Massive Thursday Hockey Recap

Trying to squeeze games in before the Christmas break, 13 games were on the slate for Thursday. They start with the...

New York Rangers hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dan Ellis and Henrik Lundqvist were the starters. Tampa Bay drew first blood when Martin St. Louis scored his 14th of the year, unassisted. The Rangers answered with Ruslan Fedotenko potting his sixth of the year, thanks to Brian Boyle. Twelve seconds later, New York took a 2-1 lead with Alexander Frolov netting his seventh of the season. The Lightning tied the game before the end of the first period with Steven Stamkos potting his 27th of the year, assisted by St. Louis. They took the lead back in the second period with Vincent Lecavalier's fourth of the year, helped along by Pavel Kubina and Brett Clark. Derek Stepan tied it again for the Rangers in the third period with his tenth of the season, with Brandon Dubinsky and Matt Gilroy picking up the helpers. The tie would last into a shootout, where New York's Erik Christensen scored, followed by Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman and Adam Hall, then retied with Mats Zuccarello, before several rounds of good goaltending ended when Ryan Malone earned the win for the Lightning. St. Louis, Frolov, and Malone picked up the stars in the game.

Next on the board were the New Jersey Devils hosting the New York Islanders. Dwayne Roloson and Martin Brodeur were in between the pipes. Josh Bailey opened the scoring, netting two in a row, his fourth and fifth of the season. The first was unassisted, and the second came on a power play from Andrew MacDonald and Blake Comeau. John Tavares gave the Islanders a 3-0 lead with his tenth of the year, assisted by Travis Hamonic and P.A. Parenteau. Travis Zajac got the Devils on the board with his fourth of the year, from Patrik Elias and Jamie Langerbrunner. New York responded with a shorthanded goal from Frans Nielsen, his fifth of the year made possible by Josh Bailey. Comeau made it 5-1 for the Islanders with his seventh of the year, assisted by Rob Schremp and James Wisniewski, and the score stood up to be the final. Bailey, Roloson (34 for 35 saves), and Comeau were awarded the three stars. Two fights were featured in the game, with New Jersey's Adam Mair fighting Zenon Konopka in the first period, before Konopka tangled with David Clarkson in the third period.

Staying far east, we have the Boston Bruins hosting the Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Tim Thomas were in between the pipes for the game. Patrice Bergeron opened the scoring for the Bruins with his seventh of the year, a shorthanded and unassisted goal. Michael Ryder extended the Boston lead to 2-0 with his tenth of the year, a power play goal from Bergeron and Dennis Seidenberg. Shawn Thornton continued the scoring run for the Bruins with his sixth of the year, assisted by Adam McQuaid and Daniel Paille. The Thrashers got on the board with Dustin Byfuglien, who scored his 13th of the year off of Evander Kane and Bryan Little. Shawn Thornton produced what would be the final score with his seventh of the year and second of the night, assisted by Paille and Gregory Campbell. The 4-1 final was in Boston's favor, and there was some fighting in the game. Two seconds in, Shawn Thornton and Eric Boulton dropped the mitts. The third period at the 15:54 mark featured a line brawl, involving Atlanta's Evander Kane, Freddy Meyer, Bryan Little, and Anthony Stewart, and Boston's Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton, Marc Savard, and Andrew Ference. All total, there were 110 penalty minutes assessed in what turned out to be an ugly game, with 86 of those minutes handed out in the brawl.

Going to more peaceful lands with the Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Cam Ward were the netminders for the game. All the scoring occurred in the second period, led off by Chad LaRose's seventh of the year for Carolina, a shorthanded goal from Ryan Carter and Tim Gleason. Scott Gomez tied it for the Canadiens with his fifth of the season, assisted by Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek. The Hurricanes retook the lead with Erik Cole's seventh of the season, assisted by Eric Staal. Andrei Kostitsyn tied it again for Montreal, potting his tenth of the year with help from Tomas Plekanec and Michael Cammalleri on the power play. The Canadiens would notch another late power play goal, courtesy of Alexandre Picard, which was his third of the season, assisted by Gomez and Spacek. The final was 3-2, favoring the Canadiens. Gomez, Spacek, and LaRose earned the three stars.

Moving inland a bit, to where the Columbus Blue Jackets hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider and Mathieu Garon were designated to protect the cages. Alexandre Burrows gave Vancouver the lead with his seventh of the year, assisted by twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin. Christian Ehrhoff extended the lead to 2-0 with his sixth of the year, with Henrik Sedin and Burrows picking up the assists. Raffi Torres kept the Canucks going with his ninth of the year, helped along by Andrew Alberts. Daniel Sedin made it 4-0 in the second period with his 18th of the season, assisted by Alexander Edler and Henrik Sedin, who completed a sock trick with that assist. Ryan Kesler followed it up with his 17th of the year to make it 5-0 in the Canucks' favor, with Jannik Hansen and Jeff Tambellini picking up the helpers. Henrik Sedin then chased away Garon with his eighth of the year, assisted by Daniel Sedin and Burrows. Steve Mason came on to tend the twine for the Blue Jackets, who showed they were still alive when R.J. Umberger netted his ninth of the year, courtesy of Antoine Vermette. Torres made it 7-1 for Vancouver, notching his second of the night and tenth of the season, with help from Dan Hamhuis and Mikael Samuelsson on the power play. Umberger went on to pot another goal, his second of the night and tenth on the campaign, with the assist by Jakub Voracek. Tom Sestito scored as well for Columbus, to make it 7-3, with his second of the year being helped by Kris Russell and Kyle Wilson. The score would stand as the final, with Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, and Alexandre Burrows getting the three stars honors.

Heading back east to Buffalo, where the Sabres hosted the Florida Panthers. Tomas Vokoun and Ryan Miller were in the creases for the game. Florida opened up first with Chris Higgins scoring his fourth of the year, assisted by Evgeny Dadonov. The Panthers got to 2-0 when Stephen Weiss scored his tenth of the year, a power play goal from Michael Frolik and Bryan McCabe. Higgins notched another one to make it 3-0, and his fifth of the year was assisted by Weiss and Dadonov. Buffalo started a comeback in the second period with Jordan Leopold's eighth of the year, assisted by Jason Pominville and Jochen Hecht. Pominville netted his sixth of the year to cut the lead down to 3-2, which was a power play goal helped along by Tyler Myers and Andrej Sekera. Leopold tied it for the Sabres with his second of the night and ninth of the campaign, with help from Myers. Jason Garrison struck for Florida, netting his second of the year to make it 4-3, which held on to be the final. Higgins, Leopold, and Garrison were the three stars.

The most notable game on the slate featured a Winter Classic preview, as the Washington Capitals hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Michal Neuvirth were given netminding duties. Sidney Crosby opened the scoring for Pittsburgh, scoring his league-leading 29th of the year, assisted by Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin. Mike Green tied it for the Capitals with his sixth of the year, a power play goal that was assisted by Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom. Chris Kunitz retook the lead for the Penguins, potting his ninth of the year, courtesy of Crosby and Paul Martin. Mike Knuble gave Washington another equalizer with his eighth of the year, shorthanded and assisted by Brooks Laich. The tie would last into the shootout, where Alex Ovechkin and Kris Letang exchanged goals, and then in the seventh round, Pascal Dupuis secured the win for the Penguins. Fleury (32 for 34 saves), Crosby, and Knuble earned the three stars for the game.

More solidly in the west, we have the St. Louis Blues hosting the Detroit Red Wings. Chris Osgood and Jaroslav Halak were given the nods for the game. The Blues struck first with Erik Johnson's second of the year, a power play goal courtesy of Vladimir Sobotka and Brad Boyes. Thirty seconds later, the Red Wings had tied the game thanks to Johan Franzen's 15th of the year, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg and Brian Rafalski. Patrik Berglund made it 3-1 for St. Louis, scoring his seventh and eighth of the year back-to-back, with Alex Steen and B.J. Crombeen getting the assists for the first while the helpers for the second went to Carlo Colaiacovo and David Backes. In the second period, Matt D'Agostini extended the St. Louis lead to 4-1 with his eighth of the season, assisted by Backes and Eric Brewer. Nicklas Lidstrom tried to rally Detroit back with a power play goal, his ninth tally of the year, from Zetterberg and Rafalski. It became 4-3 when Patrick Eaves scored for the Wings, his eighth of the year being helped by Darren Helm and Kris Draper. However, the third period was without scoring, and the Blues held on to win 4-3. Berglund, Jaroslav Halak (35 for 38 saves) and Zetterberg were the three star recipients.

Heading to Nashville, where the Predators hosted the Ottawa Senators. Brian Elliott and Pekka Rinne were in the nets, with Rinne making his first start since returning from injury. Alex Kovalev produced the first goal for the Senators, assisted by Peter Regin. Nick Foligno extended the Ottawa lead to 2-0 with his fourth of the year, a power play goal from Milan Michalek and Filip Kuba. Nashville tried to rally with Marcel Goc, who netted his seventh of the year, helped by Cody Franson, but the last half of the game was scoreless, and the Predators fell 2-1 to the visiting Senators. Foligno, Elliott (25 for 26 saves), and Goc were the three stars.

The Dallas Stars hosted the Calgary Flames in the next game on the list. Miikka Kiprusoff and Kari Lethonen tended the twine for the game. Calgary struck first with a power play goal by Anton Babchuk, his fifth of the year assisted by Jay Bouwmeester and Brendan Morrison. Dallas answered with their own power play goal, from Mike Ribeiro, his sixth of the year being helped along by Loui Eriksson and Brad Richards. The second period went by scoreless, and the Stars broke the silence and took a 2-1 lead in the third period when Brenden Morrow scored his 13th of the year, assisted by Ribeiro and Jamie Benn. The Flames answered late in the period with Alex Tanguay scoring his tenth of the season, from Jarome Iginla and Rene Bourque. The tie lasted into the shootout, where Tanguay's lone marker gave the Flames a 3-2 victory. Ribeiro, Kari Lethonen (31 for 33 saves), and Tanguay were the three stars. Dropping the mitts in the first period were Iginla and Benn, followed in the third period with Robyn Regehr and Brandon Segal.

Going into a Northwest division battle, where the Colorado Avalanche hosted the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Craig Anderson were given the go-ahead to guard the cages. Matt Cullen gave Minnesota an early lead with his seventh of the year, a shorthanded goal assisted by Cal Clutterbuck. David Jones and Colorado tied it with his 12th of the year, a power play goal assisted by Brandon Yip and Matt Hunwick. Cullen struck again for the Wild, notching his eighth of the season and second of the night, assisted by Marek Zidlicky. Andrew Brunette made it 3-1 for the Wild early in the second period with a power play goal from Cullen and Antti Miettinen, which chased away Craig Anderson in favor of Peter Budaj. The score would hold up through the rest of the game, giving Minnesota the win. Cullen, Niklas Backstrom (36 for 37 saves), and David Jones got the stars. Ryan Wilson of the Avalanche and Kyle Brodziak of Minnesota also fought in the first period.

Heading into California, where the Los Angeles Kings hosted the Edmonton Oilers. Devan Dubnyk and Jonathan Quick were the masked men in the game. After going scoreless through the first period, Taylor Hall recorded his eleventh of the season for the Oilers, a power play goal assisted by Sam Gagner and Ryan Whitney. The Kings tied it with a power play goal by Justin Williams, his 13th of the year, from Michal Handzus and Jack Johnson. Edmonton retook the lead with the first goal of the season by Jean-Francois Jacques, assisted by Theo Peckham and Zack Stortini. Los Angeles answered twenty seconds later with Jack Johnson's third of the season, assisted by Wayne Simmonds. The tie lasted into the shootout, where Jordan Eberle and Dustin Brown traded barbs before Jarret Stoll secured victory for the Kings. Johnson, Hall, and Williams were the three stars. Scrapping in the first period were the Kings' Kyle Clifford and the Oilers' Theo Peckham.

Staying in the same state, with the San Jose Sharks hosting the Phoenix Coyotes. Jason LaBarbera and Antti Niemi were the goalkeepers for this game. Going scoreless through the first period, until Ray Whitney marked his fifth of the year for Phoenix in the second, with the Wizard getting assistance from Keith Yandle and Shane Doan. San Jose answered with a power play goal of their own, produced by Dan Boyle, his fifth of the year, assisted by Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski. Giving the Sharks the lead was Joe Thornton, who tallied his eighth of the year, also a power play goal, with help from Dany Heatley and Pavelski. Marleau struck twice in the third period, his 12th and 13th of the season, with Thornton and Douglas Murray helping out on the first one and Thornton and Jason Demers picking up assists on the latter power play goal. The 4-1 score gave San Jose the victory over the Coyotes. Marleau, Thornton, and Pavelski were the three stars in the game.

That's all for hockey until Sunday I believe, and there will be a football post sometime tonight and also hopefully tomorrow night as well, with Saturday Night Football.

Wednesday NHL recap

Not many games on Wednesday, with only four, and I still found a way to get behind. We start with...

The New York Islanders hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dan Ellis and Dwayne Roloson were the starters for the game. Ryan Malone and Tampa Bay got on the board first with a power play goal, Malone's tenth of the year. Brett Clark and Teddy Purcell picked up the helpers. P.A. Parenteau tied the game late in the second period with his sixth of the season, assisted by John Tavares and Andrew MacDonald. After going scoreless through the third period, Tavares gave the Islanders the win with his ninth of the year, assisted by James Wisniewski and MacDonald. Roloson (34 for 35 saves), Tavares, and Ellis (26 for 28 saves) got the three stars.

Next up, we have the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the Florida Panthers. Tomas Vokoun and Brent Johnson were in the creases to start the game. Mark Letestu opened the scoring for Pittsburgh with his seventh of the year, from Tyler Kennedy and Chris Connor. Stephen Weiss tied it up with his ninth of the year for the Panthers, assisted by Michael Frolik and Mike Weaver. The Penguins regained the lead with Sidney Crosby notching his 28th of the season, assisted by Chris Kunitz and the goalie Brent Johnson. Pittsburgh took a 3-1 lead when Matt Cooke netted his seventh of the year from Max Talbot and Evgeni Malkin. Tomas Vokoun was then replaced for Scott Clemmensen. Making it 4-1 for the Penguins was Ben Lovejoy, scoring his first of the season, unassisted. Brent Johnson came out of the game after the second period with presumably an injury, and Marc-Andre Fleury was brought in, giving up a goal to Florida's Bryan McCabe, his fifth of the season, with helpers from Bill Thomas and Darcy Hordichuk. Pascal Dupuis put the Panthers out of their misery with his eighth of the year to give Pittsburgh a 5-2 win, the empty net goal assisted by Kris Letang and Chris Kunitz. Lovejoy, Crosby, and Letestu got the three stars. Two fights occurred during the game, with Lovejoy fighting Florida's Shawn Matthias in the first period, and Hordichuk taking on Pittsburgh tough guy Michael Rupp.

The next game had the Detroit Red Wings hosting the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Jimmy Howard were in between the pipes. The Red Wings struck first, with Danny Cleary netting his 15th of the season, assisted by Todd Bertuzzi and Brian Rafalski. Henrik Sedin tied the game early in the second period, scoring his seventh of the year for the Canucks, a power play goal assisted by Ryan Kesler and Daniel Sedin. Detroit regained the lead with a goal by Valtteri Filppula, his eighth of the year assisted by Cleary and Jonathan Ericsson. Daniel Sedin retied it for Vancouver with his 17th of the season, assisted by Kesler and Christian Ehrhoff on the power play. Late in the second period, the Canucks took their first lead with Mikael Samuelsson's seventh of the year, assisted by Henrik Sedin. Early in the third period, the Red Wings got it tied at 3 with Henrik Zetterberg's eleventh of the year, from Niklas Kronwall and Ruslan Salei. Jeff Tambellini made it 4-3 for Vancouver with his seventh of the season, assisted by Kesler, who locked up his sock trick for the night. Lidstrom tied the game at 4 for Detroit with his eighth of the season, a power play goal from Zetterberg and Rafalski. The tie lasted until Zetterberg tallied his 12th of the season and second of the night in overtime to secure the 5-4 win for the Red Wings. Assists were from Rafalski, getting his own sock trick, and Darren Helm. Zetterberg, Kesler, and Cleary were the three stars.

Lastly was the Chicago Blackhawks hosting the Nashville Predators. Anders Lindback and Corey Crawford were given the starting nods. Dave Bolland opened the scoring with his fourth of the year, with Fernando Pisani assisting to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. Jack Skille extended the lead to 2-0 with his fifth of the season, a power play goal from Bolland and Duncan Keith. Skille added an even strength goal in the third period, assisted by Jake Dowell and Duncan Keith, good for his sixth of the year and second of the night. Giving Nashville a sign of life was Sergei Kostitsyn, potting his sixth of the year while the Predators were a man up, with help from Martin Erat and Ryan Suter. Bryan Bickell put it away for the Blackhawks, potting his tenth of the year with help from Jassen Cullimore to bring the final score to 4-1 Chicago. Skille, Bolland, and Corey Crawford (24 for 25 saves) got the three stars.

That's all there was for Wednesday. I'm sorry I've been behind on these, and I hope to get Thursday Night Football coverage out today, along with yesterday's hockey. Thanks for the patience.

Tuesday NHL recap

For Tuesday's hockey viewing, there were another seven games, similar to the Monday slate. We start off in...

Buffalo, where the Sabres hosted the Anaheim Ducks. Curtis McElhinney and Ryan Miller were in net for the game. Drew Stafford drew first blood for Buffalo with his ninth of the year, a power play goal from Derek Roy and Tyler Myers. Nathan Gerbe made it 2-0 for the Sabres, potting his first of the year with help from Craig Rivet and Paul Gaustad. Tyler Ennis continued the Buffalo scoring spree with two goals in a row, with the first period marker being a power play goal from Andrej Sekera and Jordan Leopold. Following up in the second period, assists went to Roy and Leopold. Ennis' two goals were his eighth and ninth of the season. Showing some signs of life were Anaheim in the third, as Corey Perry potted his 18th of the year thanks to Teemu Selanne and Cam Fowler. Rivet answered for the Sabres with his first of the year, assisted by Rob Niedermayer. Perry netted another power play goal with nine seconds left in the game, helped along by Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf. Buffalo would go on to win 5-2 over the Ducks. Ennis, Leopold, and Rivet earned the three stars. The second period was designated fight time, with three fights breaking out (Duck vs. Sabre format). One second in the period, Ryan Getzlaf fought Cody McCormick, followed five seconds later by Kyle Chipchura and Paul Gaustad, and later followed mid-period by George Parros and Mike Weber.

We head along to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets hosted the Calgary Flames. Henrik Karlsson and Mathieu Garon got the starting nods for their teams. Jakub Voracek opened the scoring for the Blue Jackets with his sixth of the year, assisted by Marc Methot and Derick Brassard. Jared Boll backed it up in the second period by scoring his third of the year from Tom Sestito and Kyle Wilson. Calgary answered with a power play goal by Olli Jokinen, his seventh of the year assisted by Jarome Iginla and Mark Giordano. The Flames were unable to produce any tying offense in the third period, and Rostislav Klesla's goal for Columbus, his second of the year being into the empty net and unassisted, finished the game at 3-1 for the Blue Jackets. Mathieu Garon (29 for 30 saves), Boll, and Voracek earned the three stars. Two fights broke out in the first period, with Calgary's Tim Jackman taking on Jared Boll, followed by Robyn Regehr dropping the mitts with Tom Sestito.

Next up is the Atlanta Thrashers hosting the St. Louis Blues. Ty Conklin and Chris Mason were in the creases. The Blues struck first with Brad Boyes' seventh of the year, assisted by Chris Porter. Bryan Little evened the score for the Thrashers with his tenth of the season, from Evander Kane and Anthony Stewart. Late in the second period, St. Louis took a 2-1 lead with Alex Steen's eleventh of the season, helped along by Barret Jackman and Alex Pietrangelo, who added his fourth of the season in the third period, assisted by Vladimir Sobotka. Dustin Byfuglien tried to rally the Atlanta troops by scoring his 12th of the year, courtesy of Tobias Enstrom and Nik Antropov, but Sobotka's empty net goal, his fourth of the year going unassisted, put the game away at 4-2 St. Louis. Steen, Boyes, and Little earned the three stars.

Heading north to where the Washington Capitals hosted the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur and Semyon Varlamov were given goalkeeping duties. Washington opened the scoring with Andrew Gordon's first of the year, assisted by Marcus Johansson and John Erskine. Patrik Elias answered with his seventh of the year in the second period, with Jamie Langenbrunner and Travis Zajac getting assists on the tying goal. The Capitals got ahead again with Jay Beagle's first of the season, assisted by Dave Steckel and Matt Bradley. Jason Chimera extended the lead to 3-1 with his fifth of the year from Gordon and John Carlson. Carlson added his fourth of the year, assisted by Alex Ovechkin. Mike Knuble finished the scoring in the third period with his seventh of the year from Tom Poti and Brooks Laich. The Capitals went on to beat the Devils 5-1. Carlson, Gordon, and Johansson got the three stars.

Heading to Dallas, where the Stars hosted the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Kari Lehtonen were the masked men for the game. Adam Burish opened the scoring with his fourth of the season, from Steve Ott and Stephane Robidas, giving Dallas a 1-0 lead. Jamie Benn extended the lead with his eighth of the year, a shorthanded goal from Ott. Making it 3-0 was Karlis Skrastins, who netted his second of the year courtesy of James Neal and Matt Niskanen. Montreal finally responded with a goal by Mathieu Darche, his sixth of the year, assisted by Travis Moen and Tom Pyatt. Brad Richards made it 4-1 Stars with his 16th of the year, a power play goal from Robidas and Loui Eriksson. In the third period, Brian Gionta notched a shorthanded goal for the Canadiens, his 12th of the year being assisted by Scott Gomez. Eriksson put the game away with his 15th of the season, from Mike Rebeiro and Robidas. Dallas beat Montreal 5-2, with Benn, Kari Lehtonen (27 for 29 saves), and Ott picking up the three stars. Sharing a fight in the first period was the Stars' Brian Sutherby and the Canadiens' P.K. Subban.

Next up, we have the Colorado Avalanche hosting the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Craig Anderson were selected to play goal for the game. Rob Scuderi and Los Angeles struck first, with Scuderi's first of the season, assisted by Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown. Brad Richardson extended the lead with his fifth of the season in the second period, from Drew Doughty and Brown. Brown tallied his 12th and 13th of the year in the third period to make it 4-0, with Kopitar and Doughty assisting the first one and Ryan Smyth and Scuderi helping out with the second. Icing the cake was Justin Williams, scoring his 12th of the year while the Kings were a man up, with help from Jack Johnson and Jarret Stoll. Brown, Jonathan Quick (23 save shutout) and Kopitar earned the three stars.

Lastly, we stop in San Jose, where the Sharks hosted the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Antero Niittymaki were in between the pipes for their teams. The first period went scoreless, and Logan Couture's 18th of the year gave San Jose a 1-0 lead, with Ryane Clowe getting the assist. Dan Boyle made it 2-0 for the Sharks with his fourth of the season, from Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton on the power play. Dustin Penner tried to get Edmonton to rally back late in the third period with his eleventh of the year assisted by Ryan Whitney and Taylor Hall, but it was too late for the Oilers, who fell 2-1. Couture, Boyle, and Clowe got the three stars.

That's all the hockey for Tuesday. Wednesday's recap will be covered tomorrow, along with Thursday Night Football.

Monday NHL Recap

There were seven games played on Monday, and we'll jump right in with...

The Phoenix Coyotes visiting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jason LaBarbera and Marc-Andre Fleury got the starting nods. Kris Letang opened the scoring for the Penguins with his sixth of the year, a power play goal assisted by Tyler Kennedy and Evgeni Malkin. Malkin added two goals, his 12th and 13th of the year, in the late first and early second periods. Sidney Crosby picked up the lone assist on each goal, and the latter was a power play goal. Crosby later tallied his own power play goal to make it 4-0 Pittsburgh, and the marker was his 27th of the year. Picking up the helpers were Malkin and Letang. Matt Cooke notched his sixth of the year as well, chasing Jason LaBarbera away in favor of Matt Climie, and Max Talbot and Malkin picked up the assists on the Penguins' fifth goal of the game, giving Malkin the sock trick. Wojtek Wolski showed that Phoenix had life in the third period with his sixth of the year, assisted by Derek Morris and Eric "the Dentist" Belanger. Chris Connor's third of the year for Pittsburgh made it 6-1 late in the third period, with Mark Letestu grabbing the assist. This would be the final, with Malkin, Crosby, and Fleury (26 for 27 saves) getting the three stars. Deryk Engelland of Pittsburgh and Taylor Pyatt of Phoenix shared an early third period fight.

We go to Toronto for the next game, where the Maple Leafs hosted the Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Jonas Gustavsson got the netminding duties. Fredrik Modin opened the scoring for Atlanta, notching his fifth of the year from Ron Hainsey and Jim Slater. Twenty-eight seconds later, Tobias Enstrom made it 2-0 with his fourth of the year, a power play goal from Dustin Byfuglien. The Maple Leafs got on the board with a power play goal by John Mitchell, his first of the year, assisted by Phil Kessel and Tomas Kaberle. Modin answered with his sixth of the year and second of the night, assisted by Enstrom and Byfuglien to give the Thrashers a 3-1 lead after two periods. Anthony Stewart kept Atlanta going with his tenth of the season, assisted by Bryan Little, who assisted on the next goal, Enstrom's fifth of the year and second of the night, with Stewart getting the other assist. Jonas Gustavsson was replaced for James Reimer. Toronto finally struck back with power play goals from Mikhail Grabovski (12th of the year) and Nikolai Kulemin (eleventh). Clarke MacArthur and Kaberle picked up assists on the first one, with helpers going to Kris Versteeg and Grabovski on the second goal. The score stood at 5-3 until Andrew Ladd put it away with his 12th of the year into an empty net, assisted by Chris Thorburn and Enstrom. Picking up stars in the 6-3 Thrasher victory were Enstrom and Modin, followed by Toronto's Grabovski.

Next up is Philadelphia, where the Flyers hosted the Florida Panthers. Tomas Vokoun and Sergei Bobrovsky were in between the pipes. Bill Thomas gave Florida the lead with his second of the year, assisted by Steven Reinprecht and the goalie Tomas Vokoun. Evgeny Dadonov added on for the Panthers with his second of the season, from Bryan McCabe and Dmitry Kulikov. Going into the second period, where Florida poured some more on with a goal by Shawn Matthias, assisted by Marty Reasoner and Dadonov. Mike Santorelli made it 4-0 Florida with his ninth of the season, from Steve Bernier, and this goal chased Bobrovsky away, with Brian Boucher replacing him in the Philadelphia crease. It did little to stop the bleeding for the Flyers, who would fall 5-0 after Kulikov potted his second of the year, with help from McCabe and Stephen Weiss. Dadonov, Vokoun (26 save shutout + assist), and Thomas earned the stars in the routing.

Continuing along to Boston, where the Bruins hosted the Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Hiller and Tim Thomas earned the starts for their teams. Brandon McMillan and the Ducks struck first with his second of the year, assisted by Luca Sbisa and Teemu Selanne. Making it 2-0 for Anaheim was Lubomir Visnovsky, who scored his fifth of the year, with assistance from Selanne and Saku Koivu. Corey Perry extended the lead even farther with his 17th of the year, a shorthanded goal helped by McMillan and Andy "the Expert" Sutton. The 3-0 margin would stand for the rest of the game, with Hiller's 45 save shutout earning the first star, followed by Selanne and McMillan. Sharing a fight in the early second period was Gregory Campbell of the Bruins and Kyle Chipchura of the Ducks.

Going south for a Southeast division battle between the host Tampa Bay Lightning and visiting Carolina Hurricanes. Justin Peters and Dan Ellis started the game in net. The Lightning struck first with Dominic Moore's sixth of the year, assisted by Teddy Purcell and Dana Tyrell. The Hurricanes answered on the power play with a goal from Sergei Samsonov, his sixth of the year coming from Jeff Skinner and Erik Cole. In the last second of the first period, Martin St. Louis gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead, notching his 13th of the year from Ryan Malone and Moore. Brett Clark extended the lead with his seventh of the season, with St. Louis and Victor Hedman picking up the helpers. Making it 4-1 was Steven Stamkos, who potted his 26th of the year with the man advantage, thanks to St. Louis and Purcell. Adding icing on the cake was Sean Bergenheim's seventh of the year, also on the power play with Clark and Vincent Lecavalier getting the assists. The third period went by scoreless, giving the Lightning a 5-1 win over Carolina. St. Louis, Dan Ellis (21 for 22 saves) and Lecavalier earned the three stars in the game. Dropping the mitts in the third period were Tampa Bay's Matt Smaby and Carolina's Troy Bodie.

Heading to the west a bit now, with the St. Louis Blues hosting the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Jaroslav Halak were the starting goalies for the two teams. After going scoreless through the first period, Vancouver struck with the first of the year by Aaron Volpatti, assisted by Alexandre Bolduc. Ryan Kesler made it 2-0 with his 16th of the year, assisted by Raffi Torres and Mikael Samuelsson. Alex Steen responded late in the second period with his tenth of the season, assisted by Adam Cracknell and Roman Polak. The Canucks put the Blues away when Jeff Tambellini struck on the power play with his sixth of the year, helped along by Samuelsson and Dan Hamhuis. The 3-1 score proved to be the final, and the three stars went to Kesler, Samuelsson, and Steen.

Lastly we have the Minnesota Wild hosting the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Niklas Backstrom received goalkeeping honors for the game. Kyle Brodziak and the Wild struck first with his sixth of the year, courtesy of Marco Scandella and Martin Havlat. In the second period, Calgary evened things up with Olli Jokinen netting his sixth of the year, from Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay. Havlat answered in the third period with a power play goal, his eighth of the year, from Cal Clutterbuck and Marek Zidlicky. John "Mr. Football" Madden added his fifth of the year, also a power play tally, from Andrew not blond, not redheaded, but Brunette and Greg Zanon. Clutterbuck finished it off with his ninth of the year, an empty net goal from Brent Burns, making it 4-1 for Minnesota. Backstrom (34 for 35), Havlat, and Scandella earned the three stars.

That's all there was for Monday. Sorry for the delay in the post, I was Christmas shopping last night and had no time to put this one out. Tuesday's recap will come tonight.

Fantasy Football All-Stars, week 15

There were a lot of blowouts this week, the first week of standard format playoffs, which means half of your team did well and the other half likely not so much. Here's who was good:

Quarterbacks: Michael Vick and Rex Grossman
Running Backs: Ray Rice and Jamaal Charles
Wide Receivers: Vincent Jackson and Mario Manningham
Tight Ends: Jason Witten and Aaron Hernandez
Kickers: Robbie Gould and David Buehler

Those are the guys that would have helped you the most this week, and good luck to everyone in the championships. We'll see you here next week.

Monday Night Football week 15

As stadium woes continue, the Minnesota Vikings hosted the Chicago Bears outside at TCF Bank Stadium, home of the University of Minnesota football team. The field was good enough to play ice hockey on, frozen solid in the cold Minnesota winter. Onward to the scoring, opened by brickhouse Brett Favre, who connected with Percy Harvin for 23 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Longwell added the extra point. Robbie Gould kicked a field goal for the Chicago Bears, before adding the extra point on Jay Cutler's 67 yard touchdown pass to Johnny Knox. Cutler found Devin Hester in the second quarter, and after Gould added the extra point, the Bears led the Vikings by a score of 17-7, which would be the score into halftime. Gould kicked a 23 yard field goal to open the scoring in the third quarter, following up with an extra point on the Devin Hester 64 yard punt return for a touchdown. Minnesota found the end zone again when Joe Webb ran it in for 13 yards and the score. Longwell added the extra point. Cutler found another receiver for a touchdown, this time being Rashied Davis for 9 yards, with Gould adding the extra point to make it 34-14. Gould added a third and fourth quarter field goal, from 34 and 20 yards. The final had the Bears up 40-14, improving to 10-4, and dropping the Vikings to 5-9.

Fantasy Football All-Stars will follow this post directly.

Fantasy Hockey All-Stars week 10

Another week down, another group of players leading the pack for their Fantasy Managers, hoping to give them a midseason push. Here's who got work done this week

Center: Matt Duchene, 4 goals, 3 assists, +1, 0 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 10 shots on goal
Left Wing: Tomas Fleischmann, 4 goals, 3 assists, +2, 4 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 9 shots on goal
Right Wing: Loui Eriksson, 2 goals, 4 assists, +1, 2 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 10 shots on goal
Defenseman: Jack Johnson, 1 goal, 2 assists, +2, 14 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 10 shots on goal
Goaltender: Anders Lindback: 3 wins, 1.89 goals against average, 74 saves, .925 save percentage, 1 shutout

These were the best players by position for the week. Here's to the midseason push.