Thursday, December 19, 2013

NHL Day 80 2013-2014

Eleven games on tonight, beginning in...

Philadelphia, as the Flyers host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Curtis McElhinney faces his former starter, Steve Mason. Columbus opened in the first period with a Cam Atkinson shorthanded goal, his tenth of the season, set up by Ryan Murray. The Blue Jackets added on as Jack Skille scored his third of the year in the second period, thanks to Mark Letestu and Nikita Nikitin. Columbus extended the lead as Nick Foligno scored his tenth of the campaign, via Jack Johnson and Brandon Dubinsky. Philadelphia got on the board in the third period as Jakub Voracek scored his ninth of the season, with the help of Claude Giroux and Mark Streit. The Flyers pulled closer on the third of the year from Braydon Coburn, an unassisted goal. The Blue Jackets answered as Blake Comeau scored his third of the campaign, coming off of Artem Anisimov. Philadelphia shot back with an Erik Gustafsson goal, his second of the season, assisted by Wayne Simmonds and Giroux. The Flyers tied it as Giroux netted his eighth of the year, passed from Michael Raffl and Voracek. Philadelphia took the lead with another Giroux goal, his second of the game and ninth of the campaign, guided in by Streit and Voracek. This held up for a 5-4 win, with Giroux, Voracek, and Streit receiving the three stars.

Over in Buffalo the Sabres welcome the Boston Bruins. Chad Johnson is mismatched with Ryan Miller in goal. Buffalo began as Brian Flynn scored his third of the season, a shorthanded goal set up by Alexander Sulzer and Christian Ehrhoff. Boston tied it in the second period as Brad Marchand scored his sixth of the year, a shorthanded goal coming off of Johnny Boychuk. The Bruins took the lead as Marchand scored his second of the game and seventh of the campaign, via Patrice Bergeron. The Sabres retied it on a Marcus Foligno goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Jamie McBain and Matt D'Agostini. Buffalo took the lead in the third period as Drew Stafford scored his third of the year, thanks to Ville Leino and Steve Ott. The Sabres added on with a Tyler Myers goal, his third of the campaign, made possible by Flynn and Foligno. This was good for a 4-2 win, with the three stars going to Flynn, Marchand, and Foligno.

Up in Canada, the Toronto Maple Leafs bring in the Phoenix Coyotes. Mike Smith and James Reimer are in between the pipes. Toronto was first to score in the first period on a Troy Bodie goal, fueled by Cody Franson and Peter Holland. Phoenix tied it in the third period on a Martin Hanzal goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Rostislav Klesla and Radim Vrbata. The tie lasted to a shootout, where James van Riemsdyk and Joffrey Lupul scored to lift the Maple Leafs 2-1 over a lone tally by Mikkel Boedker. The three stars were Reimer (34 for 35 in saves), Smith (26 for 27 in saves), and Lupul.

Back to Pennsylvania, as the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Jeff Zatkoff are in the creases. Pittsburgh led off in the first period as Chris Kunitz netted his nineteenth of the season, passed from Pascal Dupuis and Sidney Crosby. The Penguins added on in the second period on a Brandon Sutter goal, his eighth of the year, guided in by Olli Maatta and Joe Vitale. Pittsburgh extended the lead as Matt Niskanen scored a power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Jussi Jokinen and James Neal. The Penguins padded the lead with another Kunitz goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the year, assisted by Crosby and Niskanen. Minnesota got on the board with a Jason Pominville goal, his sixteenth of the season, coming off of Nino Neiderreiter and Ryan Suter. The Wild got closer in the third period as Dany Heatley scored his seventh of the year, made possible by Charlie Coyle and Keith Ballard. Pittsburgh responded as Maatta converted a penalty shot he received after being hooked by Jonas Brodin, and this was his third of the campaign. This made the score 5-2, the final, with the three stars belonging to Maatta, Kunitz, and Niskanen, while Crosby gets an honorable mention.

Over in Detroit, the Red Wings welcome the Calgary Flames. Karri Ramo and Jonas Gustavsson are the little-known goalies. Detroit struck first in the first period with a Daniel Alfredsson goal, his eighth of the season, passed from Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall. Calgary tied it as Mikael Backlund scored his fifth of the year, via Michael Cammalleri and T.J. Brodie. The Red Wings took the lead back in the second period on a Joakim Andersson goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Alfredsson and Datsyuk. The Flames tied it again on a power play goal by Mark Giordano, his fourth of the year, powered by Curtis Glencross and Cammalleri. The tie lasted to overtime, where Detroit won 3-2 on an Alfredsson power play goal, his second of the game and ninth of the campaign, guided in by Datsyuk, who got a sock trick, and Kronwall. The three stars were Alfredsson, Datsyuk, and Kronwall, while Cammalleri gets an honorable mention.

Down in Tampa Bay, the Lightning bring in the Nashville Predators. Carter Hutton and Anders Lindback are in the blue paint. Tampa Bay started in the first period with an Alex Killorn goal, his eighth of the season, guided in by Victor Hedman and Jean-Philippe Cote. The Lightning added on when Martin St. Louis scored his fourteenth of the year, assisted by Sami Salo and Killorn on the power play. Nashville got on the board in the second period with a Craig Smith goal, his seventh of the campaign, via Matt Cullen and Shea Weber. Tampa Bay answered with a Teddy Purcell goal, his eighth of the season, courtesy of Valtteri Filppula and Matthew Carle. The Predators pulled back on another Smith goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, a power play goal powered by Cullen and Ryan Ellis. The Lightning shot back on a Richard Panik goal, his second of the campaign, passed from Eric Brewer and Andrej Sustr. Marek Mazanec relieved Hutton at this time. The scoring ended here as well, with the final being 4-2. Smith, Killorn, and Cullen get the three stars.

Back to Canada, as the Ottawa Senators host the Florida Panthers. Scott Clemmensen and Craig Anderson are the unreliable goalies. Florida was first to score in the first period on a Jimmy Hayes goal, his fourth of the season, courtesy of Shawn Matthias and Krys Barch. Ottawa tied it as Chris Neil scored his fifth of the year, thanks to Clarke MacArthur and Marc Methot. The Senators took the lead with a power play goal by Jason Spezza, his eleventh of the campaign, powered by Erik Karlsson and the goalie Anderson. The Panthers tied it as Aleksander Barkov scored his sixth of the season, with the help of Tom Gilbert and Brian Campbell in the second period. Florida took the lead with a third period power play goal by Gilbert, his second of the year, assisted by Tomas Fleischmann and Marcel Goc. The Panthers iced it at 4-2 with a Tomas Kopecky goal, his third of the campaign, going in shorthanded and unassisted. The three stars went to Gilbert, Clemmensen (32 for 34 in saves), and Barkov.

Down in St. Louis, the Blues welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak tend the twines. St. Louis struck first in the first period with an Alexander Steen goal, his twenty-third of the season, a shorthanded goal set up by T.J. Oshie. The Blues added on as Steen scored his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the year, assisted by Derek Roy and Patrik Berglund. St. Louis extended the lead with the tenth of the campaign by Chris Stewart, guided in by Brenden Morrow and Barret Jackman. Montreal got on the board in the second period as Brendan Gallagher scored his tenth of the season, via David Desharnais. The Blues replied in the third period on a Jaden Schwartz goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Oshie and Kevin Shattenkirk. St. Louis padded the lead as Maxim Lapierre scored his third of the campaign, with a lone assist by Adam Cracknell. This made it 5-1, the final, with the three stars awarded to Steen, Halak (25 for 26 in saves), and Oshie.

Further south, the Dallas Stars bring in the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Kari Lehtonen protect the nets. Dallas began in the first period on a Jamie Benn goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Tyler Seguin and Kevin Connauton. The Stars added on as Colton Sceviour scored his third of the year, thanks to Rich Peverley and Erik Cole. Vancouver got on the board with the eleventh of the season by Chris Higgins, guided in by Mike Santorelli and Kevin Bieksa. Dallas answered in the second period as Cole scored his sixth of the year, with the help of Peverley. The Stars extended the lead in the third period with a Valeri Nichushkin goal, his sixth of the campaign, set up by Cole and Seguin. Luongo was pulled for Eddie Lack at this time. The scoring stopped here at a 4-1 final, with the three stars being handed to Cole, Lehtonen (27 for 28 in saves), and Peverley, while Seguin gets an honorable mention.

Northwest to Colorado, as the Avalanche host the Edmonton Oilers. Devan Dubnyk and Semyon Varlamov are given the starting nods. Edmonton led off in the first period as Taylor Hall scored his thirteenth of the season, passed from Jeff Petry and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Colorado tied it in the second period on a Tyson Barrie power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Paul Stastny and Matt Duchene. The Oilers took the lead back as Nugent-Hopkins potted his ninth of the campaign, with a lone helper by Hall. The Avalanche retied it with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his eleventh of the season, via Nathan MacKinnon and Duchene. Colorado took the lead on a shorthanded Max Talbot goal, his fourth of the year, set up by Marc-Andre Cliche. The Avalanche iced it at 4-2 with a Duchene empty net goal, his sixteenth of the campaign, pushed through by Talbot and Jan Hejda. The three stars were Talbot, Duchene, and Hall, while Nugent-Hopkins gets an honorable mention.

Finally, in Los Angeles, the Kings welcome the San Jose Sharks for a Battle of California. Antti Niemi and Martin Jones guard the cages. Los Angeles got going in the second period on an Alec Martinez goal, his third of the season, assisted by Tyler Toffoli. The Kings added on as Toffoli scored his ninth of the year, thanks to Slava Voynov and the goalie Jones. Los Angeles extended the lead with a third period Jeff Carter goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Dwight King and Robyn Regehr. The Kings padded the lead as King potted his tenth of the year, with the help of Carter and Regehr. San Jose got on the board with a Patrick Marleau goal, his sixteenth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Martin Havlat. This only made it 5-1, the final, with the three stars going to Toffoli, Carter, and King, while Jones (31 for 32 in saves) and Regehr get the honorable mentions.

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