Sunday, January 12, 2014

NHL Day 104 2013-2014

Seven games on today, beginning with...

The Washington Capitals hosting the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Phillip Grubauer are set to start. Washington was first to score in the first period with a Jason Chimera goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Joel Ward and Connor Carrick. Buffalo tied it on a Tyler Ennis power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Cody Hodgson and Christian Ehrhoff. The tie lasted all the way to a shootout, where Hodgson scored the only goal for a 2-1 Sabres win. The three stars belonged to Miller (28 for 29 in saves), Hodgson, and Grubauer (30 for 31 in saves).

South to Dallas, as the Stars welcome the New York Islanders. Kevin Poulin and Dan Ellis are the backups making spot starts. Dallas opened in the first period on a Ray Whitney goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Alex Chiasson and Vernon Fiddler. The Stars added on as Sergei Gonchar scored an unassisted goal. New York got on the board in the second period with a Kyle Okposo goal, his nineteenth of the year, via Thomas Vanek and John Tavares. The Islanders tied it in the third period as Okposo scored his second of the game and twentieth of the season, with the help of Calvin de Haan. New York gained the lead on a John Tavares goal, his twenty-first of the year, passed from de Haan and Vanek. The Islanders iced it at 4-2 on a Brock Nelson goal, his sixth of the campaign, an empty net goal set up by Josh Bailey. The three stars were given to Okposo, Tavares, and Vanek, while de Haan gets an honorable mention.

North again to Chicago, where the Blackhawks bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Devan Dubnyk and Antti Raanta are in the creases. Edmonton struck first in the first period with Ales Hemsky scoring his seventh of the season, via Jeff Petry. Chicago tied it on a Ben Smith goal, his sixth of the year, coming off of Niklas Hjalmarsson and Marcus Kruger. The Blackhawks took the lead as Andrew Shaw scored his twelfth of the season in the second period, thanks to Brandon Saad and Patrick Kane. The Oilers tied it on an odd goal, as Kane scored an own goal into an empty net, which was credited to Boyd Gordon as his eighth of the year, while he was on the bench. Chicago retook the lead on a Marian Hossa goal, his seventeenth of the season, a power play goal powered by Duncan Keith and Kane. The Blackhawks added on as Jonathan Toews scored his seventeenth of the year, via Patrick Sharp and Hossa. Edmonton got one back in the third period on a Taylor Hall goal, his eighteenth of the season, guided in by Justin Schultz and Hemsky. Chicago answered with a Brent Seabrook goal, his sixth of the year, an unassisted goal. This was good for a 5-3 win, with the three stars going to Hossa, Kane, and Hemsky.

Northeast to Toronto, as the Maple Leafs host the New Jersey Devils. Cory Schneider and Jonathan Bernier are given the starting nods. Toronto led off in the first period with a Tyler Bozak goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Phil Kessel and Tim Gleason. New Jersey tied it in the second period with an Adam Henrique goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Ryane Clowe and Andy Greene on the power play. The Maple Leafs retook the lead with a power play goal by James van Riemsdyk, his seventeenth of the campaign, powered by Cody Franson and Kessel. The Devils retied it with a Clowe goal, fueled by Marek Zidlicky and Eric Gelinas. The tie lasted to a shootout, where van Riemsdyk scored the only goal for a 3-2 Maple Leafs win. The three stars went to van Riemsdyk, Clowe, and Kessel.

Back stateside, the New York Rangers bring in the Philadelphia Flyers. Ray Emery is mismatched with Henrik Lundqvist in goal. New York began in the first period on a Dan Carcillo goal, his second of the season, going in unassisted. The Rangers added on as Rick Nash scored his eleventh of the year, thanks to Chris Kreider and Ryan McDonagh. New York extended the lead with a Derick Brassard goal, his eighth of the season, passed from Mats Zuccarello and Benoit Pouliot. The Rangers padded the lead in the second period on a Kreider power play goal, his twelfth of the year, via Brad Richards. Philadelphia got on the board in the third period on a power play goal by Mark Streit, his sixth of the campaign, powered by Sean Couturier and Vincent Lecavalier. This only made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars being Lundqvist (37 for 38 in saves), Kreider, and Nash.

Southwest to Nashville, as the Predators welcome the Minnesota Wild. Darcy Kuemper and Marek Mazanec are the young goalies. Minnesota started with a first period Dany Heatley goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Charlie Coyle and Ryan Suter. The Wild added on as Jason Zucker scored his third of the year, thanks to Heatley and Coyle. Minnesota extended the lead in the third period when Matt Cooke scored his sixth of the season, fueled by Justin Fontaine and Kyle Brodziak. The Wild padded the lead on a Marco Scandella goal, his third of the year, passed from Nino Neiderreiter and Mikael Granlund. This was good for a 4-0 win, with the three stars belonging to Kuemper (23 save shutout), Heatley, and Coyle.

Finally, in Anaheim, the Ducks host the Detroit Red Wings. Petr Mrazek and Jonas Hiller occupy the blue paint. Anaheim got going in the second period on an Andrew Cogliano goal, his fifteenth of the season, guided in by Saku Koivu and Kyle Palmieri. This was the game's only goal, resulting in a 1-0 final, with the three stars being Hiller (22 save shutout), Cogliano, and Mrazek (22 for 23 in saves).

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