Recap of Sunday’s games
Edinburgh 6, Helsinki 5 – The Edinburgh Capitals were able to overcome Nerius Alisauskas and that was saying a lot … on Sunday, at least. The Helsinki defense who had scored 3 goals this season entering the game, scored a hat trick, including two lasers in the third period that sent the game into overtime and got his team a point. In the shootout, Alisauskas shot first and was stoned by Edinburgh’s Ilya Bryzgalov. Alisauskas finished with 3 goals on 4 shots, an assist, 3 hits, 3 blocked shots and a plus 3 rating. The Lithuanian is one of three Jokerit defensemen who were credited with at least 200 hits last season. Jack Johnson and Daniel Fernholm were the other two. On Sunday, Helsinki gave the Edinburgh powerplay too many chances (12) and the Caps made it work for 4 powerplay goals.
Bratislava 3, Paris 2 – Since last year’s playoff series when Bratislava coach Bruce Boudreau called up Patrick Kaleta and Antoine Roussel to rough up the Eiffels, these two teams have not behaved well when they have played each other. On Sunday, Corey Perry led Paris in racking up 15 minor penalties. Bratislava took 6 of their own. Perry got an interefence call followed by three stick infractions: cross checking, spearing and high sticking. The result of the extended period of having a man advantage was a win for the Eagles. Wei Yang Zhang and Jonathan Toews scored powerplay goals for Bratislava, but it was Shawn Matthias’ 10th of the season in the third period that was the difference between the two teams. Paris goalie Tuukka Rask fended off 38 Bratislava shots in the loss. The win puts 3 points between Bratislava, in 8th place in the South, and Frankfurt and Prague.
Munich 2, Bern 1 – Cory Schneider turned in another strong game in goal for Munich, but with Bern on the powerplay in overtime pressing for the game-winner, it was a breakout and a long shot by penalty-killing Dire Wolf defenseman Ryan Wilson that did in the Bears. Wilson logged more minutes than anyone else Sunday and was named the game’s second star. Dany Heatley put Munich ahead 1-0 in front of the home fans, but Bern’s Mika Zinbanejad tied the game early in the third period.
Dublin 6, Oslo 0 – The Fighting Irish used the combination of Keith Yandle, goalie Tim Thomas and their dizzying top line to smoke the Outlaws. Before Oslo knew what happened they were down 4-0 after Yandle orchestrated a precision assault on Oslo netminder Semyon Varlamov. Yandle, Phil Kessel, Evander Kane and Tom Wandell scored in the first period for Dublin and Kessel and Milan Michalek added scores in the second period. Yandle finished with 4 points and Thomas notched his second shutout of the season and 11th of his career. By the way, the 40-year-old’s save percentage (90.5) is the highest it has been in his career. He’s the EURO League’s Jaromir Jagr. Oslo lost youngster Tomas Hertl to an injury, but they’ll soon get Mikhail Grabovski back. The 30-year-old Russian forward was averaging nearly a point per game when he suffered a groin injury a month ago.
London 6, Stockholm 3 – London allowed just 13 Stockholm shots in a dominating win for 18,319 Don fans. The first period was a little messy for them, as they allowed 2 Bobby Ryan goals but still entered the second period with a 3-2 lead. London’s Michal Grabner and Tyler Bozek scored twice each, and Taylor Hall dished out assists in 3 goals. Ryan and Mike Richards each tallied 3 points and Jason Demers blocked 5 shots for Stockholm.
Minsk 5, Copenhagen 3 – The Minsk Hussars, one of the league’s most improved teams, upset Copenhagen Sunday in Denmark. But it’s not like the Tridents let them win. Carey Price was a miracle worker in goal for the Hussars, stopping 48 of 51 Copenhagen shots. Minsk outscored Copenhagen 2-1 in each of the first two periods. Jakub Voracek was their best weapon, as he assisted on a goal in each period. Brooks Laich scored 3 points for Copenhagen and teammate Tomas Fleischmann peppered Price with 10 shots, scoring once.
