Resuming in Pittsburgh, as the Penguins host the Washington Capitals. Tomas Vokoun and Brent Johnson get the starting nods. Pittsburgh led off with a James Neal goal, his third of the season made possible by Steve Sullivan and Evgeni Malkin. Washington tied it in the second period with a Mike Knuble goal, helped along by Alexander Semin and Karl Alzner. The Capitals took the lead early in the third period as Alex Ovechkin netted the puck, thanks to Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom. Neal tied it back up for the Penguins with his fourth of the year and second of the night, a power play goal powered by Malkin and Chris Kunitz. The game went into overtime, and was decided on the power play as Dennis Wideman nettd his second of the season, coming off of Backstrom for the 3-2 win. The three stars were Wideman, Neal, and Knuble. Honorable mentions to Malkin and Backstrom.
Over to Long Island, with the New York Islanders playing host to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dwayne Roloson and Al Montoya got the go-ahead for start in goal. New York led off quickly, with an unassisted John Tavares goal. Tampa Bay replied with Steven Stamkos' goal, assisted by Marc-Andre Bergeron. Matt Moulson gave the Islanders the lead back, with help from Tavares and Mark Eaton. Tavares also netted another goal just after this, his second of the game coming via Moulson and P.A. Parenteau, the latter of which tallied the next New York goal, fueled by Tavares. The Islanders made it 5-1 and chased Roloson on a Michael Grabner goal, with the lone assist going to Kyle Okposo. Mathieu Garon stepped on in relief, and the game had no more scoring after this point. The three stars were Tavares, Moulson, and Montoya (34 for 35 in saves).
Staying in the region, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Martin Brodeur were in goal to begin with, but the latter only played the first period, being replaced by Johan Hedberg for the remainder of the game. Los Angeles led off with a Simon Gagne goal, courtesy of Justin Williams and Anze Kopitar. New Jersey tied it with a Patrik Elias tally, helped along by Petr Sykora and Zach Parise. This 1-1 tie lasted through the second, third, and overtime periods, before the Devils put it away 2-1 with Ilya Kovalchuk and Parise goals. Quick (36 for 37 in saves), Elias, and Gagne were the game's three stars.
Following that, the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Carey Price tend the twines. Montreal led off with an Andrei Kostitsyn goal, with help from Max Pacioretty. Calgary replied with a Rene Bourque power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Alex Tanguay and Chris Butler. The Flames took the lead on a Niklas Hagman goal, also on the power play, guided in by Olli Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester. David Moss padded the Calgary lead with an even-strength goal, fueled by Tanguay. Bourque made it 4-1 Flames in the second period with his second of the night and third of the year, courtesy of Matt Stajan and Butler. This score would hold throughout the rest of the game, and the three stars were Bourque, Tanguay, and Kiprusoff (35 for 36 in saves).
Staying in Eastern Canada, the Ottawa Senators hosted the Colorado Avalanche. Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Craig Anderson opposed each other in front of the nets. Ottawa led off with Milan Michalek's third of the season, a power play goal powered by Erik Karlsson and Sergei Gonchar. Colorado replied with a Milan Hejduk goal, his second of the year, also on the power play, with help from Erik Johnson and Paul Stastny. The Avalanche took the lead on the second of the season by Gabriel Landeskog, assisted by Ryan O'Reilly. Colorado made it 3-1 in the second period with a Joakim Lindstrom goal, helped along by Ryan Wilson and Matt Duchene. Duchene tallied on the power play for the Avalanche in the third period, and the helpers went to Landeskog and O'Reilly. Daniel Winnik got in on the scoring for Colorado with a shorthanded goal, coming off of a Shane O'Brien pass. The Avalanche also tacked on a power play goal by David Jones, with Hejduk and Johnson picking up the helpers. Colorado made it 7-1 with a power play goal by Lindstrom, his second of the game, assisted by Wilson and O'Reilly, the latter converting the 3-assist sock trick. This was a final, with Duchene, Landeskog, and O'Reilly getting the three stars, although Lindstrom was also very worthy.
Moving back stateside, with the Detroit Red Wings hosting the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider and Jimmy Howard put on the masks for the game. The scoring began in the second period as Justin Abdelkader nailed one in, with help from Todd Bertuzzi and Niklas Kronwall. The Red Wings made it 2-0 with a Valtteri Filppula goal, courtesy of Johan Franzen and Jiri Hudler. This score stood until the end of the game, resulting in a Detroit win, and the three stars awards went to Howard (25 save shutout), Abdelkader, and Filppula.
Continuing west, the Minnesota Wild host the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Niklas Backstrom were in the blue paint. Edmonton struck first with a Ryan Smyth goal, guided along by Eric Belanger and Jordan Eberle. Matt Cullen replied for Minnesota with his third of the season, and the lone helper went to Guillaume Latendresse. This 1-1 tie lasted through the third period and into an overtime, although there was no scoring here either, and the Wild took the game here with Cullen and Devin Setoguchi overpowering Eberle's goal. The three stars were Setoguchi, Khabibulin (34 for 35 in saves), and Backstrom (21 for 22 in saves), with Eberle or Cullen being the other most obvious choices.
Heading back a bit southeast, the Nashville Predators host the Phoenix Coyotes. Jason LaBarbera and Pekka Rinne are in the creases tonight. Phoenix led off with a David Schlemko goal, assisted by Petteri Nokelainen and Raffi Torres. The Coyotes extended their lead with a Ray Whitney goal, courtesy of Daymond Langkow and Shane Doan. Lauri Korpikoski kept it going for Phoenix by recording the 3-0 goal, and getting help from Boyd Gordon and Taylor Pyatt. The Coyotes were relentless in the second period, as Mikkel Boedker also netted a goal, guided in by Martin Hanzal and Keith Yandle. Nashville got on the board with the second of the season by Ryan Suter, a shorthanded goal via David Legwand. The Predators cut the deficit further with a Colin Wilson goal in the third period, thanks to Legwand and Sergei Kostitsyn. Phoenix made it 5-2 as Doan iced the game with his empty net goal, good as his third of the year, off a Rostislav Klesla pass. Schlemko, Korpikoski, and Legwand were the three stars, with only Doan making a case outside of that.
To Chicago, with the Blackhawks welcoming back
Lastly, in Dallas, the Stars hosted the St. Louis Blues. Jaroslav Halak and Kari Lehtonen played between the pipes. Dallas led off the scoring late in the first period with a shorthanded goal by Loui Eriksson, coming on a pass from Steve Ott, for his second goal of the year. The Stars took a bigger lead in the second period with an Adam Burish goal, guided in by Trevor Daley. Dallas made it 3-0 on the power play with a Brenden Morrow goal, powered by Stephane Robidas and Mike Ribeiro. St. Louis found the scoreboard with a Matt D'Agostini goal, assisted by Alex Steen and Kent Huskins. The Blues made it 3-2 in the third period as Chris Stewart notched his second of the season, with the help of Kevin Shattenkirk and Patrik Berglund being required. They would not get the equalizer, leaving the Stars in line for two points, and the three stars here were Lehtonen (36 for 38 in saves), Eriksson, and D'Agostini.
No comments :
Post a Comment