Ten games grace the schedule today, including the first matinee of the year. We begin early in...
Buffalo, as the Sabres host the Florida Panthers. Roberto Luongo and Anders Nilsson make the starts in goal. Buffalo started in the first period with a Johan Larsson goal, assisted by Brian Gionta and Marcus Foligno. The Sabres added on in the second period with a Kyle Okposo power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen. Buffalo extended the lead in the third period as Reinhart scored, thanks to Matt Moulson on the power play. The game ended at 3-0, with the three stars going to Nilsson (33 save shutout), Reinhart, and Larsson.
At the usual time, the Detroit Red Wings welcome the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Jimmy Howard are the veterans in goal. Boston dented the scoreboard in the second period on a Tim Schaller goal, via Dominic Moore. This lasted for a 1-0 win, with the three stars being Rask (24 save shutout), Schaller, and Howard (35 for 36 in saves).
In Canada, the Montreal Canadiens bring in the Toronto Maple Leafs. Frederik Andersen and Carey Price are in goal. Montreal got going in the second period with an Alex Galchenyuk goal, his third of the season, helped along by Alexander Radulov and Nathan Beaulieu. Toronto tied it on a Nazem Kadri power play goal in the third period, his third of the year, powered by William Nylander and Jake Gardiner. The Canadiens retook the lead with a Shea Weber power play goal, his fourth of the season, with assists provided by Radulov and Galchenyuk. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars being Galchenyuk, Radulov, and Price (37 for 38 in saves).
Down in New Jersey, the Devils host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Cory Schneider are the masked men. New Jersey opened in the first period with an Adam Henrique goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Damon Severson and Michael Cammalleri. The Devils added on with a Severson goal, guided in by Henrique and Andy Greene. New Jersey extended the lead in the second period as Devante Smith-Pelly scored, thanks to Nick Lappin and Kyle Quincey. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Tyler Johnson goal, his second of the year, coming off of Brayden Point in the third period. The game closed at 3-1, with the three stars being Schneider (32 for 33 in saves), Severson, and Henrique.
Over in Philadelphia, the Flyers welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Steve Mason are between the pipes. Philadelphia led off in the first period with a Jakub Voracek goal, his fourth of the season, via Brandon Manning and Radko Gudas. The Flyers added on with a Wayne Simmonds power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Brayden Schenn and Shayne Gostisbehere. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Sidney Crosby goal, his third of the season, coming off of Patric Hornqvist and Scott Wilson. The Penguins tied it with a Crosby power play goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, assisted by Hornqvist and Phil Kessel. Pittsburgh took the lead with a Matt Cullen goal, his second of the season, with a lone assist by Tom Kuhnhackl. The Penguins extended the lead in the second period as Evgeni Malkin scored his fourth of the year, thanks to Kessel and Chris Kunitz. Philadelphia got one back with a Claude Giroux goal, fueled by Simmonds and Gudas on the power play. The Flyers retied it on another Voracek goal, coming on a penalty shot after Brian Dumoulin hook, going in as his fifth of the season. Pittsburgh retook the lead in the third period on a Malkin goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, made possible by Olli Maatta. The final held at 5-4, with the three stars given to Malkin, Crosby, and Voracek, while Hornqvist, Simmonds, Kessel, and Gudas receive the honorable mentions.
Out west, the St. Louis Blues bring in the Los Angeles Kings. Peter Budaj is mismatched with Jake Allen in goal. St. Louis cracked the scoresheet in the third period with a Jaden Schwartz goal, assisted by Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko. This proved to be the only goal for a 1-0 Blues win, with the three stars going to Schwartz, Allen (27 save shutout), and Budaj (24 for 25 in saves).
North to Minnesota, where the Wild host the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Devan Dubnyk are the average goalies. Minnesota struck first in the first period with a shorthanded Mikael Granlund goal, set up by Mikko Koivu. The Wild added on with a third period goal by Nino Niederreiter, his second of the season, coming off of Charlie Coyle and Granlund. Minnesota extended the lead as Eric Staal scored his fourth of the year on the power play, with the help of Ryan Suter and Jason Pominville. The Wild padded the lead on a Tyler Graovac goal, courtesy of Jason Zucker and Christoph Bertschy. The game ended at 4-0, with the three stars given to Granlund, Dubnyk (29 save shutout), and Graovac.
Southwest to Arizona, where the Coyotes welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Calvin Pickard and Louis Domingue are the relatively unknown goalies. Arizona began in the first period with a Radim Vrbata goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Max Domi and Martin Hanzal. Colorado tied it on a Matt Duchene goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Mikhail Grigorenko and Erik Johnson in the second period. The Avalanche took the lead in the third period with a Rene Bourque power play goal, with assists provided by Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie. Colorado added on with a Duchene goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, fueled by Gabriel Landeskog and Eric Gelinas. The Coyotes got one back on a Tobias Rieder goal, his second of the year, via Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brad Richardson. This only made it 3-2, with the three stars going to Duchene, Bourque, and Landeskog.
Up in Vancouver, the Canucks bring in the Washington Capitals. Philipp Grubauer and Jacob Markstrom are the backups in goal. Washington was first to score in the first period with a Marcus Johansson goal, his second of the season, passed from Matt Niskanen. The Capitals added on with a Tom Wilson goal, made possible by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Johansson. Vancouver got on the board with a Jannik Hansen goal, his second of the year, helped along by Erik Gudbranson. Washington shot back in the second period with a Johansson power play goal, his second of the game and third of the season, guided in by T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom. The Canucks got one back with a Bo Horvat goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by Sven Baertschi and Jake Virtanen. The Capitals shot back in the third period with an Oshie goal, his third of the campaign, coming off of Andre Burakovsky and Nate Schmidt. Washington iced it at 5-2 with a Karl Alzner empty net goal, going in unassisted. The three stars went to Johansson, Oshie, and Wilson.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Martin Jones are set to start in goal. San Jose drew first blood in the first period on a Joonas Donskoi goal, his second of the season, assisted by Logan Couture and Paul Martin. The Sharks added on with an unassisted Joe Pavelski power play goal in the second period, his fourth of the year. San Jose extended the lead as Tommy Wingels scored, thanks to Micheal Haley and David Schlemko. Nashville got on the board with a James Neal goal, made possible by Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi. San Jose iced it at 4-1 with a Joe Thornton empty net goal in the third period, set up by Pavelski and Tomas Hertl. The three stars went to Pavelski, Jones (27 for 28 in saves), and Wingels.
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