Beal Leads Wizards past Raptors; Lakers Fall

NBA Recap
The Washington Wizards defeated the Toronto Raptors 90-84 thanks to Bradley Beal's 20 points. Emeka Okafor had his 3rd straight double-digit rebound game collecting 13 boards while Demar Derozan was the leading scorer for the Raptors with 25 points.
Al Horford was the player of the night in Detroit  playing a monster game with 23 points and 22 rebounds.  Josh Smith (23), and Jeff Teague (20) also put up 20+ points in the Hawk's 114-102 win.   
A day after the Lakers appeared to start a turn around they were outmatched by the Denver Nuggets. Tyson Chandler dropped 23 points in the 119-108 win and teammate Andre Iguodala contributed 14 of his own along with 12 assists. Kobe Bryant was the game's leading scorer with 29 and also had 9 assists.
It took the Celtics overtime to put away the Jazz. The Jazz overcame an eight point deficit during the fourth quarter. Gordan Hayward had 26 points in the losin effort while Paul Pierce matched that point total and also threw in 8 assists for the Celtics in the 110-107 win.
ALL NBA
Guard- Jeff Teague- Atlanta The guard was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line and scored 20 points on the night. He finished the double-double with 12 assists and on defense had 2 steals.
Guard- Kobe Bryant- LA Lakers Kobe played his usual (for this year at least) all around game scoring  29 points while contributing 9 assists and 6 rebounds.
Forward- Andre Iguodala- Denver Didn't contribute much offensively only shooting 6-9 from the field on his way to 14 points but played well in other facets of the game. He had 12 assists and 8 turnovers in addition to his defensive play. He had one block and one steal.
Forward- Al Horford- Atlanta *Player of the Night* The second Atlanta Hawk on the list and the superior one in last nights game. Horford probably the best shooting night in the league (10-13). He finished the night with 23 points and an amazing 22 rebounds On defense he had 2 steals and 2 blocks.
Center- Al Jefferson- Utah His 15 points and 11 rebounds were not enough for the Jazz to win in overtime.

NHL Recap
It was a low shooting affair in Philadelphia where the Flyers outshot the Maple Leafs 25-22 and still managed to lose. The Flyers also held the advantage physically with 37 hits compared to the Maple Leafs' 22. Things were kept at 0-0 for most of the first period until Phil Kessel struck with 3 minutesl left. The second period was similar to the first as it took 15 minutes for the first goal to be scored. Nikolai Kulemin scored with assists by Nazem Kadri and Carl Gunnarsson (great name) with 4:58 left in the period. Scott Hartnell answered 3 minutes later with his first of year (in only his second game back from injury). The Flyers entered the third period down 2-1 looking for the comeback but Mikhail Grabovski's goal  8 minutes into the third. The Flyers were on the powerplay midway through the final frame when Jakub Voracek put in his 8th of the year with assists from Kimmo Timonen and Claude Giroux. The Flyers wre back within one but Jay McClement scored on an empty net with 13 seconds left to put the game out of reach at a score of 4-2.

Ben Bishop saved 44 of 45 shots in a performance that will surely put him on Hawks Report's All NHL team. The Senators and Canadiens each scored in the second period with Dave Dzlurzynski scoring for Ottawa and Andrei Markov for Montreal, Markov's goal being clutch with only 4 seconds let in the period and on the powerplay. Overtime was not able to decide things either and neither was the three player shootout. Peter Regin scored on Ottawa's figth attempt which was followed by Bishop's save on a Tomas Plekanec attempt to secure a 2-1 victory.
In another game that went down to the wire, the Nashville Predators defeated the Dallas Stars 5-4. The Stars scored all 4 of their goals during the second frame and entered the third period with a 4-3 lead. Mike Fisher changed the game when he scored 8 minutes into the third. Overtime was a quick affair with Roman Josi scoring 28 seconds into sudden death with assists from Sergei Kostitsyn and Shea Weber.
The Blackhawks streak of point-grabbing was in semi-jeopardy last night as they faced a 2-1 deficit against the Oilers entering the final period. Victor Stalberg tied things up in the very beginning of the third and in overtime Marian Hossa gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 win.
We end with a game that was not so close, the LA Kings destroyed the Anaheim Ducks 5-2. Both teams scored two goals in the second so LA fans were probably expecting an exciting third period but their Kings dominated scoring two goals in the first 7 minutes. Jeff Carter then put the seal on the victory with an empty netter.
All NHL
Forward- Anze Kopitar- LA Kings The Kings' offense ran through him last night as he had three assists and finished the night at +2.
Forward- David Desharnais- Montreal Wasn't able to score but applied offensive pressure the whole game with 5 shots and also played good defense recording 2 hits and 2 takeaways.
Forward- Scott Hartnell- Philadelphia Only his second game back from an injury and Hartnell finds himself on this list. Harntell scored a goal in the loss and wasn't afraid to throw the body around hitting 5 Maple Leafs.
Forward- Dustin Brown- LA Kings Scored one goal and also contributed an assist during the Kings' win. Finished the night at +2 and also had 4 hits.
Defense- Josi Roman- Nashville Played well on both sides blocking 4 shots but also scoring two goals and adding an assist for a 4 pt night.
Defense- Shea Weber- Nashville Two Predators D-man on the list tonight and Weber earned the spot playing very offensively getting 7 shots on net and also adding in an assist. Finished the night with a +3 similar to Roman's. Threw the body around with 5 hits and two blocks.
Defense- Jeff Petry- Edmonton The Oilers may have not won but Petry scored on his only shot of the night and also had 7 hits and 3 blocks.
Goalie- Ben Bishop- Ottawa Obvious choice here as he saved 44 of 45 shots in the 2-1 shootout win.
Goalie- Carey Price- Montreal Came up just short in the shootout losing to Bishop's Sens but saved 23 of 24 shots during regulation and overtime.