National Hockey League news: March 14, 2008

March 14, 2008

There were 8 games played in the National Hockey League on March 13, 2008.

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Boston Bruins
Jeff Halpern scored first for the Lightning 7:41 into the first period on a Tampa Bay power play. Andreas Karlsson put the Lightning ahead by 2 7:43 into the second period. At 7:57 in the third period, Chuck Kobasew put the Bruins on the scoreboard. Vincent Lecavalier scored an empty net goal for Tampa Bay with 8 seconds left in the third period, to secure the victory for the Lightning. The Bruins have now lost their third straight.

Calgary Flames @ Atlanta Thrashers
Daymond Langkow scored a short handed goal 13:57 into the first period, putting the Flames ahead by 1. Jarome Iginla scored a few minutes later for Calgary. Iginla also scored 2:45 into the second period. Ilya Kovalchuk put the Thrashers on the scoreboard a couple minutes later, and Colby Armstrong scored 19 seconds after that to bring Atlanta within 1. The Flames went back up by two goals when Wayne Primeau scored 12:39 into the second period. Kovalchuk scored his second of the night on a Thrashers power play, making it a 1 goal game going into the 2nd intermission. In the second half of the third period, Atlanta tied the score when Chris Thorburn scored. Bobby Holik gave the Thrashers the lead 16:13 into the third period, and Kovalchuk would complete the hat trick a few minutes later, scoring on an empty net while his team was on the power play.

Ottawa Senators @ Montreal Canadiens
Jason Spezza scored a pair of power play goals, first 8:21 into the first period, then 27 seconds into the second. Antoine Vermette also scored for the Senators with 1:59 left in the second period. Martin Gerber made 28 saves, improving his record to 27-13-3 and his 2nd shutout of the season. Ottawa has won their third straight.

Dallas Stars @ Detroit Red Wings
Trevor Daley put the Stars on the board 1:08 into the first period. Johan Franzen scored on a Detroit power play to tie the score at one goal apiece. Jere Lehtinen scored 44 seconds into the second period, retaking the lead for Dallas. Brenden Morrow scored a power play goal 13:42 into the second period to put Dallas up by 2. Detroit tied the score on a pair of goals by Pavel Datsyuk; first with 3:43 left in the second, then 36 seconds into the third. Mikael Samuelsson scored the go-ahead goal for Detroit less than a minute later. Valtteri Filppula scored an empty net goal to secure the Red Wings' victory with 5 seconds left. Dallas lost their 4th in 5 games, while Detroit won their fifth straight.

Los Angeles Kings @ Nashville Predators
Jean-Pierre Dumont broke a scoreless tie 8:50 into the second period. Alexander Frolov scored a power play goal to tie the score for Los Angeles with 1:27 left in the second period. Dustin Brown scored the go-ahead goal for Los Angeles just over 5 minutes into the third. Frolov scored his second of the night to put the Kings ahead by 2. Then Matt Ellis scored a short handed empty net goal with just under 2 minutes left. Erik Ersberg made 37 saves for the Kings, earning his second career NHL win.

New Jersey Devils @ Minnesota Wild
Stephane Veilleux scored 3:26 into the first period, then Brent Burns put the Wild ahead by 2 by the end of the first period. In the second period, the Devils tied it up with goals by Vitaly Vishnevski and Brian Gionta. Marian Gaborik retook the lead for Minnesota with 14 seconds left in the second period. In the third period, the Devils would retie the score and force overtime when Dainius Zubrus scored his 10th goal of the season. Jamie Langenbrunner scored the only shootout goal, giving the Devils the extra point in the standings.

Edmonton Oilers @ Colorado Avalanche
Jeff Finger broke a scoreless tie with 1:08 left in the first period, giving the Avalanche the first lead of the game. Jaroslav Hlinka scored 18 seconds into the second period, giving Colorado a 2 goal lead. Tyler Arnason scored a power play goal a few minutes later on a Colorado power play. Sam Gagner put the Oilers on the scoreboard with a power play goal 7:21 into the second. At 14:36, David Jones retook a 3 goal lead for Colorado with a power play goal. Less than 2 minutes later, Wojtek Wolski put Colorado ahead by 4. Peter Budaj made 23 saves for the Avalanche, who have now won 8 of their last 9 games.

Vancouver Canucks @ Phoenix Coyotes
Niko Kapanen broke a scoreless tie just over halfway through the second period on a Coyotes power play. Daniel Winnik put Phoenix ahead by 2 goals 7:32 into the third. Ilja Bryzgalov made 24 saves for Phoenix, earning his third shutout of the season. Roberto Luongo allowed two goals on 45 shots for the Canucks.

Player of the Day
Today's Player of the Day is Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers. Kovalchuk scored a hat trick, and also assisted in Bobby Holik's game winning goal in Atlanta's 6-4 comeback victory against the Calgary Flames. His third goal was his 48th goal of his season, and is closest to being the next player to have their 50th goal this season, after Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals) scored his fiftieth goal on March 4.

For information on the selection process of the Player of the Day, see this page.

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