Eleven games will be all that's left to send 2016 off in the NHL. We begin with two matinees, the first in...
Boston, as the Bruins host the Buffalo Sabres. Robin Lehner and Tuukka Rask man the nets. Boston began in the first period on a Frank Vatrano goal, his second of the season, helped along by Zdeno Chara. The Bruins added on in the second period on a Patrice Bergeron power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Ryan Spooner and Brad Marchand. Boston extended the lead as Tim Schaller scored his fifth of the season, with the help of Torey Krug and Austin Czarnik. Buffalo got on the board with a Jack Eichel goal, his seventh of the year, guided in by Rasmus Ristolainen and Sam Reinhart. The game ended at 3-1, with the three stars going to Bergeron, Rask (25 for 26 in saves), and Schaller.
Down in New Jersey, the Devils welcome the Washington Capitals. Philipp Grubauer and Keith Kinkaid are the backups in goal. Washington led off in the first period with a Brett Connolly goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Andre Burakovsky and Brooks Orpik. The Capitals added on with a Jay Beagle goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by Orpik and Daniel Winnik. New Jersey got on the board in the second period with a Kyle Palmieri goal, his seventh of the season, going in unassisted. Washington replied with a T.J. Oshie goal, his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals extended the lead as Ovechkin scored his seventeenth of the season, thanks to Matt Niskanen and Oshie. Washington padded the lead with a Justin Williams goal, his ninth of the year, made possible by Niskanen and Dmitry Orlov. The Devils got one back in the third period on a Beau Bennett goal, his second of the season, with assists provided by Ben Lovejoy and Jon Merrill. The Capitals answered with a Marcus Johansson goal, his fourteenth of the year, helped along by Williams and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The game ended at 6-2, with the three stars being Oshie, Ovechkin, and Williams, while Orpik and Niskanen get the honorable mentions.
Northwest to Minnesota, where the Wild bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Devan Dubnyk tend the twines. Columbus opened in the first period with a Cam Atkinson goal, his sixteenth of the season, passed from Brandon Dubinsky. The Blue Jackets added on with a Jack Johnson goal, his second of the year, via Brandon Saad and Alexander Wennberg. Columbus extended the lead as Atkinson scored his second of the game and seventeenth of the season, thanks to Ryan Murray and Markus Nutivaara. Minnesota got on the board with a Mikael Granlund power play goal, his tenth of the year, powered by Jared Spurgeon and Mikko Koivu. The Blue Jackets responded with a Seth Jones goal, his seventh of the season, courtesy of Saad and Nick Foligno. The Wild pulled back in the third period with a Jason Zucker goal, his ninth of the year, helped along by Granlund and Spurgeon. This made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars going to Atkinson, Saad, and Granlund, while Spurgeon gets an honorable mention.
Back east, the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Marc-Andre Fleury guard the cages. Montreal started in the first period with an Alexander Radulov goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Paul Byron and Shea Weber. Pittsburgh tied it on a Patric Hornqvist goal in the second period, his ninth of the year, helped along by Evgeni Malkin and Carl Hagelin. The Penguins took the lead with a Phil Kessel goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Hagelin and Olli Maatta. The Canadiens retied it on a Byron goal, his twelfth of the year, with a lone assist by Jeff Petry. Montreal took the lead in the third period with a Brian Flynn goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Daniel Carr. Pittsburgh tied it on a Conor Sheary goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Justin Schultz and Kris Letang. The Penguins won 4-3 on a Malkin power play goal, his sixteenth of the campaign, with assists provided by Kessel and Letang. The three stars went to Malkin, Kessel, and Letang, while Hagelin and Byron earn the honorable mentions.
South to Tampa Bay, where the Lightning welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Andrei Vasilevskiy are in the blue paint. Tampa Bay struck first in the first period with a Brian Boyle goal, his tenth of the season, a power play goal via Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. The Lightning added on with a Jonathan Drouin power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Kucherov and Ondrej Palat. Tampa Bay extended the lead in the second period as Alex Killorn scored his twelfth of the season, with the help of Matthew Peca and Hedman. Carolina got on the board with a Sebastian Aho goal, his seventh of the year, passed from Jaccob Slavin and Teuvo Teravainen. This made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars being Vasilevskiy (26 for 27 in saves), Kucherov, and Hedman.
Way north in Winnipeg, the Jets bring in the New York Islanders. Thomas Greiss and Connor Hellebuyck receive the starting nods in goal. New York was first to score in the first period on a Nikolay Kulemin goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. The Islanders added on with a John Tavares goal, his eleventh of the year, via Josh Bailey. New York extended the lead in the second period as Shane Prince scored his fifth of the season, thanks to Ryan Strome and Brock Nelson. The Islanders padded the lead with a Strome goal, his sixth of the year, with a lone helper from Johnny Boychuk. Michael Hutchinson replaced Hellebuyck. Winnipeg got on the board with a Shawn Matthias shorthanded goal, his fourth of the season, set up by Jacob Trouba and Adam Lowry. New York replied in the third period with an Anders Lee goal, his fourteenth of the year, fueled by Bailey and Tavares. The Islanders continued with an Andrew Ladd power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Nelson and Cal Clutterbuck. The Jets shot back with a Nikolaj Ehlers power play goal, his tenth of the year, assisted by Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele. The final stood at 6-2, with the three stars going to Strome, Tavares, and Bailey, while Nelson gets an honorable mention.
Back south, the Dallas Stars host the Florida Panthers. James Reimer and Antti Niemi are given the green light to play goal. Florida led off in the first period with a Vincent Trocheck goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Jaromir Jagr and Seth Griffith. The Panthers added on with a Jussi Jokinen power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Trocheck and Reilly Smith. Florida extended the lead as Jagr scored his seventh of the season on the power play, with the help of Jonathan Marchessault and Keith Yandle. Kari Lehtonen replaced Niemi in goal. Dallas got on the board in the second period with a Patrick Eaves power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, with assists provided by Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. This only made it 3-1, the eventual final, with the three stars given to Jagr, Trocheck, and Reimer (35 for 36 in saves).
In Denver, the Colorado Avalanche welcome the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist faces a lesser foe in Calvin Pickard in goal. Colorado began in the first period with a Cody McLeod goal, assisted by Tyson Barrie and Mikhail Grigorenko. New York tied it on a Chris Kreider goal, his thirteenth of the season, guided in by Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello. The Rangers took the lead with a Kreider power play goal, his fourteenth of the year and second of the game, powered by Zuccarello and Ryan McDonagh. The Avalanche tied it on a Blake Comeau goal, his sixth of the season, fueled by Francois Beauchemin and Rene Bourque. New York took the lead back in the second period with a J.T. Miller goal, his eleventh of the year, going in unassisted. The Rangers added on with a Kreider power play goal, completing his hat trick with his fifteenth of the season, helped along by Stepan and Brandon Pirri. New York extended the lead in the third period as Miller scored his second of the game and twelfth of the year, made possible by Oscar Lindberg and Jesper Fast. The Rangers padded the lead on a Jimmy Vesey goal, his eleventh of the season, courtesy of Michael Grabner and Kevin Hayes. The final stood at 6-2, with the three stars going to Kreider, Miller, and Stepan, while Zuccarello gets an honorable mention.
Into Alberta, where the Calgary Flames bring in the Arizona Coyotes. Louis Domingue and Brian Elliott play goal. Calgary started in the first period with a Michael Frolik power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Matthew Tkachuk and Dougie Hamilton. The Flames added on with a Dennis Wideman goal, his third of the year, via T.J. Brodie and Kris Versteeg. Calgary extended the lead as Lance Bouma scored his second of the season, with the help of Matt Stajan. The Flames padded the lead on a Mikael Backlund power play goal, his eleventh of the year, coming off of Mark Giordano and Frolik. Arizona got on the board in the second period with a Brendan Perlini goal, his third of the season, assisted by Shane Doan and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The Coyotes got closer in the third period with a Martin Hanzal goal, his eighth of the year, helped along by Jordan Martinook. The final stuck at 4-2, with the three stars handed to Frolik, Bouma, and Backlund.
Also in the province, the Edmonton Oilers host the Vancouver Canucks. Jacob Markstrom and Cam Talbot are the masked men. Vancouver got going in the second period with an Alexandre Burrows goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi. Edmonton tied it on a Drake Caggiula goal, his second of the year, coming off of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Matthew Benning. The Canucks retook the lead in the third period on a Baertschi goal, his eighth of the season, fueled by Horvat and Alexander Edler. The Oilers tied it on a Connor McDavid power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, powered by Leon Draisaitl and Milan Lucic. In the shootout, Horvat had the lone tally for the Canucks to win 3-2. The three stars went to Horvat, Baertschi, and Markstrom (40 for 42 in saves).
Finally, the Los Angeles Kings host the San Jose Sharks. Martin Jones and Peter Budaj draw the starts in goal. Los Angeles opened in the first period with a Tanner Pearson goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Alec Martinez. The Kings added on in the second period with a Drew Doughty power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Nic Dowd and Martinez. San Jose got on the board with a Brent Burns power play goal in the third period, his fifteenth of the season, with assists provided by Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Los Angeles answered with a Jeff Carter goal, his twentieth of the year, passed from Pearson and Jake Muzzin. The Sharks pulled back with a Kevin Labanc goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Mikkel Boedker and Brenden Dillon. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars belonging to Pearson, Carter, and Martinez.
Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0, and have a safe and happy new year.
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