New York Rangers @ Dallas Stars 2-3 - 12/29

Antoine Roussel's goal early in the second period proved to be the game-winner in the Dallas Stars' 3-2 victory against the New York Rangers at American Airlines Center on Monday. The loss ended New York's eight-game winning streak. Kari Lehtonen made 28 saves for Dallas (16-14-5), which has won two straight and six of seven. The Stars are 11-1-2 when leading after two periods, a source of pride for coach Lindy Ruff. Roussel scored his eighth goal 54 seconds into the second period when he collected a carom off the end boards and tapped it into an empty net. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who made 24 saves, had stopped the initial shot from Ryan Garbutt, sending the puck wide of the net with a pad save. The puck took a weird bounce off the boards behind the net and landed right at Roussel's skates, and he capitalized. John Klingberg and Ales Hemsky also scored for Dallas. J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes scored for New York. Vigneault chalked up the loss to one simple yet inescapable fact, a failure to manage the puck well. The Rangers struck first when Miller scored a power-play goal 5:57 into the first period. Miller received the puck from Mats Zuccarello at the Dallas blue line, then beat Lehtonen with a wrist shot over the goalie's left shoulder from the slot for his fifth goal. Dallas answered at 9:02 with a power-play goal from Klingberg from the high slot. Klingberg's initial shot was blocked by New York defenseman John Moore. However, Klingberg's second attempt sailed under Lundqvist's blocker for his fourth goal, first in 13 games. The Stars took their first lead with 4:14 left in the first when a Hemsky centering attempt deflected in off the stick of Rangers defenseman Marc Staal. Hemsky was behind the New York net when his backhand pass struck the shaft of Staal's stick and beat Lundqvist on his short side. The Rangers wasted little time tying the score. Kevin Hayes redirected a Staal shot for his fifth goal one minute after Hemsky had scored. Early in the second, with the Stars ahead 3-2, Dallas rookie defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka made a goal-saving play with a block on Moore's shot as Lehtonen had left the net unprotected. Lehtonen preserved the lead at 11:44 of the third period when he denied New York defenseman Dan Boyle at close range. Boyle's shot struck Lehtonen near his glove hand after the Dallas goalie moved out to cut down Boyle's angle. Lundqvist headed to the bench with 1:29 remaining in the third period. Dallas missed the empty net several times, but New York couldn't find the equalizer and took its first loss since Dec. 6 at the Detroit Red Wings. And even though New York lost for the first time in 23 days, Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh saw one big positive to take away from the loss.

Stars Quotes

Lindy Ruff: "I thought we played good (in the third period). We played smart. We were diligent in not giving the puck away. I thought we forechecked hard when we had some opportunities. I thought with their goalie out we stayed aggressive. We really didn't give them any set-up time. There was a lot of good in that third period."
John Klingberg: "It's a big thing for me. But it's just a goal, and it feels good to score again. And it's obviously on Henrik Lundqvist, so that's an extra thing, so it's kind of fun."
Alex Goligoski: "That was huge. I was already out of it and looking at the other corner and I was just listening to what was happening next and I didn't know he got it. But I owe him a big thank you, maybe a light beer. [Lehtonen] had some huge [saves]. He had huge ones in the first and second too, especially that one in the third. I think we fed off of that one really well, and we tightened things up pretty good. He was excellent all night."

Colorado Avalanche @ St Louis Blues 0-3 - 12/29

If this was Martin Brodeur's last game with the St. Louis Blues, or any NHL team for that matter, the likely Hall of Fame member made sure to add to his illustrious list of records. But judging by Brodeur's 16-save shutout, the 125th of his NHL career, the Blues' 3-0 victory against the Colorado Avalanche at Scottrade Center on Monday wasn't his final time between the pipes. Brodeur moved one step closer to 700 victories with No. 691, his first shutout since Dec. 14, 2013, when he was with the New Jersey Devils. He added to his NHL record for shutouts with his first with the Blues. His prior start against the Avalanche, on March 15, 2012, also was a shutout; he has stopped 54 consecutive shots against the Avalanche. With Brian Elliott's return from a lower-body injury imminent, St. Louis would have three goalies with him, Brodeur and Jake Allen, perhaps forcing a roster move. Brodeur (42 years, 237 days) became the oldest goalie with a shutout since Dominik Hasek (43 years, 61 days) on March 30, 2008, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Blues (22-11-3) got a goal each from Dmitrij Jaskin, Chris Butler and Vladimir Tarasenko. Former Avalanche center Paul Stastny had two assists, his first points against his former team since signing with the Blues as a free agent this summer. The Avalanche, who shut out the Blues 5-0 at home on Dec. 23, got 22 saves from Semyon Varlamov. Colorado (13-15-8) has been shut out six times this season. Jaskin gave the Blues a 1-0 lead when Stastny picked off Varlamov's clearing attempt along the boards. He fed Jaskin in the slot, and the left wing flipped a shot past former Blues defenseman Erik Johnson and through Varlamov's pads 28 seconds into the second period. Butler, from the suburb of Kirkwood, Mo., scored his first goal with the Blues when he took T.J. Oshie's drop pass along the left boards, skated to the front of the net and lifted a backhand over Varlamov's right shoulder at the near post 4:30 into the second for a 2-0 lead. Tarasenko's team-leading 22nd goal (a career high) came after the Avalanche couldn't clear a puck in the slot, and his wrist shot beat Varlamov with 4:35 remaining in the game. Brodeur made his best saves after a Barret Jackman giveaway in the first period. He stopped Marc-Andre Cliche's long-range shot and the rebound on Nick Holden coming in off the left side 6:17 into the game. Those were the types of saves the Blues had been missing in the recent stretch of games. They seemed to fuel them moving forward. The sellout crowd of 19,749 began their chants of "Marty! Marty! Marty!" with about 7:30 remaining in the game and didn't stop until well after it was over. Brodeur, who had long rivalries with Avalanche coach Patrick Roy, wondered if he'd get a chance at an empty-net goal. Colorado did not pull its goalie. With another victory, Brodeur pockets $20,000 as part of the incentives for each win he gets for the Blues. Do shutouts earn more? Blues forward Chris Porter sustained a lower-body injury 6:30 into the second period. He went to finish a check on Colorado's Nick Holden, the two got tangled up, and Porter went down awkwardly on his left leg. He needed to be helped off the ice. Hitchcock said Porter will be lost a minimum of six weeks and will be re-evaluated then.

Blues Quotes

Martin Brodeur: "I think I'm going to Nashville, I'm not sure. [Referring to the Blues' game on Tuesday]. I'm enjoying every moment of it. Whenever the decision will be made, hopefully I'll be the first to know and I'll be happy or disappointed one way or the other. It's been a great ride. If that's my last game, it's not a bad one to leave on. I appreciate them all. This one is in the new organization. This is the first one with the Blues. It definitely means a lot to me. The way we played today, you play so well, you deserve to be rewarded defensively. It's our job as goaltenders not to give up anything. It wasn't the hardest game to play, but you've still got to make the saves out there. Those are the saves you need to make, especially when you play a team that plays well defensively. Sometimes that one save makes a big difference. Definitely I gave up a big rebound. I was able to come across and make a save. I think from there it settled the game down a little better for us. They kind of chanted a little early for me. When you're working on the shutout, you're kind of like, 'Ah, not trying to think about things like that.' But it's nice to be appreciated by the people you play in front of most of the nights. These are all fun things for me to be a part of. I thought about it. It was like three minutes left and maybe [Roy] was going to do it. Usually he loves to do it, but maybe he was a little afraid. I forgot about that one."
Ken Hitchcock: "We're getting engaged. Starting to look and act like a team. Starting to behave properly, good things, started showing signs the last game. We've had real pockets of it. If you go back on the road trip, two great pockets in [Los Angeles]. Great pocket in San Jose. You really [have to] throw out the Colorado game (on Dec. 23). I think every coach probably throws out four games a year, that's one of them. Come back and play really well, but still got big errors in the Dallas game (Saturday) and then really solid today. We're building and moving in the right direction and starting to look and act like a cohesive unit, hopefully. Three real good ones early. We gave them a couple from the red tees there early and he made the big saves. I think everybody got excited. A little bit of debris from the last game. The disappointment was there in the first period, and once we got that first goal, the whole disposition of the team, we got back on our toes, stayed on our toes and played that way the whole rest of the night. I think Colorado got our worst, and then they got our best. They got our worst just before Christmas, and then they got our best today."
Chris Butler: "He was awesome tonight. I think he's gotten more comfortable here. He's been a tremendous teammate. For a guy with his credentials and his resume coming in here, he jelled right away and he fit in with the guys. Tonight was an awesome performance by him."

Opposition View

Jarome Iginla: "It's frustrating. We know we battled hard, now we've put ourselves back in a hole again. We've got to find that consistent part. We thought we were getting there as far as puck control and moving it, that confidence and creativity and finding that balance. Unfortunately, this game was, I think a step back, and it's a tough time because it puts us two back and under 500."

Pittsburgh Penguins @ New Jersey 1-3 - 12/29

Forward Jordin Tootoo played less than three minutes and didn't get on the scoresheet, but his New Jersey teammates felt he was the No. 1 star in a 3-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Prudential Center on Monday. It was the first win under Scott Stevens and Adam Oates, who were named co-coaches by general manager Lou Lamoriello on Saturday after firing Peter DeBoer on Friday. New Jersey (13-18-7) lost to the New York Rangers 3-1 on Saturday. Tootoo engaged in two second-period fights with Penguins defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, which energized the Devils. New Jersey scored shortly after each fight to take a 2-1 lead. The Devils trailed 1-0 when Tootoo engaged Bortuzzo, who delivered a hit to New Jersey forward Jaromir Jagr when the teams played Dec. 2. Two minutes later, this game was tied. Penguins center Andrew Ebbett was called for boarding at 4:55, and the Devils power play scored on its first shot. Defenseman Marek Zidlicky took a shot from the blue line that was tipped by Dainius Zubrus before Travis Zajac put the rebound past Marc-Andre Fleury at 5:33. Pittsburgh hadn't allowed a power-play goal in its past 17 times shorthanded. Tootoo and Bortuzzo fought again 16:16 into the second period, and the Devils controlled play shortly after. Jagr's goal at 18:40 gave the Devils a 2-1 lead. It was his 126th game-winning goal, extending his NHL record. Defenseman Jon Merrill made an outlet pass to Jagr, who skated from his blue line to the right circle and took a snap shot which went between defenseman Simon Despres' legs and under Fleury's arm. It was Jagr's 711th NHL goal and 1,776th point. He is six goals behind Phil Esposito for fifth on the all-time list. It was the fourth win for the Devils in their past 18 games (4-9-5). Adam Henrique extended the lead to 3-1 in the third period. He took a backhand that was stopped by Fleury, and after took two more whacks at the puck, it went in the net at 5:32. The Penguins (22-9-5) controlled most of the action in the first period but had two shots on goal in the first 12 minutes. They outshot the Devils 9-7 in the first period. Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby scored a highlight-reel goal at 14:37 of the first period. Forward Chris Kunitz passed to Crosby in the defensive zone, and he skated around New Jersey defenseman Andy Greene before backhanding the puck from inside the right circle behind Cory Schneider for his 11th goal, second in 13 games. The Penguins had chances to take a 2-0 lead in the first period. Forward Rob Klinkhammer passed the puck into the slot from behind the net, but Kunitz was unable to score from point-blank range with 1:20 left. Half a minute later, forward Evgeni Malkin did a spin-o-rama and fed a cross-ice pass to defenseman Derrick Pouliot, whose one-timer was stopped by Schneider. The Penguins are 0-3-1 in their past four games. Devils forward Stephen Gionta sustained a broken hand after blocking a shot in the second period. Lamoriello didn't give a timetable for his return.

Pens Quotes

Sidney Crosby: "We made a few mistakes. Give those guys chances, they are used to playing a pretty patient game. It was a much different game when we had the lead. It opened up a lot. We had the lead but unfortunately couldn't build on it."
Marc-Andre Fleury: "It doesn't happen to us often so it's very frustrating right now."

NHL Results - Mon, Dec 29, 2014

Detroit @ Boston 2-5 - Reilly Smith’s slap shot from the right point went past Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard 2:44 into the first period to put Boston ahead 1-0. The Red Wings answered when Justin Abdelkader scored at 11:21 on a backhand shot past Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask while falling down. During a delayed penalty, Campbell jumped on the ice as the extra attacker and wound up scoring from the slot on a rebound of a Torey Krug shot at 16:12 after a scramble in front of the net. The Bruins went ahead 3-1 on Soderberg’s goal from the left side of the slot after a pass from behind the net by Loui Eriksson, who finished with two assists. Detroit thought they had a second goal, but it was ruled both on the ice and in the NHL situation room that Tomas Tatar deflected the puck past Rask with a high stick at 18:58. Detroit cut Boston’s lead in half during a power play. Tatar’s wrist shot from the top of the right circle went past Rask through a Riley Sheahan screen at 15:10. Seth Griffith scored a power-play goal at 5:11 of the third period to give the Bruins a 4-2 lead.

Washington @ NY Islanders 3-4 OT - Johnny Boychuk's power-play goal with 2:07 left in overtime gave the Islanders a 4-3 victory. New York was awarded a four-minute power play with 1:04 remaining in the third period when Evgeny Kuznetsov was given a double minor for high-sticking. The man-advantage carried into overtime, and Boychuk received a pass from Ryan Strome and beat Holtby with a slap shot from the edge of the left circle. Lee gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead 8:15 into the game. Thomas Hickey took a cross-ice feed from Ryan Strome and let go a wrist shot from the left point that Lee redirected past Holtby for his eighth goal of the season. The Islanders made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 10:06 of the second period. After Tom Wilson was penalized for holding the stick, Visnovsky's slap shot from the left point hit Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik and got past Holtby to make it 2-0. Visnovsky was credited with his third goal of the season. De Haan scored shorthanded 1:41 into the third period. Moments before an interference penalty on Brock Nelson was set to expire, de Haan took a pass from John Tavares and beat Holtby with a slap shot from inside the left point to make it 3-0. Fehr scored with 15:20 remaining in the third period when he drove to the net and swatted Laich's feed past Halak to make it 3-1. It was Fehr's 10th goal of the season and third in the past two games. Backstrom made it 3-2 1:49 later with his 12th goal of the season. After de Haan was caught pinching near Washington's blue line, Ovechkin sent Backstrom in alone on a breakaway, and he beat Halak with a wrist shot. Ovechkin tied the game with 2:41 left when he collected the puck after Backstrom won a faceoff in the Islanders zone and beat Halak with a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle. It was Ovechkin's 17th goal of the season. Orpik left the game with 7:20 remaining in the third period with what appeared to be an injury to his right leg. He was involved in an awkward collision with Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck behind the Capitals net and needed to be helped to the dressing room. Orpik was given a two-minute roughing penalty on the play that was served by Michael Latta.

Montreal @ Carolina 3-1 - Price stopped the first 19 shots he faced before Hurricanes captain Eric Staal scored a power-play goal early in the third period. Montreal's Max Pacioretty hit the empty net with 22.1 seconds remaining. Ward made a series of great saves, his best stop of the period with seven minutes remaining when he gloved Sekac's slap shot from inside the left circle. The Canadiens appeared to score on Ward at 17:07, only to have referee Gord Dwyer immediately wave it off, ruling that Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher had interfered with Ward in the crease. Jordan Staal nearly put Carolina ahead 5:14 into the second period, but Price made a superb play to stop his deflection on the power play. It was Staal's first game of the season; after breaking his right fibula early in training camp. The Canadiens went ahead 6:45 into the second when Sekac, whose penalty set up Jordan Staal's chance, carried the puck down the left wall, reversed to shake free of a checker, then backhanded a shot through traffic and past Ward as he skated across the slot. It was his seventh goal of the season. Eller gave the Canadiens a two-goal lead at 18:45 with his eighth of the season. Defenseman Sergei Gonchar pinched to keep the puck in at the right point and fed Dale Weise. He slipped a backhand pass to Eller near the right faceoff dot for a quick shot that beat Ward high to the far side. The goal was the 21,000th in franchise history, including the Canadiens’ tenure in the National Hockey Association as well as the NHL. Eric Staal, playing in his 800th regular-season game, cut Montreal's lead in half 2:59 into the third period when he nudged home a rebound for his eighth goal of the season. But the Hurricanes couldn't get the tying goal despite outshooting the Canadiens 13-4 in the third period.

Buffalo @ Ottawa 2-5 - On the suggestion of assistant coach Mark Reeds, Senators coach Dave Cameron put Jean-Gabriel Pageau between Bobby Ryan and Mike Hoffman, and Ryan, on his way to a hat trick, scored his second with 1:19 to go in the period to tie the game 2-2. Ryan completed his fourth NHL hat trick, first with the Senators, at 3:02 of the third period for a 3-2 lead. Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson carried the puck into the Buffalo zone on the right wing and sent a pass to Ryan in the slot. His wrist shot found the top of the net.
Ryan's game started slowly; he missed a great chance when he was alone in front of the Buffalo net seven minutes into the first period. Clarke MacArthur, with his second goal in his past two games after not scoring in 16, made it 4-2 at 11:54 of the third. Ottawa forward Colin Greening was awarded the fifth goal, his first of the season, when he was heading to the empty net and was pulled down by Buffalo defenseman Nikita Zadorov with 2 seconds left. The shakeup of lines saw Mika Zibanejad, who had been skating with Ryan and Hoffman, wind up with Erik Condra and Colin Greening. David Legwand, who had been with Condra and Greening, centered Milan Michalek and Alex Chiasson. The Sabres took a 2-1 lead on Mark Pysyk's first goal of the season at 1:53 of the second period and the 11th of the season by Zemgus Girgensons at 8:37.


Toronto @ Tampa Bay 2-3 - Ryan Callahan's power-play goal in the second period sparked a rally, and Steven Stamkos scored the winning goal at 11:05 of the third period to lift the Lightning to a 3-2 victory. Stamkos, who was left uncovered in front of the crease, redirected defenseman Matthew Carle's shot from the blue line past Toronto goalie James Reimer for his 20th goal, capping Tampa Bay's come-from-behind victory. Callahan scored at 6:37 of the second period to cut the Toronto lead to 2-1 after Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul was sent to the penalty box for slashing. Stamkos' shot from the slot deflected off Reimer's pad, and Callahan slapped the puck out of the air and into the net.
The Lightning entered Monday with three goals on their previous 43 power-play chances. The Maple Leafs stormed out to a 2-0 lead in the first eight minutes of the game on goals from center Mike Santorelli and Lupul. The Lightning, however, controlled the play and held a 15-4 advantage in shots for the period.
Santorelli scored his eighth goal off a cross-ice pass from the odious Nazem Kadri. Santorelli took the pass inside the faceoff circle and flipped a shot past Lightning goalie Ben Bishop at 4:28 of the first period. Lupul gave the Maple Leafs a 2-0 lead at 7:47 of the first. He took a beautiful backhand feed from center Tyler Bozak and caught Bishop out of the crease for a shot at the open net. Lightning center Valtteri Filppula tied the game 2-2 at 9:46 of the second period when defenseman Victor Hedman's wrist shot from the right circle went off his skate and past Reimer on the stick side. It was Filppula's seventh goal.


Minnesota @ Winnipeg 3-2 - Minnesota were losing 2-0 on the road, Winnipeg goaltender Michael Hutchinson looked sharp, and a regulation loss would have left the Wild 11 points behind the Jets in the Western Conference standings. But three second-period goals lifted the Wild to a 3-2 win. The Wild were playing without first-line center Mikael Granlund, who fractured his left wrist Saturday. Granlund had surgery Monday, and the Wild announced that he will be out four weeks. The Jets had one shot in the first 12 minutes of the game, but they took a 1-0 lead late in the first period when Frolik's snap shot from the right circle slipped past Kuemper on the man advantage at 16:00. It was Frolik's eighth goal; he has at least a point in four of his past six games (two goals, three assists). Winnipeg closed the first period by killing a Minnesota 5-on-3 power play that lasted 1:53 after Dustin Byfuglien and Jay Harrison took back-to-back minors. Perreault put the Jets ahead 2-0 with a tap-in off a cross-crease pass from Wheeler 20 seconds into the second period. Five of Perreault's nine goals have come in the past five games. Perreault saw his eight-game point streak (five goals, four assists) come to an end Saturday, leaving him one game shy of tying his career-high. After Perreault scored, the Sutter-Brodziak-Carter line began to chip away at Winnipeg's lead. Carter cut Winnipeg's lead in half at 4:12 when Jets defenseman Paul Postma touched the puck inside the defensive zone and negated an imminent Wild high stick. Carter finished the play with a shot high over Hutchinson for his third goal. Fontaine's third goal tied the game 2-2. He took a pass from Sutter and beat Hutchinson from in close with 3:29 left in the second period. Scandella gave the Wild a 3-2 lead with 11.4 seconds left in the second period with a long slap shot from the left point that deflected off Harrison and eluded Hutchinson. Scandella's goal moved his point streak to a career-high four games (three goals, two assists), and his nine goals tie him for fifth in the NHL among defensemen.


Nashville @ Chicago 4-5 SO - The Predators were impressive, but the Blackhawks were relentless at the United Center. After falling behind by three goals in the second period and trailing by one late in regulation, the Blackhawks tied it with 1:13 left in the third period and won 5-4 in a shootout to remain atop the Central Division. Jonathan Toews scored the lone goal of the shootout in the first round, and none of the Predators' three shooters got a puck past goalie Corey Crawford (36 saves in regulation and OT). Providing the opportunity to win was forward Bryan Bickell, whose goal off a rebound tied it 4-4 with the Chicago net empty. The forwards on the ice were scheduled to come off for a line change; they stayed out a little longer and it paid off. Crawford and Pekka Rinne (38 saves) each made great saves in overtime to keep the game tied after facing a combined 82 shots in regulation. Toews beat Rinne with a shot between the pads in the shootout, which ended after a wrist shot by Predators forward Filip Forsberg went wide of the net in the top of third. Crawford made saves against defenseman Ryan Ellis and forward Craig Smith.
It was Chicago's third win in four games against Nashville, who had a chance to replace the Blackhawks atop the division with a win in regulation. It looked like that might happen until three straight Chicago goals in the second erased a 3-0 lead for Nashville and Bickell's goal in made a 4-3 margin disappear. Neal did his part. The goals he scored were his fourth and fifth this season against the Blackhawks, after a hat trick Oct. 23 in Nashville's 3-2 win. Neal has 12 goals and five assists in 18 games against Chicago. Brad Richards, Andrew Shaw and Marian Hossa scored consecutive goals in the second to tie it 3-3 following Neal's first. Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith had three assists, and Bickell assisted on Shaw's goal for a two-point game. Roman Josi and Craig Smith scored in the first period to give the Predators a 2-0 lead, but Chicago's resiliency was enough to drop Nashville's record to 8-2-0 when leading after one period and 14-2-0 when ahead after two. Nashville was left with a bitter taste again in a series that had three one-goal games and two that went past regulation. The Predators appeared in great shape with Rinne protecting a three-goal lead, but the Blackhawks countered with goals by Richards (10:33), Shaw (15:48) and Hossa, who scored at 17:43 on a power play. Neal countered with his second of the game and 13th of the season to cap a power play, but the Blackhawks refused to let it be the game's last goal.


Los Angeles @ Calgary 1-2 - With a step on Los Angeles defenseman Jake Muzzin off the rush, Hudler pulled up and found Glencross trailing, and Glencross beat Kings goalie Jonathan Quick to the blocker side with his eighth goal to put Calgary up 1-0 at 12:13. Hudler helped the Flames strike again 62 seconds later. Rookie Johnny Gaudreau stepped around defenseman Matt Greene at the Los Angeles blue line and fed Hudler, who spotted Granlund trailing in the slot. Granlund slid his fifth goal into a nearly empty net to extend the Calgary lead to 2-0. After Kings forward Dustin Brown and Flames center Sean Monahan each put a shot off the goal post, Toffoli pulled Los Angeles back to within one late in the second. Catching Calgary on a late line change, Brown sprung Toffoli in alone on Flames goalie Jonas Hiller. Toffoli deked and lifted a backhand over Hiller for his 12th goal with 50.1 seconds remaining in the period. Toffoli almost tied it with 14 seconds left in the second. Gaudreau's turnover in the Calgary zone ended up on the stick of the Kings forward, but Hiller denied Toffoli with an outstretched pad. Hiller was equally good in the third in denying Tanner Pearson's wraparound attempt with 8:19 remaining and facing point shots from Drew Doughty and Muzzin the next shift. After killing off a late penalty to Jarret Stoll, Los Angeles pressed with the net empty but couldn't beat Hiller for the tying goal with a scrum in the dying seconds.


Philadelphia @ Phoenix 2-4 - Devan Dubnyk went post-to-post to stop Vincent Lecavalier with 50.1 seconds to preserve the lead, and Vermette scored his second of the night into an empty net with 28 seconds left. Vermette was originally credited with a first-period goal that was later changed back to captain Shane Doan, but wasn't concerned that he lost out on a fourth career hat trick.
Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson had what proved to be the game-winning goal when he scored early in the third period for the Coyotes, who have won three straight at Gila River Arena since setting a franchise record with nine straight losses on home ice. Umberger pulled the Flyers within 3-1 when he scored at 12:11 off a Mark Streit feed, then tipped home a Sean Couturier shot on the power play with 4:47 left to make it 3-2. Vermette raced into the Philadelphia zone, dropped a pass to Doan and kept charging toward to net. Doan's slap shot hit a Flyer defender, not Vermette as originally thought, and went past Mason on the short side at 18:26. The Coyotes took that momentum into a second period, when they controlled the play and doubled their lead.
Mason made a nice save on Tobias Rieder's backhanded scoring bid and another on a chance in tight by Doan, but Vermette got him again at 15:31. Good work along the boards by Sam Gagner led to a shot from the point by defenseman Zbynek Michalek. Mason stopped it, but the rebound popped right to Vermette in the crease; he fought off Streit and had plenty of room to put it away. The Coyotes took a three-goal lead early on the third period after Scott Laughton hooked down Rieder in the slot. Mikkel Boedker set up Ekman-Larson for a shot that beat Mason to the far corner at 2:48 at the Coyotes had a rare and, for a short time, comfortable 3-0 lead.

NHL Results - Sun, Dec 28, 2014

Toronto @ Florida 4-6 - Right wing Brad Boyes scored the game-winning goal with a little more than three minutes left to cap the comeback. Defensemen Dmitry Kulikov and Willie Mitchell scored 7:24 apart in the third to tie the game 4-4. After a scoreless first period, Toronto and Florida combined for six goals in the second, and the Maple Leafs took a 4-2 lead into the second intermission.
But in the third period, the Maple Leafs couldn't keep the Panthers out of their zone, and Florida created more traffic in front of Toronto goaltender James Reimer. Toronto took advantage of some sloppy defensive play by Florida to rack up four goals in the second period, three of which came in a span of 4:43.
Toronto right wing Richard Panik opened the scoring at 6:39 of the second. He grabbed the puck off the boards near the Maple Leafs bench, skated deep into the Panthers zone and beat Luongo short side for his seventh goal. Huberdeau tied the game with his fourth goal 1:45 later. Seconds after Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad's shot from the point hit the post, Huberdeau pounced on a turnover in the Maple Leafs zone, then came in alone on Reimer and sent a high wrist shot over the Toronto goalie's right shoulder. Hayes gave Florida the 2-1 lead less than two minutes later. He scored his 10th goal after taking a pass on a 3-on-2 from left wing Sean Bergenheim. With 5:44 left in the second period, Toronto defenseman Roman Polak took a long pass from right wing Joffrey Lupul and put a wrist shot past Luongo, who was sliding to his right, for his fourth goal. Lupul's assist was his 400th career point. Left wing James van Riemsdyk gave the Maple Leafs the 3-2 lead with 2:30 left in the second period on a power play. Center Tyler Bozak put the puck in front of the Panthers net, where van Riemsdyk got his stick on it and shot it over Luongo's extended right leg for his 16th goal. Toronto center Nazem Kadri put the Maple Leafs up 4-2 with 1:01 left in the second period. Lupul came streaking down the left wing and put the puck in front of the Florida net. Kadri came straight in and beat Luongo glove side for his 11th goal. Kulikov scored his first goal of the season on a one-timer at 2:45 of the third period to cut the lead to 4-3. He was left alone at the point with a lot of space. Mitchell tied it with 9:51 left in the third on a slap shot from the left point. It was his second goal. Boyes put Florida ahead 5-4 on a tip-in at 16:45 for his sixth goal, and Upshall scored an empty-net goal with 1:25 left. Toronto right wing Carter Ashton returned to the lineup after serving a 20-game suspension for a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs. Ashton was sent down to the Marlies on Dec. 19 on a conditioning assignment before being recalled Saturday.
Vancouver @ Anaheim 1-2 OT - Cam Fowler put in a rebound at 2:42 of overtime after Vancouver goalie Ryan Miller kicked out the puck on Devante Smith-Pelly's redirect attempt off a pass from Ryan Getzlaf. Sucks defenseman Francois Beauchemin's first goal this season at 6:52 of the third tied the game 1-1. Getzlaf won a faceoff against Bo Horvat cleanly to Beauchemin, who was playing his second game since returning after missing nearly a month with a broken finger. Canucks defenseman Yannick Weber scored his third goal on a long, seeing-eye wrist shot from the right side that found the corner of the net 2:04 into the second period. Vancouver dumped the puck in, and Jannik Hansen threw it back out to Weber, who has two goals in the past three games. Andrew Cogliano took a no-look pass from Jakob Silfverberg and hit the crossbar just before the horn. Cogliano also hit the post with about two minutes left in regulation. Vancouver's missed golden chance came when Daniel Sedin lost the puck on a breakaway in overtime.

San Jose Sharks @ Los Angeles Kings 1-3 - 12/27

The Los Angeles Kings learned their lesson over the Christmas break. Jake Muzzin and Anze Kopitar scored back-to-back power-play goals to give the Kings a 3-1 win against the San Jose Sharks at Staples Center on Saturday. The Kings (18-11-7) snapped San Jose's six-game point streak (5-0-1) and avoided consecutive home losses for the first time this season. The victory came after the Kings blew a 3-1 third-period lead at home Monday in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames. It was an uncharacteristic breakdown for the Kings, who cited more consistency and reducing their goals-against as areas in need of improvement coming out of the four-day break. They held the Sharks (19-12-5) to 13 shots through two periods and held the NHL's top-ranked power play scoreless on two late opportunities. Muzzin's slap shot went into the net off Sharks goalie Antti Niemi's chest at 3:18 of the third period to finish a sequence of excellent puck movement and give the Kings a two-goal lead. Kopitar converted Marian Gaborik's rebound on the power play at 10:13 of the second to put Los Angeles ahead to stay. Gaborik tried to backhand the puck five-hole on Niemi but it went to the right side, where Kopitar was open. James Sheppard was in the penalty box for an offensive-zone tripping penalty on Kings defenseman Jamie McBain. Los Angeles is 10-for-23 on the power play in its past five games. The Kings have scored two or more power-play goals in four straight games for the first time since 1993. The Kings tied the Sharks with 43 points in the standings, and they are an impressive 6-1-3 against the Pacific Division. San Jose did not have sustained pressure in the last half of the game outside of a shift that produced a power play at the end of the second period. The Sharks got no shots on that power play and two on Justin Williams' tripping penalty with 3:50 left. The Sharks' 22 shots were their third-lowest total this season. Coach Todd McLellan didn't even like their first period and was concerned about his team's 5-on-5 play. Tyler Toffoli snapped a 10-game scoring slump to tie the game 1-1 in the first period. McBain made a terrific diagonal pass to Toffoli on the left side as the Sharks were caught puck-watching, and Toffoli shot the puck into an open net at 14:04. The Kings could have taken a first-period lead but Niemi stopped Jeff Carter on a partial breakaway. Pavelski gave San Jose an early lead when he scored his 17th goal 2:39 into the game. Williams lost the puck to Joe Thornton in the corner, and Thornton fed Pavelski for a shot that dribbled through goaltender Jonathan Quick and skidded across the goal line. Williams' giveaway was one of eight by the Kings in the first period and 17 overall by L.A. But San Jose couldn't take advantage. Did the hiatus kill San Jose's momentum? San Jose left wing Micheal Haley played in his first NHL game since May 25, 2013; he was recalled Friday from the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League. McBain's three-game point streak is his longest since December 2011. Sutter passed Tom Webster for fifth on the Kings all-time list for coaching victories.

Sharks Quotes

Joe Pavelski: "It's such a fine line sometimes with the power play. We had a few looks and we didn't score. They had a few looks and they scored, so we have to get back to the basics and get pucks out, be in a [passing] lane, and be a little tighter. When we were a little aggressive it was probably not the right time."
Todd McLellan: "They [Kings] were a better team the whole night. The obvious is we were beat in special-teams situations. I think that's real evident. But I think there's much more to it than that. A lot of the grinding part and the hard part of the game, we were beaten in those areas as well. They were better on the walls. They were better defending, taking time and space away. Their forecheck was better."
Tommy Wingels: "If it would have been just us on the break, maybe, but the whole league was on a break, so you can't use that as any sort of excuse."

Dallas Stars @ St Louis Blues 4-3 - 12/27

The Dallas Stars have been opportunistic on the road recently. They had to withstand a push by the St. Louis Blues in the third period on Saturday. The Stars won their fourth straight away from American Airlines Center and their first game within the Central Division this season in a 4-3 victory against the Blues at Scottrade Center. The Stars (15-14-5) got goals from Travis Moen, Ryan Garbutt, Trevor Daley and Jason Demers. Kari Lehtonen made 30 saves and the Stars improved to 1-7-3 within the Central. The Blues (21-11-3), who have lost four straight (0-3-1), got goals from Alex Pietrangelo, Vladimir Tarasenko and David Backes. Jake Allen made 20 saves, but the Blues lost for the first time in regulation on home ice since Nov. 8 (7-1-1). Mistakes continue to be magnified for St. Louis, which has been as disciplined as any team in the NHL. But not in this recent stretch. The Blues got things going in the third period and had multiple chances to tie the game but couldn't come up with the equalizer. The Stars converted twice against the Blues' struggling penalty kill (they've allowed 10 goals in 32 tries the past six games) in the second period to take command of the game and break a 2-2 tie. Daley weaved through the Blues and beat Allen on the short side with a wrist shot at 7:41 of the period. Demers snuck behind the Blues' defense, took Erik Cole's pass and beat Allen on the Stars' 18th shot with 47.4 seconds left in the period to make it 4-2. Stars coach Lindy Ruff and Hitchcock said to expect a lot of loose play in games coming out of the Christmas break, and that's what they saw in the first period.
Each team scored twice, and had ample ice to convert goals as well as commit mistakes. Moen, who missed five games because of an upper-body injury, returned to the lineup to score his first in 22 games this season after Allen mishandled a puck behind the net. The puck squirted to the side and Moen knocked it into an open net 2:08 into the game. Pietrangelo tied it for the Blues 27 seconds later off a shot from Paul Stastny that Lehtonen kicked into the slot, and Pietrangelo snapped a quick shot past the Stars goalie. Rookie Petteri Lindbohm's turnover in his own zone, a cross-ice pass, was intercepted by Garbutt, who beat Allen with a slap shot top-shelf with 5:14 left in the period to give the Stars a 2-1 lead. But Tarasenko's team-leading 21st of the season and 100th NHL point on the power play off an Alexander Steen shot that was blocked towards the left circle with 3:50 left in the period tied the game 2-2. Backes cut the Stars' lead to 4-3 when Backes redirected Jay Bouwmeester's point shot past Lehtonen at 5:40 of the third period. The Blues pushed and pushed, but Lehtonen was up to the task making big saves on T.J. Oshie and Pietrangelo to keep it a one-goal game. The Stars were able to protect the lead.

Stars Quotes

Jamie Benn: "We found a way to come in here and get two points, that's all we came for. "Finding a way to play with that one-goal lead finds ways to win games. It's time for us to start locking down leads we have and I think we did a pretty good job tonight."
Trevor Daley: "Always a good feeling, got two tonight [on the power play], got the two points so [we're] going home happy. We felt we could shoot a little bit more, we're still working to get better."
Lindy Ruff: "Started a little sloppy; first couple of goals, both teams would like to have back. We had some good opportunities.""We played pretty smart in the third period with a two-goal lead."

Blues Quotes

Ken Hitchcock: "I think the mistakes have been the same they've been for four games. Other than the game in San Jose [last Saturday], I think they've been the same mistakes. Can't defend our own zone. We're going to have to play with the same ferocity in our own zone than we do in the offensive zone. We won every board battle. When we were chasing the game in the offensive zone, we won a lot of board battles. We came up with a lot of pucks, but the sense of urgency to do that in our 'D' zone is not there so we get scored on. I think it shows up on 'PK.' It shows up 5-on-5."
Alex Pietrangelo: "I thought we came out with a little bit of bite in the third. We just took too much a little too late."

Washington Crapitals @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 - 12/27

In a game full of star forwards, Washington Crapitals goalie Braden Holtby stole the show. Holtby made 31 saves, and forward Eric Fehr scored twice to give the Capitals a 3-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center on Saturday. Fehr scored what proved to be the game-winning goal with 2:13 remaining in an evenly played first period. Washington forward Jay Beagle centered the puck from behind the Pittsburgh net after receiving a pass from forward Brooks Laich. Beagle's pass deflected off the stick of Pittsburgh defenseman Scott Harrington and toward goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, whose pad kept the puck from trickling across the goal line. Fehr crashed the net and got to the rebound before Harrington or defenseman Kris Letang could clear it. Fehr placed a wrist shot over Fleury's right pad. There weren't many scoring chances between two of the NHL's more potent offenses during the first period. But what it lacked in scoring, it made up for in physicality, with 33 hits. Three of the Capitals' 14 first-period hits came from defenseman Brooks Orpik, who faced the Penguins for the first time after playing 11 seasons for Pittsburgh. Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen and assistant coach Todd Reirden, who each were with the Penguins last season, shared the experience with Orpik. Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist did not return following the first period after being hit by a slap shot from Harrington midway through. He limped to the bench but returned to the ice shortly after and finished the period. Forwards Jayson Megna and Bobby Farnham each played alongside Evgeni Malkin and Brandon Sutter in Hornqvist's absence. Penguins coach Mike Johnston did not provide an update on Hornqvist's status after the game. Beagle caught Pittsburgh on a line change to earn a breakaway at 2:43 into the second period. Beagle went forehand to backhand, but Fleury denied him with a right-pad save. Penguins forward Sidney Crosby had a similar chance almost three minutes later after receiving a pass from Marcel Goc that sent him toward the Capitals net. Crosby also attempted to go forehand to backhand, but Holtby matched Fleury's timely save with one of his own, robbing Crosby 6:13 into the period. Center Marcus Johansson scored his 10th goal, tied for third on the Capitals, to give Washington that two-goal lead 6:36 into the third period. A turnover by Crosby sent Johansson skating 2-on-1 with Troy Brouwer facing Harrington. Johansson kept the puck and placed a wrist shot stick-side on Fleury. Fehr's second goal made it 3-0 with 9:44 remaining. Forward Joel Ward deflected a shot from defenseman John Carlson through the crease in front of Fleury. Fehr dove at the rebound and backhanded it for his ninth goal. Holtby made 12 saves in the third period for his 16th win and third shutout. The Capitals (18-11-6) have won seven of their past 10 games, earning a point in nine. Pittsburgh (22-8-5) has lost three in a row. The Penguins lost two consecutive games in regulation for the first time this season, including a 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

Pens Quotes

Sidney Crosby: "It's frustrating. We were close. Especially in the second, I thought we generated a lot of momentum and carried it into the third. That next goal's so important and they grabbed momentum with that second goal."
Mike Johnston: "It was a 1-0 game with 10 minutes left or 11 minutes left in the game. So, we were still right there in the game. The shots were even at that time, and I thought in the third period, we had a couple chances in the third. We had a really good shift and we just couldn't bury one."

NHL Results - Sat, Dec 27, 2014

NY Islanders @ Buffalo 3-4 SO - Tyler Ennis scored in the shootout and Jhonas Enroth stopped all three shooters to give the Sabres a 4-3 win against the Islanders at First Niagara Center. The Islanders jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two periods with a goal from Nick Leddy in the first period and two from Tavares in the second, but the Sabres scored three times in 5:12 in the third to tie the game. Nic Deslauriers made it 3-1 with 13:21 left in the third period with his fourth goal of the season and second in as many games. Deslauriers received a pass from Stafford in the high slot and took a wrist shot that beat Islanders goalie Kevin Poulin for his fourth goal of the season. The goal also extended Deslauriers point streak to three games. Girgensons made it 3-2 with a shorthanded goal with 9:59 left. Girgensons took a pass from Deslauriers and broke in against Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk. Girgensons' wrist shot beat Poulin to the stick side for his 10th goal of the season. Stewart tied the game 3-3 with 8:09 remaining. Stewart took a pass from Stafford, deked and then beat Poulin with a backhand shot for his fifth goal of the season.

Detroit @ Ottawa 3-2 OT - Nyquist made two laps of the Senators zone and scored with 48 seconds left in overtime to give the Red Wings a 3-2 win. Nyquist had control of the puck for 28 seconds, fighting off the checks of Senators wing Clarke MacArthur and defenseman Jared Cowen before turning and shooting past goaltender Craig Anderson. The Red Wings needed three seconds of a penalty to Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki early in the third period to tie the game 2-2. With Borowiecki off for interference, Datsyuk won a faceoff straight back from Jean-Gabriel Pageau, the second time the Red Wings won that matchup for a goal. The puck went to Kronwall, who passed it to Zetterberg at the right point. His shot beat Anderson to the glove side at 3:58.

The Red Wings had a chance to take the lead with Detroit defenseman Jonathan Ericsson in the box when Darren Helm stripped the puck from Karlsson at the Senators blue line and broke in on Anderson. He got his left toe on Helm's backhand attempt. The Senators played a strong first period and led 1-0 on Mike Hoffman's 11th goal of the season, but the Red Wings tied the game with 14 seconds left. After Anderson (24 saves) froze the puck with 41 seconds to go, Cameron sent Pageau, a recent call-up from the American Hockey League, out for the faceoff against Datsyuk. The Red Wings veteran won the draw, and Zetterberg shot wide to Anderson's right. The carom off the end boards was controlled by Abdelkader, who got body position on Cowen and defensemen Cody Ceci in front of the net as the puck came out the other side. Abdelkader's backhand along the goal line hit Anderson and went into the net.
Carolina @ Tampa Bay 1-2 - Alex Killorn scored at 4:53 of the third period gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead. He took a pass from Ryan Callahan at center ice and sent a snap shot between defensemen Tim Gleason and Michal Jordan and past goalie Cam Ward high on the glove side. It was Killorn's eighth goal of the season. Carolina struggled to get scoring opportunities for much of the game but Andrej Sekera made it 2-1 at 14:04 of the third period when he controlled the puck out of a scrum in front of the net and flipped the puck past goalie Ben Bishop. Kucherov scored his 15th goal of the season at 8:50 of the first period when he took a pass in the slot from Ondrej Palat and sent a one-timer past Ward high on the glove side.
New Jersey @ NY Rangers 1-3 - The Devils played their first game since firing coach Peter DeBoer on Friday. Adam Oates and Scott Stevens were named co-coaches Saturday with president and general manager Lou Lamoriello also working behind the bench for an undetermined period of time. Oates is handling the forwards and Stevens is overseeing the defensemen. The Rangers scored first after forward Dominic Moore was called for a holding penalty. Stepan stole the puck from Devils forward Travis Zajac at the blue line. Devils goalie Cory Schneider failed at a poke-check, but Stepan caught up to it and beat Schneider five-hole for the Rangers' fourth shorthanded goal of the season at 18:14. With New Jersey forward Jordin Tootoo off for holding at 6:51 of the second period, New York defenseman Dan Boyle took a pass from forward Derick Brassard at the left circle and fed Martin St. Louis at the right point. St. Louis' shot deflected off Stepan's leg past Schneider at 7:38. The Devils made it 2-1 off an odd-man rush completed when defenseman Eric Gelinas faked a shot and sailed a pass to an open Steve Bernier, who put the puck past Lundqvist's outstretched glove at 10:23. During a Devils power play late in the second period, Gelinas nearly tied it, but his slap shot from the left circle hit the post with 1:01 left. The Devils had their best chance in the third after forward Rick Nash was called for hooking at 11:23, but Lundqvist stopped Bernier and Jaromir Jagr in front. Lundqvist also denied Adam Henrique's one-timer off Jagr's feed and managed to get a glove on Scott Gomez's chance with 4:20 remaining. Stepan completed the scoring with an empty-netter at 18:05.
Boston @ Columbus 2-6 - Scott Hartnell scored each of his goals in front of the net. He scored on a rebound in the first period and had a redirection from the slot as part of a four-goal second period by the Blue Jackets. Niklas Svedberg left a rebound on Hartnell’s first goal in the first period and had trouble with the third goal, a shot from the blue line by defenseman Kevin Connauton 6:32 into the second period. Connauton, claimed off waivers Nov. 18 from the Dallas Stars, assisted on each of Hartnell’s goals. Connauton has four goals and three assists in 14 games with the Blue Jackets after having two assists in eight games with the Stars. Nick Foligno converted a goalmouth pass from Johnson during a power play with 10:34 left in the second to give the Blue Jackets a 4-1 lead. Foligno’s 17 goals are one shy of his career high set last season in 70 games. Cunningham made it 4-2 with 3:32 remaining in the second period after a shot from the right blue line by center Gregory Campbell. The puck hit Cunningham in front of the net for his second goal. Calvert capped the second period when he stole the puck from Bruins forward Milan Lucic along the right half wall and scored unassisted from the circle for his fourth goal. Morin in the third scored his first goal in five games for the Blue Jackets since being traded by the Chicago Blackhawks.
Winnipeg @ Minnesota 4-3 OT - Andrew Ladd was credited with the game-winning goal at 2:47 of overtime, giving the Jets a 4-3 win. But again it was the stanchion that provided the critical bounce. Ladd's shot from the slot missed, but the puck caromed off the back glass, off the top of the net and rolled down goaltender John Curry's back into the net for the winner. The Wild took a 1-0 lead on a first-period goal by Mikael Granlund, capping a give-and-go with Jason Pominville. The latter passed entering the zone to Granlund heading to the slot, where he snuck the puck under goalie Michael Hutchinson at 16:03. Winnipeg (19-10-7) tied the game 7:17 into the second period on an off-speed backhand by Little that slipped through Curry's five-hole. The Jets took a 2-1 lead early in the third period after Curry left a rebound. Adam Lowry, battling in front, poked at the loose puck at 1:52. Pominville scored from the top of the right circle at 10:38 to tie the game 2-2. After a holding penalty on Ladd, Blake Wheeler scored shorthanded, ending a 2-on-1 rush with a tip-in at the top of the crease at 12:09. Less than a minute later, Thomas Vanek tipped a point shot by Jared Spurgeon, tying the game at 3-3 at 12:41.
Philadelphia @ Nashville 1-4 - Forsberg gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 9:42 of the first period. His wrist shot from the faceoff circle beat Flyers goaltender Ray Emery on the glove side for his 14th goal of the season. Flyers forward Claude Giroux tied the game 1-1 at 6:50 of the period on a wrist shot that beat Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne. Giroux caught the puck out of midair and chose to shoot on the 2-on-1 rush. Nashville had a two-man advantage in the second period, and Fisher gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 13:57. He was able to find the puck in a scrum in front of Emery and push it past the goal line. Wilson gave Nashville a 3-1 lead at 14:35 on a wrist shot from the faceoff circle. It was Wilson's ninth goal of the season and third in the past three games. He scored an empty-net goal with 3:18 remaining in the third period. Wilson credits the system change in Nashville this season for allowing him to find more consistency in his game. He has 10 goals in 32 games after scoring 11 in 81 games last season.
Anaheim @ Phoenix 1-2 SO - Shane Doan hadn't been selected to take part in a shootout all season. He hadn't put a puck into a net at Gila River Arena all season. But when Dave Tippett called his captain's name in the fourth round of the tiebreaker Saturday, Doan used what he called "my exploding stick shot" to score a one-of-a-kind goal. Doan broke his stick on his attempted shot, but the blade flew up and over the shoulder of distracted goalie Frederick Andersen while the puck slid inside the post to give the Coyotes a 2-1 win against the Anaheim Sucks. Andersen made 28 saves and stopped Mikkel Boedker, Sam Gagner and Antoine Vermette before Doan's sleight of stick. Getzlaf used his reach to keep control of the puck at the right circle and made a centering pass that the hard-charging Bourque was able to punch past Dubnyk at 9:16. Bourque's second goal of the season enabled Getzlaf to extend his scoring streak to seven games, and his 21 points are the most of any player in the League since Nov. 29. The Coyotes needed all of 1:13 to even the score; Michalek, who was victimized on the Bourque goal, was able to balance his books. Gagner had a strong shift with a shot and a nifty setup to Martin Erat in the slot before he ran down a loose put in the corner. Gagner got the puck to Erat, who set up Michalek for a shot from the right point. Gagner skated through the crease and screened Andersen as Michalek's shot found the far top corner of the net.
Chicago @ Colorado 5-2 - Patrick Sharp celebrated his 33rd birthday with a power-play goal at 8:14 of the third period to give Chicago a 4-2 lead and Kane scored into an empty net with 5.4 seconds to play. Kane has six goals and seven assists in the past eight games. Brent Seabrook scored the tie-breaking goal with a shot from the right circle that went past Avalanche defenseman Jan Hejda and sailed by goalie Calvin Pickard with MacKinnon in the penalty box for delay of game. MacKinnon opened the scoring for Colorado at 6:56 with his first goal in 17 games. He took a pass from Maxime Talbot, raced down right wing and beat Crawford to the far side. The Blackhawks responded at 7:27 when Toews passed across the slot to Brandon Saad for a shot through a crowd of players screening Pickard. Johnson put the Avalanche ahead at 8:53 with a shot from the right point that eluded Crawford to the short side. The goal was Johnson's 10th of the season, matching his career-high, and stretched his goal streak to four games. He has six goals in the past six games. Kane tied it for Chicago at 16:19. Duncan Keith shot from the right point and Kane, while skating to the net, deflected it past Pickard. The Avalanche killed two penalties in the period and came close to scoring on each. Alex Tanguay had a semi-breakaway with Ryan O'Reilly in the box for tripping, but he skated too deep on the left and hit the outside of the post at 3:53. Talbot shot the puck off the far post from the left wing at 11:51 with Zach Redmond off for interference.
Edmonton @ Calgary 1-4 - Paul Byron burst into the Edmonton zone and tried to send a centering pass into the slot that bounced off Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl and on net. Fasth couldn't find the rebound before Colborne, who tucked his first of the season across the goal line to put Calgary up 1-0 at 7:08 and snap a 26-game goal-less streak dating back to last season. At 8:32, Gaudreau extended that lead with his first of two. Under pressure, Oilers forward Mark Acrobello threw a cross-zone pass that David Perron batted out of mid-air, but it went back into the slot for Gaudreau, who slipped a backhand five-hole to put Calgary up 2-0 at 8:32. Off the ensuing draw, TJ Brodie corralled the puck behind his own net before spotting Jiri Hudler up ice. Gaudreau scooped up the puck from Hudler at Edmonton's blue line and went in alone on Fasth. Gaudreau fumbled a deke that found its way between Fasth's legs to extend Calgary's lead to three at 8:48. The Oilers did get one past Hiller 4:23 into the third period after Justin Schultz's wrist shot from the point deflected off Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and behind Hiller to cut the lead to 3-1.

Curtis Glencross restored the three-goal lead with 9:43 remaining in regulation when he took a no-look pass from Matt Stajan from below the goal line and beat Scrivens, who made 19 saves in relief.

St Louis Blues @ Colorado Avalanche 0-5 - 12/23

Five players scored goals for the Colorado Avalanche, who played a strong defensive game in front of goalie Semyon Varlamov to defeat the St. Louis Blues 5-0 at Pepsi Center on Tuesday for their season-best third consecutive win. Varlamov, in his first game since Dec. 5, made 12 of his 26 saves in the third period for his second shutout of the season, 11th with the Avalanche and 15th of his NHL career. He missed the previous six games because of a groin injury, his third such injury this season. The win was Varlamov's first since Nov. 15 against the New Jersey Devils. The Avalanche (13-13-8) are 4-0-2 in their past six games, reached .500 for the first time this season, and moved into sixth place in the Central Division, one point ahead of the Dallas Stars. Varlamov, a Vezina Trophy finalist last season, continued to give the Avalanche the strong goaltending they received from rookie Calvin Pickard in his absence. St. Louis (21-10-3) was outscored 14-6 in going 0-2-1 on a three-game road trip. The Avalanche outshot the Blues 17-7 in the second period. Alex Tanguay and Iginla scored at even strength and Ryan O'Reilly had a power-play goal to give Colorado a 5-0 lead heading into the third. Blues goalie Jake Allen, who faced 31 shots, was replaced by Martin Brodeur to begin the third period. The Avalanche outshot the Blues 41-26 for the game. Tanguay was credited with his team-leading 12th goal at 5:49 of the second period. Iginla took a shot from the right circle that hit Tanguay in front and bounced off Allen into the net. O'Reilly, who rang a shot off the post at 14:30, scored with the Avalanche working with the man advantage at 16:47. Gabriel Landeskog passed to O'Reilly at the base of the right circle as Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk sprawled on the ice in front of the net. O'Reilly shot the puck under Allen's left arm. Iginla made it 5-0 at 17:27. He took a drop pass from John Mitchell and beat Allen to the stick side. Johnson and Zach Redmond scored late first-period goals to give the Avalanche a 2-0 lead. Matt Duchene passed to Johnson, who moved to his left above the left circle and beat screened Allen inside the far post at 15:02 for his ninth goal, one short of his career-high, set with the Blues in 2009-10. Johnson had two goals in the Blues' 3-2 overtime win Dec. 13. He has a goal in three consecutive games and five goals in the past five. Redmond scored a power-play goal at 18:45. He skated down the left side, took a pass through the slot from O'Reilly, and shot the puck inside the near post.


Ken Hitchcock: "It's pretty simple. It's really what's been going on the last little while. Our goals against have been going through the roof. That's a sign of not checking, not being responsible, not competing on the puck. Way too many goals against, way too many easy scoring chances. It falls on everybody; it's all of us. Whether you score four goals or five goals or three goals or one goal, the goal that's been here is not to give up much. And if you don't give up much, you get lots usually. We're just trading chances, and you get games like that, where it's in your net before you blink. Can't win playing like this. We'll see if this is a wake-up call for us."

Pittsburgh Penguins @ Tampa Bay Lightning 3-4 - 23/12

Tyler Johnson's hat trick lifted the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Amalie Arena on Tuesday. The Lightning led 4-0 midway through the game, then held on after the Penguins scored three unanswered goals. Nikita Kucherov scored a goal and had two assists to help Tampa Bay win the opener of its three-game homestand. Ondrej Palat had three assists. Pittsburgh (22-7-5) has lost two straight (0-1-1) entering the three-day NHL holiday break and is 6-3-2 in December. Patric Hornqvist, Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang scored for the Penguins, who have 10 players on injured reserve. Johnson completed his hat trick at 2:37 of the second period when he took a pass from Kucherov inside the faceoff circle and sent a wrist shot past Penguins goalie Jeff Zatkoff, who replaced starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury less than a minute into the second after Kucherov's goal. Fleury made seven saves on 10 shots. Johnson and Kucherov also connected at 6:54 of the first period to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead. Kucherov hit Johnson with a centering pass from the slot, and Johnson sent a one-timer past Fleury on the short side. Johnson scored his second goal with four seconds left in the first. Kucherov put the Lightning ahead 3-0 when he scored his 14th goal 52 seconds into the second period after defenseman Matthew Carle's outlet pass sent him in on Fleury on a breakaway. The Penguins got on the board at 10:15 of the second period when Hornqvist put a wrist shot over Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy's shoulder from the left faceoff circle. Following Kunitz's goal at 9:55 of the third period, Pittsburgh pulled to within a goal at 18:29 of the third period when Letang scored on a slap shot from the point after the Penguins had pulled Zatkoff for a 6-on-5 advantage. Vasilevskiy made 26 saves to earn his second NHL win for the Lightning, who defeated the Penguins for the first time since November 17, 2011. Zatkoff made 16 saves. The Lightning will host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, and the Penguins return home to play the Washington Capitals.

Pens Quotes

Sidney Crosby: "We definitely need this break to get some guys back here after Christmas. It's been a tough run here in the past month or so, and it feels like every game we are losing somebody. So hopefully we can get healthy and keep competing the same way. You don't like to lose, but we definitely had a lot of things going against us. I think the guys competed hard … gave ourselves a chance to get back into the game. We made some mistakes, but we didn't give up."
Mike Johnson: "I like to think I can shoot the puck if I need to. Tonight I had the opportunity and [Kucherov] made some nice plays to give me space to make things happen. I just shot when I saw an opening because the goal was to get the puck on net."
Kris Letang: "We don't want to find excuses, obviously we have a good side. They had good bounces and scored big goals. … They scored some big goals at key moments. But we hung in there and were one shot away from tying the game."

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Dallas Stars 4-0 - 12/23

When the Toronto Maple Leafs needed a win heading into the holiday break, two of their biggest names delivered. Jonathan Bernier made 43 saves and James van Riemsdyk had a goal and two assists to help the Maple Leafs to a 4-0 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Tuesday. Nazem Kadri had a goal and an assist, and Phil Kessel contributed two assists for Toronto, which ended a three-game losing streak. Tyler Bozak and Mike Santorelli also scored for the Maple Leafs. It was Bernier's second shutout of the season and ninth of his career. Dallas (14-14-5) had a four-game winning streak end with its first shutout loss of the season. Toronto took the lead 55 seconds into the first period when Kadri flipped in a van Riemsdyk pass at the far post. Kadri found some space between Dallas' Alex Goligoski and Tyler Seguin before knocking in the puck for his 10th goal of the season. Midway through the first period, Toronto defenseman Stephane Robidas, who played 704 games in Dallas over nearly 11 seasons before being traded to the Anaheim Sucks in March, was honored with a video tribute in his first regular-season appearance here since the trade. Robidas received a standing ovation from the crowd and waved to them in appreciation. Seguin nearly tied it at 14:45 of the first, but his wrist shot from the left circle instead hit the crossbar. Toronto made it 2-0 6:21 into the second period when van Riemsdyk beat Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen with a backhand through the five-hole on a breakaway. Kadri's pass from the Toronto blue line sprung van Riemsdyk, and after some deft stickhandling, he beat Lehtonen for his 15th goal of the season. Five seconds before the goal, Bernier made a glove save at the near post on a Seguin wrist shot from the right circle that then deflected off the post. Bozak scored with Toronto on the power play at 10:30 of the second period. Dion Phaneuf's slap shot from the high slot hit Dallas defenseman Jordie Benn before deflecting off Bozak's stick. Seguin hit his third post of the game with a wrist shot with 3:42 remaining in the period. Dallas' power play was 0-for-4. Lehtonen made 22 saves for Dallas. He denied Kessel on a breakaway 2:30 into the third period and turned away a shot by Jake Gardiner at 4:21 with a diving save. Lehtonen left the ice with 4:44 remaining but returned after Santorelli scored into the empty net. Toronto next plays Sunday at the Florida Panthers; Dallas is at the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.

Stars Quote

Lindy Ruff: "I thought we pushed hard to get back in the game. You've got to take some chances, but we had more than enough chances. You've got to give Bernier a lot of credit. He was fabulous. We hit the post and they kind of swung it around, and they get a breakaway going the other way [van Riemsdyk goal]. The game could have been 1-1 and it ended up being 2-0. We had a couple of real good looks but I thought we kept looking for the ideal shot. That ideal shot wasn't there. We got caught standing still looking for something down low when there's nothing there. We need to spread them out and start all over. There were some real good looks, but sometimes when you have good zone time it runs out of gas."
Jason Spezza: "They got the first goal, and that gave them life. They came in here losing games. To get the first one like that gives them life. We struggled putting the puck in the net. Seguin's] shooting lights out. He had five, six chances tonight. Those are usually in the net the way he's been shooting."
Vernon Fiddler: "We came out and we were flat. We gave up an odd-man rush off the start and we're down 1-0. That's not a good way to start. Then we took a penalty and gave up a power-play goal for them to go up 3-0. That's not a good spot to be in going into the third."
Jason Demers: "After a game like this, sometimes a mental break does a lot of good for a team, especially our team which has been a little up and down since I've been here (Nov. 21). It's nice we have a game right away in St. Louis. That is going to be a tough game. We have to be ready for that. It's going to come pretty quick."
Third Period Penalties

11:03 TOR	Nazem Kadri  Roughing against  Jamie Benn
11:03 DAL	Jamie Benn  Roughing against  Nazem Kadri
12:20 TOR	Dion Phaneuf  Fighting (maj) against  Antoine Roussel
12:20 DAL	Antoine Roussel  Fighting (maj) against  Dion Phaneuf
12:20 DAL	Antoine Roussel  Roughing against  Dion Phaneuf
12:20 TOR	Dion Phaneuf  Slashing against  Antoine Roussel

NHL Results - Tue, Dec 23, 2014

Nashville @ Boston 3-5 - Brad Marchand gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead 2:01 into the first period. His second goal of the game gave the Bruins a 4-2 lead with 10:51 elapsed in the second period. Forward Loui Eriksson also scored twice, including an empty-net goal. The Bruins and Predators exchanged goals twice in the first period. A Nashville giveaway led to a give-and-go with Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. Marchand scored on a wrist shot from the slot at 2:01 to give Boston a 1-0 lead. Wilson answered at 7:35 after James Neal gained the zone, drew the Boston defense to him and passed the puck to Wilson, who tied the score 1-1. During a power play, Bruins center David Krejci scored on a one-timer he only got a piece of from the top of the left circle at 9:43 to put Boston back in front 2-1. Predators forward Calle Jarnkrok evened the score 2-2 with a goal from the left circle that went past Rask under his right arm at 11:31.
Rask, who made 22 saves, didn’t make any excuses for the tying goal. Eriksson gave the Bruins a 3-2 lead in the second period when he buried a cross-ice pass from Matt Bartkowski from the right side of the slot at 5:53. Marchand scored his second goal of the game after a fortuitous bounce off Bergeron went right to him at the left side of the slot. Marchand shot the puck into the open net at 10:51 to increase Boston’s lead to two goals. The Predators had to kill a double-minor penalty against Neal early in the third period. They kept the momentum by scoring the next goal. Taylor Beck took advantage of a Boston giveaway and scored at 6:48 to cut the Bruins’ lead to 4-3 before Eriksson’s empty-net goal sealed the victory.
Carolina @ New Jersey 2-1 SO - Hurricanes forward Chris Terry scored in the third round of the shootout to give Carolina its first shootout win in four tries. Khudobin came up big with four seconds remaining in overtime when he turned aside a deflection in the slot by Henrique to send the game into a shootout. The Hurricanes tied the game 1-1 on their 29th shot when Hainsey had a left-point shot by defenseman Andrej Sekera deflect off his leg and past Schneider at 11:59. The goal, Hainsey's first of the season, ended Schneider's shutout. His last one was Nov. 21. Schneider was the difference, making numerous saves, including consecutive stops against the crafty center Elias Lindholm on a wraparound and the ensuing snap shot off a quick rebound at 4:17. He continued to bail out the Devils at 9:18 when he took a shot by winger Nathan Gerbe off his goalie mask. Schneider's best save came at 16:13 of the second period when Brendan Woods had an uncontested snap shot from between the circles that Schneider snapped up with his glove. The Devils took a 1-0 lead in the first period when Gionta scored his first goal in seven games at 13:32. Steve Bernier skated into the Carolina end and fed Gionta, who took a slap shot that deflected off defenseman Michal Jordan in the slot and past Khudobin.
Montreal @ NY Islanders 3-1 - But they found their legs in the second, when Andrei Markov and Brendan Gallagher scored goals 5:17 apart to put Montreal ahead. David Desharnais scored an insurance goal with 1:11 remaining in regulation. Markov, playing his 800th regular-season game, tied the score 1-1 when his screened slap shot beat Islanders goaltender Chad Johnson 6:10 into the second period. Gallagher put the Canadiens ahead to stay at 11:27 when he put the carom of a blocked shot past Johnson. Desharnais sealed the win by tapping home Lars Eller's pass. The Islanders took the lead on their 11th shot, a one-timer by Okposo from the lower left circle off a pass by Tavares to finish a 2-on-1 break at 12:04. It was Okposo's eighth of the season. The Canadiens found their legs in the second period and tied the game at 6:10. P.K. Subban sailed a cross-ice pass to defense partner Markov, whose slap shot from inside the blue line went through traffic and beat Johnson cleanly for his fifth goal. Brandon Prust's screen kept Johnson from seeing the puck until it was past him.

Montreal continued to pick up the tempo and dominate play, then capitalized on a fortuitous bounce to go ahead at 11:27. Sergei Gonchar's slap shot from the high slot was blocked by Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey; however, the puck came right to Gallagher, who had gone to the front of the net, where he slipped it past a surprised Johnson for his 10th of the season and a 2-1 lead. Price kept the Canadiens in front by stopping Lubomir Visnovsky's wide-open shot from near the right faceoff dot with five minutes left in the second period, then got in front of Tavares' deflection bid early in the third. The Islanders had 15 shots in the third period, but most of them were from the outside.
Washington @ NY Rangers 2-4 - Early in the first period, Nash rumbled up the center of the ice, leaving the puck for Brassard at the right point. Nash's center-lane drive drew defenseman John Carlson's attention and ultimately provided New York with a 1-0 lead at 3:32 when Mats Zuccarello's shot grazed Nash's leg and changed direction. With the Rangers on the power play in the opening minute of the second period, defenseman Dan Boyle wound up from inside the blue line before sending a slap pass to St. Louis near the bottom of the right circle. Holtby committed to what he thought would be Boyle's shot, which allowed St. Louis to beat him from a sharp angle at 1:03. It was Boyle's first assist in 16 games. Nash's second goal of the game and 22nd of the season at 5:12, a snap shot on the rush, gave the Rangers breathing room, but Kuznetsov responded 41 seconds later on a nearly identical play. The Capitals' second line then hemmed in the Rangers in New York's zone for a lengthy period of time, drawing a hooking penalty on Matt Hunwick. On the power play, Ovechkin settled and fired a shot from the left circle that clipped the far post on its way into the net. Washington preserved momentum, firing shot after shot toward Lundqvist until Nicklas Backstrom received a double minor for high-sticking and Jason Chimera committed a faceoff violation to give New York a two-minute, two-man advantage. Nash capped the hat trick, his first as a member of the Rangers, at 16:12 when his shot from the slot on the power play hit the right post, bounced off Holtby's glove and into the net.
Philadelphia @ Minnesota 5-2 - Sean Couturier took advantage of a Wild turnover in their own zone, banking a shot in off Wild defenseman Ryan Suter at 7:16 for his ninth goal. Claude Giroux scored his 11th goal 2:17 later off a rebound from the bottom of the left circle. Marco Scandella scored his eighth goal on the Wild's second shot of the game. His slap shot from the point beat Emery 30 seconds after Giroux's goal to pull Minnesota within a goal. The Wild tied it early in the second when Charlie Coyle scored a power-play goal by tipping Jason Pominville's shot from the point past Emery. It was Coyle's first goal since Oct. 23, ending a 26-game drought. But Philadelphia took advantage of another Minnesota turnover in its own end later in the period, and Wayne Simmonds snapped a shot over Darcy Kuemper's blocker for his 15th goal and a 3-2 Flyers lead at 15:22. An apparent goal by Wild forward Zach Parise at 1:28 of the third period was waved off after it was determined by video review that the puck went in through the side of the net, which had been lifted off its moorings. Four minutes later, the Flyers re-established a two-goal lead on Vincent Lecavalier's fifth goal. As he was screening Kuemper, Lecavalier deflected a point shot by Andrew MacDonald past the Wild goalie for his third goal in the past two games. Thomas Vanek put the puck into the Flyers net with 2:52 remaining, but video review supported the referee's call that the Wild forward's stick was above the crossbar. Michael Raffl scored an empty-net goal for Philadelphia in the final minute.
Buffalo @ Detroit 3-6 - Niklas Kronwall left with 13:16 remaining in the second period with an upper-body injury. It isn't known how long he will be out.
Weiss left 7:57 into the third period after being hit in the jaw by Buffalo defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Zetterberg tied it 4:19 into the third period with a one-time slap shot from the high slot. He converted a pass from Pavel Datsyuk as the pair completed a give-and-go play off the left-wing boards. Benoit gave the Sabres a 3-1 lead with a shorthanded goal 9:00 into the second period. It was a 2-on-none after Kindl's shot was blocked in Buffalo's zone. DeKeyser made it 3-2 with 2:06 left in the second. He beat Neuvirth between the pads from the top of the left circle after a turnover by the Sabres in their zone.
Phoenix @ Edmonton 5-1 - Sam Gagner scored on the first shot of the game at 1:44, beating goaltender Ben Scrivens from a sharp angle. Erat gave Phoenix a 2-0 lead at 5:00, tipping a Connor Murphy point shot past Scrivens, who was pulled after the goal. Schultz cut the Coyotes' lead to 2-1 at 6:18, credited with the goal after his centering pass was redirected by B.J. Crombeen into his net past Dubnyk. Yandle scored 7:54 into the second period to restore a two-goal lead. The defenseman shot from the top of the faceoff circle and beat Fasth on the short side. Two goals in 13 seconds of the third period gave Phoenix a 5-1 lead. Gormley banked a point shot past Fasth off the skate of Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom at 4:07. On the faceoff, Phoenix gained control of the puck at the Edmonton blue line, where Gormley floated a shot at the net that was tipped by Gagner past Fasth.
Winnipeg @ Chicago 5-1 - Perreault started the scoring at 9:04 with his seventh goal, which came as the result of an errant exit pass from the defensive zone by Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson. A quick transition sent the puck right back into the Chicago zone, where former Blackhawks forward Michael Frolik tapped a short pass to Perreault in the slot. Using Chicago defenseman Johnny Oduya as a screen, Perreault scored with a wrist shot that beat goalie Corey Crawford over the glove. Little made it 2-0 at 13:18 with a snap shot that deflected past Crawford off Oduya's stick shaft and Peluso pushed the lead to 3-0 at 15:30 with his first goal of the season and first since Dec. 31, 2013. That one, scored off a loose puck around the crease, prompted a goalie change. Crawford was replaced by Antti Raanta after allowing three goals against 13 shots. Raanta made 11 saves to finish it out, but Perreault scored his second of the game on a power play in the second for a four-goal lead. Blake Wheeler scored into an empty net at 15:17 of the third to complete the scoring. Former Blackhawks Andrew Ladd (two assists), Michael Frolik (assist) and Dustin Byfuglien (assist) each helped set up three of the Jets' first four goals.
Marian Hossa made it 4-1 at 12:05 of the second, but the Blackhawks outshot the Jets 32-10 in the final two periods. They just couldn't get another puck past goalie Michael Hutchinson (38 saves), who improved to 8-2-2 and defeated them for the second time this season at United Center.

San Jose Sharks @ Anaheim Sucks 2-3 OT - 12/22

Ryan Kesler kept shooting and finally found the back of the net in time to send the Anaheim Sucks merrily into the Christmas break. Kesler scored on a wrist shot from the left circle that got past San Jose Sharks goalie Antti Niemi to the far side 58 seconds into overtime to give Anaheim a 3-2 win at Honda Center on Monday. The goal came after an Anaheim 4-on-3 power play expired, and also after Kesler hit the post in the second period and was stopped by Niemi earlier in overtime. The Sucks (23-8-5) became the first team in the NHL to have more than 50 points going into the Christmas break. They erased a 2-1 deficit in the third and stretched their lead to eight points over San Jose in the Pacific Division. Anaheim's 51 points come with more than 200 man-games lost to injury. That includes 13 games without right wing Corey Perry, and the Sucks are 7-2-4 in that scenario. The Sharks (19-11-5) had their five-game winning streak snapped, but have points in 11 of their past 12 games (9-1-1). Niemi made 29 saves in an outstanding duel with Sucks goalie Frederik Andersen, who made 30 saves and carried them early. Niemi had won seven straight. San Jose was fewer than five minutes from victory when Fowler tied it 2-2. Fowler pinched, took a pass from Ryan Getzlaf and put a backhand shot past Niemi at 15:44 of the third. Fowler then tumbled to the ice. The Sharks were poised to have Melker Karlsson's first NHL goal stand as the game-winner when his slap shot from above the right circle trickled five-hole through Andersen at 7:56 of the third period. It came in the sixth NHL game for Karlsson, whose goal stunned the standing-room only crowd of 17,405. Pavelski's NHL-leading ninth power-play goal tied it 1-1 in the third. Pavelski redirected Brent Burns' shot at 2:00 with Clayton Stoner in the penalty box for hooking Joe Thornton. The goal moved Pavelski past Owen Nolan for second on San Jose's goal-scoring list at 207. Despite the lost point, the Sharks enter the holiday break feeling well. Rickard Rakell scored his first regular-season goal when he knocked in the puck from the slot at 7:20 of the second while Sharks defensemen Justin Braun tried to clear it. The puck caromed off the side of the net on a cycle by Emerson Etem and Matt Beleskey. Rakell, who scored his first NHL goal in the 2014 Western Conference Second Round series against the Los Angeles Kings, had played 46 regular-season games without a goal. Andersen kept San Jose off the scoreboard with 15 saves in the first period and 20 in the first 27 minutes. He gloved Pavelski's wrist shot on a 3-on-1 less than four minutes into the game and made a right-pad save on Tomas Hertl late in the first. Anaheim right wing Tim Jackman left the game in the second period and did not return after he was hit by John Scott near the Sucks net. Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau did not have an update. Getzlaf filled in on Jackman's line and played a season-high 25:02.

Sharks Quotes

Joe Pavelski: "That was kind of the thing … both goalies were really good. [Niemi] had some awesome saves and they were fun to watch. You don't want to give up those chances, but when he's going like that, we can be aggressive and play our system."
Todd McLellan: "It doesn't surprise me. He continues to have an impact in every game he plays, in every situation. He just goes about his business. Credit to him; he's taken advantage of the opportunity he's earned to get here. Right now it stings a little that we've lost tonight, but we're going to park it. This is the time of year where we can forget about hockey now for a couple of days. I expect all our players to turn their brains off and enjoy the time with their families. We'll worry about the points and the standings and playoffs and all that next week."