We have eleven games today coming in three waves. First up are three matinees, beginning in...
Boston, where the Bruins welcome the Philadelphia Flyers. Ilya Bryzgalov and Tim Thomas are between the pipes. Boston struck first on a Chris Kelly goal, his seventeenth of the season, fueled by Benoit Pouliot and Brian Rolston. The Bruins added on with a Tyler Seguin netting his twenty-fifth of the year, guided in by Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Philadelphia got on the board in the second period with a Matt Read power play goal, his twentieth of the season, powered by Danny Briere and Matt Carle. The Flyers evened the score in the third period as Jakub Voracek made his fourteenth of the year, with the help of Braydon Coburn and Read. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Boston needed David Krejci, Seguin, and Bergeron tallies to defeat Read and Claude Giroux of Philadelphia by a 3-2 margin. The three stars were given to Bergeron, Thomas (27 for 29 in saves), and Zdeno Chara, while Seguin or Read could take the third star easily.
A bit south, the New Jersey Devils bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Martin Brodeur tend the twines. Pittsburgh started with a James Neal goal, his thirty-second of the season, assisted by Evgeni Malkin. New Jersey tied it as Andy Greene scored, with helpers from Ilya Kovalchuk and Mark Fayne. The Penguins regained the lead in the second period as Pascal Dupuis potted his twentieth of the year, thanks to Jordan Staal and Matt Niskanen. Pittsburgh extended the lead with a Matt Cooke goal, his fifteenth of the season, helped along by Sidney Crosby and Tyler Kennedy. The Penguins kept going with Malkin potting his fortieth of the year on the power play, powered by Crosby and Chris Kunitz. The Devils answered in the third period on a Petr Sykora goal, his sixteenth of the season, coming off of Patrik Elias and Dainius Zubrus. Pittsburgh took it back with Cooke's second of the game and sixteenth of the year, with assists provided by Kennedy and Crosby, the latter getting a sock trick. This was it for the scoring, leaving us with a 5-2 final, and Crosby, Malkin, and Cooke as the three stars, while Kennedy and Greene get the honorable mentions.
Wrapping up the matinees, the Minnesota Wild host the Carolina Hurricanes. Brian Boucher and Matt Hackett received the starting nods. Drayson Bowman put Carolina up first with his unassisted fourth of the season. Brandon Sutter of Carolina then fought with Nate Prosser of Minnesota. Minnesota answered when Kyle Brodziak scored his eighteenth of the year, a shorthanded goal passed from Steve Kampfer and Tom Gilbert. The Wild took the lead with a Nick Johnson goal, his seventh of the season, via Brodziak and Marco Scandella. Minnesota added on with an Erik Christensen power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Brodziak and Cal Clutterbuck. The Hurricanes took one back when Bowman put down his second of the game and fifth of the season, thanks to Sutter and Anthony Stewart. Carolina tied it in the third period as Sutter finished his Gordie Howe Hat Trick with his fifteenth of the year, made possible by Bowman. The Hurricanes gained the lead with a Tim Brent goal, his eleventh of the season, with helpers from Eric Staal and Jiri Tlusty. Carolina iced it at 5-3 with a Chad LaRose empty net goal, his sixteenth of the year, coming off of Jussi Jokinen. The three stars went to Bowman, Brodziak, and Sutter.
At the regular time for east coast games, we begin with the Montreal Canadiens hosting the New York Islanders. Al Montoya and Peter Budaj were in the blue paint. Montreal began with an Aaron Palushaj goal, with a lone Petteri Nokelainen assist. New York tied it in the second period with the sixth of the season for Mark Streit, a power play goal powered by Frans Nielsen. The Islanders took the lead on a Nielsen goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Travis Hamonic and Josh Bailey. The Canadiens retied it in the third period when Louis Leblanc put down his fourth of the campaign, with help from P.K. Subban and the goalie Budaj. The game was decided in the shootout, with Nielsen and David Desharnais trading tallies, followed by another wash with Rene Bourque and Matt Moulson before New York took the game 3-2 on a Bailey goal. The three stars ended up with Bailey, Budaj (36 for 38 in saves), and Leblanc, while Nielsen gets an honorable mention.
A bit west of there, the Battle of Ontario resumed when the Ottawa Senators hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Ben Bishop were the masked men. Tim Connolly sparked Toronto to score first in the second period with his eleventh of the season, an unassisted goal. The Maple Leafs added on in the third period when Phil Kessel netted his thirty-fifth of the year, a power play goal powered by Jake Gardiner and Tyler Bozak. Toronto extended the lead again with a Dion Phaneuf goal, his tenth of the season also coming on the power play, via Kessel and Gardiner. Ottawa busted the shutout bid late with a Colin Greening goal, his sixteenth of the year, fueled by Filip Kuba and Jim O'Brien. Kessel, Reimer (29 for 30 in saves), and Gardiner got the three stars in the 3-1 game.
Farther to the south, the Tampa Bay Lightning welcomed the St. Louis Blues. Jaroslav Halak and Dwayne Roloson made the starts in goal. St. Louis led off with a Patrik Berglund shorthanded goal, his seventeenth of the season, assisted by Alex Pietrangelo and T.J. Oshie. The Blues added on with a Jaden Schwartz power play goal, powered by Chris Stewart and Carlo Colaiacovo. David Perron kept St. Louis going in the second period with his fifteenth of the year, courtesy of Oshie. Tampa Bay cut the deficit to 3-1 in the third period, an eventual final, on a Brendan Mikkelson goal, with Adam Hall and Tim Wallace picking up the helpers. Halak (22 for 23 in saves), Schwartz, and Mikkelson got the three stars, while Oshie earns an honorable mention.
Back up the coastline, the New York Rangers hosted the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Henrik Lundqvist guarded the cages. New York struck first on a Mats Zuccarello goal, made possible by Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh. Colorado answered with a Matt Hunwick goal, his third of the season, fueled by Peter Mueller and Matt Duchene. The Avalanche took the lead in the second period on a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his twenty-first of the year, guided in by Ryan Wilson and Ryan O'Reilly. Colorado iced it at 3-1 in the third period with an empty net goal off the tape of Paul Stastny, his eighteenth of the campaign, passed from Wilson and Jamie McGinn. Varlamov (41 for 42 in saves), Landeskog, and Lundqvist (17 for 19 in saves) picked up the three stars, with an honorable mention to Wilson.
South again, as the Florida Panthers bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Jose Theodore are all padded up. Buffalo started the scoring with a Tyler Ennis goal, his eleventh of the season, fueled by Drew Stafford and Marcus Foligno. Florida answered with a Mikael Samuelsson power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Tomas Fleischmann and Stephen Weiss. Thirty-eight seconds after that, John Madden netted his second of the season, thanks to Ed Jovanovski and Erik Gudbranson to give the Panthers a lead. The Sabres tied it again in the second period with Derek Roy potting his fifteenth of the year on the power play, with the help of Jason Pominville. Florida took the game in the shootout as Wojtek Wolski matched Ennis to allow a Dmitry Kulikov winner. The three stars were Kulikov, Theodore (24 for 26 in saves), and Roy.
On the third wave of games, we begin in British Columbia, as the Vancouver Canucks welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets. Steve Mason and Cory Schneider play from the creases. Columbus drew first blood with a Vinny Prospal goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Cam Atkinson and the goalie Mason. Vancouver tied it on a David Booth goal, his fifteenth of the year, coming off of Dan Hamhuis and Ryan Kesler. The Canucks took the lead as Daniel Sedin netted his twenty-ninth of the season, thanks to Henrik Sedin. Vancouver extended the lead in the second period on an Alexander Edler power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by the goalie Schneider. Jack Johnson shot back for the Blue Jackets with his eleventh of the season, made possible by Ryan Johansen. The Canucks replied in the third period with a Daniel power play goal, his second of the game and thirtieth of the year, assisted by Henrik and Edler. Columbus got as close as 4-3 with a James Wisniewski tally, his fifth of the campaign, fueled by Johnson and Mark Letestu, but couldn't tie the game. The three stars were Edler, Johnson, and Booth, while Daniel and Henrik get honorable mentions.
Down to Northern California, with the San Jose Sharks hosting the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Antti Niemi picked up the goalie starts. San Jose quickly opened with a Joe Pavelski goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, assisted by Logan Couture and Joe Thornton. The Sharks added on as Martin Havlat put away his third of the year, via Patrick Marleau. Twenty-three seconds later, Detroit got one back as Pavel Datsyuk shelved his seventeenth of the season, with the help of Niklas Kronwall. The Red Wings tied it in the third period on a Valtteri Filppula goal, his twenty-third of the year, with a lone Doug Janik helper. The game went into overtime, where San Jose salvaged a 3-2 win with Havlat's second of the night and fifth of the campaign, set up by Justin Braun and Dominic Moore. Havlat, Pavelski, and Kronwall earned the three stars.
Finally, in Southern California, the Los Angeles Kings host the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Jonathan Bernier protect the goalmouths. Los Angeles scored first as Anze Kopitar potted his twenty-third of the season, thanks to Dustin Penner and Trevor Lewis. Nashville tied it in the second period with a Martin Erat power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, powered by Ryan Suter and Shea Weber. The Kings regained the lead in the third period when Penner potted his sixth of the season, with the help of Lewis and Rob Scuderi. Los Angeles extended the lead on a Dwight King goal, his fourth of the year, with a lone Jeff Carter assist. The Kings rolled on with a Kyle Clifford goal, his fifth of the season, pushed through by Jordan Nolan and Drew Doughty. The Predators cut the final deficit to 4-2 with a Mike Fisher goal, his twenty-second of the year, helped along by Kevin Klein and Erat. Lewis, Bernier (19 for 21 in saves), and Penner got the three stars, while Erat earns the honorable mention.
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