The Tampa Bay Lightning hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Petr Mrazek and Andrei Vasilevskiy are in the creases. Philadelphia led off in the first period with a Nolan Patrick power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek. Tampa Bay tied it on a Steven Stamkos power play goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, via Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov. The Flyers took the lead back with a Voracek goal, his fourteenth of the season, guided in by Patrick. Philadelphia added on with a Robert Hagg goal, his third of the year, passed from Scott Laughton and Ivan Provorov. The Lightning got one back with a Hedman goal in the second period, his tenth of the season, made possible by Stamkos and Kucherov. Tampa Bay tied it on a Dan Girardi goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by Stamkos and Hedman. The Flyers pulled ahead again on a Jori Lehtera goal, his second of the season, coming off of Jordan Weal and Valtteri Filppula. Philadelphia extended the lead as Provorov scored his twelfth of the year in the third period, thanks to Filppula. The Lightning countered with a J.T. Miller goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Yanni Gourde and Brayden Point. Tampa Bay tied it on a Stamkos goal, his second of the game and twenty-seventh of the year, with helpers from Kucherov, who got a sock trick, and Alex Killorn. The Lightning pulled ahead on a Hedman goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the season, with a lone helper by Stamkos, who got a sock trick. The Flyers evened it on a Giroux goal, his twenty-third of the year, courtesy of Sean Couturier and Provorov. The Lightning won 7-6 with shootout tallies by Stamkos and Point. The three stars were awarded to Stamkos, Hedman, and Kucherov, while Point, Provorov, Giroux, Voracek, Patrick, and Filppula get the honorable mentions.
Over in Texas, the Dallas Stars welcome the St. Louis Blues. Carter Hutton and Ben Bishop man the nets. Dallas got going in the second period with a Tyler Pitlick goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Antoine Roussel. St. Louis tied it on an Ivan Barbashev goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Vince Dunn and Vladimir Tarasenko. The Blues took the lead in the third period with a Jaden Schwartz goal, his nineteenth of the season, helped along by Colton Parayko. The Stars retied it on an Alexander Radulov goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, passed from Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. Dallas won 3-2 in overtime with a Benn goal, his twenty-second of the campaign, assisted by Seguin. The three stars were Benn, Seguin, and Bishop (35 for 37 in saves).
Further to the west, the Los Angeles Kings host the Chicago Blackhawks. Anton Forsberg and Jonathan Quick are in the creases. Chicago began in the first period with an unassisted Jordan Oesterle goal, his fourth of the season. Los Angeles tied it on a second period goal by Tanner Pearson, his twelfth of the year, going in unassisted. The Kings took the lead with an Alec Martinez goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar. Los Angeles added on with an Alex Iafallo goal, his ninth of the year, going in unassisted. The Blackhawks got one back in the third period with an Artem Anisimov power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, powered by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Chicago tied it on an unassisted Vinnie Hinostroza goal, his seventh of the year. The Blackhawks gained the lead on a Toews power play goal, his seventeenth of the season, with assists provided by Kane and Brent Seabrook. Chicago iced it at 5-3 with a Kane empty net goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, set up by Brandon Saad and Toews. The three stars were Toews, Kane, and Hinostroza.
Back east, the Boston Bruins bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Antti Niemi and Anton Khudobin are the backups in goal. Montreal opened in he first period on an unassisted Brendan Gallagher goal, his twenty-third of the season. Boston tied it in the third period with a Jake DeBrusk power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Nick Holden and Torey Krug. The Bruins won 2-1 in overtime with a Brad Marchand goal, his twenty-fifth of the campaign, made possible by Krug and Brian Gionta. The three stars were Krug, Khudobin (27 for 28 in saves), and Marchand.
In Pittsburgh, the Penguins host the New York Islanders. Christopher Gibson and Tristan Jarry occupy the creases. New York started in the first period with a Brandon Davidson goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Josh Bailey and Anders Lee. Pittsburgh tied it on a Patric Hornqvist power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, powered by Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin in the second period. The Islanders retook the lead with a Lee goal in the third period, his thirty-first of the season, coming off of John Tavares. The Penguins tied it again with a Derick Brassard goal, his nineteenth of the year, via Kessel and Dominik Simon. Pittsburgh won 3-2 in overtime with a Sidney Crosby goal, his twenty-second of the campaign, assisted by Justin Schultz and Kris Letang. The three stars belonged to Lee, Kessel, and Crosby.
Outside in Maryland, the Washington Capitals welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs in the last Stadium Series game of the year. Frederik Andersen and Braden Holtby tend the twines. Washington struck first in the first period with an Evgeny Kuznetsov power play goal, his twentieth of the season, powered by Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson. Toronto tied it on a Zach Hyman goal, his thirteenth of the year, coming off of Roman Polak. The Capitals replied with an Alex Ovechkin goal, his fortieth of the season, assisted by Tom Wilson and Backstrom. Washington added on with a Backstrom power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, with assists provided by Kuznetsov and Carlson. The Maple Leafs got one back with a Nazem Kadri goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, helped along by Patrick Marleau and Travis Dermott in the second period. The Capitals answered with a Carlson goal, his twelfth of the year, guided in by Chandler Stephenson and Jay Beagle. Washington extended the lead as Jakub Vrana scored his eleventh of the season, thanks to Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov. Curtis McElhinney replaced Andersen in goal. This held up as the eventual 5-2 final score, with the three stars given to Carlson, Kuznetsov, and Backstrom.
Way to the southwest, the Arizona Coyotes host the Ottawa Senators. Mike Condon and Antti Raanta are between the pipes. Ottawa was first to score in the first period with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his tenth of the season, coming off of Bobby Ryan and Mark Stone. Arizona tied it on an Oliver Ekman-Larsson goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Clayton Keller and Derek Stepan. The Coyotes took the lead with a Jordan Martinook goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Brad Richardson and Nick Cousins in the second period. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars given to Raanta (23 for 24 in saves), Martinook, and Ekman-Larsson.
Finally, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the New York Rangers. Alexandar Georgiev is mismatched with Cam Talbot in goal. New York kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Chris Kreider goal, his twelfth of the season, via Mika Zibanejad and John Gilmour. Edmonton tied it on a Connor McDavid goal in the second period, his thirtieth of the year, assisted by Matt Benning and the goalie Talbot. The Rangers took the lead back with a Zibanejad power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, powered by Pavel Buchnevich and Mats Zuccarello. New York added on with a Paul Carey goal, his seventh of the year, fueled by Cody McLeod and David Desharnais. The Oilers got one back with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his seventeenth of the campaign, coming off of McDavid and Andrej Sekera. The final stood at 3-2, with the three stars being Zibanejad, McDavid, and Georgiev (35 for 37 in saves).
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