Anaheim forward Nick Bonino scored twice in the first 5:49 of the game against the Kings last night. It chased netminder Johnathan Quick back to the bench early. Bonino finished his hat trick in the third period as of three unanswered goals by the Ducks to knock off the Kings 7-4.
He also picked up an assist on Teemu Selanne’s third-period goal to cap off a four-point night. Dustin Brown scored twice for LA in the losing effort. Don’t look now but the Ducks are 5-1-1 and doing everything they can to keep pace with San Jose atop the Pacific Division.
Let’s take a look at the rest of a busy day and night on ice.
Pittsburgh thumped New Jersey 5-1 to get its first home win of the season. Five different Penguins scored on Martin Brodeur which makes the second game in a row he’s allowed a five-spot. Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz each had a goal and two assists for the Penguins. New Jersey suffered its first regulation loss of the season and is now 3-1-3.
Montreal roughed up Buffalo 6-1 as Rene Bourque and David Desharnais each scored a pair of goals. The Canadiens’ power play went 2-for-8 in the win and has scored in every game this season.
Buffalo netminder Ryan Miller was yanked after the second period in favor of Jhonas Enroth. Miller allowed four goals through the first two periods. It’s the third straight game Miller has given up four goals. Miller had only given up eight goals in his first four starts of the season, combined. Thomas Vanek picked up a goal for Buffalo to dodge the shutout. Is it just a slump or are the wheels possibly coming off of Miller?
The Avalanche took care of the Oilers 3-1 as Jamie McGinn had a goal and an assist in the win. Colorado pounded Edmonton netminder Devan Dubnyk with 40 shots on goal.
Chris Bourque’s first period goal was good enough for the Bruins as they slipped past Toronto 1-0. Tukka Rask picked up the shutout win turning aside 21 shots. James Reimer stopped 33 of 34 Boston shots in the loss. Boston is off a nice start at 6-1-1.
The Flyers beat the Hurricanes 5-3. Claude Giroux and Danny Briere each had a goal and an assist while Matt Read and Kimmo Timmonen picked up a pair of helpers. The Flyers went 3-for-3 on the man advantage. Eric Staal had a goal and an assist in the loss. Dan Ellis got the start in goal but was chased after allowing four goals on 12 shots in just under 21 minutes. Cam Ward relieved him and stopped 11 of the final 12 shots.
The Rangers were able to overcome a pair of Steven Stamkos goals and nip the Lightning 3-2. Carl Hagelin’s goal with 5:13 left in the third period proved to be the game-winner. Martin Biron made 30 saves and picked up the win for the Broadway Blueshirts.
Columbus doubled up Detroit 4-2 as Artem Anisimov scored a pair of second-period goals for the Blue Jackets. Jimmy Howard took the loss in goal for Detroit. Johan Franzen and Damien Brunner scored the goals for the Red Wings.
Ray Emery made 45 saves and Marian Hossa’s goal with three seconds left in regulation forced overtime for Chicago. Patrick Kane scored the lone goal in the shootout and the Hawks escaped Calgary with a 3-2 win to improve to 7-0-2. The game was scoreless until the third period and was tied at 1-1 until Jay Bouwmeester scored with 35 seconds left for Calgary.
Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith turned aside 17 shots as the Coyotes blanked Dallas 2-0. Nick Johnson and Mikkel Boedkker had the goals for Phoenix. Raffi Torres made his season debut for the Coyotes and took four shots on goal. Torres, you may recall, got a 21-game suspension for cleaning Hossa’s clock in Game 3 of the first round playoff series between Chicago and Phoenix.
Pekka Rinne and the Nashville Predators became the first team to deal San Jose any kind of defeat this season as they posted a 2-1 win in the shootout. This was another game that was scoreless until the third period and Craig Smith scored the only goal in the shootout.
Multiple Goal Scorers
Bonino-ANA HAT TRICK
Bourque-MTL, Desharnais-MTL, Stamkos-TB, Brown-LA, Anisimov-CBJ
Three Stars of the Night
1. Bonino Four-point night and sank Quick.
2. Emery Impressive 45-save outing against the Flames.
3. Stamkos He’s got seven this year and looks like he didn’t miss a step during the lockout.
Stat of the Night I-Beating Brodeur
Brodeur has allowed five goals in consecutive games for the first time since December 21-23 of 2010 when the Caps and Isles clocked New Jersey 5-1 on those days.
Stat of the Night II- Marty’s Revenge
Two weeks later, he started on a winning binge when he won 15 of his next 18 starts.
Sunday’s Schedule (all times ET)
Pittsburgh at Washington 1230pm How will the Pens do with back to back early games, and travel?
Ottawa at Montreal 2pm The first matchup of the year with teams that are in double-digits in standings points.
Florida at Buffalo 3pm Will the Panthers’ mainly weak offense cure Ryan Miller? Will Enroth get the start instead?
New Jersey at NY Islanders 3pm Will Johan Hedberg get the start over a reeling Martin Brodeur? (He should.)
And finally…
Who do you have for Super Bowl XLVII? I have Baltimore 20-17.
