The Buffalo Sabres hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Matt Murray and Robin Lehner are the solid goalies. Pittsburgh began in the first period with a Sidney Crosby power play goal, his forty-first of the season, powered by Justin Schultz and Conor Sheary. Buffalo tied it in the third period on a Sam Reinhart goal, his seventeenth of the year, via Hudson Fasching and Marcus Foligno. The Penguins took the lead back with a Nick Bonino goal, his fifteenth of the season, passed from Ian Cole and Tom Kuhnhackl. Pittsburgh added on with an unassisted Sheary goal, his twenty-first of the year. This made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars going to Sheary, Murray (29 for 30 in saves), and Bonino.
Down in DC, the Washington Capitals welcome the Calgary Flames. Brian Elliott and Braden Holtby protect the nets. Washington led off in the first period with an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, his seventeenth of the season, courtesy of Andre Burakovsky. Calgary tied it on a Sean Monahan goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, via Johnny Gaudreau and Alex Chiasson. The Capitals retook the lead in the second period with a T.J. Oshie goal, his thirtieth of the season, assisted by Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Washington added on with a Kevin Shattenkirk power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Ovechkin and Backstrom. The Flames got one back in the third period with a Troy Brouwer goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Deryk Engelland and Kris Versteeg. The Capitals shot back with an Ovechkin power play goal, his twenty-ninth of the year, with assists provided by Shattenkirk and Backstrom, the latter earning a sock trick. The final stood at 4-2, with the three stars given to Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Shattenkirk.
Backtracking to Boston, where the Bruins bring in the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Tuukka Rask guard the cages. Ottawa opened in the first period with a Tom Pyatt goal, his eighth of the season, made possible by Cody Ceci and Mike Hoffman. Boston tied it on a David Krejci power play goal, his twenty-first of the year, powered by Ryan Spooner and Torey Krug. The Senators took the lead back in the second period with a Kyle Turris power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, helped along by Erik Karlsson and Hoffman. The Bruins tied it on a Krug power play goal, his seventh of the year, going in unassisted in the third period. Ottawa reclaimed the lead with a Turris goal in the third period, his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the campaign, via Dion Phaneuf and Chris Wideman. The final held at 3-2, with the three stars given to Turris, Krug, Hoffman.
Next up, the New Jersey Devils host the New York Rangers. Antti Raanta and Cory Schneider draw the starts in goal. New Jersey got going in the second period with a John Quenneville goal, via Joseph Blandisi and Pavel Zacha on the power play. New York tied it on an Oscar Lindberg goal, his seventh of the season, helped along by Pavel Buchnevich and Ryan McDonagh. The Devils took the lead with a Taylor Hall goal, his eighteenth of the year, assisted by Kyle Palmieri. The Rangers tied it again with a Rick Nash power play goal in the third period, his nineteenth of the season, powered by Kevin Hayes and Brady Skjei. New Jersey won 3-2 in overtime with a Blandisi goal, his third of the year, with a lone assist from Quenneville. The three stars went to Blandisi, Quenneville, and Schneider (38 for 40 in saves).
Up in Montreal, the Canadiens welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Al Montoya are called on to start in goal. Detroit started in the first period with a Justin Abdelkader power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Niklas Kronwall and Frans Nielsen. Montreal tied it in the third period with an Artturi Lehkonen goal, his thirteenth of the year, helped along by Nathan Beaulieu. The Red Wings won 2-1 in overtime with an Anthony Mantha goal, his fifteenth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Danny DeKeyser. The three stars were Mantha, Howard (35 for 36 in saves), and Abdelkader.
Down in Tampa Bay, the Lightning bring in the Arizona Coyotes. Louis Domingue and Andrei Vasilevskiy are in the blue paint. Arizona struck first in the first period with a Christian Fischer goal, his third of the season, passed from Lawson Crouse and Josh Jooris. Tampa Bay tied it on a Victor Hedman goal, his fifteenth of the year, via Nikita Kucherov. The Coyotes took the lead back in the second period with a Christian Dvorak goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Max Domi and Connor Murphy. The Lightning tied it again on a Kucherov goal, his thirty-fourth of the year, helped along by Ondrej Palat. Tampa Bay took the lead with a Vladislav Namestnikov goal, his tenth of the season, courtesy of Jonathan Drouin. Arizona tied it again in the third period with an Oliver Ekman-Larsson goal, his twelfth of the year, guided in by Domi and Anthony Duclair. The Coyotes took the lead with a Radim Vrbata goal, his eighteenth of the season, with helpers from Alex Goligoski and Ekman-Larsson. Arizona iced it at 5-3 with a shorthanded empty net goal by Murphy, his second of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars went to Ekman-Larsson, Domi, and Murphy, while Kucherov gets an honorable mention.
Staying in the state, the Florida Panthers host the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Reto Berra are the poor goalies. Florida was first to score in the first period with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his twentieth of the season, assisted by Jason Demers and Jaromir Jagr. Carolina tied it on a Teuvo Teravainen power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, powered by Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho. The Panthers took the lead back with a Reilly Smith goal, his twelfth of the season, via Jussi Jokinen and Vincent Trocheck. The Hurricanes tied it on an Aho shorthanded goal, his twenty-first of the year, set up by Elias Lindholm. Florida took the lead in the second period with a Keith Yandle goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Demers and Jagr. Carolina tied it once again with a Jeff Skinner goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, fueled by Lee Stempniak and Jaccob Slavin. The Hurricanes took the lead in the third period with another Skinner goal, his second of the game and twenty-eighth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Derek Ryan. This stood for a 4-3 win, with the three stars being Skinner, Aho, and Jagr, while Demers gets an honorable mention.
Back north, the Winnipeg Jets welcome the Philadelphia Flyers. Steve Mason and Michael Hutchinson play goal. Philadelphia dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Jordan Weal goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Wayne Simmonds and Claude Giroux. Winnipeg tied it on a Mathieu Perreault power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. The Jets took the lead with a Wheeler goal in the third period, his twenty-second of the season, via Scheifele and Perreault. Winnipeg added on with a Scheifele goal, his twenty-ninth of the year, with a lone assist by Wheeler. The Flyers got one back with a Michael Del Zotto shorthanded goal, his sixth of the campaign, going in unassisted. This only made it 3-2, with the three stars being Wheeler, Scheifele, and Perreault.
Stateside, the Chicago Blackhawks bring in the Vancouver Canucks. Ryan Miller and Corey Crawford are the veteran goalies. Vancouver opened in the first period with a Henrik Sedin goal, his fourteenth of the season, via Daniel Sedin and Michael Chaput. The Canucks added on in the second period with a Brandon Sutter goal, his sixteenth of the year, passed from Jayson Megna. Chicago got on the board with a Ryan Hartman power play goal, his seventeenth of the season, powered by Marian Hossa and Nick Schmaltz. Vancouver answered with a Reid Boucher goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by Christipher Tanev and Sven Baertschi. The Canucks extended the lead in the third period as Sutter scored his second of the game and seventeenth of the season, thanks to Jack Skille and Alexander Edler. The Blackhawks pulled back on a Hossa power play goal, his twenty-third of the year, with assists provided by Brent Seabrook and Brian Campbell. Chicago pulled closer with a Richard Panik goal, his twentieth of the season, assisted by Trevor van Riemsdyk and Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks tied it as Hartman scored his second of the game and eighteenth of the year, with the help of Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith. Vancouver won 5-4 in overtime with a Daniel Sedin power play goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Daniel Sedin, Sutter, and Hartman, while Hossa gets an honorable mention.
Up in Minnesota, the Wild host the San Jose Sharks. Martin Jones and Devan Dubnyk tend the twines. Minnesota started in the first period with a Matt Dumba power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Zach Parise and Eric Staal. San Jose tied it in the second period with a David Schlemko goal, his third of the year, via Joe Pavelski and Dylan DeMelo. The Wild retook the lead with a Jason Pominville goal, his twelfth of the season, courtesy of Martin Hanzal and Nino Niederreiter. Minnesota added on with a Charlie Coyle goal, his seventeenth of the year, assisted by Parise. The Sharks got one back with a Patrick Marleau goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, going in unassisted. The final held at 3-2, with the three stars given to Coyle, Parise, and Pominville.
Finally, the Colorado Avalanche host the St. Louis Blues. Jake Allen and Calvin Pickard are between the pipes. Colorado struck first in the first period with a John Mitchell goal, his third of the season, via Carl Soderberg and Blake Comeau. St. Louis tied it in the second period with a Patrik Berglund goal, his twentieth of the year, made possible by Zach Sanford and David Perron. The Blues took the lead with a Magnus Paajarvi goal in the third period, his sixth of the season, coming off of Ivan Barbashev and Sanford. St. Louis added on with a Jaden Schwartz goal, his fifteenth of the year, with a lone assist by Vladimir Tarasenko. The Avalanche got one back with a Mark Barberio goal, his second of the season, helped along by Tyson Barrie and Mitchell. The Blues iced it at 4-2 with an empty net goal by Berglund, his second of the game and twenty-first of the year, set up by Perron and Kyle Brodziak. The three stars went to Berglund, Mitchell, and Sanford, while Perron gets an honorable mention.
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