Nine games on today, beginning in...
New Jersey, as the Devils host the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask faces a lesser foe in Keith Kinkaid in goal. New Jersey opened with a Travis Zajac power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, powered by Reid Boucher and David Warsofsky. Boston tied it in the second period with a Brad Marchand goal, his thirty-fifth of the year, passed from Zdeno Chara. The Devils took the lead with a third period goal from Boucher, his eighth of the season, coming on the power play from Zajac and Kyle Palmieri. The game ended 2-1 for the Devils, with the three stars being Boucher, Zajac, and Kinkaid (39 for 40 in saves).
Over in Brooklyn, the New York Islanders welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Thomas Greiss man the nets. Carolina got going in the second period with a Derek Ryan goal, his second of the season, made possible by Nathan Gerbe. New York tied it in the third period with an Anders Lee power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by John Tavares and Nick Leddy. The Islanders won 2-1 in the shootout with a Kyle Okposo tally. The three stars went to Greiss (26 for 27 in saves), Lee, and Ward (30 for 31 in saves).
West to Pittsburgh, with the Penguins bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Chad Johnson and Matt Murray are the backups in goal. Buffalo started in the first period with a Matt Moulson power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Johan Larsson and Casey Nelson. The Sabres added on with a shorthanded Ryan O'Reilly goal, his eighteenth of the year, going in unassisted. Buffalo extended the lead as Jake McCabe scored his fourth of the season, with the help of O'Reilly and Zach Bogosian. Pittsburgh got on the board in the second period with a Ben Lovejoy goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by Bryan Rust and Tom Kuhnhackl. The Penguins pulled closer with a Conor Sheary goal, his sixth of the season, guided in by Sidney Crosby. Pittsburgh tied it with a shorthanded Kuhnhackl goal, his fourth of the year, set up by Matt Cullen and Kris Letang. The Penguins pulled ahead with a shorthanded Nick Bonino goal, his seventh of the season, with a lone assist by Carl Hagelin. The Sabres retied it in the third period with a Bogosian power play goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Larsson and Nelson. Pittsburgh won 5-4 in the shootout with tallies from Letang and Phil Kessel. The three stars were Letang, Kuhnhackl, and Bogosian, while Larsson and Nelson get the honorable mentions.
In Canada, the Montreal Canadiens host the Detroit Red Wings. Petr Mrazek and Mike Condon are in the blue paint. Montreal led off in the first period with a Max Pacioretty goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, helped along by Joel Hanley and Sven Andrighetto. The Canadiens added on with a Paul Byron goal, his eleventh of the year, via Alexei Emelin and Alex Galchenyuk. Detroit got on the board with a Gustav Nyquist power play goal in the second period, his seventeenth of the season, powered by Niklas Kronwall. The Red Wings tied it with a power play goal from Anthony Mantha, his second of the year, courtesy of Pavel Datsyuk. Detroit took the lead with a Mike Green power play goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Datsyuk and Tomas Tatar. Montreal retied it in the third period with an Andrighetto power play goal, his seventh of the year, with assists provided by Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Markov. The Canadiens took the lead on Pacioretty's second of the game and twenty-seventh of the campaign, passed from Galchenyuk and Byron. This made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars awarded to Pacioretty, Byron, and Andrighetto, while Galchenyuk and Datsyuk get the honorable mentions.
Down in Florida, the Panthers welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jonathan Bernier and Roberto Luongo are the masked men. Toronto began in the first period with a shorthanded goal by Michael Grabner, his eighth of the season, set up by Connor Brown and Jake Gardiner. Florida tied it on a Jonathan Huberdeau goal in the second period, his sixteenth of the year, assisted by Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr. The Maple Leafs retook the lead on a Nazem Kadri power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Milan Michalek and Brown. Toronto added on with another Kadri power play goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, made possible by Brown, who got a sock trick, and Tyler Bozak. The Maple Leafs extended the lead as P.A. Parenteau scored his nineteenth of the season on the power play, thanks to Gardiner. The Panthers got one back with a Greg McKegg goal, helped along by Teddy Purcell and Alex Petrovic. Toronto iced it at 5-2 with a Kadri empty net goal, his seventeenth of the year completing his hat trick with a lone helper from Grabner. The three stars belonged to Kadri, Grabner, and Brown, while Gardiner gets an honorable mention.
Back north, the Minnesota Wild bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Scott Darling is mismatched with Devan Dubnyk in goal. Minnesota struck first in the first period with a Jarret Stoll goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Mike Reilly and Jordan Schroeder. Chicago tied it with a shorthanded goal by Marian Hossa, his thirteenth of the year, set up by Jonathan Toews and Michal Rozsival. The Wild retook the lead in the third period with a Jared Spurgeon goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Mikko Koivu and Jason Pominville. Minnesota added on with an Erik Haula goal, his thirteenth of the year, passed from Nino Niederreiter and Matt Dumba. The Wild extended the lead as Niederreiter scored his twentieth of the campaign into an empty net, with the help of Mikael Granlund and Haula. The three stars of the 4-1 game were Dubnyk (18 for 19 in saves), Haula, and Niederreiter.
South again to Dallas, as the Stars host the Nashville Predators. Kari Lehtonen and Pekka Rinne are the Finnish goalies. Nashville drew first blood in the first period with a Ryan Ellis shorthanded goal, his ninth of the season, going in unassisted. Dallas tied it with a Jamie Benn goal, his thirty-eighth of the year, with a lone helper from Alex Goligoski. The Stars took the lead in the second period with a Radek Faksa goal, his third of the season, via Antoine Roussel and Ales Hemsky. Dallas added on with a Jason Spezza goal, his thirtieth of the year, passed from Goligoski. The Predators got one back with a Viktor Arvidsson power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Ryan Johansen and James Neal. The Stars countered with an unassisted Patrick Sharp empty net goal, his nineteenth of the year. Dallas iced it at 5-2 with Benn's second of the game and thirty-ninth of the campaign, going unassisted into the empty net. The three stars were Benn, Goligoski, and Lehtonen (28 for 30 in saves).
Backtracking to St. Louis, where the Blues welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Brian Elliott guard the cages. St. Louis was first to score in the first period with a David Backes power play goal, his twentieth of the season, powered by Alexander Steen and Kevin Shattenkirk. Colorado tied it with a Mikhail Grigorenko goal, his sixth of the year, via Tyson Barrie and Mikkel Boedker. The Blues regained the lead with a Troy Brouwer power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, courtesy of Paul Stastny and Steen. St. Louis added on with an unassisted Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his thirty-sixth of the year. They held on for a 3-1 win, with the three stars given to Steen, Elliott (20 for 21 in saves), and Brouwer.
Finally, the Vancouver Canucks bring in the San Jose Sharks. James Reimer and Jacob Markstrom are between the pipes. San Jose dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Joe Pavelski goal, his thirty-seventh of the season, passed from Brent Burns and Joe Thornton. Vancouver tied it on a Chris Higgins shorthanded goal, his third of the year, going in unassisted. The Sharks retook the lead with a Logan Couture goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Nick Spaling. San Jose added on in the third period with a Couture power play goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the year, powered by Pavelski and Patrick Marleau. The Sharks iced it with a Couture empty net goal, completing his hat trick on his thirteenth of the campaign, set up by Burns and Dainius Zubrus. This made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars being Couture, Pavelski, and Burns.
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