NHL Happenings

Maple Leafs 5, Senators 1
James Reimer in his first NHL start kicked out 32 of 33 Ottawa shots as the Toronto Maple Leafs embarrassed the Senators 5-1. Ottawa goalie Brian Elliott allowed 3 goals on 7 shots and was replaced after the first sixteen minutes of play by Mike Brodeur, who made 12 saves. Tyler Bozak scored twice for the Maple Leafs, while Joey Crabb, Tomas Kaberle, and Phil Kessel each registered two assists. Sergei Gonchar tallied the only goal for Ottawa.

Hurricanes 6, Devils 3
Martin Brodeur was ineffective yet again, and was pulled in the first period after allowing 3 goals on ten Carolina shots. Devil backup Johan Hedberg played in relief the rest of the way. Rookie Jeff Skinner and Sergei Samsonov scored two goals apiece for the 'Canes. Tuomo Ruutu had a goal and three assists, and rookie Zac Dalpe netted his first NHL goal after being called up from Charlotte, Carolina's AHL affiliate yesterday. Carolina netminder Cam Ward earned the win blocking 25 of 28 shots. Patrick Elias had a goal and an assist, Matt Corrente registered two assists, and Rod Pelley and Travis Zajac each scored a goal for New Jersey.

Sabres 7, Bruins 6, SO
Tyler Ennis scored the decisive shootout goal, and Drew Stafford registered his second hat trick in two weeks as the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Boston Bruins 7-6. Jason Pominville had two goals and two assists, and Thomas Vanek registered a goal and an assist for Buffalo. Boston goalie Tuuka Rask was pulled after allowing 3 goals on 16 shots. He was relieved by Tim Thomas who also allowed 3 goals. Zdeno Chara and Tyer Seguin each had a goal and an assist, while Steven Kamfer, Dennis Seidenberg, Brad Marchand and Andrew Ferrence each netted goals for the Bruins. Ryan Miller was far from his best. He kicked out only 34 of 40 shots but was able to get the win for Buffalo.

Lightning 2, Rangers, OT
Nate Thompson scored on a pass from Dana Tyrell in overtime as the Tampa Bay Lightning out-dueled the New York Rangers 2-1. In the first period, Tyrell scored on an assist from Thompson. Marion Gaborik forced the overtime for the Rangers when he slipped the puck by Tampa Bay goalie Cedrick Desjardins with 45.6 seconds left in overtime. Desjardins won his second consecutive start after being recalled from Norfolk in the AHL on December 20th. Henrik Lundqvist played well, stopping 31 of 32 shots in the Ranger loss.

Capitals 3, Penguins 1, The Winter Classic
Eric Fehr netted a pair of goals for Washington and Mike Knuble scored once as the Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Winter Classic played outdoors in a makeshift arena in Pittsburgh. Superstars Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin went scoreless. Evgeni Malkin scored the only goal for the Pens. Semyon Varlamov, who earned the first star honors, stopped 32 shots for the victory. Marc-Andre Fleury was the hard luck loser for Pittsburgh, stopping 29 of 32 Capital shots.

Flames 2, Oilers 1
Mark Giordano tipped in an Alex Tanguay wrist shot for the winning goal as Calgary beat Edmonton 2-1. Tim Jackman also scored for the Flames. Mikka Kiprusoff was brilliant again kicking out 16 of 17 shots. Oiler goalie Nikolai Khabibulin was also outstanding stopping 28 shots. Edmonton rookie Jordan Eberle was forced to leave the game in the second period when he injured his ankle slamming into the boards. His status is unknown at this time.

Sharks 1, Kings 0
Devin Setoguchi scored the only goal of the game on his 24th birthday as the San Jose Sharks nipped the Los Angeles Kings 1-0. Kent Huskins and Marc-Edouard Vlasic each registered assists on the play. Antti Niemi earned his ninth NHL shutout stopping all 29 shots. Jonathan Quick stopped 18 of 19 San Jose shots but took the loss.

Injuries
Marek Zidlicky will be out "long term" according to Minnesota coach Todd Richards. Zidlicky's timetable to return is likely to measured in months, not weeks.
Boston center Gregory Campbell missed tonight's game because of the flu.
Atlanta defenseman Zach Bogosian missed yesterday's game due to a knee injury. He is considered day-to-day.
The Hurricanes called up defenseman Brett Carson from Charlotte to take the place of injured Joni Pitkanen. Zac Dalpe was also called up to fill in for Jussi Jokinen.

Puck Pugilists
Colton Orr of Toronto 24 PIM
Chris Neil of Ottowa 17 PIM