GMs, sorry about not keeping up with the blog on a daily basis. I have a few things going on now – mainly a college hockey season that I help with as assistant coach – that I didn’t have going on earlier in the year.
Here’s a reminder that the trade deadline is approaching. The league is currently at Jan. 23 and the deadline is Jan. 28, so you have five days to change the look of your team if you want to do it before the end of season 1.
Moscow 6, Frankfurt 3
A move that put David Jones on Moscow’s top line with stars Alexander Ovechkin and Anze Kopitar has paid off – at least occasionally – for the Dynamo. On Monday, Jones came up with a five-point effort to propel Moscow past Frankfurt 6-3. Jones had two goals on two shots against Inferno goalie Ray Emery. Ovechkin wound up with four assists and 5 shots, while Kopitar had a goal and two assists with 6 shots on Emery. Michal Handzus also scored twice for the Dynamo. Moscow was 3 for 7 on the powerplay, while Frankfurt was 1 for 1. Steven Stamkos and Claude Giroux each had a goal and an assist for Frankfurt with 11 shots on goal between them.
Oslo 5, Helsinki 2
Oslo turned on the offense faucet against their Scandinavian rival, outshooting Helsinki 48-29. Danny Briere flowed out with 3 goals and an assist to lead the way for the Devils. Alexandre Burrows had three assists and Mikhail Grabovsky managed a goal and an assist. All three finished the game plus 4. The Devils got an uncharacteristically offensive game from John Erskine, a free agent defenseman signed just before the game to unblock the sim. Erskine helped his new team by getting assists on the first and second goals of the game. He finished as a plus 2. Martin St. Louis was the Jokerits’ best player, getting a goal and an assist despite sustaining a minor injury in the game.
Gothenburg 4, Athens 3
Jordan Eberle came through for Gothenburg with a goal in overtime to win a game that Athens made close despite being outshot 41-25. Marcus Kruger, the Greeks’ fourth-line center, scored a goal and set up another in his limited time on the ice. He was also 7 for 9 in the faceoff circle. Gothenburg showed a balanced attack with Ales Hemsky and Ryan Jones each getting a goal and an assist in the win. But it wasn’t all good news for Gothenburg as defenseman Erik Johnson went down with a back injury and is expected to miss up to two weeks of action.
Geneva 2, Zurich 1
A tight battle of goalies was won by Kari Lehtonen, who stopped 33 Lion shots in Zurich. At the other end of the rink, Brian Elliott made 34 saves in a losing effort. Chris Thorburn scored his 5th of the season to open the scoring for Zurich, but veteran Teemu Selanne tied it several minutes later with his 17th of the season. Early in the third period, Dennis Wideman scored the deciding goal on a slapshot from the point. Wideman has been scoring with regularity and is currently tied with Kevin Shattenkirk for second in the league in goal scoring among defensemen. Both have 15. Dublin’s Keith Yandle leads in that category with 17. Wideman is third in points with 43, putting him behind only Dan Boyle of Munich (44 points) and league leader Erik Karlsson of Madrid (49). Pavel Kubina was a defensive star for Zurich against Geneva, delivering 6 hits and blocking 2 shots.
St. Petersburg 3, Minsk 1
Brad Richards scored twice to lead the Lynx against the Hussars in Belarus. Richards now has 24 goals this season. He also assisted on Erik Cole’s 28th goal of the season. St. Petersburg’s Jonathan Ericsson contributed with 4 hits and 4 blocked shots in front of his goalie, Pekka Rinne. Rinne made 26 saves, with Zac Rinaldo’s 7th of the season being the only one that got by him. Carey Price made 35 saves for Minsk.
Paris 5, Prague 4
Prague held a 4-1 lead halfway through the game, but Paris’ home fans helped them come back and win it. Second-period goals by defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo and Ryan Russell started a four-goal surge that spanned the final period and a half of the game. In the third period, Evgeny Malkin tied it on a goal from Nate Prosser and Corey Perry. Then David Perron won it on a play that included nifty passes from Malkin and Perry. Prague’s Ruslan Fedotenko scored a pair of goals, while teammate Bryan Little had a goal and 2 assists and Jussi Jokinen had two assists and three blocked shots. Shots were almost even, with Paris holding a 33-32 edge by the end of the game.
