Thursday, February 6, 2014

NHL Day 129 2013-2014

Third to last day before the Olympic Break begins in the NHL. We have eleven games tonight, beginning in...

New York, as the Islanders host the Calgary Flames. Reto Berra and Evgeni Nabokov are in goal. Calgary dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Sean Monahan goal, his sixteenth of the season, coming off of Kris Russell. The Flames added on with a Dennis Wideman power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Mikael Backlund and T.J. Brodie. New York got on the board with a Thomas Hickey goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Josh Bailey and Colin McDonald. The Islanders tied it in the third period on a Calvin de Haan goal, his second of the year, passed from John Tavares and Thomas Vanek. Calgary took the lead back with a David Jones goal, his ninth of the season, made possible by Matt Stajan and Wideman. The Flames iced it at 4-2 with a Backlund empty net goal, his fourteenth of the year, set up by Jiri Hudler. The three stars went to Wideman, Backlund, and Berra (28 for 30 in saves).

Across town, the other New York team, the Rangers, welcome the other Alberta team, the Edmonton Oilers. Ben Scrivens and Cam Talbot are the young goalies. Edmonton opened in the first period on a Ryan Smyth goal, his eighth of the season, fueled by David Perron. New York tied it on a second period Derick Brassard goal, his eleventh of the year, made possible by Mats Zuccarello and Benoit Pouliot. The Oilers took the lead again in the third period on a Nail Yakupov goal, his eleventh of the season, via Sam Gagner and Taylor Hall. This made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars belonging to Scrivens (35 for 36 in saves), Yakupov, and Smyth.

Over in Philadelphia, the Flyers bring in the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Steve Mason are the reliable goalies. Philadelphia got going in the second period with a Mark Streit goal, his eighth of the season, coming on the power play from Vincent Lecavalier and Sean Couturier. The Flyers added on in the third period with a Michael Raffl goal, his seventh of the year, guided in by Couturier and Steve Downie. Colorado got on the board with a Nathan MacKinnon goal, his twenty-first of the season, assisted by Ryan O'Reilly and Gabriel Landeskog. Philadelphia finished it at 3-1 with a Claude Giroux empty net goal, his nineteenth of the year, set up by Wayne Simmonds and Braydon Coburn. The three stars went to Mason (38 for 39 in saves), Raffl, and Couturier.

Moving along to DC, where the Washington Capitals host the Winnipeg Jets. Ondrej Pavelec and Braden Holtby are the struggling goalies. Washington was first to score in the first period with a Troy Brouwer goal, his twelfth of the season, courtesy of Marcus Johansson and Casey Wellman. Winnipeg tied it on a Bryan Little goal, his eighteenth of the year, via Andrew Ladd. The Jets took the lead in the second period as Dustin Byfuglien scored his thirteenth of the season, thanks to Devin Setoguchi and Olli Jokinen. The Capitals tied it in the third period on a Tom Wilson goal, his second of the year, coming off of Julien Brouillette and Patrick Wey. Washington took the lead on an Alex Ovechkin goal, his fortieth of the season, fueled by Nicklas Backstrom and Karl Alzner. The Capitals added on with another Brouwer goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the year, with assists provided by Johansson and Connor Carrick. This held up for a 4-2 win, with the three stars being Brouwer, Holtby (34 for 36 in saves), and Johansson.

North to Montreal, where the Canadiens welcome the Vancouver Canucks. Canadian Olympians Roberto Luongo and Carey Price tend the twines. Montreal led off in the first period with a Max Pacioretty power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, powered by P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov. The Canadiens added on as Ryan White scored, thanks to Michael Bournival and Dale Weise. Vancouver got on the board with a second period goal by Chris Higgins, his sixteenth of the year, coming on the power play via Jason Garrison and Jordan Schroeder. Montreal responded in the third period on another Pacioretty goal, his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the season, assisted by David Desharnais and Brendan Gallagher. The Canadiens extended the lead with a Tomas Plekanec goal, his seventeenth of the year, with a lone helper by Desharnais. The Canucks got one back on an Alexander Edler power play goal, his fifth of the season, guided in by Raphael Diaz and Alexandre Burrows. Montreal wrapped it up as Pacioretty wrapped up his hat trick with his twenty-sixth of the year, an empty net goal set up by Gallagher and Alexei Emelin. The three stars of the 5-2 game were Pacioretty, Desharnais, and Gallagher.

West to Ontario, as the Ottawa Senators bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Jhonas Enroth and Craig Anderson are in the creases. Ottawa started in the second period on an Erik Karlsson goal, his fifteenth of the season, assisted by Stephane Da Costa and Cory Conacher. The Senators added on in the third period with a Milan Michalek goal, his ninth of the year, coming off of Jason Spezza and Mika Zibanejad. Buffalo got on the board with a Tyler Ennis goal, his thirteenth of the season, courtesy of Drew Stafford and Ville Leino. The Sabres tied it on a Stafford goal, his tenth of the year, with a lone assist by Christian Ehrhoff. Ottawa retook the lead on another Michalek goal, his second of the game and tenth of the campaign, made possible by Spezza and Chris Neil. This was good for a 3-2 win, with the three stars belonging to Michalek, Stafford, and Spezza.

Way south to Tampa Bay, as the Lightning host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jonathan Bernier and Ben Bishop guard the cages. Toronto struck first in the second period on a Mason Raymond goal, his fifteenth of the season, made possible by Nikolai Kulemin and Morgan Rielly. Anders Lindback relieved Bishop in the third period. The Maple Leafs added on in the third period with a Jay McClement goal, his third of the year, guided in by David Clarkson and Joffrey Lupul. Toronto extended the lead on a James van Riemsdyk goal, his twenty-third of the season, assisted by Carl Gunnarsson and Phil Kessel. Tampa Bay got on the board with an Ondrej Palat goal, his twelfth of the year, coming off of Martin St. Louis and Tyler Johnson. The Maple Leafs finished it at 4-1 with an empty net goal by Tyler Bozak, his twelfth of the campaign, set up by Kessel. The three stars went to McClement, Kessel, and Bernier (33 for 34 in saves).

Staying in Florida, the Panthers welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Tim Thomas are the American goalies. Florida began in the first period with a Scottie Upshall goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Tomas Kopecky and Mike Weaver. Detroit tied it in the second period on a Daniel Alfredsson power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Justin Abdelkader and Niklas Kronwall. The Red Wings took the lead on a Gustav Nyquist goal, his fourteenth of the season, going in unassisted. Detroit iced it at 3-1 with an empty net goal from Brian Lashoff, set up by Darren Helm and Kronwall. The three stars were given to Kronwall, Howard (23 for 24 in saves), and Thomas (30 for 32 in saves).

Northwest to St. Louis, as the Blues bring in the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak protect the nets. St. Louis led off in the first period with an Alexander Steen goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, via Jaden Schwartz and Jay Bouwmeester. The Blues added on in the second period on a Schwartz goal, his eighteenth of the year, with assists provided by Dmitrij Jaskin and Alex Pietrangelo. Boston got on the board in the third period with a David Krejci goal, his thirteenth of the season, fueled by Jarome Iginla and Milan Lucic. The Bruins tied it with a Brad Marchand goal, his eighteenth of the year, coming off of Johnny Boychuk and Torey Krug. St. Louis won 3-2 in overtime with an unassisted goal by T.J. Oshie, his fourteenth of the campaign. The three stars went to Schwartz, Oshie, and Steen.

Up in Minnesota, the Wild host the Nashville Predators. Carter Hutton and Darcy Kuemper are the inexperienced goalies. Minnesota opened in the first period on a Jonas Brodin goal, his eighth of the season, with a lone assist by Nino Neiderreiter. Nashville tied it with a Craig Smith goal, his seventeenth of the year, with a lone helper from the goalie Hutton. The Wild retook the lead on a Zach Parise power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, powered by Dany Heatley and Jason Pominville. The Predators retied it in the second period on another Smith goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the year, helped along by Victor Bartley. Minnesota won 3-2 in overtime with a Neiderreiter goal, his eleventh of the campaign, passed from Kyle Brodziak and Jared Spurgeon. The three stars went to Neiderreiter, Smith, and Parise.

Finally, in Los Angeles, the Kings host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Jonathan Quick are the Vezina-caliber goalies. Columbus started in the first period on a Jack Johnson power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Ryan Johansen and James Wisniewski. Los Angeles tied it in the third period with a Jake Muzzin goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. The Kings won in overtime with a Robyn Regehr goal, his second of the campaign, fueled by Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. The three stars of the 2-1 game went to Regehr, Quick (24 for 25 in saves), and Muzzin.

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