NHL March 28th 2013

Ten games on tonight, a busy day altogether. We begin in...

Toronto, as the Maple Leafs host the Carolina Hurricanes. Justin Peters and James Reimer are the inconsistent goalies. Toronto began in the first period with a Tyler Bozak goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. The Maple Leafs padded the lead in the second period with a Cody Franson power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Kessel and Dion Phaneuf. Carolina got on the board with a shorthanded goal by Eric Staal, his fifteenth of the season, set up by Alexander Semin. The Hurricanes tied it with a Semin power play goal, his ninth of the year, with a lone assist from Joe Corvo. Carolina took the lead in the third period with a Jordan Staal goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Tuomo Ruutu and Corvo. Toronto retied it when Phaneuf scored his seventh of the year, helped along by Joffrey Lupul. The Maple Leafs took the lead as Lupul potted his seventh of the season, an unassisted goal. Toronto added on as Jay McClement scored an empty net goal, his sixth of the year, with assists from Nikolai Kulemin and Phaneuf. The Maple Leafs finished it at 6-3 with another empty net goal, this time the sixth of the campaign by Kulemin, helped along by Bozak and Carl Gunnarsson. The three stars were handed to Phaneuf, Lupul, and Kessel, while Bozak, Kulemin, Semin, and Corvo get the honorable mentions.

Down in Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Flyers host the New York Islanders. Evgeni Nabokov and Ilya Bryzgalov are the Russian goalies. Philadelphia opened in the first period with a Scott Hartnell power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds. The Flyers added on with a Mike Knuble goal, his third of the year, with a lone assist from Giroux. New York got on the board in the second period with a John Tavares goal, his twenty-first of the season, coming off of Matt Moulson and Mark Streit. The Islanders tied it in the third period on a Colin McDonald goal, his fifth of the year, passed from Keith Aucoin and Michael Grabner. New York took the lead when McDonald scored his second of the game and sixth of the season, via Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas. Philadelphia tied it late with another Hartnell goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, guided in by Simmonds and Matt Read. The Islanders won 4-3 with shootout goals by Brad Boyes and Josh Bailey, while the Flyers only got a tally from Giroux. The three stars went to Bailey, Hartnell, and McDonald, while Giroux and Simmonds get the honorable mentions.

Across the state, the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Winnipeg Jets. Backups Al Montoya and Tomas Vokoun make the starts. Pittsburgh started with a Chris Kunitz goal, his twentieth of the season, assisted by Sidney Crosby and Paul Martin. The Penguins added on as Evgeni Malkin notched his sixth of the year, thanks to James Neal and Matt Niskanen. Pittsburgh extended the lead in the second period as Pascal Dupuis scored his sixteenth of the season, with the help of Kunitz and Crosby. The Penguins padded the lead as Dupuis scored his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, a shorthanded goal with a lone assist from the goalie Vokoun. This was good for a 4-0 win, with the three stars being awarded to Dupuis, Kunitz, and Vokoun (20 save shutout), while Crosby gets an honorable mention.

South to Florida, as the Panthers bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom are in the creases. Florida was first to score in the first period with a Shawn Matthias goal, his eleventh of the season, passed from Tyson Strachan and Jonathan Huberdeau. The Panthers added on in the second period as Tomas Fleischmann scored his eighth of the year, a power play goal powered by Tomas Kopecky and Brian Campbell. Buffalo got on the board with a Nathan Gerbe goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Tyler Ennis and Drew Stafford. The Sabres tied it on an Andrej Sekera goal, his second of the year, an unassisted goal. Buffalo took the lead as Stafford scored his fifth of the season, thanks to Christian Ehrhoff and Robyn Regehr. Florida tied it in the third period on another Matthias goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the year, set up by Peter Mueller. The Sabres took the lead back as Marcus Foligno scored his fifth of the season, a power play goal with assists provided by Jordan Leopold and Tyler Myers. The Panthers answered with a Huberdeau power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, passed from Mueller and Campbell. Florida won 5-4 in the shootout with goalies by Huberdeau and Mike Santorelli, while Buffalo only got one from Jason Pominville. The three stars were handed to Santorelli, Matthias, and Huberdeau, while Stafford, Mueller, and Campbell get honorable mentions.

Back in Canada, the Ottawa Senators host the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist faces a lesser foe in Ben Bishop in goal. Ottawa got going in the second period on an Andre Benoit power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Mika Zibanejad and Chris Neil. The Senators added on in the third period with a Guillaume Latendresse goal, his fifth of the year, coming off of Zibanejad and Jakob Silfverberg. Ottawa iced it at 3-0 with a Colin Greening empty net goal, his sixth of the campaign, fueled by Neil and Marc Methot. Bishop (24 save shutout), Zibanejad, and Erik Condra got the three stars, while Neil is a more fitting choice for the third slot.

Backtracking to Nashville, as the Predators host the Phoenix Coyotes. Jason LaBarbera and Pekka Rinne receive the starting nods. Phoenix struck first in the first period with a Martin Hanzal goal, his ninth of the season, going in unassisted. The Coyotes added on as Radim Vrbata scored his fifth of the year, passed from Rostislav Klesla and Hanzal. Chris Mason relieved Rinne at this time. Phoenix padded the lead with a David Moss goal, his fourth of the season, set up by Rom Klinkhammer and Klesla. The Coyotes struck again on a Matthew Lombardi goal, his third of the year, coming off of Klesla, who got a natural sock trick, and Mikkel Boedker. Phoenix kept going with a Keith Yandle power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Vrbata and Doan. Nashville shot back with a David Legwand goal, his eighth of the year, guided in by Jonathon Blum and Gabriel Bourque. The Predators got another as Richard Clune scored his fourth of the season, with the help of Roman Josi and Patric Hornqvist. The Coyotes answered as Vrbata scored his second of the game and sixth of the year, thanks to Klesla and Hanzal. Nashville chipped back as Bourque scored his eleventh of the season, via Legwand and Taylor Beck. Rinne returned for the second period. Phoenix replied in the second period with an Antoine Vermette goal, his eighth of the year, with assists provided by Paul Bissonnette and David Schlemko. The Predators pulled back with a Shea Weber goal in the third period, his seventh of the season, coming from Mike Fisher and Martin Erat. This only made it 7-4, a final, with the three stars being Vrbata, Klesla, and Hanzal, while Legwand and Bourque receive the honorable mentions.

West a little to St. Louis, as the Blues host the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Jaroslav Halak guard the cages. Los Angeles led off in the second period with a Dustin Brown goal, his thirteenth of the season, pushed through by Anze Kopitar and Rob Scuderi. St. Louis tied it on a Vladimir Tarasenko power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by David Perron and Vladimir Sobotka. The Kings took the lead back with a Trevor Lewis goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Jarret Stoll and Dwight King. The Blues tied it with another Tarasenko goal in the third period, his second of the game and eighth of the year, passed from Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk. Los Angeles took the lead back as Mike Richards notched his eighth of the season, via Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli. The Kings won 4-2 on a Justin Williams empty net goal, his fifth of the year, set up by Brown and Slava Voynov. Brown, Tarasenko, and Quick (20 for 22 in saves) received the three stars.

Northwest to Edmonton, where the Oilers host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Nikolai Khabibulin protect the nets. Columbus started in the first period with a Cam Atkinson goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Matt Calvert. The Blue Jackets added on as Calvert scored his fifth of the year, thanks to Atkinson and Artem Anisimov. Edmonton got on the board with a Magnus Paajarvi goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Sam Gagner. The Oilers tied it in the second period when Jordan Eberle potted his tenth of the year, with the help of Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Columbus took the lead back with an Anisimov goal, his ninth of the season, fueled by Nikita Nikitin. Edmonton pulled even again with a Shawn Horcoff goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Nail Yakupov and Ryan Jones. The Blue Jackets regained the lead in the third period on another Atkinson goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, via Anisimov. Devan Dubnyk relieved Khabibulin at this time. The Oilers tied it on a Corey Potter goal, made possible by Paajarvi and Gagner. Edmonton took the lead on an Ales Hemsky goal, his ninth of the year, with a lone assist from Gagner, who got a sock trick. The Oilers iced it at 6-4 with a Gagner empty net goal, an unassisted goal for his thirteenth of the campaign. The three stars were awarded to Eberle, Hemsky, and Mike Brown, while Gagner, Paajarvi, Atkinson, Anisimov, and Calvert get the honorable mentions.

Over in Vancouver, the Canucks welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Cory Schneider are all padded up. Vancouver opened in the first period as Alexandre Burrows scored his ninth of the season, assisted by Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin. Colorado tied it in the third period with a Matt Duchene goal, his thirteenth of the year, guided in by P.A. Parenteau and Jan Hejda. The Canucks took the lead back on a Daniel Sedin goal, his tenth of the season, coming off of Burrows and Dan Hamhuis. Vancouver extended the lead as Henrik Sedin scored an empty net goal, his ninth of the year, with a lone assist from Schneider. The Canucks finished the scoring at 4-1 with an empty net goal by Chris Higgins, his eighth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Schneider (32 for 33 in saves), Burrows, and Parenteau, while Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin get the honorable mentions.

Finally, in San Jose, the Sharks host the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Antti Niemi are tending the twines. San Jose began in the first period with a Joe Pavelski goal, his tenth of the season, helped along by T.J. Galiardi and Ryane Clowe. The Sharks added on in the third period as Brent Burns scored is fifth of the year, thanks to Joe Thornton. This held up for a 2-0 win, with the three stars being Niemi (27 save shutout), Pavelski, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, while any other point-earner can take the third slot.

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