The Guerriero made a long journey from Milan to Minsk, (Rochelle, Rochelle), and left with a point. They would have had two points if not for third period goals by Minsk defensemen Nicklas Grossman and Nick Leddy, which led to overtime and a shootout that Patrik Hornquist and Niclas Backstrom won for the Hussars. Minsk also got a pair of goals from Sergei Kostitsyn, but those were offset by Dustin Brown’s 31st and 32nd of the season. Brown’s last goal gave the Guerriero a 5-3 lead. Antoine Vermette had 3 assists in the game for Milan. With 55 games played, Minsk needs to improve by about 10 points and pass three teams to make it into the playoffs. Milan is pretty comfortably in the playoff picture in the Southern Conference, but are lining up for a date with Bern or Geneva in the first round unless they improve.
Munich 5, Frankfurt 2
Dan Boyle scored two powerplay goals and Patrik Elias had 3 assists as the Foxes burned the inferno. Nine Frankfurt penalties slowed their attack to slug speed and contributed to Munich’s 33-22 shots advantage. Dion Phaneuf, who has been on the scoresheet a lot in recent games, had a goal and an assist for Munich. Frankfurt had a 2-0 lead on goals by Shawn Horcoff (his 6th) and Nino Niederreiter (3rd), but Munich then reeled off five straight.
Helsinki 5, Bratislava 2
Paul Stastny had a hand in three Helsinki goals, but Bratislava was right in the game into the final minute. With Craig Anderson on the Bratislava bench in favor of an extra attacker, Antti Miettinen all but ended it by knocking the puck off Marian Hossa’s stick and then firing it into the open net with 44 seconds left. Miettinen then poured some salt into the Eagles’ wound by stealing the puck again and feeding Mikael Boedker on the far side of the net for a goal with Anderson back in net. Stastny had a goal and two assists, while Miettinen and Martin St. Louis each had a goal and an assist. Bratislava’s Martin Erat also had a goal and an assist, while Hossa finished with 2 assists.
Oslo 6, Belfast 2
Oslo’s Jimmy Howard was better than Belfast’s Cory Schneider as the goalies faced an almost identical number of shots. Oslo ripped off four first period goals before Belfast got on the scoreboard with Rick Nash’s 12th goal of the season. The Devils’ Daniel Sedin and Curtis Glencross each scored twice. Sedin now has 21 goals this season and Glencross has 14. Defense partners Ryan Suter and Shea Weber each was plus 2 with 5 hits for Oslo, while Mikhail Grabovski and Alex Burrows each had 2 assists. Defenseman Justin Faulk was Belfast’s most impressive player, registering 5 hits and blocking 3 shots in 23 minutes of playing time.
Gothenburg 3, Moscow 1
The visitors jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal by Anze Kopitar, but Gothenburg stormed back in the second and third periods for a 3-1 win. Johnny Oduya, Milan Lucic and Dan Girardi scored the Gothenburg goals while Martin Brodeur was perfect over the last 54:55 of the game. Gothenburg is in 7th place in the Northern Conference, 5 points ahead of 9th place Stockholm. Moscow could have gotten to within 6 points of a playoff berth with a win in Gothenburg.
Berlin 3, Madrid 2
The Smurfs defeated the Royals for the second time in less than a week, thanks in part to a 15-second stretch of the second period. With the score tied 1-1 early in the second, Kris Versteeg slammed home a rebound to give Berlin the lead, and 15 seconds later, Matt Read made it 3-1. For each Smurf, it was his 16th of the season and David Krejci assisted on both goals. Alex Tanguay scored his 22nd of the season a period later, but Madrid couldn’t keep up with the Smurfs who peppered Madrid goalie Tomas Vokoun with 51 shots. Read had 10 shots all by himself. Berlin’s Niklas Hjalmarsson blocked a shot with his ankle and will have to take a week or two off to let it heal fully.
