Boston, as the Bruins host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Tuukka Rask make the starts in goal. Boston got going in the second period with a Drew Stafford goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by David Krejci and Adam McQuaid. The Bruins added on with a David Pastrnak goal, his thirty-third of the year, via Riley Nash and Kevan Miller. Boston extended the lead in the third period as Zdeno Chara scored his tenth of the season, a power play goal powered by Torey Krug and David Backes. The Bruins iced it at 4-0 with a Pastrnak empty net goal, his second of the game and thirty-fourth of the year, set up by Krejci. The three stars were Rask (28 save shutout), Pastrnak, and Krejci.
Down in New Jersey, the Devils welcome the Philadelphia Flyers. Steve Mason and Keith Kinkaid man the nets. New Jersey won 1-0 in overtime with a John Moore goal, his tenth of the campaign, via Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri. The three stars were awarded to Kinkaid (35 save shutout), Moore, and Mason (26 for 27 in saves).
West to Pittsburgh, where the Penguins bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Murray are the masked men. Pittsburgh led off in the first period with a Carter Rowney goal, his second of the game, passed from Scott Wilson. The Penguins added on in the second period with a Patric Hornqvist goal, his twentieth of the year, via Tom Kuhnhackl. Pittsburgh extended the lead as Brian Dumoulin scored, with the help of Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby. The Penguins padded the lead in the third period on a Guentzel goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Justin Schultz and Crosby. Columbus got on the board with a shorthanded goal by Brandon Dubinsky, his twelfth of the year, going in unassisted. The final held at 4-1, with the three stars being Murray (38 for 39 in saves), Guentzel, and Crosby.
In Ontario, the Ottawa Senators host the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Craig Anderson protect the nets. Ottawa began in the first period with an Erik Karlsson goal, his seventeenth of the season, coming off of Kyle Turris. The Senators added on in the second period with a Tom Pyatt goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Mike Hoffman and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The final held at 2-0, with the three stars going to Anderson (24 save shutout), Karlsson, and Pyatt.
Over in Toronto, the Maple Leafs welcome the Washington Capitals. Philipp Grubauer and Curtis McElhinney are the backups in goal. Washington started in the first period with a Lars Eller goal, his twelfth of the season, helped along by Andre Burakovsky and Brett Connolly. The Capitals added on with a Kevin Shattenkirk power play goal in the second period, his twelfth of the year, powered by Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. Washington extended the lead in the third period as Nate Schmidt scored his third of the season, thanks to Connolly and Justin Williams. The Capitals padded the lead with a Tom Wilson goal, his seventh of the year, made possible by Daniel Winnik and Jay Beagle. Toronto got on the board with a Mitchell Marner power play goal, his nineteenth of the campaign, with assists provided by James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak. This only made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars going to Connollt, Shattenkirk, and Wilson.
Back stateside, the St. Louis Blues bring in the Winnipeg Jets. Michael Hutchinson and Jake Allen draw the starts in goal. St. Louis opened in the first period with an Alex Pietrangelo goal, his thirteenth of the season, going in unassisted. Winnipeg tied it on a second period goal by Patrik Laine goal, his thirty-fifth of the year, coming off of Mark Stuart and Bryan Little. The Jets took the lead with a Nikolaj Ehlers goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, passed from Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler. Winnipeg added on with a Stuart goal, his second of the year, via Mathieu Perreault and Adam Lowry. The Blues got one back with a Jori Lehtera goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Ivan Barbashev and Zach Sanford. The Jets chipped back in the third period with a Scheifele goal, his thirteenth of the year, fueled by Wheeler and Ehlers. Winnipeg extended the lead as Laine scored his second of the game and thirty-sixth of the season, thanks to Perreault and Little. This made it 5-2, the final, with the three stars being Laine, Stuart, and Scheifele, while Ehlers, Perreault, Little and Wheeler get the honorable mentions.
East to Nashville, where the Predators host the New York Islanders. Jaroslav Halak and Pekka Rinne are between the pipes. Nashville dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Mike Fisher goal, his eighteenth of the season, assisted by Colin Wilson and Craig Smith. New York tied it on a Brock Nelson goal, his eighteenth of the year in the third period, via Calvin de Haan and Dennis Seidenberg. The Islanders won 2-1 in overtime with a Thomas Hickey goal, his fourth of the campaign, passed from Josh Bailey and the goalie Halak. The three stars went to Halak (22 for 23 in saves), Hickey, and Nelson.
North to Minnesota, where the Wild welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Devan Dubnyk receive the starting nods in goal. Minnesota struck first in the first period with a Zach Parise goal, his nineteenth of the season, coming off of Eric Staal and Nino Niederreiter. Carolina tied it on a Lee Stempniak goal, his sixteenth of the year, via Jeff Skinner and Jaccob Slavin. The Wild took the lead with a Jordan Schroeder goal, his sixth of the season, courtesy of Matt Dumba and Joel Eriksson Ek. The Hurricanes retied it on a Skinner goal, his thirty-fourth of the year, a power play goal powered by Noah Hanifin and Victor Rask. Minnesota regained the lead with a Niederreiter goal, his twenty-third of the season, passed from Parise and Jared Spurgeon. Carolina retied it on a Skinner goal, his second of the game and thirty-fifth of the year, helped along by Stempniak and Derek Ryan. The Wild took another lead in the second period with a Charlie Coyle goal, his eighteenth of the season, with helpers from Christian Folin and Martin Hanzal. Minnesota iced it at 5-3 with a Niederreiter goal in the third period, his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the year, with assists provided by Parise and Staal. The three stars went to Niederreiter, Skinner, and Parise, while Stempniak and Staal get the honorable mentions.
South to Texas, where the Dallas Stars bring in the Arizona Coyotes. Mike Smith and Antti Niemi are the veteran goalies. Dallas was first to score in the first period with a Brett Ritchie goal, his sixteenth of the season, going in unassisted. The Stars added on with a Jason Dickinson goal, with a lone assist by Adam Cracknell. Arizona got on the board with a Christian Dvorak goal, his fifteenth of the year, assisted by Clayton Keller and Jamie McGinn. The Coyotes tied it in the third period with an Anthony Duclair goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Max Domi and Alex Burmistrov. Dallas won 3-2 in overtime with a Julius Honka goal, fueled by Jason Spezza and Gemel Smith. The three stars belonged to Honka, Dickinson, and Ritchie.
Up in Colorado, the Avalanche host the Chicago Blackhawks. Scott Darling and Calvin Pickard are the lesser-known goalies. Chicago got going in the second period with an Artemi Panarin power play goal, his thirtieth of the season, powered by Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks added on with a Ryan Hartman goal, his nineteenth of the year, via Marcus Kruger. Chicago extended the lead as Kruger scored his fifth of the season, with the help of Michal Rozsival and Marian Hossa. Colorado got on the board with a shorthanded Matt Duchene goal, his eighteenth of the year, set up by Matt Nieto. The Avalanche got closer with a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his seventeenth of the season, going in unassisted and shorthanded. Colorado tied it in the third period as Mikhail Grigorenko scored his tenth of the year, thanks to Duchene and Mark Barberio. The Avalanche won 4-3 in overtime with an Erik Johnson goal, his second of the campaign, with a lone assist by Duchene. The three stars went to Duchene, Johnson, and Kruger.
In California, the Anaheim Ducks welcome the Calgary Flames. Chad Johnson and John Gibson play goal, although Johnson made a quick exit with an injury, replaced by Brian Elliott. Calgary led off in the first period with a Mikael Backlund goal, his twenty-second of the season, made possible by Mark Giordano and Kris Versteeg. Anaheim tied it in the second period with a Patrick Eaves goal, his thirty-first of the year, via Ryan Getzlaf. The Ducks took the lead with a Kevin Bieksa goal, his third of the season, coming off of Antoine Vermette and Corey Perry. Anaheim added on in the third period with a Chris Wagner goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Logan Shaw and Nate Thompson. The game ended at 3-1, with the three stars given to Bieksa, Wagner, and Gibson (26 for 27 in saves).
Nearby in Los Angeles, the Kings bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Cam Talbot and Jonathan Quick are in the creases. Edmonton began in the first period with a Milan Lucic power play goal, his twentieth of the season, powered by Connor McDavid and Oscar Klefbom. The Oilers added on with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his seventeenth of the year, via Jordan Eberle and Kris Russell. Los Angeles got on the board in the second period with a Nick Shore goal, his sixth of the season, passed from Jonny Brodzinski and Dustin Brown. The Kings tied it on a Brown goal, his twelfth of the year, guided in by Shore. Los Angeles took the lead with a Nic Dowd goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Kyle Clifford and Brodzinski. Edmonton retied it on a Nugent-Hopkins goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the year, helped along by Zack Kassian and Darnell Nurse. The Kings retook the lead in the third period with a Trevor Lewis goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Shore and Paul LaDue. Los Angeles extended the lead as Tanner Pearson scored his twenty-fourth of the year, thanks to Tyler Toffoli. The Oilers pulled back with a Nurse goal, his fifth of the season, with a lone assist by Leon Draisaitl. The Kings won 6-4 with a Drew Doughty empty net goal, his tenth of the year, set up by Shore. The three stars were Shore, Brown, and Brodzinski, while Nugent-Hopkins and Nurse get the honorable mentions.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks. Richard Bachman is mismatched with Martin Jones in goal. San Jose struck first in the first period with a Kevin Labanc goal, his eighth of the season, courtesy of Joe Pavelski. The Sharks added on with a Joel Ward goal, his ninth of the year, via Joonas Donskoi and David Schlemko. Vancouver got on the board in the third period with a Christopher Tanev goal, his second of the season, helped along by Brock Boeser and Luca Sbisa. San Jose shot back with a Chris Tierney goal, his tenth of the year, assisted by Brent Burns and Donskoi. The final held at 3-1, with the three stars given to Jones (33 for 34 in saves), Donskoi, and Ward.
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