Saturday NHL games

Today we have nine games on, starting with a matinee between...

The hosting Edmonton Oilers and visiting Atlanta Thrashers. Chris Mason and Devan Dubnyk were sent out to stop the puck. Atlanta struck first with the 18th of the season from Dustin Byfuglien, an unassisted goal. The Thrashers made it 2-0 with Andrew Ladd getting his 21st of the year, from newcomer Blake Wheeler and Tobias Enstrom. Edmonton got on the board with a Magnus Paajarvi tally, his tenth of the season going down with helpers from Linus Omark and Tom Gilbert. Atlanta restored the two goal lead with the 17th of the year for Evander Kane, assisted by Zach Bogosian and Ron Hainsey. The Oilers took the lead over a span of 12:53 with a natural hat trick of power play goals by Taylor Hall, going as his 18th, 19th, and 20th of the season, helped along by Ales Hemsky (twice), Kurtis Foster (secondary on first goal), Gilbert (secondary on second goal), Sam Gagner and Ladislav Smid. Edmonton solidified the game with an empty netter by Hemsky to make it 5-3, his 13th of the year gaining steam from Shawn Horcoff and Theo Peckham. The three stars went out to Hall, Hemsky, and Byfuglien.

An eastern Canada matchup followed, with the Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson made his Ottawa debut, opposed by James Reimer. There wasn't a single puck to find twine until Jason Spezza won it for the Senators in the shootout. Anderson (47 save shutout), Reimer (22 save "shutout"), and Spezza earned the three stars.

Farther south, the Carolina Hurricanes hosted the New Jersey Devils. Johan Hedberg and Cam Ward got the starting nods. New Jersey struck first with Dainius Zubrus potting his 12th of the season with the help of Mark Fayne and Patrik Elias. The Devils extended their lead with Henrik Tallinder scoring his third of the year thanks to Ilya Kovalchuk and Nick Palmieri. New Jersey made it 3-0 with Brian Rolston putting his tenth of the campaign in the mesh, with helpers by Anton Volchenkov and Elias. The scoring was quiet in the second period, and Carolina got on the board in the third frame with Pat Dwyer's eighth of the season, helped along by Jamie McBain and Jerome Samson. The Devils made it 4-1, the eventual final, with another Zubrus tally, his 13th of the year and second of the game, courtesy of Elias, who finished up a sock trick. Zubrus, Elias, and Rolston collected the three stars.

Up on Long Island, the New York Islanders hosted the Los Angeles (traveling) Kings. Jonathan Quick and Al Montoya took to the goalmouths. New York struck first with a shorthanded goal by Frans Nielsen, his seventh of the season going with from Michael Grabner. Matt Moulson added a goal in both the second and third periods to bring the score to 3-0 Islanders with his 22nd and 23rd of the year. John Tavares and P.A. Parenteau picked up a pair of assists each. This score was the final, with Montoya (35 save shutout), Moulson, and Nielsen getting the three stars.

Later, a battle of the Florida teams ensued, with the Tampa Bay Lightning hosting the Florida Panthers. The backups Scott Clemmensen and Dan Ellis were given the starting nods. Tampa Bay opened the scoring with the second of the season by Marc-Andre Bergeron, assisted by Randy Jones and Martin St. Louis. Florida answered twenty-four seconds into the second period with a David Booth power play goal, his 17th of the year seeing the sticks of Dennis Wideman and Stephen Weiss previously. Going nearly another whole period, the Lightning reclaimed the lead fourteen seconds into the third frame, with Sean Bergenheim recording his 12th of the season thanks to Dominic Moore and Adam Hall. The Panthers tied it again with Mike Santorelli sinking his 16th of the year with the mad advantage, helped along by Cory Stillman and Bryan McCabe. This tie lasted until Santorelli's lone tally in the shootout, giving the victory to Florida by a 3-2 margin. The three stars went to Bergenheim, Clemmensen (34 for 36 saves), and Vincent Lecavalier. I've said this before, I am not responsible for who is picked as the three stars.

Up to Nashville, where the Predators hosted the Phoenix Coyotes. Ilya Bryzgalov and Pekka Rinne were in the creases. Phoenix was the first to score, with a Keith Yandle tally in the second period, his tenth of the season getting help along the way from Eric Belanger. Fifty-eight seconds later, the Coyotes took the lead to 2-0 with Taylor Pyatt's 15th of the year, coming off of Andrew Ebbett. Nashville replied with a Sergei Kostitsyn power play goal, his 16th of the campaign, with help from Mike Fisher and Martin Erat. Phoenix restored the two goal lead with a Lauri Korpikoski goal, his 13th of the season going down thanks to Vernon Fiddler and Derek Morris. The Predators attempted a comeback with Shea Weber potting his 12th of the year via Erat and Patric Hornqvist, but failed to get the equalizer, falling 3-2. The three stars were awarded to Pyatt, Yandle, and Bryzgalov (30 for 32 saves).

Heading to another game with a couple of busy trading teams, with the St. Louis Blues hosting the Anaheim Ducks. Curtis McElhinney and Ty Conklin were the starters. Anaheim opened the scoring with newbie Jarkko Ruutu potting his third of the season, with help from Brandon McMillan. The Ducks made it 2-0 with Teemu Selanne scoring his 19th of the year, an unassisted goal. St. Louis got on the board with Andy McDonald's eleventh of the season, with help from T.J. Oshie and David Backes. Seven seconds later, the Blues were in a tie after Oshie notched his fifth of the year, powered by Alex Steen and Carlo Colaiacovo. Colaiacovo put St. Louis up 3-2 with his fifth of the season, a power play goal made possible by Backes and Steen. Anaheim retied it with Ryan Getzlaf putting away his 15th of the year, with the help of Lubomir Visnovsky and Todd Marchant, leading to Ben Bishop relieving Conklin. The Blues reclaimed the lead with another McDonald tally, his 12th of the season, courtesy of Alex Pietrangelo and Barret Jackman. McElhinney came out in favor of Timo Pielmeier. St. Louis continued to drain goals in the second period, with Backes scoring his 22nd of the year, helped along by Brad Boyes. Oshie made it 6-3 Blues with his second of the game and sixth of the season, made possible by Patrik Berglund and Pietrangelo. St. Louis found two more goals from newcomer Chris Stewart, his first and second of the campaign coming on the power play, first from McDonald and the sock trick earning Pietrangelo, and later from his Avalanche teammate Kevin Shattenkirk. Steen finished off the scoring with his 17th of the year, a shorthanded and unassisted goal bringing us to the final 9-3 score. The three stars were Stewart, Oshie, and Bishop (20 for 20 saves in relief).

Up in British Columbia, the Vancouver Canucks hosted the Dallas Stars. Former Canuck Andrew Raycroft opposed his mentor Roberto Luongo. Vancouver opened the scoring with Daniel Sedin potting his 31st of the season, with help from his duplicate, Henrik Sedin. James Neal replied for Dallas with his 21st of the year, via Loui Eriksson. The Canucks retook the lead with Raffi Torres netting his 12th of the season, thanks to Aaron Rome. Daniel made it 3-1 Vancouver with his second of the game and 32nd of the campaign, assisted by Henrik and Alexandre Burrows. Brenden Morrow gave the Stars another tally in the form of his 25th of the year, with helpers by Jamie Langenbrunner and Mike Ribeiro. Henrik restored the two goal lead for the Canucks with his 14th of the season, courtesy of Daniel and Burrows. Torres put the dagger in with his second of the game and 13th of the year, with help from Manny Malhotra and Jannik Hansen to bring us the 5-2 Vancouver final. The three stars were Daniel, Torres, and Ryan Kesler (I think Henrik should be on there).

Finally, the San Jose Sharks hosted the Colorado Avalanche. Peter Budaj and Antti Niemi stood between the pipes. Devin Setoguchi opened the scoring for San Jose with two goals in a row, his 13th and 14th of the season, helped along by Jason Demers and Douglas Murray on the first goal and newcomer Ian White and Demers again on the latter power play tally. Ryane Clowe's 16th of the year made it 3-0 for the Sharks, another power play marker made possible by Logan Couture and Joe Thornton. The scoring was quiet until Setoguchi finished his hat trick in the third period, giving San Jose a 4-0 lead with his 15th of the campaign, an unassisted goal producing the final score. The three stars were given to Setoguchi, Niemi (25 save shutout), and Demers.

Stay tuned for Sunday's games and a Sandwich post.