Nashville @ Los Angeles 7-6 OT - Roman Josi beat Kings goalie Martin Jones with a wrist shot 18 seconds into the extra period for a 7-6 win, ending Los Angeles' bid to cap a late three-goal rally with an overtime victory. Los Angeles erased a 6-3 deficit on goals by Dwight King, Marian Gaborik and Jeff Carter 1:27 apart in the final minutes of the third period. Carter sent the game into overtime when he one-timed Anze Kopitar's pass from the corner past Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne with 33.3 seconds left. Nashville appeared on its way to a regulation win after Olli Jokinen scored to make it 6-3 at 8:38 of the third. Josi, Ryan Ellis and Colin Wilson led 16 Predators on the scoresheet with a goal and an assist each. Nashville's Mattias Ekholm and Mark Arcobello each had a goal in a 1:41 span in the second period to make it 5-1. Arcobello scored in his Predators debut on a wrist shot that beat Jones at 3:57. A marquee goalie matchup between Rinne and Jonathan Quick ended when the Predators chased Quick from the net with three goals in 4:49 of the first period. Mike Fisher whacked in a rebound at 4:54. Wilson's cross-ice pass to Fisher went in off Kings defenseman Matt Greene at 6:15. Ellis scored on a slap shot from the left point on the power play at 9:43 to make it 3-1 and force Kings coach Darryl Sutter to swap in Jones for Quick.
Philadelphia @ New Jersey 2-5 - Jaromir Jagr is the oldest player in League history to score a hat trick, doing so in a 5-2 win against the Flyers. It was Jagr's 15th NHL hat trick and first in almost nine years. Jagr was 42 years, 322 days old Saturday. Gordie Howe was the oldest player to score a hat trick in an NHL game; he did it in 1969, when he was 41 years, 216 days old, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Jagr's hat trick was his first in an NHL game since March 22, 2006, also against the Flyers. He moved within three goals of tying Phil Esposito (717 goals) for fifth on the League's all-time list, and within 18 points of tying Ron Francis (1,798 points) for fourth in League history. Making Jagr's night more impressive was the fact he was breaking in new skates. Jagr said he took the skates out of the box and used them for the first time in warm-ups. He said he's never done that before, that he typically likes to practice with new skates before using them in a game. Jagr gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 13:20 of the first period when he scored on a shot from behind the goal line after Emery coughed up the puck behind the net. Jagr reached his stick above the goal line and used his backhand to whip the puck into the net before Emery could get into position. Elias scored a power-play goal 2:22 later to give the Devils a 2-0 lead on backdoor play from the right circle off a blind pass from Martin Havlat. Elias is two goals short of 400 and three points shy of 1,000 for his NHL career. Jagr scored his second goal of the first period with 3.8 seconds remaining on a wrist shot from the right circle. Gomez and Jagr scored in the second period to give the Devils a 5-0 lead with 7:38 remaining.
Buffalo @ NY Rangers 1-6 - Derick Brassard, Chris Kreider and Rick Nash scored power-play goals 2:32 apart in the first period, and Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves to lead the Rangers to a 6-1 win against the Sabres. It was not the fastest three-power play goals in Rangers history; those were scored on Nov. 21, 1995, in 1:10 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brassard opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 8:46 of the first period. Shortly after Andrej Meszaros was whistled for tripping, Brassard positioned himself in the slot and redirected a feed from Martin St. Louis (two assists) past Neuvirth to give New York a 1-0 lead. It was Brassard's 10th goal. The Sabres were given a bench minor right after the goal for unsportsmanlike conduct, putting the Rangers right back on the power play. Kreider made it 2-0 at 9:53 when he got behind the defense, took a pass from J.T. Miller and backhanded a shot past Neuvirth for his seventh goal. Kreider was hooked by Cody McCormick moments before his goal, and the Rangers had yet another power play. Nash made it 3-0 with his 24th goal. Miller fed Nash near the right goal post, and Nash took one stride toward the front of the net and quickly roofed a shot over Neuvirth at 11:18. The Rangers scored their first even-strength goal of the game at 12:34 on Boyle's third goal. Boyle, who entered with two goals in 19 games, took a pass from Nash and beat Neuvirth with a wrist shot from the left circle to make it 4-0. The onslaught continued early in the second period when Hagelin scored at 2:26. With the teams at even strength, Hagelin carried the puck from behind the Sabres net, skated into the slot and sent a wrist shot through a crowd in front that found its way past Enroth to make it 5-0. It was Hagelin's eighth goal. The Sabres got on the scoreboard 22 seconds later on Stafford's sixth goal. Stafford's initial wrist shot from the left circle was stopped by Lundqvist, but the Sabres right wing collected the rebound and beat Lundqvist on a wraparound to make it 5-1. Fast restored New York's five-goal lead with five minutes remaining in the second period when he one-timed Kevin Hayes' feed past Enroth for his third goal. Play continued after Fast's shot, which quickly came out of the net, and it required video review to determine it was in fact a goal. Zemgus Girgensons was officially named an All-Star an hour before the game. The Sabres center topped all vote-getters with 1,574,896. The 20-year-old from Latvia has 11 goals and nine assists in 40 games. All-Star Weekend is scheduled for Jan. 24-25 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.
Toronto @ Winnipeg 1-5 - Byfuglien moved back to the blue line in December and has reinforced a group missing regulars Zach Bogosian, Toby Enstrom, Mark Stuart and Jacob Trouba to long-term injuries. Since the shift back to his natural position after an 11-month trial as a forward, Byfuglien has four goals and seven assists in 13 games. Byfuglien plays in all situations for the Jets and has logged at least 25 minutes in 10 of the 13 games. Byfuglien's ninth goal capped Winnipeg's three-goal outburst in a 6:35 second-period span. The Jets, who had lost two games in a row, got two goals from their third line, with TJ Galiardi and Matt Halischuk scoring. Bryan Little scored a power-play goal, and Ben Chiarot, Byfuglien's defense partner, scored his first NHL goal. Byfuglien also helped hold Toronto's top line of Phil Kessel, Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov scoreless. After Santorelli made it 1-0 at 2:19 of the second period, Galiardi tied the game 1:10 later with his first goal of the season. Galiardi, moved to the third line with Halischuk and center Adam Lowry, snuck into the low slot and sent a bouncing puck past Reimer. Halischuk's second goal of the season at 5:59 gave the Jets a 2-1 lead. He worked himself to the edge of Reimer's crease, where he tipped Chiarot's shot from the left point. Byfuglien put Winnipeg up 3-1 at 10:04 when he snapped a shot from the bottom of the right circle past Reimer. Little made it 4-1 with a wrist shot from the slot at 3:37 of the third period. His Jets-leading 15th goal came during the first half of a double-minor to Maple Leafs defenseman Korbinian Holzer. Chiarot made it 5-1 with 9:05 left. The goal came in his 14th NHL game, all but one this season.
Columbus @ Phoenix 3-6 - Hanzal tied a career with four points, scoring a goal and assisting on three others during an 18-minute span of the second and third periods. All of Hanzal's points came close to the crease, where the big center from the Czech Republic spent his night screening, scrapping and otherwise annoying Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Hanzal's linemate Sam Gagner had two goals and an assist, and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson contributed a goal and an assist during a run of five unanswered goals that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 6-2 lead. Fedor Tyutin, James Wisniewski and Ryan Johansen scored for the Blue Jackets. The Coyotes took an early lead when Rieder, who was the best player on the ice in the first period, cashed in on a fortunate bounce. Lauri Korpikoski missed the net from the left circle but the puck caromed off the end boards and out to the opposite post, where Rieder was parked. He swept in a backhander from a tough angle at 13:17 for his fourth goal of the season. Just after a penalty to Connor Murphy expired, Tyutin's shot from the left point eluded Smith at 2:35. A high-sticking penalty to Martin Erat put Columbus right back on the power play. Brandon Dubinsky hit Wisniewski in the left circle, and he had plenty of time to pick a corner and beat Smith to the glove side with a hard wrist shot at 4:39. Wisniewski's third goal of the season was Columbus' 31st on the power play and gave the Blue Jackets their first lead at 2-1. Bobrovsky stopped Yandle from the point and Hanzal on the rebound, but lost sight of the puck behind him in the crease. Ekman-Larsson dashed in, won the race for the puck and banged it home at 6:33, ducking to barely miss the crossbar as he rolled into the net. Ekman-Larsson's 10th goal was his seventh in the past 14 games and tied him with center Antoine Vermette for the team lead. He has seven power-play goals, tops among NHL defensemen. The tide really turned when Bobrovsky lost his goal stick in the crease and Johansen tried to toss his stick to the goalie, drawing a penalty. Hanzal was in the slot to collect Ekman-Larsson's rebound and kicked it to Gagner at the side of the net for a put away to give Phoenix the lead for good at 18:33. Hanzal added one himself 44 seconds later, stuffing the rebound of Gagner's shot under Bobrovsky to make it 4-2. Chipchura and Gagner scored 2:34 apart early in the third period to turn the game into a blowout. Johansen scored for Columbus with 60 seconds remaining.
Detroit @ Vancouver 1-4 - Ryan Miller cherishes every game he plays against his brother Drew, a Red Wings forward. But the Canucks goaltender admitted it was a little easier to enjoy the matchup after a rare win against both on Saturday night. Ryan had lost seven of eight with Drew in the Red Wings' lineup, and he was 2-10-2 in his career against Detroit. But with their parents in the stands, the Michigan native made a great early save against Drew, and was exceptional against consecutive Detroit power plays in the third period that included a brief 5-on-3. Tomas Tatar ended Miller’s shutout with 3:30 left and goalie Jimmy Howard pulled for an extra attacker. After Vancouver blew third-period leads twice in its past three games, Henrik Sedin ended any doubt by scoring his 200th goal into the empty net with 1:51 left. Sedin, who also had an assist, added a second empty-net goal with 32 seconds left, but Miller was the big story for Vancouver. Miller had to be at his best against Detroit’s second-ranked power play early in the third period. He robbed forward Pavel Datsyuk twice in the same sequence 2:30 into the third period, throwing out his right pad to stop a quick shot from the slot and then sliding right to left to deny Datsyuk on a backdoor chance. After Howard stopped Sedin on a shorthanded breakaway, Miller stuffed Stephen Weiss on a jam play atop the crease before the second penalty expired. Miller made another great left pad stop off Tomas Jurco in the slot shortly after the power plays were over, and Vrbata converted his own rebound for an insurance goal two minutes later. Miller kept it scoreless with a great save on Drew after he was left alone in the slot to one-time a pass from behind the Canucks net eight minutes in. Vancouver gained momentum by holding Detroit’s power play without a shot on a chance midway through the period, and had the final six shots, forcing Howard to make several good saves.
With Zetterberg in the penalty box for slashing, Edler opened the scoring on a power play 1:48 into the second period with a one-time slap shot from the point that beat a screened Howard high on his glove side. Vancouver couldn’t extend the lead on two power plays in the second period and Miller made a couple of saves before it ended. He got in front of Tatar’s one-timer from the high slot and denied center Riley Sheahan with his left pad on the rebound midway through the period. Miller also got his glove on a Datsyuk redirection off the rush, reaching back with his left hand as he slid to his right. Vrbata made it 2-0 with 9:11 left in the third period, lifting his team-leading 16th goal over Howard on a rebound after the goalie had to sprawl to stop Vrbata’s first attempt.
Tatar closed the gap with a one-timer past a screened Miller, but the Canucks didn’t buckle. Henrik Sedin would have preferred to score his 200th on the shorthanded breakaway, but reached and passed the milestone by scoring into an empty net.
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