NHL March 7th 2013

Eleven games on again tonight, beginning in...

Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Flyers welcome their cross-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Ilya Bryzgalov are between the pipes. Philadelphia struck first in the first period as Jakub Voracek scored a power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Claude Giroux and Kimmo Timonen. Pittsburgh tied it as Chris Kunitz scored his thirteenth of the year, a power play goal set up by Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby. The Flyers took the lead back on a Zac Rinaldo goal, his third of the season, coming off of Nicklas Grossmann and Max Talbot. Philadelphia added on as Timonen scored his third of the year, fueled by Rinaldo and Ruslan Fedotenko. The Flyers extended the lead as Voracek scored another power play goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the season, passed from Timonen. Tomas Vokoun replaced Fleury for the second period. The Penguins answered in the second period on a Pascal Dupuis goal, his eighth of the year, guided in by Crosby and Kunitz. Pittsburgh pulled closer as James Neal notched his fifteenth of the season, with the help of Beau Bennett. The Penguins got the equalizer as Tyler Kennedy recorded his third of the year, assisted by Matt Cooke and Brandon Sutter. Brian Boucher relieved Bryzgalov at this time. Pittsburgh took the lead in the third period on Kunitz's second of the game and fourteenth of the season, helped along by Crosby, who got a sock trick, and Dupuis. This held up for the 5-4 win, with the three stars awarded to Kunitz, Voracek, and Crosby, while Dupuis, Timonen, and Rinaldo receive the honorable mentions.

Over in New York, we get another rivalry, as the New York Islanders bring in the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Evgeni Nabokov are in the creases. The Islanders were the first to score in the first period with a Michael Grabner goal, his tenth of the season, coming off of Colin McDonald and Andrew MacDonald. The Rangers tied it in the third period when Rick Nash scored his eighth of the year, set up by Derek Stepan and Carl Hagelin. The Rangers won 2-1 in overtime on a Marian Gaborik power play goal, his eighth of the campaign, powered by Nash and Stepan. Nash, Grabner, and Nabokov (35 for 37 in saves) got the three stars, while Lundqvist (27 for 28 in saves), and Stepan get the honorable mentions.

Down in Carolina, the Hurricanes host the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Justin Peters are set to start in goal. Montreal began in the first period with a Brandon Prust goal, his fourth of the season, via Alexei Emelin and Lars Eller. The Canadiens added on as Josh Gorges scored his second of the year, guided in by Prust and P.K. Subban. Carolina got on the board in the second period with a Jordan Staal goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Justin Faulk. The Hurricanes tied it as Drayson Bowman put away his second of the year, with a lone assist from Jeremy Welsh. Montreal took the lead back as Eller scored his third of the season, thanks to Gorges and Prust. The Canadiens padded the lead as Subban scored his sixth of the year, a power play goal, powered by Andrei Markov and Eller. This made it 4-2, a final, with the three stars going to Prust, Gorges, and Eller.

Back north a touch to DC, as the Washington Capitals host the Florida Panthers. Jacob Markstrom and Braden Holtby are the young goalies. Washington led off with a first period goal by John Erskine, his third of the season, passed from Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson. The Capitals added on as Wojtek Wolski scored his fourth of the year, courtesy of Steve Oleksy and Mathieu Perreault. Scott Clemmensen relieved Markstrom at this time. Washington kept going with a Carlson goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Nicklas Backstrom and Troy Brouwer. The Capitals struck again as Mike Ribeiro scored his ninth of the year, via Ovechkin and Matt Hendricks. Washington padded the lead in the second period as Ovechkin scored his ninth of the season, a power play goal, powered by Brouwer and Ribeiro. The Capitals extended the lead in the third period as Eric Fehr scored his sixth of the year, a power play goal set up by Wolski and Ribeiro. Florida got on the board with a Jack Skille goal, his third of the season, coming off of Shawn Matthias. Washington replied with a Perreault goal, his third of the year, assisted by Wolski and Oleksy. The final stood at 7-1, with the three stars belonging to Ribeiro, Holtby (29 for 30 in saves), and Ovechkin, while Wolski, Perreault, Carlson, Oleksy, and Brouwer pick up the honorable mentions.

Up in Boston, the Bruins host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ben Scrivens and Anton Khudobin are the backups making spot starts. Boston started in the first period on a Patrice Bergeron goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand. Toronto tied it in the second period as Nazem Kadri scored his eleventh of the year, guided in by Clarke MacArthur and Carl Gunnarsson. The Bruins regained the lead on a Seguin goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Marchand and Bergeron. Boston extended the lead with a David Krejci goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Andrew Ference and Milan Lucic. The Maple Leafs got one back in the third period as Mikhail Grabovski scored his seventh of the season, courtesy of Gunnarsson and Mike Kostka. The Bruins iced it at 4-2 as Seguin scored his second of the game and seventh of the year, an empty net goal passed from Bergeron. Bergeron, Seguin, and Marchand received the three stars, while Gunnarsson gets an honorable mention.

South a touch to New Jersey, with the Devils hosting the Buffalo Sabres. Jhonas Enroth and Johan Hedberg are given the starting nods. Buffalo got going in the second period as Thomas Vanek scored his thirteenth of the season, a power play goal powered by Tyler Ennis and Steve Ott. The Sabres added on in the third period as Brian Flynn scored, thanks to Andrej Sekera and Marcus Foligno. New Jersey got on the board with an Adam Henrique power play goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Ilya Kovalchuk. The Devils tied it as Patrik Elias scored his seventh of the season, with assists from David Clarkson and Andy Greene. Ryan Miller replaced an injured Enroth at this time. New Jersey won 3-2 in the shootout with Clarkson and Elias tallies. The three stars were given to Elias, Enroth (27 for 29 in saves), and Flynn, while Clarkson gets an honorable mention.

West to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets host the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider and Sergei Bobrovsky are in the blue paint. Columbus opened in the first period on an R.J. Umberger goal, his fourth of the season, courtesy of Nick Foligno and Ryan Johansen. Vancouver tied it in the third period when Henrik Sedin with his fifth of the year, made possible by Dan Hamhuis and Daniel Sedin. The Blue Jackets won 2-1 in overtime as Matt Calvert scored his fourth of the campaign, assisted by Fedor Tyutin and Jack Johnson. The three stars were handed to Bobrovsky (34 for 35 in saves), Calvert and Umberger.

Southeast again, with the Tampa Bay Lightning welcoming the Winnipeg Jets. Al Montoya and Anders Lindback have the green light to start. Winnipeg was first to score in the first period as Eric Tangradi scored an unassisted goal. Tampa Bay tied it in the third period as Steven Stamkos scored his eighteenth of the season, assisted by Martin St. Louis and Ryan Malone. The Jets took the lead back as Bryan Little scored his fourth of the year, via Andrew Ladd. This produced a 2-1 final score, with the three stars belonging to Montoya (28 for 29 in saves), Evander Kane, and Stamkos, while any point-earner can take the second slot.

Back north, the Detroit Red Wings host the Edmonton Oilers. Devan Dubnyk and Jimmy Howard guard the cages. Detroit began in the second period with a Jakub Kindl goal, his second of the season, coming off of Patrick Eaves and Brian Lashoff. The Red Wings padded the lead with a Cory Emmerton goal, his second of the year, fueled by Drew Miller and Pavel Datsyuk. Detroit iced it at 3-0 as Justin Abdelkader scored an empty net goal, thanks to Henrik Zetterberg and Damien Brunner. The three stars went to Emmerton, Howard (22 save shutout), and Brendan Smith, while any point-earner can take the third slot.

In the southwest, the Phoenix Coyotes host the St. Louis Blues. Jake Allen and Mike Smith are the masked men. St. Louis started in the first period with a Chris Stewart goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Alex Pietrangelo and David Perron. Phoenix tied it with a shorthanded goal by David Moss, his third of the year, via Boyd Gordon. The Coyotes took the lead in the second period as Shane Doan notched his seventh of the season, an unassisted goal. The Blues retied it on a Patrik Berglund goal, his tenth of the year, made possible by Barret Jackman and Perron. St. Louis took the lead as Berglund scored his second of the game and eleventh of the season, with assists provided by Perron, who got a sock trick, and Stewart. The Blues padded the lead on a Scott Nichol goal, fueled by Jaden Schwartz. St. Louis extended the lead in the third period on a Vladimir Sobotka goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Stewart and Perron. The Blues added on as Pietrangelo scored his fifth of the season, with the help of T.J. Oshie and David Backes. Phoenix got one back late as Keith Yandle scored his fifth of the year, a power play goal powered by Steve Sullivan and Derek Morris. Berglund, Stewart, and Perron received the three stars in the 6-3 game, while Pietrangelo gets an honorable mention.

Finally, in Los Angeles, the Kings bring in the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Jonathan Quick tend the twines. Dallas led off with a first period Jaromir Jagr goal, his eighth of the season coming on the power play from Jamie Benn and Alex Goligoski. Los Angeles tied it when Trevor Lewis scored his third of the year, thanks to Dwight King and Alec Martinez. The Kings gained the lead in the second period with a Jeff Carter goal, his sixteenth of the season, fueled by Dustin Penner and Mike Richards. The Stars tied it with a Cody Eakin power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Goligoski. Dallas took the lead in the third period as Brenden Morrow scored his sixth of the season, coming off of Eakin and Reilly Smith. The Stars padded the lead on another Jagr goal, his second of the game and ninth of the year, passed from Jamie Benn and Trevor Daley. Dallas finished it at 5-2 with an empty net goal by Antoine Roussel, assisted by Derek Roy. The three stars went to Jagr, Eakin, and Penner, while Jamie Benn and Goligoski pick up the honorable mentions.

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