NHL Results - Fri, Dec 6, 2014

Anaheim @ Minnesota 5-4 - Tim Jackman scored 3:37 into the third period to tie the score before Matt Beleskey's go-ahead goal gave the Sucks a 5-4 victory in a back-and-forth game at Xcel Energy Center. As pretty as Jackman's goal was, the timing was impeccable. A goal by Justin Fontaine at 2:07 of the third period was Minnesota's fourth unanswered and gave the Wild a 4-3 lead after they had trailed 3-0 early in the second period. But 90 seconds later, Jackman gained control of an outlet pass from Ryan Kesler 125 feet from the Minnesota net, cruised through the neutral zone and moved into the left circle, where his initial shot was blocked. The rebound came right back to him and Jackman shot it under the glove of Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper, tying the game at 4-4. Almost five minutes later, the Sucks scored the winner on Beleskey's 13th of the season, a quick one-timer from the slot after a passout from Ryan Getzlaf. Anaheim built a three-goal lead early in the second. Kesler scored on a breakaway 1:31 into the game to give the Sucks an early lead. He also capped a 2-on-2 rush 2:28 into the second for a two-goal night. In between, Jakob Silfverberg scored on a rebound of an Andrew Cogliano shot at 11:44 of the first period to make it 2-0. Mikko Koivu made it 3-1 at 4:59 of the second period, banking a shot off Sucks defenseman Clayton Stoner and past Sucks goaltender Frederik Andersen during a 5-on-3 advantage. The Wild controlled the ensuing faceoff, getting the puck to Mikael Granlund at center, who sucked in a defender and dished a spin-o-rama pass to Parise. Andersen got a piece of his shot from well inside the left circle, but the puck trickled over the goal line. Minnesota tied the score at 3-3 at 17:49 when Jonas Brodin's snap shot from the point tucked under the crossbar for his first of the season. Fontaine gave the Wild their first lead of the night at 2:07 of the third, scoring in transition on a slap shot through Andersen's arm from the top of the right circle. Anaheim played without their top goon, Corey Perry, for the final 50-plus minutes. Perry left with a lower-body injury 9:37 into the game after a hip check by Minnesota defenseman Keith Ballard along the right wall. Perry had to be helped off the ice and didn't return. Hey Corey, Karma's a bitch eh?
Colorado @ Winnipeg 2-6 - Bryan Little had a hat trick to lead Winnipeg to a 6-2 win at MTS Centre on Friday. Little had an assist for a career-high four points, and linemate Blake Wheeler had three assists. Jets captain Andrew Ladd had a goal and two assists. The line of Ladd, Little and Wheeler combined for 10 points (four goals, six assists) for the Jets. Leading 3-1 after two periods against a Colorado team playing back-to-back games, Little scored two goals 32 seconds apart early in the third period for the franchise’s first hat trick since the Jets relocated to Winnipeg in 2011. It was Little’s first hat trick since Dec. 26, 2008. Eric Boulton had the franchise’s most recent hat trick on Dec. 18, 2010, the longest span between them for any NHL team. Jarome Iginla, who scored the goals for the Avalanche (9-12-6), passed Mats Sundin and Joe Nieuwendyk for 21st place with 566 NHL goals. Iginla tied Rod Brind'Amour for 47th place with 1,184 points. Fourth-line forward Chris Thorburn scored for the Jets 4:31 into the first period. Winnipeg scored first for the eighth consecutive game and has scored the first goal in I8 of its 27 games this season, tying them with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the League lead. The Jets are 11-4-3 this season when scoring first. After Iginla tied the game 1-1 at 9:19, Little reclaimed the lead for the Jets. He took a pass from Wheeler and put a shot on net that Varlamov could not grab until it had completely crossed the goal line at 12:29. The play was not initially ruled a goal, but the call changed after video review and gave Little his ninth goal. Ladd put the Jets ahead by two goals at 19:15 of the second period when he tipped Dustin Byfuglien’s shot past Varlamov for his ninth. With defensemen Zach Bogosian, Grant Clitsome and Toby Enstrom out with long-term injuries, the Jets added Byfuglien to their defense and shut down the Avalanche. Byfuglien played a team-high 26:24. Winnipeg outshot Colorado 16-4 in the first period and had a 23-6 advantage by the midpoint of the game. By the end of the second period, the Jets led 26-9. Little pushed the Winnipeg lead to 5-1 with goals 45 seconds and 1:17 into the third period for his 10th and 11th. Iginla scored his second of the game on the power play with 9:36 left.
Byfuglien finished the scoring off a long shot for his sixth goal at 13:20.
Montreal @ Chicago 3-4 - Brandon Saad scored with 27 seconds left to defeat the Canadiens 4-3. Seconds after Blackhawks goalie Antti Raanta made one of his 38 saves to nix a good scoring chance by Dale Weise, Chicago pushed the puck up the ice off the rebound. Right wing Patrick Kane attempted a shot in the high slot that was knocked down, but Montreal defenseman Andrei Markov couldn't control the puck. He watched it slide to Saad, who beat goalie Carey Price from the low slot. The Canadiens fell behind 2-0 before taking a 3-2 lead into the third period. The Blackhawks took advantage of their fifth power play to start the third period. Toews tied it at 4:18 on a man-advantage that resulted from a hooking minor called on Subban. Toews tapped the puck over the goal line for his 11th after a shot by Brad Richards eluded Price and headed toward the net. Chicago took a 2-1 first-period lead on goals by Rozsival and Smith, with Rozsival scoring his first of the season 2:13 into the game. Gallagher countered Smith's goal at 18:16 with one 26 seconds later, on a wrist shot from the slot off a feed from Galchenyuk. The Canadiens kept applying pressure until Gonchar tied it 2-2 at 7:58 of the second, also his first goal of the season. The Canadiens outworked the Blackhawks to hold the puck in the offensive zone and were rewarded after Gallagher found Gonchar with a feed while gliding between the circles. Gonchar's shot from the right circle beat Raanta over the pad to the far side for his first goal with Montreal. Subban made it 3-2 at 17:22 on a power play. His slap shot appeared to skip off Smith's skate on its way into the net past Raanta's glove.