Chicago Scores A Touchdown While Atlanta and Washington Pitch Shutouts In Wednesday Action

Both the Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres were sporting three game losing streaks heading into Wednesday night’s game. The Capitals broke theirs as Semyon Varlamov made 25 saves on route to a 2-0 victory. Varlamov is now 9-1-2 with a 2.35 GAA and .922 SV% which makes him a top ten goaltender at this point in the season. Washington Capitals blog Japers’ Rink had this to say about Varlamov’s performance:

Semyon Varlamov was simply outstanding, something that had as much to do with his mental game as his physical one. After the Alex Ovechkin penalty, the ensuing powerplay, and the raucous atmosphere it would have been understandable for even the most veteran of netminders to get a little anxious. But Varlamov stayed calm and collected the entire time, which was exactly what the team needed.

Marian Hossa scores a pair of goals in his debut with the Chicago Blackhawks as the Blackhawks feast on the Sharks with a 7-2 win. Hossa signed a 12 year deal with the Blackhawks over the summer and is already starting to make them look smart. Cristobal Huet got the win for the Blackhawks as he made 22 saves. Our Chicago Blackhawk blog, Second City Hockey, seems to be very excited over the win:

Scoring a touchdown (the extra point is good!) on the road is good – doing it against a team that hadn’t lost in regulation at home, that’s better. If you read the Power Rankings post I had yesterday, you saw that this was had the potential to be a statement game. These are two of the best teams in the NHL – and the Blackhawks absolutely dominated the Sharks. Happy F***ing Holidays.

The Blackhawks with this win have established themselves as the team to beat in the Western Conference. What a way to celebrate an American Thanksgiving.

Ondrej Pavelec made 40 saves to post his second career shutout, as Atlanta clipped Detroit, 2-0, at Joe Louis Arena. Nik Antropov and Slava Kozlov lit the lamp for the Thrashers, who snapped a three-game losing string.

David Krejci notched the winner in the fourth round of the shootout as Boston edged Minnesota, 2-1, at Xcel Energy Center. Both teams had tallied once in the first three rounds. Krejci began the fourth round with a successful backhander, then former Bruin Chuck Kobasew had his forehand shot turned aside to end the contest.

Brad Boyes’ tally gave St. Louis its first shootout victory of the season, and Ty Conklin was sharp with 34 saves in a 4-3 final against Dallas.

David Legwand scored the game-winner with 1:53 remaining in overtime, as the Nashville Predators notched their seventh straight win, edging the Colorado Avalanche, 4-3, at Pepsi Center. In the extra session, Legwand found a loose puck down low and fired a shot over the pad of Craig Anderson and inside the left post.

Nigel Dawes scored the game-winner late in the third period, and Daymond Langkow notched a goal and an assist, as Calgary took down Phoenix, 2-1.

A rare goal from Matt Greene with 4:28 to play lifted the Los Angeles Kings to a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place.

Teemu Selanne tallied the game-winning goal and an assist, and the Ducks held on to top the Hurricanes, 3-2, at Honda Center.

Martin Brodeur was the star for the Devils tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Brodeur stopped 24 of 25 in the 3-1 victory over Ottawa. Patrick Elias scored the game winner for New Jersey while Milan Michalek scored Ottawa’s only goal.

Scott Hartnell scored with 5:27 left in the third period to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders in Uniondale. Brian Boucher was great for the Flyers, stopping 28 of 29 shots while Martin Biron allowed two goals on 28 shots. Trent Hunter scored the lone goal for the Islanders.

Simeon Varlamov pitched a shutout against the Buffalo Sabres as the Capitals snap their three game losing streak. Goals by Alexander Ovechkin and Eric Fehr were enough as Varlamov stopped all 25 of Buffalo’s shots. Ryan Miller was just as good, allowing two on 24 shots, but kept the Sabres in the game for most of it. The Sabres are now on a four game losing streak.

Niklas Hagman scores two goals as the Toronto Maple Leafs take down the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3. Matt Stajan scored the go ahead goal in the second period for the Maple Leafs. Rookie Carl Gunnarsson had three assists in his sixth career game with Toronto.

Ondrej Pavelec had a 40 save shutout against the Detroit Red Wings as the Atlanta Thrashers beat Detroit 2-0. Vyacheslav Kozlov and Ilya Kovalchuk scored the two goals for the Thrashers.

Sidney Crosby gets a goal and an assist as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1. Marc Andre Fleury has an easier night as he only faced 19 shots from Montreal. Bill Guerin and Sergei Gonchar were the other scorers for Pittsburgh and Max Pacioretty scored the lone goal for Montreal.

Pa Parenteau scored the only goal in the shootout as the New York Rangers defeated the Florida Panthers 2-1. Both Tomas Vokoun and Henrik Lundqvist had good night as they made 27 and 25 saves respectively. Marion Gaborik and Dominic Moore scored the goal in regulation.