Friday NHL recap

Four games were played on Friday. Some lopsided hockey, although there was a close game in there. We start at the Prudential Center in...

New Jersey, where the Devils hosted the Nashville Predators. Martin Brodeur was in between the pipes for New Jersey, while Anders Lindback started again for the Predators. Steve Sullivan got Nashville going late in the first period, scoring his ninth of the year with help from Shea Weber. Martin Erat added two power play goals, almost exactly a period apart in the second and third periods, good for his fourth and fifth goals of the season. Assisting on the first were Ryan Suter and Shea Weber, and Suter and Sergei Kostitsyn had the helpers for the later one. Mattias Tedenby got New Jersey on the board with his fourth of the season, also a power play goal, from Ilya Kovalchuk and Brian Rolston. The Devils couldn't fully recover, however, and lost 3-1 to the Predators. Erat's two goals were good for the first star, followed by Weber's two assists. Tedenby's goal in the loss earned the third star.

Heading to Florida, where the Panthers hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Tomas Vokoun was in the paint for Florida, and Ryan Miller earned the starting duties for the Sabres. Bryan McCabe got the Panthers up early with his fourth of the year, assisted by Shawn Matthias and Evgeny Dadonov. Marty Reasoner added two goals in a row, his fourth and fifth of the campaign, with Dadonov and Dennis Wideman helping on the first goal and Jason Garrison picking up the lone assist on the second. Making it 4-0 was David Booth, whose eighth of the year came on the power play from Michael Frolik and Matthias. Frolik potted his own eighth of the year late in the second period, with help from Stephen Weiss and Chris Higgins, but not too late that Buffalo coludn't finally get on the board with Derek Roy's tenth of the year, assisted by Tyler Myers, and their relieving goaltender Patrick Lalime, who came on after Miller gave up Booth's goal. Weiss made it 6-1 early in the third period with his eighth of the season, a shorthanded goal assisted on by Higgins. Tim Connolly made it 6-2 with his sixth of the year for Buffalo, a power play goal assisted by Jochen Hecht and Tyler Ennis. The 6-2 margin proved to be the final, giving Florida the win on the back of first star Reasoner, who had two goals, followed by Frolik, who had one goal and one assist, and goalie Tomas Vokoun, who was 41 for 43 in saves.

Going to Chicago, where the Blackhawks hosted bitter rivals in the form of the Detroit Red Wings. There was a pregame ceremony for Chris Chelios, the Brett Favre of hockey, as he played for both teams. Starting in net for Chicago was Corey Crawford, and for Detroit there was Jimmy Howard. The Blackhawks struck early with Patrick Sharp's 18th of the season, a power play goal assisted by Brent Seabrook and Jonathan Toews. Bryan Bickell made it 2-0 with his ninth of the season, assisted by Fernando Pisani and Seabrook. Patrick Eaves cut the lead to 2-1 with his sixth of the year, from Jonathan Ericsson and Brian Rafalski just twenty-seven seconds after Bickell's goal. Tomas Kopecky added two goals, in the second and third periods, good for his fourth and fifth of the year, with Brian Campbell and Niklas Hjalmarsson assisting the first and Jack Skille and Jake Dowell picking up helpers on what would be the last goal of the game. Chicago went on to beat the Red Wings 4-1. Corey Crawford earned the first star, going 29 for 30 in saves, followed by Kopecky's tow goals and Seabrook's two assists.

Finally, the last game was in Ottawa, where the Senators hosted the Colorado Avalanche. Brian Elliott and Craig Anderson started for the hosts and visitors, respectively. Erik Karlsson's sixth of the year tore things open early in the first period, with Chris Kelly and Jarkko Ruutu helping the Senators get a 1-0 lead. The Avalanche answered with a T.J. Galiardi goal, his fourth this year, assisted by the Kevins, Shattenkirk and Porter. Milan Michalek retook the lead for Ottawa, scoring his seventh of the year courtesy of Ryan Shannon. It took Colorado until the second period to answer, with Cody McLeod's fourth of the season, assisted by John-Michael Liles and Philippe Dupuis. Keeping with the alternating pattern, as the Senators took a 3-2 lead with Matt Carkner's first of the season, helped along by Chris Neil and Chris Kelly. Matt Duchene and the Avalanche responded with a power play goal, the 12th score of the year for Duchene, assisted by Liles and Shattenkirk. Breaking the trend, Colorado got ahead in the third period with a goal by Kevin Porter, his sixth of the year coming from Dupuis. The Senators went on to answer with Jason Spezza's ninth of the year, a power play goal assisted by Alex Kovalev and Mike Fisher. Daniel Alfredsson made it 5-4 Ottawa with his eleventh of the year, assisted by Nick Foligno. Tying the game up was Ryan O'Reilly, netting his fourth of the year from Daniel Winnik and Ryan O'Byrne. The tie surprisingly held up until Duchene netted his second of the night in overtime, his 13th of the season, from Tomas Fleischmann to win it 6-5 for the Avalanche. First star honors went to Duchene for the two goals, followed by Alfredsson, who had a goal in his team's loss, and Ryan O'Reilly, who also tallied a goal.

That's all there is to it. Saturday features eleven games, which may be recapped in two pieces such as last week. Depends on if I can type, which is something I struggled with throughout here, so sorry if there are any typos.

NHL recap, Thursday, December 16th

There were nine games played on Thursday. We'll jump right in with...

The Atlanta Thrashers hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. Chris Mason got a start for the Thrashers, while Cam Ward was in between the pipes for the Hurricanes. After a scoreless first period, Atlanta broke open the scoring with Evander Kane's tenth of the season, a power play goal assisted by Anthony Stewart and Johnny Oduya. Stewart extended the lead to 2-0 with his ninth of the season, from Kane and Dustin Byfuglien. Carolina started to answer with Brandon Sutter's seventh of the season early in the third period, assisted by Tuomo Ruutu and Jamie McBain. They tied it with Eric Staal's 13th of the year, from Joni Pitkanen. The tie lasted into the shootout, where Nik Antropov traded a barb with Jussi Jokinen, and the Hurricanes stole the game with Sergei Samsonov's goal. Samsonov earned the first star for the winner, followed by Evander Kane, who had a goal and an assist in the Thrasher loss, and Tuomo Ruutu, who tallied an assist. Atlanta's Ben Eager also scrapped with Troy Bodie.

Moving right along into the Big Apple, where the New York Rangers hosted the Phoenix Coyotes. The backups were out in full force, with Martin Biron guarding the Rangers net, and Jason LaBarbera protecting the cage for Phoenix. The Coyotes got started early with a power play goal by Taylor Pyatt, his seventh score of the season coming from Kyle Turris and Keith Yandle. Adrian Aucoin made it 2-0 with his first of the season, assisted by Vernon Fiddler and Lauri Korpikoski. Dan Girardi trimmed the lead down, scoring his third of the year, a power play goal with help from Ruslan Fedotenko and Marc Staal. Phoenix restored the two goal lead with a Martin Hanzal goal, his eighth of the year coming with the man advantage, and assisted by Shane Doan and Ray Whitney. The Rangers cut the lead back down with a Brandon Prust goal, his fifth, coming shorthanded after LaBarbera fumbled with the puck near his net, and the other assist coming from Girardi. LaBarbera did not get an assist on that statistically, but he did make it easier for Prust to put one past him. Derek Stepan tied it at 3 in the third period, scoring his eighth of the season, from Chris Drury and Sean Avery. The tie lasted into the shootout, with New York's Erik Christensen providing the deciding factor. Girardi earned the first star with his goal and assist, followed by Prust, who had a goal. Lastly in the third star spot, Christensen, who won the game.

Going into Canada, where the Montreal Canadiens hosted bitter rivals, the Boston Bruins. Carey Price started for the host Canadiens, while Tim Thomas was in the crease for the visiting Bruins. Michael Cammalleri struck early for Montreal, converting a penalty shot after he was hooked. Maxim Lapierre extended the lead with his fifth of the year, assisted by Mathieu Darche and Alexandre Picard. Blake Wheeler answered for Boston, scoring his seventh, from Mark Recchi and Patrice Bergeron. Max Pacioretty made it 3-1 Montreal with his first of the year, thanks to Scott Gomez and Jaroslav Spacek. Marc Savard responded with his first goal since returning from a concussion, assisted by Andrew Ference and Tyler Seguin, making it 3-2. Brian Gionta restored the two goal lead again with his eleventh of the season, with the helpers coming from Pacioretty and Gomez. Milan Lucic tried to get the Bruins into it with his 16th of the season, assisted by Bergeron and Savard on the power play, but it was too late, and Montreal held on for the 4-3 win. Pacioretty earned the first star with his goal and assist, followed by goal scorers Cammalleri and Gionta in the second and third star spots. David Krejci and Michael Cammalleri also had a fight in the second period.

Heading back to New York, where the Islanders hosted the Anaheim Ducks. Rick DiPietro got the start for the Islanders, as did Curtis McElhinney for the Ducks. P.A. Parenteau got New York started with his fifth of the year, a power play goal assisted by John Tavares and James Wisniewski. Blake Comeau followed it up with his sixth of the year just twenty-eight seconds later, asssited by Rob Schremp and Jon Sim. Matt Moulson struck relatively close afterward, notching his eleventh of the year, unassisted. This goal was enough to scare Curtis McElhinney out of the net, and Jonas Hiller came on as his replacement. Joffery Lupul started Anaheim on the rebound trail with his third of the year, a power play goal from Saku Koivu and Jason Blake. Blake added his sixth of the year early in the third period, from Cam Fowler and Lupul. However, the Islanders would weather the rest of the period and win 3-2. Rick DiPietro earned the first star, going 30 for 32 in saves, followed by Andrew MacDonald, who did something, and Jason Blake, who had a goal and an assist in a losing effort. Dropping the gloves were Trevor Gillies of New York and Sheldon Brookbank of Anaheim in the first period, followed by Matt Martin and George "The Mustache" Parros in the second period.

Going along to St. Louis, where the Blues hosted the Los Angeles Kings. Ty Conklin got the nod for the Blues, while Jonathan Quick was in between the pipes for the Kings. Ryan Smyth started the scoring, giving Los Angeles a 1-0 lead with his ninth of the year, a power play goal from Jack Johnson and Dustin Brown. St. Louis tied it later in the first period with Jay McClement's fifth of the season, assisted by Brad Winchester and B.J. Crombeen. Anze Kopitar took the lead back with his 14th of the year, a power play goal made possible by Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson. St. Louis took the lead up to 4-2 with three straight, beginning with Vladimir Sobotka's third of the season from David Backes and Carlo Colaiacovo. They continued with a power play goal from Winchester and assisted by Colaiacovo and Sobotka, and finished the scoring stretch with Eric Brewer's fifth of the season, from Sobotka and Backes. Wayne Simmonds got Los Angeles back on track with his sixth of the year, assisted by Kyle Clifford and Michal Handzus. Dustin Brown tied it up at 4, with his eleventh of the season helped along by Rob Scuderi and Anze Kopitar. Alex Steen retook the lead for the Blues, scoring his ninth of the season courtesy of McClement and Crombeen. Backes iced the cake with an empty netter from Brad Boyes and Colaiacovo, good for his sixth of the season. The Blues cruised to 6-4 win over the Kings, with Steen's goal being the first star, followed by Sobotka, who had a goal and two assists. Kopitar earned the third star with his goal and assist in the loss, and honorable mentions are in place for Colaiacovo's sock trick. One fight broke out in the second period, between Kyle Clifford of Los Angeles and Tyson Strachan of St. Louis.

Heading to north to Minnesota, where the Wild hosted the Ottawa Senators. Jose Theodore got the nod for the Wild, while Pascal Leclaire was in goal for the Seantors. Kyle Brodziak opened the scoring, giving Minnesota a 1-0 lead with his fifth of the year, assisted by Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Martin Havlat. Daniel Alfredsson evened it in the second period with his tenth of the year, a power play goal from Mike Fisher and Erik Karlsson. Nick Foligno gave Ottawa a lead with his third of the year, also on the power play, assisted by Karlsson and Sergei Gonchar. Chris Kelly topped it off with his seventh of the season, assisted by Karlsson and Alfredsson into an empty net. The Senators would proceed to win 3-1 over the Wild. Pascal Leclaire was the first star with his 23 for 24 saves, followed by Karlsson's sock trick, and Havlat, who had an assist in the loss.

Heading to Texas, where the former Minnesota franchise moved, which would be Dallas, with the Stars hosting the San Jose Sharks. Kari Lethonen was assigned to netminding duties for Dallas, while Antero Niittymaki got the start for San Jose. Devin Setoguchi opened the scoring for the Sharks, potting his third of the year, with assistance from Joe Pavelski and Justin Braun. Brenden Morrow evened it for the Stars late in the first period, with his tenth of the year, assisted by Loui Eriksson and Stephane Robidas on the power play. Eriksson added his own power play goal in the second period, his 13th of the year, with Brad Richards and Robidas picking up the helpers. Torrey Mitchell tied it up again for San Jose, with his fourth of the year, courtesy of Dany Heatley and Kent Huskins. Setoguchi gave San Jose the lead back with his second of the night and fourth of the year, with Pavelski and Niclas Wallin assisting this goal. Tom Wandell gave Dallas a tie game again, scoring third of the year with help from Steve Ott. The 3-3 tie lasted until overtime, where Logan Couture potted his 15th of the year on the power play, giving the Sharks a 4-3 win over the Stars. Dan Boyle had the lone assist on the winner. Setoguchi got the first star with two goals, followed by Loui Eriksson, who had one goal and one assist in his team's loss, and lastly, Pavelski, who had two assists.

Heading into Canada again, where the Calgary Flames hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. Miikka Kiprusoff tended the Flames twine, while Jean-Sebastien Giguere proceeded with goaltending duties for the Maple Leafs. Nikolai Kulemin got Toronto up first, with his tenth of the year, receiving help from Clarke MacArthur and Francois Beauchemin. Calgary evened it with the fourth goal of the year for Mikael Backlund, assisted by Brendan Morrison. Alex Tanguay gave the Flames a lead in the second period with his ninth of the year, assisted by Matt Stajan and Jarome Iginla. Extending the lead even farther was Olli Jokinen, whose power play goal from Anton Babchuk and Niklas Hagman made it 3-1. It was Jokinen's fifth of the season, coming thirty-three seconds after Tanguay's goal, and following it twenty-four seconds later was Rene Bourque's 13th of the year, with Jokinen picking up the assist. Bourque's goal was enough for Toronto to replace Giguere with Jonas Gustavsson. Hagman made it 5-1 Calgary with his eighth of the year in the third period, a power play goal assisted by Jokinen and Babchuk. Mikhail Grabovski tried to rally the Maple Leafs back with his tenth of the year from Kris Versteeg, but it was too late. The Flames downed the Maple Leafs 5-2. Jokinen got the first star with a goal and two assists, followed by Hagman, who had a goal and an assist, and Tanguay, who had one goal.

Lastly, we stay in Alberta, where the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets. Nikolai Khabibulin was again in net for the Oilers, while Steve Mason got another start for the Blue Jackets. Linus Omark struck early for Edmonton, scoring his first NHL goal, obviously his first of the season, from Ryan Whitney. Kristian Huselius answered later in the first period with his fourth of the year and first since returning from injury, assisted by Rostislav Klesla and R.J. Umberger. Jordan Eberle gave the Oilers the lead again, scoring his eighth of the season, from Taylor Hall and Sam Gagner. Huselius answered again for the Blue Jackets, tying it at 2 with his second of the night and fifth of the season, assisted this time by Umberger and Rick Nash on the power play. Edmonton took a 3-2 lead with Dustin Penner's power play goal, his tenth of the year comnig from Omark and Magnus Paajarvi. Eberle extended the lead in the second period with his second of the night and ninth of the season, thanks to contributions from Whitney and Hall. Paajarvi extended the lead farther with his fourth of the year, assisted by Ryan O'Marra and Omark. Sam Gagner made it 6-2 with his ninth of the year, assisted by Hall. Huselius completed his hat trick late in the third period, his sixth of the year, coming from Antoine Vertmette. Edmonton would hold on to defeat Columbus 6-3. Omark's goal and two assists earned him the first star, and Eberle's two goals were good for the second star, followed by third star Hall, who had a three-assist sock trick. Honorable mentions go to Paajarvi, who had a goal, an assist, and a generally awesome name, and Huselius, for his hat trick in the return from his injury.

That's all there is for now, check back tomorrow for a recap of Friday's four games.

Thursday Night Football week 15

Sorry for being a bit late on this one. The San Diego Chargers hosted the San Francisco 49ers in the prime time game. Philip Rivers and the Chargers struck first with a pass to Vincent Jackson, good for 58 yards and the touchdown. Nate Kaeding kicked the extra point. Kaeding made it 10-0 in the second quarter with his 25 yard field goal kick, and added the extra point when Rivers found Jackson again in the end zone, this time for 11 yards. San Diego led San Francisco 17-0 at halftime. Mike Tolbert kept them going with his 1 yard touchdown run in the third quarter, followed by a Kaeding extra point. In the fourth quarter, Rivers found Jackson one more time, going 21 yards for the touchdown pass. Kaeding supplied the extra point and another field goal, from 39 yards to make it 34-0. The 49ers woke up far too late, but avoided being shut out with Brian Westbrook's 3 yard touchdown run, followed by Jeff Reed's extra point to leave the final at 34-7. The Chargers improved to 8-6, and the 49ers dropped to 5-9.

Again, sorry for the delay. I will have hockey recaps for Thursday out later today.

Early Wednesday NHL recap

With a total of eleven games on tonight and not enough time for me to recap them all tomorrow along with a football game, I'll take care of some of them now. All games will be recapped in this post, pending any technical difficulties, with the final game of the night being added on tomorrow morning. With that said, we start in...

Washington D.C., where the Capitals hosted the Anaheim Ducks. Semyon Varlamov played in net for the hosts, while Jonas Hiller tended the twine for the Ducks. Brooks Laich drew first blood for Washington, scoring his eighth of the season, assisted by John Carlson and Nicklas Backstrom. Anaheim answered in the second period with a power play goal from Joffery Lupul, his second of the year, assisted by Cam Fowler and Lubomir Visnovsky. Going scoreless through the third period, Ryan Getzlaf's eleventh of the year won it in overtime for the Ducks, 2-1. Assists were credited to Corey Perry and Toni Lydman. Jonas Hiller earned the first star with his 31 for 32 save outing, followed by overtime hero Getzlaf, and Brooks Laich, both of those two having a goal.

Staying with the east hosts west theme, we have the New Jersey Devils welcoming the Phoenix Coyotes. Martin Brodeur started for the Devils, while Ilya Bryzgalov was in between the pipes for Phoenix. That-Other-Ilya, Kovalchuk, scored first, giving New Jersey a 1-0 lead with his sixth of the year. Dainius Zubrus picked up the assist. Mark Fayne also scored for New Jersey in the first period, recording his first of the season, with the help coming from Patrik Elias and Travis Zajac. After leaving the second period scoreless, the Devils made it 3-0 with Kovalchuk's second of the night and seventh of the year, with Zajac and Elias both picking up assists on the power play goal. This held on to be the final, with Martin Brodeur getting the first star for his 29 save shutout. Kovalchuk's two goals were the second star, followed by Fayne's goal at the third star slot.

Onward to Pittsburgh, where the Penguins hosted the New York Rangers. Brent Johnson got the start for Pittsburgh, while Henrik Lundqvist was in the paint for the Rangers. Evgeni Malkin struck late in the first period with his eleventh of the season, from Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. After going scoreless in the second period, the Rangers woke up in the third period, with the sixth of the year for Erik Christensen, a power play goal from Marian Gaborik. Fifteen seconds later, Alexander Frolov had his sixth of the year past Brent Johnson, assisted by Brian Boyle and Dan Girardi. Artem Anisimov made it 3-1 with his ninth of the year, helped by Michal Rozsival and Michael Del Zotto. Boyle tacked on his 12th of the season to give us the final of 4-1, with the helpers on his goal coming from Frolov and Marc Staal. Frolov and Boyle earned the first and second stars, respectively, for a goal and an assist each, followed by Henrik Lundqvist, who was 27 for 28 in saves. Sean Avery of the Rangers and Aaron Asham of the Penguins also had a dance in the early third period.

Traveling to Buffalo, where the Sabres hosted the Boston Bruins. Ryan Miller was in net for the Sabres, and Tuukka Rask was given netminding duties for Boston. David Krejci got the Bruins up first with his fifth of the year, assisted by Dennis Seidenberg. Drew Stafford answered for Buffalo with his sixth of the season, a power play goal from Derek Roy and Tyler Myers. Both teams went dry in the second period before Boston retook the lead in the third, with Michael Ryder's ninth of the year, a power play goal assisted by Steve Kampfer. Stafford added his seventh and eighth of the year to complete his hat trick, with Derek Roy picking up assists on both, and Jason Pominville nabbing the second assist on the latter power play tally. The 3-2 score held up for Buffalo, defeating the Bruins. Stafford took the first star with his hat trick, complemented perfectly by Roy's second star sock trick. Tyler Ennis managed to receive the third star for unknown reasons.

Continuing along into Florida, where the Panthers hosted the Carolina Hurricanes in a Southeast division match. Tomas Vokoun started for the Cats, while Cam Ward got the nod for Carolina. Evgeny Dadonov struck early, with his first of the year just twenty-nine seconds into the game. Marty Reasoner and Shawn Matthias picked up the assists. Michael Frolik extended the Florida lead to 2-0, chasing Cam Ward with his seventh of the year, courtesy of Chris Higgins and Stephen Weiss. Justin Peters came on in relief. Bryan McCabe followed not too long after with his third of the year, a power play goal from Dennis Wideman and Mike Santorelli. Erik Cole got Carolina on the board in the second period, with his sixth of the year, assisted by Jeff Skinner and Eric Staal. Jamie McBain made it closer in the third period, with his first of the season thanks to Joni Pitkanen and Sergei Samsonov. The Hurricanes took the lead with two goals from Tuomo Ruutu, his sixth and seventh of the season. The first was a power play goal assisted by Skinner and Samsonov, and the second was unassisted and at even strength. Carolina would hold on for the 4-3 victory. Ruutu was the first star with two goals, followed by Skinner, who had two assists. Relief goaltender Justin Peters was the third star, going 21 for 22 in saves.

Into Quebec, where the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Philadelphia Flyers. Carey Price guarded the Habs net, while Sergei Bobrovsky returned to the crease for Philadelphia. Jeff Carter allowed the Flyers to strike first, registering his 13th of the year, assisted by Matt Carle. James van Riemsdyk extended the lead to 2-0 in the second period, with his sixth of the year coming from Carter and Andrej Meszaros. P.K. Subban got Montreal on the board late in the second period, with his second of the year coming off of Scott Gomez and Michael Cammalleri on the power play. Nikolay Zherdev gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead with his eleventh of the season, assisted by Sean O'Donnell. Restarting the Montreal rally was Tomas Plekanec, potting his tenth of the year with help from Benoit Pouliot and Cammalleri. Brian Gionta tied it at 3 with his tenth of the year, from Gomez and Subban. Van Riemsdyk retook the lead for Philadelphia, scoring his second of the night and seventh of the year, a power play goal courtesy of Zherdev and Carter. Claude Giroux ended the scoring with his 16th of the season, from Mike Richards, and the Flyers would cruise to a 5-3 victory over the Canadiens. Sergei Bobrovsky was the first star, turning away 38 of 41 shots fired at him, while Gionta followed at second star with a goal and Subban at the third star with a goal and an assist. Gionta and Subban were both part of the losing Montreal team, despite getting those stars.


Heading back stateside, where the Detroit Red Wings hosted bitter Central division rivals in the St. Louis Blues. Jimmy Howard got the start for the Red Wings, while Jaroslav Halak was sent out to guard the visiting cage. Nicklas Lidstrom broke the silence in the second period, giving Detroit a 1-0 lead with his fifth of the year. Assists go to Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. Carlo Colaiacovo answered with his fourth of the year, with Dave Scatchard and Eric Brewer picking up the assists. Niklas Kronwall gave the Red Wings the lead back with his seventh of the season, from Danny Cleary and Darren Helm. Cleary later added his own goal in the late second period, his 14th of the year coming on the power play from Lidstrom and Zetterberg. Lidstrom made it 4-1 with his second of the night and sixth of the year, assisted by Zetterberg and Brian Rafalski on the power play. Brad Winchester answered to make it 4-2 with his own power play goal, his third mark of the season assisted by Alex Steen and Patrik Berglund. Lidstrom completed the hat trick into an empty net, good for his seventh of the year, from Cleary and Zetterberg. Detroit went on to beat St. Louis 5-2. Lidstrom had the first star with his hat trick and bonus assist, followed by Cleary, who had a goal and two assists, and Zetterberg, who had a four-pack of helpers.

Going back into Florida, where the Tampa Bay Lightning hosted their Southeast division rivals from Atlanta, the Thrashers. Mike Smith got the nod for the Lightning, while Ondrej Pavelec was in between the pipes for the Thrashers. Atlanta struck first with Rich Peverley's eighth of the year, a shorthanded goal helped along by Ron Hainsey. Sean Bergenheim answered for Tampa Bay in the second period, his sixth of the year assisted by Randy Jones and Pavel Kubina. The third period and overtime preserved the 1-1 tie, and it was the Lightning's Victor Hedman who broke it with the only goal in the shootout. Bergenheim did receive the first star for his goal, while Dustin Byfuglien was obviously amazing enough to earn the second star (what's in a name, anyway?), and Mike Smith's 27 for 28 save outing was nice enough to be the third star.

Getting into Tennessee, where the Nashville Predators hosted the still-traveling San Jose Sharks. Anders Lindback made another appearance for Nashville, while Antti Niemi was given goaltending duties for San Jose, who scored first, with a goal by Niclas Wallin, his third of the year coming via Benn Ferriero and Justin Braun. The Predators answered in the second period with Jordin Tootoo's fourth of the year, an unassisted goal by the fluffy-skirted man. Dany Heatley gave the Sharks the lead back with his 14th of the season, assisted by Joe Thornton on the power play. With time running down in the third period, under five minutes left, Sergei Kostitsyn tied it with his fifth of the year, courtesy of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. Nashville took the lead less than a minute later with a Colin Wilson goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Steve Sullivan and Marcel Goc. The Predators would hold on for the 3-2 victory over San Jose. Wilson was the first star, with a game winning goal, followed by Anders Lindback, who was 25 for 27 in saves, and lastly, Kostitsyn, whose goal gave him the third star.

Heading into Chicago, to the tune of Chelsea Dagger at the United Center, the site of the Blackhawks hosting their last opponent, the Colorado Avalanche. The two teams met at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Monday, and the rematch came Wednesday. Craig Anderson started for the visiting Avalanche, while Corey Crawford got the honors for the Blackhawks. Greg Mauldin opened the scoring for Colorado, netting his fifth of the year thanks to Daniel Winnik and the ageless Adam Foote. Chicago answered early in the second period with a Bryan Bickell goal, his eighth on the campaign, from Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. Colorado took a 3-1 lead with two power play goals fairly close together from Tomas Fleischmann, his seventh and eighth goals of the year. Picking up assists on the first one were Paul Stastny and Matt Duchene, who also assisted on the second one alongside Kevin Shattenkirk. Jonathan Toews tried to get Chicago back into it with his 14th of the year, assisted by Jassen Cullimore and Tomas Kopecky, but Fleischmann completed the hat trick with his ninth of the year, getting help from David Jones and Ryan O'Byrne. Troy Brouwer sent one last message to the Avalanche with his ninth of the year to make it 4-3, with assists coming from Bickell and Brian Campbell. Fleischmann was the first star with his hat trick, followed by Craig Anderson, who was 35 for 38 in saves. Bryan Bickell's goal and assist in the losing effort was third star worthy.

Lastly, we join the Vancouver Canucks hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets in progress. Roberto Luongo is in net for the Canucks, while Mathieu Garon earned another start for the Blue Jackets. In the first period, Ryan Kesler scored late, his 13th of the season, assisted by Alexander Edler, to give Vancouver a 1-0 lead. Derick Brassard answered with his seventh of the season in the second period, assisted by Jakub Voracek and Marc Methot. Kesler added his second of the night and 14th of the year shortly after, from Mikael Samuelsson. Tom Sestito tied it in the third period with a power play goal for Columbus, from Mike Commodore and Fedor Tyutin. It was his first score of the year. The 2-2 tie held up into overtime until Kesler completed his hat trick with his 15th of the season, assisted by the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, on the power play, and the Canucks won 3-2 over the Blue Jackets. Kesler earned the first star for his trick, followed by Tyutin, who had one assist for the losing Columbus team, and Alexander Edler had the third star with his assist.

There are eight games being played Thursday and recapped Friday. Also, keep posted for the Thursday Night Football post tonight.

Fun Size NHL recap

Tuesday had a mere pair of games. They get revenge on Wednesday with eleven on the slate, but for yesterday, we started with...

A Pennsylvania battle between the hosting Philadelphia Flyers and the future TV stars from Pittsburgh, the Penguins. Brian Boucher got the start for the Flyers, while Marc-Andre Fleury took care of the Penguins net. Claude Giroux got Philadelphia on the scoresheet first with his 15th of the season, assisted by Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell. In the second period, Evgeni Malkin tied the game with a power play goal from Alex Goligoski and Sidney Crosby. The goal was Malkin's ninth of the year. Philadelphia answered with a Nikolay Zherdev goal, his tenth of the year helped by James van Riemsdyk and Sean O'Donnell. Malkin provided the answer again for Pittsburgh with his tenth of the year and second of the night, another power play goal, coming from Crosby and Kris Letang. The Flyers recorded their own power play goal, Hartnell's eighth score of the season, assisted by Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timmonen. This was the final, with the Flyers toppling the Penguins 3-2. Hartnell's goal and assist earned him the first star, followed by Malkin's two goals in a losing effort, and Pronger's assist.

We finish up Tuesday in Edmonton, with the Oilers hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. Nikolai Khabibulin got the nod for Edmonton, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere tended the Maple Leafs net. Dion Phaneuf opened with his first goal of the season against his former rivals, with the assists coming from Phil Kessel and Colby Armstrong. Jordan Eberle's seventh of the season evened it up for the Oilers, with the helpers from Sam Gagner and Ryan Whitney. Mikhail Grabovski gave Toronto the lead back with his ninth goal of the season, helped along by Clarke MacArthur and Brett Lebda. Kris Versteeg extended the lead to 3-1, potting his tenth of the year from Luke Schenn and Tim Brent. Kessel poured some more on with his power play goal in the third period, a power play marker from Versteeg and Tyler Bozak. The Maple Leafs ended ahead 4-1 over the Oilers. Kessel earned the first star, for a goal and an assist, followed by Jean-Sebastien Giguere's 23 for 24 saves, and lastly, the third star went to Edmonton's Taylor Hall for any reason not regarding his appearance (I kid the rookie). Also sharing a second period fight were Edmonton's Zack Stortini and Toronto's Colton Orr.

There may be a post containing some of the earlier Wednesday hockey action following this one, and if not, it'll all come out tomorrow when I can find a second to do it. Also, Thursday Night Football is on tomorrow night, and that post should be out tomorrow as well.

Monday NHL recap

There were a total of six games this past Monday, most of which being overly high scoring, so this should be a rather lengthy post. In baseball news, Cliff Lee signed a surprising deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, making them quite the potent team, considering their top four starting pitchers. Back to hockey, as we start with a game at...

The Joe Louis Arena, where the Detroit Red Wings hosted the Los Angeles Kings. Jimmy Howard got the start for the Red Wings, while Jonathan Quick was sent to guard the Kings cage. Los Angeles broke the scoring open with Wayne Simmonds, who tallied his fifth of the season in the first period, assisted by Matt Greene and Alexei Ponikarovsky. Oscar Moller extended this lead in the second period, with his first of the year helped along by Kyle Clifford and Drew Doughty. Anze Kopitar made it 4-0 with two rather quick goals in the early third period, his 12th and 13th of the season, with Dustin Brown and Justin Williams assisting the first, and Doughty picking up the helper for the second. Jack Johnson made it 5-0 with his second of the year, a power play goal from Doughty and Brown, and this ended up being the final. Jonathan Quick was the first star with a fabulous 51(!) save shutout, followed by Doughty, who recorded the infamous sock trick, and Jack Johnson got the third star for his goal.

Moving north of the border for the Ottawa Senators, who welcomed the visiting Atlanta Thrashers to Scotiabank Place. Ondrej Pavelec got the duties for the Thrashers, while Brian Elliott tended the Senators twine. Jim Slater struck first, giving Atlanta a 1-0 lead with his fifth of the year, helped by Eric Boulton and Chris Thorburn. Bryan Little extended the lead with his eighth of the season, made possible by Thorburn and Dustin Byfuglien. Over a period later, Byfuglien added his own, the eleventh on the campaign for him, from Rich Peverley and Nik Antropov. Daniel Alfredsson and Ottawa answered under a minute later, with his ninth of the year going unassisted. Chris Neil cut the Thrasher lead farther with his second of the year, assisted by Jarkko Ruutu and Chris Kelly in the third period. Jason Spezza then evened the game on a penalty shot, good for his eighth goal of the season. This was made possible by Zach Bogosian's holding penalty. The 3-3 tie lasted into overtime, where Bryan Little potted his second of the night and ninth of the season, which went unassisted and gave Atlanta a 4-3 win over the Senators. Little earned the first star for his two big goals, followed by Byfuglien, who had a goal and an assist. Nick Foligno earned the third star in his team's losing effort for reasons escaping my knowledge.

Traveling back stateside, into Nashville where the Predators hosted the lowly New York Islanders. Anders Lindback was taking care of the net for the Predators, while Dwayne Roloson was the poor sap dealt with guarding the Islanders net. Sergei Kostitsyn opened the scoring for Nashville, with his fourth of the year being a power play goal, courtesy of Cody Franson and Martin Erat. Patric Hornqvist extended the Nashville lead with his seventh of the season, from Shane O'Brien. Jerred Smithson added on with his third of the season, helped along by Kostitsyn and Ryan Suter. Hornqvist added another goal in the third period, his second of the night and eighth of the year, assisted by Franson. Topping it off was Nick Spaling, scoring his first of the year on the power play, via Shea Weber and Steve Sullivan. The Predators finished up 5-0 over New York, with Anders Lindback's 28 save shutout being first star worthy, followed by Hornqvist's two goals, and Kostitsyn's goal and assist.

Going into the Rocky Mountains, where the Colorado Avalanche hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. Craig Anderson received the starting honors for Colorado, while Marty Turco got the netminding job for Chicago. Brandon Yip started things off quickly for the Avalanche, scoring his seventh of the season, assisted by Kevin Porter and Paul Stastny. Troy Brouwer answered with his own seventh of the season, this one coming on the power play with Tomas Kopecky and Jonathan Toews picking up the helpers. Stastny retook the lead for Colorado with his 13th of the season, helped by Yip. The Blackhawks responded again, after some time, with a Jack Skille goal, his fourth of the year being assisted by Toews and Viktor Stalberg. Colorado once again retook the lead, only twenty-three seconds later thanks to the third of the season by Cody McLeod, and assists from Philippe Dupuis and Ryan O'Reilly. Bryan Bickell re-tied it for the Blackhawks late in the first period, with his seventh of the year coming from Brouwer and Jake Dowell. Matt Duchene continued the call and respond pattern in the second period, scoring his tenth early, from Greg Mauldin, good enough to yank the Chicago starter Marty Turco out, who was replaced by Corey Crawford. Jeremy Morin took his time getting it tied at 4 for Chicago, scoring his second of the year late in the second period, unassisted. Brouwer produced the first Blackhawk lead in the game with his eighth of the year and second of the night, coming on the power play from Duncan "no teeth" Keith and Patrick Sharp. Tomas Fleischmann answered later with his sixth of the year from David Jones and Duchene, the latter of which added his second of the night and eleventh of the year a minute later, assisted by Fleischmann, giving the Avalanche a 6-5 lead. Ryan O'Reilly's third of the year put it away, with the empty net goal being helped by Fleischmann and Stastny. Duchene earned the first star with his two goals and one assist, followed by Brouwer, who had the same but in a loss, and lastly by Fleischmann, who had a goal and two assists. There was also one fight between Chicago's John Scott and Colorado's David Koci.

Getting out of the shooting gallery, and going to Calgary, where the Flames hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets. Miikka Kiprusoff was allowed to start for Calgary, while Steve Mason got the nod for the Blue Jackets. Jarome Iginla opened the scoring early with his 13th of the season, assisted by Mikael Backlund and Mark Giordano. Brendan Morrison chased the Columbus starter Mason with his fifth of the year, from Niklas Hagman and Anton Babchuk. Mathieu Garon came on in relief. Antoine Vermette got Columbus on the board late in the second period with his ninth of the year, a shorthanded goal from Andrew Murray and Mike Commodore. Rick Nash tied it in the third period with his 17th of the season, from Kris Russell and Vermette on the power play. The 2-2 tie held up until Iginla broke it with his second of the night and 14th of the year in overtime. Alex Tanguay and Cory Sarich picked up the helpers on the game winner. Iginla was given the first star for his two goals, followed by Nash, who had one goal in the loss, and Jay Bouwmeester got the third star for inconceivable reasons.

We stop in San Jose, where the Sharks hosted the Dallas Stars in a division rivalry. Andrew Raycroft tended the visiting net, and Antti Niemi was in between the San Jose pipes. Jamie Benn opened the scoring, putting the Stars on top first with his seventh of the year, assisted by Mike Rebeiro and Nicklas Grossman. Derek Joslin tied it with his first of the year for the Sharks, assisted by Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Ryane Clowe gave Sane Jose the lead with his ninth of the year, helped by Benn Ferriero and Jason Demers. Dallas re-tied it with a power play goal from Rebeiro, with helpers from Stephane Robidas and Steve Ott. After the third period and overtime remained tied at 2, Jamie Benn and Joe Pavelski exchanged shootout barbs before Brad Richards won it for the Stars, 3-2. Andrew Raycroft was the first star, going 31 for 33 in saves, followed by opposing and losing netminder Antti Niemi, who went 29 for 31 in saves. Rebeiro was the third star with a goal and an assist.

That's all there was to it on Monday. Tuesday's games, all two of them, will be recapped tomorrow. Also, apologies to Ryane Clowe, whose name I've been spelling wrong all this time. I'll make sure I get all those unnecessary e's in there. 

Fantasy Football All-Stars, week 14

This week had some blowouts, some close ones, and possibly foreshadowing of the playoffs soon upon us all. Here's the best players to own this week.

Quarterback: Matt Schaub and Michael Vick
Running Back: Darren McFadden and Michael Turner
Wide Receiver: DeSean Jackson and Andre Johnson
Tight End: Jason Witten and Bo Scaife
Kicker: Jay Feely and Jeff Reed

That's all for this weeks all-stars. Good luck to any and every person in the playoffs, unless you happen to play me, in which case, game on!

Monday Night Football 2-pack!

As the title would imply, we have two Monday Night games for your reading enjoyment. First off was the two-road team game, with the Minnesota Vikings "hosting" the New York Giants at Ford Field in Detroit. Ryan Longwell started the scoring for the Vikings with a 21 yard field goal. Brandon Jacobs answered in the second quarter with a 1 yard run for a touchdown, followed by a Lawrence Tynes extra point. Eli Manning found Kevin Boss for 6 yards late in the second quarter, good for a touchdown with Tynes supplying the extra point, making it 14-3 at halftime. Ahmad Bradshaw extended the lead to 21-3 with his 48 yard touchdown run, and Tynes added the extra point. This score would hold up to be the final, with New York improving to 9-4, also dropping Minnesota to 5-8.

The second game was in Houston, featuring the host Texans and the visiting Baltimore Ravens. Willis McGahee got Baltimore going first, with a 1 yard touchdown run, followed by Billy Cundiff's extra point. Joe Flacco connected on two touchdown passes to Derrick Mason in the second quarter, from 9 and 26 yards, and after Cundiff added both extra points, the Ravens had a 21-0 lead. Houston entered the scoring scene with a Matt Schaub touchdown to Andre Johnson, for 46 yards. Neil Rackers supplied the extra point. Baltimore was receiving at the start of the second half, and return man David Reed did his job, taking it back 103 yards to the end zone, with Cundiff adding the extra point for that touchdown. Rackers then supplied two field goals to make it 28-13, from 24 and 42 yards. Schaub kept the Texans scoring with a 7 yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones, and with Rackers' extra point, it was 28-20. Schaub found Johnson again later in the fourth quarter, for a touchdown of 5 yards, before he threw to Jacoby Jones on the two point conversion, to tie it up at 28, sending it to overtime. Josh Wilson gave Baltimore the 34-28 win with his 12 yard interception of Schaub, which improved the Ravens to 9-4, and dropped the Texans down to 5-8.

That's all we've got here. Check out Fantasy Football All-Stars week 14 tomorrow, along with a hockey recap. Honorable mention to Brett Favre's ironman streak of 297 straight games, and may that streak rest in peace.

Fantasy Hockey All-Stars, week 9

We'll get right into this one, no preface needed.

Center: Sidney Crosby, 3 goals, 2 assists, +6, 10 penalty minutes, 0 power play points, 12 shots on goal
Left Wing: Ryan Clowe, 3 goals, 5 assists, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 16 shots on goal
Right Wing: Corey Perry, 4 goals, 3 assists, +4, 6 penalty minutes, 4 power play points, 16 shots on goal
Defensemen: Keith Yandle, 1 goal, 3 assists, +1, 0 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 8 shots on goal
Goaltender: Anders Lindback, 2 wins, 1.66 goals against average, 91 saves, .948 save percentage, 1 shutout

Those are the best hockey players you'll see this week. Hope they helped you to a fantasy victory or boosted your rotisserie points. We'll catch this again next week.

Song of the Week III

This week we have a classic, disco-themed song from the Rolling Stones, Emotional Rescue. Done in 1979, this is one of their hits, off of the Jump Back hits album. It is noted that Keith Richards and Mick Jagger had somewhat different views on the direction of the band, thus the mix between Disco and Rock was formed. Like Miss You, this song personifies that blend of styles from both writers.

That's all for this week, and the next one will be out next week.

Sunday Night Football week 14

Tonight's game features the Philadelphia Eagles traveling to see NFC East division rivals from Dallas, at Cowboys stadium. (holds back unnecessary "Cowboys Suck" comment). Michael Vick got the Eagles on the board first, with a 1 yard touchdown run and ensuing David Akers extra point. Jon Kitna answered later with a 1 yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten, with David Buehlar tacking on the extra point. Vick found Todd Herremans in the second quarter for 2 yard and the touchdown, with Akers providing the extra point. Coming upon the end of the first half, Buehler nailed a 50 yard field goal, making it 14-10 Eagles at halftime. Buehler came out kicking with a 43 yard field goal early in the third quarter. Felix Jones gave the Cowboys the lead with a 3 yard touchdown run, and Buehler kicked an extra point home to make it 20-14 Dallas. David Akers added a couple field goals to tie it, from 39 yards in the third quarter, and then 50 yards in the fourth. Vick then found DeSean Jackson for a 91 yard touchdown, with Akers making it 27-20, before he added on a 28 yard field goal. Kitna responded by finding Witten for 22 yards, and Buehler added his extra point, but the Cowboys couldn't muster any more offense, and lost in a heartbreaking fashion, 30-27. The Eagles improved to 9-4, and the Cowboys dropped to 4-9.

NHL Sunday recap (same day)

Due to the three games already being completed, I'll get this post out now instead of later so I'm not accused of being lazy. We start in the Madison Square Garden...

Where the New York Rangers hosted the Washington Capitals. Henrik Lundqvist started for the Rangers, While Semyon Varlamov got the nod for the Capitals. Brandon Prust opened the scoring with his fourth of the year, assisted by Alexander Frolov and Brian Boyle. Artem Anisimov scored his eighth of the year early in the second period to extend the New York lead. It was unassisted, and followed relatively shortly by Marian Gaborik's ninth of the season, with the helpers from Marc Staal and Michal Rozsival on the power play. Brandon Dubinsky kept the Rangers going with his 14th of the season, courtesy of Dan Girardi and Anisimov. Staal than added a shorthanded goal, his sixth mark of the season, assisted by Boyle and Prust. Ryan Callahan had a pair of goals in the third period, to make it 7-0. Dubinsky and Girardi assisted on the first one, and the second one required no help. There were also three fights, the first two of which in the second period, between Washington's Matt Hendricks and New York's Mike Sauer, followed by Alex Ovechkin and Dubinsky, and then the last one in the third between Matt Hendricks and Sean Avery. As for the three stars, Marc Staal was the first with a goal and an assist, followed by Henrik Lundqvist, who had a 31 save shutout, and Dubinsky, who had a Gordie Howe hat trick, with a goal, assist, and fight.

Going cross-country to Anaheim, where the Ducks hosted the Minnesota Wild. Jonas Hiller was in front of Ducks cage, while Niklas Backstrom was given netminding duties for Minnesota. Corey Perry struck early for the Ducks, scoring his 14th of the season nineteen seconds into the game, assisted by Bobby Ryan. Brent Burns answered with his ninth of the year for the Wild, and this one was helped by Martin Havlat and Mikko Koivu. Ryan Getzlaf got the lead back for Anaheim with his ninth of the season, assisted by Ryan and Perry. Getzlaf also scored in the second period, his tenth of the year and second of the night, coming from Perry and Lubomir Visnovsky on the power play. Marek Zidlicky answered with his fourth of the year, also a power play goal, assisted by Andrew Brunette and Mikko Koivu. Perry netted his 15th of the year and second of the night on a penalty shot, resulting from a Martin Havlat hooking call. Bobby Ryan made it 5-2 Ducks with his 14th of the season, assisted by Toni Lydman and Visnovsky. Perry completed the hat trick in the third period, with his 16th of the year, assisted by Getzlaf and Cam Fowler. The Ducks would cruise to a 6-2 victory over Minnesota. Perry was the first star, with three goals and two assists, a fabulous five point night, followed by Getzlaf, who had two goals and an assist, and lastly Bobby Ryan, who had one goal and two assists.

Heading north to Canada, where the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo was in front of the Canuck net, and Devan Dubnyk got the start for Edmonton. Alexandre Burrows opened the scoring with his fifth of the year for Vancouver, assisted by the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik. Henrik scored his own goal in the second period, also his fifth of the season, from Daniel and Ryan Kesler. Jordan Eberle scored his sixth of the year late to get the Oilers on the board, a power play goal from Dustin Penner and Kurtis Foster, but it was far too late, and Vancouver won 2-1. Henrik Sedin's goal and assist were the first star, followed by Daniel's two assists, and Devan Dubnyk's 30 for 32 save performance in the loss earned the third star, as Roberto Luongo only faced 12 shots the whole game.

That's all there is to it. Keep watch for the Sunday Night Football post soon to follow, as well as Fantasy Hockey All-Stars and Song of the Week III on Monday. Monday Night Football will feature two games as well, and will be completed at the conclusion of the last game.

NFL Late Games Week 14

The early games gave me a nice easy post on here. The late games had other plans in mind, and we start in the Bay Area...

With the San Francisco 49ers hosting NFC West rivals, the Seattle Seahawks. Alex Smith started the scoring with a 42 yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis to put San Francisco on the board first, with Jeff Reed supplying the extra point. Seattle evened it up with Matt Hasselbeck's 11 yard touchdown pass to Ruvell Martin, and Olindo Mare added the tying extra point. Reed made it 10-7 with his 33 yard field goal. He nailed a 44 yard kick in the early second quarter as well. Alex Smith then connected for the next two touchdowns, first going 15 yards to Josh Morgan, and the second to Brian Westbrook for 62 yards, with Reed tacking on both extra point before kicking a 22 yard field goal to make it 30-7 49ers at halftime. San Francisco kept it up after the second half started, with Dashon Goldson intercepting Hasselbeck and returning it 39 yards, allowing Reed to nail another extra point. Reed tacked on a 36 yard field goal for good measure. His kickoff, however, went to Leon Washington, who brought it back 92 yards for the touchdown, allowing Mare to add an extra point. Seattle did the only work in the fourth quarter as well, with Hasselbeck finding Deon Butler for 2 yards and a touchdown, with Mare adding the extra point, leaving the final score at 40-21 San Francisco. They improved to 5-8, while dropping the Seahawks back under .500 to 6-7.

Answering the calls of Who Dat? now, in New Orleans, where the Saints hosted the St. Louis Rams. Drew Brees threw two first quarter touchdown passes to Marques Colston, of 5 and 17 yards each, with Garrett Hartley adding the extra points. Josh Brown gave the Rams somewhat of an answer with two field goals, from 38 and 45 yards. Malcom Jenkins helped the Saints out a little more, intercepting Sam Bradford and returning it 96 yards, allowing Hartley to add another extra point. The Saints took a 21-6 lead into the locker room. Keeping with the scoring theme, Brees threw a touchdown pass to Lance Moore, good for 31 yards, with Hartley adding the extra point in the third quarter, and kicking a 40 yard field goal in the fourth. Giving St. Louis their only touchdown today was Sam Bradford, late in the fourth quarter running it in 1 yard, and Brown supplied the extra point. New Orleans won 31-13, improving to 10-3, while dropping the Rams to 6-7.

Into a cold, snowy, and Windy City, Chicago, where the Bears hosted the New England Patriots, no strangers to football in the snow. Tom Brady opened the scoring with a touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski, good for 7 yards. Shayne Graham added the extra point. Danny Woodhead extended the lead with a 3 yard touchdown run, and Graham was true with the extra point afterward. Going with a defensive score this time, with Gary Guyton recovering a Johnny Knox fumble and returning it 35 yards for the Patriots. Graham added the extra point before tacking on field goals from 30 and 25 yards. Ending the first half, Tom Brady found Deion Branch for 59 yards and the score, on which Graham added another extra point. He also tacked on a 29 yard field goal in the third quarter, which was answered by a Chester Taylor 1 yard touchdown run. Robbie Gould added the extra point. The 36-7 score would prove to be the final, as the fourth quarter was give and take without scoring. New England jumped up to 11-2, while the Bears fell to 9-4.

Moving along to warmer areas, such as Arizona, where the Cardinals hosted the Denver Broncos. Steve Hauschka opened the scoring, with a 32 yard field goal to put the Broncos up early. The Cardinals responded with multiple Jay Feely scores, in this order: 36 yard field goal in the first quarter, 48 yard field goal, 5 yard touchdown run and extra point after faked field goal, and 55 yard field goal in the second quarter, 23 yard field goal in the third quarter, and 49 yard field goal in the fourth quarter, before letting Hauschka get in on the kicking parade, and he made a 30 yard field goal. Tim Hightower then sandwiched two of his own touchdowns around one by Knowshon Moreno, with Hightower's going for 8 and 35 yards, and Feely providing the extra point, while Moreno ran his for 1 yard, and his kicker Hauschka added the extra point. To make sure Arizona had it under control, Daryl Washington intercepted Kyle Orton and took it back 40 yards for the touchdown, allowing Feely to add another extra point. The final proved to be Arizona 43, Denver 13. Arizona improved to 4-9, while dropping Denver to 3-10.

Heading over to the Meadowlands, where the New York (Jersey) Jets hosted the Miami Dolphins. Miami struck first with a Dan Carpenter field goal from 47 yards out, and Carpenter added the extra point onto the touchdown from Chad Henne to Brandon Marshall. The touchdown was 6 yards. Getting the Jets on the board before halftime was Nick Folk, making a 35 yard field goal. After a third quarter snoozefest, Folk added a 42 yard field goal in the fourth, but the Jets couldn't add anymore offense and fell 10-6 to the Dolphins. Miami improved to 7-6, while the Jets fell down to 9-4.

Lastly, we go to San Diego, where the Chargers hosted the Kansas City Chiefs. Philip Rivers started things off with a 17 yard touchdown pass to Malcom Floyd. Nate Kaeding supplied the extra point, as he did on Mike Tolbert's second quarter touchdown run of 8 yards. Kaeding also added the extra point on Rivers touchdown pass to Floyd, this time for 9 yards. San Diego took a 21-0 lead into the halftime break. The third quarter went scoreless, and Kaeding added on a 48 yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Ryan Mathews also had a 15 yard touchdown run for the Chargers, on which Kaeding provided the extra point. San Diego went on to beat the Chiefs 31-0. They improved to 7-6, while dropping their division rivals to 8-5.

That's all for this wave of kickoffs. Please note that if Sunday Night Football gets over before hockey action tonight, it will be the first post to come out, and vice versa.

NFL Early Games Week 14

There were six games on for the first wave of kickoffs, as the Giants-Vikings game was moved to Monday. The first of which involved the...

Host Washington Redskins and the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Donovan McNabb opened the scoring in the second quarter, following a scoreless first, with a 1 yard touchdown pass to Logan Paulsen, which was followed by a Graham Gano extra point. Connor Barth and Gano exchanged second quarter 25 yard field goals to make it 10-3 Redskins at the half. Barth added two field goals in the third quarter, from 44 and 35 yards, to make it 10-9. The Buccaneers took the lead with a Josh Freeman touchdown pass of 41 yards to Kellen Winslow, and after a two point conversion off of a Freeman run, Tampa Bay led 17-10. Washington got within one thanks to a McNabb touchdown pass to Santana Moss, good for six yards, but Hunter Smith could not run the two point attempt in, on what was a botched extra point, and Tampa Bay held on for a 17-16 victory. With the win, the Buccaneers advanced to 8-5, while dropping the Redskins to 5-8.

Going to Buffalo, where the Bills hosted the Cleveland Browns. Phil Dawson allowed the Browns to strike first with a 19 yard field goal. The Bills answered with a Ryan Fitzpatrick touchdown pass to David Nelson, good for 11 yards, and followed by a Rian Lindell extra point. Dawson added a 25 yard field goal, and was one-upped by Lindell's 30 yard kick to make it 10-6 at halftime. Lindell added one more field goal in the game, a 19 yard chip shot to make it 13-6, which was the final. Buffalo improved to 3-10, while Cleveland fell down to 5-8.

The third game on the list featured the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, playing the first game of the weekend at Detroit's Ford Field. The whole first half was scoreless, and it took Mason Crosby's 42 yard field goal in the third quarter to create some scoring. The Lions answered in the fourth quarter with a Drew Stanton touchdown pass to Will Heller for 13 yards, and a Dave Rayner extra point followed. This proved to be the final, and Detroit improved to 3-10, while the Packers fell to 8-5.

Getting out of the overly cold weather and into Florida, where the Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Oakland Raiders. Oakland struck first with a Jason Campbell touchdown pass to Darren McFadden for 67 yards, which was followed by a Sebastian Janikowski extra point. David Garrard and the Jaguars answered in the second quarter, with a touchdown pass to Marcedes Lewis, for 1 yard. Josh Scobee added the extra point. Janikowski kicked a 26 yard field goal to break the tie, and added the extra point on the Campbell touchdown pass to Louis Murphy for 8 yards. The Raiders took a 17-7 lead into the locker room. Garrard found Jason Hill in the third quarter, connecting for 48 yards and the touchdown, followed by another Scobee extra point. McFadden had another long touchdown for the Raiders, running 51 yards to dent the goal line, followed by Janikowski's extra point. Jacksonville got an even longer touchdown run from Rashad Jennings, who took it 74 yards and allowed Scobee to add another extra point, before Garrard found Mike Sims-Walker for 10 yards and another extra point was provided by Scobee, who made it 31-24 in the early fourth quarter with a 19 yard field goal. McFadden added his third touchdown of the game, this time running a (measly) 36 yards to reach the end zone, and Janikowski provided the tying extra point. Maurice Jones-Drew put Jacksonville ahead for good with a 30 yard touchdown run, followed by Scobee's extra point. the Jaguars would hang on for a 38-31 victory, improving to 8-5 while dropping the Raiders to 6-7.

Moving back into frigid land, where the Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Cincinnati Bengals. Carson Palmer and the Bengals drew first blood, with a touchdown pass of one yard to a lineman, Andrew Whitworth. Clint Stitser added the extra point. Pittsburgh evened the score with Troy Polamalu's interception of Carson Palmer for 45 yards, and the Shaun Suisham provided the tying extra point. Suisham added a late 23 yard field goal to give the Steelers a 10-7 lead at halftime. Suisham added another field goal, good from 35 yards, in the third quarter, and supplied the extra point on Lamar Woodley's interception of Palmer. That interception was good for 14 yards. Suisham topped it off with a 41 yard field goal to give Pittsburgh the 23-7 win. The Steelers improved to 10-3, simultaneously dropping the Bengals to 2-11.

Last in the morning games was the Carolina Panthers hosting the Atlanta Falcons. Matt Ryan busted the game open with his touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez, good from 4 yards, putting the Falcons ahead 7-0 early after Matt Bryant added the extra point. Michael Turner added his own first quarter touchdown on a 1 yard run, followed by a Bryant extra point. Bryant provided the only point in the second quarter, making it 17-0 Falcons by halftime with his 39 yard field goal. Carolina was invited to the scoring with a Mike Goodson 13 yard touchdown run, followed by a John Kasay extra point, making it 17-7 Atlanta. Turner answered with a 3 yard touchdown run, and Bryant added the subsequent extra point. Kasay tacked on a 36 yard field goal for the Panthers in the fourth quarter, but it was put away by Turner's 4 yard touchdown run and Bryant's extra point. The Falcons went on to win 31-10. They improved to 11-2, while the Panthers stayed at a league worst 1-12.

That's all for the morning games, with the afternoon games to follow after the dinner hour or so.

Sandwich Showdown II

This weekend's competitors in the Sandwich Showdown were Saturday's Subway Club, sans BBQ sauce since it was a traveling sandwich, and Sunday's Chicken and Bacon. Both were featured on Italian Herbs and Cheese. The deciding factor was probably the BBQ sauce, or lack thereof on Saturday's sandwich, which means I'll give the win to the Sunday sandwich. It was very good, and hit the spot. Check back here next weekend for another Sandwich Showdown.

Saturday NHL recap, Part Two

Covering the last six games here. Also, Marco Sturm to the Kings is a done deal, with the Bruins freeing up cap space and the Kings getting a good left winger.

Going to Phoenix, where the Coyotes hosted the Dallas Stars, in a Pacific Division match. Andrew Raycroft got the start for the Stars, while Ilya Bryzgalov took care of netminding duties for the Coyotes. Ray Whitney opened things up, scoring first for the Coyotes with his fourth of the year, assisted by Radim Vrbata and Ed Jovanovski. Shane Doan tallied on another first period goal, his third of the year, helped by Eric Belanger, before netting another goal, a power play mark from Whitney and Keith Yandle. James Neal put Dallas on the board with his 13th of the season, assisted by Tom Wandell and Adam Burish. Lauri Korpikoski answered early in the third with a shorthanded goal, his eighth of the year coming from Vernon Fiddler and Keith Yandle. Yandle potted his own some time later, his fifth mark on the year, with Lee Stempniak and Wojtek Wolski adding the assists. Richard Bachman came in to relieve Andrew Raycroft after this goal. Loui Eriksson tried to get Dallas going late, with his 12th of the year going in on the power play, but it was far too late. Brenden Morrow picked up the assist, but the Stars fell 5-2 to Phoenix. Doan's two goals were good for the first star, while Ilya Bryzgalov's 33 for 35 saves were the second star, and Korpikoski's goal earned the third star. Brian Sutherby and Ed Jovanovski also shared a second period fight.

Going to Nashville, where the Pradators hosted the Florida Panthers. Anders Lindback started for Nashville, while Tomas Vokoun was in between the pipes for the Panthers. Ryan Suter drew first blood, giving Nashville a 1-0 lead with his first of the year, assisted by Martin Erat and Sergei Kostitsyn. Shea Weber added onto the lead with his fifth of the season, assisted by Suter and Jerred Smithson. After a scoreless second period, the Predators made it 3-0 with an empty net, power play goal from Joel Ward, his third score of the year, with assists by Francis Bouillon and Cody Franson. This proved to be the final, and getting the first star honors was Anders Lindback for his 22 save shutout, followed by Ryan Suter's goal and assist, and Shea Weber's one goal.

Moving into St. Louis, where the Blues hosted the Carolina Hurricanes. Jaroslav Halak was in the paint for the Blues, while Cam Ward was given the duties for the Hurricanes. After two uneventful periods, save for a fight between the Blues B.J. Crombeen and Jay Harrison, Brandon Sutter allowed the Hurricanes to strike first, with his sixth of the year being assisted by Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi Jokinen. Alex Pietrangelo tied the game for St. Louis, with his third of the year, a power play goal from Patrik Berglund and Alex Steen. The tie held up into the shootout, where Jussi Jokinen's goal was the definitive score, and Carolina won 2-1. Jokinen earned the first star with a regulation assist and the winner in the shootout, followed by winning goalie Cam Ward's 38 for 39 saves and losing goalie Jaroslav Halak's 28 for 29 save outing.

Heading to Los Angeles, where the Kings hosted the Minnesota Wild. Jonathan Quick started for the Kings, while Jose Theodore got the nod for the Wild. Mikko Koivu opened the scoring early for Minnesota, with a shorthanded goal unassisted, good for his sixth of the year. LA evened it with Dustin Brown's tenth of the year, assisted by Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams in the second period. Nine seconds later, Cal Clutterbuck scored his eighth of the year, thanks to Cam Barker and Eric Nystrom. Ryan Smyth re-tied it early in the third period, with his eighth of the year, a power play goal from Kopitar and Brown. The tie held up until Brent Burns' power play goal in the overtime period, keeping with the crazy eights theme with his eighth of the season, which was assisted by Patrick O'Sullivan and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Despite the loss, Anze Kopitar's two assists were the first star, followed by the game-winner from Brent Burns, and lastly by Dustin Brown, who had a goal and an assist in the loss as well. There were two fights in the second period, the early one with Minnesota's Brad Staubitz and Los Angeles' Kyle Clifford, and the later one between Eric Nystrom and Wayne Simmonds.

Going up the interstate to Vancouver, where the Canucks hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Cory Schneider got a rare start for Vancouver and Dan Ellis got another chance in the crease for Tampa Bay. Daniel Sedin got the Canucks on the board first, with his 16th of the year, assisted by brother Henrik Sedin and Alexandre Burrows. Nate Thompson tied it for the Lightning with his fifth of the season, assisted by Ryan Malone and Randy Jones. Brett Clark gave Tampa Bay the lead with his sixth of the season early in the second period, with the helpers going to Dominic Moore and Teddy Purcell on the power play. Steven Stamkos made it 3-1 with his 23rd of the year, assisted by Mike Lundin. Manny Malhotra righted the ship for Vancouver, scoring his fifth of the year on the power play, assisted by Mikael Samuelsson and the goalie Cory Schneider. Teddy Purcell answered with his sixth of the year, with help from Stamkos and Martin St. Louis. Henrik Sedin restarted the comeback in the third period with a power play goal, his fourth tally of the season assisted by Daniel Sedin and the goalie once again, Schneider. Keith Ballard tied it with his second of the year, an unassisted goal, and the tie held into overtime. Stamkos made quick work of the overtime period, potting his second of the night and 24th of the season, which was a power play goal from St. Louis and Malone to win the game 5-4 for the Lightning. Stamkos earned the first star for his two goals and one assist, and was followed by Henrik Sedin's goal and assist, and Teddy Purcell, who also notched a goal and an assist. Honorable mention to Cory Schneider not for his goaltending, but his assistance on two goals.

Going back into California, where the San Jose Sharks hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. Antti Niemi started for San Jose, and Corey Crawford got the green light to start for Chicago. Ryan Clowe started it off for the Sharks, with his seventh of the year, helped along by Jason Demers and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (the pickle monster). Jordan Hendry evened it for the Blackhawks with his first of the season, assisted by Jake Dowell and John Scott. The 1-1 tie was preserved into overtime, where Clowe struck again with his eighth of the year and the second of the night, assisted by Vlasic and Justin Braun. Clowe's two goals earned him the first star, followed by winning goalie Antti Niemi's 28 of 29 saves, and losing goalie Corey Crawford's 28 of 30 saves.

As for posts to come later today, there will be a Subway post, three football posts, and hopefully the Sunday hockey recap. Also, there will be two games played Monday night for football, as the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings will play in Detroit due to snow and stadium issues (that's putting it lightly) in Minneapolis.