There's 10 games on this Thursday, beginning with...
The Buffalo Sabres hosting the Boston Bruins. Jaroslav Halak and Carter Hutton draw the starts in goal. Boston led off with a Greg McKegg goal, via Matt Grzelcyk. Buffalo tied it in the second period with a Kyle Okposo shorthanded goal, set up by Jacob Bryson. The Bruins retook the lead with a Jake DeBrusk power play goal, his third of the season, powered by David Pastrnak and David Krejci. Boston added on with a Craig Smith goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by Connor Clifton and Krejci. The Bruins extended the lead as Pastrnak scored his fourteenth of the season on the power play, thanks to Krejci and Brad Marchand. This stood for a 4-1 win, with the three stars given to Krejci, Pastrnak, and Halak (23 for 24 in saves).
Down in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets. Joonas Korpisalo and Alex Nedeljkovic make the starts in goal. Columbus started in the first period with a Seth Jones goal, his second of the season, assisted by Oliver Bjorkstrand and Zach Werenski. Carolina tied it in the second period with a Sebastian Aho goal, his twelfth of the year, passed from Nino Niederreiter and Warren Foegele. The Hurricanes took the lead with another Aho power play goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the season, powered by Martin Necas and Dougie Hamilton. The Blue Jackets tied it again with a Kevin Stenlund goal, his fifth of the year, via Max Domi and Bjorkstrand. Columbus won 3-2 in overtime with a Jones goal, his second of the game and third of the campaign, coming off of Bjorkstrand. The three stars were Jones, Aho, and Bjorkstrand.
Back north to New Jersey, as the Devils bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry and Scott Wedgewood are in the creases. New Jersey opened in the first period with a Jack Hughes goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Ty Smith and Kyle Palmieri. The Devils added on with a P.K. Subban power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Jesper Bratt and Hughes in the second period. New Jersey extended the lead as Travis Zajac scored his third of the season, thanks to Damon Severson. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Jake Guentzel power play goal, his twelfth of the year, helped along by Kris Letang and Kasperi Kapanen. The Penguins got closer in the third period with a Bryan Rust goal, his tenth of the campaign, via Letang and Brandon Tanev. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to Hughes, Letang, and Zajac.
Over in New York, the Islanders host the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter Hart and Semyon Varlamov man the nets. Philadelphia got going in the second period with an Oskar Lindblom goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Claude Giroux and Travis Konecny. The Flyers added on with a Giroux goal, his seventh of the year, via Nate Prosser and Konecny. Philadelphia extended the lead as Jakub Voracek scored his fifth of the season, thanks to Kevin Hayes and Scott Laughton. New York got on the board in the third period with a Michael Dal Colle goal, with helpers from Nick Leddy and Josh Bailey. The Islanders got closer with a Sebastian Aho goal, coming off of Dal Colle and Leddy. New York tied it as Oliver Wahlstrom scored his seventh of the year, with the help of Leddy. The Flyers regained the lead on a Lindblom goal, his second of the game and fourth of the season, guided in by Konecny and Travis Sanheim. This made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars going to Lindblom, Konecny, and Giroux, while Leddy and Dal Colle get the honorable mentions.
South to Tampa Bay, as the Lightning welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Kevin Lankinen and Andrei Vasilevskiy are the masked men. Chicago began in the first period with a Mattias Janmark power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Dominik Kubalik and Alex DeBrincat. Tampa Bay tied it on an Alex Killorn goal, his eighth of the year, fueled by Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos. The Lightning took the lead with a Yanni Gourde power play goal, his ninth of the season, with assists provided by Mikhail Sergachev and Vasilevskiy. The Blackhawks tied it again on a Dylan Strome power play goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by Janmark and Duncan Keith. Tampa Bay took the lead in the third period with a Ross Colton goal, his second of the season, via Mathieu Joseph and Pat Maroon. The Lightning iced it at 4-2 with a Hedman empty net goal, his sixth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Hedman, Janmark, and Vasilevskiy (19 for 21 in saves).
Staying in the state, the Florida Panthers bring in the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Sergei Bobrovsky are given the starting nods in goal. Florida struck first in the first period with a Jonathan Huberdeau goal, his eleventh of the season, made possible by Patric Hornqvist and MacKenzie Weegar. Nashville tied it in the second period with a Calle Jarnkrok goal, his eighth of the year, coming off of Alexandre Carrier and Mattias Ekholm. The Predators took the lead in the third period on a Jarnkrok goal, his second of the game and ninth of the season, assisted by Mikael Granlund. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars awarded to Jarnkrok, Saros (40 for 41 in saves), and Huberdeau.
North to Detroit, as the Red Wings host the Dallas Stars. Jake Oettinger and Jonathan Bernier are between the pipes. Detroit kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Robby Fabbri goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Anthony Mantha and Troy Stecher. The Red Wings added on in the second period with another Fabbri goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, coming off of Marc Staal. Thomas Greiss replaced an injured Bernier in goal late in the second period. Detroit extended the lead in the third period as Fabbri completed his natural hat trick on his ninth of the season, thanks to Dylan Larkin. Dallas got on the board with a Roope Hintz goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Denis Gurianov and Joel Hanley. The Stars got closer with a Jason Dickinson goal, his fifth of the season, fueled by Jason Robertson and John Klingberg. The final was 3-2, and the three stars were Fabbri, Bernier (22 for 22 in saves) and Dickinson.
Over in Edmonton, the Oilers welcome the Winnipeg Jets. Laurent Brossoit and Mikko Koskinen are the backups in goal. Edmonton dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Connor McDavid goal, his nineteenth of the season, helped along by Darnell Nurse and Tyson Barrie. Winnipeg tied it on a Mathieu Perreault goal, his seventh of the year, via Nate Thompson and Trevor Lewis. The Oilers retook the lead on a McDavid goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the season, assisted by Zack Kassian and Barrie. The final held at 2-1, with the three stars being McDavid, Barrie, and Koskinen (24 for 25 in saves).
Down in Colorado, the Avalanche bring in the Minnesota Wild. Cam Talbot and Philipp Grubauer guard the cages. Colorado drew first blood in the first period with a Nathan MacKinnon goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog. The Avalanche added on with a Rantanen goal, his fifteenth of the year, via Samuel Girard and MacKinnon. Minnesota got on the board in the second period with a Victor Rask power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Mats Zuccarello. Colorado replied with a Landeskog power play goal, his eighth of the year, with assists provided by Rantanen and MacKinnon. The Avalanche extended the lead in the third period as Joonas Donskoi scored his eighth of the season, thanks to Jacob MacDonald. Colorado padded the lead on a Rantanen goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, made possible by Landeskog and Ryan Graves. The final held at 5-1 with the three stars awarded to Rantanen, MacKinnon, and Landeskog.
Finally, the Anaheim Ducks host the Arizona Coyotes. Adin Hill and Ryan Miller man the nets. Arizona was first to score in the first period on a Conor Garland goal, his ninth of the season, via Nick Schmaltz. The Coyotes added on with a Clayton Keller goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Garland. Anaheim got on the board in the second period with a Jamie Drysdale goal, assisted by Rickard Rakell and Ryan Getzlaf. The Ducks tied it with a Trevor Zegras goal, coming off of Troy Terry and Drysdale. Anaheim won 3-2 in overtime with an Adam Henrique power play goal, his eighth of the campaign, powered by Kevin Shattenkirk and Rakell. The three stars belonged to Drysdale, Rakell, and Garland.
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