Another week passed, as the now 24 game point streak Sidney Crosby has kept alive is still going. Will it be enough to give him the all-star status? We'll see below:
Center: Sidney Crosby, 4 goals, 3 assists, +4, 4 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 25 shots on goal
Left Wing: Henrik Zetterberg, 3 goals, 4 assists, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 10 shots on goal
Right Wing: Bryan Little, 1 goal, 4 assists, +4, 17 penalty minutes, 0 power play points, 7 shots on goal
Defenseman: Kris Letang, 1 goal, 3 assists, +1, 6 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 18 shots on goal
Goalie: Dwayne Roloson, 3 wins, 0.98 goals against average, 106 saves, .972 save percentage, 0 shutouts
Those were the best players to have on your team in the last week. Approaching the middle of the season now, good luck in the second half.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Song of the Week
This week we have another song by Snow Patrol, coming off of their two disc greatest hits package, Up To Now, with the song being PPP. The lyrics are pretty simple, as the phrase "It won't be long forever girl, you gotta grab life with both hands" being repeated as the only line in the song. In the background is an equally easy strumming pattern on the guitar and repetitive drum rhythm. However, the simplicity of the song is part of what makes it so easy to listen to. Check it out, and I'll throw another of these out their next week.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sandwich Showdown
This showdown features a Friday sub (no pun) of Spicy Italian on garlic against a Sunday Roasted Chicken Breast on Herbs & Cheese. Due to illness by the eater (a shame I'd say), neither sandwich won bonus points for being friendly. However, with the bacon add-on, the Chicken gets the advantage over its toasted Friday competitor. It really filled me up, which is rare, because I am a bottomless pit. Hopefully next week I'll be in better judging conditions.
NFL Full recap Sunday, December 26th
Since I was away for most of today, and catching up on some rest stolen from me over the holiday, I'll put out the full recap. There were 12 games today, with the Eagles/Vikings game being postponed until Tuesday due to heavy snow. We start with...
The Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Tennessee Titans. The Chiefs got two touchdown passes from Matt Cassel to Jamaal Charles in the first quarter, from 14 and 5 yards. Ryan Succop added the extra points, and also a 35 yard field goal in the second quarter to make it 17-0. Kansas City extended the lead farther, to 24-0 after Cassel hooked up with Dwayne Bowe for 75 yards, and Succop's extra point (note to Jamaal Charles: one man in a celebration leap only please). Kerry Collins and the Titans woke up with a 53 yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt, followed by a Rob Bironas extra point. Collins gave the Chiefs a touchdown as well, throwing an interception to Eric Berry for 54 yards, followed by a Succop extra point. Making it 34-7 for Kansas City in the third quarter was Succop, who kicked a 42 yard field goal. Tennessee responded with Collins making a touchdown pass to Jared Cook for 22 yards. Bironas added the point after, and the score stood at 34-14, which lasted through the fourth quarter to be the final. Kansas City improved to 10-5, and Tennessee fell to 6-9.
The second game was the Cleveland Browns hosting the Baltmore Ravens. Cleveland opened the scoring with receiver Mohamed Massaqoui passing to Brian Robiskie for 29 yards, and Phil Dawson's extra point making it 7-0. Billy Cundiff and Baltimore answered, with Cundiff sandwiching a touchdown with field goals from 27 and 40 yards. Baltimore's touchdown was a 15 yard Joe Flacco pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh, with Cundiff adding the extra point. Dawson made it 13-10 Ravens with his field goal of 30 yards for the Browns before halftime. Flacco struck quickly in the third quarter, finding Derrick Mason for 22 yards and the touchdown, with Cundiff's extra point producing the eventual final of 20-10 Ravens. Baltimore jumped up to 11-4, and Cleveland fell to 5-10.
Continuing along to Buffalo, where the Bills hosted the red-hot New England Patriots. The Bills got the early lead with Rian Lindell's field goal of 26 yards. Danny Woodhead answered for the Patriots with a 29 yard touchdown run, followed by Shayne Graham with the extra point. Tom Brady threw a touchdown to Rob Gronkowski, good for 8 yards, with Graham adding an extra point, following it up with a field goal from 34 yards out, and the extra point on Brady's touchdown to Alge Crumpler of 4 yards. New England led 24-3 over Buffalo at halftime. Brady found Gronkowski again for 8 yards and the touchdown in the third quarter, with Graham adding the extra point once again, before kicking a 26 yard field goal in the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 34-3 Patriots, which would be the final. New England improved to 13-2, while Buffalo fell down to 4-11.
Next up was the St. Louis Rams hosting the San Francisco 49ers. The Rams got going first, with Steven Jackson breaking the goal line with a 1 yard touchdown run, followed by a Josh Brown extra point. The St. Louis defense got in on the next score, pinning 49ers quarterback Troy Smith in his own end zone for the safety to give them a 9-0 lead. San Francisco got back in action when St. Louis punted, and Ted Ginn, Jr. returned the kick from Donnie Jones for 78 yards and the touchdown, with Jeff Reed getting the extra point. Brown made it 12-7 for the Rams with his 43 yard field goal, but Troy Smith passed to Michael Crabtree for 60 yards and the touchdown, followed by Reed's extra point to make it 14-12 San Francisco at halftime. St. Louis retook the lead with another field goal by Brown, from 30 yards, and extended the lead to 22-14 with Sam Bradford's touchdown pass to Laurent Robinson for 3 yards, and Brown's point after. Reed and Brown exchanged fourth quarter field goals, with Reed good from 47 yards and Brown true from 28. The Rams would take the 49ers down 25-17, boosting themselves to 7-8, and dropping their opponents to 5-10.
Moving onto a less playoff-relevant game, but still dramatic nonetheless, where the Miami Dolphins hosted the Detroit Lions. Dave Rayner of the Lions and Dan Carpenter traded field goals, with Rayner kicking a 39 yard shot and Carpenter one-upping him with a 40 yard kick. In the second quarter, touchdowns started flying, with Shaun Hill finding Brandon Pettigrew to give Detroit a 10-3 lead after Rayner's extra point. Miami answered with a 4 yard run by Lousaka Polite for a touchdown and a Chad Henne pass Davone Bess for 13 yards. Carpenter's extra points made it 17-10 for the Dolphins going into the locker room. The Lions re-tied the game in the third quarter with a Maurice Morris 5 yard touchdown run, followed by a Rayner extra point, but the Dolphins stole the lead back with Ronnie Brown's 1 yard touchdown run, with Carpenter making it 24-17 with his extra point. Carpenter extended the lead with a fourth quarter field goal of 28 yards. Detroit, now with some catching up to do, let Hill find Jahvid Best for 53 yards, and Rayner's extra point put them within 3, which he later amended with a game-tying field goal of 47 yards. The Lions defense would bail them out with DeAndre Levy intercepting Henne for 30 yards, and Rayner providing the extra point making it 34-27 for the Lions. They would hold on to get the win, improving to 5-10, dropping the Dolphins to 7-8.
Next to last in the morning games was the Washington Redskins visiting the Jacksonville Jaguars. Washington got out to an early 10-0 first quarter lead with Graham Gano's 48 yard field goal, followed by his extra point on the Rex Grossman touchdown pass of 1 yard to Fred Davis. David Garrard got Jacksonville into the scoring game with a 19 yard touchdown to Mike Thomas, with Josh Scobee providing the extra point, and also the tying field goal in the third quarter, from 34 yards. The Redskins and Jaguars traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with Ryan Torain giving Washington the lead back on a 1 yard run for a score, followed by a Gano point after before Garrard took it in from 20 yards out, and Scobee providing the extra point. The tie at 17 would last into overtime until Gano notched a 31 yard field goal to win it 20-17 for the Redskins. Washington jumped up to 6-9, and Jacksonville fell to 8-7.
The morning games were wrapped up by the New York Jets visiting the Chicago Bears at a cold Soldier Field. The Bears opened the scoring with a Robbie Gould 37 yard field goal, with Gould adding the extra point on Matt Forte's 22 yard touchdown run. Chicago took a 10-0 lead into the second quarter, but the Jets woke up, with Shonn Greene running 3 yards for the score, the defense getting a 20 yard interception return in the hands of Dwight Lowery from Jay Cutler's misguided pass, and LaDainian Tomlinson running his own 3 yard touchdown in. Nick Folk was present to make it 21-10 by adding all 3 extra points. Chicago was able to answer the scoring bombardment by New York with Cutler running a touchdown in from 2 yards out and Gould providing the extra point. Nick Folk kept the Jets up by a touchdown with his 26 yard field goal making it 24-17 at halftime. Cutler and the Bears came out with their own shellacking of the Jets in the third quarter, with touchdown passes of 40 and 25 yards going to Johnny Knox and Devin Hester. Gould tacked on both extra points. Mark Sanchez found a tying touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes for 23 yards, with Folk's extra point tying the game, but Chicago made it 38-31 with a Cutler touchdown to Knox from 26 yards, with Gould making the point after. The Jets answered early in the fourth quarter with a Folk field goal of 34 yards, but New York couldn't find any more offense and fell 38-34 to the Bears. Chicago jumped up 11-4 and knocked the Jets down 10-5.
This brings the post to its halftime.
The Denver Broncos and Houston Texans led off the late games in a meaningless battle. Arian Foster led off the scoring with a touchdown run of 3 yards, with Neil Rackers making the extra point. By halftime, Houston had gained a 17-0 lead, thanks to Matt Schaub connecting with Owen Daniels for 3 yards, and rackers adding an extra point and a 34 yard field goal. Denver found the end zone in the third quarter with Correll Buckhalter running 6 yards for the touchdown, and Steve Hauschka making it 17-7 with the extra point. The Texans kicked a pair of field goals off the foot of Neil Rackers in the third quarter, sandwiching a Hauschka kick of 27 yards. Rackers was true from 54 and 57 yards. Houston had a 23-10 lead going into the fourth quarter. Tim Tebow and the Broncos decided to change this with Tebow throwing a touchdown pass to Buckhalter for 23 yards and then running in 6 yards for a score. Hauschka's two extra points gave Denver a 24-23 lead, one they would not relinquish. Denver jumped up to 4-11, and Houston fell to 5-10.
Going into Oakland for the next game, with the Raiders hosting playoff-hungry Indianapolis Colts. The Colts opening kickoff was returned by Jacoby Ford for 99 yards and a touchdown, with Sebastian Janikowski making it 7-0. Joseph Addai would even the score for Indianapolis with his 6 yard touchdown run, and Adam Vinatieri added on the extra point. Indianapolis would take a 10-7 lead when Vinatieri knocked in a 30 yard field goal, but Oakland retook the lead when Janikowski kicked two field goals from 59 and 38 yards. The Colts would retake the lead before halftime as Peyton Manning found Jacob Tamme for 19 yards and the touchdown, and Vinatieri's extra point made it 17-13. Janikowski found the lead foot again in the third quarter, booting one in from *only* 51 yards. Manning would connect with Blair White to make it 24-16 after Vinatieri's extra point, with the touchdown pass good for 4 yards. Oakland attempted a comeback on the foot of Janikowski, who booted in a 45 yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but was promptly answered by Manning connecting with Pierre Garcon for 7 yard and the touchdown, and Vinatieri's extra point made it 31-19. Jason Campbell got a touchdown for the Raiders with a 6 yard pass to Zach Miller, and the 31-26 score was made possible by Janikowski's extra point, but Oakland didn't have enough time left to win the game and lost to Indianapolis, who improved to 9-6 and dropped the Raiders to 7-8.
Next up was a must-win situation for the San Diego Chargers, who visited the Cincinnati Bengals. Carson Palmer allowed the Bengals to draw the first blood with a touchdown pass to Jermaine Gresham for 3 yards, followed by a Clint Stitser extra point. Palmer found Jerome Simpson in the second quarter from 10 yards out, but the score stayed at 13-0 as Stitser bumbled the extra point attempt. The Chargers regained themselves with a late second quarter field goal by Nate Kaeding. San Diego got even closer in the third quarter, as Ryan Mathews rushed a touchdown in from 23 yards, allowing an extra point by Kaeding. Cincinnati got back on track with Palmer finding Jordan Shipley for 3 yards. Stitser made the extra point this time. Kaeding responded for the Chargers with a 28 yard field goal, but was promptly answered by Palmer finding Simpson for a 59 yard touchdown. Stitser's extra point made it 27-13. Bernard Scott squashed any hopes of the playoffs San Diego had left by running a 10 yard rush into the end zone for the Bengals, and Stitser was good again with the extra point. Philip Rivers sent a goodbye message to Cincinnati with a 5 yard touchdown pass to Kelley Washington, and Kaeding was good on the extra point, producing the final of 34-20 in favor of the Bengals, who improved to 4-11, and dropped the Chargers to 8-7.
Second to last on the slate was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks, both teams with playoff hopes still very much alive. Seattle opened the scoring with a 1 yard touchdown run by Matt Hasselbeck, who found a new way to get injured before Olindo Mare kicked the extra point. Connor Barth answered for Tampa Bay with a 46 yard field goal. Josh Freeman kicked the Buccaneers into a higher gear with touchdown passes to Kellen Winslow and Mike Williams (TB), of 10 and 20 yards. Barth's points after made the score 17-7 for Tampa Bay at the half. Freeman did another edition of Winslow first, Williams second, connecting with both for touchdown in the third quarter, this time from 21 and 7 yards. Barth added another two extra points to bring the score to 31-7. The Seahawks showed a sign of life again in the fourth quarter with Leon Washington running 16 yards for a touchdown, and Charlie Whitehurst finding Ben Obomanu for the two point conversion to bring the score to 31-15. Freeman threw his fifth touchdown pass to Maurice Stovall, for 2 yards, followed by a Barth extra point that created the final score of 38-15. Tampa Bay jumped up to 9-6, and Seattle fell to 6-9.
Lastly, the marquee game between the hosting Green Bay Packers and visiting New York Giants. Aaron Rodgers opened up the scoring for the Packers with two touchdowns passes of 80 and 3 yards to Jordy Nelson and James (Earl?) Jones. Mason Crosby produced both extra points. Eli Manning did his own two-pack of touchdowns, to Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham for 36 and 85 yards. Tying the game was Lawrence Tynes who nailed two extra points. John Kuhn gave Green Bay the lead back with an 8 yard touchdown run, followed by a Crosby extra point. The Packers led the Giants 21-14 into the locker rooms. Crosby and Tynes exchanged field goals in the third quarter, from 31 and 38 yards, respectively. Rodgers extended the Green Bay lead with a 1 yard touchdown pass to Donald Lee. Crosby made it 31-14 with the extra point, before adding two more on fourth quarter touchdowns by Rodgers to Kuhn for 5 yards and a 1 yard Kuhn rush. The final score would stand at 45-17 Packers over Giants, with Green Bay jumping up to 9-6 and dropping New York to the same margin.
That's all for the football today. I hope you readers appreciate the 100 minutes that took to put out, and be watching for Monday's Song of the Week, Fantasy Hockey All-Stars, and Hockey recap. Also, directly following this supersized post will be a Sandwich review.
The Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Tennessee Titans. The Chiefs got two touchdown passes from Matt Cassel to Jamaal Charles in the first quarter, from 14 and 5 yards. Ryan Succop added the extra points, and also a 35 yard field goal in the second quarter to make it 17-0. Kansas City extended the lead farther, to 24-0 after Cassel hooked up with Dwayne Bowe for 75 yards, and Succop's extra point (note to Jamaal Charles: one man in a celebration leap only please). Kerry Collins and the Titans woke up with a 53 yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt, followed by a Rob Bironas extra point. Collins gave the Chiefs a touchdown as well, throwing an interception to Eric Berry for 54 yards, followed by a Succop extra point. Making it 34-7 for Kansas City in the third quarter was Succop, who kicked a 42 yard field goal. Tennessee responded with Collins making a touchdown pass to Jared Cook for 22 yards. Bironas added the point after, and the score stood at 34-14, which lasted through the fourth quarter to be the final. Kansas City improved to 10-5, and Tennessee fell to 6-9.
The second game was the Cleveland Browns hosting the Baltmore Ravens. Cleveland opened the scoring with receiver Mohamed Massaqoui passing to Brian Robiskie for 29 yards, and Phil Dawson's extra point making it 7-0. Billy Cundiff and Baltimore answered, with Cundiff sandwiching a touchdown with field goals from 27 and 40 yards. Baltimore's touchdown was a 15 yard Joe Flacco pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh, with Cundiff adding the extra point. Dawson made it 13-10 Ravens with his field goal of 30 yards for the Browns before halftime. Flacco struck quickly in the third quarter, finding Derrick Mason for 22 yards and the touchdown, with Cundiff's extra point producing the eventual final of 20-10 Ravens. Baltimore jumped up to 11-4, and Cleveland fell to 5-10.
Continuing along to Buffalo, where the Bills hosted the red-hot New England Patriots. The Bills got the early lead with Rian Lindell's field goal of 26 yards. Danny Woodhead answered for the Patriots with a 29 yard touchdown run, followed by Shayne Graham with the extra point. Tom Brady threw a touchdown to Rob Gronkowski, good for 8 yards, with Graham adding an extra point, following it up with a field goal from 34 yards out, and the extra point on Brady's touchdown to Alge Crumpler of 4 yards. New England led 24-3 over Buffalo at halftime. Brady found Gronkowski again for 8 yards and the touchdown in the third quarter, with Graham adding the extra point once again, before kicking a 26 yard field goal in the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 34-3 Patriots, which would be the final. New England improved to 13-2, while Buffalo fell down to 4-11.
Next up was the St. Louis Rams hosting the San Francisco 49ers. The Rams got going first, with Steven Jackson breaking the goal line with a 1 yard touchdown run, followed by a Josh Brown extra point. The St. Louis defense got in on the next score, pinning 49ers quarterback Troy Smith in his own end zone for the safety to give them a 9-0 lead. San Francisco got back in action when St. Louis punted, and Ted Ginn, Jr. returned the kick from Donnie Jones for 78 yards and the touchdown, with Jeff Reed getting the extra point. Brown made it 12-7 for the Rams with his 43 yard field goal, but Troy Smith passed to Michael Crabtree for 60 yards and the touchdown, followed by Reed's extra point to make it 14-12 San Francisco at halftime. St. Louis retook the lead with another field goal by Brown, from 30 yards, and extended the lead to 22-14 with Sam Bradford's touchdown pass to Laurent Robinson for 3 yards, and Brown's point after. Reed and Brown exchanged fourth quarter field goals, with Reed good from 47 yards and Brown true from 28. The Rams would take the 49ers down 25-17, boosting themselves to 7-8, and dropping their opponents to 5-10.
Moving onto a less playoff-relevant game, but still dramatic nonetheless, where the Miami Dolphins hosted the Detroit Lions. Dave Rayner of the Lions and Dan Carpenter traded field goals, with Rayner kicking a 39 yard shot and Carpenter one-upping him with a 40 yard kick. In the second quarter, touchdowns started flying, with Shaun Hill finding Brandon Pettigrew to give Detroit a 10-3 lead after Rayner's extra point. Miami answered with a 4 yard run by Lousaka Polite for a touchdown and a Chad Henne pass Davone Bess for 13 yards. Carpenter's extra points made it 17-10 for the Dolphins going into the locker room. The Lions re-tied the game in the third quarter with a Maurice Morris 5 yard touchdown run, followed by a Rayner extra point, but the Dolphins stole the lead back with Ronnie Brown's 1 yard touchdown run, with Carpenter making it 24-17 with his extra point. Carpenter extended the lead with a fourth quarter field goal of 28 yards. Detroit, now with some catching up to do, let Hill find Jahvid Best for 53 yards, and Rayner's extra point put them within 3, which he later amended with a game-tying field goal of 47 yards. The Lions defense would bail them out with DeAndre Levy intercepting Henne for 30 yards, and Rayner providing the extra point making it 34-27 for the Lions. They would hold on to get the win, improving to 5-10, dropping the Dolphins to 7-8.
Next to last in the morning games was the Washington Redskins visiting the Jacksonville Jaguars. Washington got out to an early 10-0 first quarter lead with Graham Gano's 48 yard field goal, followed by his extra point on the Rex Grossman touchdown pass of 1 yard to Fred Davis. David Garrard got Jacksonville into the scoring game with a 19 yard touchdown to Mike Thomas, with Josh Scobee providing the extra point, and also the tying field goal in the third quarter, from 34 yards. The Redskins and Jaguars traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with Ryan Torain giving Washington the lead back on a 1 yard run for a score, followed by a Gano point after before Garrard took it in from 20 yards out, and Scobee providing the extra point. The tie at 17 would last into overtime until Gano notched a 31 yard field goal to win it 20-17 for the Redskins. Washington jumped up to 6-9, and Jacksonville fell to 8-7.
The morning games were wrapped up by the New York Jets visiting the Chicago Bears at a cold Soldier Field. The Bears opened the scoring with a Robbie Gould 37 yard field goal, with Gould adding the extra point on Matt Forte's 22 yard touchdown run. Chicago took a 10-0 lead into the second quarter, but the Jets woke up, with Shonn Greene running 3 yards for the score, the defense getting a 20 yard interception return in the hands of Dwight Lowery from Jay Cutler's misguided pass, and LaDainian Tomlinson running his own 3 yard touchdown in. Nick Folk was present to make it 21-10 by adding all 3 extra points. Chicago was able to answer the scoring bombardment by New York with Cutler running a touchdown in from 2 yards out and Gould providing the extra point. Nick Folk kept the Jets up by a touchdown with his 26 yard field goal making it 24-17 at halftime. Cutler and the Bears came out with their own shellacking of the Jets in the third quarter, with touchdown passes of 40 and 25 yards going to Johnny Knox and Devin Hester. Gould tacked on both extra points. Mark Sanchez found a tying touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes for 23 yards, with Folk's extra point tying the game, but Chicago made it 38-31 with a Cutler touchdown to Knox from 26 yards, with Gould making the point after. The Jets answered early in the fourth quarter with a Folk field goal of 34 yards, but New York couldn't find any more offense and fell 38-34 to the Bears. Chicago jumped up 11-4 and knocked the Jets down 10-5.
This brings the post to its halftime.
The Denver Broncos and Houston Texans led off the late games in a meaningless battle. Arian Foster led off the scoring with a touchdown run of 3 yards, with Neil Rackers making the extra point. By halftime, Houston had gained a 17-0 lead, thanks to Matt Schaub connecting with Owen Daniels for 3 yards, and rackers adding an extra point and a 34 yard field goal. Denver found the end zone in the third quarter with Correll Buckhalter running 6 yards for the touchdown, and Steve Hauschka making it 17-7 with the extra point. The Texans kicked a pair of field goals off the foot of Neil Rackers in the third quarter, sandwiching a Hauschka kick of 27 yards. Rackers was true from 54 and 57 yards. Houston had a 23-10 lead going into the fourth quarter. Tim Tebow and the Broncos decided to change this with Tebow throwing a touchdown pass to Buckhalter for 23 yards and then running in 6 yards for a score. Hauschka's two extra points gave Denver a 24-23 lead, one they would not relinquish. Denver jumped up to 4-11, and Houston fell to 5-10.
Going into Oakland for the next game, with the Raiders hosting playoff-hungry Indianapolis Colts. The Colts opening kickoff was returned by Jacoby Ford for 99 yards and a touchdown, with Sebastian Janikowski making it 7-0. Joseph Addai would even the score for Indianapolis with his 6 yard touchdown run, and Adam Vinatieri added on the extra point. Indianapolis would take a 10-7 lead when Vinatieri knocked in a 30 yard field goal, but Oakland retook the lead when Janikowski kicked two field goals from 59 and 38 yards. The Colts would retake the lead before halftime as Peyton Manning found Jacob Tamme for 19 yards and the touchdown, and Vinatieri's extra point made it 17-13. Janikowski found the lead foot again in the third quarter, booting one in from *only* 51 yards. Manning would connect with Blair White to make it 24-16 after Vinatieri's extra point, with the touchdown pass good for 4 yards. Oakland attempted a comeback on the foot of Janikowski, who booted in a 45 yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but was promptly answered by Manning connecting with Pierre Garcon for 7 yard and the touchdown, and Vinatieri's extra point made it 31-19. Jason Campbell got a touchdown for the Raiders with a 6 yard pass to Zach Miller, and the 31-26 score was made possible by Janikowski's extra point, but Oakland didn't have enough time left to win the game and lost to Indianapolis, who improved to 9-6 and dropped the Raiders to 7-8.
Next up was a must-win situation for the San Diego Chargers, who visited the Cincinnati Bengals. Carson Palmer allowed the Bengals to draw the first blood with a touchdown pass to Jermaine Gresham for 3 yards, followed by a Clint Stitser extra point. Palmer found Jerome Simpson in the second quarter from 10 yards out, but the score stayed at 13-0 as Stitser bumbled the extra point attempt. The Chargers regained themselves with a late second quarter field goal by Nate Kaeding. San Diego got even closer in the third quarter, as Ryan Mathews rushed a touchdown in from 23 yards, allowing an extra point by Kaeding. Cincinnati got back on track with Palmer finding Jordan Shipley for 3 yards. Stitser made the extra point this time. Kaeding responded for the Chargers with a 28 yard field goal, but was promptly answered by Palmer finding Simpson for a 59 yard touchdown. Stitser's extra point made it 27-13. Bernard Scott squashed any hopes of the playoffs San Diego had left by running a 10 yard rush into the end zone for the Bengals, and Stitser was good again with the extra point. Philip Rivers sent a goodbye message to Cincinnati with a 5 yard touchdown pass to Kelley Washington, and Kaeding was good on the extra point, producing the final of 34-20 in favor of the Bengals, who improved to 4-11, and dropped the Chargers to 8-7.
Second to last on the slate was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks, both teams with playoff hopes still very much alive. Seattle opened the scoring with a 1 yard touchdown run by Matt Hasselbeck, who found a new way to get injured before Olindo Mare kicked the extra point. Connor Barth answered for Tampa Bay with a 46 yard field goal. Josh Freeman kicked the Buccaneers into a higher gear with touchdown passes to Kellen Winslow and Mike Williams (TB), of 10 and 20 yards. Barth's points after made the score 17-7 for Tampa Bay at the half. Freeman did another edition of Winslow first, Williams second, connecting with both for touchdown in the third quarter, this time from 21 and 7 yards. Barth added another two extra points to bring the score to 31-7. The Seahawks showed a sign of life again in the fourth quarter with Leon Washington running 16 yards for a touchdown, and Charlie Whitehurst finding Ben Obomanu for the two point conversion to bring the score to 31-15. Freeman threw his fifth touchdown pass to Maurice Stovall, for 2 yards, followed by a Barth extra point that created the final score of 38-15. Tampa Bay jumped up to 9-6, and Seattle fell to 6-9.
Lastly, the marquee game between the hosting Green Bay Packers and visiting New York Giants. Aaron Rodgers opened up the scoring for the Packers with two touchdowns passes of 80 and 3 yards to Jordy Nelson and James (Earl?) Jones. Mason Crosby produced both extra points. Eli Manning did his own two-pack of touchdowns, to Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham for 36 and 85 yards. Tying the game was Lawrence Tynes who nailed two extra points. John Kuhn gave Green Bay the lead back with an 8 yard touchdown run, followed by a Crosby extra point. The Packers led the Giants 21-14 into the locker rooms. Crosby and Tynes exchanged field goals in the third quarter, from 31 and 38 yards, respectively. Rodgers extended the Green Bay lead with a 1 yard touchdown pass to Donald Lee. Crosby made it 31-14 with the extra point, before adding two more on fourth quarter touchdowns by Rodgers to Kuhn for 5 yards and a 1 yard Kuhn rush. The final score would stand at 45-17 Packers over Giants, with Green Bay jumping up to 9-6 and dropping New York to the same margin.
That's all for the football today. I hope you readers appreciate the 100 minutes that took to put out, and be watching for Monday's Song of the Week, Fantasy Hockey All-Stars, and Hockey recap. Also, directly following this supersized post will be a Sandwich review.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Saturday Football, week 16
Because they couldn't just handle playing on one major holiday, the Dallas Cowboys traveled to play the Arizona Cardinals on Christmas Day. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie got Arizona on the board first with his 32 yard interception return off of Cowboys quarterback Jon Kitna. Jay Feely provided the extra point on this touchdown, and also on the Greg Toler interception return of 66 yards for a touchdown, giving the Cardinals an early 14-0 lead. Dallas got on the board in the second quarter when David Buehler kicked a 42 yard field goal. Arizona answered with a John Skelton touchdown pass of 74 yards to Andre Roberts, and Feely adding the extra point again. Kitna finally threw a touchdown for Dallas with his 2 yard pass to Jason Witten. Buehler added the extra point late in the second quarter, and kicked a 53 yard field goal in the third quarter. Making it a 21-20 Cardinals lead was Marion Barber's 24 yard touchdown run and Buehler's extra point. Jay Feely made it 24-20 with his 49 yard field goal for the Cardinals. Stephen McGee then connected with Miles Austin to give the Cowboys a lead, but the score stood at 26-24 after the 37 yard touchdown because Buehler missed the extra point, allowing Jay Feely to come in and save the day with his 48 yard field goal with 5 seconds remaining, and giving the Cardinals a 27-26 victory over the Cowboys. Both teams were at 5-10 at the conclusion of the game.
For those of you curious, I will be working on football tomorrow, with seven games early and the five late games plus the Sunday Night Football game mashed into one post. Also, there are eleven hockey games tomorrow, so expect everything to be caught up by Tuesday. I have been feeling a bit under the weather, which has caused me to be a bit slower with these posts, but hopefully I'll be better next week.
For those of you curious, I will be working on football tomorrow, with seven games early and the five late games plus the Sunday Night Football game mashed into one post. Also, there are eleven hockey games tomorrow, so expect everything to be caught up by Tuesday. I have been feeling a bit under the weather, which has caused me to be a bit slower with these posts, but hopefully I'll be better next week.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday Night Football, week 16
This week's Thursday night game featured the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the Carolina Panthers. Shaun Suisham got things started for the Steelers, kicking a 26 yard field goal before adding extra points on two touchdowns. The touchdowns were a Ben Roethlisberger pass to Mike Wallace for 43 yards and a 1 yard run by Rashard Mendenhall. Suisham also added a 29 yard field goal before halftime to make it 20-0 Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger added his own touchdown run, from 1 yard out, that Suisham added an extra point on to make it 27-0. Avoiding the shutout for the Panthers was John Kasay, who kicked a 27 yard field goal in the fourth quarter, bringing us to the final score of 27-3 Pittsburgh over Carolina. The Steelers improved to 11-4, while the Panthers fell to 2-13.
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.
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.
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