National Hockey League news: March 29, 2008

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Saturday, March 29, 2008

There were 8 games played in the National Hockey League on March 28, 2008.

Game summaries

Philadelphia Flyers @ New Jersey Devils

  1 2 3 OT SO Total
Philadelphia Flyers 1 1 2 0 2/3 4
New Jersey Devils 2 1 1 0 3/3 5

Vaclav Prospal scored the first goal for Philadelphia 9:35 into the first period. Johnny Oduya scored a pair of goals about two minutes apart to put the Devils ahead by a score of 2-1 later in the first. Jamie Langenbrunner put the Devils ahead by 2 early in the second. Jim Dowd brought the Flyers within a goal 9:14 into the second. Randy Jones tied the score for Philadelphia in the third period. Brian Gionta scored to put the Devils back in the lead, but Mike Knuble re-tied the score with 54 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. Jamie Langenbrunner scored the decisive shootout goal for the Devils to snap their 5 game losing streak.

Atlanta Thrashers @ Carolina Hurricanes

  1 2 3 Total
Atlanta Thrashers 0 1 0 1
Carolina Hurricanes 2 2 3 7

Eric Staal scored 42 seconds into the game to give Carolina an early lead. Jeff Hamilton got a power play goal later in the first period. Joseph Corvo and Tuomo Ruutu each scored a power play goal for the Hurricanes, putting them ahead by 4. Jim Slater scored Atlanta's only goal shorthanded with 3:07 left in the second period. Ruutu scored his second power play goal of the night halfway through the third period. Trevor Letowski scored a shorthanded goal to make it 6-1 later in the third. Jeff Hamilton also scored a power play goal for Carolina with 2:09 left in the game.

Nashville Predators @ Columbus Blue Jackets

  1 2 3 Total
Nashville Predators 0 2 0 2
Columbus Blue Jackets 0 0 0 0

Jan Hlavac broke the scoreless tie 4:26 into the second period. Radek Bonk would add to Nashville's lead a couple minutes later. Dan Ellis made 43 saves, earning his sixth shutout of the season. This was also the second time in a row that Ellis shutout the Blue Jackets; he also did so on March 25 in a 3-0 victory in Nashville. With the victory, the Predators move ahead of the Vancouver Canucks into the 8th spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

Montreal Canadiens @ Buffalo Sabres

  1 2 3 OT Total
Montreal Canadiens 0 1 2 1 4
Buffalo Sabres 0 1 2 0 3

Drew Stafford scored the first goal of the game for Buffalo, breaking a scoreless tie 2:25 into the second period. Montreal tied the score with 37 seconds left in the second when Alex Kovalev scored. Nathan Paetsch and Daniel Paille each scored a goal for the Sabres 1:45 apart to put them up by 2. Tomas Plekanec scored a pair of goals to tie the score and force overtime; first a power play goal with 2:31 left in regulation, then at even strength with 15 seconds left in regulation. Christopher Higgins scored 3:38 into OT to complete Montreal's comeback.

St. Louis Blues @ Detroit Red Wings

  1 2 3 OT Total
St. Louis Blues 1 1 1 1 4
Detroit Red Wings 0 1 2 0 3

Brad Boyes started the scoring for the Blues 12:20 into the first period. Erik Johnson scored a power play goal to put St. Louis up by 2 in the second period. Brian Rafalski put the Red Wings on the board with a power play goal of his own less than a minute later. Andy McDonald returned the Blues lead to 2 just under the halfway point of the third period. Johan Franzen scored a pair of goals for Detroit, which would force the game into overtime. Boyes, who started the scoring, finished it 2:43 into the overtime, giving the St. Louis the win.

Vancouver Canucks @ Minnesota Wild

  1 2 3 Total
Vancouver Canucks 0 0 0 0
Minnesota Wild 2 2 0 4

Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored the first goal for Minnesota 11:37 into the first period on a Wild power play. Mikko Koivu gave the Wild a two goal lead before the first intermission. Brent Burns scored a power play goal to put Minnesota up by 3. Todd Fedoruk scored the Wild's other second period goal at 13:28.

In the third period, things got physical after Vancouver's Alex Burrows delivered a cross-check to Bouchard. Burrows received a match penalty, which is an automatic suspension from the NHL, and it is unknown whether he will be available to play in Vancouver's game Sunday against the Calgary Flames.

Edmonton Oilers @ Colorado Avalanche

  1 2 3 OT SO Total
Edmonton Oilers 2 2 0 0 1/2 4
Colorado Avalanche 2 1 1 0 3/3 5

Andrew Brunette scored 7:22 into the first period to put Colorado on the board first. Milan Hejduk scored 40 seconds later to give the Avalanche a two goal lead. Edmonton tied it up before the first intermission, after goals by Tom Gilbert and Jarret Stoll. The Oilers took the lead in the second period when Curtis Glencross scored. Brunette scored his second of the game for the Avalanche to re-tie the score. Sam Gagner took the lead back for the Oilers with 2:57 left in the game, but Colorado tied it when Joe Sakic scored with 6 seconds left. Sakic also scored the decisive goal in the third round of the shootout, giving the Avalanche the win.

San Jose Sharks @ Anaheim Ducks

  1 2 3 Total
San Jose Sharks 1 2 0 3
Anaheim Ducks 1 0 0 1

Patrick Marleau scored first for the Sharks 6:38 into the first period. Scott Niedermayer scored on an Anaheim power play to tie the score later in the first. Jeremy Roenick scored his own power play goal for San Jose, retaking the lead for the Sharks in the second period. Curtis Brown also scored in the second for the Sharks, putting them ahead by three. They held on to snap Anaheim's 10 game home winning streak. San Jose's victory also clinches the Pacific Division title for the team's third time in franchise history.

Player of the Day

Today's Player of the Day is Dan Ellis of the Nashville Predators. Ellis made 43 saves and allowed no goals in the Predators' 2-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. It is his 6th shutout of the season, which ties him for 3rd with most shutouts by a goaltender this season. He also earned a 36-save shutout 4 days earlier when Columbus came to Nashville.

For information on the selection process of the Player of the Day, see this page.


Yesterday's NHL news:

Sources

Game summaries: