Today we have a lot of games on the schedule. Here's the beginning.
The Pittsburgh Penguins lead us off by hosting the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Marc-Andre Fleury were the goalies. Pittsburgh led off with a James Neal goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Steve Sullivan and Richard Park. The Penguins extended the lead on a Joe Vitale goal, with the lone assist by Deryk Engelland. Pittsburgh made it 3-0 in the third period with an Arron Asham goal, fueled by Engelland and Matt Niskanen. Montreal made it 3-1 late with the second of the year by Brian Gionta, courtesy of Yannick Weber and Mathieu Darche. The three stars were Fleury (27 for 28 in saves), Engelland, and Asham.
To Boston, with the Bruins welcoming the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jonas Gustavsson and Tim Thomas were called on for the starts. Dave Steckel led off for Toronto, scoring with help from Nazem Kadri and Dion Phaneuf. Boston tied it with a power play goal by Nathan Horton, his second of the season, courtesy of Zdeno Chara and Andrew Ference. Chara later tacked on his own goal for the Bruins, also on the power play, powered by Ference and Tyler Seguin. Boston made it 3-1 with a Chris Kelly goal, his second of the year, fueled by Milan Lucic and Ference, the latter getting a natural sock trick. The Bruins got back to work after both teams took the second period off, with Lucic netting the puck, and Seguin and Kelly providing the assistance. Boston added even more with a Patrice Bergeron goal, guided in by Horton and Chara. The Bruins continued to unleash as Seguin notched his second of the season via Lucic and Dennis Seidenberg. The Maple Leafs replied as Mikhail Grabovski sank his second of the year, and Jake Gardiner and Luke Schenn added the helpers. The final was 6-2, and the three stars were Chara, Lucic, and Ference, with honorable mentions for Seguin and Horton.
Going onward to Philadelphia, with the Flyers hosting the Washington Capitals. Tomas Vokoun and Ilya Bryzgalov were the masked men. Claude Giroux put Philadelphia up early with his fifth of the season, with help from Wayne Simmonds. Washington tied it on an unassisted Mathieu Perreault goal. With twelve seconds left in the first period, the Capitals got the lead with an Alex Ovechkin goal, his second of the year coming off of Nicklas Backstrom and Troy Brouwer. Washington got back to it in the third period with a Roman Hamrlik goal, courtesy of Matt Hendricks and Perreault. The Capitals made it 4-1 with an Ovechkin power play goal, his second of the game and third of the season, guided in by Backstrom and Dennis Wideman. Washington continued the onslaught with Joel Ward scoring, off Jeff Schultz and Karl Alzner. The Flyers struck late with a Sean Couturier goal, his second of the year, with helpers by Max Talbot and Andreas Nodl. This put the final at 5-2, with the three stars being Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Vokoun (40 for 42 in saves), and my honorable mention goes to Perreault.
Up into Canada, with the Ottawa Senators hosting the Winnipeg Jets. Ondrej Pavelec and Craig anderson were in the blue paint. Winnipeg opened with a Dustin Byfuglien goal, thanks to Alex Burmistrov and Tobias Enstrom. Ottawa tied it in the second period with a power play goal from Milan Michalek, his fourth of the season going down with help from Colin Greening and Jason Spezza. The trio of Senators met up again on Spezza's third of the year, with Greening and Michalek obviously getting the assists. Ottawa extended the lead further with an unassisted Daniel Alfredsson goal, his third of the season. The Senators made it 4-1, the final, on Michalek's second of the game and fifth of the year, an empty net goal from Zack Smith and Spezza. Anderson (35 of 36 in saves), Michalek, and Spezza were the three stars.
South to Tampa Bay, with the Lightning hosting the New York Islanders. Al Montoya and Mathieu Garon will be playing in net. Tampa Bay struck first with a power play goal by Ryan Malone, his second of the season, made possible by Vincent Lecavalier and Marc-Andre Bergeron. The Lightning struck again (pun intended) with a Lecavalier goal, his third of the year, with help from Martin St. Louis. Tampa Bay got another as Steven Stamkos potted his third of the season, coming via Teddy Purcell. New York got on the board with a Michael Grabner tally, his second of the year, fueled by Mark Streit and Brian Rolston. The Lightning left the final at 4-1 with a Brett Clark goal, his second of the season, with Purcell picking up another assist. The three stars went to Eric Brewer, Lecavalier, and Purcell, although any goal scorer was better than Brewer this game.
Staying in the state, the Florida Panthers host the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Jose Theodore are tending the twines. Buffalo led off in the second period with a Thomas Vanek goal, his fifth of the season going in off of Jason Pominville and Tyler Myers. The Sabres added on with a Pominville goal, his second of the year, made possible by Ville Leino. Buffalo finished it off at 3-0 with Vanek's second of the game and sixth of the season, a power play goal powered by Pominville and Marc-Andre Gragnani. Vanek, Miller (22 save shutout), and Pominville were the three stars.
Moving west to Colorado, with the Avalanche hosting the Chicago Blackhawks. Playing goal tonight will be Corey Crawford and Semyon Varlamov. Chicago led off on a Jonathan Toews goal from Dan Carcillo and Nick Leddy, his third goal of the season. Colorado tied it in the second period with a Ryan O'Byrne goal, with assists by Matt Duchene and Joakim Lindstrom. The Blackhawks regained the lead in the third period on Patrick Sharp's second of the year, helped along by Andrew Brunette and Duncan Keith. Marian Hossa made it 3-1 Chicago with an empty net goal, his third of the season, guided in by Toews. The three stars were Gabriel Landeskog (homer pick Avalanche!), Toews and Sharp, although I'd throw an honorable mention out to Leddy or Carcillo.
Northward to Calgary, with the Flames hosting the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist opposed a lesser Henrik, Mr. Karlsson, in the creases. New York opened with a Marian Gaborik goal, his fourth of the season powered by Derek Stepan and Brad Richards on the power play. Less than a minute later, Calgary tied it as Jarome Iginla sank his second of the year, courtesy of Alex Tanguay and Scott Hannan. The Rangers replied as Brandon Prust scored his second of the season, the shorthanded tally made possible by Brian Boyle. The Flames retied it on a Mark Giordano power play goal, assisted by Iginla and Tanguay. The game stayed tied until the very last second of overtime, where Ryan McDonagh won it for New York on his second of the year, via Dan Girardi and Brandon Dubinsky. Iginla, Boyle, and Giordano were the three stars, although McDonagh and Tanguay have solid cases.
Farther north in Alberta, the Edmonton Oilers oppose the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Nikolai Khabibulin will play goal. Edmonton scored first with a Ryan Jones goal, his second of the season, via Ryan Smyth. Minnesota tied it late in the third period with a Dany Heatley goal, his second of the year coming off of Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Devin Setoguchi. The late tie lasted into the shootout, where Matt Cullen had the only goal for a 2-1 Wild win. The three stars were Khabibulin and Backstrom (30 for 31 each in saves) and Ladislav Smid, although the honorable mentions could go to Heatley or Cullen.
Down to the desert, with the Phoenix Coyotes hosting the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Mike Smith played between the pipes. Los Angeles opened the scoring early in the second period with Dustin Brown potting his second of the season on the power play, assisted by Mike Richards and Anze Kopitar. Kyle Clifford extended the Kings lead with a Kyle Clifford goal, and the helpers were provided by Kevin Westgarth and Matt Greene. The final remained at 2-0, and the three stars were Quick (28 save shutout), Brown, and Lauri Korpikoski, although a better choice at number three is Clifford.
Back north, the Vancouver Canucks welcomed the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Roberto Luongo made the starts. Vancouver led off with Daniel Sedin recording his third of the season, off his brother Henrik Sedin. Nashville replied quickly with a Matt Halischuk goal, courtesy of Colin Wilson and Jonathon Blum, his second of the year. The Canucks just as quickly took the lead back on a Henrik power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Daniel and Alexander Edler. Vancouver extended the lead with a Dale Weise goal, made possible by Edler. The Canucks kept it coming with a Chris Higgins goal, his third of the year, an unassisted goal. Rinne was removed after the first period, and Anders Lindback was solid until a Ryan Kesler power play goal in the third period making it 5-1 for Vancouver. Daniel and Sami Salo had the assists here. This was the final, with the three stars going to Daniel, Henrik and Weise.
No comments :
Post a Comment