We've got fourteen games on today, beginning the first half of a busy weekend before the Christmas break. The first of six matinees begins in...
Boston, as the Bruins host the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Jaroslav Halak are in goal. Boston opened in the first period with a Patrice Bergeron goal, his tenth of the season, coming off of Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand. Nashville tied it in the second period on a Ryan Johansen goal, his sixth of the year, via Craig Smith and Roman Josi. The Bruins retook the lead in the third period with a Bergeron power play goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the season, powered by Danton Heinen and David Pastrnak. The Predators tied it again with a Kyle Turris goal, his sixth of the year, fueled by Josi and Miikka Salomaki. Boston regained the lead on a Marchand power play goal, his twelfth of the season, with assists provided by Pastrnak and Bergeron. The Bruins added on with a Pastrnak goal, his twenty-third of the year, courtesy of Marchand. Boston iced it at 5-2 with a Sean Kuraly empty net goal, his second of the campaign, set up by McAvoy and the goalie Halak. The three stars went to Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak, while McAvoy and Josi get the honorable mentions.
In Philadelphia, the Flyers welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Carter Hart man the creases. Columbus started in the first period with a Zach Werenski goal, his sixth of the season, passed from Pierre-Luc Dubois and Artemi Panarin. Philadelphia tied it on a Sean Couturier goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Claude Giroux on the power play. The Flyers took the lead in the second period with a Phil Varone goal, assisted by James van Riemsdyk and Dale Weise. The Blue Jackets retied it on a Cam Atkinson goal, his twenty-first of the season, helped along by Ryan Murray and Dubois. Columbus took the lead with another Atkinson goal, his second of the game and twenty-second of the year, fueled by Scott Harrington and Panarin. The Blue Jackets added on with a Panarin goal, his tenth of the season, with a lone helper from Dubois, who earned a sock trick. Philadelphia got one back in the third period with a van Riemsdyk goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars awarded to Atkinson, Panarin, and Dubois, while van Riemsdyk gets an honorable mention.
Over in Detroit, the Red Wings bring in the Florida Panthers. Roberto Luongo and Jimmy Howard protect the nets. Florida led off in the first period with a Mike Hoffman power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, powered by Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers added on with an Evgenii Dadonov goal, his seventeenth of the year, assisted by Huberdeau and Barkov. Detroit got on the board in the second period with a Thomas Vanek goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. This stood for the eventual 2-1 final score, with the three stars going to Luongo (33 for 34 in saves), Huberdeau, and Barkov.
In Alberta, the Calgary Flames host the St. Louis Blues. Jake Allen and Mike Smith are the overrated goalies. St. Louis began in the first period with a David Perron goal, his twelfth of the season, coming off of Jay Bouwmeester. The Blues added on with a Tyler Bozak power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Pat Maroon and Perron. Calgary got on the board with a Matthew Tkachuk power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, with assists provided by Elias Lindholm and Johnny Gaudreau. St. Louis replied in the third period on an Oskar Sundqvist goal, his sixth of the year, guided in by Ivan Barbashev and Vince Dunn. The final remained at 3-1, with the three stars given to Perron, Allen (28 for 29 in saves), and Bozak.
Out in California, the San Jose Sharks welcome the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Martin Jones guard the cages. Los Angeles struck first in the first period with an Ilya Kovalchuk power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Alex Iafallo and Jake Muzzin. The Kings added on in the third period with an Iafallo goal, his eighth of the year, via Dustin Brown and Nate Thompson. San Jose got on the board with a Lukas Radil goal, his third of the season, fueled by Timo Meier and Erik Karlsson. The Sharks tied it on a Joe Pavelski goal, his twenty-third of the year, helped along by Brent Burns and Karlsson. Los Angeles won 3-2 in overtime with a Kovalchuk goal, his second of the game and seventh of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars belonged to Kovalchuk, Iafallo, and Karlsson.
The last matinee is in Nevada, with the Vegas Golden Knights bringing in the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Marc-Andre Fleury tend the twines. Montreal kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Phillip Danault goal, his third of the season, passed from Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar. Vegas tied it on a Brandon Pirri goal, his second of the year, made possible by Alex Tuch and William Karlsson. The Golden Knights took the lead in the second period on a Jonathan Marchessault goal, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Brayden McNabb and Karlsson. The Canadiens retied it on a Danault goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, via Jordie Benn and Gallagher. Vegas retook the lead on Pirri's second goal of the game and third of the season, coming off of McNabb. Montreal tied it on a third period goal by Danault, completing his hat trick on his fifth of the year, with helpers from Max Domi and Tatar. The Canadiens won 4-3 in overtime with a Paul Byron goal, his ninth of the campaign, guided in by Domi and Victor Mete. The three stars were Danault, Pirri, and Domi, while Gallagher, Tatar, Karlsson, and McNabb get the honorable mentions.
At the regular times, the Buffalo Sabres host the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson faces a lesser foe in Linus Ullmark in goal. Buffalo began in the first period with a Rasmus Dahlin power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Rasmus Ristolainen and Jack Eichel. The Sabres added on in the third period with a Jeff Skinner goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, helped along by Sam Reinhart and Lawrence Pilut. Buffalo iced it at 3-0 with a Conor Sheary empty net goal, his seventh of the campaign, set up by Eichel and Reinhart. The three stars belonged to Ullmark (40 save shutout), Eichel, and Reinhart.
Down in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Matt Murray and Curtis McElhinney are in the blue paint. Pittsburgh drew first blood in the first period with a Kris Letang goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust. The Penguins added on with a Jake Guentzel goal in the second period, his fourteenth of the year, via Sidney Crosby and Rust. Pittsburgh extended the lead as Guentzel scored his second of the game and fifteenth of the campaign, thanks to Crosby, who earned a sock trick, and Kessel. This held up for the eventual 3-0 final score, with the three stars being Murray (39 save shutout), Guentzel, and Crosby, while Rust gets an honorable mention.
Back north, the Ottawa Senators bring in the Washington Capitals. Pheonix Copley and Mike McKenna are little-known backups. Washington opened in the first period with a Brett Connolly goal, his eighth of the season, passed from Jonas Siegenthaler and Lars Eller. The Capitals added on with a Matt Niskanen goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. Washington extended the lead in the second period as Jakub Vrana scored an unassisted goal, his eleventh of the season. The Capitals padded the lead as Michal Kempny scored his third of the year, thanks to Connolly. This made it 4-0, the eventual final, with the three stars going to Copley (35 save shutout), Connolly, and Kempny.
Also in Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs host the New York Rangers. Alexandar Georgiev is mismatched with Frederik Andersen in goal. Toronto was first to score in the first period with a Patrick Marleau goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Morgan Rielly. New York tied it in the second period with a Neal Pionk goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Jimmy Vesey and Brady Skjei. The Maple Leafs retook the lead in the third period with an Andreas Johnsson goal, his eighth of the season, via Mitchell Marner and John Tavares. Toronto added on with a Rielly goal, his twelfth of the year, assisted by Johnsson and Frederik Gauthier. The Rangers got one back on a Kevin Hayes goal, his tenth of the season, passed from Filip Chytil and Pionk. The Maple Leafs replied with a Marner goal, his eleventh of the year, coming off of Tavares and Johnsson. New York chipped back with a Chris Kreider goal, his sixteenth of the season, with assists from Hayes and Marc Staal. Toronto capped it at 5-3 with an unassisted empty net goal by Marner, his second of the game and twelfth of the year. The three stars were Johnsson, Marner, and Rielly, while Tavares, Hayes, and Pionk take the honorable mentions.
Way to the southwest, the Arizona Coyotes welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Philipp Grubauer and Adin Hill patrol the creases. Arizona started in the first period with a Richard Panik goal, his seventh of the season, guided in by Derek Stepan and Alex Goligoski. Colorado tied it on an Alexander Kerfoot goal, his fifth of the year, via Sven Andrighetto and J.T. Compher. The Coyotes retook the lead with a Stepan goal, his eighth of the season, made possible by Clayton Keller and Panik. Arizona added on in the second period with a Christian Fischer goal, his eighth of the year, coming off of Nick Schmaltz and Alex Galchenyuk. The Coyotes extended the lead as Conor Garland scored, with the help of Mario Kempe and Ilya Lyubushkin. Pavel Francouz replaced Grubauer in goal. The Avalanche got one back in the third period with a Gabriel Landeskog power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, powered by Compher. Colorado pulled closer on a Kerfoot goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, helped along by Matt Nieto and Mikko Rantanen. The Avalanche tied it as Nathan MacKinnon scored his twenty-second of the season, fueled by Nieto and Erik Johnson. Arizona regained the lead on a Brad Richardson goal, his ninth of the year, with a lone assist by Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The Coyotes finished it at 6-4 with a Richardson empty net goal, his second of the game and tenth of the campaign, set up by Nick Cousins and Niklas Hjalmarsson. The three stars were given to Stepan, Kerfoot, and Richardson, while Panik, Nieto, and Compher receive honorable mentions.
Backtracking to Minnesota, the Wild bring in the Dallas Stars. Ben Bishop and Devan Dubnyk are the masked men. Dallas dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Jamie Benn goal, his fifteenth of the season, coming off of Alexander Radulov. Minnesota tied it with a Jason Zucker goal, his tenth of the year, passed from Mikael Granlund and Eric Staal. The Stars won 2-1 in overtime with a Radulov goal, his eleventh of the campaign, via John Klingberg and Mattias Janmark. The three stars went to Radulov, Bishop (30 for 31 in saves), and Dubnyk (25 for 27 in saves).
West to Edmonton, as the Oilers host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Mikko Koskinen are the reliable goalies. Edmonton led off in the first period with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Connor McDavid and Jesse Puljujarvi. Tampa Bay tied it on a Steven Stamkos power play goal, his nineteenth of the year, powered by Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. The Oilers retook the lead in the second period on an Alex Chiasson power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, with assists provided by Darnell Nurse and McDavid. The Lightning retied it with a Kucherov goal, his sixteenth of the year, going in unassisted. Tampa Bay pulled ahead on a J.T. Miller goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Erik Cernak and Alex Killorn. The Lightning added on in the third period with a Tyler Johnson goal, his fifteenth of the year, passed from Brayden Point and Kucherov. Edmonton got one back with a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his seventeenth of the season, with helpers from McDavid, who got a sock trick, and Nugent-Hopkins. Tampa Bay shot back on a Stamkos goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the year, fueled by Kucherov, who earned a sock trick, and Anton Stralman. The Lightning iced it at 6-3 with a Johnson empty net goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the campaign, set up by Kucherov and Point. The three stars were Kucherov, Stamkos, and McDavid, while Johnson, Point, and Nugent-Hopkins get the honorable mentions.
Finally, the Vancouver Canucks host the Winnipeg Jets. Laurent Broissoit and Jacob Markstrom have the green light to play in goal. Winnipeg got going in the third period with a Mark Scheifele goal, his twenty-second of the campaign, passed from Dustin Byfuglien and Blake Wheeler. This stood for a 1-0 final score, with the three stars going to Brossoit (40 save shutout), Scheifele, and Markstrom (22 for 23 in saves).
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