The Calgary Flames hosting the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Miikka Kiprusoff are the pair of Finnish goaltenders. Nashville was first on the board with a second period goal by Niclas Bergfors, courtesy of Jack Hillen and Brian McGrattan. Sergei Kostitsyn added on his second of the year to make it 2-0 for the Predators, and this was the final as Craig Smith and Matt Halischuk grabbed assists. The three stars were Rinne (33 save shutout), Jarome Iginla, and Ryan Suter. Honorable mention to people who actually got a point.
Also, we have the Vancouver Canucks hosting the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Cory Schneider put on the masks to play goal. Minnesota struck first as Devin Setoguchi potted his third of the season, thanks to Dany Heatley and Marek Zidlicky. Vancouver tied it in the second period with a power play goal by Daniel Sedin, powered by Henrik Sedin and Alexander Edler as his fourth of the year. The Wild retook the lead with a Kyle Brodziak goal, his second of the season, coming off of Nick Johnson and Brett Bulmer. The Canucks tied it again in the third period with a Jannik Hansen goal, made possible by Manny Malhotra and Andrew Ebbett. The tie lasted late in overtime, where Sami Salo netted his third of the year on the power play (created by Heatley), with helpers provided by Daniel and Ryan Kesler. The three stars in the 3-2 Vancouver win were Salo, Hansen, and Brodziak, with honors to Daniel Sedin.
Staying in Western Canada but moving around the clock a bit, we have the Winnipeg Jets hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. Brian Boucher and Ondrej Pavelec got the starts, but Pavelec was yanked early in the first period in favor of Chris Mason, for soon to be obvious reasons. Carolina opened with a Jussi Jokinen goal, his second of the season, guided in by Chad LaRose and Jeff Skinner. The Hurricanes made it 2-0 (reason for Pavelec to be given mercy) on a Skinner goal, his third of the year, fueled by LaRose and Jamie McBain. Winnipeg got on the board with an Alex Burmistrov goal, his second of the season, and Zach Bogosian and Kyle Wellwood picked up the assists. Wellwood later potted his own goal, tying it up for the Jets, the third of the year for him coming on the power play via Nik Antropov and Tobias Enstrom. Winnipeg took the lead in the second period with a Jim Slater goal, his third of the season made possible by Tanner Glass. The Jets kept soaring with an Andrew Ladd goal, his second of the year, with assists credited to Blake Wheeler and Bogosian. Winnipeg put the score at 5-2 with an Evander Kane goal, created by Antropov and Mark Stuart. Carolina got one back with Tuomo Ruutu recording his second of the season, thanks to Skinner. This left the final at 5-3, with the three stars going to Mason (18 for 18 in saves in a relief effort), Skinner, and Wellwood.
Finally, we go stateside, as the Washington Capitals welcome the Detroit Red Wings, where one of the unbeaten will fall. Hoping to prevent that for their respective teams are Ty Conklin and Tomas Vokoun. Washington led off with a Mike Green power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. Just a minute later, the Capitals made it 2-0 with a Marcus Johansson goal, his fourth of the year, courtesy of Alexander Semin and Mike Knuble. Green scored in the second period for Washington, another power play goal as his second of the night and third of the season, with helpers by Ovechkin and Dennis Wideman. Niklas Kronwall put Detroit on the board with his own power play goal, fueled by Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom. The Capitals made it 4-1 on a Mathieu Perreault goal, his second of the year, coming off of Matt Hendricks and Green. Washington extended the lead again with Joel Ward potting his second of the season, and Brooks Laich and Green picked up the assists. The Capitals continued the onslaught with Perreault putting his second of the game and third of the year in the net, and Jeff Halpern and Hendricks grabbed the assists. Washington allowed no mercy, making it 7-1 on Backstrom's second of the season, with help from John Carlson and Troy Brouwer. This was a final, and the three stars were awarded to Green, Vokoun (32 for 33 in saves), and Perreault, which fit nicely given the game's outcome.
Heading to Massachusetts, with the Boston Bruins welcoming an old friend back home as the San Jose Sharks come to town. Antti Niemi and Tim Thomas get the starting nods from the coach's bench. San Jose led off with a Joe Pavelski goal, his fourth of the season made possible by that old friend, Mr. Joe Thornton. The Sharks extended the lead in the second period as Logan Couture had rubber meet twine, and Martin Havlat and Ryane Clowe grabbed the helpers. Boston got on the board in the third period as Milan Lucic put away his second of the year, thanks to Chris Kelly and Patrice Bergeron. Twenty-nine seconds later, the game was tied on a Bruins goal from Tyler Seguin, his third of the season, guided in by Lucic and Kelly. San Jose retook the lead with a Benn Ferriero goal, with help from Jim Vandermeer and Michal Handzus. The Sharks made it 4-2 on an empty net goal to finalize the game, coming off of the stick of Patrick Marleau after having been previously on that of Pavelski. The three stars were Lucic, Couture, and Niemi (37 for 39 in saves), and I agree fully on those picks.
Over to the City of Brotherly Love, with the Philadelphia Flyers hosting the St. Louis Blues. Brian Elliott and Ilya Bryzgalov played in the blue paint. Kent Huskins struck first for St. Louis on his second of the season, assisted by Jason Arnott. The Blues extended the lead on a T.J. Oshie goal, with assists provided by Carlo Colaiacovo and Roman Polak. Philadelphia got on the board when Danny Briere sank the puck in the second period, off of Wayne Simmonds and Chris Pronger for his second of the year. Colaiacovo restored a two goal lead for St. Louis with a goal, courtesy of Alex Steen and Evgeny Grachev. The Flyers pulled within one as Matt Carle sank his second of the season, Jakub Voracek and Briere had the assists. Matt D'Agostini answered for the Blues with his fourth of the year, a power play goal that went down unassisted. The three stars in this 4-2 game were Colaiacovo, Briere, and Elliott (34 for 36 in saves).
Going down the Eastern Seaboard, to Tampa Bay, where the Lightning host the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Mathieu Garon will play between the pipes. Tampa Bay opened the scoring in the second period with a Pavel Kubina goal off of Steven Stamkos and Teddy Purcell. The Lightning made it 2-0 with Martin St. Louis recording his third of the season, thanks to Vincent Lecavalier and Brett Connolly. Tampa Bay iced it with a 3-0 goal, the final score coming on the second of the year by Victor Hedman, the empty netter helped along by St. Louis. The three stars here were Garon (21 save shutout), Hedman, and Connolly, with honorable mention to St. Louis.
Back into Canada, where we head to the city along the Saint Lawrence River, Montreal, with the Canadiens hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Carey Price started the game in net, but Jonas Gustavsson took over the Buds net in the second period. Montreal led off with a Travis Moen goal, his third of the season coming shorthanded via Lars Eller. Toronto made up for this mishap with a Dave Steckel power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Jake Gardiner and Luke Schenn. The Canadiens regained the lead in the second period on Andrei Kostitsyn's second of the season, fueled by Eller and Hal Gill. The Maple Leafs wasted little time tying it, as Phil Kessel sank his eighth of the year unassisted. Toronto took the lead with a Dion Phaneuf power play goal, assisted by John-Michael Liles and Joffrey Lupul as his second of the season. Montreal retied it early in the third period on a Michael Cammalleri goal, his second of the year made possible by P.K. Subban and Tomas Plekanec. The Canadiens regained the lead on a Josh Gorges goal, with helpers from Kostitsyn and Moen. The Maple Leafs quickly tied it at 4 on a Mikhail Grabovski goal, his third of the season, coming from the sticks of Phaneuf and Clark MacArthur. Grabovski also scored another goal, making it 5-4 in sudden death overtime with his second of the game and fourth of the year, and the assistance needed came from Liles and Kessel. Grabovski, Moen, and Eller got the three stars, although Kessel, Liles, and Phaneuf also could have slotted in.
Crossing the border again, with the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the New Jersey Devils. Johan Hedberg and Marc-Andre Fleury tended the twines. Pittsburgh opened with Jordan Staal sinking his fourth of the season, via Richard Park and Matt Cooke on the power play. The scoring was quiet until the third period, with Patrik Elias striking shorthanded with his third of the year, helped out along the way by Ilya Kovalchuk and Anton Volchenkov. The Penguins retook the lead with Chris Kunitz netting his second of the season, a power play goal powered by Kris Letang and Paul Martin. Staal extended the lead for Pittsburgh with his second of the game and fifth of the year, and Arron Asham and Matt Niskanen were there with the support. The Penguins kept rolling with a James Neal goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Park and Zbynek Michalek.This made it 4-1, the final, and the three stars were Staal, Fleury (23 for 24 in saves), and Park.
Once again, we go to Canada, with the Ottawa Senators hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. Steve Mason and Craig Anderson will
Back down to Florida with the Panthers hosting the New York Islanders. Evgeni Nabokov and Jose Theodore got the starts, but Jakob Markstrom was in the Panther net in the third period. New York started early with a power play goal by Mark Streit, powered by P.A. Parenteau and John Tavares. Florida tied it on the fourth of the season y Kris Versteeg, courtesy of Stephen Weiss. The Panthers took the lead on a Matt Bradley goal, passed off from Shawn Matthias and Mike Weaver. Tavares tied it for the Islanders with his sixth of the year, a power play goal, with the lone assist by Streit. Florida retook the lead in the third period with a Tim Kennedy goal, guided in by Matthias and Dmitry Kulikov. The Panthers secured a 4-2 win with an empty netter by Matthias, with help from Tomas Fleischmann and Weaver. The three stars were Markstrom (18 for 18 in saves in a relief role), Matthias, and Kennedy, with honorable mentions to Tavares and Streit.
Up to Chicago, with the Blackhawks bringing in the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Corey Crawford played in between the pipes. Colorado led off with a Paul Stastny goal, his second of the season made possible by Kyle Quincey and Shane O'Brien. Chicago replied in the second period with an unassisted Michael Frolik goal. The Avlanche regained the lead with a David Jones goal, his fifth of the year coming via Milan Hejduk and Stastny. The Avalanche made it 3-1 on a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Ryan O'Reilly and Cody McLeod. The Blackhawks closed in with a late goal by Jonathan Toews, his fourth of the year coming on the power play from Duncan Keith and Dave Bolland. Chicago tied it in the third period with a Jamal Mayers goal, his second of the season, created by Nick Leddy. The Blackhawks made it 4-3 with a Marian Hossa goal, his fourth of the year set up by Keith and Patrick Sharp. The Avalanche got a very clutch goal to tie the game back up at 4, as Landeskog notched his second of the game and fourth of the season, assisted by O'Reilly and Daniel Winnik. The tie lasted into a shootout, where Colorado toppled Chicago on the lone tally by Joakim Lindstrom. The three stars of the 5-4 game were Stastny, Toews, and Varlamov (34 for 38 in saves), although Lindstrom, Landeskog, Keith, or O'Reilly all could have been on that list.
For the last time today, we head to Canada, with the Edmonton Oilers hosting the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Nikolai Khabibulin will get the starts. Edmonton was first on the scoreboard with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his fifth of the season, fueled by Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle. The Oilers made it 2-0 on the power play, with a Corey Potter goal powered by Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle. Martin Biron came on in relief of what I assume is an injured Lundqvist.The score remained at 2-0 for the rest of the game, and the three stars were Nugent-Hopkins, Khabibulin (19 save shutout), and Hall, although Eberle was slightly better than the third star.
Lastly, we have a Los Angeles Kings games against the Dallas Stars, at the Staples Center. Andrew Raycroft and Jonathan "Shutout" Quick will wear the masks. The scoring was silent until the third period, with Jack Johnson netting his third of the season, with help from Rob Scuderi and Mike Richards. This would make it a 1-0 Los Angeles lead, and later victory, with the three stars awarded to Quick (28 save shutout, third shutout in a row), Raycroft (23 for 24 in saves), and Johnson.
