NHL Recap 12-7-09

Stars of the night
--Alexei Ponikarovsky, two goals 28 seconds apart and one assist in Toronto's 5-2 win over Atlanta.
--Ray Whitney, one goal and one assist as Carolina got its first road win, 3-2 over Pittsburgh.
--Shawn Horcoff scored once in regulation and had the winner in a shootout as Edmonton downs Florida, 3-2.

Clean sheets
--Martin Brodeur earned his record-tying 103rd career shutout, 3-0 over Buffalo, tying him with Terry Sawchuk.
--Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves and Alex Ovechkin scored twice to lead Washington over Tampa Bay, 3-0.
--Still without Craig Anderson, Colorado backup Peter Budaj stopped 35 shots, Chris Stewart had two goals and an assist and the Avalanche blanked St. Louis, 4-0.
--Phoenix held Minnesota to three shots in the third period in support of Ilya Bryzgalov, whose 28 saves led the Coyotes to a 2-0 victory.

Thrilling game
Philadelphia and Montreal combined for just 28 shots on goal in Monday's game, won by the Canadiens, 3-1. Roman Hamrlik and Tomas Plekanec had two assists each and Carey Price made 14 saves for the win.

Montreal had one shot in the first period. Philadelphia had just two in the third, when it started trailing only 2-1. The teams each set a franchise-low for combined total shots in a game (15 for Philadelphia, 13 for Montreal.)

Holding the fort
Los Angeles mustered only 16 shots and allowed 13 just in the third period, but goalie Jonathan Quick (26 saves) stood tall and the Kings held off Calgary, 2-1. Jarret Stoll's power play goal was the winner.

Non-3 Stars Selection of the night
Quick. Jay Bouwmeester (30:45 ice time, no shots, +1, one hit, two blocked shots, no points) was the third star, Justin Williams (one assist) was second and Stoll was No. 1.

Quote of the night
"..."
Tampa Bay coach Rick Tocchet, who didn't talk to reporters after the 3-0 loss. During the game, several of the Lightning's top players played limited shifts in the third period.

Marquee matchup
Tuesday, Dec. 8 (4 games)
Vancouver (16-13-0) at Nashville (16-11-2), 8 p.m. ET.