Tampa Bay @ Calgary 2-0 - The Flames started the New Year the same way they closed 2013: struggling to score a goal. After being shut out in two of their final three December games, the Flames were shut out Friday by the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was the third time in four games the Flames have been shut out on home ice. In fact, the Flames have scored once in a span of 245:05 dating to a 4-3 shootout win against St. Louis Blues on Dec. 23. Calgary goaltenders have given up 10 goals in that span. The win extended the Lightning's road winning streak to five games. Palat extended his point-scoring streak to five when he broke open a scoreless game in the second period. Shortly after a minor penalty to Mike Cammalleri expired, Teddy Purcell found Palat alone in the high slot. He coasted in before ripping a shot over the glove of Flames goaltender Karri Ramo to put the Lightning up 1-0 at 5:23. It didn't take long for Palat to pass on the good fortune to Nikita Kucherov. Skating into the Calgary zone, Palat faked a shot before finding Kucherov driving to the far post for a tap-in at 10:20. St. Louis almost made it 3-0 early in the third. With teammate Radko Gudas in the penalty box for tripping less than a minute in, St. Louis got a step on Dennis Wideman and broke in alone for a shorthanded opportunity on Ramo. St. Louis tried to beat the Flames goaltender between the legs, but was denied. Tampa Bay defenseman Eric Brewer was whistled for cross checking after Gudas' minor expired, and St. Louis had another opportunity. The 38-year-old Canada Olympic hopeful picked off Ramo's clearing attempt, deked the scrambling netminder and fired a shot on the seemingly empty net, only to have it blocked by a sprawling Stempniak. Back-to-back shifts by the Flames early in the second half of the third yielded several scoring chances, but Paul Byron couldn't convert on his slap shot from the slot, nor could TJ Brodie with his one-timer from the point with 6:42 remaining. Ramo did his best to keep Calgary in the game on the next shift. Kucherov sprung Nate Thompson in alone but Ramo blockered away his shot. Still on the ice, Kucherov went in alone and tried to deke the Flames goalie, but Ramo turned him aside too. Though neither team could score through the opening 20 minutes, it wasn't from a lack of trying from Tampa Bay forward Tyler Johnson. Fourteen seconds into the contest, Johnson redirected Palat's centering pass by Ramo's glove but not the post. Less than five minutes later, with Shane O'Brien in the penalty box for roughing, Ramo flashed his right pad at both Teddy Purcell's initial shot and Johnson's rebound attempt from point-blank range. Ramo again got the better of Johnson with over seven minutes remaining in the period, using his the glove after the 5-foot-9 forward tried to deflect Victor Hedman's initial point shot into the top corner of the net. Calgary's best chance to score came before it could register a shot on goal. After Mikael Backlund barged his way into the Lightning zone, Brewer hauled him down. Though it appeared Tampa Bay didn't get control of the puck, the referee whistled the play down before Cammalleri put the loose puck behind a sprawled Bishop into the net.
Edmonton @ Anaheim 2-5 - So far, 2014 has been one big bundle of joy for Ben Lovejoy and the Anaheim Ducks. Lovejoy's wife, Avery, gave birth to the couple's first child, daughter, Lila, the morning of a New Year's Eve win against the San Jose Sharks. Three nights later, Lovejoy recorded his first career two-goal game Friday in a 5-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Honda Center. Lovejoy scored in a span of 2:43 of the first period and Jonas Hiller won a franchise record 10th straight game. Anaheim remains the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss at home (16-0-2). Sami Vatanen retrieved the puck, presumably for Lovejoy, when the horn sounded. Lovejoy could have had a shot at a hat trick when Edmonton pulled goalie Ilya Bryzgalov for a 6-on-3 advantage late in the third period, but Lovejoy said he didn't check to see if Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau would put him in for a shot at the open net. The Oilers came out trading scoring chances with Anaheim, but gave the Ducks 15:40 minutes worth of power-play time and were outshot 14-3 in the second period and 37-18 for the game. The top line of Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and David Perron was a combined minus-10. Oilers right wing Jordan Eberle did not play after he reportedly hurt his knee Thursday night in a collision with Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks. Edmonton coach Dallas Eakins said it was "nothing major" and precautionary. Lovejoy's first-period goals were both one-timers off drop passes from the right point on a rush. Kyle Palmieri made an 80-foot pass to Saku Koivu to set up Lovejoy's first goal at 17:12, with Andrew Cogliano screening Bryzgalov (32 saves). Lovejoy's second goal was a blast that banked in off the left post at 19:55 for a 3-2 lead going into first intermission. It was the fastest two goals by a defenseman in Anaheim history after Tom Kurvers scored two in 2:59 in 1995. It wasn't the best first period for Anaheim, which was sloppy in its end and allowed goals by Boyd Gordon 35 seconds into the game and Nail Yakupov at 11:06 after a turnover by Ryan Getzlaf. Hiller (16 saves) didn't get much work; Edmonton had eight shots on goal in the final 40 minutes. He is the first goalie to win 10 straight starts since Ray Emery early last season. For the second straight game, Anaheim got a solid game from its fourth line. Tim Jackman was rewarded when he lifted Nick Bonino's pass from behind the goal into the net at 19:16 of the second to make it 4-2. Palmieri scored unassisted off a Nugent-Hopkins turnover 11 seconds after Gordon's goal. Cogliano scored on a breakaway at 11:16 of the third. Anaheim is the third NHL team in 34 years to start a season with a home standings streak of 18 or more games, after San Jose (20-0-2 in 2008-09 and the Pittsburgh Penguins (19-0-7) in 1979-80.
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