Tonight, we had four games being played. We start in a game with a storyline, but far from being a revenge game for the...
Boston Bruins, who would potentially be avenging the concussion of their center, Marc Savard, against their hosts, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tuukka Rask and Marc-Andre Fleury played in the creases. After going scoreless in the first period, Michael Rupp opened the scoring with his fourth of the season for Pittsburgh, thanks to Deryk Engelland. The Penguins took it one step farther with Kris Letang netting his seventh of the year with a man advantage, assisted by Evgeni Malkin and Paul Martin. Zdeno Chara got Boston going later in the third period with his sixth of the season, a power play goal from Dennis Seidenberg and Gregory Campbell. Twelve seconds later, the game was tied up by the Bruins with Brad Marchand recording his seventh of the campaign, with help from Patrice Bergeron and Campbell. Boston took a lead on a Mark Recchi goal, his eighth of the year, a power play goal helped along by Michael Ryder and Seidenberg. Forty-two seconds later, Campbell iced the game off with an empty netter for the Bruins, making it 4-2 with the help of Blake Wheeler and Bergeron on his fourth of the year. Recchi, Marchand, and Letang earned the three stars.
Heading west for the St. Louis Blues hosting the Phoenix Coyotes. Jason LaBarbera and Jaroslav Halak were the designated as starters. The first major happening in the game was actually a fight, with Phoenix's Paul Bissonette getting out of the press box to fight Cam Janssen of St. Louis. St. Louis opened the scoring later in the first period with David Backes netting his 12th of the season, assisted by Matt D'Agostini and Alex Steen. Phoenix answered in the second period with Lauri Korpikoski notching his tenth of the year, with help coming from Ed Jovanovski and Adrian Aucoin. Lee Stempniak gave the Coyotes a lead with his ninth of the season, an unassisted goal. D'Agostini answered for the Blues in the third period with his tenth of the year, also unassisted. Twenty seconds later, St. Louis had obtained a 3-2 lead with Brad Winchester notching his eighth of the campaign, with help from Jay McClement and Brad Boyes. Phoenix retied the game again with the seventh of the season by Kyle Turris, with Sami Lepisto and Taylor Pyatt picking up the helpers. Pyatt gave the Coyotes a 4-3 lead later in that period with his tenth of the year, assisted by Turris and Korpikoski, and good enough to secure a win for Phoenix over the Blues. Turris, D'Agostini, and Jovanovski picked up the three stars.
Heading farther west on our travels to Colorado, with the Avalanche hosting bitter rivals from Detroit, the Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Peter Budaj got the starts. Paul Stastny put Colorado on the board first with his 16th of the season, assisted by Milan Hejduk and Kevin Porter. The lead was short-lived, with Detroit tying it just fifty-four seconds later on the first of the season by Jan Mursak, with help from Drew Miller and Justin Abdelkader. Matt Duchene put the Avalanche back on top with his 17th of the year, helped along by Tomas Fleischmann. Porter made it 3-1 for the Avalanche with his eighth of the year, with assists coming from David Jones and Brandon Yip. Duchene added another goal for Colorado, his second of the night and 18th of the year, helped along by Fleischmann and Jones. Brian Rafalski put a band-aid on for the Red Wings, cutting the lead back down to 4-2 for Colorado with his third of the season, from Darren Helm. Detroit starter Jimmy Howard was pulled in favor of Joey MacDonald before Jones answered back for the Avalanche in the second period with his 14th of the campaign, assisted by Duchene. Henrik Zetterberg replied back for Detroit with his 16th of the year, a power play goal with assistance from Tomas Holmstrom and Nicklas Lidstrom. Holmstrom added his own power play goal in the third period, cutting the lead down to 5-4 with his eleventh of the season, assisted by Zetterberg and Lidstrom. Duchene, Jones, and Zetterberg earned the three stars in the aforementioned final score.
Finally, the western finale, with the Los Angeles Kings hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Jonathan Quick are the goaltenders. Los Angeles opened the scoring in the first period with Wayne Simmonds potting his ninth of the season, from Rob Scuderi and Jarret Stoll. Toronto answered in the second period with Darryl Boyce netting his second of the season, from Colby Armstrong and Kris Versteeg. Thirty-four seconds later, the Maple Leafs had a lead of 2-1 with Phil Kessel putting away his 18th of the year, thanks to help from Joey Crabb and Tyler Bozak. The Kings tied it with Michal Handzus' sixth of the year, assisted by Alec Martinez and Ryan Smyth. Toronto took the lead back in the third period, with Nikolai Kulemin making it 3-2 with his 16th of the year, assisted by Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur. This would be the final for the game, with Grabovski, Simmonds, and Kessel earning the three stars.
That's all for the games. Little late news bit coming in, as the Phoenix Coyotes and New York Rangers swapped underwhelming players, with New York offlloading Michal Rozsival and picking up Phoenix's trash that came in the form of Wojtek Wolski (no offense Wojtek).
Monday, January 10, 2011
Fantasy Hockey All-Stars, week 13
This week's numbers for the best players are likely to look a bit skewed, with two teams this week reaching considerably high goal totals. Other than that, the same deal as always, here's whose the best for you this week.
Center: Ryan Kesler, 4 goals, 2 assists, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 15 shots on goal
Left Wing: Daniel Sedin, 5 goals, 2 assists, +4, 2 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 17 shots on goal
Right Wing: Patric Hornqvist, 3 goals, 2 assists, +4, 2 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 13 shots on goal
Defenseman: Alex Goligoski, 1 goal, 4 assists, +3, 2 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 7 shots on goal
Goaltender: Jonas Hiller, 2 wins, 0.67 goals against average, 84 saves, .977 save percentage, 2 shutouts
And to avoid any hate mail from puckheads globally, the utility special would be Patrick Sharp, who is officially listed as a left wing on NHL.com but has dual position eligibility on Yahoo! Sports, listed as both center and left wing. His line this week was 4 goals, 2 assists, +3, 4 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, and 14 shots on goal. That's all for this week. Catch this segment again next week.
Center: Ryan Kesler, 4 goals, 2 assists, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 15 shots on goal
Left Wing: Daniel Sedin, 5 goals, 2 assists, +4, 2 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 17 shots on goal
Right Wing: Patric Hornqvist, 3 goals, 2 assists, +4, 2 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 13 shots on goal
Defenseman: Alex Goligoski, 1 goal, 4 assists, +3, 2 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 7 shots on goal
Goaltender: Jonas Hiller, 2 wins, 0.67 goals against average, 84 saves, .977 save percentage, 2 shutouts
And to avoid any hate mail from puckheads globally, the utility special would be Patrick Sharp, who is officially listed as a left wing on NHL.com but has dual position eligibility on Yahoo! Sports, listed as both center and left wing. His line this week was 4 goals, 2 assists, +3, 4 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, and 14 shots on goal. That's all for this week. Catch this segment again next week.
Song of the Week II
This week's edition of Song of the Week stays in the same genre as last week, but switching over to Finger Eleven, whose second track off The Greyest of Blue Skies is on the slate for analysis this week. The song, entitled Drag You Down, has a fairly consistent rhythm and catchy tune as well. It also applies directly to life, as some people occasionally feel like a weight on other people. This song would be a hit in my book, due completely to the consistency and the sound, with the hard hitting qualities a second track can have packed into a small amount of time, as frequently done around the metal genre. Check this feature back here next week, and directly following this post will be a Fantasy Hockey All-Stars.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
NHL Sunday same-day recaps
Today in the NHL (look who's back on same-day games for like a whole day) there are five games. As of this post, some games are still in action and others have been completed already. We start in...
Carolina, where the Hurricanes host the Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Justin Peters were in goal. Tuomo Ruutu opened the scoring for Carolina with his tenth of the season, assisted by Joe Corvo on the power play. Bryan Little answered for Atlanta, scoring his eleventh of the season, with Nik Antropov and Tobias Enstrom picking up the helpers on the power play tally. The Hurricanes retook the lead in the second period with Zac Dalpe netting his third of the year, assisted by Pat Dwyer and Ruutu. Jeff Skinner made it 3-1 for Carolina with his 14th of the year, a power play goal made possible by Corvo and Jamie McBain. The Thrashers started a comeback later in the second period with Niclas Bergfors potting his ninth of the year while they were a man up, with assistance from Andrew Ladd and Enstrom. Little tied it with his second of the night and 12th of the season, with help coming in the form of Anthony Stewart and Johnny Oduya. This tie at 3 was preserved until overtime, where Erik Cole and his eleventh of the year gave Carolina a 4-3 victory over Atlanta, with help from Ian White and Eric Staal. Earning the three stars in the contest were Ruutu, Staal, and Corvo.
Keeping with the afternoon theme, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dan Ellis and Martin Brodeur were given the starting nods (hesitant as they may have been). Teddy Purcell put Tampa Bay up first with his seventh of the season, assisted on by Mattias Ritola and Steve Downie, who registered his first point since returning from injury. David Clarkson answered for New Jersey with his sixth of the year, helped along by Tim Sestito and Rod Pelley. Ryan Malone took the lead back for the Lightning on the power play, notching his eleventh of the year thanks to Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. Both teams had to return to their original shooting nets to produce any offense, going scoreless in the second period before Clarkson struck again for the Devils in the third period, his second of the night and seventh of the year, a power play goal from Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias. Jason Arnott gave New Jersey their first lead of the game with his tenth of the year, from Henrik Tallinder and Vladimir Zharkov. Dainius Zubrus kept up the scoring for the Devils, making it 4-2 with his sixth of the season, assisted by Brian Rolston and Elias. Elias late added his own, an empty net goal good for his ninth of the year, courtesy of Rolston. Twenty-three seconds later, the Lightning decided to wake up too little too late, with Dominic Moore netting his seventh of the year, thanks to Adam Hall and Mattias Ohlund. Thirty-eight more seconds later, and the Devils produced what would be the final score of 6-3 with another empty net goal, this time in the shape of Nick Palmieri's first of the season, with help from Kovalchuk and the goalie Martin Brodeur. The three stars for this offense-fest were Clarkson, Brodeur (33 for 36 saves and a donut. Just kidding Marty, no donut.), and Elias.
Heading west and a bit north, with the Minnesota Wild hosting the Dallas Stars. Andrew Raycroft and Jose Theodore tended the twines. Trevor Daley opened the scoring for Dallas with his third of the season, assisted by Brad Richards and Loui Eriksson. Jamie Benn added on for the Stars late in the first period with his tenth of the season, from Nicklas Grossman and Brenden Morrow. Dallas waited to strike again until the third period, where James Neal sank his 15th of the year, with help from Richards and Daley. Benn added on again for the Stars with his second of the night and eleventh of the campaign, helped along by Mike Ribeiro and Morrow. The final score would favor Dallas over Minnesota by a 4-0 margin, with Daley, Benn, and Clutterbuck (who didn't do much in the game besides his usual hitting, but had an awesome beard nonetheless) getting the three stars. Blogger Objection rights on this one, as I think Andrew Raycroft's 26 save shutout is far better than Cal Clutterbuck's beard, but I'm no official, I just write what it says and make it sound witty.
Getting into the live action games I promised you all four paragraphs ago, as the Chicago Blackhawks host the New York Islanders. Nathan Lawson and Corey Crawford are the designated puckstoppers. Patrick Sharp put Chicago up first with his 25th of the season, assisted by Patrick Kane and Brent Seabrook on the power play. Marian Hossa made it 2-0 in the second period with his tenth of the year, from Tomas Kopecky and Sharp. Kane kept it going for the Blackhawks with his 13th of the campaign, helped along by Jonathan Toews and Niklas "the Hammer" Hjalmarsson. Dave Bolland made it 4-0 for Chicago with his sixth of the season, courtesy of Hossa and Bryan Bickell. Hjalmarsson tacked on his second of the year late in the second period, with the helpers being provided by Hossa and Brian Campbell, making it 5-0 Blackhawks. After a scoreless third period, this would be the final, with Crawford (29 save shutout), Hossa, and Hjalmarsson getting the three stars.
Lastly, we have the Anaheim Ducks hosting the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Jonas Hiller are the goalies for the game. Anaheim got on the board first, albeit over halfway through the game in the second period, with a Bobby Ryan goal, his 18th of the year, assisted by Toni Lydman. This goal would hold up as the only one for the game, with Hiller (37 save shutout), Saku Koivu, and Bobby Ryan got the three stars in the Ducks' 1-0 over the Sharks.
That's all the hockey for tonight. Tomorrow, two posts guaranteed, as Song of the Week returns and Fantasy Hockey All-Stars will also be covered. There's a chance for Monday's games to be recapped alongside that.
Carolina, where the Hurricanes host the Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Justin Peters were in goal. Tuomo Ruutu opened the scoring for Carolina with his tenth of the season, assisted by Joe Corvo on the power play. Bryan Little answered for Atlanta, scoring his eleventh of the season, with Nik Antropov and Tobias Enstrom picking up the helpers on the power play tally. The Hurricanes retook the lead in the second period with Zac Dalpe netting his third of the year, assisted by Pat Dwyer and Ruutu. Jeff Skinner made it 3-1 for Carolina with his 14th of the year, a power play goal made possible by Corvo and Jamie McBain. The Thrashers started a comeback later in the second period with Niclas Bergfors potting his ninth of the year while they were a man up, with assistance from Andrew Ladd and Enstrom. Little tied it with his second of the night and 12th of the season, with help coming in the form of Anthony Stewart and Johnny Oduya. This tie at 3 was preserved until overtime, where Erik Cole and his eleventh of the year gave Carolina a 4-3 victory over Atlanta, with help from Ian White and Eric Staal. Earning the three stars in the contest were Ruutu, Staal, and Corvo.
Keeping with the afternoon theme, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dan Ellis and Martin Brodeur were given the starting nods (hesitant as they may have been). Teddy Purcell put Tampa Bay up first with his seventh of the season, assisted on by Mattias Ritola and Steve Downie, who registered his first point since returning from injury. David Clarkson answered for New Jersey with his sixth of the year, helped along by Tim Sestito and Rod Pelley. Ryan Malone took the lead back for the Lightning on the power play, notching his eleventh of the year thanks to Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. Both teams had to return to their original shooting nets to produce any offense, going scoreless in the second period before Clarkson struck again for the Devils in the third period, his second of the night and seventh of the year, a power play goal from Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias. Jason Arnott gave New Jersey their first lead of the game with his tenth of the year, from Henrik Tallinder and Vladimir Zharkov. Dainius Zubrus kept up the scoring for the Devils, making it 4-2 with his sixth of the season, assisted by Brian Rolston and Elias. Elias late added his own, an empty net goal good for his ninth of the year, courtesy of Rolston. Twenty-three seconds later, the Lightning decided to wake up too little too late, with Dominic Moore netting his seventh of the year, thanks to Adam Hall and Mattias Ohlund. Thirty-eight more seconds later, and the Devils produced what would be the final score of 6-3 with another empty net goal, this time in the shape of Nick Palmieri's first of the season, with help from Kovalchuk and the goalie Martin Brodeur. The three stars for this offense-fest were Clarkson, Brodeur (33 for 36 saves and a donut. Just kidding Marty, no donut.), and Elias.
Heading west and a bit north, with the Minnesota Wild hosting the Dallas Stars. Andrew Raycroft and Jose Theodore tended the twines. Trevor Daley opened the scoring for Dallas with his third of the season, assisted by Brad Richards and Loui Eriksson. Jamie Benn added on for the Stars late in the first period with his tenth of the season, from Nicklas Grossman and Brenden Morrow. Dallas waited to strike again until the third period, where James Neal sank his 15th of the year, with help from Richards and Daley. Benn added on again for the Stars with his second of the night and eleventh of the campaign, helped along by Mike Ribeiro and Morrow. The final score would favor Dallas over Minnesota by a 4-0 margin, with Daley, Benn, and Clutterbuck (who didn't do much in the game besides his usual hitting, but had an awesome beard nonetheless) getting the three stars. Blogger Objection rights on this one, as I think Andrew Raycroft's 26 save shutout is far better than Cal Clutterbuck's beard, but I'm no official, I just write what it says and make it sound witty.
Getting into the live action games I promised you all four paragraphs ago, as the Chicago Blackhawks host the New York Islanders. Nathan Lawson and Corey Crawford are the designated puckstoppers. Patrick Sharp put Chicago up first with his 25th of the season, assisted by Patrick Kane and Brent Seabrook on the power play. Marian Hossa made it 2-0 in the second period with his tenth of the year, from Tomas Kopecky and Sharp. Kane kept it going for the Blackhawks with his 13th of the campaign, helped along by Jonathan Toews and Niklas "the Hammer" Hjalmarsson. Dave Bolland made it 4-0 for Chicago with his sixth of the season, courtesy of Hossa and Bryan Bickell. Hjalmarsson tacked on his second of the year late in the second period, with the helpers being provided by Hossa and Brian Campbell, making it 5-0 Blackhawks. After a scoreless third period, this would be the final, with Crawford (29 save shutout), Hossa, and Hjalmarsson getting the three stars.
Lastly, we have the Anaheim Ducks hosting the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Jonas Hiller are the goalies for the game. Anaheim got on the board first, albeit over halfway through the game in the second period, with a Bobby Ryan goal, his 18th of the year, assisted by Toni Lydman. This goal would hold up as the only one for the game, with Hiller (37 save shutout), Saku Koivu, and Bobby Ryan got the three stars in the Ducks' 1-0 over the Sharks.
That's all the hockey for tonight. Tomorrow, two posts guaranteed, as Song of the Week returns and Fantasy Hockey All-Stars will also be covered. There's a chance for Monday's games to be recapped alongside that.
Wild Card Weekend in the NFL
The playoffs are upon us here in the National Football League. There are four games the first two weekends, and this weekend started off with a nice little storyline between...
The first ever team with a losing record to make the playoffs, the Seattle Seahawks, going against LAST YEAR'S world champs, the New Orleans Saints. The Saints did get out to the lead first with Garrett Hartley kicking a 26 yard field goal. He also added the extra point on Drew Brees' 1 yard touchdown pass to Heath Evans. Seattle regained themselves nearing the end of the first quarter, with Matt Hasselbeck providing a response to the New Orleans scoring by finding John Carlson for 11 yards and the touchdown, with Olindo Mare adding the extra point. New Orleans got back out to a 10-point lead with Julius Jones running 5 yards for a touchdown, and Hartley adding an extra point. Hasselbeck didn't let it get to the Seahawks, finding Carlson again for 7 yards, allowing Mare to add an extra point, and later a field goal of 29 yards to tie the game at 17. It didn't stop there, as Seattle took the lead on Hasselbeck's 45 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley, with Mare adding another extra point. Making it only 24-20 for the Seahawks at halftime, Hartley responded for the Saints with a 22 yard field goal. Seattle came out roaring in the third quarter, showing a burst of power with Hasselbeck's 38 yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams, who was double covered on the play. Mare made the extra point, and then put the Seahawks up 34-20 with his 39 yard field goal. New Orleans was not about to let this little peon team from the NFC West just walk all over them, and came back with 10 straight points, on a 4 yard Julius Jones touchdown run and Hartley's subsequent extra point and later 21 yard field goal. The Seahawks, showing signs of drain, got a spark of life when Marshawn Lynch decided to go Afghanistan on the New Orleans defense, breaking anywhere between 5 and 7 tackles and getting numerous blocks on a 67 yard tank style run for a touchdown to make it 41-30 for the Seahawks after Mare added the extra point. The Saints weren't done yet, however, and Brees found Devery Henderson for 6 yards and a touchdown, but failed to convert the two point attempt on the DeShawn Wynn run. Down 41-36, the Saints attempted an onside kick, but it was drilled to John Carlson, and Seattle held onto the win. At the conclusion of the Green Bay-Philadelphia game tonight, the Seahawks will know their new opponents for the second round, and Saints will be sent home packing away from Qwest Field.
The latter game for Saturday had the Indianapolis Colts hosting the New York Jets. The first quarter was scoreless, and the second quarter had only slightly more scoring, with Indianapolis taking a 7-0 lead into halftime thanks to Peyton Manning connecting with Pierre Garcon for 57 yards and a touchdown, with Adam Vinatieri supplying the extra point. New York came out and tied it in the third quarter on a 1 yard touchdown run by LaDainian Tomlinson, followed by a Nick Folk extra point. Vinatieri allowed the Colts to retake the lead before the start of the fourth quarter with his 47 yard field goal. Tomlinson and the Jets were put ahead 14-10 with another 1 yard touchdown run and subsequent Folk extra point. Indianapolis rallied back on the foot of Vinatieri, taking a 16-14 lead after field goals from 32 and 50 yards. However, the football gods had different plans for Indianapolis this January, and allowed Folk to win the game as the clock ran down in the fourth quarter with a 32 yard field goal, sending the Colts to the golf course and allowing the Jets to make travel plans to Foxborough, Massachusetts to take on the New England Patriots next week in the second round. PSA: Please cover your ears if you hear Rex Ryan this week, as he will probably be running his mouth as usual, unless of course you are one of those two Jets fans out there, and then as such, just carry on with your lives.
Heading to the other AFC wild card game, between the host Kansas City Chiefs and visiting Baltimore Ravens, the winner heading off to Pittsburgh next week to play the Steelers. Billy Cundiff led off the scoring for Baltimore with his 19 yard field goal. Kansas City thought this was unacceptable and did take a brief lead thanks to a 41 yard Jamaal Charles touchdown run, with Ryan Succop making the extra point. The Ravens had other plans however, and took a 10-7 lead into the locker rooms thanks to Joe Flacco connecting with Ray Rice for 9 yards and a touchdown, with Cundiff supplying the extra point. Cundiff extended the Baltimore lead to 16-7 with two 29 yard field goals, and added the extra point to make it 23-7 when Flacco found Anquan Boldin for 4 yards and the touchdown. Consider the cake iced in the fourth quarter with Willis McGahee running 25 yards for the touchdown, and Cundiff adding another extra point to bring the game to its final score of 30-7 Ravens over Chiefs, with Kansas City moving to the offseason and Baltimore heading to AFC North rivals Pittsburgh for the second round.
Lastly for this weekend, we have the NFC wild card match between the host Philadelphia Eagles and visiting Green Bay Packers. Green Bay got on the board first thanks to an Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass to Tom Crabtree for 7 yards, followed by a Mason Crosby extra point. Rodgers kept the Packers going with his 9 yard touchdown pass to James Jones, with Crosby adding the extra point to make it 14-0. Philadelphia got on the board before the end of the first half with a David Akers field goal of 29 yards, making it 14-3. Michael Vick helped the Eagles cut the lead down further in the third quarter with a touchdown pass of 24 yards to Jason Avant, followed by an Akers extra point to put the Eagles within 4. Rodgers put the Packers a little farther ahead with a 16 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jackson, and with the Crosby extra point, Green Bay had a 21-10 lead. Vick cut the lead down to 21-16 with his 1 yard touchdown run, but his two point attempt to LeSean McCoy failed. However, the Eagles did recover the ball on the onside kick, in a similar situation, but not identical, to yesterday's NFC wild card game. They, like the Saints before them, failed to put the ball in the end zone in any way, and Green Bay punched their ticket to Atlanta, sending Seattle to Chicago.
That's all the football we've got this weekend. Same deal next week.
The first ever team with a losing record to make the playoffs, the Seattle Seahawks, going against LAST YEAR'S world champs, the New Orleans Saints. The Saints did get out to the lead first with Garrett Hartley kicking a 26 yard field goal. He also added the extra point on Drew Brees' 1 yard touchdown pass to Heath Evans. Seattle regained themselves nearing the end of the first quarter, with Matt Hasselbeck providing a response to the New Orleans scoring by finding John Carlson for 11 yards and the touchdown, with Olindo Mare adding the extra point. New Orleans got back out to a 10-point lead with Julius Jones running 5 yards for a touchdown, and Hartley adding an extra point. Hasselbeck didn't let it get to the Seahawks, finding Carlson again for 7 yards, allowing Mare to add an extra point, and later a field goal of 29 yards to tie the game at 17. It didn't stop there, as Seattle took the lead on Hasselbeck's 45 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley, with Mare adding another extra point. Making it only 24-20 for the Seahawks at halftime, Hartley responded for the Saints with a 22 yard field goal. Seattle came out roaring in the third quarter, showing a burst of power with Hasselbeck's 38 yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams, who was double covered on the play. Mare made the extra point, and then put the Seahawks up 34-20 with his 39 yard field goal. New Orleans was not about to let this little peon team from the NFC West just walk all over them, and came back with 10 straight points, on a 4 yard Julius Jones touchdown run and Hartley's subsequent extra point and later 21 yard field goal. The Seahawks, showing signs of drain, got a spark of life when Marshawn Lynch decided to go Afghanistan on the New Orleans defense, breaking anywhere between 5 and 7 tackles and getting numerous blocks on a 67 yard tank style run for a touchdown to make it 41-30 for the Seahawks after Mare added the extra point. The Saints weren't done yet, however, and Brees found Devery Henderson for 6 yards and a touchdown, but failed to convert the two point attempt on the DeShawn Wynn run. Down 41-36, the Saints attempted an onside kick, but it was drilled to John Carlson, and Seattle held onto the win. At the conclusion of the Green Bay-Philadelphia game tonight, the Seahawks will know their new opponents for the second round, and Saints will be sent home packing away from Qwest Field.
The latter game for Saturday had the Indianapolis Colts hosting the New York Jets. The first quarter was scoreless, and the second quarter had only slightly more scoring, with Indianapolis taking a 7-0 lead into halftime thanks to Peyton Manning connecting with Pierre Garcon for 57 yards and a touchdown, with Adam Vinatieri supplying the extra point. New York came out and tied it in the third quarter on a 1 yard touchdown run by LaDainian Tomlinson, followed by a Nick Folk extra point. Vinatieri allowed the Colts to retake the lead before the start of the fourth quarter with his 47 yard field goal. Tomlinson and the Jets were put ahead 14-10 with another 1 yard touchdown run and subsequent Folk extra point. Indianapolis rallied back on the foot of Vinatieri, taking a 16-14 lead after field goals from 32 and 50 yards. However, the football gods had different plans for Indianapolis this January, and allowed Folk to win the game as the clock ran down in the fourth quarter with a 32 yard field goal, sending the Colts to the golf course and allowing the Jets to make travel plans to Foxborough, Massachusetts to take on the New England Patriots next week in the second round. PSA: Please cover your ears if you hear Rex Ryan this week, as he will probably be running his mouth as usual, unless of course you are one of those two Jets fans out there, and then as such, just carry on with your lives.
Heading to the other AFC wild card game, between the host Kansas City Chiefs and visiting Baltimore Ravens, the winner heading off to Pittsburgh next week to play the Steelers. Billy Cundiff led off the scoring for Baltimore with his 19 yard field goal. Kansas City thought this was unacceptable and did take a brief lead thanks to a 41 yard Jamaal Charles touchdown run, with Ryan Succop making the extra point. The Ravens had other plans however, and took a 10-7 lead into the locker rooms thanks to Joe Flacco connecting with Ray Rice for 9 yards and a touchdown, with Cundiff supplying the extra point. Cundiff extended the Baltimore lead to 16-7 with two 29 yard field goals, and added the extra point to make it 23-7 when Flacco found Anquan Boldin for 4 yards and the touchdown. Consider the cake iced in the fourth quarter with Willis McGahee running 25 yards for the touchdown, and Cundiff adding another extra point to bring the game to its final score of 30-7 Ravens over Chiefs, with Kansas City moving to the offseason and Baltimore heading to AFC North rivals Pittsburgh for the second round.
Lastly for this weekend, we have the NFC wild card match between the host Philadelphia Eagles and visiting Green Bay Packers. Green Bay got on the board first thanks to an Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass to Tom Crabtree for 7 yards, followed by a Mason Crosby extra point. Rodgers kept the Packers going with his 9 yard touchdown pass to James Jones, with Crosby adding the extra point to make it 14-0. Philadelphia got on the board before the end of the first half with a David Akers field goal of 29 yards, making it 14-3. Michael Vick helped the Eagles cut the lead down further in the third quarter with a touchdown pass of 24 yards to Jason Avant, followed by an Akers extra point to put the Eagles within 4. Rodgers put the Packers a little farther ahead with a 16 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jackson, and with the Crosby extra point, Green Bay had a 21-10 lead. Vick cut the lead down to 21-16 with his 1 yard touchdown run, but his two point attempt to LeSean McCoy failed. However, the Eagles did recover the ball on the onside kick, in a similar situation, but not identical, to yesterday's NFC wild card game. They, like the Saints before them, failed to put the ball in the end zone in any way, and Green Bay punched their ticket to Atlanta, sending Seattle to Chicago.
That's all the football we've got this weekend. Same deal next week.
Sandwich Showdown II 2011
This weekend we pitted a Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki on Italian against a Subway Club on Roasted Garlic, toasted. Both sandwiches ended up being quite the mess, with barbecue sauce dripping everywhere as the sandwiches failed to get a grip. They were delicious as well, with the Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki getting jsut the right amount of sweet onion sauce to not overpower the taste, but give it a new dimension. The toasted factor was an advantage for the Club, with the three meats joyously converging in a great flavor package. I would give the slight advantage to Saturday's sandwich however, as it hit the spot just slightly better. Also, on an unrelated note, this is the 100th post for this blog, and I am proud to announce that alongside the strong American following, there has been readership in Canada, Mexico, Germany, Denmark, Slovenia, and Malaysia. I would like to thank everyone who takes the time to read this blog at any point profusely, and it's good to see an international crowd get involved. Also, feel free to comment on any post, as I haven't had any comments posted, although I have received some via word of mouth. To comment, just click on the post's title, and scroll to the bottom of the next page, where there should be a box to post a comment in. Thanks for the readership, and this feature will return next week.
NHL from Saturday
There were a total of eleven games played in hockey on Halfway Day. There was also a little extension in the works for Jack Johnson of the Los Angeles Kings, who will be staying in California for the next seven years, receiving a $30.5 million extension. As for the games...
The Philadelphia Flyers led off by hosting the New Jersey Devils. Johan Hedberg and Brian Boucher played in net. Philadelphia opened the scoring with a goal by James van Riemsdyk, his tenth of the season, assisted by Jeff Carter. The Flyers made it 2-0 with Danny Briere notching his 21st of the year, a power play goal with help from Claude Giroux and Kimmo Timmonen. This got New Jersey starter Johan Hedberg pulled in favor of the unfavorable Martin Brodeur. The Devils got on the board in the second period with Andy Greene netting his third of the year, unassisted, but it wouldn't go to any good, as the Devils lacked any more offensive production in the game, losing 2-1 to Philadelphia. Van Riemsdyk, Brodeur (19 for 19 saves in relief), and Boucher (34 for 35 saves) got the three stars in the matinee game.
Heading out west for an afternoon game with the Colorado Avalanche hosting the New York Islanders. Kevin Poulin and Craig Anderson were obligated to block the puck. Milan Hejduk got Colorado on the board forty-five seconds into the game, his 12th of the year a product of T.J. Galiardi and Adam Foote. David Koci added his first of the year for the Avalanche rather quickly afterward, making it 2-0 with assists coming from Ryan O'Byrne and Philippe Dupuis. Jeremy Colliton got New York on the board with his first of the season, a power play goal from Jon Sim and Andrew MacDonald. Blake Comeau tied the game for the Islanders with his tenth of the year, also a power play goal, with helpers from Milan Jurcina and Jack Hillen. Colliton gave New York a 3-2 lead in the second period with his second of the season and of the game, another power play goal, assisted by Josh Bailey and Comeau. With four seconds left in regulation, Colorado avoided defeat on Hejduk's second of the night and 13th of the year, tying the game at 3 thanks to Tomas Fleischmann and Kevin Shattenkirk. This, however, was just a postponement of the inevitable, as the Islanders won in overtime via John Tavares scoring his 14th of the year, helped along by Hillen and Matt Moulson, for a 4-3 victory. Tavares, Hejduk, and Poulin (34 for 37 saves) were given the three stars.
Opening the regularly timed games were the Montreal Canadiens hosting the Boston Bruins. Tim Thomas and Carey Price were in between the pipes. The only action in the first period featured Boston's Adam McQuaid squaring off with Montreal's Travis Moen late in the period. The scoring started in the second period for the Bruins, who took a 2-0 lead with the ninth and tenth of the season by Patrice Bergeron, with Blake Wheeler and Brad Marchand assisting on the first goal and Mark Recchi and Zdeno Chara getting helpers on the second one. Montreal got on the board late in the third period thanks to Scott Gomez netting his sixth of the season, a power play goal with help from Mathieu Darche. Brian Gionta put the Canadiens into a tie with his 15th of the year, from James Wisniewski and Max Pacioretty. The tie lasted into overtime, where Pacioretty completed the comeback by Montreal with his third of the year, with P.K. Subban and Hal Gill getting the assists. The goal did spark a brawl between Chara and Gill, with both getting misconducts. The three stars went to Pacioretty, Tim Thomas (39 for 42 saves in a loss) and Bergeron.
Heading back stateside, where the Pittsburgh Penguins played host to the Minnesota Wild. Jose Theodore and Marc-Andre Fleury played in front of the cages. Minnesota opened the scoring first with Chuck Kobasew potting his seventh of the year, with help from Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette. Martin Havlat extended the Wild lead to 2-0 with his tenth of the year, assisted by Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Kyle Brodziak. There was nothing happening in the second period, and the Wild regained their touch when shooting at the same net as in the first period with Cal Clutterbuck notching his 13th of the season, helped along by Patrick O'Sullivan and Matt Cullen. Brodziak finished it off with his ninth of the year, an empty net goal coming from Havlat. The final put the Wild up 4-0 over the Penguins. Theodore (26 save shutout), Havlat, and Koivu received the three stars honors.
Back up to Canada, where the Ottawa Senators hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning in the last game of the first half of the 2010-2011 NHL season. Dwayne Roloson and Brian Elliott were the designated netminders. The game was scoreless through the first period and well into the second period before Ottawa got on the board thanks to Zack Smith netting his third of the season, from Jesse Winchester and Ryan Shannon. Tampa Bay took little time in the third period to tie the game, with Adam Hall registering his sixth of the year, with help from Dominic Moore. The Lightning took the lead on the 18th of the year by Martin St. Louis, from Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone. The final ended up being 2-1 favoring the Lightning over the Senators, with St. Louis, Roloson (31 for 32 saves), and Winchester earning the three stars.
Making another border crossing to head to the American capital, with the Washington Capitals hosting their rival Florida Panthers. Scott Clemmensen and Semyon Varlamov were the men in the creases. Florida struck first with Mike Santorelli potting his eleventh of the season, assisted by Dmitry Kulikov and David Booth. Washington answered in the second period with Eric Fehr scoring his eighth of the season, with help from Mike Green and Mathieu Perreault. Green gave the Capitals the lead in the third period with his eighth of the year, a power play goal made possible by Fehr and Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin extended the lead to 3-1 Capitals with his 15th of the season, helped along by Mike Knuble and Nicklas Backstrom. The Panthers attempted a late rally starting with Evgeny Dadonov scoring his third of the season, from Booth and Stephen Weiss to make it 3-2, but this would be the last scoring in the game, and Washington would hold on for the win. Earning the three stars were Green, Fehr, and Varlamov (25 for 27 saves).
Heading a bit west to St. Louis, where the Blues hosted the New York Rangers. Martin Biron and Jaroslav Halak were given the starting nods. All scoring occurred in the second period, led off by Brad Winchester for St. Louis, netting his seventh of the year thanks to Eric Brewer and Brad Boyes. Derek Stepan evened the score for New York with his 12th of the season, assisted by Mats Zuccarello and Brandon Dubinsky. The Rangers took the lead on the second of the season by Sean Avery, with his goal being helped along by Marian Gaborik and Dubinsky. This would later be the final score, with New York toppling the Blues 2-1. Biron (24 for 25 saves), Gaborik, and Winchester were given the three stars.
Heading to the desert for the next game, where the Phoenix Coyotes hosted the Buffalo Sabres, despite the earlier violence in Tuscon during the day. Take a moment to give out thoughts and prayers to the families of those involved in that traumatic incident. The goalies were Ryan Miller and Jason LaBarbera. The first period went by quietly here, until Buffalo got on the board in the second period thanks to Jordan Leopold notching his tenth of the year, a power play goal made possible by Tyler Myers and Thomas Vanek. Scottie Upshall answered for Phoenix in the same period with his 12th of the year, assisted by Adrian Aucoin and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The tie at 1 lasted throughout the third period and into overtime, where Drew Stafford saves the day for the Sabres, scoring his 14th of the year with help from Leopold to win it 2-1 for Buffalo. Winning goalie Miller (33 for 34 saves), losing goalie LaBarbera (30 for 32 saves), and Stafford were the three stars in the game.
Heading even farther west, into California, where the San Jose Sharks hosted the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Antti Niemi were given the starting duties. Nashville struck first in the first period with David Legwand scoring his third of the year, an unassisted goal. San Jose answered in the second period with Logan Couture potting his 19th of the year, leading all rookies in that regard, with the assist coming from Ryane Clowe. The Predators took the lead back in the third period on the eleventh of the year by Sergei Kostitsyn, with Patric Hornqvist and Marcel Goc picking up the helpers. Nashville would hold on to take the Sharks down 2-1. Rinne (42 for 43 saves), Kostitsyn, and Clowe received three stars status.
Heading up north, where the Vancouver Canucks hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Roberto Luongo were the goaltenders. The game was scoreless in the first period, and Vancouver had the only second period goal, a product of Daniel Sedin, his 25th of the season, a power play goal made possible by Ryan Kesler and Henrik Sedin. Detroit provided an answer in the third period with their own power play goal, the 18th of the year by Johan Franzen, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg and Brian Rafalski just forty-two seconds into the final frame. The tie was preserved until Jiri Hudler saved the day for the Red Wings in the shootout, giving them a 2-1 victory over the Canucks. Winning goalie Howard (34 for 35 saves), Keith Ballard (nothing much), and losing goalie Luongo (32 for 33 saves) picked up the three stars.
Finally, back into California, with the Los Angeles Kings hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. Mathieu Garon and Jonathan Quick played in between the pipes in the finale for Saturday. Dustin Brown opened the scoring for Los Angeles with his 17th of the season, assisted by Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. The Kings took a 2-0 lead on the Alec Martinez power play goal, his third of the season, with Jack Johnson and Marco Sturm grabbing the assists. Jarret Stoll put together two goals in a row for Los Angeles to make it 4-0 in the second period, with his earlier tenth of the year being helped along by Doughty and Ryan Smyth and his latter eleventh of the campaign getting assistance from Sturm and Johnson shorthanded. Matt Calvert stopped the bleeding by Columbus with his first of the season, assisted by absolutely no one. Rick Nash continued the scoring for the Blue Jackets, cutting the deficit down to 4-2 with his 19th of the year, helped along by Jakub Voracek and Anton Stralman. Fedor Tyutin chipped farther away at the Kings lead, cutting it back to 4-3 with his third of the season, with help from Antoine Vermette and R.J. Umberger. Ryan Smyth put Los Angeles back into firm control with his 17th of the season, assisted by Justin Williams and Michal Handzus. Nash answered back for Columbus just fifty-eight seconds later with his second of the night and 20th of the year, thanks to Voracek and Kris Russell. The Kings managed to hold them off and bolstered their lead on the empty net goal by Williams, his 16th tally of the season, with help from Johnson, who finished up a sock trick, and Handzus. The final was 6-4 in favor of the Kings over the Blue Jackets. Stoll, Nash, and Johnson ended up getting the three stars.
That's all the hockey world had for us on Saturday. For today, keep watch for a sandwich post directly following this post's publication, and a wild card weekend coverage post for football that will be completely emotionless and unbiased (you wish). Also, if I so choose, today's hockey action will get proper coverage tonight.
The Philadelphia Flyers led off by hosting the New Jersey Devils. Johan Hedberg and Brian Boucher played in net. Philadelphia opened the scoring with a goal by James van Riemsdyk, his tenth of the season, assisted by Jeff Carter. The Flyers made it 2-0 with Danny Briere notching his 21st of the year, a power play goal with help from Claude Giroux and Kimmo Timmonen. This got New Jersey starter Johan Hedberg pulled in favor of the unfavorable Martin Brodeur. The Devils got on the board in the second period with Andy Greene netting his third of the year, unassisted, but it wouldn't go to any good, as the Devils lacked any more offensive production in the game, losing 2-1 to Philadelphia. Van Riemsdyk, Brodeur (19 for 19 saves in relief), and Boucher (34 for 35 saves) got the three stars in the matinee game.
Heading out west for an afternoon game with the Colorado Avalanche hosting the New York Islanders. Kevin Poulin and Craig Anderson were obligated to block the puck. Milan Hejduk got Colorado on the board forty-five seconds into the game, his 12th of the year a product of T.J. Galiardi and Adam Foote. David Koci added his first of the year for the Avalanche rather quickly afterward, making it 2-0 with assists coming from Ryan O'Byrne and Philippe Dupuis. Jeremy Colliton got New York on the board with his first of the season, a power play goal from Jon Sim and Andrew MacDonald. Blake Comeau tied the game for the Islanders with his tenth of the year, also a power play goal, with helpers from Milan Jurcina and Jack Hillen. Colliton gave New York a 3-2 lead in the second period with his second of the season and of the game, another power play goal, assisted by Josh Bailey and Comeau. With four seconds left in regulation, Colorado avoided defeat on Hejduk's second of the night and 13th of the year, tying the game at 3 thanks to Tomas Fleischmann and Kevin Shattenkirk. This, however, was just a postponement of the inevitable, as the Islanders won in overtime via John Tavares scoring his 14th of the year, helped along by Hillen and Matt Moulson, for a 4-3 victory. Tavares, Hejduk, and Poulin (34 for 37 saves) were given the three stars.
Opening the regularly timed games were the Montreal Canadiens hosting the Boston Bruins. Tim Thomas and Carey Price were in between the pipes. The only action in the first period featured Boston's Adam McQuaid squaring off with Montreal's Travis Moen late in the period. The scoring started in the second period for the Bruins, who took a 2-0 lead with the ninth and tenth of the season by Patrice Bergeron, with Blake Wheeler and Brad Marchand assisting on the first goal and Mark Recchi and Zdeno Chara getting helpers on the second one. Montreal got on the board late in the third period thanks to Scott Gomez netting his sixth of the season, a power play goal with help from Mathieu Darche. Brian Gionta put the Canadiens into a tie with his 15th of the year, from James Wisniewski and Max Pacioretty. The tie lasted into overtime, where Pacioretty completed the comeback by Montreal with his third of the year, with P.K. Subban and Hal Gill getting the assists. The goal did spark a brawl between Chara and Gill, with both getting misconducts. The three stars went to Pacioretty, Tim Thomas (39 for 42 saves in a loss) and Bergeron.
Heading back stateside, where the Pittsburgh Penguins played host to the Minnesota Wild. Jose Theodore and Marc-Andre Fleury played in front of the cages. Minnesota opened the scoring first with Chuck Kobasew potting his seventh of the year, with help from Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette. Martin Havlat extended the Wild lead to 2-0 with his tenth of the year, assisted by Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Kyle Brodziak. There was nothing happening in the second period, and the Wild regained their touch when shooting at the same net as in the first period with Cal Clutterbuck notching his 13th of the season, helped along by Patrick O'Sullivan and Matt Cullen. Brodziak finished it off with his ninth of the year, an empty net goal coming from Havlat. The final put the Wild up 4-0 over the Penguins. Theodore (26 save shutout), Havlat, and Koivu received the three stars honors.
Back up to Canada, where the Ottawa Senators hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning in the last game of the first half of the 2010-2011 NHL season. Dwayne Roloson and Brian Elliott were the designated netminders. The game was scoreless through the first period and well into the second period before Ottawa got on the board thanks to Zack Smith netting his third of the season, from Jesse Winchester and Ryan Shannon. Tampa Bay took little time in the third period to tie the game, with Adam Hall registering his sixth of the year, with help from Dominic Moore. The Lightning took the lead on the 18th of the year by Martin St. Louis, from Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone. The final ended up being 2-1 favoring the Lightning over the Senators, with St. Louis, Roloson (31 for 32 saves), and Winchester earning the three stars.
Making another border crossing to head to the American capital, with the Washington Capitals hosting their rival Florida Panthers. Scott Clemmensen and Semyon Varlamov were the men in the creases. Florida struck first with Mike Santorelli potting his eleventh of the season, assisted by Dmitry Kulikov and David Booth. Washington answered in the second period with Eric Fehr scoring his eighth of the season, with help from Mike Green and Mathieu Perreault. Green gave the Capitals the lead in the third period with his eighth of the year, a power play goal made possible by Fehr and Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin extended the lead to 3-1 Capitals with his 15th of the season, helped along by Mike Knuble and Nicklas Backstrom. The Panthers attempted a late rally starting with Evgeny Dadonov scoring his third of the season, from Booth and Stephen Weiss to make it 3-2, but this would be the last scoring in the game, and Washington would hold on for the win. Earning the three stars were Green, Fehr, and Varlamov (25 for 27 saves).
Heading a bit west to St. Louis, where the Blues hosted the New York Rangers. Martin Biron and Jaroslav Halak were given the starting nods. All scoring occurred in the second period, led off by Brad Winchester for St. Louis, netting his seventh of the year thanks to Eric Brewer and Brad Boyes. Derek Stepan evened the score for New York with his 12th of the season, assisted by Mats Zuccarello and Brandon Dubinsky. The Rangers took the lead on the second of the season by Sean Avery, with his goal being helped along by Marian Gaborik and Dubinsky. This would later be the final score, with New York toppling the Blues 2-1. Biron (24 for 25 saves), Gaborik, and Winchester were given the three stars.
Heading to the desert for the next game, where the Phoenix Coyotes hosted the Buffalo Sabres, despite the earlier violence in Tuscon during the day. Take a moment to give out thoughts and prayers to the families of those involved in that traumatic incident. The goalies were Ryan Miller and Jason LaBarbera. The first period went by quietly here, until Buffalo got on the board in the second period thanks to Jordan Leopold notching his tenth of the year, a power play goal made possible by Tyler Myers and Thomas Vanek. Scottie Upshall answered for Phoenix in the same period with his 12th of the year, assisted by Adrian Aucoin and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The tie at 1 lasted throughout the third period and into overtime, where Drew Stafford saves the day for the Sabres, scoring his 14th of the year with help from Leopold to win it 2-1 for Buffalo. Winning goalie Miller (33 for 34 saves), losing goalie LaBarbera (30 for 32 saves), and Stafford were the three stars in the game.
Heading even farther west, into California, where the San Jose Sharks hosted the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Antti Niemi were given the starting duties. Nashville struck first in the first period with David Legwand scoring his third of the year, an unassisted goal. San Jose answered in the second period with Logan Couture potting his 19th of the year, leading all rookies in that regard, with the assist coming from Ryane Clowe. The Predators took the lead back in the third period on the eleventh of the year by Sergei Kostitsyn, with Patric Hornqvist and Marcel Goc picking up the helpers. Nashville would hold on to take the Sharks down 2-1. Rinne (42 for 43 saves), Kostitsyn, and Clowe received three stars status.
Heading up north, where the Vancouver Canucks hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Roberto Luongo were the goaltenders. The game was scoreless in the first period, and Vancouver had the only second period goal, a product of Daniel Sedin, his 25th of the season, a power play goal made possible by Ryan Kesler and Henrik Sedin. Detroit provided an answer in the third period with their own power play goal, the 18th of the year by Johan Franzen, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg and Brian Rafalski just forty-two seconds into the final frame. The tie was preserved until Jiri Hudler saved the day for the Red Wings in the shootout, giving them a 2-1 victory over the Canucks. Winning goalie Howard (34 for 35 saves), Keith Ballard (nothing much), and losing goalie Luongo (32 for 33 saves) picked up the three stars.
Finally, back into California, with the Los Angeles Kings hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. Mathieu Garon and Jonathan Quick played in between the pipes in the finale for Saturday. Dustin Brown opened the scoring for Los Angeles with his 17th of the season, assisted by Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. The Kings took a 2-0 lead on the Alec Martinez power play goal, his third of the season, with Jack Johnson and Marco Sturm grabbing the assists. Jarret Stoll put together two goals in a row for Los Angeles to make it 4-0 in the second period, with his earlier tenth of the year being helped along by Doughty and Ryan Smyth and his latter eleventh of the campaign getting assistance from Sturm and Johnson shorthanded. Matt Calvert stopped the bleeding by Columbus with his first of the season, assisted by absolutely no one. Rick Nash continued the scoring for the Blue Jackets, cutting the deficit down to 4-2 with his 19th of the year, helped along by Jakub Voracek and Anton Stralman. Fedor Tyutin chipped farther away at the Kings lead, cutting it back to 4-3 with his third of the season, with help from Antoine Vermette and R.J. Umberger. Ryan Smyth put Los Angeles back into firm control with his 17th of the season, assisted by Justin Williams and Michal Handzus. Nash answered back for Columbus just fifty-eight seconds later with his second of the night and 20th of the year, thanks to Voracek and Kris Russell. The Kings managed to hold them off and bolstered their lead on the empty net goal by Williams, his 16th tally of the season, with help from Johnson, who finished up a sock trick, and Handzus. The final was 6-4 in favor of the Kings over the Blue Jackets. Stoll, Nash, and Johnson ended up getting the three stars.
That's all the hockey world had for us on Saturday. For today, keep watch for a sandwich post directly following this post's publication, and a wild card weekend coverage post for football that will be completely emotionless and unbiased (you wish). Also, if I so choose, today's hockey action will get proper coverage tonight.
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