Saturday, May 2, 2015

NHL Division Finals Day 3

Only one game in the NHL playoffs today, as the New York Rangers host the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby and Henrik Lundqvist are the masked men. New York opened in the first period with a Chris Kreider goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Jesper Fast and Derek Stepan. The Rangers added on with an unassisted power play goal by Dan Boyle. Washington got on the board in the second period with an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, his fourth of the playoffs, assisted by Jason Chimera. New York shot back in the third period on a Derick Brassard goal, his fourth of the postseason, fueled by Martin St. Louis and Rick Nash. The Capitals got one back on an Alex Ovechkin goal, his fourth of the playoffs, guided in by Joel Ward and Brooks Orpik. They failed to tie it, losing 3-2. The three stars went to Brassard, Boyle, and Kreider. The series is tied at 1 heading to Washington.

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Friday, May 1, 2015

NHL Division Finals, Day 2

Two more games today, beginning in...

Montreal, as the Canadiens host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ben Bishop and Carey Price guard the cages. Tampa Bay dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Tyler Johnson goal, his seventh of the postseason, assisted by Matthew Carle and Andrej Sustr. Montreal tied it on a Max Pacioretty goal, his third of the playoffs, guided in by P.K. Subban and Tom Gilbert. The Lightning won in the fifth period, the second overtime, with a Nikita Kucherov goal, coming off of Valtteri Filppula. This made it a 2-1 win, with the three stars going to Kucherov, Bishop (43 for 44 in saves), and Johnson. Tampa Bay begins with a 1-0 series lead.

The other game has the Chicago Blackhawks hosting the Minnesota Wild. Devan Dubnyk and Corey Crawford are the goalies with alliterative names. Chicago was first to score in the first period on a Brandon Saad goal, his third of the postseason, assisted by Marian Hossa. The Blackhawks added on with a Patrick Kane goal, his third of the playoffs, fueled by Brad Richards and Antoine Vermette. Chicago extended the lead as Marcus Kruger scored, thanks to Andrew Shaw and Duncan Keith. Minnesota got on the board in the second period with a Jason Zucker goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Thomas Vanek. The Wild pulled closer with a Zach Parise power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, powered by Vanek and Mikko Koivu. Minnesota tied it on a Mikael Granlund goal, his second of the postseason, helped along by Parise. The Blackhawks reclaimed the lead with a Teuvo Teravainen goal, passed from Patrick Sharp and Keith. This made it 4-3, the eventual final, with the three stars going to Parise, Keith, and Vanek. Chicago owns a 1-0 series lead.

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Thursday, April 30, 2015

NHL Division Finals, Day 1

It's the first day of the second round, with two of the four series getting going. We begin with...

The Metropolitan Division, as the New York Rangers host the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby and Henrik Lundqvist tend the twines. Washington began in the first period with an Alex Ovechkin power play goal, his third of the postseason, powered by John Carlson and the goalie Holtby. New York tied it on a Jesper Fast goal, passed from Kevin Hayes and Carl Hagelin. The Capitals won 2-1 with a Joel Ward goal, his second of the playoffs, coming with two seconds left via Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The three stars went to Ovechkin, Holtby (31 for 32 in saves), and Ward. Washington takes a thrilling 1-0 series lead.

Out in the Pacific Division, the Anaheim Ducks host the Calgary Flames. Jonas Hiller faces his former team and Frederik Andersen in goal. Anaheim led off in the first period with a Matt Beleskey goal, courtesy of Kyle Palmieri and Hampus Lindholm. The Ducks added on with a Patrick Maroon goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Anaheim extended the lead with a Perry goal in the second period, his fourth of the playoffs, coming off of Simon Despres and Getzlaf. Karri Ramo relieved Hiller in goal. The Ducks padded the lead with an Emerson Etem goal, his second of the postseason, guided in by Francois Beauchemin and Lindholm. Anaheim kept going in the third period on Perry's second of the game and sixth of the playoffs, a power play goal powered by Getzlaf, who got a sock trick, and Cam Fowler. The Ducks continued with a Getzlaf power play goal, his second of the postseason, set up by Sami Vatanen and Perry. Calgary avoided the shutout with Sam Bennett's third of the playoffs, assisted by Deryk Engelland. This only made it 6-1, the final, with the three stars going to Perry, Getzlaf, and Lindholm. Anaheim cruised to a 1-0 series lead.

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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Tampa Bay Lightning VS. Detroit Red Wings Game 7

The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs comes down to one game at Amalie Arena, as the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Detroit Red Wings. Petr Mrazek and Ben Bishop get the starting nods in goal. Tampa Bay got going in the third period with a Braydon Coburn goal, assisted by Ryan Callahan and Alex Killorn. The Lightning finished it at 2-0 with an Anton Stralman empty net goal, set up by the goalie Bishop. The three stars went to Bishop (31 save shutout), Coburn, and Mrazek (15 for 16 in saves). The Lightning are the last team to advance to the second round, and they face their eliminators from last year, the Montreal Canadiens, for the Atlantic Division crown.

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New York Red Bulls VS Colorado Rapids

We have a midweek game this week, with the New York Red Bulls hosting the Colorado Rapids. Clint Irwin and Luis Robles are the solid goalies. Colorado started in the twenty-fifth minute on a Gabriel Torres goal, via Dillon Powers. New York tied it with a Bradley Wright-Phillips penalty kick goal in the thirtieth minute. In the fifty-fourth minute, the Rapids saw a yellow card for a Nick LaBrocca foul. The Red Bulls received a yellow card for a foul by Lloyd Sam in the fifty-seventh minute. Colorado had two yellow cards in stoppage time, going to Bobby Burling for a foul and Lucas Pittinari for encroachment. The final stood at 1-1, with the man of the match being Irwin for his four saves on five shots to preserve the tie.

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Premier League Make-Up Games

Two games occurred in the middle of this week as makeups for previously delayed games. On Tuesday...

Hull City hosted Liverpool. Simon Mignolet and Steve Harper are in goal. Hull City began with a Michael Dawson headed goal in the thirty-seventh minute coming off of Ahmed Elmohamady's cross after a corner kick. Hull City took a yellow card for a Jake Livermore foul in the thirty-ninth minute. Hull City had another yellow card as Gaston Ramirez was caught wasting time in stoppage time. Hull City held on for a 1-0 win.

On Wednesday, Leicester City hosted Chelsea. Petr Cech and Kasper Schmeichel are the gloved men. In the thirty-sixth minute, Leciester City's Paul Konchesky took a yellow card for his foul. Leicester City led off with a first half stoppage time goal by Marc Albrighton, set up by Jamie Vardy with a cross. In the forty-eighth minute, Chelsea tied it on a Didier Drogba goal, passed from Branislav Ivanovic. Chelsea took the lead in the seventy-ninth minute on a John Terry goal after a corner kick. Chelsea added on with a Ramires goal in the eighty-third minute, coming off of Cesc Fabregas. This stood for a 3-1 win.

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Monday, April 27, 2015

NHL Division Semifinals, Day 13

We're reaching the end of the first round now, but the first game tonight is a Game 6 in...

Detroit, as the Red Wings welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ben Bishop and Petr Mrazek are set to start in goal. Tampa Bay was first to score in the first period on a Tyler Johnson goal, his fifth of the postseason, assisted by Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. The Lightning added on with a Jason Garrison goal, fueled by Steven Stamkos and Kucherov. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Johnson scored his second of the game and sixth of the playoffs, via Ondrej Palat and Kucherov, the latter getting a sock trick. Detroit got on the board with a Tomas Tatar power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Niklas Kronwall. The Red Wings pulled back on another Tatar goal in the third period, his second of the game and third of the playoffs, guided in by Pavel Datsyuk. The Lightning replied with an unassisted Alex Killorn goal, his second of the postseason. Tampa Bay secured the 5-2 win with an empty net goal by Cedric Paquette, coming shorthanded and unassisted. The three stars went to Johnson, Tatar, and Kucherov. The series heads back to Florida tied at 3 for a decisive Game 7.

The other game has the Washington Capitals bringing in the New York Islanders. Jaroslav Halak and Braden Holtby guard the cages. Washington got going in the second period on a Joel Ward goal, via Brooks Orpik and Alex Ovechkin. New York tied it in the third period on a Frans Nielsen goal, coming off of Thomas Hickey and Ryan Strome. The Capitals retook the lead as Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his third of the postseason, with the help of Jason Chimera and John Carlson. This made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars given to Kuznetsov, Ward, and Holtby (10 for 11 in saves).

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