another of these posts will be out at the same time next week, and my next post should be tomorrow covering Tuesday's NHL games.

Monday Night Football, week 13

This game takes place at Gilette Stadium, where the New England Patriots hosted the New York Jets. The Patriots came out kicking (so to speak) with Shayne Graham opening the scoring with a 41 yard field goal. BenJarvus Green-Ellis dented the goal line for the Patriots, with a 1 yard touchdown rush and Graham added an extra point. Going airborne for the second touchdown, Tom Brady found Deion Branch for 25 yards, and Graham added another extra point. Nick Folk put the Jets on the board with a 39 yard field goal, to make it 17-3 Patriots. Brady passed to Brandon Tate for 4 yards and a touchdown, and after the Graham extra point, it was 24-3, which lasted until halftime. Brady found another target for a touchdown, going 18 yards to Wes Welker, and Graham was true in service with another extra point. Not wanting to be accused of being bland, Brady threw his fourth touchdown pass of the night 1 yard to Aaron Hernandez, and Graham added yet another extra point to make it 38-3. Green-Ellis topped it all off with a 5 yard run, and Graham's extra point made it 45-3, which proved to be the final.

As mentioned in the earlier post, Fantasy Football All-Stars will be tomorrow. That's all we have for tonight, and thank you all once again for reading.

NHL recap - Monday (same day!)

Thanks to the five games all being scheduled at 4 or 4:30 PM Pacific time, this post is made possible to be a same day post. We start off in Georgia with...

The Atlanta Thrashers hosting the Nashville Predators. Ondrej Pavelec was in the paint for the Thrashers, while Anders Lindback filled in for the injured Pekka Rinne in the Nashville crease. Colin Wilson's fifth of the year got the Preds out to a 1-0 lead early, with assists by Sergei Kostitsyn and Kevin Klein. Nashville's lead was extended with the eighth of the year for Steve Sullivan, who got assisted by Wilson and Cal O'Reilly. Atlanta finally answered in the second period with Jim Slater's fourth of the year, off of Tobias Enstrom. Andrew Ladd tied the game at two with his tenth of the season for Atlanta, and he was assisted by Dustin Byfuglien and Bryan Little on the power play. Overtime was needed, and it was there where Zach Bogosian won it, with his second of the year coming from Ben Eager and Alex Burmistrov. Bogosian earned the first star with his game winning goal, followed up by Slater, who had a goal. Colin Wilson of the Predators was the third star with a goal and an assist.

Moving right along, to Washington, D.C., where the Capitals hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. Michal Neuvirth was in between the pipes for Washington, while Jonas Gustavsson got the nod for Toronto. The Capitals opened up with Mathieu Perreault's first of the year, courtesy of Tom Poti and Alexander Semin. Clarke MacArthur evened it up with his eighth of the season, a power play goal from Nikolai Kulemin. Mike Knuble restored the lead for Washington with his fifth of the season, also a power play goal, with assists by Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Poti. Perreault scored his second of the year and night in the second period, with the lone assist going to Brooks Laich. Alex Ovechkin made it 4-1 for the Capitals with his 12th of the year, getting assistance by Poti and Backstrom. Toronto kicked it back into gear in the third period, with Mikhail Grabovski's sixth of the season, assisted by Tomas Kaberle and Nikolai Kulemin. They shaved the lead down to one with Tim Brent's third of the year, with helpers going to Kaberle and Nazem Kadri. MacArthur then tied it up 59 seconds later with his second of the night and ninth of the year, from Grabovski and Phil Kessel. After a scoreless overtime, Grabovski netted the only goal in the shootout to complete the Maple Leafs come from behind victory, 5-4. MacArthur earned the first star for his two goals, followed by Perreault, who had two goals as well, and lastly, Grabovski, who had a goal and an assist, plus the winner in the shootout. One fight was fought, with D.J. King (the next big video game title) fighting against Colton Orr.

To the other hub of NHL spotlight, Pittsburgh, where the Penguins hosted rivals in the New Jersey Devils. The Devils started Johan Hedberg once again, while the Penguins rolled with Marc-Andre Fleury. Brian Rolston drew first blood for New Jersey, with his second of the year in the first period, assisted by Jason Arnott and Mattias Tedenby on the power play. Chris Kunitz would have none of that, tying the game with his eighth of the season, thanks to assists by Sidney Crosby and Pascal Dupuis. Crosby added his 24th of the year in the second period, thanks to Alex Goligoski and Kunitz. After only a fight in the third period between Deryk Engelland of the Penguins and David Clarkson of the Devils, Pittsburgh rolled to a 2-1 victory. Crosby was the first star with his goal and assist, followed by Kunitz who had the same, and Johan Hedberg, the losing goalie, who went 32 for 34 in saves.

Going along to Columbus, where the Dallas Stars paid a visit to the Blue Jackets. Columbus rolled with Mathieu Garon, while the Stars deployed Kari Lethonen to handle the shots. Kris Russell got the Blue Jackets on the board first with his second goal of the year, assisted on by Jakub Voracek and Rick Nash. Brad Richards tied it for the Stars in the second period with his 12th of the season, thanks to James Neal and Aaron Gagnon. Steve Ott gave Dallas a 2-1 lead with his seventh of the year, assisted by Trevor Daley and Brandon Segal. Rick Nash tied it late in the third period with his 14th of the season, a power play goal from Anton Stralman and Derick Brassard. After an uneventful overtime, Nash potted a shootout goal, which was answered by Richards, before Kyle Wilson scored what would be the last goal. The Blue Jackets took the game 3-2 in the shootout. Nash was the first star with a goal and an assist, followed by the shootout hero Wilson, and lastly, losing goalie Kari Lehtonen, who was 27 for 29 in saves.

Finally, to the Joe Louis Arena in Hockeytown, where the Detroit Red Wings hosted the traveling San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi got the start for the Sharks, while the Red Wings rolled with Jimmy Howard. Detroit struck first with a power play goal by Tomas Holmstrom, his eighth tally of the season, assisted by Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski. Joe Thornton tied it with his seventh of the year, a shorthanded goal from Dany Heatley. Johan Franzen restored the lead at 2-1, with his 12th of the season, a power play goal assisted by Holmstrom and Rafalski. Niclas Wallin helped San Jose re-tie the game with his second of the year, assisted by Justin Braun and Jamal Mayers. Logan Couture gave San Jose a 3-2 lead with his eleventh of the season, with the helper going to Ryan Clowe. Dany Heatley added a late second period goal, his 13th of the year, from Douglas Murray. Couture added another goal in the third period, to make it 5-2, his second goal of the night and 12th of the season, with assists by Clowe and Derek Joslin. This proved to be all for the game, and the Sharks cruised to a 5-2 victory over Detroit. Couture was the first star with his two goals, followed by Heatley, who had a goal and an assist, and Thornton, who had one goal.

There's another five games, albeit more spread out throughout the viewing time, tomorrow, and since this post is going out tonight, there will be NO POSTS about hockey tomorrow. There will be a Fantasy Football All-Stars post for week 13, and tonight will have a post about the Monday Night Football game following this post rather quickly.

NHL recap for Sunday December 5th

There were five games on this past Sunday, which is a lot for a Sunday. On an unrelated note, in Major League Baseball, Derek Jeter stayed with the Yankees, while Jayson Werth (and his beard) signed with the Washington Nationals, and Adrian Gonzalez will be at first base for the Boston Red Sox. Back to the rink, specifically the one at the Nassau Veteran's Memorial Colosseum...

With the New York Islanders hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Dwayne Roloson got the start for New York, while Sergei Bobrovsky was in between the pipes for Philadelphia. Matt Carle started the scoring for the Flyers with his first of the year, assisted by Andrej Meszaros and Mike Richards. After both teams took the second period off, the Islanders tied it through Jon Sim's first of the year, from P.A. Parenteau and Rob Schremp. They took the lead on Frans Nielsen's third of the year, just 36 seconds later. Mark Eaton picked up the lone assist. Andreas Nodl re-tied the game with his seventh of the year, a power play goal with assistance by Meszaros and Claude Giroux. Danny Briere gave the Flyers the lead, with his 14th of the year, assisted by Ville Leino and Scott Hartnell. Philadelphia held on to win 3-2, and Briere was the first star for his goal. Sergei Bobrovsky's 28 for 30 save performance was the second star, while Frans Nielsen's goal in a losing effort was the third star.

Going across town to the Madison Square Garden, where the New York Rangers hosted the Ottawa Senators. Pascal Leclaire started for the visiting Senators, while Henrik Lundqvist was in the crease for the Rangers. Chris Kelly started the scoring in the second period after a scoreless first with his fourth of the year, a shorthanded and unassisted goal. Brandon Prust scored his third of the year in response for the Rangers, also a shorthanded goal, with assists going to Brian Boyle and Dan Girardi. Chris Kelly gave the Senators the lead back with his second of the night, fifth of the season, assisted by Jarkko Ruutu and Filip Kuba. He finished the hat trick in the last second of the game, good for his sixth of the year as an unassisted empty netter, giving Ottawa a 3-1 win over New York. Pascal Leclaire earned the first star with 25 of 26 saves, followed by Chris Kelly's hat trick, and the third star was given to losing goalie Henrik Lundqvist for 22 saves on 24 shots.

Moving along to Chicago, with the Blackhawks playing host to the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff started for the Flames, with Corey Crawford being at the other end of the ice in the Blackhawk net. To save virtual paper, I will take this time to mention every first period goal was a power play goal. Bryan Bickell opened the scoring with his fifth of the year, via Brian Campbell. Dave Bolland extended Chicago's lead with his second of the season, assisted by Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook. Jarome Iginla got the Flames onto the board with his eleventh of the season, thanks to Rene Bourque and Jay Bouwmeester. Anton Babchuk tied it up with his fourth of the season, with assists by Mark Giordano and Brendan Morrison. Toews regained the lead for the Blackhawks with his 12th of the year, courtesy of Tomas Kopecky and Brent Seabrook. After going two periods' worth of scoreless play, Dave Bolland added on his third of the season and second of the night to put it out of reach. It was an empty net goal from Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. Chicago won 4-2. First star was Toews, who had a goal and an assist, followed by Iginla, who had a goal in the losing effort, and lastly for third star, Bolland, who had two goals. Steve Staios of the Flames and Jake Dowell of the Blackhawks also featured in a second period fight.

Moving to Disneyland, where the Anaheim Ducks hosted division rivals from Phoenix, the Coyotes. The Coyotes used Ilya Bryzgalov to block pucks, while Jonas Hiller tended the Ducks twine. Taylor Pyatt opened the scoring in the first period for Phoenix, with his fourth of the year coming from Sami Lepisto and Dave Schlemko. Shane Doan tallied on another goal for Phoenix late in the second period, his second mark of the season, coming on the power play and from Keith Yandle and Ray Whitney. Lee Stempniak finished it off with an empty net goal, his eighth goal of the season, from Vernon Fiddler (on the roof). Ilya Bryzgalov got the first star for his 3-0 shutout with 26 saves. Toni Lydman of the Ducks was the second star for reasons unknown, followed by third star Shane Doan, who had a goal. The early first period fight featured two of the best, in Anaheim's Mustached Muchacho George Parros and Twitter legend Paul Bissonnette.

Finally, in Vancouver, British Columbia, where the Canucks took on visitors from St. Louis, the Blues. Jaroslav Halak started for the Blues, while Roberto Luongo, the poet, was given the nod for Vancouver. Alex Steen drew first blood for the Blues, with his sixth of the season, assisted by Matt D'Agostini and Patrik Berglund. Jannik Hansen answered for the Canucks, with his second of the year from Jeff Tambellini and Keith Ballard. D'Agostini added his own goal in the second period, to give the Blues a 2-1 lead, with assists by Eric Brewer and Alex Steen. Vancouver answered again with Kevin Bieksa's second of the year, assisted by Daniel Sedin. Alex Steen gave the Blues the lead one more time with his seventh of the year and second of the night in the third period. This goal was unassisted and also the deciding factor in the game, where St. Louis won 3-2. Steen was the first star with two goals and one assist, followed by Jannik Hansen's goal in the losing effort, and finished up by D'Agostini's goal and assist. There was one early fight in the first period, between Carlo Colaiacovo and Keith Ballard.

That's all for Sunday. I'm hoping to get Monday's recaps out, but I'm fairly swamped tonight, so we'll see. Also, Monday Night Football's post will be out either tonight or tomorrow, depending on how much time I get.

Song of the Week II

This week's song of the week is a track off of James Blunt's debut album, called Tears and Rain. It's the fifth track on the album, a good tune about how life goes. Blunt is classified under pop, with an alternative sound coming out sometimes. His first album featured hits such as You're Beautiful and Goodbye My Lover. So check this out, especially Tears and Rain, it's a good song. This feature will be run again at the same time next Monday.

Week 8 Fantasy Hockey All-Stars

Another edition of All-Stars on the ice, which were the following players

Center: Sidney Crosby, 5 goals, 1 assist, +4, 2 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 14 shots on goal
Left Wing: Tomas Kopecky, 1 goal, 4 assists, +3, 4 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 9 shots on goal
Right Wing: Jarome Iginla, 2 goals, 3 assists, +1, 2 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 16 shots on goal
Defenseman: Roman Hamrlik, 1 goal, 4 assists, +2, 6 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 8 shots on goal
Goaltender: Ryan Miller, 2 wins, 0.00 goals against average, 51 saves, 1.000 save percentage, 2 shutouts

Those are the best players to have in the past week. A couple of surprises on there, with Kopecky and Hamrlik putting up unexpected numbers. Another of these will come out next week, in the meantime I'll go post a Song of the Week.

Sunday Night Football, Week 13

The last game of the day, being played in Baltimore, Maryland, where the Ravens host division rivals from Pittsburgh, the Steelers. Baltimore struck relatively early with Joe Flacco connecting with Anquan Boldin for 14 yards, which was followed by a Billy Cundiff extra point. This 7-0 score would last throughout the second quarter and into the third until Shaun Suisham kicked a 45 yard field goal to make it 7-3 Ravens. Cundiff responded for Baltimore with a 24 yard field goal. Suisham added a 19 yard field goal in the fourth quarter. The Steelers then took a lead on Ben Roethilsberger's 9 yard touchdown pass to Isaac Redman. Suisham made it 13-10, which proved to be the final score. Pittsburgh improved to 9-3 while knocking the Ravens down to 8-4.

Tune in tomorrow for the AFC East game on Monday Night Football, featuring the New York Jets and New England Patriots.

NFL Week 13 Late Games recap

There were five late games today, and we start in an AFC West battle between

The visiting Oakland Raiders and hosting San Diego Chargers. Jason Campbell opened the scoring for the Black and Silver, with a 9 yard touchdown rush, followed by a Sebastian Janikowski extra point. Campbell went to the air to find another touchdown, connecting with Jacoby Ford late in the first quarter, good for 4 yards, followed by Janikowski's extra point. San Diego finally entered the scoring game with Nate Kaeding's 39 yard field goal. Michael Bush answered by rushing 7 yards for a touchdown, followed by a Janikowski extra point. The Raiders took the 21-3 lead into halftime. Kaeding kicked a 33 yard field goal in the third quarter before Philip Rivers passed to Antonio Gates for four yards and the touchdown. Kaeding added the extra point to make it 21-13. Darren McFadden put the game out of reach by adding a 7 yard touchdown run to the Raiders scoring, followed by Janikowski's extra point to present the final score of Raiders 28, Chargers 13. Oakland improved to 6-6, while San Diego dropped down to 6-6.

Moving along to Tampa Bay,where the Buccaneers were playing a rare afternoon home game against the Atlanta Falcons. Michael Turner opened up the scoring, allowing the Falcons to draw first blood with his 5 yard touchdown rush. Matt Bryant added the extra point. Tampa Bay responded with LeGarrette Blount's 6 yard touchdown run and the ensuing Connor Barth extra point. The teams turned airborne for the second quarter, with Matt Ryan passing 17 yards for the touchdown to Ovie Mughelli, and Bryant added the extra point. Josh Freeman threw his own touchdown pass, a 1 yard throw to Mike Williams, which Barth followed up with the extra point. Barth added the only score in the third quarter, a 33 yard field goal to give Tampa Bay a 17-14 lead. On a pitch, Earnest Graham tossed a two yard touchdown pass to John Gilmore in the fourth quarter, which was followed by Barth's extra point. After the touchdown, Barth kicked off, and the kick was returned 102 yards by Atlanta's Eric Weems. Bryant added the extra point to make it 24-21 Buccaneers. Matt Ryan later passed to Michael Jenkins for 9 yards, and Bryant added the extra point. Tampa Bay couldn't score again, and the Falcons stole a 28-24 victory to improve to 10-2 and drop the Bucs to 7-5.

Onward to Seattle, where the Seahawks hosted the lowly Carolina Panthers. Mike Goodson rushed 6 yards for an early touchdown to get Carolina going, followed by John Kasay's extra point. Jonathan Stewart returned to his home state and got a 3 yard touchdown run as well, in the second quarter, also followed by a Kasay extra point. Olindo Mare got the Seahawks on the board before halftime with a field goal from 24 yards, carrying the 14-3 Panthers lead into the locker rooms. Marshawn Lynch put a touchdown on the board for Seattle in the third quarter, and Mare added the extra point. Soon after, Lofa Tatupu intercepted the Panthers quarterback, Jimmy Clausen, and returned it 26 yards for the touchdown, followed by a Mare extra point. Lynch had another touchdown in the third quarter and one more in the fourth, of 1 and 22 yards, respectively, both of which were followed by Mare extra points. Seattle ended up on top 31-14 in their come from behind victory, improving to 6-6, while the Panthers dropped to a league worst 1-11.

Moving into Arizona, with an NFC West matchup with somewhat important implications, as the Cardinals hosted the tied-for-first St. Louis Rams. Jay Feely got Arizona going with two field goals in the first quarter, of 45 and 41 yards. Josh Brown responded for St. Louis with three in a row, the first of which in the first quarter being 28 yards, followed by the second quarter kicks from 52 and 20 yards, giving the Rams a 9-6 lead going into halftime. Steven Jackson scored the first touchdown of the game in the third quarter, a 27 yard run to extend the Rams lead to 16-9 with Brown's extra point. Brown added on one more field goal, a 43 yard kick in the fourth quarter for good measure, and the Rams cruised to victory and a 6-6 record 19-6. Arizona fell to 3-9.

Lastly, to Indianapolis, where the Colts hosted "America's Team" (in their eyes only), the Dallas Cowboys. Tashard Choice got the Cowboys going, with a 20 yard touchdown rush, with David Buehler making the extra point, and later in the first quarter, adding his own field goal of 30 yards. They got defensive for their second quarter touchdown, with Orlando Scandrick intercepting Peyton Manning for 40 yards, with Buehler's extra point being good. Manning decided to throw one to his own team this time, finding Pierre Garcon for 13 yards, and Adam Vinatieri made the extra point. The score at halftime was 17-7 Cowboys. Manning found Reggie Wayne in the third quarter, good for 34 yards and the touchdown, and Vinatieri added another extra point. Buehler tacked on a 46 yard field goal, and then Sean Lee intercepted Manning for another defensive touchdown by Dallas. Buehler added on another extra point. The Colts got the wheels back on with Javarris James' 1 yard touchdown run, followed by a Vinatieri extra point. Indianapolis blocked a punt attempt by Mat McBriar as well, returning it for 2 yards and the touchdown thanks to Taj Smith. Vinatieri added the extra point. Jon Kitna went airborne and connected with Jason Witten for a 2 yard youchdown pass, and then Kitna completed the two point conversion to Roy Williams, giving Dallas a 35-28 lead. Javarris James rushed for two yards and the touchdown, and Vinatieri tied it at 35 with 29 seconds left in regulation with his extra point. After a few turnovers (none of which being an apple flavor) Buehler came in from his day off (what, wrong Buehler?) and kicked a game winning 38 yard field goal for the Cowboys, making it 38-35. The Cowboys improved to 4-8 and dropped the Colts down to 6-6, behind the Jaguars in their tight division race.

That's all there was for the late games, and I'll be working on the Sunday Night Football recap between the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers and the hosting Baltimore Ravens.

NFL Week 13 Early Games recap

There were a total of eight games in the early wave today. Will recap them to the best of my ability. Sorry if these sound a bit dry, I'm not intentionally trying to be boring.

First off was the game between the visiting Cleveland Browns and the host Miami Dolphins. They went through the first quarter scoreless, and waited until well into the second before Phil Dawson kicked a 32 yard field goal. Dan Carpenter added a tying field goal for the Dolphins right before the half, good from an astounding 60 yards. Jake Delhomme completed a touchdown pass good for 3 yards to Benjamin Watson as the only score in the third quarter, with Dawson's extra point being good. Chad Henne tied it up with a touchdown pass to his tight end, Anthony Fasano, this one good for 11 yards, and the score was tied at 10 with the Carpenter extra point. Cleveland got the last laugh though, as Phil Dawson nailed a 23 yard field goal at the end of the game to win it 13-10. The Browns moved to 5-7, while the Dolphins dropped to 6-6.

The next game featured the Green Bay Packers hosting the San Francisco 49ers. San Francisco broke out their brand new kicker in Jeff Reed, with a 44 yard field goal in the first quarter, followed by a second quarter kick of 26 yards. Green Bay got on the board by Aaron Rodgers 57 yard touchdown to Greg Jennings, followed by a Mason Crosby extra point to give them the lead. John Kuhn rushed a 1 yard touchdown in for the Packers as well, followed by another extra point from Crosby. Troy Smith made a touchdown pass to Vernon Davis late in the first half good for 66 yards. Reed added the extra point to make it 14-13 Packers at the half. Rodgers connected with Donald Driver for 61 yards early in the third quarter, and Crosby added on another extra point. Reed kicked a 23 yard chip shot in for a field goal, and was answered shortly by Rodgers and Jennings hooking up for a yard and a score, with Crosby making the extra point. Crosby added a 43 and 24 yard field goal in the fourth quarter to bring the final to 34-16. Green Bay went to 8-4, while San Francisco dropped to 4-8.

The next game was between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs, played in Kansas City. Matt Cassel started the scoring in the late first quarter, with a 2 yard pass to Leonard Pope, with Ryan Succop making the extra point. Matt Prater got Denver on the board with a 25 yard field goal in the second quarter, which was answered later by Succop's 47 yard kick. After an uneventful third quarter, Prater scored again for the Broncos with a 41 yard field goal early in the fourth. Denver couldn't muster any more offense though, and Kansas City held on to win 10-6. The Chiefs improved to 8-4, while Denver dropped to 3-9.

Moving along to Minnesota where the Vikings hosted the Bills from Buffalo. Buffalo struck first with an interception by Drayton Florence off of Tavaris Jackson filling in for an injured (and all-pro wheelchair football quarterback Brett Favre) good for 40 yards. Rian Lindell made the extra point. Tavaris Jackson then struck back with a 31 yard pass for a touchdown to Sidney Rice, with Ryan Longwell making the extra point. Adrian Peterson scored two second quarter touchdowns of 2 and 3 yards (improving all the time) and Longwell made both extra point, and added another after Jackson found Rice again for 6 yards. Longwell kicked a field goal just before halftime as well, good from 38 yards. After both teams took the third quarter off, Peterson visited the end zone again with a 43 yard run, with Longwell adding another extra point. Ryan Fitzpatrick found David Nelson to give the Bills some more points, obviously too little, too late, but it was a 12 yard touchdown. Lindell added the last point of the game, and the Vikings won 38-14. They improved to 5-7, while the Bills dropped to 2-10.

Moving along to Detroit, where the Lions hosted the Chicago Bears (hey, all they need is Tigers and oh my! and they've got the chant down). Detroit drew first blood with third-string quarterback Drew Stanton's 3 yard touchdown rush, and Dave Rayner's extra point. Chester Taylor responded for the Bears with a 1 yard touchdown run, and Robbie Gould added the extra point. Dave Rayner added a 50 yard field goal in the second quarter, which was answered by Matt Forte's 14 yard touchdown run and Gould's extra point. Stanton passed late in the second quarter and found Calvin Johnson for 46 yards and the touchdown, followed by Rayner's extra point. Detroit took a 17-14 lead into halftime, and Rayner extended it in the third quarter with a 25 yard field goal, which was answered by Gould with a 54 yard field goal to make it 20-17 Lions. Jay Cutler completed a fourth quarter pass of 7 yards to Brandon Manumaleuna, good for a touchdown and a 24-20 lead after Gould added the extra point. This proved to be the final, and Chicago improved to 9-3 while the Lions dropped to 2-10 (oh my!).

Onward to Tennessee and the Titans hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars. Rashad Jennings got things going for the Jaguars, running 11 yards for the touchdown, followed by Josh Scobee's extra point. Quarterback David Garrard ran in for 4 yards in the second quarter, followed by Scobee's extra point, and Scobee also added a 26 yard field goal to give Jacksonville a 17-0 lead through halftime. Jacksonville proceeded to take the rest of the game off, but the Titans could only muster two field goals by Rob Bironas, going for 37 yards in the third quarter, and 30  yards in the fourth. Jacksonville held on to win 17-6, improving to 7-5, while dropping Tennessee to 5-7.

Moving along to the New Jersey/New York/the Meadowlands, where the New York Giants hosted the Washington Redskins. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw both ran in touchdowns in the first quarter, with Jacobs going 8 yards and Bradshaw going for 4 yards. Lawrence Tynes added both extra points. Bradshaw did the scoring work in the second quarter, with a 10 yard touchdown run, followed by another extra point from Tynes. The Giants took a 21-0 lead into the half. Jacobs ran in another touchdown himself, a 28 yard rush, followed by Tynes with the extra point. Washington scored in the third quarter as well, with Donovan McNabb finding Anthony Armstrong in the end zone for 33 yards. Graham Gano added the extra point. Tynes then finished things off in the fourth quarter with a 28 yard field goal, to present the final score of 31-7 New York. The G-Men improved to 8-4 while dropping the Redskins to 5-7.

Finally, we have the New Orleans Saints visiting the Cincinnati Bengals. Garrett Hartley provided the only scoring in the first quarter, a field goal of 48 yards for the Saints. Clint Stitser kicked a 29 yard field goal in the second quarter to tie the game for the Bengals, but Christopher Ivory ran 55 yards for the Saints and his touchdown was followed by Hartley's extra point. Stitser added a 23 yard field goal, but Hartlet one-upped him with a 24 yard kick before the end of the half to give the Saints a 13-6 halftime lead. Ivory added a touchdown in the third quarter of one yard, followed by a Hartley extra point. Carson Palmer hooked up with Terrell Owens in response, good for 5 yards and the touchdown, followed by Stitser's extra point. Cedric Benson added a touchdown for the Bengals in the fourth, a 1 yard rush followed by a Stitser extra point. Drew Brees, unwilling to let the lead shrink, threw to Robert Meachem for 52 yards and the touchdown, followed by another Hartley extra point. Benson ran in for another touchdown, four yards, and Carson Palmer found Jermaine Gresham for the two point conversion, to tie the game at 27. Stitser added a field goal of 47 yards to give Cincinnati a 30-27 lead, but it wouldn't hold up as Brees found Marques Colston for 3 yards, followed by a Hartley extra point. The Bengals failed to rally back, and lost 34-30. The Saints improved to 9-3, while the Bengals dropped to 2-10.

That's all for now, with the late games coming in approximately 3-4 hours. The Sunday night game should come shortly after it ends. Stay posted (don't laugh at the bad blog humor).

Inaugural Sandwich Showdown

Okay, for real now. Two sandwiches that actually go against each other, not one winning by default. This week's competitors were a Subway Melt on Roasted Garlic, toasted (because it's so darn cold outside) and a Spicy Italian on Italian, toasted (because it's still cold). In the bread quality aspect, the Spicy Italian won, for near flawless baking in the high speed toasting oven. Under the meats category, the Melt won, because deli-style Italian meats are generally better cold. As for overall sandwich quality, the Spicy Italian would win, because it held together extremely well and was delicious and filling. That's all the sandwich news for now, and I'll give you all some more next week!

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.