December 17th NHL Recap

Boston Bruins 2, Calgary Flames 0 (from Boston) - The Bruin improved to 23-9-2 on the season thanks to a 2-0 shutout of the Calgary Flames, dropping them to 13-16-5.
Goals:
BOS - Zdeno Chara PPG (8) - from David Krejci and Jarome Iginla (7:38 2ND) *GWG*
BOS - Zdeno Chara PPG (9) - from Jarome Iginla and David Krejci (3:19 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Tuukka Rask (21 saves on 21 shots: 17-8-2) LG - Reto Berra (29 saves on 31 shots: 4-8-2)
Three Stars:
3. Jarome Iginla (2 assists) - Boston
2. Tuukka Rask (21 saves on 21 shots for the shutout) - Boston
1. Zdeno Chara (2 goals, GWG) - Boston

Buffalo Sabres 4, Winnipeg Jets 2 (from Buffalo) - The Sabres improved to 8-23-3 on the season thanks to a 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets, dropping them to 15-16-5.
Goals:
WPG - Mark Scheifele (5) - from Grant Clitsome (1:02 2ND)
WPG - Mark Scheifele (6) - unassisted (1:38 2ND)
BUF - Steve Ott (4) - from Drew Stafford and Mike Weber (10:16 2ND)
BUF - Marcus Foligno (4) - from Cody Hodgson and Tyler Myers (0:50 3RD)
BUF - Matt Moulson PPG (12) - from Christian Ehrhoff and Tyler Ennis (2:31 3RD) *GWG*
BUF - Matt Ellis (1) - from Kevin Porter and Brian Flynn (13:38 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Ryan Miller (25 saves on 27 shots: 7-17-0) LG - Ondrej Pavelec (27 saves on 31 shots: 10-14-4)
Three Stars:
3. Ryan Miller (25 saves on 27 shots for the win) - Buffalo
2. Mark Scheifele (2 goals) - Winnipeg
1. Matt Moulson (1 goal, GWG) - Buffalo

Florida Panthers 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 1 (from Toronto) - The Panthers improved to 13-17-5 on the season thanks to a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, dropping them to 17-16-3.
Goals:
FLA - Tomas Fleischmann (5) - from Aleksander Barkov and Dylan Olsen (3:29 1ST)
FLA - Sean Bergenheim (4) - from Aleksander Barkov and Dmitry Kulikov (5:54 2ND) *GWG*
FLA - Brad Boyes (9) - from Sean Bergenheim (16:50 2ND)
TOR - Mason Raymond (11) - from Peter Holland (3:43 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Scott Clemmensen (28 saves on 29 shots: 3-2-1) LG - James Reimer (20 saves on 23 shots: 7-5-1)
Three Stars:
3. Scott Clemmensen (28 saves on 29 shots for the win) - Florida
2. Sean Bergenheim (1 goal, 1 assist, GWG) - Florida
1. Aleksander Barkov (2 assists) - Florida

Tampa Bay Lightning 3, New York Islanders 2 (SO) - (From New York) - The Lightning improved to 20-11-3 on the season thanks to a 3-2 shootout win over the New York Islanders, dropping them to 9-19-7.
Goals:
NYI - Kyle Okposo PPG (11) - from John Tavares and Brock Nelson (0:11 2ND)
NYI - Frans Nielsen (11) - from Michael Grabner and Josh Bailey (10:21 3RD)
TBL - Valtteri Filppula (11) - unassisted (17:07 3RD)
TBL - Valtteri Filppula (12) - from J.T. Brown and Martin St. Louis (19:56 3RD)
Shootout winner - Nikita Kucherov (TBL)
Goalies:
WG - Ben Bishop (32 saves on 34 shots: 18-5-2) LG - Evgeni Nabokov (34 saves on 36 shots: 5-5-5)
Three Stars:
3. Evgeni Nabokov (34 saves on 36 shots) - New York
2. Ben Bishop (32 saves on 34 shots for the win) - Tampa Bay
1. Valtteri Filppula (2 goals) - Tampa Bay

Montreal Canadiens 3, Phoenix Coyotes 1 (from Montreal) - The Canadiens improved to 21-12-3 on the season thanks to a 3-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes, dropping them to 18-10-5.
Goals:
PHX - Mikkel Boedker (10) - from Kyle Chipchira and Connor Murphy (6:14 1ST)
MTL - Andrei Markov PPG (3) - from Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais (2:26 3RD)
MTL - Max Pacioretty PPG (13) - from David Desharnais and P.K. Subban (13:18 3RD) *GWG*
MTL - Max Pacioretty EN (14) - from Brian Gionta (19:57 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Carey Price (26 saves on 27 shots: 16-10-2) LG - Mike Smith (25 saves on 27 shots: 14-8-5)
Three Stars:
3. David Desharnais (2 assists) - Montreal
2. Carey Price (26 saves on 27 shots for the win) - Montreal
1. Max Pacioretty (2 goals, GWG) - Montreal

Anaheim Ducks 5, Detroit Red Wings 2 (from Detroit) - The Ducks improved to 24-7-5 on the season thanks to a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings, dropping them to 15-12-9.
Goals:
DET - Tomas Jurco (1) - from Drew Miller and Kyle Quincey (3:15 1ST)
ANA - Jakub Silfverberg (5) - from Francois Beauchemin and Andrew Cogliano (3:40 1ST)
ANA - Nick Bonino (10) - from Daniel Winnik and Teemu Selanne (5:29 1ST)
ANA - Corey Perry (22) - from Ben Lovejoy (18:16 1ST) *GWG*
ANA - Sami Vatanen (4) - from Andrew Cogliano and Saku Koivu (19:59 1ST)
ANA - Saku Koivu (4) - from Andrew Cogliano and Sami Vatanen (12:26 2ND)
DET - Dan Cleary (3) - from Lucas Glendening (18:02 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Jonas Hiller (16 saves on 18 shots: 14-4-4) LG - Jonas Gustavsson (8 saves on 11 shots: 8-3-2), Petr Mrazek (17 saves on 19 shots in relief of Gustavsson)
Three Stars:
3. Tomas Jurco (1 goal) - Detroit
2. Corey Perry (1 goal, GWG) - Anaheim
1. Andrew Cogliano (3 assists) - Anaheim

Philadelphia Flyers 5, Washington Capitals 2 (from Philadelphia) - The Flyers improved to 15-15-4 (.500) on the season thanks to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals, dropping them to 18-13-3.
Goals:
WSH - Alexander Ovechkin PPG (28) - from Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson (0:40 2ND)
PHI - Jakub Voracek (7) - from Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen (1:38 2ND)
WSH - Eric Fehr (5) - from Troy Brouwer and Martin Erat (5:31 2ND)
PHI - Matt Read (10) - from Steve Downie and Nicklas Grossmann (11:54 2ND)
PHI - Mark Streit PPG (3) - from Matt Read and Chris VandeVelde (17:04 2ND) *GWG*
PHI - Jakub Voracek PPG (8) - from Kimmo Timonen and Claude Giroux (18:16 2ND)
PHI - Wayne Simmonds (6) - from Scott Hartnell and Erik Gustafsson (7:29 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Steve Mason (24 saves on 26 shots: 12-9-4) LG - Braden Holtby (30 saves on 35 shots: 13-10-1)
Three Stars:
3. Matt Read (1 goal, 1 assist) - Philadelphia
2. Kimmo Timonen (2 assists) - Philadelphia
1. Jakub Voracek (2 goals) - Philadelphia

San Jose Sharks 4, St. Louis Blues 2 (from St. Louis) - The Sharks improved to 21-7-6 on the season thanks to a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues, dropping them to 22-7-4.
Goals:
SJS - Joe Pavelski (13) - from Martin Havlat (9:38 1ST)
SJS - Matt Irwin (1) - from Justin Braun and Patrick Marleau (12:34 1ST)
SJS - Brent Burns (9) - from Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl (2:00 2ND) *GWG*
STL - Kevin Shattenkirk (4) - from Ian Cole (15:31 2ND)
STL - Jay Bouwmeester (3) - from Alex Pietrangelo and Alexander Steen (19:35 2ND)
SJS - Martin Havlat (3) - from Justin Braun and Patrick Marleau (8:19 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Antti Niemi (20 saves on 22 shots: 18-6-6) LG - Jaroslav Halak (23 saves on 27 shots: 16-6-2)
Three Stars:
3. Justin Braun (2 assists) - San Jose
2. Patrick Marleau (2 assists) - San Jose
1. Martin Havlat (1 goal, 1 assist) - San Jose

Chicago Blackhawks 3, Nashville Predators 1 (from Nashville) - The Hawks improved to 25-7-5 on the season thanks to a 3-1 win over the Nashville Predators, dropping them to 16-15-3.
Goals:
CHI - Duncan Keith (3) - from Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews (1:29 1ST)
NSH - Shea Weber PPG (8) - from Roman Josi and David Legwand (3:03 1ST)
CHI - Patrick Kane PPG (20) - from Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith (16:14 1ST) *GWG*
CHI - Nick Leddy PPG (4) - from Brandon Saad and Brent Seabrook (11:33 2ND)
Goalies:
WG - Antti Raanta (27 saves on 28 shots: 7-1-1) LG - Carter Hutton (24 saves on 27 shots: 7-4-1)
Three Stars:
3. Shea Weber (1 goal) - Nashville
2. Patrick Kane (1 goal, GWG) - Chicago
1. Duncan Keith (1 goal, 1 assist) - Chicago

Minnesota Wild 3, Vancouver Canucks 2 (SO) - (from Minnesota) - The Wild improved to 20-11-5 on the season thanks to a 3-2 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks, dropping them to 20-10-6.
Goals:
VAN - Jannik Hansen (6) - from Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin (8:46 1ST)
MIN - Zach Parise PPG (15) - from Mikko Koivu and Ryan Suter (11:46 1ST)
VAN - David Booth (5) - from Yannick Weber and Mike Santorelli (11:01 2ND)
MIN - Charlie Coyle (4) - from Mikko Koivu and Jonas Brodin (8:47 3RD)
Shootout winner - Jason Pominville (MIN)
Goalies:
WG - Josh Harding (29 saves on 31 shots: 18-5-3) LG - Roberto Luongo (30 saves on 32 shots: 16-8-6)
Three Stars:
3. Roberto Luongo (30 saves on 32 shots) - Vancouver
2. Josh Harding (29 saves on 31 shots) - Minnesota
1. Mikko Koivu (2 assists) - Minnesota

Dallas Stars 3, Colorado Avalanche 2 (from Dallas) - The Stars improved to 16-12-5 on the season thanks to a 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche, dropping them to 22-10-1.
Goals:
COL - Matt Duchene PPG (15) - from Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie (2:37 1ST)
DAL - Ray Whitney (2) - from Shawn Horcoff and Alex Chiasson (7:31 1ST)
COL - Erik Johnson (4) - from Matt Duchene and Nick Holden (10:20 2ND)
DAL - Ray Whitney PPG (3) - from Alex Chiasson and Sergei Gonchar (17:19 2ND)
DAL - Colton Sceviour (2) - from Rich Peverley (17:08 3RD) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Dan Ellis (25 saves on 27 shots: 4-3-0) LG - J.S. Giguere (25 saves on 28 shots: 7-2-0)
Three Stars:
3. Dan Ellis (25 saves on 27 shots for the win) - Dallas
2. Matt Duchene (1 goal, 1 assist) - Colorado
1. Ray Whitney (2 goals) - Dallas

Los Angeles Kings 3, Edmonton Oilers 0 (from Los Angeles) - The Kings improved to 23-8-4 thanks to a 3-0 shutout of the Edmonton Oilers, dropping them to 11-22-3.
Goals:
LAK - Dwight King (9) - from Drew Doughty and Jeff Carter (16:38 1ST) *GWG*
LAK - Jordan Nolan (5) - from (15:22 3RD)
LAK - Dustin Brown EN (7) - from Jarret Stoll (19:20 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Martin Jones (24 saves on 24 shots: 6-0-0) - LG - Ilya Bryzgalov (37 saves on 39 shots: 1-3-0)
Three Stars:
3. Dwight King (1 goal, GWG) - Los Angeles
2. Ilya Bryzgalov (37 saves on 39 shots) - Edmonton
1. Martin Jones (24 saves on 24 shots for the shutout) - Los Angeles

Three Stars of the Night:
3. Martin Jones - Jones continues to steal the spotlight in LA with Jon Quick injured, making 24 saves and picking up his 3rd career shutout in only his 6th career start.
2. Max Pacioretty - Pacioretty scored the game-winning goal and added the empty netter in the Canadiens 3-1 win over the Coyotes.
1. Zdeno Chara - The Bruins Captain had both goals in a 2-0 shutout of the Calgary Flames.

Interesting Stats of the Night:
-Mark Scheifele scored 2 goals in 36 seconds for the Jets.
-Zdeno Chara scored 2 goals tonight to tie Erik Karlsson with 9 goals for the NHL lead for D.
-The Sabres scored 3 unanswered goals in the 3rd to win 4-2 against the Jets, the first time in 21 games this season the Sabres have won a game when trailing after 2 periods.
-Jarome Iginla had 2 assists in his 2nd game against his former team the Calgary Flames.
-Tomas Jurco scored his 1st NHL goal for the Red Wings.
-The Habs scored 3 straight goals in the 3rd to beat the Coyotes 3-1.
-There were 7 goals in the Flyers 5-2 win over the Capitals, 6 of them in the 2nd period.
-Corey Perry has 9 goals in his last 9 games, 22 on the season.
-Ryan Getzlaf's 16-game point streak came to an end tonight, he totalled 10 goals and 13 goals in that stretch.
-The Canucks 7 game winning streak was snapped by the Wild tonight, their first loss in the month of December.
-Tom Wilson and Kyle Quincey will both be hearing from Brendan Shanahan in the near future, both with very dangerous hits from behind tonight. Here's the Wilson hit on Brayden Schenn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89Ldu2k0oKU, and the Quincey hit on Ryan Getzlaf: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcjYloO17js#t=21
-Martin Jones continued his unbeaten streak to start his NHL career with his 6th straight win tonight. It was also his 3rd shutout as well, which ties him with 7 other goalies for 1st in the NHL (Fleury, Harding, Bishop, Rask, Luongo, Brodeur and teammate Ben Scrivens).

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

Pittsburgh Penguins (4-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:
-Mark Scheifele gets it tonight with his 2 goals in 36 seconds, both beautiful moves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyGqg6BMfXE
Honourable Mentions:
-Matt Ellis goal out of mid-air: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYc7u106JVg
-Tomas Jurco first NHL goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtujC6RqBes
-Patrick Kane backhand goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njej_mJ4p3Y
-Mike Smith glove save on Alex Galchenyuk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDM5Xem6AB8

What's up next (December 18th) - There are 2 NHL games on tap for Wednesday:
1. Ottawa Senators vs. New Jersey Devils @730PM ET (In New Jersey)
2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Rangers @8PM ET (In New York) {***Forman's Game of the Night***}

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff