New York, as the Rangers host the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros is mismatched with Henrik Lundqvist in goal. New York led off in the first period with a Jesper Fast goal, passed from Kevin Hayes. The Rangers added on with a Chris Kreider power play goal, powered by J.T. Miller and David Desharnais. Nashville got on the board in the second period with a Mattias Ekholm goal, guided in by Filip Forsberg. New York replied with a Hayes goal, his third of the season, via Jimmy Vesey and Brady Skjei. The Predators shot back with a Forsberg goal, his sixth of the year, coming off of Roman Josi and Ryan Johansen. The Rangers iced it at 4-2 with a Vesey empty net goal in the third period, set up by Brendan Smith. The three stars went to Hayes, Vesey, and Forsberg.
Over in Philadelphia, the other matinee has the Flyers welcoming the Edmonton Oilers. Cam Talbot and Brian Elliott are the masked men. Philadelphia began in the first period with a Claude Giroux power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Wayne Simmonds and Shayne Gostisbehere. Edmonton tied it in the second period with an unassisted Patrick Maroon goal, his second of the year. The Flyers took the lead in the third period with a Simmonds goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Valtteri Filppula and Jori Lehtera. The three stars of the 2-1 game were Simmonds, Elliott (23 for 24 in saves), and Giroux.
At the regular time, the Boston Bruins bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Robin Lehner and Anton Khudobin draw the starts in goal. Boston opened in the first period with a David Pastrnak goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Tim Schaller and Charlie McAvoy. The Bruins added on with an unassisted power play goal by Brad Marchand, his fifth of the year. Boston extended the lead in the second period as Marchand scored his second of the game and sixth of the season, thanks to Anders Bjork and McAvoy. Buffalo got on the board with a Jason Pominville goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Ryan O'Reilly. The Bruins countered with a Pastrnak goal, his second of the game and sixth of the season, helped along by Riley Nash and Torey Krug. The Sabres chipped back with a Jack Eichel goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Marco Scandella and Justin Bailey. Buffalo got closer in the third period with a Benoit Pouliot goal, passed from Sam Reinhart and Jake McCabe. The Sabres tied it as Evander Kane scored his sixth of the season, with the help of McCabe and Pominville. Buffalo won 5-4 in overtime with an unassisted O'Reilly goal, his third of the year. The three stars were O'Reilly, Pominville, and Pastrnak, while Marchand, McCabe, and McAvoy get the honorable mentions.
In Brooklyn, the New York Islanders host the San Jose Sharks. Aaron Dell and Thomas Greiss are the backups in goal. San Jose got going in the second period with a Logan Couture power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Brent Burns and Joe Thornton. New York tied it on an Anders Lee goal, his fourth of the year, via Nick Leddy and John Tavares. The Islanders took the lead with a Josh Bailey goal, his third of the season, going in unassisted. The Sharks retied it on another Couture goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, passed from Jannik Hansen and Brenden Dillon. New York regained the lead in the third period with an Andrew Ladd goal, his second of the season, coming off of Mathew Barzal and Bailey. The Islanders added on with a Lee goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, helped along by Tavares and Cal Clutterbuck. San Jose chipped back with a Couture goal, his sixth of the season completing his hat trick, with helpers from Burns and Thornton. New York capped a 5-3 win with a Tavares empty net goal, his third of the year, set up by Lee and Calvin de Haan. The three stars belonged to Tavares, Couture, and Lee, while Bailey, Burns, and Thornton get the honorable mentions.
Up in Canada, the Ottawa Senators welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs. Frederik Andersen and Craig Anderson are the similarly named goalies. Ottawa started in the first period with a Nate Thompson goal, via Alexandre Burrows and Logan Brown. The Senators added on in the second period with a Ryan Dzingel goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Erik Karlsson and Chris Wideman. Ottawa extended the lead as Derick Brassard scored his fifth of the year, thanks to Bobby Ryan and Karlsson. Toronto got on the board in the third period with a James van Riemsdyk goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Ron Hainsey and Connor Brown. The Maple Leafs got closer with an Auston Matthews goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by William Nylander and Hainsey. The Senators replied with a Mark Stone goal, his fourth of the season, going in unassisted. Toronto pulled back on a Nylander power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Jake Gardiner and Matthews. Ottawa answered with a Brassard goal, his second of the game and sixth of the season, guided in by Stone and Karlsson, the latter earning a sock trick. The Senators iced it at 6-3 with a Stone empty net goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, set up by Brassard and Dion Phaneuf. The three stars were handed to Brassard, Stone, and Karlsson, while Matthews, Nylander, and Hainsey get honorable mentions.
South to Florida, as the Tampa Bay Lightning bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Antti Niemi and Andrei Vasilevskiy are in the blue paint. Tampa Bay struck first in the first period with a Nikita Kucherov power play goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos. The Lightning added on with a Stamkos power play goal, his third of the year, with helpers from Vladislav Namestnikov and Kucherov. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Yanni Gourde scored, thanks to Braydon Coburn and Brayden Point. The Lightning padded the lead in the second period with a Point goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Ondrej Palat and Gourde. Tampa Bay kept going with an Anton Stralman goal, made possible by Mikhail Sergachev. The Lightning continued with a Kucherov goal, his second of the game and tenth of the year, helped along by Stamkos and Alex Killorn. Tampa Bay struck again in the third period with a Sergachev power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Stamkos, who got a sock trick, and Namestnikov. Pittsburgh avoided the shutout with a Jake Guentzel power play goal, his third of the year, via Bryan Rust and Kris Letang. This made it 7-1, the final, with the three stars awarded to Kucherov, Stamkos, and Gourde, while Point, Namestnikov, and Sergachev get the honorable mentions.
Back north, the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Sergei Bobrovsky guard the cages. Columbus was first to score in the first period with a Nick Foligno power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Artemi Panarin and Zach Werenski. Los Angeles tied it with an Anze Kopitar goal, his fifth of the year, via Dustin Brown and Jake Muzzin. The Kings took the lead with a Trevor Lewis goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Michael Cammalleri and Oscar Fantenberg. The Blue Jackets retied it on an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal, coming off of David Savard and Foligno. Columbus took the lead again with a Matt Calvert goal, assisted by Josh Anderson and Jack Johnson. Los Angeles retied it in the second period with a Muzzin goal, his second of the year, helped along by Alex Iafallo and Kopitar. The Kings pulled ahead on a Drew Doughty goal, his third of the season, fueled by Brown and Derek Forbort. The Blue Jackets tied it again on an unassisted Sonny Milano goal, his fifth of the year. Los Angeles regained the lead with a Kopitar goal in the third period, his sixth of the season and second of the game, made possible by Brown and Iafallo. The Kings finished it at 6-4 with a Brown empty net goal, his fifth of the year, set up by Muzzin. The three stars went to Kopitar, Brown, and Muzzin, while Iafallo and Foligno get the honorable mentions.
Back east, the Washington Capitals welcome the Florida Panthers. James Reimer and Philipp Grubauer are between the pipes. Florida led off in the first period with a Connor Brickley goal, his second of the season, with a lone assist by Jared McCann. The Panthers added on with an Evgenii Dadonov power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck. Florida extended the lead as Trocheck scored a power play goal in the second period, his third of the season, with the help of Aleksander Barkov and Dadonov. Washington got on the board with a Christian Djoos goal, his second of the year, via Devante Smith-Pelly and Lars Eller. The Panthers iced it at 4-1 with a shorthanded empty net goal by Barkov, his second of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars belonged to Dadonov, Trocheck, and Reimer (41 for 42 in saves), while Barkov gets an honorable mention.
Down in Dallas, the Stars bring in the Carolina Hurricanes. Scott Darling and Ben Bishop are the masked men. Dallas began in the first period with a Jamie Benn goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Alexander Radulov. The Stars added on with a Tyler Pitlick goal, via Radek Faksa and Dan Hamhuis. Dallas extended the lead in the second period as Tyler Seguin scored his sixth of the year, thanks to Mattias Janmark and Esa Lindell. The Stars padded the lead with Pitlick's second goal of the night, assisted by Antoine Roussel and Faksa. Carolina got on the board with a Jeff Skinner goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Brock McGinn. The Hurricanes got closer in the third period with another Skinner goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, helped along by Noah Hanifin and McGinn. Carolina chipped closer with a Jordan Staal goal, his second of the campaign, with helpers from Sebastian Aho and Elias Lindholm. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars given to Pitlick, Skinner, and Faksa, while McGinn gets an honorable mention.
Westward to Arizona, where the Coyotes host the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Louis Domingue have the green light to play in goal. Arizona started in the first period with a Christian Fischer goal, his second of the season, coming off of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Nick Cousins. Chicago tied it on a Richard Panik power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook. The Blackhawks took the lead in the second period with a Patrick Kane goal, his fourth of the season, via Toews. The Coyotes got one back with a Clayton Keller goal, his sixth of the year, with a lone helper from Max Domi. Chicago took the lead in the third period with a Lance Bouma goal, assisted by Tommy Wingels and Duncan Keith. The Blackhawks iced it at 4-2 with a Wingels empty net goal, set up by Bouma and Keith. The three stars went to Bouma, Wingels, and Toews, while Keith gets an honorable mention.
Up in Alberta, the Calgary Flames welcome the Minnesota Wild. Alex Stalock is mismatched with Mike Smith in goal. Minnesota dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Chris Stewart goal, his sixth of the season, passed from Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon on the power play. Calgary tied it with a Sean Monahan goal, his fifth of the year, via Troy Brouwer and T.J. Brodie. The Flames took the lead in the third period with a Kris Versteeg power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Brodie and Johnny Gaudreau. The Wild retied it on a Suter goal, coming off of Eric Staal and Luke Kunin. Minnesota took the lead with a Spurgeon goal, assisted by Suter and Mikko Koivu. The Wild iced it at 4-2 with a Daniel Winnik empty net goal, set up by Kunin. The three stars were Suter, Spurgeon, and Kunin, while Brodie gets an honorable mention.
Finally, the Vegas Golden Knights bring in the St. Louis Blues. Jake Allen and Malcolm Subban are in the creases. St. Louis opened in the first period with a Magnus Paajarvi goal, powered by Oskar Sundqvist and Kyle Brodziak. Vegas tied it in the second period on a Reilly Smith power play goal, his second of the season, assisted by Colin Miller and William Karlsson. The Golden Knights took the lead with a Miller power play goal, via Brad Hunt and Smith. The Blues tied it in the third period with an Alex Pietrangelo goal, his third of the year, coming off of Jaden Schwartz and Brayden Schenn. Vegas won 3-2 in overtime with a Karlsson goal, with a lone assist by Smith. The three stars went to Karlsson, Smith, and Miller.
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