The All-Star game is over and hockey returns to normal with a thirteen game slate. First off, the captains of the most recent game do battle again in...
Boston, as the Bruins welcome the Ottawa Senators. In goal we have Craig Anderson and Tim Thomas. Boston led off with a Zdeno Chara goal, his eighth of the season coming on the power play from David Krejci and Milan Lucic. Ottawa tied it as Colin Greening potted his twelfth of the year, with the help of Milan Michalek and Filip Kuba. The Senators gained the lead on a Kyle Turris goal, his fifth of the season, with a lone assist from Daniel Alfredsson. Ottawa added on with an Erik Karlsson goal, his eighth of the year, guided in by Chris Neil and Kuba. The Bruins got one back with a Lucic goal, his eighteenth of the season, set up by Rich Peverley and Chara. Boston got an equalizer with Brad Marchand sinking his eighteenth of the year on the power play, powered by Joe Corvo and Dennis Seidenberg. The Bruins stormed ahead with a Seidenberg goal, his third of the season, with helpers provided by Corvo. This was all they needed to win 4-3, and the three stars were Marchand, Lucic, and Alfredsson, while Kuba, Chara, Corvo, and Seidenberg all get honorable mentions.
Down to New Jersey, as the Devils welcome the New York Rangers. Playing in net will be a battle of the Martins, as Biron opposes Brodeur. New York was first to score as Anton Stralman sank his second of the season, courtesy of Marian Gaborik and Carl Hagelin. New Jersey evened the game on a Zach Parise goal, his sixteenth of the year, set up by Dainius Zubrus. The Rangers regained the lead in the third period as the fourth of the season from Brian Boyle found twine, thanks to Stu Bickel and Brandon Prust. The Devils retied it with an Ilya Kovalchuk power play goal, his twentieth of the year, powered by Patrik Elias and David Clarkson. New York broke the tie as Michael Del Zotto shelved his sixth of the season, with the help of Gaborik and Hagelin. New Jersey got another equalizer with Clarkson's seventeenth of the year, assisted by Andy Greene and Adam Larsson. The Devils beat the Rangers in the shootout with a lone Kovalchuk tally. The three stars were awarded to Clarkson, Parise, and Del Zotto, while Kovalchuk, Gaborik, and Hagelin earn honorable mention.
Crossing the river to Philadelphia, as the Flyers welcome the Winnipeg Jets. In the blue paint areas are Ondrej Pavelec and Ilya Bryzgalov. Brayden Schenn opened things up for Philadelphia with a power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Matt Carle and Jaromir Jagr. Winnipeg tied it with a Chris Thorburn goal, made possible by Nik Antropov and Ron Hainsey. The Jets would take this game in the shootout after a long stretch of scorelessness, on a lone Bryan Little tally. The three stars were Little, Pavelec (27 for 28 in saves), and Schenn.
Also in Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Penguins play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Guarding the nets are Jonas Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury. Toronto began with a second period Mikhail Grabovski goal, his seventeenth of the season, fueled by Dion Phaneuf and Nikolai Kulemin. The Maple Leafs extended the lead on another Grabovski goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the year, going down with the help of Clarke MacArthur and Luke Schenn. Pittsburgh got one back as Matt Cooke put away his eighth of the season, via Paul Martin and Richard Park. Toronto added back on to their lead in the third period with a Tyler Bozak goal, his eighth of the year, with Jake Gardiner and Carl Gunnarsson assists. Nineteen seconds later, the Maple Leafs struck again as MacArthur put his fifteenth of the season in the cage, thanks to Grabovski and Kulemin. The Penguins responded with a Steve Sullivan goal, his tenth of the year going in unassisted. Pittsburgh continued the unlikely comeback with a Joe Vitale goal, his third of the season, assisted by Pascal Dupuis and Tyler Kennedy. The Penguins got the unlikely equalizer when Evgeni Malkin put away his twenty-seventh of the year as seven seconds hung on the clock, and James Neal and Sullivan helped him do it. Pittsburgh iced it at 5-4 in the shootout with a lone Malkin tally to complete the unbelievable stunner against Toronto. The three stars went to Fleury (35 for 39 in saves), Malkin, and Grabovski, while honorable mentions include MacArthur, Kulemin, and Sullivan.
Farther to the south, the Carolina Hurricanes host the New York Islanders. The masked men are Kevin Poulin and Cam Ward. New York led off with a power play goal by P.A. Parenteau, his eleventh of the season, powered by John Tavares and Mark Streit. The Islanders added on in the second period with a Matt Moulson goal, his twenty-third of the year, fueled by Streit and Parenteau on the power play. Carolina got on the board in the third period with a Brandon Sutter goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Tim Gleason. The Hurricanes tied it on a power play goal by Tim Brent, his seventh of the year, set up by Jeff Skinner and Eric Staal. New York regained the lead as Tavares potted his twenty-first of the season, assisted by Moulson and Steve Staios. The Islanders added on with a Kyle Okposo goal, his twelfth of the year going into the empty net after being passed from Tavares. New York would win 5-2 due to a Tavares empty netter, his second of the game and twenty-second of the campaign, passed through Okposo and Moulson. The three stars were Tavares, Moulson, and Poulin (21 for 23 in saves), while Okposo, Parenteau, and Streit get honorable mentions.
Continuing south, the Tampa Bay Lightning are hosting the Washington Capitals. In between the pipes are Tomas Vokoun and Mathieu Garon. Washington led off with a Matt Hendricks goal, his second of the season, thanks to Brooks Laich. Tampa Bay tied it on a Teddy Purcell goal, his thirteenth of the year, guided in by Steve Downie and Steven Stamkos. The Lightning took the lead with a second period Martin St. Louis tally, his thirteenth of the season, helped along by Brett Clark and Tom Pyatt. Tampa Bay added on with a Nate Thompson goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by Dominic Moore and J.T. Wyman. The Capitals got one back as Mathieu Perreault sank his eighth of the season unassisted. Washington tied it in the third period as Troy Brouwer netted his fifteenth of the year, an unassisted goal. The Lightning came out on top thanks to a Stamkos goal in overtime, his thirty-third of the campaign, courtesy of St. Louis and the goalie Garon. Stamkos, Hendricks, and Pavel Kubina gathered up the three stars, while St. Louis deserves an honorable mention or even an inclusion.
Northward to Canada, as the Montreal Canadiens host the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Carey Price are in the creases. Montreal led off as Max Pacioretty made his eighteenth of the season, with a lone assist from Josh Gorges. Ville Leino tied it in the second period for Buffalo on his fourth of the year, courtesy of Paul Gaustad and Christian Ehrhoff. The Sabres gained the lead in the third period on a Gaustad goal, his fifth of the season, guided in by Brad Boyes. Buffalo iced it at 3-1 with a Patrick Kaleta empty net goal, fueled by Ehrhoff and Gaustad as his fourth of the year. The three stars belonged to Price (37 for 39 in saves), Erik Cole, and Gaustad, while Ehrhoff can debate that Cole selection.
Westward, the Minnesota Wild host the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Josh Harding received the starting nods. Minnesota struck first as Dany Heatley notched his sixteenth of the season and Nick Johnson picked up the lone assist. Heatley added on for the Wild with a power play goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, powered by Matt Cullen. Minnesota rolled on in the second period as Cal Clutterbuck sank his thirteenth of the season, with assists provided by Cullen and Justin Falk. Nashville got on the board as Matt Halischuk scored his twelfth of the year, thanks to Kevin Klein and Brandon Yip. The Wild quickly got to work in the third period with Kyle Brodziak ripping his fourteenth of the season into the cage, helped along by Johnson and Heatley. The Predators answered again as Yip scored, guided in by Halischuk and Craig Smith. Nashville got another back as Patric Hornqvist recorded his fifteenth of the year, courtesy of Sergei Kostitsyn and Shea Weber. The Predators pulled off an improbable equalizer with Mike Fisher scoring twenty-one seconds later, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Colin Wilson and Martin Erat. Nashville made it 5-4 late with another Fisher goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, with no assists. They held on to win by this margin, and the three stars of the thriller were Heatley, Fisher, and Clutterbuck, with honorable mention to Yip, Halischuk, Johnson, and Cullen.
Back into Canada again, as the Calgary Flames welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Miikka Kiprusoff are wearing the pads. Detroit began when Cory Emmerton notched his fifth of the season, assisted by Justin Abdelkader and Jan Mursak. Calgary tied it in the second period as Michael Cammalleri nailed his eleventh of the year on the power play, powered by Alex Tanguay and Olli Jokinen. The Red Wings gained the lead in the third period on a Jiri Hudler goal, his sixteenth of the season, guided in by Valtteri Filppula. Detroit made it 3-1 with a Drew Miller goal, his eighth of the year, courtesy of Danny Cleary and Darren Helm. This was a final, and the three stars went to Pavel Datsyuk, Cammalleri, and Filppula, while point earners and Howard (28 for 29 in saves) are also logical choices.
South to the desert, as the Phoenix Coyotes bring in the Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Hiller and Mike Smith are tending the twines. Phoenix opened on a Ray Whitney goal, his sixteenth of the season, assisted by Radim Vrbata and Martin Hanzal. Anaheim tied it on a second period Andrew Cogliano goal, his ninth of the year, thanks to Matt Beleskey and Toni Lydman. Cogliano put the Ducks in the lead with his second of the game and tenth of the season, guided in by Nick Bonino. Anaheim extended the lead with Cogliano completing his natural hat trick on his eleventh of the year, fueled by Bonino and Visnovsky. The Ducks iced it at 4-1 with a Teemu Selanne empty net goal in the third period, his sixteenth of the campaign, pushed through by Saku Koivu and Luca Sbisa. The three stars of the game were Cogliano, Bonino, and Whitney.
Backtracking to Alberta again, where the Edmonton Oilers take on the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Devan Dubnyk are playing in front of the twines. Edmonton opened with a Jordan Eberle goal, his nineteenth of the season, courtesy of Sam Gagner and Philippe Cornet. The Oilers extended the lead as Eric Belanger potted his second of the year, a power play goal coming off of Ryan Whitney and Ryan Jones. Colorado got on the board in the second period when Peter Mueller notched his fourth of the season, via Chuck Kobasew and Paul Stastny. Edmonton got it back in the third period with Taylor Hall recording his seventeenth of the year, thanks to Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff. The Avalanche pulled back on a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his eleventh of the season, made possible by Milan Hejduk and Ryan O'Reilly. They never got the equalizer, losing 3-2, with the three stars being Dubnyk (31 for 33 in saves), Hall, and Landeksog.
To the west coast, as the Vancouver Canucks get to host the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and -e Cory Schneider are the puck stoppers. Vancouver led off as Ryan Kesler sank his fourteenth of the season, via Alexander Edler. Chicago tied it with a Jamal Mayers goal, his fourth of the year, courtesy of Steve Montador and Brent Seabrook. The Blackhawks took the lead in the third period on a Viktor Stalberg goal, his fifteenth of the season, with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews helpers. The Canucks evened the score again on a Cody Hodgson goal, his fourteenth of the year, made possible by Jannik Hansen and Dan Hamhuis. The game would tip in favor of Vancouver during overtime, as Daniel Sedin paced his team to 3-2 win with his twenty-second of the campaign, guided in by Henrik Sedin and Edler. The three stars were Schneider (37 for 39 in saves), Stalberg, and Edler.
Finally, we end in San Jose when the Sharks host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Guarding the cages we have Steve Mason and Antti Niemi. San Jose opened on a Patrick Marleau goal, his eighteenth of the season, assisted by Justin Braun and Logan Couture. The Sharks added on with a Joe Thornton goal, his ninth of the year, an unassisted goal. San Jose kept going in the second period as Joe Pavelski made his eighteenth of the season on the power play, powered by Couture and Thornton. The Sharks extended the lead again as Jamie McGinn notched his tenth of the year, fueled by Douglas Murray and Michal Handzus. San Jose rolled on in the third period when Handzus sank his fourth of the season, guided in by McGinn. The Sharks iced it at 6-0 with another Thornton goal, his second of the game and tenth of the year, made possible by Pavelski and Andrew Desjardins. The three stars were Thornton, Couture, and Niemi (30 save shutout), while Pavelski, Handzus, and McGinn earn the honorable mentions.
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