Friday Games - NHL

Another seven games on the slate tonight, starting in...

New Jersey, where the Devils hosted the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Johan Hedberg took control over the nets. New Jersey scored the game's only goal, a tally by Ilya Kovalchuk, his 21st of the season coming from Anton Volchenkov. Easily, the three stars were Kovalchuk, Hedberg (16 save shutout), and Lundqvist 27 for 28 saves).

Down to Florida, where the Panthers hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Joey MacDonald and Tomas Vokoun were guarding the cages. Todd Bertuzzi opened the scoring for Detroit with his 13th of the season, coming off of Henrik Zetterberg and Brian Rafalski. Danny Cleary made it 2-0 for the Red Wings with his 19th of the year, with help from Pavel Datsyuk and Jiri Hudler. Florida got on the board with Radek Dvorak notching his seventh of the season, via Mike Weaver and Marty Reasoner. Datsyuk extended the lead again for Detroit with his 17th of the campaign, going in unassisted. Dennis Wideman replied for the Panthers with his ninth of the year, a power play goal made possible by Stephen Weiss. Weiss tied it for Florida with his 16th of the season, thanks to David Booth and Jack Skille. Bertuzzi put the Red Wings back in front 4-3 with his second of the game and 14th of the year, with help from Johan Franzen and Zetterberg. This score was the final, and the three stars went to Bertuzzi, Datsyuk, and Weiss. 

Back up the coastline, the Buffalo Sabres hosted the St. Louis Blues. Ty Conklin and Ryan Miller patrolled the goal line. T.J. Oshie got St. Louis on the board in the second period with his fourth of the season, coming off of Patrik Berglund and Andy McDonald. The Blues made it 2-0 with a power play goal by David Backes, his 21st of the year getting assistance from Alex Pietrangelo and Oshie. Vladimir Sobotka secured a 3-0 St. Louis win with his empty net tally from Erik Johnson, good as his sixth of the campaign. Oshie, Conklin (25 save shutout), and Berglund were the three stars.

Two busy business teams played in Ottawa, as the Senators hosted the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Robin Lehner got the goaltending duties. Ottawa opened the scoring with Bobby Butler potting his third of the season, with help from Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek. Bard Marchand answered for Boston with his 17th of the year, helped along by Tyler Seguin and Andrew Ference. The Bruins took the lead with a Nathan Horton goal, his 15th of the season seeing the sticks of David Krejci and Ference previously. Boston extended the lead to 3-1 with the sixth of the year by Dennis Seidenberg, a power play goal made possible by Horton and Krejci. Marchand added on his second of the game for the Bruins, also his 18th of the season, courtesy of Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi. Alex Kovalev tried to get the Senators going again with his 14th of the year, a power play goal from Filip Kuba and Peter Regin, but it was too late and they fell 4-2. Rask (32 for 34 saves), Marchand, and Horton earned the three stars.

Out west, the Minnesota Wild hosted the Anaheim Ducks. Curtis McElhinney and Niklas Backstrom were in charge of stopping pucks. Anaheim was the first on the bored with a Corey Perry tally, his 30th of the season going in thanks to Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf. Mikko Koivu responded with his 15th of the year for Minnesota, helped along by Andrew Brunette and Antti Miettinen. Matt Cullen put the Wild ahead with his 12th of the season, a shorthanded goal made possible by Kyle Brodziak. Minnesota kept going with the second of the year by Eric Nystrom in the second period, a power play goal gathering steam from John Madden. Brodziak added on his own 12th of the season for the Wild, with the help of Cal Clutterbuck and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Martin Havlat produced the eventual 5-1 Minnesota final with his power play goal via Brodziak and Bouchard, good as his 17th of the year. Backstrom (29 for 30), Brodziak, and Nystrom were the three stars.

Back east, the Carolina Hurricanes hosted the Philadelphia Flyers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Cam Ward put on the masks. Carolina struck first with the eleventh of the season by Chad LaRose, with an assist by Joe Corvo. Jeff Skinner added on for the Hurricanes with his 22nd of the year, assisted by Jay Harrison. Philadelphia got on the board in the second period with a Blair Betts shorthanded tally, his fourth of the campaign getting help along the way from Darroll Powe and Chris Pronger. Braydon Coburn tied it for the Flyers on his second of the season, with helpers by Danny Briere and Ville Leino. Carolina took a 3-2 lead with Erik Cole notching his 17th of the year, thanks to Jussi Jokinen and Eric Staal, and this would be the final. The three stars were given to Cole, LaRose, and Ward (21 for 23 saves).

Finally, the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets. Steve Mason and Corey Crawford were featured in the creases. Columbus was the first to hit the scoreboard with Matt Calvert putting his fifth of the season away unassisted. Chicago took the lead with two in a row by Patrick Sharp, his 29th and 30th of the year being assisted by Patrick Kane on both accounts and Jonathan Toews on only the latter goal. The Blue Jackets replied by Antoine Vermette scoring his 14th of the season on the power play, tying the game at two with help from Rick Nash and Grant Clitsome. Columbus took a 3-2 lead with Derek MacKenzie scoring his fourth of the year, thanks to Calvert and R.J. Umberger. Anton Stralman made it 4-2 with his first of the season for the Blue Jackets, a power play tally coming from Kristian Huselius and Umberger. Kane pulled the Blackhawks within a goal by potting his 19th of the year, courtesy of Toews and Sharp, but they didn't score in the third period and fell 4-3. The three stars went to Sharp, Calvert, and Umberger.

Another trade came in overnight, where St. Louis traded away Erik Johnson and Jay McClement, along with a conditional second round pick in 2011 or 2012 for Kevin Shattenkirk and Chris Stewart and a conditional first round choice in 2011 or 2012. There are nine games on Saturday, and the post will be finalized on Sunday.