The Annual 2012 All Stars Weekend ended yesterday in a 12-9 final for Team Chara.  It was a back and forth game.  This game didn't look like a typical NHL game.  Not a lot of physical play but fun to watch.  Team Chara scored the first three goals, followed by 3 goals for Team Alfredsson to end the 1st period.  In the 2nd period Team Chara scored 2 more only to have Team Alfredsson score twice, 5-5 tie toward the end of the 2nd period.  One more goal by each and the 2nd ended in a 6-6 tie.  The 3rd period was a back and forth. Chara, Alfredsson, Chara, Alfredsson then it went Chara, Chara Chara, Alfredsson, Chara for a 12-9 final.  Exhausting but FUN!

This game doesn't count for anything in the regular season but when in the regular season do you see Jarome Iginla (Calgary Flames) assist Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) on a goal or Scott Hartnell (Philadelphia Flyers) and Kris Letang (Pittsburgh Penguins) assisting Henrik Sedin (Vancouver Canucks) on a goal?!  Answer: NEVER.  The two loudest goals where probably Daniel Alfredsson, Captain of the Ottawa Senators, scoring once unassisted and again scoring just over a minute later assisted by twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin.  The Sedin-Alfredsson line worked magic as they also scored another time by Daniel Sedin with Henrik and Alfredsson picking up the assists.  Watch Alfreddson get another standing ovation in "If You Need a Visual" Ottawa fans love their Captain.

There are no games being played today in the NHL.  I am guessing probably a lot of flying back home and practice, practice, practice for tomorrow's lineup.  There are 13 games being played tomorrow the 31st, they are:
Ottawa Senators vs Boston Bruins at 4:00pm
New York Rangers vs New Jersey Devils at 4:00pm
Winnipeg Jets vs Philadelphia Flyers at 4:00pm
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Pittsburgh Penguins at 4:00pm
New York Islanders vs Carolina Hurricanes at 4:00pm
Buffalo Sabres vs Montreal Canadiens at 4:30pm
Washington Capitals vs Tampa Bay Lightning at 4:30pm
Nashville Predators vs Minnesota Wild at 5:00pm
Detroit Red Wings vs Calgary Flames at 6:00pm
Anaheim Ducks vs Phoenix Coyotes at 6:00pm
Colorado Avalanche vs Edmonton Oilers at 6:30pm
Chicago Blackhawks vs Vancouver Canucks at 7:00pm
and finally Columbus Blue Jackets vs San Jose Sharks at 7:30pm

Check out Episode 7 of Hockey Talk with Courtney under "The Show"!  Lane and I talk divisions and conferences, the Winnipeg JETS, Randy Carlyle and the Heart goes to a handsome handsome hockey player!

The All Star Fantasy Draft happened this past Thursday night.  Team Chara and Team Alfredsson picked their players and there were a few surprises?!  Pavel Datsyuk went 1st, the Sedins are on the same team and San Jose Logan Couture was given the honor of being picked last.  Here are the teams:

Team Daniel Alfredsson                                                                   Team Zdeno Chara
Alternate Captain: Henrik Lundqvist                                              Alternate Captain: Joffrey Lupul, Toronto Maple Leafs
1. Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators                                                  1.Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
2. Jason Spezza, Ottawa Senators                                                 2. Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins
3. Jonathon Quick, Los Angeles Kings                                          3. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
4. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers                                           4. Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks
5. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins                                               5. Kimmo Timonen, Philadelphia Flyers
6. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning                                    6. Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks
7. Brain Elliott, St. Louis Blues                                                        7. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
8. Shea Weber, Nashville Predators                                             8. Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs
9. Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks                                           9. Ryan Suter, Nashville Predators
10. Dan Girardi, New York Rangers                                             10. Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings
11. Keith Yandle, Phoenix Coyotes                                              11. Brian Campbell, Florida Panthers
12. Milan Michalek, Ottawa Senators                                           12. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
13. Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks                                        13. Dion Phaneuf, Toronto Maple Leafs
14. James Neal, Pittsburgh Penguins                                          14. Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
15. Alex Edler, Vancouver Canucks                                             15. Dennis Windeman, Washington Capitals
16. John Taveres, New York Islanders                                         16. Marian Gaborik, New York Rangers
17. Scott Hartnell, Philadelphia Flyers                                          17. Jordan Eberle, Edmonton Oilers
18. Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabers                                            18. Tyler Seguin, Boston Bruins
19. Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks                                            19. Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars

Today watch there players compete in the Skills Competition.  This will also be the only time you will get to see the Rookies compete. 

Episode 7 of Hockey Talk with Courtney is up!  It has a Winnipeg Jets theme to it, Enjoy!  X  http://www.youtube.com/user/HockeyTalkCourt#p/u/5/GMSA2E-lxf4

As you may have notice this year the All Star Captains happen to be the Ottawa Senators Captain Daniel Alfredsson and the current Stanley Cup Captain Zdeno Chara.  I had one fan ask me how the Captains are selected?  I am not aware of any set of rules for Captains but for a the past few years the Captains have all been experienced players with big career accomplishments and respect within the league.  Take for example Daniel Alfredsson.  Captain of the Ottawa Senators and the All Star game happens to be in Ottawa this year.  Zdeno Chara is the Captain for the reigning Stanley Cup Champions the Boston Bruins.  Last year the All Star game was in Carolina.  Eric Staal and Niklas Lidstrom   were Captains.  Eric Staal happened to be the Captain for the Carolina Hurricane and Niklas Lidstrom is one of the most respected players in the league and a true legend.  Lets say Captains are chosen based on merit and career accomplishments.  Alternates are different.  This year there was one alternate per team.  Alfredsson had New York Ranger Henrik Lundqvist and Chara had Toronto Maple Leaf Joffery Lupul.  Last year there were 2 alternates on each team.  Staal had Vancouver Canuck Ryan Kesler and Washington Capital Mike Green while Lidstrom had Chicago Blackhawk Patrick Kane and Tampa Bay Lightning Martin St. Louis.  At the end of the day the game is for fun so why not make your Captain and Alternate pairings interesting.  Where else are you going to see Boston and Toronto team up against Ottawa and New York?  Go All Stars and Enjoy X

Given that many of the NHL's top players are traveling to Canada's capital Ottawa this weekend for the Annual All Stars game there was only one game played last night.  Played between Original 6 teams the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens.

What makes this game interesting is Detroit is 1st in the NHL with 67 points, having won 7 straight and their last 17 home games!  Montreal on the other hand is 10 points back of a play off spot with 47 points in 23rd place.

Only a few penalties where handed out in the whole game.  Carey Price played the entire game for Montreal while Detroit pulled All Star Goalie Jimmy Howard after letting in 4 goals on 12 shots in the 1st period and was replaced by backup Ty Conklin, who's stats weren't much better letting in 3 goals on 13 shots through 2 periods.

The scoring went like this: Rene Bourque scored first 5 minutes into the 1st period.  It was his 2nd goal since being traded to Montreal by Calgary for Mike Cammalleri last week.  Alexei Emelin scored next for Montreal, with 11 minutes gone.  Then in a minute and a half both David Desharnais and Tomas Plekanec scored for Montreal to make the score 4-0 end of the 1st period.  The 2nd period didn't see as much action with only 2 goals by Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais scored his 2nd of the game to make the score at the end of the 2nd period 6-0  Montreal.  Detroit made a kind of comeback in the early minutes of the 3d period with a goal by Jiri Hudler 21 seconds in and again by Hurler 6 minutes later.  That was that with lucky number 7 scored by Erik Cole for Montreal.  Final score 7-2.  It was the second time Montreal has scored 7 goals this month and Detroit had a 7 game win streak snapped.

The All Star Fantasy Draft is today.  Captains for the 2 team are Boston Captain Zdeno Chara and Ottawa Captain Daniel Alfredsson.

There are 12 defensemen these 2 can pick from:
Dustin Byfuglien of the Winnipeg Jets
Brain Campbell of the Florida Panthers
Alexander Edler of the Vancouver Canucks
Dan Girardi of the New York Rangers
Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators
Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins
Dion Phaneuf of the Toronto Maple Leafs
Ryan Suter of the Nashville Predators
Kimmo Timonen of the Philadelphia Flyers
Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators
Dennis Wideman of the Washington Capitals
and finally, Keith Yandle of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Dion Phaneuf was chosen by fans with 614,933 votes and Erik Karlsson as well with 939,591 votes.

There are 15 Rookies heading to Ottawa.  A rookie is a player in their 1st full year with a permanent spot on an NHL roster with no chance of being sent to the affiliate AHL team.  These Rookies don't play in the actual game but their amazing skills are showcased in the Skills Competition.  The 15 Rookies are:
Luke Adam of the Buffalo Sabers
Sean Couturier of the Philadelphia Flyers
Raphael Diaz of the Montreal Canadiens
Justin Faulk of the Carolina Hurricane
Colin Greening of the Ottawa Senators
Carl Hagelin of the New York Rangers
Adam Henrique of the New Jersey Devils
Cody Hodgson of the Vancouver Canucks
Ryan Johansen of the Columbus Blue Jackets
Nick Johnson of the Minnesota Wild
Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche
Adam Larsson of the New Jersey Devils
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Edmonton Oilers
Matt Read of the Philadelphia Flyers 
and finally, Craig Smith of the Nashville Predators.

The Fantasy Draft happens tonight at 5:00 pm PST, the Skills Competition happens Saturday at 4:00 pm PST, and finally the big game happens at 1:00 pm PST!  You will see teammates play against each other (possibly even brothers), enemies play on the same team (perhaps even the same line) and the best players in the league on two teams battling it out.  Enjoy X

There were 13 games played in the NHL last night.  A busy night to say the least.

The Canucks edged the Oilers in a shootout.  The 2 teams went into this game with a 2-1-0 record for Vancouver.  It ended with a 3-1-0 record for Vancouver.  Daniel Sedin scored 1st in the 1st period.  Edmonton's Shawn Horcoff scored 2nd in the 2nd.  The American Express line seemed to be finding their groove again, David Booth scored 5 minutes into the 3rd period assisted by Ryan Kesler and Chris Higgins.  Finally, Oiler Cutie complete with 30 stitches and black eye (from his fall in warm up last week) Taylor Hall scored with 4 minutes left in the 3rd to tie the game and send it into OT.  OT proved pointless and it was onto a shoot out.  Surprisingly, Vancouver sent out Alex Edler 1st, he scored.  Next up Edmonton's Jordan Eberle, he didn't score.  Vancouver's Mason Raymond, Edmonton's Sam Gagner, and Vancouver's Alex Burrows all were denied.  It was Edmonton's 3rd shooter, Ales Hemsky that kept the Oilers in the game.  Canucks Ryan Kesler and Oiler Taylor Hall went next, neither scored.  Enter Cody Hodgson.  Rookie All Star, game winning goal in Boston, and game winner last week against San Jose.  Need I say anything more?  The Rookie is on fire.  What happens?  Cody scores!  Shawn Horcoff of Edmonton does not score and Vancouver wins!  Vancouver is now tied with Boston, Nashville, and Chicago, with 64 points.  Edmonton sadly now has lost their last 14 games on the road.

New York Ranger goalie Henrik Lundqvist shut the door on the Winnipeg Jets last night.  Final score 3-0 after New York's Ryan Callahan, John Mitchell and Brad Richards scored a goal a period and Lundqvist stopped 22 shots.  That makes it shutout  #40 for Lundqvist in his carrer and his 5th shut out this year.

The Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 5-3 last night.  Capitals did it without the assistance of their Captain Alex Ovechkin.  Ovechkin was suspended for 3 games for an illegal hit on Penguin Zbynek Michalek.  Boston's Rich Peverley, Tyler Seguin, and Brad Marchand scored for their team and Washington's Cody Eakin, Dennis Wideman, and Mathieu Perreault scored 3 goals and recorded his 1st career hat trick!  Hats hit the ice and Perreault was congratulated by his teammates!  Way to go Buddy!  I want to point out every time Perreault scored he broke a tie to give his team the lead.  Check out Perreault's hat trick in "If You Need a Visual."

Here are how the other 10 games ended:
The Buffalo Sabers beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in a S/O
The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Islanders 4-3 on OT
The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2
The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Florida Panters 3-2 in a S/O
The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in a S/O
The Nashville Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1
The Dallas Stars beat the Anaheim Ducks 1-0 (the only goal being scored at 16:41 in the 1st by Alex Goligoski)
The Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2
The San Jose Sharks beat the Calgary Flames 1-0 (with the only goal being scored at 11:35 in the 3rd by Benn Ferriero)
and finally The Phoenix Coyotes beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2.

The only game being played today in the NHL before the All Star Break happens is Detroit and Montreal.


Alright lets talk All Star Forwards!  As talked about before 3 forwards where voted in by fans and the other 22 were picked by the NHL.

Here are the 25 picked by both fans the NHL:
Left Wing Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars
Center Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks
Center Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings
Right Wing Jordan Eberle of the Edmonton Oilers
Right Wing Marian Gaborik of the New York Rangers
Center Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers
Left Wing Scott Hartnell of the Philadelphia Flyers
Right Wing Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks
Right Wing Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames
Right Wing Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks
Right Wing Phil Kessel of the Toronto Maple Leafs
Center Mikko Koivu of the Minnesota Wild
Center Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins
Left Wing Milan Michalek of the Ottawa Senators
Left Wing James Neal of the Pittsburgh Penguins
Left Wing Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals
Right Wing Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks
Right Wing Jason Pominville of the Buffalo Sabers
Left Wing Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks
Center Henrik Sedin of the Vancovuer Canucks
Center Tyler Seguin of the Boston Bruins
Center Jason Spezza of the Ottawa Senators
Center Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning
Center John Tavares of the New York Islanders
and Center Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Ovechkin announced yesterday he would not be taking part in the game after his 3 game suspension.

Episode 7 of Hockey Talk with Courtney will be up soon!  Wait and see, all I can say is Jets, Jets, Jets!

There were 14 games played on a busy nutty Saturday in the NHL.  They started in the morning and ended late in the night.  The only 2 teams that didn't play last night were the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals.  Ovechkin and Malkin got the night off.  Here is a quick breakdown of the 14 games that were played last night:

  The 1st game of the day was going to be a goodie.  Two Original 6 teams the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins were meeting up.  Let's just say these 2 teams have a long history and don't like each other.  After a scoreless 1st period the 2nd period was much more exciting.  New York's Ryan Callahan scored 1:31 into the 2nd period.  Boston's Andrew Ference tied up the game 2 minutes later.  Nothing further until Marian Gaborik scored for New York with just over 5 minutes left in the period.  Finally Adam McQuaid scored for Boston with 49 seconds left in the 2nd.  Rich Peverley and Andrew Ference assisted that goal.  No scoring in the 3rd and the game was heading into OT.  With almost 2 minutes gone in OT Andrew Ference made a questionable hit on New York's Ryan McDonaugh.  Ference received a 5 minute major penalty and a game misconduct.  With the dying seconds of OT ticking away, New York's Marian Gaborik scored the winner with 3.6 seconds left in OT!  New York wins 3-2.  Let's point out that in a game like hockey, a player like Andrew Ference scored the 1st goal for Boston and assisted the 2nd but eventually made an illegal hit and was given a 5 minute major and game misconducted leading to a New York man advantage and Boston lost.  One minute you are helping your team win the next you lose it for your team.  New York continues to lead the east with 64 points, Boston is 2nd with 62 points. 
  The 2nd game was between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New Jersey Devils.  In a 4-1 victory for Philly it was an injury filled game for the team.  Jaromir Jagr left after 4 shifts with a lower body injury.  Danny Briere, #48 for Philly took a what looked like a little bump to the head.  Briere finished the game but afterwards it was announced he had a concussion.  No scoring in the 1st period, Matt Read and Scott Hartnell scored for Philly in the 2nd and Scott Hartnell again and Wayne Simmonds unassisted scored in the 3rd for Philly.  The only goal scored for New Jersey was scored by their newest Devil Alexei Ponikarovsky, who was traded from Carolina the night before.
  The 3rd game of the day was in Vancouver, Canucks vs San Jose Sharks.  Games between these 2 teams became much more interesting this year after Vancouver beat San Jose in round 3 game 5 of the Western Conference Finals last year.  This was the 4th and final meeting between these 2 teams this season, unless they meet up in the playoffs.  Vancouver won 4-3.  Vancouver's Lucky #7 David Booth scored 66 seconds into the game to get Vancouver on the scoreboard.  At the end of the 1st Shark Logan Couture scored and the 1st period ended in a 1-1 tie.  55 seconds into the 2nd period and Logan Couture struck again and it was San Jose in the lead 2-1.  Then All Star selected Vancouver Rookie Cody Hodgson scored his 12th of the season to end the 2nd in a 2-2 tie.  Into the 3rd period it was.  Vancouver's Ryan Kesler scored with 5:49 gone in the 3rd, only to have Dan Boyle tie it up 36 seconds later.  Then again Cute Rookie Cody Hodgson scored the game winning goal 56 seconds later.  Roberto Luongo ends this game with 212 wins as a Canuck, beating former leader Kirk McLean and his record of 211 wins.
  The 4th game was between the 9th place Ottawa Senators and 28th placed Anaheim Ducks.  The Ducks are on a 4 game win streak, and it didn't end yesterday in a 2-1 win over Ottawa.  It was Team Canada's Corey Perry scoring in the 2nd assisted by Cherry Hill, New Jersey native Bobby Ryan and another Team Canada player and Anaheim Captain Ryan Getzlaf that made the 1-0 lead.  Then at the end of the 2nd it was the Europeans Lubomir Visnovsky of Slovakia scoring assisted by Niklas Hagman and Saku Koivu both of Finland.  Anaheim ended the 2nd in a 2-0 lead.  Then in the 3rd Ottawa's Chris Neal assisted by Nick Foligno and Erik Karlsson scored but it wasn't enough, Anaheim won 2-1.
  The 5th game of the day was between the Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers.  Florida had a 2-0 lead at the end of the 1st.  Winnipeg made it a 2-1 game at the end of the 2nd with a goal by Nik Antropov.  Then in a back and forth 3rd it was Antropov again, then Florida, and Winnipeg again to end the game 3-3 and send it into OT.  With no scoring in OT, a shootout was looming.  The shootout went into the 7th round and it got exciting until Florida's and former Canuck Mikael Samuelsson scored and won the game for Florida.  Florida now sits 13th in standings with 54 points and Winnipeg is 21st with 50 points.
  The 6th game was again between two Original 6 teams with a long history and they also don't like each other.  The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens squared off yesterday in a great game to watch.  The crowd always gets so involved you can't help but watch.  The 1st period ended in a 1-1 tie.  No scoring in the 2nd. In the 3rd Montreal scored two goals to end the game 3-1.  Carey Price made 32 saves and Jonas Gustavsson of Toronto made 20 saves.
  The 7th game of the day was won by the New York Islanders in OT.  Carolina scored in the 1st, goal by Jeff Skinner and NYIs scored in the 2nd by John Tavares.  A scoreless 3rd and OT is was.  With 3:58 gone on the clock in OT John Tavares found the back of the net and it was Islanders 2- Hurricane 1.  The Islanders are 24th in the league and Hurricane 27th.
 The 8th game was a surprising one.  It was between 30th place and last in the league, the Columbus Blue Jackets and 1st in the league, the Detroit Red Wings.  Columbus's Ryan Russell actually opened up the scoring in the 1st.  A few minutes later Detroit's Niklas Kronwall tied it up 1-1.  The 2nd saw Columbus take the lead again when Nikita Nikitin scored but Detroit Captain Nicklas Lidstrom tied it up again 2-2 end of the 2nd.  No scoring in the 3rd or in OT and it wasn't until Detroit's Valtteri Filppula scored in the 4th round of the shootout before it ended.  This is also how hockey works.  The worst team in the league had the best team in the league playing catch up the entire regulation portion of the game.  Detroit has 65 points and Columbus 32.
  The 9th game of the day went to the Buffalo Sabres and St. Louis Blues.  St. Louis sits 3rd in the league on a 4 game win streak, Buffalo on the other hand is 26th on a 5 game losing streak.  Buffalo scored 1st, but then St. Louis scored 2 and by the end of the 2rd period it was 2-1 Blues.  The Sabres, with 1 minute left in the 3rd made it 3-2 with a goal by Tyler Myers but then 25 seconds later St. Louis took back their 2 goal lead with David Backes scoring into an empty net.
  The 10th game of the day went between 2 great teams in the Central Division the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks.  The Preds took this one 5-2.  The Preds over the past years have really proven they are a contender.  Don't underestimate the team from the Music Capital of the USA.  Chicago is always good and feared everywhere.  Chicago scored 1st in this game with Marian Hossa netting his 19th goal of the year.  Then Nashville answered back with 4 consecutive goals by Craig Smith, Kevin Klein, Colin Wilson, and Sergei Kostitsyn to end the 2nd period 4-1.  48 seconds into the 3rd period and Hossa netted his 20th goal of the season but Nashville's Patric Hornqvist scored 2 and 1/2 minutes later and the final score was 5-2.  Chicago is 4th in standings with 64 points and Nashville is 8th with 60 points.
  The 11th game was between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Phoenix Coyotes.  It went like this: Tampa scored 3, Phoenix 1, Tampa 1 and Phoenix 2.  The leagues 2nd leading points scorer Steven Stamkos opened the scoring.  After this game Phoenix is still beating Tampa in the team standings with 50 points while Tampa has 44.
  The 12th game went to Minnesota in a 5-2 win over the Dallas Stars.  Dallas scored the 1st and only goal in the 1st period by Eric Nystrom.  Then Minnesota socred in the 2nd but 2 minutes later so did Dallas to take the one goal lead again.  Then fashionisto Cal Clutterbuck tied it for Minnesota only to have teammates Chad Rau and Kyle Brodziak end the 2nd in a 4-2 .  Minnesota's Dany Heatley scored the 5th goal and that was that.  Minnesota is 16th in standings with 53 points while Dallas is 20th with 51.
  Lucky #13 game was between Alberta rivals the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers.  It was Taylor Hall's 1st game back since 30 stitches after a freak accident and skate blade to the head.  Calgary took this one 6-2.  After a breakout 1st period it ended 3-0 Calgary, with the 3rd goal being scored by Lee Stempniak.  The 2nd saw only one goal, again scored by Stempniak.   The 3rd period was more back and forth with Edmonton, Calgary, Edmonton, and finally Stempniak scoring the last goal for Calgary and collecting a hat trick!  As far as Alberta's teams are in the standings, Calgary is 18th with 52 points and Edmonton is 29th with 38 points.
  The 14th and final game of the night went to the Colorado Avalanche with a win over the Los Angeles Kings.  The Kings actually opened up the scoring with a goal by Anze Kopitar in the 2nd after a scoreless 1st period.  After that is was all Colorado.  Cody McLeod and Peter Mueller scoring for Colorado in the 2nd period.  Then in the 3rd Gabriel Landeskog scored to make it a 3-1 final.  In the 15 games since Darryl Sutter has taken over as head coach for the Kings this was only their 2nd loss in regualation.  The Kings have shot up the standings chart and are now 12th with 56 points while the Avalanche is 15th with 54 points.

After that huge recap of a typical Hockey Night in Canada let's do a quick recap of who is leading the points race in the NHL.  It gets interesting this time of year.
Evgeni Malkin who had last night off with his Pittsburgh Penguins is 1st with 55 points.  Keep this in mind, Malkin has played 40 games, scored 25 goals and registered 30 assists.
There are 4 players with 52 points.  Steven Stamkos, Marian Hossa, Claude Giroux, and Henrik Sedin.
Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning has played 47 games, netted 32 goals and helped in 20 others.
Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks has played 48 games, netted 20 goals and helped on 32 others.
Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers has played 42 games, netted 18 goals ad helped on 34 others.
H.Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks has played 48 games, netted 11 goals and helped in 41 others.
There are 2 players with 51 points Joffrey Lupul and Pavel Datsyuk.
Lupul of the Toronto Maple Leafs has played 47 games, netted 20 goals and helped on 31 others.
Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings has played 47 games, netted 13 goals and helped on 38 others.
There are also 4 players who have 50 points.  Jonathan Toews, Phil Kessel, Jason Spezza and Daniel Sedin.
Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks has played 49 games, netted 27 goals and helped on 23 others.
Kessel of the Toronto Maple Leafs has played 47 games, netted 25 goals and helped on 25 others.
Spezza of the Ottawa Senators has played 50 games, netted 20 goals and helped on 30 others.
D.Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks has played 47 games, netted 20 goals and helped on 30 others.
Isn't it interesting to see Malkin has played the least amount of games and is leading the race?!  Keep an eye on these players. They make games fun and entertaining!

Watch out for Episode 7 of Hockey Talk with Courtney airing later this week!

The Canucks took on the Los Angeles Kings for the 3rd time this year.  This time it ended in a S/O win for the Kings.  Both teams have each won a game in the previous 2.  The Kings now have a 8-1-5 record since head coach Darryl Sutter took over.

It started out like any other game except the Canucks couldn't quite figure themselves out.  It was Luongo who kept them in the game the 1st period, only letting one goal get past him on multiple fantastic chances for LA.  The only one Lou let past him was by Dustin Penner who has only scored 3 goals all season.  Daniel Sedin scored early in the 2nd to tie the game only to have LA take the lead again by the end of the 2nd with a goal by Justin Williams.    With 5 minutes gone in the 3rd period David Booth scored while skating on the 3rd line and tied it up to send the game into overtime.  The 2nd line for Vancouver has been struggling a bit.  With Higgins and Booth both out with injuries for a bit, the 2nd line has had it's share of ups and downs.  However, the 3rd line for Vancouver has been a breakout line this year.  Usually Hansen, Hodgson and Raymond skate this line but it like others is always juggled a bit.  Sometimes Malhorta is there, sometimes Lapierre, Higgins, or Booth skate on that line. Irregardless, it can be a lethal scoring line and confusing teams defensively, pure magic.  Nothing happened in overtime and the game went to the 3rd round shootout.  Justin Williams and Mike Richards scored for LA and Alex Burrows scored for Vancouver.  Vancouver now sits 5th in the league tied with St. Louis and Chicago with 60 points, while LA has shot up the standings and now sits 11th with 55 points. Vancouver plays the San Jose Sharks Saturday at Rogers Arena, 1:00pm puck drop.

Here are how the other 10 games in the NHL unfolded last night:
  Pittsburgh beat Carolina in a S/O for a 2-1 win.  Jamie McBain scored for Carolina early in the 1st, then Evgeni Malkin who is so hot right now, scored late in the 1st to tie it up.  No scoring for the rest of the game and James Neal scored the game winner in the 3rd round of the shootout.
  The New Jersey Devils beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-1.  By the end of the 2nd period it was 4-0 Jersey, with Ilya Kovalchuck scoring 2 of the goals.  Winnipeg's lone goal came from Tobias Enstrom, but New Jersey's Patrik Elais scored the 5th goal in the 5-1 final. With this win New Jersey is 12th in the standings and Winnipeg is 22nd.
  The Philly Flyers also beat the Minnesota Wild 5-1.  By the end of the 2nd in this game is was 4-1 with Philly's Jakub Voracek scoring the 5th goal in the 3rd.  Philly, which is always a strong team, sits 7th in league standings with 58 points and MInnesota is 15th with 51 points.
  The New York Islanders shut the door on the Washington Capitals last night in a 3-0 final.  A goal was scored every period by the Islanders. John Tavares scored the 1st goal for his 17th goal this season and P.A. Parenteau scored his 8th and 9th goals this season with the 2nd and 3rd goals.  After this loss Washington still is 16th in the standings and the Islanders are 25th.
  The Ottawa Senators Kyle Turris scored the game winner against the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 3-2 final. Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza also scored for Ottawa, with Joffery Lupul and Matthew Lombardi scoring for Toronto.  Ottawa sits an impressive 8th in the standings with 58 points and Toronto has dropped to 19th with 49 points.
  The Edmonton Oilers fell short to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 4-2 final.  Oddly enough the first 2 goals were scored by Edmonton's Ben Eager and Anton Lander.  Columbus came back with 2 goals in the 2nd by Derick Brassard and Ryan Johansen and 2 goals in the 3rd by Derek Dorsett and Derek MacKenzie.  It was a good night for the Derek's and a not so good night for Taylor Hall.  Hall accidentally stepped on a puck in warm up, slipped and slid into a few fellow players who tried to avoid him but Hall took a skate to a face and ended up with 30 stitches!  Heal fast Taylor Hall, what a freak accident.  Check out the accident in "If You Need a Visual."
  The 2nd shutout of the night goes to the league leading New York Rangers.  They beat the Nashville Predators 3-0. Again a goal was scored every period in this win.  Handsome Henrik Lundqvist was in net and it was the Rangers 6th shutout this year.  The Rangers currently have 62 points and Nashville is 10th with 56 points.
  The Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins were beat by the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3.  Boston is 6th in standings and Tampa is 26th. Boston was playing catch up all night.  Tampa scored first, then Boston, Tampa, Boston, Tampa, and Boston again for a 3-3 tie half way through the 3rd period.  With the game winner for Tampa scored by Dominic Moore, just for fun Steven Stamkos scored the 5th goal for Tampa and his 31st goal of the season into an empty net with 21 seconds left in the game!  WOW!  Because this is only Tampa's 12th win at home this season and any team who beats Tim Thomas that many times in a game deserves a pat on the back.  I have put in the highlights from the Boston Tampa game in "If You Need a Visual"
  The Detroit Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 in a S/O.  Jiri Hudler scored the 2nd goal for the Red Wings early in the 2nd period after Detroit scored once and Dallas scored twice in the 1st.  Hudler was also the man who scored the game winner in the S/O.
  The last game to end last night was also a S/O that ended a 1-1 tie between the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks.  San Jose won 2-1 because of Michal Handzus.  Handzus also assisted Torrey Mitchell's goal, while Jarome Iginla assisted the Chris Butler goal for the Flames. San Jose is 9th in league standings while Calgary is 21st.

There are only 4 games today in the NHL.
Montreal Canadians vs Washington Capitals at 4:30pm
Chicago Blackhawks vs Buffalo Sabres at 4:30pm
Colorado Avalanche vs Florida Panthers at 6:30pm and finally
Anaheim Ducks vs Phoenix Coyotes at 7:00pm

Women's Only Fantasy Hockey Draft Results:
Juliet 1st place with 464 points
Sam 2nd place with 464 points
Roz 3rd place with 452 points
Sasha 4th place with 449 points
Mary 5th place with 448 points
Lexine 6th place with 448 points
Bonnie 7th place with 445 points
Sharon 8th place with 441 points
Josie 9th place with 440 points
Liz 10th place with 439 points
Stacey 11th place with 437 points
Joanne P 12th place with 433 points
France 13th place with 430 points
Vanessa 14th place with 427 points
Susan 15th place with 422 points
Tanya 16th place with 420 points
Jill 17th place with 419 points
Courtney 18th place with 417 points
Jean 19th place with 413 points
Amanda 20th place with 413 points
Teagan 21st place with 408 points
Amy 22nd place with 404 points
Michelle 23rd place with 398 points
Amie 24th place with 397 points
Gina 25th place with 392 points
Catrina 26th place with 391 points
Candice 27th place with 382 points
and finally super trooper Joanne with 374 points!  Joanne may always be in last place but she has the best looking team with Bobby Ryan, Maxim Lapierre, Christian Ehrhoff, Kevin Bieksa and Chris Mason to name a few!

As for the All Star Game let's keep it simple and run over which 6 goalies were selected!
Brain Elliott of the St. Louis Blues.  Elliott is the backup to Jaroslav Halak but Elliott has played 22 games out of 45 games for St. Louis this year.  Out the 22 games 15 have been wins. Elliott has let in only 36 goals in those 22 games for a 1.63 goals a game average and 5 wins have been shutouts!
Jimmy Howard is representing the Detroit Red Wings. Howard has played 38 games this season and won 27!  With only 75 goals getting past Howard this year he averages 1.97 goals a game and has also had 5 shutouts!
Henrik Lundqvist will be there for his New York Rangers. Lundqvist has played 33 games, won 20 and 4 of those wins have been shutouts. Letting in only 63 goals he averages 1.90 goals a game.
Montreal's Carey Price will suit up this year.  With the Canadians struggling this year, Price has won 15 out of 39 played.  Two have been shutouts. Price has let in 96 goals for an average of 2.46 goals a game.
Jonathan Quick will be representing the City of Angels. Quick has played 39 games, winning 20 and a whopping 6 have been shutouts!  Quick has allowed 76 goals this season which averages to 1.95 goals a game. WOW!
The last goalie this year and the one picked by fans is Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins. Thomas has played 29 games, won 18 and 4 have been shutouts.  Thomas has amazingly only let in 57 goals all season. That is an average of 1.96 goals a game. Big Wow.

Have a great day and enjoy your hockey!  Check back in tomorrow and see who are the players chosen as forwards in the All Star Game!  X

With 11 games being played today in the NHL it makes for busy channel surfing.  There are some interesting matchups.

The Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Carolina Hurricanes at 4:00pm  This is Pittsburgh's 1st game since Evgeni Malkin's natural hat trick to beat Tampa Bay 6-3 on Sunday. Carolina is coming off a 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals Sunday.  Pittsburgh is 16th in standings and Carolina is 25th.
New Jersey Devils play the Winnipeg Jets at 4:00pm.  
Philly Flyers take on the Minnesota Wild at 4:00pm.  
The Washington Capitals battle the New York Islanders at 4:00pm.  
Toronto Maple Leafs take on long time rival the Ottawa Senators at 4:00pm.  
The Columbus Blue Jackets play the Edmonton Oliers and "The Kids" today at 4:00pm. Both of these teams are teams growing and will be a force to be reckoned within a few years.  Edmonton is 27th in the standings and Columbus dead last at 30th.
The top team in the league, the New York Rangers take on the Nahsville Predators today at 4:30pm. Interesting matchup because the Rangers have 60 points and Nashville 56 but Nashville is on a 5 game winning streak.
The Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Boston Bruins at 4:30pm.
The Dallas Stars take on the Detroit Red Wings at 5:30pm.  Detroit always plays a great game and is coming on a 5-0 shutout of Buffalo last night.
The Vancouver Canucks take on the Los Angeles Kings.  This is the 1st time these 2 teams have met up since a 4-1 loss for Vancouver on New Year's Eve.  Los Angeles only has one regulation lose since new head coach Darryl Sutter took over December 22nd.  Puck drops at 7:00pm, let's see what happens.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks take on the Calgary Flames tonight at 7:30pm. Both teams are on a one game losing streak.  San Jose is 10th in the standings but leading their division, and Calgary sits 22nd in the standings.


Six games where played last night and here are the final results:
Nashville Preds beat the New York Islanders 3-1.
Phoenix Coyotes beat the Colorado Avalanche in a shattering 6-1 final. It was definitely "Miller Time" as the
Detroit Red Wings shut the door on the Buffalo Sabres 5-0.  Detroit has won their last 15 games at home!  At least the Miller family can cheer about the win either way.  Drew Miller got an assist on the 5th Detroit goal, and brother Ryan Miller, the #1 starter for the Sabres, was pulled in the 2nd after letting in 5 goals on 14 shots.  Older brother playing younger brother, Love It!
St. Louis Blues shut the door again last night beating the Dallas Stars 1-0.  The only goal was scored in the 3rd period by T.J. Oshie.
The Winnipeg Jets got the 3rd shutout the night beating the Ottawa Senators 2-0.  They scored early in the 1st with 49 seconds gone on the clock and again in the 2nd.  Done and done.
Finally, the Boston Bruins beat the Florida Panthers in a 3-2 shootout victory.  It was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation, and no scoring in the overtime.  Florida has been playing great lately and sit 13th in the league, Boston is 4th.

Ok 2012 All Star Game!  Lets break it down real quick.  Six players are chosen by the fans with the rest decided by the league.  It is designed to help keep it fair so hockey saturated cities like Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver don't get all their players in while cities like Phoenix, Florida, and Carolina, get the shaft because they have a smaller fan base.  Every team in the NHL is represented.

The 6 players chosen by the fans are 3 forwards, 2 defense and one goalie. The lucky players this year are :
D. Alfredsson, right wing of the Ottawa Senators
Jason Spezza, center of the Ottawa Senators
Milan Michalek, left wing of the Ottawa Senators
Erik Karlsson, defense of the Ottawa Senators
Dion Phaneuf, defense of the Toronto Maple Leafs
and Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins.

As you may have noticed, 4 of the 6 play for Ottawa while the All Stars game is being held in Ottawa this year.  Clearly Senator fans are showing support of their team!  See how easily fan voting can pick favorites?  Check back tomorrow for more info on All Stars!

The Canucks played the Anaheim Ducks last night.  The final score 4-2 Ducks.  It started off with a goal by Anaheim's  Nick Bonino.  This is one of the rare times Vancouver gave up the opening goal.  Shortly after Rookie All Star Cody Hodgson scored assisted by Chris Higgins and Dan Hamhuis.  It was Cody's 11th goal of the season and Higgins 1st point since returning to the line up after missing the year end road trip to California.  The 1st ended in a 1-1 tie.  Super Cute and fan favorite Bobby Ryan scored for the Ducks in the 2nd and Jason Blake scored unassisted to end the 2nd period it 3-1.  The 3rd saw a bit more action from Jason Blake.  Blake grabbed his 2nd goal of the night to make it 4-1.  Blake was assisted by Luca Sbisa and Bobby Ryan. Towards to end of the 3rd Mason Raymond scored to make the final 4-2 Ducks.  Only 3 penalties were taken by each team and Kevin Bieksa took all 3 penalties for the Canucks.  Hooking, boarding, and hooking again were Bieksa's crimes.

We discussed the Tampa Bay vs Pittsburgh game yesterday with Evgeni Malkin scoring his natural hat trick to break a 3-3 tie and win 6-3 in the 3rd.  The other 4 games played ended like this:

Washington Capitals beat the Carolina Hurricane 2-1.  After a scoreless 1st period, the 2nd ended in a 1-1 tie.  Washington nabbed one more goal early in the 3rd by Dmitry Orlov that was the game winner.

The Montreal Canadiens won their 17th game of the season against the league leading New York Rangers.  The 1st period ended in a 1-1 tie, and the 2nd saw Montreal score 3 goals.  Montreal played their back up goalie Peter Budaj over Carey Price and New York had handsome Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes.  Funny enough both teams had the exact same number of shots on net, 29.

A great game to see would have been the Chichago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks.  Both talented teams.  The final score was 4-3 Chicago.  Chicago ended the 1st with a 2-0 lead.  The Sharks caught up just after the 2 minute mark in the 2nd with 2 quick goals to tie the game.  Chicago answered back 5 minutes later to end the 2nd 3-2.  Each team scored one more goal in the 3rd and that was that.  After that win Chicago sits 2nd in the league with 60 points and San Jose 9th with 55 points.

The Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings.  Edmonton scored in the 1st, Los Angeles scored in the 3rd, and Taylor Hall of the Edmonton Oilers scored the overtime goal to get his team the 2 points.  Los Angeles is 11th in league standings and Edmonton is 27th.

There are 6 games today in the NHL.  

New York Islanders vs Nashville Predators is under way and Preds lead 3-0 after the 2nd.
Phoenix Coyotes play the Colorado Avalanche at 1:00pm.
Detroit Red Wings take on the Buffalo Sabers at 4:30pm.
St. Louis Blues play the Dallas Stars at 4:30pm.
Ottawa Senators take on the Winnipeg Jets at 4:30pm  and finally
Florida Panthers take on the Boston Bruins at 4:30pm.
An early rise in the hockey world with the 1st game starting before lunch and four games starting at 4:30pm PST Enjoy!

The Annual All Star game will be taking place this weekend in Canada's Capital Ottawa!  There are 3 big events that take place.  First being the draft.  Each team has a Captain and two Alternate Captains.  These 3 choose who they want on their respective teams.  This will take place Thursday the 26th at 5:00pm PST.  Then on Saturday they will have a skills competition.  This is always fun to watch because you get to see what these players can actually do.  How fast they can skate, accuracy of their shots, speed of their shots and stick handling, and everything in between.  This is also when you will see the 12 Rookies selected skate.  The Rookies don't take part in the actual game but this is when these 12 are showcased and you can see the up and coming talent in the league.  The Skills Competition starts at 4:00pm PST.  Then finally on Sunday the 29th we see the top players in the league do what they do best in a Red vs Blue game.  The game starts at 1:00pm PST.  It this game you may see Chicago Blackhawks play against each other, Daniel and Henrik Sedin possibly playing against each other like they did last year, Boston Bruins playing alongside Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks.  Former Blackhawk and current Winnipeg Jet Dustin Byfuglein reunited with former teammates Jonathon Toews or Patrick Kane.  It is a wild game and something you can't find anywhere else.

Check back in tomorrow and I will explain how the All Stars are selected.  Have a great day and enjoy your Hockey!  X

There are 6 games total being played tonight in the NHL.  The 1st one has finished and featured a back and forth affair between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Tampa Bay Lightning.  This game can be described in one word, "WOW".  Pittsburgh is always a strong team but has struggled lately.  The Pens sit 15th in the league and Tampa Bay is 27th.

Here is a quick recap of the game and I do mean quick. The 3rd period was a scoring party.  The 1st goal was scored by James Neal, then Richard Park scored another for the Pens to make it 2-0 end of 1st.  There was no scoring in the 2nd period.  Then onto a highlight reel 3rd period.  James Neal again scored making it a 3-0 lead and his 2nd goal of the night.  Tampa Bay then answered back with 3 goals in less then 5 minutes by Matt Gilroy, Ryan Malone, and Teddy Purcell ! Now it is a 3-3 tie with 13 minutes left in the 3rd period.  Enter Evgeni Malkin.  48 seconds after Tampa tied it Malkin scored unassisted to retake the lead.  One minute and 49 seconds later Malkin scored again, assisted by Brooks Orpik.  Silence for the rest of the 3rd until Malkin takes one more shot on an empty net to make it a 6-3 final and Malkin's natural hat trick breaks the tie and wins the game.  All I can say is WOW.

Canucks and Ducks are playing each other tonight.  Their 3rd meeting out of 4 this year. Canucks won once, Ducks won once.
The Canucks haven't played since returning home from St. Louis after thursday's win and the Ducks are coming off a 5-0 shutout victory over the Edmonton Oilers Friday night.  Ryan Getzlaf had a great night on Friday assisting on 4 of the 5 goals and grabbing 4 points.  By the numbers the Canucks sit 2nd in the league with 28-14-3 (wins-loses-OT/SO loses but still get a point) the Ducks are 29th in the league with a 14-22-7 record.  Both teams have great starting and backup goalies.  Vancouver is #1 in the west and Anaheim is 15th.  By the numbers Vancouver should win, but it is hockey and anything can happen, Go Canucks Go!

One of my personal favorite goaltenders, Martin Biron of the New York Rangers helped his team shut the door on the Toronto Maple Leafs last night.  Biron stopped 20 shots and put his team back on top of the league.  Now the Rangers have 60 points in 42 games.  

It was the 2nd straight loss for the Leafs, they were beat by the Buffalo Sabers 3-2 on Friday.  The Sabers played a back to back and lost to the New York Islanders last night 4-2.

The 25th placed team in the league, the Carolina Hurricanes, beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 on Saturday. Boston, the current Stanley Cup champs, sit 5th in the league.  There was no scoring in the 1st period and Boston opened up the scoring in the 2nd followed by Carolina.  The start of the 3rd saw one more goal, by Milan Lucic of the Bruins but it was downhill for the Bruins after that.  Carolina scored 3 goals in 5 minutes for a 4-2 final.  Cam Ward played another great game stopping 33 of 35 shots. Tim Thomas on the other hand, not so hot, stopping only 17 of 20 shots and the last Carolina goal was scored into an empty net. 

One last game to talk about!  The Los Angeles Kings beat the Calgary Flames last night 4-1.  The new but old Flame Mike Cammalleri was the only Flame to score. Could the most interesting part of this game possibly be the head coaches?  The Kings head coach is Darryl Sutter and the Flames head coach is Brent Sutter.  Coincidence?  No.  Yes they are brothers and 2/6 of the famous Sutter Clan.  This is the 1st time these brothers have battled it out since Darryl resigned from the Flames at the end of last year.  Darryl was quickly hired by the Kings to replace Terry Murray as head coach.  Two teams, two brothers.  I can only imagine that Brent and Darryl knew more of what each other was thinking, then what their other assistant coaches were thinking.  It made for interesting chemistry.  These teams meet again January 19th, February 18th and March 28th.  If these two brothers stay on as head coaches, wait for the fireworks to start.