Nine games on the week's busiest night, beginning with...
The New York Rangers hosting the Dallas Stars. Antti Niemi and Henrik Lundqvist are the goalies. New York led off with a first period goal by Derek Stepan, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello. Dallas tied it on a Patrick Eaves power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, powered by Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. The Stars took the lead on a Patrick Sharp goal, his third of the season, going in unassisted. Dallas added on with a Benn goal, his eleventh of the year, made possible by Cody Eakin and Eaves. The Stars extended the lead as Antoine Roussel scored in the second period, his seventh of the season, with a lone assist by Lauri Korpikoski. The Rangers got one back with a Mika Zibanejad goal, his sixth of the year, helped along by Rick Nash and Pavel Buchnevich. New York got one back with a Buchnevich goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Kevin Klein and Adam Clendening. Dallas fired back with a Sharp goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, with helpers from Devin Shore and Radek Faksa. The Stars padded the lead with an Adam Cracknell goal, his fifth of the season, via Korpikoski and Jiri Hudler. Dallas struck again with an Eakin goal, guided in by Eaves and Benn. Magnus Hellberg replaced Lundqvist at the start of the third period. The Rangers chipped back in the third period with a Kreider power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, with assists provided by Stepan and Zuccarello. New York got closer with a Stepan goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the season, made possible by Ryan McDonagh and Zuccarello, the latter earning a sock trick. The Rangers edged closer with a Zibanejad goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, passed from Nash and Buchnevich. Kari Lehtonen replaced Niemi at this point. This made it 7-6, the final, with the three stars going to Sharp, Eaves, and Benn, while Eakin, Faksa, Korpikoski, Nash, Buchnevich, Zuccarello, Stepan, Kreider, and Zibanejad get the honorable mentions.
Over in Columbus, the Blue Jackets welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Sergei Bobrovsky are the solid goalies. Carolina began in the first period with a Sebastian Aho goal, his eleventh of the season, helped along by Teuvo Teravainen and Lee Stempniak. Columbus tied it on a Boone Jenner goal, his ninth of the year, via Cam Atkinson and Ryan Murray. The Blue Jackets took the lead with a Brandon Dubinsky goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Murray. Columbus added on in the second period with a Dubinsky goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, passed from Jenner and Atkinson. The Blue Jackets extended the lead as Lukas Sedlak scored his fifth of the campaign, thanks to Sam Gagner and Scott Hartnell. Ward was replaced by Alex Nedelijkovic. This made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars being Dubinsky, Jennfer, and Murray, while Atkinson gets an honorable mention.
Up in Toronto, the Maple Leafs bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Robin Lehner and Frederik Andersen man the nets. Buffalo started in the first period with an unassisted Kyle Okposo goal, his thirteenth of the season. The Sabres added on with an Evander Kane goal, his twelfth of the year, via Brian Gionta and Jake McCabe. Toronto got on the board in the second period with a Leo Komarov goal, his eighth of the season, fueled by Nazem Kadri and William Nylander. The Maple Leafs tied it on a Matt Martin goal, his third of the year, going in unassisted. Toronto took the lead with an Auston Matthews goal, his twenty-second of the season, courtesy of Zach Hyman and Connor Brown. The Maple Leafs added on with a third period power play goal by James van Riesmdyk, his sixteenth of the year, powered by Mitchell Marner and Nikita Zaitsev. Buffalo got one back with a William Carrier goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Zemgus Girgensons and Gionta. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars going to van Riemsdyk, Matthews, and Gionta.
Back stateside, the St. Louis Blues host the Ottawa Senators. Mike Condon and Carter Hutton are the backups in goal. Ottawa opened in the first period with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Tom Pyatt and Erik Karlsson. St. Louis tied it on a Paul Stastny goal, his eleventh of the year, via Jay Bouwmeester and Alexander Steen. The Senators took the lead with a Mike Hoffman power play goal in the second period, his thirteenth of the season, powered by Kyle Turris and Dion Phaneuf. Ottawa added on with a Bobby Ryan goal, his ninth of the year, helped along by Ryan Dzingel and Turris. The Blues pulled back with a Kevin Shattenkirk goal, his ninth of the season, made possible by Vladimir Tarasenko and Dmitrij Jaskin. St. Louis tied it in the third period with a Steen power play goal, his sixth of the year, with assists provided by Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo. The Senators pulled ahead again with a Mark Stone goal, his fourteenth of the season, going in unassisted. Ottawa extended the lead as Hoffman scored his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, thanks to Pageau and Pyatt on the power play. The Senators padded the lead with an empty net goal by Stone, his second of the game and fifteenth of the season, set up by Derick Brassard and Zack Smith. The Blues got one back on a Patrik Berglund goal, his eleventh of the year, with helpers from Joel Edmundson and David Perron. This made it 6-4, the final, with the three stars being Hoffman, Stone, and Shattenkirk, while Steen, Turris, and Pyatt get the honorable mentions.
North to Minnesota, where the Wild welcome the New Jersey Devils. Cory Schneider and Devan Dubnyk play goal. Minnesota struck first in the first period with a Jared Spurgeon power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Nino Niederreiter and Mikko Koivu. The Wild added on in the second period with a Jason Zucker goal, his twelfth of the year, made possible by Mikael Granlund and Koivu. New Jersey got on the board with a Pavel Zacha power play goal, his third of the season, with assists provided by Kyle Palmieri and Karl Stollery. The Devils tied it in the third period with an Adam Henrique goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Taylor Hall and P.A. Parenteau. Minnesota took the lead back with an Erik Haula goal, his seventh of the season, helped along by Charlie Coyle and Spurgeon. New Jersey tied it on a Palmieri goal, his tenth of the year, assisted by Michael Cammalleri and Damon Severson. The Devils took the lead with a Beau Bennett goal, his third of the campaign, coming off of Blake Coleman and Miles Wood. This stood for a 4-3 win, with the three stars being Palmieri, Spurgeon, and Koivu.
Over in Alberta, the Calgary Flames bring in the Florida Panthers. Roberto Luongo faces a lesser foe in Chad Johnson in goal. Florida was first to score in the first period with a Vincent Trocheck goal, his fifteenth of the season, assisted by Jared McCann and Aaron Ekblad. Calgary tied it on a Kris Versteeg goal, his eighth of the year, helped along by Sean Monahan and Mark Giordano. The Panthers took the lead back with a Trocheck goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the season, passed from McCann and Jason Demers. The Flames retied it in the second period with a Giordano power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Michael Frolik and Mikael Backlund. Calgary took the lead with a Backlund power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Matthew Tkachuk and Giordano. The Flames added on with another Backlund goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, with assists provided by Tkachuk and Frolik. Calgary iced it at 5-2 in the third period with a Monahan empty net goal, his thirteenth of the campaign, set up by Dennis Wideman. The three stars were Giordano, Backlund, and Trocheck, while Monahan, Tkachuk, Frolik, and McCann get the honorable mentions.
Down to Colorado, where the Avalanche host the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Semyon Varlamov protect the nets. Chicago drew first blood in the first period with a Nick Schmaltz goal, his second of the season, going in unassisted. Colorado tied it on a Matt Duchene power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, powered by Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie. The Blackhawks retook the lead with a Brent Seabrook goal, his third of the season, coming off of Dennis Rasmussen and Schmaltz. The Avalanche tied it on a second period with a Blake Comeau goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by MacKinnon and Mikhail Grigorenko. Colorado took the lead with a Matt Nieto goal, with a lone assist by Gabriel Landeskog. Chicago tied it on a Tanner Kero goal, his second of the season, made possible by Trevor van Riemsdyk and Marian Hossa. The Avalanche regained the lead with a Duchene goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, passed from Barrie and Francois Beauchemin. The Blackhawks tied it in the third period with a Vinnie Hinostroza goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. Chicago took the lead with another Hinostroza goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, via Kero and Hossa. The Blackhawks iced it at 6-4 with a Kero empty net goal, his second of the game and third of the campaign, set up by Jonathan Toews and Hossa, the latter earning a sock trick. The three stars were Hinostroza, Kero, and Hossa, while Schmaltz, Duchene, MacKinnon, and Barrie get the honorable mentions.
Northwest to Vancouver, where the Canucks welcome the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Ryan Miller are the veteran goalies. Vancouver dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Henrik Sedin goal, his tenth of the season, coming off of Luca Sbisa and Loui Eriksson. This was the only goal in a 1-0 win, with the three stars going to Miller (30 save shutout), Sedin, and Rinne (25 for 26 in saves).
Finally, the Anaheim Ducks bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ben Bishop and John Gibson guard the cages. Tampa Bay got going in the second period with a Valtteri Filppula goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Nikita Nesterov and Anton Stralman. Anaheim tied it on a Ryan Getzlaf goal, his sixth of the year, going in unassisted. The Ducks won 2-1 in overtime with a Rickard Rakell goal, his nineteenth of the campaign, a power play goal with a lone assist by Ryan Kesler. The three stars were Rakell, Getzlaf, and Gibson (27 for 28 in saves).
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