It's eleven games for everyone to work off their turkey hangovers today. Six of them are matinees, beginning with...
The Philadelphia Flyers hosting the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Steve Mason are the veteran goalies. New York led off in the first period with a Derek Stepan goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by J.T. Miller. The Rangers added on with a Matt Puempel goal, coming off of Jimmy Vesey and Josh Jooris. New York extended the lead in the second period as Jimmy Hayes scored his tenth of the year, thanks to Nick Holden. Philadelphia got on the board in the third period with a Chris VandeVelde goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Andrew MacDonald. The Flyers got closer on a Shayne Gostisbehere goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds.
Westward to San Jose, where the Sharks welcome the New York Islanders. Thomas Greiss and Aaron Dell are the backups in goal. New York began in the first period with an Anders Lee power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Josh Bailey and Nick Leddy. San Jose tied it in the second period on a Joe Pavelski goal, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Chris Tierney and Matt Nieto. The Sharks took the lead on a Brent Burns goal, his eighth of the season, passed from Kevin Labanc and Paul Martin. The Islanders retied it on a Leddy goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of John Tavares and Brock Nelson in the third period. San Jose retook the lead on a Patrick Marleau goal, his sixth of the campaign, made possible by Burns and Martin. The score held at 3-2, with the three stars given to Burns, Martin, and Leddy.
Staying in the state, the Anaheim Ducks bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and John Gibson guard the cages. Chicago started in the first period with an Artem Anisimov goal, his ninth of the season, fueled by Patrick Kane and Brent Seabrook. The Blackhawks added on in the second period with a Kane power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Seabrook and Artemi Panarin. Chicago extended the lead as Ryan Hartman scored his fifth of the season, thanks to Marcus Kruger. Anaheim got on the board with a Nick Ritchie goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Ondrej Kase and Sami Vatanen. The Ducks got closer in the third period with a Jakob Silfverberg goal, his seventh of the campaign, assisted by Ryan Kesler and Andrew Cogliano. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to Kane, Seabrook, and Hartman.
Back east, the Minnesota Wild host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Devan Dubnyk are the goalies. Minnesota opened in the first period with a Charlie Coyle goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Zach Parise. The Wild added on with a Jonas Brodin power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Mikko Koivu and Matt Dumba. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Phil Kessel goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel. Minnesota replied with Coyle's second of the game and seventh of the year, going in unassisted. The Wild extended the lead in the second period as Parise scored his fourth of the season on the power play, with the help of Eric Staal. Minnesota padded the lead with a Mikael Granlund goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Brodin. The Penguins got one back on a Bryan Rust goal in the third period, his third of the season, coming off of Scott Wilson and Nick Bonino. The Wild replied with a Nino Niederreiter power play goal, his sixth of the year, with assists from Granlund and Brodin. The final held at 6-2, with the three stars going to Brodin, Coyle, and Parise, while Granlund gets an honorable mention.
Further east, the Washington Capitals welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Anders Nilsson and Philipp Grubauer are the lesser-known goalies. Washington struck first in the first period with a Daniel Winnik goal, his third of the season, via Brett Connolly and Lars Eller. The Capitals added on in the second period with a Marcus Johansson goal, his eighth of the year, with a lone assist by Justin Williams. Buffalo got on the board in the third period with a Sam Reinhart goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Kyle Okposo and Cody Franson. Washington replied with a Connolly power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Alex Ovechkin and Andre Burakovsky. The final held at 3-1, with the three stars going to Connolly, Grubauer (32 for 33 in saves), and Johansson.
Southwest to Nashville, where the Predators bring in the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Pekka Rinne protect the nets. Winnipeg was first to score in the first period on a Dustin Byfuglien goal, his second of the season, via Nikolaj Ehlers and Drew Stafford. Nashville tied it in the second period on a Colin Wilson goal, his third of the year, courtesy of Mike Fisher. The Predators took the lead with a Ryan Johansen power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Fisher. Nashville added on with a James Neal power play goal, his tenth of the year, guided in by Johansen and Roman Josi. The Predators extended the lead in the third period as Wilson scored his second of the game and fourth of the season on the power play, with the help of Fisher and Josi, the former receiving a sock trick. Nashville padded the lead on a Johansen goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, helped along by Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson. This made it 5-1, the final, with the three stars going to Johansen, Wilson, and Fisher, while Josi gets an honorable mention.
Northeast to Boston, as the Bruins host the Calgary Flames. Chad Johnson and Anton Khudobin are in the blue paint. Calgary opened in the first period with a Sam Bennett goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Matt Stajan and T.J. Brodie. Boston tied it in the third period on a David Pastrnak goal, his twelfth of the year, via Tim Schaller and John-Michael Liles. The Flames retook the lead with an Alex Chiasson goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Bennett and Mark Giordano. This made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars given to Bennett, Johnson (35 for 36 in saves), and Chiasson.
Down in New Jersey, the Devils welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Petr Mrazek and Cory Schneider guard the cages. New Jersey started in the first period with a John Moore goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri. Detroit tied it on a shorthanded Frans Nielsen goal, his fourth of the year, set up by Justin Abdelkader. The Red Wings took the lead on another Nielsen goal, his second of the game and fifth of the campaign, coming off of Riley Sheahan and Abdelkader. The Devils tied it in the second period on a Michael Cammalleri goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Zajac. New Jersey pulled ahead with a Pavel Zacha power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Beau Bennett and Cammalleri. Detroit tied it again on a Dylan Larkin goal, his sixth of the campaign, fueled by Gsutav Nyquist and Henrik Zetterberg. The Red Wings regained the lead on an Anthony Mantha goal in the third period, his second of the season, guided in by Zetterberg. Mrazek had to come out of the game, and Jimmy Howard replaced him. The Devils tied it with an Adam Henrique goal, his fourth of the year, via Kyle Quincey and Moore. Detroit won 5-4 in overtime with a Mike Green goal, his fourth of the campaign, helped along by Nielsen and Mantha. The three stars were awarded to Nielsen, Mantha, and Camalleri, while Abdelkader, Zetterberg, and Zajac get the honorable mentions.
South to Florida, where the Tampa Bay Lightning bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Ben Bishop are the starting goalies. Columbus led off in the first period with an Alexander Wennberg goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Brandon Saad and Jack Johnson. The Blue Jackets added on with a Nick Foligno power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Cam Atkinson and Zach Werenski. Tampa Bay got on the board in the second period with a Nikita Kucherov goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat. Columbus fired back with a Josh Anderson goal, his sixth of the year, coming off of Scott Hartnell. The Lightning answered on a Jason Garrison goal, fueled by Valtteri Filppula and Luke Witkowski. Tampa Bay tied it in the third period with a Palat goal, his fourth of the season, courtesy of Kucherov and Victor Hedman. The Blue Jackets retook the lead on a Saad goal, his fifth of the year, made possible by Wennberg. Columbus iced it at 5-3 with a shorthanded and unassisted Atkinson goal, his eighth of the campaign. The three stars went to Saad, Atkinson, and Wennberg, while Kucherov and Palat get the honorable mentions.
In Texas, the Dallas Stars host the Vancouver Canucks. Ryan Miller and Antti Niemi play goal. Vancouver began in the first period with a Jayson Megna goal, assisted by Bo Horvat. Dallas tied it in the second period on a Radek Faksa goal, his second of the season, made possible by Esa Lindell and Brett Ritchie. The Stars took the lead on a Lindell goal, coming off of Jamie Benn and John Klingberg. This produced the 2-1 final, with the three stars given to Lindell, Niemi (30 for 31 in saves), and Faksa.
Finally, the Arizona Coyotes host the Edmonton Oilers. Cam Talbot and Mike Smith are between the pipes. Edmonton struck first in the first period with a Connor McDavid goal, his tenth of the season, guided in by Jesse Puljijarvi and Milan Lucic. The Oilers added on with an Adam Larsson goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Oscar Klefbom and Jordan Eberle. Arizona got on the board with a Max Domi goal, his third of the season, passed from Radim Vrbata and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The Coyotes tied it on a Shane Doan goal, his second of the year, fueled by Anthony DeAngelo and Tobias Rieder. In the shootout, Vrbata and Ekman-Larsson's goals beat Mark Letestu as the Coyotes took the win 3-2. The three stars were Ekman-Larsson, Vrbata, and Doan.
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