Only eleven games on this Saturday, a bit lower than usual, beginning with two matinees. The first takes place in...
Boston, with the Bruins hosting the Washington Capitals. Tomas Vokoun and Tim Thomas are in front of the nets. Washington opened with an Alexander Semin goal, his eighteenth of the season, assisted by Karl Alzner. The Capitals added on with a Matt Hendricks goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Troy Brouwer and Dmitry Orlov. Boston got one back as Milan Lucic recorded his twenty-third of the season, thanks to Patrice Bergeron. The Bruins tied it in the second period as Brad Marchand put down his twenty-third of the year, an unassisted goal. Washington regained the lead with Jay Beagle netting his second of the season, via Semin and Orlov. The Capitals extended the lead with a Brooks Laich power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Dennis Wideman and Alex Ovechkin. Boston got one back in the third period with Johnny Boychuk registering his third of the campaign with the help of Jordan Caron and Marchand. They never got the equalizer, falling 4-3, while the three stars were given to Laich, Vokoun (30 for 33 in saves), and Bergeron, and Semin, Marchand, and Orlov got the honorable mentions.
The other matinee is out west, in Denver, where the Colorado Avalanche welcome the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Semyon Varlamov are under the masks. Edmonton got things going as Ryan Smyth netted his nineteenth of the season, with helpers provided by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle. Colorado tied it in the second period when Cody McLeod notched his sixth of the year, thanks to Ryan Wilson and Kevin Porter. The Avalanche took the lead as Peter Mueller potted his sixth of the season, with the help of Milan Hejduk and Mark Olver. The Oilers retied it in the third period as Taylor Hall sank his twenty-fifth of the year, guided in by Eberle. The tie was broken in the shootout, falling in Colorado's favor as Hejduk and Mueller paced them to a 3-2 lead. The three stars were Varlamov (28 for 30 in saves), Hejduk, and Eberle, while Mueller earns an honorable mention.
Starting at regularly scheduled times, the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Philadelphia Flyers. Ilya Bryzgalov and Jonas Gustavsson are in the creases. The game featured no scoring until the shootout, where Philadelphia escaped with a 1-0 win after a lone Claude Giroux tally. The three stars were awarded to Bryzgalov (29 save shutout), Gustavsson (27 save faux-shutout), and Giroux.
Also in Ontario, the Ottawa Senators welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Ben Bishop protect the nets. Erik Condra got Ottawa going with his eighth of the season, a shorthanded and unassisted goal. Buffalo tied it in the second period as Nathan Gerbe registered his sixth of the year, thanks to Christian Ehrhoff and Derek Roy. The Senators regained the lead on the seventeenth of the season by Erik Karlsson, made possible by Chris Neil and Nick Foligno. With nineteen seconds left in the middle frame, the Sabres got an equalizer off the tape of Tyler Ennis, his eighth of the year, fueled by Jordan Leopold and Ville Leino. Ottawa took the lead again in the third period as Karlsson potted his second of the game and eighteenth of the season, an unassisted goal. Buffalo retied it again with a Marcus Foligno goal, also an unassisted goal. The tie was broken in favor of the Sabres in the shootout, as Jason Pominville and Ennis overpowered Daniel Alfredsson of the Senators for a 4-3 win. The three stars were given to Miller (33 for 36 in saves), Bishop (38 for 41 in saves), and Karlsson, while Ennis gets the honorable mention.
To the south, as the Tampa Bay Lightning bring in the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Dustin Tokarski got the starting nods. Tampa Bay struck first with a Ryan Malone goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Tom Pyatt and Brett Connolly. Carolina answered as Jaroslav Spacek netted his fifth of the year, a power play goal powered by Jamie McBain and Jussi Jokinen. The Hurricanes gained the lead with a Jeff Skinner goal, his eighteenth of the season, fueled by Jokinen and Chad LaRose. The Lightning retied it when Nate Thompson deposited his eighth of the year, thanks to J.T. Wyman and Adam Hall. Carolina regained the lead in the third period with another Skinner goal, his second of the night and nineteenth of the season, guided in by Bryan Allen. Carolina iced it at 4-2 with a LaRose empty net goal, his fourteenth of the year, passed through Jay Harrison and Justin Faulk previously. Skinner, Ward (36 for 38 in saves), and Malone got the three stars while LaRose and Jokinen got the honorable mentions.
Backtracking a bit to Long Island, as the New York Islanders bring in the New Jersey Devils. Johan Hedberg and Anders Nilsson relieve the normal starters. New York got things started as John Tavares netted his twenty-seventh of the season in the third period, assisted by P.A. Parenteau and Matt Moulson. New Jersey tied it up with David Clarkson recording his twenty-eighth of the year, thanks to Jacob Josefson and Alexei Ponikarovsky. The Devils took the game 2-1 late with a Marek Zidlicky power play goal powered by Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise. The three stars went to Zidlicky, Clarkson, and Tavares.
Westward a tad, as the Nashville Predators host the Detroit Red Wings. Joey MacDonald and Pekka Rinne guard the cages. Nashville led off on a Patric Hornqvist goal, his twenty-first of the season, with a lone assist by David Legwand. Detroit answered with a Drew Miller tally, his thirteenth of the year, fueled by Danny Cleary and Brad Stuart. The Predators retook the lead as Andrei Kostitsyn recorded his fourteenth of the season, a power play goal powered by Sergei Kostitsyn and Legwand. Nashville extended the lead in the third period with another Andrei power play goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, fueled by Sergei and Legwand, the latter wrapping up his sock trick. The Red Wings got one back as Justin Abdelkader notched his eighth of the season, with helpers provided by Gustav Nyquist and Darren Helm. They couldn't get the equalizer, falling 3-2 in the end. The three stars belonged to Andrei, Legwand, and Sergei.
Southwest of there, the Dallas Stars bring in the Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Hiller and Kari Lehtonen play in between the pipes tonight. Dallas got the first goal in the second period when Brenden Morrow netted his ninth of the season, a power play goal powered by Jamie Benn and Steve Ott. Michael Ryder iced it for the Stars with his thirtieth of the year, an empty net goal set up by Loui Eriksson and Mike Ribeiro for a 2-0 win. The three stars were given to Lehtonen (21 save shutout), Morrow, and Hiller (21 for 22 in saves).
North again, this time stopping in St. Louis for the Blues hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. Curtis Sanford and Brian Elliott will attempt to stop the puck. St. Louis opened the scoring on a David Perron goal, his thirteenth of the season, fueled by Andy McDonald and Patrik Berglund. Columbus tied it as Cam Atkinson registered his second of the year in the second period, coming off of Mark Letestu and Brett Lebda. The Blues retook the lead on a Chris Stewart goal, his fifteenth of the season, made possible by Barret Jackman. St. Louis extended the lead with the eighteenth of the year by T.J. Oshie, a power play goal powered by David Backes and Carlo Colaiacovo. The Blues kept rolling on a third period Alex Pietrangelo goal, his eleventh of the season, coming on the power play from McDonald and Kevin Shattenkirk. This was it for the scoring, with a 4-1 score being the final, and the three stars went out to Backes, Pietrangelo, and Elliott (21 for 22 in saves), with McDonald earning an honorable mention.
Heading farther southwest, the Phoenix Coyotes welcome the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Mike Smith tend the twines. Phoenix first dented the scoreboard in the second period on a Mikkel Boedker goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Michael Stone and Marc-Antoine Pouliot. Stone added on for the Coyotes later on, with the help of Pouliot and Gilbert Brule. Phoenix extended the lead again in the third period with Raffi Torres recording his twelfth of the year, via Shane Doan and Keith Yandle. This would be it for the scoring, leaving the three stars to Smith (42 save shutout), Stone, and Pouliot in the 3-0 game.
Finally, we head northwest to British Columbia, as the Vancouver Canucks bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Roberto Luongo guard the goalmouths. Vancouver opened the scoring as Ryan Kesler scored his twenty-first of the season, thanks to David Booth and Chris Higgins. Montreal tied it on a Blake Geoffrion goal, made possible by Louis Leblanc and Yannick Weber. The Canadiens nabbed the lead thirteen seconds into the third period as Erik Cole sank his twenty-fourth of the year, courtesy of Max Pacioretty and Josh Gorges. Montreal extended the lead as P.K. Subban potted his seventh of the season on the power play, powered by Andrei Markov and Tomas Plekanec. Cole struck again to add on for the Canadiens with his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the year, with Pacioretty getting the lone helper. This left the score at 4-1, with Price (32 for 33 in saves), Cole, and Subban getting the three stars while Pacioretty gets an honorable mention.
Follow me on Twitter @KipperScorpion.
No comments :
Post a Comment