Nine games on today, with the first from...
Boston, as the Bruins host the Calgary Flames. Joni Ortio is mismatched with Tuukka Rask in goal. Boston began in the first period with a Landon Ferraro goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Torey Krug and Brett Connolly. Calgary got on the board in the third period with a Jakub Nakladal goal, helped along by Jyrki Jokipakka and Michael Frolik. The Bruins took the lead with a Patrice Bergeron power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, powered by Ryan Spooner and David Krejci. This made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars going to Rask (24 for 25 in saves), Bergeron, and Ferraro.
Down in New Jersey, the Devils welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Eddie Lack and Cory Schneider man the nets. New Jersey struck first with an Adam Henrique goal, his twentieth of the season, helped along by Tyler Kennedy and Andy Greene. Carolina tied it on a second period goal by Derek Ryan, a power play goal powered by Jaccob Slavin. The Hurricanes took the lead with a third period Joakim Nordstrom goal, his ninth of the year, via Elias Lindholm and Slavin. Carolina iced it at 3-1 with an unassisted empty net goal by Nathan Gerbe, his second of the campaign. The three stars were Lack (29 for 30 in saves), Slavin, and Ryan.
Back north, the Buffalo Sabres bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Cam Talbot and Robin Lehner are the inexperienced goalies. Edmonton quickly opened with a Connor McDavid goal, his eleventh of the season, helped along by Jordan Eberle. Buffalo tied it on a third period goal by Cal O'Reilly, via Sam Reinhart and Mark Pysyk. The Oilers won 2-1 in overtime with an unassisted McDavid goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the year. The three stars belonged to McDavid, Talbot (31 for 32 in saves), and Lehner (39 for 41 in saves).
Into Canada, where the Ottawa Senators host the St. Louis Blues. Jake Allen and Craig Anderson protect the nets. St. Louis led off in the first period with a Dmitrij Jaskin goal, his fourth of the season, via Jaden Schwartz and Alex Pietrangelo. The Blues added on with a Schwartz power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by David Backes and Kevin Shattenkirk. St. Louis extended the lead as Vladimir Tarasenko scored his thirtieth of the season, thanks to Shattenkirk and Schwartz on the power play. Andrew Hammond replaced Anderson in goal. Ottawa got on the board with a Ryan Dzingel goal, his second of the year, made possible by Dion Phaneuf and Mika Zibanejad. The Senators got closer in the third period with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his fifteenth of the season, assisted by Mark Stone and Erik Karlsson. Ottawa tied it with a tenth of a second on the clock as Pageau scored his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, with the help of Bobby Ryan and Zack Smith on the power play. The tie went to a shootout, where Patrik Berglund scored the only goal in the eleventh round to cap a 4-3 Blues win in epic form. The three stars went to Schwartz, Pageau, and Shattenkirk.
Back stateside, the Washington Capitals welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins in a make-up game. Matt Murray and Braden Holtby are in the blue paint. Pittsburgh started in the first period with an Evgeni Malkin goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, made possible by Carl Hagelin and Brian Dumoulin. The Penguins added on with a Patric Hornqvist goal in the second period, his sixteenth of the year, via Olli Maatta and Sidney Crosby. Washington got on the board with a Mike Richards goal, his second of the season, assisted by Nate Schmidt and Jason Chimera. The Capitals tied it on an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, his twentieth of the year, passed from Justin Williams and Andre Burakovsky. Washington took the lead with a Matt Niskanen power play goal, his fourth of the campaign, powered by Nicklas Backstrom. This made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars being Niskanen, Kuznetsov, and Richards.
Southwest to Nashville, where the Predators bring in the Dallas Stars. Antti Niemi and Pekka Rinne are the Finnish goalies. Nashville dented the scoreboard in the first period with a Craig Smith goal, his fifteenth of the season, coming off of Mike Ribeiro and Shea Weber. Dallas tied it with an Antoine Roussel goal, his tenth of the year, with a lone assist by Cody Eakin. The Predators retook the lead with a Calle Jarnkrok goal in the second period, his thirteenth of the season, helped along by James Neal and Anthony Bitetto. Nashville added on with a Weber power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, powered by Roman Josi and Smith. The Predators extended the lead as Mattias Ekholm scored his seventh of the season, thanks to Colin Wilson and Viktor Arvidsson. The Stars got one back on a Jason Spezza power play goal, his twenty-second of the year, with assists provided by Jamie Benn and John Klingberg. Nashville shot back with a Neal goal in the third period, his twenty-second of the season, guided in by Weber and Ryan Johansen. Dallas pulled back on a Vernon Fiddler goal, his ninth of the year, made possible by Alex Goligoski and Roussel. This only made it 5-3, with the three stars going to Weber, Neal, and Smith, while Roussel gets an honorable mention.
Up north, the Winnipeg Jets host the Florida Panthers. Roberto Luongo faces a lesser foe in Ondrej Pavelec in goal. Florida drew first blood with a Reilly Smith goal, his twentieth of the season, helped along by Vincent Trocheck and Steven Kampfer. Winnipeg got on the board with a Dustin Byfuglien goal in the second period, his sixteenth of the year, courtesy of Nikolaj Ehlers and Mark Scheifele. The Jets took the lead with an Andrew Copp goal, his second of the season, with a lone assist by Alex Burmistrov. The Panthers retied it in the third period on a Smith power play goal in the third period, his second of the game and twenty-first of the year, powered by Trocheck and Teddy Purcell. Florida took the lead on a Jaromir Jagr goal, his twenty-first of the campaign, fueled by Jussi Jokinen and Dmitry Kulikov. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars belonging to Smith, Trocheck, and Jagr.
Backtracking to Minnesota, where the Wild welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Devan Dubnyk are the masked men. Colorado was first to score in the first period with a Jarome Iginla power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, powered by Tyson Barrie and Mikkel Boedker. Minnesota tied it on a Nino Niederreiter goal, his thirteenth of the year, coming off of Jason Pominville. The Wild took the lead with a Pominville goal, his ninth of the season, with a lone assist by Niederreiter. Minnesota added on with an Erik Haula goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Matt Dumba and Marco Scandella. The Avalanche got one back with a Chris Bigras goal in the second period, via Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon. Colorado tied it on a Cody McLeod goal, his eighth of the season, passed from Jack Skille and John Mitchell. The Wild retook the lead in the third period with a Charlie Coyle goal, his twentieth of the year, assisted by Zach Parise. Minnesota extended the lead as Coyle scored an empty net goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the season, set up by Ryan Suter and Parise. The Wild iced it at 6-3 with an empty net goal by Niederreiter, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, with a lone helper from Pominville. The three stars went to Coyle, Niederreiter, and Pominville, while Parise gets an honorable mention.
Finally, the Vancouver Canucks bring in the New York Islanders. Thomas Greiss and Jacob Markstrom are the backups in goal. New York got going in the first period with a Travis Hamonic goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas. Vancouver tied it on a Linden Vey goal, his third of the year, coming on the power play from Ben Hutton. The Islanders took the lead back in the second period with an Anders Lee goal, his tenth of the season, passed from Thomas Hickey and Kyle Okposo. The Canucks tied it with a third period Daniel Sedin goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, with a lone assist by Henrik Sedin. New York regained the lead on a Hickey goal, his fourth of the campaign, going in unassisted. This held up for a 3-2 win, with the three stars given to Hickey, Lee, and Hamonic.
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