The Boston Bruins hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Michal Neuvirth and Tuukka Rask are the goalies. Philadelphia led off in the first period with a Pierre-Edouard Bellemare goal, his third of the season, guided in by Ivan Provorov and Chris VandeVelde. Boston tied it on a shorthanded and unassisted Brad Marchand goal, his sixteenth of the year. The Bruins took the lead in the second period with a David Krejci power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Austin Czarnik. Boston added on with a Torey Krug goal, his fourth of the year, helped along by Marchand and David Pastrnak. The Flyers got one back with a Brayden Schenn power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, assisted by Mark Streit and Claude Giroux. The Bruins replied with a Patrice Bergeron power play goal, his ninth of the year, via Marchand and Krug. Boston extended the lead as Zdeno Chara scored his third of the season, coming off of Pastrnak and Marchand, the latter earning a sock trick. Philadelphia got one back with a Wayne Simmonds power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, courtesy of Jakub Voracek and Giroux. The Bruins iced it at 6-3 with an unassisted Marchand empty net goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the campaign. The three stars went to Marchand, Pastrnak, and Krug, while Giroux gets an honorable mention.
Over in Colorado, the other matinee sees the Avalanche welcome the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Semyon Varlamov are the veterans in goal. Colorado began in the first period with a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his eighth of the season, via Matt Duchene and Matt Nieto. The Avalanche added on with a Francois Beauchemin goal in the second period, helped along by Mikhail Grigorenko. Nashville got on the board with a Cody McLeod goal, his second of the year, coming off of Harry Zolniercyzk and Derek Grant. The Predators tied it in the third period with a Mike Fisher goal, his twelfth of the season, courtesy of Austin Watson. Nashville took the lead with a Filip Forsberg goal, his eleventh of the year, assisted Ryan Johansen. The game ended at 3-2, with the three stars going to Forsberg, Fisher, and McLeod.
Back east, the Detroit Red Wings bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury faces a lesser foe in Jared Coreau in goal. Washington opened in the first period with a Kris Letang goal, his fourth of the season, via Sidney Crosby. The Penguins added on in the second period with an Evgeni Malkin goal, his eighteenth of the year, helped along by Carl Hagelin. Detroit got on the board with a Gustav Nyquist goal, his sixth of the season, passed from Xavier Ouellet and Nick Jensen. The Red Wings tied it on a Thomas Vanek goal, his eleventh of the year, fueled by Justin Abdelkader. Pittsburgh retook the lead with a Matt Cullen goal, his eighth of the season, a power play goal going in unassisted. Detroit tied it on a Frans Nielsen goal, his ninth of the year, coming off of Mike Green and Vanek. The Red Wings took the lead in the third period with a Andreas Athanasiou goal, his ninth of the season, going in unassisted. Detroit extended the lead as Green scored a power play goal, his eighth of the year, thanks to Anthony Mantha and Nyquist. The Red Wings padded the lead on a Henrik Zetterberg goal, his ninth of the campaign, with helpers from Nyquist and Mantha. This made it 6-3, the final, with the three stars going to Green, Nyquist, and Vanek, while Mantha gets an honorable mention.
Down in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes host the New York Islanders. Thomas Greiss and Cam Ward play goal. New York started in the first period with a John Tavares goal, his fifteenth of the season, made possible by Scott Mayfield. Carolina tied it on a Brock McGinn goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by Elias Lindholm and Jordan Staal. The Islanders took the lead back with an Anders Lee goal, his fifteenth of the season, passed from Nick Leddy and Josh Bailey. New York added on in the second period with a Jason Chimera goal, his seventh of the year, coming off of Anthony Beauvillier and Alan Quine. The Hurricanes got one back with a Justin Faulk goal, his eighth of the season, courtesy of Lindholm. Carolina tied it on a Lindholm goal, his fifth of the year, with helpers from McGinn and Staal. The Hurricanes took the lead with a Brett Pesce goal, his second of the season, fueled by McGinn and Lee Stempniak. New York tied it in the third period with a Tavares goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, via Lee and Bailey. Carolina pulled ahead again with a Stempniak goal, his ninth of the season, dished from Teuvo Teravainen. The Hurricanes extended the lead as Teravainen goal, his tenth of the year, with assists provided by Faulk and Stempniak. Carolina iced it at 7-4 with a Staal goal, his ninth of the campaign, helped along by Matt Tennyson and McGinn. The three stars were McGinn, Stempniak, and Teravainen, while Lindholm, Staal, Faulk, Tavares, Lee, and Bailey get the honorable mentions.
In Canada, the Montreal Canadiens welcome the New York Rangers. Antti Raanta and Carey Price are the goalies. New York struck first in the first period with a Brandon Pirri goal, his seventh of the season, a power play goal powered by Ryan McDonagh and Derek Stepan. Raanta came out injured, replaced by Henrik Lundqvist at the start of the second period. Montreal tied it on an Alex Galchenyuk goal, his tenth of the year, via Mark Barberio and Max Pacioretty. The Rangers took the lead with a Rick Nash goal, his fourteenth of the season, courtesy of Kevin Hayes and Pavel Buchnevich. The Canadiens retied it on a Brian Flynn goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by Phillip Danault and Jeff Petry. New York retook the lead with a J.T. Miller shorthanded goal, his fourteenth of the season, set up by Hayes. Montreal tied it again with an Alexei Emelin goal, his second of the year, helped along by Paul Byron and Danault. The Canadiens took the lead with a Pacioretty goal, his twentieth of the season, fueled by Zach Redmond. Montreal added on with a Byron goal, his thirteenth of the year, made possible by Danault, who got a sock trick, and Emelin. The Rangers got one back with a Stepan goal, his tenth of the campaign, guided in by Mats Zuccarello and Nick Holden. This only made it 5-4, with the three stars being Danault, Pacioretty, and Emelin, while Byron, Stepan, and Hayes get the honorable mentions.
In Ontario, the Ottawa Senators bring in the Toronto Maple Leafs. Curtis McElhinney and Mike Condon are the backups in goal. Toronto was first to score in the first period with a Nazem Kadri power play goal, his seventeenth of the season, powered by James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak. The Maple Leafs added on in the second period with a Bozak goal, his tenth of the year, guided in by Mitchell Marner. Ottawa got on the board with a Dion Phaneuf goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Mike Hoffman and Erik Karlsson. The Senators tied it on a Kyle Turris goal, his fifteenth of the year, via Bobby Ryan and Ryan Dzingel. Toronto took the lead back in the third period with a Kadri goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the season, passed from William Nylander and Matt Hunwick. The Maple Leafs iced it at 4-2 with a Connor Brown goal, his eleventh of the year, fueled by Auston Matthews. The three stars were Kadri, Bozak, and Brown.
Back south, the Florida Panthers host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Joonas Korpisalo and James Reimer are the backups in goal. Florida led off in the first period with a Shawn Thornton goal, assisted by Aaron Ekblad. Columbus tied it on a Scott Hartnell power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Ryan Murray and Seth Jones. The Blue Jackets took the lead with an unassisted Cam Atkinson goal, his twenty-first of the year, going in unassisted. The Panthers tied it in the second period with a Vincent Trocheck goal, his fourteenth of the season, coming off of Jason Demers. Florida took the lead back with a Jonathan Marchessault unassisted goal, his thirteenth of the year. The Panthers added on in the third period with a Jaromir Jagr goal, his eighth of the season, made possible by Trocheck and Jakub Kindl. Columbus got one back with a Boone Jenner goal, his eighth of the year, via Brandon Dubinsky and Jones. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars being Trocheck, Jones, and Jagr.
Westward to Dallas, where the Stars welcome the Minnesota Wild. Darcy Kuemper and Antti Niemi make the starts in goal. Minnesota began in the first period with an unassisted Mikko Koivu goal, his thirteenth of the season. The Wild added on with an Eric Staal goal, his fifteenth of the year, assisted by Charlie Coyle and Christian Folin. Minnesota extended the lead as Matt Dumba scored his seventh of the season, thanks to Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker. Kari Lehtonen replaced Niemi in goal. The Wild padded the lead as Chris Stewart scored his eighth of the year, with the help of Jordan Schroeder and Ryan Suter. Dallas got on the board with an Antoine Roussel goal, his sixth of the season, via Radek Faksa and Brett Ritchie. The Stars got closer in the second period with a Jiri Hudler goal, his second of the year, made possible by Devin Shore and John Klingberg. Dallas chipped closer with a Tyler Seguin goal, his sixteenth of the season, passed from Jamie Benn and Klingberg. The Stars tied it in the third period on a Klingberg power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Seguin and Jason Spezza. Minnesota retook the lead on a Zucker goal, his eleventh of the campaign, with a lone assist by Granlund. The final stayed at 5-4, with the three stars going to Zucker, Klingberg, and Granlund, while Seguin gets an honorable mention.
Further west, the Arizona Coyotes bring in the Anaheim Ducks. Jonathan Bernier and Louis Domingue are the backups in goal. Anaheim opened in the first period with a Hampus Lindholm goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. The Ducks added on in the third period with a Nick Ritchie goal, his tenth of the year, passed from Ondrej Kase. Anaheim iced it at 3-0 with an empty net goal by Ryan Kesler, his eighteenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Bernier (26 save shutout), Lindholm, and Ritchie.
Up in Alberta, the Edmonton Oilers host their provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames. Brian Elliott and Cam Talbot are the goalies. Edmonton got going in the second period with a Patrick Maroon power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, powered by Drake Caggiula and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Calgary tied it on a Sean Monahan goal, his twelfth of the year, helped along by Johnny Gaudreau and Dougie Hamilton. The Oilers won 2-1 with tallies by Leon Draisaitl and Mark Letestu in the shootout. The three stars were Maroon, Talbot (23 for 24 in saves), and Elliott (25 for 26 in saves).
Out in California, the Los Angeles Kings welcome the Winnipeg Jets. Michael Hutchinson and Peter Budaj are the lesser-known goalies. Los Angeles started in the first period with a Marian Gaborik goal, his third of the season, coming off of Anze Kopitar and Alec Martinez. Winnipeg tied it in the second period with a Drew Stafford power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Mathieu Perreault and Mark Scheifele. The Jets took the lead in the third period with a Dustin Byfuglien power play goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Blake Wheeler and Perreault. The Kings retied it on a Dustin Brown goal, his sixth of the year, via Kopitar and Derek Forbort. Los Angeles won 3-2 in overtime with a Jeff Carter goal, his twenty-third of the campaign, made possible by Jake Muzzin and Kopitar, the latter earning a sock trick. The three stars were Kopitar, Carter, and Perreault.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the St. Louis Blues. Carter Hutton and Martin Jones draw the starts in goal. St. Louis dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Colton Parayko power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Paul Stastny and Kevin Shattenkirk. The Blues added on with a David Perron goal, his eleventh of the year, via Parayko and Robby Fabbri. St. Louis extended the lead in the third period as Jori Lehtera scored his fifth of the season, thanks to Alex Pietrangelo and Vladimir Tarasenko. The Blues padded the lead with an Alexander Steen empty net goal, his fifth of the year, set up by Jaden Schwartz and Shattenkirk. This made it 4-0, the final, with the three stars awarded to Hutton (23 save shutout), Parayko, and Shattenkirk.
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