Eleven games on today, typical Saturday with a hint of playoff push. We begin with a lone matinee...
As the Dallas Stars host the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Kari Lehtonen are the Finnish goalies. Dallas struck first with a Jamie Benn goal, his twenty-third of the season, made possible by Adam Burish and Adam Pardy. The Stars extended the lead on a Michael Ryder goal, his thirty-third of the year, via Mike Ribeiro and the goalie Lehtonen. Calgary got one back as Michael Cammalleri notched his sixteenth of the season, thanks to Anton Babchuk and Mark Giordano. Dallas added on again in the third period with another Benn goal, his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the year, passed from Steve Ott and Trevor Daley. The Stars iced it at 4-1 with Brenden Morrow potting his tenth of the campaign into the empty net, an unassisted goal. The three stars were Lehtonen (35 for 36 in saves), Benn, and Cammalleri.
At the normal time, we have a wave of seven games, beginning with the Ottawa Senators hosting the Pittsburhg Penguins. Brad Thiessen and Ben Bishop get the starting nods. Ottawa was first to score as Milan Michalek netted his thirty-third of the season, assisted by Colin Greening and Filip Kuba. Pittsburgh answered on a Matt Cooke goal, his eighteenth of the year, courtesy of Deryk Engelland. Cooke struck again to give the Penguins a lead with his second of the game and nineteenth of the season, made possible by Sidney Crosby and Paul Martin. The Senators tied it again in the second period when Sergei Gonchar put down his fourth of the year, with the help of Nick Foligno and Daniel Alfredsson. Ottawa gained the lead with a Chris Phillips power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Kyle Turris and Alfredsson. The Senators added on with a Turris goal, his ninth of the year, coming off of Foligno and Gonchar. Pittsburgh took one back as Tyler Kennedy shelved his ninth of the season, thanks to Steve Sullivan and Jordan Staal. Bishop was replaced by Craig Anderson, likely due to injury. Ottawa answered on an Alfredsson shorthanded goal, his twenty-third of the year, passed from Michalek and Jared Cowen. The Penguins got back within one in the third period as Crosby notched his third of the season, via Arron Asham and Pascal Dupuis. The Senators took little time in answering with Jason Spezza's thirty-first of the year, with a lone Michalek helper. Ottawa added on again with a power play goal by Alfredsson, his second of the night and twenty-fourth of the season, helped along by Foligno, who earns a sock trick. The Senators finished at 8-4 when Greening put his seventeenth of the year into the twine, another power play goal, set up by Erik Karlsson and Spezza. The three stars of the offensive game of the night were awarded to Alfredsson, Foligno, and Phillips. The honorable mentions include Michalek, Gonchar, Greening, Spezza, Turris, Crosby, and Cooke.
Down into Michigan, with the Detroit Red Wings hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Ty Conklin are in the creases. Carolina opened early, as Jiri Tlusty scored his sixteenth of the season just seventeen seconds in, with the help of Chad LaRose and Eric Staal. LaRose added on for the Hurricanes in the second period with his eighteenth of the year, via Staal and Bryan Allen. Detroit got one back as Henrik Zetterberg notched his twentieth of the season, thanks to Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler. Carolina returned to the attack on a Jamie McBain power play goal, his eighth of the year, courtesy of Jussi Jokinen and Justin Faulk. The Hurricanes struck again just seventeen seconds later when Tlusty made his second of the night and seventeenth of the season, a power play goal powered by Jeff Skinner and Jokinen. Zetterberg replied for the Red Wings with his second of the game and twenty-first of the year, assisted by Filppula and Hudler. Eighteen seconds later, Detroit was within one as Todd Bertuzzi netted his fourteenth of the season, coming off of Gustav Nyquist and Nicklas Lidstrom. The Red Wings got an equalizer in the third period with netting his sixth of the year, with helpers from Brad Stuart and Filppula, with the latter getting a sock trick. Detroit took the lead as Drew miller put away his fourteenth of the season, guided in by Danny Cleary. The Red Wings held on to win 5-4, with the three stars being Zetterberg, Filppula, and Tlusty, and the honorable mentions included Jokinen, Staal, and Hudler.
Eastward to Buffalo, as the Sabres host the Minnesota Wild. Josh Harding and Ryan Miller are the masked men. Minnesota led off with a Steve Kampfer goal, his second of the season, assisted by Kyle Brodziak and Nick Johnson. Buffalo tied it in the second period on a Thomas Vanek goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, fueled by Cody Hodgson and Corey Tropp. The Sabres took the lead in the third period with Marcus Foligno scoring his sixth of the season on the power play, powered by Tyler Myers and Jordan Leopold. Buffalo iced it at 3-1 with an empty net goal off the tape of Hodgson, his nineteenth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Foligno, Tropp, and Harding (34 for 36 in saves), while Hodgson and Miller (24 for 25 in saves) get the honorable mentions.
Southwest to Nashville, where the Predators welcome the Winnipeg Jets. Ondrej Pavelec and Pekka Rinne are between the pipes. Nashville got things going in the second period on a Matt Halischuk goal, his thirteenth of the season, courtesy of Alexander Radulov and Kevin Klein. The Predators extended the lead with a Gabriel Bourque tally, his fifth of the year, via Nick Spaling and Andrei Kostitsyn. Winnipeg got on the board in the third period as Tim Stapleton recorded his eleventh of the season, assisted by Spencer Machacek and Ben Maxwell. Nashville iced it at 3-1 with a Shea Weber empty net goal, his fifteenth of the year, with a lone Mike Fisher assist. The three stars of the game were Rinne (24 for 25 in saves), Radulov, and Bourque.
Back to the northeast area, where the Philadelphia Flyers bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Peter Budaj and Ilya Bryzgalov tend the twines. Philadelphia opened with a Kimmo Timonen goal, his fourth of the season, coming on the power play with a lone Claude Giroux assist. Montreal tied it in the second period when Tomas Plekanec netted his fifteenth of the year, thanks to Lars Eller and Aaron Palushaj. The Flyers gained the lead again on a Danny Briere power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Matt Carle and Matt Read. Philadelphia extended the lead with another Briere power play goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, set up by Jaromir Jagr and the goalie Bryzgalov. The Flyers iced it at 4-1 with a late third period goal by Read, his twenty-first of the campaign, coming off of Sean Couturier and Carle. The three stars were handed to Briere, Bryzgalov (23 for 24 in saves), and Timonen, while the honorable mentions go to Read and Carle.
Farther to the north, the Toronto Maple Leafs host the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Jonas Gustavsson are in the blue paint. Toronto struck first with a Cody Franson goal, his fifth of the season, via Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak. New York tied it on a Marian Gaborik goal, his thirty-sixth of the year, set up by Tim Erixon and Brad Richards. The Maple Leafs retook the lead in the second period on a Joey Crabb tally, his tenth of the season, made possible by Dave Steckel and Dion Phaneuf. The Rangers got another equalizer when Brandon Dubinsky put away his ninth of the year, with the help of John Mitchell. Gaborik gave New York the lead in the third period with his second of the night and thirty-seventh of the season, with a lone Richards helper. Toronto retied it as Tim Connolly put down his twelfth of the year, thanks to Crabb and Steckel. The game went to a shootout, where the Rangers used Richards and Ryan Callahan to beat the Maple Leafs' only goal scorer, Connolly. In the 4-3 game, the three stars went to Callahan, Gaborik, and Crabb, while Richards, Connolly, and Steckel get honorable mentions.
Well to the south, the Tampa Bay Lightning host the New York Islanders. Al Montoya and Dwayne Roloson try to keep the puck out of the net. Tampa Bay started off with a Steven Stamkos goal, his fifty-first of the season, assisted by Teddy Purcell and Martin St. Louis. The Lightning added on when Stamkos struck again, his second of the game and fifty-second of the year, fueled by St. Louis and Purcell. New York got on the board with a Frans Nielsen power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Matt Moulson and John Tavares. The Islanders tied it as Kyle Okposo shelved his sixteenth of the year, thanks to Josh Bailey and Nielsen. New York got the lead early in the third period with a Moulson goal, his thirty-third of the season, coming off of Mark Streit and Andrew MacDonald. Tampa Bay retied it with a Tom Pyatt goal, his eleventh of the year, set up by Ryan Malone and Brett Connolly. The Lightning gained the lead on a Tim Wallace goal, his third of the season, guided in by Stamkos and Pierre-Cedric Labrie. The final here was 4-3 for Tampa Bay, with the three stars being Stamkos, Roloson (34 for 37 in saves), and Nielsen, with honorable mentions for St. Louis, Moulson, and Purcell.
Way westward, the Los Angeles Kings welcome the Boston Bruins. Tim Thomas and Jonathan Quick guard the cages. Boston led off in the second period when Patrice Bergeron scored his twentieth of the season, a shorthanded goal with a lone Brad Marchand assist. Los Angeles tied it on a Colin Fraser goal, his second of the year, with Drew Doughty and Kyle Clifford picking up the helpers. The Bruins took the lead back in the third period with Milan Lucic recording his twenty-fourth of the season, via David Krejci and Jordan Caron. Boston extended the lead with a Chris Kelly goal, his nineteenth of the year, assisted by Benoit Pouliot and Brian Rolston. The Kings got one back with a Slava Voynov goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Justin Williams. The Bruins iced it at 4-2 with a Marchand empty net goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, going in unassisted. Zdeno Chara, Clifford, and Dennis Seidenberg got the three stars, while Marchand and Thomas (41 for 43 in saves) could take the first and third stars.
A little northeast of there, the Colorado Avalanche hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Semyon Varlamov are all padded up. Colorado drew first blood with a Gabriel Landeskog power play goal, his twenty-second of the season, powered by Milan Hejduk and Steve Downie. The Avalanche added on when Jamie McGinn made his twentieth of the year, another power play goal, helped along by Paul Stastny and the goalie Varlamov in the second period. Vancouver got on the board with a power play goal of their own, specifically belonging to Mason Raymond, as his tenth of the year was guided in by Sami Salo and Henrik Sedin. The Canucks tied it on a Chris Higgins goal, his fourteenth of the season, fueled by Samuel Pahlsson and Kevin Bieksa. Higgins finished the Vancouver comeback in overtime, leading them to a 3-2 win with his second of the night and fifteenth of the campaign, assisted by Jannik Hansen and Bieksa. The three stars ended up with Higgins, McGinn, and Landeskog, while Bieksa gets an honorable mention.
Finally, we head west to San Jose, where the Sharks bring in the Phoenix Coyotes. Mike Smith and Antti Niemi protect the nets. Phoenix opened with a Daymond Langkow goal, his eleventh of the season, fueled by Gilbert Brule and Raffi Torres. San Jose tied it with the twenty-eighth of the year for Patrick Marleau made possible by Joe Thornton. The Sharks took the lead on a Brent Burns goal, his eleventh of the season, set up by Joe Pavelski and Thornton. The Coyotes tied it with a second left in the opening period on a Derek Morris goal, his second of the year, with a lone Langkow assist. Phoenix picked up where they left off, taking the lead back in the second period on a Lauri Korpikoski goal, his seventeenth of the season, with Ray Whitney being credited with the helper. San Jose shot back to tie the game again with a Daniel Winnik goal, his seventh of the year, guided in by Andrew Desjardins and Tommy Wingels. The lasted to a shootout, where Michal Handzus and Ryane Clowe tallied for the Sharks, pushing them to a 4-3 win over the Coyotes. The three stars were named as Thornton, Pavelski, and Wingels, with Langkow earning the honorable mention.
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