Saturday, January 4, 2014

NHL Day 96 2013-2014

Big day today, including two matinees to get things going. The first comes from...

Boston, where the Bruins host the Winnipeg Jets. Ondrej Pavelec and Tuukka Rask are in goal. Winnipeg started in the first period on a Dustin Byfuglien goal, his ninth of the season, going in unassisted. Boston tied it with a Daniel Paille goal, his sixth of the year, coming off of Torey Krug and Gregory Campbell. The Bruins took the lead when Krug scored his ninth of the season in the second period, passed from Paille. Boston added on as Krug notched his second of the game and tenth of the year, guided in by Adam McQuaid and Carl Soderberg. The Bruins extended the lead with a Reilly Smith goal in the third period, his fifteenth of the season, made possible by Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. This made it a 4-1 final, with Krug, Rask (36 for 37 in saves), and Paille getting the three stars.

Out in Colorado, the Avalanche welcome the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Semyon Varlamov tend the twines. Colorado was first to score in the first period on a Nathan MacKinnon power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Andre Benoit and Paul Stastny. The Avalanche added on in the second period on a Jamie McGinn goal, his ninth of the year, assisted by Matt Duchene. Colorado extended the lead as Erik Johnson potted his seventh of the season, via Gabriel Landeskog and Stastny. Alex Stalock relieved Niemi. The Avalanche padded the lead as MacKinnon scored his second of the game and twelfth of the year, courtesy of John Mitchell. San Jose got on the board with a Joe Pavelski power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, coming off of Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton. The Sharks got closer with a Marleau goal, his nineteenth of the year, guided in by Jason Demers and Matthew Nieto. San Jose pulled closer on a third period goal by Logan Couture, helped along by Marleau and Scott Hannan. This only made it 4-3, the final, and the three stars went to MacKinnon, Marleau, and Stastny.

Back east, the Buffalo Sabres bring in the New Jersey Devils. Cory Schneider and Ryan Miller are the American goalies. Buffalo dented the scoreboard in the second period on a Matt Moulson power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, powered by Tyler Ennis and Christian Ehrhoff. New Jersey tied it on a Michael Ryder power play goal in the third period, his thirteenth of the year, guided in by Travis Zajac and Marek Zidlicky. The Sabres retook the lead with a Matt D'Agostini power play goal, helped along by Steve Ott and Linus Omark. This held up for a 2-1 win, with the three stars going to Miller (21 for 22 in saves), D'Agostini, and Moulson.

Nearby in Toronto, the Maple Leafs host the New York Rangers. Cam Talbot and Jonathan Bernier are in goal. New York began in the first period with a Carl Hagelin goal, his tenth of the season, courtesy of Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh. The Rangers added on with a Dominic Moore goal, his second of the year, going in unassisted. New York extended the lead in the second period as Benoit Pouliot scored his eighth of the season, made possible by Marc Staal and Derick Brassard. The Rangers padded the lead on a Chris Kreider goal, his eleventh of the year, fueled by Derek Stepan and John Moore. New York got another as Dominic Moore scored his second of the game and third of the season, an unassisted goal. Bernier was replaced by James Reimer in goal. Toronto got on the board with a Joffrey Lupul goal, his twelfth of the year, coming off of Tyler Bozak and Morgan Rielly. The Rangers shot back in the third period as Brad Richards netted his tenth of the season, assisted by Ryan Callahan and Hagelin. New York wrapped it up at 7-1 on a Brian Boyle power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Michael Del Zotto and J.T. Miller. The three stars were handed to Dominic Moore, Hagelin, and Talbot (25 for 26 in saves).

Over in Quebec, the Montreal Canadiens welcome the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Carey Price are the veteran goalies. Ottawa led off in the first period with a Colin Greening goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Erik Condra and Zack Smith. Montreal tied it when Daniel Briere put away his sixth of the year, with the help of Travis Moen and Douglas Murray. The Senators retook the lead as Mark Stone scored, with assists provided by Matt Kassian and Chris Phillips. Ottawa added on with a Condra goal, his fourth of the season, with a lone helper from Marc Methot. The Canadiens got one back in the third period as Briere scored his second of the game and seventh of the year, assisted by Tomas Plekanec and Murray. Montreal tied it with a Brian Gionta goal, his sixth of the season, passed from Briere and Plekanec. The tie lasted to overtime, where the Senators won 4-3 when Clarke MacArthur notched a power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, powered by Mika Zibanejad and Erik Karlsson. The three stars were awarded to Briere, Condra, and Murray, while Plekanec gets an honorable mention.

Way south to Florida, as the Panthers bring in the Nashville Predators. Marek Mazanec and Tim Thomas show alliteration in the goalie matchup. Nashville struck first in the first period with a Craig Smith goal, his twelfth of the season, coming off of Nick Spaling and David Legwand. Florida tied it as Brad Boyes scored his eleventh of the year, with the help of Aleksander Barkov and Tom Gilbert. The Panthers took the lead with a Tomas Kopecky goal, his fourth of the season, via Marcel Goc and Jonathan Huberdeau. The Predators retied it in the second period on a Mike Fisher goal, his eleventh of the year, with a lone assist from Colin Wilson. Florida retook the lead with a Sean Bergenheim goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Barkov and Boyes. The Panthers added on in the third period when Goc scored his eighth of the year, thanks to Huberdeau. Nashville got one back on a Seth Jones goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Roman Josi and Shea Weber. The Predators tied it again on a Paul Gaustad goal, his sixth of the year, helped along by Patric Hornqvist and Weber. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Legwand cancelled out Huberdeau before Kopecky scored the game winner for the Panthers to make it a 5-4 final. Kopecky, Goc, and Boyes get the three stars while Huberdeau, Barkov, and Weber get the honorable mentions.

Back north to New York, as the Islanders host the Carolina Hurricanes. Anton Khudobin and Evgeni Nabokov are the Russian goalies. Carolina got going in the second period as Manny Malhotra scored his fourth of the season, thanks to Patrick Dwyer. New York tied it with the seventeenth of the year by John Tavares, fueled by Thomas Vanek. The Hurricanes retook the lead as Jordan Staal scored his ninth of the season, made possible by Dwyer and Nathan Gerbe. Carolina added on with a Brett Sutter goal, coming off of Jeff Skinner and Andrej Sekera. The Islanders got one back in the third period as Vanek scored a power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, powered by Andrew MacDonald and Ryan Strome. It wasn't enough to avoid a 3-2 loss, with the three stars being Vanek, Dwyer, and Khudobin (38 for 40 in saves).

Out west, the Minnesota Wild welcome the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby and Niklas Backstrom get the spot starts. Washington opened in the first period on a Marcus Johansson power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The Capitals added on with a (nifty) Mike Green goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Jason Chimera and Joel Ward. Minnesota got on the board in the second period as Nino Neiderreiter scored his eighth of the season, thanks to Charlie Coyle and Matt Cooke. The Wild tied it on a power play goal by Ryan Suter, his third of the year, passed from Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund. Minnesota took the lead as Suter scored his second of the game and fourth of the season on the power play, via Koivu and Dany Heatley. Washington tied it again on a (weird) Green goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, with a lone assist from Brooks Laich. The Wild retook the lead as Jason Zucker netted his second of the season on the power play, guided in by Keith Ballard and Jonas Brodin. Minnesota iced it at 5-3 in the third period with a Suter goal to complete his hat trick with his fifth of the year, set up by Clayton Stoner just after killing a penalty. The three stars went to Suter, Green, and Koivu. Full disclosure: I watched almost all of the game. Green's first goal is an early goal of the year candidate, and his second is going to be up for odd play of the year. Also, the Capitals only faced eleven shots on goal, and yet Holtby gave up five in a truly awful full-game goaltending performance.

Down in St. Louis, the Blues bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Curtis McElhinney is mismatched with Brian Elliott in goal. Columbus led off in the first period on an Artem Anisimov goal, his twelfth of the season, passed from Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Murray. The Blue Jackets added on as Mark Letestu scored his second of the year, via Blake Comeau and the goalie McElhinney. St. Louis got on the board in the second period on a Patrik Berglund goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Barret Jackman and Kevin Shattenkirk. The Blues tied it with a Vladimir Sobotka goal, his sixth of the year, courtesy of Vladimir Tarasenko and Shattenkirk. St. Louis took the lead as Maxim Lapierre scored his fifth of the season, thanks to Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester. The Blues added on in the third period with a Berglund goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, made possible by Tarasenko and Sobotka. St. Louis extended the lead when Jaden Schwartz scored his fifteenth of the season, with the help of David Backes and T.J. Oshie. The Blues padded the lead on a Pietrangelo goal, his fifth of the year, with assists provided by Oshie and Backes. This made it 6-2, the final, with the three stars going to Berglund, Pietrangelo, and Sobotka, while Shattenkirk, Tarasenko, Oshie, and Backes get the honorable mentions.

Further to the south, the Dallas Stars host the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard faces a lesser foe in Dan Ellis in goal. Detroit struck first in the first period with an unassisted Henrik Zetterberg goal, his thirteenth of the season. Dallas tied it on a shorthanded goal by Rich Peverley, his sixth of the year, set up by Shawn Horcoff. The Red Wings retook the lead on a Joakim Andersson goal, his seventh of the season, passed from Kyle Quincey. Detroit added on as Drew Miller scored his fifth of the year, with a lone assist by Justin Abdelkader. The Red Wings extended the lead in the second period as Tomas Tatar scored his eighth of the season, going in unassisted. Detroit padded the lead in the third period on a Zetterberg goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, guided in by Daniel Cleary. This produced the 5-1 final, with Howard (44 for 45 in saves), Zetterberg, and Andersson getting the three stars.

Out in Phoenix, the Coyotes welcome the Philadelphia Flyers. Steve Mason and Mike Smith are the masked men. Phoenix began in the second period on a Rob Klinkhammer goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Antoine Vermette and Mikkel Boedker. The Coyotes added on with a Lauri Korpikoski goal, his fifth of the year, via Connor Murphy and Martin Hanzel. Philadelphia got on the board with a Scott Hartnell goal, his ninth of the season, passed from Mark Streit. Phoenix shot back with a Boedker goal, his twelfth of the year, assisted by Keith Yandle and Murphy. The Flyers pulled back on a Brayden Schenn goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Vincent Lecavalier and Braydon Coburn. Philadelphia tied it in the third period as Wayne Simmonds scored a power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, powered by Jakub Voracek and Kimmo Timonen. The Flyers took the lead as Voracek scored his tenth of the season, an unassisted goal. Philadelphia iced it at 5-3 with a Claude Giroux empty net goal, his twelfth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were given to Voracek, Boedker, and Murphy.

Finally, in Los Angeles, the Kings bring in the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Jonathan Quick are the recently-returned-from-injury goalies. Vancouver was first to score in the first period with a Ryan Kesler goal, his sixteenth of the season, a power play goal powered by Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. Los Angeles tied it in the third period with a Dustin Brown goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Justin Williams and Jarret Stoll. The Kings took the lead as Jeff Carter notched his fourteenth of the season, via Dwight King and Anze Kopitar. Los Angeles iced it at 3-1 with another Carter empty net goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, set up by Drew Doughty. The three stars were handed to Carter, Quick (27 for 28 in saves), and Luongo (46 for 48 in saves).

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