No fooling here, we've got nine games tonight on April Fools' Day and Opening Day of Baseball. As I said earlier, no baseball on this blog this summer, but keep a watch for a possible sequel to the Ultimate Baseball Fantasy Trip over here. We begin the games in...
New Jersey, with the Devils hosting the New York Islanders. Evgeni Nabokov and Martin Brodeur are the seasoned veteran goalies. New York quickly struck first in the first period with a Josh Bailey goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo. The Islanders added on as Travis Hamonic scored his third of the year, thanks to Nielsen. New Jersey got on the board in the second period with an Alexei Ponikarovsky goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Patrik Elias and Travis Zajac. New York replied in the third period on a John Tavares power play goal, his twenty-second of the year, powered by Lubomir Visnovsky and Mark Streit. This made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars going to Nielsen, Bailey, and Ponikarovsky.
Over in New York City, the Rangers welcome the Winnipeg Jets. Ondrej Pavelec and Henrik Lundqvist will draw the starts. New York began in the first period as Derek Stepan netted his eleventh of the season, courtesy of Ryan Callahan and Rick Nash. Winnipeg tied it on a Nik Antropov goal, his fifth of the year, coming off of Kyle Wellwood. The Jets gained the lead as Zach Bogosian scored his third of the season, via Ron Hainsey and Olli Jokinen. The Rangers retied it in the second period with a Callahan shorthanded goal, his tenth of the year, set up by Mats Zuccarello and Ryan McDonagh. New York took the lead in the third period on another Stepan goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the season, guided in by Anton Stralman and Callahan. The Rangers padded the lead with a Nash goal, his thirteenth of the year, pushed through by Brad Richards and Callahan, the latter getting a sock trick. They held on to win 4-2, with the three stars belonging to Callahan, Stepan, and Lundqvist (26 for 28 in saves), while Nash gets an honorable mention.
Northwest to Detroit, where the Red Wings host the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Jimmy Howard protect the nets. Detroit was first to score in the first period with a Justin Abdelkader goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Johan Franzen and Niklas Kronwall. The Red Wings added on in the second period with a Daniel Cleary power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk. Detroit padded the lead with a Damien Brunner goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Gustav Nyquist. Jean-Sebastien Giguere relieved Varlamov at this time. Colorado got on the board in the third period as Jamie McGinn scored his seventh of the year, a power play goal, set up by John Mitchell and Cody McLeod. The Avalanche pulled closer with a Matt Duchene goal, his fourteenth of the season, going in unassisted. They failed to tie the game, losing 3-2, with the three stars being Franzen, Howard (22 for 24 in saves), and Abdelkader.
Back east to Montreal, where the Canadiens host the Carolina Hurricanes. Justin Peters is mismatched with Carey Price in goal. Carolina opened in the first period with a Jordan Staal goal, his ninth of the season, with assists provided by Patrick Dwyer and Brett Bellemore. Montreal tied it on an Andrei Markov power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by P.K. Subban and Brendan Gallagher. The Canadiens took the lead in the second period with a Jeff Halpern goal, with a lone assist from Nathan Beaulieu. Montreal added on in the third period as Max Pacioretty put away his tenth of the season, thanks to Francis Bouillon. The Canadiens iced it at 4-1 as Pacioretty scored his second of the game and eleventh of the year, an empty net goal helped along by Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec. The three stars were awarded to Halpern, Markov, and Price (18 for 19 in saves), while Pacioretty gets an honorable mention.
West again to Minnesota, with the Wild hosting the St. Louis Blues. Jaroslav Halak and Niklas Backstrom are the masked men. St. Louis led off with a first period Jaden Schwartz goal, his fourth of the season, going in unassisted. Near the end of the period, Halak was pulled for Brian Elliott after suffering an injury. Minnesota tied it in the second period on a Dany Heatley power play goal, his tenth of the year, powered by Jonas Brodin and Torrey Mitchell. The Blues took the lead back when Andy McDonald recorded his fourth of the season, coming off of Alexander Steen and David Backes. St. Louis added on with a Kevin Shattenkirk goal, his third of the year, assisted by Schwartz and Patrik Berglund. The Blues finished it at 4-1 as Barret Jackman scored his third of the campaign, with a lone helper by McDonald. Schwartz, Shattenkirk, and Brodin were given the three stars, and McDonald gets an honorable mention.
Down in Chicago, the Blackhawks bring in the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Corey Crawford tend the twines. Chicago started in the first period with a Brandon Saad goal, his seventh of the season, passed from Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks extended the lead in the second period with a Patrick Kane goal, his nineteenth of the year, an unassisted goal. Nashville got on the board in the third period with a David Legwand goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Victor Bartley and Kevin Klein. The Predators tied it with a Taylor Beck goal, his second of the year, fueled by Patric Hornqvist and Legwand. Chicago won it 3-2 in the shootout as Toews scored, and then was matched by Craig Smith, but Michal Rozsival put away the winner. The three stars went to Kane, Rinne (38 for 40 in saves), and Saad, while Legwand gets an honorable mention.
Further to the south, the Dallas Stars host the Anaheim Ducks. Viktor Fasth and Kari Lehtonen have the green light to start. Anaheim got going in the second period on a Bobby Ryan power play goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Ryan Getzlaf and Cam Fowler. The Ducks added on as Corey Perry scored his twelfth of the year, thanks to Ryan and Getzlaf. Anaheim struck again as Matt Beleskey scored his sixth of the season, courtesy of Kyle Palmieri and Sheldon Souray. The Ducks wrapped it up at 4-0 with a Teemu Selanne empty net goal, his ninth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were awarded to Ryan, Fasth (26 save shutout), and Getzlaf.
Up in Canada again, the Edmonton Oilers host their southern rivals, the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Devan Dubnyk are in the creases. Edmonton began in the first period on a Justin Schultz goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle. The Oilers added on as Hall scored his twelfth of the year, with the help of Justin Schultz. Edmonton chased Kiprusoff with a Ryan Jones goal, his second of the season, made possible by Nail Yakupov and Justin Schultz. Joey MacDonald came on in relief. The Oilers padded the lead in the third period on a Yakupov goal, his seventh of the year, set up by Jones and Ryan Whitney. Calgary avoided the shutout with a Brian McGrattan goal, his second of the campaign, courtesy of Tim Jackman and Steve Begin. This made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars being handed to Dubnyk (33 for 34 in saves), Justin Schultz, and Hall, while Yakupov and Jones got the honorable mentions.
Finally, in San Jose, the Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider and Antti Niemi guard the cages. San Jose struck first in the second period on an Andrew Desjardins goal, fueled by Adam Burish and Scott Gomez. The Sharks added on as Joe Thornton potted his sixth of the season, courtesy of Matt Tennyson. San Jose extended the lead on a Logan Couture power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, powered by Patrick Marleau and Thornton. Vancouver got on the board as Chris Higgins scored his ninth of the season, via Jannik Hansen and Kevin Bieksa. The Canucks chipped closer in the third period on an Alexandre Burrows goal, his tenth of the year, passed from Higgins and Hansen. They couldn't score an equalizer, falling 3-2, with the three stars being Thornton, Higgins, and Desjardins, while Hansen gets an honorable mention.
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