Today, hockey will run from 10 AM to 10 PM on the Pacific coast, with eleven total games being played. The first is...
The Philadelphia Flyers hosting the New Jersey Devils in an eastern matinee. Johan Hedberg and Brian Boucher are sent out to block pucks. New Jersey opens with a goal by Henrik Tallinder, his second of the season going in unassisted. Patrik Elias made it 2-0 Devils with his eleventh of the year, with help from Mark Fayne and Brian Rolston. Philadelphia answered late in the second period with a James van Riemsdyk tally, his 12th of the season seeing the sticks of Claude Giroux and Mike Richards before finding twine. New Jersey sealed the game off with another Elias goal, his second of the afternoon and 12th of the year, getting help from Rolston and Tallinder for the empty net marker. The final was 3-1, with the three stars given out to Elias, Hedberg (26 for 27 saves), and Giroux.
West a bit for the next afternoon special, as the Detroit Red Wings host bitter rivals in the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Jimmy Howard have earned the starts. Detroit got on the board first with the first of the year by Cory Emmerton, assisted by Brian Rafalski and Jonathan Ericsson. Dave Bolland put Chicago back into a tie with his tenth of the season, thanks to Troy Brouwer and Duncan Keith on the power play. The Blackhawks take the lead on another power play goal, this one the ninth tally of the season for Tomas Kopecky, assisted by Bolland and Keith. Kopecky tallied another one to make it 3-1 Chicago, getting help this time from Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp. Brouwer finished the scoring off, producing the final of 4-1 Blackhawks over Red Wings with his 14th of the season, from Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. The three stars went to Kopecky, Keith, and Crawford (36 for 37 saves).
The last matinee features the Colorado Avalanche hosting the Boston Bruins. Tim Thomas and Craig Anderson will guard the nets to the best of their abilities. Paul Stastny put Colorado on the board first with his 17th of the season, made possible by Kevin Shattenkirk and Chris Stewart. Boston tied the game with the eleventh of the year by Brad Marchand, courtesy of Mark Recchi and Patrice Bergeron. The Bruins took the lead with a Milan Lucic goal, his 18th of the season coming with the man advantage thanks to David Krejci and Recchi. Recchi added his own goal in the second period, his tenth of the year coming from Marchand. Lucic notched his second of the night and 19th of the year to put Boston up 4-1 late in the second, with helpers provided by Krejci and Bergeron. Shattenkirk attempted to get the Avalanche back into the game with his sixth of the season, with help from Milan Hejduk. Boston answered back with a Bergeron goal, his 16th of the year getting help along the way by Marchand and Johnny Boychuk. Marchand finished it off with his second of the night and 12th of the season, an empty net goal assisted by Gregory Campbell and Andrew Ference. Picking up the three stars in the Bruins 6-2 victory were Recchi, Lucic, and Marchand.
Now at the normally scheduled games, the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Marc-Andre Fleury were in between the pipes. The first period was scoreless, and Pittsburgh struck late in the second frame with Dustin Jeffrey's second of the season, thanks to Brooks Orpik. The Penguins made it 2-0 in the third period with Mark Letestu notching his tenth of the year, a power play goal from Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang. It became 3-0 with Pascal Dupuis netting his tenth of the year, a shorthanded goal made possible by Jordan Staal and Paul Martin. Carolina got on the board with Sergei Samsonov potting his ninth of the season, with help from Jiri Tlusty. Eric Staal cut the deficit to 3-2 with his 23rd of the season, assisted by Joe Corvo and Joni Pitkanen, but the Penguins weathered the last fifty-eight seconds and won by the previously mentioned score. The three stars went to Fleury (24 for 26 saves), Jordan Staal, and Eric Staal.
Down the coast a bit, the Atlanta Thrashers host the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Ondrej Pavelec made the goalie appearances. Nik Antropov put Atlanta out front first with his eighth of the season, helped along by Tobias Enstrom and Tim Stapleton. Wojtek Wolski tied it for New York in the second period with his ninth of the year, coming from Derek Stepan and Dan Girardi. The Thrashers retook the lead via Anthony Stewart notching his 12th of the season, assisted by Bryan Little and Andrew Ladd. Brian Boyle tied it up for the Rangers again with his 17th of the year, with Kris Newbury and Mike Sauer getting the helpers. The tie lasted into the shootout, where New York toppled Atlanta with Mats Zuccarello putting his away and giving his team a 3-2 win. The three stars were awarded to Zuccarello, Antropov, and Boyle.
To the Canadian hockey hub, where the Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby and Jean-Sebastien Giguere tended the twines. Washington scored first with Alex Ovechkin nailing his 17th of the season, assisted by Jeff Schultz and Nicklas Backstrom. Early in the third period, the Capitals got up 2-0 on another Ovechkin goal, his 18th of the year and second of the night, with helpers by Mike Green and Jason Chimera. Toronto got on the board with a Tim Brent goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Jay Rosehill and Dion Phaneuf. Washington later took the two goal lead back with a Matt Hendricks tally, his sixth of the year requiring no assistance to get to the net. Ovechkin completed his hat trick with an empty net goal for his 19th of the season, making it 4-1 with help from Backstrom and John Carlson. Holtby (35 for 36 saves), Ovechkin, and Phaneuf earned the three stars.
Staying north to a much-anticipated reunion game for the Montreal Canadiens with Saku Koivu returning as an Anaheim Duck to the Bell Centre. Jonas Hiller and Carey Price took their normal spots in front of the net. Cam Fowler struck first for Anaheim with his fourth of the season, a power play goal powered along by Lubomir Visnovsky and Teemu Selanne. Montreal tied the game at 1 with a Max Pacioretty marker, his fifth of the year receiving assistance from Scott Gomez on the power play. Bobby Ryan retook the lead for the Ducks with his 22nd of the season, thanks to Joffery Lupul. Anaheim made it 3-1 with Corey Perry putting away his 25th of the year on the power play, assisted by Saku Koivu and Selanne. Mathieu Darche started the Canadiens back on the path with his eighth of the season, courtesy of Yannick Weber and Andrei Kostitsyn. Pacioretty supplied his second of the night for Montreal, tying the game at three with his sixth of the year, courtesy of Tomas Plekanec and P.K. Subban on the mad advantage. The tie lasted into the shooutout, where the lone tally came from Bobby Ryan, giving the Ducks a 4-3 victory over the Canadiens. The three stars were given to Ryan, Koivu, and Pacioretty.
Next up, the St. Louis Blues hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets. Steve Mason and Jaroslav Halak had the goaltending responsibilities. While both teams feature blue in the name, the game started off black and blue with two fights, as Brad Winchester and Derek Dorsett dropped the mitts ten seconds in, followed by the sequel involving B.J. Crombeen and Jared Boll. St. Louis got into the scoring mindset first with Eric Brewer putting away his seventh of the season, with help from Alex Steen and Brad Boyes. Patrik Berglund made it 2-0 shortly after with his eleventh of the year, a power play goal made possible by Steen and Alex Pietrangelo. Columbus finally found twine off the stick of Antoine Vermette, his eleventh receiving assistance from R.J. Umberger and Kristian Huselius. The Blue Jackets tied the game with Jared Boll notching his fifth of the season, assisted by Derek MacKenzie and Matt Calvert. Andrew Murray gave Columbus a 3-2 lead with his third of the campaign, with the puck visiting the sticks of Jan Hejda and Samuel Pahlsson before finding his stick and the twine. Rick Nash made it 4-2 for the Blue Jackets with his 22nd of the year, a power play goal courtesy of Derick Brassard and Jakub Voracek. Fedor Tyutin iced the game off at 5-2 with his fifth of the season, an empty netter from Brassard and Voracek. The three stars were given to Nash, Boll, and Pietrangelo.
To the desert, where the Phoenix Coyotes hosted the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Ilya Bryzgalov were in the creases. Justin Williams put Los Angeles up early with his 18th of the season, helped along by Ryan Smyth. Drew Doughty made it 2-0 Kings with his fourth of the year, assisted by Anze Kopitar and Brad Ricahrdson. Alec Martinez extended the Los Angeles lead to 3-0 with his third of the season, thanks to Matt Greene. Lee Stempniak got Phoenix on the board after an early shellacking with his 13th of the campaign, helped along by Taylor Pyatt and Eric Belanger. Martin Hanzal continued the efforts with a power play goal in the second period, his eleventh of the season made possible by Keith Yandle and Ray Whitney. Stempniak tied it late in the second period with his second of the night and 14th of the year, with assists provided by Pyatt and Yandle. The Kings regrouped themselves in the third period, and notched the only goal of that frame to retake the lead and the eventual win over the Coyotes with Jarret Stoll's 14th of the year, assisted by Smyth and Jack Johnson. The three stars were awarded to Stempniak, Stoll, and Paul Bissonnette (who did nothing spectacular in his 7:51 of ice time, besides record 1 shot and stay out of the penalty box. We assume he earned the third star for his Twitter account, his soul patch, and mustache, the latter two mentioned pictured here.)
Into live action (finally caught up) with the Vancouver Canucks hosting the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Roberto Luongo and subjected to a barrage of shots for the game. Vancouver got out to the early lead with Alexander Edler scoring his seventh of the season, from Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin. Brendan Morrison got Calgary into a tie with his eighth of the year, assisted by Tim Jackman and Jarome Iginla on the power play. Twenty seconds later, Curtis Glencross put away his eleventh of the season for the Flames, giving them a 2-1 lead with the help of Matt Stajan. Edler tied it for the Canucks with his eighth of the year and second of the night, assisted by Alexandre Burrows and Christian Ehrhoff. Calgary takes a 3-2 lead on a Jackman goal, with assists from Adam Pardy and Mikael Backlund. Ryan Kesler put Vancouver back into a tie with his 26th of the year, a shorthanded goal with help from Burrows and the goalie Roberto Luongo. The tie lasted into the shootout, with Jeff Tambellini and Rene Bourque exchanging tallies before a controversial winner by Alex Tanguay (watch for yourself here). The three stars in the Flames 4-3 win over the Canucks were Edler, Morrison, and Burrows.
Down the west coast to San Jose, where the Sharks host the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Antti Niemi were sent out for the starts in the final game of the day. San Jose struck first with Logan Couture notching his 22nd of the season, assisted by Jason Demers. Minnesota responded with Mikko Koivu potting his 13th of the year, a power play goal made possible by Brent Burns. The Sharks take a 2-1 lead in the second period with the eighth of the season by Devin Setoguchi, with helpers provided by Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle. San Jose extended the lead to 3-1 with Setoguchi striking on the power play with his second of the night and ninth of the year, with help from Joe Pavelski and Marleau. The Wild got a goal back when Koivu netted his second of the night and 14th of the season, a power play goal from Matt Cullen and Burns. The Sharks took the lead up to 4-2 with Benn Ferriero scoring his fifth of the year, courtesy of Joe Thornton and Jamie McGinn. Minnesota attempted to come back starting with Burns' 14th of the season, helped along by Cal Clutterbuck and Pierre-Marc Bouchard, however they fell 4-3 after mustering up no further scoring. The three stars were handed out to Setoguchi, Burns, and McGinn.
That's all for Saturday. Sunday will have a Sandwich showdown, Championship round football summaries, hockey games, and a special Lyrics post for the songs I wrote and will be passing along to the musicians I know. This is not in order, so keep eyes peeled for these throughout the day.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Friday NHL games
Tonight we have four games on, starting with the...
Buffalo Sabres hosting the New York Islanders. Nathan Lawson and Ryan Miller got the starts. New York struck first with a Michael Grabner goal, his 13th of the season, assisted by Rob Schremp. Matt Moulson made it 2-0 Islanders with his 15th of the year, from Andrew MacDonald and Travis Hamonic. Both teams had new goalies in for the second period, with Kevin Poulin going out for New York and Patrick Lalime taking the crease for Buffalo. P.A. Parenteau made it 3-0 for the Islanders with his 12th of the season, courtesy of John Tavares. Jack Hillen makes it 4-0 New York on his second of the year, with help from Blake Comeau and Schremp. The Sabres finally visit the scoreboard with Nathan Gerbe putting away his fourth of the year, from Mike Weber. Five seconds later, Gerbe put away another, his fifth of the season to make it 4-2, with Mike Grier getting the assist. Grabner put the dagger in with two seconds left in the game, with help from Kyle Okposo into the empty net, making it 5-2 Islanders over Sabres, and the three stars are given to Tavares, Gerbe, and Moulson.
Up for a Canadian special with the Ottawa Senators hosting the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Mike Brodeur get the starting rights for the game. Benoit Pouliot got Montreal on the board first with his tenth of the season, thanks to Mathieu Darche and Yannick Weber. Tomas Plekanec put the Canadiens up 2-1 with his 15th of the year, assisted by Andrei Kostitsyn. Ottawa got one back with Chris Kelly putting away his tenth of the season, helped along by Chris Campoli and Zack Smith. Brian Gionta took that goal back in the second period with his 16th of the year, coming from Scott Gomez and Max Pacioretty. Pacioretty made it 4-1 Montreal with his fourth of the season, a power play goal with help from Gomez and James Wisniewski. Brian Elliott came on to relieve Mike Brodeur, but Plekanec made it look futile with his second of the night and 16th of the year, going in unassisted. The Canadiens made it 6-1 early in the third period with Kostitsyn's 13th of the season, an unassisted goal. P.K. Subban kept it going with his fifth of the year, a power play goal assisted by Wisniewski and David Desharnais. The final had the Canadiens crushing the rival Senators 7-1, with three stars going to Plekanec, Kostitsyn and Price (33 for 34 saves).
Down far south, the Florida Panthers host their instate rivals from Tampa Bay, the Lightning. Dan Ellis and Tomas Vokoun are in the creases. Fifty seconds in, Florida struck with a Cory Stillman goal, his sixth of the season coming from Shawn Matthias and Jason Garrison. Steve Downie tied it for Tampa Bay with his fourth of the year, assisted by Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis. Dominic Moore won the game for Tampa Bay in the shootout, as the second, third, and overtime frame went scoreless, giving him first star, followed by David Booth and Dan Ellis (29 for 30 saves).
Lastly, the Calgary Flames host the road warrior Dallas Stars. Backup goalies Andrew Raycroft and Henrik Karlsson are seeing some ice time tonight. Calgary struck first with an Alex Tanguay goal, his 12th of the season, assisted by Brendan Morrison and Robyn Regehr. Brenden Morrow tied the game for Dallas with his 19th of the year, from Mike Ribeiro and Jamie Benn. The Stars ran the lead to 2-1 with a Brad Richards goal, his 19th of the season, assisted by Ribeiro and Stephane Robidas. The Flames got a tying goal out of Olli Jokinen, his ninth of the year coming from David Moss. Calgary took the lead 3-2 with a Mikael Backlund goal from Tim Jackman and Adam Pardy, his fifth of the year. David Moss made it 4-2 Flames with his ninth of the season, with help from Niklas Hagman and Cory Sarich. Fifty-four seconds later, Calgary had another goal, Morrison's sixth of the year, with help coming from Tanguay and Jarome Iginla. Shortly after, Dallas regained that goal back with the first of the season by Nicklas Grossman, thanks to Ribeiro, who completed his sock trick. The Stars cut the lead to 5-4 with a James Neal goal thirty-one seconds into the third period, with assists doled out to Jamie Langenbrunner and Brad Richards on his 20th of the year. Iginla answered back with his own 20th of the season, an unassisted goal. Moss makes it 7-4 Calgary with his tenth of the year and second of the night, a power play goal made possible by Jokinen and Mark Giordano. This was the final, with Moss Morrison, and Ribeiro getting the three stars.
That's all for Friday's hockey. Tomorrow I will attempt to cover the games on, and I am also going to have a copy of the songs that I wrote for a friend up when I can type them. These could be going somewhere musically, and I will keep you posted. Look for posts with titles including the word lyrics.
Buffalo Sabres hosting the New York Islanders. Nathan Lawson and Ryan Miller got the starts. New York struck first with a Michael Grabner goal, his 13th of the season, assisted by Rob Schremp. Matt Moulson made it 2-0 Islanders with his 15th of the year, from Andrew MacDonald and Travis Hamonic. Both teams had new goalies in for the second period, with Kevin Poulin going out for New York and Patrick Lalime taking the crease for Buffalo. P.A. Parenteau made it 3-0 for the Islanders with his 12th of the season, courtesy of John Tavares. Jack Hillen makes it 4-0 New York on his second of the year, with help from Blake Comeau and Schremp. The Sabres finally visit the scoreboard with Nathan Gerbe putting away his fourth of the year, from Mike Weber. Five seconds later, Gerbe put away another, his fifth of the season to make it 4-2, with Mike Grier getting the assist. Grabner put the dagger in with two seconds left in the game, with help from Kyle Okposo into the empty net, making it 5-2 Islanders over Sabres, and the three stars are given to Tavares, Gerbe, and Moulson.
Up for a Canadian special with the Ottawa Senators hosting the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Mike Brodeur get the starting rights for the game. Benoit Pouliot got Montreal on the board first with his tenth of the season, thanks to Mathieu Darche and Yannick Weber. Tomas Plekanec put the Canadiens up 2-1 with his 15th of the year, assisted by Andrei Kostitsyn. Ottawa got one back with Chris Kelly putting away his tenth of the season, helped along by Chris Campoli and Zack Smith. Brian Gionta took that goal back in the second period with his 16th of the year, coming from Scott Gomez and Max Pacioretty. Pacioretty made it 4-1 Montreal with his fourth of the season, a power play goal with help from Gomez and James Wisniewski. Brian Elliott came on to relieve Mike Brodeur, but Plekanec made it look futile with his second of the night and 16th of the year, going in unassisted. The Canadiens made it 6-1 early in the third period with Kostitsyn's 13th of the season, an unassisted goal. P.K. Subban kept it going with his fifth of the year, a power play goal assisted by Wisniewski and David Desharnais. The final had the Canadiens crushing the rival Senators 7-1, with three stars going to Plekanec, Kostitsyn and Price (33 for 34 saves).
Down far south, the Florida Panthers host their instate rivals from Tampa Bay, the Lightning. Dan Ellis and Tomas Vokoun are in the creases. Fifty seconds in, Florida struck with a Cory Stillman goal, his sixth of the season coming from Shawn Matthias and Jason Garrison. Steve Downie tied it for Tampa Bay with his fourth of the year, assisted by Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis. Dominic Moore won the game for Tampa Bay in the shootout, as the second, third, and overtime frame went scoreless, giving him first star, followed by David Booth and Dan Ellis (29 for 30 saves).
Lastly, the Calgary Flames host the road warrior Dallas Stars. Backup goalies Andrew Raycroft and Henrik Karlsson are seeing some ice time tonight. Calgary struck first with an Alex Tanguay goal, his 12th of the season, assisted by Brendan Morrison and Robyn Regehr. Brenden Morrow tied the game for Dallas with his 19th of the year, from Mike Ribeiro and Jamie Benn. The Stars ran the lead to 2-1 with a Brad Richards goal, his 19th of the season, assisted by Ribeiro and Stephane Robidas. The Flames got a tying goal out of Olli Jokinen, his ninth of the year coming from David Moss. Calgary took the lead 3-2 with a Mikael Backlund goal from Tim Jackman and Adam Pardy, his fifth of the year. David Moss made it 4-2 Flames with his ninth of the season, with help from Niklas Hagman and Cory Sarich. Fifty-four seconds later, Calgary had another goal, Morrison's sixth of the year, with help coming from Tanguay and Jarome Iginla. Shortly after, Dallas regained that goal back with the first of the season by Nicklas Grossman, thanks to Ribeiro, who completed his sock trick. The Stars cut the lead to 5-4 with a James Neal goal thirty-one seconds into the third period, with assists doled out to Jamie Langenbrunner and Brad Richards on his 20th of the year. Iginla answered back with his own 20th of the season, an unassisted goal. Moss makes it 7-4 Calgary with his tenth of the year and second of the night, a power play goal made possible by Jokinen and Mark Giordano. This was the final, with Moss Morrison, and Ribeiro getting the three stars.
That's all for Friday's hockey. Tomorrow I will attempt to cover the games on, and I am also going to have a copy of the songs that I wrote for a friend up when I can type them. These could be going somewhere musically, and I will keep you posted. Look for posts with titles including the word lyrics.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thursday NHL action, live
There is a heavy slate of games on tonight, so we'll jump right in. First...
The Carolina Hurricanes host the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Cam Ward will tend the twine. Carolina gets out to the early lead on a Char LaRose goal, assisted by Jeff Skinner and Tuomo Ruutu as his tenth of the season. Jussi Jokinen made it 2-0 Hurricanes with his 12th of the year, a power play goal helped along by Joe Corvo and Ruutu. Brandon Sutter continued Carolina's scoring spree with his eighth of the season, assisted on by Sergei Samsonov. New York finally visits the scoreboard in the third period with Brandon Prust putting his sixth of the year away, with help from Chad Kolarik and Ryan McDonagh. Skinner silenced the rally by the Rangers with his 17th of the season, from LaRose. LaRose, Skinner, and Ward (39 for 40 saves) got the three stars in the 4-1 Carolina victory.
Into Boston, where the Bruins host the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Tuukka Rask get the starting nods. Dennis Seidenberg puts Boston up first with his fourth of the season, thanks to Mark Stuart and Marc Savard. Buffalo answers in the second period with a goal by Cody McCormick, his seventh of the season coming from Tim Connolly and Tyler Ennis. The Bruins retake the lead on a Gregory Campbell goal, his seventh of the year getting help from Blake Wheeler and Shawn Thornton. The Sabres got back into a tie with a Nathan Gerbe power play goal, his third of the year assisted by Tyler Myers and Ennis. Buffalo takes a 3-2 lead on a Thomas Vanek goal, his 18th of the season going unassisted. The Sabres extend the lead with Jason Pominville netting his tenth of the year, from Vanek and Jochen Hecht. The final had Buffalo over Boston 4-2, with the three stars going to Paul Gaustad, Gerbe, and Andrej Sekera, but I think the officials got this one wrong, and my personal three stars are Vanek, Ennis, and Miller (38 for 40 saves).
Up north to Toronto, where the Maple Leafs host the traveling Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Hiller and Jean-Sebastien Giguere face off in a battle of teacher and student. Dan Sexton registered his third of the season for Anaheim to give them the early lead, with help from Lubomir Visnovsky and Matt Beleskey. Clarke MacArthur tied the game at 1 for Toronto with his 15th of the year, from Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak. The Ducks retake the lead with Maxim Lapierre netting his sixth of the season, courtesy of Brandon McMillan and Joffery Lupul. Carl Gunnarsson gets the Maple Leafs back into a tie with his third of the year, from MacArthur. Toronto takes the lead on a Bozak goal, his eighth of the season, from Kessel and Dion Phaneuf. Mikhail Grabovski gets Toronto going again with two in a row, his 19th and 20th of the season, the first going unassisted and the second coming off of MacArthur. The final would have the Maple Leafs defeating the Ducks 5-2, with the three stars handed out to Giguere (26 for 28 saves), Grabovski, and Bozak.
Back down south to Atlanta, where the Thrashers host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dwayne Roloson and Ondrej Pavelec get to guard the cages. Niclas Bergfors puts Atlanta up early with his tenth of the season, made possible by Freddy Meyer and Nigel Dawes. Steven Stamkos provided the tying goal for Tampa Bay in his 36th of the year, an unassisted goal. Anthony Stewart and the Thrashers took the lead back with his eleventh of the year, thanks to Nik Antropoc and Brent Sopel on the power play. Stamkos put the Lightning back in a tie with his second of the night and 37th of the season, with help from Steve Downie and Pavel Kubina. Tampa Bay got the game 3-2 in the shootout after Adam Hall traded a barb with Bryan Little, leading to Dominic Moore's game winner. The three stars are Stamkos, Moore, and Bergfors.
Continuing the vertical zig-zag, the New Jersey Devils host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brent Johnson and Martin Brodeur are guarding the cages. Brian Rolston puts New Jersey ahead early with his fourth of the season, courtesy of Patrik Elias and Andy Greene. The Devils go up 2-0 on a Nick Palmieri goal, his third of the year going down unassisted. The final was the same score as the second and third periods went scoreless, with Brodeur (23 save shutout), Rolston, and Palmieri getting the three stars.
Short travel to Long Island, where the New York Islanders host the Washington Capitals. Facing the opposing shooters are Braden Holtby and Rick DiPietro. Jason Chimera puts Washington up early with his seventh of the season, from Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The Capitals take the lead to 2-0 with Backstrom notching his 12th of the year, with help from Ovechkin and John Carlson. New York gets on the board with Michael Grabner putting away his 12th of the season, with Josh Bailey picking up the assist. Washington weathered through over a period of scoreless play to win 2-1 over the Islanders, with the three stars going to Backstrom, Ovechkin, and Grabner.
The final game teeing off on the earliest wave of puck drops is the Philadelphia Flyers hosting the Ottawa Senators. Brian Elliott and Sergei Bobrovsky are in between the pipes. Danny Briere puts Philadelphia up early with his 25th of the season, assisted by Andrej Meszaros and Sean O'Donnell. Mike Richards makes it 2-0 Flyers with his 16th of the year, thanks to Braydon Coburn and Andreas Nodl. Richards adds on his second of the night and 17th of the season to make it 3-0 with the power play tally from Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timmonen, good for Pronger's first point since returning from injury. Ottawa finally responds with a Milan Michalek goal, his eleventh of the year going in with help from Jarkko Ruutu shorthanded. Nick Foligno continues the Senators surge with his eighth of the year, thanks to Mike Fisher and Daniel Alfredsson. The Flyers rebuild a portion of their lead with Scott Hartnell notching his 16th of the season, with Briere and Ville Leino grabbing the helpers. Philadelphia makes it 5-2 with James van Riemsdyk notching his eleventh of the year, with the helpers from Richards and Pronger. The Flyers extend the lead farther with Meszaros putting his third of the year, a power play goal from Claude Giroux, prompting a late goalie change for the Senators, with Mike Borduer coming on to relieve Brian Elliott. Philadelphia took Ottawa down 6-2, with the three stars given out to nobody because everyone was in the penalty box after the 5-fight, 126-penalty minute game. To put this in perspective, each team had at least one player penalized for longer than the game was played. On Ottawa's side, the fighters were Jesse Winchester, Nick Foligno, Chris Neil, Jarkko Ruutu, and Matt Carkner, with misconducts handed out to Zack Smith, Neil, and Carkner. Their minors for roughing featured Neil twice, Chris Campoli, Ryan Shannon and Carkner. The Philadelphia fighting majors went to Jeff Carter, Claude Giroux, Jody Shelley, Scott Hartnell, and Sean O'Donnell. Misconducts were doled out to Shelley and O'Donnell. The roughing minors featured just Darroll Powe twice. Three stars are actually Richards, Briere, and Meszaros.
The St. Louis Blues were the next to start, hosting the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Jaroslav Halak are in the creases. Detroit gets the first goal with Patrick Eaves scoring his 13th of the season, made possible by Henrik Zetterberg. Todd Bertuzzi put the lead at 2-0 Red Wings with his eighth of the year, courtesy of Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler. Jakub Kindl makes it 3-0 for Detroit with his first of the season, helped along by Filppula and Hudler. St. Louis enters the scoring with T.J. Oshie potting his second of the year, returning from injury and getting help from Patrik Berglund and Roman Polak. The Blues inched closer to a tie with Berglund potting his tenth of the season, assisted by Vladimir Sobotka and Alex Pietrangelo. David Backes got St. Louis into a 3-3 tie with his 15th of the year, with help from Brad Boyes and Alex Steen. Darren Helm gave the Red Wings the win in overtime with his fifth of the season, from the sock trick completion by Hudler and Niklas Kronwall. In the 4-3 victory, Filppula, Oshie, and Bertuzzi got the three stars.
Heading into Colorado, with the Avalanche hosting the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Craig Anderson get the starts. Nashville takes the early lead on the 12th of the season by Sergei Kostitsyn, with help from Martin Erat and Marcel Goc. The Predators make it 2-0 with Cody Franson nailing his sixth of the year, courtesy of Patric Hornqvist and David Legwand. Nashville went up 3-0 on a Matt Halischuk goal, his first of the season getting help from Shane O'Brien and J.P. Dumont. Shortly thereafter, the Predators tacked on another from Legwand, his sixth of the year coming from Hornqvist and Franson. Colin Wilson kept Nashville going with his 12th of the season, assisted by Shea Weber and Kevin Klein. Colorado finally scored to make it 5-1 when Matt Duchene netted his 19th of the year, thanks to Kevin Shattenkirk and Chris Stewart. This was the final, with Rinne (32 for 33 saves), Franson, and Ryan Suter earning the three stars.
Up north in Canada, where the Edmonton Oilers host the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Nikolai Khabibulin are out to stop the shots. Jamie Benn notches his 13th of the season to put Dallas up early, with help from Adam Burish and Stephane Robidas. Ryan Jones quickly ties the game for Edmonton, potting his eleventh of the year thanks to Andrew Cogliano while shorthanded. Mike Ribeiro gives the Stars the lead back with his tenth of the year, assisted on by Nicklas Grossman. James Neal made it 3-1 Dallas with his 19th of the season, a power play goal helped along by Benn. The Oilers got a goal back when Jeff Petry netted his first of the season, thanks to Ladislav Smid and Magnus Paajarvi. The Stars did ice the game at 4-2 with Burish's sixth of the year into an empty net unassisted. Benn, Paajarvi, and Neal got the three stars.
Also in Canada, the Vancouver Canucks host the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Roberto Luongo will be tending the twines. Henrik Sedin opens the scoring for Vancouver with his tenth of the season, helped along by Daniel Sedin and Dan Hamhuis. San Jose tied it with Logan Couture notching his 21st of the year unassisted. late in third. San Jose took the game 2-1 in the shootout because of Joe Pavelski's goal. The three stars went to winning goalie Luongo (45 for 46 saves), losing goalie Niemi (36 for 37 saves), and Henrik Sedin.
Lastly, the Los Angeles Kings host the Phoenix Coyotes. Ilya Bryzgalov and Jonathan Quick are given the responsibility to block the shots. Phoenix opened the scoring in the second period with Martin Hanzal getting his tenth of the season, a power play goal assisted on by Ray Whitney and Keith Yandle. Fifty-seven seconds later, Lee Stempniak added his 12th of the year, an unassisted goal. This was the final after the scoreless third period with Bryzgalov (36 save shutout), Hanzal, and Willie Mitchell getting the three stars.
That's all for hockey. Live blogging will likely be continued on Friday night.
The Carolina Hurricanes host the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Cam Ward will tend the twine. Carolina gets out to the early lead on a Char LaRose goal, assisted by Jeff Skinner and Tuomo Ruutu as his tenth of the season. Jussi Jokinen made it 2-0 Hurricanes with his 12th of the year, a power play goal helped along by Joe Corvo and Ruutu. Brandon Sutter continued Carolina's scoring spree with his eighth of the season, assisted on by Sergei Samsonov. New York finally visits the scoreboard in the third period with Brandon Prust putting his sixth of the year away, with help from Chad Kolarik and Ryan McDonagh. Skinner silenced the rally by the Rangers with his 17th of the season, from LaRose. LaRose, Skinner, and Ward (39 for 40 saves) got the three stars in the 4-1 Carolina victory.
Into Boston, where the Bruins host the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Tuukka Rask get the starting nods. Dennis Seidenberg puts Boston up first with his fourth of the season, thanks to Mark Stuart and Marc Savard. Buffalo answers in the second period with a goal by Cody McCormick, his seventh of the season coming from Tim Connolly and Tyler Ennis. The Bruins retake the lead on a Gregory Campbell goal, his seventh of the year getting help from Blake Wheeler and Shawn Thornton. The Sabres got back into a tie with a Nathan Gerbe power play goal, his third of the year assisted by Tyler Myers and Ennis. Buffalo takes a 3-2 lead on a Thomas Vanek goal, his 18th of the season going unassisted. The Sabres extend the lead with Jason Pominville netting his tenth of the year, from Vanek and Jochen Hecht. The final had Buffalo over Boston 4-2, with the three stars going to Paul Gaustad, Gerbe, and Andrej Sekera, but I think the officials got this one wrong, and my personal three stars are Vanek, Ennis, and Miller (38 for 40 saves).
Up north to Toronto, where the Maple Leafs host the traveling Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Hiller and Jean-Sebastien Giguere face off in a battle of teacher and student. Dan Sexton registered his third of the season for Anaheim to give them the early lead, with help from Lubomir Visnovsky and Matt Beleskey. Clarke MacArthur tied the game at 1 for Toronto with his 15th of the year, from Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak. The Ducks retake the lead with Maxim Lapierre netting his sixth of the season, courtesy of Brandon McMillan and Joffery Lupul. Carl Gunnarsson gets the Maple Leafs back into a tie with his third of the year, from MacArthur. Toronto takes the lead on a Bozak goal, his eighth of the season, from Kessel and Dion Phaneuf. Mikhail Grabovski gets Toronto going again with two in a row, his 19th and 20th of the season, the first going unassisted and the second coming off of MacArthur. The final would have the Maple Leafs defeating the Ducks 5-2, with the three stars handed out to Giguere (26 for 28 saves), Grabovski, and Bozak.
Back down south to Atlanta, where the Thrashers host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dwayne Roloson and Ondrej Pavelec get to guard the cages. Niclas Bergfors puts Atlanta up early with his tenth of the season, made possible by Freddy Meyer and Nigel Dawes. Steven Stamkos provided the tying goal for Tampa Bay in his 36th of the year, an unassisted goal. Anthony Stewart and the Thrashers took the lead back with his eleventh of the year, thanks to Nik Antropoc and Brent Sopel on the power play. Stamkos put the Lightning back in a tie with his second of the night and 37th of the season, with help from Steve Downie and Pavel Kubina. Tampa Bay got the game 3-2 in the shootout after Adam Hall traded a barb with Bryan Little, leading to Dominic Moore's game winner. The three stars are Stamkos, Moore, and Bergfors.
Continuing the vertical zig-zag, the New Jersey Devils host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brent Johnson and Martin Brodeur are guarding the cages. Brian Rolston puts New Jersey ahead early with his fourth of the season, courtesy of Patrik Elias and Andy Greene. The Devils go up 2-0 on a Nick Palmieri goal, his third of the year going down unassisted. The final was the same score as the second and third periods went scoreless, with Brodeur (23 save shutout), Rolston, and Palmieri getting the three stars.
Short travel to Long Island, where the New York Islanders host the Washington Capitals. Facing the opposing shooters are Braden Holtby and Rick DiPietro. Jason Chimera puts Washington up early with his seventh of the season, from Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The Capitals take the lead to 2-0 with Backstrom notching his 12th of the year, with help from Ovechkin and John Carlson. New York gets on the board with Michael Grabner putting away his 12th of the season, with Josh Bailey picking up the assist. Washington weathered through over a period of scoreless play to win 2-1 over the Islanders, with the three stars going to Backstrom, Ovechkin, and Grabner.
The final game teeing off on the earliest wave of puck drops is the Philadelphia Flyers hosting the Ottawa Senators. Brian Elliott and Sergei Bobrovsky are in between the pipes. Danny Briere puts Philadelphia up early with his 25th of the season, assisted by Andrej Meszaros and Sean O'Donnell. Mike Richards makes it 2-0 Flyers with his 16th of the year, thanks to Braydon Coburn and Andreas Nodl. Richards adds on his second of the night and 17th of the season to make it 3-0 with the power play tally from Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timmonen, good for Pronger's first point since returning from injury. Ottawa finally responds with a Milan Michalek goal, his eleventh of the year going in with help from Jarkko Ruutu shorthanded. Nick Foligno continues the Senators surge with his eighth of the year, thanks to Mike Fisher and Daniel Alfredsson. The Flyers rebuild a portion of their lead with Scott Hartnell notching his 16th of the season, with Briere and Ville Leino grabbing the helpers. Philadelphia makes it 5-2 with James van Riemsdyk notching his eleventh of the year, with the helpers from Richards and Pronger. The Flyers extend the lead farther with Meszaros putting his third of the year, a power play goal from Claude Giroux, prompting a late goalie change for the Senators, with Mike Borduer coming on to relieve Brian Elliott. Philadelphia took Ottawa down 6-2, with the three stars given out to nobody because everyone was in the penalty box after the 5-fight, 126-penalty minute game. To put this in perspective, each team had at least one player penalized for longer than the game was played. On Ottawa's side, the fighters were Jesse Winchester, Nick Foligno, Chris Neil, Jarkko Ruutu, and Matt Carkner, with misconducts handed out to Zack Smith, Neil, and Carkner. Their minors for roughing featured Neil twice, Chris Campoli, Ryan Shannon and Carkner. The Philadelphia fighting majors went to Jeff Carter, Claude Giroux, Jody Shelley, Scott Hartnell, and Sean O'Donnell. Misconducts were doled out to Shelley and O'Donnell. The roughing minors featured just Darroll Powe twice. Three stars are actually Richards, Briere, and Meszaros.
The St. Louis Blues were the next to start, hosting the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Jaroslav Halak are in the creases. Detroit gets the first goal with Patrick Eaves scoring his 13th of the season, made possible by Henrik Zetterberg. Todd Bertuzzi put the lead at 2-0 Red Wings with his eighth of the year, courtesy of Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler. Jakub Kindl makes it 3-0 for Detroit with his first of the season, helped along by Filppula and Hudler. St. Louis enters the scoring with T.J. Oshie potting his second of the year, returning from injury and getting help from Patrik Berglund and Roman Polak. The Blues inched closer to a tie with Berglund potting his tenth of the season, assisted by Vladimir Sobotka and Alex Pietrangelo. David Backes got St. Louis into a 3-3 tie with his 15th of the year, with help from Brad Boyes and Alex Steen. Darren Helm gave the Red Wings the win in overtime with his fifth of the season, from the sock trick completion by Hudler and Niklas Kronwall. In the 4-3 victory, Filppula, Oshie, and Bertuzzi got the three stars.
Heading into Colorado, with the Avalanche hosting the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Craig Anderson get the starts. Nashville takes the early lead on the 12th of the season by Sergei Kostitsyn, with help from Martin Erat and Marcel Goc. The Predators make it 2-0 with Cody Franson nailing his sixth of the year, courtesy of Patric Hornqvist and David Legwand. Nashville went up 3-0 on a Matt Halischuk goal, his first of the season getting help from Shane O'Brien and J.P. Dumont. Shortly thereafter, the Predators tacked on another from Legwand, his sixth of the year coming from Hornqvist and Franson. Colin Wilson kept Nashville going with his 12th of the season, assisted by Shea Weber and Kevin Klein. Colorado finally scored to make it 5-1 when Matt Duchene netted his 19th of the year, thanks to Kevin Shattenkirk and Chris Stewart. This was the final, with Rinne (32 for 33 saves), Franson, and Ryan Suter earning the three stars.
Up north in Canada, where the Edmonton Oilers host the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Nikolai Khabibulin are out to stop the shots. Jamie Benn notches his 13th of the season to put Dallas up early, with help from Adam Burish and Stephane Robidas. Ryan Jones quickly ties the game for Edmonton, potting his eleventh of the year thanks to Andrew Cogliano while shorthanded. Mike Ribeiro gives the Stars the lead back with his tenth of the year, assisted on by Nicklas Grossman. James Neal made it 3-1 Dallas with his 19th of the season, a power play goal helped along by Benn. The Oilers got a goal back when Jeff Petry netted his first of the season, thanks to Ladislav Smid and Magnus Paajarvi. The Stars did ice the game at 4-2 with Burish's sixth of the year into an empty net unassisted. Benn, Paajarvi, and Neal got the three stars.
Also in Canada, the Vancouver Canucks host the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Roberto Luongo will be tending the twines. Henrik Sedin opens the scoring for Vancouver with his tenth of the season, helped along by Daniel Sedin and Dan Hamhuis. San Jose tied it with Logan Couture notching his 21st of the year unassisted. late in third. San Jose took the game 2-1 in the shootout because of Joe Pavelski's goal. The three stars went to winning goalie Luongo (45 for 46 saves), losing goalie Niemi (36 for 37 saves), and Henrik Sedin.
Lastly, the Los Angeles Kings host the Phoenix Coyotes. Ilya Bryzgalov and Jonathan Quick are given the responsibility to block the shots. Phoenix opened the scoring in the second period with Martin Hanzal getting his tenth of the season, a power play goal assisted on by Ray Whitney and Keith Yandle. Fifty-seven seconds later, Lee Stempniak added his 12th of the year, an unassisted goal. This was the final after the scoreless third period with Bryzgalov (36 save shutout), Hanzal, and Willie Mitchell getting the three stars.
That's all for hockey. Live blogging will likely be continued on Friday night.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Wednesday NHL
There is a light slate of games tonight in hockey, only three. The first is in...
New York, where the Rangers host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jonas Gustavsson and Henrik Lundqvist get the right to start. Marian Gaborik opens the scoring for New York on his 12th of the season, assisted by Sean Avery and Artem Anisimov. Brian Boyle makes it 2-0 Rangers with his 16th of the year shortly thereafter, with helpers from Marc Staal and Gaborik on the power play. Gaborik extended the New York lead with his second of the night and 13th of the season later in the first period, with assists by Anisimov and Avery. This allowed Jonas Gustavsson to be replaced by Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Ruslan Fedotenko continued the Rangers scoring spree with his ninth of the year, from Brandon Prust and Staal. Giguere was pulled, putting Gustavsson back into game action. Gaborik added another pair, giving him a four-pack before the conclusion of the second period with his 14th and 15th of the season, the first from sock trickers Avery and Anisimov, both grabbing their third assist, and the latter power play goal from Anisimov for a fourth assist and Wojtek Wolski.The Rangers went up 7-0 early in the third period on a Mats Zuccarello goal, his third of the year coming from Derek Stepan and Wolski. This would be the final, with Gaborik, Anisimov, and Lundqvist (22 save shutout) earning the three stars.
The other east coast game was between the Florida Panthers at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Steve Mason and Tomas Vokoun are in between the pipes. David Booth put Florida on the board first with his 14th of the season, assisted by Mike Santorelli and Dmitry Kulikov. Cory Stillman used his head and added his fifth of the year, with help from Radek Dvorak and Kulikov. Columbus got on the board thanks to Fedor Tyutin potting his fourth of the season, unassisted. Antoine Vermette tied the game in the third period for the Blue Jackets with his tenth of the year, courtesy of Grant Clitsome and Tyutin. In overtime, Columbus got the 3-2 win with R.J. Umberger notching his 17th of the season on the power play with help from Clitsome and Rick Nash. The three stars were given out to Umberger, Kulikov, and Vermette.
Lastly, the Calgary Flames host the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Miikka Kiprusoff are given the starting nods, with Backstrom returning from injury. Martin Havlat sparks Minnesota to life with his 12th of the season, assisted by Kyle Brodziak and Greg Zanon. The Wild make it 2-0 with Mikko Koivu getting his 12th of the year, a power play goal made possible by Matt Cullen and Andrew Brunette. John Madden made it 3-0 Minnesota with his seventh of the year, with help from Brunette and Chuck Kobasew. The Wild got it up to 4-0 with Cal Clutterbuck notching his 14th of the season, thanks to Havlat and Brodziak. Kobasew extended the Minnesota lead to 5-0 with his eighth of the season, with help from Madden. Havlat makes it 6-0 with his second of the night and 13th of the year, with the helpers by Clutterbuck and sock trick earning Brodziak. The three stars went to Backstrom (37 save shutout), Havlat, and Kobasew.
New York, where the Rangers host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jonas Gustavsson and Henrik Lundqvist get the right to start. Marian Gaborik opens the scoring for New York on his 12th of the season, assisted by Sean Avery and Artem Anisimov. Brian Boyle makes it 2-0 Rangers with his 16th of the year shortly thereafter, with helpers from Marc Staal and Gaborik on the power play. Gaborik extended the New York lead with his second of the night and 13th of the season later in the first period, with assists by Anisimov and Avery. This allowed Jonas Gustavsson to be replaced by Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Ruslan Fedotenko continued the Rangers scoring spree with his ninth of the year, from Brandon Prust and Staal. Giguere was pulled, putting Gustavsson back into game action. Gaborik added another pair, giving him a four-pack before the conclusion of the second period with his 14th and 15th of the season, the first from sock trickers Avery and Anisimov, both grabbing their third assist, and the latter power play goal from Anisimov for a fourth assist and Wojtek Wolski.The Rangers went up 7-0 early in the third period on a Mats Zuccarello goal, his third of the year coming from Derek Stepan and Wolski. This would be the final, with Gaborik, Anisimov, and Lundqvist (22 save shutout) earning the three stars.
The other east coast game was between the Florida Panthers at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Steve Mason and Tomas Vokoun are in between the pipes. David Booth put Florida on the board first with his 14th of the season, assisted by Mike Santorelli and Dmitry Kulikov. Cory Stillman used his head and added his fifth of the year, with help from Radek Dvorak and Kulikov. Columbus got on the board thanks to Fedor Tyutin potting his fourth of the season, unassisted. Antoine Vermette tied the game in the third period for the Blue Jackets with his tenth of the year, courtesy of Grant Clitsome and Tyutin. In overtime, Columbus got the 3-2 win with R.J. Umberger notching his 17th of the season on the power play with help from Clitsome and Rick Nash. The three stars were given out to Umberger, Kulikov, and Vermette.
Lastly, the Calgary Flames host the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Miikka Kiprusoff are given the starting nods, with Backstrom returning from injury. Martin Havlat sparks Minnesota to life with his 12th of the season, assisted by Kyle Brodziak and Greg Zanon. The Wild make it 2-0 with Mikko Koivu getting his 12th of the year, a power play goal made possible by Matt Cullen and Andrew Brunette. John Madden made it 3-0 Minnesota with his seventh of the year, with help from Brunette and Chuck Kobasew. The Wild got it up to 4-0 with Cal Clutterbuck notching his 14th of the season, thanks to Havlat and Brodziak. Kobasew extended the Minnesota lead to 5-0 with his eighth of the season, with help from Madden. Havlat makes it 6-0 with his second of the night and 13th of the year, with the helpers by Clutterbuck and sock trick earning Brodziak. The three stars went to Backstrom (37 save shutout), Havlat, and Kobasew.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Tuesday NHL
Against my plans, I will cover these games, at least the early ones, live. We start with...
The Philadelphia Flyers hosting the Washington Capitals. Michal Neuvirth and Sergei Bobrovsky will see game action tonight. Philadelphia strikes first on Jeff Carter's 20th of the season, an unassisted goal. Neuvirth was pulled from the Washington net during the intermission, being replaced by Semyon Varlamov. The Flyers extended the lead to 2-0 on Claude Giroux's 18th of the year, courtesy of Carter and Kimmo Timmonen. Washington started a comeback with Mike Knuble notching his eleventh of the year, with help from Marcus Johansson. Alex Ovechkin tied the game at 2 with his 16th of the season, a goal assisted by Jason Chimera and Nicklas Backstrom. The tie lasted into overtime, but it was short-lived with Philadelphia winning on the second of the year by Andrej Meszaros, with Matt Carle getting credit for an assist. Carter, Giroux, and Bobrovsky (23 for 25 saves) are the three stars.
Next, we travel across Pennsylvania, with the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the Detroit Red Wings. Picking up the starts are Joey MacDonald and Marc-Andre Fleury. Jordan Staal has Pittsburgh up 1-0 with his third of the season, made possible by Tyler Kennedy. The Penguins make it 2-0 on the sixth of the year by Chris Conner, who converted a penalty shot from a Kris Draper hook. Detroit got on the board late in the second period with a Johan Franzen goal, his 20th of the season, made possible by Patrick Eaves and Henrik Zetterberg. Thirty seconds later, Chris Kunitz restored the two goal lead for Pittsburgh with his 16th of the campaign, assisted by Pascal Dupuis and Evgeni Malkin. Matt Cooke netted his ninth of the year for the Penguins, putting them up 4-1 with the empty net goal from Kennedy and Brooks Orpik. This was the final, with Fleury (36 for 37 saves), Conner, and Kennedy earning the three stars.
Down the East Coast to Raleigh, where the Carolina Hurricanes host the Boston Bruins. In between the pipes are Tim Thomas and Cam Ward. Boston jumps out to the early lead with the third of the season by Marc Savard, a power play tally with help from Johnny Boychuk and Michael Ryder. Carolina answers late in the period also on the power play with Jussi Jokinen, who netted his eleventh of the season, thanks to All-Star Game captain Eric Staal and Joe Corvo. The Bruins took the lead back with Brad Marchand potting his tenth of the season, with help from Zdeno Chara and Mark Recchi. The Hurricanes tied the game again with Chad LaRose scoring his ninth of the season, thanks to Tuomo Ruutu and Jeff Skinner. Boston retook the lead with Milan Lucic scoring his 17th of the year, from Recchi and Steve Kampfer on the power play. The final was 3-2, Boston over Carolina, with Tim Thomas (43 for 45 saves), Recchi, and Ruutu earning the three stars.
Farther south, the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Columbus Blue Jackets. The starting goalies will be Mathieu Garon and Dwayne Roloson. Columbus struck first with an R.J. Umberger goal, his 16th of the season, thanks to Antoine Vermette and the goalie Mathieu Garon. Tampa Bay evened the score with the 34th of the year by Steven Stamkos, helped along by Victor Hedman. The Lightning take a 2-1 lead on Stamkos' second of the night and 35th of the season, a power play goal coming from Martin St. Louis and Teddy Purcell. Derick Brassard supplied the goal to retie the game for the Blue Jackets, his eleventh of the year getting help from Rick Nash and Jakub Voracek. Ryan Malone gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 win in the shootout with his lone tally. Roloson (28 for 30 saves), Stamkos, and Hedman earned the three stars.
North of the border, the Ottawa Senators are hosting the Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Hiller and Brian Elliott will receive the starting duties. Corey Perry opened the scoring for Anaheim with his 24th of the year, from Bobby Ryan and Matt Beleskey. There was a fight in the late first period between notorious pugilists George Parros of Anaheim and Matt Carkner of Ottawa. Mike Fisher tied the game for Ottawa on his 13th of the season, from Milan Michalek and Erik Karlsson. Anaheim did eventually take home a 2-1 win in the shootout on the lone tally by Bobby Ryan. Winning goalie Hiller (39 for 40 saves), losing goalie Elliott (26 of 27 stops), and Fisher got the three stars.
Coming just a bit back stateside, the Buffalo Sabres will host the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Ryan Miller will be stopping pucks at the ends of the ice. Montreal got the first goal of the game on David Desharnais' second of the season, a power play goal from Roman Hamrlik and James Wisniewski. Buffalo evens the score with Tyler Ennis on the power play for his eleventh of the season, with the helpers provided by Thomas Vanek and Tim Connolly. Buffalo took the game 2-1 in overtime with the Sabres scoring on the ninth of the year by Jason Pominville, a power play goal made possible by Vanek and Ennis. The three stars go to Ennis, Miller (29 for 30 saves), and Nathan Gerbe (nothing special).
Out west we have the St. Louis Blues hosting the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Jaroslav Halak are in the creases for their teams. St. Louis strikes first with Patrik Berglund netting his ninth of the year, a power play marker made possible by Matt D'Agostini and Alex Pietrangelo. Los Angeles tied it on the first of the season by Matt Greene, with Brad Richardson and Kyle Clifford picking up the helpers. The Blues retook the lead in the third period with Erik Johnson putting away his fifth of the year, courtesy of Alex Steen and Eric Brewer. The final was 2-1 Blues over Kings, with T.J. Oshie, D'Agostini, and Justin Williams getting the official, albeit sketchy three stars. As an opinionated blogger, I would give three stars status to Erik Johnson, Jaroslav Halak (26 for 27 saves), and Alex Steen.
The Phoenix Coyotes are also playing a home game, hosting the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Ilya Bryzgalov will be facing the rubber. Nashville drew first blood with J.P. Dumont scoring his seventh of the season, assisted by Chris Mueller and Matt Halischuk. Patric Hornqvist made it 2-0 Predators with his 14th of the season, from David Legwand. Radim Vrbata answered for Phoenix, his tenth of the year making it 2-1 with assists going to Shane Doan and Keith Yandle on the power play goal. Lee Stempniak tied the game at 2 for the Coyotes with his eleventh of the year, from Adrian Aucoin and Sami Lepisto. Nashville took a 302 lead when Dumont recorded his eighth of the year and second of the night with help from Joel Ward and Martin Erat. The Predators ran the lead to 4-2 with Dumont completing his hat trick with his ninth of the season, helped along by Halischuk and Mueller. Hornqvist made it 5-2 for Nashville with his second of the night and 15th of the season, an unassisted goal. This would be the final, with Dumont, Halischuk, and Hornqvist earning the three stars.
Into the Rocky Mountains, where the Colorado Avalanche host the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Craig Anderson are responsible for guarding the nets. Alexander Edler puts Vancouver up first with his sixth of the year, a power play goal coming from Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler. John-Michael Liles tied the game for Colorado with his sixth of the season, also a power play goal, helped along by Milan Hejduk and Paul Stastny. The Canucks took the lead back with a goal by Kesler, a power play marker going as his 25th of the year, from Christian Ehrhoff and Edler. The Avalanche responded, tying the game at 2 on a David Jones goal, his 15th of the year coming off of Hejduk and Liles. Vancouver took the lead back again, with Sergei Shirokov making it 3-2, thanks to Dan Hamhuis and Mikael Samuelsson. Colorado will not be outdone, however, and tied the game at 3 as Hejduk netted his 15th of the season, thanks to Stastny and Liles on the man advantage. The tie was preserved into overtime, where the Avalanche won 4-3 on Jones' second of the night and 16th of the season, courtesy of Tomas Fleischmann and Kevin Shattenkirk on the power play. Hejduk, Liles, and Anderson (40 for 43 saves) got the three stars.
Finally, the Edmonton Oilers tee off the last game against the Minnesota Wild (no pun to the annual Edmonton tradition of early April golfing). Anton Khudobin and Nikolai Khabibulin get the starting nods tonight. Minnesota opens the scoring with Matt Cullen putting away his tenth of the season, assisted by Eric Nystrom and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. The Wild extend their lead to 2-0 with Brent Burns netting his 13th of the year, thanks to Kyle Brodziak and Martin Havlat. Bouchard made it 3-0 for Minnesota with his third of the season, from Nystrom and Burns. Making it 4-0 Wild was Andrew Brunette, who struck with his 12th of the year on the power play, assisted by Cullen and Mikko Koivu. Magnus Paajarvu put Edmonton on the board in the third period with his sixth of the year, from Andrew Cogliano and Taylor Chorney. The final had the Wild over the Oilers 4-1, with Khudobin (31 for 32 saves), Bouchard, and Liam Reddox (huh?) as the three stars.
That's all for Tuesday. Wednesday's hockey may not come out until Thursday due to health problems in the family, so I thank you all in advance for your patience. As for the three stars, I do not make these up, it's official from the rinks, but they don't always make statistical sense. Feel free to, if you watch the games instead of the box scores, to justify inclusion/exclusion in three stars in the comments section of any post.
The Philadelphia Flyers hosting the Washington Capitals. Michal Neuvirth and Sergei Bobrovsky will see game action tonight. Philadelphia strikes first on Jeff Carter's 20th of the season, an unassisted goal. Neuvirth was pulled from the Washington net during the intermission, being replaced by Semyon Varlamov. The Flyers extended the lead to 2-0 on Claude Giroux's 18th of the year, courtesy of Carter and Kimmo Timmonen. Washington started a comeback with Mike Knuble notching his eleventh of the year, with help from Marcus Johansson. Alex Ovechkin tied the game at 2 with his 16th of the season, a goal assisted by Jason Chimera and Nicklas Backstrom. The tie lasted into overtime, but it was short-lived with Philadelphia winning on the second of the year by Andrej Meszaros, with Matt Carle getting credit for an assist. Carter, Giroux, and Bobrovsky (23 for 25 saves) are the three stars.
Next, we travel across Pennsylvania, with the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the Detroit Red Wings. Picking up the starts are Joey MacDonald and Marc-Andre Fleury. Jordan Staal has Pittsburgh up 1-0 with his third of the season, made possible by Tyler Kennedy. The Penguins make it 2-0 on the sixth of the year by Chris Conner, who converted a penalty shot from a Kris Draper hook. Detroit got on the board late in the second period with a Johan Franzen goal, his 20th of the season, made possible by Patrick Eaves and Henrik Zetterberg. Thirty seconds later, Chris Kunitz restored the two goal lead for Pittsburgh with his 16th of the campaign, assisted by Pascal Dupuis and Evgeni Malkin. Matt Cooke netted his ninth of the year for the Penguins, putting them up 4-1 with the empty net goal from Kennedy and Brooks Orpik. This was the final, with Fleury (36 for 37 saves), Conner, and Kennedy earning the three stars.
Down the East Coast to Raleigh, where the Carolina Hurricanes host the Boston Bruins. In between the pipes are Tim Thomas and Cam Ward. Boston jumps out to the early lead with the third of the season by Marc Savard, a power play tally with help from Johnny Boychuk and Michael Ryder. Carolina answers late in the period also on the power play with Jussi Jokinen, who netted his eleventh of the season, thanks to All-Star Game captain Eric Staal and Joe Corvo. The Bruins took the lead back with Brad Marchand potting his tenth of the season, with help from Zdeno Chara and Mark Recchi. The Hurricanes tied the game again with Chad LaRose scoring his ninth of the season, thanks to Tuomo Ruutu and Jeff Skinner. Boston retook the lead with Milan Lucic scoring his 17th of the year, from Recchi and Steve Kampfer on the power play. The final was 3-2, Boston over Carolina, with Tim Thomas (43 for 45 saves), Recchi, and Ruutu earning the three stars.
Farther south, the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Columbus Blue Jackets. The starting goalies will be Mathieu Garon and Dwayne Roloson. Columbus struck first with an R.J. Umberger goal, his 16th of the season, thanks to Antoine Vermette and the goalie Mathieu Garon. Tampa Bay evened the score with the 34th of the year by Steven Stamkos, helped along by Victor Hedman. The Lightning take a 2-1 lead on Stamkos' second of the night and 35th of the season, a power play goal coming from Martin St. Louis and Teddy Purcell. Derick Brassard supplied the goal to retie the game for the Blue Jackets, his eleventh of the year getting help from Rick Nash and Jakub Voracek. Ryan Malone gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 win in the shootout with his lone tally. Roloson (28 for 30 saves), Stamkos, and Hedman earned the three stars.
North of the border, the Ottawa Senators are hosting the Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Hiller and Brian Elliott will receive the starting duties. Corey Perry opened the scoring for Anaheim with his 24th of the year, from Bobby Ryan and Matt Beleskey. There was a fight in the late first period between notorious pugilists George Parros of Anaheim and Matt Carkner of Ottawa. Mike Fisher tied the game for Ottawa on his 13th of the season, from Milan Michalek and Erik Karlsson. Anaheim did eventually take home a 2-1 win in the shootout on the lone tally by Bobby Ryan. Winning goalie Hiller (39 for 40 saves), losing goalie Elliott (26 of 27 stops), and Fisher got the three stars.
Coming just a bit back stateside, the Buffalo Sabres will host the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Ryan Miller will be stopping pucks at the ends of the ice. Montreal got the first goal of the game on David Desharnais' second of the season, a power play goal from Roman Hamrlik and James Wisniewski. Buffalo evens the score with Tyler Ennis on the power play for his eleventh of the season, with the helpers provided by Thomas Vanek and Tim Connolly. Buffalo took the game 2-1 in overtime with the Sabres scoring on the ninth of the year by Jason Pominville, a power play goal made possible by Vanek and Ennis. The three stars go to Ennis, Miller (29 for 30 saves), and Nathan Gerbe (nothing special).
Out west we have the St. Louis Blues hosting the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Jaroslav Halak are in the creases for their teams. St. Louis strikes first with Patrik Berglund netting his ninth of the year, a power play marker made possible by Matt D'Agostini and Alex Pietrangelo. Los Angeles tied it on the first of the season by Matt Greene, with Brad Richardson and Kyle Clifford picking up the helpers. The Blues retook the lead in the third period with Erik Johnson putting away his fifth of the year, courtesy of Alex Steen and Eric Brewer. The final was 2-1 Blues over Kings, with T.J. Oshie, D'Agostini, and Justin Williams getting the official, albeit sketchy three stars. As an opinionated blogger, I would give three stars status to Erik Johnson, Jaroslav Halak (26 for 27 saves), and Alex Steen.
The Phoenix Coyotes are also playing a home game, hosting the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Ilya Bryzgalov will be facing the rubber. Nashville drew first blood with J.P. Dumont scoring his seventh of the season, assisted by Chris Mueller and Matt Halischuk. Patric Hornqvist made it 2-0 Predators with his 14th of the season, from David Legwand. Radim Vrbata answered for Phoenix, his tenth of the year making it 2-1 with assists going to Shane Doan and Keith Yandle on the power play goal. Lee Stempniak tied the game at 2 for the Coyotes with his eleventh of the year, from Adrian Aucoin and Sami Lepisto. Nashville took a 302 lead when Dumont recorded his eighth of the year and second of the night with help from Joel Ward and Martin Erat. The Predators ran the lead to 4-2 with Dumont completing his hat trick with his ninth of the season, helped along by Halischuk and Mueller. Hornqvist made it 5-2 for Nashville with his second of the night and 15th of the season, an unassisted goal. This would be the final, with Dumont, Halischuk, and Hornqvist earning the three stars.
Into the Rocky Mountains, where the Colorado Avalanche host the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Craig Anderson are responsible for guarding the nets. Alexander Edler puts Vancouver up first with his sixth of the year, a power play goal coming from Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler. John-Michael Liles tied the game for Colorado with his sixth of the season, also a power play goal, helped along by Milan Hejduk and Paul Stastny. The Canucks took the lead back with a goal by Kesler, a power play marker going as his 25th of the year, from Christian Ehrhoff and Edler. The Avalanche responded, tying the game at 2 on a David Jones goal, his 15th of the year coming off of Hejduk and Liles. Vancouver took the lead back again, with Sergei Shirokov making it 3-2, thanks to Dan Hamhuis and Mikael Samuelsson. Colorado will not be outdone, however, and tied the game at 3 as Hejduk netted his 15th of the season, thanks to Stastny and Liles on the man advantage. The tie was preserved into overtime, where the Avalanche won 4-3 on Jones' second of the night and 16th of the season, courtesy of Tomas Fleischmann and Kevin Shattenkirk on the power play. Hejduk, Liles, and Anderson (40 for 43 saves) got the three stars.
Finally, the Edmonton Oilers tee off the last game against the Minnesota Wild (no pun to the annual Edmonton tradition of early April golfing). Anton Khudobin and Nikolai Khabibulin get the starting nods tonight. Minnesota opens the scoring with Matt Cullen putting away his tenth of the season, assisted by Eric Nystrom and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. The Wild extend their lead to 2-0 with Brent Burns netting his 13th of the year, thanks to Kyle Brodziak and Martin Havlat. Bouchard made it 3-0 for Minnesota with his third of the season, from Nystrom and Burns. Making it 4-0 Wild was Andrew Brunette, who struck with his 12th of the year on the power play, assisted by Cullen and Mikko Koivu. Magnus Paajarvu put Edmonton on the board in the third period with his sixth of the year, from Andrew Cogliano and Taylor Chorney. The final had the Wild over the Oilers 4-1, with Khudobin (31 for 32 saves), Bouchard, and Liam Reddox (huh?) as the three stars.
That's all for Tuesday. Wednesday's hockey may not come out until Thursday due to health problems in the family, so I thank you all in advance for your patience. As for the three stars, I do not make these up, it's official from the rinks, but they don't always make statistical sense. Feel free to, if you watch the games instead of the box scores, to justify inclusion/exclusion in three stars in the comments section of any post.
Song of the Week III, belated
This week, we are featuring a classic rock hit from Don Henley, entitled All She Wants to Do Is Dance. This song, released in 1984 on the album Building the Perfect Beast, has a very quick pace and rhythmic beauty, along with lyrics about the popular belief that having fun is better than serious work. It is, like all songs I own, a great song, and with the catchy tune, Don Henley has a great number out here with a fabulous hit. This post will be run at its proper time next week, pending my memory.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Martin Luther King day hockey
Seeing as today is a holiday, the NHL has six games on, three in the matinee time slot. The first of these has...
The Boston Bruins hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Tim Thomas were sent out to block pucks. Boston opened with a Mark Stuart goal, his first of the season getting help from Nathan Horton and Adam McQuaid. Chara added two in a row for the Bruins to make it 3-0 with his eighth and ninth of the year, assisted by McQuaid first and David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron on the latter power play marker. Justin Peters came in to replace Cam Ward after the first Chara goal. Boston continued to score in the second period, with Gregory Campbell putting away his sixth of the season thanks to Shawn Thornton and Blake Wheeler, thirteen seconds before Bergeron stashed his 15th of the campaign in the mesh to make it 5-0 Bruins. Bergeron's goal was unassisted. Michael Ryder added on his 14th of the season in the third period, making it 6-0 with the assistance of Dennis Seidenberg and Steve Kampfer. Chara completed his hat trick on the power play with his tenth of the year, courtesy of Krejci and Milan Lucic, bringing the score to the 7-0 final. Chara, Tim Thomas (31 save shutout), and McQuaid got the three stars.
The other in the pair of early games was the New York Islanders hosting the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur and Kevin Poulin were the starters. New Jersey opened the scoring with Vladimir Zharkov notching his first of the season, thanks to Mattias Tedenby and Jason Arnott. Fifty-seven seconds later, the Devils owned a 2-0 lead because of a power play goal by Ilya Kovalchuk, his 13th tally of the year, from Andy Greene and Travis Zajac. Tedenby made it 3-0 New Jersey in the second period with his fifth of the year, from Mark Fraser and Rod Pelley. New York got on the board with P.A. Parenteau potting his eleventh of the season, helped along by Blake Comeau and Radek Martinek. Fifty-four seconds later, the Islanders deficit was down to one goal with Michael Grabner scoring his eleventh of the campaign, courtesy of Josh Bailey and Travis Hamonic. Pelley got the Devils going again, his third of the year making it 4-2 with help from Fraser and Arnott. Again, fifty-four seconds later, the full lead was restored at a 5-2 margin, with Dainius Zubrus notching his seventh of the season, assisted by Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston. This would be the final after a scoreless third period, with Tedenby, Pelley, and Parenteau grabbing the three stars.
Out west to conclude the first half of the day's games, with the Phoenix Coyotes hosting the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Ilya Bryzgalov got the starting nods. San Jose struck first on a Patrick Marleau goal, his 18th of the season getting assisted on by Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Joe Pavelski. Phoenix tied it on a Derek Morris goal, his fourth of the year, with help from Keith Yandle and Eric Belanger. Dany Heatley made it 2-1 Sharks in the second period with his 18th of the season, thanks to Logan Couture and Joe Thornton. Couture added a power play goal for his 20th tally of the year, putting San Jose up 3-1 with the help of Dan Boyle and Heatley. The Coyotes cut the score to 3-2 with an Oliver Ekman-Larsson goal, his first of the season going after touches by Lauri Korpikoski and Lee Stempniak. Thornton put the game away 4-2 for the Sharks with his empty net goal, good for his 13th of the year as an unassisted goal. Heatley, Niemi (34 for 36 saves), and Ray Whitney got the three stars.
Following that at a normal time was the Florida Panthers hosting the Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Scott Clemmensen were in front of the cages. Florida got on the board first in the third period with a power play goal by Dennis Wideman, his sixth of the year assisted by Mike Santorelli and Stephen Weiss. Dmitry Kulikov made it 2-0 with his fifth of the season, also a power play goal, helped along by Cory Stillman and Weiss. Bryan Little got Atlanta on the board with his 13th of the season, thanks to Nik Antropov and Rich Peverley. Forty-four seconds later, the Thrashers tied the game on a Chris Thorburn goal, his sixth of the year getting help from Evander Kane and Little. The tie at 2 lasted into a shootout, with Santorelli and Little exchanging goals before Alex Burmistrov won the game for Atlanta. Burmistrov, Little, and Weiss earned the three stars.
Up to Montreal, where the Canadiens hosted the Calgary Flames for their last game on the road trip. Miikka Kiprusoff and Alex Auld got the starts. Lars Eller opened the scoring for Montreal with his third of the season, helped along by Michael Cammalleri and Tomas Plekanec. Cammalleri made it 2-0 in the same period with his 13th of the season, from Jeff Halpern and P.K. Subban. Andrei Kostitsyn made it 3-0 for Montreal with his 12th of the year in the second period, assisted on by Yannick Weber and Jaroslav Spacek. Halpern acked on his seventh of the year for the Canadiens, making it 4-0 with the helpers from Travis Moen and Spacek. This put Miikka Kiprusoff in the doghouse of Brent Sutter once more, with Henrik Karlsson coming on in relief. This ignited something for Calgary, with Rene Bourque notching his 15th of the season, courtesy of Olli Jokinen and Cory Sarich. Jarome Iginla cut the score to 4-2 for the Flames with his 19th of the season, made possible by Jay Bouwmeester. Calgary continued to roll in the third period with an Ales Kotalik goal, his third of the year coming off of Jokinen. Alex Tanguay tied the game at 4 with his eleventh of the year, assisted on by Iginla and Brendan Morrison. The tie lasted into overtime, where the Flames comeback hopes were squashed by Montreal's rookie defenseman Subban, who netted his fourth of the season thanks to Scott Gomez and Hal Gill to secure a 5-4 Canadiens victory. Subban, Cammalleri, and Kostitsyn picked up the three stars.
Lastly, the Dallas Stars hosted the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Bernier and Kari Lethonen played in net. Los Angeles got the early lead on a Justin Williams goal, his 17th of the season coming from Anze Kopitar. Dallas tied the game at 1 with the 17th of the year by Loui Eriksson in the second period, a power play goal made possible by Brad Richards and Mike Ribeiro. Jamie Langenbrunner gave the Stars a 2-1 lead with his fifth of the season, a power play goal as well, with help from Richards and Jamie Benn. This would be the eventual final, with Langenbrunner, Richards, and Benn earning the three stars.
That's all. I'll try to put a post out tonight for Tuesday hockey, but no promises.
The Boston Bruins hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Tim Thomas were sent out to block pucks. Boston opened with a Mark Stuart goal, his first of the season getting help from Nathan Horton and Adam McQuaid. Chara added two in a row for the Bruins to make it 3-0 with his eighth and ninth of the year, assisted by McQuaid first and David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron on the latter power play marker. Justin Peters came in to replace Cam Ward after the first Chara goal. Boston continued to score in the second period, with Gregory Campbell putting away his sixth of the season thanks to Shawn Thornton and Blake Wheeler, thirteen seconds before Bergeron stashed his 15th of the campaign in the mesh to make it 5-0 Bruins. Bergeron's goal was unassisted. Michael Ryder added on his 14th of the season in the third period, making it 6-0 with the assistance of Dennis Seidenberg and Steve Kampfer. Chara completed his hat trick on the power play with his tenth of the year, courtesy of Krejci and Milan Lucic, bringing the score to the 7-0 final. Chara, Tim Thomas (31 save shutout), and McQuaid got the three stars.
The other in the pair of early games was the New York Islanders hosting the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur and Kevin Poulin were the starters. New Jersey opened the scoring with Vladimir Zharkov notching his first of the season, thanks to Mattias Tedenby and Jason Arnott. Fifty-seven seconds later, the Devils owned a 2-0 lead because of a power play goal by Ilya Kovalchuk, his 13th tally of the year, from Andy Greene and Travis Zajac. Tedenby made it 3-0 New Jersey in the second period with his fifth of the year, from Mark Fraser and Rod Pelley. New York got on the board with P.A. Parenteau potting his eleventh of the season, helped along by Blake Comeau and Radek Martinek. Fifty-four seconds later, the Islanders deficit was down to one goal with Michael Grabner scoring his eleventh of the campaign, courtesy of Josh Bailey and Travis Hamonic. Pelley got the Devils going again, his third of the year making it 4-2 with help from Fraser and Arnott. Again, fifty-four seconds later, the full lead was restored at a 5-2 margin, with Dainius Zubrus notching his seventh of the season, assisted by Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston. This would be the final after a scoreless third period, with Tedenby, Pelley, and Parenteau grabbing the three stars.
Out west to conclude the first half of the day's games, with the Phoenix Coyotes hosting the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Ilya Bryzgalov got the starting nods. San Jose struck first on a Patrick Marleau goal, his 18th of the season getting assisted on by Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Joe Pavelski. Phoenix tied it on a Derek Morris goal, his fourth of the year, with help from Keith Yandle and Eric Belanger. Dany Heatley made it 2-1 Sharks in the second period with his 18th of the season, thanks to Logan Couture and Joe Thornton. Couture added a power play goal for his 20th tally of the year, putting San Jose up 3-1 with the help of Dan Boyle and Heatley. The Coyotes cut the score to 3-2 with an Oliver Ekman-Larsson goal, his first of the season going after touches by Lauri Korpikoski and Lee Stempniak. Thornton put the game away 4-2 for the Sharks with his empty net goal, good for his 13th of the year as an unassisted goal. Heatley, Niemi (34 for 36 saves), and Ray Whitney got the three stars.
Following that at a normal time was the Florida Panthers hosting the Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Scott Clemmensen were in front of the cages. Florida got on the board first in the third period with a power play goal by Dennis Wideman, his sixth of the year assisted by Mike Santorelli and Stephen Weiss. Dmitry Kulikov made it 2-0 with his fifth of the season, also a power play goal, helped along by Cory Stillman and Weiss. Bryan Little got Atlanta on the board with his 13th of the season, thanks to Nik Antropov and Rich Peverley. Forty-four seconds later, the Thrashers tied the game on a Chris Thorburn goal, his sixth of the year getting help from Evander Kane and Little. The tie at 2 lasted into a shootout, with Santorelli and Little exchanging goals before Alex Burmistrov won the game for Atlanta. Burmistrov, Little, and Weiss earned the three stars.
Up to Montreal, where the Canadiens hosted the Calgary Flames for their last game on the road trip. Miikka Kiprusoff and Alex Auld got the starts. Lars Eller opened the scoring for Montreal with his third of the season, helped along by Michael Cammalleri and Tomas Plekanec. Cammalleri made it 2-0 in the same period with his 13th of the season, from Jeff Halpern and P.K. Subban. Andrei Kostitsyn made it 3-0 for Montreal with his 12th of the year in the second period, assisted on by Yannick Weber and Jaroslav Spacek. Halpern acked on his seventh of the year for the Canadiens, making it 4-0 with the helpers from Travis Moen and Spacek. This put Miikka Kiprusoff in the doghouse of Brent Sutter once more, with Henrik Karlsson coming on in relief. This ignited something for Calgary, with Rene Bourque notching his 15th of the season, courtesy of Olli Jokinen and Cory Sarich. Jarome Iginla cut the score to 4-2 for the Flames with his 19th of the season, made possible by Jay Bouwmeester. Calgary continued to roll in the third period with an Ales Kotalik goal, his third of the year coming off of Jokinen. Alex Tanguay tied the game at 4 with his eleventh of the year, assisted on by Iginla and Brendan Morrison. The tie lasted into overtime, where the Flames comeback hopes were squashed by Montreal's rookie defenseman Subban, who netted his fourth of the season thanks to Scott Gomez and Hal Gill to secure a 5-4 Canadiens victory. Subban, Cammalleri, and Kostitsyn picked up the three stars.
Lastly, the Dallas Stars hosted the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Bernier and Kari Lethonen played in net. Los Angeles got the early lead on a Justin Williams goal, his 17th of the season coming from Anze Kopitar. Dallas tied the game at 1 with the 17th of the year by Loui Eriksson in the second period, a power play goal made possible by Brad Richards and Mike Ribeiro. Jamie Langenbrunner gave the Stars a 2-1 lead with his fifth of the season, a power play goal as well, with help from Richards and Jamie Benn. This would be the eventual final, with Langenbrunner, Richards, and Benn earning the three stars.
That's all. I'll try to put a post out tonight for Tuesday hockey, but no promises.
Fantasy Hockey All-Stars, week 14
Another week of hockey. I renovated some of my teams, scouring the waiver wires to see what I could do to prepare for a playoff push. Here's whose looking good short term.
Center: Steven Stamkos, 2 goals, 2 assists, +1, 16 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 13 shots on goal
Left Wing: Jussi Jokinen, 4 goals, 3 assists, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 10 shots on goal
Right Wing: Danny Briere, 3 goals, 4 assists, -1, 2 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 13 shots on goal
Defenseman: Dennis Seidenberg, 1 goal, 4 assists, +2, 0 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 16 shots on goal
Goaltender: Henrik Lundqvist, 1 win, 1.69 goals against average, 105 saves, .955 save percentage, 1 shutout
Utility special: Jeff Carter (C, RW) 3 goals, 1 assist, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 0 power play points, 22 shots on goal
That's all for now. It was a weak week for stats, and fairly unpredictable.
Center: Steven Stamkos, 2 goals, 2 assists, +1, 16 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 13 shots on goal
Left Wing: Jussi Jokinen, 4 goals, 3 assists, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 10 shots on goal
Right Wing: Danny Briere, 3 goals, 4 assists, -1, 2 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 13 shots on goal
Defenseman: Dennis Seidenberg, 1 goal, 4 assists, +2, 0 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 16 shots on goal
Goaltender: Henrik Lundqvist, 1 win, 1.69 goals against average, 105 saves, .955 save percentage, 1 shutout
Utility special: Jeff Carter (C, RW) 3 goals, 1 assist, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 0 power play points, 22 shots on goal
That's all for now. It was a weak week for stats, and fairly unpredictable.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Sunday NHL games
There are five games on today, interspersed throughout the day so that a good 7 or 8 hours of the day will be covered by hockey. First off...
The Washington Capitals host the team from the Canadian capital, the Ottawa Senators. Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth are in goal. Mike Fisher strikes first for Ottawa with his 12th of the season, helped along by Nick Foligno and Ryan Shannon. Washington answers in the third period with Brooks Laich notching his ninth of the season, an unassisted goal. John Carlson gives the Capitals the lead forty-five seconds later with his fifth of the year, a power play goal assisted by Nicklas Backstrom. Jason Chimera made it 3-1 for Washington with his sixth of the season, from Dave Steckel and Karl Alzner. This would be the final, with Carlson, Neuvirth (22 for 23 saves), and Laich getting the three stars.
Next up is the Minnesota Wild hosting the Vancouver Canucks. In net are Cory Schneider and Anton Khudobin. Andrew Brunette opens the scoring in the second period with his eleventh of the year, a power play goal for Minnesota assisted on by Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Antti Miettinen. Martin Havlat put the Wild up 2-0 with his eleventh of the season, an unassisted goal. In the third period Matt Cullen strikes with his ninth of the year, a shorthanded goal from Kyle Brodziak and Nick Schultz to make it 3-0. John Madden sinks Vancouver to the final 4-0 favoring Minnesota with his sixth of the season, helped along by Chuck Kobasew and Cullen. Khudobin (32 save shutout), Cullen, and Havlat earned the three stars.
Following that, the New York Rangers host the Philadelphia Flyers. In front of the nets are Brian Boucher and Martin Biron. Jeff Carter put Philadelphia on the board first with his 19th of the season, from Matt Carle and Ville Leino. Leino added his own goal for the Flyers, making it 2-0 with help from Andrej Meszaros and Carle. Mike Richards extended the Philadelphia lead to 3-0 with a shorthanded goal by Mike Richards, with help coming in the form of Claude Giroux. Wojtek Wolski put New York on the scoreboard in the third period, cutting the score to 3-1 with his eighth of the season, with Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan providing the helpers. Stepan trims the deficit for the Rangers down to a goal with his 13th of the season, from Zuccarello and Wolski. Leino, Stepan, and Carle got the three stars in the 3-2 Flyers win.
Heading into the Windy City, where the Chicago Blackhawks host the Nashville Predators in the second game of a home-and-home. Anders Lindback and Marty Turco get the honors in a battle of backups. Nashville struck first, with Martin Erat opening the scoring on his sixth of the season, a power play goal assisted by Cody Franson and Alexander Sulzer. Chicago answered with Dave Bolland notching his eighth of the year, helped by Bryan Bickell. The Predators retook the lead on a J.P. Dumont goal, his fifth of the year happening with a man advantage, thanks to Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. Bolland tied the gave back up for the Blackhawks with his second of the night and ninth of the season, courtesy of Tomas Kopecky. Nashville retook the lead on another Dumont goal, helped along by Chris Mueller as his sixth of the season and second in the game. Troy Brouwer scored twice in forty seconds to put Chicago back on top by a 4-3 score, his 12th and 13th of the year getting help from Duncan Keith and Kopecky on the former power play tally and Patrick Kane on the latter even strength marker. Bickell made it 5-3 for the Blackhawks with his 12th of the year, courtesy of Brian Campbell and Brent Seabrook. Jonathan Toews extends the lead to 6-3 Chicago with his 17th of the year, an unassisted goal. This was the final, with Brouwer, Bolland, and Dumont earning the three stars.
Finally, the Anaheim Ducks host the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Curtis McElhinney are in between the pipes. Luca Sbisa put Anaheim on the board first with his second of the year, assisted by Toni Lydman and Joffery Lupul on the power play. Teemu Selanne made it 2-0 Ducks with his 13th of the campaign, made possible by Lubomir Visnovsky and Jason Blake. Selanne added his second of the night and 14th of the year on a power play goal from Visnovsky and Cam Fowler. Edmonton gets on the board with Magnus Paajarvi scoring his fifth of the year, thanks to Sam Gagner and Taylor Chorney. Twenty-six seconds later, the lead for Anaheim is down to 1 with the Oilers scoring on Gagner's eleventh of the season, assisted by Linus Omark. McElhinney had to leave the game after those two quickies, and was replaced by Jonas Hiller. The 3-2 margin favoring the Ducks over the Oilers was the final, with Selanne, Saku Koivu, and Gagner getting the three stars.
Posts that are supposed to be out tomorrow morning will be finished tomorrow morning. Please take time, to my American readers, to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. tomorrow.
The Washington Capitals host the team from the Canadian capital, the Ottawa Senators. Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth are in goal. Mike Fisher strikes first for Ottawa with his 12th of the season, helped along by Nick Foligno and Ryan Shannon. Washington answers in the third period with Brooks Laich notching his ninth of the season, an unassisted goal. John Carlson gives the Capitals the lead forty-five seconds later with his fifth of the year, a power play goal assisted by Nicklas Backstrom. Jason Chimera made it 3-1 for Washington with his sixth of the season, from Dave Steckel and Karl Alzner. This would be the final, with Carlson, Neuvirth (22 for 23 saves), and Laich getting the three stars.
Next up is the Minnesota Wild hosting the Vancouver Canucks. In net are Cory Schneider and Anton Khudobin. Andrew Brunette opens the scoring in the second period with his eleventh of the year, a power play goal for Minnesota assisted on by Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Antti Miettinen. Martin Havlat put the Wild up 2-0 with his eleventh of the season, an unassisted goal. In the third period Matt Cullen strikes with his ninth of the year, a shorthanded goal from Kyle Brodziak and Nick Schultz to make it 3-0. John Madden sinks Vancouver to the final 4-0 favoring Minnesota with his sixth of the season, helped along by Chuck Kobasew and Cullen. Khudobin (32 save shutout), Cullen, and Havlat earned the three stars.
Following that, the New York Rangers host the Philadelphia Flyers. In front of the nets are Brian Boucher and Martin Biron. Jeff Carter put Philadelphia on the board first with his 19th of the season, from Matt Carle and Ville Leino. Leino added his own goal for the Flyers, making it 2-0 with help from Andrej Meszaros and Carle. Mike Richards extended the Philadelphia lead to 3-0 with a shorthanded goal by Mike Richards, with help coming in the form of Claude Giroux. Wojtek Wolski put New York on the scoreboard in the third period, cutting the score to 3-1 with his eighth of the season, with Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan providing the helpers. Stepan trims the deficit for the Rangers down to a goal with his 13th of the season, from Zuccarello and Wolski. Leino, Stepan, and Carle got the three stars in the 3-2 Flyers win.
Heading into the Windy City, where the Chicago Blackhawks host the Nashville Predators in the second game of a home-and-home. Anders Lindback and Marty Turco get the honors in a battle of backups. Nashville struck first, with Martin Erat opening the scoring on his sixth of the season, a power play goal assisted by Cody Franson and Alexander Sulzer. Chicago answered with Dave Bolland notching his eighth of the year, helped by Bryan Bickell. The Predators retook the lead on a J.P. Dumont goal, his fifth of the year happening with a man advantage, thanks to Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. Bolland tied the gave back up for the Blackhawks with his second of the night and ninth of the season, courtesy of Tomas Kopecky. Nashville retook the lead on another Dumont goal, helped along by Chris Mueller as his sixth of the season and second in the game. Troy Brouwer scored twice in forty seconds to put Chicago back on top by a 4-3 score, his 12th and 13th of the year getting help from Duncan Keith and Kopecky on the former power play tally and Patrick Kane on the latter even strength marker. Bickell made it 5-3 for the Blackhawks with his 12th of the year, courtesy of Brian Campbell and Brent Seabrook. Jonathan Toews extends the lead to 6-3 Chicago with his 17th of the year, an unassisted goal. This was the final, with Brouwer, Bolland, and Dumont earning the three stars.
Finally, the Anaheim Ducks host the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Curtis McElhinney are in between the pipes. Luca Sbisa put Anaheim on the board first with his second of the year, assisted by Toni Lydman and Joffery Lupul on the power play. Teemu Selanne made it 2-0 Ducks with his 13th of the campaign, made possible by Lubomir Visnovsky and Jason Blake. Selanne added his second of the night and 14th of the year on a power play goal from Visnovsky and Cam Fowler. Edmonton gets on the board with Magnus Paajarvi scoring his fifth of the year, thanks to Sam Gagner and Taylor Chorney. Twenty-six seconds later, the lead for Anaheim is down to 1 with the Oilers scoring on Gagner's eleventh of the season, assisted by Linus Omark. McElhinney had to leave the game after those two quickies, and was replaced by Jonas Hiller. The 3-2 margin favoring the Ducks over the Oilers was the final, with Selanne, Saku Koivu, and Gagner getting the three stars.
Posts that are supposed to be out tomorrow morning will be finished tomorrow morning. Please take time, to my American readers, to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. tomorrow.
Sandwich showdown III
This weekend, we have an Italian BMT pitted against a toasted Roast Beef. The BMT got Italian herbs and cheese, for national unity of course, and the Roast Beef received wheat bread. The flavors were both powerful and unique, with the three meats in the BMT blending nicely together, but very level to standalone hearty flavor found in the Roast Beef, which will take the slightest of edges in this showdown. Thanks for reading and happy eating.
NFL Divisional Weekend
Another four games of football were played, determining who will face off for the rights to play in Super Bowl XLV. It starts with the AFC Divisional...
Between the host Pittsburgh Steelers and visiting Baltimore Ravens. Pittsburgh was the first team to visit the end zone on a Rashard Mendenhall run of 1 yard for a touchdown, followed by a Shaun Suisham extra point. Baltimore answered back with a Ray Rice 14 yard touchdown run, after which Billy Cundiff tied the game with the extra point. Ben Roethlisberger then was pressured and lost control of the ball, and after a spell, Cory Redding of the Ravens took it to the house, and Cundiff made it 14-7. Baltimore extended the lead in the second quarter as Joe Flacco connected with Todd Heap for 4 yards, allowing another Cundiff extra point to produce the halftime score of 21-7 Baltimore. Roethlisberger tied the game with touchdown passes of 9 and 8 yards to Heath Miller and Hines Ward, and the tying point coming from Suisham's foot. Suisham and Cundiff exchanged field goals in the fourth quarter, with Suisham good from 35 yards and Cundiff from 24 yards away. With the score tied at 24 with under 2 minutes in the game, Mendenhall runs a 2 yard touchdown in, and Suisham supplies the extra point to make it 31-24 Steelers. The Ravens failed to recover, and were eliminated by that score from the playoffs, with Pittsburgh waiting to see if they will host the New York Jets or travel to New England next weekend.
Hopping to the NFC Divisional game between the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta dented the scoreboard first with a Michael Turner touchdown run of 12 yards, and Matt Bryant provided the extra point. Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay answered in the second quarter with a 6 yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson, followed by a Mason Crosby extra point. However, the ensuing kickoff was fateful, as Eric Weems returned the ball 102 yards for the Falcons, and Bryant put them up 14-7 with the extra point. John Kuhn got the Packers back together and ran a touchdown in for 1 yard, allowing a tying extra point by Crosby. Rodgers gave Green Bay the lead with a 20 yard touchdown connection with James Jones, followed by yet another Crosby extra point. Hoping to take momentum into the locker room, Matt Ryan threw one up for Atlanta, and Tramon Williams picked it off and ran it in 70 yards to give the Packers some push, putting them up 28-14 at half with Crosby making his extra point. Rodgers took to the ground to extend the lead for Green Bay, running 7 yards to crack the goal line, with Crosby adding another extra point. Rodgers found Kuhn for 7 yards as well, and after a Crosby extra point, it was all but certain the the Packers had strong control over the game at 42-14. Ryan passed to Roddy White for a 6 yard touchdown as a last whimper for the Falcons, with Bryant's extra point making the score 42-21. Crosby put the Falcons out of their misery after two more field goals, from 43 and 32 yards to bring the final to 48-21, with Green Bay either traveling to Chicago or Seattle depending on who wins the match today.
Into day 2 of the divisional weekend, with the Chicago Bears hosting the Seattle Seahawks. Jay Cutler put Chicago out front early when connecting with Greg Olsen for 58 yards and a touchdown, followed by a Robbie Gould extra point. Chester Taylor extended the Bears lead with a 1 yard touchdown run, with Gould adding another extra point. Cutler took matters in his own hands for the third touchdown, running in 6 yards for the score, allowing another Gould extra point. The score going into halftime was 21-0, and the Bears extended the lead once more on the legs of Cutler, with his second touchdown rush, this time of 9 yards, and Gould was true on the extra point to make it 28-0. Seattle decided it would be good to actually score some points and Olindo Mare blasted a 30 yard field goal through the uprights. Matt Hasselbeck continued the scoring for the Seahawks, finding Mike Williams in the end zone for a 2 yard touchdown, with Mare making the extra point. Cutler's pass to Kellen Davis for 39 yards was good enough to be a dagger for Seattle's comeback hopes, with that touchdown and the subsequent extra point making it 35-10. Hasselbeck added two more touchdown passes, of 3 and 9 yards to Williams and Brandon Stokley, and after Mare's two extra points, the score stood at its eventual final of 35-24 Bears over Seahawks. Chicago advanced to the NFC Championship, staying at home to host their fierce rivals, the Green Bay Packers. Seattle, after a surprising season and playoff run will return home.
Lastly, the most hyped and trash-talked match between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots. Shayne Graham opened the scoring by booting a 34 yard field goal in for New England. Mark Sanchez and New York answered in the second quarter with two touchdown passes, one of 7 yards to LaDainian Tomlinson and the other for Braylon "Banana Feet... err... Hands" Edwards for 15 yards. Footsmith Nick Folk came on for both extra points. The Patriots came back in the third quarter as Tom Brady connected with Alge Crumpler for 2 yards and a touchdown, and the two point conversion by the quick-footed Sammy Morris was successful. Sanchez answered back for the Jets with a touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes for 7 yards and a touchdown, allowing Folk to nail another extra point in. Graham came back out for another field goal, this time of 35 yards, putting New England down only 21-14. Shonn Greene however turned New York's fortunes around and put them up by a more comfortable lead by running with flying feet 16 yards to find the end zone, with Folk kicking in another extra point. Brady attempted to get the Patriots back into the game, allowing Deion Branch to catch a 13 yard touchdown pass and plant his feet for the score, before Graham knocked in the extra point. The onside kick was no good, and the Jets held on to win by a toe, or a touchdown (whatever Rex Ryan thinks) by the 28-21 score. The Patriots started to book tee times, while Rex Ryan and the Jets could go home and kick their feet up on the foot stools. Final count on bad foot puns aimed at Rex Ryan: 8, so I lose to Wes Welker.
Next week will feature two games to determine who plays in the Super Bowl. I, as a fan, no longer care that much, but because you readers do, I'll grudgingly cover the games.
Between the host Pittsburgh Steelers and visiting Baltimore Ravens. Pittsburgh was the first team to visit the end zone on a Rashard Mendenhall run of 1 yard for a touchdown, followed by a Shaun Suisham extra point. Baltimore answered back with a Ray Rice 14 yard touchdown run, after which Billy Cundiff tied the game with the extra point. Ben Roethlisberger then was pressured and lost control of the ball, and after a spell, Cory Redding of the Ravens took it to the house, and Cundiff made it 14-7. Baltimore extended the lead in the second quarter as Joe Flacco connected with Todd Heap for 4 yards, allowing another Cundiff extra point to produce the halftime score of 21-7 Baltimore. Roethlisberger tied the game with touchdown passes of 9 and 8 yards to Heath Miller and Hines Ward, and the tying point coming from Suisham's foot. Suisham and Cundiff exchanged field goals in the fourth quarter, with Suisham good from 35 yards and Cundiff from 24 yards away. With the score tied at 24 with under 2 minutes in the game, Mendenhall runs a 2 yard touchdown in, and Suisham supplies the extra point to make it 31-24 Steelers. The Ravens failed to recover, and were eliminated by that score from the playoffs, with Pittsburgh waiting to see if they will host the New York Jets or travel to New England next weekend.
Hopping to the NFC Divisional game between the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta dented the scoreboard first with a Michael Turner touchdown run of 12 yards, and Matt Bryant provided the extra point. Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay answered in the second quarter with a 6 yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson, followed by a Mason Crosby extra point. However, the ensuing kickoff was fateful, as Eric Weems returned the ball 102 yards for the Falcons, and Bryant put them up 14-7 with the extra point. John Kuhn got the Packers back together and ran a touchdown in for 1 yard, allowing a tying extra point by Crosby. Rodgers gave Green Bay the lead with a 20 yard touchdown connection with James Jones, followed by yet another Crosby extra point. Hoping to take momentum into the locker room, Matt Ryan threw one up for Atlanta, and Tramon Williams picked it off and ran it in 70 yards to give the Packers some push, putting them up 28-14 at half with Crosby making his extra point. Rodgers took to the ground to extend the lead for Green Bay, running 7 yards to crack the goal line, with Crosby adding another extra point. Rodgers found Kuhn for 7 yards as well, and after a Crosby extra point, it was all but certain the the Packers had strong control over the game at 42-14. Ryan passed to Roddy White for a 6 yard touchdown as a last whimper for the Falcons, with Bryant's extra point making the score 42-21. Crosby put the Falcons out of their misery after two more field goals, from 43 and 32 yards to bring the final to 48-21, with Green Bay either traveling to Chicago or Seattle depending on who wins the match today.
Into day 2 of the divisional weekend, with the Chicago Bears hosting the Seattle Seahawks. Jay Cutler put Chicago out front early when connecting with Greg Olsen for 58 yards and a touchdown, followed by a Robbie Gould extra point. Chester Taylor extended the Bears lead with a 1 yard touchdown run, with Gould adding another extra point. Cutler took matters in his own hands for the third touchdown, running in 6 yards for the score, allowing another Gould extra point. The score going into halftime was 21-0, and the Bears extended the lead once more on the legs of Cutler, with his second touchdown rush, this time of 9 yards, and Gould was true on the extra point to make it 28-0. Seattle decided it would be good to actually score some points and Olindo Mare blasted a 30 yard field goal through the uprights. Matt Hasselbeck continued the scoring for the Seahawks, finding Mike Williams in the end zone for a 2 yard touchdown, with Mare making the extra point. Cutler's pass to Kellen Davis for 39 yards was good enough to be a dagger for Seattle's comeback hopes, with that touchdown and the subsequent extra point making it 35-10. Hasselbeck added two more touchdown passes, of 3 and 9 yards to Williams and Brandon Stokley, and after Mare's two extra points, the score stood at its eventual final of 35-24 Bears over Seahawks. Chicago advanced to the NFC Championship, staying at home to host their fierce rivals, the Green Bay Packers. Seattle, after a surprising season and playoff run will return home.
Lastly, the most hyped and trash-talked match between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots. Shayne Graham opened the scoring by booting a 34 yard field goal in for New England. Mark Sanchez and New York answered in the second quarter with two touchdown passes, one of 7 yards to LaDainian Tomlinson and the other for Braylon "Banana Feet... err... Hands" Edwards for 15 yards. Footsmith Nick Folk came on for both extra points. The Patriots came back in the third quarter as Tom Brady connected with Alge Crumpler for 2 yards and a touchdown, and the two point conversion by the quick-footed Sammy Morris was successful. Sanchez answered back for the Jets with a touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes for 7 yards and a touchdown, allowing Folk to nail another extra point in. Graham came back out for another field goal, this time of 35 yards, putting New England down only 21-14. Shonn Greene however turned New York's fortunes around and put them up by a more comfortable lead by running with flying feet 16 yards to find the end zone, with Folk kicking in another extra point. Brady attempted to get the Patriots back into the game, allowing Deion Branch to catch a 13 yard touchdown pass and plant his feet for the score, before Graham knocked in the extra point. The onside kick was no good, and the Jets held on to win by a toe, or a touchdown (whatever Rex Ryan thinks) by the 28-21 score. The Patriots started to book tee times, while Rex Ryan and the Jets could go home and kick their feet up on the foot stools. Final count on bad foot puns aimed at Rex Ryan: 8, so I lose to Wes Welker.
Next week will feature two games to determine who plays in the Super Bowl. I, as a fan, no longer care that much, but because you readers do, I'll grudgingly cover the games.
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