Vancouver (2) vs Detroit (1)
Mattias Ohlund's second goal of the season broke a 1-1 tie in the third period to stretch the Canuck's win streak to three games and moved them within 8 points of Detroit in 4th place in the West. Wojtek Wolski also scored for Vancouver while Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 23 shots in net for his 26th victory. Nik Antropov replied for Detroit who lost for just the 3rd time in their last ten games, Evgeni Nabokov was outstanding for the Wings in the loss, stopping 31 shots. Steve Ott was injured just 29 seconds into the game as he pulled his groin while stepping on the ice for his first shift, Ott was listed day-to-day.
 
NJ (4) vs Calgary (3)
In this chippy rivalry things looked rather tame through two periods until Nik Hagman's kneeing major on John Madden at the end of the second period with teams tied at two. Marty Reasoner was injured at the 14:20 mark (when he suffered a strained knee and will be lost to the Flames for at least two games), then just about minute and a half later there was a line brawl with the main combatants being Jamie Benn and Brad Winchester (in which Benn got the better of and left Winchester leaving for repairs), Benn was ejected from the game for instigating and received an automatic two game suspension. Joe Corvo and Vinny Lecavalier also dropped the gloves but that was a saw off as the linesmen got in to break that one up quickly.When the gloves were all picked up the Devils left Cow-town with the two points. Dwayne Roloson stopped 26 shots for his 26th win of the season for New Jersey.
 
Washington (6) vs Toronto (0)
Toronto lost to the Capitals for the third time this season and second time by a 6-0 score on Saturday. The Leafs must have known they were in trouble early as they were outshot in first period 14-4 and trailed 2-0. T.J. Oshie (2-1-3), Anton Volchenkov (1-2-3) and Brett Clark (0-3-3) were a major reason for the Caps success on the night as was Jose Theodore as he bounced back from a poor outing in his last game (a 5-1 loss to Calgary) by stopping 16 shots for his third shut-out of the season.
 
Buffalo (3) vs New York Rangers (2)
The Sabres went into the Big Apple and left with a well deserved, much needed two points in their hopes to secure a playoff position as they out-lasted the Rangers 3-2. Tomas Plekanec scored the winning goal for Buffalo just 14 seconds into the third. Shane Doan with his 14th and Tomas Fleischmann with his 16th scored for the Rangers. Chad Larose (11th) and Zbynek Michalek added markers for the Sabres in the second period. Jimmy Howard stopped 35 shots for his 25th win.
 
Boston (1) vs Atlanta (3)
The Bruins dropped their second straight game after running off 14 straight wins, this time to Atlanta, who themselves are having trouble stringing W's together. After allowing the first goal, the Thrashers rang the next three off for the win and closed within 6 points of idle Philadelphia for top spot in the East. Rene Bourque scored for Boston while Henrik Sedin, James Neal and Mason Raymond tallied for Atlanta. Martin Brodeur continues to rack up wins with his 29th. Bryan Allen was ejected early in the first when he used his stick as a toothpick for Mikko Koivu and earned himself a butt-end major and game misconduct.
 
Phoenix (0) vs LA (5)
The Coyotes were caged in LA as the Kings shut-out Phoenix 5-0. It was 4-0 before the Coyotes showed any bite, but they insisted on using their fist instead of their sticks, the result was a line brawl with Dan Lacouture taking on David Steckel and getting Hazel Mae's nod. Rusty Klesla and John Zeiler fought to a draw but Zeiler was ejected when he broke away from the official and tried to get into the LA penalty box after Klesla earning him an automatic three game suspension. Jared Boll also destroyed Mark Streit in the mis-match of the night. When the scoring ended, rookie Oliver Setzinger (2-1-3) was the offensive star and Radek Bonk added (1-1-2) for LA. Ryan Miller had an easy night kicking aside a measly 14 shots.
 
Minnesota (4) vs Nashville (7)
 The Wild were tamed by Nashville as Ondrej Pavelec stopped 23 shots for his 11th win of the season. The Preds built a 6-0 lead before Minnesota showed any signs of life. Marcel Hossa and Steve Downie both had a pair of goals and Jiri Hudler (1-2-3) were the stars for Nashville. Sergei Fedorov with two goals and Tuomas Pihlman (1-1-2) scored for Minny.
 
New York Islanders (3) vs Montreal (4) S/O
The Canadiens had a 3-1 lead halfway through the third period but with less than five minutes remaining in the game, Patric Hornqvist and Alex Frolov tied the game up for the Islanders and sent the game into OT, where no scoring was done so it was onto the shoot out. After four rounds no one had scored then Frolov was stopped by Jonathon Quick and Owen Nolan would tuck a beautiful forehand-backhand deke between Carey Price's legs for the winner. Ruslan Salei had (1-1-2) for Montreal as Quick collected his 18th win of the season. Frolov added an assist to his goal late in the third for a two point night.
 
St. Louis (2) vs Columbus (6)
Jason Spezza with his first hat-trick of the season led his Blue Jackets to a blow out win over the Blues from St.Louis. The Blues scored the first and last goals of the game but couldn't amass anything in the other 58 minutes. Columbus has won two straight and are 9-1 in last 10 at home. The win allowed them to leap-frog Anaheim and into 7th place in the West. Also scoring for Columbus were Kris Versteeg (2-1-3), Daymond Langkow (1-2-3) and Vaclav Prospal added three helpers. Johan Hedberg won his 18th stopping 17 shots. Jarred Smithson (1-1-2) and Daniel Paille (1-0-1) scored for St.Louis.
 
Colorado (5) vs Anaheim (1)
The Avalanche went into Anaheim and froze them out winning 5-1. Mike Cammalleri led the way with a pair of goals. Keith Ballard and Derek Roy both had (1-1-2). Cammalleri scored his 27th and 28th in the second period to put Colorado ahead 4-0 and pretty much seal the win. Andrew Brunette scored the lone goal for Aanaheim who are 3-6-1 in their last 10 home games. The Avs took over 1st place in the West with the win (their 3rd in a row) and are now 2 points ahead of SanJose. Ilya Bryzgalov won his 32nd of the season. Mike Comodore of the Avs was assessed a five minute major and an automatic game ejection for his head butt on Mike Ribeiro. who wasn't injured on the play.
 
Pittsburgh (2) vs Tampa Bay (7)
It's fair to say Pittsburgh left their "A" game back in the Steel City as they were thoroughly embarrassed by Tampa by a score of 7-2. Tampa who are on a bit of a tear in the WCHL are 8-1-0-1 in their last ten games strengthened their hold on a play-off spot with the win. The Lightning led 3-1 after one, added a three spot in the second and one more in the third to finish off the Pens. Robert Lang and Curtis Glencross both had (1-2-3), while Karlis Skrastins had three assists for Tampa. Brian Elliot was outstanding kicking out 24 of 26 for his 18th win. Teemu Selanne (1-1-2) and Alex Semin replied for Pittsburgh. Fernando Pisani left the game late in the first with a sprained left ankle and is listed day-to-day.
 
Chicago (6) vs Edmonton (4)
The Blackhawks arrived in Edmonton on a 5 game win streak and the streak looked to be coming to an end as the Oilers led 3-1 after one. Key the come back as Chicago scored four goals in the second period, two of those on the powerplay, as the Hawks escaped with a 6-4 victory. Rookie Sean Backman was a major contributor as he scored twice and assisted once for his first three point game in the WCHL. Recently acquired Kyle Cuminsky had three assists and Chris Drury had a pair of goals. Ryan Clowe had a great game in a losing cause with (2-2-4), while Jordan Leopold had a goal and an assist. Tim Thomas registered his 18 victory of the season. The win moved Chicago within five points of eighth in the West. All was not good news for Chicago as they lost defenseman Tom Gilbert with a cut wrist tendon and will be lost for at least a month.
 
 
Reporting for The WCHL Network.........
 
Peter Pucker