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During the exciting first round matchup between the Flyers and the Capitals last night, Flyers Winger Patrick Thoresen put his body on the line to stop a potential shot by one of the Capitals. I'm sure that he wasn't planning on it almost costing him as much as it did.

Thoresen was hit in the groin area and of course, was in a tremendous amount of pain and to add insult to injury, the Caps ended up scoring on the play. Thoresen was still on the ground in pain at the time. Thats how you take one for the team. Heres a video of the injury:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTh9fo9znHk]

It was initially thought that he might have to have a testicle removed but fortunately for him the tests came back negative and both his balls will be ok. He was released from the hospital today and could be back for game two.  Let this be a lesson to all of you, don't be like this idiot, always wear a cup.

Alexander Ovechkin's first playoff game was definitely memorable. He was held in check the whole night. The Flyers managed to hold Ovechkin to no shots on goal until the late in the third period. When he finally got his opportunity he made sure to capitalize on it.

With the score tied and under 5 minutes to go in the game Ovechkin stole the puck and scored the go ahead goal for the Capitals which proved to be the game winner. The Caps took game 1 5-4 over the Flyers.

Not a bad way to start off your playoff career.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3U2ZNS6tj4]

Senators 5 - Canadiens 7

The Canadiens are in the playoffs. One of their goals going into the season was to clinch a playoff spot early. Andrei Kostitsyn scored two of Montreal’s three first-period goals. Chris Higgins also scored in the first period for the Habs as they beat up on Martin Gerber for 3 goals in the first.

The Canadiens added four more goals in the second period to go up 7-1 going into the third. The Sens made an attempt to come back in third by scoring 4 goals in the final period but it wasn't enough. The Canadiens won 7-5 and are now in position to concentrate on preparing for the playoffs.

Wild 3 - Oilers 5

The Oilers are trying to grab that eighth spot in the Western conference playoffs. Time is running out but clearly with performances like last night's one by Andrew Colgliano, they aren't going to go out without a fight.

Cogliano scored two goals to lead the Oilers to their 5-3 victory over the Wild last night. This win was their 6th of their last 7 games and makes 12 wins in their last 15 overall.  They are 3 points behind Colorado for the last spot in the west.

Penguins 4 - Islanders 1

The Penguins decided to take the night off last night.  The only problem was, they had a game.  Saturday they scored a big win over their division rival Devils but then in last nights game against the Isles, they set themselves back against one of the worst teams in the east.

Bill Guerin scored a goal and had an assist for the Islanders as they beat the Pens 4-1 in last nights game.  The Pens could've used those two points because it prevented them from clinching a playoff spot and now they have to go and face the Devils in Jersey tonight with just a 2 point lead.

Rangers 2 - Devils 1

For years Martin Brodeur has had the Rangers number. Thats hasn't been the case this year though. The Rangers have been all over the Devils this season going 6-0 against them. Hopefully for the Devils they don't face the Rangers in the playoffs or else it might be a wrap for them.

With his team down 0-1, Rangers Center Chris Drury came up with a big game tying goal with only 4:46 left in regulation. The Rangers went on to take the game in the shootout over the Devils for the 2-1 win.

Lightning 4 - Sabres 7

If you are in the playoff hunt and you can't beat the worst team in the league at home, than you probably don't deserve to make the playoffs. That almost happened to the Sabres last night but I guess their coach must've given them a hell of a pep talk because they made a great comeback to win.

Down 4-1 going into the third it didn't look like they had much of a chance, but then they decided to start playing, scoring 6 goals in the third, including 3 consecutive by Thomas Vanek to get the 7-4 win over the lightning and help their playoff chances.

Wild 3 - Sharks 4

Jeremy Roenick and Curtis Brown two of the veterans on the Sharks squad that play more of a supportive role now but they can still hold it down if need be. They both had a goal and an assist in this game to give the Sharks their 13th win in their last 14 games and clinch them a playoff birth. You DON'T want to play them right now.

Roenick scored the decisive shootout goal to clinch the win for the Sharks in their 4-3 victory over the Wild.

Wild 3 - Avalanche 1

In the Northwest division, every game counts right now and they all have a playoff atmosphere. Going into last nights game, there was a threeway tie for first in the division and there are four teams with legit shots at taking the division crown.

The Wild needed a big game last night and thats exactly what they got. Brent Burns and Branko Radivojevic both scored goals for them and Niklas Backstrom was huge in goal for them, stopping 29 shots and holding the Avs to 1 goal. The final in this one was 3-1 in favor of the Wild.

With the win the Wild are on top of the Northwest division with 86 points. The Flames, the Canucks, and the Avalanche are all nipping at their heals, with 84 points a peice. With the playoffs about 2 a half weeks away, things should get interesting.

Canucks 3 - Coyotes 1

The Canucks seem to bringing things together at the right time. Last night they beat the Coyotes 3-1 who were also in the mix for a playoff spot but after this loss it is seeming like they won't make it.

The Sedin twins finally broke out. Henrik Sedin scored twice and Daniel had two assists. Way to bring it together at the right time.

Hurricanes 5 - Senators 1

Joe Corvo was expecting people to look at this game extra closely. He was looking at it closely too. He picked the perfect time to have a great game. In his first game against his former team that traded him on Feb 11th to the Canes.

Joe Corvo scored 3 goals in this one to lead the Hurricanes to a 5-1 win over the Senators. Maybe he didn't like his old team that much?

Oilers 2 - Sharks 1

Happy trails to the Sharks 11 game streak. Dwayne Roloson was going to make sure of that. He had 48 saves in this game and the last two were probably the best ones. The Edmonton goaltender deflected Joe Thornton’s breakaway shot, then calmly gloved Brian Campbell’s unobstructed try from close range moments later.

Roloson followed up his strong performance during the game and made 3 more stops to give the Oilers the 2-1 win.

Penguins 7 - Flyers 1

No Sidney Crosby? No Problem. The Pens had no problem with offense without arguably the games best player. Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora each had two goals and two assists and got all over the slumping Flyers 7-1.

Canadiens 4 - Devils 0

In a battle between two teams at the top of the topsy tervy eastern conference, the Canadiens topped the Devils 4-0 with the crowd firmly behind them.

Carey Price was on point in this one, making 38 saves and completly shutting down anything that the Devils tried to get going. Bryan Smolinski and Saku Koivu set the tone early scoring first period goals and putting the Habs on top for good in this one.

Red Wings 3 - Blackhawks 1

After one of the worst slumps in franchise history, the Red Wings are playing the like the Red Wings again. Last night they topped the Blackhawks 3-1 and with that win, they have a double digit point lead over the rest of the NHL. Thats the way hockey town likes it.

Kirk Maltby scored in the first period for the Wings and Pavel Datsyuk scored a go-ahead goal late in the second period after Chris Osgood stopped Robert Lang’s penalty shot. The Wings are getting back on track at the right time.

Sharks 2 - Predators 1

The Sharks just finished a very tiring 3-week stretch that they were on the road for most of and they only managed to win 10 games in a row.

Joe Pavelski and Milan Michalek each scored goals, Evgeni Nabokov made 26 saves and the San Jose Sharks beat the Nashville Predators 2-1.

Sharks 3 - Wild 2

Patrick Marleau saved the day for the Sharks, then he won the day. First he knocked Marian Gaborik's last minute shot out of the air and out of danger to keep the tie in the overtime period and force a shootout.

Marleau scored and Joe Pavelski scored in the shootout for the Sharks to give them a 3-2 win over the struggling Wild. This was their 9th straight victory, a franchise record.

Penguins 4 - Capitals 2

Sidney Crosby and the Pens own Ovechkin's Caps when they are both in the game and yesterdays game was no different. The Penguins beat the Capitals in one of the weirder endings of the year 4-2.

Sidney Crosby was credited with 2 goals in this one.  One of them was a legit goal that he scored in the second period which was his first game back since returning from his injury last week.  The second goal was a gift from Nicklas Backstrom. The only problem for the Caps though was that Backstrom plays for them. He attempted to clear the puck in a tie game with 28 seconds left, it didn't really work out for him though.

Backstrom shot it past his own goalie giving the Penguins the win. The goal was credited to Sidney Crosby who will gladly take it.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=pgLNPsHG9nc]

Stars 3 - Avalanche 0

For a few hours the Stars were slipping and managed to lose first place lead in the Pacific division. They got it back quickly though. Earlier in the day the Sharks beat the Wild and took over first place in the division but the Stars beat the Avs 3-0 to take back first place in the division.

Marty Turco got his 33rd shutout career shutout in this one and Brad Richards scored his first goal as a Star. That helped.

Blackhawks 3 - Ducks 0

It didn't take the rookie goaltender Corey Crawford long to get the hang of holdin it down in the NHL. In his first start he got his first win and his first shutout. Crawford stopped all 19 shots he faced and he played like a seasoned vet leading the Blackhawks to a 3-0 shutout over the Ducks.

Both of these teams came into this game playing great hockey and both were on win streaks but of course, something had to give. Dustin Byfuglien and Cam Barker each had power play goals and assists for the Blackhawks.

Capitals 3 - Sabres 1

The Eastern conference playoff hunt is starting to get interesting. It's definitely a helluva a lot more interesting for Alex Ovechkin, especially when he is scoring like he has been the past 6 games.

Ovey had 2 goals to power the Caps past the Sabres in a 3-1 win. The Sabres and the Caps are moving in different directions yet both of them are still in the playoff hunt right now. The Caps move into 10th place with the win while the Sabres are sitting in the 9th seed. The last few weeks of the season are going to be interesting.

Sharks 3 - Senators 2

Patrick Marleau must have taken offense to the fact that his name was swirling around in all sorts of trade rumors last month before the deadline. He seemed like he must have had something to prove because he came out in this one and shot the lights out for the Sharks. Marleau scored 2 goals, including the game winner in OT to give the Sharks a 3-2 win over the Sens last night.

The Sharks are on point right now, they have now won 7 straight.

Avalanche 2 - Canucks 1

Peter Forsberg didn't want the fans to expect too much from him in his first game back after being out of the game for almost a year. Now people will be expecting much more from the Av's vet.

Forsberg didn't have any points in this one but he still showed little rust, playing for longer than expecting and showing some crisp passing and skating. You would've thought that he never left.

Paul Stastny and John-Michael Liles scored the goals for the Avs as they cruised to a 2-1 victory over the Canucks. This was their fourth consecutive win over the Canucks and helped them move past them for 7th in the west.

Penguins 2 - Lightning 0

Sidney Crosby had an equally impressive return as he got back after being out 6 and half weeks with a high ankle sprain. Crosby also looked like he never left.  His shot was a little off but I'm sure he will get it back.  He had to shake off a few cobwebs and rust but even if he isn't at 100% he is still better than most of the NHL.

The game was very tight defensively and was scoreless until only a few minutes left when Max Talbot scored off of a rebound of a Sidney Crosby shot which gave them the 1-0 lead.  The Pens added an empty netter to beat the Lightning 2-0 on the Kids return.

Sabres 5 - Flyers 2

In a battle of the current 8 and 9 seeds in the East, the Sabres gained a little ground on the Flyers by beating them 5-2 in Philly.

Derek Roy scored the decisive goal in this one that clinched the victory for the Sabres.  At first glance he looked wide open, unbeleivably wide open, it turns out he was open for a reason.  The Sabres had too many guys on the ice but the refs missed the call and as a result Flyers coach John Stevens was livid.