Helsinki 6, Madrid 2 – There is still hope in Helsinki. The Jokerit are 2 points away from the last playoff berth in the Northern Conference with 10 games to go. On Thursday in Madrid, the game was the kind of game Helsinki’s general manager likes. Yes, Trevor Grimm likes it rough. There was a furious pace throughout with the teams combining for 81 shots on goal. And there was a lot of hitting. Helsinki out-hit the Royals 30-24 and four players had 4 or more hits in the game, led by Jokerit winger Brayden Schenn, who had 5. Helsinki wasn’t shy about risking penalties. They gave the Royals 7 powerplay chances but killed off every one of them. Paul Stastny and Boone Jenner each scored 3 points for the Jokerit, while Schenn, Jack Johnson and David Booth all had 2 points. Stastny is now tied with Jarome Iginla for the team lead in goals with 20. Brian Campbell scored two first-period goals for Madrid and teammate R.J. Umberger took 7 shots on goal. Helsinki’s 6-goal outburst followed six consecutive games in which they scored 2 goals. It equals their season high for most goals in a game and it was the sixth time this season they have scored 6 goals. The last time they did it was a month ago, also against Madrid.

Berlin 3, Stockholm 1 – The Smurfs scored twice in the second period to break a 1-1 tie and they were able to shut down Stockholm the rest of the way. Berlin was the better team Thursday, controlling most of the possession time and outshooting the Eagles 36-22. Loui Eriksson had the best day offensively, assisting on the game’s first goal and scoring his 36th of the season to put Berlin up by 2. Waiver pickup Martin Erat broke the tie with his 9th of the season in the second period. Berlin goalie Jimmy Howard had a lot of help from the men in front of him as Berlin skaters blocked 15 Stockholm shots. Nicklas Hjalmarsson and Slava Voynov blocked 4 each for the Smurfs. Jason Demers blocked 4 shots for Stockholm and fellow blueliner Zach Bogosian was credited with 6 hits. Berlin’s win and Paris’ loss leaves both teams tied at the top of the Southern Conference with 98 points, although Paris has 3 games in hand.

Zurich 5, Paris 3 – Zurich pounced on Paris from the very start of the game, firing 20 shots on Tuukka Rask in the first period and 20 more in the second. Still, Paris had the lead after the first period and only trailed by a goal when the third period began. Dwight King scored his second goal of the game and 7th of the season to give Zurich its biggest lead of the game. King and four other Zurich forwards had 2 points in the game. Janne Niskala helped the winners by dishing out 6 hits and blocking 3 shots while logging a game-high 31 minutes of ice time. Paris’ Mike Ribeiro did a good job of filling in for the ill Evgeny Malkin, getting off 6 shots, a goal, an assist, 2 hits and 2 blocked shots, but he took two penalties and was lousy at faceoffs Thursday.

Geneva 4, Munich 1 – Ilya Nikulin ended the debate about who was going to win the game when he scored two goals in the third period. Darren Helm stole a puck in the corner to the left of Munich goalie Robert Kristan and then slid it to the right point as Nikulin raced in from neutral ice. Nikulin made a quick move to get by Damien Brunner then ripped a wrist shot to give Geneva a 3-1 lead. Later in the period, while the Generals were on the powerplay, he fired a slapshot that eluded Kristan’s stick and blocker. Nikulin now has 16 goals this season and although he’s a defenseman, he’s tied for second on the team in scoring, one goal behind Marian Gaborik. Nikulin is also fourth on the team in points with 40 and first in hits with 182. In his third year in the league, Nikulin already has more goals and points than he did in two seasons with the Minsk Hussars.

Frankfurt 2, Moscow 1 – Jan Laco did his part to get the game into overtime and Alex Steen scored to give Frankfurt an upset win in Moscow. Laco made 37 saves and was voted as the game’s first star. In the overtime session, Frankfurt seemed to have momentum on their side. They had all 5 of the shots taken in the extra period, and on the fifth one, Steen was able to deflect a David Legwand shot-pass between the legs of Spartak goalie Jaroslav Halak. Chris Higgins of Frankfurt scored the game’s first goal in the opening period, but that was countered 7 minutes later by Moscow and a goal by defenseman Jason Garrison.

Dublin 6, Edinburgh 5 – Edinburgh had a 4-1 lead before Tomas Plekanec, Ryan Kesler and Phil Kessel started a Dublin comeback that resulted in an overtime victory for the Fighting Irish. The three Dublin forwards either scored or assisted on all 6 of their team’s goals against Ilya Bryzgalov in the Capitals’ net. Kesler now has 92 points and is tied for second in scoring behind Steven Stamkos of Frankfurt, who has 94. Tony Martensson was Edinburgh’s bast player with 2 goals, 5 shots and 3 blocked shots.

TOP SNIPER RACE: A handful of players have a shot of finishing the season as the EURO League’s best goal scorer. With roughly 10 games to go, Two players have 42, two others have 40 and a lot of other players are within a hot streak of overtaking them. Ilya Kovalchuk of Zurich has led everyone most of the season, but John Tavares of Edinburgh has pulled even with him at the top of the list. Nicklas Backstrom of Minsk and Gothenburg’s Zach Parise are just 2 goals behind them.