Saturday Hockey

Today we have twelve games on. The first two are matinees, and we begin with...

The Boston Bruins hosting the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Tuukka Rask took to the nets. New York took the initial lead with a Derek Stepan goal in the first period, his 20th of the campaign, with help from Mike Sauer and Vinny Prospal. This turned out to be the only goal in the game after scoreless second and third periods, giving the Rangers a 1-0 win. Lundqvist (26 save shutout), Dan Girardi, and Rask (22 for 23 saves) collected the three stars.

Moving to the second of the matinees, with the Los Angeles Kings hosting the Colorado Avalanche. Peter Budaj and Jonathan Quick took control of the cages. Los Angeles opened the scoring with Willie Mitchell potting his fifth of the season, with help from Anze Kopitar. The Kings extended their lead with a power play goal by Michal Handzus, his eleventh of the year, getting help from Dustin Brown and Drew Doughty. Colorado got on the board in the second period with Milan Hejduk notching his 20th of the campaign, assisted by Paul Stastny. Ryan Smyth got the goal back for Los Angeles on his 21st of the season, coming off of Trevor Lewis and Brown. Lewis made it 4-1 Kings with his third of the year, via Smyth, which would make the score final. The three stars were awarded to Smyth, Lewis, Quick (20 for 21 saves).

To the regularly timed games, with the Montreal Canadiens hosting the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby and Carey Price tended the twines. Washington got in front first with Marco Sturm netting his fifth of the season, with help from Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin. In the third period, the Capitals went up 2-0 with Semin notching his 26th of the year, courtesy of Backstrom and Sturm. This score was the final, with the three stars given to Price (31 for 33 saves), Holtby (18 save shutout), and Sturm.

Onto Long Island, with the New York Islanders hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Rick DiPietro played in the blue paint. Philadelphia opened the scoring with a Jeff Carter goal, his 34th of the season, coming via Claude Giroux. James van Riemsdyk extended the Flyer lead with his 17th of the year, thanks to Kris Versteeg, just twenty-two seconds after the earlier goal. New York got on the board with a Blake Comeau tally, his 21st of the campaign made possible by Josh Bailey and Radek Martinek. Van Riemsdyk got the goal back for Philadelphia with his second of the game and 18th of the season, fueled by Andrej Meszaros and Sean O'Donnell. Van Riemsdyk sealed a 4-1 victory for the Flyers in the third period by completing his hat trick with his 19th of the year, helped along by Giroux and Danny Briere on the power play. The three stars were given to van Riemsdyk, Bobrovsky (36 for 37 saves), and Carter.

To Buffalo, where the Sabres hosted the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur and Ryan Miller played between the pipes. Buffalo went up first with a Nathan Gerbe goal, his 14th of the season, helped into the mesh by Paul Gaustad and Brad Boyes. Thomas Vanek extended the Sabres lead to 2-0 with his 26th of the year, thanks to Jason Pominville and Tim Connolly. After the silent second and third periods, this was a final score, with the three stars going to Miller (30 save shutout), Gerbe, and Pominville.

Southward to Carolina, with the Hurricanes hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning. Mike Smith and Cam Ward took control of the creases. Eric Staal used his 31st of the season on the power play to put Carolina up first, with helpers provided by Cory Stillman and Jamie McBain. Tampa Bay tied it on a Martin St. Louis goal, his 27th of the year, with Vincent Lecavalier picking up the lone assist. The Lightning took the lead with a Simon Gagne goal, his 15th of the season requiring no help to find twine. Erik Cole tied it for the Hurricanes with his 23rd of the year, assisted by Stillman and Bryan Allen. Dominic Moore gave Tampa Bay the lead back with his 15th of the season, a power play goal made possible by Lecavalier and St. Louis. Gagne wrapped up the game for the Lightning at a 4-2 score with his second of the game and 16th of the year, going unassisted once again into the empty net. The three stars went to St. Louis, Lecavalier, and Stillman.

To the Motor City of Detroit, where the Red Wings hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Jimmy Howard got the starting nods. Detroit opened the scoring with Henrik Zetterberg, his 22nd of the season a power play goal powered by Nicklas Lidstrom and Jiri Hudler. Toronto replied with the second of the year by Nazem Kadri, with guidance provided by Joey Crabb. The Red Wings replied in the second period by Tomas Holmstrom netting a power play goal, his 15th of the season, created by Niklas Kronwall and Brian Rafalski. Howard came out of the game due to injury, and Joey MacDonald came on in time to relinquish a goal to the Maple Leafs, as Joffrey Lupul sank his eleventh of the year, and Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf picked up the assists. Thirty-eight seconds later, Detroit got the goal back with Hudler potting his tenth of the season, and Zetterberg grabbing the assist. Todd Bertuzzi solidified the game for the Red wings with his empty-netter from Kronwall, his 15th of the year making the score 4-2. The three stars went out to Hudler, Zetterberg, and Phaneuf.

West to Minnesota, where the Wild hosted the St. Louis Blues. Ty Conklin and Niklas Backstrom played in front of the goalmouths. Minnesota broke the game open with a Marek Zidlicky goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Andrew Brunette and Mikko Koivu. St. Louis replied with a Matt D'Agostini goal, his 19th of the year, guided in by Kevin Shattenkirk and Andy McDonald. The Wild retook the lead with an Antti Miettinen goal, his 13th of the campaign coming on the power play from Brunette and Koivu. The Blues tied it again, releasing Adam the Cracknell for his third of the season, an unassisted goal. St. Louis took the lead with Chris Stewart potting his 24th of the year in the second period, assisted by T.J. Oshie and Roman Polak. Twenty-three seconds later, the Blues got another goal, this time the 27th of the season by David Backes, powered by Alex Pietrangelo. Pietrangelo tallied for himself and St. Louis in the third period, his eleventh of the year getting the favored returned by Backes. The Blues scored yet again with a Patrik Berglund marker, his 19th of the season, helped along by Nikita Nikitin. Minnesota made it 6-3 with another Miettinen goal ,his second of the game and 14th of the year, finding twine thanks to Koivu and Brunette, both of whom completed sock tricks in the loss. The three stars went to Backes, Pietrangelo, and Oshie.

Back to Nashville, where the Predators hosted the Dallas Stars in a country music showdown. Kari Lethonen and Pekka Rinne took their place in front of the cages. Dallas opened with a power play goal by Alex Goligoski, his 13th of the season coming off of Loui Eriksson and Mike Ribeiro. Nashville replied with a David Legwand goal, the 16th of the year for him made possible by Martin Erat and Shea Weber. The Predators took the lead in the second period with Mike Fisher's 16th of the season, assisted by Patric Hornqvist and Sergei Kostitsyn. The Stars retied it with Brenden Morrow recording his 28th of the year courtesy of Jamie Benn and Ribeiro. Fisher put Nashville back in front with his second of the game and 17th of the season, helped in by Ryan Suter (finally getting credit for his work) and Hornqvist. Legwand secured a 4-2 victory for the Predators with his second of the game and 17th of the year, an empty net goal that went without assistance. The three stars were awarded to Fisher, Hornqvist, and Suter.

To the Windy City, where the Chicago Blackhawks welcomed the Anaheim Ducks to the United Center. Ray Emery and Corey Crawford took care of the nets. Chicago opened up with a Marian Hossa tally, his 22nd of the season coming off of Viktor Stalberg and Michael Frolik. The second period was silent, but Anaheim took a 2-1 lead with a pair of Corey Perry third period goals, his 43rd and 44th of the year, with both Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan picking up two assists. This would be the final, and the three stars went to Perry, Hossa, and Emery (27 for 28 saves).

Out west to Phoenix, where the Coyotes hosted the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Ilya Bryzgalov were called on as starters. Logan Couture used his 29th of the season to put San Jose ahead first, gathering steam off of Ryane Clowe and Dany Heatley. Phoenix replied with Mikkel Boedker notching his fourth of the year, courtesy of Derek Morris and Kyle Turris. Joe Pavelski restored the lead for the Sharks on his 18th of the campaign, assisted by Joe Thornton and Jamal Mayers. Clowe notched his 24th of the season as well for San Jose, with helpers provided by Couture and Devin Setoguchi. Couture made it 4-1 with his second of the game and 30th of the year, guided in by Clowe and Ian White. The last event of the game had Paul Bissonnette help Clowe complete a Gordie Howe hat trick by taking a dance late in the third period. The final was as listed above, and the three stars went to Couture, Clowe, and Niemi (26 for 27 saves).

Lastly, the Battle of Alberta, in Edmonton, with the Oilers hosting the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Devan Dubnyk took the starts. Edmonton opened with Magnus Paajarvi notching his 12th of the season, with Andrew Cogliano and Linus Omark providing the necessary assistance. Calgary evened it in the second period with a Jarome Iginla power play goal, his 35th of the year powered by Mark Giordano and Tom Kostopolous. Fifty-nine seconds later, Teemu Hartikainen sank his first of the season for the Oilers, with help from Jordan Eberle and Theo Peckham. Edmonton extended their lead with a Colin Fraser goal, his third of the year coming shorthanded and unassisted. Ryan Jones kept the Oilers going with his 17th of the season, fueled by Ryan O'Marra and Liam Reddox. The Flames got a jumpstart with Iginla's second of the game and 36th of the year, another power play goal, aided by Giordano and Mikael Backlund. Calgary cut the deficit to a goal with Curtis Glencross sinking his 23rd of the season, thanks to Iginla and a sock trick recipient named Giordano. The Flames tied it with the third of the year by Steve Staios, guided along by Rene Bourque and Olli Jokinen. The tie lasted into a shootout, where Calgary completed the comeback with the lone Alex Tanguay tally to put them on top of Edmonton by a 5-4 margin. The three stars went to Hartikainen, Iginla, and Paajarvi.

There's four games for Sunday and a Sandwich Showdown as well.