December 7th NHL Recap

Dallas Stars 5, Philadelphia Flyers 1 (from Dallas) - The Stars improved to 14-9-5 on the season thanks to a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, dropping them to 13-14-2
Goals:
PHI - Andrej Meszaros (1) - from Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn (18:51 1ST)
DAL - Tyler Seguin (13) - from Jamie Benn and Valeri Nichushkin (0:39 2ND)
DAL - Tyler Seguin (14) - from Alex Goligoski and Valeri Nichushkin (17:03 2ND) *GWG*
DAL - Tyler Seguin (15 - Hat Trick) - from Valeri Nichushkin (17:43 2ND)
DAL - Valeri Nichushkin (4) - from Tyler Seguin and Alex Goligoski (18:05 2ND)
DAL - Cody Eakin SHG (7) - from Antoine Roussel (15:27 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Dan Ellis (27 saves on 28 shots: 3-3-0) LG - Steve Mason (22 saves on 26 shots: 10-9-2), Ray Emery (7 saves on 8 shots in relief of Mason)
Three Stars:
3. Dan Ellis (27 saves on 28 shots for the win) - Dallas
2. Valeri Nichushkin (1 goal, 3 assists) - Dallas
1. Tyler Seguin (3 goals, 1 assist, GWG) - Dallas

Boston Bruins 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 2 (from Boston) - The Bruins improved to 19-8-2 on the season thanks to a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, dropping them to 20-10-1.
Goals:
PIT - Chris Kunitz PPG (17) - from Sidney Crosby and Matt Niskanen (6:33 1ST)
BOS - Reilly Smith (6) - from Patrice Bergeron (10:13 1ST)
PIT - James Neal PPG (10) - from Matt Niskanen and Simon Despres (13:13 1ST)
BOS - David Krejci (5) - from Milan Lucic and Jarome Iginla (18:31 3RD)
BOS - Zdeno Chara (7) - from Reilly Smith and Brad Marchand (19:47 3RD) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Tuukka Rask (28 saves on 30 shots: 15-7-2) LG - Marc-Andre Fleury (18 saves on 21 shots: 16-8-1)
Three Stars:
3. Reilly Smith (1 goal, 1 assist) - Boston
2. Sidney Crosby (1 assist) - Pittsburgh
1. Zdeno Chara (1 goal, including the GWG) - Boston

Montreal Canadiens 3, Buffalo Sabres 2 (from Montreal) - The Canadiens improved to 19-9-3 on the season thanks to a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres, dropping them to 6-22-2.
Goals:
MTL - Brandon Prust (3) - from Ryan White and Travis Moen (0:19 2ND)
BUF - Tyler Ennis (6) - from Christian Ehrhoff and Cody Hodgson (8:35 2ND)
MTL - Tomas Plekanec (11) - from Brandon Prust and Travis Moen (17:44 2ND)
MTL - Alex Galchenyuk (8) - from Andrei Markov and Tomas Plekanec (18:07 2ND) *GWG*
BUF - Zemgus Girgensons (2) - from Tyler Ennis and Henrik Tallinder (4:04 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Carey Price (23 saves on 25 shots: 14-8-2) LG - Jhonas Enroth (16 saves on 19 shots: 1-6-2)
Three Stars:
3. Tyler Ennis (1 goal, 1 assist) - Buffalo
2. Tomas Plekanec (1 goal, 1 assist) - Montreal
1. Brandon Prust (1 goal, 1 assist) - Montreal

Toronto Maple 4, Leafs Ottawa Senators 3 (SO) - (from Ottawa) - The Leafs improved to 16-11-3 on the season thanks to a 4-3 shootout win over the Ottawa Senators, dropping them to 11-14-5.
Goals:
TOR - James van Riemsdyk PPG (13) - from Nazem Kadri and Dion Phaneuf (1:37 1ST)
OTT - Clarke MacArthur PPG (9) - from Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza (9:44 1ST)
TOR - Phil Kessel (16) - from James van Riemsdyk (3:05 2ND)
TOR - Jake Gardiner (1) - from Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk (11:37 2ND)
OTT - Erik Condra (3) - from Colin Greening (2:23 3RD)
OTT - Erik Karlsson PPG (8) - from Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza (10:30 3RD)
Shootout winner - Mason Raymond (TOR)
Goalies:
WG - James Reimer (47 saves on 50 shots: 7-4-1) LG - Craig Anderson (28 saves on 31 shots: 7-8-3)
Three Stars:
3. Phil Kessel (1 goal, 1 assist) - Toronto
2. Mika Zibanejad (2 assists) - Ottawa
1. James van Riemsdyk (1 goal, 2 assists) - Toronto

Florida Panthers 2, Detroit Red Wings 1 (from Detroit) - The Panthers improved to 9-16-5 on the season thanks to a 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings, dropping them to 15-9-7.
Goals:
DET - Danny Cleary (2) - from Justin Abdelkader and Cory Emmerton (4:06 1ST)
FLA - Jimmy Hayes (3) - from Shawn Matthias and Dylan Olsen (2:59 2ND)
FLA - Jonathan Huberdeau (7) - from Tom Gilbert and Shawn Matthias (2:39 3RD) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Tim Thomas (22 saves on 23 shots: 8-10-1) LG - Jonas Gustavsson (35 saves on 37 shots: 8-1-1)
Three Stars:
3. Jonathan Huberdeau (1 goal, including the GWG) - Florida
2. Jonas Gustavsson (35 saves on 37 shots) - Detroit
1. Shawn Matthias (2 assists) - Florida

Winnipeg Jets 2, Tampa Bay Lightning 1 (OT) - (from Tampa Bay) - The Jets improved to 14-13-4 on the season thanks to a 2-1 OT win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, dropping them to 17-10-2.
Goals:
WPG - Blake Wheeler (7) - from Jacob Trouba and Grant Clitsome (5:25 1ST)
TBL - Nate Thompson (2) - from Radko Gudas and Martin St. Louis (19:58 2ND)
WPG - Mark Scheifele (3) - from Blake Wheeler (1:04 OT) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Al Montoya (28 saves on 29 shots: 4-2-1) LG - Anders Lindback (34 saves on 36 shots: 2-5-1)
Three Stars:
3. Blake Wheeler (1 goal, 1 assist) - Winnipeg
2. Anders Lindback (34 saves on 36 shots) - Tampa Bay
1. Al Montoya (28 saves on 29 shots for the win) - Winnipeg

Washington Capitals 5, Nashville Predators 2 (from Washington) - The Capitals improved to 15-12-2 on the season thanks to a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators, dropping them to 13-14-3.
Goals:
WSH - Troy Brouwer (6) - from Eric Fehr and Mikhail Grabovski (6:44 1ST)
WSH - Alexander Ovechkin PPG (22) - from Nicklas Backstrom (13:09 1ST)
WSH - Karl Alzner (1) - from Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom (16:19 1ST) *GWG*
NSH - Roman Josi (1) - from Shea Weber (19:37 1ST)
WSH - Nate Schmidt (1) - from Martin Erat and Joel Ward (3:29 3RD)
NSH - Eric Nystrom (5) - from Viktor Stalberg and Roman Josi (3:52 3RD)
WSH - Eric Fehr (4) - from Mikhail Grabovski (14:50 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Braden Holtby (34 saves on 36 shots: 13-9-1) LG - Marek Mazanec (28 saves on 33 shots: 5-7-1)
Three Stars:
3. Nicklas Backstrom (2 assists) - Washington
2. Eric Fehr (1 goal, 1 assist) - Washington
1. Mikhail Grabovski (2 assists) - Washington

New Jersey Devils 4, New York Rangers 3 (OT) - (from New York) - The Devils improved to 12-13-6 on the season thanks to a 4-3 OT win over the New York Rangers, dropping them to 15-14-1.
Goals:
NYR - Brad Richards (9) - from Mats Zuccarello and Justin Falk (3:32 1ST)
NYR - Mats Zuccarello (6) - from Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi (0:57 2ND)
NJD - Cam Janssen (3) - from Tim Sestito and Martin Brodeur (6:02 2ND)
NJD - Travis Zajac (5) - from Jaromir Jagr and Dainius Zubrus (5:58 3RD)
NJD - Michael Ryder (8) - from Tim Sestito (15:56 3RD)
NYR - Chris Kreider PPG (7) - from Ryan Callahan and Ryan McDonagh (19:38 3RD)
NJD - Eric Gelinas PPG (3) - from Patrik Elias and Jaromir Jagr (1:15 3RD) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Martin Brodeur (21 saves on 24 shots: 8-7-2) LG - Henrik Lundqvist (20 saves on 24 shots: 9-11-1)
Three Stars:
3. Jaromir Jagr (2 assists) - New Jersey
2. Mats Zuccarello (1 goal, 1 assist) - New York
1. Eric Gelinas (1 goal, including the OT winner) - New Jersey

Anaheim Ducks 5, St. Louis Blues 2 (from St. Louis) - The Ducks improved to 20-7-5 on the season thanks to a 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues, dropping them to 19-6-3.
Goals:
ANA - Andrew Cogliano (8) - from Daniel Winnik and Saku Koivu (1:10 1ST)
ANA - Corey Perry PPG (18) - from Ryan Getzlaf and Nick Bonino (5:36 1ST)
ANA - Ryan Getzlaf (16) - unassisted (7:29 1ST) *GWG*
ANA - Nick Bonino (8) - from Patrick Maroon and Tim Jackman (17:16 2ND)
STL - Jaden Schwartz (7) - from T.J. Oshie and Barret Jackman (1:18 3RD)
STL - Patrik Berglund (2) - from Maxim Lapierre and Kevin Shattenkirk (6:38 3RD)
ANA - Mark Fistric EN (1) - unassisted (18:12 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Frederik Andersen (26 saves on 28 shots: 8-1-0) LG - Jaroslav Halak (5 saves on 8 shots: 15-5-2), Brian Elliot (13 saves on 14 shots in relief of Halak)
Three Stars:
3. Frederik Andersen (26 saves on 28 shots for the win) - Anaheim
2. Nick Bonino (1 goal, 1 assist) - Anaheim
1. Ryan Getzlaf (1 goal, 1 assist, GWG) - Anaheim

Calgary Flames 2, Edmonton Oilers 1 (OT) - (from Edmonton) - The Flames improved to 10-14-4 on the season thanks to a 2-1 OT win over the Edmonton Oilers, dropping them to 10-18-3
Goals:
CGY - Lee Stempniak (6) - from Matt Stajan (16:00 1ST)
EDM - Taylor Hall (11) - from David Perron and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (19:49 3RD)
CGY - Jiri Hudler (8) - unassisted (3:14 OT) *GWG*
Goalies:
WG - Reto Berra (30 saves on 31 shots: 4-6-2) LG - Devan Dubnyk (25 saves on 27 shots: 8-12-2)
Three Stars:
3. Taylor Hall (1 goal) - Edmonton
2. Jiri Hudler (1 goal, including the OT winner) - Calgary
1. Reto Berra (30 saves on 31 shots for the win) - Calgary

Los Angeles Kings 3, New York Islanders 0 (from Los Angeles) - The Kings improved to 19-7-4 on the season thanks to 3-0 shutout of the New York Islanders, dropping them to 8-17-5,
Goals:
LAK - Anze Kopitar (8) - from Alec Martinez (12:08 2ND) *GWG*
LAK - Dustin Brown (6) - from Jarret Stoll and Justin Williams (10:37 3RD)
LAK - Tyler Toffoli EN (7) - from Mike Richards and Drew Doughty (18:56 3RD)
Goalies:
WG - Martin Jones (16 saves on 16 shots: 2-0-0) LG - Kevin Poulin (21 saves on 23 shots: 3-11-0)
Three Stars:
3. Dustin Brown (1 goal) - Los Angeles
2. Anze Kopitar (1 goal, including the GWG) - Los Angeles
1. Martin Jones (16 saves on 16 shots for the shutout) - Los Angeles

Three Stars of the Night:
3. James van Riemsdyk - JVR scored 1 goal and added 2 assists in the Leafs 4-3 shootout win (and he scored in the shootout as well)
2. Valeri Nichushkin - Nichushkin scored 1 goal and assisted on all 3 of Tyler Seguin's for his 1st career 4-point game.
1. Tyler Seguin - Seguin picked up his 2nd hat trick of the season (a natural hat trick), and added an assist for a 4-point performance.

Interesting Stats of the Night:
-Tyler Seguin scored a natural hat trick for the Stars, his 2nd hat trick of the season. Seguin and Valeri Nichushkin both had 4 points.
-The Benn/Seguin/Nichushkin line scored 3 goals in the same shift (1:02 of icetime).
-Ryan Getzlaf continued his NHL-leading point streak with 2 points tonight, he now has 10 goals and 10 assists in his last 13 games.
-Martin Brodeur picked up his 43rd career assist
-Ugly scene in Boston tonight, James Neal knees Brad Marchand in the head when hes on the ice. In the scrum after Shawn Thornton responds by throwing down Brooks Orpik and punching him in the face on the ground as he lay there defenseless. Orpik would be stretchered off the ice, Marchand would stay in the game. Here is the replay: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/brooks-orpik-stretchered-off-ice-attack-bruins-thornton-012013169--nhl.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
-Devils D Eric Gelinas scored his 1st career GWG, an OT winner in the Devils 4-3 win over the Rangers.
-The Islanders have lost 9 consecutive games, time to fire Jack Capuano? They have been outscored 36-14 in the 9 losses.
-The Sabres are 6-22-2 through their first 30 games, earning 14 points out of a possible 60.
-The Ducks became the 4th team to 20 wins this season, joining Chicago, Pittsburgh and Colorado.
-Martin Jones picked up his 1st career shutout in only his 2nd career start for the Kings.

Current Winning/Losing Streaks (3 or more games):
Montreal Canadiens (5-game winning streak)
Vancouver Canucks (3-game winning streak)
Carolina Hurricanes (3-game winning streak)
Los Angeles Kings (3-game winning streak)

New York Islanders (9-game losing streak)
Chicago Blackhawks (3-game losing streak)
Nashville Predators (3-game losing streak)

Forman Faceoff Highlight of the Night:
-Ryan Getzlaf gets it tonight with a great individual effort for the goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYBfOft0ndM
Honourable Mentions:
-Tyler Seguin Natural Hat Trick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjxgCE2aZtk
-Zemgus Girgenons goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSr4EYFkuM4

What's up next (December 8th) - There are 5 NHL games on tap for Sunday:
1. San Jose Sharks vs. Minnesota Wild @6PM ET (In Minnesota)
2. Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs @7PM ET (In Toronto) {*Rivalry Game*}
3. Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers @7PM ET (In New York) {***Forman's Game of the Night***}
4. Florida Panthers vs. Chicago Blackhawks @7PM ET (In Chicago)
5. Colorado Avalanche vs. Vancouver Canucks @8PM ET (In Vancouver)