There are ten games of hockey on Saturday, with only one in the afternoon. This one game has the...
Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Marc-Andre Fleury got the starts. Forty-six seconds into the game, Montreal took the lead with Tomas Plekanec's 21st of the season, assisted by Michael Cammalleri. Twenty-four seconds into the second frame, the Canadiens extended their lead with Travis Moen's fourth of the year, courtesy of Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez. Cammalleri made it 3-0 Montreal with his 16th of the season, with Jeff Halpern snagging the lone assist. Brent Johnson relieved Marc-Andre Fleury after this goal. This would be the final after a scoreless third period, with Price (26 save shutout), Cammalleri, and Plekanec getting the three stars.
To the games at the normal times with the Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and James Reimer were in front of the nets. Buffalo commanded the first lead with Mike Weber sinking his fourth of the season thanks to Tim Connolly and Rob Niedermayer. Toronto tied it with Clarke MacArthur's 20th of the year, helped along by Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin. The Maple Leafs took the lead with a Tyler Bozak goal in the second period, his eleventh of the season guided in by Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. The Sabres replied with Jochen Hecht netting his 12th of the year, courtesy of Andrej Sekera and Thomas Vanek. Buffalo regained the lead with the 12th of the season from Jordan Leopold, a power play goal powered by Tyler Ennis and Cody McCormick. Toronto tied it with Grabovski notching his 27th of the year, fueled by Carl Gunnarsson and Dion Phaneuf. The Maple Leafs took the lead with Kessel netting his 28th of the season, with Luke Schenn and the goalie James Reimer providing the assists. The final had Toronto winning 4-3, with the three stars awarded to Reimer (39 for 42 saves), Kessel and Grabovski.
Down to Florida for the all-state battle between the host Panthers and visiting Tampa Bay Lightning. Mike Smith and Scott Clemmensen opposed each other as the backups snagged the starts. Florida opened the scoring with David Booth sinking his 21st of the season, coming from Mike Weaver and Keaton Ellerby. Tampa Bay replied on the power play as Steven Stamkos notched his 43rd of the year, with the help of Martin St. Louis and Simon Gagne present. The Panthers retook the lead with Ryan Carter netting his second of the season, helped along by Dmitry Kulikov. Niclas Bergfors added on for Florida with his 12th of the year, courtesy of Jason Garrison and Stephen Weiss. The Lightning regained one goal as Vincent Lecavalier sank his 17th of the season on the power play with St. Louis and Gagne helping out. Tampa Bay tied it with Gagne on the power play with his eleventh of the year, assisted by Lecavalier and Stamkos. The Panthers defeated the Lightning in the overtime that ensued with Garrison netting his fourth of the campaign, courtesy of Mike Santorelli and Marty Reasoner. Garrison, Gagne, and Stamkos got the three stars.
Into Pennsylvania for the second time today, as the Philadelphia Flyers hosted the Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Sergei Bobrovsky got the starting nods. Philadelphia struck first with Ville Leino potting his 15th of the season with the help of Scott Hartnell and Danny Briere. The Flyers kept going with Kimmo Timonen recording his fifth of the year shorthanded, with Mike Richards and Claude Giroux picking up the helpers. Leino struck again with his second of the game and 16th of the season, a power play goal for Philadelphia with Richards and Kris Versteeg helping it along, and allowing Chris Mason to relieve Ondrej Pavelec. Atlanta got on the board in the third period with an unassisted goal by Evander Kane, his 18th of the year. The Thrashers pulled closer with Zach Bogosian potting his fifth of the season, with helpers credited to Blake Wheeler and Andrew Ladd. The Flyers answered quickly with Leino finishing off his hat trick on his 17th of the year, another power play goal, with Timonen and Richards picking up the assists, the latter getting his third of the game for a sock trick. Tobias Enstrom got a goal for Atlanta, putting the score at 4-3 with his tenth of the season, a power play goal helped in by Anthony Stewart and Nik Antropov. Ladd tied it at 4 for the Thrashers with his 26th of the year with forty-five seconds left in regulation, and Bryan Little picked up the helper. Atlanta capped the comeback in overtime and defeated Philadelphia with Ron Hainsey's third of the campaign, helped in by Kane and Stewart. Leino, Hainsey, and Richards got the three stars.
Into New Jersey, where the Devils hosted the New York Islanders. Al Montoya and Martin Brodeur tended the twines. Jacob Josefson put New Jersey on the board early with his first of the season, helped along by David Clarkson and Anton Volchenkov. New York entered the scoring in the second period with a shorthanded goal from Blake Comeau, his 20th of the year getting help from Jack Hillen. The Islanders took a lead when John Tavares sank his 25th of the season, fueled by Matt Moulson and Andrew MacDonald. The Devils retied it in the third period with Clarkson netting his tenth of the season off of Mattias Tedenby and Josefson. The tie lasted into overtime, where New Jersey defeated New York on Anssi Salmela's first of the campaign, with help from Tedenby and Patrik Elias. The three stars went to Salmela, Clarkson, and Josefson.
Back south again to Carolina, where the Hurricanes hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets. Steve Mason and Cam Ward dominated the creases. Columbus was the first on the board with a shorthanded goal by Samuel Pahlsson, assisted by Derek Dorsett and Kris Russell. The Blue Jackets extended their lead early in the second period with a Derek MacKenzie goal, his seventh of the year, with Matt Calvert and Jan Hejda providing the helpers. Carolina finally got on the board in the third period with a Jeff Skinner goal, his 24th of the season, made possible by Erik Cole and Jussi Jokinen. MacKenzie added an insurance goal Columbus with his second of the game and eighth of the year, with help from Grant Clitsome. The Hurricanes replied quickly with Tuomo Ruutu netting his 17th of the season, thanks to Eric Staal and Jay Harrison. The final stood at 3-2 Columbus with the three stars going to MacKenzie, Pahlsson, and Mason (29 for 31 saves).
Westward to Nashville, where the Predators hosted the Colorado Avalanche. Peter Budaj and Pekka Rinne stood in the blue paint. Nashville took control early with Shea Weber notching his 15th of the season off of Joel Ward and Martin Erat. Matt Halischuk extended the lead for the Predators with his second of the year, helped along by Kevin Klein and Blake Geoffrion. Colorado got on the board with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his eighth of the season going in off of David Van Der Gulik and David Jones. Nashville restored their two-goal lead with Ward potting his tenth of the year unassisted. The Avalanche replied again with a Daniel Winnik goal, his ninth of the season gathering steam from Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Byrne. The Predators secured victory at a 4-2 margin with Erat's empty netter with two seconds remaining in the game, his 13th goal of the year going in unassisted. The three stars went to Ward, O'Reilly, and Weber.
West again to Missouri, where the St. Louis Blues hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Jaroslav Halak guarded the cages. St. Louis opened the scoring with the first of the season by Adam Cracknell, guided along by Ryan Reaves and Cam Janssen. Ruslan Salei answered for Detroit with his second of the year, an unassisted goal. Darren Helm gave the Red Wings a lead with his eleventh of the season, assisted by Justin Abdelkader and Kris Draper. Detroit kept going with the eleventh of the year for Niklas Kronwall on the power play with helpers given to Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen. The Blues got a goal back as David Backes netted his 25th of the season with assists from Andy McDonald and Matt D'Agostini. D'Agostini tied it for St. Louis with his 15th of the year, helped along by Kevin Shattenkirk. The Red Wings retook the lead on a Datsyuk goal, his 22nd of the season draining thanks to Tomas Holmstrom and Kronwall. Detroit continued on with a Abdelkader goal, his fifth of the year made possible by Kronwall and Brad Stuart. The final would be 5-3 for the Red Wings, with Kronwall, Datsyuk and Helm gathering up the three stars.
Along to western Canada, where the Calgary Flames host the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Miikka Kiprusoff play between the pipes. Calgary gets off to an early lead with Mikael Backlund notching his eighth of the season unassisted. The Flames extend their lead with a Matt Stajan goal from Tim Jackman and Cory Sarich, good for his sixth of the year. Vancouver got on the board with the 34th of the season by Ryan Kesler, a power play goal powered by Mikael Samuelsson and Henrik Sedin. The Canucks tied it in the second period with a Daniel Sedin goal, his 36th of the year, with helpers credited to Henrik and Christian Ehrhoff. Calgary retook the lead with David Moss sending home his 17th of the season, with the help of Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay required. Alexandre Burrows retied the game for Vancouver by notching his 20th of the year, courtesy of Daniel and Ehrhoff. Daniel netted his second of the game and 37th of the season for the Canucks on the power play, with assistance from Kesler and the sock trick earning Ehrhoff giving them the lead. This 4-3 lead would hold up to be the final after a silent third period, and the three stars went to Daniel, Backlund, and Ehrhoff.
Down to San Jose, where the Sharks host the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Antti Niemi tended the cages. San Jose opened the scoring with Ryane Clowe on the power play, his 22nd of the season going in thanks to efforts from Logan Couture and Dan Boyle. Erik Christensen replied for New York by nailing his tenth of the year, coming off of Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik. The Rangers took the lead in the third period with the second goal of the season by Mike Sauer, assisted by Ruslan Fedotenko and Brandon Prust. The Sharks retied it with the fifth of the year by Ben Eager, courtesy of Torrey Mitchell and Boyle. The tei at 2 lasted into a shootout, where Boyle exchanged a goal with Wojtek Wolski before New York secured a victory over San Jose on the Brandon Dubinsky marker. The three stars were given to Lundqvist (31 for 33 saves), Dan Girardi, and Boyle.
That's all of Saturday games. Sunday has five games and a sandwich post to come later.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Friday hockey recap
Friday brought along another eight games to cover. The first was in...
Columbus, where the Blue Jackets hosted the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Bernier and Steve Mason made the starts. Los Angeles opened the scoring with Anze Kopitar sinking his 22nd of the season on the power play, with the help of Jack Johnson and Justin Williams being required. Scottie Upshall answered for Columbus on his 19th of the year, helped along by Derek Dorsett. Kopitar gave the Kings the lead back with his second of the game and 23rd of the season, with guidance from Drew Doughty and Williams. Kopitar also extended the lead to 3-1 Los Angeles in the second period, completing the hat trick with his 24th of the year, assisted on by Dustin Brown and Matt Greene. The Blue Jackets got a goal back when Derick Brassard netted his 15th of the season off of Rick Nash and Fedor Tyutin. It wouldn't be enough, as the Kings closed the door for a 4-2 victory with Williams' 22nd of the year, finding twine with the help of Dustin Penner and Doughty. The three stars were awarded to Kopitar, Williams, and Upshall.
Heading back east to Washington, D.C., where the Capitals hosted the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Braden Holtby played in the creases. The scoring was silent until late in the second period, when Tuomo Ruutu gave Carolina the lead on his 16th of the season, helped along by Cory Stillman and Bryan Allen. Alex Ovechkin tied it early in the third period for Washington with his 28th of the campaign, courtesy of Marcus Johansson and Mike Knuble. Matt Hendricks gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead with his eighth of the year, made possible by Jason Arnott. This lead would not be relinquished, and the three stars went out to Hendricks, Holtby (40 for 41 saves), and Ward (24 for 26 saves).
Heading off to Long Island, where the New York Islanders hosted the Boston Bruins. Tim Thomas and Al Montoya guarded the cages. Boston opened the scoring with a Nathan Horton goal, his 20th of the season, with helpers credited to Milan Lucic and David Krejci. The Bruins extended their lead with Zdeno Chara netting his 12th of the year on the power play, guided in by Krejci and Tomas Kaberle. New York got on the board with two seconds left in the second period, a power play goal from Matt Moulson being the tally, his 29th of the season being powered by John Tavares and P.A. Parenteau. The Islanders tied it in the third period with Michael Grabner potting his 28th of the year, courtesy of Kyle Okposo and Milan Jurcina. New York obtained the lead with Jack Hillen notching his fourth of the season, fueled by Radek Martinek and Okposo. With ten seconds left in the game, the Islanders secured a 4-2 victory on Parenteau registering his 16th of the year, with the help of Moulson. Hillen, Okposo, and Moulson got the three stars.
South to Atlanta, where the Thrashers hosted the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur and Ondrej Pavelec tended the twines. Atlanta opened the scoring in the second period with a Blake Wheeler goal, his 15th of the season coming via Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little. New Jersey tied it with a Travis Zajac goal on the power play, his eleventh of the year gathering steam off of Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston. The Thrashers reclaimed the lead in the third period with Dustin Byfuglien netting his 20th of the campaign on the power play, with the help of Tobias Enstrom and Little being required. The Devils tied it again with yet another power play goal, with Ilya Kovalchuk sending his 25th of the season to the back of the net thanks to efforts from Nick Palmieri and Mark Fayne. New Jersey toppled Atlanta in the overtime period with a power play goal by Zajac, his second of the game and 12th of the year, helped along by Elias and Kovalchuk. The three stars went to Zajac, Little, and Elias.
Heading up to Detroit, where the Red Wings hosted the Edmonton Oilers. Devan Dubnyk and Jimmy Howard put on the masks. Edmonton opened the scoring with a Ryan Jones goal, his 15th of the year, finding the net thanks to Jim Vandermeer. With twenty-five seconds left in regulation, Nicklas Lidstrom pounded home his 14th of the campaign, with Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen picking up the assists. Datsyuk gave the Red Wings the victory in the overtime by a 2-1 margin on his 21st of the year, made possible by Franzen and Niklas Kronwall. The three stars went to Dubnyk (42 for 44 saves), Datsyuk, and Lidstrom.
Back south again to Tampa Bay, where the Lightning hosted the Ottawa Senators. Curtis McElhinney opposed Dwayne Roloson in his first Senators start. Jason Spezza put Ottawa up first with his 13th of the season, a power play goal from Ryan Shannon and Erik Karlsson. The Senators extended their lead when Bobby Butler sank his seventh of the campaign, assisted by Sergei Gonchar and Colin Greening. Tampa Bay got on the board in the third period with a power play goal by Martin St. Louis, his 26th of the year going down thanks to Teddy Purcell and Steven Stamkos. This wouldn't be enough, as the offense shut down again for a 2-1 Senators victory, and the three stars belonged to McElhinney (34 for 35 saves), Karlsson, and Dominic Moore.
Westward to Dallas, where the Stars hosted the Minnesota Wild. Jose Theodore and Kari Lethonen backstopped their teams. Dallas was the first to score with a Jamie Benn goal, his 19th of the season assisted on by Jamie Langenbrunner and Nicklas Grossman. Trevor Daley extended the Stars lead with his seventh of the year, with Mike Ribeiro and Langenbrunner picking up the helpers. Tom Wandell kept Dallas going with his sixth of the season, powered by Loui Eriksson and Brad Richards. The Stars made it 4-0 with Ribeiro sinking his 15th of the year unassisted. After a silent third period, this became the final, with Lethonen (14 save shutout), Ribeiro, and Benn getting the three stars.
Finally, heading to Denver, where the Colorado Avalanche hosted the Anaheim Ducks. Dan Ellis and Brian Elliott played between the pipes. Colorado got on the board first late in the first period with Ryan O'Reilly sinking his seventh of the season, with the help of Ryan Wilson and Ryan O'Byrne (the all-Ryan goal). Thirty-four seconds into the second period, Anaheim tied it with Saku Koivu sinking his 14th of the year, assisted by Teemu Selanne and Luca Sbisa. The Ducks took the lead with Ryan Getzlaf netting his 17th of the season on the power play, powered by Corey Perry and Selanne. The Avalanche tied the game at 2 with a David Jones goal, his 24th of the year, coming off of Paul Stastny and Erik Johnson. Anaheim retook the lead with Perry's 34th of the season, courtesy of Getzlaf. Dan Sexton kept the Ducks going with his fourth of the year, thanks to Brandon McMillan. Bobby Ryan also scored for Anaheim in the third period, with his 32nd of the season being helped in by Lubomir Visnovsky and Getzlaf. The Ducks secured their victory at 6-2 with Brad Winchester registering his tenth of the year, as Koivu and Sbisa picked up the assists. The three stars belonged to Getzlaf, Perry, and Johnson.
Columbus, where the Blue Jackets hosted the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Bernier and Steve Mason made the starts. Los Angeles opened the scoring with Anze Kopitar sinking his 22nd of the season on the power play, with the help of Jack Johnson and Justin Williams being required. Scottie Upshall answered for Columbus on his 19th of the year, helped along by Derek Dorsett. Kopitar gave the Kings the lead back with his second of the game and 23rd of the season, with guidance from Drew Doughty and Williams. Kopitar also extended the lead to 3-1 Los Angeles in the second period, completing the hat trick with his 24th of the year, assisted on by Dustin Brown and Matt Greene. The Blue Jackets got a goal back when Derick Brassard netted his 15th of the season off of Rick Nash and Fedor Tyutin. It wouldn't be enough, as the Kings closed the door for a 4-2 victory with Williams' 22nd of the year, finding twine with the help of Dustin Penner and Doughty. The three stars were awarded to Kopitar, Williams, and Upshall.
Heading back east to Washington, D.C., where the Capitals hosted the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Braden Holtby played in the creases. The scoring was silent until late in the second period, when Tuomo Ruutu gave Carolina the lead on his 16th of the season, helped along by Cory Stillman and Bryan Allen. Alex Ovechkin tied it early in the third period for Washington with his 28th of the campaign, courtesy of Marcus Johansson and Mike Knuble. Matt Hendricks gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead with his eighth of the year, made possible by Jason Arnott. This lead would not be relinquished, and the three stars went out to Hendricks, Holtby (40 for 41 saves), and Ward (24 for 26 saves).
Heading off to Long Island, where the New York Islanders hosted the Boston Bruins. Tim Thomas and Al Montoya guarded the cages. Boston opened the scoring with a Nathan Horton goal, his 20th of the season, with helpers credited to Milan Lucic and David Krejci. The Bruins extended their lead with Zdeno Chara netting his 12th of the year on the power play, guided in by Krejci and Tomas Kaberle. New York got on the board with two seconds left in the second period, a power play goal from Matt Moulson being the tally, his 29th of the season being powered by John Tavares and P.A. Parenteau. The Islanders tied it in the third period with Michael Grabner potting his 28th of the year, courtesy of Kyle Okposo and Milan Jurcina. New York obtained the lead with Jack Hillen notching his fourth of the season, fueled by Radek Martinek and Okposo. With ten seconds left in the game, the Islanders secured a 4-2 victory on Parenteau registering his 16th of the year, with the help of Moulson. Hillen, Okposo, and Moulson got the three stars.
South to Atlanta, where the Thrashers hosted the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur and Ondrej Pavelec tended the twines. Atlanta opened the scoring in the second period with a Blake Wheeler goal, his 15th of the season coming via Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little. New Jersey tied it with a Travis Zajac goal on the power play, his eleventh of the year gathering steam off of Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston. The Thrashers reclaimed the lead in the third period with Dustin Byfuglien netting his 20th of the campaign on the power play, with the help of Tobias Enstrom and Little being required. The Devils tied it again with yet another power play goal, with Ilya Kovalchuk sending his 25th of the season to the back of the net thanks to efforts from Nick Palmieri and Mark Fayne. New Jersey toppled Atlanta in the overtime period with a power play goal by Zajac, his second of the game and 12th of the year, helped along by Elias and Kovalchuk. The three stars went to Zajac, Little, and Elias.
Heading up to Detroit, where the Red Wings hosted the Edmonton Oilers. Devan Dubnyk and Jimmy Howard put on the masks. Edmonton opened the scoring with a Ryan Jones goal, his 15th of the year, finding the net thanks to Jim Vandermeer. With twenty-five seconds left in regulation, Nicklas Lidstrom pounded home his 14th of the campaign, with Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen picking up the assists. Datsyuk gave the Red Wings the victory in the overtime by a 2-1 margin on his 21st of the year, made possible by Franzen and Niklas Kronwall. The three stars went to Dubnyk (42 for 44 saves), Datsyuk, and Lidstrom.
Back south again to Tampa Bay, where the Lightning hosted the Ottawa Senators. Curtis McElhinney opposed Dwayne Roloson in his first Senators start. Jason Spezza put Ottawa up first with his 13th of the season, a power play goal from Ryan Shannon and Erik Karlsson. The Senators extended their lead when Bobby Butler sank his seventh of the campaign, assisted by Sergei Gonchar and Colin Greening. Tampa Bay got on the board in the third period with a power play goal by Martin St. Louis, his 26th of the year going down thanks to Teddy Purcell and Steven Stamkos. This wouldn't be enough, as the offense shut down again for a 2-1 Senators victory, and the three stars belonged to McElhinney (34 for 35 saves), Karlsson, and Dominic Moore.
Westward to Dallas, where the Stars hosted the Minnesota Wild. Jose Theodore and Kari Lethonen backstopped their teams. Dallas was the first to score with a Jamie Benn goal, his 19th of the season assisted on by Jamie Langenbrunner and Nicklas Grossman. Trevor Daley extended the Stars lead with his seventh of the year, with Mike Ribeiro and Langenbrunner picking up the helpers. Tom Wandell kept Dallas going with his sixth of the season, powered by Loui Eriksson and Brad Richards. The Stars made it 4-0 with Ribeiro sinking his 15th of the year unassisted. After a silent third period, this became the final, with Lethonen (14 save shutout), Ribeiro, and Benn getting the three stars.
Finally, heading to Denver, where the Colorado Avalanche hosted the Anaheim Ducks. Dan Ellis and Brian Elliott played between the pipes. Colorado got on the board first late in the first period with Ryan O'Reilly sinking his seventh of the season, with the help of Ryan Wilson and Ryan O'Byrne (the all-Ryan goal). Thirty-four seconds into the second period, Anaheim tied it with Saku Koivu sinking his 14th of the year, assisted by Teemu Selanne and Luca Sbisa. The Ducks took the lead with Ryan Getzlaf netting his 17th of the season on the power play, powered by Corey Perry and Selanne. The Avalanche tied the game at 2 with a David Jones goal, his 24th of the year, coming off of Paul Stastny and Erik Johnson. Anaheim retook the lead with Perry's 34th of the season, courtesy of Getzlaf. Dan Sexton kept the Ducks going with his fourth of the year, thanks to Brandon McMillan. Bobby Ryan also scored for Anaheim in the third period, with his 32nd of the season being helped in by Lubomir Visnovsky and Getzlaf. The Ducks secured their victory at 6-2 with Brad Winchester registering his tenth of the year, as Koivu and Sbisa picked up the assists. The three stars belonged to Getzlaf, Perry, and Johnson.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday Hockey Games
On Thursday, we had seven games to be played. We started off with...
The Boston Bruins hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Tim Thomas took their places in front of the nets. The first game action was a fight between Cody McCormick and Gregory Campbell. Boston opened the scoring with a Nathan Horton goal, his 19th of the season coming off of Milan Lucic and David Krejci. The Bruins extended their lead in the second period with the 12th of the year by Mark Recchi. Buffalo got on the board twenty-seven seconds later with the 15th of the season from Tyler Ennis, coming via Steve Montador and Drew Stafford. Thomas Vanek struck for the Sabres to tie the game with his 24th of the year, a power play goal made possible by Ennis and Tyler Myers. The second period closed with a pair of fights, as Paul Gaustad danced with Adam McQuaid before McCormick came around for round two, going with Lucic this time. Campbell put Boston back in front in the third period with his tenth of the season, helped along by Zdeno Chara and Shawn Thornton. Buffalo retied it with a power play goal from Tim Connolly, powered by Vanek and Brad Boyes, good as his ninth of the year. The Sabres took the Bruins down in the resulting overtime, with Boyes sinking his 15th of the campaign off Nathan Gerbe to secure victory at 4-3. Boyes, Ennis, and Horton got the three stars.
Heading north to Toronto, where the Maple Leafs hosted the Philadelphia Flyers. Brian Boucher and James Reimer played in the creases. Philadelphia opened the scoring with Andrej Meszaros sinking his sixth of the season on the power play with the help of Claude Giroux and Danny Briere. The Flyers extended the lead with Darroll Powe notching his sixth of the year, with Matt Carle picking up the lone assist. Toronto got on the board with a power play goal from Mikhail Grabovski, his 26th of the campaign seeing the sticks of Dion Phaneuf and Clarke MacArthur previously. Giroux restored the two-goal lead for Philadelphia on his 22nd of the season, helped along by James van Riemsdyk and Jeff Carter. The Maple Leafs attempted a rally with Joffrey Lupul netting his ninth of the year, with Mike Brown and Tim Brent being credited with the assists. This would not be enough, as the final stood at 3-2, with the three stars belonging to Giroux, Grabovski, and Boucher (27 for 29 saves).
Moving south to Florida, where the Panthers hosted the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Tomas Vokoun were called on for the starts. Ottawa took a 2-0 lead in the third period with two Erik Karlsson goals, his tenth and eleventh of the season, with helpers being given out to Filip Kuba and Nick Foligno on the earlier goal at even strength and Bobby Butler and Sergei Gonchar on the latter power play goal. Florida got one goal back with the second of the year by Clan Wilson, assisted by Niclas Bergfors and Michal Repik. The final stood at 2-1 with the three stars given to Anderson (33 for 34 saves), Karlsson, and Wilson got the three stars.
Westward to St. Louis with the Blues hosting the Montreal Canadiens. Former teammates Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak tended the twines. Montreal opened the scoring with Jeff Halpern sinking his eleventh of the season, with helpers credited to Alexandre Picard and Paul Mara. St. Louis tied it with David Backes registering his 24th of the year, fueled by Andy McDonald. McDonald gave the Blues the lead with his 17th of the campaign, assisted by Matt D'Agostini. D'Agostini extended the lead with his 14th of the season, allowing McDonald to return the favor of assistance. The Blues secured a 4-1 win with T.J. Oshie potting his eighth of the year into an empty net thanks to Patrik Berglund. The three stars went to Halak (27 for 28 saves), McDonald, and D'Agostini.
Into Tennessee, with the Nashville Predators hosting the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Pekka Rinne were in between the pipes. Nashville busted open the scoring with Joel Ward potting his ninth of the season, courtesy of David Legwand and Martin Erat. Nick Spaling made it 2-0 Predators with his sixth of the year, helped along the way by Jerred Smithson and Matt Halischuk. Erat continued the scoring for Nashville by tacking on his 12th of the season, guided in by Ward and Legwand. After a silent second period, the Predators gained a 4-0 lead in the third period with the second goal of the game and seventh of the year by Spaling, finding twine with help from Shea Weber and Sergei Kostitsyn. This was the final, and the three stars went to Spaling, Rinne (19 save shutout), and Ward.
West again to Phoenix, where the Coyotes hosted the Calgary Flames. Henrik Karlsson and Ilya Bryzgalov put on the masks. The game went scoreless until the second period, when Phoenix's Brett MacLean put away his second of the season, with the help of Mikkel Boedker and Kyle Turris being required. The Coyotes extended the lead with Eric Belanger netting his eleventh of the campaign, fueled by Derek Morris and Keith Yandle. Shane Doan secured a 3-0 victory for Phoenix with his 16th of the year into an empty net unassisted. The three stars were given to Bryzgalov (39 save shutout), Boedker and Belanger.
Lastly, the San Jose Sharks hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider and Antti Niemi started in front of the cages. Alexandre Burrows put Vancouver on the board first with his 19th of the season, with helpers from the Sedin twins Daniel and Henrik. The Canucks extended their lead with the third of the year by Sami Salo, a power play goal powered by Dan Hamhuis and Manny Malhotra. San Jose started scoring in the second period with a Devin Setoguchi goal, his 19th of the season coming with the help of Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. The Sharks tied it with the 20th of the year by Ryane Clowe, assisted by Logan Couture and Ian White. Vancouver reclaimed the lead with Mason Raymond's 12th lamplighter of the season, made possible by Mikael Samuelsson and Ryan Kesler. San Jose tied it again with the fifth of the year by Torrey Mitchell, with the helpers credited to Kyle Wellwood and White. Twenty-four seconds later, the Canucks took the lead again with Daniel sinking his 35th of the season on the power play, seeing the sticks of Henrik and Christian Ehrhoff before finding the twine. The Sharks recovered with another equalizer to tie the game at 4, as Clowe sank his second of the game and 21st of the year on the power play, guided by Thornton and Dany Heatley. The tie lasted into the shootout, where Vancouver defeated San Jose on the lone tally by Burrows. The three stars were given to Clowe, Mitchell, and Schneider (44 for 48 saves).
The Boston Bruins hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Tim Thomas took their places in front of the nets. The first game action was a fight between Cody McCormick and Gregory Campbell. Boston opened the scoring with a Nathan Horton goal, his 19th of the season coming off of Milan Lucic and David Krejci. The Bruins extended their lead in the second period with the 12th of the year by Mark Recchi. Buffalo got on the board twenty-seven seconds later with the 15th of the season from Tyler Ennis, coming via Steve Montador and Drew Stafford. Thomas Vanek struck for the Sabres to tie the game with his 24th of the year, a power play goal made possible by Ennis and Tyler Myers. The second period closed with a pair of fights, as Paul Gaustad danced with Adam McQuaid before McCormick came around for round two, going with Lucic this time. Campbell put Boston back in front in the third period with his tenth of the season, helped along by Zdeno Chara and Shawn Thornton. Buffalo retied it with a power play goal from Tim Connolly, powered by Vanek and Brad Boyes, good as his ninth of the year. The Sabres took the Bruins down in the resulting overtime, with Boyes sinking his 15th of the campaign off Nathan Gerbe to secure victory at 4-3. Boyes, Ennis, and Horton got the three stars.
Heading north to Toronto, where the Maple Leafs hosted the Philadelphia Flyers. Brian Boucher and James Reimer played in the creases. Philadelphia opened the scoring with Andrej Meszaros sinking his sixth of the season on the power play with the help of Claude Giroux and Danny Briere. The Flyers extended the lead with Darroll Powe notching his sixth of the year, with Matt Carle picking up the lone assist. Toronto got on the board with a power play goal from Mikhail Grabovski, his 26th of the campaign seeing the sticks of Dion Phaneuf and Clarke MacArthur previously. Giroux restored the two-goal lead for Philadelphia on his 22nd of the season, helped along by James van Riemsdyk and Jeff Carter. The Maple Leafs attempted a rally with Joffrey Lupul netting his ninth of the year, with Mike Brown and Tim Brent being credited with the assists. This would not be enough, as the final stood at 3-2, with the three stars belonging to Giroux, Grabovski, and Boucher (27 for 29 saves).
Moving south to Florida, where the Panthers hosted the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Tomas Vokoun were called on for the starts. Ottawa took a 2-0 lead in the third period with two Erik Karlsson goals, his tenth and eleventh of the season, with helpers being given out to Filip Kuba and Nick Foligno on the earlier goal at even strength and Bobby Butler and Sergei Gonchar on the latter power play goal. Florida got one goal back with the second of the year by Clan Wilson, assisted by Niclas Bergfors and Michal Repik. The final stood at 2-1 with the three stars given to Anderson (33 for 34 saves), Karlsson, and Wilson got the three stars.
Westward to St. Louis with the Blues hosting the Montreal Canadiens. Former teammates Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak tended the twines. Montreal opened the scoring with Jeff Halpern sinking his eleventh of the season, with helpers credited to Alexandre Picard and Paul Mara. St. Louis tied it with David Backes registering his 24th of the year, fueled by Andy McDonald. McDonald gave the Blues the lead with his 17th of the campaign, assisted by Matt D'Agostini. D'Agostini extended the lead with his 14th of the season, allowing McDonald to return the favor of assistance. The Blues secured a 4-1 win with T.J. Oshie potting his eighth of the year into an empty net thanks to Patrik Berglund. The three stars went to Halak (27 for 28 saves), McDonald, and D'Agostini.
Into Tennessee, with the Nashville Predators hosting the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Pekka Rinne were in between the pipes. Nashville busted open the scoring with Joel Ward potting his ninth of the season, courtesy of David Legwand and Martin Erat. Nick Spaling made it 2-0 Predators with his sixth of the year, helped along the way by Jerred Smithson and Matt Halischuk. Erat continued the scoring for Nashville by tacking on his 12th of the season, guided in by Ward and Legwand. After a silent second period, the Predators gained a 4-0 lead in the third period with the second goal of the game and seventh of the year by Spaling, finding twine with help from Shea Weber and Sergei Kostitsyn. This was the final, and the three stars went to Spaling, Rinne (19 save shutout), and Ward.
West again to Phoenix, where the Coyotes hosted the Calgary Flames. Henrik Karlsson and Ilya Bryzgalov put on the masks. The game went scoreless until the second period, when Phoenix's Brett MacLean put away his second of the season, with the help of Mikkel Boedker and Kyle Turris being required. The Coyotes extended the lead with Eric Belanger netting his eleventh of the campaign, fueled by Derek Morris and Keith Yandle. Shane Doan secured a 3-0 victory for Phoenix with his 16th of the year into an empty net unassisted. The three stars were given to Bryzgalov (39 save shutout), Boedker and Belanger.
Lastly, the San Jose Sharks hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider and Antti Niemi started in front of the cages. Alexandre Burrows put Vancouver on the board first with his 19th of the season, with helpers from the Sedin twins Daniel and Henrik. The Canucks extended their lead with the third of the year by Sami Salo, a power play goal powered by Dan Hamhuis and Manny Malhotra. San Jose started scoring in the second period with a Devin Setoguchi goal, his 19th of the season coming with the help of Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. The Sharks tied it with the 20th of the year by Ryane Clowe, assisted by Logan Couture and Ian White. Vancouver reclaimed the lead with Mason Raymond's 12th lamplighter of the season, made possible by Mikael Samuelsson and Ryan Kesler. San Jose tied it again with the fifth of the year by Torrey Mitchell, with the helpers credited to Kyle Wellwood and White. Twenty-four seconds later, the Canucks took the lead again with Daniel sinking his 35th of the season on the power play, seeing the sticks of Henrik and Christian Ehrhoff before finding the twine. The Sharks recovered with another equalizer to tie the game at 4, as Clowe sank his second of the game and 21st of the year on the power play, guided by Thornton and Dany Heatley. The tie lasted into the shootout, where Vancouver defeated San Jose on the lone tally by Burrows. The three stars were given to Clowe, Mitchell, and Schneider (44 for 48 saves).
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday Hockey games
There were seven games on for Wednesday, starting with...
The Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Cam Ward got the starts. Atlanta opened the scoring with his eleventh of the season, courtesy of Evander Kane and Blake Wheeler on the power play. The Thrashers extended their lead with the ninth of the year by Tobias Enstrom, assisted by Nik Antropov and Zach Bogosian. Carolina got on the board in the second period with the first of the campaign for Troy Bodie, guided in by Bryan Allen and Pat Dwyer. The Hurricanes tied it in the third period with Erik Cole's 19th of the season, helped along by Cory Stillman. The tie lasted into overtime, where Atlanta took Carolina down 3-2 with the second of the year by Tim Stapleton, thanks to Ron Hainsey. Pavelec (35 for 37 saves), Stapleton and Cole earned the three stars.
Moving north into Washington, D.C., where the Capitals hosted the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Braden Holtby made the starts. The scoring was silent through the first period before Washington struck with an Alex Ovechkin goal, his 26th of the season coming off of Jason Arnott and Alexander Semin on the power play. The Capitals extended the lead with Eric Fehr sinking his ninth of the year, also a power play goal from John Carlson and Ovechkin. Ovechkin added his second of the night and 27th of the season in the third period, with the help of Marcus Johansson. Fehr also notched his second of the game, and tenth of the year, with helpers credited to Jason Chimera and Brooks Laich. The Capitals made it 5-0, the eventual final, with the 25th of the campaign by Semin, courtesy of Marco Sturm and Dennis Wideman. The three stars went to Ovechkin, Holtby (22 save shutout), and Fehr.
Continuing along to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets hosted the St. Louis Blues. Jaroslav Halak and Mathieu Garon played in the creases. Columbus struck first in the second period, with Jakub Voracek's 14th of the season going down thanks to Derick Brassard and Rick Nash. The Blue Jackets scored again with R.J. Umberger's 21st of the year on the power play, powered by Grant Clitsome and Antoine Vermette. Columbus made it 3-0 with Derek MacKenzie netting his sixth of the season, thanks to Jared Boll and Ethan Moreau. St. Louis got on the board with Alex Pietrangelo netting his ninth of the season off of Alex Steen. Ian Cole pulled the Blues within a goal on his first of the year, assisted by Adam Cracknell. Chris Stewart tied it for St. Louis on his 21st of the year, via David Backes and Cole. The tie lasted into overtime, where Stewart broke it for the Blues, securing a 4-3 victory over the Blue Jackets with his second of the game and 22nd of the campaign, fueled by Carlo Colaiacovo and Kevin Shattenkirk. The three stars went to Stewart, Cole, and MacKenzie.
Heading along to Detroit, with the Red Wings hosting the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Jimmy Howard were between the pipes. Detroit opened the scoring with a Darren Helm goal, his tenth of the season, with the help of Justin Abdelkader and Kris Draper being required. Los Angeles tied it in the second period with Anze Kopitar notching his 21st of the campaign, assisted by Dustin Penner and Justin Williams. The Kings took a 2-1 lead with the power play goal by Dustin Brown, with Alexei Ponikarovsky and Alec Martinez making his 22nd of the year possible. This score would last through the rest of the game, giving the three stars to Quick (28 for 29 saves), Brown, and Helm.
Back to the south, where the Tampa Bay Lightning hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Dwayne Roloson put on the masks. Tampa Bay was the first on the board as Steven Stamkos broke his goal drought with his 42nd of the season, assisted by Martin St. Louis and Brett Clark. Chicago tied it with Patrick Kane sinking his 23rd of the year off of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp. St. Louis gave the Lightning the lead back by notching his 25th of the season, courtesy of Stamkos and Adam Hall. Tampa Bay went up 3-1 with Teddy Purcell registering his 16th of the year, thanks to Victor Hedman and Simon Gagne. The Blackhawks pulled back within a goal with Sharp netting his 34th of the season, with the help of Toews and Kane giving ample support. Toews provided the equalizer for Chicago in the third period by potting his 28th of the year, guided in by Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Seabrook. The tie lasted into a shootout, where the Lightning dispatched the Blackhawks on St. Louis' lone tally, for a 4-3 victory margin. The three stars went to Stamkos, Toews, and St. Louis.
Heading west to Dallas, where the Stars hosted the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Kari Lehtonen tended the twines. Calgary was first on the board with Rene Bourque notching his 23rd of the season with the help of Curtis Glencross and Steve Staios. Tom Kostopolous extended the Flames lead with his sixth of the year, thanks to Tim Jackman and Mikael Backlund. Anton Babchuk made it 3-0 Calgary with his eleventh of the season, an unassisted goal. Dallas finally got on the board after this barrage with Jamie Benn's 18th of the year, a power play goal made possible by Steve Ott and Alex Goligoski. The Stars pulled within a goal on Mike Ribeiro's sinking of his 14th of the season, with the lone assist going to Jeff Woywitka. Dallas found the equalizer with Tomas Vincour netting his first of the year, helped along by Toby Petersen and Woywitka. The tie lasted into the shootout, where Alex Tanguay exchanged a tally with Ribeiro before Glencross propelled the Flames to a 4-3 victory over the Stars. The three stars went to Glencross, Vincour, and Benn.
Continuing west to Anaheim, where the Ducks hosted the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Dan Ellis stood in front of the cages. New York struck first with Brandon Dubinsky netting his 20th of the season, courtesy of Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov. Anaheim tied it with Corey Perry's 32nd of the year, assisted by Bobby Ryan and Lubomir Visnovsky. Visnovsky went on to make it 3-1 Ducks with two goals in a row, his 13th and 14th of the season, with helpers credited to Toni Lydman and Ryan on the first tally and Finns Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu on the second goal. The scoring was silenced through the second period, but Anaheim extended their lead again in the third frame with Ryan sinking his 31st of the year, powered by Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. The Rangers got a goal back on the power play as Marian Gaborik sank his 18th of the season off of Vinny Prospal and Derek Stepan. Perry solidified the game at 5-2 Ducks with his second of the night and 33rd of the year, with the lone assist giving Ryan a sock trick. The three stars of the game were Visnovsky, Ryan, and Perry.
Seven more games come out on Thursday, and will be recapped on Friday.
The Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Cam Ward got the starts. Atlanta opened the scoring with his eleventh of the season, courtesy of Evander Kane and Blake Wheeler on the power play. The Thrashers extended their lead with the ninth of the year by Tobias Enstrom, assisted by Nik Antropov and Zach Bogosian. Carolina got on the board in the second period with the first of the campaign for Troy Bodie, guided in by Bryan Allen and Pat Dwyer. The Hurricanes tied it in the third period with Erik Cole's 19th of the season, helped along by Cory Stillman. The tie lasted into overtime, where Atlanta took Carolina down 3-2 with the second of the year by Tim Stapleton, thanks to Ron Hainsey. Pavelec (35 for 37 saves), Stapleton and Cole earned the three stars.
Moving north into Washington, D.C., where the Capitals hosted the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Braden Holtby made the starts. The scoring was silent through the first period before Washington struck with an Alex Ovechkin goal, his 26th of the season coming off of Jason Arnott and Alexander Semin on the power play. The Capitals extended the lead with Eric Fehr sinking his ninth of the year, also a power play goal from John Carlson and Ovechkin. Ovechkin added his second of the night and 27th of the season in the third period, with the help of Marcus Johansson. Fehr also notched his second of the game, and tenth of the year, with helpers credited to Jason Chimera and Brooks Laich. The Capitals made it 5-0, the eventual final, with the 25th of the campaign by Semin, courtesy of Marco Sturm and Dennis Wideman. The three stars went to Ovechkin, Holtby (22 save shutout), and Fehr.
Continuing along to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets hosted the St. Louis Blues. Jaroslav Halak and Mathieu Garon played in the creases. Columbus struck first in the second period, with Jakub Voracek's 14th of the season going down thanks to Derick Brassard and Rick Nash. The Blue Jackets scored again with R.J. Umberger's 21st of the year on the power play, powered by Grant Clitsome and Antoine Vermette. Columbus made it 3-0 with Derek MacKenzie netting his sixth of the season, thanks to Jared Boll and Ethan Moreau. St. Louis got on the board with Alex Pietrangelo netting his ninth of the season off of Alex Steen. Ian Cole pulled the Blues within a goal on his first of the year, assisted by Adam Cracknell. Chris Stewart tied it for St. Louis on his 21st of the year, via David Backes and Cole. The tie lasted into overtime, where Stewart broke it for the Blues, securing a 4-3 victory over the Blue Jackets with his second of the game and 22nd of the campaign, fueled by Carlo Colaiacovo and Kevin Shattenkirk. The three stars went to Stewart, Cole, and MacKenzie.
Heading along to Detroit, with the Red Wings hosting the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Jimmy Howard were between the pipes. Detroit opened the scoring with a Darren Helm goal, his tenth of the season, with the help of Justin Abdelkader and Kris Draper being required. Los Angeles tied it in the second period with Anze Kopitar notching his 21st of the campaign, assisted by Dustin Penner and Justin Williams. The Kings took a 2-1 lead with the power play goal by Dustin Brown, with Alexei Ponikarovsky and Alec Martinez making his 22nd of the year possible. This score would last through the rest of the game, giving the three stars to Quick (28 for 29 saves), Brown, and Helm.
Back to the south, where the Tampa Bay Lightning hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Dwayne Roloson put on the masks. Tampa Bay was the first on the board as Steven Stamkos broke his goal drought with his 42nd of the season, assisted by Martin St. Louis and Brett Clark. Chicago tied it with Patrick Kane sinking his 23rd of the year off of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp. St. Louis gave the Lightning the lead back by notching his 25th of the season, courtesy of Stamkos and Adam Hall. Tampa Bay went up 3-1 with Teddy Purcell registering his 16th of the year, thanks to Victor Hedman and Simon Gagne. The Blackhawks pulled back within a goal with Sharp netting his 34th of the season, with the help of Toews and Kane giving ample support. Toews provided the equalizer for Chicago in the third period by potting his 28th of the year, guided in by Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Seabrook. The tie lasted into a shootout, where the Lightning dispatched the Blackhawks on St. Louis' lone tally, for a 4-3 victory margin. The three stars went to Stamkos, Toews, and St. Louis.
Heading west to Dallas, where the Stars hosted the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Kari Lehtonen tended the twines. Calgary was first on the board with Rene Bourque notching his 23rd of the season with the help of Curtis Glencross and Steve Staios. Tom Kostopolous extended the Flames lead with his sixth of the year, thanks to Tim Jackman and Mikael Backlund. Anton Babchuk made it 3-0 Calgary with his eleventh of the season, an unassisted goal. Dallas finally got on the board after this barrage with Jamie Benn's 18th of the year, a power play goal made possible by Steve Ott and Alex Goligoski. The Stars pulled within a goal on Mike Ribeiro's sinking of his 14th of the season, with the lone assist going to Jeff Woywitka. Dallas found the equalizer with Tomas Vincour netting his first of the year, helped along by Toby Petersen and Woywitka. The tie lasted into the shootout, where Alex Tanguay exchanged a tally with Ribeiro before Glencross propelled the Flames to a 4-3 victory over the Stars. The three stars went to Glencross, Vincour, and Benn.
Continuing west to Anaheim, where the Ducks hosted the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Dan Ellis stood in front of the cages. New York struck first with Brandon Dubinsky netting his 20th of the season, courtesy of Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov. Anaheim tied it with Corey Perry's 32nd of the year, assisted by Bobby Ryan and Lubomir Visnovsky. Visnovsky went on to make it 3-1 Ducks with two goals in a row, his 13th and 14th of the season, with helpers credited to Toni Lydman and Ryan on the first tally and Finns Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu on the second goal. The scoring was silenced through the second period, but Anaheim extended their lead again in the third frame with Ryan sinking his 31st of the year, powered by Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. The Rangers got a goal back on the power play as Marian Gaborik sank his 18th of the season off of Vinny Prospal and Derek Stepan. Perry solidified the game at 5-2 Ducks with his second of the night and 33rd of the year, with the lone assist giving Ryan a sock trick. The three stars of the game were Visnovsky, Ryan, and Perry.
Seven more games come out on Thursday, and will be recapped on Friday.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Tuesday Hockey recap
On Tuesday, there were nine games of hockey being played. We start off with an inter-conference match between...
The host Philadelphia Flyers and visiting Edmonton Oilers. Devan Dubnyk and Sergei Bobrovsky were called on for the starts. Philadelphia was the first to score with Danny Briere notching his 29th of the season, with help from Matt Carle and Ville Leino. Jeff Carter made it 3-0 Flyers with his 29th and 30th of the year, the first a power play goal powered by Briere and Claude Giroux andthe second coming off of Kimmo Timonen and James van Riemsdyk in the second period. Edmonton got on the board with Jean-Francois Jacques netting his fourth of the season, with Ladislav Smid picking up the lone assist. Blair Betts made it 4-1 for Philadelphia with his fifth of the year, an empty net goal made possible by Giroux. This was the final, and the three stars went to Carter, Briere, and Timonen.
Moving along to New Jersey, where the Devils hosted the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Martin Brodeur played between the pipes. The scoring was opened by Ottawa in the second period with Erik Condra scoring his third of the season, thanks to Ryan Shannon and Colin Greening. New Jersey answered in the third period with Patrik Elias' 15th of the campaign, assisted by Brian Rolston and Dainius Zubrus. Condra put the Senators back in front with his second of the game and fourth of the year, helped along by Jason Spezza and Chris Phillips. The final was 2-1, with Condra, Elias, and Anderson (31 for 32 saves) getting the three stars.
Back into Pennsylvania, where the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Marc-Andre Fleury tended the twines. Buffalo opened the scoring with Rob Niedermayer netting his second of the season, with the lone assist from Tyler Myers. Pittsburgh tied the game in the second period with James Neal's 22nd of the year, fueled by Deryk Engelland and Jordan Staal. The Penguins took a lead with Zbynek Michalek netting his first of the season, with the help of Neal and Mark Letestu being required. Pittsburgh made it 3-1 in the third period with Letestu notching his 12th of the year, assisted by Michalek. This was the final, with the three stars going to Michalek, Neal, and Fleury (29 for 30 saves).
Moving onto Long Island, where the New York Islanders hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Al Montoya got the starting nods. The scoring was opened by New York's Zenon Konopka in the second period, with his second of the season, assisted on by Milan Jurcina and Justin DiBenedetto. Thirty-four seconds later, Toronto notched a reply with Keith Aulie potting his first of the year, courtesy of Tim Brent and Mike Brown. The Islanders retook the lead with Frans Nielsen getting his ninth of the season, thanks to Kyle Okposo and Andrew MacDonald. The Maple Leafs replied again, with Brent registering his eighth of the year thanks to Colby Armstrong. New York took a lead again in the third period with Michael Grabner scoring his 27th of the season, with helpers credited to Blake Comeau and Josh Bailey. Toronto found yet another equalizer with Nikolai Kulemin sinking his 25th of the year, guided in by Mikhail Grabovski and Phil Kessel. The tie went into overtime, where the Islanders finally shook the Maple Leafs as Comeau sank his 19th of the campaign to win it 4-3, with assistance from Radek Martinek and Nielsen. Comeau, Brent, and Grabner picked up the three stars.
Heading to the middle game in Montreal, with the Canadiens hosting the Bruins for the first time since their lesser-known bloodbath overshadowed by the Penguins-Islanders one later in that week. Tuukka Rask and Carey Price played in the creases. Montreal found a 2-0 lead with Lars Eller potting his sixth and seventh of the season in the first period, assisted by Travis Moen primarily both times, and the secondaries going to Paul Mara and Andrei Kostitsyn in that order. The Canadiens built on the lead with a power play goal in the second period by Brian Gionta, with help from Scott Gomez and Tomas Plekanec to convert his 24th of the year. Montreal kept going with James Wisniewski sinking his eighth of the season on the power play from Michael Cammalleri and David Desharnais, showcasing the versatility and compatibility of people with ten-letter last names. Nearing the end of the middle period, there was a questionable Zdeno Chara hit on Max Pacioretty, knocking the latter out with a severe concussion and broken vertebra, and the former being issued a game misconduct and an interference major, but receiving no latter supplemental discipline. Boston would get on the board in the third period with Milan Lucic scoring his 29th of the year with the help of David Krejci, bringing the eventual final to 4-1. Eller, Price (30 for 31 saves), and Pacioretty receiving the three stars.
Heading down to Florida, where the Panthers hosted their GM's former team, the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Tomas Vokoun were given the green light to play. Florida opened the scoring with David Booth netting his 20th of the season, thanks to Michal Repik. The Panthers struck again with Clay Wilson potting his first of the year off of Niclas Bergfors and Sergei Samsonov. With seven seconds left in the opening frame, Marty Reasoner notched his 14th of the campaign with help from Booth and Keaton Ellerby to put Florida up 3-0, and allowing Marty Turco to relieve Crawford. Chicago got on the board about midway through the second period with Patrick Kane registering his 22nd of the season, fueled by Brian Campbell and Ryan Johnson. The Blackhawks got within a goal with Marian Hossa's 19th of the year, assisted by Dave Bolland and Bryan Bickell. The scoring ceased after this, securing a 3-2 victory for the Panthers, and giving the three stars to Vokoun (37 for 39 saves), Booth, and Kane.
Moving north to Minnesota, where the Wild hosted the Colorado Avalanche. Peter Budaj and Niklas Backstrom were guarding the cages. Martin Havlat opened the scoring for Minnesota with his 21st of the season, assisted by Kyle Brodziak and Brent Burns. Colorado answered in the second period with the 12th of the year for Kevin Porter, guided along by Ryan Wilson and Paul Stastny. Stastny put the Avalanche ahead with his 20th of the campaign, a power play goal powered by Milan Hejduk and Matt Duchene. The Wild evened it with Andrew Brunette sinking his 16th of the season, also a power play goal, with help from Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Jared Spurgeon. Minnesota took the lead with John Madden notching his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Matt Cullen and Chuck Kobasew. Spurgeon extended the Wild lead with his second of the season, made possible by Havlat and Eric Nystrom. Brodziak secured a 5-2 victory with his 15th of the year, an empty net goal coming off of Greg Zanon and the goalie Backstrom. Burns, Havlat, and Spurgeon were given the three stars.
Zig-Zagging again to Phoenix, where the Coyotes hosted Vancouver Canucks. Stud goaltenders Roberto Luongo and Ilya Bryzgalov took to the nets. Phoenix was the first on the board with Eric Belanger netting his tenth of the season unassisted. The Coyotes made it 2-0 with Shane Doan's power play goal from Belanger and David Schlemko, good for his 15th of the year. Seventeen seconds later, Vancouver got on the board with the fifth of the season by Dan Hamhuis, courtesy of Mikael Samuelsson and Daniel Sedin. The Canucks tied it with Henrik Sedin registering his 16th of the year in the second period, a power play goal gathering steam off of Ryan Kesler and Christian Ehrhoff. Vancouver took the lead with Sami Salo's second of the season, assisted by Henrik and Daniel. Phoenix retied it with Lauri Korpikoski potting his 15th of the year, with the help of Belanger and Michal Rozsival. The third period went silent, and the tie was broken in overtime with Hamhuis' second of the game and sixth of the campaign to give the Canucks the victory over the Coyotes by a 4-3 margin, with the helpers given to Henrik and Daniel, the latter of which completing a sock trick. The three stars went to Bryzgalov (35 for 39 saves), Belanger, and Hamhuis.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks hosted the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Antti Niemi started in front of the cages. The scoring was opened by Ryane Clowe of San Jose, with his 19th of the season being guided in by Dany Heatley and Jason Demers. Nashville replied with a Joel Ward power play goal fueled by Martin Erat and Shea Weber, his eighth of the year. The Sharks reclaimed the lead with Justin Braun sinking his second of the season, also a power play goal, with the help of Heatley and Clowe. Weber found another equalizer for the Predators, nailing his 14th of the year with the man advantage via David Legwand and Erat. The tie lasted throughout the third period into overtime where San Jose defeated Nashville 3-2 on the 27th of the campaign by Patrick Marleau, aided by Ian White. Marleau, Clowe, and Niemi (23 for 25 saves) got the three stars for the game.
Another day, same routine, whenever I can get them out.
The host Philadelphia Flyers and visiting Edmonton Oilers. Devan Dubnyk and Sergei Bobrovsky were called on for the starts. Philadelphia was the first to score with Danny Briere notching his 29th of the season, with help from Matt Carle and Ville Leino. Jeff Carter made it 3-0 Flyers with his 29th and 30th of the year, the first a power play goal powered by Briere and Claude Giroux andthe second coming off of Kimmo Timonen and James van Riemsdyk in the second period. Edmonton got on the board with Jean-Francois Jacques netting his fourth of the season, with Ladislav Smid picking up the lone assist. Blair Betts made it 4-1 for Philadelphia with his fifth of the year, an empty net goal made possible by Giroux. This was the final, and the three stars went to Carter, Briere, and Timonen.
Moving along to New Jersey, where the Devils hosted the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Martin Brodeur played between the pipes. The scoring was opened by Ottawa in the second period with Erik Condra scoring his third of the season, thanks to Ryan Shannon and Colin Greening. New Jersey answered in the third period with Patrik Elias' 15th of the campaign, assisted by Brian Rolston and Dainius Zubrus. Condra put the Senators back in front with his second of the game and fourth of the year, helped along by Jason Spezza and Chris Phillips. The final was 2-1, with Condra, Elias, and Anderson (31 for 32 saves) getting the three stars.
Back into Pennsylvania, where the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Marc-Andre Fleury tended the twines. Buffalo opened the scoring with Rob Niedermayer netting his second of the season, with the lone assist from Tyler Myers. Pittsburgh tied the game in the second period with James Neal's 22nd of the year, fueled by Deryk Engelland and Jordan Staal. The Penguins took a lead with Zbynek Michalek netting his first of the season, with the help of Neal and Mark Letestu being required. Pittsburgh made it 3-1 in the third period with Letestu notching his 12th of the year, assisted by Michalek. This was the final, with the three stars going to Michalek, Neal, and Fleury (29 for 30 saves).
Moving onto Long Island, where the New York Islanders hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Al Montoya got the starting nods. The scoring was opened by New York's Zenon Konopka in the second period, with his second of the season, assisted on by Milan Jurcina and Justin DiBenedetto. Thirty-four seconds later, Toronto notched a reply with Keith Aulie potting his first of the year, courtesy of Tim Brent and Mike Brown. The Islanders retook the lead with Frans Nielsen getting his ninth of the season, thanks to Kyle Okposo and Andrew MacDonald. The Maple Leafs replied again, with Brent registering his eighth of the year thanks to Colby Armstrong. New York took a lead again in the third period with Michael Grabner scoring his 27th of the season, with helpers credited to Blake Comeau and Josh Bailey. Toronto found yet another equalizer with Nikolai Kulemin sinking his 25th of the year, guided in by Mikhail Grabovski and Phil Kessel. The tie went into overtime, where the Islanders finally shook the Maple Leafs as Comeau sank his 19th of the campaign to win it 4-3, with assistance from Radek Martinek and Nielsen. Comeau, Brent, and Grabner picked up the three stars.
Heading to the middle game in Montreal, with the Canadiens hosting the Bruins for the first time since their lesser-known bloodbath overshadowed by the Penguins-Islanders one later in that week. Tuukka Rask and Carey Price played in the creases. Montreal found a 2-0 lead with Lars Eller potting his sixth and seventh of the season in the first period, assisted by Travis Moen primarily both times, and the secondaries going to Paul Mara and Andrei Kostitsyn in that order. The Canadiens built on the lead with a power play goal in the second period by Brian Gionta, with help from Scott Gomez and Tomas Plekanec to convert his 24th of the year. Montreal kept going with James Wisniewski sinking his eighth of the season on the power play from Michael Cammalleri and David Desharnais, showcasing the versatility and compatibility of people with ten-letter last names. Nearing the end of the middle period, there was a questionable Zdeno Chara hit on Max Pacioretty, knocking the latter out with a severe concussion and broken vertebra, and the former being issued a game misconduct and an interference major, but receiving no latter supplemental discipline. Boston would get on the board in the third period with Milan Lucic scoring his 29th of the year with the help of David Krejci, bringing the eventual final to 4-1. Eller, Price (30 for 31 saves), and Pacioretty receiving the three stars.
Heading down to Florida, where the Panthers hosted their GM's former team, the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Tomas Vokoun were given the green light to play. Florida opened the scoring with David Booth netting his 20th of the season, thanks to Michal Repik. The Panthers struck again with Clay Wilson potting his first of the year off of Niclas Bergfors and Sergei Samsonov. With seven seconds left in the opening frame, Marty Reasoner notched his 14th of the campaign with help from Booth and Keaton Ellerby to put Florida up 3-0, and allowing Marty Turco to relieve Crawford. Chicago got on the board about midway through the second period with Patrick Kane registering his 22nd of the season, fueled by Brian Campbell and Ryan Johnson. The Blackhawks got within a goal with Marian Hossa's 19th of the year, assisted by Dave Bolland and Bryan Bickell. The scoring ceased after this, securing a 3-2 victory for the Panthers, and giving the three stars to Vokoun (37 for 39 saves), Booth, and Kane.
Moving north to Minnesota, where the Wild hosted the Colorado Avalanche. Peter Budaj and Niklas Backstrom were guarding the cages. Martin Havlat opened the scoring for Minnesota with his 21st of the season, assisted by Kyle Brodziak and Brent Burns. Colorado answered in the second period with the 12th of the year for Kevin Porter, guided along by Ryan Wilson and Paul Stastny. Stastny put the Avalanche ahead with his 20th of the campaign, a power play goal powered by Milan Hejduk and Matt Duchene. The Wild evened it with Andrew Brunette sinking his 16th of the season, also a power play goal, with help from Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Jared Spurgeon. Minnesota took the lead with John Madden notching his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Matt Cullen and Chuck Kobasew. Spurgeon extended the Wild lead with his second of the season, made possible by Havlat and Eric Nystrom. Brodziak secured a 5-2 victory with his 15th of the year, an empty net goal coming off of Greg Zanon and the goalie Backstrom. Burns, Havlat, and Spurgeon were given the three stars.
Zig-Zagging again to Phoenix, where the Coyotes hosted Vancouver Canucks. Stud goaltenders Roberto Luongo and Ilya Bryzgalov took to the nets. Phoenix was the first on the board with Eric Belanger netting his tenth of the season unassisted. The Coyotes made it 2-0 with Shane Doan's power play goal from Belanger and David Schlemko, good for his 15th of the year. Seventeen seconds later, Vancouver got on the board with the fifth of the season by Dan Hamhuis, courtesy of Mikael Samuelsson and Daniel Sedin. The Canucks tied it with Henrik Sedin registering his 16th of the year in the second period, a power play goal gathering steam off of Ryan Kesler and Christian Ehrhoff. Vancouver took the lead with Sami Salo's second of the season, assisted by Henrik and Daniel. Phoenix retied it with Lauri Korpikoski potting his 15th of the year, with the help of Belanger and Michal Rozsival. The third period went silent, and the tie was broken in overtime with Hamhuis' second of the game and sixth of the campaign to give the Canucks the victory over the Coyotes by a 4-3 margin, with the helpers given to Henrik and Daniel, the latter of which completing a sock trick. The three stars went to Bryzgalov (35 for 39 saves), Belanger, and Hamhuis.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks hosted the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Antti Niemi started in front of the cages. The scoring was opened by Ryane Clowe of San Jose, with his 19th of the season being guided in by Dany Heatley and Jason Demers. Nashville replied with a Joel Ward power play goal fueled by Martin Erat and Shea Weber, his eighth of the year. The Sharks reclaimed the lead with Justin Braun sinking his second of the season, also a power play goal, with the help of Heatley and Clowe. Weber found another equalizer for the Predators, nailing his 14th of the year with the man advantage via David Legwand and Erat. The tie lasted throughout the third period into overtime where San Jose defeated Nashville 3-2 on the 27th of the campaign by Patrick Marleau, aided by Ian White. Marleau, Clowe, and Niemi (23 for 25 saves) got the three stars for the game.
Another day, same routine, whenever I can get them out.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Monday Games
There were only three games on Monday. They started off in...
Tampa Bay, where the Lightning hosted the Washington Capitals. Michal Neuvirth and Dwayne Roloson. Sean Bergenheim opened the scoring with his 13th of the season, a power play goal for Tampa Bay coming off of Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos. Neuvirth did not come on to play the second period, being replaced by Braden Holtby. Washington tied it in the third period with an Alexander Semin goal, his 24th of the year, with the help of Dennis Wideman and Alex Ovechkin. The tie lasted into a shootout, where the Capitals toppled the Lightning on the lone tally by Ovechkin. The three stars went to Holtby (21 saves in relief), Semin, and Roloson (29 for 30 saves).
Heading west to Missouri, where the St. Louis Blues hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets. Steve Mason and Ty Conklin get the starting nods. St. Louis got on the board first with a Patrik Berglund goal, his 18th of the season going in unassisted. Two fights five second apart broke out shortly thereafter, with Chris Stewart and Derek Dorsett going at it, followed by a dust-up between Jared Boll and Cam Janssen. Columbus tied it with Jakub Voracek netting his 13th of the year, with Rick Nash collecting the lone assist. The Blue Jackets took the lead with Matt Calvert sinking his eleventh of the season, thanks to R.J. Umberger and Kris Russell. Columbus made it 3-1 with Fedor Tyutin registering his sixth of the year, a power play goal made possible by Grant Clitsome and Antoine Vermette, giving ample reason to put Ben Bishop in and pull Conklin out. The Blues replied with their own power play goal, Andy McDonald's 15th of the season, with helpers credited to Stewart and Berglund. T.J. Oshie tied it for St. Louis on the power play with his seventh of the year, fueled by Matt D'Agostini and David Backes. the Blues took the lead with McDonald notching his second of the game and 16th of the season, courtesy of Backes and Kevin Shattenkirk in the second period. The Blue Jackets replied to tie the game at 4 with Derek MacKenzie netting his fifth of the year, helped along by Nash and Voracek. The tie lasted through the third period and overtime into a shootout, where there were two pairs of offsetting goals from Oshie and Nash and McDonald and Tyutin. St. Louis sealed a 5-4 victory over Columbus with the Alex Steen tally in the fourth round, and the three stars went to McDonald, Berglund, and Nash.
Finally, the Los Angeles Kings hosted the Dallas Stars. Kari Lethonen and Jonathan Bernier were sent out to stop pucks. Los Angeles opened the scoring with a Willie Mitchell goal, his third of the season, assisted by Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams. Dallas answered back in the second period with Mike Ribeiro netting his 13th of the year, coming off of Adam Burish and Alex Goligoski. Shortly after, the Kings' Williams potted his 21st of the season, thanks to Dustin Penner and Kopitar. The Stars tied it again in the third period with Trevor Daley getting his sixth of the year, powered by Ribeiro and Jamie Langenbrunner. Los Angeles had another quick answer, with Kyle Clifford notching his fifth of the campaign, guided in by Trevor Lewis. Jamie Benn found another equalizer for Dallas with his 17th of the year coming shorthanded and unassisted. This tie lasted into overtime, where it was shortlived as Brenden Morrow gave the Stars the deciding goal over the Kings with his 26th of the season, courtesy of Ribeiro and Goligoski. Morrow, Williams, and Benn got the three stars, although I feel Ribeiro was overlooked.
Tuesday has a lot more games, and I have a lot more work, so I will get that post whenever I can.
Tampa Bay, where the Lightning hosted the Washington Capitals. Michal Neuvirth and Dwayne Roloson. Sean Bergenheim opened the scoring with his 13th of the season, a power play goal for Tampa Bay coming off of Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos. Neuvirth did not come on to play the second period, being replaced by Braden Holtby. Washington tied it in the third period with an Alexander Semin goal, his 24th of the year, with the help of Dennis Wideman and Alex Ovechkin. The tie lasted into a shootout, where the Capitals toppled the Lightning on the lone tally by Ovechkin. The three stars went to Holtby (21 saves in relief), Semin, and Roloson (29 for 30 saves).
Heading west to Missouri, where the St. Louis Blues hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets. Steve Mason and Ty Conklin get the starting nods. St. Louis got on the board first with a Patrik Berglund goal, his 18th of the season going in unassisted. Two fights five second apart broke out shortly thereafter, with Chris Stewart and Derek Dorsett going at it, followed by a dust-up between Jared Boll and Cam Janssen. Columbus tied it with Jakub Voracek netting his 13th of the year, with Rick Nash collecting the lone assist. The Blue Jackets took the lead with Matt Calvert sinking his eleventh of the season, thanks to R.J. Umberger and Kris Russell. Columbus made it 3-1 with Fedor Tyutin registering his sixth of the year, a power play goal made possible by Grant Clitsome and Antoine Vermette, giving ample reason to put Ben Bishop in and pull Conklin out. The Blues replied with their own power play goal, Andy McDonald's 15th of the season, with helpers credited to Stewart and Berglund. T.J. Oshie tied it for St. Louis on the power play with his seventh of the year, fueled by Matt D'Agostini and David Backes. the Blues took the lead with McDonald notching his second of the game and 16th of the season, courtesy of Backes and Kevin Shattenkirk in the second period. The Blue Jackets replied to tie the game at 4 with Derek MacKenzie netting his fifth of the year, helped along by Nash and Voracek. The tie lasted through the third period and overtime into a shootout, where there were two pairs of offsetting goals from Oshie and Nash and McDonald and Tyutin. St. Louis sealed a 5-4 victory over Columbus with the Alex Steen tally in the fourth round, and the three stars went to McDonald, Berglund, and Nash.
Finally, the Los Angeles Kings hosted the Dallas Stars. Kari Lethonen and Jonathan Bernier were sent out to stop pucks. Los Angeles opened the scoring with a Willie Mitchell goal, his third of the season, assisted by Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams. Dallas answered back in the second period with Mike Ribeiro netting his 13th of the year, coming off of Adam Burish and Alex Goligoski. Shortly after, the Kings' Williams potted his 21st of the season, thanks to Dustin Penner and Kopitar. The Stars tied it again in the third period with Trevor Daley getting his sixth of the year, powered by Ribeiro and Jamie Langenbrunner. Los Angeles had another quick answer, with Kyle Clifford notching his fifth of the campaign, guided in by Trevor Lewis. Jamie Benn found another equalizer for Dallas with his 17th of the year coming shorthanded and unassisted. This tie lasted into overtime, where it was shortlived as Brenden Morrow gave the Stars the deciding goal over the Kings with his 26th of the season, courtesy of Ribeiro and Goligoski. Morrow, Williams, and Benn got the three stars, although I feel Ribeiro was overlooked.
Tuesday has a lot more games, and I have a lot more work, so I will get that post whenever I can.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sunday Hockey Recaps
There were a total of six games featured on Sunday to preoccupy us. The NBC game had an interesting bit of karma in it, with...
The New York Rangers (sans Olli Jokinen) facing the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden. Brian Boucher and Henrik Lundqvist made the starts. Opening the scoring was Ryan Callahan of New York with two goals, his 17th and 18th of the season, with the first coming just fifty-one seconds into the game via Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov, and the latter coming on the power play thanks to Vinny Prospal and Bryan McCabe. In between the goals, Jody Shelley fought with Brian Boyle. Also fighting were Dubinsky and Mike Richards in the second period's opening minute. The Rangers kept going with Mats Zuccarello netting his fifth of the year, courtesy of Ruslan Fedotenko and Ryan McDonagh. Callahan made it 4-0 New York by finishing up his hat trick with his 19th of the season, an unassisted goal, scaring off Boucher in favor of Sergei Bobrovsky for the Philadelphia net. Callahan struck again on the power play for the Rangers in the third period with his 20th of the year, and fourth of the game (perspective: 20% of his goals coming in one game), with helpers from Matt Gilroy and Prospal. Anisimov also scored for New York, potting his 16th of the season with the help of Callahan and Dan Girardi. Zuccarello made it 7-0 with his second of the game and sixth of the year, assisted by Wojtek Wolski. This was the final, with Callahan, Lundqvist (24 save shutout), and Zuccarello collecting the three stars.
Out on Long Island, the New York Islanders hosted the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur and Al Montoya tended the twines. The scoring opened in the second period with a power play goal by Brian Rolston, his 12th of the season gathering steam off of Ilya Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac. New York tied it with their own power play goal, with Josh Bailey's tenth of the year finding twine thanks to P.A. Parenteau and Kyle Okposo. The Devils reclaimed the lead on Kovalchuk's 24th of the season, assisted by Jacob Josefson and Anton Volchenkov. The Islanders found another equalizer with the 18th of the year for Blake Comeau, an unassisted goal. The tie lasted into a shootout, where Frans Nielsen and Kovalchuk swapped goals before Rolston netted the winner many rounds later.
Heading down south to Florida, where the Panthers hosted the Washington Capitals. Michal Neuvirth and Scott Clemmensen were given the starting nods. Florida opened the scoring with Bill Thomas potting his third of the season with the help of Michal Repik and Mike Santorelli. Washington replied with a Nicklas Backstrom tally, his 17th of the year, guided in by Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble. The Capitals took the lead in the second period with Boyd Gordon sinking his second of the season, with assistance from John Carlson and Matt Hendricks. The Panthers found the equalizer on the power play with a David Booth goal, his 19th of the year getting help from Stephen Weiss and Dmitry Kulikov. The tie was broken by Alexander Semin's 23rd of the campaign in overtime, helped along by Marcus Johansson and Karl Alzner, giving the Capitals the victory over the Panthers by a 3-2 margin. The three stars went to Semin, Booth, and Neuvirth (32 for 34 saves).
Going north to Minnesota, where the Wild hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Guarding the cages were Jhonas Enroth and Jose Theodore. Buffalo was the first on the board with a Jason Pominville goal, his 17th of the season made possible by Steve Montador and Thomas Vanek. The Sabres extended the lead with a Rob Niedermayer goal, his first of the year, with the help of Andrej Sekera and Cody McCormick being required. Minnesota got on the board when Warren Peters sank his first of the campaign, thanks to passes from Brad Staubitz and Brent Burns. Marek Zidlicky tied it for the Wild with his fifth of the year, a power play goal fueled by Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Martin Havlat. The only event of the third period was the McCormick-Clayton Stoner bout around the middle of the frame. The tie itself lasted into overtime, where Buffalo made quick work of Minnesota on the 26th of the season by Drew Stafford, with Sekera providing the lone assist. The three stars went to Stafford, Zidlicky, and Vanek.
Out to the west, where the Anaheim Ducks hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider and Dan Ellis played in the blue paint patches. Two early period goals in the first and second frames put Vancouver up 2-0, with Manny Malhotra recording his tenth and eleventh of the season. Jannik Hansen and Raffi Torres assisted on the first period goal that came forty-two seconds in, and Hansen was the lone assistant on the second period goal just seventeen seconds after the opening faceoff. The Canucks secured a 3-0 victory in the third period with Daniel Sedin potting his 34th of the year on the power play with helpers provided by Mikael Samuelsson and Henrik Sedin. Schneider (26 save shutout), Malhotra, and Ryan Getzlaf (officially, but personally Hansen or Daniel Sedin would fit well here) got the three stars.
Finally, the Calgary Flames brought the Nashville Predators to the Scotiabank Saddledome. Pekka Rinne and Miikka Kiprusoff were the Finnish goaltenders. Nashville opened the scoring with a Martin Erat goal, his eleventh of the season, with assists by Jonathon Blum and David Legwand. Calgary tied it with a Mark Giordano power play goal via Olli Jokinen, going as his sixth of the year. The Predators reclaimed the lead with Ryan Suter potting his third of the season thanks to Erat and Legwand. The Flames found an interesting equalizer with Jarome Iginla converting a penalty shot after a Sergei Kostitsyn hook, for his 30th of the campaign, marking a milestone for his resilience and scoring, as he has done this for ten season straight. Calgary took a 3-2 lead in the third period with Curtis Glencross notching his 22nd of the year, helped along by Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester. This was the final, and the three stars went out to Iginla, Giordano, and Erat.
The New York Rangers (sans Olli Jokinen) facing the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden. Brian Boucher and Henrik Lundqvist made the starts. Opening the scoring was Ryan Callahan of New York with two goals, his 17th and 18th of the season, with the first coming just fifty-one seconds into the game via Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov, and the latter coming on the power play thanks to Vinny Prospal and Bryan McCabe. In between the goals, Jody Shelley fought with Brian Boyle. Also fighting were Dubinsky and Mike Richards in the second period's opening minute. The Rangers kept going with Mats Zuccarello netting his fifth of the year, courtesy of Ruslan Fedotenko and Ryan McDonagh. Callahan made it 4-0 New York by finishing up his hat trick with his 19th of the season, an unassisted goal, scaring off Boucher in favor of Sergei Bobrovsky for the Philadelphia net. Callahan struck again on the power play for the Rangers in the third period with his 20th of the year, and fourth of the game (perspective: 20% of his goals coming in one game), with helpers from Matt Gilroy and Prospal. Anisimov also scored for New York, potting his 16th of the season with the help of Callahan and Dan Girardi. Zuccarello made it 7-0 with his second of the game and sixth of the year, assisted by Wojtek Wolski. This was the final, with Callahan, Lundqvist (24 save shutout), and Zuccarello collecting the three stars.
Out on Long Island, the New York Islanders hosted the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur and Al Montoya tended the twines. The scoring opened in the second period with a power play goal by Brian Rolston, his 12th of the season gathering steam off of Ilya Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac. New York tied it with their own power play goal, with Josh Bailey's tenth of the year finding twine thanks to P.A. Parenteau and Kyle Okposo. The Devils reclaimed the lead on Kovalchuk's 24th of the season, assisted by Jacob Josefson and Anton Volchenkov. The Islanders found another equalizer with the 18th of the year for Blake Comeau, an unassisted goal. The tie lasted into a shootout, where Frans Nielsen and Kovalchuk swapped goals before Rolston netted the winner many rounds later.
Heading down south to Florida, where the Panthers hosted the Washington Capitals. Michal Neuvirth and Scott Clemmensen were given the starting nods. Florida opened the scoring with Bill Thomas potting his third of the season with the help of Michal Repik and Mike Santorelli. Washington replied with a Nicklas Backstrom tally, his 17th of the year, guided in by Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble. The Capitals took the lead in the second period with Boyd Gordon sinking his second of the season, with assistance from John Carlson and Matt Hendricks. The Panthers found the equalizer on the power play with a David Booth goal, his 19th of the year getting help from Stephen Weiss and Dmitry Kulikov. The tie was broken by Alexander Semin's 23rd of the campaign in overtime, helped along by Marcus Johansson and Karl Alzner, giving the Capitals the victory over the Panthers by a 3-2 margin. The three stars went to Semin, Booth, and Neuvirth (32 for 34 saves).
Going north to Minnesota, where the Wild hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Guarding the cages were Jhonas Enroth and Jose Theodore. Buffalo was the first on the board with a Jason Pominville goal, his 17th of the season made possible by Steve Montador and Thomas Vanek. The Sabres extended the lead with a Rob Niedermayer goal, his first of the year, with the help of Andrej Sekera and Cody McCormick being required. Minnesota got on the board when Warren Peters sank his first of the campaign, thanks to passes from Brad Staubitz and Brent Burns. Marek Zidlicky tied it for the Wild with his fifth of the year, a power play goal fueled by Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Martin Havlat. The only event of the third period was the McCormick-Clayton Stoner bout around the middle of the frame. The tie itself lasted into overtime, where Buffalo made quick work of Minnesota on the 26th of the season by Drew Stafford, with Sekera providing the lone assist. The three stars went to Stafford, Zidlicky, and Vanek.
Out to the west, where the Anaheim Ducks hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider and Dan Ellis played in the blue paint patches. Two early period goals in the first and second frames put Vancouver up 2-0, with Manny Malhotra recording his tenth and eleventh of the season. Jannik Hansen and Raffi Torres assisted on the first period goal that came forty-two seconds in, and Hansen was the lone assistant on the second period goal just seventeen seconds after the opening faceoff. The Canucks secured a 3-0 victory in the third period with Daniel Sedin potting his 34th of the year on the power play with helpers provided by Mikael Samuelsson and Henrik Sedin. Schneider (26 save shutout), Malhotra, and Ryan Getzlaf (officially, but personally Hansen or Daniel Sedin would fit well here) got the three stars.
Finally, the Calgary Flames brought the Nashville Predators to the Scotiabank Saddledome. Pekka Rinne and Miikka Kiprusoff were the Finnish goaltenders. Nashville opened the scoring with a Martin Erat goal, his eleventh of the season, with assists by Jonathon Blum and David Legwand. Calgary tied it with a Mark Giordano power play goal via Olli Jokinen, going as his sixth of the year. The Predators reclaimed the lead with Ryan Suter potting his third of the season thanks to Erat and Legwand. The Flames found an interesting equalizer with Jarome Iginla converting a penalty shot after a Sergei Kostitsyn hook, for his 30th of the campaign, marking a milestone for his resilience and scoring, as he has done this for ten season straight. Calgary took a 3-2 lead in the third period with Curtis Glencross notching his 22nd of the year, helped along by Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester. This was the final, and the three stars went out to Iginla, Giordano, and Erat.
Fantasy Hockey All-Stars, week 20
This week marks a period between the two major deadlines of the Fantasy Hockey world; the real trade deadline and the fantasy trade deadline. The teams in the real world are set for the season in the fact that they will not be conducting any more business outside of their own resources. The default deadline for fantasy is Thursday, giving you a week to prepare and send deals out to give your team one more external push before you work internally. Here's who would have cost you a bit for this week's services:
Center: Jonathan Toews, 5 goals, 2 assists, +4, 2 penalty minutes, 0 power play points, 12 shots on goal
Left Wing: Ilya Kovalchuk, 3 goals, 2 assists, +3, 0 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 13 shots on goal
Right Wing: Jarome Iginla, 5 goals, 3 assists, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 15 shots on goal
Defenseman: Andrej Sekera, 1 goal, 7 assists, +5, 0 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 10 shots on goal
Goaltender: Carey Price, 3 wins, 1.00 goals against average, 113 saves, .974 save percentage, 1 shutout
It's good to see the players with the higher expectations do well, as our three forward representatives did in the past week. Additionally, congratulations would be in order for Iginla, becoming the tenth players to post 10 or more seasons of at least 30 goals, which was made possible on a penalty shot. And yes, I am supporting my favorite team by saying that, but in all honesty, that's quite an accomplishment. This feature will return next week.
Center: Jonathan Toews, 5 goals, 2 assists, +4, 2 penalty minutes, 0 power play points, 12 shots on goal
Left Wing: Ilya Kovalchuk, 3 goals, 2 assists, +3, 0 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 13 shots on goal
Right Wing: Jarome Iginla, 5 goals, 3 assists, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 15 shots on goal
Defenseman: Andrej Sekera, 1 goal, 7 assists, +5, 0 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 10 shots on goal
Goaltender: Carey Price, 3 wins, 1.00 goals against average, 113 saves, .974 save percentage, 1 shutout
It's good to see the players with the higher expectations do well, as our three forward representatives did in the past week. Additionally, congratulations would be in order for Iginla, becoming the tenth players to post 10 or more seasons of at least 30 goals, which was made possible on a penalty shot. And yes, I am supporting my favorite team by saying that, but in all honesty, that's quite an accomplishment. This feature will return next week.
Song of the Week X
This week, the metal band from Huntington Beach, California hits the Song of the Week with Girl I Know. This song comes off of the CD/DVD Live in the LBC and Diamonds in the Rough. While originally a B-side, this song, along with Crossroads, has gained a little notoriety among the fans. Lyrically, the song is a tad suggestive, although the language itself is clean. As for the CD itself, the songs were recorded for the self-titled album that was released earlier. These feature some tracks that didn't make the cut. Be sure to look for this feature again next week.
Sandwich Showdown IX and Blog News
As the title implies, this post serves a pair of purposes. First up, with the sandwich showdown between a Buffalo Chicken on Roasted Garlic and a Club on Italian. The Buffalo Chicken was given an extra kick with Peco's Sauce, making for quite the spicy adventure in a genuinely tasty sandwich. The Club was far more reserved, with very little spice to it at all. These sandwiches were very close despite being total opposites in the spectrum, and the win goes to the Buffalo Chicken. This is also a very important post for this blog, because as this was written, we have reached one thousand views in 180 posts. This amounts to about 5.5 reads per post. I would like to thank everyone who has stopped by for giving it a read, and would love to continue seeing people checking in here whenever they can. As for the rest of the posts this Monday, there will be Song of the Week, Fantasy Hockey All-Stars, and Sunday Hockey Recaps for your reading pleasure.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Saturday Games NHL
There were ten games to begin with on Saturday, including three in the afternoon. The first of these had...
The New York Islanders hosting the St. Louis Blues. Ben Bishop and Al Montoya were in front of the nets. John Tavares opened the scoring for New York with his 24th of the season, with assists from P.A. Parenteau and Travis Hamonic. Parenteau extended the lead with his 15th of the year, helped along by Michael Grabner and Tavares. Andrew MacDonald tallied for the Islanders in the second period by sinking his third of the season, courtesy of Matt Martin and Josh Bailey. Andy McDonald finally put St. Louis on the board with his 14th of the year, coming off of T.J. Oshie and Alex Pietrangelo. MacDonald replied for New York with his fourth of the campaign, an unassisted goal. The Blues got the goal back again, as Chris Stewart netted his 20th of the season on the power play from Patrik Berglund and McDonald. The Islanders made it 5-2, which eventually was the final, with a Grabner goal, his 26th of the year, gathering steam from Frans Nielsen and Jack Hillen. The three stars were given to MacDonald, Tavares, and Parenteau.
The second afternoon game pitted the Philadelphia Flyers against the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Sergei Bobrovsky collected the starts. Philadelphia was the first on the board with Kris Versteeg netting his 18th of the season on the power play with the help of Matt Carle and Mike Richards. The Flyers made it 2-0 with a James van Riemsdyk tally, his 16th of the year, courtesy of Claude Giroux. Buffalo got on the board with Drew Stafford notching his 25th of the season, helped on by Thomas Vanek and Tyler Ennis. Ennis tied the game for the Sabres with his 14th of the year, guided by Paul Gaustad and Andrej Sekera. Sekera put Buffalo in front with his third of the season, assisted by Brad Boyes and Jason Pominville. Philadelphia retied the game at 3 with a shorthanded goal by Kimmo Timonen, his fourth of the year, with the lone helper from Braydon Coburn. The Sabres reclaimed the lead with a Pominville goal, his 16th of the season, made possible by Vanek and Boyes. Buffalo secured a 5-3 victory with the Nathan Gerbe empty net goal from Gaustad and Patrick Kaleta, his eighth of the year. Stafford, Timonen, and Versteeg were the game's three stars.
Heading to Southern California, where the Los Angeles Kings hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Tending the twines were Roberto Luongo and Jonathan Quick. Los Angeles opened the scoring with Dustin Penner's 22nd of the season, helped along by Brad Richardson and Justin Williams. Vancouver tied it with Jannik Hansen scoring his ninth of the year thanks to Raffi Torres. The scoring stayed quiet in the second period, and it took a Daniel Sedin third period goal to give the Canucks the lead, his 33rd of the season being aided by Christian Ehrhoff and Henrik Sedin. Vancouver secured the victory at 3-1 with the empty net goal provided by Alexandre Burrows, his 18th of the year being produced by Manny Malhotra. Hansen, Willie Mitchell (?), and Ehrhoff got the three stars, with an honorable mention to Spartan goalie Luongo on his 300th victory.
Starting the regularly timed games were the Boston Bruins hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Tim Thomas played in front of the cages. Two first period fights were the highlights of the opening frame, with Michael Rupp taking on Shawn Thornton early and Craig Adams exchanging punches with Nathan Horton later in the period. The scoring began in the second with Boston's Zdeno "Bullet" Chara scoring his eleventh of the season thanks to David Krejci and Milan Lucic. Pittsburgh replied with the seventh of the year from Jordan Staal, fueled by Tyler Kennedy and Matt Cooke. The Penguins took the lead with Dustin Jeffrey's sixth of the season, with a little assistance from Max Talbot and Zbynek Michalek. With just thirty-three second remaining in the third period, the Bruins found an equalizer on Krejci's tenth of the year, and Lucic and Horton picked up the assists. The tie was broken by Pittsburgh in the overtime frame, with Jeffrey potting his second of the game and the seventh of the season, an unassisted game-winner. Fleury (29 for 31 saves), Paul Martin, and Dennis Seidenberg were the official three stars, but the bottom two should be Jeffrey and Krejci.
Moving under the microscope in Toronto, with the Maple Leafs hosting the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and James Reimer started off in front of the goalmouths. Marian Hossa opened the scoring early for Chicago with his 18th of the season, an unassisted goal. The Blackhawks went up 2-0 with the tenth of the year by Michael Frolik, with Troy Brouwer and Jake Dowell earning the helpers. Chicago rolled on with Jonathan Toews netting his 27th of the season, courtesy of Patrick Kane and Hossa. Toronto got on the board in the second period with the eighth of the year by Joffery Lupul, going down with no assistance. The Blackhawks replied with Viktor Stalberg's tenth of the season, coming off of Tomas Kopecky and Ryan Johnson. Chicago made it 5-1 with a Bryan Bickell tally, his 16th of the year, fueled by Dave Bolland and Brent Seabrook. The Maple Leafs tried to fuel a comeback with Joey Crabb potting his second of the season in the third period with the help of Luke Schenn. Schenn got another goal to make it 5-3 late in the final frame of regulation, which went down unassisted. This went on to become the final, and the three stars were Crawford (30 for 33), Brouwer, and Schenn.
Heading south to Tampa Bay, where the Lightning hosted the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Dwayne Roloson tended the twines. Hal Gill continued his hot streak with his second goal of the season, putting Montreal on top first with the help of Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec. David Desharnais extended the Canadiens lead with his eighth of the year, a power play goal powered by Andrei Kostitsyn. Tampa Bay got on the board with the 12th of the season for Dominic Moore, a power play goal as well, with assistance from Pavel Kubina and Teddy Purcell. Montreal restored the two-goal lead with yet another power play goal, the 13th of the year by Max Pacioretty, gathering steam off of Plekanec and P.K. Subban. Pacioretty added a third period goal for the Canadiens as well, his 14th of the season helped out on by Scott Gomez. The Lightning tried a comeback by making it 4-2 on the 16th of the year from Vincent Lecavalier, assisted by Moore and Purcell, but it wouldn't be enough. The three stars were Pacioretty, Price (43 for 45 saves), and Gomez.
Crossing into Georgia, where the Atlanta Thrashers hosted the Florida Panthers. Tomas Vokoun and Chris Mason put on the masks. Florida was first on the board with a Sergei Samsonov goal, his eleventh of the season a product of efforts by Niclas Bergfors and Stephen Weiss. Atlanta tied it in the second period with the 13th of the year by Blake Wheeler, assisted by Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd. Ladd put the Thrashers in front in the third period with his 24th of the season, a power play goal powered by Tobias Enstrom and Bryan Little. Wheeler struck again to make it 3-1 Atlanta with his second of the game and 14th of the year, helped along by Byfuglien. Weiss got the Panthers going again with his 18th of the season, a power play goal made possible by Samsonov and Mike Santorelli. David Booth provided the equalizer for Florida with his own 18th of the year, courtesy of Dmitry Kulikov and Jason Garrison. The tie lasted until overtime, where Ladd scored his 25th of the season and second of the game for the Thrashers, as Byfuglien clinched a sock trick and Little provided another assist to take down the Panthers. Ladd, Wheeler, and Byfuglien were the three stars.
Heading out west to the desert, where the Phoenix Coyotes hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Ilya Bryzgalov played between the pipes. Drew Miller put Detroit on the board first with his seventh of the season, with help from Darren Helm. The Red Wings extended the lead with Johan Franzen notching his 27th of the year, a power play goal guided in by Nicklas Lidstrom and Mike Modano. Phoenix got on the board when Kyle Turris sank his eleventh of the season with the help of Adrian Aucoin and Brett MacLean. Detroit made it 3-1 with a Valtteri Filppula goal, his 13th of the year, assisted by Lidstrom and Brad Stuart. Helm added on his ninth of the season for the Red Wings, a shorthanded goal made possible by Stuart. The Coyotes started a comeback attempt with a Mikkel Boedker goal, his second of the year going into the twine unassisted. Ray Whitney cut the score to 4-3 for Phoenix with his 13th of the season, with Kyle Turris and Shane Doan picking up the helpers. Martin Hanzal provided the equalizer for the Coyotes with his 16th of the year, coming off of Radim Vrbata and Whitney. The tie lasted into a shootout, where Phoenix beat Detroit on the lone Vrbata tally. The three stars went to Turris, Vrbata, and Whitney.
Moving north into Colorado, where the Avalanche hosted the Edmonton Oilers. Devan Dubnyk and Brian Elliott started in front of the cages. Edmonton opened the scoring with a Sam Gagner goal, his 15th of the season coming on the power play via Andrew Cogliano and Linus Omark. Ryan Jones added his 14th of the year for the Oilers, also a power play goal, with the help of Gagner and Tom Gilbert. Shawn Horcoff made it 3-0 Edmonton with his ninth of the season, assisted by Magnus Paajarvi and Jordan Eberle. The Oilers kept going with Alexandre Giroux netting his first of the year, thanks to Omark and Gagner. Colorado finally got on the board with the sixth of the season by Ryan O'Reilly, with the help of David Jones and John-Michael Liles required. Andrew Cogliano made it 5-1 Edmonton with his eleventh of the season, a shorthanded goal fueled by Liam Reddox and Gilbert. This would be the final, with the three stars going to Gagner, Dubnyk (33 for 34 saves), and Jones.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks hosted the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi got the starting nods. Dallas opened the scoring with a Jamie Benn goal shorthanded, his 16th of the season coming from Stephane Robidas. San Jose answered back with a Kyle Wellwood goal, his fourth of the year, with help from Torrey Mitchell and Joe Pavelski. The Sharks took the lead in the second period with Patrick Marleau's 26th of the campaign, assisted by Dany Heatley. The Stars retied it with Loui Eriksson getting his 23rd of the season, with the help of Mark Fistric and Benn. Dallas took the lead 3-2 with the first of the year for Jason Williams, with Steve Ott and Trevor Daley providing the helpers. This would be the final, with the three stars Benn, Marleau, and Alex Goligoski getting the three stars.
That's all there is for Saturday. Please pardon for the delay, and Sunday's games with a Sandwich post coming out later.
The New York Islanders hosting the St. Louis Blues. Ben Bishop and Al Montoya were in front of the nets. John Tavares opened the scoring for New York with his 24th of the season, with assists from P.A. Parenteau and Travis Hamonic. Parenteau extended the lead with his 15th of the year, helped along by Michael Grabner and Tavares. Andrew MacDonald tallied for the Islanders in the second period by sinking his third of the season, courtesy of Matt Martin and Josh Bailey. Andy McDonald finally put St. Louis on the board with his 14th of the year, coming off of T.J. Oshie and Alex Pietrangelo. MacDonald replied for New York with his fourth of the campaign, an unassisted goal. The Blues got the goal back again, as Chris Stewart netted his 20th of the season on the power play from Patrik Berglund and McDonald. The Islanders made it 5-2, which eventually was the final, with a Grabner goal, his 26th of the year, gathering steam from Frans Nielsen and Jack Hillen. The three stars were given to MacDonald, Tavares, and Parenteau.
The second afternoon game pitted the Philadelphia Flyers against the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Sergei Bobrovsky collected the starts. Philadelphia was the first on the board with Kris Versteeg netting his 18th of the season on the power play with the help of Matt Carle and Mike Richards. The Flyers made it 2-0 with a James van Riemsdyk tally, his 16th of the year, courtesy of Claude Giroux. Buffalo got on the board with Drew Stafford notching his 25th of the season, helped on by Thomas Vanek and Tyler Ennis. Ennis tied the game for the Sabres with his 14th of the year, guided by Paul Gaustad and Andrej Sekera. Sekera put Buffalo in front with his third of the season, assisted by Brad Boyes and Jason Pominville. Philadelphia retied the game at 3 with a shorthanded goal by Kimmo Timonen, his fourth of the year, with the lone helper from Braydon Coburn. The Sabres reclaimed the lead with a Pominville goal, his 16th of the season, made possible by Vanek and Boyes. Buffalo secured a 5-3 victory with the Nathan Gerbe empty net goal from Gaustad and Patrick Kaleta, his eighth of the year. Stafford, Timonen, and Versteeg were the game's three stars.
Heading to Southern California, where the Los Angeles Kings hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Tending the twines were Roberto Luongo and Jonathan Quick. Los Angeles opened the scoring with Dustin Penner's 22nd of the season, helped along by Brad Richardson and Justin Williams. Vancouver tied it with Jannik Hansen scoring his ninth of the year thanks to Raffi Torres. The scoring stayed quiet in the second period, and it took a Daniel Sedin third period goal to give the Canucks the lead, his 33rd of the season being aided by Christian Ehrhoff and Henrik Sedin. Vancouver secured the victory at 3-1 with the empty net goal provided by Alexandre Burrows, his 18th of the year being produced by Manny Malhotra. Hansen, Willie Mitchell (?), and Ehrhoff got the three stars, with an honorable mention to Spartan goalie Luongo on his 300th victory.
Starting the regularly timed games were the Boston Bruins hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Tim Thomas played in front of the cages. Two first period fights were the highlights of the opening frame, with Michael Rupp taking on Shawn Thornton early and Craig Adams exchanging punches with Nathan Horton later in the period. The scoring began in the second with Boston's Zdeno "Bullet" Chara scoring his eleventh of the season thanks to David Krejci and Milan Lucic. Pittsburgh replied with the seventh of the year from Jordan Staal, fueled by Tyler Kennedy and Matt Cooke. The Penguins took the lead with Dustin Jeffrey's sixth of the season, with a little assistance from Max Talbot and Zbynek Michalek. With just thirty-three second remaining in the third period, the Bruins found an equalizer on Krejci's tenth of the year, and Lucic and Horton picked up the assists. The tie was broken by Pittsburgh in the overtime frame, with Jeffrey potting his second of the game and the seventh of the season, an unassisted game-winner. Fleury (29 for 31 saves), Paul Martin, and Dennis Seidenberg were the official three stars, but the bottom two should be Jeffrey and Krejci.
Moving under the microscope in Toronto, with the Maple Leafs hosting the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and James Reimer started off in front of the goalmouths. Marian Hossa opened the scoring early for Chicago with his 18th of the season, an unassisted goal. The Blackhawks went up 2-0 with the tenth of the year by Michael Frolik, with Troy Brouwer and Jake Dowell earning the helpers. Chicago rolled on with Jonathan Toews netting his 27th of the season, courtesy of Patrick Kane and Hossa. Toronto got on the board in the second period with the eighth of the year by Joffery Lupul, going down with no assistance. The Blackhawks replied with Viktor Stalberg's tenth of the season, coming off of Tomas Kopecky and Ryan Johnson. Chicago made it 5-1 with a Bryan Bickell tally, his 16th of the year, fueled by Dave Bolland and Brent Seabrook. The Maple Leafs tried to fuel a comeback with Joey Crabb potting his second of the season in the third period with the help of Luke Schenn. Schenn got another goal to make it 5-3 late in the final frame of regulation, which went down unassisted. This went on to become the final, and the three stars were Crawford (30 for 33), Brouwer, and Schenn.
Heading south to Tampa Bay, where the Lightning hosted the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Dwayne Roloson tended the twines. Hal Gill continued his hot streak with his second goal of the season, putting Montreal on top first with the help of Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec. David Desharnais extended the Canadiens lead with his eighth of the year, a power play goal powered by Andrei Kostitsyn. Tampa Bay got on the board with the 12th of the season for Dominic Moore, a power play goal as well, with assistance from Pavel Kubina and Teddy Purcell. Montreal restored the two-goal lead with yet another power play goal, the 13th of the year by Max Pacioretty, gathering steam off of Plekanec and P.K. Subban. Pacioretty added a third period goal for the Canadiens as well, his 14th of the season helped out on by Scott Gomez. The Lightning tried a comeback by making it 4-2 on the 16th of the year from Vincent Lecavalier, assisted by Moore and Purcell, but it wouldn't be enough. The three stars were Pacioretty, Price (43 for 45 saves), and Gomez.
Crossing into Georgia, where the Atlanta Thrashers hosted the Florida Panthers. Tomas Vokoun and Chris Mason put on the masks. Florida was first on the board with a Sergei Samsonov goal, his eleventh of the season a product of efforts by Niclas Bergfors and Stephen Weiss. Atlanta tied it in the second period with the 13th of the year by Blake Wheeler, assisted by Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd. Ladd put the Thrashers in front in the third period with his 24th of the season, a power play goal powered by Tobias Enstrom and Bryan Little. Wheeler struck again to make it 3-1 Atlanta with his second of the game and 14th of the year, helped along by Byfuglien. Weiss got the Panthers going again with his 18th of the season, a power play goal made possible by Samsonov and Mike Santorelli. David Booth provided the equalizer for Florida with his own 18th of the year, courtesy of Dmitry Kulikov and Jason Garrison. The tie lasted until overtime, where Ladd scored his 25th of the season and second of the game for the Thrashers, as Byfuglien clinched a sock trick and Little provided another assist to take down the Panthers. Ladd, Wheeler, and Byfuglien were the three stars.
Heading out west to the desert, where the Phoenix Coyotes hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Ilya Bryzgalov played between the pipes. Drew Miller put Detroit on the board first with his seventh of the season, with help from Darren Helm. The Red Wings extended the lead with Johan Franzen notching his 27th of the year, a power play goal guided in by Nicklas Lidstrom and Mike Modano. Phoenix got on the board when Kyle Turris sank his eleventh of the season with the help of Adrian Aucoin and Brett MacLean. Detroit made it 3-1 with a Valtteri Filppula goal, his 13th of the year, assisted by Lidstrom and Brad Stuart. Helm added on his ninth of the season for the Red Wings, a shorthanded goal made possible by Stuart. The Coyotes started a comeback attempt with a Mikkel Boedker goal, his second of the year going into the twine unassisted. Ray Whitney cut the score to 4-3 for Phoenix with his 13th of the season, with Kyle Turris and Shane Doan picking up the helpers. Martin Hanzal provided the equalizer for the Coyotes with his 16th of the year, coming off of Radim Vrbata and Whitney. The tie lasted into a shootout, where Phoenix beat Detroit on the lone Vrbata tally. The three stars went to Turris, Vrbata, and Whitney.
Moving north into Colorado, where the Avalanche hosted the Edmonton Oilers. Devan Dubnyk and Brian Elliott started in front of the cages. Edmonton opened the scoring with a Sam Gagner goal, his 15th of the season coming on the power play via Andrew Cogliano and Linus Omark. Ryan Jones added his 14th of the year for the Oilers, also a power play goal, with the help of Gagner and Tom Gilbert. Shawn Horcoff made it 3-0 Edmonton with his ninth of the season, assisted by Magnus Paajarvi and Jordan Eberle. The Oilers kept going with Alexandre Giroux netting his first of the year, thanks to Omark and Gagner. Colorado finally got on the board with the sixth of the season by Ryan O'Reilly, with the help of David Jones and John-Michael Liles required. Andrew Cogliano made it 5-1 Edmonton with his eleventh of the season, a shorthanded goal fueled by Liam Reddox and Gilbert. This would be the final, with the three stars going to Gagner, Dubnyk (33 for 34 saves), and Jones.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks hosted the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi got the starting nods. Dallas opened the scoring with a Jamie Benn goal shorthanded, his 16th of the season coming from Stephane Robidas. San Jose answered back with a Kyle Wellwood goal, his fourth of the year, with help from Torrey Mitchell and Joe Pavelski. The Sharks took the lead in the second period with Patrick Marleau's 26th of the campaign, assisted by Dany Heatley. The Stars retied it with Loui Eriksson getting his 23rd of the season, with the help of Mark Fistric and Benn. Dallas took the lead 3-2 with the first of the year for Jason Williams, with Steve Ott and Trevor Daley providing the helpers. This would be the final, with the three stars Benn, Marleau, and Alex Goligoski getting the three stars.
That's all there is for Saturday. Please pardon for the delay, and Sunday's games with a Sandwich post coming out later.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)