December 16th NHL Recap

Pittsburgh Penguins 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 1 (from Pittsburgh) - The Penguins improved to 24-10-1 on the season thanks to a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, dropping them to 17-15-3.
Goals:
PIT - Chris Conner (3) - from Brian Dumoulin and Joe Vitale (0:39 1ST)
TOR - Morgan Rielly PPG (1) - from Cody Franson and Jonathan Bernier (6:03 2ND)
PIT - Sidney Crosby (19) - from Pascal Dupuis and Robert Bortuzzo (13:57 3RD) *GWG*
PIT - Brandon Sutter SHG/EN (6) - unassisted (19:56 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Marc-Andre Fleury (25 saves on 26 shots: 19-8-1) LG - Jonathan Bernier (28 saves on 30 shots: 10-11-2)
Three Stars:
3. Morgan Rielly (1 goal) - Toronto
2. Marc-Andre Fleury (25 saves on 26 shots for the win) - Pittsburgh
1. Sidney Crosby (1 goal, including the GWG) - Pittsburgh

Winnipeg Jets 3, Columbus Blue Jackets 2 (from Columbus) - The Jets improved to 15-15-5 (.500) on the season thanks to a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, dropping them to 14-16-4.
Goals:
WPG - Mark Scheifele (4) - from Evander Kane and Michael Frolik (13:59 2ND)
WPG - Bryan Little PPG (14) - from Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd (2:28 3RD)
CBJ - R.J. Umberger (8) - from Matt Calvert and Ryan Johansen (8:48 3RD)
WPG - Evander Kane (8) - from Mark Stuart (10:35 3RD) *GWG*
CBJ - Fedor Tyutin (4) - from Mark Letestu and Nick Foligno (11:39 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Al Montoya (22 saves on 24 shots: 5-2-1) LG - Mike McKenna (29 saves on 32 shots: 0-1-1)
Three Stars:
3. Mark Scheifele (1 goal) - Winnipeg
2. Fedor Tyutin (1 goal) - Columbus
1. Evander Kane (1 goal, 1 assist, GWG) - Winnipeg

Ottawa Senators 3, St. Louis Blues 2 (OT) - (from Ottawa) - The Senators improved to 14-15-6 on the season thanks to a 3-2 OT win over the St. Louis Blues, dropping them to 22-6-4.
Goals:
OTT - Jean-Gabriel Pageau (2) - from Bobby Ryan and Erik Karlsson (3:57 1ST)
STL - Chris Stewart (8) - from Derek Roy (16:50 2ND)
STL - Chris Stewart (9) - from Derek Roy and Brenden Morrow (19:47 2ND)
OTT - Bobby Ryan (16) - from Kyle Turris and Mika Zibanejad (5:44 2ND)
OTT - Cody Ceci (1) - unassisted (3:59 OT) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Robin Lehner (30 saves on 32 shots: 5-7-3) LG - Brian Elliot (29 saves on 32 shots: 6-1-2)
Three Stars:
3. Bobby Ryan (1 goal, 1 assist) - Ottawa
2. Chris Stewart (2 goals) - St. Louis
1. Cody Ceci (1 goal, OT winner) - Ottawa

Colorado Avalanche 6, Dallas Stars 2 (from Colorado) - The Avalanche improved to 22-9-1 on the season thanks to a 6-2 rout of the Dallas Stars, dropping them to 15-12-5.
Goals:
COL - Nathan MacKinnon (7) - from Matt Duchene and Cory Sarich (10:38 1ST)
DAL - Kevin Connauton (1) - from Tyler Seguin and Alex Goligoski (19:27 1ST)
COL - Paul Stastny (9) - from Max Talbot and Jamie McGinn (8:29 2ND)
COL - Andre Benoit (2) - from Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene (13:42 2ND) *GWG*
COL - Paul Stastny (10) - from Gabriel Landeskog and P.A. Parenteau (16:32 2ND)
COL - Erik Johnson (3) - from Paul Stastny and P.A. Parenteau (19:57 2ND)
DAl - Tyler Seguin (18) - from Valeri Nichushkin and Sergei Gonchar (3:26 3RD)
COL - Tyson Barrie (1) - from P.A. Parenteau and Paul Stastny (15:16 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Semyon Varlamov (31 saves on 33 shots: 15-8-1) LG - Kari Lehtonen (42 saves on 48 shots: 12-8-5)
Three Stars:
3. P.A. Parenteau (3 assists) - Colorado
2. Matt Duchene (2 assists) - Colorado
1. Paul Stastny (2 goals, 2 assists) - Colorado

Three Stars of the Night:
3. Sidney Crosby - With 7 regulars out for the Penguins, their Captain and best player came up big scoring the game-winning goal late in the 3rd.
2. Evander Kane - Kane had a goal and added an assist in the Jets 3-2 win over Columbus.
1. Paul Stastny - Stastny had a huge game for the Avs, scoring twice and adding 2 assists in their 6-2 win over the Stars.

Interesting Stats of the Night:
-Morgan Rielly scored his first NHL goal for the Leafs.
-Ottawa-native Cody Ceci scored the OT winner for the Sens, his 1st NHL goal in only his 2nd NHL game.
-Stars D Kevin Connauton scored his 1st NHL goal.
-The Penguins won tonight despite missing Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Kris Letang, Brooks Orpik and Paul Martin

Current Winning/Losing Streaks (3 or more games):
Vancouver Canucks (7-game winning streak)
Anaheim Ducks (5-game winning streak)

Pittsburgh Penguins (4-game winning streak)

Florida Panthers (3-game winning steak)

Nashville Predators (3-game winning streak)

Detroit Red Wings (5-game losing streak)

Edmonton Oilers (3-game losing streak)

Forman Faceoff Highlight of the Night:
-Morgan Rielly gets it tonight with his 1st NHL, an absolute snipe past Marc-Andre Fleury: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ErVeNJZxQM
Honourable Mentions:
-Nathan MacKinnon goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGMQBMQgQBQ
-Bobby Ryan Goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_oxiwnrCLs
-Cody Ceci OT goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgO9MwAxRh8

What's up next (December 17th) - There are 12 NHL games on tap for Tuesday:
1. Calgary Flames vs. Boston Bruins @7PM ET (In Boston)
2. Winnipeg Jets vs. Buffalo Sabres @7PM ET (In Buffalo)
3. Florida Panthers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs @7PM ET (In Toronto)
4. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New York Islanders @7PM ET (In New York)
5. Phoenix Coyotes vs. Montreal Canadiens @730PM ET (In Montreal)
6. Anaheim Ducks vs. Detroit Red Wings @730PM ET (In Detroit) {**2013 Stanley Cup Playoff Rematch**}
7. Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers @730PM ET (In Philadelphia)
8. San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues @8PM ET (In St. Louis) {***Forman's Game of the Night***}
9. Chicago Blackhawks vs. Nashville Predators @8PM ET (In Nashville)
10. Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild @8PM ET (In Minnesota)
11. Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars @830PM ET (In Dallas)
12. Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings @1030PM ET (In Los Angeles)

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff