Saturday, December 27, 2014

NHL December 27th, 2014

Thirteen games on as the NHL comes out of the Christmas break. The first game is in...

Buffalo, with the Sabres hosting the New York Islanders. Kevin Poulin and Jhonas Enroth are the little-known goalies. New York led off in the first period with a Nick Leddy goal, his sixth of the season, fueled by Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey. The Islanders added on in the second period with a John Tavares goal, his fourteenth of the year, going in unassisted. New York extended the lead on Tavares' second of the game and fifteenth of the season, passed from Bailey and Okposo. Buffalo got on the board in the third period with a Nicolas Deslauriers goal, his fourth of the year, via Drew Stafford and Josh Gorges. The Sabres pulled back with a shorthanded goal by Zemgus Girgensons, his tenth of the season, set up by Deslauriers and Gorges. Buffalo tied it on a Chris Stewart goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Stafford and Patrick Kaleta. The Sabres won with a lone tally by Tyler Ennis in the shootout, for a 4-3 final. The three stars were Tavares, Deslauriers, and Gorges, while Bailey and Okposo get the honorable mentions.

In New York City, the Rangers welcome the New Jersey Devils. Cory Schneider and Henrik Lundqvist tend the twines. New York struck first in the first period on a Derek Stepan shorthanded goal, his fourth of the season, going in unassisted. The Rangers added on in the second period with a Stepan power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Martin St. Louis and Dan Boyle. New Jersey got on the board with a Steve Bernier goal, his third of the season, via Eric Gelinas and Tuomo Ruutu. New York iced it at 3-1 in the third period with a Stepan empty net goal, completing his hat trick on his sixth of the year, set up by Carl Hagelin and St. Louis. The three stars went to Stepan, Lundqvist (19 for 20 in saves), and St. Louis.

Up in Ottawa, the Senators bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Craig Anderson are in goal. Ottawa opened in the first period on a Mike Hoffman goal, his eleventh of the season, courtesy of Mark Borowiecki and Bobby Ryan. Detroit tied it on a Justin Abdelkader goal, his eighth of the year, made possible by Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall. The Senators took the lead back in the second period with an unassisted Clarke MacArthur goal, his tenth of the season. The Red Wings tied it again in the third period on a Zetterberg power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Kronwall and Pavel Datsyuk. Detroit won 3-2 in overtime with a Gustav Nyquist goal, his fifteenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were handed to Zetterberg, Nyquist, and Kronwall.

Way south to Tampa Bay, where the Lightning host the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Ben Bishop receive the starting nods. Tampa Bay began in the first period on a Nikita Kucherov goal, his fifteenth of the season, with a lone assist from Ondrej Palat. The Lightning added on in the third period with an Alex Killorn goal, his eighth of the year, guided in by Ryan Callahan and Valtteri Filppula. Carolina got on the board with an Andrej Sekera goal, his second of the campaign, assisted by Eric Staal and Nathan Gerbe. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars given to Bishop (25 for 26 in saves), Killorn, and Ward (36 for 38 in saves).

Backtracking to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets welcome the Boston Bruins. Niklas Svedberg and Curtis McElhinney are the backups making spot starts. Columbus was first to score in the first period with a Scott Hartnell goal, his seventh of the season, fueled by Kevin Connauton. Boston tied it on a Patrice Bergeron goal, his seventh of the year, coming off of Reilly Smith and Zdeno Chara. The Blue Jackets regained the lead in the second period with a Hartnell goal, his second of the game and eighth of the season, passed from James Wisniewski and Connauton. Columbus added on with a Connauton goal, his fourth of the year, assisted by Matt Calvert and Brandon Dubinsky. Tuukka Rask replaced Svedberg in goal. The Blue Jackets extended the lead on a power play goal by Nick Foligno, his seventeenth of the season, powered by Jack Johnson and Ryan Johansen. The Bruins got one back with a Craig Cunningham goal, his second of the year, with assists provided by Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille. Columbus replied on an unassisted Calvert goal, his fourth of the campaign. The Blue Jackets padded the lead in the third period with a Jeremy Morin goal, helped along by Johnson and Dubinsky. This produced the 6-2 final, with the three stars being Connauton, Hartnell, and Calvert, while Wisniewski, Dubinsky, and johnson get the honorable mentions.

Northwest to Minnesota, where the Wild bring in the Winnipeg Jets. Michael Hutchinson and John Curry are the unknown goalies. Minnesota started in the first period on a Mikael Granlund goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Jason Pominville. Winnipeg tied it in the second period as Bryan Little scored his fourteenth of the year, thanks to Andrew Ladd and Grant Glitsome. The Jets took the lead in the third period on an Adam Lowry goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Evander Kane and Matt Halischuk. The Wild retied it with a Pominville goal, his eighth of the year, made possible by Stu Bickel and Granlund. Winnipeg retook the lead with a shorthanded goal by Blake Wheeler, his eleventh of the season, set up by Kane and Dustin Byfuglien. Minnesota tied it again on a Thomas Vanek power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Jared Spurgeon and Marco Scandella. The
Jets won 4-3 in overtime with a Ladd goal, his twelfth of the campaign, with a lone helper from Little. The three stars were awarded to Ladd, Little, and Kane, while Pominville and Granlund get the honorable mentions.

Back east, the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby and Marc-Andre Fleury are the masked men. Washington struck first in the first period on an Eric Fehr goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Jay Beagle and Brooks Laich. The Capitals added on in the third period with a Marcus Johansson goal, his tenth of the year, via Evgeny Kuznetsov and Brooks Orpik. Washington extended the lead on another Fehr goal, his second of the game and ninth of the campaign, fueled by Joel Ward and John Carlson. This was good for a 3-0 win, with the three stars belonging to Fehr, Holtby (31 save shutout), and Johansson.

Southwest to St. Louis, as the Blues welcome the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Jake Allen are in the blue paint. Dallas was first to score in the first period on a Travis Moen goal, courtesy of Shawn Horcoff and Jordie Benn. St. Louis tied it on an Alex Pietrangelo goal, his fourth of the season, via Paul Stastny and Dmitrij Jaskin. The Stars took the lead back with an unassisted Ryan Garbutt goal, his sixth of the year. The Blues tied it again as Vladimir Tarasenko scored a power play goal, his twenty-first of the season, powered by Alexander Steen and Kevin Shattenkirk. Dallas took the lead in the second period on a Trevor Daley power play goal, his eighth of the year, guided in by Tyler Seguin and the goalie Lehtonen. The Stars added on with a Jason Demers power play goal, his second of the season, helped along by Erik Cole and Colton Sceviour. St. Louis got one back in the third period with a David Backes goal, his ninth of the year, with the help of Jay Bouwmeester and T.J. Oshie. This was as close as it got, with the final at 4-3, and the three stars going to Demers, Daley, and Garbutt.

Continuing to Arizona, where the Coyotes bring in the Anaheim Ducks. Frederik Andersen faces a lesser foe in Devan Dubnyk in goal. Anaheim began in the first period on a Rene Bourque goal, his second of the season, fueled by Ryan Getzlaf and Devante Smith-Pelly. Arizona tied it on a Zbynek Michalek goal, passed from Martin Erat and Sam Gagner. In the shootout, Shane Doan scored the only goal for a 2-1 Coyotes win. The three stars were given to Dubnyk (35 for 36 in saves), Andersen (28 for 29 in saves), and Doan.

Heading east to Nashville, where the Predators host the Philadelphia Flyers. Ray Emery is mismatched with Pekka Rinne in goal. Nashville led off in the first period with a Filip Forsberg goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Roman Josi and Shea Weber on the power play. Philadelphia tied it on a Claude Giroux goal in the second period, his twelfth of the year, coming off of Braydon Coburn and Nick Schultz. The Predators took the lead back with a power play goal by Mike Fisher, his fourth of the season, powered by Forsberg and Mike Ribeiro. Nashville added on with a Colin Wilson power play goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Seth Jones and Josi. The Predators finished it at 4-1 with an empty net goal by Wilson, his second of the game and tenth of the campaign, set up by Fisher. The three stars went to Wilson, Forsberg, and Rinne (26 for 27 in saves), while Fisher and Josi get the honorable mentions.

West again to Colorado, as the Avalanche welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Calvin Pickard man the creases. Colorado opened in the first period on a Nathan MacKinnon goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Max Talbot. Chicago tied it on a Brandon Saad goal, his eighth of the year, via Jonathan Toews. The Avalanche took the lead back with an Erik Johnson goal, his tenth of the season, passed from Ryan O'Reilly and Daniel Briere. The Blackhawks tied it again with a Patrick Kane goal, his seventeenth of the year, courtesy of Duncan Keith and Kris Versteeg. Chicago took the lead in the second period on a power play goal by Brent Seabrook, his seventh of the season, powered by David Rundblad and Marian Hossa. The Blackhawks added on in the third period on a power play goal by Patrick Sharp, his sixth of the year, with assists provided by Toews and Kane. Chicago wrapped it up at 5-2 with a Kane empty net goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the campaign, set up by Ben Smith. The three stars were Kane, Toews, and Seabrook.

Up in Calgary, the Flames bring in the Edmonton Oilers for a Battle of Alberta. Viktor Fasth and Jonas Hiller are the former Ducks goalies in goal. Calgary dented the scoreboard in the first period with a Joe Colborne goal, assisted by Paul Byron and Curtis Glencross. The Flames added on with a Johnny Gaudreau goal, his eleventh of the season, going in unassisted. Calgary extended the lead as Gaudreau scored his second of the game and twelfth of the year, thanks to Jiri Hudler and T.J. Brodie. Ben Scrivens replaced Fasth. Edmonton got on the board with a third period goal by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, his tenth of the season, passed from Justin Schultz and Andrew Ference. The Flames shot back with a Glencross goal, his seventh of the year, fueled by Matt Stajan and Mark Giordano. This made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars belonging to Gaudreau, Glencross, and Hiller (26 for 27 in saves).

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings host the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Jonathan Quick guard the cages. San Jose started in the first period on a Joe Pavelski goal, his seventeenth of the season, coming off of Joe Thornton. Los Angeles tied it on a Tyler Toffoli goal, his eleventh of the year, via Jamie McBain and Trevor Lewis. The Kings took the lead in the second period as Anze Kopitar scored a power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Marian Gaborik and Jeff Carter. Los Angeles added on in the third period with a Jake Muzzin power play goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Drew Doughty and Kopitar. This was good for a 3-1 win, with the three stars given to Kopitar, Quick (21 for 22 in saves), and Toffoli.

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