National Hockey League news: March 15, 2008

March 15, 2008

There were 5 games played in the National Hockey League on March 14, 2008.

Atlanta Thrashers @ Washington Capitals
Brooks Laich had his third two-goal game in the past nine games as the Washington Capitals beat the Atlanta Thrashers 4-1 at the Verizon Center in Washington. Atlanta scored first, but Washington tied it up three minutes later, and took the lead in the second period. Alexander Ovechkin had a goal and assist, bringing up his points total to 99 (57 goals and 42 assists). Kari Lehtonen let in four goals on 37 shots for the Thrashers while Olaf Kolzing of the Capitals faced only 12 shots, letting in one goal.

Chicago Blackhawks @ Columbus Blue Jackets
The Chicago Blackhawks chased Columbus goaltender Pascal Leclaire from the nets after allowing three goals on six shots barely past the midway mark of the first period. The Blue Jackets made interesting by coming back within one goal, twice, once in the second period and once in the third period. Chicago then went on to score two straight in the third period to win the game 6-3. Patrick Lalime made 29 saves out of a possible 32, including a 17 shot second period where he let in two goals. Fredrik Norrena saved 16 shots out of 19 after replacing Leclaire.

Carolina Hurricanes @ Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres romped the Carolina Hurricanes 7-1 in a heated match at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo. The Sabres jumped to a 4-0 lead by the end of the first period, and a 6-0 lead by the end of the second period. Scott Walker had the only goal for the Hurricanes, shorthanded, at 11:30 of the third period. He also collected 21 minutes in penalties, including a fight, three minors, and a misconduct. Derek Roy led the offensive charge for Buffalo, scoring two goals, and assisting on another one. Cam Ward let in four goals on seven shots, and was replaced by John Grahame. Ryan Miller stopped all but one out of 28 shots.

New York Rangers @ Florida Panthers
Sean Avery had two assists for the New York Rangers in a losing cause as his team lost the Florida Panthers in a 3-2 count. The Panthers scored first, and then fell behind 2-1. Jassen Cullimore tied the game up with a goal 11:42 of the second period, and go on to win the game on the strength of Olli Jokinen's powerplay goal at 7:12 of the third period. Many shots were fired both ways; the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 out of 30 shots in a losing cause, while the Panther's Tomas Vokoun stopped 32 out of 34.

St. Louis Blues @ San Jose Sharks
Eight different Sharks players had points as the San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 at the HP Pavillion at San Jose. Milan Michálek opened the scoring early, at 1:10 of the first period. Jeremy Roenick scored what turned out the eventual game-winning goal at 10:22. Brian Campbell scored San Jose's third goal at 12:10 of the same period, and Sharks' captian Patrick Marleau scored their fourth goal at 13:15 of the first period on a penalty shot. David Backes scored the Blues' only goal at 0:54 of the second period on the power-play, but that would as close as the Blues would get. Hannu Toivonen made 23 saves on 27 shots, while his counterpart Evgeni Navokov 20 saves out of a possible 21.

Player of the Day
Today's Player of the Day is Derek Roy of the Buffalo Sabres. Roy had two goals and an assist in Buffalo's 8-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Roy now has 29 points, which is a personal season record, and currently leads his team in goals scored.

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

Related news
Yesterday's NHL news: