NHL February 23rd 2013

There will be twelve games played when all is said and done today. The first four are matinees, beginning in...

Washington, D.C., as the Capitals host the New Jersey Devils. Johan Hedberg and Braden Holtby receive the starting nods. Washington got going in the second period as Alex Ovechkin scored his sixth of the season, assisted by Mike Ribeiro and Jason Chimera. New Jersey tied it as Ilya Kovalchuk scored his seventh of the year, with the help of Andrei Loktionov and Alexei Ponikarovsky. The Capitals retook the lead in the third period with another Ovechkin goal, his second of the game and seventh of the season, fueled by Matt Hendricks and Jeff Schultz. Washington padded the lead with an Eric Fehr shorthanded goal, his fourth of the year, going in unassisted. The Capitals extended the lead as Ovechkin finished his hat trick on the power play with his eighth of the season, powered by Ribeiro and Nicklas Backstrom. Washington finished it at 5-1 with a Troy Brouwer power play goal, his eighth of the year, set up by Ovechkin and Tomas Kundratek. Ovechkin, Holtby (21 for 22 in saves), and Ribeiro received the three stars.

Over in Philadelphia, the Flyers bring in the Winnipeg Jets. Ondrej Pavelec and Ilya Bryzgalov are the goalies. Winnipeg began with a first period Evander Kane goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Nik Antropov and Dustin Byfuglien. After this, Philadelphia's Wayne Simmonds fought with Winnipeg's Chris Thorburn. Philadelphia tied it on a Brayden Schenn goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Danny Briere and Simmonds. Another fight broke out close to the end of the period, as Philadelphia's Luke Schenn dropped the gloves with Winnipeg's Kane. The Jets took the lead again in the second period as Olli Jokinen scored his third of the season, with the help of Blake Wheeler. Winnipeg extended the lead on an Alex Burmistrov goal, his third of the year, fueled by Grant Clitsome and Byfuglien. The Flyers replied as Claude Giroux scored his sixth of the season, a power play goal, powered by Kimmo Timonen and Jakub Voracek. Philadelphia tied it as Brayden Schenn scored his second of the game and sixth of the year, a power play goal made possible by Voracek and Giroux. The Flyers pulled ahead with a Simmonds power play goal, completing his Gordie Howe Hat Trick with his seventh of the season, passed from Brayden Schenn and Voracek, the latter getting a sock trick. Philadelphia iced it at 5-3 with an empty net goal by Zac Rinaldo, his second of the year, with a lone assist by Timonen. The three stars were awarded to Brayden Schenn, Voracek, and Simmonds, while Giroux, Byfuglien, and Timonen get the honorable mentions.

Westward to Edmonton, as the Oilers welcome the Phoenix Coyotes. Mike Smith and Nikolai Khabibulin stand in the creases. Phoenix was first to score in the first period with a Kyle Chipchura goal, his second of the season, coming off of Nick Johnson and Paul Bissonnette. The Coyotes added on in the second period when Matthew Lombardi scored a power play goal, with the help of Mikkel Boedker and Lauri Korpikoski. Edmonton got on the board with a Jordan Eberle goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Nail Yakupov and Sam Gagner. The Oilers tied it in the third period when Teemu Hartikainen scored, a power play goal powered by Ryan Smyth and Justin Schultz. Edmonton won it 3-2 in the shootout, with tallies by Gagner and Eberle. Smyth, Smith (41 for 43 in saves), and Khabibulin (34 for 36 in saves).

Down in Los Angeles, the matinees conclude with the Kings hosting the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Jonathan Quick are between the pipes. Los Angeles quickly struck first in the first period on a Dustin Brown goal, his fifth of the season, via Justin Williams and Anze Kopitar. The Kings added on with a Jeff Carter goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Mike Richards and Slava Voynov. Colorado got one board in the second period as Milan Hejduk scored a power play goal, his third of the season, powered by P.A. Parenteau and Gabriel Landeskog. Los Angeles shot back with a shorthanded goal by Trevor Lewis, his second of the year, set up by Jarret Stoll. The Kings extended the lead on a Kopitar goal, his fifth of the season, guided in by Dustin Penner and Dwight King. This held up as a 4-1 final, with Carter, Quick (23 for 24 in saves), and Lewis getting the three stars, while Kopitar gets the honorable mention.

Northeast to Ottawa for the regularly-timed games, as the Senators host their Ontarian rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ben Scrivens and Ben Bishop are the backups relieving injured starters. Toronto began in the first period as Mikhail Grabovski scored his fifth of the season, assisted by Nikolai Kulemin and Jay McClement. Ottawa tied it on a Mika Zibanejad goal, his third of the year, passed from Colin Greening and Erik Condra. The Senators took the lead in the second period with a Condra goal, his third of the season, coming off of Eric Gryba and Greening. The Maple Leafs tied it on a third period goal by Clarke MacArthur, his fourth of the year coming on the power play via Mike Kostka and Nazem Kadri. Ottawa broke the tie late as Greening scored his third of the campaign, with the help of Patrick Wiercioch and Zibanejad. They held on for a 3-2 win, and the three stars were given to Greening, Condra, and MacArthur, while Zibanejad gets an honorable mention.

Back stateside, the Buffalo Sabres host the New York Islanders. Evgeni Nabokov and Ryan Miller are the veteran goalies. New York opened in the second period with a Mark Streit goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Matt Moulson and Marty Reasoner. The Islanders quickly padded the lead as Michael Grabner notched his seventh of the year, an unassisted goal. New York extended the lead in the third period with John Tavares recording his twelfth of the season, thanks to Moulson and Brad Boyes. The Islanders added on as Colin McDonald scored his third of the year, a power play goal powered by Casey Cizikas and Streit. After a late melee, the score ended up being 4-0, with the three stars being Nabokov (35 save shutout), Tavares, and Grabner, while Moulson and Streit get honorable mentions.

North again to Montreal, as the Canadiens welcome the New York Rangers. Martin Biron is mismatched with Carey Price in goal. Montreal started in the second period with an unassisted Erik Cole goal, his third of the season. The Canadiens added on as Alex Galchenyuk scored his third of the year, via Lars Eller and Cole. Montreal padded the lead as Eller scored his second of the season, a power play goal powered by Galchenyuk and P.K. Subban. This was all they needed for a 3-0 win, and the three stars went to Galchenyuk, Eller, and Cole, while Price (17 save shutout) receives an honorable mention.

South to Raleigh, as the Carolina Hurricanes host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Mathieu Garon and Dan Ellis have the green light to start. Tampa Bay led off with an unassisted goal by Marc-Andre Bergeron in the first period. The Lightning padded the lead in the third period as Benoit Pouliot scored his sixth of the season, with the help of Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. Carolina got on the board as Drayson Bowman scored, with assists provided by Riley Nash and Chad LaRose. Tampa Bay replied as Richard Panik scored, courtesy of Adam Hall and Steven Stamkos. The Lightning extended the lead with the fourth of the year by Tom Pyatt, passed from Alex Killorn and Eric Brewer. The Hurricanes got one back as LaRose scored his second of the season, thanks to Bobby Sanguinetti and Jussi Jokinen. Tampa Bay answered with a Stamkos power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Cory Conacher and Sami Salo. This made it 5-2, a final, with the three stars handed to Garon (32 for 34 in saves), Stamkos, and LaRose.

Northwest to Detroit, with the Red Wings bringing in the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Jimmy Howard tend the twines. Detroit struck first in the first period as Drew Miller potted his second of the season, thanks to Niklas Kronwall and Patrick Eaves. The Red Wings added on in the second period when Tomas Tatar scored his third of the year, with the help of Joakim Andersson. Detroit extended the lead as Kronwall scored his second of the season, assisted by Pavel Datsyuk and Justin Abdelkader. The Red Wings got another in the third period as Daniel Cleary scored his third of the year, a power play goal powered by Kronwall and Datsyuk. This stood for a 4-0 win, with the three stars going to Howard (33 save shutout), Kronwall, and Miller, while Datsyuk gets the honorable mention.

Down in Dallas, the Stars welcome the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Christopher Nilstorp are the masked men. The first real action in the game came when Dallas' Jamie Benn fought San Jose's Joe Thornton midway through the second period. Dallas got going in the second period with a Jaromir Jagr power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Jamie Benn and Loui Eriksson. The Stars added on in the third period as Michael Ryder notched his sixth of the year, a power play goal made possible by Alex Goligoski. San Jose got on the board with a Patrick Marleau power play goal, his twelfth of the season, with a lone helper by Thornton. Dallas shot back as Jamie Benn scored his sixth of the year, completing his Gordie Howe Hat Trick, courtesy of Goligoski and Jagr. This made it a 3-1 final score, with the three stars being Nilstorp (31 for 32 in saves), Jamie Benn, and Thornton, while Jagr and Goligoski pick up the honorable mentions.

Backtracking to St. Louis, as the Blues host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Jaroslav Halak guard the cages. St. Louis was first to score as Chris Stewart netted his seventh of the season, assisted by Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Steen. Columbus tied it as Matt Calvert scored his third of the year in the second period, a shorthanded goal set up by James Wisniewski. The Blues took the lead back in the third period on a David Perron goal, his sixth of the season, guided in by David Backes. This produced a 2-1 final score, with the three stars going to Halak (19 for 20 in saves), Alex Pietrangelo, and Calvert, while any point-earned can take the second slot.

Finally, we end in Calgary with the Flames hosting the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Joey MacDonald occupy the blue paint. Calgary started in the first period as Alex Tanguay scored his fifth of the season, with a lone assist by Jay Bouwmeester. Minnesota tied it with a Charlie Coyle goal, fueled by Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Kyle Brodziak. The Flames took the lead back in the third period as Matt Stajan scored his second of the year, via Jarome Iginla and Chris Butler. Calgary iced it at 3-1 with Stajan's second of the game and third of the campaign, an empty net goal going in unassisted. The three stars were Stajan, MacDonald (30 for 31 in saves), and Coyle.

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