Sunday, December 29, 2013

NHL Day 90 2013-2014

There are ten games on today to close out a busy weekend, beginning in...

Buffalo, as the Sabres host the Washington Capitals. Philipp Grubauer is mismatched with Ryan Miller in goal. Buffalo got going in the second period on a Drew Stafford goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Christian Ehrhoff. Washington tied it in the third period with a Troy Brouwer goal, his eighth of the year, coming off of Mikhail Grabovski. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Steve Ott's lone goal was good for a 2-1 Sabres win. The three stars were given to Miller (49 for 50 in saves), Ott, and Grubauer (16 for 17 in saves).

Down in Florida, the Panthers welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Peter Budaj and Scott Clemmensen play goal. Florida was first to score in the first period on a Dmitry Kulikov goal, his second of the season, assisted by Tomas Fleischmann. Montreal tied it in the second period as Brandon Prust scored his fourth of the year, thanks to Raphael Diaz and Francis Bouillon. The Panthers retook the lead with a Brian Campbell goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Tom Gilbert and Brad Boyes. Florida added on as Barkov scored his seventh of the year, with the help of Gilbert and Boyes. The Panthers iced it at 4-1 with a Sean Bergenheim empty net goal, his eighth of the campaign, set up by Campbell. The three stars went to Campbell, Gilbert, and Boyes.

North again to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jeff Zatkoff and Curtis McElhinney man the creases. Columbus began in the first period as Brandon Dubinsky scored his seventh of the season, courtesy of Fedor Tyutin and Jack Johnson. Pittsburgh tied it as James Neal scored his twelfth of the year, a power play goal powered by Matt Niskanen and Chris Kunitz. The Penguins took the lead in the second period as Neal scored his second of the game and thirteenth of the season, via Sidney Crosby. The Blue Jackets tied it again with a Corey Tropp goal, his second of the year, coming off of Boone Jenner and Nikita Nikitin. Pittsburgh took the lead back in the third period on a Crosby goal, his twenty-second of the season, guided in by Kunitz and Neal. The Penguins added on with a Kunitz power play goal, his twenty-first of the year, made possible by Crosby and Neal. Pittsburgh extended the lead as Neal finished his hat trick with his fourteenth of the season, a power play goal with assists provided by Joe Vitale and Deryk Engelland. Columbus got one back on a Nikitin goal, his second of the year, passed from Derek MacKenzie and Blake Comeau. This only made it 5-3, the final, with the three stars going to Neal, Crosby, and Kunitz, while Nikitin gets an honorable mention.

South to Dallas, as the Stars host the St. Louis Blues. Brian Elliott and Kari Lehtonen protect the nets. St. Louis led off in the first period on a Jaden Schwartz power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, powered by Vladimir Sobotka and T.J. Oshie. The Blues added on in the second period when Oshie scored his fifth of the year, an unassisted goal. Dallas got on the board with a Jamie Benn goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming on the power play from Ray Whitney and Erik Cole. The Stars tied it on a Ryan Garbutt goal, his seventh of the year, passed from Aaron Rome and Jordie Benn. The tie lasted until Kevin Shattenkirk scored in overtime, his sixth of the campaign coming on the power play via Alex Pietrangelo and Sobotka for a 3-2 Blues win. The three stars were handed to Oshie, Shattenkirk, and Sobotka.

Eastward to Tampa Bay, as the Lightning welcome the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist faces a lesser foe in Anders Lindback in goal. New York struck first in the first period as Rick Nash scored his seventh of the season, thanks to Derek Stepan. Tampa Bay tied it with a Tyler Johnson power play goal, his tenth of the year, powered by Teddy Purcell and Valtteri Filppula. The Lightning took the lead on an Ondrej Palat goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Radko Gudas and Jean-Philippe Cote. The Rangers retied it with a power play goal by Mats Zuccarello, his ninth of the year, via Derick Brassard and Ryan McDonagh. New York took the lead in the second period on a Chris Kreider power play goal, his tenth of the season, courtesy of Zuccarello and McDonagh. The Rangers added on with a Benoit Pouliot power play goal, his seventh of the year, passed from Brassard and Zuccarello. Tampa Bay got one back in the third period on a Filppula goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, with assists provided by Purcell and Dmitry Korobov. They failed to tie it, losing 4-3, and the three stars were Zuccarello, Filppula, and Brassard, while McDonagh and Purcell get the honorable mentions.

North to Toronto, as the Maple Leafs bring in the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Jonathan Bernier are the masked men. Toronto started in the first period with a Phil Kessel goal, his nineteenth of the season, passed from Tyler Bozak. Carolina tied it in the second period on a Nathan Gerbe goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Alexander Semin. The Maple Leafs took the lead with Kessel's second of the game and twentieth of the season, fueled by James van Riemsdyk and Bozak. Toronto added on with an unassisted goal by Nikolai Kulemin, his fifth of the year. The Hurricanes pulled back on a Justin Faulk power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Andrej Sekera and Jeff Skinner. The Maple Leafs shot back in the third period as Paul Ranger scored his second of the year, with a lone assist by Bozak, who got a sock trick. Toronto wrapped it up at 5-2 with an unassisted empty net goal by Dion Phaneuf, his fourth of the campaign. Kessel, Bernier (41 for 43 in saves), and Bozak get the three stars.

Across Canada to Calgary, as the Flames host the Vancouver Canucks. Eddie Lack and Reto Berra are between the pipes. Vancouver dented the scoreboard in the first period on a Jannik Hansen goal, his seventh of the season, courtesy of Henrik Sedin and Dan Hamhuis. The Canucks iced it at 2-0 in the third period as Mike Santorelli scored his ninth of the year, via Ryan Kesler. The three stars were Lack (18 save shutout), Hansen, and Santorelli.

Backtracking to Minnesota, with the Wild welcoming the New York Islanders. Kevin Poulin and Josh Harding draw the starts. Minnesota opened in the first period on a Ryan Suter goal, guided in by Mike Rupp and Torrey Mitchell. The Wild added on in the second period as Jonas Brodin scored his seventh of the season, thanks to Mikko Koivu and Nino Neiderreiter. Minnesota extended the lead as Neiderreiter scored his seventh of the year, with a lone helper by Koivu. New York got on the board with a John Tavares goal, his fourteenth of the season, fueled by Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo. The Islanders pulled closer as Cal Clutterbuck scored his fifth of the year, assisted by Thomas Hickey and Brock Nelson. New York tied it in the third period as Hickey scored his second of the season, with the help of Colin McDonald and Ryan Strome. The Islanders took the lead on an Okposo goal, his thirteenth of the year, set up by Hickey and Andrew MacDonald. The Wild retied it as Justin Fontaine scored his eighth of the season, passed from Matt Cooke and Marco Scandella. New York pulled ahead with another Okposo goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, coming off of Vanek. This held up for a 5-4 win, with Okposo, Hickey, and Neiderreiter getting the three stars while Vanek and Koivu get the honorable mentions.

Southwest to Denver, as the Colorado Avalanche bring in the Winnipeg Jets. Al Montoya and Semyon Varlamov guard the cages. Winnipeg got going in the third period on an Andrew Ladd goal, his tenth of the season, fueled by Blake Wheeler and Jacob Trouba. Colorado tied it on a Nathan MacKinnon goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Gabriel Landeskog and Erik Johnson. The Jets won 2-1 in overtime as Wheeler scored his fifteenth of the campaign, assisted by Mark Scheifele and Dustin Byfuglien. The three stars belonged to Wheeler, Montoya (33 for 34 in saves), and Varlamov (35 for 37 in saves).

Finally, in San Jose, the Sharks host the Anaheim Ducks in a Battle of California. Frederik Andersen and Antti Niemi receive the starting nods. San Jose led off in the first period as Brent Burns scored his twelfth of the season, courtesy of Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton. The Sharks added on as Logan Couture scored his eleventh of the year, via Burns and Jason Demers. San Jose extended the lead in the second period with a Bracken Kearns goal, coming off of Andrew Desjardins and Mike Brown. Anaheim got on the board in the third period with a Pat Maroon goal, his third of the campaign, assisted by Corey Perry and Cam Fowler. This only made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars awarded to Niemi (30 for 31 in saves), Burns, and Kearns.

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