December 18th NHL Recap

New Jersey Devils 5, Ottawa Senators 2 (from New Jersey) - The Devils improved to 14-15-6 on the season thanks to a 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, dropping them to 14-16-6.
Goals:
NJD - Stephen Gionta SHG (1) - from Adam Henrique and Anton Volchenkov (2:02 1ST)
NJD - Reid Boucher (1) - from Eric Gelinas and Michael Ryder (12:08 1ST)
NJD - Jaromir Jagr PPG (12) - from Travis Zajac and Andy Greene (2:08 2ND) *GWG*
OTT - Colin Greening PPG (3) - from Mika Zibanejad and Erik Karlsson (5:30 2ND)
NJD - Damien Brunner (8) - from Patrik Elias (19:32 2ND)
OTT - Milan Michalek PPG (6) - from Patrick Wiercioch (8:35 3RD)
NJD - Eric Gelinas (4) - from Damien Brunner and Patrik Elias (9:20 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Martin Brodeur (23 saves on 25 shots: 10-8-2) LG - Robin Lehner (28 saves on 33 shots: 5-8-3)
Three Stars:
3. Damien Brunner (1 goal, 1 assist) - New Jersey
2. Reid Boucher (1 goal) - New Jersey
1. Eric Gelinas (1 goal, 1 assist) - New Jersey

Pittsburgh Penguins 4, New York Rangers 3 (SO) - (from New York) - The Penguins improved to 25-10-1 on the season thanks to a 4-3 shootout win over the New York Rangers, dropping them to 16-17-2
Goals:
PIT - Chris Kunitz PPG (18) - from Jussi Jokinen and Sidney Crosby (12:44 2ND)
NYR - Carl Hagelin (7) - from John Moore and Brad Richards (15:35 2ND)
PIT - Pascal Dupuis (6) - from Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz (5:25 3RD)
PIT - Brandon Sutter (7) - from Olli Maatta (6:26 3RD)
NYR - Mats Zuccarello (7) - from John Moore and Justin Falk (12:43 3RD)
NYR - Derick Brassard PPG (6) - from Benoit Pouliot and Mats Zuccarello (18:14 3RD)
Shootout winner - Brandon Sutter (PIT)
Goalies:
WG - Marc-Andre Fleury (29 saves on 32 shots: 20-8-1) LG - Henrik Lundqvist (29 saves on 32 shots: 10-14-2)
Three Stars:
3. Mats Zuccarello (1 goal, 1 assist) - New York
2. Brandon Sutter (1 goal, shootout winner) - Pittsburgh
1. Sidney Crosby (2 assists) - Pittsburgh

Three Stars of the Night:
3. Brandon Sutter - Sutter scored his 7th goal of the season and added the shootout winner in the Penguins 4-3 win over the Rangers.
2. Eric Gelinas - Gelinas scored his 4th goal of the season and added an assist in the Devils 5-2 win over the Sens.
1. Sidney Crosby - Crosby had 2 assists in the Penguins 4-3 shootout win over the Rangers

Interesting Stats of the Night:
-Jaromir Jagr scored goal #693, passing Steve Yzerman and moving into 8th place in NHL history. Jagr also scored his 122nd career game-winning goal, passing Gordie Howe for 1st in NHL history. Quite a night for #68.
-Reid Boucher scored his 1st NHL goal for the Devils.

Current Winning/Losing Streaks (3 or more games):
Anaheim Ducks (6-game winning streak)

Pittsburgh Penguins (5-game winning streak)

Florida Panthers (4-game winning steak)

Detroit Red Wings (6-game losing streak)

Edmonton Oilers (3-game losing streak)

New York Islanders (3-game losing streak)

Forman Faceoff Highlight of the Night:
-Brandon Sutter gets it tonight with this nifty end-to-end goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJkfRJGBKpA

What's up next (December 19th) - There are 11 NHL games on tap for Thursday:
1. Boston Bruins vs. Buffalo Sabres @7PM ET (In Buffalo)
2. Phoenix Coyotes vs. Toronto Maple Leafs @7PM ET (In Toronto)
3. Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Philadelphia Flyers @7PM ET (In Philadelphia)
4. Minnesota Wild vs. Pittsburgh Penguins @7PM ET (In Pittsburgh)
5. Florida Panthers vs. Ottawa Senators @730PM ET (In Ottawa)
6. Calgary Flames vs. Detroit Red Wings @730PM ET (In Detroit)
7. Nashville Predators vs. Tampa Bay Lightning @730PM ET (In Tampa Bay)
8. Montreal Canadiens vs. St. Louis Blues @8PM ET (In St. Louis)
9. Vancouver Canucks vs. Dallas Stars @830PM ET (In Dallas)
10. Edmonton Oilers vs. Colorado Avalanche @930PM ET (In Colorado)
11. San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings @1030PM ET (In Los Angeles) {***Forman's Game of the Night***}

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff