St. Petersburg 4, Gothenburg 0 – The St. Petersburg Red Stars dealt a severe blow to Gothenburg’s playoff hopes Thursday, shutting the Devils out in the process. St. Petersburg started stronger and through two periods led 3-0 with a 26-12 advantage in shots. Jonathan Huberdeau was the offensive star of the game with two goals and an assist. He was also 16-5 in the faceoff circle. Jan Kovar had 3 points and became the only rookie with 20 goals this season. In goal, Antti Niemi was perfect and recorded his second shutout of the season and 13th of his career. The Devils’ loss puts them in ninth place in the Northern Conference, two points out of the playoffs with two games to play. Dublin is the team they need to catch and the Irish have one more game on the schedule.
Zurich 2, Edinburgh 1 – The Lions and Capitals were involved in a goaltender duel Thursday with the Swiss coming out on top. Drew Stafford scored the first goal of the game and picked up an assist on Patrick Sharp’s tally that made it 2-0 in the first period. Olivier Roland made it a one-goal game late in the second period, but neither team could score after that. Devan Dubnyk made 27 saves for Zurich to get the win, while Kari Lehtonen stopped 36 shots for Edinburgh. Gothenburg’s loss in Russia means Edinburgh is now safely in the playoffs, but Zurich still has work to do to stay in the playoffs. The Lions need to collect 2 points in their next three games against Berlin, Belfast and Moscow, which are three of the top 5 teams in the league. Berlin, by the way, has a chance to have three 40-goal scorers on their team this season. Ryan Callahan leads the team in goals with 42, while Loui Eriksson and Logan Couture each has 39 with three games to play.
Belfast 5, Bern 2 – Veterans Brent Seabrook and Henrik Zetterberg scored to give Bern a 2-0 lead in Belfast, but the upset victory was not to be. Belfast scored twice on goalie Mike Smith in the second period and three more times in the third. James Neal was credited with the 4th and 5th goals and he now has 36 goals this season, putting him 10th in the EURO and first on his team. Cam Talbot was in goal for the Giants and he turned in a 32-save performance. The win gives Belfast a 3-point lead over Berlin in the race for the President’s Trophy.
Copenhagen 6, Bratislava 3 – After a wild first period, Bratislava slowed down and the Tridents didn’t. Joe Pavelski and rookies Simon Hjalmarsson and Marko Dano scored in the opening period for Copenhagen, but after each Trident goal, Bratislava countered and the teams entered the second period with the scoreboard reading 3-3. In period 2, Copenhagen pulled away with a Josh Holden goal followed by Kevin Bieksa and Martin Erat tallies. Pavelski assisted on the last two goals. Late in that period, Marian Hossa fell awkwardly and injured his arm a bit. He might not miss a game, however, because the schedule gives Bratislava a one-week break before their final two games.
Minsk 5, Helsinki 1 – Helsinki penalty killers didn’t have their best day Thursday. The Jokerit, noted for their rough play, were made to pay for it by a Minsk powerplay that churned out 5 goals in 7 opportunities. Four of those PP goals occurred in the first period and that made the game a little anti-climatic after 20 minutes. Helsinki ended up with one more powerplay opportunity in the game, but the Jokerit were only 1-for-8 with the man advantage. Defenseman Michael DelZotto scored a pair of goals for Minsk in the win, while Swedish teammates Nicklas Backstrom and Gustav Nyquist each tallied 3 points.
Athens 4, Stockholm 3 (OT) – Stockholm forward Derick Brassard scored a couple of goals including one late in the third period to force overtime, but T.J. Oshie ended the home crowd’s cheering with a goal just 14 seconds before overtime ended. Both Brassard and Athens defenseman Dustin Byfuglien scored their 20th goals of the season in the third period. That gives the Greeks two defensemen with at least 20 goals this season. Ian White has 21.
