NHL Day 12 2011-2012

There are five games on tonight, and we begin in Toronto, with the Maple Leafs hosting the Colorado Avalanche. Jean-Sebastian Giguere and James Reimer were called on for the starts. The scoring was silent until the early second period, where Toronto took the lead on a Phil Kessel goal, the unassisted tally being his sixth of the season. Daniel Winnik tied it for Colorado with his second of the year, thanks to Ryan O'Reilly and Jan Hejda. The Avalanche gained the lead on the power play, as Milan Hejduk recorded his third of the season, with the help of Erik Johnson and Paul Stastny. The Maple Leafs got the equalizer in the third period with a Nikolai Kulemin goal, assisted by Dion Phaneuf and Clarke MacArthur. This tie was broken in overtime, as Colorado took the game 3-2 on a David Jones goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Kyle Quincey. Jones, Giguere (27 for 29 in saves), and Kessel were the three stars.

South to a team with similar jerseys as the previous team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, who hosted the Florida Panthers. Jose Theodore and Dwayne Roloson were the puckstoppers, or at least they attempted to as the following summary may explain. Florida opened with a Tomas Kopecky goal, a power play goal coming off of Ed Jovanovski and Brian Campbell. Tampa Bay replied with a Teddy Purcell power play goal, his second of the season powered by Ryan Shannon and Marc-Andre Bergeron. The Lightning took the lead on a Victor Hedman goal, assisted by Adam Hall and Nate Thompson. The Panthers retied it on a Stephen Weiss goal, another one with the man advantage, his second of the year, courtesy of Dmitry Kulikov and Campbell. Keeping with the theme of the night, Florida broke the tie in the second period on the power play, this puck going in off of Kris Versteeg's stick, his second goal of the season, with assists handed out to Weiss and Campbell, the latter completing what I officially deem the natural sock trick (assists on three consecutive goals). The next Panthers goal also came on the power play, alas, this one wasn't their own. Sean Bergenheim netted the 4-2 goal shorthanded and unassisted for the Cats. Tampa Bay made it 4-3 on Vincent Lecavalier's second of the year, with Bergeron and Matt Gilroy chipping in with the helpers. Florida got back to the script in the third period, as Versteeg netted his second of the night and third of the season, yet another power play goal, with the help of Tomas Fleischmann and Weiss being required. The Lightning cut back with Steven Stamkos' second of the year, guided along by Gilroy and Bergeron, the latter of which recorded the second sock trick in the game. Weiss replied shortly after with his second of the night and third of the season, helped along by Versteeg and Jovanovski. The Panthers put the game away 7-4 with a power play goal, fittingly, the second of the year off of Jason Garrison's tape, and Campbell and Versteeg recorded the assists there. The three stars were Weiss, Versteeg, and Bergeron, although Campbell, Gilroy, and Jovanovski all played well too.

Following that scoring spree, we have the Winnipeg Jets hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins of Western Canada. Marc-Andre Fleury and Ondrej Pavelec were in the blue paint. Winnipeg struck just eight seconds into the game, as Kyle Wellwood notched his second of the season, courtesy of Alex Burmistrov and Nik Antropov. The Jets extended their lead to 2-0 with a Tanner Glass goal, and Burmistrov picked up the lone assist. Pittsburgh got on the board late in the second period with a Zbynek Michalek goal, made possible by Kris Letang and Matt Cooke. The third period was silent, allowing Winnipeg their first win this season by a 2-1 margin. The three stars were awarded to Pavelec (28 for 29 in saves), Fleury (32 for 34 in saves), and Burmistrov.

Staying in Western Canada, the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Nikolai Khabibulin opposed each other in net. Nashville led off the scoring in the second period on a Sergei Kostitsyn goal, assisted only by Rinne the goalie. Edmonton got going in the third period with a power play goal by Taylor Hall, powered by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Shawn Horcoff. The Oilers took the lead quickly after on a Ryan Smyth goal, and Horcoff picked up another assist. Edmonton wrapped it up with an empty netter by Ryan Jones, with Horcoff getting a sock trick on the goal, as well as an assist to Smyth. The final was 3-1, and Horcoff, Hall, and Rinne (22 for 24 in saves) were the three stars.

Finally, we go with another Battle of California game, as the San Jose Sharks draw the Anaheim Ducks north. Dan Ellis and Antti Niemi are between the irons. Anaheim led off with a Teemu Selanne power play goal, powered by Saku Koivu and Lubomir Visnovsky. The Ducks added on with another Selanne goal, his second of the game, assisted by Koivu and Brandon McMillan. San Jose got on the board with an unassisted Marc-Edouard Vlasic goal in the second period. Anaheim got it back in the third period with Corey Perry recording his second of the year, thanks to Toni Lydman. The Sharks got the score to 3-2 with a Brent Burns power play goal, his second of the season powered by Joe Thornton and Dan Boyle. This was the final, with Ellis (41 for 43 in saves), Selanne, and Vlasic getting the three stars.