There are quite a few games on today, beginning with the Philadelphia Flyers hosting the New Jersey Devils. Johan Hedberg and Sergei Bobrovsky are the game's starting goaltenders. Philadelphia led off in the second period as Zac Rinaldo netted a goal via Sean Couturier. The Flyers kept it up with Claude Giroux notching his eighth of the season from Jaromir Jagr and Andreas Lilja. New Jersey got on the board on the fifth of the year from Zach Parise, assisted by Adam Henrique and Ilya Kovalchuk. Henrique tied it for the Devils on a goal fueled by Kovalchuk. Philadelphia took the lead back as Max Talbot sank his fourth of the season on a penalty shot. New Jersey found another equalizer as David Clarkson potted his fourth of the year, thanks to Patrik Elias. The tie lasted into a shootout, where the Devils' Parise and Elias overpowered the Flyers' Danny Briere to take the game 4-3. The three stars were Elias, Kovalchuk, and Talbot, with honorable mentions to Parise.
Over to New York City, where the Rangers host the Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Hiller and Henrik Lundqvist play in the blue paint. New York opened with a Jeff Woywitka goal, assisted by Marian Gaborik and Ruslan Fedotenko. Anaheim tied it in the second period with Bobby Ryan recording his fifth of the season, with help from Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. The tie lasted into a shootout, where the Rangers' Erik Christensen and Gaborik out-muscled the Ducks' Teemu Selanne for a 2-1 win. The three stars were Lundqvist (27 for 28 in saves), Hiller (24 for 25 in saves), and Gaborik.
Across the city, the New York Islanders host the Winnipeg Jets. Ondrej Pavelec and Rick DiPietro were the masked men. Winnipeg struck first with an Evander Kane goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Kyle Wellwood and Johnny Oduya. Oduya struck for the Jets in the third period with his second of the year, fueled by Nik Antropov and Kane. Winnipeg iced it on Alex Burmistrov's empty net goal, his fourth of the campaign needing no help to find twine. The three stars in the 3-0 game were Pavelec (34 save shutout), Kane, and Oduya.
Moving to the west, where the Columbus Blue Jackets welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ben Scrivens and Steve Mason made the starts, but Mason struggled early and was replaced by Allen York just a bit into the second period. Toronto led off with Joey Crabb scoring his second of the season, with the assistance of Joffrey Lupul and Jake Gardiner. The Maple Leafs kept it up with a Clarke MacArthur goal, his fifth of the year, made possible by Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski. Toronto struck again with a John-Michael Liles goal in the second period, set up by Lupul and Kessel. The Maple Leafs put the nail in Mason's coffin for the night on MacArthur's second of the game and sixth of the season, an unassisted goal. Columbus finally got on the board with a Ryan Johansen goal, his third of the year, guided in by Antoine Vermette and Matt Calvert. The score of 4-1 lasted throughout the third period to the end, and the three stars went to Scrivens (38 for 39 in saves), MacArthur, and Johansen, although Lupul would have been worthy as well.
Back to the deep southeast, where the Florida Panthers hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. Youngsters Corey Crawford and Jacob Markstrom will be tasked with stopping the puck. Chicago struck first on a Jonathan Toews goal, his fifth of the season, with Andrew Brunette taking the lone assist. The Blackhawks extended their lead in the second period on Marian Hossa's sixth of the year, with helpers provided by Patrick Kane and Nick Leddy. Florida got on the board as Stephen Weiss sank his fifth of the season, courtesy of Kris Versteeg and Tomas Fleischmann. The Panthers got a late equalizer as Ed Jovanovski tallied his second of the year, with Dmitry Kulikov providing the only helper. The tie lasted into a shootout, where a Kane tally was good enough for Chicago to defeat Florida, 3-2. The three stars went to Crawford (41 for 43 in saves), Markstrom (31 for 33 in saves), and Kane.
Moving to the Midwest region, the Detroit Red Wings welcome the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Jimmy Howard play in between the pipes. Calgary opened with a Lee Stempniak goal, his second of the season, coming off of Anton Babchuk. The Flames extended the lead in the second period with the third of the year for Jarome Iginla, a power play goal aided by Curtis Glencross and Olli Jokinen. Detroit got on the board with a Danny Cleary power play goal, powered by Niklas Kronwall and Ian White. Calgary replied in the third period with another Iginla goal, his fourth of the campaign and second of the game, helped along by Glencross. The Flames finished it off with Jokinen tallying an empty net goal, his third of the year, pushed through by Iginla and Mark Giordano. They would win 4-1, and the three stars were Iginla, Kiprusoff (28 for 29 in saves), and Cleary, with honorable mention to Jokinen and Glencross.
Westward to Minnesota, where the Wild are hosting the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider and Josh Harding are the masked men of the match. Vancouver led off with a Dan Hamhuis goal, fueled by Alexandre Burrows and Daniel Sedin's tenth assist. Minnesota tied it in the second period with a Guillaume Latendresse goal, his second of the season, made possible by Marek Zidlicky. The Wild took the lead as Pierre-Marc Bouchard recorded a goal, via Matt Cullen and Jared Spurgeon. Minnesota extended the lead with Marco Scandella putting away his second of the year, with the help of Kyle Brodziak and Colton Gillies. The Wild made it 4-1 in the third period with Cullen registering his fifth of the season, coming off of Bouchard and Nick Schultz. Cullen later added on his second of the night and sixth of the year, with Devin Setoguchi and Bouchard helping him out. The final was 5-1, and the three stars were Cullen, Scandella, and Latendresse, and Bouchard picked up an honorable mention.
Down to the southwest, where the Phoenix Coyotes welcome the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Jason LaBarbera will be tending to the twines. Nashville drew first blood in the second period with a Jonathon Blum goal, courtesy of Blake Geoffrion. The Predators extended their lead with a Matt Halischuk goal, his third of the season, with Craig Smith nabbing the lone assist. Nashville iced it at 3-0 with an empty net goal by Patric Hornqvist, his fifth of the year, fueled by David Legwand and Colin Wilson. The three stars went to Rinne (35 save shutout), Halischuk, and Mikkel Boedker, although Blum deserves his credit too.
Westward to Los Angeles, where the Kings welcome their favorite trading partners, the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Jonathan Quick have the green light to start. Edmonton led the scoring off in the second period with a Ryan Smyth goal, his sixth of the season, guided in by Ryan Jones and Tom Gilbert. The Oilers extended the lead on a Lennart Petrell goal, with helpers by Ben Eager and Jeff Petry. Edmonton made it 3-0 in the third period with Corey Potter chipping in his second of the year, via Sam Gagner. This was a final with the three stars being Ladislav Smid (for no real reason), Jones, and Khabibulin (19 save shutout), where as I would have Khabibulin, Smyth, and Petrell as my top three, but what can you expect from those weirdo Oilers anyway?
Finally, in Northern California, the San Jose Sharks host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury does battle in net with Antti Niemi. Twenty-four seconds in, Pittsburgh had a lead with a Deryk Engelland goal, with helpers provided by Evgeni Malkin and Steve Sullivan. Malkin quickly added on with his third of the season for the Penguins, and he received the passes through Sullivan and James Neal. This prompted San Jose to remove Niemi from the crease, in favor of Thomas Greiss. San Jose finally entered the game on their side of the scoresheet in the second period, as Patrick Marleau registered his third of the year, and Martin Havlat and Jim Vandermeer lent the helping hands. Pittsburgh got it back on another Malkin goal, his second of the game and fourth of the season, gathering steam off of Neal and Kris Letang. The Sharks pulled back in the third period with Ryane Clowe depositing his fourth of the year into the cage, with the help of Havlat and Dan Boyle. San Jose tied it as Jamie McGinn scored, via Michal Handzus and Boyle. The tie lasted into a shootout, where the Sharks goal from Clowe completed the comeback, and they won 4-3. The three stars were Greiss (29 for 30 saves in relief), Malkin, and Clowe, with honorable mention to Sullivan, Neal, Boyle, and Havlat.
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