Hockey wall to wall for about eleven hours today. I'll get a jump on it now, and it will be wrapped up Saturday morning. Enjoy the games, beginning with...
The Boston Bruins hosting the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Tuukka Rask will play in goal. Detroit struck first with a Valtteri Filppula foal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg and Ian White. Boston tied it in the second period with the third of the year by Daniel Paille, coming off of Nathan Horton. The Red Wings quickly took the lead back when Pavel Datsyuk sent his sixth of the season into the twine, thanks to Todd Bertuzzi and Johan Franzen. The Bruins tied it in the third period with a Patrice Bergeron goal, his fifth of the year, an unassisted tally. The tie lasted into a shootout, where Detroit's Datsyuk and Bertuzzi topped Boston's Horton for a 3-2 win. The three stars were Filppula, Bergeron, and Datsyuk.
Head over to New York, with the Islanders hosting the New Jersey Devils. Johan Hedberg and Al Montoya will get the starts. New Jersey finally dented the scoreboard in the second period with a power play goal by Petr Sykora, his fifth of the season, powered by Adam Larsson and Adam Henrique. This would stand as the only goal for a 1-0 Devils win, and Hedberg (23 save shutout), Sykora, and Montoya (22 for 23 in saves) were the three stars.
Into Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Flyers welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Sergei Bobrovsky are sent out to stop pucks. Montreal got first dibs on the lead with a Petteri Nokelainen goal, courtesy of Hal Gill and Josh Gorges. Philadelphia tied it in the second period with the twelfth of the season by Claude Giroux, helped along by Matt Carle. Jakub Voracek put the Flyers in the lead with his fourth of the year, coming off of Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn. Giroux kept Philadelphia on the offensive with his second of the game and thirteenth of the season, via Coburn and Voracek. The final was 3-1, and the three stars were handed out to Giroux, Voracek, and Bobrovsky (23 for 24 in saves), while Coburn also had a worthy game.
Also, in the Nation's capital, the Washington Capitals host the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist will be in goal as well as Michal Neuvirth. New York busted the scoring open in the second period when the tenth of the season by Marian Gaborik crossed the goal line, and assisting him was Derek Stepan. The Rangers added on with an Artem Anisimov power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi. New York scored again when the second of the season by Ruslan Feodtenko found twine, with the help of Ryan Callahan. Washington got on the board with a Troy Brouwer goal, his sixth of the year, courtesy of John Carlson and Nicklas Backstrom. The Capitals got closer with a Carlson power play goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Marcus Johansson and Dmitry Orlov. The Rangers got one back as Brian Boyle scored his second of the year via John Mitchell and Carl Hagelin. New York took stronger command of a lead in the third period with Brad Richards netting his seventh of the season, helped along by Callahan and Girardi. Washington answered with Alex Ovechkin recording his eighth of the year, coming off of Backstrom and Brouwer. The Rangers would win 6-3 when Fedotenko found a place for his second of the game and third of the campaign, and Callahan helped him while earning a sock trick, as well was Richards grabbing an assist. The three stars were Callahan, Girardi, and Carlson, while honorable mentions include Richards, Brouwer, Backstrom, Fedotenko, and Anisimov.
Out west, the Anaheim Ducks take on the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Jonas Hiller are between the pipes. Anaheim opened early with a Bobby Ryan goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. The Ducks added on with an Andrew Cogliano goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu. Chicago got one back as Patrick Sharp deposited his eighth of the season, thanks to Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Anaheim took it back as Selanne scored his eighth of the year on the power play, powered by Francois Beauchemin and Cam Fowler. Dave Bolland put the Blackhawks back within one on his seventh of the season, a power play goal made possible by Andre Brunette and Marcus Kruger. The Ducks kept on the attack with a Ryan goal in the second period, his seventh of the year and second of the game, fueled by Luca Sbisa and Getzlaf. Chicago picked up the scoring in the third period, first with a Toews goal, his eleventh of the season, with helpers by Duncan Keith and Viktor Stalberg. The Blackhawks got the lead as Sharp netted two more goals for a hat trick, his ninth and tenth of the year, and assists were awarded to Toews twice, for a sock trick, and Stalberg once. Toews padded the lead for Chicago with his second of the game and twelfth of the season, a power play goal, after passes from Keith and Nick Leddy. Anaheim made it 6-5 with eight seconds left, on Perry's ninth of the year, but even the helpers from Koivu and Getzlaf couldn't save them from defeat. The three stars went to Sharp, Ryan, and Toews, while the honorable mentions include Keith, Stalberg, Perry, Selanne, Getzlaf, and Koivu.
Wrapping up the early games are the Minnesota Wild hosting the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Josh Harding will be guarding the cages. Edmonton jumped out ahead early with the twelfth of the season by Ryan Smyth, assisted by Jordan Eberle and Theo Peckham. The Oilers extended the lead with the ninth of the year for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, a power play goal set up by Smyth and Sam Gagner. Minnesota got on the board with a Devin Setoguchi goal, his seventh of the season, coming on the man-advantage from Mikko Koivu and Jared Spurgeon. The Wild tied it in the second period on a Pierre-Marc Bouchard goal, his second of the year, an unassisted goal. Edmonton took the lead back with Taylor Hall sinking his seventh of the season, and Tom Gilbert and Shawn Horcoff took credit for the helpers. Horcoff got the Oilers moving in the third period with his seventh of the campaign, pushed through by Ales Hemsky and Hall. Edmonton iced it at 5-2 with Nugent-Hopkins potting his tenth of the year and second of the game into the empty net, after receiving it through Eberle and Smyth. The three stars were Hall, Cal Clutterbuck, and Khabibulin (30 for 32 in saves), while the honorable mentions are Nugent-Hopkins, Smyth, Horcoff, and Eberle.
The regularly scheduled games begin with the Pittsburgh Penguins welcoming the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Marc-Andre Fleury started in goal, but Alex Auld was quickly called on to relieve Anderson. Ottawa was first on the board with the third of the season by Kaspars Daugavins, via Zack Smith and Erik Karlsson. Pittsburgh replied very quickly with Chris Kunitz netting his eighth of the year, thanks to Sidney Crosby and Deryk Engelland. The Penguins extended the lead on the third of the season by Tyler Kennedy, from Paul Martin and the goalie Fleury. Pittsburgh kept rolling with a Steve Sullivan power play goal, his fourth of the year, helped along by Evgeni Malkin and Crosby. Malkin chased Anderson with his seventh of the season for the Penguins, and he got assistance from Kris Letang and Crosby, the latter finishing off a sock trick. Pittsburgh stayed strong in the second period with a Pascal Dupuis goal, his fifth of the campaign, thanks to Arron Asham and Kennedy. The Senators finally got one back with Jared Cowen recording his second of the year, assisted by Daniel Alfredsson and Nick Foligno. The Penguins replied in the third period with the eleventh of the season by Jordan Staal, fueled by Kennedy and Martin. Ottawa finished the scoring at 6-3 with Erik Condra notching his second of the year, guided in by Foligno and Brian Lee. Malkin, Crosby, and Kennedy were the three stars, while Martin and Foligno earn the honorable mention.
Down south, the Carolina Hurricanes play host to Winnipeg Jets. Chris Mason and Cam Ward got the starting nods. Winnipeg opened with an Evander Kane goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Johnny Oduya. Jiri Tlusty answered for Carolina in the second period, his fourth of the year being helped in by Brandon Sutter and Jamie McBain. The Jets took the lead back with the eighth of the season for Andrew Ladd, fueled by Zach Bogosian and Nik Antropov. Winnipeg made it a 3-1 final with an empty net goal from Bryan Little, his sixth of the year, and Bogosian had the lone assist. The three stars were Ladd, Bogosian, and Kane.
Into Ohio, where the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Buffalo Sabres. Jhonas Enroth and Curtis Sanford took their places in the blue paint, but Enroth was eventually chased in favor of Drew MacIntyre. Columbus started off with the third of the season by Mark Letestu, courtesy of Ryan Johansen and Fedor Tyutin. The Blue Jackets extended the lead with a Rick Nash power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by James Wisniewski and Jeff Carter. Columbus attacked again in the second period with a Marc Methot goal, guided in by Wisniewski and Derek Dorsett. Twelve seconds later, the Blue Jackets had Enroth out with the third of the campaign by R.J. Umberger, assisted by Johansen. Buffalo finally woke up with a goal by Jordan Leopold, his fifth of the season, made possible by Zack Kassian and Robyn Regehr. Nash made it 5-1 with his second of the game and seventh of the year, with helpers provided by Carter and Nikita Nikitin. The third period was silent in scoring, so this was a final, and the three stars were Nash, Methot, and Vinny Prospal, while Carter, Wisniewski, and Johansen all had respectable output.
Backtrack down to the first game of a back-to-back in the Battle of Florida, as the Panthers host their northern neighbors, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Mathieu Garon and Jose Theodore will be tending to the twines. Florida opened the scoring in the second period with the tenth of the season by Tomas Fleischmann, assisted by Stephen Weiss. Tampa Bay answered in the third period to tie it on the tenth of the year by Vincent Lecavalier, and Martin St. Louis had the lone assist. The tie lasted into overtime, where Dmitry Kulikov had an untimely penalty, and Steven Stamkos cashed in for the Lightning, winning it 2-1 on his twelfth of the campaign, powered by St. Louis and Marc-Andre Bergeron. Stamkos, Garon (23 for 24 in saves), and Theodore (29 for 31 in saves) were named three stars, while St. Louis also had a decent performance.
Northwest to Missouri for the St. Louis Blues hosting the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Brian Elliott wore the goalie masks. St. Louis led off with a shorthanded David Backes goal, his eighth of the season, with help from Kevin Shattenkirk. The Blues made it 2-0 in the third period, the eventual final, as Alex Pietrangelo notched his fourth of the year, thanks to Alex Steen and Backes. The three stars were Elliott (24 save shutout), Backes, and Ryan Reaves, while Pietrangelo would have also fit the bill for third star.
South again to Texas, where the Dallas Stars will host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jonas Gustavsson and Kari Lehtonen were rolled out as the goalies. Dallas opened with an Eric Nystrom goal, his sixth of the season, thanks to Michael Ryder and Jamie Benn. Toronto replied with a Joey Crabb tally, his fourth of the year, made possible by Dion Phaneuf and Joe Colborne. The Maple Leafs took the lead with a power play goal by Phaneuf, his third of the season, powered by John-Michael Liles and Joffrey Lupul. The Stars tied it in the second period when Nystrom struck again, his second of the game and seventh of the year, assisted by Radek Dvorak and Benn. Toronto got the lead again in the third period with a Clarke MacArthur goal, his eighth of the season, guided in by Tim Connolly and Nikolai Kulemin. Dallas tied it at 3 with a Dvorak goal, his second of the year, via Mike Ribeiro and Philip Larsen. The tie lasted into a shootout, where Lupul's goal put the Maple Leafs over the Stars 4-3. The three stars were Dvorak, Nystrom, and Phaneuf, and the honorable mentions are Lupul and Benn.
Finally, the Phoenix Coyotes welcome the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider and Mike Smith will be in front of the cages. Vancouver opened in the second period with a Sami Salo goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin. The Canucks added on with an unassisted Ryan Kesler goal, his fourth of the campaign. Vancouver continued with a David Booth goal, his third of the year, courtesy of Kesler and Kevin Bieksa. The Canucks showed no mercy in the third period as Maxim Lapierre scored his fourth of the season unassisted. Vancouver finished it at 5-0 with Alexandre Burrows scoring his seventh of the year, and Cody Hodgson and the lone assist. The three stars were Schneider (22 save shutout), Kesler, and Salo.
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