The last day before the holiday break features thirteen games. First up is a pair of matinees...
The Toronto Maple Leafs host the Carolina Hurricanes. James Reimer and Frederik Andersen draw the starts in goal. Toronto opened in the first period with a Jason Spezza goal, his fifth of the season, via John Tavares and Ilya Mikheyev. The Maple Leafs added on with a William Nylander power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, powered by Tavares and Mitchell Marner. Toronto extended the lead as Tavares scored his fourteenth of the season on the power play, thanks to Spezza and Alexander Kerfoot. Petr Mrazek replaced Reimer in goal. Carolina got on the board with a Brock McGinn shorthanded goal, his fourth of the year, set up by Brett Pesce and Lucas Wallmark. The Hurricanes got closer with a Martin Necas power play goal, his seventh of the season, with assists provided by Wallmark and Nino Niederreiter. Carolina tied it in the second period as Necas scored his second of the game and eighth of the year, with the help of Erik Haula and Ryan Dzingel. The Hurricanes took the lead with a Haula goal, his ninth of the season, courtesy of Necas. Carolina padded the lead with an Andrei Svechnikov goal, his sixteenth of the year, passed from Jordan Staal and Teuvo Teravainen. The Maple Leafs got one back in the third period with an Auston Matthews goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, helped along by Zach Hyman and Marner. The Hurricanes responded on a Haula goal, his second of the game and tenth of the year, guided in by Dzingel and Necas. Toronto pulled back with a Marner goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Matthews and Tyson Barrie. The Maple Leafs retied it on a Barrie goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by Marner and Hyman. Toronto surged ahead on an unassisted Marner goal, his second of the game and tenth of the season. The Maple Leafs iced it at 8-6 with a Pierre Engvall empty net goal, his third of the year, with a lone helper from Hyman. The three stars were Marner, Tavares, and Necas, while Haula, Dzingel, Wallmark, Matthews, Hyman, Spezza, and Barrie get the honorable mentions.
Also, the Minnesota Wild welcome the Calgary Flames. Cam Talbot and Devan Dubnyk are the goalies. Minnesota got going in the second period with a Joel Eriksson Ek goal, his third of the season, via Kevin Fiala and Ryan Donato. The Wild added on with a Luke Kunin goal, his ninth of the year, assisted by Jordan Greenway and Nico Sturm. David Rittich replaced Talbot in the third period. Minnesota iced it at 3-0 with an Eric Staal empty net goal in the third period, his fourteenth of the campaign, set up by Jonas Brodin and Kunin. The three stars went to Dubnyk (22 save shutout), Kunin, and Eriksson Ek.
At the regular time, the Boston Bruins bring in the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby and Tuukka Rask tend the twines. Boston started in the first period with a Jake DeBrusk power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by David Krejci and Matt Grzelcyk. The Bruins added on with a Brad Marchand goal, his nineteenth of the year, coming off of David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy. Boston extended the lead as Anders Bjork scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Charlie Coyle. The Bruins padded the lead on a Patrice Bergeron power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, with helpers from Pastrnak and Krejci. Ilya Samsonov replaced Holtby in the second period. Boston kept going in the second period with a shorthanded Coyle goal, his seventh of the season, set up by Marchand. Washington got on the board with an Alex Ovechkin goal, his twenty-third of the year, fueled by Tom Wilson and John Carlson. The Capitals chipped closer in the third period with a Lars Eller goal, his eighth of the season, via Jakub Vrana and Radko Gudas. The Bruins shot back on a Krejci empty net goal, his eighth of the year, courtesy of Sean Kuraly. Washington chipped back with a Garnet Hathaway goal, his sixth of the season, helped along by Jonas Siegenthaler. Boston iced it with an unassisted empty net goal by Bergeron, his fifteenth of the year. The three stars in the 7-3 game were Krejci, Bergeron, and Marchand, while Coyle and Pastrnak get the honorable mentions.
Along to New York, where the Islanders host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Joonas Korpisalo and Thomas Greiss are between the pipes. New York led off in the first period with an Anders Lee goal, his eleventh of the season, via Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle. Columbus tied it in the second period with a Kevin Stenlund power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Zach Werenski. The Blue Jackets took the lead with a Nathan Gerbe goal, made possible by Alexander Wennberg. The Islanders retied it on a Barzal goal, his sixteenth of the season, coming off of Johnny Boychuk and Eberle. Columbus pulled ahead with a Vladislav Gavrikov goal, his fourth of the year, assisted by Alexandre Texier and Pierre-Luc Dubois. This made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars being Korpisalo (35 for 37 in saves), Barzal, and Eberle.
Over in Philadelphia, the Flyers welcome the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Carter Hart man the nets. New York dented the scoreboard in the second period with a shorthanded Jesper Fast goal, his sixth of the season, set up by Brady Skjei and Greg McKegg. Philadelphia tied it on a Travis Sanheim goal, his third of the year, via Justin Braun and Travis Konecny. The Flyers took the lead in the thirdp eriod with a Kevin Hayes goal, his tenth of the season, courtesy of Joel Farabee and James van Riemsdyk. Philadelphia added on with another Sanheim goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, assisted by Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux. The Flyers extended the lead as Hayes scored his second of the game and eleventh of the season, thanks to van Riemsdyk and Braun. Philadelphia capped it at 5-1 with a Nicolas Aube-Kubel power play goal, powered by Sanheim and Jakub Voracek. The three stars belonged to Sanheim, Hayes, and Hart (34 for 35 in saves), while van Riemsdyk and Braun get the honorable mentions.
To the south, the Tampa Bay Lightning bring in the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy are the Russian goalies. Tampa Bay began in the first period with a Brayden Point goal, his fourteenth of the season, passed from Erik Cernak and Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning added on with a Victor Hedman goal, his eighth of the year, courtesy of Point and Ondrej Palat. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Mikhail Sergachev scored his sixth of the season on the power play, thanks to Palat. Florida got on the board in the second period with a Jonathan Huberdeau power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, powered by Aaron Ekblad and Vincent Trocheck. The Lightning responded with an Alex Killorn power play goal, his eleventh of the season, with assists provided by Steven Stamkos and Hedman. Tampa Bay padded the lead on a Kucherov power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, guided in by Point and Stamkos. The Lightning finished it at 6-1 with a Hedman goal, his ninth of the campaign, coming off of Kucherov and Point in the third period. The three stars were Point, Hedman, and Kucherov, while Stamkos and Palat get the honorable mentions.
Way to the north, the Ottawa Senators host the Buffalo Sabres. Linus Ullmark and Craig Anderson are in the blue paint. Ottawa struck first in the first period with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his seventeenth of the season, with a lone assist by Brady Tkachuk. Buffalo tied it in the second period with a Zemgus Girgensons goal, his sixth of the year, fueled by Evan Rodrigues. The Senators retook the lead with a Pageau goal in the third period, his second of the game and eighteenth of the season, via Tkachuk and Connor Brown. Ottawa iced it at 3-1 with a Tkachuk empty net goal, his thirteenth of the year, set up by Brown. The three stars went to Pageau, Anderson (43 for 44 in saves), and Tkachuk, while Brown gets an honorable mention.
Back stateside, the Nashville Predators welcome the Arizona Coyotes. Antti Raanta and Pekka Rinne are the Finnish goalies. Nashville kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Filip Forsberg goal, his fourteenth of the season, via Roman Josi and Matt Duchene. The Predators added on in the second period with a Viktor Arvidsson goal, his seventh of the year, coming off of Calle Jarnkrok and Mattias Ekholm. Arizona got on the board with a Lawson Crouse goal, his seventh of the season, passed from Nick Schmaltz and Alex Goligoski. Nashville replied in the third period with a Josi goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Colin Blackwell and Craig Smith. The Coyotes pulled back with a Jakob Chychrun goal, his tenth of the season, helped along by Clayton Keller and Goligoski. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars awarded to Josi, Goligoski, and Arvidsson.
North again to Winnipeg, as the Jets bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price faces a lesser foe in Laurent Brossoit in goal. Winnipeg drew first blood in the first period with a Kyle Connor power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Mark Scheifele and Neal Pionk. Montreal tied it on a Tomas Tatar power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, with assists provided by Nick Suzuki and Jeff Petry. The Canadiens took the lead with a Tatar goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the season, coming off of Shea Weber and Brendan Gallagher. Montreal added on in the second period with a Phillip Danault goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Gallagher. The Canadiens extended the lead as Danault scored an unassisted goal, his second of the game and tenth of the season. The Jets got one back on a Patrik Laine goal, his fourteenth of the year, helped along by Scheifele. Montreal shot back with a Max Domi goal, his ninth of the season, made possible by Artturi Lehkonen and Suzuki. The Canadiens padded the lead as Lehkonen scored his seventh of the year in the third period, thanks to Domi. This stood for a 6-2 win, with the three stars being Tatar, Danault, and Domi, while Lehkonen, Suzuki, Gallagher, and Scheifele get the honorable mentions.
Down in Chicago, the Blackhawks host the New Jersey Devils. MacKenzie Blackwood and Corey Crawford are between the pipes. Chicago cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Zack Smith goal, his second of the season, made possible by David Kampf and Matthew Highmore. New Jersey tied it on a Jack Hughes goal, his fifth of the year, fueled by Wayne Simmonds and Sami Vatanen. The Devils took the lead in the second period with a P.K. Subban goal, his third of the season, coming off of Jesper Bratt and Kyle Palmieri. New Jersey added on with a Damon Severson goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Travis Zajac and Nikita Gusev. The Devils chased Crawford with a John Hayden goal, assisted by Will Butcher and Pavel Zacha. Robin Lehner came on in relief. New Jersey extended the lead with a Zajac shorthanded goal, his fifth of the season, set up by Blake Coleman and Andy Greene. The Devils padded the lead as Coleman scored his eleventh of the year in the third period, thanks to Severson and Gusev. New Jersey finished it at 7-1 with a Zacha goal, his third of the campaign, with helpers from Gusev and Severson.
Southwest to Nevada, where the Vegas Golden Knights welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Pavel Francouz and Marc-Andre Fleury get the starting nods in goal. Colorado was first to score in the first period with a Pierre-Edouard Bellemare goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of J.T. Compher and Ian Cole. Vegas tied it on a Ryan Reaves goal, his fourth of the year, via Tomas Nosek and Brayden McNabb. The Avalanche retook the lead with a shorthanded Matt Nieto goal, his sixth of the season, set up by Compher. Colorado added on with an unassisted Nazem Kadri goal, his twelfth of the year. The Golden Knights got one back with a Max Pacioretty goal in the second period, his sixteenth of the season, helped along by Chandler Stephenson and Mark Stone. The Avalanche shot back with a Gabriel Landeksog power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Nathan MacKinnon and Samuel Girard. Colorado extended the lead as Bellemare scored his second of the game and sixth of the season, thanks to Valeri Nichushkin and Matt Calvert. Vegas got one back in the third period with a William Carrier goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Nate Schmidt and Reilly Smith. The Avalanche countered with a Mikko Rantanen power play goal, his eleventh of the season, with a lone helper from MacKinnon. Colorado finished it at 7-3 with a Nichushkin goal, his seventh of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars belonged to Bellemare, Nichushkin, and MacKinnon, while Compher got an honorable mention.
Out in California, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Jonathan Quick guard the cages. St. Louis opened in the first period with a Brayden Schenn goal, his sixteenth of the season, passed from Vince Dunn and Robert Bortuzzo. The Blues added on with a Jaden Schwartz power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Alex Pietrangelo and David Perron. St. Louis extended the lead as Dunn scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Jacob De La Rose. The Blues padded the lead on a Schenn power play goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, with helpers from Pietrangelo and Perron. Los Angeles got on the board with an Alex Iafallo power play goal, his sixth of the season, helped along by Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar. This made it 4-1, the eventual final, with the three stars awarded to Schenn, Dunn, and Pietrangelo, while Perron gets an honorable mention.
Finally, the Vancouver Canucks host the Edmonton Oilers. Mikko Koskinen and Jacob Markstrom are the solid goalies. Vancouver started in the first period with an unassisted Tyler Motte goal. Edmonton tied it on a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Caleb Jones. The Oilers took the lead in the second period with an Oscar Klefbom power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Canucks tied it on a Bo Horvat goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Tanner Pearson and Christopher Tanev in the third period. Vancouver pulled ahead with a Quinn Hughes power play goal, his third of the year, with helpers from J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser. The Canucks capped it at 4-2 with a Loui Eriksson empty net goal, his second of the campaign, set up by Alexander Edler and Pearson. The three stars went to Hughes, Pearson, and Horvat.
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