Thursday, April 3, 2014

NHL Day 185 2013-2014

Nine games on today as the playoff races enters single digits for days left. We begin in...

Philadelphia, as the Flyers host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Steve Mason are the goalies appearing against their former teams. Columbus dented the scoreboard in the second period with a James Wisniewski power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Mark Letestu and Fedor Tyutin. The Blue Jackets added on with a third period goal by Brandon Dubinsky, his sixteenth of the year, made possible by Cam Atkinson and Wisniewski. This held up for a 2-0 win, with the three stars going to Bobrovsky (37 save shutout), Wisniewski, and Dubinsky.

South to Raleigh, where the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Anton Khudobin guard the cages. Carolina got going in the second period with an Eric Staal goal, his nineteenth of the season, fueled by John-Michael Liles and Patrick Dwyer. The Hurricanes added on with a Justin Faulk power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Liles and Chris Terry. Carolina extended the lead on a Liles power play goal, his second of the season, assisted by Terry and Faulk. Dallas got on the board with a Tyler Seguin goal, his thirty-fourth of the year, guided in by Valeri Nichushkin and Trevor Daley. The Hurricanes iced it at 4-1 in the third period with a Riley Nash goal, his tenth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Brett Bellemore. The three stars belonged to Liles, Khudobin (33 for 34 in saves), and Faulk, while Terry gets an honorable mention.

Up in Toronto, the Maple Leafs bring in the Boston Bruins. Chad Johnson is mismatched with Jonathan Bernier in goal. Toronto began in the first period with a Paul Ranger goal, his fifth of the season, via Jerry D'Amigo and Morgan Rielly. Boston tied it on a Brad Marchand goal, his twenty-third of the year, with a lone helper by Patrice Bergeron. The Maple Leafs took the lead on a Tyler Bozak goal, his eighteenth of the season, passed from Phil Kessel and Cody Franson. Toronto added on in the second period as James van Riemsdyk scored his thirtieth of the year, thanks to Kessel. The Bruins shot back in the third period with a Milan Lucic goal, his twenty-second of the season, made possible by David Krejci and Matt Bartkowski. Bernier left with an injury about midway through the period, replaced by James Reimer in goal. Boston tied it on a Bergeron goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, assisted by Marchand and Kevan Miller. The Maple Leafs won with a power play goal in overtime from Nazem Kadri, his nineteenth of the campaign, powered by Franson and Jake Gardiner. The three stars were Franson, Marchand, and Kessel, while Bergeron gets an honorable mention.

Way to the south, the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Calgary Flames. Karri Ramo and Ben Bishop are the masked men. Calgary opened in the first period with a Michael Cammalleri goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, going in unassisted. The Flames added on with a Kevin Westgarth goal, his fourth of the year, with a lone assist by Chris Breen. Tampa Bay got on the board in the second period with an Ondrej Palat goal, his twentieth of the season, passed from Matthew Carle and Ryan Callahan. Calgary shot back as Curtis Glencross put away his eleventh of the year in the third period, a power play goal powered by Cammalleri and Kris Russell. The Flames extended the lead with another Glencross goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the campaign, an unassisted empty net goal. This stood for a 4-1 win, with the three stars being named as Cammalleri, Ramo (31 for 32 in saves), and Glencross.

Northwest to Chicago, where the Blackhawks welcome the Minnesota Wild. Ilya Bryzgalov and Corey Crawford are between the pipes. Minnesota was first to score in the first period with a Charlie Coyle goal, his eleventh of the season, via Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter. Chicago tied it in the second period with a Ben Smith goal, his eleventh of the year, made possible by Brandon Saad and Nick Leddy. The Blackhawks took the lead in the third period on a Bryan Bickell goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Jeremy Morin. The Wild retied it with an Erik Haula goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Justin Fontaine. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Marian Hossa had the only goal for a 3-2 Chicago win. The three stars went to Smith, Bickell, and Hossa.

Backtracking to St. Louis, where the Blues bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Nathan Lieuwen and Brian Elliott are the backups of varying quality in goal. St. Louis started in the second period with a Maxim Lapierre goal, his eighth of the season, guided in by Ryan Reaves. The Blues added on in the third period with a Brenden Morrow goal, his thirteenth of the year, courtesy of Vladimir Sobotka and Jaden Schwartz. Buffalo got on the board with a Cody Hodgson goal, his eighteenth of the campaign, coming on the power play from Tyler Ennis and Ville Leino. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars going to Elliott (24 for 25 in saves), Morrow, and Lapierre.

Into Canada, where the Winnipeg Jets host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Ondrej Pavelec are set to start. Pittsburgh struck first in the first period on a Beau Bennett goal, his third of the season, guided in by Sidney Crosby and Jussi Jokinen. Winnipeg tied it on a second period Olli Jokinen goal, his seventeenth of the year, made possible by Blake Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien. The Jets took the lead with a Zach Redmond goal, coming off of Evander Kane and Matt Halischuk. The Penguins retied it on a Craig Adams goal, his fifth of the season, via Lee Stempniak. Pittsburgh took the lead on a third period goal from Paul Martin, his third of the year, a power play goal powered by James Neal and Crosby. The Penguins added on with an unassisted goal by Brian Gibbons, his fifth of the campaign. The three stars were Crosby, Martin, and Adams.

Southwest to Denver, as the Colorado Avalanche welcome the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Semyon Varlamov protect the nets. New York led off in the first period with a John Moore goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Mats Zuccarello and Benoit Pouliot. Colorado tied it on an Andre Benoit goal in the second period, his seventh of the year, assisted by John Mitchell and Ryan O'Reilly. The Rangers retook the lead on a Derek Stepan goal, his sixteenth of the season, via Kevin Klein and Dan Girardi. The Avalanche tied it again late in the third period with a Tyson Barrie goal, his eleventh of the year, made possible by Paul Stastny and Erik Johnson. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Barrie continued his heroics with the only tally for a 3-2 Colorado win. The three stars were given to Barrie, Lundqvist (35 for 37 in saves), and Benoit.

Finally, in California, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Los Angeles Kings. Martin Jones is mismatched with Antti Niemi in goal. Los Angeles began in the first period with a Jordan Nolan goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Jarret Stoll and Alec Martinez. San Jose tied it in the second period with a Brent Burns power play goal, his twenty-third of the year, powered by Dan Boyle and Joe Thornton. The Sharks took the lead with a Logan Couture goal, his twenty-first of the season, via Patrick Marleau and Tommy Wingels. This was all they needed to win 2-1, with the three stars awarded to Couture, Niemi (26 for 27 in saves), and Burns.

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