Paris 5, Athens 1 – The Rouge Eiffels took Athens to the wood shed, outshooting them 41-26 Tuesday in a rough game that featured a Corey Perry vs. Staffan Kronwall fight in the first 2 minutes. Evgeny Malkin scored two goals for Paris while teammates David Perron, Mikko Koivu and Perry also had 2-point nights. Paris is again in sole possession of first place overall in the EURO League, while Athens is in fourth. Jason Krog, a swift, intelligent defenseman for Paris, suffered a serious ankle injury in the game and will probably miss 10 or more games. Among the six starting defensemen on the team, Krog has the worst plus-minus rating at plus 9, but he is one of three Rouge Eiffel Dmen with more than 50 takeaways and fewer than 40 giveaways. Alexander Sulzer replaces him in the lineup. The German played 77 games for Paris in the EURO’s first season, then 26 in Moscow the next season before Paris reacquired him. In Seasons 3 and 4, he has only played a total of 4 games.
Belfast 5, Zurich 4 – P.K. Subban scored three goals, including a shorthander, and was a major part of a three-goal outburst in the third period that helped sink Zurich. His third goal allowed the Giants to take a 4-3 lead, but they couldn’t keep the Lions from tying the game late. Patrick Sharp scored his 22nd of the season with 1:58 to play. In the shootout, Jonathan Quick stopped both Zurich shooters and Lion goalie Roberto Luongo was beaten by Belfast’s Sidney Crosby and then Nazem Kadri.
Gothenburg 6, London 1 – Six different Devils scored goals, including Zach Parise, who now has 36 to place him fourth in the league in that category. Gothenburg’s Pekka Rinne had a shutout going until London’s Brandon Saad scored a shorthanded goal with 2 minutes to play. Cal Clutterbuck and Eric Staal each had two assists for Gothenburg. London chose a poor time for a poor performance. They desperately need all the points they can get in their fight for a playoff spot. With 16 games to play, they are one point out of the playoffs.
Edinburgh 3, St. Petersburg 1 – Despite being outshot, the Capitals came up with a road win Tuesday. Goalie Kari Lehtonen was solid, stopping 27 of 28 St. Petersburg shots, and he got the offensive help he needed from Andrei Kostitsyn, John Tavares and young defenseman Adam Larsson, who scored a shorthanded goal for his 9th of the season. Gurkan Cetinkaya of Edinburgh was among the most noticeable players with 5 hits, an assist and a plus 3 rating, while St. Petersburg’s Brent Burns blocked 4 shots, had 3 hits and a goal.
Bratislava 5, Milan 4 – Tyler Ennis and linemates Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews had a good night, combining for 3 goals as the Eagles continue their recovery from a poor start to the season. Captain Zdeno Chara has also kept up his good play. Against Milan, he had 3 hits and 4 blocked shots. Milan’s best players were Marcus Kruger and Tyler Johnson, who each had a goal and 2 assists. Danny Dekeyser blocked 4 Bratislava shots.
Oslo 6, Prague 3 – The Siamese Cats held a 3-2 lead late in the second period, but then the Outlaws turned up the heat and scored 4 straight goals. Max Talbot got the rally started with his 10th goal of the year with just under 2 minutes to play in the second period. And with just 20 seconds left until intermission, Tyler Seguin notched his second goal of the game and 17th of the season to put Oslo in front to stay. Talbot, David Petrasek and Mike Cammalleri all had a goal and an assist for Oslo.
