Tick tick tick! The clock is running out on the NHL regular season, and there are 14 games on tonight. We will start with a meaningless game...
As the New York Islanders host the Winnipeg Jets. Chris Mason and Al Montoya got the call to start. New York began with a Matt Moulson goal, his thirty-sixth of the season, assisted by John Tavares. The Islanders added on with a Kyle Okposo goal, his twenty-second of the year, courtesy of Josh Bailey and Frans Nielsen. Tobias Enstrom got one back for Winnipeg on his sixth of the season, via Jim Slater and Dustin Byfuglien. Andrew Ladd tied it for the Jets on his twenty-eighth of the year, coming off of Bryan Little and Zach Bogosian. New York regained the lead with a second period Okposo goal, his second of the game and twenty-third of the season, set up by Tavares. Winnipeg tied it again in the third period as Bogosian shelved his fifth of the year, with the help of Chris Thorburn. The Islanders again took the lead when Michael Grabner sneaked his eighteenth of the season in on a penalty shot. The Jets took little time in finding an equalizer, as Byfuglien found a place for his twelfth of the year, and Enstrom had the lone assist. New York steered the game away from overtime with another Grabner goal, his second of the game and nineteenth of the campaign, pushed through by Travis Hamonic and Andrew MacDonald for a 5-4 victory. The three stars went to Grabner, Okposo, and Tavares, with honorable mentions for Byfuglien, Bogosian and Enstrom.
Up north, the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dwayne Roloson and Ben Scrivens try to stop the puck. Tampa Bay struck first with a Martin St. Louis goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, assisted by Brian Lee and Ryan Malone. Toronto tied it as Tim Connolly netted his thirteenth of the year, thanks to Jake Gardiner and Dave Steckel. The Lightning took the lead with a third period Steven Stamkos goal, his fifty-ninth of the season, made possible by Bruno Gervais and St. Louis. The Maple Leafs got another equalizer with Gardiner notching his seventh of the year, an unassisted goal. Toronto took the game in overtime with Dion Phaneuf recording his eleventh of the campaign, guided in by Phil Kessel. The three stars of the 3-2 game were Phaneuf, Gardiner, and Stamkos, while St. Louis gets the honorable mention.
We finally uncover some playoff teams when we head to Pittsburgh, as the Penguins host the New York Rangers. Martin Biron and Marc-Andre Fleury are in front of the nets. Pittsburgh opened with a Chris Kunitz goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, set up by Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin. New York tied it on a Brandon Dubinsky tally, his tenth of the year, courtesy of Brian Boyle and Ruslan Fedotenko. The Penguins took the lead again on a Tyler Kennedy goal, his eleventh of the season, guided in by Jordan Staal and Zbynek Michalek. Pittsburgh extended their lead in the second period on a Richard Park goal, his seventh of the year, made possible by Pascal Dupuis and Eric Tangradi. The Penguins added on again when Malkin put away his forty-ninth of the season, with helpers provided by Kunitz and Sidney Crosby. The Rangers took one back late in the third period with a Boyle power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Dan Girardi and Dubinsky. Pittsburgh iced it at 5-2 with a Letang empty net goal, his tenth of the campaign, with a lone Staal assist. The three stars were named as Malkin, Kunitz, and Letang, while the honorable mentions include Boyle and Staal.
Down to Washington, where the Capitals welcome the Florida Panthers with heavy playoff implications. Jose Theodore and Michal Neuvirth started, but Theodore was spelled by Scott Clemmensen for awhile before returning, and Neuvirth was injured, causing Braden Holtby to relieve him. Washington was first on the board with a Jay Beagle goal, his fourth of the season, set up by Troy Brouwer and Karl Alzner. The Capitals added on in the second period when Alex Ovechkin sank his thirty-seventh of the year, via Marcus Johansson. Washington kept going on a Brooks Laich tally, his sixteenth of the season, made possible by Keith Aucoin and Roman Hamrlik. Florida got one back as Mikael Samuelsson scored his thirteenth of the year, with the help of Sean Bergenheim and Marcel Goc. The Panthers pulled within one with a third period goal off the tape of Ed Jovanovski, his third of the season, guided in by Brian Campbell and Jason Garrison. The Capitals iced it at 4-2 with an Alexander Semin goal, his twenty-first of the year, coming off of Laich and Dmitry Orlov. Laich, Beagle, and Semin claimed the three stars.
The other huge Eastern Conference game is back in Pennsylvania, where the Philadelphia Flyers host the barely breathing Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Ilya Bryzgalov guard the cages. Buffalo started the scoring in the second period when Ville Leino netted his seventh of the season, set up by Drew Stafford and Robyn Regehr. Philadelphia tied it up in the third period on a Marc-Andre Bourdon goal, his fourth of the year, courtesy of Andreas Lilja and Claude Giroux. The Flyers gained the lead as Matt Read scored his twenty-fourth of the season, with the help of Jakub Voracek. They held on from here to win 2-1, putting a serious dent in the Sabres' playoff hopes. The three stars were given to Read, Bryzgalov (25 for 26 in saves), and Miller (33 for 35 in saves).
Down the coast, the Carolina Hurricanes host fellow bottom-feeders, the Montreal Canadiens. Peter Budaj and Cam Ward are in the blue paint. Montreal was first to score with a second period Blake Geoffrion goal, his second of the season, coming off of Mike Blunden and Josh Gorges. Carolina tied the game with a Chad LaRose goal, his nineteenth of the year, a power play goal powered by Jamie McBain and Joni Pitkanen.The Hurricanes won 2-1 in the shootout as Eric Staal's lone tally toppled the Canadiens. The three stars were handed to Ward (30 for 31 in saves), Staal, and LaRose.
Back to Canada, with the Ottawa Senators hosting their likely first-round playoff opponents, the Boston Bruins. Youngsters Anton Khudobin and Ben Bishop made the starts. Boston started with a Benoit Pouliot goal, his sixteenth of the season, from Brian Rolston and Jordan Caron. The Bruins extended the lead when Greg Zanon sniped his third of the year, an unassisted goal. Jason Spezza took one back for Ottawa when he netted his thirty fourth of the season, with the help of Erik Karlsson and Filip Kuba. Boston added an insurance marker in the third period when Milan Lucic deposited his twenty-sixth of the year, via David Krejci and Torey Krug. This produced a 3-1 final, with the three stars being Khudobin (44 for 45 in saves), Zanon, and Chris Phillips, while any point-earner can claim the third star.
Just back in the states, we go to Michigan, where the Detroit Red Wings welcome the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur and Jimmy Howard protect the nets. New Jersey led off with an Alexei Ponikarovsky goal, his fourteenth of the season, coming off of Peter Harrold and David Clarkson. Detroit evened it in the second period as Tomas Holmstrom scored his eleventh of the year, a power play goal powered by Jiri Hudler and Valtteri Filppula. The Devils retook the lead in the third period when Petr Sykora sank his twentieth of the season, with the help of Patrik Elias and Dainius Zubrus. This was all for the scoring, with New Jersey taking a 2-1 win, and the three stars went to Brodeur (23 for 24 in saves), Hudler, and Ponikarovsky.
A tad to the west, the Minnesota Wild bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Josh Harding are all padded up. Chicago had the game's first goal with Jamal Mayers recording his sixth of the season, thanks to Michael Frolik. Minnesota tied it late in the third period on a Cal Clutterbuck power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, powered by Marco Scandella and Dany Heatley. The game went to a shootout, where the Wild were lifted to a 2-1 victory on a Devin Setoguchi goal to defeat the Blackhawks. The three stars in this contest were Scandella, Clutterbuck, and Harding (22 for 23 in saves).
Down in Nashville, the Predators host the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Pekka Rinne are in front of the cages. Nashville finally dented the scoreboard in the third period when Francis Bouillon scored his fourth of the season, with the help of Patric Hornqvist and Andrei Kostitsyn. The Predators added on with a Hornqvist goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, assisted by Brandon Yip and Mike Fisher. They held on to win 2-0, with Rinne (28 save shutout), Bouillon, and Hornqvist getting the three stars.
Westward again, with the Colorado Avalanche hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. Steve Mason and Semyon Varlamov received the starting nods. Cam Atkinson got things going for Columbus with his third of the season, thanks to Darryl Boyce and Colton Gillies. Colorado answered as David Jones netted his twentieth of the year, via Jamie McGinn and Paul Stastny. The Blue Jackets got the lead back on a Rick Nash goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, courtesy of Mark Letestu and Vinny Prospal. The Avalanche retied it in the second period when Stastny put away his twenty-first of the year, a power play goal powered by Gabriel Landeskog and Peter Mueller. Columbus took the lead again with another Nash goal, his second of the game and twenty-ninth of the season coming on the power play from Derick Brassard and Jack Johnson. The Blue Jackets extended their lead with Atkinson's second of the game and fourth of the year, with a lone R.J. Umberger assist. Atkinson put the dagger in Colorado as he iced the game 5-2 for Columbus on his fifth of the campaign for a hat trick on the night, and the goalie Mason had the only assist on the empty netter. The three stars ended up with Atkinson, Nash, and Stastny.
Up in Alberta, the Calgary Flames bring in their coastal rivals, the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider and Miikka Kiprusoff tend the twines. Vancouver opened on a shorthanded Alexandre Burrows goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, with a lone Dan Hamhuis assist. Calgary tied it in the third period on a Michael Cammalleri goal, his nineteenth of the year, helped along by Jay Bouwmeester and Akim Aliu. The Flames took the lead with a Curtis Glencross goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, an unassisted goal. Calgary extended their lead as Cammalleri put down his second of the night and twentieth of the year, via Lee Stempniak and Mark Giordano. The Canucks got one back with a Jannik Hansen goal, his sixteenth of the season, set up by Kevin Bieksa and Hamhuis. The Flames held on from here for a 3-2 win, with the three stars being awarded to Cammalleri, Burrows, and Cory Sarich, while Hamhuis gets an honorable mention.
Staying in the province, the Edmonton Oilers host the Anaheim Ducks. Jeff Deslauriers and Devan Dubnyk are the masked men. Sam Gagner put Edmonton on the board first in the second period with his eighteenth of the season, guided in by Jeff Petry and Ryan Jones. Anaheim tied it with an Andrew Cogliano goal, his thirteenth of the year, with a lone Luca Sbisa helper. The Ducks gained the lead when Bobby Ryan scored his twenty-ninth of the season, assisted by Devante Smith-Pelly and Nick Bonino. The Oilers got an equalizer in the third period when Jordan Eberle sank his thirty-fourth of the year, with the help of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ales Hemsky. Anaheim won 3-2 with an unassisted Ryan Getzlaf overtime goal, his eleventh of the campaign. The three stars went out to Eberle, Teemu Selanne, and Nick Schultz, while putting point earners in there might be a novel concept as the scourge of Anaheim's three star selections travels with them.
Finally, we land in Los Angeles for the second to last Battle of California, with the Kings hosting the San Jose Sharks in a very important game. Antti Niemi and Jonathan Quick are between the pipes. Tensions were high early with Joe Thornton dropping the gloves with Drew Doughty. Los Angeles opened with an Alec Martinez power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar. The agitation increased as Ryane Clowe and Matt Greene fought shortly after the goal. San Jose tied it with Jason Demers potting his fourth of the year, courtesy of Daniel Winnik and Dominic Moore. The Kings got the lead back on a Jarret Stoll power play goal, his sixth of the season coming in the second period off of Dwight King and Willie Mitchell. Los Angeles added on as Brown shelved his twenty-second of the year, assisted by Kopitar and Mitchell. Clowe returned to pugilism after this goal by taking a dance with Kyle Clifford. The Sharks got one back when Thornton scored his eighteenth of the season, a power play goal made possible by Dan Boyle and Logan Couture. San Jose tied it as Clowe turned productive early in the third period with his unassisted seventeenth of the year. The Kings regained the lead when Justin Williams made his twentieth of the season, a power play goal courtesy of Martinez and Mitchell, the latter getting a sock trick. The Sharks got yet another tying goal as Patrick Marleau potted his twenty-ninth of the year, a power play goal set up by Joe Pavelski and Thornton, the latter finishing off his Gordie Howe Hat Trick. Martin Havlat put San Jose in front with a power play goal of his own, his seventh of the season, guided in by Clowe, who completed his own Gordie Howe Hat Trick, and Marleau. Williams retied it for Los Angeles with a, you guessed it, power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the year thanks to Mike Richards and Kopitar, the latter getting a sock trick. Before we go to the shootout, it's important to note the array of tricks, animosity, and fortunate non-calls by the referees in this game, so while it's not hockey by the rules, it was a very interesting affair. In the shootout, Pavelski was the only one to find the back of the twine, leading the Sharks to a 6-5 win over the Kings. The three stars (which won't even begin to cover the degree of awesome in the game) were given to Mitchell, Clowe, and Williams, while Thornton, Marleau, Kopitar, Brown, and Martinez all get honorable mentions for their efforts. These two teams meet again up north on Saturday, enjoy.
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