National Hockey League playoff news: April 27, 2008

April 27, 2008

There were 2 games played in the National Hockey League on April 26, 2008.

Colorado Avalanche @ Detroit Red Wings
Johan Franzen had a hat trick as he led the Detroit Red Wings to a 5–1 win over the Colorado Avalanche. Franzen opened the scoring at 4:22 of the first period with a powerplay goal. Franzen then put the Red Wings ahead 2–0 with another powerplay goal, at 4:04 of the second period. Detroit scored two more goals in the second period; Jose Theodore, the starting goaltender for the Avalanche was replaced by Peter Budaj at 10:11 of the second period, when Henrik Zetterberg scored to put the Red Wings up ahead 4–0. Ian Laperriere scored the only goal for the Avalanche, at 2:38 of the third period. Franzen then completed his hat trick with a shorthanded goal, at 8:47 of the third period. Theodore stopped 16 out of 20 shots before he was replaced by Budaj, who stopped 19 out of 20 shots. At the other end, Chris Osgood the same number of shots as each of the Avalanche goaltenders face, stopping 19 out of 20 shots. Detroit leads the series 2–0.

Philadelphia Flyers @ Montreal Canadiens
Martin Biron stopped 34 out of 36 shots as the Philadelphia Flyers won, on the road, against the Montreal Canadiens, taking home-ice advantage from Montreal. Philadelphia went ahead 2–0 early in the game, on the strength of R.J. Umberger's and Jeff Carter's goals, at 5:53 at 8:39 of the first period, respectively. However, before the period would end, Saku Koivu put Montreal within one goal of tying the game, scoring at 16:18. Daniel Briere scored the only goal of the second period, putting Philadelphia up ahead 3–1. At 1:26 of the third period, Montreal came, again, within one goal of tying the game on the strength of Andrei Markov's goal. However, R.J. Umberger would score his second goal of the game to put Philadelphia up 4–2, at 17:39 of the third period, and that is how the game would end. Martin Biron made 34 out of 36 saves, while his counterpart Carey Price made 19 out of 23 saves. The series is now tied, 1–1.

Player of the Day
Today's Player of the Day is Johan Franzen. Franzen scored a hat trick for Detroit Red Wings in their 5–1 win against the Colorado Avalanche.

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