Seven games on an unusually busy Sunday afternoon in hockey. We begin with...
The New York Rangers hosting the Washington Capitals. Michal Neuvirth and Henrik Lundqvist will get the starting nods in goal. New York opened with a Ryan Callahan goal, his twenty-second of the season, assisted by Anton Stralman and Brad Richards. Washington tied it in the second period with Alexander Semin notching his fifteenth of the year, courtesy of Jason Chimera and John Carlson. The Rangers regained the lead on a Ryan McDonagh tally, his fifth of the campaign, fueled by Brian Boyle and Brandon Dubinsky. New York extended their lead in the third period when Brandon Prust scored his third of the season, a shorthanded goal passed through by Dubinsky and Marc Staal. The Capitals pulled back to 3-2 with a Carlson goal, his seventh of the year, made possible by Alex Ovechkin and Roman Hamrlik. They never tied it, so this was a final, and the three stars were McDonagh, Prust, and Dubinsky, while Carlson gets the honorable mention.
Staying in the same metro area, the New York Islanders welcome the Florida Panthers. Jose Theodore and Evgeni Nabokov will be between the pipes. Frans Nielsen put New York ahead first with his tenth of the season, set up by P.A. Parenteau and Andrew MacDonald. Florida answered with a Tyson Strachan goal, fueled by Marcel Goc. The Panthers gained the lead in the second period as Tomas Fleischmann netted his eighteenth of the year, thanks to Kris Versteeg and Stephen Weiss. Florida added on with a power play goal by Weiss, his twenty-second of the season, powered by Fleischmann and Brian Campbell. The Panthers extended the lead again when Jack Skille's third of the year found twine, and the lone helper on the tally was Shawn Matthias. This was a final after a scoreless third period, and the three stars of the 4-1 game were Versteeg, Fleischmann, and Theodore (26 for 27 in saves).
Westward to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets host the Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Hiller and Steve Mason will wear the masks. Anaheim led off with a Corey Perry goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, assisted by Lubomir Visnovsky and Ryan Getzlaf. The Ducks extended the lead with a Perry power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the year, powered by Saku Koivu and Getzlaf. Columbus shot back with a Fedor Tyutin goal, his fourth of the season, also on the power play, with help from Jeff Carter and Vinny Prospal. Anaheim took it back in the second period as Jason Blake recorded his fifth of the year, thanks to Getzlaf, who got a sock trick with the helper. The Ducks added on as Bobby Ryan potted a power play goal, his twenty-first of the season, made possible by Teemu Selanne and Cam Fowler. Anaheim rolled on with Perry finishing his hat trick on the power play with his twenty-sixth of the year, with assists provided by Ryan. The Blue Jackets answered with Aaron Johnson recording his third of the season, via James Wisniewski and Derek MacKenzie. Columbus got as close as 5-3 before time expired, this happening due to an Antoine Vermette power play goal in the third period, his eighth of the year, set up by Rick Nash and Tyutin. Perry, Getzlaf, and Tyutin had the three stars, while Ryan earns the honorable mention.
To the south, the Dallas Stars take on the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Kari Lehtonen guard the cages. Los Angeles was first on the board with a Dwight King goal, made possible by Justin Williams and Anze Kopitar. The Kings extended the lead in the second period when Andrei Loktionov scored his second of the season, powered by Jack Johnson and Kopitar. Dallas got one back with Loui Eriksson depositing his eighteenth of the year, via Alex Goligoski and Mike Ribeiro. The Stars tied it with Michael Ryder sinking his twenty-first of the season, thanks to Eriksson and Goligoski in the third period. Los Angeles got the lead back with Jordan Nolan's goal, courtesy of Mike Richards and King. The Kings iced at 4-2 with Williams scoring an empty net goal, his eleventh of the year, an unassisted tally. The three stars were given to King, Eriksson, and Nolan, while Williams, Kopitar, and Goligoski got the honorable mentions.
Back northeast a bit, the St. Louis Blues host the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Jaroslav Halak will take to the twines. St. Louis started the scoring with Alex Pietrangelo netting his ninth of the season, a power play goal coming off of T.J. Oshie and Andy McDonald. The Blues extended the lead in the second period with David Perron notching his tenth of the year, a power play goal powered by David Backes and Pietrangelo. Pietrangelo iced it for St. Louis in the third period with his second of the game and tenth of the campaign, an unassisted empty net goal. The three stars were handed out to Pietrangelo, Halak (25 save shutout), and McDonald.
East even farther to Pittsburgh, as the Penguins welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the blue paint we have Mathieu Garon and Brent Johnson. Tampa Bay struck first with a Steve Downie goal, his tenth of the season, set up by Teddy Purcell and Victor Hedman. The Lightning added on with another Downie goal eleven seconds later, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, coming off of Purcell and Brett Clark. Pittsburgh answered with an Evgeni Malkin power play goal, his thirty-first of the season, powered by Kris Letang and James Neal. The Penguins got an equalizer in the second period when Chris Kunitz put away his sixteenth of the year, guided in by Letang and the goalie Johnson. Pittsburgh took the lead when Letang scored his eighth of the season, thanks to Kunitz and Neal. The Penguins extended their lead with Malkin's second of the game and thirty-second of the year, fueled by Kunitz and Neal, the latter wrapping up a sock trick. The third period was silent, leaving the final at 4-2, where Letang, Malkin, and Kunitz get the three stars and Neal, Downie, and Purcell get the honorable mentions.
Finally, a bit to the west, the Detroit Red Wings are hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Joey MacDonald are in goal in place of their injured higher-ups. Detroit scored first as Niklas Kronwall put his twelfth of the season away, with the help of Henrik Zetterberg and Todd Bertuzzi on the power play. Philadelphia answered with a Brayden Schenn goal, his seventh of the year, fueled by Danny Briere. Schenn gave the Flyers the lead in the second period with his eighth of the season and second of the night, and Braydon Coburn provided the lone assist. The Red Wings retied it with Pavel Datsyuk scoring his fifteenth of the year, a power play goal powered by Johan Franzen and Ian White. Philadelphia retook the lead with Max Talbot registering his fifteenth of the season, thanks to Scott Hartnell and Matt Read. Detroit got another equalizer with Zetterberg netting his eleventh of the year, assisted by Valtteri Filppula and Brad Stuart. The Red Wings gained the lead in the third period with Franzen registering his twenty-second of the season, via Nicklas Lidstrom and Zetterberg. This would hold for a 4-3 win, and the three stars were awarded to Lidstrom, Datsyuk, and Franzen, while Zetterberg and Schenn also had honorable performances.
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