The Buffalo Sabres hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Steve Mason and Anders Nilsson draw the starts in goal. Buffalo got going in the second period with a Sam Reinhart power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Rasmus Ristolainen and Ryan O'Reilly. The Sabres added on with a William Carrier goal, his second of the year, via Taylor Fedun and O'Reilly. Buffalo extended the lead as Evander Kane scored his tenth of the season, thanks to Reinhart and Zach Bogosian. Philadelphia got on the board in the third period with a Brayden Schenn power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, with assists provided by Claude Giroux and Ivan Provorov. The Sabres iced it at 4-1 with an empty net goal by Marcus Foligno, his eighth of the campaign, set up by Reinhart and Jake McCabe. The three stars were Reinhart, O'Reilly, and Nilsson (39 for 40 in saves).
Down in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets. Anton Forsberg is mismatched with Cam Ward in goal. Columbus started in the first period with a Cam Atkinson goal, his twentieth of the season, helped along by Jack Johnson and Boone Jenner. Carolina tied it in the second period with a Jeff Skinner goal, his fifteenth of the year, assisted by Victor Rask and Derek Ryan. The Hurricanes took the lead on a Ryan goal, his eighth of the season, passed from Skinner and Rask. The Blue Jackets retied it on an unassisted Josh Anderson goal, his ninth of the year. Carolina reclaimed the lead with a Brock McGinn goal, his second of the season, guided in by Matt Tennyson and Noah Hanifin. Columbus tied it again with a Brandon Saad goal, his fifteenth of the year, made possible by Alexander Wennberg. The Hurricanes retook the lead with a Jordan Staal goal in the third period, his eighth of the season, with a lone assist by Elias Lindholm. Carolina iced it at 5-3 with a Rask empty net goal, his twelfth of the year, set up by Skinner and Justin Faulk. The three stars were Skinner, Rask, and Ryan.
West to St. Louis, where the Blues bring in the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Jake Allen guard the cages. Boston began in the first period with a Frank Vatrano power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Torey Krug and David Pastrnak. The Bruins added on with a Brandon Carlo goal, his third of the year, via Vatrano and David Krejci. Boston extended the lead as Brad Marchand scored his fourteenth of the season, with the help of Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron. Carter Hutton replaced Allen. The Bruins padded the lead in the second period with a Krug power play goal, his second of the year, with assists provided by Ryan Spooner and Marchand. St. Louis got on the board with a Colton Parayko power play goal, fueled by David Perron and Jaden Schwartz. The Blues got closer in the third period with a Patrik Berglund power play goal, his eighth of the season, helped along by Perron and Alex Pietrangelo. Boston replied with a Marchand empty net goal, his fifteenth of the year, set up by Pastrnak and Bergeron. St. Louis chipped back with a Kyle Brodziak goal, his sixth of the campaign, with a lone helper from Scottie Upshall. This made it 5-3, the final, with the three stars going to Krug, Marchand, and Vatrano, while Pastrnak, Bergeron, and Perron get honorable mentions.
Up in Chicago, the Blackhawks host the Detroit Red Wings. Petr Mrazek and Corey Crawford protect the nets. Chicago opened in the first period with a Brian Campbell power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks added on with a Richard Panik goal, his tenth of the year, coming off of Ryan Hartman and Duncan Keith. Detroit got on the board in the second period with an Andreas Athanasiou goal, his eighth of the season, passed from Thomas Vanek. The Red Wings tied it on a Tomas Tatar goal, his ninth of the year, via Dylan Larkin. Chicago retook the lead with a Tanner Kero goal, made possible by Hartman and Panik. Detroit tied it again with a Luke Glendening goal, his second of the season, helped along by Drew Miller and Frans Nielsen. The Blackhawks won 4-3 in overtime with a Keith power play goal, his second of the year, assisted by Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane. The three stars were Keith, Hartman, and Panik.
Backtracking to Nashville, where the Predators welcome the Vancouver Canucks. Ryan Miller and Pekka Rinne are the veterans in goal. Nashville dented the scoreboard in the second period with an Austin Watson goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Mike Fisher and Roman Josi. Vancouver tied it in the third period with a Brandon Sutter goal, his eleventh of the year, made possible by Sven Baertschi and Alexander Edler. The Predators won 2-1 with a Calle Jarnkrok shorthanded goal in overtime, his sixth of the campaign, set up by Josi. The three stars belonged to Jarnkrok, Josi, and Rinne (29 for 30 in saves).
Northwest to Edmonton, where the Oilers bring in the San Jose Sharks. Martin Jones and Cam Talbot are the masked men. San Jose led off in the first period with a Mikkel Boedker goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Micheal Haley and Brent Burns. Edmonton tied it on a Drake Caggiula goal, his third of the year, via Benoit Pouliot and Zack Kassian. The Sharks retook the lead with a Burns goal, his sixteenth of the season, coming off of Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Joe Pavelski. San Jose added on in the second period with a Boedker goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, passed from Melker Karlsson and Burns. The Sharks extended the lead as Boedker finished his hat trick on his sixth of the season, thanks to Vlasic and Haley. The Oilers got one back in the third period with a Matthew Benning goal, his second of the year, made possible by Milan Lucic. Edmonton pulled closer with an Oscar Klefbom goal, his seventh of the season, helped along by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. San Jose iced it at 5-3 with an unassisted Logan Couture goal, his thirteenth of the year. The three stars went to Boedker, Burns, and Vlasic, while Haley gets an honorable mention.
Finally, the Anaheim Ducks host the Dallas Stars. Antti Niemi and John Gibson are between the pipes. Anaheim drew first blood in the second period on a Jakob Silfverberg power play goal, his twelfth of the season, powered by Corey Perry and Sami Vatanen. The Ducks added on in the third period with an Andrew Cogliano goal, his tenth of the year, courtesy of Silfverberg and Josh Manson. This made it 2-0, the final, with the three stars awarded to Silfverberg, Cogliano, and Gibson (34 save shutout).
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