Nine games on for the final day of 2015, beginning in...
Buffalo, as the Sabres host the New York Islanders. Thomas Greiss and Linus Ullmark are the unknown goalies. New York got going in the second period with a Frans Nielsen power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, powered by John Tavares and Nick Leddy. The Islanders added on with a Nikolay Kulemin goal in the third period, his fifth of the year, coming off of Kyle Okposo and Johnny Boychuk. Buffalo got on the board with a Ryan O'Reilly power play goal, his fifteenth of the campaign, made possible by Jack Eichel and Rasmus Ristolainen. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars going to Greiss (42 for 43 in saves), Kulemin, and Nielsen.
Over in Detroit, the Red Wings welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jeff Zatkoff and Petr Mrazek man the nets. Detroit struck first in the first period with a Justin Abdelkader goal, his twelfth of the season, coming off of Dylan Larkin and Niklas Kronwall. The Red Wings added on with a Brendan Smith goal, his third of the year, via Gustav Nyquist and Alexey Marchenko. Pittsburgh got on the board in the second period on a power play goal by Patric Hornqvist, his seventh of the season, powered by Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. The Penguins tied it on a Letang power play goal, his second of the year, guided in by Malkin and Hornqvist. Pittsburgh took the lead in the third period with a Sidney Crosby goal, his ninth of the season, with a lone assist by David Perron. The Penguins extended the lead as Malkin scored his eighteenth of the year, thanks to Phil Kessel and Hornqvist. Pittsburgh iced it at 5-2 with a Letang empty net goal, his second of the game and third of the campaign, set up by Nick Bonino. The three stars went to Letang, Malkin, and Hornqvist.
Down in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes bring in the Washington Capitals. Philipp Grubauer and Eddie Lack are the backups in goal. Carolina dented the scoreboard with a Phillip Di Giuseppe goal in the second period, his third of the season, passed from Joakim Nordstrom and Jordan Staal. Washington tied it with a Nicklas Backstrom goal, his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Karl Alzner and Matt Niskanen. The Hurricanes took the lead in the third period on an Eric Staal goal, his eighth of the campaign, assisted by Elias Lindholm and Kris Versteeg. Carolina added on with a Jeff Skinner goal, his fifteenth of the season, guided in by Riley Nash and Victor Rask. The Capitals got one back on Alex Ovechkin's twenty-first goal of the year, fueled by Brooks Laich. The Hurricanes sealed it up at 4-2 with an Andrej Nestrasil empty net goal, his fourth of the campaign, set up by Eric Staal. The three stars were Eric Staal, Skinner, and Lack (30 for 32 in saves).
Over in Colorado, the Avalanche host the Chicago Blackhawks. Scott Darling is mismatched with Semyon Varlamov in goal. Colorado was first to score in the first period with a Carl Soderberg power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Alex Tanguay and Francois Beauchemin. Chicago tied it with an Artem Anisimov goal, his fourteenth of the year, via Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin. The Blackhawks took the lead in the second period with an Andrew Desjardins goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Teuvo Teravainen and Phillip Danault. Chicago added on as Kane scored his twenty-third of the year on the power play, thanks to Panarin and Duncan Keith. The Avalanche pulled back on a Cody McLeod goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Matt Duchene and Erik Johnson. Colorado tied it on a Johnson goal, his seventh of the year, coming in the third period with the help of Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog. The Blackhawks won 4-3 in overtime with a Jonathan Toews power play goal, his thirteenth of the campaign, with assists provided by Kane and Brent Seabrook. The three stars went to Kane, Johnson, and Panarin, while Duchene gets an honorable mention.
Back east, the St. Louis Blues welcome the Minnesota Wild. Devan Dubnyk and Jake Allen are the masked men. St. Louis drew first blood in the second period on a Kevin Shattenkirk power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Alexander Steen and Paul Stastny. Minnesota tied it on a Nino Niederreiter goal, his eighth of the year, courtesy of Justin Fontaine and Erik Haula. The Wild took the lead in the third period with a Haula goal, his third of the season, with a lone assist by Niederreiter. Minnesota finished it at 3-1 with an empty net goal by Thomas Vanek, his twelfth of the year, set up by Charlie Coyle. The three stars were Haula, Dubnyk (33 for 34 in saves), and Niederreiter.
South to Texas, with the Dallas Stars bringing in the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Antti Niemi are the Finnish goalies. Nashville led off in the second period on a Craig Smith goal, his ninth of the season, passed from Mike Ribeiro. Dallas tied it with a Jamie Benn goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, courtesy of Alex Goligoski. The Stars took the lead on a Mattias Janmark goal, his ninth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Jason Spezza. Dallas added on with a Patrick Eaves goal in the third period, his third of the season, coming off of Spezza. The Stars extended the lead with a Tyler Seguin goal, his twenty-second of the year, made possible by Patrick Sharp. Dallas padded the lead with Seguin's second of the game and twenty-third of the campaign, helped along by Benn and John Klingberg. This made it 5-1, the final, with the three stars being Seguin, Benn, and Spezza.
Into Alberta, where the Calgary Flames host the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick faces a lesser foe in Karri Ramo in goal. Los Angeles opened in the first period on a Marian Gaborik goal, his eighth of the season, passed from Tanner Pearson. The Kings added on with a second period goal by Milan Lucic, his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Anze Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli. Los Angeles extended the lead as Andy Andreoff scored his third of the campaign, with the help of Michael Mersch and Jordan Nolan. Calgary got on the board with a Mark Giordano goal in the third period, his tenth of the season, assisted by Micheal Ferland and Joe Colborne. The Kings iced it at 4-1 with a Pearson power play empty net goal, his sixth of the year, set up by Gaborik. The three stars belonged to Quick (23 for 24 in saves), Gaborik, and Pearson.
North to Edmonton, with the Oilers welcoming the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Cam Talbot are the young goalies. Anaheim began in the first period on a Ryan Getzlaf power play goal, his third of the campaign, powered by Corey Perry. This held up through most of the game for a 1-0 win, with the three stars given to Gibson (21 save shutout), Getzlaf, and Talbot (34 for 35 in saves).
Finally, the Arizona Coyotes bring in the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Louis Domnigue are the unknown goalies. Winnipeg started in the first period on an Adam Lowry goal, his second of the season, coming off of Alex Burmistrov and Dustin Byfuglien. Arizona tied it on a Shane Doan goal, his twelfth of the year, passed from Max Domi and Nicklas Grossmann. The Coyotes took the lead in the third period with a Viktor Tikhonov power play goal, his second of the campaign, powered by Michael Stone and Connor Murphy. The Jets tied it on a Lowry goal, his second of the game and third of the season, going in unassisted. Arizona retook the lead on an Oliver Ekman-Larsson power play goal, his tenth of the year, assisted by Mikkel Boedker and Antoine Vermette. The Coyotes wrapped it up at 4-2 on a Doan empty net goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the campaign, set up by Jordan Martinook and Brad Richardson. The three stars were awarded to Doan, Lowry, and Domingue (35 for 37 in saves).
Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0 and have a safe and happy New Year!
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