Helsinki 3, Moscow 2 (shootout) – Eliezer Sherbatov was the only one of 12 players to score in the shootout and his goal decided an extremely close, penalty-filled game between two Kharlamov Division rivals. Shots were 32-31 in favor of Helsinki.
Sam Godfrey, Moscow defenseman
Moscow had 11 powerplay opportunities, scoring once, and Helsinki was 2 of 7 in PP chances. Jaro Halak and Henrik Lundqvist were in goal for Moscow and Helsinki, respectively. Injured defenseman Duncan Keith is getting closer to being back in the lineup. He has already missed 15 games this season. Keith remains doubtful for a game against Athens tonight, but Dublin should see him in two games later this week. Rookie Sam Godfrey, a powerful Englishman who Moscow took with the 48th pick in the last draft, will most likely be sent to the farm club once Keith returns. Godfrey has played 25 games this season with the Bare Bear Brawlers, recording 9 points, 32 penalty minutes and a 0 plus-minus rating. He averages almost 2 hits per game, but he has 20 giveaways versus only 7 takeaways.
Lisbon 5, Zurich 3 – Steven Stamkos scored a hat trick and he is now 10 goals shy of the 50-goal plateau with 29 games left to play in the season. Bobby Ryan holds the league record of 56, which he scored in Season 2 as a member of the Dublin Fighting Irish. Zurich went into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead on goals by Ilya Kovalchuk and Drew Stafford, but Lisbon took control of the game in the second period. Lisbon is currently in fifth place overall, a point behind both Paris and Moscow.
Dublin 5, Edinburgh 3 – The Fighting Irish’s top line of Ryan Kesler, Phil Kessel and Evander Kane went on a rampage Sunday, practically beating Edinburgh by themselves. Kesler scored a pair of first-period goals and Kessel added a goal in each of the next two periods. All three members of the line had 3 assists, so Kesler and Kessel finished with 5-point nights. Kessel took 11 shots on Caps goalie Jakub Kovar. Adam Larsson had 2 assists, 2 hits and 3 blocked shots for Edinburgh, with teammate Olivier Roland getting a goal and an assist to go with 7 shots.
Belfast 2, Madrid 0 – The Giants outshot the Royals 32-24 and did a good job all over the ice. The game’s first goal came in the second period when James Neal slammed in a rebound of an Alexander Ovechkin shot that was saved by Robin Lehner of Madrid. Cody Hodgson scored his 11th of the season to give Jonathan Quick and the Giants more breathing room in the final 2 minutes. It was the third shutout of the season for the Belfast goalie.
Stockholm 5, Copenhagen 0 – Braden Holtby made 32 saves to notch his first shutout of the year. The Eagles’ line of Marcus Foligno, Marcus Johansson and Pavel Datsyuk did most of the damage. The two Marcuses each scored in the first period and the goals were the 10th of the season for both men. Foligno added an assist later in the game.
Minsk 6, Oslo 1 – Defense duo Ryan McDonagh and all-star Michael Del Zotto led Minsk over the Outlaws. McDonagh scored a pair of goals from the point and both ended the day with plus 4 ratings. So did forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Patrick Kane, who played with Mialn Lucic (+2). Backstrom scored twice and had an assist. Backstrom and Lucic don’t seem to have the same magic they had last season with Jakub Voracek on their right wing. Both players have 44 points so far and won’t match their output of 94 (Lucic) and 101 (Backstrom) points in Season 4. Kane is the team’s leading scorer with 49 points. Voracek, meanwhile, is also having a down year as a member of the Zurich Lions, where he has 38 points as the team’s fifth-leading scorer, playing on the top line with Patrice Bergeron and Ilya Kovalchuk. Voracek and Kane were parts of a four-player deal made by Minsk and Zurich during the off season.
