NHL Day 20 2011-2012

Today we have nine games on, and the first of these is on Long Island, with the New York Islanders hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Evgeni Nabokov will be in the blue paint. Pittsburgh struck first on a Pascal Dupuis goal, his third of the season made possible by Brooks Orpik. The Penguins made it 2-0 in the second period with the second of the year from Richard Park, and Arron Asham picked up the only assist. Jordan Staal put the game away for Pittsburgh with an empty net goal, his sixth of the season, and Dupuis had the assist. The three stars went to Fleury (33 save shutout), Dupuis, and Park.

Down the coast to Raleigh, with the Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Cam Ward were called on to start. Ottawa opened the scoring in the second period with a Zenon Konopka goal, courtesy of Sergei Gonchar and Jessee Winchester. The Senators extended their lead with Jason Spezza potting his fifth of the season on the power play, powered by Colin Greening and Gonchar. Carolina got started in the third period on Tuomo Ruutu's third of the year, via Jay Harrison. The Hurricanes tied it with Jeff Skinner's fourth of the season, a power play goal fueled by Jamie McBain and Eric Staal. This tie lasted into a shootout, where Spezza's lone tally lifted Ottawa to a 3-2 victory. The three stars were awarded to Skinner, Anderson (32 for 34 in saves), and Ruutu, much to the disrespect of Spezza and Gonchar.

Moving to the Midwest, the Columbus Blue Jackets hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Ty Conklin and Steve Mason got the starts.  Columbus led off with an R.J. Umberger goal, assisted by Antoine Vermette and Ryan Johansen. Detroit tied it on Darren Helm's goal, via Justin Abdelkader and Todd Bertuzzi. The Blue Jackets retook the lead with Johansen's power play goal, powered by Grant Clitsome and Kris Russell. Columbus extended their lead in the second period with a John Moore goal, fueled by Cody Bass and Clitsome. The Blue Jackets iced it at 4-1 in the third period with a Derek MacKenzie empty net goal, with helpers by Umberger and Clitsome, the latter getting a sock trick on the night. The three stars were Mason (30 for 31 in saves), Johansen, and Clitsome.

Back east, with the Buffalo Sabres hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning. Mathieu Garon and Ryan Miller played between the pipes. Buffalo struck early with the seventh of the season by Thomas Vanek, with help by Jason Pominville and Luke Adam. The Sabres extended the lead with a Brad Boyes goal off of Cody McCormick and Matt Ellis. Tampa Bay got on the board as Vincent Lecavalier netted his fourth of the year, and Martin St. Louis had the lone assist. The Lightning tied it with a Nate Thompson goal, his second of the season, assisted by Tom Pyatt and Dominic Moore. Tampa struck again, taking the lead in the second period with Steven Stamkos' goal, the fourth of the year for him made possible by Matt Gilroy and Marc-Andre Bergeron. The Lightning added an insurance goal as Ryan Malone netted his third of the season with the help of Brett Clark. This proved vital as Buffalo cut the score to 4-3 on a Nathan Gerbe goal, his second of the year, guided in by Boyes and Paul Gaustad. This was the final score, with the three stars belonging to Garon (36 for 39 in saves), Vanek, and Stamkos, with cases presented by Boyes and Malone.

Back to the Central Division, with the Nashville Predators hosting the San Jose Sharks. Finnish goalies Antti Niemi and Pekka Rinne played goal. San Jose led off with a shorthanded goal by Logan Couture, his second of the season coming off a Martin Havlat pass. Craig Smith tied it for Nashville in the third period, his third goal of the year coming on the power play via Shea Weber and Mike Fisher. The Sharks sealed the win with a pair of Joe Pavelski goals, his fifth and sixth of the season going in thanks to Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton both times, and the latter goal was into an empty net. The three stars were Pavelski, Smith, and Couture, although Marleau and Thornton made reasonable cases.

Staying in the region, the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Hiller and Corey Crawford got the nods here. Anaheim struck in the second period to open the scoring with a power play goal by Ryan Getzlaf. The third of his season was powered by Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne. Chicago tied it with the fifth of the year from Marian Hossa, assisted by Patrick Kane and Sean O'Donnell. The Ducks retook the lead on a Selanne goal, his third of the season, and the lone assist came from Andrew Cogliano. The Blackhawks tied it again in the third period with Patrick Sharp's goal, his third of the year, and Kane picked up another helper. The tie lasted into a shootout, where Jonathan Toews and Kane overwhelmed Selanne, giving the 3-2 win to Chicago. The three stars went to Kane, Selanne, and Hossa.

A Western Canada battle came next, with the Edmonton Oilers hosting the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Nikolai Khabibulin took care of the twines. The scoring opened in the second period with Edmonton getting a Jordan Eberle goal, guided in by Taylor Hall and Corey Potter. The Oilers extended the lead with a Shawn Horcoff goal, and Ryan Smyth picked up the lone assist. Hall put Edmonton up 3-0, knocking out Luongo in favor of Cory Schneider, and the assists on his second of the season came from Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Vancouver finally got going with a Cody Hodgson goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Alexander Edler and Manny Malhotra. The Canucks made it 3-2 with an Alexandre Burrows goal, his third of the season, via Henrik Sedin and Sami Salo. They failed to get an equalizer, and fell by the above score, with the three stars being awarded to Eberle, Hall, and Burrows.

Down to Arizona, with the Phoenix Coyotes hosting the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Mike Smith played in the creases. Raffi Torres opened the scoring for Phoenix, and was helped out by Lauri Korpikoski and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Dallas answered with a power play goal by Sheldon Souray, his second of the season, powered by Jamie Benn and Steve Ott. The Coyotes took the lead again in the third period on a power play goal from Shane Doan, his fourth of the year, made possible by Ray Whitney and Daymond Langkow. The Stars tied it with an Adam Burish goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow. This tie would last into a shootout, where Patrick O'Sullivan of Phoenix struck only to be answered by Michael Ryder of Dallas in the fifth round, before the Stars took it on an eighth round goal by Trevor Daley, for a 3-2 win. The three stars here were Lehtonen (33 for 35 in saves), Smith (34 for 36 in saves), and Ribeiro, although Daley was a bit more important in the win.

Finally, we go to Los Angeles with the Kings hosting the New Jersey Devils. Johan Hedberg and Jonathan...... Bernier played in net for this game. New Jersey started the scoring in the second period with a Dainius Zubrus goal, assisted by Andy Greene and Patrik Elias. Elias later struck with his own goal, the fourth of the season for him, and got his help from Petr Sykora and Greene. Zubrus made it 3-0 late in the period with his second of the year and the game, and the helpers were credited to Sykora and Mark Fayne on this goal. The third period was silent, allowing this score to remain as the final. Zubrus, Hedberg (31 save shutout), and Greene picked up the three stars, with honorable mention to Elias, Sykora, and Fayne, who, coupled with the other two skaters in the stars, were on the ice for all goals.

Fantasy Football All Stars week 7

Halfway through the Fantasy regular season, and here's who had the best weeks.

Quarterback: Drew Brees
Running Back: Arian Foster
Wide Receiver: Marques Colston
Tight End: Jimmy Graham
Kicker: Olindo Mare/Mason Crosby/Josh Scobee
Team Defense: Kansas City
Defensive Player: Brandon Flowers

Monday Night Football week 7

The Monday Night games pits the Baltimore Ravens against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Jacksonville, Florida. Jacksonville opened with a Josh Scobee field goal of 54 yards in the first quarter. They made it 6-0, the halftime score on a replica field goal from Scobee, another 54 yarder. The Jaguars got the score up to 9-0 in the third quarter with a 22 yard field goal from Scobee. Baltimore shook it up a bit in the fourth quarter with Joe Flacco passing 5 yards for a touchdown to Anquan Boldin, and Billy Cundiff added an extra point to put them within two. They would not take the lead, as Scobee put the game away for Jacksonville on a late 51 yard field goal, good for a 12-7 win. The Jaguars jumped up to 2-5, pushing the Ravens to 4-2.

NHL Day 19 2011-2012

There are three games on Monday night, and we begin with the Philadelphia Flyers hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jonas Gustavsson and Sergei Bobrovsky partook in the battle of the backups. Toronto led off with the ninth of the season by Phil Kessel, with assists by Joffrey Lupul and John-Michael Liles. Philadelphia replied on a power play goal by Jaromir Jagr, coming off of Claude Giroux and Kimmo Timonen. The Flyers took the lead in the second period, as Scott Hartnell drained the puck into the net via Danny Briere on the power play. Hartnell extended the Philadelphia lead in the third period on his second of the game, courtesy of Giroux and Jagr. The Maple Leafs pulled back with Dave Steckel notching his third of the year, with help from Matt Frattin and Matthew Lombardi. The Flyers secured victory on the second of the game by Jagr, assisted by Hartnell and Timonen. The final was 4-2 and the three stars were Jagr, Hartnell, and Timonen.

In the next game, the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Florida Panthers. Jacob Markstrom and Peter Budaj took part in the second battle of the backups. Montreal opened with an Erik Cole power play goal, powered by Max Pacioretty and Raphael Diaz. Florida replied with their own power play goal, the second of the season from Tomas Fleischmann, and Kris Versteeg picked up the lone assist. The scoring resumed in the third period, as the Panthers went up 2-1 on a Scottie Upshall goal fueled by Dmitry Kulikov and Tomas Kopecky. They would hold this lead to the end, and the three stars went to Markstrom (40 for 41 in saves), Budaj (29 for 31 in saves), and Kulikov, which is at least reasonable.

Finally, the Winnipeg Jets host the New York Rangers. Keeping with the backups trend for the night's game, Martin Biron and Chris Mason spelled their more often used keepers for the game. New York was first on the board with a Ruslan Fedotenko power play goal, guided in by Dan Girardi and Michael Del Zotto. Winnipeg tied it with a Nik Antropov goal, his second of the season aided by Alex Burmistrov and Evander Kane. The Rangers took a 2-1 lead that would last 'til the end as Ryan Callahan potted his second of the year with the man advantage, thanks to Fedotenko and Girardi. The three stars went to Biron (27 for 28 in saves), Fedotenko, and Antropov, although Girardi was slightly better than Antropov.

Fantasy Hockey All-Stars week 2

Another early week in the season, with a little more clarity as to the goods and the bads. Here's who looked stellar this week.

Center: Jason Spezza, 3 goals, 4 assists, 0 +/-, 0 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 8 shots on goal
Left Wing: Alex Ovechkin, 2 goals, 3 assists, +2, 2 penalty minutes, 4 power play points, 6 shots on goal
Right Wing: Kris Versteeg, 3 goals, 2 assists, +2, 4 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 14 shots on goal
Defenseman: Zdeno Chara, 1 goal, 2 assists, 0 +/-, 23 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 9 shots on goal
Goaltender: Jonathan "Shutout" Quick, 3 wins, 0.00 goals against average, 83 saves. 100% save percentage, 3 shutouts

That's all for this week, and a huge shoutout to Quick for such a fantastic week. You won't see numbers like that again this season.

Sunday Night Game week 7

Tonight's game features the New Orleans Saints against the Indianapolis Colts. New Orleans struck first with a Drew Brees touchdown pass to Marques Colston, good for 14 yards, and John Kasay had the extra point. Brees and Colston met up later in the first quarter for a 4 yard touchdown connection, and Saints went up 14-0 after Kasay kicked the extra point. New Orleans continued to make Indianapolis look foolish, as Brees passed for his third touchdown, this time going to Darren Sproles, a 6 yard play. Kasay added another extra point. The Saints took to the ground to make it 28-0, as Jed Collins ran a yard for a touchdown, and Kasay had one more extra point. Kasay and New Orleans spared some dignity, as the kicker kicked a 23 yard field goal. The Colts finally got on the board with a Delone Carter 2 yard touchdown run, and Adam Vinatieri took care of the extra point, making it 31-7. Kasay replied with a field goal of 47 yards for a halftime score sitting at 34-7 in favor of the Saints. New Orleans got right back to work as Brees tossed a 4 yard touchdown to Jimmy Graham in the third quarter, and Kasay applied another PAT. Brees and Graham met up again shortly after for a 2 yard touchdown connection, and Kasay made another extra point. The Saints refused to let up, allowing Sproles to run 16 yards for a touchdown, and Kasay would take another easy extra point. Just fourteen seconds later, the defense added a touchdown as Leigh Torrence picked off Curtis Painter and returned 42 yards for a touchdown, with Kasay making another extra point. This made the final 62-7 in favor of the Saints, moving them to 5-2 and pushing the Colts to a humbling 0-7.

NHL Day 18 2011-2012

We have one game today, and that is the Anaheim Ducks hosting the Phoenix Coyotes. Mike Smith and Jonas Hiller will put on the goalie masks. Martin Hanzal led off the scoring for Phoenix, getting help from Mikkel Boedker and Radim Vrbata. Anaheim replied with Lubomir Visnovsky sending in the tying goal thanks to Corey perry and Luca Sbisa. The Ducks grabbed the lead on Ryan Getzlaf's goal, courtesy of Teemu Selanne and Cam Fowler. The Coyotes retied it as Hanzal potted his second of the game, with assistance from Keith Yandle. Phoenix took the lead in the second period with Boyd Gordon's goal off of Taylor Pyatt and Lauri Korpikoski. The Coyotes extended the lead with Korpikoski netting his second of the season via Pyatt and Adrian Aucoin. Phoenix made it 5-2 with Yandle's goal, assisted by Shane Doan and Ray Whitney. Anaheim finally got back into gear and Kurtis Foster scored, guided in by Francois Beauchemin and Saku Koivu. The Ducks made a late assault as Getzlaf potted his second of the game and of the year, fueled by Visnovsky. However, they failed to find the equalizer and lost 5-4, with the three stars being Hanzal, Smith (29 for 33 in saves), and Getzlaf, although the honorable mentions could be second stars, as Yandle, Visnovsky, and Korpikoski all had a goal and assist.