NFL Late Games Week 14

The early games gave me a nice easy post on here. The late games had other plans in mind, and we start in the Bay Area...

With the San Francisco 49ers hosting NFC West rivals, the Seattle Seahawks. Alex Smith started the scoring with a 42 yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis to put San Francisco on the board first, with Jeff Reed supplying the extra point. Seattle evened it up with Matt Hasselbeck's 11 yard touchdown pass to Ruvell Martin, and Olindo Mare added the tying extra point. Reed made it 10-7 with his 33 yard field goal. He nailed a 44 yard kick in the early second quarter as well. Alex Smith then connected for the next two touchdowns, first going 15 yards to Josh Morgan, and the second to Brian Westbrook for 62 yards, with Reed tacking on both extra point before kicking a 22 yard field goal to make it 30-7 49ers at halftime. San Francisco kept it up after the second half started, with Dashon Goldson intercepting Hasselbeck and returning it 39 yards, allowing Reed to nail another extra point. Reed tacked on a 36 yard field goal for good measure. His kickoff, however, went to Leon Washington, who brought it back 92 yards for the touchdown, allowing Mare to add an extra point. Seattle did the only work in the fourth quarter as well, with Hasselbeck finding Deon Butler for 2 yards and a touchdown, with Mare adding the extra point, leaving the final score at 40-21 San Francisco. They improved to 5-8, while dropping the Seahawks back under .500 to 6-7.

Answering the calls of Who Dat? now, in New Orleans, where the Saints hosted the St. Louis Rams. Drew Brees threw two first quarter touchdown passes to Marques Colston, of 5 and 17 yards each, with Garrett Hartley adding the extra points. Josh Brown gave the Rams somewhat of an answer with two field goals, from 38 and 45 yards. Malcom Jenkins helped the Saints out a little more, intercepting Sam Bradford and returning it 96 yards, allowing Hartley to add another extra point. The Saints took a 21-6 lead into the locker room. Keeping with the scoring theme, Brees threw a touchdown pass to Lance Moore, good for 31 yards, with Hartley adding the extra point in the third quarter, and kicking a 40 yard field goal in the fourth. Giving St. Louis their only touchdown today was Sam Bradford, late in the fourth quarter running it in 1 yard, and Brown supplied the extra point. New Orleans won 31-13, improving to 10-3, while dropping the Rams to 6-7.

Into a cold, snowy, and Windy City, Chicago, where the Bears hosted the New England Patriots, no strangers to football in the snow. Tom Brady opened the scoring with a touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski, good for 7 yards. Shayne Graham added the extra point. Danny Woodhead extended the lead with a 3 yard touchdown run, and Graham was true with the extra point afterward. Going with a defensive score this time, with Gary Guyton recovering a Johnny Knox fumble and returning it 35 yards for the Patriots. Graham added the extra point before tacking on field goals from 30 and 25 yards. Ending the first half, Tom Brady found Deion Branch for 59 yards and the score, on which Graham added another extra point. He also tacked on a 29 yard field goal in the third quarter, which was answered by a Chester Taylor 1 yard touchdown run. Robbie Gould added the extra point. The 36-7 score would prove to be the final, as the fourth quarter was give and take without scoring. New England jumped up to 11-2, while the Bears fell to 9-4.

Moving along to warmer areas, such as Arizona, where the Cardinals hosted the Denver Broncos. Steve Hauschka opened the scoring, with a 32 yard field goal to put the Broncos up early. The Cardinals responded with multiple Jay Feely scores, in this order: 36 yard field goal in the first quarter, 48 yard field goal, 5 yard touchdown run and extra point after faked field goal, and 55 yard field goal in the second quarter, 23 yard field goal in the third quarter, and 49 yard field goal in the fourth quarter, before letting Hauschka get in on the kicking parade, and he made a 30 yard field goal. Tim Hightower then sandwiched two of his own touchdowns around one by Knowshon Moreno, with Hightower's going for 8 and 35 yards, and Feely providing the extra point, while Moreno ran his for 1 yard, and his kicker Hauschka added the extra point. To make sure Arizona had it under control, Daryl Washington intercepted Kyle Orton and took it back 40 yards for the touchdown, allowing Feely to add another extra point. The final proved to be Arizona 43, Denver 13. Arizona improved to 4-9, while dropping Denver to 3-10.

Heading over to the Meadowlands, where the New York (Jersey) Jets hosted the Miami Dolphins. Miami struck first with a Dan Carpenter field goal from 47 yards out, and Carpenter added the extra point onto the touchdown from Chad Henne to Brandon Marshall. The touchdown was 6 yards. Getting the Jets on the board before halftime was Nick Folk, making a 35 yard field goal. After a third quarter snoozefest, Folk added a 42 yard field goal in the fourth, but the Jets couldn't add anymore offense and fell 10-6 to the Dolphins. Miami improved to 7-6, while the Jets fell down to 9-4.

Lastly, we go to San Diego, where the Chargers hosted the Kansas City Chiefs. Philip Rivers started things off with a 17 yard touchdown pass to Malcom Floyd. Nate Kaeding supplied the extra point, as he did on Mike Tolbert's second quarter touchdown run of 8 yards. Kaeding also added the extra point on Rivers touchdown pass to Floyd, this time for 9 yards. San Diego took a 21-0 lead into the halftime break. The third quarter went scoreless, and Kaeding added on a 48 yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Ryan Mathews also had a 15 yard touchdown run for the Chargers, on which Kaeding provided the extra point. San Diego went on to beat the Chiefs 31-0. They improved to 7-6, while dropping their division rivals to 8-5.

That's all for this wave of kickoffs. Please note that if Sunday Night Football gets over before hockey action tonight, it will be the first post to come out, and vice versa.

NFL Early Games Week 14

There were six games on for the first wave of kickoffs, as the Giants-Vikings game was moved to Monday. The first of which involved the...

Host Washington Redskins and the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Donovan McNabb opened the scoring in the second quarter, following a scoreless first, with a 1 yard touchdown pass to Logan Paulsen, which was followed by a Graham Gano extra point. Connor Barth and Gano exchanged second quarter 25 yard field goals to make it 10-3 Redskins at the half. Barth added two field goals in the third quarter, from 44 and 35 yards, to make it 10-9. The Buccaneers took the lead with a Josh Freeman touchdown pass of 41 yards to Kellen Winslow, and after a two point conversion off of a Freeman run, Tampa Bay led 17-10. Washington got within one thanks to a McNabb touchdown pass to Santana Moss, good for six yards, but Hunter Smith could not run the two point attempt in, on what was a botched extra point, and Tampa Bay held on for a 17-16 victory. With the win, the Buccaneers advanced to 8-5, while dropping the Redskins to 5-8.

Going to Buffalo, where the Bills hosted the Cleveland Browns. Phil Dawson allowed the Browns to strike first with a 19 yard field goal. The Bills answered with a Ryan Fitzpatrick touchdown pass to David Nelson, good for 11 yards, and followed by a Rian Lindell extra point. Dawson added a 25 yard field goal, and was one-upped by Lindell's 30 yard kick to make it 10-6 at halftime. Lindell added one more field goal in the game, a 19 yard chip shot to make it 13-6, which was the final. Buffalo improved to 3-10, while Cleveland fell down to 5-8.

The third game on the list featured the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, playing the first game of the weekend at Detroit's Ford Field. The whole first half was scoreless, and it took Mason Crosby's 42 yard field goal in the third quarter to create some scoring. The Lions answered in the fourth quarter with a Drew Stanton touchdown pass to Will Heller for 13 yards, and a Dave Rayner extra point followed. This proved to be the final, and Detroit improved to 3-10, while the Packers fell to 8-5.

Getting out of the overly cold weather and into Florida, where the Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Oakland Raiders. Oakland struck first with a Jason Campbell touchdown pass to Darren McFadden for 67 yards, which was followed by a Sebastian Janikowski extra point. David Garrard and the Jaguars answered in the second quarter, with a touchdown pass to Marcedes Lewis, for 1 yard. Josh Scobee added the extra point. Janikowski kicked a 26 yard field goal to break the tie, and added the extra point on the Campbell touchdown pass to Louis Murphy for 8 yards. The Raiders took a 17-7 lead into the locker room. Garrard found Jason Hill in the third quarter, connecting for 48 yards and the touchdown, followed by another Scobee extra point. McFadden had another long touchdown for the Raiders, running 51 yards to dent the goal line, followed by Janikowski's extra point. Jacksonville got an even longer touchdown run from Rashad Jennings, who took it 74 yards and allowed Scobee to add another extra point, before Garrard found Mike Sims-Walker for 10 yards and another extra point was provided by Scobee, who made it 31-24 in the early fourth quarter with a 19 yard field goal. McFadden added his third touchdown of the game, this time running a (measly) 36 yards to reach the end zone, and Janikowski provided the tying extra point. Maurice Jones-Drew put Jacksonville ahead for good with a 30 yard touchdown run, followed by Scobee's extra point. the Jaguars would hang on for a 38-31 victory, improving to 8-5 while dropping the Raiders to 6-7.

Moving back into frigid land, where the Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Cincinnati Bengals. Carson Palmer and the Bengals drew first blood, with a touchdown pass of one yard to a lineman, Andrew Whitworth. Clint Stitser added the extra point. Pittsburgh evened the score with Troy Polamalu's interception of Carson Palmer for 45 yards, and the Shaun Suisham provided the tying extra point. Suisham added a late 23 yard field goal to give the Steelers a 10-7 lead at halftime. Suisham added another field goal, good from 35 yards, in the third quarter, and supplied the extra point on Lamar Woodley's interception of Palmer. That interception was good for 14 yards. Suisham topped it off with a 41 yard field goal to give Pittsburgh the 23-7 win. The Steelers improved to 10-3, simultaneously dropping the Bengals to 2-11.

Last in the morning games was the Carolina Panthers hosting the Atlanta Falcons. Matt Ryan busted the game open with his touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez, good from 4 yards, putting the Falcons ahead 7-0 early after Matt Bryant added the extra point. Michael Turner added his own first quarter touchdown on a 1 yard run, followed by a Bryant extra point. Bryant provided the only point in the second quarter, making it 17-0 Falcons by halftime with his 39 yard field goal. Carolina was invited to the scoring with a Mike Goodson 13 yard touchdown run, followed by a John Kasay extra point, making it 17-7 Atlanta. Turner answered with a 3 yard touchdown run, and Bryant added the subsequent extra point. Kasay tacked on a 36 yard field goal for the Panthers in the fourth quarter, but it was put away by Turner's 4 yard touchdown run and Bryant's extra point. The Falcons went on to win 31-10. They improved to 11-2, while the Panthers stayed at a league worst 1-12.

That's all for the morning games, with the afternoon games to follow after the dinner hour or so.

Sandwich Showdown II

This weekend's competitors in the Sandwich Showdown were Saturday's Subway Club, sans BBQ sauce since it was a traveling sandwich, and Sunday's Chicken and Bacon. Both were featured on Italian Herbs and Cheese. The deciding factor was probably the BBQ sauce, or lack thereof on Saturday's sandwich, which means I'll give the win to the Sunday sandwich. It was very good, and hit the spot. Check back here next weekend for another Sandwich Showdown.

Saturday NHL recap, Part Two

Covering the last six games here. Also, Marco Sturm to the Kings is a done deal, with the Bruins freeing up cap space and the Kings getting a good left winger.

Going to Phoenix, where the Coyotes hosted the Dallas Stars, in a Pacific Division match. Andrew Raycroft got the start for the Stars, while Ilya Bryzgalov took care of netminding duties for the Coyotes. Ray Whitney opened things up, scoring first for the Coyotes with his fourth of the year, assisted by Radim Vrbata and Ed Jovanovski. Shane Doan tallied on another first period goal, his third of the year, helped by Eric Belanger, before netting another goal, a power play mark from Whitney and Keith Yandle. James Neal put Dallas on the board with his 13th of the season, assisted by Tom Wandell and Adam Burish. Lauri Korpikoski answered early in the third with a shorthanded goal, his eighth of the year coming from Vernon Fiddler and Keith Yandle. Yandle potted his own some time later, his fifth mark on the year, with Lee Stempniak and Wojtek Wolski adding the assists. Richard Bachman came in to relieve Andrew Raycroft after this goal. Loui Eriksson tried to get Dallas going late, with his 12th of the year going in on the power play, but it was far too late. Brenden Morrow picked up the assist, but the Stars fell 5-2 to Phoenix. Doan's two goals were good for the first star, while Ilya Bryzgalov's 33 for 35 saves were the second star, and Korpikoski's goal earned the third star. Brian Sutherby and Ed Jovanovski also shared a second period fight.

Going to Nashville, where the Pradators hosted the Florida Panthers. Anders Lindback started for Nashville, while Tomas Vokoun was in between the pipes for the Panthers. Ryan Suter drew first blood, giving Nashville a 1-0 lead with his first of the year, assisted by Martin Erat and Sergei Kostitsyn. Shea Weber added onto the lead with his fifth of the season, assisted by Suter and Jerred Smithson. After a scoreless second period, the Predators made it 3-0 with an empty net, power play goal from Joel Ward, his third score of the year, with assists by Francis Bouillon and Cody Franson. This proved to be the final, and getting the first star honors was Anders Lindback for his 22 save shutout, followed by Ryan Suter's goal and assist, and Shea Weber's one goal.

Moving into St. Louis, where the Blues hosted the Carolina Hurricanes. Jaroslav Halak was in the paint for the Blues, while Cam Ward was given the duties for the Hurricanes. After two uneventful periods, save for a fight between the Blues B.J. Crombeen and Jay Harrison, Brandon Sutter allowed the Hurricanes to strike first, with his sixth of the year being assisted by Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi Jokinen. Alex Pietrangelo tied the game for St. Louis, with his third of the year, a power play goal from Patrik Berglund and Alex Steen. The tie held up into the shootout, where Jussi Jokinen's goal was the definitive score, and Carolina won 2-1. Jokinen earned the first star with a regulation assist and the winner in the shootout, followed by winning goalie Cam Ward's 38 for 39 saves and losing goalie Jaroslav Halak's 28 for 29 save outing.

Heading to Los Angeles, where the Kings hosted the Minnesota Wild. Jonathan Quick started for the Kings, while Jose Theodore got the nod for the Wild. Mikko Koivu opened the scoring early for Minnesota, with a shorthanded goal unassisted, good for his sixth of the year. LA evened it with Dustin Brown's tenth of the year, assisted by Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams in the second period. Nine seconds later, Cal Clutterbuck scored his eighth of the year, thanks to Cam Barker and Eric Nystrom. Ryan Smyth re-tied it early in the third period, with his eighth of the year, a power play goal from Kopitar and Brown. The tie held up until Brent Burns' power play goal in the overtime period, keeping with the crazy eights theme with his eighth of the season, which was assisted by Patrick O'Sullivan and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Despite the loss, Anze Kopitar's two assists were the first star, followed by the game-winner from Brent Burns, and lastly by Dustin Brown, who had a goal and an assist in the loss as well. There were two fights in the second period, the early one with Minnesota's Brad Staubitz and Los Angeles' Kyle Clifford, and the later one between Eric Nystrom and Wayne Simmonds.

Going up the interstate to Vancouver, where the Canucks hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Cory Schneider got a rare start for Vancouver and Dan Ellis got another chance in the crease for Tampa Bay. Daniel Sedin got the Canucks on the board first, with his 16th of the year, assisted by brother Henrik Sedin and Alexandre Burrows. Nate Thompson tied it for the Lightning with his fifth of the season, assisted by Ryan Malone and Randy Jones. Brett Clark gave Tampa Bay the lead with his sixth of the season early in the second period, with the helpers going to Dominic Moore and Teddy Purcell on the power play. Steven Stamkos made it 3-1 with his 23rd of the year, assisted by Mike Lundin. Manny Malhotra righted the ship for Vancouver, scoring his fifth of the year on the power play, assisted by Mikael Samuelsson and the goalie Cory Schneider. Teddy Purcell answered with his sixth of the year, with help from Stamkos and Martin St. Louis. Henrik Sedin restarted the comeback in the third period with a power play goal, his fourth tally of the season assisted by Daniel Sedin and the goalie once again, Schneider. Keith Ballard tied it with his second of the year, an unassisted goal, and the tie held into overtime. Stamkos made quick work of the overtime period, potting his second of the night and 24th of the season, which was a power play goal from St. Louis and Malone to win the game 5-4 for the Lightning. Stamkos earned the first star for his two goals and one assist, and was followed by Henrik Sedin's goal and assist, and Teddy Purcell, who also notched a goal and an assist. Honorable mention to Cory Schneider not for his goaltending, but his assistance on two goals.

Going back into California, where the San Jose Sharks hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. Antti Niemi started for San Jose, and Corey Crawford got the green light to start for Chicago. Ryan Clowe started it off for the Sharks, with his seventh of the year, helped along by Jason Demers and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (the pickle monster). Jordan Hendry evened it for the Blackhawks with his first of the season, assisted by Jake Dowell and John Scott. The 1-1 tie was preserved into overtime, where Clowe struck again with his eighth of the year and the second of the night, assisted by Vlasic and Justin Braun. Clowe's two goals earned him the first star, followed by winning goalie Antti Niemi's 28 of 29 saves, and losing goalie Corey Crawford's 28 of 30 saves.

As for posts to come later today, there will be a Subway post, three football posts, and hopefully the Sunday hockey recap. Also, there will be two games played Monday night for football, as the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings will play in Detroit due to snow and stadium issues (that's putting it lightly) in Minneapolis.

Saturday NHL recap, Part One

This post is made possible by low scoring games, and a little extra time I have. Also, keep posted, as it looks like that Marco Sturm to the Los Angeles Kings deal may eventually be completed. As for today's game action, we start in...

The nation's capital, where the Washington Capitals hosted the road-tested Colorado Avalanche. Craig Anderson was called for duty for Colorado, while Michal Neuvirth started for the Capitals. Kevin Shattenkirk scored his fifth of the year early, giving the Avalanche a 1-0 lead with the assist from Paul Stastny. Mike Knuble evened it for Washington with his sixth of the year, assisted by Alex Ovechkin and Karl Alzner. Ryan Wilson scored late in the first for the Avalanche, his first of the season, helped along by Stastny and Kevin Porter. Stastny finally scored his own goal, his 12th of the season coming on the power play courtesy of Shattenkirk and Daniel Winnik. Washington tried to jump-start things in the third period with a goal by Matt Hendricks, his fourth of the year being a power play goal, and it was assisted by Knuble and Nicklas Backstrom. The Capitals could muster no more offense, however, and fell 3-2. Stastny earned the first star for one goal and two assists, followed by Shattenkirk, who had a goal and an assist, and Knuble, who had a goal and an assist as well, but in a losing effort. One fight was fought between Washington's Matt Bradley and Colorado's Cody McLeod.

Heading into the Western Conference, with the Columbus Blue Jackets hosting the New York Rangers. Steve Mason was in between the pipes for the Blue Jackets, while Henrik Lundqvist got another start for the Rangers. New York took until the second period to open the scoring, with a power play goal by Marc Staal, his fifth of the year being with a man advantage, and assisted by Ruslan Fedotenko and Brandon Dubinsky. Antoine Vermette tied it later that same period, with his eighth of the year also being a power play goal, from R.J. Umberger and Rick Nash. Nash scored two of his own in the third period, his 15th and 16th of the season, with the first from Jakub Voracek and Jan Hejda, and the second one compliments of Rostislav Klesla. The Rangers could not recover, and Columbus won 3-1. Nash was the first star with two goals and an assist, followed by Steve Mason's 32 for 33 save outing, and lastly by Samuel Pahlsson, who did nothing overly spectacular.

Going back east to Boston, where the Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers played a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals. Tim Thomas was in the paint for Boston, while Brian Boucher played goal for the Flyers. It took until late in the second period to dent the scoreboard, but James van Riemsdyk allowed Philadelphia to do so with his fifth of the season from Claude Giroux and Jeff Carter. Nathan Horton tied it up for the Bruins with his eleventh of the season, thanks to David Krejci and Milan Lucic. The 1-1 tie lasted late into overtime, where Mike Richards' eleventh of the year gave the Flyers the edge, 2-1. The game winning goal was enough for the first star, followed by the 35 for 36 save outing by Brian Boucher, and Zdeno Chara earned the third star for what I'll presume as his usual stunningly good play, despite the losing result.

Going north of the border for an all-Canada game between the host Toronto Maple Leafs and visiting Montreal Canadiens. Alex Auld got the start for Montreal, while Jean-Sebastien Giguere was given the goalkeeping duties for Toronto. Phil Kessel put the Maple Leafs up 1-0 early with his eleventh of the season, with assists given to Tyler Bozak and Tomas Kaberle. Kaberle added his first of the year quite soon after, assisted by Fredrik Sjostrom and Tim Brent. Michael Cammalleri put the Canadiens on the board in the second, with his tenth of the year hoping to spark a rally. Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn had the assists. Alas, Montreal could muster no effort, and Kris Versteeg put the nail in the coffin with his ninth of the year sailing into an empty net, courtesy of Sjostrom. Kaberle was the first star for a goal and an assist in the 3-1 win, followed by Kessel, who had a goal, and Sjostrom, who had two assists.

Moving back stateside, with the Buffalo Sabres hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ryan Miller was in net for the Sabres, as was Marc-Andre Fleury for the Penguins. Dustin Jeffery opened the scoring, netting his first of the year for Pittsburgh, with the helpers going to Ben Lovejoy and Craig Adams. Aaron Asham extended the Penguin lead to 2-0 with his fourth of the year, assisted by Max Talbot. Tyler Ennis got Buffalo on the board with his seventh of the year, a power play goal from Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek. The teams went cold for over 35 minutes, before Pittsburgh scored again with Alex Goligoski's sixth of the season, assisted by Pascal Dupuis and Sidney Crosby. The Sabres answered with Jason Pominville's fourth of the year, helped along by Tyler Myers and Andrej Sekera. Michael Rupp made it 4-2 Pittsburgh with his third of the year, assisted by Dustin Jeffery, and Matt Cooke finished the game off with his fifth of the year into an empty net, courtesy of Craig Adams. Marc-Andre Fleury earned the first star with his 34 of 36 save performance, followed by Pominville, who had one goal in the losing effort, and Dustin Jeffery, who had one goal and an assist for the Penguins. Matt Cooke and Jason Pominville also had a first period fight.

Going to New Jersey, where the Devils hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Martin Brodeur got the start for New Jersey, while Chris Osgood guarded the Red Wings' cage. Detroit gave personification to "two quick goals" in the first period, starting with Tomas Holmstrom's ninth of the year, assisted by Pavel Datsyuk and Brad Stuart, and followed by Danny Cleary's 13th of the season, from Todd Bertuzzi and Justin Abdelkader. Henrik Zetterberg extended the lead to 3-0 with his tenth of the year, courtesy of Holmstrom and Datsyuk. The Devils finally got on the board in the early third period, with a power play goal from Patrik Elias, his sixth mark of the year, assisted by Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk. Datsyuk put it away with his eleventh of the year, helped along by Zetterberg and Jonathan Ericsson, the latter of which fought with the Devils' David Clarkson in the second period. Detroit went on to win 4-1. Datsyuk's goal and two assists were good enough for the first star, with Zetterberg's goal and assist being the second star, and Chris Osgood's 33 for 34 save outing good enough for the third star.

Going onto Long Island, where the New York Islanders hosted the Atlanta Thrashers, and where Quebec Nordiques fans crowded in to make a statement. The Islanders post a dramatic attendance increase, albeit, not with their own fans. All jokes aside, Rick DiPietro was sent out to stop pucks for the Islanders (okay, maybe we're not done with the jokes yet, since DiPietro is a noted sieve), and Chris Mason got a start for Atlanta. Matt Martin opened up the scoring for the Islanders, his second of the year being assisted by Blake Comeau and Rob Schremp. Matt Moulson extended the lead in the second period with his tenth of the year, an unassisted goal. Anthony Stewart answered for the Thrashers, scoring his eighth of the year via Brent Sopel. Johnny Oduya scored two in a row to open the third period scoring, his first two of the year, assisted by Jim Slater and Chris Thorburn on the first and Nik Antropov and Rich Peverley on the second. Schremp tied it for New York, scoring his fifth of the year from Andrew MacDonald and Comeau. Bryan Little took the lead back for Atlanta with his seventh of the year, shorthanded and unassisted. Alex Burmistrov made it 5-3 with his fifth of the year, helped by Sopel. Comeau tried to rally the Islander troops late with a power play goal, his fifth notch of the year coming from Schremp and Moulson, but they couldn't muster another goal and fell 5-4. Oduya earned the first star with his two goals, while Schremp's goal and two assists in the loss were good for the second star, and the third star honors went to Little, who had one goal. John Tavares and Alex Burmistrov shared a fight in the second period as well.

We're going to cut it off here, because of technical difficulties (thanks Yahoo!) in the Phoenix Coyotes-Dallas Stars box score. I'll recap the other six games tomorrow, along with football, Subway, and whatever else I blog on Sundays.

Friday NHL recap

Friday featured six games of hockey. We start in...

The Motor City, where the Detroit Red Wings hosted the Montreal Canadiens. Jimmy Howard was in net for the Red Wings, while Carey Price received starting honors for Montreal. The Canadiens scored first with Travis Moen, his third of the year assisted by Michael Cammalleri and Jeff Halpern. Detroit evened it up with a late first period power play goal from Nicklas Lidstrom, his fourth goal of the year, assisted by Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom. Niklas Kronwall gave the Red Wings the lead with his sixth of the year, from Danny Cleary and Johan Franzen. Datsyuk extended the leader farther with his tenth of the year, assisted by Jonathan Ericsson and Henrik Zetterberg. Benoit Pouliot tried to get the Canadiens going, scoring his seventh of the season from Alexandre Picard, but Patrick Eaves put the game way for the Red Wings with his fifth of the year, unassisted as it went in the empty net. Detroit beat Montreal 4-2, and Datsyuk was the first star for his goal and assist. Cleary was the second star with an assist, and Jimmy Howard earned the third star with 36 out of 38 pucks blocked.

Moving along to Ottawa, where the Senators hosted the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur was back in the net for New Jersey, after an elbow injury, and Pascal Leclaire got the nod for the Senators. Ottawa scored first with Erik Karlsson's fifth of the year, unassisted. Patrik Elias evened it for the Devils in the second period, with his fifth goal of the season, a power play tally from Ilya Kovalchuk and the goaltender Brodeur. Ottawa regained the lead with Milan Michalek's sixth of the season, assisted by Karlsson and Chris Phillips. Jarkko Ruutu made it 3-1 with his second of the year, and the helpers were awarded to Chris Neil and Chris Kelly. Dainius Zubrus tried to start a Devils rally, with his fourth of the year coming on the power play from Travis Zajac and Kovalchuk. The third period, however, went scoreless, and the Senators won 3-2. Karlsson was the first star with a goal and an assist, followed by Neil, who had an assist, and Kovalchuk, who had two assists in a losing effort.

Moving to Atlanta, where the Thrashers hosted the Colorado Avalanche. Ondrej Pavelec started for the Thrashers, while Craig Anderson was allowed to be tormented by the Thrashers Ice Crew. Niclas Bergfors put Atlanta on top first, with his seventh of the year being aided by Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien. Tomas Fleischmann got the tying goal for Colorado in the second period, his fifth of the season coming on the power play from Matt Duchene. The Avalanche took the lead with Greg Mauldin's fourth of the year, which was shorthanded and unassisted. The Thrashers tied it with Bryan Little's sixth of the year, assisted by Evander Kane. Colorado reclaimed the lead with Milan Hejduk's eleventh of the season, courtesy of Flesichmann and Duchene. Paul Stastny put it away at 4-2 with his eleventh of the year, unassisted into the empty net. Duchene was the first star with two assists, followed by Fleischmann's goal and assist. Bryan Little was the third star for his goal in the losing effort. Honorable mention for Craig Anderson, who stayed focused on the game.

Traveling into Texas, where the Dallas Stars hosted the Carolina Hurricanes. Andrew Raycroft got the start for the Stars, while Cam Ward handled the goaltending for the Hurricanes. James Neal opened the scoring with his 12th of the season, from Brad Richards and Aaron Gagnon, to give Dallas a 1-0 lead. Carolina tied it in the second period with the third goal of the season from Jiri Tlusty, assisted by Troy Bodie and Joe Corvo. The 1-1 tie lasted throughout the third period and overtime, into the shootout where Brad Richards had the deciding goal. Richards was the first star in the 2-1 Stars win, with an assist and the game winner in the shootout, followed by James Neal, who had a goal, and Andrew Raycroft, who was 22 for 23 in saves.

Going into Alberta, where the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Nikolai Khabibulin started for the Oilers, while Dan Ellis was in between the pipes for the Lightning, who scored first with Randy Jones' first of the year, which was unassisted. Magnus Paajarvi answered for Edmonton, scoring his third of the year, assisted by Dustin Penner and Andrew Cogliano. Ryan Malone retook the lead for Tampa Bay, netting his ninth of the season, a power play goal from Teddy Purcell and Mattias Ohlund. Edmonton took the lead in the second period with two power play goals, the first from Taylor Hall, his tenth tally of the season assisted by Ryan O'Marra, and the second, lead-obtaining goal coming off of the stick of Tom Gilbert, his fifth of the season, with helpers going to Linus Omark and Paajarvi. Steven Stamkos tied it back up in the third period with his 22nd of the season, assisted by Martin St. Louis and Pavel Kubina. The 3-3 tie lasted through the overtime that followed into the shootout, where rookies Jordan Eberle and Linus Omark won it for the Oilers, 4-3. Nikolai Khabibulin was the first star, facing a lot of rubber in blocking 38 of 41 shots, followed by Paajarvi, who had a goal and an assist. Adam Hall of the Lightning was the third star, for reasons that escape my knowledge. Enjoying an on-ice dance were Pavel Kubina and Dustin Penner in the second period after Kubina had committed a boarding penalty.

Lastly, we stop in Anaheim, where the Calgary Flames visited the Ducks. Jonas Hiller was in net for the Ducks, while Henrik Karlsson got the start for Calgary. The Ducks drew first blood with a Lubomir Visnovsky goal, his fourth of the year being helped by Ryan Getzlaf and Toni Lydman. Dan Sexton made it 2-0 for Anaheim with his second of the season, assisted by Brandon McMillan and Visnovsky. The Flames started a rally with a power play goal from Olli Jokinen, his fourth mark of the season being assisted by Mark Giordano and Jarome Iginla. David Moss tied it for Calgary with his third of the year, assisted on by Iginla and Giordano again. The tie was preserved into the shootout, where Getzlaf  and Alex Tanguay exchanged goals before Corey Perry put it away for the Ducks, who won 3-2. Jonas Hiller, who was 37 for 39 in saves, was the first star. Jarome Iginla's two assists in a losing effort were good enough for the second star, and Dan Sexton's goal earned the third star.

I'll be out with family for the rest of today, so I won't have any posts coming tonight. There are 13 hockey games on today (entirely too many) and they will be recapped, along with the football games, tomorrow.

NHL Thursday recap

There were a total of eight games played this Thursday. We start in...

D.C., where the Washington Capitals hosted division rivals, the Florida Panthers. Semyon Varlamov started for the Capitals, while Tomas Vokoun got the nod for the Panthers. After near two whole scoreless periods, Michael Frolike scored his sixth of the year in the final second of the second period, assisted by Steven Reinprecht and Jason Garrison. Steve Bernier made it 2-0 Florida with his fourth of the season, assisted by Stephen Weiss and Dmitry Kulikov. Mike Santorelli put it away with his eighth of the year, a power play goal assisted by Weiss and Dennis Wideman. The Panthers held on for a 3-0 win. Tomas Vokoun earned the first star for his 36 save shotout, followed by Frolik, who had one goal, and Mike Weaver, whose contributions are a mystery. There was also a first period fight between Washington's Matt Hendricks and Kenndal McArdle.

Moving along to Toronto, where the Maple Leafs hosted the Philadelphia Flyers. Jean-Sebastien Giguere started for Toronto, returning from a groin injury, while Brian Boucher got the starting honors for the Flyers. Ville Leino opened the scoring for Philadelphia, with his seventh of the season, a power play goal from Kimmo Timmonen and Mike Richards. Chris Pronger made it 2-0 with his fourth of the year, assisted by Danny Briere and Matt Carle. Briere extendedthe lead farther with his 15th of the year in the second period, which got help from Andrej Meszaros and Sean O'Donnell. Mikhail Grabovski got the Maple Leafs on the board with his eighth of the year, assisted by Clarke MacArthur and Dion Phaneuf, who returned from injury. Briere made it 4-1 with his second of the night and 16th of the season, and Meszaros and Jody Shelley picked up the helpers. The third period went scoreless, and the Flyers won 4-1. Briere's two goals and an assist were good for the first star, followed by Meszaros' two assists. Brian Boucher picked up the third star for 31 saves on 32 shots.

Going back stateside, where the Boston Bruins hosted the lowly New York Islanders. Rick DiPietro was in between the pipes for the Islanders, while Tuukka Rask got the start for the Bruins. Milan Lucic and the Bruins struck first blood, with Lucic's 14th of the year, a power play goal from Marc Savard. Frans Nielsen evened it in the second period with his fourth of the year, a penalty shot. Brad Marchand restored the lead for Boston with his fourth of the year, shorthanded and unassisted. Michael Ryder made it 3-1 with his eighth of the year, a power goal assisted by Andrew Ference and Zdeno Chara. Rob Schremp attempted to rally the New York troops, with his fourth of the season, with the helpers being awarded to Travis Hamonic and Zenon Konopka. Lucic added on his second of the night and 15th of the season to make it 4-2, an empty net goal from Johnny Boychuk. Also adding an empty netter was Patrice Bergeron, with his fifth of the year, from David Krejci and Chara. Boston held on to win 5-2. Brad Marchand wasthe first star with a goal, followed by Lucic, who had a pair of goals, and Chara, who had two assists. There were two fights, between Boston's Adam McQuaid and New York's Zenon Konopka in the first period, and the second period duel between Shawn Thornton and Trevor Gillies.

Going to upstate New York, where the Buffalo Sabres hosted the well-traveled San Jose Sharks. Ryan Miller was given goaltending duties for the hosts, while Antti Niemi earned the start for the Sharks. Paul Gaustad started the scoring for Buffalo, with his second of the year helped along by Cody McCormick. Thomas Vanek kept the Sabres on track with his 12th of the year, from Derek Roy and Nathan Gerbe. Jason Pominville made it 3-0 with his third of the season, a shorthanded and unassisted goal. Logan Couture got San Jose's first goal, which was his 14th of the year, a power play tally from Dan Boyle and Ryan Clowe. The Sharks got closer to tying it up with Marc-Edouard Vlasic's first of the season, assisted by Couture and Clowe. The Sabres came back together, and McCormick scored his fourth of the season to make it 4-2. He was assisted by Gaustad. Douglas Murray scored his first of the season for the Sharks to make it close again, with Torrey Mitchell picking up the assist. Gaustad then put it out of reach with his second of the night and third of the season, an empty net goal from McCormick and Andrej Sekera. Vanek scored his second of the night and 13th of the year for good measure just eighteen seconds later, which was assisted by Roy and Gerbe. McCormick was the first star with a goal and two assists, and was followed by Gaustad, who had two goals and one assist. Vanek's two goals were good for third star status.

Back north of the border into Ottawa, where the Senators hosted the New York Rangers. Brian Elliott started for the Senators, while Henrik Lundqvist was in between the pipes for the Rangers. Mike Fisher's eighth goal of the season, a power play goal, opened the scoring. Nick Foligno picked up the helper. New York tied it with a Derek Stepan goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Marian Gaborik. Jason Spezza re-obtained the lead with his seventh of the year for Ottawa, a power play goal from Erik Karlsson and Sergei Gonchar. Ruslan Fedotenko re-tied it just over a minute later, with his fifth of the year, assisted by Gaborik and Michal Rozsival. Fisher made it 3-2 with his ninth of the season and second of the night, with helpers going to Foligno and Chris Campoli. Erik Christensen tied it back up, this time at 3, with his fifth of the year coming from Rozsival and Steve Eminger. Mike Sauer gave the Rangers their first lead with his first of the season, a power play goal from Brandon Prust and Sean Avery. Brandon Dubinsky wrapped it up with his 13th of the year going into an empty net unassisted, and the Rangers won 5-3 over the Senators. Mike Fisher got the first star for two goals in a losing effort, followed by Gaborik, who had two assists, and Prust, who had one assist. Matt Carkner of Ottawa and Derek Boogaard of New York also shared a first period fight.

Going to St. Louis, where the Blues host division rivals, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jaroslav Halak started for the Blues, while Mathieu Garon was in net for the Blue Jackets. St. Louis got on the board first, thanks to a power play goal by Alex Steen, his eighth mark of the year, from Carlo Colaiacovo and David Backes. Jay McClement added his own power play goal, his fourth goal of the year, assisted by Erik Johnson and Backes. Vladimir Sobotka made it 3-0 with his second goal of the season, also a power play goal, which was helped along by Johnson and Matt D'Agostini. Columbus finally put a goal on the board in the third period, Jan Hejda's second of the year, from Rick Nash and Anton Stralman. David Backes put the game away with an empty net goal, his fifth goal of the season going unassisted. Jaroslav Halak was the first star in the 4-1 win, going 27 for 28 in saves, followed by second star Erik Johnson, who had two assists, and finally Barret Jackman who did seemingly nothing. Dropping the gloves in the first period was Columbus' Jared Boll and St. Louis' Cam Janssen.

Going south to Phoenix, where the Coyotes hosted the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom was in front of the Wild cage, while Ilya Bryzgalov tended the twine for the 'Yotes. Andrew Brunette got the Wild on the board first, with his fifth of the season coming from Antti Miettinen and Mikko Koivu. Taylor Pyatt evened it with his own fifth goal of the year, from Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Vernon Fiddler. Brent Burns gave the Wild a 2-1 lead in the late first period with his seventh of the year, coming from Miettinen and Koivu. After a scoreless second period, Brunette scored his sixth of the year and second of the night, with assists by Marek Zidlicky and Pierre-Marc Bouchard on the power play. Pyatt tried to get Phoenix going with his second of the night and sixth of the season, a power play goal assisted by Shane Doan and Keith Yandle, but it wasn't enough, and Minnesota held on to win 3-2. Niklas Backstrom earned the first star, going 33 for 35 in saves, and the second star was Andrew Brunette, who had two goals, followed by fellow two-goal scorer Taylor Pyatt, whose goals came in a losing effort.

Lastly, we stop in Hollywood, where the Los Angeles Kings hosted the Calgary Flames, who started off on a California trip. Jonathan Quick started for the Kings, while Miikka Kiprusoff was in between the pipes for the Flames. Kyle Clifford started the scoring with his first of the year, assisted by Wayne Simmonds. After a scoreless second period, Anze Kopitar extended the lead to 2-0 with his eleventh of the year. The power play goal was assisted by Jack Johnson and Dustin Brown. Olli Jokinen put Calgary on the board with his third of the year, a power play goal from Jarome Iginla and Anton Babchuk, but they couldn't muster any more offense and fell 2-1. Jonathan Quick was the first star for his 26 for 27 save performance, followed by losing goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, who was 30 for 32 in saves. Rob Scuderi was the third star for reasons unknown.

There's six games on Friday, and I'll try to get the post out early Saturday, or else it'll have to wait until Sunday, as I will be with family for a majority of Saturday.