NHL April 7th 2013

Eight games on today, beginning in...

Detroit, where the Red Wings host the St. Louis Blues. Brian Elliott and Jimmy Howard occupy the creases. St. Louis got going in the second period on a Chris Porter goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Patrik Berglund and Barret Jackman. This was the game's only goal, resulting in a 1-0 final, with the three stars being Elliott (28 save shutout), Howard (24 for 25 in saves), and Porter.

Out west, the San Jose Sharks host the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi are the Finnish goalies. San Jose led off in the first period with a Tommy Wingels goal, his fourth of the season, with a lone assist from Logan Couture. The Sharks added on in the second period as Brent Burns scored his sixth of the year, thanks to Justin Braun and the goalie Niemi. Dallas got on the board with the sixth of the season by Eric Nystrom, fueled by Vernon Fiddler. The Stars tied it quickly with an Alex Chiasson goal, his second of the year, with helpers from Jamie Benn and Ray Whitney. San Jose took the lead back as T.J. Galiardi recorded his third of the season, via Raffi Torres. The Sharks extended the lead with a Marc-Edouard Vlasic goal, his third of the year, coming off of Torres and Braun. Dallas got one back in the third period as Chiasson scored his second of the game and third of the season, with the help of Whitney and Benn. The Stars tied it with a Loui Eriksson goal, his tenth of the year, passed from Matt Fraser and Alex Goligoski. Dallas won 5-4 in the shootout with a lone tally by Benn. The three stars were given to Chiasson, Torres, and Benn, while Whitney and Braun get the honorable mentions.

Eastward to Columbus, with the Blue Jackets bringing in the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Sergei Bobrovsky protect the nets. Minnesota was first to score in the second period as Ryan Suter notched his fourth of the season, a power play goal powered by Jason Pominville and Jared Spurgeon. The Wild added on with a Charlie Coyle power play goal, his sixth of the year, guided in by Mikael Granlund and Devin Setoguchi. Minnesota iced it at 3-0 with a Pominville goal in the third period, his eleventh of the campaign, set up by Zach Parise. The three stars were awarded to Suter, Backstrom (24 save shutout), and Coyle, while Pominville gets an honorable mention.

Southeast to Florida, with the Panthers hosting the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Scott Clemmensen are set to start. Ottawa started in the first period with a Cory Conacher goal, his tenth of the season, via Jakob Silfverberg and Mika Zibanejad. Florida tied it in the second period as Marcel Goc scored his fifth of the year, courtesy of Tomas Fleischmann and Tomas Kopecky. The Panthers took the lead in the third period with a power play goal by Dmitry Kulikov, his second of the season, powered by Jonathan Huberdeau and Brian Campbell. This made it 2-1, a final, with the three stars going to Clemmensen (40 for 41 in saves), Kulikov, and Goc.

Northwest again to Chicago, as the Blackhawks host the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Ray Emery guard the cages. Chicago struck first in the first period on an Andrew Shaw goal, his eighth of the season, via Michael Frolik and Niklas Hjalmarsson. Nashville tied it with a Nick Spaling goal, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Sergei Kostitsyn. The Blackhawks took the lead back in the second period as Bryan Bickell scored his eighth of the season, assisted by Viktor Stalberg and Michal Rozsival. The Predators retied the game with a Shea Weber goal, his eighth of the year, with a lone assist from Spaling. Nashville took the lead in the third period on a David Legwand goal, his eleventh of the season, passed from Matt Halischuk and Weber. Chicago pulled even on a Brandon Saad goal, his ninth of the year, coming off of Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks took the lead on a Toews goal, his nineteenth of the season, guided in by Patrick Kane and Shaw. Chicago iced it at 5-3 with an empty net goal by Kane, his twentieth of the year, set up by Saad. Toews, Saad, and Shaw received the three stars, while Kane, Spaling, and Weber got the honorable mentions.

East to DC, as the Washington Capitals welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ben Bishop and Michal Neuvirth are given the starting nods. Tampa Bay quickly began with a Vincent Lecavalier power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Martin St. Louis and Sami Salo. Washington tied it in the second period as Alex Ovechkin scored his twenty-fourth of the year, assisted by Jack Hillen and Nicklas Backstrom. The Lightning took the lead on an Alex Killorn goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Lecavalier and Matt Carle. The Capitals pulled even with the sixth of the year by John Carlson, fueled by Joel Ward and Hillen. Washington took the lead with a Ward goal, his eighth of the season, passed from Mathieu Perreault and Jason Chimera. The Capitals finished it at 4-2 with an Ovechkin empty net goal, his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the year, with a lone assist from Mike Ribeiro. Ward, Neuvirth (28 for 30 in saves), and Lecavalier were named the three stars, while Ovechkin and Hillen get the honorable mentions.

Moving along to Buffalo, where the Sabres host the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur and Ryan Miller tend the twines. Buffalo opened in the first period with a Patrick Kaleta goal, assisted by Jochen Hecht. New Jersey tied it on a power play goal by Steve Sullivan, his sixth of the season, set up by Steve Bernier. The Sabres took the lead back in the second period with a Steve Ott goal, his eighth of the year, coming off of Cody Hodgson and Nathan Gerbe. The Devils tied it again in the third period on a Mark Fayne shorthanded goal, made possible by Dainius Zubrus. Buffalo won 3-2 in the shootout on a lone tally by Gerbe. The three stars were handed to Miller (37 for 39 in saves), Kaleta, and Ott, while Gerbe gets an honorable mention.

Finally, way out in Anaheim, the Ducks host the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Bernier and Viktor Fasth are the pseudo-backups in goal. Anaheim quickly led off in the first period with a Kyle Palmieri goal, his ninth of the season, via Matt Beleskey and Dave Steckel. Los Angeles tied it in the second period as Drew Doughty recorded his third of the year, a power play goal powered by Dustin Brown. The Ducks took the lead back on a Corey Perry goal, his thirteenth of the season, made possible by Andrew Cogliano and Sheldon Souray. The Kings retied it late with the twenty-third of the year by Jeff Carter, passed from Mike Richards and Brad Richardson. Anaheim regained the lead in the third period as Beleskey scored a power play goal, his seventh of the season, set up by Souray and Saku Koivu. Los Angeles tied it again with a Brown goal, his fifteenth of the year, coming off of Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams. The Ducks won 4-3 in the shootout as goals by Bobby Ryan, Koivu, and Perry outpaced the Kings' lone tally from Carter. The three stars were given to Perry, Beleskey, and Brown, while Souray gets an honorable mention.

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