Buffalo, as the Sabres host the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Robin Lehner are in the creases. Detroit got going in the second period with a Gustav Nyquist goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Thomas Vanek and Ryan Sproul. Buffalo tied it in the third period with a Brian Gionta goal, his fourth of the year, going in unassisted. The tie went to a shootout, where Nyquist and Vanek topped Sam Reinhart to lead the Red Wings to a 2-1 win. The three stars were Nyquist, Vanek, and Howard (32 for 33 in saves).
Out in New Jersey, the Devils welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jhonas Enroth is mismatched with Cory Schneider in goal. Toronto led off in the first period with an Auston Matthews goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Zach Hyman. The Maple Leafs added on with a Nazem Kadri power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Matthews and William Nylander. Toronto extended the lead in the third period as Matthews scored his second of the game and eighth of the season, with the help of Hyman and Connor Brown. New Jersey got on the board in the second period on a Travis Zajac goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by Michael Cammalleri and Kyle Quincey. The Devils got closer with a Beau Bennett power play goal, with assists provided by Devante Smith-Pelly and Cammalleri. New Jersey tied it as Cammalleri scored his fourth of the season, thanks to Zajac and Andy Greene. The Maple Leafs regained the lead on a Matt Martin goal, via Nikita Soshnikov and Nikita Zaitsev. The Devils tied it again on a third period Yohann Avitu goal, his second of the year, helped along by Zajac and Cammalleri, the latter earning a sock trick. Jacob Josefson of New Jersey had the only shootout goal for a 5-4 Devils win. The three stars were Cammalleri, Matthews, and Zajac, while Hyman gets an honorable mention.
Staying close by, the New York Rangers bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Matt Murray and Henrik Lundqvist are between the pipes. New York started in the first period with a Rick Nash power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello. Pittsburgh tied it in the second period on a Scott Wilson goal, his third of the year, courtesy of Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino. The Penguins took the lead with a Sidney Crosby goal, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Ian Cole. Pittsburgh added on with a Kessel goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Bonino. The Penguins extended the lead as Crosby scored his second of the game and fourteenth of the season, with a lone assist by Kris Letang. Antti Raanta replaced Lundqvist at this time. Pittsburgh padded the lead with a Conor Sheary goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by Crosby and Carl Hagelin. The Penguins iced it at 6-1 in the third period with a Matt Cullen goal, his fourth of the campaign, guided in by Justin Schultz and Eric Fehr. The three stars went to Crosby, Kessel, and Bonino.
To DC, where the Washington Capitals host the St. Louis Blues. Carter Hutton and Braden Holtby receive the starting nods in goal. Washington began in the first period with an Alex Ovechkin goal, his tenth of the season, coming off of Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom on the power play. The Capitals added on with another Ovechkin goal in the second period, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, via John Carlson and Andre Burakovsky. St. Louis got on the board with a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his eighth of the season, with a lone assist by Dmitrij Jaskin. Washington replied with a Kuznetsov goal in the third period, his third of the year, helped along by Dmitry Orlov and Burakovsky. The Capitals extended the lead as Ovechkin finished his hat trick on his twelfth of the season, going in unassisted. The Blues got one back with an Alex Pietrangelo power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Paul Stastny and Colton Parayko. St. Louis got closer with Tarasenko's second of the game and ninth of the campaign, assisted by David Perron and Jaden Schwartz. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars being Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, and Tarasenko, while Burakovsky gets an honorable mention.
West to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets welcome the Calgary Flames. Chad Johnson and Sergei Bobrovsky are in the blue paint. Calgary dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Troy Brouwer goal, his fifth of the season, helped along by Kris Versteeg. The Flames added on in the third period with a Micheal Ferland power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Dennis Wideman. This stood for a 2-0 win, with the three stars awarded to Johnson (34 save shutout), Brouwer, and Ferland.
Northwest to Minnesota, where the Wild bring in the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Devan Dubnyk protect the nets. Minnesota cracked the scoresheet in the second period on a Mikko Koivu goal, his third of the season, helped along by Jason Zucker and Mikael Granlund. The Wild added on with a third period Jonas Brodin power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Granlund and Matt Dumba. Winnipeg got on the board with a Blake Wheeler power play goal, his seventh of the season, via Dustin Byfuglien and Nic Petan. Minnesota iced it at 3-1 with an empty net goal by Zach Prise, his third of the year, set up by Eric Staal and Charlie Coyle. The three stars were given to Granlund, Dubnyk (15 for 16 in saves), and Brodin.
Down in Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Philadelphia Flyers. Steve Mason and Andrei Vasilevskiy man the nets. Tampa Bay opened in the first period with a Victor Hedman power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Ondrej Palat and Brayden Point. Philadelphia tied it on a Dale Weise goal in the second period, his second of the year, coming off of Chris VandeVelde and Ivan Provorov. The Flyers took the lead with a Provorov goal, guided in by Matt Read and Mark Streit. The Lightning tied it again in the third period with an Alex Killorn goal, his eighth of the season, helped along by Slater Koekkoek and Vladislav Namestnikov. Tampa Bay took the lead with a Ryan Callahan goal, his second of the year, fueled by Point and Tyler Johnson. The Lightning added on with a Nikita Kucherov goal, his tenth of the campaign, assisted by Valtteri Filppula and Palat. The three stars of the 4-2 game were Provorov, Palat, and Point.
Backtracking to Nashville, where the Predators welcome the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Pekka Rinne are the Finnish goalies. Nashville struck first in the first period with a Filip Forsberg goal, his second of the season, via P.K. Subban. The Predators added on in the second period with a Mike Fisher goal, his fourth of the year, going in unassisted. Dallas got on the board in the third period with a shorthanded Patrick Sharp goal, set up by Lauri Korpikoski and Jamie Oleksiak. Nashville responded with a power play goal by Ryan Johansen goal, his second of the season, powered by James Neal and Viktor Arvidsson. The Predators extended the lead as Craig Smith scored his sixth of the year, thanks to Forsberg and Mike Ribeiro. The Stars got one back with a Brett Ritchie goal, his sixth of the season, helped along by Antoine Roussel and Radek Faksa. Nashville iced it at 5-2 with a Neal empty net goal, his ninth of the year, with helpers from Johansen and Roman Josi. The three stars belonged to Forsberg, Johansen, and Neal.
Out west, the Colorado Avalanche bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Cam Talbot and Semyon Varlamov draw the starts. Colorado was first to score in the first period with a Nathan MacKinnon goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Mikko Rantanen and Patrick Wiercioch. Edmonton tied it on a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his third of the year, going in unassisted. The Avalanche retook the lead with a Rene Bourque goal, his sixth of the season, passed from MacKinnon and Fedor Tyutin. The Oilers retied it on a Jordan Eberle power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Leon Draisaitl and Milan Lucic. Colorado pulled ahead in the third period with a Bourque goal, his second of the game and seventh of the season, helped along by Tyson Barrie and Rantanen. Edmonton tied it in the third period on a Lucic goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by Connor McDavid and Adam Larsson. The Oilers took the lead with a McDavid goal, his ninth of the season, with a lone assist from Lucic. Edmonton added on with a Draisaitl power play goal, his seventh of the year, guided in by Lucic, who got a sock trick, and McDavid. The Oilers iced it at 6-3 with an Eberle empty net goal, his second of the game and seventh of the campaign, set up by Patrick Maroon. The three stars were Lucic, McDavid, and Bourque, while Draisaitl, Eberle, Rantanen, and MacKinnon get the honorable mentions.
In California, the San Jose Sharks host the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Martin Jones tend the twines. San Jose led off in the first period with a Logan Couture power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns. The Sharks added on with a shorthanded Joel Ward goal, his second of the year, set up by Chris Tierney. Chicago got on the board in the second period with an Artemi Panarin goal, his eighth of the season, fueled by Artem Anisimov and Niklas Hjalmarsson. This only made it 2-1, the eventual final, with the three stars going to Jones (33 for 34 in saves), Ward, and Couture.
Down in Arizona, the Coyotes welcome the Vancouver Canucks. Ryan Miller and Mike Smith are the overrated goalies. Vancouver began in the first period with a Sven Baertschi goal, his second of the season, guided in by Bo Horvat. Arizona tied it in the second period on a Christian Dvorak goal, his second of the year, via Anthony DeAngelo and Alex Goligoski. The Canucks took the lead back with a Loui Eriksson goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Markus Granlund and Luca Sbisa. Vancouver added on with a Horvat goal, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Alexandre Burrows and Baertschi. The Canucks extended the lead as Burrows scored his third of the season, thanks to Baertschi and Horvat. Louis Domingue replaced Smith in goal. The final stood at 4-1, with the three stars given to Baertschi, Horvat, and Burrows.
Finally, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the New York Islanders. Jaroslav Halak faces a lesser foe in Peter Budaj in goal. Los Angeles drew first blood in the first period with an Alec Martinez goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Jake Muzzin. New York tied it in the third period on an Anders Lee goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Travis Hamonic and Alan Quine. The Kings took the lead back with a Dwight King goal, his third of the season, passed from Nick Shore and Derek Forbort. Los Angeles added on with a King goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, assisted by Trevor Lewis and Drew Doughty. The Kings extended the lead as Muzzin scored his third of the season unassisted into an empty net. The Islanders got one back with Lee's second of the game and third of the year, set up by Jason Chimera and Adam Pelech. This held for a 4-2 final, with the three stars going to King, Lee, and Muzzin.
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