National Hockey League news: February 25, 2008

February 25, 2008

There were 7 games played in the National Hockey League on February 24, 2008.

Calgary Flames @ Minnesota Wild
Daymond Langkow gave Calgary their first lead of the game with a first period power play goal. Craig Conroy increased the Flames' lead to 2 goals 13:52 into the second period. Mark Parrish put the Wild on the board early in the third period, but despite outshooting Calgary 39-16, Minnesota couldn't get any more goals past Miikka Kiprusoff. The Flames now sit in first place in the Northwest Division, a spot occupied by Minnesota since before the All-Star break.

San Jose Sharks @ Pittsburgh Penguins
This game was delayed for a short time due to a zamboni malfunction. That delay also caused a delay in the scoring, since the first two periods ended with a scoreless tie. Jonathan Cheechoo put San Jose on the board 3:10 into the third period, Erik Christensen also scored for the Penguins to tie the game and send it to a shootout. Christiensen and Jarkko Ruutu scored on their attempts in the shootout, but Joe Pavelski, Cheechoo, and Jeremy Roenick each scored for San Jose, giving them the victory, their 7th win in their last 8 games against the Penguins.

New Jersey Devils @ Washington Capitals
Jamie Langenbrunner broke a scoreless tie in the opening minute of the third period. Alexander Semin tied the score 2:46 into the third period to tie the score. In overtime, John Madden scored the game winner in the closing minute of the 4-on-4 overtime to give the Devils their 5th straight win. Alexander Ovechkin was held to just one assist, but the 1 point was enough to put him tied in first as NHL's point leader with Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin. The Capitals now have lost three straight. Martin Brodeur made 37 saves, getting his 5th win in his last 5 decisions.

Florida Panthers @ New York Rangers
Scott Gomez scored the first goal for the Rangers 7:53 into the first period. In the second period, Marek Malik scored his first goal of the season. That was closely followed by Jaromir Jagr's 648th career goal, and the Rangers found themselves up 3-0 going into the second intermission. Nigel Dawes gave New York a 4 goal lead, and Martin Straka would put the Rangers up by 5 goals before the game was over. Gomez had three points, scoring one goal and assisting on the Malik and Dawes goals. Henrik Lundqvist was named the first star of the game, after making 23 saves and picking up his 8th shutout as a Ranger.

Chicago Blackhawks @ Anaheim Ducks
Teemu Selanne put his first goal of the night past Patrick Lalime at 7:45 in the first period. Moments later, Ryan Getzlaf scored to put the Ducks up by two. Selanne scored his second goal on Anaheim's second power play to put them up by 3. Patrick Sharp put Chicago on the board less than a minute later. Anaheim would get it back though, when Kent Huskins scored early in the second period. Sharp scored his second goal of the night 13:52 through the second period to make the score 4-2. Brent Seabrook's goal brought the Blackhawks to within 1, but a pair of goals by Selanne and Chris Kunitz put Anaheim further away. Selanne scored a hat trick, his first since January 11 2007, and a pair of assists. He now has 546 career goals, and moved ahead of Maurice "The Rocket" Richard in the list of NHL career goal scorers. Kunitz had 4 points, 1 goal and 3 assists. Sharp and Jonathan Toews each had three points for Chicago.

Colorado Avalanche @ Edmonton Oilers
Tyler Arnason put Colorado on the board 27 seconds into the game. Ben Guite would give the Avalanche a 2 goal lead going into the first intermission. Sam Gagner put Edmonton within one in the second period. Edmonton tied the score on a Curtis Glencross goal later in the second. The go-ahead goal by Andrew Cogliano at 7:29 in the 3rd would prove to be the game winner. The Oilers break a 3 game losing streak with their victory.

St. Louis Blues @ Phoenix Coyotes
Zbynek Michalek broke a scoreless tie at 4:27 in the second period to put Phoenix ahead by 1. A goal by Joel Perrault which ricocheted against Manny Legace's leg put the Coyotes up by two goals. Ilya Bryzgalov saved all of St. Louis' 35 shots, and earned his 4th career shutout. The Blues have now lost 3 straight, and their 8th of their last 9 against the Phoenix Coyotes.