January 8th NHL Recap

Philadelphia Flyers 3, Montreal Canadiens 1 (from Philadelphia) - The Flyers improved to 23-17-4 on the season thanks to a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, dropping them to 25-15-5.

Goals:

PHI - Sean Couturier (8) - from Vincent Lecavalier and Andrej Meszaros (6:27 1ST)

PHI - Zac Rinaldo (1) - from Luke Schenn and Andrej Meszaros (14:39 1ST) *GWG*

PHI - Michael Raffl (3) - from Andrej Meszaros and Brayden Schenn (8:24 2ND)

MTL - Tomas Plekanec SHG (14) - from Brian Gionta (17:37 2ND)

Goalies:

WG - Steve Mason (19 saves on 20 shots: 18-10-4) LG - Peter Budaj (24 saves on 27 shots: 5-4-1)

Three Stars:

3. Zac Rinaldo (1 goal, GWG) - Philadelphia

2. Sean Couturier (1 goal) - Philadelphia

1. Andrej Meszaros (3 assists) - Philadelphia

New York Rangers 3, Chicago Blackhawks 2 (from Chicago) - The Rangers improved to 22-20-3 on the season thanks to a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, dropping them to 29-8-9.

Goals:

NYR - Brad Richards (11) - from Ryan Callahan and Marc Staal (5:06 1ST)

NYR - Mats Zuccarello PPG (11) - from Michael Del Zotto and Henrik Lundqvist (9:29 1ST)

CHI - Jonathan Toews PPG (16) - from Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith (6:17 2ND)

CHI - Brandon Bollig (4) - from Marcus Kruger (8:05 2ND)

NYR - Carl Hagelin (11) - from Marc Staal and Brad Richards (14:03 3RD) *GWG*

Goalies:

WG - Henrik Lundqvist (35 saves on 37 shots: 13-16-3) LG - Corew Crawford (29 saves on 32 shots: 17-7-5)

Three Stars:

3. Jonathan Toews (1 goal) - Chicago

2. Brad Richards (1 goal, 1 assist) - New York

1. Henrik Lundqvist (35 saves on 37 shots for the win, 1 assist) - New York

Colorado Avalanche 4, Ottawa Senators 3 (OT) - (from Colorado) - The Avalanche improved to 27-12-4 on the season thanks to a 4-3 OT win over the Ottawa Senators, dropping them to 19-18-8.

Goals:

COL - Jamie McGinn PPG (10) - from Erik Johnson and Nick Holden (2:19 1ST)

COL - Jan Hejda (5) - from Gabriel Landeskog and Paul Stastny (4:54 1ST)

OTT - Clarke MacArthur (15) - from Bobby Ryan (15:02 1ST)

OTT - Jason Spezza PPG (12) - from Clarke MacArthur and Erik Karlsson (12:53 2ND)

OTT - Kyle Turris (11) - from Mark Stone and Erik Karlsson (14:18 2ND)

COL - Paul Stastny (13) - from Gabriel Landeskog and Tyson Barrie (17:40 3RD)

COL - Tyson Barrie (3) - from Paul Stastny and Gabriel Landeskog (0:33 OT) *GWG*

Goalies:

WG - Semyon Varlamov (29 saves on 32 shots: 20-8-4) LG - Craig Anderson (27 saves on 31 shots: 14-9-5)

Three Stars:

3. Gabriel Landeskog (3 assists) - Colorado

2. Tyson Barrie (1 goal, 1 assist, OT winner) - Colorado

1. Paul Stastny (1 goal, 2 assists) - Colorado

Three Stars of the Night:

3. Andrej Meszaros - Meszaros had a hand in all 3 Flyers goals, picking up 3 assists in their 3-1 win over the Canadiens.

2. Henrik Lundqvist - Lundqvist made 35 saves on 37 shots in the Rangers 3-2 win over the Hawks, and picked up his 2nd assist of the season.

1. Paul Stastny - Stastny scored 1 goal and added 2 assists in the Avs 4-3 OT win over the Senators.

Interesting Stats of the Night:

-All 3 of the Rangers goals tonight were the players 11th goal of the season (Richards Zuccarello and Hagelin)

-Gabriel Landeskog is on a season-high 8 game point streak, with 3 goals, 8 assists for 11 points.

-Paul Stastny has 3-straight multi-point games, with 2 goals and 6 assists.

-Henrik Lundqvist picked up his 14th career assist.

-The Flyers have now won 10 straight games at home.

Current Winning/Losing Streaks (3 or more games):

St. Louis Blues - 6 game winning streak

Carolina Hurricanes - 4 game winning streak
Anaheim Ducks - 4 game winning streak

Minnesota Wild - 3 game winning streak

Pittsburgh Penguins - 3 game winning streak
Philadelphia Flyers - 3 game winning streak

Vancouver Canucks - 5 game losing streak
Winnipeg Jets - 4 game losing streak

Dallas Stars - 3 game losing streak

Forman Faceoff Highlight of the Night:

-Tyson Barrie's OT goal gets it tonight, a great setup by Paul Stastny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_agq_PEb4o8

What's up next (January 9th) - There are 9 NHL games on tap for Thursday:

1. Florida Panthers vs. Buffalo Sabres @7PM ET (In Buffalo)

2. Dallas Stars vs. New Jersey Devils @7PM ET (In New Jersey)

3. Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Carolina Hurricanes @7PM ET (In Carolina)

4. Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning @730PM ET (In Tampa Bay)

5. Anaheim Ducks vs. Nashville Predators @8PM ET (In Nashville)

6. St. Louis Blues vs. Calgary Flames @9PM ET (In Calgary)

7. Minnesota Wild vs. Phoenix Coyotes @9PM ET (In Phoenix)

8. Boston Bruins vs. Los Angeles Kings @1030PM ET (In Los Angeles)

9. Detroit Red Wings vs. San Jose Sharks @1030PM ET (In San Jose) {***Forman's Game of the Night***}

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff

January 7th NHL Recap

New York Islanders 5, Toronto Maple Leafs 3 (from Toronto) - The Islanders improved to 16-22-7 on the season thanks to a 5-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, dropping them to 21-18-5.

Goals:

TOR - Tyler Bozak (6) - from Paul Ranger and James van Riemsdyk (5:05 1ST)

NYI - Kyle Okposo (17) - from John Tavares and Travis Hamonic (19:16 1ST)

NYI - Michael Grabner (6) - unassisted (3:06 2ND)

TOR - Mason Raymond PPG (12) - from Jake Gardiner and Nazem Kadri (8:25 2ND)

NYI - Frans Nielsen PPG (16) - from Thomas Vanek and John Tavares (3:41 3RD)

NYI - Calvin de Haan (1) - from Travis Hamonic and John Tavares (6:01 3RD) *GWG*

TOR - Joffrey Lupul (13) - from Nazem Kadri (16:55 3RD)

NYI - Cal Clutterbuck EN (6) - from Michael Grabner (19:51 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Kevin Poulin (23 saves on 26 shots: 7-12-0) LG - Jonathan Bernier (20 saves on 24 shots: 13-13-4)

Three Stars:

3. Nazem Kadri (2 assists) - Toronto

2. Michael Grabner (1 goal, 1 assist) - New York

1. John Tavares (3 assists) - New York

Philadelphia Flyers 3, New Jersey Devils 2 (OT) - (from New Jersey) - The Flyers improved to 22-17-4 on the season thanks to a 3-2 OT win over the New Jersey Devils, dropping them to 17-18-9

Goals:

NJD - Adam Henrique (10) - from Jaromir Jagr and Ryan Clowe (0:57 1ST)

PHI - Claude Giroux PPG (13) - from Kimmo Timonen and Jakub Voracek (5:18 3RD)

PHI - Scott Hartnell (10) - from Brayden Schenn and Nicklas Grossmann (9:49 3RD)

NJD - Michael Ryder SHG (14) - from Marek Zidlicky and Andy Greene (19:30 3RD)

PHI - Brayden Schenn (11) - from Nicklas Grossmann and Wayne Simmonds (1:50 OT) *GWG*

Goalies:

WG - Ray Emery (31 saves on 33 shots: 5-7-0) LG - Martin Brodeur (25 saves on 28 shots: 12-9-4)

Three Stars:

3. Ray Emery (31 saves on 33 shots for the win) - Philadelphia

2. Michael Ryder (1 goal) - New Jersey

1. Brayden Schenn (1 goal, 1 assist, OT winner) - Philadelphia

Nashville Predators 3, San Jose Sharks 2 (from Nashville) - The Predators improved to 19-19-6 (.500) on the season thanks to a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks, dropping them to 27-11-6.

Goals:

NSH - David Legwand (7) - from Craig Smith and Shea Weber (3:35 2ND)

SJS - Joe Pavelski PPG (19) - from Dan Boyle and Jason Demers (6:49 2ND)

NSH - Mattias Ekholm (1) - from David Legwand (7:16 2ND)

NSH - Roman Josi (4) - from Shea Weber and Colin Wilson (11:30 2ND) *GWG*

SJS - Patrick Marleau (20) - from Matt Nieto and Jason Demers (18:38 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Marek Mazanec (26 saves on 28 shots: 8-8-3) LG - Antti Niemi (25 saves on 28 shots: 22-9-6)

Three Stars:

3. Marek Mazanec (26 saves on 28 shots for the win) - Nashville

2. Shea Weber (2 assists) - San Jose

1. David Legwand (1 goal, 1 assist) - Nashville

Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Winnipeg Jets 2 (from Winnipeg) - The Lightning improved to 26-13-4 on the season thanks to a 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets, dropping them to 19-22-5.

Goals:

TBL - Valtteri Filppula (17) - from Teddy Purcell and Alex Killorn (1:20 1ST)

WPG - Olli Jokinen PPG (11) - from Mark Scheifele and Dustin Byfuglien (16:43 1ST)

WPG - Dustin Byfuglien PPG (10) - from Blake Wheeler and Ondrej Pavelec (4:45 2ND)

TBL - Ondrej Palat (8) - from Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn (15:37 2ND)

TBL - Martin St. Louis PPG (18) - from Victor Hedman and Teddy Purcell (8:39 3RD) *GWG*

TBL - Martin St. Louis EN (19) - from Matt Carle (19:33 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Anders Lindback (12 saves on 14 shots: 4-8-1) LG - Ondrej Pavelec (29 saves on 32 shots: 11-18-4)

Three Stars:

3. Dustin Byfuglien (1 goal, 1 assist) - Winnipeg

2. Teddy Purcell (2 assists) - Tampa Bay

1. Martin St. Louis (2 goals, GWG) - Tampa Bay

Phoenix Coyotes 6, Calgary Flames 0 (from Phoenix) - The Coyotes improved to 21-12-9 on the season thanks to a 6-0 rout of the Calgary Flames, dropping them to 15-22-6.

Goals:

PHX - Shane Doan (13) - from Mikkel Boedker and Mike Ribeiro (2:07 2ND) *GWG*

PHX - Martin Hanzal (12) - from Radim Vrbata and Lauri Korpikoski (3:43 2ND)

PHX - Mikkel Boedker (13) - from Mike Ribeiro and Connor Murphy (12:40 2ND)

PHX - Lauri Korpikoski (6) - from Martin Hanzal and Radim Vrbata (9:02 3RD)

PHX - Michael Stone (8) - from Lauri Korpikoski and Jeff Halpern (15:36 3RD)

PHX - Rob Klinkhammer PPG (9) - from Michael Stone and Shane Doan (18:38 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Thomas Greiss (27 saves on 27 shots: 6-2-1) LG - Reto Berra (24 saves on 30 shots: 5-12-2)

Three Stars:

3. Mikkel Boedker (1 goal, 1 assist) - Phoenix

2. Lauri Korpikoski (1 goal, 2 assists) - Phoenix

1. Thomas Greiss (27 saves on 27 shots for the shutout) - Phoenix

St. Louis Blues 5, Edmonton Oilers 2 (from Edmonton) - The Blues improved to 30-7-5 on the season thanks to a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, dropping them to 14-27-5.

Goals:

STL - Chris Stewart PPG (14) - from Derek Roy and Jordan Leopold (12:46 1ST)

EDM - Nail Yakupov (9) - from David Perron and Sam Gagner (1:36 2ND)

STL - Maxim Lapierre (6) - from Ryan Reaves and Alex Pietrangelo (2:18 2ND)

EDM - Mark Arcobello (4) - from Luke Gazdic and Andrew Ference (5:10 2ND)

STL - David Backes PPG (17) - from Alex Pietrangelo (10:56 2ND) *GWG*

STL - Vladimir Tarasenko (14) - from Jordan Leopold and Vladimir Sobotka (13:57 2ND)

STL - Patrick Berglund EN (7) - from Vladimir Sobotka and Vladimir Tarasenko (19:27 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Brian Elliot (16 saves on 18 shots: 13-1-2) LG - Ilya Bryzgalov (25 saves on 29 shots: 3-6-2)

Three Stars:

3. Jordan Leopold (2 assists) - St. Louis

2. Alex Pietrangelo (2 assists) - St. Louis

1. Vladimir Tarasenko (1 goal, 1 assist) - St. Louis

Pittsburgh Penguins 5, Vancouver Canucks 4 (SO) - (from Vancouver) - The Penguins improved to 32-12-1 on the season thanks to a 5-4 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks, dropping them to 23-13-9.

Goals:

PIT - Brian Gibbons (2) - unassisted (13:15 1ST)

PIT - Evgeni Malkin (12) - from James Neal and Olli Maatta (5:25 2ND)

VAN - Jason Garrison (5) - unassisted (15:35 2ND)

VAN - Chris Tanev (5) - from Dan Hamhuis and Zack Kassian (7:39 3RD)

VAN - Chris Higgins (12) - from Jannik Hansen (13:07 3RD)

VAN - Zack Kassian (8) - from Chris Higgins (13:24 3RD)

PIT - Kris Letang (7) - from Jussi Jokinen and Sidney Crosby (18:49 3RD)

PIT - Sidney Crosby (24) - from Chris Kunitz and Jussi Jokinen (19:05 3RD)

Shootout winner - Sidney Crosby (PIT)

Goalies:

WG - Marc-Andre Fleury (22 saves on 26 shots: 25-10-1) LG - Eddie Lack (31 saves on 35 shots: 7-3-3)

Three Stars:

3. Kris Letang (1 goal) - Pittsburgh

2. Zack Kassian (1 goal, 1 assist) - Vancouver

1. Sidney Crosby (1 goal, 1 assist, shootout winner) - Pittsburgh

Anaheim Ducks 5, Boston Bruins 2 (from Anaheim) - The Ducks improved to 32-8-5 on the season thanks to a 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins, dropping them to 28-13-2

Goals:

ANA - Mathieu Perreault PPG (8) - from Teemu Selanne and Sami Vatanen (5:53 2ND)

ANA - Corey Perry PPG (24) - from Nick Bonino and Ryan Getzlaf (8:29 2ND)

ANA - Andrew Cogliano SHG (14) - from Daniel Winnik (17:10 2ND) *GWG*

BOS - Dan Paille (7) - from Justin Florek and Gregory Campbell (19:44 2ND)

BOS - Dougie Hamilton (4) - from Carl Soderberg and Jarome Iginla (7:19 3RD)

ANA - Nick Bonino PPG (13) - from Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry (14:23 3RD)

ANA - Mathieu Perreault (9) - from Teemu Selanne and Pat Maroon (17:29 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Jonas Hiller (29 saves on 31 shots: 21-4-4) LG - Tuukka Rask (15 saves on 20 shots: 21-10-2)

Three Stars:

3. Nick Bonino (1 goal, 1 assist) - Anaheim

2. Mathieu Perreault (2 goals) - Anaheim

1. Corey Perry (1 goal, 1 assist) - Anaheim

Minnesota Wild 2, Los Angeles Kings 1 (SO) - (from Los Angeles) - The Wild improved to 23-17-5 on the season thanks to a 2-1 shootout win over the Los Angeles Kings, dropping them to 26-13-5.

Goals:

LAK - Jarret Stoll (6) - from Jeff Carter and Dwight King (0:50 3RD)

MIN - Nino Niederreiter (9) - from Jason Pominville and Mikael Granlund (3:25 3RD)

Shootout winner - Nino Niederreiter

Goalies:

WG - Darcy Kuemper (39 saves on 40 shots: 1-1-0) LG - Jonathan Quick (16 saves on 17 shots: 11-5-1

Three Stars:

3. Jonathan Quick (16 saves on 17 shots) - Los Angeles

2. Darcy Kuemper (39 saves on 40 shots for the win) - Minnesota

1. Nino Niederreiter (1 goal, shootout winner) - Minnesota

Three Stars of the Night:

3. John Tavares - Fresh off being announced to Team Canada, Tavares had 3 assists in the Islanders 5-3 win over the Leafs.

2. Sidney Crosby - Crosby scored 1 goal and added an assist (both in the last 2 minutes of the 3rd), and scored the shootout winner in the Penguins 5-4 win over the Canucks

1. Martin St. Louis - Proving Team Canada wrong for not taking him, Marty scored 2 goals in the 3rd (including the game-winner) in the Lightning's 4-2 win over the Jets.

Interesting Stats of the Night:

-The Hurricanes/Sabres game was postponed due to "hazardous weather conditions in the Buffalo area"

-Calvin de Haan scored his 1st NHL goal for the Islanders.

-Mattias Ekholm scored his 1st NHL goal for the Predators.

-With an assist tonight Jaromir Jagr tied longtime teammate Mario Lemieux for 7th all time in points with 1723.

-The Ducks improved to 18-0-2 at this season.
-Both the Penguins and Canucks blew 3rd period leads tonight in the same game. The Canucks got 2 goals in 17 seconds and the Penguins got 2 goals in 16 seconds.

Current Winning/Losing Streaks (3 or more games):

St. Louis Blues - 6 game winning streak

Ottawa Senators - 4 game winning streak
Carolina Hurricanes - 4 game winning streak
Anaheim Ducks - 4 game winning streak

Minnesota Wild - 3 game winning streak

Pittsburgh Penguins - 3 game winning streak

Vancouver Canucks - 5 game losing streak
Winnipeg Jets - 4 game losing streak

Dallas Stars - 3 game losing streak

Forman Faceoff Highlight of the Night:

-Martin Brodeur gets it tonight with his great glove save on Brayden Schenn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLGo5GoJIvo

What's up next (January 8th) - There are 3 NHL games on tap for Wednesday:

1. Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers @730PM ET (In Philadelphia)

2. New York Rangers vs. Chicago Blackhawks @8PM ET (In Chicago) {***Forman's Game of the Night***}

3. Ottawa Senators vs. Colorado Avalanche @930PM ET (In Colorado)

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff

Team Canada Roster Announcement + Projected Lines + Thoughts/Analysis

Team Canada 2014:

Goalies: Roberto Luongo - Carey Price - Mike Smith

Defenseman: Jay Bouwmeester, Drew Doughty, Duncan Keith, Dan Hamhuis, Alex Pietrangelo, PK Subban, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Shea Weber.

Forwards: Jamie Benn, Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter, Sidney Crosby, Matt Duchene, Ryan Getzlaf, Chris Kunitz, Patrick Marleau, Rick Nash, Corey Perry, Patrick Sharp, Steve Stamkos, John Tavares, Jonathan Toews

My Projected Lines:

Line #1 - Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Steven Stamkos

Line #2 - Matt Duchene - Jonathan Toews - Patrick Sharp

Line #3 - Jamie Benn - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry

Line #4 - Patrick Marleau - John Tavares - Rick Nash

Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter


D-Pair #1 - Duncan Keith - Shea Weber

D-Pair #2 - Jay Bouwmeester - Alex Pietrangelo

D-Pair #3 - Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Drew Doughty

D-Pair #4 - Dan Hamhuis - PK Subban


Goalies: Roberto Luongo - Carey Price - Mike Smith


Thoughts/Analysis:

-How Does Claude Giroux not make the team? This guy is one of the best players on the planet and they don't take him, definitely a bad decision. As a big Giroux fan I am very disappointed.
-I would have liked to see them take Joe Thornton, him and Marleau have great chemistry.
-Martin St. Louis must be pretty upset again, 2nd Olympics in a row he is left of the team by his GM Steve Yzerman.
-Very happy that Matt Duchene made this team, his hard work paid off.
-Would have liked to see Dan Boyle and Brent Seabrook over Dan Hamhuis and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
-The goalies worked out like I figured it would, with Luongo as the starter but Carey Price waiting to take over should he need to.
-Yzerman stuck to his word and took 4 left-handed D and 4 right-handed D.
-Chris Kunitz rides Crosby all the way to a potential spot on Canada's 1st line with Sid and Stamkos. I'd like to see Tavares in this role, but I believe off the bat Kunitz will be in that spot.
-Jamie Benn played his way onto this team after not being invited to camp in the summer, well deserved for him.
-PK Subban was the player who was most debated the last year, and he finally silenced all the critics by making this team. I am a big Subban supporter and glad to see him on Team Canada.
-Patrice Bergeron could end up in the same spot he was in 2010, as the teams 13th forward and faceoff/penalty kill specialist. Canada is stacked up the middle with Crosby, Getzlaf, Toews and Tavares.
-Patrick Sharp earned a spot on this team with his play this season, he has been lights out for the Hawks especially in the last month or so.
-Marc-Edouard Vlasic is probably the least-known player on this roster, but he is an extremely hard working defenseman and will be a strong penalty-killer for the team.
-It will be interesting to see who plays with Getzlaf and Perry, I put Jamie Benn because I think those 3 players would dominate the cycle game. However it could also be Patrick Marleau, Rick Nash, Matt Duchene, Patrick Sharp or John Tavares to name a few options.

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff

January 6th NHL Recap

New York Islanders 7, Dallas Stars 3 (from New York) - The Islanders improved to 15-22-7 on the season thanks to a 7-3 win over the Dallas Stars, dropping them to 20-15-7.

Goals:

DAL - Jamie Benn (15) - unassisted (5:01 1ST)

DAL - Erik Cole (11) - from Alex Chiasson and Rich Peverley (13:48 1ST)

NYI - Ryan Strome PPG (1) - from Thomas Vanek and John Tavares (1:41 2ND)

NYI - John Tavares (18) - from Thomas Vanek (7:29 2ND)

NYI - Peter Regin (2) - from Josh Bailey and Thomas Hickey (9:29 2ND)

DAL - Valeri Nichushkin PPG (9) - from Rich Peverley and Ray Whitney (15:28 2ND)

NYI - Brock Nelson (4) - from Casey Cizikas and Calvin de Haan (19:32 2ND) *GWG*

NYI - Brian Strait (2) - from John Tavares and Calvin de Haan (1:24 3RD)

NYI - John Tavares PPG (19) - from Frans Nielsen and Andrew MacDonald (6:19 3RD)

NYI - John Tavares PPG (20 - Hat Trick) - from Andrew MacDonald and Casey Cizikas (16:53 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Kevin Poulin (13 saves on 15 shots: 6-12-0) in relief of the injured Evgeni Nabokov (7 saves on 8 shots) LG - Kari Lehtonen (36 saves on 43 shots: 16-10-7)

Three Stars:

3. Thomas Vanek (2 assists) - New York

2. Ryan Strome (1 goal) - New York

1. John Tavares (3 goals, 2 assist) - New York

Columbus Blue Jackets 4, New York Rangers 3 (SO) - (from New York) - The Blue Jackets improved to 19-20-4 on the season thanks to a 4-3 shootout win over the New York Rangers, dropping them to 21-20-3.

Goals:

CBJ - Brandon Dubinsky (8) - from Nathan Horton and James Wisniewski (17:07 1ST)

NYR - Rick Nash PPG (8) - from Michael Del Zotto and Chris Kreider (19:07 1ST)

CBJ - Cam Atkinson (11) - unassisted (1:01 2ND)

CBJ - James Wisniewski (3) - from Brandon Dubinsky and Nick Foligno (16:47 2ND)

NYR - Brian Boyle (3) - from Dominic Moore and John Moore (4:53 3RD)

NYR - Rick Nash PPG (9) - from Brad Richards and Ryan Callahan (6:55 3RD)

Shootout winner - Mark Letestu (CBJ)

Goalies:

WG - Sergei Bobrovsky (40 saves on 43 shots: 11-11-2) LG - Henrik Lundqvist (36 saves on 39 shots: 12-16-3)

Three Stars:

3. James Wisniewsi (1 goal, 1 assist) - Columbus

2. Rick Nash (2 goals) - New York

1. Brandon Dubinsky (1 goal, 1 assist) - Columbus

Montreal Canadiens 2, Florida Panthers 1 (from Montreal) - The Canadiens improved to 25-14-5 on the season thanks to a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers, dropping them to 16-21-6.

Goals:

MTL - David Desharnais (6) - from Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher (6:23 1ST)

FLA - Sean Bergenheim (10) - from Aleksander Barkov and Brad Boyes (17:09 1ST)

MTL - Brian Gionta (7) - from Tomas Plekanec (15:46 2ND) *GWG*

Goalies:

WG - Carey Price (26 saves on 27 shots: 20-11-4) LG - Tim Thomas (33 saves on 35 shots: 10-11-2)

Three Stars:

3. Tim Thomas (33 saves on 35 shots) - Florida

2. Carey Price (26 saves on 27 shots for the win) - Montreal

1. Brian Gionta (1 goal, GWG) - Montreal

Calgary Flames 4, Colorado Avalanche 3 (from Colorado) - The Flames improved to 15-21-6 on the season thanks to a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche, dropping them to 26-12-4.

Goals:

CGY - Sean Monahan (12) - from Lee Stempniak and Dennis Wideman (1:08 1ST)

COL - Nathan MacKinnon PPG (13) - from Paul Stastny and Andre Benoit (7:17 1ST)

COL - Nathan MacKinnon PPG (14) - from Paul Stastny and Tyson Barrie (14:32 1ST)

CGY - Joe Colborne (4) - from T.J. Galiardi and Shane O'Brien (15:10 2ND)

CGY - Jiri Hudler (12) - from Mark Giordano and Mikael Backlund (17:38 2ND)

COL - Paul Stastny (12) - from Gabiel Landeskog and Jan Hejda (9:33 3RD)

CGY - Mike Cammalleri PPG (13) - from Jiri Hudler and Joe Colborne (16:30 3RD) *GWG*

Goalies:

WG - Karri Ramo (22 saves on 25 shots: 7-7-3) LG - J.S. Giguere (15 saves on 19 shots: 7-4-0)

Three Stars:

3. Paul Stastny (1 goal, 2 assists) - Colorado

2. Joe Colborne (1 goal, 1 assist) - Calgary

1. Nathan MacKinnon (2 goals) - Colorado

Three Stars of the Night:

3. Brandon Dubinsky - Dubinsky scored 1 goal and added an assist in the Blue Jackets 4-3 shootout win over the Rangers, his former team.

2. Nathan MacKinnon - The Avs rookie scored 2 goals for the 2nd straight game, but his team fell 4-3 to the Flames.

1. John Tavares - Tavares had a monster night for the Islanders, scoring his first hat trick of the season and adding 2 assists in the Islanders 7-3 win over the Stars.

Interesting Stats of the Night:

-Ryan Strome scored his 1st NHL goal for the Islanders

 -John Tavares is on fire lately, scoring 5 points tonight. Tavares is current on a 6-game point streak with 7 goals, 6 assists for 13 points.

-Nathan MacKinnon had his 2nd straight 2-goal game.

Current Winning/Losing Streaks (3 or more games):

St. Louis Blues - 5 game winning streak

Ottawa Senators - 4 game winning streak
Carolina Hurricanes - 4 game winning streak
Anaheim Ducks - 3 game winning streak

Vancouver Canucks - 4 game losing streak
Winnipeg Jets - 3 game losing streak

Dallas Stars - 3 game losing streak

Forman Faceoff Highlight of the Night:

-John Tavares's hat trick gets it tonight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmeRe319CUA

What's up next (January 7th) - There are 10 NHL games on tap for Tuesday:

1. Carolina Hurricanes vs. Buffalo Sabres @7PM ET (In Buffalo)

2. New York Islanders vs. Toronto Maple Leafs @7PM ET (In Toronto)

3. Philadelphia Flyers vs. New Jersey Devils @730PM ET (In New Jersey)

4. San Jose Sharks vs. Nashville Predators @8PM ET (In Nashville)

5. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Winnipeg Jets @8PM ET (In Winnipeg)

6. Calgary Flames vs. Phoenix Coyotes @9PM ET (In Phoenix)

7. St. Louis Blues vs. Edmonton Oilers @930PM ET (In Edmonton)

8. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Vancouver Canucks @10PM ET (In Vancouver)

9. Boston Bruins vs. Anaheim Ducks @10PM ET (In Anaheim) {***Forman's Game of the Night***}

10. Minnesota Wild vs. Los Angeles Kings @1030PM ET (In Los Angeles)

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff

January 5th NHL Recap

Pittsburgh Penguins 6, Winnipeg Jets 5 (from Pittsburgh) - The Penguins improved to 31-12-1 on the season thanks to a 6-5 win over the Winnipeg Jets, dropping them to 19-21-5.
Goals:
WPG - Jacob Trouba (4) - from Olli Jokinen and Adam Pardy (1:47 1ST)
WPG - Mark Scheifele (7) - from Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian (19:56 1ST)
PIT - Evgeni Malkin (10) - from Jussi Jokinen (1:06 2ND)
PIT - James Neal PPG (15) - from Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby (4:25 2ND)
PIT - James Neal (16) - unassisted (4:59 2ND)
WPG - Blake Wheeler (16) - from Bryan Little (6:02 2ND)
PIT - Jussi Jokinen (12) - from Evgeni Malkin and Brooks Orpik (11:38 2ND)
WPG - Evander Kane (13) - unassisted (17:31 2ND)
WPG - Evander Kane (14) - from Mark Scheifele and Michael Frolik (19:42 2ND)
PIT - Evgeni Malkin (11) - from James Neal (8:29 3RD)
PIT - Matt Niskanen (5) - from Olli Maatta and Chris Kunitz (12:38 3RD) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Marc-Andre Fleury (29 saves on 34 shots: 24-10-1) LG - Al Montoya (33 saves on 39 shots: 8-4-1)
Three Stars:
3. James Neal (2 goals, 1 assist) - Pittsburgh
2. Evander Kane (2 goals, 1 assist) - Winnipeg
1. Evgeni Malkin (2 goals, 1 assist) - Pittsburgh

Carolina Hurricanes 2, Nashville Predators 1 (from Carolina) - The Hurricanes improved to 18-16-9 on the season thanks to a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators, dropping them to 18-19-6.
Goals:
CAR - Alexander Semin (6) - from Jeff Skinner and Tuomo Ruutu (4:28 1ST)
NSH - Patric Hornqvist PPG (9) - from Mike Fisher and Shea Weber (6:46 3RD)
CAR - Jeff Skinner (20) - from Tuomo Ruutu and Alexander Semin (16:29 3RD) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Anton Khudobin (31 saves on 32 shots: 5-0-0) LG - Carter Hutton (23 saves on 25 shots: 7-7-2)
Three Stars:
3. Anton Khudobin (31 saves on 32 shots for the win) - Carolina
2. Alexander Semin (1 goal, 1 assist) - Carolina
1. Jeff Skinner (1 goal, 1 assist, GWG) - Carolina

San Jose Sharks 3, Chicago Blackhawks 2 (SO) - (from Chicago) - The Sharks improved to 27-10-6 on the season thanks to a 3-2 shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks, dropping them to 29-7-9.
Goals:
SJS - Jason Demers (3) - from Logan Couture and Matt Nieto (10:12 1ST)
CHI - Niklas Hjalmarsson (4) - from Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp (1:27 3RD)
CHI - Michal Rozsival (1) - from Marcus Kruger (4:01 3RD)
SJS - Brent Burns (14) - from Joe Thornton and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (11:10 3RD)
Shootout winner - Logan Couture (SJS)
Goalies:
WG - Alex Stalock (33 saves on 35 shots: 5-2-0) LG - Corey Crawford (40 saves on 42 shots: 17-6-5)
Three Stars:
3. Logan Couture (1 goal, shootout winner) - San Jose
2. Corey Crawford (40 saves on 42 shots) - Chicago
1. Alex Stalock (33 saves on 35 shots for the win) - San Jose

Edmonton Oilers 5, Tampa Bay Lightning 3 (from Edmonton) - The Oilers improved to 14-26-5 on the season thanks to a 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lighting, dropping them to 25-13-4.
Goals:
TBL - Nikita Kucherov PPG (6) - from Matt Carle and Radko Gudas (2:43 1ST)
EDM - Jordan Eberle (13) - from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Taylor Hall (4:18 1ST)
EDM - Jordan Eberle PPG (14) - from Sam Gagner and Ryan Smyth (6:09 1ST)
EDM - Luke Gazdic (2) - from Justin Schultz and Ryan Jones (15:42 1ST)
TBL - Victor Hedman (8) - from Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson (8:47 2ND)
TBL - Valtteri Filppula (16) - from Matt Carle and Teddy Purcell (14:25 2ND)
EDM - Boyd Gordon (7) - from Ales Hemsky and Ryan Smyth (8:20 3RD) *GWG*
EDM - Taylor Hall (16) - from Andrew Ference and Sam Gagner (10:30 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Ilya Bryzgalov (saves on shots: 3-5-2) LG - Anders Lindback (saves on shots: 3-8-1) in relief of the injured Ben Bishop (0 saves on 1 shot)
Three Stars:
3. Matt Carle (2 assists) - Tampa Bay
2. Taylor Hall (1 goal, 1 assist) - Edmonton
1. Jordan Eberle (2 goals) - Edmonton

Anaheim Ducks 4, Vancouver Canucks 3 (OT) - (from Anaheim) - The Ducks improved to 31-8-5 on the season thanks to a 4-3 OT win over the Vancouver Canucks, dropping them to 23-13-8.
Goals:
VAN - Ryan Kesler PPG (17) - from Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin (9:40 1ST)
VAN - Henrik Sedin PPG (10) - from Jason Garrison and Daniel Sedin (11:39 1ST)
ANA - Saku Koivu (8) - from Jakub Silfverberg and Andrew Cogliano (0:24 2ND)
ANA - Matt Beleskey (3) - from Kyle Palmieri (16:38 2ND)
VAN - Kevin Bieksa (2) - from Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin (1:06 3RD)
ANA - Nick Bonino (12) - from Daniel Winnik (18:33 3RD)
ANA - Corey Perry (23) - from Ryan Getzlaf and Nick Bonino (4:58 OT) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Jonas Hiller (17 saves on 20 shots: 20-4-4) LG - Eddie Lack (45 saves on 49 shots: 7-3-2)
Three Stars:
3. Nick Bonino (1 goal, 1 assist) - Anaheim
2. Henrik Sedin (1 goal, 2 assists) - Vancouer
1. Corey Perry (1 goal, OT winner) - Anaheim

Three Stars of the Night:
3. Henrik/Daniel Sedin - The twins combined for 1 goal and 5 assists in the Canucks 4-3 loss to the Ducks (Henrik 1 goal 2 assists, Daniel 3 assists).
2. Jeff Skinner - Skinner scored 1 goal (his 20th of the season and the eventual game-winner) and added an assist in the Hurricanes 2-1 win over the Predators.
1. Evgeni Malkin - After missing 9 games with an injury, Malkin was quick to make-up for lost time scoring 2 goals and adding an assist in the Penguins wild 6-5 win over the Jets.
Honourable Mentions:
-James Neal: 2 goals 1 assist
-Jussi Jokinen: 2 goals and the GWG
-Evander Kane: 2 goals 1 assist
-Corey Perry: OT goal with 1.3 seconds left
-Jordan Eberle: 2 goals

Interesting Stats of the Night:
-Corey Perry scored the OT winner with 1.3 seconds left in OT to send the Ducks to a 4-3 win over the Canucks. The Ducks are now 17-0-2 on the season at home, the only team in the NHL undefeated in regulation at home.
-Ducks G Jonas Hiller has now won 11 straight games and is 20-4-4 on the season.
-With Roberto Luongo out with an injury very close to game-time, the Canucks were forced to sign local goalie Rob Laurie to a professional tryout contract to serve as Eddie Lack's backup tonight.
-Ben Bishop left the Lighting/Oilers game with an injury in the 1st and didn't return
-James Neal scored 2 goals in 34 seconds in the Penguins/Jets game. He now has 16 goals in 24 games this season.
-Evgeni Malkin returned from injury after missing 9 games, and made an instant impact scoring 2 goals and adding an assist.
-There were 11 goals in the Penguins/Jets game, 7 of them coming in a wild 2nd period
-Hurricanes backup G Anton Khudobin remains undefeated at 5-0-0 on the season after the Hurricanes 2-1 win over the Predators tonight.
-The line of Alexander Semin-Jeff Skinner-Tuomo Ruutu combined for both goals and all 6 points in the Hurricanes 2-1 win over the Predators (Skinner 1 goal 1 assist, Semin 1 goal 1 assist, Ruutu 2 assists).
-3 times tonight a player scored back-to-back goals in the same period (Neal 2 goals in 34 seconds, Kane 2 goals in 2:11 and Eberle 2 goals in 1:51)
-In a game between 2 of the best teams in the NHL, 3 of the 4 goals in the Sharks/Hawks game were scored by defenseman (Demers, Hjalmarsson, and Rozsival) while the 4th was scored by Brent Burns (a defenseman turned forward).

Current Winning/Losing Streaks (3 or more games):
St. Louis Blues - 5 game winning streak
Ottawa Senators - 4 game winning streak
Carolina Hurricanes - 4 game winning streak
Colorado Avalanche - 3 game winning streak
Anaheim Ducks - 3 game winning streak

Vancouver Canucks - 4 game losing streak
Calgary Flames - 4 game losing streak
Winnipeg Jets - 3 game losing streak

Forman Faceoff Highlight of the Night:
-Corey Perry's OT goal with 1.3 seconds left gets it tonight, vintage Getzlaf to Perry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq19k8Dg8z0

What's up next (January 6th) - There are 4 NHL games on tap for Monday:
1. Dallas Stars vs. New York Islanders @7PM ET (In New York) {***Forman's Game of the Night***}
2. Columbus Blue Jackets vs. New York Rangers @7PM ET (In New York)
3. Florida Panthers vs. Montreal Canadiens @730PM ET (In Montreal)
4. Calgary Flames vs. Colorado Avalanche @9PM ET (In Colorado)

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff

January 4th NHL Recap

Boston Bruins 4, Winnipeg Jets 1 (from Boston) - The Bruins improved to 28-12-2 on the season thanks to a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets, dropping them to 19-21-4.
Goals:
WPG - Dustin Byfuglien (9) - unassisted (10:54 1ST)
BOS - Dan Paille (6) - from Torey Krug and Gregory Campbell (14:06 1ST)
BOS - Torey Krug (9) - from Dan Paille (3:08 2ND) *GWG*
BOS - Torey Krug (10) - from Adam McQuaid and Carl Soderberg (7:18 2ND)
BOS - Reilly Smith (15) - from Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron (9:59 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Tuukka Rask (36 saves on 37 shots: 21-9-2) LG - Ondrej Pavelec (25 saves on 29 shots: 11-17-4)
Three Stars:
3. Tuukka Rask (36 saves on 37 shots for the win) - Boston
2. Dan Paille (1 goal, 1 assist) - Boston
1. Torey Krug (2 goals, 1 assist, GWG) - Boston

Colorado Avalanche 4, San Jose Sharks 3 (from Colorado) - The Avalanche improved to 26-11-4 on the season thanks to a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks, dropping them to 26-10-6.
Goals:
COL - Nathan MacKinnon PPG (11) - from Andre Benoit and Paul Stastny (15:28 1ST)
COL - Jamie McGinn (9) - from Matt Duchene (4:53 2ND)
COL - Erik Johnson (7) - from Gabriel Landeskog and Paul Stastny (5:45 2ND)
COL - Nathan MacKinnon (12) - from John Mitchell and Cody McLeod (5:59 2ND) *GWG*
SJS - Joe Pavelski PPG (18) - from Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton (8:35 2ND)
SJS - Patrick Marleau (19) - from Jason Demers and Matt Nieto (10:11 2ND)
SJS - Logan Couture (14) - from Patrick Marleau and Scott Hannan (5:44 2ND)
Goalies:
WG - Semyon Varlamov (30 saves on 33 shots: 19-8-4) LG - Alex Stalock (6 saves on 7 shots: 2-4-0) in relief of Antti Niemi (11 saves on 14 shots)
Three Stars:
3. Semyon Varlamov (30 saves on 33 shots for the win) - Colorado
2. Patrick Marleau (1 goal, 2 assists) - San Jose
1. Nathan MacKinnon (2 goals, GWG) - Colorado

Buffalo Sabres 2, New Jersey Devils 1 (from Buffalo) - The Sabres improved to 12-26-4 on the season thanks to a 2-1 win over the New Jersey Devils, dropping them to 17-18-8. 

Goals:
BUF - Matt Moulson PPG (14) - from Tyler Ennis and Christian Ehrhoff (19:29 2ND)
NJD - Michael Ryder PPG (13) - from Travis Zajac and Marek Zidlicky (7:46 3RD)
BUF - Matt D'Agostini PPG (1) - from Steve Ott and Linus Omark (11:49 3RD) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Ryan Miller (21 saves on 22 shots: 11-18-1) LG - Cory Schneider (20 saves on 22 shots: 5-9-5)
Three Stars:
3. Michael Ryder (1 goal) - New Jersey
2. Matt Moulson (1 goal) - Buffalo
1. Matt D'Agostini (1 goal, GWG) - Buffalo

New York Rangers 7, Toronto Maple Leafs 1 (from Toronto) - The Rangers improved to 21-20-2 on the season thanks to a 7-1 rout of the Toronto Maple Leafs, dropping them to 21-17-5. 

Goals:
NYR - Carl Hagelin (10) - from Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh (6:57 1ST)
NYR - Dominic Moore (2) - unassisted (15:57 1ST) *GWG*
NYR - Benoit Pouliot (8) - from Marc Staal and Derick Brassard (10:39 2ND)
NYR - Chris Kreider (11) - from Derek Stepan and John Moore (14:39 2ND)
NYR - Dominic Moore (3) - unassisted (16:35 2ND)
TOR - Joffrey Lupul (12) - from Tyler Bozak and Morgan Rielly (17:42 2ND)
NYR - Brad Richards (10) - from Ryan Callahan and Carl Hagelin (9:03 3RD)
NYR - Brian Boyle PPG (2) - from Michael Del Zotto and J.T. Miller (16:04 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Cam Talbot (25 saves on 26 shots: 9-3-0) LG - Jonathan Bernier (27 saves on 32 shots: 13-12-4), James Reimer (16 saves on 18 shots in relief of Bernier)
Three Stars:
3. Cam Talbot (25 saves on 26 shots for the win) - New York
2. Carl Hagelin (1 goal, 1 assist) - New York
1. Dominic Moore (2 goals, GWG) - New York

Ottawa Senators 4, Montreal Canadiens 3 (OT) - (from Montreal) - The Senators improved to 19-18-7 on the season thanks to a 4-3 OT win over the Montreal Canadiens, dropping them to 24-14-5.

Goals:
OTT - Colin Greening (4) - from Erik Condra and Zack Smith (0:13 1ST)
MTL - Daniel Briere (6) - from Travis Moen and Douglas Murray (11:32 1ST)
OTT - Mark Stone (1) - from Matt Kassian and Chris Phillips (13:50 1ST)
OTT - Erik Condra (4) - from Marc Methot (14:04 1ST)
MTL - Daniel Briere (7) - from Tomas Plekanec and Douglas Murray (1:57 3RD)
MTL - Brian Gionta (6) - from Daniel Briere and Tomas Plekanec (4:46 3RD)
OTT - Clarke MacArthur PPG (14) - from Mika Zibanejad and Erik Karlsson (0:58 OT) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Craig Anderson (26 saves on 29 shots: 14-9-4) LG - Carey Price (30 saves on 34 shots: 19-11-4)
Three Stars:
3. Erik Condra (1 goal, 1 assist) - Ottawa
2. Clarke MacArthur (1 goal, OT winner) - Ottawa
1. Daniel Briere (2 goals, 1 assist) - Montreal

Florida Panthers 5, Nashville Predators 4 (SO) - (from Florida) - The Panthers improved to 16-20-6 on the season thanks to a 5-4 shootout win over the Nashville Predators, dropping them to 18-18-6 (.500).

Goals:
NSH - Craig Smith (12) - from Nick Spaling and David Legwand (6:32 1ST)
FLA - Brad Boyes (11) - from Aleksander Barkov and Tom Gilbert (11:03 1ST)
FLA - Tomas Kopecky (4) - from Marcel Goc and Jonathan Huberdeau (17:56 1ST)
NSH - Mike Fisher (11) - from Colin Wilson (16:32 2ND)
FLA - Sean Bergenheim (9) - from Aleksander Barkov and Brad Boyes (17:29 2ND)
FLA - Marcel Goc (8) - from Jonathan Huberdeau (1:34 3RD)
NSH - Seth Jones (4) - from Roman Josi and Shea Weber (14:52 3RD)
NSH - Paul Gaustad (6) - from Patric Hornqvist and Shea Weber (19:12 3RD)
Shootout winner - Tomas Kopecky (FLA)
Goalies:
WG - Tim Thomas (38 saves on 42 shots: 10-10-2) LG - Marek Mazanec (25 saves on 29 shots: 7-8-3)
Three Stars:
3. Seth Jones (1 goal) - Nashville
2. Tomas Kopecky (1 goal, shootout winner) - Florida
1. Marcel Goc (1 goal, 1 assist) - Florida

Carolina Hurricanes 3, New York Islanders 2 (from New York) - The Hurricanes improved to 17-16-9 on the season thanks to a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders, dropping them to 14-22-7.

Goals:
CAR - Manny Malhotra (4) - from Patrick Dwyer (6:57 2ND)
NYI - John Tavares (17) - from Thomas Vanek (7:41 2ND)
CAR - Jordan Staal (9) - from Patrick Dwyer and Nathan Gerbe (13:12 2ND)
CAR - Brett Sutter (1) - from Jeff Skinner and Andrej Sekera (14:09 2ND) *GWG*
NYI - Thomas Vanek PPG (15) - from Andrew MacDonald and Ryan Strome (19:35 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Anton Khudobin (38 saves on 40 shots: 4-0-0) LG - Evgeni Nabokov (27 saves on 30 shots: 9-8-5)
Three Stars:
3. Thomas Vanek (1 goal, 1 assist) - New York
2. Patrick Dwyer (2 assists) - Carolina
1. Anton Khudobin (38 saves on 40 shots for the win) - Carolina

St. Louis Blues 6, Columbus Blue Jackets 2 (from St. Louis) - The Blues improved to 29-7-5 on the season thanks to a 6-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, dropping them to 18-20-4.

Goals:
CBJ - Artem Anisimov (12) - from Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Murray (3:58 1ST)
CBJ - Mark Letestu (2) - from Blake Comeau and Curtis McElhinney (11:22 1ST)
STL - Patrik Berglund (5) - from Barret Jackman and Kevin Shattenkirk (7:03 2ND)
STL - Vladimir Sobotka (6) - from Vladimir Tarasenko and Kevin Shattenirk (15:55 2ND)
STL - Maxim Lapierre (5) - from Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester (17:29 2ND) *GWG*
STL - Patrik Berglund (6) - from Vladimir Tarasenko and Vladimir Sobotka (0:14 3RD)
STL - Jaden Schwartz (15) - from David Backes and T.J. Oshie (8:47 3RD)
STL - Alex Pietrangelo (5) - from T.J. Oshie and David Backes (14:13 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Brian Elliot (22 saves on 24 shots: 12-1-2) LG - Curtis McElhinney (31 saves on 37 shots: 7-8-1)
Three Stars:
3. Alex Pietrangelo (1 goal, 1 assist) - St. Louis
2. Vladimir Sobotka (1 goal, 1 assist) - St. Louis
1. Patrik Berglund (2 goals) - St. Louis

Detroit Red Wings 5, Dallas Stars 1 (from Dallas) - The Red Wings improved to 19-14-10 on the season thanks to a 5-1 win over the Dallas Stars, dropping them to 20-14-7.

Goals:
DET - Henrik Zetterberg (13) - unassisted (7:04 1ST)
DAL - Shawn Horcoff SHG (5) - from Rich Peverley (12:47 1ST)
DET - Joakim Andersson (7) - from Kyle Quincey (18:05 1ST) *GWG*
DET - Drew Miller (5) - from Justin Abdelkader (18:19 1ST)
DET - Tomas Tatar (8) - unassisted (11:57 2ND)
DET - Henrik Zetterberg (14) - from Dan Cleary (12:39 1ST)
Goalies:
WG - Jimmy Howard (44 saves on 45 shots: 7-9-8) LG - Dan Ellis (10 saves on 13 shots: 4-4-0), Kari Lehtonen (12 saves on 14 shots in relief of Ellis)
Three Stars:
3. Tomas Tatar (1 goal) - Detroit
2. Henrik Zetterberg (2 goals) - Detroit
1. Jimmy Howard (44 saves on 45 shots for the win) - Detroit

Minnesota Wild 5, Washington Capitals 3 (from Minnesota) - The Wild improved to 22-17-5 on the season thanks to a 5-3 win over the Washington Capitals, dropping them to 20-16-6

Goals:
WSH - Marcus Johansson PPG (6) - from Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom (12:02 1ST)
WSH - Mike Green (4) - from Jason Chimera and Joel Ward (12:15 1ST)
MIN - Nino Niederreiter (8) - from Charlie Coyle and Matt Cooke (2:16 2ND)
MIN - Ryan Suter PPG (3) - from Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund (6:56 2ND)
MIN - Ryan Suter PPG (4) - from Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley (7:38 2ND)
WSH - Mike Green (5) - from Brooks Laich (13:50 2ND)
MIN - Jason Zucker PPG (2) - from Keith Ballard and Jonas Brodin (17:04 2ND) *GWG*
MIN - Ryan Suter (5 - Hat Trick) - from Clayton Stoner (7:37 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Niklas Backstrom (27 saves on 30 shots: 4-9-2) LG - Braden Holtby (6 saves on 11 shots: 13-11-2)
Three Stars:
3. Mikko Koivu (2 assists) - Minnesota
2. Mike Green (2 goals) - Washington
1. Ryan Suter (3 goals) - Minnesota

Philadelphia Flyers 5, Phoenix Coyotes 3 (from Phoenix) - The Flyers improved to 21-17-4 on the season thanks to a 5-3 win over the Phoenix Coyotes, dropping them to 20-12-9.

Goals:
PHX - Rob Klinkhammer (8) - from Antoine Vermette and Mikkel Boedker (1:29 2ND)
PHX - Lauri Korpikoski (5) - from Connor Murphy and Martin Hanzal (2:54 2ND)
PHI - Scott Hartnell (9) - from Mark Streit (3:11 2ND)
PHX - Mikkel Boedker (12) - from Keith Yandle and Connor Murphy (6:47 2ND)
PHI - Brayden Schenn (10) - from Vincent Lecavalier and Braydon Coburn (17:15 2ND)
PHI - Wayne Simmonds PPG (14) - from Jakub Voracek and Kimmo Timonen (4:22 3RD)
PHI - Jakub Voracek (10) - unassisted (11:52 3RD) *GWG*
PHI - Claude Giroux EN (12) - unassisted (19:29 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Steve Mason (26 saves on 29 shots: 17-10-4) LG - Mike Smith (23 saves on 27 shots: 15-10-8)
Three Stars:
3. Wayne Simmonds (1 goal) - Philadelphia
2. Mikkel Boedker (1 goal, 1 assist) - Phoenix
1. Jakub Voracek (1 goal, 1 assist, GWG) - Philadelphia

Los Angeles Kings 3, Vancouver Canucks 1 (from Los Angeles) - The Kings improved to 26-13-4 on the season thanks to a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks, dropping them to 23-13-7.

Goals:
VAN - Ryan Kesler PPG (16) - from Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin (12:27 1ST)
LAK - Dustin Brown (8) - from Justin Williams and Jarret Stoll (1:07 3RD)
LAK - Jeff Carter (14) - from Dwight King and Anze Kopitar (12:05 3RD) *GWG*
LAK - Jeff Carter EN (15) - from Drew Doughty (19:50 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Jonathan Quick (27 saves on 28 shots: 11-5-0) LG - Roberto Luongo (46 saves on 48 shots: 16-10-6)
Three Stars:
3. Roberto Luongo (46 saves on 48 shots) - Vancouver
2. Jonathan Quick (27 saves on 28 shots for the win) - Los Angeles
1. Jeff Carter (2 goals, GWG) - Los Angeles

Three Stars of the Night:

3. Jimmy Howard - Howard made 44 saves on 45 shots in the Red Wings 5-1 win over the Stars.

2. Torey Krug - Krug scored 2 goals (including the eventual game-winner) and added an assist in the Bruins 4-1 win over the Jets.

1. Ryan Suter - Suter scored his first career hat trick in the Wild's 5-3 win over the Capitals, a game in which they were outshot 30-11.

What's up next (January 5th) - There are 5 NHL games on tap for Sunday:

1. Winnipeg Jets vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (from Pittsburgh)

2. Nashville Predators vs. Carolina Hurricanes (from Carolina)

3. San Jose Sharks vs. Chicago Blackhawks (from Chicago) {***Forman's Game of the Night***}

4. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Edmonton Oilers (from Edmonton)

5. Vancouver Canucks vs. Anaheim Ducks (from Anaheim)

Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff

January 3rd NHL Recap

Chicago Blackhawks 5, New Jersey Devils 3 (from New Jersey) - The Blackhawks improved to 29-7-8 on the season thanks to a 5-3 win over the New Jersey Devils, dropping them to 17-17-8 (.500)
Goals:
CHI - Patrick Sharp (23) - from Jonathan Toews (1:34 2ND)
NJD - Andy Greene (7) - from Stephen Gionta and Steve Bernier (2:17 2ND)
CHI - Brandon Saad (15) - from Patrick Kane and Brent Seabrook (1:30 3RD)
CHI - Patrick Sharp (24) - from Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith (2:44 3RD)
CHI - Marian Hossa (15) - from Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith (5:34 3RD) *GWG*
NJD - Marek Zidlicky (6) - from Andrei Loktionov and Reid Boucher (7:09 3RD)
NJD - Marek Zidlicky PPG (7) - from Eric Gelinas and Adam Henrique (13:37 3RD)
CHI - Patrick Sharp (25) - from Duncan Keith (18:32 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Antti Raanta (24 saves on 27 shots: 11-1-3) LG - Martin Brodeur (19 saves on 24 shots: 12-9-3)
Three Stars:
3. Marek Zidlicky (2 goals) - New Jersey
2. Duncan Keith (3 assists) - Chicago
1. Patrick Sharp (3 goals) - Chicago

Pittsburgh Penguins 5, New York Rangers 2 (from Pittsburgh) - The Penguins improved to 30-12-1 on the season thanks to a 5-2 win over the New York Rangers, dropping them to 20-20-2 (.500).
Goals:
PIT - Chris Kunitz PPG (22) - from Sidney Crosby and Matt Niskanen (13:09 1ST)
PIT - Jussi Jokinen (10) - from Brian Gibbons and Joe Vitale (18:40 1ST)
PIT - Jussi Jokinen (11) - from Brian Gibbons and Brandon Sutter (1:09 2ND) *GWG*
PIT - Sidney Crosby (23) - from Chris Kunitz and Brooks Orpik (18:29 2ND)
NYR - Mats Zuccarello (10) - from Benoit Pouliot and Derick Brassard (7:43 3RD)
NYR - Ryan McDonagh (7) - from Mats Zuccarello and Dan Girardi (11:53 3RD)
PIT - Chris Kunitz (23) - from Sidney Crosby and James Neal (12:54 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Marc-Andre Fleury (33 saves on 35 shots: 23-10-1) LG - Henrik Lundqvist (23 saves on 28 shots: 12-16-2)
Three Stars:
3. Jussi Jokinen (2 goals, GWG) - Pittsburgh
2. Sidney Crosby (1 goal, 2 assists) - Pittsburgh
1. Chris Kunitz (2 goals, 1 assist) - Pittsburgh

Tampa Bay Lighting 2, Calgary Flames 0 (from Calgary) - The Lightning improved to 25-12-4 on the season thanks to a 2-0 shutout of the Calgary Flames, dropping them to 14-21-6.
Goals:
TBL - Ondrej Palat (7) - from Teddy Purcell and Mark Barberio (5:23 2ND) *GWG*
TBL - Nikita Kucherov (5) - from Ondrej Palat and Matt Carle (10:20 2ND)
Goalies:
WG - Ben Bishop (19 saves on 19 shots: 22-5-3) LG - Karri Ramo (27 saves on 29 shots: 6-7-3)
Three Stars:
3. Karri Ramo (27 saves on 29 shots) - Calgary
2. Ben Bishop (19 saves on 19 shots for the shutout) - Tampa Bay
1. Ondrej Palat (1 goal, 1 assist, GWG) - Tampa Bay

Anaheim Ducks 5, Edmonton Oilers 2 (from Anaheim) - The Ducks improved to 30-8-5 on the season thanks to a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, dropping them to 13-26-5.
Goals:
EDM - Boyd Gordon (6) - from Ryan Smyth and Jeff Petry (0:35 1ST)
ANA - Kyle Palmieri (8) - unassisted (0:46 1ST)
EDM - Nail Yakupov (8) - from David Perron and Taylor Hall (11:06 1ST)
ANA - Ben Lovejoy (2) - from Saku Koivu and Kyle Palmieri (17:12 1ST)
ANA - Ben Lovejoy (3) - from Cam Fowler and Matt Beleskey (19:55 1ST) *GWG*
ANA - Tim Jackman (2) - from Nick Bonino and Jakub Silfverberg (19:16 2ND)
ANA - Andrew Cogliano (13) - unassisted (11:16 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Jonas Hiller (16 saves on 18 shots: 19-4-4) LG - Ilya Bryzgalov (32 saves on 37 shots: 2-5-2)
Three Stars:
3. Andrew Cogliano (1 goal) - Anaheim
2. Kyle Palmieri (1 goal, 1 assist) - Anaheim
1. Ben Lovejoy (2 goals, GWG) - Anaheim

Three Stars of the Night:
3. Ben Lovejoy - Lovejoy scored 2 goals and added the game-winner in the Ducks 5-2 win over the Oilers.

2. Chris Kunitz - Kunitz scored 2 goals and added an assist in the Penguins 5-2 win over the Rangers.

1. Patrick Sharp - Sharp had his 2nd hat trick in the last 5 games in the Hawks 5-3 win over the Devils.

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff

January 2nd NHL Recap

Boston Bruins 3, Nashville Predators 2 (OT) - (from Boston) - The Bruins improved to 27-12-2 on the season thanks to a 3-2 OT win over the Nashville Predators, dropping them to 18-18-5 (.500).
Goals:
NSH - Viktor Stalberg (5) - from Mike Fisher and Shea Weber (18:04 2ND)
BOS - Johnny Boychuk (2) - from Ryan Spooner and Matt Bartkowski (4:55 3RD)
BOS - Jarome Iginla (13) - from Milan Lucic and David Krejci (12:29 3RD)
NSH - Shea Weber (10) - from Mike Fisher and Patric Hornqvist (14:35 3RD)
BOS - Brad Marchand (10) - from Patrice Bergeron and Dougie Hamilton (0:54 OT) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Niklas Svedberg (33 saves on 35 shots: 1-0-0) LG - Marek Mazanec (22 saves on 25 shots: 7-8-2)
Three Stars:
3. Shea Weber (1 goal, 1 assist) - Nashville
2. Brad Marchand (1 goal, OT winner) - Boston
1. Niklas Svedberg (33 saves on 35 shots for the win) - Boston

New York Islanders 3, Chicago Blackhawks 2 (OT) - (from New York) - The Islanders improved to 14-21-7 on the season thanks to a 3-2 OT win over the Chicago Blackhawks, dropping them to 28-7-8.
Goals:
NYI - Casey Cizikas (5) - unassisted (15:24 1ST)
NYI - Thomas Vanek (14) - from Kyle Okposo and Andrew MacDonald (8:09 2ND)
CHI - Brent Seabrook PPG (5) - from Kris Versteeg and Nick Leddy (18:36 2ND)
CHI - Ben Smith (5) - from Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp (1:50 3RD)
NYI - Kyle Okposo (16) - from John Tavares and Andrew MacDonald (0:58 OT) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Evgeni Nabokov (37 saves on 39 shots: 9-7-5) LG - Corey Crawford (31 saves on 34 shots: 17-6-4)
Three Stars:
3. Ben Smith (1 goal) - Chicago
2. Evgeni Nabokov (37 saves on 39 shots for the win) - New York
1. Kyle Okposo (1 goal, 1 assist, OT winner) - New York

Carolina Hurricanes 4, Washington Capitals 3 (OT) - (from Washington) - The Hurricanes improved to 16-16-9 (.500) on the season thanks to a 4-3 OT win over the Washington Capitals, dropping them to 20-15-6.
Goals:
CAR - Jeff Skinner PPG (17) - from Alexander Semin and Eric Staal (13:27 1ST)
WSH - Alexander Ovechkin (31) - from Marcus Johansen and Karl Alzner (0:49 2ND)
CAR - Manny Malhotra (3) - from Drayson Bowman and Tuomo Ruutu (1:44 2ND)
WSH - Troy Brouwer (9) - from Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson (3:02 2ND)
WSH - Steve Oleksy (2) - from Jay Beagle (3:54 2ND)
CAR - Jeff Skinner (18) - from Ryan Murphy and Eric Staal (4:34 2ND)
CAR - Jeff Skinner (19 - Hat Trick) - from Ryan Murphy and Eric Staal (1:20 OT) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Anton Khudobin (38 saves on 41 shots: 3-0-0) LG - Philipp Grubauer (29 saves on 33 shots: 5-2-3)
Three Stars:
3. Alexander Ovechkin (1 goal) - Washington
2. Manny Malhotra (1 goal, 1 assist) - Carolina
1. Jeff Skinner (3 goals, OT winner) - Carolina

Ottawa Senators 4, Winnipeg Jets 3 (from Ottawa) - The Senators improved to 18-18-7 (.500) on the season thanks to a 4-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets, dropping them to 19-19-5 (.500)
Goals:
OTT - Mika Zibanejad (10) - from Cory Conacher and Joe Corvo (13:34 1ST)
WPG - Dustin Byfuglien (8) - from Anthony Peluso and James Wright (15:37 1ST)
OTT - Milan Michalek (7) - from Mika Zibanejad and Cory Conacher (19:13 1ST)
WPG - Evander Kane (12) - from Jacob Trouba and Michael Frolik (1:32 2ND)
OTT - Zack Smith (9) - from Marc Methot (6:42 3RD)
OTT - Clarke MacArthur (13) - from Kyle Turris (11:29 3RD) *GWG*
WPG - Olli Jokinen (10) - from Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom (14:31 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Craig Anderson (32 saves on 35 shots: 13-9-4) LG - Al Montoya (25 saves on 29 shots: 8-3-1)
Three Stars:
3. Cory Conacher (2 assists) - Ottawa
2. Dustin Byfuglien (1 goal, 1 assist) - Winnipeg
1. Mika Zibanejad (1 goal, 1 assist) - Ottawa

St. Louis Blues 5, Los Angeles Kings 0 (from St. Louis) - The Blues improved to 28-7-5 on the season thanks to a 5-0 shutout of the Los Angeles Kings, dropping them to 25-13-4.
Goals:
STL - Brenden Morrow PPG (7) - from Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo (4:42 1ST) *GWG*
STL - T.J. Oshie PPG (7) - from Jaden Schwartz and Alex Pietrangelo (11:41 2ND)
STL - T.J. Oshie (8) - from Vladimir Sobotka (13:12 2ND)
STL - Vladimir Tarasenko (13) - from Magnus Paajarvi (3:24 3RD)
STL - Barret Jackman (1) - from Brenden Morrow and Derek Roy (6:11 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Brian Elliot (30 saves on 30 shots: 11-1-2) LG - Martin Jones (12 saves on 14 shots), Ben Scrivens (9 saves on 12 shots in relief of Jones)
Three Stars:
3. Alex Pietrangelo (2 assists) - St. Louis
2. T.J. Oshie (2 goals) - St. Louis
1. Brian Elliot (30 saves on 30 shots for the shutout) - St. Louis

Minnesota Wild 4, Buffalo Sabres 1 (from Minnesota) - The Wild improved to 21-17-5 on the season thanks to a 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres, dropping them to 11-26-4.
Goals:
MIN - Marco Scandella (2) - from Matt Cooke and Justin Fontaine (4:33 2ND)
MIN - Jason Pominville (18) - from Mikko Koivu and Ryan Suter (6:19 2ND) *GWG*
MIN - Jason Zucker (1) - from Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund (16:09 2ND)
BUF - Tyler Myers (4) - from Matt Ellis and Mike Weber (18:48 3RD)
MIN - Kyle Brodziak EN (3) - from Ryan Suter and Mikko Koivu (19:34 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Niklas Backstrom (19 saves on 20 shots: 3-9-2) LG - Ryan Miller (28 saves on 31 shots: 10-18-1)
Three Stars:
3. Ryan Suter (2 assists) - Minnesota
2. Mikko Koivu (2 assists) - Minnesota
1. Jasom Pominville (1 goal, GWG) - Minnesota

Montreal Canadiens 6, Dallas Stars 4 (from Dallas) - The Canadiens improved to 24-14-4 on the season thanks to a 6-4 win over the Dallas Stars, dropping them to 20-13-7.
Goals:
DAL - Jamie Benn (14) - from Tyler Seguin and Kevin Connauton (6:12 1ST)
MTL - Max Pacioretty (18) - from P.K. Subban (11:00 1ST)
MTL - David Desharnais (5) - from P.K. Subban and Brendan Gallagher (1:35 2ND)
DAL - Valeri Nichushkin (8) - Penalty Shot (5:23 2ND)
MTL - P.K. Subban (7) - from Max Pacioretty and Carey Price (6:30 2ND)
MTL - Brendan Gallagher PPG (11) - from Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais (3:30 3RD)
DAL - Tyler Seguin PPG (21) - from Cody Eakin and Kevin Connauton (7:42 3RD)
DAL - Brenden Dillon (5) - from Alex Goligoski and Rich Peverley (8:29 3RD)
MTL - Lars Eller (10) - from Travis Moen (10:39 3RD) *GWG*
MTL - Max Pacioretty EN (19) - from P.K. Subban (18:56 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Carey Price (28 saves on 32 shots: 19-11-3) LG - Kari Lehtonen (22 saves on 27 shots: 16-9-7)
Three Stars:
3. Tyler Seguin (1 goal, 1 assist) - Dallas
2. Max Pacioretty (2 goals, 2 assists) - Montreal
1. P.K. Subban (1 goal, 3 assists) - Montreal

Colorado Avalanche 2, Philadelphia Flyers 1 (from Colorado) - The Avs improved to 25-11-4 on the season thanks to a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, dropping them to 20-17-4.
Goals:
COL - Jamie McGinn (8) - from Matt Duchene and Erik Johnson (11:14 1ST)
COL - Ryan O'Reilly (14) - from Gabriel Landeskog (9:17 2ND) *GWG*
PHI - Wayne Simmonds (13) - from Andrej Meszaros and Scott Hartnell (13:48 2ND)
Goalies:
WG - Semyon Varlamov (29 saves on 30 shots: 18-8-4) LG - Steve Mason (29 saves on 31 shots: 16-10-4
Three Stars:
3. Steve Mason (29 saves on 31 shots) - Philadelphia
2. Matt Duchene (1 goal) - Colorado
1. Semyon Varlamov (29 saves on 30 shots for the win) - Colorado

Columbus Blue Jackets 2, Phoenix Coyotes 0 (from Phoenix) - The Blue Jackets improved to 18-19-4 on the season thanks to a 2-0 shutout of the Phoenix Coyotes, dropping them to 20-11-9.
Goals:
CBJ - Nathan Horton PPG (1) - from James Wisniewski and Ryan Murray (15:51 2ND) *GWG*
CBJ - R.J. Umberger PPG (11) - from Fedor Tyutin and Nick Foligno (10:03 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Curtis McElhinney (34 saves on 34 shots: 7-7-1) LG - Mike Smith (29 saves on 31 shots: 15-9-8)
Three Stars:
3. R.J. Umberger (1 goal) - Columbus
2. Nathan Horton (1 goal, GWG) - Columbus
1. Curtis McElhinney (34 saves on 34 shots for the shutout) - Columbus

San Jose Sharks 5, Edmonton Oilers 1 (from San Jose) - The Sharks improved to 26-9-6 on the season thanks to a 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers, dropping them to 13-25-5.
Goals:
SJS - Brent Burns (13) - from Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton (14:37 1ST)
SJS - Patrick Marleau (18) - unassisted (15:26 1ST) *GWG*
SJS - Bracken Kearns (3) - from Andrew Desjardins and James Sheppard (7:18 2ND)
SJS - Logan Couture (13) - from John McCarthy (8:45 2ND)
EDM - Nail Yakupov (7) - from Sam Gagner and Jordan Eberle (15:39 2ND)
SJS - Joe Pavelski (17) - from Joe Thornton and Matt Irwin (5:44 2ND)
Goalies:
WG - Antti Niemi (23 saves on 24 shots: 22-8-6) LG - Devan Dubnyk (31 saves on 36 shots: 10-16-2)
Three Stars:
3. Patrick Marleau (1 goal, GWG) - San Jose
2. Joe Thornton (2 assists) - San Jose
1. Joe Pavelski (1 goal, 1 assist) - San Jose

Three Stars of the Night:
3. Brian Elliot - Elliot made 30 saves in the Blues 5-0 shutout of the Kings.
2. P.K. Subban/Max Pacioretty - The duo combined for 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) in the Canadiens 6-4 win over the Stars. Subban had 1 goal and 3 assists while Pacioretty had 2 goals and 2 assists.
1. Jeff Skinner - Skinner recorded his 2nd hat trick this season, scoring 3 goals (including the OT winner) in the Hurricanes 4-3 win over the Capitals.

Current Winning/Losing Streaks (3 or more games):
St. Louis Blues - 4 game winning streak
Toronto Maple Leafs - 3 game winning streak
Ottawa Senators - 3 game winning streak
New York Islanders - 3 game winning streak

Los Angeles Kings - 5 game losing streak
Calgary Flames - 3 game losing streak

What's up next (January 3rd) - There are 4 NHL games on tap for Friday:
1. Chicago Blackhawks vs. New Jersey Devils @7PM ET (In New Jersey)
2. New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins @7PM ET (In Pittsburgh) {***Forman's Game of the Night***}
3. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Calgary Flames @9PM ET (In Calgary)
4. Edmonton Oilers vs. Anaheim Ducks @10PM ET (In Anaheim)

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff

January 1st NHL Recap

Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Detroit Red Wings 2 (SO) - (from Detroit) - The Leafs improved to 21-16-5 on the season thanks to a 3-2 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings, dropping them to 18-14-10.
Goals:
DET - Daniel Alfredsson (11) - from Henrik Zetterberg and Brendan Smith (13:14 2ND)
TOR - James van Riemsdyk (15) - from Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf (19:23 2ND)
TOR - Tyler Bozak (5) - from Dion Phaneuf (4:41 3RD)
DET - Justin Abdelkader (5) - from Brendan Smith (14:28 3RD)
Shootout winner - Tyler Bozak (TOR)
Goalies:
WG - Jonathan Bernier (41 saves on 43 shots: 13-11-4) LG - Jimmy Howard (24 saves on 26 shots: 6-9-8)
Three Stars:
3. Brendan Smith (2 assists) - Detroit
2. Tyler Bozak (1 goal, shootout winner) - Toronto
1. Jonathan Bernier (41 saves on 43 shots for the win) - Toronto

Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Vancouver Canucks 2 (from Vancouver) - The Lightning improved to 24-12-4 on the season thanks to a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, dropping them to 23-12-7.
Goals:
VAN - Brad Richardson (8) - from Chris Higgins (11:25 2ND)
TBL - Valtteri Filppula (15) - from Teddy Purcell and Alex Killorn (15:27 2ND)
TBL - Tyler Johnson (11) - from Ondrej Palat and Mark Barberio (15:47 2ND)
VAN - Zac Dalpe (1) - from Dale Weise and Tom Sestito (16:01 2ND)
TBL - Nikita Kucherov PPG (4) - from Radko Gudas and Matt Carle (19:57 2ND) *GWG*
TBL - Alex Killorn (10) - from Victor Hedman and Valtteri Filppula (7:28 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Ben Bishop (28 saves on 30 shots: 21-5-3) LG - Eddie Lack (29 saves on 33 shots: 7-3-1)
Three Stars:
3. Ben Bishop (28 saves on 30 shots for the win) - Tampa Bay
2. Alex Killorn (1 goal, 1 assist) - Tampa Bay
1. Valtteri Filppula (1 goal, 1 assist) - Tampa Bay

Three Stars of the Night:
3. Tyler Bozak - Bozak scored 1 goal and added the shootout winner in the Winter Classic.
2. Valtteri Filppula - Filppula had 1 goal and 1 assist in the Lightning's 4-2 win over the Canucks.
1. Jonathan Bernier - Bernier was the star of the Winter Classic, making 41 saves on 43 shots for the win.

Winter Classic Notes:
I was fortunate enough to attend the 2014 Winter Classic, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. The atmosphere at The Big House was crazy, as it didn't stop snowing the entire game. Here's some notes about the game:
-The 2014 Winter Classic was a home-run for the NHL, not only was it sold out but fans stayed there to the very end despite the weather. This was by far the best Winter Classic compared to all the previous ones.
-The crowd was a great split of a sea of red and a sea of blue, but in general I felt there were more Leaf fans and the Leaf fans were much lowder.
-Jonathan Bernier was sensational for the Leafs, the reason they walked away with 2 points.
-Snow was a huge factor in this game, it really limited puck movement and made it difficult for players to make passes/shoot the puck. Every commercial break they had a crew shovel off the ice (as it snowed the entire game) and each time this happened it was at least a 5 minute delay with all the snow
-James van Riemsdyk goal was a beauty, batting it right out of mid-air.
-I normally hate shootouts, but the shootout was a great way to end the game especially with the Bozak winning goal.
-The buzzer at 10:00 of the 3rd and 2:30 of OT was so stupid, and it might have cost the Red Wings an extra point. Zetterberg had a breakaway in OT and the buzzer went at 2:30, although both teams were clearly aware of this rule (due to one side of the ice being alot worse than the other) it was stupid and most of the fans had no idea what was going on.
-The announcer said "Bridgestone" far too many times throughout the game, yes we get it you are the sponsor but it was too often.
-Mike Babcock rocking a fedora was just awesome.
-Daniel Alfredsson was booed everytime he touched the puck, I love how this still exists even though hes not even on the Sens anymore.
-For how many people the Big House can fit, it is a much smaller stadium than it seems. The rows are so packed together that it made leaving/coming to seats very annoying.
-Overall it was a phenomenal experience that I will remember for ever.

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff

December 31st NHL Recap

New Jersey Devils 2, Pittsburgh Penguins 1 (from New Jersey)
Goals:
NJD - Adam Henrique (9) - from Ryan Clowe and Michael Ryder (1:38 1ST)
NJD - Michael Ryder (12) - from Adam Henrique and Martin Brodeur (2:45 2ND) *GWG*
PIT - Matt Niskanen (4) - from Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz (6:58 2ND)
Goalies:
WG - Martin Brodeur (19 saves on 20 shots: 12-8-3) LG - Marc-Andre Fleury (28 saves on 30 shots: 22-10-1)
Three Stars:
3. Matt Niskanen (1 goal) - Pittsburgh
2. Martin Brodeur (19 saves on 20 shots for the win, 1 assist) - New Jersey
1. Adam Henrique (1 goal, 1 assist) - New Jersey

New York Rangers 2, Florida Panthers 1 (SO) - (from Florida)
Goals:
FLA - Brad Boyes (10) - from Aleksander Barkov (9:18 2ND)
NYR - Dan Girardi (3) - from Derek Stepan and Rick Nash (17:50 3RD)
Shootout winner - Brad Richards (NYR)
Goalies:
WG - Henrik Lundqvist (21 saves on 22 shots: 12-15-2) LG - Tim Thomas (30 saves on 31 shots: 9-10-2)
Three Stars:
3. Dan Girardi (1 goal) - New York
2. Tim Thomas (30 saves on 31 shots) - Florida
1. Henrik Lundqvist (21 saves on 22 shots for the win) - New York

St. Louis Blues 2, Minnesota Wild 1 (from Minnesota)
Goals:
STL - T.J. Oshie (6) - from Jaden Schwartz (6:49 2ND)
STL - Jaden Schwartz (14) - from Vladimir Tarasenko and Brian Elliot (15:59 2ND) *GWG*
MIN - Ryan Suter (2) - from Charlie Coyle and Mikko Koivu (19:51 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Brian Elliot (24 saves on 25 shots: 10-1-2) LG - Josh Harding (21 saves on 23 shots: 18-7-3)
Three Stars:
3. Ryan Suter (1 goal) - Minnesota
2. T.J. Oshie (1 goal) - St. Louis
1. Jaden Schwartz (1 goal, 1 assist, GWG) - St. Louis

New York Islanders 5, Boston Bruins 3 (from Boston)
Goals:
BOS - David Krejci (9) - from Jarome Iginla and Milan Lucic (4:25 1ST)
NYI - Frans Nielsen PPG (14) - from John Tavares and Kyle Okposo (5:56 2ND)
BOS - Patrice Bergeron PPG (10) - from Ryan Spooner and Reilly Smith (12:33 2ND)
BOS - Dan Paille (5) - from Zdeno Chara (12:58 2ND)
NYI - Frans Nielsen PPG (15) - from Thomas Vanek and John Tavares (16:30 2ND)
NYI - Kyle Okposo PPG (15) - from Andrew MacDonald (19:57 2ND)
NYI - John Tavares (15) - from Thomas Vanek and Thomas Hickey (0:32 3RD) *GWG*
NYI - John Tavares PPG (16) - from Andrew MacDonald and Kyle Okposo (13:17 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Evgeni Nabokov (35 saves on 38 shots: 8-7-5) LG - Tuukka Rask (26 saves on 31 shots: 20-9-2)
Three Stars:
3. Frans Nielsen (2 goals) - New York
2. Kyle Okposo (1 goal, 2 assists) - New York
1. John Tavares (2 goals, 2 assists, GWG) - New York

Carolina Hurriacanes 5, Montreal Canadiens 4 (OT) - (from Carolina)
Goals:
MTL - Lars Eller (9) - from Alex Galchenyuk (1:20 1ST)
MTL - Max Pacioretty PPG (16) - from David Desharnais and Andrei Markov (7:46 1ST)
MTL - Max Pacioretty (17) - from P.K. Subban and David Desharnais (14:24 2ND)
CAR - Jeff Skinner PPG (15) - from Jordan Staal and Andrej Sekera (1:38 3RD)
CAR - Jeff Skinner PPG (16) - Andrej Sekera and Eric Staal (2:15 3RD)
CAR - Eric Staal (10) - from Jeff Skinner and Brett Bellemore (4:07 3RD)
CAR - Manny Malhotra (2) - from Zach Boychuk and Tuomo Ruutu (8:16 3RD)
MTL - P.K. Subban PPG (6) - from Andrei Markov and David Desharnais (10:16 3RD)
CAR - Alexander Semin (5) - from Ron Hainsey and Eric Staal (3:27 OT) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Cam Ward (21 saves on 25 shots: 6-7-5) LG - Carey Price (37 saves on 42 shots: 18-11-3)
Three Stars:
3. Eric Staal (1 goal, 2 assists) - Carolina
2. Max Pacioretty (2 goals) - Montreal
1. Jeff Skinner (2 goals, 1 assist) - Carolina

Winnipeg Jets 3, Buffalo Sabres 0 (from Winnipeg)
Goals:
WPG - Keaton Ellerby (2) - from Andrew Ladd (10:42 1ST) *GWG*
WPG - Jacob Trouba (3) - from Chris Thorburn and Devin Setoguchi (13:06 2ND)
WPG - Anthony Peluso EN (2) - from Evander Kane and Mark Scheifele (18:32 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Al Montoya (27 saves on 27 shots: 8-2-1) LG - Jhonas Enroth (23 saves on 25 shots: 1-8-3)
Three Stars:
3. Keaton Ellerby (1 goal, GWG) - Winnipeg
2. Jacob Trouba (1 goal) - Winnipeg
1. Al Montoya (27 saves on 27 shots for the shutout) - Winnipeg

Dallas Stars 3, Los Angeles Kings 2 (from Dallas)
Goals:
LAK - Jeff Carter PPG (13) - from Mike Richards and Drew Doughty (12:23 1ST)
DAL - Erik Cole PPG (9) - from Alex Chiasson and Tyler Seguin (15:58 1ST)
DAL - Tyler Seguin PPG (20) - from Alex Chiasson and Jamie Benn (12:13 2ND)
DAL - Erik Cole (10) - from Rich Peverley and Valeri Nichushkin (15:16 2ND) *GWG*
LAK - Anze Kopitar (13) - from Jeff Carter and Dwight King (1:05 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Kari Lehtonen (23 saves on 25 shots: 16-8-7) LG - Ben Scrivens (29 saves on 32 shots: 7-5-4)
Three Stars:
3. Tyler Seguin (1 goal, 1 assist) - Dallas
2. Jeff Carter (1 goal, 1 assist) - Los Angeles
1. Erik Cole (2 goals, GWG) - Dallas

Colorado Avalanche 5, Columbus Blue Jackets 3 (from Colorado)
Goals:
CBJ - Ryan Johansen (16) - from Nick Foligno and R.J. Umberger (4:13 1ST)
COL - Jan Hejda (4) - unassisted (6:33 1ST)
CBJ - Boone Jenner (5) - from Blake Comeau and Jack Johnson (8:34 2ND)
COL - Jamie McGinn (7) - from Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly (12:04 2ND)
COL - Ryan O'Reilly PPG (13) - from Matt Duchene and Erik Johnson (14:42 2ND)
COL - Gabriel Landeskog PPG (12) - from Paul Stastny and Nathan MacKinnon (8:10 3RD) *GWG*
CBJ - Nick Foligno (11) - from R.J. Umberger and Ryan Johansen (8:47 3RD)
COL - Nathan MacKinnon PPG (10) - from Andre Benoit and Tyson Barrie (18:57 3RD)
:Goalies:
WG - Semyon Varlamov (35 saves on 38 shots: 17-8-4) LG - Curtis McElhinney (18 saves on 23 shots: 6-7-1)
Three Stars:
3. Nathan MacKinnon (1 goal, 1 assist) - Colorado
2. Nick Foligno (1 goal, 1 assist) - Columbus
1. Matt Duchene (2 assists) - Colorado

Anaheim Ducks 6, San Jose Sharks 3 (from Anaheim)
Goals:
ANA - Kyle Palmieri (7) - from Matt Beleskey and Cam Fowler (16:24 1ST)
SJS - Dan Boyle PPG (7) - from Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton (0:35 2ND)
ANA - Francois Beauchemin (1) - from Ryan Getzlaf and Jakub Silfverberg (11:00 2ND)
SJS - Logan Couture (12) - from Patrick Marleau and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (12:35 2ND)
ANA - Nick Bonino PPG (11) - from Ryan Getzlaf and Cam Fowler (14:59 2ND)
ANA - Matt Beleskey (2) - from Nick Bonino (18:30 2ND) *GWG*
ANA - Ryan Getzlaf (20) - from Corey Perry (1:14 3RD)
ANA - Andrew Cogliano SHG (12) - from Saku Koivu (2:25 3RD)
SJS - Bracken Kearns PPG (2) - from Matt Irwin and Matt Nieto (3:16 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Jonas Hiller (33 saves on 36 shots: 18-4-4) LG - Antti Niemi (29 saves on 34 shots: 21-8-6) Alex Stalock (3 saves on 4 shots in relief of Niemi)
Three Stars:
3. Jonas Hiller (33 saves on 36 shots for the win) - Anaheim
2. Nick Bonino (1 goal, 1 assist) - Anaheim
1. Ryan Getzlaf (1 goal, 2 assists) - Anaheim

Philadelphia Flyers 4, Calgary Flames 1 (from Calgary)
Goals:
PHI - Mark Streit (5) - from Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds (3:15 1ST)
CGY - Sean Monahan (11) - from Paul Byron (14:30 2ND)
PHI - Brayden Schenn (9) - from Andrej Meszaros and Wayne Simmonds (18:31 2ND) *GWG*
PHI - Scott Hartnell (8) - from Luke Schenn and Brayden Schenn (10:14 3RD)
PHI - Braydon Coburn SHG/EN (4) - from Sean Couturier (18:04 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Ray Emery (23 saves on 24 shots: 4-7-0) LG - Reto Berra (17 saves on 20 shots: 5-11-2)
Three Stars:
3. Ray Emery (23 saves on 24 shots for the win) - Philadelphia
2. Wayne Simmonds (2 assists) - Philadelphia
1. Brayden Schenn (1 goal, 2 assists, GWG) - Philadelphia

Phoenix Coyotes 4, Edmonton Oilers 3 (from Phoenix)
Goals:
PHX - Keith Yandle (5) - from Derek Morris and Lauri Korpikoski (10:59 1ST)
EDM - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (11) - from Taylor Hall and David Perron (18:50 1ST)
EDM - David Perron (17) - from Taylor Hall (0:25 2ND)
EDM - Justin Schultz (4) - from Taylor Hall (6:44 2ND)
PHX - Tim Kennedy (2) - from Martin Hanzal and Michael Stone (12:05 2ND)
PHX - Mikkel Boedker (11) - from Keith Yandle and Radim Vrbata (18:50 3RD)
PHX - Keith Yandle (6) - unassited (4:53 OT) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Thomas Greiss (15 saves on 15 shots: 5-2-1) in relief of Mike Smith (7 saves on 10 shots) LG - Ilya Bryzgalov (41 saves on 45 shots: 2-4-2)
Three Stars:
3. Mikkel Boedker (1 goal) - Phoenix
2. Taylor Hall (3 assists) - Edmonton
1. Keith Yandle (2 goals, 1 assist, OT winner) - Phoenix

Three Stars of the Night:
3. Ryan Getzlaf - Getzlaf had 1 goal and 2 assists in the Ducks 6-3 win over the Sharks.
2. Keith Yandle - Yandle scored 2 goals (including the OT winner) and added an assist in the Coyotes 4-3 win over the Oilers.
1. John Tavares - Tavares capped off 2013 with a huge performance, scoring 2 goals (including the eventual game-winner) and added 2 assists in the Islanders 5-3 win over the Bruins.

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff

December 30th NHL Recap

Ottawa Senators 3, Washington Capitals 1 (from Ottawa)
Goals:
WSH - Joel Ward (12) - from Marin Erat and Jason Chimera (2:11 1ST)
OTT - Mike Zibanejad (9) - from Cory Conacher and Milan Michalek (13:49 1ST)
OTT - Kyle Turris (10) - from Bobby Ryan (3:14 2ND) *GWG*
OTT - Clarke MacArthur EN (12) - from Erik Karlsson and Jared Cowen (19:25 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Craig Anderson (34 saves on 35 shots: 12-9-4) LG - Philipp Grubauer (35 saves on 37 shots: 5-2-2)
Three Stars:
3. Erik Karlsson (1 assist) - Ottawa
2. Kyle Turris (1 goal, GWG) - Ottawa
1. Craig Anderson (34 saves on 35 shots for the win) - Ottawa

Chicago Blackhawks 1, Los Angeles Kings 0 (from Chicago)
Goals:
CHI - Brandon Saad (14) - from Bryan Bickell and Duncan Keith (7:05 1ST) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Antti Raanta (26 saves on 26 shots: 10-1-3) LG - Martin Jones (29 saves on 30 shots: 8-2-0)
Three Stars:
3. Martin Jones (29 saves on 30 shots) - Los Angeles
2. Duncan Keith (1 assist) - Chicago
1. Antti Raanta (26 saves on 26 shots for the win) - Chicago

Nashville Predators 6, Detroit Red Wings 4 (from Nashville)
Goals:
NSH - Colin Wilson (6) - from Seth Jones and Mike Fisher (1:54 1ST)
DET - Justin Abdelkader (4) - from Drew Miller (3:00 1ST)
NSH - Craig Smith (11) - from Paul Gaustad (9:50 1ST)
NSH - Nick Spaling (7) - from Craig Smith (4:24 2ND)
DET - Pavel Datsyuk (15) - from Niklas Kronwall (0:35 3RD)
NSH - Mike Fisher (10) - from Colin Wilson or Patric Hornqvist (5:50 3RD)
DET - Kyle Quincey (2) - from Darren Helm and Henrik Zetterberg (11:30 3RD)
NSH - Colin Wilson (7) - from Seth Jones and Mike Fisher (12:07 3RD) *GWG*
DET - Patrick Eaves PPG (1) - from Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall (14:52 3RD)
NSH - Roman Josi PPG/EN (3) - from Matt Cullen (19:41 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Marek Mazanec (21 saves on 25 shots: 7-8-1) LG - Jimmy Howard (23 saves on 28 shots: 6-9-7)
Three Stars:
3. Henrik Zetterberg (2 assists) - Detroit
2. Mike Fisher (1 goal, 2 assists) - Nashville
1. Colin Wilson (2 goals, 1 assist, GWG) - Nashville

Philadelphia Flyers 4, Vancouver Canucks 3 (SO) - (from Vancouver)
Goals:
PHI - Mark Streit (4) - from Michael Raffl and Claude Giroux (15:24 1ST)
VAN - Tom Sestito (3) - from Dan Hamhuis and Zac Dalpe (4:24 2ND)
VAN - Jannik Hansen (8) - from Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin (16:51 2ND)
PHI - Claude Giroux (11) - from Michael Raffl (18:52 2ND)
VAN - Daniel Sedin (13) - from Dan Hamhuis (17:12 3RD)
PHI - Brayden Schenn (8) - from Scott Hartnell and Matt Read (19:13 3RD)
Shootout winner - Vincent Lecavalier (PHI)
Goalies:
WG - Steve Mason (41 saves on 44 shots: 16-9-4) LG - Eddie Lack (24 saves on 27 shots: 7-2-1)
Three Stars:
3. Michael Raffl (2 assists) - Philadelphia
2. Daniel Sedin (1 goal, 1 assist) - Vancouver
1. Claude Giroux (1 goal, 1 assist) - Philadelpiha

Three Stars of the Night:
3. Antti Raanta - Raanta made 26 saves for the shutout.
2. Claude Giroux - Giroux had 1 goal and 1 assist in the Flyers 4-3 shootout win over the Canucks.
1. Colin Wilson - Wilson had 2 goals (including the eventual game-winner) and 1 assist in the Predators 6-4 win over the Red Wings.

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff