Thursday, March 24, 2011

Wednesday NHL action

Wednesday only had four games of hockey on the schedule. They began in...

Detroit, where the Red Wings hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Jimmy Howard played in front of the nets. Vancouver opened the scoring with Daniel Sedin, his 39th of the season coming in the second period off of Henrik Sedin and Dan Hamhuis. The Canucks extended their lead with another Daniel tally, his second of the game and 40th of the campaign, coming on the power play thanks to Henrik and Ryan Kesler. Detroit pulled within one goal at a 2-1 score with Jiri Hudler on the power play, his ninth of the year powered by Danny Cleary and Nicklas Lidstrom. This would be the final, with Daniel, Luongo (39 for 40 saves), and Howard (31 for 33 saves) getting the three stars.

To Dallas, where the Stars hosted the Anaheim Ducks. Ray Emery and Kari Lehtonen played goaltender. Anaheim opened the scoring in the second period with Lubomir Visnovsky notching his 15th of the season on the power play, with help from Ryan Getzlaf and Cam Fowler. Dallas answered with Alex Goligoski potting his 12th of the year, also a power play goal, powered by Mike Ribeiro and Brad Richards. The Stars took the lead in the third period with a Loui Eriksson tally, his 24th of the season, helped along by Jamie Langenbrunner and Richards. Eleven seconds later, Corey Perry found twine for the Ducks with his 40th of the year, assisted by Bobby Ryan. Dallas retook the lead with Trevor Daley registering his eighth of the season, courtesy of Ribeiro and Steve Ott. With seven seconds left in regulation, Teemu Selanne struck to tie for Anaheim, his timely 23rd of the year made possible by Saku Koivu and Visnovsky. The Ducks defeated the Stars 4-3 in overtime with Fowler recording his eighth of the campaign, helped in by Ryan and Getzlaf. Fowler, Selanne, and Daley gathered the three stars.

Moving into Chicago, where the Blackhawks hosted the Florida Panthers. Tomas Vokoun and Corey Crawford played in the blue paint. Chicago opened the scoring in the second period with Brent Seabrook's fifth of the season on the power play from Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks extended the lead with Viktor Stalberg notching his 12th of the year, with help from Toews and Patrick Kane. Kane kept Chicago going with his 25th of the season, assisted by Keith and Seabrook. The Blackhawks wrapped it up 4-0 with Tomas Kopecky recording his 14th of the year, helped in by Michael Frolik and Marian Hossa. Seabrook, Toews, and Crawford (23 save shutout) were the three stars.

Lastly, the San Jose Sharks hosted the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Antti Niemi tended the twines. San Jose opened the scoring with the eighth of the season by Torrey Mitchell, helped in by Jamal Mayers and Joe Thornton. Calgary evened the score with Jarome Iginla notching his 34th of the year, thanks to Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay on the power play. The Sharks retook the lead with Andrew Desjardins' first of the season, coming off of Ben Eager and Dan Boyle. The Flames tied it again with Cory Sarich potting his fourth of the year, with the help of Ales Kotalik and Robyn Regehr. San Jose made it 4-2 with a pair of Patrick Marleau goals, his 30th and 31st of the season, with Douglas Murray collecting the lone assist on the first and Devin Setoguchi and Joe Pavelski earning the helpers on the latter power play tally. Rene Bourque cut the deficit to a goal for Calgary with his 26th of the year, aided by Tom Kostopolous. Mitchell restored the goal for the Sharks with his second of the game and ninth of the season, made possible by Pavelski. San Jose wrapped it up at 6-3 with Logan Couture notching his 28th of the year, fueled by Ryane Clowe and Justin Braun. The three stars went to Mitchell, Marleau, and Pavelski.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Tuesday Hockey games

There were a total of ten games of hockey for Tuesday. The first of these games was in...

Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Hurricanes hosted the Ottawa Senators. Curtis McElhinney and Cam Ward took to the nets. Ottawa opened the scoring with Colin Greening notching his third of the season, courtesy of Jason Spezza and Bobby Butler. The Senators extended their lead with the second of the year by Marek Svatos, guided in by Erik Condra and David Hale. Twenty-seven seconds later, Carolina answered with a Tuomo Ruutu goal, his 18th of the season getting help from Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Skinner. Twenty-five seconds after that, the game was tied, as Chad LaRose netted his 14th of the year for the Hurricanes, with the lone assist by Joni Pitkanen. LaRose put Carolina ahead in the second period on his 15th of the campaign and second of the game, with helpers provided by Brandon Sutter and Tim Gleason. The Hurricanes extended their lead with Cory Stillman notching his tenth of the season, fueled by Eric Staal and Erik Cole. Ottawa pulled back within a goal at 4-3 with Erik Karlsson potting his 13th of the year, thanks to Spezza and Nick Foligno. This would be the final, with LaRose, Ward (36 for 39 saves), and Cole getting the three stars.

Moving into New York, where the Rangers hosted the Florida Panthers. Tomas Vokoun and Henrik Lundqvist took their spots in front of the cages. New York tallied the game's only goal with the 22nd of the season by Brandon Dubinsky, assisted by Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov. Dubinsky, Lundqvist (22 save shutout), and Vokoun (32 for 33 saves) earned the three stars.

Heading to Boston, where the Bruins welcomed the New Jersey Devils to the TD Garden. Martin Brodeur and Tim Thomas stood between the pipes. New Jersey opened the scoring with Ilya Kovalchuk netting his 27th of the year on the power play with help from Mattias Tedenby and Jacob Josefson. Boston replied with Shawn Thornton nailing his ninth of the season courtesy of Dennis Seidenberg and Tomas Kaberle. Zdeno Chara gave the Bruins the lead in the second period with his 13th of the year, a power play goal powered by Milan Lucic and Kaberle. Lucic also tallied his 30th of the season for Boston, with guidance from Patrice Bergeron and Chara. Mark Recchi gave the Bruins a 4-1 victory with his 13th of the year, an empty net goal coming off of Bergeron and Chara. Lucic, Chara, and Thomas (30 for 31 saves) earned the three stars for the game.

Nest up, the Philadelphia Flyers hosted the Washington Capitals. Michal Neuvirth and Sergei Bobrovsky picked up the starts. Nicklas Backstrom put Washington up first with his 18th of the season, assisted by Brooks Laich. Mike Knuble extended the lead for the Capitals with his 20th of the year, with help from Jason Chimera and Marcus Johansson. Washington continued on the power play with Dennis Wideman sinking his tenth of the season, powered by Backstrom and Knuble, prompting Sergei Bobrovsky to be pulled in favor of Brian Boucher. Kris Versteeg got Philadelphia on the board with his 19th of the year, helped along by Matt Carle and Andrej Meszaros. The Flyers pulled within a goal on Claude Giroux's 24th of the season, guided in by Andreas Nodl and Braydon Coburn. Philadelphia tied it on Nodl potting his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Giroux. Danny Briere put the Flyers out in front with his 32nd of the season, made possible by Kimmo Timonen and Ville Leino. Johansson retied it for the Capitals with his 12th of the year, thanks to Knuble and Scott Hannan. The tie lasted into the shootout, where Leino and Matt Hendricks exchanged goals, Backstrom and Briere had offsetting tallies, but Washington clinched victory with Alexander Semin's marker, making it 5-4 Washington over Philadelphia. The three stars went to Semin, Backstrom, and Nodl.

Tampa Bay followed with the Lightning hosting the New York Islanders. Al Montoya and Dwayne Roloson took charge of the creases. Tampa Bay opened with the ninth of the campaign by Nate Thompson, assisted by Teddy Purcell and Vincent Lecavalier. New York replied on the power play with Josh Bailey netting his eleventh of the season, with help from Milan Jurcina. The Islanders took the lead with Kyle Okposo notching his fifth of the year, courtesy of Jurcina and Michael Grabner. New York extended their lead with the fifth of the season by Matt Martin, fueled by Jack Hillen and Zenon Konopka. The Islanders rolled on with Frans Nielsen sinking his eleventh of the year shorthanded and unassisted. The Lightning got a goal back on the power play, with the 14th of the season from Dominic Moore being a product of Sean Bergenheim and Thompson. Grabner ended the scoring with his 31st of the year, an empty net goal going unassisted to bring a 5-2 final. Jurcina, Thompson, and Nielsen got the three stars.

Going to Montreal, where the Canadiens hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller and Carey Price tended the twines. Buffalo opened the scoring with Nathan Gerbe in the second period, his 12th of the season coming off of Tyler Myers and Andrej Sekera. Gerbe wrapped it up 2-0 for the Sabres with his 13th of the year and second of the game into the empty net unassisted. Miller (31 save shutout), Price (22 for 23 saves), and Gerbe picked up the three stars.

Over to Minnesota, where the Wild hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Niklas Backstrom were in the creases. Joffrey Lupul put Toronto out front with his tenth of the season, with help from Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel. The Maple Leafs extended their lead with the 28th of the campaign by Mikhail Grabovski, assisted by Clarke MacArthur and Nikolai Kulemin. Toronto wrapped it up 3-0 with the fourth of the year by Carl Gunnarsson, a power play goal powered by Grabovski and Kulemin. The three stars were awarded to Grabovski, Reimer (29 save shutout), and Kulemin.

Nashville was next on the slate, as the Predators hosted the Edmonton Oilers. Devan Dubnyk and Pekka Rinne put on the goalie masks. Nashville opened the scoring with Martin Erat notching his 15th of the season from Joel Ward and David Legwand. The Predators kept going with Patric Hornqvist on the power play, his 19th of the year gathering steam off of Sergei Kostitsyn and Ryan Suter. Nashville rolled on with Legwand recording his 14th of the season, with help from Suter and Shea Weber. Edmonton got a goal to make it 3-1 with Jordan Eberle on the power play, his 17th of the year powered by Andrew Cogliano and Jim Vandermeer. Legwand, Suter, and Hornqvist earned the three star honors.

Going to Colorado, where the Avalanche hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets. Steve Mason and Brian Elliott played the nets. Columbus opened the scoring with the 32nd of the season for Rick Nash, with helpers provided by Derick Brassard and Kris Russell. Colorado tied it with Ryan O'Reilly sinking his ninth of the year, thanks to Kevin Porter and Matt Hunwick. The Blue Jackets retook the lead with Derek MacKenzie sinking his ninth of the season, a shorthanded goal via Derek Dorsett. R.J. Umberger kept Columbus going with his 22nd of the year, a shorthanded goal as well, with help from Jan Hejda and MacKenzie. The Avalanche tied it with a pair of Matt Duchene goals, his 24th and 25th of the campaign, with Mark Olver and Daniel Winnik getting the first pair of assists and the second pair going to Hunwick and Olver. Umberger gave the lead back to the Blue Jackets with his second of the game and 23rd of the season, guided along by Scottie Upshall and Hejda. With four seconds left in the game, Winnik tied it for Colorado with a power play goal powered by Erik Johnson and Paul Stastny, good as his tenth of the year. The Avalanche took the game in the shootout by a 5-4 margin, on the lone tally from Milan Hejduk. The three stars were given to Duchene, Umberger, and Winnik.

Finally, the Phoenix Coyotes hosted the St. Louis Blues. Jaroslav Halak and Ilya Bryzgalov tended twine. Paul Bissonnette and Ryan Reaves dropped the gloves first, opening the game with some fighting energy. St. Louis replied with Kevin Shattenkirk opening the scoring with his eighth of the season, thanks to Chris Stewart and Ian Cole. Bissonnette had not had enough, taking on Tyson Strachan in the early second period. Phoenix tied the game with with Ray Whitney notching his 15th of the campaign, courtesy of Lauri Korpikoski and Radim Vrbata. Korpikoski gave the Coyotes a 2-1 lead on his 18th of the year, with help from David Schlemko and Vrbata. This was enough for Phoenix to win the game, giving Korpikoski, Bryzgalov (29 for 30 saves), and Vernon Fiddler the three stars.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Monday's two games

Monday only had a pair of games, beginning with the Detroit Red Wings hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brent Johnson and Jimmy Howard were called on to start. Pittsburgh opened the scoring with Pascal Dupuis netting his 12th of the season, with help from Chris Conner and Jordan Staal. Chris Kunitz extended the Penguins lead with his 22nd of the year, assisted by Dupuis and Kris Letang. Dupuis struck again in the second period with a shorthanded goal for Pittsburgh, his second of the game and 13th of the season fueled by Staal and Ben Lovejoy. Tyler Kennedy made it 4-0 Penguins with his 17th of the year, with help from Kunitz and Craig Adams, prompting Joey MacDonald to replace Jimmy Howard. Detroit got on the board with Henrik Zetterberg notching his 21st of the season off of Danny Cleary and Brad Stuart. Valtteri Filppula also tallied for the Red Wings, his third period goal made possible by Stuart and Tomas Holmstrom for his 16th of the year. Detroit pulled to within a goal on a Cleary tally, his 24th of the season coming with the mad advantage via Niklas Kronwall and Nicklas Lidstrom. The Red Wings tied it with the third of the year from Mike Modano, also on the power play, powered along by Filppula and Lidstrom. The tie lasted into the shootout, where the lone tally by James Neal put Pittsburgh on top 5-4 over Detroit. Neal, Dupuis, and Filppula earned the three stars.

On the West Coast, the Los Angeles Kings hosted the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Jonathan Quick played between the pipes. Los Angeles tallied first in the third period with Jarret Stoll notching his 19th of the season off of Brad Richardson and Wayne Simmonds. Just over a minute later, Calgary tied the game with Olli Jokinen recording his 16th of the year, thanks to Steve Staios and Cory Sarich. The tie lasted into the shootout, where Alex Tanguay exchanged a goal with Stoll before the Kings topped the Flames 2-1 with Anze Kopitar's marker. The three stars went to Quick (27 for 28 saves), Stoll, and Kiprusoff (26 for 27 saves).

Many more games on Tuesday. I have a lot of work left to do, but it will be much less after the week ends.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Sunday Hockey games

Sunday brought a total of six games, with the NBC game of the week opening the series. Hosting it was the...

Pittsburgh Penguins with the New York Rangers visiting. Henrik Lundqvist and Marc-Andre Fleury took to the creases. New York opened the scoring with Artem Anisimov netting his 18th of the season, with help from Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky. Pittsburgh answered with Jordan Staal notching his tenth of the year, James Neal and Ben Lovejoy provided the helpers. The scoring resumed in the third period with the Penguins potting a shorthanded goal from Chris Kunitz, his 21st of the campaign coming unassisted. Marian Gaborik tied it again for the Rangers with a power play goal, his 22nd of the season guided in by Dubinsky and Bryan McCabe. Eleven seconds later, New York took the lead with another power play goal, the 23rd of the year by Callahan powered by Erik Christensen and Mats Zuccarello. The Rangers continued with Derek Stepan registering his 19th of the season courtesy of Ryan McDonagh and Anisimov. Thirty-five seconds later, New York solidified their 5-2 victory with Dubinsky finding the empty twine with his 21st of the year, coming via Callahan. Callahan, Lundqvist (38 for 40 saves), and Dubinsky gathered the three stars.

Buffalo hosted the next game, with the Sabres welcoming the Nashville Predators to HSBC Arena. Andres Lindback and Ryan Miller were called in to guard the cages. Nashville entered the scoring with Blake Geoffrion notching his fourth of the season, assisted by Colin Wilson and J.P. Dumont. Buffalo replied in the second period with the eleventh of the year by Nathan Gerbe, courtesy of Paul Gaustad and Mark Mancari. The Sabres took the lead with Tim Connolly's eleventh of the season, guided in by Thomas Vanek and Tyler Myers. Buffalo extended their lead with the 19th of the year by Tyler Ennis, a power play goal powered by Drew Stafford and the goalie Ryan Miller. In a span of one minute and four seconds, Geoffrion tied the game for the Predators with his fifth and sixth goals of the season, with assists provided by Cody Franson and Sergei Kostitsyn on the second goal, as the first went unassisted. Nashville won the game 4-3 in the overtime that followed with a Martin Erat tally, his 14th of the year coming via Ryan Suter and David Legwand. Geoffrion, Gerbe, and Erat collected the three stars.

The Columbus Blue Jackets hosted the New Jersey Devils as well. Martin Brodeur and Steve Mason played between the pipes. New Jersey took a 2-0 lead with David Clarkson's tallies in the first and second period, his 11th and 12th of the season getting assistance from Jacob Josefson, Mattias Tedenby (twice), and Andy Greene. Nick Palmieri tacked on his seventh of the year for the Devils with no assistance. This would be the final, with Clarkson, Brodeur (13 save shutout), and Palmieri gaining the three stars.

Into Minnesota, where the Wild hosted the Montreal Canadiens. Alex Auld and Jose Theodore were given the starting nods. Montreal opened the scoring with the first of the season by Ryan White, with help from Benoit Pouliot and P.K. Subban. A fight later broke out between Clayton Stoner and White. The Canadiens quickly replied with an Andrei Kostitsyn tally, his 19th of the year coming off of Pouliot. Subban kept Montreal going with his ninth of the season, with David Desharnais and Pouliot collecting the assists, the latter finishing his sock trick. James Wisniewski made it 4-0 Canadiens with his tenth of the year, fueled by Michael Cammalleri and the goalie Alex Auld. Montreal rolled on with Travis Moen notching his sixth of the season, with helpers provided by Scott Gomez and Roman Hamrlik, causing Theodore to be yanked for Niklas Backstrom. Subban completed his hat trick with a second and third period goal, his tenth and eleventh of the year, the first being on the power play via Wisniewski and Cammalleri, and the latter being at even strength from White and Desharnais, with the first of those two finishing a Gordie Howe hat trick. Mikko Koivu saved Minnesota from a shutout with his 17th of the season, coming on a penalty shot. Montreal wrapped it up by a final of 8-1 with the second of the year by Tom Pyatt, with help from Brian Gionta and Desharnais, the latter wrapping up a sock trick. The three stars went to Subban, White, and Pouliot, with props to Desharnais for the game's fourth "trick."

Down to Anaheim, where the Ducks hosted the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Dan Ellis made the starts. Anaheim opened the scoring with Ryan Getzlaf notching his 18th of the season thanks to Corey Perry. Perry extended the Ducks lead with his 38th of the year, a power play goal fueled by Teemu Selanne and Getzlaf. Francois Beauchemin made it 3-0 Anaheim with his fourth of the season, assisted by Saku Koivu and Selanne, chasing Miikka Kiprusoff in favor of Henrik Karlsson. Calgary got on the board with a Tom Kostopolous goal, his seventh of the year guided in by Matt Stajan and Tim Jackman. The Flames pulled within a goal on Rene Bourque's 25th of the season, assisted by Curtis Glencross and Kostopolous. Kostopolous tied it for Calgary with his second of the game and eighth of the year, helped along by Steve Staios and Glencross. The Flames took the lead with a power play goal by Jarome Iginla, his 33rd of the season made possible by Alex Tanguay and Mark Giordano. The Ducks tied it with Selanne notching his 22nd of the year on the power play, courtesy of Getzlaf and Lubomir Visnovsky. Perry secured the 5-4 victory for Anaheim over Calgary in overtime with his second of the game and 39th of the campaign, helped in by Toni Lydman and Getzlaf, the latter claiming a sock trick. Perry, Selanne, and Kostopolous gained the three stars.

Finally, the Phoenix Coyotes hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Ilya Bryzgalov tended the twines. Duncan Keith put Chicago ahead first with his sixth of the season, assisted by Nick Leddy and Marian Hossa on the power play. Phoenix tied it in the second period with the 13th of the campaign by Eric Belanger, guided in by Michal Rozsival and Mikkel Boedker. The Blackhawks retook the lead 2-1 with the fourth of the year by Chris Campoli, his power play tally made possible by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. This was the final, with Bryzgalov (26 for 28 saves), Crawford (22 for 23 saves), and Keith gathering in the three stars.

Two games for Monday, and a lot of extra work around that.

Fantasy Hockey All-Stars week 22

The playoffs are now fully upon, so here's to hoping the good players stay good and our opponent's players have an off week or so. Here's who's been the best in the last seven days:

Center: Joe Pavelski, 3 goals, 8 assists, +3, 0 penalty minutes, 4 power play points, 23 shots on goal
Left Wing: Patrick Marleau, 2 goals, 5 assists, -1, 4 penalty minutes, 4 power play points, 12 shots on goal
Right Wing: Ryan Callahan, 3 goals, 3 assists, +2, 6 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 16 shots on goal
Defenseman: P.K. Subban, 4 goals, 2 assists, +3, 10 penalty minutes, 1 power play point, 11 shots on goal
Goaltender: Cam Ward, 2 wins, 1.65 goals against average, 91 saves, .948 save percentage, 1 shutout

These players carried their teams in the past week, and in this crucial team, if you have them let them roll. Best of luck to all of you.

Song of the Week XII

This week Snow Patrol comes at us again with a newer track. Take Back the City comes from A Hundred Million Suns, their most recent non-compilation album. It is a powerful yet soft-toned song encouraging a rebellious nature. The guitars are melodic as opposed to obviously electric, and the drums add to a brisk yet peaceful tempo. The song is easily the biggest hit off of the album, and characteristic of the ever-changing style they have possessed. This feature runs again next week.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Sandwich Showdown XI and Blog news

First of all, we have the showdown. This week, a Turkey and Ham on Wheat went off against a Chicken on Herbs and Cheese. The Turkey and Ham had a very traditional deli flavor to it. The bread was of good quality and the meats blended nicely together. The Chicken opponent also had a strong flavor and bread quality. Both were easily enjoyed and happily consumed. The Turkey and Ham gets a slight edge here for the meat flavor but it was almost too close to call. Sandwich Showdown will return next week. As for the news, this post marks our 200th post in just under four months, so around 50 posts a month is what I'm putting out. We have over 1.1 thousand views so far, and are closing in on 1000 in the U.S.A. For the foreign readers, we have 50 in Denmark, 43 in Malaysia, 13 in Slovenia, 9 in Russia, 7 in Canada and Mexico, 6 in Germany, 3 in the United Arab Emirates, 3 in China, 2 in Norway and the United Kingdom, and 1 apiece for Iran and Indonesia. This means we are in 14 countries and continuing to expand as time passes. Thank you all very much for reading.