Another eight games rolling this Sunday afternoon. First up...
The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Boston Bruins. Tim Thomas and Marc-Andre Fleury got the starting nods. Pittsburgh started off with an Arron Asham goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Ben Lovejoy and Craig Adams. Matt Niskanen extended the Penguins lead with his fourth of the year, guided in by Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. Pittsburgh kept going with a Neal power play goal, his thirty-first of the season, powered by Malkin. Thomas was relieved by Marty Turco for the second period onward. Boston got one back with David Krejci recording his nineteenth of the year, thanks to Tyler Seguin and Milan Lucic. The Penguins answered on a Chris Kunitz goal, his twentieth of the campaign, fueled by Neal and Malkin. The Bruins pulled back as Krejci made his second of the game and twentieth of the season, coming off of Lucic and Seguin. Pittsburgh iced it at 5-2 in the third period with Pascal Dupuis notching his eighteenth of the year, via Jordan Staal and Deryk Engelland. The three stars went to Neal, Malkin, and Krejci, while Lucic and Seguin get the honorable mentions.
Moving along to D.C., as the Washington Capitals host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jonas Gustavsson and Michal Neuvirth tend the twines. Washington began with a shorthanded and unassisted Brooks Laich goal, his fourteenth of the season. The Capitals added on in the second period with a Mathieu Perreault goal, his twelfth of the year, guided in by Alexander Semin and Dennis Wideman. This was all they needed for a 2-0 win, and the three stars were given to Neuvirth (23 save shutout), Laich, and Perreault.
Farther south, the Florida Panthers host the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Jose Theodore are in the blue paint. Florida drew first blood with a second period Tomas Fleischmann goal, his twenty-second of the season, fueled by Stephen Weiss and Wojtek Wolski. The Panthers iced it at 2-0 with a Marcel Goc goal, his eighth of the year finding the empty net thanks to Tomas Kopecky and Jason Garrison. Theodore (34 save shutout), Fleischmann, and Ward (31 for 32 in saves) get the three stars.
Northwest to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets welcome the St. Louis Blues for the second half of a home-and-home. Jaroslav Halak and Curtis Sanford will play goal. St. Louis got things going in the second period on a Patrik Berglund goal, his fifteenth of the season, assisted by Alex Pietrangelo and Andy McDonald. Columbus tied it when Mark Letestu notched his eighth of the year, courtesy of Ryan Johansen and Brett Lebda. The Blues took the lead in the third period as David Perron potted his fourteenth of the season, a shorthanded goal set up by Barret Jackman. St. Louis held on to the 2-1 lead from here for the win, with the three stars going to Halak (33 for 34 in saves), Perron, and Letestu.
Following the directional trend, the Minnesota Wild bring in the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Matt Hackett wild guard the cages. Calgary opened the scoring with Jarome Iginla notching his twenty-ninth of the season, via Alex Tanguay and Matt Stajan. The Flames extended the lead in the third period as Sven Baertschi scored, with the help of Derek Smith and Tom Kostopoulos. Minnesota got one back as Erik Christensen recorded his second of the year, an unassisted goal just twenty-seven seconds later. The Wild tied it with another Christensen goal, his second of the game and third of the season, coming off of Jared Spurgeon and Stephane Veilleux. Calgary regained the lead when Curtis Glencross registered his twenty-fifth of the year, thanks to Iginla. The Flames got a little separation with an Olli Jokinen goal, his twenty-first of the season, made possible by David Moss and Glencross. Minnesota made it close at the end, pulling up to 4-3 with a Devin Setoguchi goal, his eighteenth of the year, pushed through by Kyle Brodziak and Tom Gilbert. The three stars were awarded to Iginla, Christensen, and Glencross.
Back east, the New Jersey Devils welcome the Philadelphia Flyers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Martin Brodeur are the masked men. New Jersey struck first with a Patrik Elias goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, a power play goal coming off of David Clarkson and Ilya Kovalchuk. Philadelphia tied it in the third period with a Claude Giroux goal, just sixteen seconds in, his twenty-fifth of the year, pushed through by Jaromir Jagr and Matt Carle. The Devils took the lead back with the second of the season by Anton Volchenkov, fueled by Kovalchuk and Zach Parise. New Jersey extended the lead on a Kovalchuk goal, his thirtieth of the year, guided in by Marek Zidlicky and Adam Henrique. The Devils added on again with a Parise power play goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, powered by Elias and Zidlicky, making it 4-1. The three stars were handed out to Kovalchuk, Zidlicky, and Elias, while Parise gets the honorable mention.
Near there, the New York Rangers take their turn in hosting the battle of New York by bringing in the New York Islanders. The goalies are Evgeni Nabokov and Henrik Lundqvist. John Tavares put the Islanders on the board first with his twenty-eighth of the season, thanks to P.A. Parenteau and Travis Hamonic. The Rangers tied it with a Brad Richards goal, his twentieth of the year, guided in by Anton Stralman and the goalie Lundqvist on the power play. The Islanders retook the lead with a Matt Moulson goal, his twenty-ninth of the season, a power play goal powered by Mark Streit and Hamonic. The Rangers tied it again on another Richards goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the year, again on the power play, from Marian Gaborik and Mats Zuccarello. Andrew MacDonald took the lead back for the Islanders with his fifth of the season, made possible by Tavares and Milan Jurcina. The Rangers tied it again on a Brian Boyle goal, his sixth of the year coming in the third period via Ryan McDonagh and Brandon Prust. The Rangers would win 4-3 in overtime as Gaborik put away his thirty-third of the campaign, assisted by Richards and Derek Stepan on the power play. The three stars ended up being Richards, Tavares, and Gaborik, while Hamonic gets an honorable mention.
Finally, in Chicago, the Blackhawks host the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Ray Emery are between the pipes. Los Angeles opened on a Slava Voynov goal, his fifth of the season, fueled by Justin Williams and Dustin Brown. Chicago tied it in the second period with a Marcus Kruger goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Patrick Sharp and Viktor Stalberg. The Kings retook the lead as Jeff Carter put his nineteenth of the season in the cage, with the help of Dwight King and Mike Richards. The Blackhawks tied it in the third period as the eighteenth of the year by Patrick Kane found twine, coming off of Marian Hossa and Brent Seabrook. The tie was broken in the sixth round of the shootout on a Richards tally to lead the Kings to a 3-2 win. The three stars were Quick (35 for 37 in saves), Emery (27 for 29 in saves), and Jarret Stoll, while Richards gets honorable mention.
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