Once again, there is hockey on, and with ten games today, my non-procrastinating butt is gonna open these all up as the games are played for that authentic live feeling. There are ten games today, starting with...
The Columbus Blue Jackets hosting the Phoenix Coyotes. Mathieu Garon and Ilya Bryzgalov are the masked men. Columbus strikes early in the first period with Jared Boll getting his fourth of the season thanks to Marc Methot. Rostislav Klesla puts the Blue Jackets up 2-0 with his third of the year, from Fedor Tyutin and Rick Nash. Vernon Fiddler puts Phoenix on the board with his fifth of the campaign, thanks to Lauri Korpikoski, shorthanded. Kristian Huselius answered back for Columbus with his ninth of the season, making it 3-1 courtesy of Tyutin on the power play. The Coyotes cut the lead back down with Eric Belanger netting his fifth of the year, assisted by Shane Doan and Keith Yandle. Phoenix ties the game early in the third period with Radim Vrbata scoring his eighth of the season, a power play goal made possible by Ray Whitney and Martin Hanzal. The Coyotes take the lead on a Derek Morris goal, his third of the year coming from Scottie Upshall and Hanzal. Hanzal, Morris, and Klesla get the three stars in the 4-3 Phoenix victory.
Moving along to the Boston Bruins hosting the Ottawa Senators. Brian Elliott and Tim Thomas get the starts. Boston gets first blood with Patrice Bergeron netting his eleventh of the season, unassisted. The Bruins extend their lead to 2-0 with Blake Wheeler netting his tenth of the year, with Tyler Seguin and David Krejci picking up the helpers. Boston makes it 3-0 with Bergeron scoring his second of the night and 12th of the season, another unassisted tally. Extending the lead further is Brad Marchand with his eighth of the season, from Dennis Seidenberg. Seguin adds his seventh of the year to make it 5-0 with helpers going to Krejci and Zdeno Chara, and successfully scaring off Brian Elliott, who was replaced by Mike Brodeur at the end of the second. Bergeron finishes the hat trick in the third period, making it 6-0 for the Bruins with his 13th of the year, thanks to Marchand. Bergeron, Marchand, and Tim Thomas (31 save shutout) are the three stars.
Next up, the New York Rangers host the Montreal Canadiens. Alex Auld and Henrik Lundqvist are in between the pipes. New York takes the early lead with Brandon Dubinsky scoring his 17th of the season, assisted by Matt Gilroy and the goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Montreal answers late in the second period on Jaroslav Spacek's second of the season, assisted by Tomas Plekanec and Yannick Weber. The Canadiens take a 2-1 lead on Benoit Pouliot scoring his ninth of the season, with help from James Wisniewski. Pouliot, Auld (25 for 26 saves), and losing goalie Lundqvist (36 for 38 saves) earn the three stars.
Heading south with the Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Cam Ward are the designated starters. Calgary is on the board first with Jay Bouwmeester notching his fourth of the season, helped along by Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen. Carolina evens the score with Tuomo Ruutu notching his eleventh of the year, with help from Chad LaRose and Jeff Skinner. Iginla answers back for the Flames with his 18th of the season, assisted by Alex Tanguay and Jokinen. Jussi Jokinen put the Hurricanes back into a tie at 2 with his seventh of the year, from Brandon Sutter. Erik Cole gave Carolina the lead with his 12th of the season, from Jussi Jokinen and Sergei Samsonov. Eric Staal extends the Hurricane lead to 4-2 with his 21st of the year, courtesy of Ian White and the goalie Cam Ward, scaring away the opposing goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, who is replaced by Henrik Karlsson. Jussi Jokinen adds on his second of the night and eighth of the season to make it 5-2, with help from Tim Gleason and Pat Dwyer. Niklas Hagman answers for the Flames with his ninth of the year, unassisted. Curtis Glencross puts Calgary back within a goal with his tenth of the year, thanks to Hagman and Robyn Regehr. The Flames tie the game as Rene Bourque returns to the scoresheet for his 14th of the season, helped along by Brendan Morrison and Tim Jackman. Skinner scores the only goal in the shootout, giving Carolina a 6-5 win. Jussi Jokinen, Iginla, and Skinner are the three stars.
Back to New York for the Islanders hosting the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Kevin Poulin get the starting nods. Vancouver is on the board first with Alexandre Burrows putting his ninth of the season away, with help from Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. New York answers in the second period with Jack Hillen netting his first of the year, thanks to Blake Comeau and Milan Jurcina. The Canucks respond with Ryan Kesler notching his 24th of the year, with help from Mikael Samuelsson and Raffi Torres. The Islanders tie the game again with John Tavares on the power play, his 15th of the year coming from Rob Schremp. Comeau gives New York a lead with his eleventh of the season, from Dylan Reese and Schremp, but Vancouver ties it on the sixth of the year by Kevin Bieksa, an unassisted goal. Shremp and Mason Raymond exchange shootout barbs, and Kesler secures the victory for the Canucks in the shootout. Comeau, Kesler, and Schremp earn the three stars.
Staying in the state, with the Buffalo Sabres hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Ryan Miller are destined to stop the pucks. Paul Gaustad puts Buffalo up first with his fourth of the season, from Cody McCormick and Tyler Myers. McCormick makes it 2-0 for the Sabres with his fifth of the year, assisted on by Nathan Gerbe. Philadelphia answers with Scott Hartnell notching his 13th of the campaign, a power play goal made possible by Kimmo Timmonen and Danny Briere. Briere ties the game with his own goal, the 22nd of the season for him, from Timmonen. The Flyers take a 3-2 lead on Ville Leino scoring his tenth of the season, assisted by Briere. Mike Richards extends the lead to 4-2 Philadelphia with his 14th of the season, an unassisted goal. The Flyers ice the game at 5-2 with the 14th of the season and second of the night by Hartnell, assisted on by Briere into the empty net, giving Danny the coveted sock trick. Briere, McCormick, and Timmonen get the three stars.
Into a Southeast division match between the Washington Capitals and their hosts, the Florida Panthers. Michal Neuvirth and Tomas Vokoun are in the creases. Florida opens the scoring on a power play goal by Mike Santorelli, his 12th of the year a product of Stephen Weiss and Dennis Wideman. Marty Reasoner extends the Panthers lead to 2-0 with his ninth of the season, from Bryan McCabe and Radek Dvorak. David Booth makes it 3-0 for Florida with his 12th of the season, a power play goal from Weiss and Cory Stillman. Washington gets on the board with Marcus Johansson scoring his fourth of the season, assisted by Brooks Laich and Brian Willsie. The Capitals cut the lead back farther as Mike Knuble nets his tenth of the year, thanks to Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Johansson ties the game for Washington with his second of the night and fifth of the year, with help from Matt Hendricks and Mike Green. Dennis Wideman snagged the game for the Panthers, taking the Capitals down 4-3 with his fourth of the year, a power play goal from Weiss, who completes a sock trick, and Stillman. Wideman, Johansson, and Weiss grab the three stars.
Back out west a bit with the Nashville Predators hosting the Minnesota Wild. In goal we have Jose Theodore and Pekka Rinne. David Legwand gives Nashville the early lead with his fourth of the year, thanks to Marek Svatos and Francis Bouillon. Mikko Koivu ties it for Minnesota with his eleventh of the season, courtesy of John Madden. The Predators retake the lead on the fifth of the year by Joel Ward, from Kevin Klein and Marcel Goc. Nick Spaling makes the Nashville lead 3-1, with his third of the season, an unassisted goal. The Predators keep rolling with Spaling getting a second consecutive goal, and his fourth of the year, with help from Shea Weber and Ward, scaring off Jose Theodore in favor of Anton Khudobin. Goc adds on his eighth of the year, an unassisted goal making it 5-1 Nashville. Spaling, Ward, and Rinne (25 for 26 saves) get the three stars in the aforementioned Nashville victory.
Into Texas for the Dallas Stars hosting the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Kari Lethonen are given the netminding duties. Dallas opens the scoring with Brenden Morrow notching his 18th of the season, assisted by Mike Ribeiro and Philip Larsen. The Stars extend their lead to 2-0 with Jamie Benn netting his 12th of the year, from Steve Ott and Adam Burish. Edmonton finally gets on the board with Jean-Francois Jacques scoring his second of the season, thanks to Steve MacIntyre and Ladislav Smid. The Oilers tie it on Ryan Jones tenth of the year, a goal assisted on by Liam Reddox. Dallas takes the lead back on James Neal's goal, his 16th of the season, with help from Brad Richards and Loui Eriksson. Lethonen (39 for 41 saves), Neal, and Jones are the three stars.
Lastly, the San Jose Sharks host the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Antti Niemi are in front of the cages. Patrick Marleau puts San Jose on the board first with his 16th of the year, assisted on by Joe Thornton and Jason Demers. Toronto finally evens the score with Phil Kessel netting his 19th of the year, from Tyler Bozak and Joey Crabb. The Maple Leafs take the lead on Clarke MacArthur's 13th of the season, a power play goal made possible by Tomas Kaberle and Nikolai Kulemin. Marleau ties it for the Sharks with his seocnd of the night and 17th of the season, from Joe Thornton. Toronto takes the lead back on the second of the year by Carl Gunnarsson, with assists from Dion Phaneuf and Colby Armstrong. MacArthur ices it off for the Maple Leafs, making it 4-2 with his second of the night and 14th of the year, an empty net goal from Mikhail Grabovski and Kulemin. Reimer (40 for 42 saves), Marleau, and Kessel get the three stars.
That's all there was tonight. I had a lot of fun doing it live, with all the free time I had.
My views on hockey and soccer primarily, without any of the advantage of big-name insider connections.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Monday NHL recap
Tonight, we had four games being played. We start in a game with a storyline, but far from being a revenge game for the...
Boston Bruins, who would potentially be avenging the concussion of their center, Marc Savard, against their hosts, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tuukka Rask and Marc-Andre Fleury played in the creases. After going scoreless in the first period, Michael Rupp opened the scoring with his fourth of the season for Pittsburgh, thanks to Deryk Engelland. The Penguins took it one step farther with Kris Letang netting his seventh of the year with a man advantage, assisted by Evgeni Malkin and Paul Martin. Zdeno Chara got Boston going later in the third period with his sixth of the season, a power play goal from Dennis Seidenberg and Gregory Campbell. Twelve seconds later, the game was tied up by the Bruins with Brad Marchand recording his seventh of the campaign, with help from Patrice Bergeron and Campbell. Boston took a lead on a Mark Recchi goal, his eighth of the year, a power play goal helped along by Michael Ryder and Seidenberg. Forty-two seconds later, Campbell iced the game off with an empty netter for the Bruins, making it 4-2 with the help of Blake Wheeler and Bergeron on his fourth of the year. Recchi, Marchand, and Letang earned the three stars.
Heading west for the St. Louis Blues hosting the Phoenix Coyotes. Jason LaBarbera and Jaroslav Halak were the designated as starters. The first major happening in the game was actually a fight, with Phoenix's Paul Bissonette getting out of the press box to fight Cam Janssen of St. Louis. St. Louis opened the scoring later in the first period with David Backes netting his 12th of the season, assisted by Matt D'Agostini and Alex Steen. Phoenix answered in the second period with Lauri Korpikoski notching his tenth of the year, with help coming from Ed Jovanovski and Adrian Aucoin. Lee Stempniak gave the Coyotes a lead with his ninth of the season, an unassisted goal. D'Agostini answered for the Blues in the third period with his tenth of the year, also unassisted. Twenty seconds later, St. Louis had obtained a 3-2 lead with Brad Winchester notching his eighth of the campaign, with help from Jay McClement and Brad Boyes. Phoenix retied the game again with the seventh of the season by Kyle Turris, with Sami Lepisto and Taylor Pyatt picking up the helpers. Pyatt gave the Coyotes a 4-3 lead later in that period with his tenth of the year, assisted by Turris and Korpikoski, and good enough to secure a win for Phoenix over the Blues. Turris, D'Agostini, and Jovanovski picked up the three stars.
Heading farther west on our travels to Colorado, with the Avalanche hosting bitter rivals from Detroit, the Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Peter Budaj got the starts. Paul Stastny put Colorado on the board first with his 16th of the season, assisted by Milan Hejduk and Kevin Porter. The lead was short-lived, with Detroit tying it just fifty-four seconds later on the first of the season by Jan Mursak, with help from Drew Miller and Justin Abdelkader. Matt Duchene put the Avalanche back on top with his 17th of the year, helped along by Tomas Fleischmann. Porter made it 3-1 for the Avalanche with his eighth of the year, with assists coming from David Jones and Brandon Yip. Duchene added another goal for Colorado, his second of the night and 18th of the year, helped along by Fleischmann and Jones. Brian Rafalski put a band-aid on for the Red Wings, cutting the lead back down to 4-2 for Colorado with his third of the season, from Darren Helm. Detroit starter Jimmy Howard was pulled in favor of Joey MacDonald before Jones answered back for the Avalanche in the second period with his 14th of the campaign, assisted by Duchene. Henrik Zetterberg replied back for Detroit with his 16th of the year, a power play goal with assistance from Tomas Holmstrom and Nicklas Lidstrom. Holmstrom added his own power play goal in the third period, cutting the lead down to 5-4 with his eleventh of the season, assisted by Zetterberg and Lidstrom. Duchene, Jones, and Zetterberg earned the three stars in the aforementioned final score.
Finally, the western finale, with the Los Angeles Kings hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Jonathan Quick are the goaltenders. Los Angeles opened the scoring in the first period with Wayne Simmonds potting his ninth of the season, from Rob Scuderi and Jarret Stoll. Toronto answered in the second period with Darryl Boyce netting his second of the season, from Colby Armstrong and Kris Versteeg. Thirty-four seconds later, the Maple Leafs had a lead of 2-1 with Phil Kessel putting away his 18th of the year, thanks to help from Joey Crabb and Tyler Bozak. The Kings tied it with Michal Handzus' sixth of the year, assisted by Alec Martinez and Ryan Smyth. Toronto took the lead back in the third period, with Nikolai Kulemin making it 3-2 with his 16th of the year, assisted by Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur. This would be the final for the game, with Grabovski, Simmonds, and Kessel earning the three stars.
That's all for the games. Little late news bit coming in, as the Phoenix Coyotes and New York Rangers swapped underwhelming players, with New York offlloading Michal Rozsival and picking up Phoenix's trash that came in the form of Wojtek Wolski (no offense Wojtek).
Boston Bruins, who would potentially be avenging the concussion of their center, Marc Savard, against their hosts, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tuukka Rask and Marc-Andre Fleury played in the creases. After going scoreless in the first period, Michael Rupp opened the scoring with his fourth of the season for Pittsburgh, thanks to Deryk Engelland. The Penguins took it one step farther with Kris Letang netting his seventh of the year with a man advantage, assisted by Evgeni Malkin and Paul Martin. Zdeno Chara got Boston going later in the third period with his sixth of the season, a power play goal from Dennis Seidenberg and Gregory Campbell. Twelve seconds later, the game was tied up by the Bruins with Brad Marchand recording his seventh of the campaign, with help from Patrice Bergeron and Campbell. Boston took a lead on a Mark Recchi goal, his eighth of the year, a power play goal helped along by Michael Ryder and Seidenberg. Forty-two seconds later, Campbell iced the game off with an empty netter for the Bruins, making it 4-2 with the help of Blake Wheeler and Bergeron on his fourth of the year. Recchi, Marchand, and Letang earned the three stars.
Heading west for the St. Louis Blues hosting the Phoenix Coyotes. Jason LaBarbera and Jaroslav Halak were the designated as starters. The first major happening in the game was actually a fight, with Phoenix's Paul Bissonette getting out of the press box to fight Cam Janssen of St. Louis. St. Louis opened the scoring later in the first period with David Backes netting his 12th of the season, assisted by Matt D'Agostini and Alex Steen. Phoenix answered in the second period with Lauri Korpikoski notching his tenth of the year, with help coming from Ed Jovanovski and Adrian Aucoin. Lee Stempniak gave the Coyotes a lead with his ninth of the season, an unassisted goal. D'Agostini answered for the Blues in the third period with his tenth of the year, also unassisted. Twenty seconds later, St. Louis had obtained a 3-2 lead with Brad Winchester notching his eighth of the campaign, with help from Jay McClement and Brad Boyes. Phoenix retied the game again with the seventh of the season by Kyle Turris, with Sami Lepisto and Taylor Pyatt picking up the helpers. Pyatt gave the Coyotes a 4-3 lead later in that period with his tenth of the year, assisted by Turris and Korpikoski, and good enough to secure a win for Phoenix over the Blues. Turris, D'Agostini, and Jovanovski picked up the three stars.
Heading farther west on our travels to Colorado, with the Avalanche hosting bitter rivals from Detroit, the Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Peter Budaj got the starts. Paul Stastny put Colorado on the board first with his 16th of the season, assisted by Milan Hejduk and Kevin Porter. The lead was short-lived, with Detroit tying it just fifty-four seconds later on the first of the season by Jan Mursak, with help from Drew Miller and Justin Abdelkader. Matt Duchene put the Avalanche back on top with his 17th of the year, helped along by Tomas Fleischmann. Porter made it 3-1 for the Avalanche with his eighth of the year, with assists coming from David Jones and Brandon Yip. Duchene added another goal for Colorado, his second of the night and 18th of the year, helped along by Fleischmann and Jones. Brian Rafalski put a band-aid on for the Red Wings, cutting the lead back down to 4-2 for Colorado with his third of the season, from Darren Helm. Detroit starter Jimmy Howard was pulled in favor of Joey MacDonald before Jones answered back for the Avalanche in the second period with his 14th of the campaign, assisted by Duchene. Henrik Zetterberg replied back for Detroit with his 16th of the year, a power play goal with assistance from Tomas Holmstrom and Nicklas Lidstrom. Holmstrom added his own power play goal in the third period, cutting the lead down to 5-4 with his eleventh of the season, assisted by Zetterberg and Lidstrom. Duchene, Jones, and Zetterberg earned the three stars in the aforementioned final score.
Finally, the western finale, with the Los Angeles Kings hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Jonathan Quick are the goaltenders. Los Angeles opened the scoring in the first period with Wayne Simmonds potting his ninth of the season, from Rob Scuderi and Jarret Stoll. Toronto answered in the second period with Darryl Boyce netting his second of the season, from Colby Armstrong and Kris Versteeg. Thirty-four seconds later, the Maple Leafs had a lead of 2-1 with Phil Kessel putting away his 18th of the year, thanks to help from Joey Crabb and Tyler Bozak. The Kings tied it with Michal Handzus' sixth of the year, assisted by Alec Martinez and Ryan Smyth. Toronto took the lead back in the third period, with Nikolai Kulemin making it 3-2 with his 16th of the year, assisted by Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur. This would be the final for the game, with Grabovski, Simmonds, and Kessel earning the three stars.
That's all for the games. Little late news bit coming in, as the Phoenix Coyotes and New York Rangers swapped underwhelming players, with New York offlloading Michal Rozsival and picking up Phoenix's trash that came in the form of Wojtek Wolski (no offense Wojtek).
Fantasy Hockey All-Stars, week 13
This week's numbers for the best players are likely to look a bit skewed, with two teams this week reaching considerably high goal totals. Other than that, the same deal as always, here's whose the best for you this week.
Center: Ryan Kesler, 4 goals, 2 assists, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 15 shots on goal
Left Wing: Daniel Sedin, 5 goals, 2 assists, +4, 2 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 17 shots on goal
Right Wing: Patric Hornqvist, 3 goals, 2 assists, +4, 2 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 13 shots on goal
Defenseman: Alex Goligoski, 1 goal, 4 assists, +3, 2 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 7 shots on goal
Goaltender: Jonas Hiller, 2 wins, 0.67 goals against average, 84 saves, .977 save percentage, 2 shutouts
And to avoid any hate mail from puckheads globally, the utility special would be Patrick Sharp, who is officially listed as a left wing on NHL.com but has dual position eligibility on Yahoo! Sports, listed as both center and left wing. His line this week was 4 goals, 2 assists, +3, 4 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, and 14 shots on goal. That's all for this week. Catch this segment again next week.
Center: Ryan Kesler, 4 goals, 2 assists, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 15 shots on goal
Left Wing: Daniel Sedin, 5 goals, 2 assists, +4, 2 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 17 shots on goal
Right Wing: Patric Hornqvist, 3 goals, 2 assists, +4, 2 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 13 shots on goal
Defenseman: Alex Goligoski, 1 goal, 4 assists, +3, 2 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 7 shots on goal
Goaltender: Jonas Hiller, 2 wins, 0.67 goals against average, 84 saves, .977 save percentage, 2 shutouts
And to avoid any hate mail from puckheads globally, the utility special would be Patrick Sharp, who is officially listed as a left wing on NHL.com but has dual position eligibility on Yahoo! Sports, listed as both center and left wing. His line this week was 4 goals, 2 assists, +3, 4 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, and 14 shots on goal. That's all for this week. Catch this segment again next week.
Song of the Week II
This week's edition of Song of the Week stays in the same genre as last week, but switching over to Finger Eleven, whose second track off The Greyest of Blue Skies is on the slate for analysis this week. The song, entitled Drag You Down, has a fairly consistent rhythm and catchy tune as well. It also applies directly to life, as some people occasionally feel like a weight on other people. This song would be a hit in my book, due completely to the consistency and the sound, with the hard hitting qualities a second track can have packed into a small amount of time, as frequently done around the metal genre. Check this feature back here next week, and directly following this post will be a Fantasy Hockey All-Stars.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
NHL Sunday same-day recaps
Today in the NHL (look who's back on same-day games for like a whole day) there are five games. As of this post, some games are still in action and others have been completed already. We start in...
Carolina, where the Hurricanes host the Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Justin Peters were in goal. Tuomo Ruutu opened the scoring for Carolina with his tenth of the season, assisted by Joe Corvo on the power play. Bryan Little answered for Atlanta, scoring his eleventh of the season, with Nik Antropov and Tobias Enstrom picking up the helpers on the power play tally. The Hurricanes retook the lead in the second period with Zac Dalpe netting his third of the year, assisted by Pat Dwyer and Ruutu. Jeff Skinner made it 3-1 for Carolina with his 14th of the year, a power play goal made possible by Corvo and Jamie McBain. The Thrashers started a comeback later in the second period with Niclas Bergfors potting his ninth of the year while they were a man up, with assistance from Andrew Ladd and Enstrom. Little tied it with his second of the night and 12th of the season, with help coming in the form of Anthony Stewart and Johnny Oduya. This tie at 3 was preserved until overtime, where Erik Cole and his eleventh of the year gave Carolina a 4-3 victory over Atlanta, with help from Ian White and Eric Staal. Earning the three stars in the contest were Ruutu, Staal, and Corvo.
Keeping with the afternoon theme, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dan Ellis and Martin Brodeur were given the starting nods (hesitant as they may have been). Teddy Purcell put Tampa Bay up first with his seventh of the season, assisted on by Mattias Ritola and Steve Downie, who registered his first point since returning from injury. David Clarkson answered for New Jersey with his sixth of the year, helped along by Tim Sestito and Rod Pelley. Ryan Malone took the lead back for the Lightning on the power play, notching his eleventh of the year thanks to Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. Both teams had to return to their original shooting nets to produce any offense, going scoreless in the second period before Clarkson struck again for the Devils in the third period, his second of the night and seventh of the year, a power play goal from Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias. Jason Arnott gave New Jersey their first lead of the game with his tenth of the year, from Henrik Tallinder and Vladimir Zharkov. Dainius Zubrus kept up the scoring for the Devils, making it 4-2 with his sixth of the season, assisted by Brian Rolston and Elias. Elias late added his own, an empty net goal good for his ninth of the year, courtesy of Rolston. Twenty-three seconds later, the Lightning decided to wake up too little too late, with Dominic Moore netting his seventh of the year, thanks to Adam Hall and Mattias Ohlund. Thirty-eight more seconds later, and the Devils produced what would be the final score of 6-3 with another empty net goal, this time in the shape of Nick Palmieri's first of the season, with help from Kovalchuk and the goalie Martin Brodeur. The three stars for this offense-fest were Clarkson, Brodeur (33 for 36 saves and a donut. Just kidding Marty, no donut.), and Elias.
Heading west and a bit north, with the Minnesota Wild hosting the Dallas Stars. Andrew Raycroft and Jose Theodore tended the twines. Trevor Daley opened the scoring for Dallas with his third of the season, assisted by Brad Richards and Loui Eriksson. Jamie Benn added on for the Stars late in the first period with his tenth of the season, from Nicklas Grossman and Brenden Morrow. Dallas waited to strike again until the third period, where James Neal sank his 15th of the year, with help from Richards and Daley. Benn added on again for the Stars with his second of the night and eleventh of the campaign, helped along by Mike Ribeiro and Morrow. The final score would favor Dallas over Minnesota by a 4-0 margin, with Daley, Benn, and Clutterbuck (who didn't do much in the game besides his usual hitting, but had an awesome beard nonetheless) getting the three stars. Blogger Objection rights on this one, as I think Andrew Raycroft's 26 save shutout is far better than Cal Clutterbuck's beard, but I'm no official, I just write what it says and make it sound witty.
Getting into the live action games I promised you all four paragraphs ago, as the Chicago Blackhawks host the New York Islanders. Nathan Lawson and Corey Crawford are the designated puckstoppers. Patrick Sharp put Chicago up first with his 25th of the season, assisted by Patrick Kane and Brent Seabrook on the power play. Marian Hossa made it 2-0 in the second period with his tenth of the year, from Tomas Kopecky and Sharp. Kane kept it going for the Blackhawks with his 13th of the campaign, helped along by Jonathan Toews and Niklas "the Hammer" Hjalmarsson. Dave Bolland made it 4-0 for Chicago with his sixth of the season, courtesy of Hossa and Bryan Bickell. Hjalmarsson tacked on his second of the year late in the second period, with the helpers being provided by Hossa and Brian Campbell, making it 5-0 Blackhawks. After a scoreless third period, this would be the final, with Crawford (29 save shutout), Hossa, and Hjalmarsson getting the three stars.
Lastly, we have the Anaheim Ducks hosting the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Jonas Hiller are the goalies for the game. Anaheim got on the board first, albeit over halfway through the game in the second period, with a Bobby Ryan goal, his 18th of the year, assisted by Toni Lydman. This goal would hold up as the only one for the game, with Hiller (37 save shutout), Saku Koivu, and Bobby Ryan got the three stars in the Ducks' 1-0 over the Sharks.
That's all the hockey for tonight. Tomorrow, two posts guaranteed, as Song of the Week returns and Fantasy Hockey All-Stars will also be covered. There's a chance for Monday's games to be recapped alongside that.
Carolina, where the Hurricanes host the Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Justin Peters were in goal. Tuomo Ruutu opened the scoring for Carolina with his tenth of the season, assisted by Joe Corvo on the power play. Bryan Little answered for Atlanta, scoring his eleventh of the season, with Nik Antropov and Tobias Enstrom picking up the helpers on the power play tally. The Hurricanes retook the lead in the second period with Zac Dalpe netting his third of the year, assisted by Pat Dwyer and Ruutu. Jeff Skinner made it 3-1 for Carolina with his 14th of the year, a power play goal made possible by Corvo and Jamie McBain. The Thrashers started a comeback later in the second period with Niclas Bergfors potting his ninth of the year while they were a man up, with assistance from Andrew Ladd and Enstrom. Little tied it with his second of the night and 12th of the season, with help coming in the form of Anthony Stewart and Johnny Oduya. This tie at 3 was preserved until overtime, where Erik Cole and his eleventh of the year gave Carolina a 4-3 victory over Atlanta, with help from Ian White and Eric Staal. Earning the three stars in the contest were Ruutu, Staal, and Corvo.
Keeping with the afternoon theme, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dan Ellis and Martin Brodeur were given the starting nods (hesitant as they may have been). Teddy Purcell put Tampa Bay up first with his seventh of the season, assisted on by Mattias Ritola and Steve Downie, who registered his first point since returning from injury. David Clarkson answered for New Jersey with his sixth of the year, helped along by Tim Sestito and Rod Pelley. Ryan Malone took the lead back for the Lightning on the power play, notching his eleventh of the year thanks to Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. Both teams had to return to their original shooting nets to produce any offense, going scoreless in the second period before Clarkson struck again for the Devils in the third period, his second of the night and seventh of the year, a power play goal from Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias. Jason Arnott gave New Jersey their first lead of the game with his tenth of the year, from Henrik Tallinder and Vladimir Zharkov. Dainius Zubrus kept up the scoring for the Devils, making it 4-2 with his sixth of the season, assisted by Brian Rolston and Elias. Elias late added his own, an empty net goal good for his ninth of the year, courtesy of Rolston. Twenty-three seconds later, the Lightning decided to wake up too little too late, with Dominic Moore netting his seventh of the year, thanks to Adam Hall and Mattias Ohlund. Thirty-eight more seconds later, and the Devils produced what would be the final score of 6-3 with another empty net goal, this time in the shape of Nick Palmieri's first of the season, with help from Kovalchuk and the goalie Martin Brodeur. The three stars for this offense-fest were Clarkson, Brodeur (33 for 36 saves and a donut. Just kidding Marty, no donut.), and Elias.
Heading west and a bit north, with the Minnesota Wild hosting the Dallas Stars. Andrew Raycroft and Jose Theodore tended the twines. Trevor Daley opened the scoring for Dallas with his third of the season, assisted by Brad Richards and Loui Eriksson. Jamie Benn added on for the Stars late in the first period with his tenth of the season, from Nicklas Grossman and Brenden Morrow. Dallas waited to strike again until the third period, where James Neal sank his 15th of the year, with help from Richards and Daley. Benn added on again for the Stars with his second of the night and eleventh of the campaign, helped along by Mike Ribeiro and Morrow. The final score would favor Dallas over Minnesota by a 4-0 margin, with Daley, Benn, and Clutterbuck (who didn't do much in the game besides his usual hitting, but had an awesome beard nonetheless) getting the three stars. Blogger Objection rights on this one, as I think Andrew Raycroft's 26 save shutout is far better than Cal Clutterbuck's beard, but I'm no official, I just write what it says and make it sound witty.
Getting into the live action games I promised you all four paragraphs ago, as the Chicago Blackhawks host the New York Islanders. Nathan Lawson and Corey Crawford are the designated puckstoppers. Patrick Sharp put Chicago up first with his 25th of the season, assisted by Patrick Kane and Brent Seabrook on the power play. Marian Hossa made it 2-0 in the second period with his tenth of the year, from Tomas Kopecky and Sharp. Kane kept it going for the Blackhawks with his 13th of the campaign, helped along by Jonathan Toews and Niklas "the Hammer" Hjalmarsson. Dave Bolland made it 4-0 for Chicago with his sixth of the season, courtesy of Hossa and Bryan Bickell. Hjalmarsson tacked on his second of the year late in the second period, with the helpers being provided by Hossa and Brian Campbell, making it 5-0 Blackhawks. After a scoreless third period, this would be the final, with Crawford (29 save shutout), Hossa, and Hjalmarsson getting the three stars.
Lastly, we have the Anaheim Ducks hosting the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Jonas Hiller are the goalies for the game. Anaheim got on the board first, albeit over halfway through the game in the second period, with a Bobby Ryan goal, his 18th of the year, assisted by Toni Lydman. This goal would hold up as the only one for the game, with Hiller (37 save shutout), Saku Koivu, and Bobby Ryan got the three stars in the Ducks' 1-0 over the Sharks.
That's all the hockey for tonight. Tomorrow, two posts guaranteed, as Song of the Week returns and Fantasy Hockey All-Stars will also be covered. There's a chance for Monday's games to be recapped alongside that.
Wild Card Weekend in the NFL
The playoffs are upon us here in the National Football League. There are four games the first two weekends, and this weekend started off with a nice little storyline between...
The first ever team with a losing record to make the playoffs, the Seattle Seahawks, going against LAST YEAR'S world champs, the New Orleans Saints. The Saints did get out to the lead first with Garrett Hartley kicking a 26 yard field goal. He also added the extra point on Drew Brees' 1 yard touchdown pass to Heath Evans. Seattle regained themselves nearing the end of the first quarter, with Matt Hasselbeck providing a response to the New Orleans scoring by finding John Carlson for 11 yards and the touchdown, with Olindo Mare adding the extra point. New Orleans got back out to a 10-point lead with Julius Jones running 5 yards for a touchdown, and Hartley adding an extra point. Hasselbeck didn't let it get to the Seahawks, finding Carlson again for 7 yards, allowing Mare to add an extra point, and later a field goal of 29 yards to tie the game at 17. It didn't stop there, as Seattle took the lead on Hasselbeck's 45 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley, with Mare adding another extra point. Making it only 24-20 for the Seahawks at halftime, Hartley responded for the Saints with a 22 yard field goal. Seattle came out roaring in the third quarter, showing a burst of power with Hasselbeck's 38 yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams, who was double covered on the play. Mare made the extra point, and then put the Seahawks up 34-20 with his 39 yard field goal. New Orleans was not about to let this little peon team from the NFC West just walk all over them, and came back with 10 straight points, on a 4 yard Julius Jones touchdown run and Hartley's subsequent extra point and later 21 yard field goal. The Seahawks, showing signs of drain, got a spark of life when Marshawn Lynch decided to go Afghanistan on the New Orleans defense, breaking anywhere between 5 and 7 tackles and getting numerous blocks on a 67 yard tank style run for a touchdown to make it 41-30 for the Seahawks after Mare added the extra point. The Saints weren't done yet, however, and Brees found Devery Henderson for 6 yards and a touchdown, but failed to convert the two point attempt on the DeShawn Wynn run. Down 41-36, the Saints attempted an onside kick, but it was drilled to John Carlson, and Seattle held onto the win. At the conclusion of the Green Bay-Philadelphia game tonight, the Seahawks will know their new opponents for the second round, and Saints will be sent home packing away from Qwest Field.
The latter game for Saturday had the Indianapolis Colts hosting the New York Jets. The first quarter was scoreless, and the second quarter had only slightly more scoring, with Indianapolis taking a 7-0 lead into halftime thanks to Peyton Manning connecting with Pierre Garcon for 57 yards and a touchdown, with Adam Vinatieri supplying the extra point. New York came out and tied it in the third quarter on a 1 yard touchdown run by LaDainian Tomlinson, followed by a Nick Folk extra point. Vinatieri allowed the Colts to retake the lead before the start of the fourth quarter with his 47 yard field goal. Tomlinson and the Jets were put ahead 14-10 with another 1 yard touchdown run and subsequent Folk extra point. Indianapolis rallied back on the foot of Vinatieri, taking a 16-14 lead after field goals from 32 and 50 yards. However, the football gods had different plans for Indianapolis this January, and allowed Folk to win the game as the clock ran down in the fourth quarter with a 32 yard field goal, sending the Colts to the golf course and allowing the Jets to make travel plans to Foxborough, Massachusetts to take on the New England Patriots next week in the second round. PSA: Please cover your ears if you hear Rex Ryan this week, as he will probably be running his mouth as usual, unless of course you are one of those two Jets fans out there, and then as such, just carry on with your lives.
Heading to the other AFC wild card game, between the host Kansas City Chiefs and visiting Baltimore Ravens, the winner heading off to Pittsburgh next week to play the Steelers. Billy Cundiff led off the scoring for Baltimore with his 19 yard field goal. Kansas City thought this was unacceptable and did take a brief lead thanks to a 41 yard Jamaal Charles touchdown run, with Ryan Succop making the extra point. The Ravens had other plans however, and took a 10-7 lead into the locker rooms thanks to Joe Flacco connecting with Ray Rice for 9 yards and a touchdown, with Cundiff supplying the extra point. Cundiff extended the Baltimore lead to 16-7 with two 29 yard field goals, and added the extra point to make it 23-7 when Flacco found Anquan Boldin for 4 yards and the touchdown. Consider the cake iced in the fourth quarter with Willis McGahee running 25 yards for the touchdown, and Cundiff adding another extra point to bring the game to its final score of 30-7 Ravens over Chiefs, with Kansas City moving to the offseason and Baltimore heading to AFC North rivals Pittsburgh for the second round.
Lastly for this weekend, we have the NFC wild card match between the host Philadelphia Eagles and visiting Green Bay Packers. Green Bay got on the board first thanks to an Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass to Tom Crabtree for 7 yards, followed by a Mason Crosby extra point. Rodgers kept the Packers going with his 9 yard touchdown pass to James Jones, with Crosby adding the extra point to make it 14-0. Philadelphia got on the board before the end of the first half with a David Akers field goal of 29 yards, making it 14-3. Michael Vick helped the Eagles cut the lead down further in the third quarter with a touchdown pass of 24 yards to Jason Avant, followed by an Akers extra point to put the Eagles within 4. Rodgers put the Packers a little farther ahead with a 16 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jackson, and with the Crosby extra point, Green Bay had a 21-10 lead. Vick cut the lead down to 21-16 with his 1 yard touchdown run, but his two point attempt to LeSean McCoy failed. However, the Eagles did recover the ball on the onside kick, in a similar situation, but not identical, to yesterday's NFC wild card game. They, like the Saints before them, failed to put the ball in the end zone in any way, and Green Bay punched their ticket to Atlanta, sending Seattle to Chicago.
That's all the football we've got this weekend. Same deal next week.
The first ever team with a losing record to make the playoffs, the Seattle Seahawks, going against LAST YEAR'S world champs, the New Orleans Saints. The Saints did get out to the lead first with Garrett Hartley kicking a 26 yard field goal. He also added the extra point on Drew Brees' 1 yard touchdown pass to Heath Evans. Seattle regained themselves nearing the end of the first quarter, with Matt Hasselbeck providing a response to the New Orleans scoring by finding John Carlson for 11 yards and the touchdown, with Olindo Mare adding the extra point. New Orleans got back out to a 10-point lead with Julius Jones running 5 yards for a touchdown, and Hartley adding an extra point. Hasselbeck didn't let it get to the Seahawks, finding Carlson again for 7 yards, allowing Mare to add an extra point, and later a field goal of 29 yards to tie the game at 17. It didn't stop there, as Seattle took the lead on Hasselbeck's 45 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley, with Mare adding another extra point. Making it only 24-20 for the Seahawks at halftime, Hartley responded for the Saints with a 22 yard field goal. Seattle came out roaring in the third quarter, showing a burst of power with Hasselbeck's 38 yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams, who was double covered on the play. Mare made the extra point, and then put the Seahawks up 34-20 with his 39 yard field goal. New Orleans was not about to let this little peon team from the NFC West just walk all over them, and came back with 10 straight points, on a 4 yard Julius Jones touchdown run and Hartley's subsequent extra point and later 21 yard field goal. The Seahawks, showing signs of drain, got a spark of life when Marshawn Lynch decided to go Afghanistan on the New Orleans defense, breaking anywhere between 5 and 7 tackles and getting numerous blocks on a 67 yard tank style run for a touchdown to make it 41-30 for the Seahawks after Mare added the extra point. The Saints weren't done yet, however, and Brees found Devery Henderson for 6 yards and a touchdown, but failed to convert the two point attempt on the DeShawn Wynn run. Down 41-36, the Saints attempted an onside kick, but it was drilled to John Carlson, and Seattle held onto the win. At the conclusion of the Green Bay-Philadelphia game tonight, the Seahawks will know their new opponents for the second round, and Saints will be sent home packing away from Qwest Field.
The latter game for Saturday had the Indianapolis Colts hosting the New York Jets. The first quarter was scoreless, and the second quarter had only slightly more scoring, with Indianapolis taking a 7-0 lead into halftime thanks to Peyton Manning connecting with Pierre Garcon for 57 yards and a touchdown, with Adam Vinatieri supplying the extra point. New York came out and tied it in the third quarter on a 1 yard touchdown run by LaDainian Tomlinson, followed by a Nick Folk extra point. Vinatieri allowed the Colts to retake the lead before the start of the fourth quarter with his 47 yard field goal. Tomlinson and the Jets were put ahead 14-10 with another 1 yard touchdown run and subsequent Folk extra point. Indianapolis rallied back on the foot of Vinatieri, taking a 16-14 lead after field goals from 32 and 50 yards. However, the football gods had different plans for Indianapolis this January, and allowed Folk to win the game as the clock ran down in the fourth quarter with a 32 yard field goal, sending the Colts to the golf course and allowing the Jets to make travel plans to Foxborough, Massachusetts to take on the New England Patriots next week in the second round. PSA: Please cover your ears if you hear Rex Ryan this week, as he will probably be running his mouth as usual, unless of course you are one of those two Jets fans out there, and then as such, just carry on with your lives.
Heading to the other AFC wild card game, between the host Kansas City Chiefs and visiting Baltimore Ravens, the winner heading off to Pittsburgh next week to play the Steelers. Billy Cundiff led off the scoring for Baltimore with his 19 yard field goal. Kansas City thought this was unacceptable and did take a brief lead thanks to a 41 yard Jamaal Charles touchdown run, with Ryan Succop making the extra point. The Ravens had other plans however, and took a 10-7 lead into the locker rooms thanks to Joe Flacco connecting with Ray Rice for 9 yards and a touchdown, with Cundiff supplying the extra point. Cundiff extended the Baltimore lead to 16-7 with two 29 yard field goals, and added the extra point to make it 23-7 when Flacco found Anquan Boldin for 4 yards and the touchdown. Consider the cake iced in the fourth quarter with Willis McGahee running 25 yards for the touchdown, and Cundiff adding another extra point to bring the game to its final score of 30-7 Ravens over Chiefs, with Kansas City moving to the offseason and Baltimore heading to AFC North rivals Pittsburgh for the second round.
Lastly for this weekend, we have the NFC wild card match between the host Philadelphia Eagles and visiting Green Bay Packers. Green Bay got on the board first thanks to an Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass to Tom Crabtree for 7 yards, followed by a Mason Crosby extra point. Rodgers kept the Packers going with his 9 yard touchdown pass to James Jones, with Crosby adding the extra point to make it 14-0. Philadelphia got on the board before the end of the first half with a David Akers field goal of 29 yards, making it 14-3. Michael Vick helped the Eagles cut the lead down further in the third quarter with a touchdown pass of 24 yards to Jason Avant, followed by an Akers extra point to put the Eagles within 4. Rodgers put the Packers a little farther ahead with a 16 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jackson, and with the Crosby extra point, Green Bay had a 21-10 lead. Vick cut the lead down to 21-16 with his 1 yard touchdown run, but his two point attempt to LeSean McCoy failed. However, the Eagles did recover the ball on the onside kick, in a similar situation, but not identical, to yesterday's NFC wild card game. They, like the Saints before them, failed to put the ball in the end zone in any way, and Green Bay punched their ticket to Atlanta, sending Seattle to Chicago.
That's all the football we've got this weekend. Same deal next week.
Sandwich Showdown II 2011
This weekend we pitted a Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki on Italian against a Subway Club on Roasted Garlic, toasted. Both sandwiches ended up being quite the mess, with barbecue sauce dripping everywhere as the sandwiches failed to get a grip. They were delicious as well, with the Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki getting jsut the right amount of sweet onion sauce to not overpower the taste, but give it a new dimension. The toasted factor was an advantage for the Club, with the three meats joyously converging in a great flavor package. I would give the slight advantage to Saturday's sandwich however, as it hit the spot just slightly better. Also, on an unrelated note, this is the 100th post for this blog, and I am proud to announce that alongside the strong American following, there has been readership in Canada, Mexico, Germany, Denmark, Slovenia, and Malaysia. I would like to thank everyone who takes the time to read this blog at any point profusely, and it's good to see an international crowd get involved. Also, feel free to comment on any post, as I haven't had any comments posted, although I have received some via word of mouth. To comment, just click on the post's title, and scroll to the bottom of the next page, where there should be a box to post a comment in. Thanks for the readership, and this feature will return next week.
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