SUPER BOWL XLV

This is the official Sports, Music, Subway, Repeat blog post for Super Bowl XLV. We have the NFC's Green Bay Packers taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas (props for failure to prepare and making the festivities quite pathetic to the Cowboys organization). Green Bay opened the scoring with a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson for 29 yards, with Mason Crosby adding on the extra point. The next touchdown also came from the Packers, with Nick Collins intercepting Ben Roethlisberger for 37 yards and a score, and Crosby brought the tally to 14-0. Shaun Suisham put Pittsburgh on the board with a 33 yard field goal. Rodgers responded for Green Bay with a 21 yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings, allowing another extra point by Crosby. Roethlisberger decided to throw a touchdown to the right team this time, connecting with Hines Ward for 8 yards and a score, with the extra point by Suisham bringing the halftime score to 21-10, leaving the Steelers down by 11. Pittsburgh added on another touchdown in the third quarter, an 8 yard rush by Rashard Mendenhall, and the Suisham extra point brought them within 4. Rodgers connected with Jennings again, this time for 8 yards and the score, and the 11 point lead was restored on the Crosby extra point. The Steelers answered with Roethlisberger throwing a 25 yard touchdown to Mike Wallace, and the two point conversion was good on the Antwaan Randle El run. Crosby adds on a 23 yard field goal to give Green Bay a 31-25 lead. This would be enough to make the Packers Super Bowl champions, giving the steelers only their second loss ever in a Super Bowl game. (As a side note, the city of Seattle and state of Washington thank the Packers for winning.)

NHL on Super Bowl Sunday

As a prelude to "The Big Game," the NHL scheduled three games for our viewing pleasures. The first of which should be the main-view grabber, the NHL's own big game with the...

Washington Capitals hosting the injury-ridden Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Michal Neuvirth got the starts in goal for today's game. Brooks Laich opened the scoring for Washington in the first period with his eleventh of the season, helped along by John Erskine and Mathieu Perreault. The Capitals take a 2-0 lead in the second period with a shorthanded goal by Marcus Johansson, his seventh of the year getting assistance from Jeff Schultz. Washington wraps the game up in the late third period with an empty net goal by Mike Knuble, his 13th of the campaign coming off of Matt Hendricks. The three stars were awarded to Neuvirth (22 save shutout), Laich, and Johansson.

The next game of the day is in Montreal, with Canadiens hosting the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur and Carey Price pick up the starting honors. Dainius Zubrus puts New Jersey up early with his tenth of the season, an unassisted goal. Ilya Kovalchuk made it 2-0 for the Devils with his 16th of the year, thanks to Colin White and Travis Zajac. Starting in net in the second period for New Jersey is Johan Hedberg, covering for a likely-injured Brodeur. Zajac adds his own goal for New Jersey, his ninth of the season, making it 3-0 thanks to Anton Volchenkov. Montreal got on the board with a goal by P.K. Subban, his sixth of the year, with the helpers by Scott Gomez and Max Pacioretty. Kovalchuk sealed the deal at 4-1 for the Devils with his second of the night and 17th of the season into the empty net with the help of Zajac. Earning the three stars were Kovalchuk, Subban, and Zajac.

Lastly, we have the blogger's nightmare, with the Tampa Bay Lightning hosting the St. Louis Blues. Ty Conklin and Dan Ellis took to the creases for the game. Steven Stamkos put Tampa Bay up first with his 40th of the season, which got help from Brett Clark and Martin St. Louis (and you now know why this is a nightmare; glad it only happens once a year). St. Louis tied the game at one just thirty seconds into the second period with the 12th of the year by Patrik Berglund, with Alex Steen and T.J. Oshie picking up the helpers. The Lightning quickly reclaimed the lead with a Dominic Moore goal, his ninth of the season getting the assistance need from Stamkos and Marc-Andre Bergeron. The Blues answered back with David Backes putting his 17th of the year in the twine on the power play with the help of Steen and Oshie. St. Louis took the lead on the first of the season by Nikita Nikitin, made possible by Jay McClement. Tampa Bay retied the game on a Steve Downie marker just thirty seconds later, his sixth of the year helped along by Stamkos and St. Louis. The Lightning toppled the Blues after a scoreless third period with an overtime power play goal from Vincent Lecavalier, with assists from Bergeron and Stamkos, the later notching a sock trick. The three stars were Stamkos, Downie and Backes.

Sandwich Showdown, February 5-6

This Sandwich Showdown, along with the others in February, will likely be very similar, as the promotional choice for this month at Subway is all sandwiches will be at $5 (footlong cost). With that said, we have a Spicy Italian going up against a Roasted Chicken, with both on Herbs and Cheese. The Spicy Italian brought out many different flavors of richness and tasty goodness, as it always does. However, the Roasted Chicken, featured with its porker partner, the slices of Bacon, get the clear cut victory here with just absolute sandwich perfection. This feature will run here next week.

Saturday Hockey (back to same-day)

There are eleven scheduled games for Saturday. These will be played throughout much of the day, starting with...

The Boston Bruins hosting a former trading partner, the San Jose Sharks. In the nets were Antti Niemi and Tim Thomas. San Jose got on the board in the first period with a Logan Couture goal, his 23rd of the season coming on the power play from Ryane Clowe and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The game was relatively quiet throughout until the last three seconds, where the game was sealed 2-0 for the Sharks on a Devin Setoguchi empty net goal from Clowe and Niclas Wallin for his eleventh of the year. The three stars went to Couture, Niemi (26 save shutout), and David Krejci (best last name east of the Mississippi).

Heading up north a bit, the Montreal Canadiens host the New York Rangers. Martin Biron and Carey Price tended the twines. The scoring was opened by Montreal in the late second period by Scott Gomez with his seventh of the season, thanks to Alexandre Picard and Yannick Weber. The Canadiens sealed a 2-0 victory with an empty netter from Tomas Plekanec, assisted by P.K. Subban for his 18th of the year. The three stars were awarded to Price (35 save shutout), Gomez, and Biron (27 for 28 saves).

Out west for the last of the matinees, the Colorado Avalanche hosted the Anaheim Ducks. Guarding the cages were Curtis McElhinney and Peter Budaj. Anaheim drew first blood on a Corey Perry power play goal, with helpers provided by Teemu Selanne and Cam Fowler for his 26th of the season. Perry added a pair more for the hat trick in the third period, his 27th and 28th of the year, with the helpers by Bobby Ryan and Brandon McMillan for the earlier goal and Todd Marchant and Saku Koivu on the game-sealing empty netter. The three stars went to Perry, McElhinney (25 save shutout), and Ryan O'Byrne (to get three stars, presumably).

For the regularly scheduled games, the Philadelphia Flyers hosted the Dallas Stars. Kari Lethonen and Brian Boucher were called on to make the starts. Andrej Meszaros put Philadelphia on the board first with his fourth of the season, helped along by Ville Leino. Darroll Powe added his own fourth of the year, a shorthanded goal from Blair Betts and Sean O'Donnell, giving the Flyers a 2-0 lead. Dallas dented the scoreboard with Brendan Morrow putting his 23rd biscuit of the season in the basket, courtesy of Mike Ribeiro and Trevor Daley. Jeff Carter put Philadelphia back in front by two goals with his 25th of the year, made possible by Claude Giroux and Chris Pronger. This was the final, giving the Flyers a 3-1 win over the Stars, and the three stars were given out to Boucher (30 for 31 saves), Meszaros, and Morrow.

Next up, the Carolina Hurricanes host the struggling Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Cam Ward were in the creases. Atlanta drew the first blood with a Niclas Bergfors tally, his eleventh of the season draining with the help of Bryan Little and Johnny Oduya. Carolina answered in the second period with an Eric Staal goal, his 26th of the year, getting help from Tuomo Ruutu and Jeff Skinner on the power play. The Hurricanes took the lead in the third period with Brandon Sutter notching his 12th of the season, courtesy of Jiri Tlusty and Joni Pitkanen. Brent Sopel answered for the Thrashers with his second of the year, an unassisted goal. Twenty-eight seconds later, Carolina took the lead back when Tlusty notched his fourth of the season, helped along by Pat Dwyer and Ian White. Atlanta found another equalizer off the stick of Zach Bogosian, his fourth of the year getting assistance from Little and Rich Peverley. In the overtime period, Erik Cole sealed the game for the Hurricanes, notching his 14th of the season with the help of Jamie McBain and Pitkanen. The three stars went to Cole, Sutter, and Tlusty.

In the border battle, the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Ryan Miller were sent out to stop the puck. Buffalo found the back of the net first with a Jason Pominville goal, his 12th of the season assisted by Thomas Vanek. Drew Stafford made it 2-0 for the Sabres with a power play goal from Jordan Leopold and Tyler Myers, good for his 16th of the year. Buffalo kept it going in the second period with a Paul Gaustad tally, his seventh of the season getting aided by Mike Grier and Rob Niedermayer. Tim Connolly added on his seventh of the year as well for the Sabres, a power play goal made possible by Vanek and Stafford. Toronto got on the board with a Nikolai Kulemin goal, his 18th of the season coming shorthanded via Luke Schenn. Stafford made it 5-1 with his 17th of the year, an unassisted goal for Buffalo, prompting Toronto to put Jean-Sebastien Giguere in the crease. The Maple Leafs answered back with a Francois Beauchemin marker, his second of the season helped along by Kris Versteeg and Colby Armstrong. Vanek wrapped the game up for the Sabres on his unassisted 19th of the year. Earning the three stars were Stafford, Vanek, and Leopold.

Heading down to Long Island, where the New York Islanders hosted the Ottawa Senators. Brian Elliott and Kevin Poulin made the starts. New York found twine first with a Matt Moulson goal, his 18th of the season coming from Jack Hillen and John Tavares. Ottawa responded with the third of the year by Chris Neil just thirteen seconds later, with the lone assist going to Mike Fisher. The Islanders took the lead back with a Michael Grabner goal from Frans Nielsen and Ty Wishart, good for his 16th of the season. The Senators tied the game again with a Fisher marker, his 14th of the year gaining power with Chris Kelly and Chris Campoli. Ottawa took a 3-2 lead when Alex Kovalev netted his eleventh of the season, courtesy of Peter Regin and Campoli. Seventeen seconds later, New York retied the game at 3 with the eighth of the year by Rob Schremp, assisted by Jeremy Colliton and Wishart. Elliott was replaced by Robin Lehner. After going scoreless in the second period, the Islanders took the lead back with another Schremp goal in the third period, his ninth of the season and second of the game coming on the power play thanks to Travis Hamonic and Grabner. Nielsen sealed the game for New York, 5-3, with his sixth of the year into the empty cage, with Hamonic providing the assistance. The three stars were handed out to Schremp, Grabner, and Fisher.

Out further west, the Columbus Blue Jackets played host to the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Steve Mason were in front of the cages. Edmonton scored first with Magnus Paajarvi getting his eighth of the season, courtesy of Linus Omark and Sam Gagner. The Oilers took a 2-0 lead with the Dustin Penner goal, assisted by Ales Hemsky and Ladislav Smid, for his 17th of the year. R.J. Umberger got Columbus on the board with his 18th of the season, thanks to Antoine Vermette and Fedor Tyutin. The Blue Jackets tied the game in the second period on a Kristian Huselius marker, his tenth of the year getting help from Umberger and Grant Clitsome. Edmonton took the lead back in the third period with the second of the night and ninth of the campaign from Paajarvi, with Omark and Gagner picking up the helpers once again. Umberger responded again with his second of the game and 19th of the season, his assistance provided by Kris Russell and Vermette. Huselius finally put the Blue Jackets out front with his second of the game and eleventh of the year, helped along by Umberger and Russell. Columbus held on to defeat the Oilers 4-3, and the three stars went to Umberger, Huselius, and Russell.

Following that, the Phoenix Coyotes hosted the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Ilya Bryzgalov put on the masks for the game. It took until the third period to see a goal scored, and this one came from Phoenix's Taylor Pyatt, his 13th of the season seeing help from Sami Lepisto and Eric Belanger. The Coyotes defeated the Wild by this 1-0 score, and the three stars were Bryzgalov (25 save shutout), Pyatt, and Lauri Korpikoski.

Back in the east a bit, the Nashville Predators brought the Detroit Red Wings to town. Joey MacDonald and Pekka Rinne took charge of the cages. Nashville took the lead on a Shea Weber power play goal in the first period, his tenth of the year coming from Ryan Suter and Colin Wilson. Sergei Kostitsyn made it 2-0 in the second period with a beautiful shorthanded, one-handed (told you it was shorthanded), goal, good as his 13th of the season, with Suter gathering in another assist. Kostitsyn added another goal in the third period for his 14th of the year, courtesy of Marcel Goc and Martin Erat, presenting us with the 3-0 Predators final over Detroit. The three stars were given to Rinne (35 save shutout), Kostitsyn, and Suter.

Lastly, the late game between the Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Miikka Kiprusoff were in between the pipes. Los Angeles struck first just thirty-nine seconds into the game with a Rob Scuderi goal, his second of the season coming from Justin Williams and Ryan Smyth. Forty-two seconds after that, Calgary found the tying goal in the form of the first of the year for Robyn Regehr, helped along by Alex Tanguay and Brendan Morrison. The Kings tied it later with a Dustin Brown marker, his 18th of the season finding twine on the power play thanks to Williams and Jack Johnson. Tanguay tied the game forty-five seconds into the second period with his 13th of the year, made possible by Morrison and Jarome Iginla, to put the Flames in a tie again. Williams gave Los Angeles the lead back with his 19th of the season, with Andrei Loktionov and Brown snapping up the assists. Tanguay added on another equalizer for Calgary, his second goal of the game and 14th of the year, assisted by Morrison and Iginla again, this time on the power play. The tie lasted through the rest of the game and into a shootout, where both teams got two quick goals, the Flames markers coming from Rene Bourque and Tanguay, which were answered by the Kings' Michal Handzus and Jarret Stoll, before Williams sealed the game in the seventh round for Los Angeles. Earning the three stars were Tanguay, Williams, and Morrison.

That's all for Saturday. Posts coming out later on Sunday are the Sandwich Showdown, NHL action, and Super Bowl XLV. Keep watch.

Friday NHL

Completing a trio of days with six games on was Friday. They started the games in...

New Jersey, with the Devils hosting the Florida Panthers. Tomas Vokoun and Johan Hedberg were sent out to stop the puck. Chris Higgins put Florida on the board first with his ninth of the season, with the assists provided by Steve Bernier and Keaton Ellerby. New Jersey answered with a Travis Zajac goal, his eighth of the year going in unassisted. Giving the Devils a lead was Jason Arnott with his 13th of the season, helped along by Henrik Tallinder and Mattias Tedenby. Shortly after that, the Panthers retied the game with a power play goal by Dennis Wideman, courtesy of David Booth and Michael Frolik. New Jersey took the lead back in the second period with Mark Fayne notching his third of the season, with the help of Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk. Coming up big to tie the game in the third period, the Panthers got an unassisted and shorthanded goal from Mike Santorelli, going in the books as his 14th of the campaign. The tie lasted into overtime, where Florida took the Devils down on a Rostislav Olesz goal, his fifth of the year, from Radek Dvorak to win the game 4-3. The three stars were handed out to Olesz, Santorelli, and Zajac.

To Pittsburgh, where the Penguins hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Marc-Andre Fleury took their places in front of the nets. Seventeen seconds into the game, Paul Gaustad put Buffalo up with his sixth of the season, assisted by Rob Niedermayer. Mike Grier added on his third of the year for the Sabres, making it 2-0 with the help of Niedermayer and Gaustad. Pittsburgh got on the board in the second period with Dustin Jeffrey scoring his fourth of the season, made possible by Chris Conner and Alex Goligoski. Tyler Kennedy tied the game for the Penguins with his ninth of the campaign, and Zbynek Michalek picked up the lone helper. Forty second later, Pittsburgh took the lead when Matt Cooke scored his tenth of the year, with Jordan Staal and Pascal Dupuis helping out along the way. The score went unchanged throughout the third period, leading the Penguins to a 3-2 victory, and giving Cooke, Kennedy, and Gaustad the three stars.

Next up, the Tampa Bay Lightning hosted the Washington Capitals. Semyon Varlamov and Dwayne Roloson faced the rubber. Teddy Purcell put Tampa Bay up first with his eleventh of the season, with the help of Simon Gagne and Victor Hedman. Nicklas Backstrom answered for Washington with his 13th of the year, courtesy of Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green. Brooks Laich extended the Capitals lead to 2-1 with his tenth of the season, made possible by Mathieu Perreault and Jay Beagle. Washington extended the lead farther with an Ovechkin power play goal from Backstrom and John Carlson, his 20th of the year. The Lightning got a goal back on the power play from Brett Clark, his eighth of the campaign going in with assistance from Purcell and Gagne. The Capitals restored the two-goal lead in the third period with another Backstrom tally, his second of the game and 14th of the season, with helpers coming from Ovechkin and Jason Chimera. Chimera sealed the game at 5-2 with his empty netter for his eighth of the year, assisted by Ovechkin for the sock trick and Backstrom. The three stars of the game were Backstrom, Ovechkin, and Gagne.

Out west, the Detroit Red Wings brought the Columbus Blue Jackets to Joe Louis Arena. Steve Mason and Jimmy Howard took their places between the pipes. Columbus drew first blood with an Antoine Vermette goal, his 12th of the season getting assistance from Matt Calvert and R.J. Umberger. The Blue Jackets went up 2-0 in the second period with a Jared Boll marker, his sixth of the year, with the help of Andrew Murray and Derek MacKenzie. In the third period, Columbus sealed the deal at 3-0 with the empty net fourth of the season by Murray, getting steam from Vermette and Jan Hejda. This was the final, where Steve Mason (34 save shutout), Calvert, and MacKenzie earned the three stars.

Following that, the St. Louis Blues hosted the Edmonton Oilers. Devan Dubnyk and Ty Conklin covered the goal mouth. T.J. Oshie put St. Louis up first with his third of the season, assisted by Alex Steen and Patrik Berglund. Edmonton answered with a goal by Sam Gagner, his 12th of the year, with help from Ladislav Smid and Linus Omark. Twenty seconds later, the Blues took the lead back with an Alex Pietrangelo tally, good as his sixth of the season coming courtesy of Brad Boyes and Andy McDonald. St. Louis went up 3-1 with a Matt D'Agostini goal in the second period, via Nikita Nikitin and Alex Steen on the power play for his eleventh of the year. Boyes added on his eleventh of the season as well, getting some help by fellow Blues Berglund and Erik Johnson. The Oilers answered with a Taylor Hall goal, his 17th of the year assisted by Andrew Cogliano and Jordan Eberle. Theo Peckham put Edmonton within a goal on his third of the season, as Cogliano and Eberle picked up the helpers again. Brad Winchester restored a two goal lead for St. Louis with his ninth of the year, courtesy of Jay McClement and B.J. Crombeen. This would be the final of the game, where McDonald, Oshie, and Conklin (29 for 32 saves) got the three stars.

Lastly, the Vancouver Canucks host the Chicago Blackhawks in the fierce rivalry. Marty Turco and Roberto Luongo stand between the pipes. Christian Ehrhoff put Vancouver out on the right foot first with his tenth of the season, gaining steam from Tanner Glass and Cody Hodgson. Chicago answered in the second period with Jonathan Toews potting his 19th of the year, courtesy of Fernando Pisani and Brent Seabrook. Nick Boynton gave the Blackhawks a lead with his first of the season, coming off of Toews and Troy Brouwer. The Canucks found an equalizer on the power play with Mikael Samuelsson notching his eleventh of the year, with the help from Henrik Sedin and Dan Hamhuis. Chicago took the lead back on the 12th of the campaign by Dave Bolland, assisted by Bryan Bickell and Brent Seabrook. Vancouver tied it again with a power play goal by Henrik Sedin, his 12th of the season helped along by Samuelsson and Daniel Sedin. Daniel Sedin gave the Canucks a 4-3 lead with his 28th of the year, made possible by Henrik Sedin and Alexandre Burrows. This would be the final score, with Luongo (42 for 45 saves), Henrik Sedin, and Toews grabbing the three stars.

That's all for Friday. Trying to work on Saturday's in the same day format, but no promises.

Thursday NHL games

There were six games on again for Thursday's schedule. We started in...

Atlanta, where the Thrashers hosted the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Ondrej Pavelec were in between the pipes. Mark Giordano has the game's first goal, netting his fifth of the season for Calgary with the help of Robyn Regehr and Olli Jokinen. In the second period, Atlanta responded with a Bryan Little goal from Niclas Bergfors and Evander Kane, good for his 14th of the year. The Thrashers took the lead with the 13th of the season by Anthony Stewart, assisted by Nik Antropov and Kane. Fifty-five seconds later, the Flames were in a tie again on the Brendan Morrison tally from Giordano and Alex Tanguay, going down as his ninth of the year. Calgary snatched a lead with the Mikael Backlund goal, his sixth of the season, which was an unassisted goal. The Flames sealed the game 4-2 with the empty net tally by Curtis Glencross, his 13th of the year also going unassisted. The three stars were given out to Giordano, Backlund, and Kane.

Up in Philadelphia, the Flyers hosted another interconference game with the Nashville Predators. Anders Lindback and Sergei Bobrovsky picked up the starting jobs. Jeff Carter got Philadelphia up first with his 24th of the season, courtesy of Kimmo Timonen and Claude Giroux. Marcel Goc tied the game for Nashville with his ninth of the year, with the assists by Cody Franson and Colin Wilson. After a scoreless second period, Ville Leino put the Flyers back in front with a power play goal from Carter and Mike Richards, his 12th tally of the campaign. The Predators tied it with Joel Ward's power play goal for his seventh of the season, helped along by Martin Erat and Shea Weber. Leino put Philadelphia back on top with his second of the night and 13th of the year, thanks to Giroux and Carter. The Flyers would win 3-2 over Nashville, with the three stars being Leino, Carter, and Goc.

Onto one of the most interesting games of the year, where the Boston Bruins hosted the Dallas Stars. Your starting goalies were the backups Andrew Raycroft and Tuukka Rask. The game started off with three fights in a span of four seconds, with Steve Ott fighting Gregory Campbell, followed a second later by Krys Barch and Shawn Thornton, and two seconds after that Brian Sutherby shared a dance with Adam McQuaid. After thirty-one peaceful seconds, the scoreboard was dented by Milan Lucic notching his 21st of the season, with the help of David Krejci and Nathan Horton. Patrice Bergeron added a pair of goals for Boston in the form of his 18th and 19th of the year, with the assists by Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi on both goals. Andrew Raycroft was pulled in favor of Kari Lethonen in front of the Dallas net. In between the goals, another fight featured Adam Burish and Andrew Ference. Thornton made it 4-0 for the Bruins before the end of the first period with his eighth of the season, made possible by Daniel Paille and Zdeno Chara. The Stars finally found twine with Karlis Skrastins third of the year, from Burish alone. Brendan Morrow cut the deficit to 4-2 for Dallas with his 22nd of the season, a shorthanded goal assisted by Ott and Loui Eriksson. Brad Richards added on his 21st of the year for the Stars, with the helpers coming from Eriksson and Jeff Woywitka. Boston added on with a Tyler Seguin goal, his eighth of the season made possible Michael Ryder and Blake Wheeler. Marchand secured a 6-3 victory with an empty net goal courtesy of Bergeron and Recchi for his 14th of the year. Getting the prestigious three stars honors were Bergeron, Rask (30 for 33 saves), and Marchand.

To less-chaotic pastures (don't tell the Toronto media that), the Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and James Reimer were in the blue paint. Toronto opened the scoring in the second period with the Clarke MacArthur goal from Tomas Kaberle and Nikolai Kulemin for his 16th of the season. Darryl Boyce added on his unassisted third of the campaign for the Maple Leafs. Making it 3-0 in the third period was Kris Versteeg with his 14th of the year, assisted by Dion Phaneuf and Colby Armstrong. This was the eventual final, with the three stars given to Reimer (27 saves for the shutout), Tim Brent, and Armstrong.

The next game finally featured some bitter division rivals, the New York Rangers hosting the New Jersey Devils. Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist were the masked men. Ilya Kovalchuk put New Jersey up first with his 15th of the season, assisted by Dainius Zubrus. Zubrus added on for the Devils with his ninth of the year, courtesy of Henrik Tallinder. Brian Rolston made it 3-0 New Jersey and chased away Henrik Lundqvist with his seventh of the campaign, with assistance from Patrik Elias. Martin Biron came on in relief. New York got on the board with Ryan Callahan potting his 12th of the season, thanks to Artem Anisimov. Vinny Prospal put the Rangers within a goal with his first of the year, returning from a knee injury, a power play goal getting steam from Mats Zuccarello and Marian Gaborik. New York failed to recover completely, and fell 3-2 to New Jersey, with Zubrus, Prospal, and Kovalchuk getting the three stars.

Lastly, the Colorado Avalanche played host to the Minnesota Wild. Jose Theodore and Craig Anderson were given the goaltending job. Minnesota struck first with a Kyle Brodziak goal just thirty-three seconds into the game, his tenth of the season getting the help of Nick Schultz and Cal Clutterbuck. Twenty-eight seconds after that, the Wild made it 2-0 thanks to the Andrew Brunette marker, his 13th of the year coming from Antti Miettinen and Mikko Koivu. Colorado entered the scoring in the second period with Milan Hejduk scoring his 16th of the season courtesy of Kevin Porter and Kyle Cumiskey. Brunette made it 3-1 for Minnesota with his second of the game and 14th of the year, with the help of Koivu and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Hejduk had his second of the game and 17th of the season for the Avalanche to cut the lead back down, thanks to Chris Stewart and Adam Foote. Bouchard added on his only tally, making it 4-2 Wild with his fifth of the year, aided by Martin Havlat. With eleven seconds left in the game, Stewart added on his 12th of the campaign, from Brandon Yip and T.J. Galiardi, but they couldn't get the equalizer and fell 4-3. The three stars were given to Brunette, Hejduk, and Bouchard.

That's all there is to it. Due to some work that needs to be done, Friday's games will come out tomorrow.

NHL Wednesday 2/2/11

Coming off a big hockey day, the schedule features just six games, with no lack of story lines and highlights which will be covered thoroughly in this post. The games started in...

Ottawa, where the Senators hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Robin Lehner got the starts in the game. Alex Kovalev got Ottawa up on the board first with his tenth of the season, a power play goal made possible by Sergei Gonchar and Erik Karlsson. Johan Franzen added a pair of goals to give Detroit a 2-1 lead, his 22nd and 23rd of the year seeing help from Ruslan Salei, Valtteri Filppula, Henrik Zetterberg, and Todd Bertuzzi. The Senators tied it on the second of the season by Peter Regin, assisted by Kovalev and Chris Campoli. Campoli put Ottawa in the lead with his second of the year, courtesy of Daniel Alfredsson and Nick Foligno. The Red Wings replied in the second period with a Kris Draper goal, his fifth of the season, with the assists credited to Patrick Eaves and Darren Helm. Thirteen seconds later, and Detroit had a 4-3 lead with the Niklas Kronwall tally from Nicklas Lidstrom, Kronwall's ninth marker of the year. Lehner was pulled in favor of Brian Elliott in front of the Ottawa net. Only twenty-nine seconds after that, the Senators were back in a tie with the goal by Milan Michalek, his 12th of the season coming via Regin and Campoli. The Red Wings took the lead back on Franzen's completion of the hat trick with his 24th of the year, thanks to Zetterberg and Brian Rafalski on the power play. Twenty-nine seconds later, Ottawa tied it with the second of the game and 13th of the season by Michalek, helped along by Kovalev. Franzen decided to take control and pot another two consecutive goals, his 25th and 26th of the year, with the earlier power play goal from Rafalski and Lidstrom and the latter empty netter made possible by Zetterberg for a 7-5 Detroit Johans victory. The three stars were easily doled out to Franzen, Michalek, and Zetterberg.

Onward to Pittsburgh for an interesting game with the Penguins hosting the New York Islanders. Rick DiPietro and Brent Johnson opposed each other in the game. Pittsburgh started off the scoring with a Tyler Kennedy power play goal, his eighth marker of the season, with the help of Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek. Chris Kunitz made it 2-0 for the Penguins with his 18th of the year, assisted by Pascal Dupuis and Martin. The second period was fairly quiet, save for the fight between Zenon Konopka and Michael Rupp, and the amazing Craig Adams deflection off of DiPietro, on top of the net rolling directly into the water bottle holder (seen here). The third period was much of the same before Talbot notched an empty net goal from Adams for his sixth of the campaign, making it 3-0 for Pittsburgh. But the game still had forty-one seconds, and they featured an interesting set of events. With time running down, Matt Cooke skates into the offensive zone and is laid out pretty severely by DiPietro. As a scrum emerges in the corner featuring the usual suspects for both teams, Brent Johnson calls DiPietro out, and with one swift movement, knocks the crap out of DiPietro. As this is a goalie fight, it deserves special mention. As for the rest of the game, it was quiet, with the three stars given out to Johnson (20 saves but no shutout for not completing the game), Kunitz, and Talbot.

Heading back into Canada, where the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Florida Panthers. Tomas Vokoun and Alex Auld were given the starting jobs. Scott Timmins opens the scoring for Florida with his first of the season, assisted by Rostislav Olesz and Steve Bernier. Montreal tied the game with Jeff Halpern's eighth of the campaign in the second period, courtesy of P.K. Subban. The Canadiens made it 2-1 with Tomas Plekanec's 17th of the year, made possible by Max Pacioretty. Brian Gionta extended the Montreal lead with his 19th of the season, helped along by Pacioretty and Subban. The Panthers got a goal back with Stephen Weiss notching his 15th of the year, with the assists from Michael Frolik and Dmitry Kulikov. Florida was unable to score again, losing 3-2 to Montreal, with the three stars awarded to Plekanec, Subban, and Auld (33 for 35 saves).

Crossing the country for the Edmonton Oilers hosting the Los Angeles Kings. In charge of netminding was Jonathan Quick and Nikolai Khabibulin. Edmonton was the first to strike in the second period, with a goal from Magnus Paajarvi that saw help from Sam Gagner and Linus Omark, his seventh tally of the season. Los Angeles answered with a pair of identically-set up goals, the 20th and 21st tallies of the year for Ryan Smyth, both on the power play from Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson. Johnson added his fifth of the campaign in the third period, making it 3-1 for the Kings with the unassisted goal, and the eventual final. The three stars were given to Smyth, Johnson, and Paajarvi.

Down in the desert, the Phoenix Coyotes hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Ilya Bryzgalov started in front of the cages. Alexandre Burrows put Vancouver on the board with his 13th of the season, assisted by Daniel Sedin. The Canucks extended their lead to 2-0 in the second period with Jannik Hansen's sixth of the year, courtesy of Lee Sweatt and Mason Raymond. Cody Hodgson added on his first of the season for Vancouver, with helpers provided by Jeff Tambellini and Dan Hamhuis. Ryan Kesler made it 4-0 Canucks with his 29th of the year, made possible by Mikael Samuelsson, who picked up the lone assist on Vancouver's next tally, a Raymond goal good for his tenth of the season. Replacing Bryzgalov in the Phoenix net was Jason LaBarbera. Kesler wrapped the game up for the Canucks at the eventual 6-0 final with his 30th of the year, an unassisted goal. The three stars were received by Luongo (23 save shutout), Burrows, and Hodgson.

Lastly, the Anaheim Ducks battled their instate rivals, the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Jonas Hiller were in between the pipes. Fourteen seconds into the game, Dany Heatley struck for San Jose on his 19th of the season, assisted by Joe Thornton and Douglas Murray. Ben Eager added on his fourth of the year, with assists from Devin Setoguchi and Dan Boyle to put the Sharks up 2-0. Chasing away Hiller for San Jose was Jason Demers with his second of the season, bringing the score to 3-0 with the help of Ryane Clowe and Setoguchi. Curtis McElhinney tended the Anaheim net, and they got on the board in the second period thanks to the fifth of the year by Joffery Lupul, with helpers coming from Maxim Lapierre and Dan Sexton. Clowe answered for the Sharks with his 14th of the campaign, a power play goal made possible by Boyle and Joe Pavelski. Cam Fowler got the goal back for the Ducks with his sixth of the season, also a power play goal, thanks to Corey Perry and Saku Koivu. Bobby Ryan got Anaheim within a goal with his 23rd of the year, helped along by Perry and the goalie McElhinney, but it wasn't enough to come back fully, as the Ducks fell 4-3 to San Jose. The three stars were awarded to Fowler, Setoguchi, and Perry.

That's all for Wednesday, as I slowly catch up to the same day pace. Thursday's games may come out Thursday night or Friday afternoon.