A total of eleven games on tonight. We begin in Tennessee...
Where the Nashville Predators host the Montreal Canadiens. Peter Budaj and Pekka Rinne are in goal. Montreal led off with a David Desharnais goal, his third of the season, assisted by Erik Cole and Josh Gorges. Nashville tied it in the second period with the second of the year by Shea Weber, a shorthanded goal made possible by Ryan Suter and Nick Spaling. The game went into overtime where the Canadiens won as Max Pacioretty put his seventh of the campaign into the twine, and was helped by P.K. Subban and Desharnais, for a 2-1 final. The three stars were Pacioretty, Budaj (25 for 26 in saves), and Rinne (23 for 25 in saves), with Desharnais picking up honorable mention.
Into Ohio, where the Columbus Blue Jackets hosted the Winnipeg Jets. Ondrej Pavelec and Steve Mason were in the creases. Columbus got the first two goals in the game as Ryan Johansen netted his fourth and fifth of the season, one in the first and one in the third period. The assists were handed to James Wisniewski, Marc Methot, Vinny Prospal, and Nikita Nikitin. Winnipeg got it to 2-1 with Mark Stuart striking shorthande, his second of the year coming off of Dustin Byfuglien. This was a final, and Johansen, Mason (35 for 36 in saves), and Prospal raked in the three stars.
Crossing over to Canada, as the Toronto Maple Leaf host the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Ben Scrivens got the starting nods. Toronto was first to score as Tyler Bozak potted the puck via Phil Kessel and Luke Schenn. Ottawa replied in the second period with Sergei Gonchar's second of the season, and assists came from Kaspars Daugavins and Zack Smith. The Senators grabbed the lead with a Nick Foligno power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Erik Karlsson (fifteenth assist) and the goalie Anderson. Ottawa continued to surge upward with an unassisted Smith goal, his third of the season. The Maple Leafs pulled back a bit with Joffrey Lupul netting his ninth of the year unassisted. The Senators took control back shortly after as Foligno notched his second of the night and sixth of the season into the empty net, thanks to Jesse Winchester. Ottawa iced it at 5-2 with another empty net goal, the eleventh of the year by Milan Michalek, which was also unassisted. The official three stars were not posted at the end of the game, so I declare Foligno, Smith, and Anderson (31 for 33 in saves plus an assist) the three stars unofficially.
Back stateside (barely), as the Detroit Red Wings host the Dallas Stars. Andrew Raycroft and Jimmy Howard tended to the twines. Dallas led off as the ninth of the season by Loui Eriksson went into the cage, a power play goal from Trevor Daley and Jamie Benn. Detroit tied it with the third of the year for Niklas Kronwall, assisted by Danny Cleary and Tomas Holmstrom. The Red Wings took the lead in the second period on an Ian White goal, his third of the season, fueled by Drew Miller and Nicklas Lidstrom. The Stars retied it as Brenden Morrow registered his third of the year, thanks to Mike Ribeiro's tenth assist and Adam Burish. Detroit regained the lead in the third period as Johan Franzen put away his ninth of the season, guided in by Valtteri Filppula and Brad Stuart. The Red Wings extended the lead with the second of the year by Darren Helm, and Jiri Hudler raked in the lone assist. Detroit made it 5-2, the eventual final, on a Stuart goal made possible by Franzen and Filppula (tenth assist). The three stars were Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg, and Stuart, with honorable mention to Filppula.
To the east coast, where the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brent Johnson and Cam Ward wore the masks. Carolina opened with Jeff Skinner notching his seventh of the season, thanks to Jussi Jokinen and Tomas Kaberle. The Hurricanes added two more in the second period as Tuomo Ruutu potted his fifth and sixth of the year, and assists went to Skinner twice and Jokinen once. Pittsburgh got those two back as Jordan Staal sank his seventh and eighth of the season, and the second goal was shorthanded. The helpers were provided by Evgeni Malkin, Matt Cooke, James Neal, and Brooks Orpik. The Penguins tied it with the sixth of the year by Chris Kunitz, via Pascal Dupuis. Carolina took the lead back with the fourth of the season for Eric Staal, helped along by Tim Gleason and Chad LaRose. The Hurricanes made it 5-3 with LaRose's fifth of the year, fueled by Eric and Jay Harrison. This was a final, and the three stars were Skinner, Eric Staal, and Ward (37 for 40 in saves), while the honorable mentions are Jokinen, Jordan Staal, LaRose, and Ruutu.
Northward to the Nation's capital, as the Washington Capitals host the New Jersey Devils. Johan Hedberg and Michal Neuvirth are the goalies for the second game in a row between these teams. Washington opened with the fourth of the campaign for Troy Brouwer, an unassisted goal. The Capitals extended the lead with the sixth of the season for Jason Chimera, with John Carlson and Marcus Johansson grabbing the helpers. New Jersey got going in the second period with the third of the year by Petr Sykora, via Dainius Zubrus and Patrik Elias. The Devils tied it with Ryan Carter's goal, set up by Bryce Salvador. The tie lasted through the third and overtime periods, and into a shootout, where Zach Parise was answered by Alexander Ovechkin, and then New Jersey toppled Washington with a David Clarkson tally. Chimera, Carter, and Brouwer were the three stars.
Heading toward Boston, with the Bruins hosting the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller opposed Tim Thomas, although Jhonas Enroth was in the Buffalo net for the third period. Buffalo was the first to score with Thomas Vanek recording his eleventh of the season, made possible by Jason Pominville. Boston tied it in the second period with the fourth of the year for Rich Peverley, assisted by Chris Kelly. The Bruins added on with the tenth of the season for Tyler Seguin, received from Brad Marchand. Sixteen seconds later, Boston put the puck in the net again, with Nathan Horton tallying his fifth of the year, and the assists were provided by Johnny Boychuk and Zdeno Chara, the latter's tenth helper. The Bruins continued the attack in the third period with a Kelly goal, coming off of Peverley, good for his fourth of the campaign. Boston piled on another with Seguin's second of the game and eleventh of the season, thanks to Patrice Bergeron and Marchand. The Bruins tacked on another goal when Marchand found a home for his fifth of the year, guided in by Seguin and Chara. The Sabres cut it to 6-2 with a Marc-Andre Gragnani power play goal, powered by Christian Ehrhoff and Luke Adam for the final goal in the game. The three stars were Seguin, Peverley, and Marchand, and Chara and Kelly deserve notice for their multi-point efforts.
Back westward, as the St. Louis Blues host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Mathieu Garon and Brian Elliott were in control of the cages. St. Louis opened with Kris Russell recording his third of the season, helped along by Evgeny Grachev and Roman Polak. The Blues added on late in the second period with a Kevin Shattenkirk goal, his second of the campaign, via Alex Steen and Jamie Langenbrunner. St. Louis iced it at 3-0 with a shorthanded T.J. Oshie goal, his fifth of the year, fueled by David Backes. The three stars were Steen, Elliott (19 save shutout), and Russell.
To the Rocky Mountains, where the Colorado Avalanche welcome the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Semyon Varlamov play between the pipes. Calgary led off with Paul Byron's goal, made possible by Derek Smith and Lee Stempniak. The Flames extended the lead with the fifth of the season by Jarome Iginla, fueled by Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Tanguay. Calgary added on again with a Curtis Glencross goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by Tom Kostopoulos and David Moss. The Flames tacked on another goal in the second period, the fourth of the season by Stempniak, and the lone assist came from Roman Horak. Colorado finally got on the board with the seventh of the year for Milan Hejduk, courtesy of Jan Hejda and Joakim Lindstrom. The Avalanche got another one back as Matt Duchene sent his sixth of the season into the net, via Shane O'Brien and Hejduk. Colorado made it 4-3 on David Jones' sixth of the year, guided in by Ryan O'Reilly's tenth assist and Ryan Wilson. This was the final, as they could not get the equalizer, and the three stars were Stempniak, Iginla, and Hejduk.
Hitting the west coast, the San Jose Sharks welcome the Phoenix Coyotes. Mike Smith and Thomas Greiss are the netminders here. Phoenix opened with a Radim Vrbata goal, his sixth of the season, set up by Ray Whitney and Martin Hanzal. The Coyotes extended the lead on a Boyd Gordon goal, his third of the year, helped along by Raffi Torres and Lauri Korpikoski.Phoenix iced it at 3-0 on the second of the season by Patrick O'Sullivan, moved through by Kyle Chipchura and Adrian Aucoin. Smith (31 save shutout), Gordon, and Korpikoski were the three stars.
Down the California coast to Los Angeles, with the Kings hosting the Minnesota Wild. In goal we have Josh Harding and Jonathan Quick. Los Angeles opened the scoring with Colin Fraser scoring, courtesy of Ethan Moreau and Trevor Lewis. The Kings added on in the second period as Alex Martinez netted his second of the season, a power play goal powered by Justin Williams' tenth assist and Simon Gagne. Los Angeles extended the lead again with a Dustin Brown goal, his fourth of the year, assisted by Jack Johnson. The Kings made it 4-0 with Gagne's sixth of the season, a power play goal made possible by Anze Kopitar and Williams. This sent Harding to the bench, replaced by Niklas Backstrom, who soon choked up a Matt Greene goal, and Los Angeles gained more assists by Trent Hunter and Jarret Stoll. Minnesota got going with the third of the campaign for Cal Clutterbuck in the third period, a power play goal coming off of Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley. The Wild got as close as 5-2 after the second of the year by Darroll Powe, via Marek Sidlicky and Nate Prosser. The three stars were Brown, Martinez, and Fraser, with Gagne and Williams as honorable mentions.
No comments :
Post a Comment