Ten games on this evening, beginning in...
Toronto, as the Maple Leafs host the St. Louis Blues. Ryan Miller and Jonathan Bernier protect the nets. Toronto began in the first period on a Joffrey Lupul power play goal, his twenty-first of the season, powered by Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner. St. Louis tied it with a T.J. Oshie goal, his eighteenth of the year, fueled by Alexander Steen and Roman Polak. The Blues took the lead on a David Backes power play goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, guided in by Oshie. St. Louis added on in the second period on another Backes goal, his second of the game and twenty-sixth of the year, passed from Alex Pietrangelo and Steen. The Blues extended the lead on a Steen goal, his thirty-first of the season, courtesy of Kevin Shattenkirk and Patrik Berglund. The Maple Leafs got one back with a Carl Gunnarsson goal, his third of the year, going in unassisted. Toronto pulled closer with a James van Riemsdyk goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, assisted by Phil Kessel and Gardiner. St. Louis iced it at 5-3 with a Backes empty net goal to finish his hat trick, his twenty-seventh of the year, set up by Oshie and Steen. The three stars were Backes, Steen, and Oshie, while Gardiner gets an honorable mention.
Down in Pittsburgh, the Penguins welcome the Phoenix Coyotes. Thomas Greiss is mismatched with Marc-Andre Fleury in goal. Phoenix opened in the first period on a David Moss goal, his seventh of the season, passed from Martin Hanzal and Brandon McMillan. Pittsburgh tied it on a Jussi Jokinen goal, his eighteenth of the year, assisted by James Neal and Sidney Crosby. The Coyotes retook the lead as Antoine Vermette scored his twenty-fourth of the season, a power play goal powered by Shane Doan and Mikkel Boedker. The Penguins tied it again with a Taylor Pyatt goal, his third of the year, with assists by Rob Scuderi and Simon Despres. Phoenix took the lead in the second period on a Boedker goal, his eighteenth of the campaign, coming off of Doan and Michael Stone. This held up for a 3-2 win, with the three stars going to Boedker, Greiss (23 for 25 in saves), and Doan.
Over in DC, the Washington Capitals host the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Jaroslav Halak are the masked men. Washington was first to score with a first period goal by Alex Ovechkin, his forty-seventh of the season, a power play goal guided in by John Carlson and Troy Brouwer. The Capitals added on as Ovechkin scored his second of the game and forty-eighth of the year, another power play goal, powered by Brouwer and Nicklas Backstrom. Los Angeles got on the board in the second period with a Mike Richards power play goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Alec Martinez and Jake Muzzin. Washington shot back with a Dustin Penner goal, his fourteenth of the year, with a lone assist by Chris Brown. The Kings answered in the third period with a Dwight King goal, his fourteenth of the season, made possible by Dustin Brown and Willie Mitchell. Los Angeles tied it with a Marian Gaborik goal, his ninth of the year, via Tyler Toffoli and Muzzin. The Kings took the lead on a Brown goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, assisted by King and Jarret Stoll. The Capitals tied it on an Evgeny Kuznetsov shorthanded goal, set up by Ovechkin and Eric Fehr. The Kings won 5-4 in the shootout with goals by Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter. The three stars were Ovechkin, King, and Brown, while Muzzin and Brouwer get the honorable mentions.
South to Raleigh, as the Carolina Hurricanes bring in the New York Islanders. Anders Nilsson and Cam Ward are the mediocre goalies. New York led off in the first period with a Colin McDonald goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Thomas Hickey and Ryan Strome. The Islanders added on with a Cal Clutterbuck goal, his eleventh of the year, fueled by Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey. New York extended the lead on another McDonald goal, his eighth of the season and second of the game, made possible by Calvin de Haan and Travis Hamonic. Anton Khudobin relieved Ward at this time. The Islanders padded the lead on a Matt Martin goal, his sixth of the year, coming off of Kevin Czuczman and Hickey. Carolina got on the board with a Jeff Skinner power play goal, his twenty-seventh of the season, powered by Riley Nash and Andrei Loktionov. The Hurricanes got another back as Loktionov potted his sixth of the year, with the help of Jiri Tlusty and Brett Bellemore. Carolina pulled closer with an Alexander Semin power play goal in the second period, his twenty-second of the season, with assists provided by Jordan Staal and John-Michael Liles. New York replied with a Martin goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, set up by Strome and McDonald. The Hurricanes pulled back on a Nathan Gerbe goal, his sixteenth of the campaign, via Jordan Staal and Ron Hainsey. This only made it 5-4, the final, with the three stars being McDonald, Martin, and Loktionov, while Hickey, Strome, and Jordan Staal get the honorable mentions.
Back north, the Montreal Canadiens host the Buffalo Sabres. Matt Hackett and Carey Price are in the creases. Montreal dented the scoreboard in the third period on a Max Pacioretty goal, his thirty-second of the season, assisted by Thomas Vanek and David Desharnais. The Canadiens added on with a Daniel Briere power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Rene Bourque. The three stars in the 2-0 game were Price (24 save shutout), Pacioretty, and Briere.
Way to the south, the Florida Panthers host the Ottawa Senators. Robin Lehner and Roberto Luongo are between the pipes. Ottawa got going in the second period with a Mark Stone goal, his second of the season, guided in by Erik Karlsson and Kyle Turris. The Senators added on with a Clarke MacArthur power play goal, his twenty-second of the year, powered by Patrick Wiercioch and Turris. Florida got on the board as Sean Bergenheim scored his fifteenth of the season, thanks to Brian Campbell and Nick Bjugstad. The Panthers tied it with a Vincent Trocheck goal, his third of the year, passed from Scottie Upshall and Tomas Fleischmann. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Turris was overwhelmed by tallies from Trocheck and Brandon Pirri, giving Florida the 3-2 win. The three stars were Trocheck, Turris, and Luongo (37 for 39 in saves).
Backtracking to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Sergei Bobrovsky guard the cages. Columbus struck first in the first period with a Ryan Johansen power play goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, powered by Boone Jenner and James Wisniewski. The Blue Jackets added on with a Brandon Dubinsky goal, his fifteenth of the year, coming on the power play via Jack Johnson and Wisniewski. Detroit got on the board as Gustav Nyquist scored his twenty-fourth of the season, assisted by Riley Sheahan and Tomas Tatar. Curtis McElhinney relieved Bobrovsky for the second period. The Red Wings tied it in the second period as Nyquist potted his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the year, thanks to Tatar. Columbus retook the lead in the third period on a Cam Atkinson goal, his nineteenth of the season, coming off of Matt Calvert and Dubinsky. The Blue Jackets iced it at 4-2 with a Johansen empty net goal, his second of the game and twenty-ninth of the year, set up by Wisniewski, who got a sock trick. The three stars were Johansen, Nyquist, and Wisniewski, while Dubinsky and Tatar get the honorable mentions.
West to Chicago, as the Blackhawks host the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Corey Crawford receive the starting nods. Chicago started in the first period with an Andrew Shaw power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, powered by Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks added on in the second period with a Kris Versteeg goal, his twelfth of the year, guided in by Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Dallas got on the board with a Ryan Garbutt goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Tyler Seguin and Jordie Benn. Chicago shot back on a Keith goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Sharp and Shaw. The Stars got one back in the third period on another Garbutt goal, his fourteenth of the season and second of the game, made possible by Vernon Fiddler and Antoine Roussel. The Blackhawks wrapped it up at 4-2 with a Marian Hossa empty net goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Shaw, Keith, and Garbutt, while Sharp gets an honorable mention.
Over in Nashville, the Predators bring in the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Pekka Rinne tend the twines. Nashville led off in the first period with a Roman Josi goal, his tenth of the season, courtesy of Gabriel Bourque and Craig Smith. The Predators added on as Josi scored his second of the game and eleventh of the year, thanks to Calle Jarnkrok. Colorado got on the board with a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his twenty-second of the season, assisted by Paul Stastny and Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche tied it in the second period with another Landeskog goal, his second of the game and twenty-third of the year, guided in by Stastny. Nashville retook the lead with a Matt Cullen goal, his eighth of the season, made possible by Ryan Ellis and Mike Fisher. Colorado retied it in the third period on a Cody McLeod goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Matt Duchene and Andre Benoit. The Predators took the lead back with another Cullen goal, his second of the game and ninth of the season, helped along by Patric Hornqvist and Ellis. The Avalanche retied it on a Nick Holden goal, his ninth of the year, with assists provided by Landeskog and Tyson Barrie. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Ryan O'Reilly and Landeskog topped a Jarnkrok tally for a 5-4 Avalanche win. The three stars were given to Landeskog, Cullen, and Josi, while Jarnkrok, Ellis, and Stastny get the honorable mentions.
Finally, in Edmonton, the Oilers host the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Ben Scrivens are the starting goalies. Edmonton began in the first period with a David Perron goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, assisted by Taylor Hall and Jeff Petry. San Jose tied it on a Joe Pavelski goal in the second period, his thirty-fifth of the year, a power play goal coming off of Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton. The Sharks took the lead on a power play goal by Marleau, his thirty-first of the season, powered by Pavelski and Brent Burns. San Jose added on with a Martin Havlat goal, his ninth of the year, with a lone assist by Jason Demers. The Sharks extended the lead on another power play goal by Pavelski, his second of the game and thirty-sixth of the season, pushed through by Dan Boyle and Burns. San Jose padded the lead as Pavelski finished his hat trick on his thirty-seventh of the year, fueled by Thornton and Brad Stuart. The Oilers got one back with a Hall goal, his twenty-fifth of the campaign, with helpers from Andrew Ference and Jordan Eberle. This made it 5-2, the final, with Pavelski, Marleau, and Hall getting the three stars, while Burns and Thornton get the honorable mentions.
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