There are a total of seven games on today, a moderate amount. We'll begin in New York, with the Islanders hosting the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Al Montoya are called on to make the starts. New York opened with an Andrew MacDonald goal, a power play tally powered by Travis Hamonic and P.A. Parenteau. The Islanders extended their lead with a Frans Nielsen goal, assisted by Mark Streit and Parenteau. The second period was silent, and Minnesota made it 2-1 in the third with a Matt Cullen goal, his second of the season made possible by Guillaume Latendresse and Brett Bulmer. This was the final, and the three stars were Montoya (20 for 21 in saves), MacDonald, and Parenteau.
Up to Massachusetts, with the Boston Bruins hosting the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Tuukka Rask made the starts. The game was scoreless until the third period with a Milan Hejduk goal putting Colorado in front 1-0. The helpers went to Jan Hejda and Matt Duchene. This was the game's only goal, with Varlamov (30 save shutout), Rask (35 for 36 in saves), and Duchene getting the official three stars, although Hejduk probably had a stronger case.
Staying on the east coast, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Johan Hedberg wore the goalie masks. New Jersey opened with a Zach Parise goal, fueled by Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora. Carolina tied it in the second period with an Alexei Ponikarovsky goal, coming off of Tim Gleason and Bryan Allen. The Devils regained the lead on a Mark Fayne goal forty seconds later, with help from Ilya Kovalchuk and Nick Palmieri. The Hurricanes tied it again with a Chad LaRose goal, thanks to Jeff Skinner and Allen. New Jersey again took the lead, with Kovalchuk registering a goal in the third period, and with the assists going to Jacob Josefson and Palmieri. Parise finished it off with an empty netter, his second goal of the game, helped along by Kovalchuk and Andy Greene. Parise, Kovalchuk, and LaRose were named three stars, although Palmieri had a good game as well.
Out west a bit, with the St. Louis Blues hosting the Calgary Flames. Henrik Karlsson and Jaroslav Halak played between the pipes. Calgary led off with the second of the season by Curtis Glencross, assisted by Olli Jokinen and Lee Stempniak. Alex Steen replied for St. Louis, helped out by Jason Arnott and Matt D'Agostini. The Blues took the lead with a Kevin Shattenkirk goal, powered by Jamie Langenbrunner and Andy McDonald. Alex Pietrangelo extended the lead for St. Louis, and he got his help from Patrik Berglund and T.J. Oshie. The Flames got one back with a Jarome Iginla power play goal, with assists credited to Mark Giordano and Alex Tanguay. The Blues regained control in the third period as Chris Stewart had the puck meet the net, and Pietrangelo was there for the lone assist. St. Louis wrapped it up 5-2 with Arnott's second of the year, fueled by McDonald. The three stars went to McDonald, Pietrangelo, and Arnott.
Moving southwest again, the Dallas Stars hosted the Phoenix Coyotes. Mike Smith and Kari Lehtonen played in the blue paint. The game was utterly silent until the third period, where Radim Vrbata nailed a power play goal, powered by Martin Hanzal and Shane Doan. Dallas got the equalizer as Loui Eriksson found twine, with the help of Sheldon Souray and Steve Ott. The game was decided by a shootout, as Doan scored for the Coyotes but was overwhelmed by Eriksson and Mike Ribeiro of the Stars. Lehtonen (40 for 41 in saves), Smith (24 of 25 in saves), and Eriksson got the three stars.
Backing it up, as the Columbus Blue Jackets hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider and Steve Mason played in net. Columbus led off with a Cam Atkinson goal, with Derek MacKenzie picking up the lone assist. Vancouver replied with a Chris Higgins goal, thanks to Manny Malhotra and Jannik Hansen. The Blue Jackets retook the lead late in the second period with a Vinny Prospal goal, his second of the year going in with Rick Nash's and Grant Clitsome's help. The Canucks tied it with an unassisted Cody Hodgson goal in the third period. Vancouver made it 3-2 with an Alexandre Burrows power play goal, powered in by Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. This was good enough to win, and the three stars were Burrows, Prospal, and Schneider (23 for 25 in saves).
Lastly, the Washington Capitals host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dwayne Roloson and Tomas Vokoun were given the starting nods. Tampa Bay led off with a Teddy Purcell goal, with help from Bruno Gervais. Marcus Johansson replied for Washington with a goal, and Karl Alzner helped him out. The Lightning retook the lead with Gervais finding twine himself, and he received the puck from Marc-Andre Bergeron and Steve Downie. The Capitals didn't back down, tying it at 2 as the first period ended with a Dennis Wideman goal, coming off of Jeff Halpern and Mathieu Perreault. Tampa Bay retook the lead in the second period on a Dominic Moore goal, courtesy of Ryan Shannon and Brett Connolly. Washington soon tied it again with a Troy Brouwer goal, made possible by Jeff Schultz and Johansson. In the third period, the Capitals took the lead with Jason Chimera netting his second goal of the season, funneling through Brooks Laich and Joel Ward previously. The Lightning would tie it back up with a Nate Thompson goal, thanks to efforts by Brett Clark and Moore. Clark would net another Tampa Bay go-ahead goal, assisted by Ryan Malone and Purcell. Washington would tie the game at 5 with Chimera's second of the game and third of the year, an unassisted tally. Surprisingly, the game lasted until the shootout, where Alexander Semin and Matt Hendricks goals would push the Capitals over the Lightning 6-5. The three stars were Chimera, Johansson, and Moore.
