NHL February 28th 2013

Eleven games to close out the second month of the year, beginning in...

Boston, as the Bruins host the Ottawa Senators. Robin Lehner and Tuukka Rask are called on for the starts. Boston got going in the second period on a Nathan Horton goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Dougie Hamilton and Milan Lucic. Ottawa tied it in the second period as Jim O'Brien scored his fifth of the year, a power play goal, powered by Zack Smith and Kaspars Daugavins. The Bruins won 2-1 in overtime on a Patrice Bergeron goal, his fourth of the campaign, with a lone helper from Dennis Seidenberg. The three stars were handed to Bergeron, Horton, and Rask (30 for 31 in saves).

Down in New York, the Rangers host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Mathieu Garon is mismatched with Henrik Lundqvist in goal. New York was first to score in the first period as Carl Hagelin potted his seventh of the season, via Ryan McDonagh. The Rangers added on with a Derek Stepan goal, his fourth of the year, made possible by Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi. Tampa Bay got on the board as Martin St. Louis scored his fifth of the season, courtesy of Eric Brewer and Steven Stamkos. New York replied in the second period as Marc Staal scored his second of the year, a power play goal powered by J.T. Miller and Rick Nash. The Rangers iced it at 4-1 in the third period on a Nash goal, his fourth of the campaign, set up by Brad Richards and McDonagh. The three stars were given to Callahan, Lundqvist (24 for 25 in saves), and Hagelin, while Nash and McDonagh receive the honorable mentions.

South to Carolina, as the Hurricanes host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Cam Ward are the veteran goalies. Pittsburgh began with a first period goal by Chris Kunitz, his ninth of the season, passed from Sidney Crosby and Matt Niskanen. Carolina tied it on an Eric Staal goal, his tenth of the year, coming off of Alexander Semin and Jiri Tlusty. The Hurricanes took the lead in the second period with a Tlusty goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Eric Staal and Tim Gleason. Carolina added on with a Jeff Skinner goal, his eighth of the year, fueled by Patrick Dwyer and Joe Corvo. The Hurricanes extended the lead with Tlusty's second of the game and ninth of the season, courtesy of Semin and Eric Staal. This was it for the scoring, resulting in a 4-1 final, with the three stars being Eric Staal, Tlusty, and Ward (26 for 27 in saves), while Semin gets an honorable mention.

Back in New York, the Islanders host the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer returns from injury standing 200 feet from Evgeni Nabokov. New York led off with a Josh Bailey goal, fueled by Kyle Okposo and Andrew MacDonald. Toronto tied it as Nazem Kadri scored his sixth of the season, assisted by Mark Fraser. The Islanders took the lead back in the second period when Lubomir Visnovsky scored, with the help of Casey Cizikas and Colin McDonald. The Maple Leafs tied it again on a Kadri goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, guided in by Fraser and Cody Franson. Toronto took the lead as James van Riemsdyk notched his twelfth of the season, helped along by Dave Steckel and Colton Orr. The Maple Leafs extended the lead as Kadri finished his hat trick with his eighth of the year, made possible by Mike Kostka and Carl Gunnarsson. New York got one back in the third period on a MacDonald goal, set up by Okposo and Mark Streit. The Islanders tied it as Okposo sank his second of the season, an unassisted goal. Toronto took the game 5-4 in overtime on a Dion Phaneuf goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur. The three stars were awarded to Kadri, Okposo, and Phaneuf, while MacDonald and Fraser pick up the honorable mentions.

Backtracking to Florida, as the Panthers welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Scott Clemmensen are in the creases. Buffalo struck first in the first period as Nathan Gerbe scored, courtesy of Steve Ott and Tyler Ennis. The Sabres added on as Ennis scored his seventh of the season, a power play goal powered by Thomas Vanek and Ott. Florida got on the board with a power play goal by Drew Shore, his second of the year, set up by Dmitry Kulikov and Brian Campbell. The Panthers tied it as Marcel Goc scored his second of the season, thanks to Tomas Fleischmann and Jack Skille. Buffalo regained the lead as Gerbe potted his second of the game, via Ott, who got a sock trick, and Mike Weber. Florida tied it in the third period as Campbell scored his sixth of the year, coming off of Goc. The Sabres won the game 4-3 in the shootout on tallies by Vanek and Jason Pominville. The three stars were handed to Gerbe, Miller (40 for 43 in saves) and Campbell, while Ennis, Ott, and Goc get the honorable mentions.

Way northwest to Winnipeg, where the Jets host the New Jersey Devils. Johan Hedberg and Ondrej Pavelec are between the pipes. Winnipeg quickly started just eight seconds into the first period with Andrew Ladd's eleventh of the season, assisted by Bryan Little and Zach Bogosian. New Jersey tied it in the second period as Andrei Loktionov scored his second of the year, via Alexei Ponikarovsky and Henrik Tallinder. The Jets took the lead back in the third period as Ladd scored his second of the game and twelfth of the season, fueled by Dustin Byfuglien and Grant Clitsome. Winnipeg finished the scoring at 3-1 as Blake Wheeler put his seventh of the year into the empty net, set up by Ladd and Ron Hainsey. The three stars went to Ladd, Pavelec (22 for 23 in saves), and Byfuglien.

Down in St. Louis, the Blues host the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Jaroslav Halak guard the cages. Chicago quickly opened in the first period as Jonathan Toews scored his eighth of the season, assisted by Brandon Saad and Marian Hossa. Ray Emery replaced Crawford after the first period. The Blackhawks extended the lead in the third period as Andrew Shaw scored his fifth of the year, thanks to Bryan Bickell. Chicago padded the lead on another Toews goal, his second of the game and ninth of the season, passed from Nick Leddy and Hossa. This produced a 3-0 final, with the three stars belonging to Toews, Emery (15 for 15 in saves in relief), and Duncan Keith, while Hossa gets the honorable mention.

Further to the south, the Dallas Stars host the Edmonton Oilers. Devan Dubnyk and Kari Lehtonen are the masked men. Edmonton began in the first period as Sam Gagner scored his sixth of the season, assisted by Jeff Petry and Alex Hemsky. The Oilers added on with a Justin Schultz goal, his fifth of the year, with helpers provided by Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall. Edmonton padded the lead when Petry scored his second of the season, via Hemsky and Lennart Petrell. The Oilers extended the lead in the third period as Hemsky scored a power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Eberle and Schultz. Edmonton kept going as Ben Eager scored, thanks to Petrell. Dallas avoided the shutout when Jaromir Jagr scored his sixth of the campaign, courtesy of Alex Goligoski and Antoine Roussel. This produced a 5-1 final, with Dubnyk (33 for 34 in saves), Gagner, and Hemsky getting the three stars, while Eberle, Schultz, Petry, and Petrell all get honorable mentions.

West to Phoenix, where the Coyotes host the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Mike Smith tend the twines. Minnesota was first to score in the first period as Jason Zucker scored his third of the season, with the help of Matt Cullen and Devin Setoguchi. The Wild extended the lead with a Dany Heatley goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Ryan Suter. Minnesota added on with a second goal by Heatley, his seventh of the season, assisted by Cullen and Setoguchi. Phoenix got on the board with a Rostislav Klesla goal, coming off of Kyle Chipchura and Mikkel Boedker. The Wild shot back as Jared Spurgeon scored a power play goal, powered by Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise. Jason LaBarbera relieved Smith in the third period. The Coyotes chipped back in the third period on a Keith Yandle goal, his third of the year, fueled by Derek Morris and Boedker. Phoenix got another as Shane Doan netted his fifth of the season, via Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Steve Sullivan. Heatley, Backstrom (25 for 28 in saves), and Cullen receive the three stars, while either Setoguchi or Boedker could take the second slot.

Up in Colorado, the Avalanche host the Calgary Flames. Joey MacDonald and Semyon Varlamov have the green light to play goal. Calgary led off in the first period with a Jay Bouwmeester goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Sven Baertschi and Jiri Hudler. The Flames added on as Michael Cammalleri recorded his sixth of the year, thanks to Lee Stempniak and Steve Begin. Calgary padded the lead as Jarome Iginla potted his fourth of the season, assisted by Matt Stajan and Hudler. Colorado got on the board in the second period on a Ryan O'Byrne goal, made possible by Matt Duchene and P.A. Parenteau. The Avalanche pulled closer with a David Jones goal, his third of the year, coming off of Gabriel Landeskog and Paul Stastny. The Flames shot back on another Iginla goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, a power play goal powered by Hudler, who got a sock trick, and Alex Tanguay. Colorado chipped away as Landeskog put away his second of the year, with an assist provided by Jan Hejda. The Avalanche tied it on a Stastny goal, his fifth of the season, helped along by Landeskog and Jones. Colorado gained the lead with a Duchene goal, his seventh of the year, set up by Jamie McGinn and Parenteau. This stood for a 5-4 win, with the three stars being Landeskog, Duchene, and Shane O'Brien, while Iginla, Hudler, Stastny, Jones, or Parenteau could all take the third slot.

Finally, we end in San Jose, with the Sharks hosting the Detroit Red Wings. Jonas Gustavsson and Antti Niemi protect the nets. San Jose finally got going in the third period as Logan Couture potted his eighth of the season, with assists from Joe Thornton and Douglas Murray. Detroit tied it on a Tomas Tatar goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson. The Red Wings won 2-1 in the shootout with a lone tally by Damien Brunner. The three stars went to Gustavsson (25 for 26 in saves), Niemi (33 for 34 in saves), and Patrick Marleau, while Brunner or anyone who recorded a point could take the third slot.

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