NHL Recap Jan 21, 2013 – Detroit Avoids Disaster, Toronto’s Home Debut Spoiled

In addition to the Ottawa Senators 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers, there were 6 other contests on the NHL schedule Monday afternoon/evening.  Here is a quick tour around the league:

Jan 21, 2013; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Tyler Seguin (19) scores a goal during the shootout against Winnipeg Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec (31) at TD Banknorth Garden. The Boston Bruins won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

1. Ondrej Pavelec of the Winnipeg Jets and the Boston Bruins’ Tuukka Rask each made 26 saves in regulation and overtime as they competed in a goaltending duel.  In the end, Rask’s teammates Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron solved Pavelec in the shootout, while Blake Wheeler was the only Jet to beat Rask as Boston won by a score of 2-1.
2. The New York Islanders jumped out to a 4-0 lead on goals by Michael Grabner, Kyle Okposo, Matt Martin and David Ullstrom, and then hung on to win by a score of 4-3 over the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Martin St. Louis, Benoit Pouliot and Steven Stamkos scored third period goals to make it close but a pair of late Tampa penalties took away any chance for the Bolts to complete the comeback.
3. St. Louis Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak was pulled despite the score being only 3-2 for the Nashville Predators, bur allowed the three goals on only 11 shots. Brian Elliott stopped all 13 shots he faced in relief, and both shooters he faced in the shootout.  The Blues evened the score and went on to win in the shootout by a score of 4-3.  Vladimir Tarasenko continued his early push for the Calder Trophy as he was in on all 3 goals for the Blues, scoring once and setting up the other two.
4. The Toronto Maple Leafs outshot the Buffalo Sabres 35-20 but Ryan Miller held the Leafs scoreless for the first 58 minutes as the Sabres spoiled Toronto’s home opener with a 2-1 win.  Cody Hodgson and Jason Pominville had paced the Sabres to a 2-0 lead before Nazem Kadri scored his second of the season late in the third.  The Leafs appeared to have tied the game with 1:17 left, but it was ruled that Joffrey Lupul had gloved the puck past Miller.
5. The Detroit Red Wings narrowly averted an early season disaster by defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in a shootout.   After being embarassed by the Blues in their opener, a loss to the lowly Blue Jackets would have caused panic in Motown.  However, Damien Brunner‘s highlight reel goal clinched the shootout win for Detroit, who got goals from Brian Lashoff, Ian White and Pavel Datsyuk.  Cam Atkinson, James Wisniewski and Vinny Prospal replied for Columbus, who served notice that they might not be a pushover this season, now that they seem to have solid goaltending as Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 39 of 42 Detroit shots to earn his club a point.
6. Ryan Getzlaf and Daniel Winnik each had a pair in the Anaheim Ducks 5-4 win over the Calgary Flames.  The Ducks moved to 2-0, while the Flames fell to 0-2.  Curtis Glencross had a pair for the Flames in the losing cause.  Miikka Kiprusoff allowed 5 goals on only 24 shots and now sports a less than stellar .830 SP.

There are 9 games on the card for a busy Tuesday, highlighted by a Central Divsion battle between the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues.  Check back tomorrow for the recap.