National Hockey League news: February 19, 2008

February 19, 2008

There were 4 games played in the National Hockey League on February 18, 2008, including the struggling Detroit Red Wings, who have dropped 6 straight, taking on their rivals the Colorado Avalanche.

Carolina Hurricanes @ New Jersey Devils
The Devils were on the board first, when Travis Zajac scored two minutes into the game. Mike Mottau would score a power play goal just over 5 minutes later to give New Jersey a 2 goal lead. Jay Pandolfo would increase their lead with an early second period goal. Jeff Hamilton would score an unassisted goal at 6:17 in the second period to put Carolina on the score board. A few minutes later, Johnny Oduya would put the Devils back up by three goals. Zach Parise would score in the closing seconds of the game, his 23rd of the season. The Devils won their 4th in 5 games, and ended Carolina's three game winning streak.

San Jose Sharks @ New York Islanders
Marcel Goc put the Sharks on the scoreboard at 2:19 in the second period. Halfway through the game, Radek Martinek made a shot on goal, hitting the mask of the Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov, breaking the mask and bloodying the face of the San Jose goalminder. He would return, with stitches, in the third period. Joe Thornton add a goal for San Jose at 2:14 in the third period. After that, it was all the Islanders. Andy Hilbert, Mike Comrie, and Freddy Meyer would each score a goal for New York to give them the lead before the game was over.

Detroit Red Wings @ Colorado Avalanche
There's no question that the Detroit Red Wings needed a victory, after losing six straight. They picked one up in Colorado. Chris Chellios started the scoring for the Red Wings at 12:03 in the first period. In the closing minute of the first period, Valtteri Filppula would increase the Detroit lead to two with a power-play goal. Henrik Zetterberg would light the lamp twice in the second period, first on the power play at 7:42, then again just over two minutes later, to double Detroit's lead.

Red Wing Nicklas Lidstrom left the game in the first period after taking a hit from Ian Laperriere. Lidstrom got up obviously shaken, and was assisted by a nearby referee for balance as he made his way off the ice. It's been reported that he has injured his right knee. There were also worries of a possible head injury; Lidstrom appeared dazed before getting up from the ice, but tests for a concussion have come back negative.

Phoenix Coyotes @ Los Angeles Kings
Phoenix scored first, when Ed Jovanovski got his 10th goal of the season, assisted by Radim Vrbata and Shane Doan, to put the Coyotes up early. Less than two minutes later, Vrbata would score a goal of his own to increase the Phoenix advantage to two goals early in the game. Daniel Carcillo would put the Coyotes up by three goals at 4:16 in the second period, and Daniel Winnik would increase the Phoenix lead at 12:40, which was assisted by Jovanovski. Phoenix picked up the victory, and Wayne Gretzky won his hundredth game as head coach of the Coyotes.

Other news
According to Peter Forsberg's agent, it is unlikely Forsberg will be returning to the NHL this season, this after weeks of speculation over which club would sign the free agent forward. Forsberg hasn't played in the NHL this season due to foot and ankle problems.

The Chicago Blackhawks re-signed defenseman Brent Seabrook to a three year, US$10.5 million contract. Seabrook has scored 7 goals, 12 assists, and is a +12 this season with the Hawks.

St. Louis Blues goaltender Manny Legace was named the NHL first star of the week. Legace had a 3-0-1 record for the week, and gave up only 5 goals on 130 shots. Islanders left wing Ruslan Fedotenko was named the second star. He had 4 goals and an assist, including two goals in the Islanders' 5-4 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs on St. Valentine's Day, his first multi-goal game of the season. Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price was named the third star. Price, who has started the last three games for the Habs in place of the struggling Cristobal Huet, had 3 wins this week, including a shutout against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The captain of the Ontario Hockey League's Windsor Spitfires, center Mickey Renaud, died after collapsing in his home Monday afternoon. He was rushed to Windsor Regional Hospital in Windsor, Ontario, where he was pronounced dead after attempts at reviving the 19 year old failed. Renaud was drafted by the Calgary Flames in 2007, a fifth round pick. He scored 21 goals and 20 assists in the 56 games he played this season.