NHL Minute: 1/28/13

Four of Sunday's eight games went into overtime and I have it all recapped for you, from Alex Ovechkin's first goal to Patrick Marleau's ninth.

SUNDAY'S RESULTS

• Buffalo 2, Washington 3 - Alexander Ovechkin scored and the Capitals finally won. That is not a coincidence. Ovechkin's game-winner came on the power play in the third period and gave goalie Michael Neuvirth the victory. Neuvirth has started the past three games because Braden Holtby gave up 10 goals in two games to start the season.
  
• Pittsburgh 2, Ottawa 1 (S/O) - Ottawa dominated the early minutes without captain Daniel Alfredsson (flu), but Evgeni Malkin made just a stupid good pass to James Neal (4) for a 1-0 lead (see video). Ottawa would tie it up in the second, but that was it. Both teams had great chances throughout the game but weren't able to score more than a goal apiece, as Ottawa's Craig Anderson made 34 saves and Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury made 32. The Penguins went on to seal the deal in the shootout.

• New Jersey 3, Montreal 4 - Canadien Erik Cole drew a bogus holding penalty with a minute left in overtime, setting up Andrei Markov's game-winning fourth power play goal of the season. After coming back from a 3-1 third-period deficit, New Jersey had their share of opportunities to win in the games final minutes but were unable to convert their chances (Ilya Kovalchuk hit the post on a 3-on-1 in OT). Martin Brodeur stopped 28 of 32 shots in the loss, New Jersey's first (3-1), while Carey Price stopped 22 of 25 to improve Montreal to 3-1 on the season.
  
• Philadelphia 1, Tampa Bay 5 - Philadelphia's defensive woes continue, as Tampa Bay shelled reserve goalie Michael Leighton. The Lightning took advantage of Flyers penalties, scoring three times in a 4:21 span near the end of the first period, twice with a man-advantage. Five different Lightning players scored, including Steven Stamkos (3). Leighton didn't help out his own cause, either, as he gave out juicy rebounds that the Lightning took advantage of.
  
• Detroit 1, Chicago 2 (OT) - Detroit gave Chicago their absolute best on Sunday evening, but Chicago still came away with a 2-1 overtime victory. The undefeated Blackhawks are now 6-0 on the year, which is their best start in franchise history. Detroit went 0-6 on the power play and is now an abysmal 2-26 on the year, which is among the league's worst. By contrast, Chicago's penalty kill has now fought off 22 of 23 penalty situations.
  
• NY Islanders 4, Winnipeg 5 (OT) - During the game's second intermission and trailing 2-1, Islanders assistant coach Doug Weight was asked what he we wanted from his team in the third period. "Two goals would be nice," he responded. Weight should have asked for four, as the Islanders jumped ahead to a 4-2 lead but let the Jets tie it back up and send the game into OT. There, Jets veteran Olli Jokinen tuned a deep Islanders penetration into a Jets breakout the other way, blasting a slapshot that Evgeni Nabokov mishandled and allowed Evander Kane to chip in. Former Islander Al Montoya got the win for Winnipeg but was outplayed by Nabokov for most of the game, as the Jets sustained attacks in waves. 
• Minnesota 4, St. Louis 5 (OT) - I just discovered today that I don't get NBC Sports Network. It's okay, though, because NBCsports.com also carries their NHL telecasts. Anyways, after Zach Parise's fourth and fifth goals of the season helped Minnesota to a 3-1 lead midway through the second period, St. Louis fought back and claimed the lead in the third. A Dany Heatley tip-in in the closing minutes sent the game to overtime, where the Wild were caught standing around on defense:

• Vancouver 1, San Jose 4 - This was a great game from right before the opening drop. Vancouver's Alex Burrows, the guy who bit a Bruins player's glove in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, facerubbed San Jose's Logan Couture right before the opening faceoff, prompting Sharks winger Ryane Clowe to come to Couture's defense. Clowe and Burrows received matching penalties at 0:00, and San Jose went to work immediately on the ensuing 4-on-4; Vancouver's notoriously cheap play was present in this game, but the Sharks weren't having any of it. Thornton and Co. absolutely dominated the Canucks in the first period, jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Despite Vancouver owning the second period, which ended with Clowe being tossed from the game, San Jose owned a 3-1 lead during the second intermission thanks to Patrick Marleau's league-leading ninth goal of the season, which came on a deflection off his skate during a power play. After fighting off Clowe's four-minute penalty to start the third, Joe Pavelski scored his second goal of the game on the power play to put the Sharks up 4-1. San Jose benefited defensively from an outstanding job in net by Antti Niemi, who made 24 saves and saw a few shots go off of his posts. The Sharks were also a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill, which has made tremendous strides this weekend. With San Jose's victory, Niemi earned his 100th career victory and head coach Todd McLellan earned his 200th, becoming the second-quickest coach in NHL history to reach the mark.
  

MONDAY'S GAMES

• Boston (3-0-1) at Carolina (2-2-0) - (4 PT) (NHL Network)
  
• Dallas (2-2-1) at Columbus (1-3-1) - (4 PT)
  
• Nashville (1-1-3) at Phoenix (1-4-0) - (6 PT)
  
• Colorado (2-2-0) at Edmonton (2-2-0) - (6:30 PT)
  
• Vancouver (2-2-1) at Los Angeles (1-2-1) - (7:30 PT)