The Super Bowl attracted the vast majority of sports interest and the NHL made sure there were no conflicts by scheduling games in New York, New Jersey, Washington and Montreal that ended well before kickoff. On a light day for other sports, there were some indivdual highlights among the quartet of matinees.
1) Ilya Kovalchuk, New Jersey Devils - In their wins over Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the Devils have scored the first six and three goals respectively. In their 5-2 home win over the Penguins, Kovalchuk had a hand in the first three goals on Marc-Andre Fleury. He scored his 22nd just over two minutes in and then assisted on tallies by Anton Volchenkov and Dainus Zubrus. The three-point afternoon gave Kovalchuk 10 points (three goals and seven assists) during New Jersey's four-game winning streak that has moved them to within one point of the fifth place Penguins.
2) Artem Anisimov, New York Rangers - The last time Anisimov had a point, the Giants were a .500 team. That was back on Dec. 22 against the Devils in yesterday's 5-2 home win over the Philadelphia Flyers, Anisimov snapped a 17-game pointless streak with a three-point game that was his first since getting four assists against Toronto on Jan. 19, 2011. The 23-year-old's third career three-point performance began just 64 seconds in and continued with assists on goals by Marian Gaborik and Michael Del Zotto. Brandon Dubinsky also scored while Henrik Lundqvist made 21 saves in New York's fourth win in as many games against Philadelphia.
3) Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins - You might not agree with Tim Thomas' viewpoints but it would be hard to disagree with his play in Boston's 4-1 win over Washington. In his first appearance since skipping the Bruins' visit to the White House, Thomas stopped 35 shots. Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin scored on Tomas Vokoun as the Bruins avoided their second three-game losing streak this season.
Goal of the Day
It probably is difficult to score a goal after getting buried on the boards with a hit from an opponent. Marian Gaborik managed to achieve that, getting crunched by Andrej Meszaros and finishing the play with a backhand wraparound.
Save of the Day
Carey Price turned in a 23-save shutout in Montreal's 3-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets. These saves early in the third period helped Montreal fans enjoy Price's third shutout of the season and first in over two months.
Failed Breakaway of the Day
Alexander Semin nearly tied it for the Capitals with 2 1/2 minutes remaining in the opening period but then the puck met Tim Thomas' right pad much to the chagrin of Capitals' fans. Of course Semin shouldn't feel that bad, he wasn't the only guy named Alex to be stopped by Thomas, who also thwarted Alex Ovechkin from point-blank range.
Goaltender Miscue of the Day
Frequently when a goaltender ventures behind the goal line trouble can ensue. That's exactly what happened for Marc-Andre Fleury mishandled the puck in the opening period. He lost possession to Patrik Elias, who passed it off to Kovalchuk for the goal.
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