Copenhagen 3, Prague 2 (shootout)
It’s like the movie “Groundhog Day.” For the third time in four games, Copenhagen, on home ice, has gone into a shootout situation with the score tied at 2-2. And in each one of those situations, Dany Heatley has scored, Andrew Ladd has missed and Alex Goligoski has scored the winner. Same exact thing every time, just like Gorundhog Day. We’re waiting for insurance salesman Ned Ryerson to show up and say “Am I right, or am I right? Or am I right?” The most recent shootout win came against Prague, where the Tridents will go Thursday for a rematch. Jussi Jokinen and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist for Prague and Sparta had more powerplay attempts, but Copenhagen goalie Roberto Luongo kept the game close enough so that Colin Greening’s first of the season forced overtime.
Bratislava 5, Zurich 4 (shootout)
A shootout in Zurich went through 5 scoreless rounds before Tyler Ennis ended it for Bratislava. The Eagles are tied with Bern for first place overall. Zdeno Chara, captain of the Eagles, had a huge game, scoring two goals, assisting on another, administering 4 hits and engaging in a fight with Lion Michael Sauer. Chara’s defense partner Paul Martin also played well, scoring a goal, blocking 2 shots and registering 4 hits. For Zurich, Ilya Kovalchuk and Jack Hillen each scored 2 points.Tyler Myers, Bratislava’s 21-year-old defenseman, sustained a lower body injury and is expected to miss games against Madrid and Munich.
Geneva 7, London 5
Geneva took 8 minor penalties and trailed 3-0 after the first period, but was able to finish strong and pull out a 7-5 win. Teemu Selanne, Mike Fisher and Nick Foligno made up the Generals’ most effective unit. Each member of that line scored a goal, and as a unit, they were plus 3, with Selanne racking up 4 points and being named the first star. London was led by Jake Gardiner and Michal Repik, who each collected 2 points. Derek Morris played well defensively for the Knights, blocking 3 shots and dealing 2 hits on night when he was plus 3.
Moscow 2, Edinburgh 1
Rene Bourque scored in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and win it for the Dynamo. Marcus Johansson and James Van Riemsdyk assisted on the game winner. Alex Ovechkin and Anze Kopitar combined for a first-period goal for Moscow, while Daniel Winnik countered in the second period for the Capitals. Edinburgh’s Henrik Lundqvist stopped 33 shots, while Jaroslav Halak stopped 21 for Moscow.
Oslo 4, Athens 1
Both teams fired at will, managing a total of 76 shots on goal, but Oslo’s shooters were more accurate. The Devils had a 46-30 advantage in shots and got goals from Pavel Datsyuk (2), Curtis Glencross and Jason Chimera. Athens seemed to take themselves out of the game in the second period by taking all four of the penalties called in that frame. Todd Bertuzzi scored Athens’ lone goal on Jimmy Howard. Oslo was playing without injured Daniel Sedin and Marc-Andre Bergeron.
Munich 6, Frankfurt 0
Jonathan Quick shutout Frankfurt and Joe Thornton was an assist machine, passing out 4 for the Duns. Thornton is now in third place in individual scoring with 25 points in 13 games. He trails Bern’s Jason Spezza (30 points in 15 games) and Bratislava’s Jonathan Toews (26 points in 15 games). Against Frankfurt, six different players scored goals: Josh Bailey (2nd of the season), Joe Corvo (3rd), Patrik Elias (8th), Dan Boyle (2nd), Milan Hejduk (8th) and Toni Lydman (1st). No one had more shots on goal in the game than Steven Stamkos, who had 6 for the Inferno.
