National Hockey League news: February 29, 2008

February 29, 2008

There were 7 games played in the National Hockey League on February 28, 2008. The Penguins, with their newly acquired Marian Hossa face the Bruins, the Senators take the ice for the first time since their head coach was fired, and the Flyers try to get their second straight win after a 10 game losing streak.

Pittsburgh Penguins @ Boston Bruins
Marco Sturm scored a pair of goals in the first period to put Boston at a 2-0 lead. In the second period, Zdeno Chara scored at 2:21 to put the Bruins ahead by 3. Per Johan Axelsson gave Boston a 4 goal lead heading into the second intermission. The newly acquired Pascal Dupuis scored his first goal as a Penguin to put Pittsburgh on the board at 13:03 in the third period. Boston would retake a 4 goal lead before the game ended with David Krejci's power play goal. Tim Thomas made 27 saves for Boston, and increased his record to 23-14-4. Marian Hossa, another new addition to the Pittsburgh roster, left the game in the second period after a knee-on-knee collision with Glen Murray.

Ottawa Senators @ Philadelphia Flyers
Jason Spezza scored first for Ottawa on their second power play, breaking the scoreless tie at 6:33 in the second period. After the goal, Spezza butt-ended Braydon Coburn with his stick during some post-goal roughhousing, resulting in Spezza being ejected from the game. Jim Dowd scored to put Philly on the board later in the period. In the third, the Flyers took their first lead of the game when Mike Knuble scored a pair of goals, the second being a power play goal. Martin Biron made 32 saves, earning his 23rd win of the season.

New York Rangers @ Carolina Hurricanes
Brandon Dubinsky put the Rangers on the board at 3:50 in the first period with his 13th goal of the season. Sean Avery also scored in the first period with 44 seconds left to give New York a two goal lead. Chris Drury had a goal 2:14 into the second period. Erik Cole put the Hurricanes on the board before the halfway point of the second. Carolina came within one goal, when Cole scored his second of the night on the team's 4 minute power play in the third period, but Brendan Shanahan would put the blue shirts back up by 2 a few minutes later. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 26 of Carolina's 28 shots, picking up his third straight win.

New York Islanders @ Atlanta Thrashers
Mike Comrie gave New York the first goal of the game 9:15 into the first period. Just over two minutes later, Josef Vasicek put the Islanders up by 2 with his 14th goal of the season. Andy Hilbert scored to put the Islanders up by 3. Eric Perrin scored on a penalty shot to put Atlanta on the board. Then, Ken Klee, who was assisted by the newest Thrasher Colby Armstrong, scored his first of the season to put the Thrashers within 1. Atlanta tied it up when Alexei Zhitnik scored 1:14 later. The Islanders retook the lead when Comrie scored his second goal of the night 3:17 into the third period, but Atlanta would force overtime when Bobby Holik scored with 1:22 left in regulation. Trent Hunter won it for the Islanders 1:09 into the sudden death overtime, giving the Thrashers their fifth straight loss.

Phoenix Coyotes @ St. Louis Blues
The Blues took the first lead of the game when Ryan Johnson scored 15:13 into the first period. Ed Jovanovski scored on a Coyotes 5-on-3 power play a couple minutes later to tie the game. While still on a 5-on-4 power play, Niko Kapanen scored on a deflection from Keith Yandle to give Phoenix their first, and only, lead of the game. The one goal lead would hold through the next two periods, as the Coyotes sweep the season series against St. Louis, and give the Blues their 5th straight loss. Ilya Bryzgalov made 41 saves, earning his 25th win of the season.

Chicago Blackhawks @ Dallas Stars
Dustin Byfuglien put Chicago on the board first when he scored a power play 4:08 into the game. The Stars responded less than a minute later when Niklas Hagman scored his 23rd goal of the season. Mike Modano gave Dallas their first lead of the game just before the halfway point of the first period. Hagman scored his second of the night 2:47 into the second period. Loui Eriksson put Dallas ahead by 3 less than two minutes later. Trevor Daley put a goal past Patrick Lalime, which was the last shot he faced of the night, as he was replaced by Corey Crawford. Rene Bourque scored his first of two short handed goals of the night for the Blackhawks, but Hagman would complete the hat trick moments later. Andrew Ladd put Chicago back within 3 goals with over 10 minutes left in the game, but Jere Lehtinen would retake a 4 goal lead for the Stars, his 12th goal of the year. Bourque scored his second short handed goal of the night with 1:45 left. The Stars win their 4th straight. Brad Richards assisted in 5 goals in his Stars debut.

Los Angeles Kings @ Edmonton Oilers
Andrew Cogliano put Edmonton on the board first 47 seconds into the game. Anze Kopitar tied the score with 6 seconds remaining in the first period. Patrick O'Sullivan scored his 17th goal of the season to give Los Angeles their first lead of the game. Ales Hemsky and Robert Nilsson scored a pair of goals about a minute apart to jump into the lead. Just 57 seconds later, Los Angeles retied the game when Dustin Brown scored his 27th goal of the season. Hemsky scored his second of the night to retake the lead for the Oilers, and Fernando Pisani would cushion their lead with two minutes left in the second period. Brown scored short handed to put Los Angeles within 1 with 9:47 left in the game, but the former King Mathieu Garon would preserve the lead for Edmonton. The Oilers win their third straight game, and finish the season series tied with Los Angeles, 2 games a piece.

Wikinews Player of the Day
Today's Wikinews Player of the Day is Brad Richards of the Dallas Stars. Richards, who was traded by the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 5 player deal on Tuesday, played in his first game in a Dallas Stars uniform. He earned 5 points on 5 assists, and assisted in the game winning goal by Trevor Daley.