Twelve more games fill the schedule today, beginning with...
The Buffalo Sabres hosting the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Robin Lehner protect the nets. Boston led off in the first period with a David Krejci goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Brandon Carlo and David Backes. The Bruins added on with a Patrice Bergeron goal, his fourth of the year, via David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand. Buffalo got on the board with an Evander Kane goal, passed from Sam Reinhart. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars given to Rask (35 for 36 in saves), Bergeron, and Krejci.
Over in Manhattan, the New York Rangers welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Michael Leighton and Henrik Lundqvist are set to start in goal. New York opened in the first period with a Derek Stepan goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Kevin Klein and Mats Zuccarello. Carolina tied it on a Viktor Stalberg goal, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Brock McGinn and Derek Ryan in the second period. The Rangers retook the lead in the third period with a Michael Grabner goal, his thirteenth of the season, passed from Brady Skjei and Jesper Fast. The Hurricanes tied it again with a Victor Rask goal, his ninth of the year, made possible by Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin. New York regained the lead on a Chris Kreider goal, his fifth of the season, via Stepan and Dan Girardi. The Rangers added on with another Kreider goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, helped along by Zuccarello and Stepan. The three stars of the 4-2 game were Stepan, Kreider, and Zuccarello.
Next up, the Philadelphia Flyers bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Scott Darling and Steve Mason are in goal. Chicago began in the first period with an Artemi Panarin goal, his ninth of the season, via Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane. Philadelphia tied it in the second period with an Ivan Provorov goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Nick Cousins and Chris VandeVelde. The Flyers took the lead on another Provorov goal, his second of the game and third of the season, assisted by Michael Raffl. Philadelphia added on with a Brayden Schenn goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Travis Konecny. This made it 3-1, the eventual final, with the three stars given to Provorov, Mason (26 for 27 in saves), and Schenn.
Down in Nashville, the Predators host the New Jersey Devils. Keith Kinkaid and Pekka Rinne draw the starts. Nashville started in the first period with a Kevin Fiala goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Matt Irwin and Mike Ribeiro. New Jersey tied it with a Taylor Hall goal, his sixth of the year, with a lone assist by Kyle Quincey. The Predators retook the lead with a P.K. Subban goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Colin Wilson. Nashville added on in the second period with a Fiala goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, passed from Craig Smith and Ribeiro. The Predators extended the lead as Roman Josi scored his third of the season, with the help of Mattias Ekholm and Calle Jarnkrok. The Devils got one back in the third period on a Michael Cammalleri goal, his eighth of the year, helped along by Andy Greene and Travis Zajac. New Jersey got closer with a Greene goal, his third of the season, with helpers from Vernon Fiddler and Nick Lappin. The Devils tied it on an Adam Henrique power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Zajac and Hall. New Jersey won 5-4 in overtime with another Cammalleri goal, his second of the game and ninth of the campaign, dished from Hall. The three stars were Cammalleri, Hall, and Fiala, while Greene, Zajac, and Ribeiro get the honorable mentions.
At the usual times, the Ottawa Senators welcome the Florida Panthers. Roberto Luongo and Mike Condon are in the creases. Ottawa struck first in the first period with an Erik Karlsson goal, his fifth of the season, via Ryan Dzingel and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The Senators added on with a Derick Brassard goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Chris Wideman and Mike Hoffman. This made it 2-0, the final, with the three stars going to Condon (24 save shutout), Karlsson, and Brassard.
Down in Pittsburgh, the Penguins bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Jared Coreau is mismatched with Marc-Andre Fleury in goal. Detroit was first to score in the first period with a Henrik Zetterberg goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Anthony Mantha and Tomas Tatar. The Red Wings added on with a Frans Nielsen goal, his sixth of the year, via Riley Sheahan and Danny DeKeyser. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Phil Kessel goal, his seventh of the season, fueled by Evgeni Malkin and Carl Hagelin. Detroit fired back with a Dylan Larkin goal, his eighth of the year, made possible by Thomas Vanek and Mike Green. The Penguins replied with a Nick Bonino goal in the third period, his third of the season, guided in by Ian Cole and Bryan Rust. Pittsburgh tied it as Justin Schultz scored his second of the year, thanks to Cole and Malkin. The Penguins took the lead on a Kessel goal, his second of the game and eighth of the season, assisted by Hagelin and Kris Letang. Pittsburgh iced it at 5-3 with an empty net goal by Matt Cullen, his fifth of the year, set up by Patric Hornqvist and Sidney Crosby. The three stars were Kessel, Malkin, and Cole, while Hagelin gets an honorable mention.
Southwest to St. Louis, where the Blues host the Winnipeg Jets. Michael Hutchinson and Carter Hutton are the backups in goal. Winnipeg started in the first period with a shorthanded Chris Thorburn goal, his second of the season, set up by Blake Wheeler. St. Louis tied it in the second period with an Alexander Steen goal, his third of the year, assisted by Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester. The Blues took the lead with a Dmitrij Jaskin goal, helped along by Carl Gunnarsson and Pietrangelo. The Jets tied it on a Patrik Laine goal, his sixteenth of the season, via Bryan Little and Nikolaj Ehlers. Winnipeg won 3-2 in overtime with a Little goal, his second of the year, made possible by Laine and Dustin Byfuglien. The three stars went to Little, Laine and Pietrangelo.
Down in Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning welcome the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby and Ben Bishop tend the twines. Tampa Bay got going in the second period with a Nikita Kucherov power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, powered by Victor Hedman and Jonathan Drouin. Washington tied it in the third period with a Nicklas Backstrom goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by John Carlson and Marcus Johansson on the power play. The tie went to a shootout, where Brayden Point and Brian Boyle topped Evgeny Kuznetsov to give the Lightning a 2-1 win. The three stars went to Boyle, Bishop (34 for 35 in saves), and Holtby (32 for 33 in saves).
Way northwest to Vancouver, where the Canucks bring in the Toronto Maple Leafs. Frederik Andersen and Ryan Miller are given the starting nods in goal. Vancouver opened in the first period with a Daniel Sedin goal, his seventh of the season, via Luca Sbisa and Henrik Sedin. The Canucks added on in the second period with a Sven Baertschi goal, his fourth of the year, courtesy of Alexandre Burrows and Nikita Tryamkin. Toronto got on the board with a James van Riemsdyk power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Tyler Bozak and Morgan Rielly. The Maple Leafs tied it in the third period with an Auston Matthews goal, his eleventh of the year, assisted by Zach Hyman and Martin Marincin. The tie went to a shootout, where Markus Granlund and Bo Horvat topped a lone tally from Mitchell Marner as the Canucks won 3-2. The three stars were Miller (38 for 40 in saves), Baertschi, and Daniel Sedin.
Down in Arizona, the Coyotes host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Curtis McElhinney and Mike Smith are set to start in goal. Columbus led off in the first period with a Boone Jenner goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Jack Johnson and David Savard. Arizona tied it in the second period with a Radim Vrbata goal, his eighth of the year, helped along by Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Anthony DeAngelo on the power play. The Coyotes took the lead with a Shane Doan goal, his third of the season, coming off of Michael Stone. The Blue Jackets retied it in the third period on an Alexander Wennberg goal, his sixth of the year, via Brandon Saad and Nick Foligno. The tie went to a shootout, where Cam Atkinson and Sam Gagner won the game with their tallies for the Blue Jackets, making it a 3-2 final. The three stars went to Wennberg, Jenner, and Smith (59 for 61 in saves).
Backtracking to Denver, the Colorado Avalanche welcome the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Semyon Varlamov are the veteran goalies. Dallas began in the first period with a Curtis McKenzie goal, his second of the season, guided in by Devin Shore. The Stars added on in the second period with a Tyler Seguin power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza. Dallas extended the lead in the third period as Patrick Eaves scored an empty net goal, his tenth of the campaign, set up by Seguin. The three stars of the 3-0 game were Seguin, Lehtonen (23 save shutout), and McKenzie.
Finally, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Cam Talbot are the young goalies. Edmonton dented the scoreboard in the second period on a Drake Caggiula power play goal, powered by Patrick Maroon and Jordan Eberle. Anaheim tied it on a Ryan Kesler power play goal, his ninth of the season, with assists provided by Ryan Getzlaf and Cam Fowler. The Oilers retook the lead with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Oscar Klefbom and Eberle. The Ducks tied it again in the third period with a Rickard Rakell goal, his tenth of the season, coming off of Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Edmonton won 3-2 in overtime with a Leon Draisaitl goal, his tenth of the year, via Andrej Sekera and Eberle. The three stars went to Eberle, Draisaitl, and Getzlaf.
Follow me on Twitter
@OutsiderSports0.