Nine games on tonight, beginning with...
The Washington Capitals hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. Justin Peters and Braden Holtby are in the blue paint. Carolina started in the first period on a Jeff Skinner goal, his fifth of the season, thanks to Eric Staal. The Hurricanes added on with another Skinner goal in the second period, his second of the game and sixth of the year, made possible by Jay Harrison and the goalie Peters. Carolina extended the lead with an Andrej Sekera power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Skinner and Eric Staal. The Hurricanes padded the lead with a Jiri Tlusty goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Radek Dvorak and Harrison. Philipp Grubauer relieved Holtby in the third period. Washington got on the board in the third period as Mike Green scored, via Alex Ovechkin and Jason Chimera on the power play. This only made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars being Skinner, Peters (26 for 27 in saves), and Eric Staal, while Harrison gets an honorable mention.
Up in Toronto, the Maple Leafs welcome the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and James Reimer receive the starting nods. San Jose was first to score as Mike Brown scored his second of the season, made possible by Jason Demers and Andrew Desjardins. The Sharks added on with a Joe Thornton power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Joe Pavelski and Dan Boyle. Toronto got on the board in the second period with a Mason Raymond power play goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Morgan Rielly and Carl Gunnarsson. The Maple Leafs tied it with a Phil Kessel power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, passed from Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk. San Jose took the lead with a Brad Stuart goal, his third of the season, coming off of Boyle. The Sharks iced it at 4-2 with a Logan Couture goal, his tenth of the year going into the empty net after being set up by Tommy Wingels. The three stars were Stuart, Boyle, and Kessel.
Back stateside, the New York Islanders bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury faces a lesser foe in Anders Nilsson in goal. New York began in the first period on a Kyle Okposo goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by John Tavares and Thomas Vanek. The Islanders added on as Okposo scored his second of the game and eighth of the year, via Tavares and Andrew MacDonald. Pittsburgh got on the board in the second period with a James Neal power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz. The Penguins tied it as Sidney Crosby scored his fourteenth of the year, a power play goal with a lone assist by Malkin. Pittsburgh won 3-2 with a Crosby goal in overtime, his second of the game and fifteenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. Crosby, Okposo, and Malkin got the three stars, while Tavares got an honorable mention.
West to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ben Bishop and Sergei Bobrovsky are the young goalies. Columbus got going with a second period goal by Nick Foligno, his seventh of the season, with a lone helper from Ryan Johansen. Early in the third period, Bobrovsky was hurt and replaced by Curtis McElhinney. He completed the 1-0 shutout, leaving the three stars with Foligno, Bobrovsky (18 for 18 in saves), and Bishop (20 for 21 in saves).
South to Florida, as the Panthers welcome the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Tim Thomas are the veteran goalies. Florida struck first in the first period on a Jonathan Huberdeau goal, his sixth of the season, coming on the power play via Tomas Fleischmann and Brian Campbell. The Panthers added on as Campbell scored his fourth of the year, coming off of Scottie Upshall and Tom Gilbert on the power play. Ottawa got on the board with the second of the season by Joe Corvo, assisted by Clarke MacArthur and Chris Phillips. The Senators tied it as Erik Condra netted his second of the year, with the help of Jason Spezza and MacArthur. Ottawa took the lead in the second period with a Colin Greening power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Corvo and Zack Smith. The Senators extended the lead in the third period as Bobby Ryan scored his fourteenth of the year, with a lone assist provided by Jared Cowen. They held on for a 4-2 win, with the three stars being Corvo, Campbell, and MacArthur.
Northwest to Chicago, as the Blackhawks bring in the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Corey Crawford guard the cages. Dallas opened in the first period when Valeri Nichushkin scored his third of the season, thanks to Cody Eakin and Jamie Benn. The Stars added on with an Alex Chiasson power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Alex Goligoski and Ray Whitney. Dallas extended the lead in the second period when Erik Cole potted his third of the season, guided in by Nichushkin and Shawn Horcoff. Chicago got on the board as Patrick Sharp notched his eleventh of the year, a power play goal assisted by Duncan Keith and Andrew Shaw. The Blackhawks pulled closer as Nick Leddy made his third of the season, with the help of Sheldon Brookbank and Patrick Kane. Chicago evened it on a Johnny Oduya goal, his third of the year, with a lone assist by Kane. The Stars took the lead back in the third period on a penalty shot goal by Antoine Roussel, which he received after being hooked by Niklas Hjalmarsson. This was good enough for a 4-3 win, with the three stars being Nichushkin, Roussel, and Kane.
Backtracking to Nashville, as the Predators host the Vancouver Canucks. Roberto Luongo and Marek Mazanec are between the pipes. Vancouver dented the scoreboard in the second period on a Brad Richardson goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Dale Weise and Jannik Hansen. Nashville tied it with a Colin Wilson goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Patric Hornqvist and Roman Josi. The Canucks took the lead back in the third period on a Ryan Kesler goal, his thirteenth of the season, fueled by Jason Garrison and Mike Santorelli. Vancouver added on as Kesler scored his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, a power play goal powered by Garrison and Daniel Sedin. They went on to win 3-1, with the three stars being awarded to Kesler, Luongo (30 for 31 in saves), and Garrison.
North to Edmonton, as the Oilers welcome the Phoenix Coyotes. Mike Smith and Devan Dubnyk will attempt to stop the puck. Phoenix led off in the first period on a Mikkel Boedker power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Radim Vrbata and David Schlemko. Edmonton tied it as David Perron netted his tenth of the year, assisted by Mark Arcobello. The Coyotes retook the lead on a Vrbata goal, his ninth of the season, guided in by Mike Ribeiro and Derek Morris. Phoenix added on as Shane Doan notched his twelfth of the year, thanks to Ribeiro and Boedker. The Oilers got one back as Perron scored his second of the game and eleventh of the season, a power play goal made possible by Ales Hemsky and Taylor Hall. The Coyotes shot back in the third period as Ribeiro put away his eighth of the year, via Doan and David Moss. Phoenix extended the lead on a Keith Yandle goal, his second of the season, fueled by Boedker and Antoine Vermette. The Coyotes padded the lead as Moss scored his second of the year, set up by Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jeff Halpern. This made it 6-2, the final, with the three stars being awarded to Boedker, Ribeiro, and Doan, while Perron, Moss, and Vrbata get the honorable mentions.
Finally, in Anaheim, the Ducks bring in the Los Angeles Kings for a Battle of California. Martin Jones is mismatched with Jonas Hiller in goal. Los Angeles got going in the second period as Jeff Carter scored his seventh of the season, going in unassisted. Anaheim tied it with a Ryan Getzlaf goal, his fourteenth of the year, via Hampus Lindholm and Corey Perry. The Ducks took the lead in the third period with a Perry goal, his sixteenth of the season, a power play goal powered by Dustin Penner and Cam Fowler. The Kings tied it with a Dustin Brown goal, his fifth of the year, with a lone helper from Jarret Stoll. In the ninth round of the shootout, Los Angeles won with a Dwight King goal, the first and only shootout tally in the game. The final was 3-2, with the three stars being Perry, Hiller (49 for 51 in saves), and King.
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