Eight games for your viewing pleasure tonight. We begin in...
Boston, where the Bruins welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Tuukka Rask will be in goal. Carolina opened with an Eric Staal goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Jiri Tlusty and Jaroslav Spacek. The Hurricanes added on in the second period as Tuomo Ruutu made his sixteenth of the year, coming off of Brandon Sutter and Anthony Stewart. Carolina extended the lead in the third period when Sutter's twelfth of the season found twine, and Andreas Nodl had the lone assist. This was all in the scoring, resulting in a 3-0 final, where Ward (47 save shutout), Sutter, and Rask (28 for 31 in saves) got the three stars.
Down a bit to New Jersey, as the Devils welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Martin Brodeur get the starting nods. Montreal started the scoring with a David Desharnais goal, his tenth of the season, courtesy of Rene Bourque and Max Pacioretty. The Canadiens added on with a Andrei Kostitsyn goal, his twelfth of the year, pushed through by Yannick Weber and Louis Leblanc. New Jersey got one back with a Zach Parise goal, his seventeenth of the season, guided in by Dainius Zubrus and Ilya Kovalchuk. Montreal replied in the second period as Mathieu Darche sank his third of the year, a shorthanded goal set up by Tomas Plekanec. The Devils answered back with a David Clarkson power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, powered by Kovalchuk and Mark Fayne. New Jersey evened it in the third period as Zubrus made his thirteenth of the year, with the help of Alexei Ponikarovsky and Clarkson. The Devils gained the lead with another Parise goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the season, fueled by Kovalchuk for a sock trick and Patrik Elias. New Jersey iced it at 5-3 with a Clarkson empty net goal, his second of the game and nineteenth of the year, via Ponikarovsky and Zubrus. The three stars were awarded to Parise, Kovalchuk, and Brodeur (27 for 30 in saves), while Zubrus, Ponikarovsky, and Clarkson get the honorable mentions.
Keeping with a theme of short travel, the Philadelphia Flyers welcomed the Nashville Predators. Anders Lindback and Ilya Bryzgalov wear the pads. Philadelphia led off with a Wayne Simmonds goal, his fourteenth of the season, fueled by Brayden Schenn and Zac Rinaldo. The Flyers added on in the second period as Matt Read potted his sixteenth of the year, an unassisted goal. Nashville got one back in the third period when Ryan Suter recorded his sixth of the season, thanks to Craig Smith and Matt Halischuk. Philadelphia got it back with another Simmonds goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year coming on the power play from Claude Giroux and Kimmo Timonen. The Flyers iced it with an empty netted by Giroux, his nineteenth of the campaign, powered by Jaromir Jagr and Timonen. The three stars belonged to Read, Simmonds, and Schenn, while Giroux and Timonen earn honorable mentions.
In the south, the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Winnipeg Jets. Ondrej Pavelec and Mathieu Garon play in the blue paint. The scoring began with Blake Wheeler of Winnipeg in the second period, as his tenth of the season crossed the goal line after getting previous passes from Jim Slater and Andrew Ladd. Tampa Bay tied it in the third period as Victor Hedman recorded his third of the year, thanks to Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos. The game was decided in overtime as the Jets used Kyle Wellwood's tenth of the campaign to win 2-1 over the Lightning, and the assists came from Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien. The three stars went out to Wellwood, Hedman, and Byfuglien, with honorable mention for Wheeler.
Northwest of here, the Colorado Avalanche hosted the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Jean-Sebastien Giguere took to the cages this game. Minnesota opened with a Greg Zanon goal, his second of the season, made possible by Dany Heatley and Kyle Brodziak. This held up throughout the rest of game for a 1-0 Wild win, and the three stars were Backstrom (37 save shutout), Zanon, and Giguere (20 for 21 in saves).
Northward, the Edmonton Oilers host the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Devan Dubnyk will try to stop the puck. Chicago opened with a Jamal Mayers goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Niklas Hjalmarsson and Marcus Kruger. The Blackhawks added on in the early second period as Patrick Sharp deposited his twenty-first of the year, and Patrick Kane had the only assist. Taylor Hall answered for Edmonton with his eighteenth of the season, via Sam Gagner. Gagner put up the equalizer for the Oilers in the form of his sixth of the year, courtesy of Jordan Eberle and Andy Sutton. Edmonton gained the lead as Ryan Whitney scored a power play goal, powered by Gagner. Chicago retied it with another Sharp goal, this one coming shorthanded as his second of the game and twenty-second of the season, guided in by Jonathan Toews and Hjalmarsson. The Oilers took the lead again in the third period as Gagner continued his strong game with his second goal of the night and seventh of the year, set up by Whitney and Eberle. Edmonton rolled on as Cam Barker put away his second of the season, thanks to Sutton and Gagner, the latter with a sock trick, chasing Crawford in favor of Ray Emery. The Blackhawks earned one back as Dave Bolland recorded his sixteenth of the year, pushed through by Kruger and Andrew Shaw. The Oilers took it away with Gagner finishing off a hat trick with his eighth of the season, where Hall and Corey Potter gain the assists. Edmonton kept going as Gagner got his fourth of the night and ninth of the year, helped along by Eberle for a sock trick, and Hall. The Oilers proved unstoppable when Eberle notched his twentieth of the campaign, and Gagner and Hall provided the assistance, with the latter earning a sock trick. The final was 8-4, with Gagner, Hall, and Eberle as the three stars. Honorable mentions go to Sharp, Sutton, Whitney, Hjalmarsson, and Kruger, with a special honorable mention for Gagner, who recorded the first 8 point game in nearly 23 years. All of these are unofficial, but rather obvious as well.
Westward a tad, the Vancouver Canucks host the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Roberto Luongo tend the twines. Danny Cleary started the scoring in Detroit's favor, with his eleventh of the season getting a lone helper from Darren Helm. Vancouver tied it on a Ryan Kesler goal, his fifteenth of the year, made possible by David Booth and Kevin Bieksa. The Red Wings took the lead back when Jiri Hudler converted his seventeenth of the season, thanks to Valtteri Filppula and Brad Stuart. The Canucks retied it in the third period as Alexandre Burrows nailed his nineteenth of the year, courtesy of Maxim Lapierre. Detroit regained the lead with a Drew Miller goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Cleary and Stuart. Vancouver got another equalizer with Mason Raymond depositing his sixth of the year, with the help of Sami Salo and Henrik Sedin. The game was decided by Pavel Datsyuk and Hudler shootout tallies, with the Red Wings soaring to 4-3 victory over the Canucks. The three stars were Cleary, Booth, and Luongo (40 for 43 in saves), while Stuart and Hudler earn the honorable mentions.
Finally, in Northern California, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Dallas Stars. Backups Richard Bachman and Thomas Greiss guard the nets. San Jose opened as Michal Handzus knocked in his fifth of the season, with help from Brent Burns and Jamie McGinn. The Sharks added on with a Joe Pavelski goal, his nineteenth of the year, coming on the power play from Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Dallas got on the board in the second period with Steve Ott making his eighth of the season, an unassisted power play goal. San Jose got it back with Logan Couture recording his twenty-second of the year, a power play goal powered by Burns and Marleau. Thornton extended the Sharks lead on his eleventh of the season, with a lone assist by Pavelski. The Stars replied in the third period as Jamie Benn recorded his fifteenth of the campaign, courtesy of Philip Larsen and Ott. San Jose iced it at 5-2 with a Ryane Clowe goal, his tenth of the year, set up by Couture and Burns, the latter earning a sock trick. The three stars were Pavelski, Couture, and Burns, while Thornton, Marleau, and Ott earned the honorable mentions.
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