Minsk 6, Helsinki 3 – Nicklas Backstrom got the Hussars off to a good start against Helsinki and he and his mates kept the pressure up until the final buzzer. Backstrom scored one of three Minsk powerplay goals and he assisted on 3 other goals. Linemate Milan Lucic scored twice and the Hussars outshot the Jokerit 42-18, earning goalie Carey Price his 150th career win, which places him 11th all time in that category. Showing questionable judgment for Helsinki, Brad Marchand got into a fight with Minsk tough guy Matt Martin not long after Cody Eakin scored for Helsinki to make the score 3-1 late in the second period and it looked like a comeback could be underway. Not long after the fight, Minsk scored to make it 4-1.
Munich 6, Stockholm 3 – Six different Munich players scored goals as the Dire Wolf won in Sweden. After a first period that saw both teams score twice, Munich played a frustrating second period and entered the dressing room up 5-2. Tomas Fleischmann, Aleksey Morozov and Talgat Zhailauov tallied in that period and Zhailauov fed a perfect pass to veteran Patrik Elias three minutes into the third period. That goal gave the Dire Wolf a 6-2 lead. Zhailauov, from Kazakhstan, was named the game’s first star with a goal, 2 assists, 3 hits and 2 blocked shots. Cory Schneider made 37 saves for Munich to earn the win.
Milan 4, Gothenburg 2 – Alex Stalock withstood a strong assault by Gothenburg and gave his Milan team a win in Sweden. The Devils poured 31 shots on Stalock through the first two periods but he stopped every one of them. Meanwhile the Guerriero found themselves up 3-0 after all-star Luca Sbisa, former rookie of the year Niclas Danielsson and Kyle Okposo all beat Pekka Rinne with shots. Gothenburg was able to score on Stalock and they mounted a comeback, but it was too little, too late. It was not all good news for Milan, however. After a high-speed collision with Gothenburg’s Petr Vrana at the Milan blueline, Sbisa went to the bench slowly. He has been ruled out of the next game and maybe more with an “upper body” injury.
Lisbon 5, Bern 4 – The line of John Tavares, Steven Stamkos and Alex Steen was the difference in a close game. Bern was always in the game and checker Drew Miller scored his first two goals of the year, but with about 5 minutes left, when Tavares set up Steen for his second goal of the game and 23rd of the season, the Bears didn’t have a response.
Berlin 5, Oslo 2 – Smurfs Jiri Tlusty and Nicklas Hjalmarsson had 2-point games and Berlin outshot the last-place Outlaws 40-22. Still, Oslo’s Tomas Hertl and Curtis Glencross scored midway through the second period and the score was tied 2-2 for a while. Rookie David Pastrnak scored his 6th goal to give Berlin a lead they built upon in the third period. Jimmy Howard gave up two Oslo goals and he remains the league’s best goalie, stats-wise.
Belfast 6, Edinburgh 3 – The home fans in Northern Ireland expected a win and they got one. They also saw a lot of action. After a 2-2 first period, the second period opened with a spirited fight between defensemen P.K. Subban of Belfast and Luke Schenn of Edinburgh. Then Belfast pulled away with 3 goals and the Capitals started getting chippy. David Booth was called for a major penalty and his Edinburgh teammates followed that up with two minor penalties. The third period was Belfast’s turn to take penalties as they took 5 minor penalties in a 9-minute stretch. When the proverbial dust settled, Subban had 3 points and was named the first star.
