Ten games on an unusually busy Friday, beginning in...
New Jersey, as the Devils host the Los Angeles Kings. Ben Scrivens and Cory Schneider get the starts. Los Angeles dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Dwight King goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Jake Muzzin and Justin Williams. The Kings iced it at 2-0 with an Anze Kopitar empty net goal, his fifth of the year, set up by Drew Doughty and Willie Mitchell. Scrivens (26 save shutout), King, and Kopitar get the three stars.
To the west, the Columbus Blue Jackets welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Backups Peter Budaj and Curtis McElhinney make the spot starts. Columbus was first to score in the first period as R.J. Umberger potted his fourth of the season, courtesy of Nick Foligno and James Wisniewski. The Blue Jackets added on with an Artem Anisimov goal, his fifth of the year, passed from Nikita Nikitin and David Savard. Montreal got on the board as Alex Galchenyuk scored his fourth of the season, an unassisted goal. The Canadiens tied it with a Lars Eller power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Daniel Briere and Andrei Markov. Montreal took the game 3-2 in a shootout on a David Desharnais goal. The three stars went to Galchenyuk, Eller, and Desharnais.
Back east, the Buffalo Sabres host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jonathan Bernier and Ryan Miller are in between the pipes. Toronto got going in the first period on a Trevor Smith goal, his second of the season, made possible by David Clarkson and Mason Raymond. Buffalo tied it as Steve Ott scored his third of the year, a power play goal powered by Tyler Myers and Mark Pysyk. The Sabres took the lead as Marcus Foligno potted his third of the season, thanks to Ott and Drew Stafford. Buffalo added on in the third period as Christian Ehrhoff scored an empty net goal, set up by Pysyk. The three stars were handed to Ott, Pysyk, and Miller (32 for 33 in saves).
Over in Pittsburgh, the Penguins bring in the Nashville Predators. Marek Mazanec is mismatched with Marc-Andre Fleury in goal. Nashville opened with a first period Gabriel Bourque goal, his second of the season, with a lone assist from Kevin Klein. Pittsburgh tied it on a Pascal Dupuis goal, his third of the year, helped along by Matt D'Agostini and Brandon Sutter. The Penguins took the lead as James Neal scored a power play goal, powered by Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. Pittsburgh added on in the second period with a Kris Letang goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Malkin and Neal. The Penguins extended the lead on a Sutter goal, his third of the year, guided in by Jussi Jokinen and Paul Martin. This held up for a 4-1 win, with the three stars awarded to Neal, Sutter, and Malkin.
Down in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes host the Anaheim Ducks. Viktor Fasth and Justin Peters occupy the creases. Anaheim led off in the second period with a Corey Perry goal, his twelfth of the season, with a lone assist by Ryan Getzlaf. Carolina tied it as Eric Staal scored a power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Alexander Semin and Ryan Murphy. The Hurricanes took the lead in the third period with a Drayson Bowman goal, his second of the season, passed from Andrej Sekera. The Ducks retied it on a Dustin Penner power play goal, pushed through by Perry and Cam Fowler. Carolina won 3-2 in the shootout as Riley Nash and Chris Terry's goals topped a Perry tally. The three stars went to Perry, Bowman, and Peters (28 for 30 in saves).
Up in Canada, the Ottawa Senators host the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Craig Anderson protect the nets. Boston struck first in the first period on a Loui Eriksson goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Matt Bartkowski and Patrice Bergeron. The Bruins added on as Brad Marchand scored his third of the year, thanks to Bartkowski and Eriksson. Ottawa got on the board with a Chris Neil goal, his third of the season, an unassisted goal. The Senators tied it in the third period on a Jason Spezza goal, his ninth of the year, coming off of Erik Karlsson and Milan Michalek. Ottawa took the lead as Jared Cowen potted his third of the season, via Cory Conacher and Spezza. The Senators extended the lead as Bobby Ryan scored his tenth of the year, an unassisted goal. This made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars being Spezza, Eriksson, and Bartkowski.
Back stateside, the Detroit Red Wings welcome the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby and Jimmy Howard are the masked men. Washington started in the first period as Brooks Laich scored his third of the season, with a lone assist by Steve Oleksy. Detroit tied it with a Johan Franzen power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Jakub Kindl and Danny DeKeyser. The Red Wings took the lead on another Franzen goal, his second of the game and fourth of the season, with a lone assist from Tomas Tatar. Detroit added on in the second period as DeKeyser scored his second of the year, a power play goal fueled by Franzen and Kindl. The Capitals got one back in the third period as Alex Ovechkin netted his fifteenth of the season, with the help of Marcus Johansson and Nicklas Backstrom. Washington tied it with a Michael Latta goal, made possible by John Carlson and Karl Alzner. The game went to a shootout, where the Capitals won 4-3 on a lone Backstrom tally. The three stars were Franzen, Backstrom, and DeKeyser, while Kindl gets an honorable mention.
Further to the west, the Minnesota Wild host the Florida Panthers. Tim Thomas and Josh Harding are the veteran goalies. Minnesota began in the first period on a Zach Parise power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Mikko Koivu and Jason Pominville. The Wild added on as Pominville put away his twelfth of the year, assisted by Jared Spurgeon and Nino Neiderreiter. Florida got on the board in the third period as Tomas Kopecky scored, with the help of Jesse Winchester. The Panthers tied it when Jonathan Huberdeau scored his fourth of the season, courtesy of Nick Bjugstad. Minnesota retook the lead on a Charlie Coyle goal, his second of the year, via Koivu and Ryan Suter. This held up for a 3-2 win, with the three stars being Pominville, Coyle, and Koivu.
North to Winnipeg, where the Jets bring in the Philadelphia Flyers. Steve Mason and Ondrej Pavelec are the unreliable goalies. Winnipeg led off in the first period with a Dustin Byfuglien goal, his second of the season, coming on the power play via Devin Setoguchi and Olli Jokinen. Philadelphia tied it with a Scott Hartnell goal, his third of the year, made possible by Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux. The Flyers took the lead with a Wayne Simmonds goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen on the power play. The Jets tied it as Byfuglien scored his second of the game and third of the year, a power play goal powered by Jokinen and Evander Kane. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Winnipeg won 3-2 as Setoguchi and Giroux exchanged goals before Bryan Little sealed the deal. The three stars were Byfuglien, Hartnell, and Setoguchi.
Finally, in Edmonton, the Oilers host the San Jose Sharks. Alex Stalock and Devan Dubnyk are the inexperienced goalies. San Jose opened in the first period with a Joe Pavelski goal, his seventh of the season, coming on the power play from Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture. The Sharks added on as Tomas Hertl scored his twelfth of the year, via Thornton and Tommy Wingels. San Jose extended the lead with a Marleau goal, his tenth of the season, fueled by Jason Demers and Thornton. Edmonton got on the board with a Nail Yakupov power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Sam Gagner and Ales Hemsky. This was as close as it got, with the final being 3-1, and the three stars were given to Marleau, Stalock (30 for 31 in saves), and Thornton.
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