Monday, December 29, 2014

NHL December 29th, 2014

Twelve games on tonight, beginning in...

Boston, as the Bruins host the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Tuukka Rask protect the nets. Boston opened in the first period on a Reilly Smith goal, his ninth of the season, via Dougie Hamilton. Detroit tied it on a Justin Abdelkader goal, his ninth of the year, coming off of Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall. The Bruins took the lead back with a Gregory Campbell goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Torey Krug and Carl Soderberg. Boston added on with a Soderberg goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Loui Eriksson and Kevan Miller. The Red Wings got one back in the second period on a Tomas Tatar power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Danny DeKeyser and Stephen Weiss. The Bruins replied in the third period with a Seth Griffith power play goal, his sixth of the year, made possible by David Krejci. Boston finished it at 5-2 with a Chris Kelly empty net goal, his fourth of the campaign, set up by Soderberg and Eriksson. The three stars were Soderberg, Eriksson, and Griffith.

Down to Raleigh, where the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Cam Ward are the experienced goalies. Montreal got going in the second period with a Jiri Sekac goal, his seventh of the season, going in unassisted. The Canadiens added on with a Lars Eller goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Dale Weise and Sergei Gonchar. Carolina got on the board in the third period as Eric Staal scored a power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Jiri Tlusty and Jordan Staal. Montreal iced it at 3-1 on a Max Pacioretty empty net goal, his fourteenth of the year, set up by Brandon Prust. The three stars were Price (28 for 29 in saves), Eller, and Sekac.

Back north, the New Jersey Devils bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Cory Schneider guard the cages. Pittsburgh began in the first period on a Sidney Crosby goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Chris Kunitz and Derrick Pouliot. New Jersey tied it in the second period on a Travis Zajac power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Dainius Zubrus and Marek Zidlicky. The Devils took the lead with a Jaromir Jagr goal, his sixth of the season, with a lone assist by Jon Merrill. New Jersey wrapped it up at 3-1 with an Adam Henrique goal, his tenth of the year, made possible by Zajac. The three stars belonged to Zajac, Schneider (27 for 28 in saves), and Jagr.

Over on Long Island, the New York Islanders host the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby and Jaroslav Halak are between the pipes. New York struck first with an Anders Lee goal in the first period, his eighth of the season, courtesy of Thomas Hickey and Ryan Strome. The Islanders added on in the second period as Lubomir Visnovsky scored a power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Frans Nielsen and Mikhail Grabovski. New York extended the lead with a shorthanded goal by Calvin de Haan in the third period, set up by John Tavares and Nikolay Kulemin. Washington got on the board with an Eric Fehr goal, his tenth of the season, coming off of Brooks Laich and Jack Hillen. The Capitals pulled closer on a Nicklas Backstrom goal, his twelfth of the year, guided in by Alex Ovechkin. Washington tied it on Ovechkin's seventeenth of the season, via Backstrom. The Islanders won 4-3 in overtime with an unassisted power play goal by Johnny Boychuk, his third of the year. The three stars belonged to Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Boychuk.

Into Canada, where the Ottawa Senators welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Jhonas Enroth and Craig Anderson draw the starts. Ottawa led off in the first period with a Bobby Ryan goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson. Buffalo tied it in the second period on a Mark Pysyk goal, via Chris Stewart. The Sabres gained the lead as Zemgus Girgensons scored his eleventh of the year, thanks to Matt Moulson and Nikita Zadorov. The Senators retied it on a Ryan goal, his second of the game and ninth of the season, fueled by Mike Hoffman and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Ottawa took the lead in the third period on a Ryan goal, completing his hat trick on his tenth of the year, with the help of Karlsson. The Senators added on with a Clarke MacArthur goal, his eleventh of the season, guided in by Chris Phillips and Mark Stone. Ottawa ended it at 5-2 with an empty net goal by Colin Greening, going in unassisted. The three stars were handed to Ryan, Karlsson, and MacArthur.

Back stateside, the Tampa Bay Lightning bring in the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Ben Bishop are in the blue paint. Toronto started in the first period with a Mike Santorelli goal, his eighth of the season, fueled by Nazem Kadri and Dion Phaneuf. The Maple Leafs added on with a Joffrey Lupul goal, his ninth of the year, made possible by Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel. Tampa Bay got on the board in the second period as Ryan Callahan scored a power play goal, his twelfth of the season, powered by Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman. The Lightning tied it on a Valtteri Filppula goal, his seventh of the year, via Hedman and Callahan. Tampa Bay took the lead in the third period as Stamkos scored his twentieth of the season, thanks to Matthew Carle. This was good for a 3-2 win, and the three stars went to Stamkos, Callahan, and Hedman.

Northwest to St. Louis, where the Blues host the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Martin Brodeur are set to start in goal. St. Louis dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Dmitrij Jaskin goal, his third of the season, via Paul Stastny. The Blues added on with a Chris Butler goal, guided in by T.J. Oshie and Stastny. St. Louis extended the lead in the third period on a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his twenty-second of the year, going in unassisted. This made it 3-0, the final, with the three stars awarded to Brodeur (16 save shutout), Jaskin, and Stastny.

Into Canada again, where the Winnipeg Jets welcome the Minnesota Wild. Darcy Kuemper and Michael Hutchinson are the young goalies. Winnipeg was first to score in the first period on a Michael Frolik power play goal, his eighth of the season, going in unassisted. The Jets added on in the second period with a Mathieu Perreault goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little on the power play. Minnesota got on the board with a Ryan Carter goal, his third of the season, assisted by Brett Sutter and Kyle Brodziak. The Wild tied it with a Justin Fontaine goal, his third of the year, helped along by Sutter and Brodziak. Minnesota gained the lead with a Marco Scandella goal, his ninth of the season, courtesy of Zach Parise and Jason Pominville. This was all they needed for a 3-2 win, with the three stars being Scandella, Sutter, and Brodziak.

South to Chicago, where the Blackhawks bring in the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Corey Crawford are the reliable goalies. Nashville began in the first period with a Roman Josi goal, his fifth of the season, fueled by Paul Gaustad. The Predators added on with a Craig Smith goal, his eleventh of the year, passed from Colin Wilson and Mike Ribeiro. Nashville extended the lead in the second period as James Neal scored his twelfth of the season, thanks to Wilson and the goalie Rinne. Chicago got on the board with a Brad Richards goal, his seventh of the year, helped along by Kris Versteeg and Duncan Keith. The Blackhawks pulled closer with an Andrew Shaw goal, his sixth of the season, guided in by Patrick Sharp and Bryan Bickell. Chicago tied it on a power play goal by Marian Hossa, his eighth of the year, powered by Patrick Kane and Keith. The Predators retook the lead on a Neal power play goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the season, with assists provided by Filip Forsberg and Josi. The Blackhawks tied it in the third period on a Bickell goal, his fifth of the year, with a helpers from David Rundblad and Keith, the latter getting a sock trick. In the shootout, Chicago won with a lone tally by Jonathan Toews for a 5-4 final. The three stars went to Bickell, Keith, and Neal, while Wilson and Josi get the honorable mentions.

Into Texas, where the Dallas Stars host the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Kari Lehtonen tend the twines. New York led off in the first period with a J.T. Miller power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Mats Zuccarello and Ryan McDonagh. Dallas tied it with a John Klingberg power play goal, his fourth of the year, assisted by Erik Cole and Colton Sceviour. The Stars took the lead as Ales Hemsky scored his third of the season, thanks to Jason Demers. The Rangers retied it on a Kevin Hayes goal, his fifth of the year, passed from Marc Staal and Dan Boyle. Dallas regained the lead in the second period with an Antoine Roussel goal, his eighth of the season, courtesy of Ryan Garbutt and Cody Eakin. This was it for the scoring in the 3-2 game, with the three stars going to Roussel, Hemsky, and Klingberg.

Way north to Alberta, as the Calgary Flames welcome the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Jonas Hiller receive the starting nods. Calgary struck first in the first period with a Curtis Glencross goal, his eighth of the season, via Jiri Hudler and Sean Monahan. The Flames added on with a Markus Granlund goal, his fifth of the year, made possible by Hudler and Johnny Gaudreau. Los Angeles got on the board in the second period with a Tyler Toffoli goal, his twelfth of the season, guided in by Dustin Brown and Trevor Lewis. This was it for the scoring, with Calgary claiming a 2-1 win. The three stars were Hiller (26 for 27 in saves), Hudler, and Granlund.

Finally, the Arizona Coyotes bring in the Philadelphia Flyers. Steve Mason and Devan Dubnyk occupy the creases. Arizona was first to score in the first period with an Antoine Vermette goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Shane Doan and Mikkel Boedker. The Coyotes added on in the second period as Vermette scored again, his second of the game and tenth of the year, assisted by Zbynek Michalek and Martin Erat. Arizona extended the lead in the third period on an Oliver Ekman-Larsson power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Boedker and Keith Yandle. Philadelphia got on the board with an R.J. Umberger goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Mark Streit and Sean Couturier. The Flyers pulled closer on Umberger's second of the game and fifth of the season, made possible by Couturier and Matt Read. The Coyotes iced it at 4-2 with an empty net goal by Vermette, completing his hat trick with his eleventh of the year, set up by Martin Hanzal and Lauri Korpikoski. The three stars were Vermette, Umberger, and Boedker, while Couturier gets an honorable mention.

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