NHL Day 8 2011-2012

Today, we have a lot more games, with a total of ten on the slate. We begin with the NHL's most popular rivalry...

Resuming in Pittsburgh, as the Penguins host the Washington Capitals. Tomas Vokoun and Brent Johnson get the starting nods. Pittsburgh led off with a James Neal goal, his third of the season made possible by Steve Sullivan and Evgeni Malkin. Washington tied it in the second period with a Mike Knuble goal, helped along by Alexander Semin and Karl Alzner. The Capitals took the lead early in the third period as Alex Ovechkin netted the puck, thanks to Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom. Neal tied it back up for the Penguins with his fourth of the year and second of the night, a power play goal powered by Malkin and Chris Kunitz. The game went into overtime, and was decided on the power play as Dennis Wideman nettd his second of the season, coming off of Backstrom for the 3-2 win. The three stars were Wideman, Neal, and Knuble. Honorable mentions to Malkin and Backstrom.

Over to Long Island, with the New York Islanders playing host to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dwayne Roloson and Al Montoya got the go-ahead for start in goal. New York led off quickly, with an unassisted John Tavares goal. Tampa Bay replied with Steven Stamkos' goal, assisted by Marc-Andre Bergeron. Matt Moulson gave the Islanders the lead back, with help from Tavares and Mark Eaton. Tavares also netted another goal just after this, his second of the game coming via Moulson and P.A. Parenteau, the latter of which tallied the next New York goal, fueled by Tavares. The Islanders made it 5-1 and chased Roloson on a Michael Grabner goal, with the lone assist going to Kyle Okposo. Mathieu Garon stepped on in relief, and the game had no more scoring after this point. The three stars were Tavares, Moulson, and Montoya (34 for 35 in saves).

Staying in the region, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Martin Brodeur were in goal to begin with, but the latter only played the first period, being replaced by Johan Hedberg for the remainder of the game. Los Angeles led off with a Simon Gagne goal, courtesy of Justin Williams and Anze Kopitar. New Jersey tied it with a Patrik Elias tally, helped along by Petr Sykora and Zach Parise. This 1-1 tie lasted through the second, third, and overtime periods, before the Devils put it away 2-1 with Ilya Kovalchuk and Parise goals. Quick (36 for 37 in saves), Elias, and Gagne were the game's three stars.

Following that, the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Carey Price tend the twines. Montreal led off with an Andrei Kostitsyn goal, with help from Max Pacioretty. Calgary replied with a Rene Bourque power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Alex Tanguay and Chris Butler. The Flames took the lead on a Niklas Hagman goal, also on the power play, guided in by Olli Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester. David Moss padded the Calgary lead with an even-strength goal, fueled by Tanguay. Bourque made it 4-1 Flames in the second period with his second of the night and third of the year, courtesy of Matt Stajan and Butler. This score would hold throughout the rest of the game, and the three stars were Bourque, Tanguay, and Kiprusoff (35 for 36 in saves).

Staying in Eastern Canada, the Ottawa Senators hosted the Colorado Avalanche. Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Craig Anderson opposed each other in front of the nets. Ottawa led off with Milan Michalek's third of the season, a power play goal powered by Erik Karlsson and Sergei Gonchar. Colorado replied with a Milan Hejduk goal, his second of the year, also on the power play, with help from Erik Johnson and Paul Stastny. The Avalanche took the lead on the second of the season by Gabriel Landeskog, assisted by Ryan O'Reilly. Colorado made it 3-1 in the second period with a Joakim Lindstrom goal, helped along by Ryan Wilson and Matt Duchene. Duchene tallied on the power play for the Avalanche in the third period, and the helpers went to Landeskog and O'Reilly. Daniel Winnik got in on the scoring for Colorado with a shorthanded goal, coming off of a Shane O'Brien pass. The Avalanche also tacked on a power play goal by David Jones, with Hejduk and Johnson picking up the helpers. Colorado made it 7-1 with a power play goal by Lindstrom, his second of the game, assisted by Wilson and O'Reilly, the latter converting the 3-assist sock trick. This was a final, with Duchene, Landeskog, and O'Reilly getting the three stars, although Lindstrom was also very worthy.

Moving back stateside, with the Detroit Red Wings hosting the Vancouver Canucks. Cory Schneider and Jimmy Howard put on the masks for the game. The scoring began in the second period as Justin Abdelkader nailed one in, with help from Todd Bertuzzi and Niklas Kronwall. The Red Wings made it 2-0 with a Valtteri Filppula goal, courtesy of Johan Franzen and Jiri Hudler. This score stood until the end of the game, resulting in a Detroit win, and the three stars awards went to Howard (25 save shutout), Abdelkader, and Filppula.

Continuing west, the Minnesota Wild host the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Niklas Backstrom were in the blue paint. Edmonton struck first with a Ryan Smyth goal, guided along by Eric Belanger and Jordan Eberle. Matt Cullen replied for Minnesota with his third of the season, and the lone helper went to Guillaume Latendresse. This 1-1 tie lasted through the third period and into an overtime, although there was no scoring here either, and the Wild took the game here with Cullen and Devin Setoguchi overpowering Eberle's goal. The three stars were Setoguchi, Khabibulin (34 for 35 in saves), and Backstrom (21 for 22 in saves), with Eberle or Cullen being the other most obvious choices.

Heading back a bit southeast, the Nashville Predators host the Phoenix Coyotes. Jason LaBarbera and Pekka Rinne are in the creases tonight. Phoenix led off with a David Schlemko goal, assisted by Petteri Nokelainen and Raffi Torres. The Coyotes extended their lead with a Ray Whitney goal, courtesy of Daymond Langkow and Shane Doan. Lauri Korpikoski kept it going for Phoenix by recording the 3-0 goal, and getting help from Boyd Gordon and Taylor Pyatt. The Coyotes were relentless in the second period, as Mikkel Boedker also netted a goal, guided in by Martin Hanzal and Keith Yandle. Nashville got on the board with the second of the season by Ryan Suter, a shorthanded goal via David Legwand. The Predators cut the deficit further with a Colin Wilson goal in the third period, thanks to Legwand and Sergei Kostitsyn. Phoenix made it 5-2 as Doan iced the game with his empty net goal, good as his third of the year, off a Rostislav Klesla pass. Schlemko, Korpikoski, and Legwand were the three stars, with only Doan making a case outside of that.

To Chicago, with the Blackhawks welcoming back all the players they had to get rid of post Stanley Cup the Winnipeg Jets. Ondrej Pavelec and Ray Emery got the starts tonight. Winnipeg led off with a pair of Jim Slater goals, his first two of the season, and the helpers fell to Johnny Oduya, Ron Hainsey, and Tanner Glass. Chicago replied with an Andrew Brunette goal, his second of the season coming on the power play via Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Kane also added his own goal as the equalizer for the Blackhawks, and Marian Hossa and Dan Carcillo were there to record assists. Chicago took the lead in the second period on a Hossa goal, guided in by Nick Leddy and Kane. The Blackhawks extended their lead with a Dave Bolland goal, his third of the year made possible by Bryan Bickell. The Jets made it 4-3 later in the second period with a Kyle Wellwood goal, fueled by Hainsey and Brett MacLean. The third period would be silent, however, leaving the score at the above mentioned mark. The three stars went to Kane, Hossa, and Slater.

Lastly, in Dallas, the Stars hosted the St. Louis Blues. Jaroslav Halak and Kari Lehtonen played between the pipes. Dallas led off the scoring late in the first period with a shorthanded goal by Loui Eriksson, coming on a pass from Steve Ott, for his second goal of the year. The Stars took a bigger lead in the second period with an Adam Burish goal, guided in by Trevor Daley. Dallas made it 3-0 on the power play with a Brenden Morrow goal, powered by Stephane Robidas and Mike Ribeiro. St. Louis found the scoreboard with a Matt D'Agostini goal, assisted by Alex Steen and Kent Huskins. The Blues made it 3-2 in the third period as Chris Stewart notched his second of the season, with the help of Kevin Shattenkirk and Patrik Berglund being required. They would not get the equalizer, leaving the Stars in line for two points, and the three stars here were Lehtonen (36 for 38 in saves), Eriksson, and D'Agostini.

NHL Day 7 2011-2012

Again, we have a very limited set of games to be played, with only three tonight. We begin with...

The Columbus Blue Jackets hosting the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Steve Mason put on the pads for the game. T.J. Galiardi got Colorado going with a goal, assisted by Ryan O'Byrne and Ryan Wilson. Columbus tied it in the second period with Rick Nash netting his second of the season, an unassisted goal. The Blue Jackets took the lead in the third period with a Radek Martinek goal, assisted by Vinny Prospal and Nash. The Avalanche evened it as Gabriel Landeskog scored off passes from Jan Hejda and Ryan O'Reilly  The game required a shootout for a decision, and this was where Nash was overpowered by Milan Hejduk and Matt Duchene, resulting in a 3-2 win. Varlamov (31 for 33 in saves), Nash, and Landeskog got the three stars.

Next, we go to Philadelphia, with the Flyers welcoming the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Ilya Bryzgalov will play between the pipes. Philadelphia opened on a Claude Giroux goal, his third of the year coming on the power play via Chris Pronger and Matt Read. Pronger later tallied his own goal to extend the Flyer lead, also a power play goal, powered by Giroux and Jaromir Jagr. Vancouver got on the board with a Mikael Samuelsson power play goal, with help from Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin. Philadelphia got it back with James van Riemsdyk putting the puck away, and Giroux got the one assist. The Canucks pulled closer again with a Henrik Sedin goal, made possible by Alexandre Burrows and Alexander Edler. The Flyers replied with Jakub Voracek notching his second of the season, courtesy of Sean Couturier and Kimmo Timonen. Vancouver again pulled within one, as Chris Higgins recorded his second of the year, helped along by Burrows and Kevin Bieksa. The Canucks got the equalizer as Daniel netted his second of the season, courtesy of Edler and Samuelsson on the power play. Philadelphia retook control with a 5-4 lead on an Andrej Meszaros goal, and the lone assist belonged to Danny Briere. This would stand as the final score, and the three stars were Giroux, Higgins, and Prongers, although cases for Burrows or Edler are legitimate.

Finally, the Carolina Hurricanes hosted the Boston Bruins. Tim Thomas and Cam Ward were the goalies. The scoring was opened by Carolina in the second period with Joni Pitkanen, a power play goal powered by Tomas Kaberle and Jussi Jokinen. The Hurricanes extended their lead with Anthony Stewart's goal, thanks to Tim Brent and Tim Gleason. Boston replied with a Tyler Seguin goal, and Nathan Horton and Adam McQuaid got the helpers here. Carolina made it 3-1 with a Jiri Tlusty goal, fueled by Brandon Sutter and Pat Dwyer. The Bruins got one back as Brad Marchand potted his second of the year, courtesy of Patrice Bergeron and Joe Corvo. They could not find the equalizer, though, and fell 3-2. The three stars were awarded to Gleason, Sutter, and Pitkanen for whatever reason.

Day 6 NHL 2011-2012

Today we only have two games on, the first of which being in...

Ottawa, Ontario, as the Senators host the Minnesota Wild, who bring Dany Heatley to the place with the most adoration hatred for him. Niklas Backstrom and Craig Anderson will be the goaltenders. Minnesota led off with a Kyle Brodziak goal, with the lone helper by Clayton Stoner. The Wild took a 2-0 lead with Devin Setoguchi netting his second of the season, a power play goal powered by Mikko Koivu and the aforementioned Heatley. Ottawa got on the board in the second period with a Nick Foligno goal, courtesy of Peter Regin and Chris Neil. Minnesota restored the two goal lead in the third period with a Nick Johnson goal, going in the books as unassisted. The Senators picked a goal back up with Neil knocking one in thanks to Regin and Chris Phillips. Ottawa tied it with a Colin Greening goal, his second of the season coming on the power play via Milan Michalek and Erik Karlsson. The game required a shootout to be determined, and the Senators came out on top with Michalek, Jason Spezza, and Daniel Alfredsson all scoring to overwhelm Matt Cullen. The three stars were Backstrom (41 for 44 in saves), Neil, and Alfredsson, although Regin had a decent game as well.

The other game is brought to you from the CONSOL Energy center, with the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the Florida Panthers. Jose Theodore and Marc-Andre Fleury are in the creases. Pittsburgh opened with a Pascal Dupuis goal, helped along by Joe Vitale and Kris Letang. The Penguins extended their lead in the second period on Matt "Rocket" Cooke's goal, his third of the year coming off of Vitale and Dupuis. Florida got on the board soon after with Marcel Goc netting the puck, assisted by Jack Skille and Mike Weaver. Pittsburgh got it back shorthanded with Richard Park's tally, with the lone assist by Craig Adams. The Panthers again pulled to within one as Tomas Fleischmann buried one, with the help of Stephen Weiss and Erik Gudbranson. However, the Penguins again regained separation with a James Neal goal, his second of the year, fueled by Jordan Staal and Chris Kunitz. The final was 4-2 Pittsburgh, with the three stars being Dupuis, Vitale, and Park.

Fantasy Football All-stars week 4 and 5

Sorry again for the delay of Week 4 final stuff. Here's the best players from a week ago

Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers
Running Back: Beanie Wells
Wide Receiver: Pierre Garcon
Tight End: Jimmy Graham
Kicker: Ryan Succop
Team Defense: Baltimore
Defensive Player: David Harris and Jason Babin

Week 5:
Quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger
Running Back: Adrian Peterson
Wide Receiver: Dwayne Bowe
Tight End: Joel Dreessen
Kicker: Sebastian Janikowksi
Team Defense: San Francisco
Defensive Player: Brandon Browner

Monday Night Football weeks 4 and 5

I missed the last Monday night game due to hockey drafts, so here's how it went down. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted the Indianapolis Colts. Indianapolis started off with an Adam Vinatieri field goal from 45 yards away. The Colts took more control in the second quarter as Curtis Painter connected with Pierre Garcon for 87 yards and a touchdown, bringing Vinatieri on for the extra point. Tampa Bay got it back with a 1 yard Josh Freeman touchdown run, and Connor Barth made the extra point. Indianapolis led 10-7 at halftime, but it didn't last long in the third quarter, as the Buccaneers tied it on a Barth field goal of 46 yards. Indianapolis took the lead again with Painter and Garcon hooking up for only 59 yards this time, and Vinatieri made the PAT. Tampa Bay tied it with a Freeman touchdown pass of 13 yards to Preston Parker, and a Barth extra point. The Buccaneers took a 24-17 lead in the fourth quarter with a 35 yard touchdown run by LeGarrette Blount, and Barth's extra point, the final tally of the game. Tampa Bay went to 3-1 and dropped the Colts to 0-4.

Now, the current game, with the Detroit Lions hosting the Chicago Bears, (and the Tigers still alive in the playoffs, oh my). The first quarter passed without any scoring, allowing the two teams to get down to it in the second quarter. Detroit led off with a Matthew Stafford touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson for 73 yards, and Jason Hanson made the extra point. Chicago got on the board with Robbie Gould's 44 yard field goal. The Bears took a 10-7 lead with Jay Cutler throwing a 9 yard touchdown pass to Kellen Davis, and Gould made the PAT. This was the halftime score. The Lions took the lead in the third quarter as Stafford threw a touchdown of 18 yards to Brandon Pettigrew, and Hanson made another extra point. Detroit continued the onslaught with a Jahvid Best touchdown run of 88 yards, and another Hanson extra point. Gould cut the score to 21-13 with a field goal from 49 yards. Hanson replied for Detroit by pretty much sealing the game at 24-13 on a field goal of 31 yards. The Lions got up to 5-0 and the Bears fell to 2-3.

Day 5 NHL 2011-2012

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.

Day 4 NHL 2011-2012

Today we have two games, but really, there's only one that people are talking about. It is the first of the games, taking place in...

Manitoba, where the Winnipeg Jets host the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Ondrej Pavelec get the starts in the historic game. Montreal spoiled the festivities early with a Michael Cammalleri goal, an unassisted goal. The Canadiens also scored in the second period, with a Tomas Plekanec goal, courtesy of Travis Moen and Yannick Weber. Nik Antropov put Winnipeg on the board for the first time in 15 years with his goal off of Mark Stuart and Alex Burmistrov. Weber got the goal back for Montreal, scoring on the power play with the help of Plekanec and David Desharnais. Shortly after that, Moen netted a goal, with Plekanec grabbing another assist. The onslaught of Canadiens goals continued with Max Pacioretty drilling one in thanks to Josh Gorges. This 5-1 margin was the final, and Plekanec, Price (30 for 31 in saves), and Antropov had the three stars, with Moen and Weber being my honorable mentions.

The other game today is in Edmonton, with the Oilers hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brent Johnson and Devan Dubnyk make the starts in goal. Kris Letang opened the scoring in Pittsburgh's column, a power play goal powered by Steve Sullivan and Tyler Kennedy. Edmonton tied it on the first NHL goal for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, with assists from Taylor Hall and Jeff Petry, in the third period. An overtime and shootout were required, and Edmonton got goals from Jordan Eberle and Ales Hemsky, while Pittsburgh managed only a James Neal goal. The Oilers won 2-1, and the three stars were Dubnyk (33 for 34 in saves), Johnson (34 for 35 in saves), and the rookie Nugent-Hopkins.