Dinamo Minsk hosts Vityaz Podolsk. Igor Saprykin and Ben Scrivens draw the starts in goal. Minsk started in the first period with an Alexander Kulakov power play goal, powered by Fredrik Pettersson. Dinamo added on with a Rob Klinkhammer power play goal, coming off of Kulakov. Podolsk got on the board in the second period with a Miro Aaltonen power play goal, with a lone assist by Jakub Jerabek. Vityaz tied it on an Alexei Kopeikin power play goal, helped along by Aaltonen and Jerabek. Minsk took the lead back with an Ilya Shinkevich goal, passed from Pettersson and Dmitry Korobov. Podolsk tied it in the third period with a Roman Horak goal, via Mario Kempe and Kopeikin on the power play. Dinamo win 4-3 in the shootout with an Aaron Palushaj tally. The three stars were Kulakov, Pettersson, and Kopeikin, while Aaltonen and Jerabek get the honorable mentions.
In the NHL, the games begin with the Buffalo Sabres welcoming the San Jose Sharks. Martin Jones and Anders Nilsson play goal. Buffalo opened in the first period with a Matt Moulson power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Brian Gionta and Tyler Ennis. San Jose tied it on a Joel Ward goal, his sixth of the year, guided in by Brent Burns and Paul Martin. The Sharks took the lead with a Logan Couture goal, his nineteenth of the season, helped along by Mikkel Boedker and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. San Jose added on in the second period with a Melker Karlsson goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Marcus Sorensen and Micheal Haley. The Sharks extended the lead in the third period as Joe Pavelski scored a power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, with the help of Burns and Patrick Marleau. The Sabres answered with a Ryan O'Reilly power play goal, his twelfth of the year, fueled by Jack Eichel and Rasmus Ristolainen. Buffalo got closer with an Evander Kane goal, his fifteenth of the season, passed from Cody Franson and Gionta. The Sabres tied it on a Kyle Okposo goal, his seventeenth of the year, made possible by Sam Reinhart and O'Reilly. Buffalo won 5-4 in overtime with a Kane goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Eichel. The three stars were Kane, O'Reilly, and Eichel, while Gionta and Burns get the honorable mentions.
In Manhattan, the New York Rangers bring in the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Henrik Lundqvist protect the nets. New York led off in the first period with an Oscar Lindberg goal, his second of the season, assisted by Pavel Buchnevich and Marc Staal. The Rangers added on in the second period with a Mats Zuccarello goal, his eleventh of the year, via Chris Kreider and Brady Skjei. Anaheim got on the board with a Jakob Silfverberg goal, his sixteenth of the season, passed from Andrew Cogliano. New York answered with a third period goal by Michael Grabner, his twenty-fourth of the year, coming off of J.T. Miller and Skjei. The Rangers iced it at 4-1 with a Grabner empty net goal, his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the campaign, set up by Miller and Kevin Hayes. The three stars were Lundqvist (43 for 44 in saves), Grabner, and Skjei, while Miller gets an honorable mention.
West to Pittsburgh, where the Penguins host the Calgary Flames. Chad Johnson and Matt Murray man the nets. Calgary got going in the second period with an unassisted Micheal Ferland goal, his eighth of the season. The Flames added on with a Michael Frolik goal, his thirteenth of the year, courtesy of Matthew Tkachuk and Mikael Backlund. Pittsburgh got on the board in the third period with a Chris Kunitz goal, his seventh of the season, helped along by Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang. The Penguins tied it on a Jake Guentzel goal, his fifth of the year, coming off of Ian Cole. The tie went to a shootout, where Kris Versteeg gave the Flames a 3-2 win. The three stars went to Ferland, Johnson (31 for 33 in saves), and Frolik.
Back in DC, the Washington Capitals welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Eddie Lack and Braden Holtby are in the blue paint. Washington began in the first period with an Alex Ovechkin power play goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, powered by Matt Niskanen and Nicklas Backstrom. The Capitals added on with a Brett Connolly goal, his eleventh of the year, via Andre Burakovsky and John Carlson. Washington extended the lead in the third period as Lars Eller scored his tenth of the season, thanks to Connolly and Nate Schmidt. The Capitals padded the lead with an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, his twelfth of the year, made possible by Marcus Johansson and Justin Williams. Washington iced it at 5-0 with a Johansson power play goal, his seventeenth of the season, assisted by Ovechkin and Niskanen. The three stars were Ovechkin, Connolly, and Holtby (23 save shutout), while Niskanen and Johansson get the honorable mentions.
Westward to Detroit, where the Red Wings bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Petr Mrazek are between the pipes. Detroit struck first in the first period with a Nick Jensen goal, his second of the season, coming off of Dylan Larkin and Riley Sheahan. Columbus tied it on a Brandon Dubinsky goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Boone Jenner. The Blue Jackets took the lead with a Cam Atkinson goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, via Dubinsky and Jack Johnson. The Red Wings retied it in the second period on a Thomas Vanek power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Justin Abdelkader and Mike Green. Columbus won 3-2 in overtime on a Seth Jones goal, his tenth of the season, with a lone assist by Dubinsky. The three stars were Dubinsky, Jones, and Atkinson.
In Canada, the Ottawa Senators host the St. Louis Blues. Jake Allen and Andrew Hammond play goal. St. Louis dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Magnus Paajarvi goal, his second of the season, with a lone assist by Kevin Shattenkirk. The Blues added on with a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, guided in by Paul Stastny and David Perron. St. Louis extended the lead in the third period as Patrick Berglund scored his thirteenth of the season, a power play goal powered by Kenny Agostino and Perron. The Blues padded the lead on an Alexander Steen goal, his eleventh of the year, via Stastny. St. Louis continued with a Tarasenko goal, his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the season, helped along by Steen and Colton Parayko. The Blues iced it at 6-0 with an Ivan Barbashev goal, going in unassisted. The three stars were Tarasenko, Steen, and Allen (30 save shutout), while Stastny and Perron get the honorable mentions.
Down in Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning welcome the Los Angeles Kings. Peter Budaj and Ben Bishop are in the creases. Tampa Bay was first to score in the first period with a Jonathan Drouin goal, his sixteenth of the season, going in unassisted. The Lightning added on with a Nikita Kucherov goal in the second period, his twentieth of the year, via Vladislav Namestnikov and Andrej Sustr. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Gabriel Dumont scored, with the help of J.T. Brown and Victor Hedman. The Lightning padded the lead on a Kucherov goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the season, helped along by Namestnikov and Luke Witkowski. Tampa Bay struck again in the third period with a Braydon Coburn goal, his second of the year, with helpers from Drouin and Joel Vermin. This stood for a 5-0 win, with the three stars belonging to Kucherov, Bishop (28 save shutout), and Drouin, while Namestnikov gets an honorable mention.
Back north to Ontario, with the Toronto Maple Leafs bringing in the Dallas Stars. Antti Niemi and Curtis McElhinney receive the starting nods in goal. Toronto opened in the first period with a Jake Gardiner goal, his seventh of the season, passed from Mitchell Marner and Tyler Bozak. The Maple Leafs added on with an Auston Matthews goal in the second period, his twenty-fifth of the year, fueled by Gardiner. Dallas got on the board with a Tyler Seguin power play goal in the third period, his twentieth of the season, powered by Cody Eakin. Toronto answered with a Nikita Zaitsev power play goal, his second of the year, with assists provided by Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly. This produced the 3-1 final, with the three stars going to Gardiner, McElhinney (39 for 40 in saves), and Matthews.
Stateside once more, the Nashville Predators host the Vancouver Canucks. Jacob Markstrom and Pekka Rinne are in goal. Vancouver started in the first period with a Markus Granlund goal, his thirteenth of the season, going in unassisted. Nashville tied it on a Viktor Arvidsson goal, his fourteenth of the year, assisted by Colin Wilson and Calle Jarnkrok. The Predators took the lead with a Jarnkrok goal, his ninth of the season, guided in by Arvidsson and Roman Josi. Nashville added on in the third period with a Filip Forsberg power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, powered by Ryan Johansen and Josi. The Canucks got one back with an Alexander Edler power play goal, his second of the season, via Bo Horvat and Ben Hutton. The Predators iced it at 4-2 with a Mike Fisher empty net goal, his thirteenth of the year, an unassisted goal. The three stars went to Jarnkrok, Arvidsson, and Josi.
Up in Winnipeg, the Jets welcome the Minnesota Wild. Devan Dubnyk and Ondrej Pavelec are the masked men. Minnesota led off in the first period with a Nino Niederreiter goal, his sixteenth of the season, assisted by Charlie Coyle and Jason Pominville. The Wild added on with a Pominville goal, his ninth of the year, with a lone assist by Coyle. Minnesota extended the lead in the second period as Pominville scored again, his second of the game and tenth of the season, with the help of Coyle, who earned a sock trick. Connor Hellebuyck replaced Pavelec in goal. Winnipeg got on the board with a Bryan Little goal, his fifteenth of the year, fueled by Jacob Trouba and Joel Armia. The Jets got closer with an Armia goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Shawn Matthias and Adam Lowry. The Wild iced it at 4-2 in the third period with a Niederreiter empty net goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, set up by Pominville and Marco Scandella. The three stars were Pominville, Niederreiter, and Coyle, while Armia gets an honorable mention.
Finally, the Colorado Avalanche bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price faces a lesser foe in Calvin Pickard in goal. Colorado began in the first period with a Mikko Rantanen goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. The Avalanche added on with an Andreas Martinsen goal, his third of the year, via Francois Beauchemin and the goalie Pickard. Colorado extended the lead in the second period as Rantanen scored his second of the game and tenth of the season, with the help of Mark Barberio and Landeskog. The Avalanche iced it at 4-0 with a Rantanen power play goal in the third period, completing his hat trick on his eleventh of the year, powered by MacKinnon and Barberio. The three stars were Rantanen, Pickard (27 save shutout), and Barberio, while Landeskog and MacKinnon get the honorable mentions.
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