February 17th NHL Recap

Columbus Blue Jackets 5, Philadelphia Flyers 2 (from Philadelphia) - The Blue Jackets improved to 25-27-3 on the season thanks to a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, dropping them to 24-23-10.

Goals:

CBJ - James Wisniewski PPG (7) - from Alexander Wennberg and Scott Hartnell (4:51 1ST)
CBJ - Ryan Johansen (21) - from Corey Tropp and David Savard (6:39 1ST)
PHI - Wayne Simmonds (22) - from Michael Del Zotto and Luke Schenn (17:25 2ND)
PHI - Michael Del Zotto (6) - from R.J. Umberger and Ryan White (19:08 2ND)
CBJ - Matt Calvert (8) - from Cam Atkinson and Brandon Dubinsky (9:54 3RD) *GWG*
CBJ - Brandon Dubinsky (6) - from Scott Hartnell (13:28 3RD)
CBJ - Matt Calvert EN (9) - from Alexander Wennberg and Ryan Johansen (19:04 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Curtis McElhinney (42 saves on 44 shots: 9-9-1) LG -  Ray Emery (20 saves on 24 shots: 10-10-3)

Three Stars:

3. Michael Del Zotto (1 goal, 1 assist) - Philadelphia

2. Curtis McElhinney (42 saves on 44 shots for the win) - Columbus

1. Matt Calvert (2 goals, GWG) - Columbus

Washington Capitals 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 1 (from Pittsburgh) - The Capitals improved to 31-17-10 on the season thanks to a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, dropping them to 32-16-9. 

Goals:

WSH - Alex Ovechkin PPG (37) - from Joel Ward and Mike Green (18:36 1ST)
PIT - Steve Downie (10) - from Craig Adams and Kris Letang (3:35 2ND)
WSH - Joel Ward PPG (13) - from Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin (15:47 3RD) *GWG*
WSJ - John Carlson SHG/EN (8) - unassisted (19:48 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Braden Holtby (32 saves on 33 shots: 27-12-9) LG - Marc-Andre Fleury (30 saves on 32 shots: 26-12-6)

Three Stars:

3. Alex Ovechkin (1 goal, 1 assist) - Washington

2. Braden Holtby (32 saves on 33 shots for the win) - Washington

1. Joel Ward (1 goal, 1 assist, GWG) - Washington

New York Islanders 4, Carolina Hurricanes 1 (from Carolina) - The Islanders improved to 38-19-1 on the season thanks to a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, dropping them to 20-29-7.

Goals:

NYI - Anders Lee PPG (19) - from Frans Nielsen and John Tavares (17:06 1ST)
NYI - Brock Nelson (16) - from Matt Martin and Colin McDonald (6:58 2ND) *GWG*
NYI - Michael Grabner (6) - from Thomas Hickey and Frans Nielsen (7:09 3RD)
CAR - Jiri Tlusty (13) - from Eric Staal and Jordan Staal (11:14 3RD)
NYI - John Tavares EN (28) - unassisted (15:41 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Chad Johnson (37 saves on 38 shots: 7-7-0) LG - Anton Khudobin (26 saves on 29 shots: 6-10-3)

Three Stars:

3. Anders Lee (1 goal) - New York

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

1. Chad Johnson (37 saves on 38 shots for the win) - New York

New Jersey Devils 2, Buffalo Sabres 1 (SO) - (from New Jersey) - The Devils improved to 22-26-9 on the season thanks to a 2-1 shootout win over the Buffalo Sabres, dropping them to 16-37-4.  

Goals:

NJD - Patrik Elias (9) - from Marek Zidlicky and Adam Henrique (6:19 1ST)
BUF - Tyler Ennis (14) - from Zemgus Girgensons (0:27 3RD)
Shootout winner - Scott Gomez (NJD)

Goalies:

WG - Cory Schneider (24 saves on 25 shots: 20-22-5) LG - Michal Neuvirth (34 saves on 35 shots: 3-15-2) 

Three Stars:

3. Patrik Elias (1 goal) - New Jersey

2. Michal Neuvirth (34 saves on 35 shots) - Buffalo

1. Cory Schneider (24 saves on 25 shots for the win) - New Jersey

Florida Panthers 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 2 (from Toronto) - The Panthers improved to 25-19-12 on the season thanks to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, dropping them to 23-30-5.

Goals:

TOR - Tyler Bozak PPG (16) - from James van Riemsdyk and Nazem Kadri (4:03 1ST)
FLA - Jussi Jokinen PPG (5) - from Brad Boyes and Brian Campbell (19:13 1ST)
FLA - Nick Bjugstad PPG (21) - from Tomas Fleischmann and Dave Bolland (4:42 2ND)
FLA - Jimmy Hayes (17) - from Brian Campbell and Jussi Jokinen (13:48 2ND) *GWG*
TOR - Phil Kessel PPG (22) - from Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly (19:10 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Roberto Luongo (27 saves on 29 shots: 21-14-10) LG -  Jonathan Bernier (14 saves on 17 shots: 16-18-5)

Three Stars:

3. Nazem Kadri (2 assists) - Toronto

2. Brian Campbell (2 assists) - Florida

1. Jussi Jokinen (1 goal, 1 assist) - Florida

Dallas Stars 4, St. Louis Blues 1 (from St. Louis) - The Stars improved to 27-22-8 on the season thanks to a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues, dropping them to 37-16-4.

Goals:

DAL - Jamie Benn (20) - from John Klingberg and Jason Spezza (2:47 1ST)
DAL - Jamie Benn (21) - from Jason Spezza and Erik Cole (8:18 1ST) *GWG*
DAL - Cody Eakin (11) - from Ryan Garbutt and Jyrki Jokipakka (8:38 1ST)
DAL - Jamie Benn PPG (22 - Hat Trick) - from Jason Spezza and Jason Demers (3:39 2ND)
STL - Patrik Berglund (7) - from Paul Stastny (12:30 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Kari Lehtonen (27 saves on 28 shots; 25-12-8) LG - Brian Elliott (3 saves on 6 shots: 18-8-2), Jake Allen (15 saves on 16 shots in relief of Elliott)

Three Stars:

3. Kari Lehtonen (27 saves on 28 shots for the win) - Dallas

2. Jason Spezze (3 assists) - Dallas

1. Jamie Benn (3 goals, GWG) - Dallas

Nashville Predators 5, San Jose Sharks 1 (from Nashville) - The Predators improved to 39-12-6 on the season thanks to a 5-1 win over the San Jose Sharks, dropping them to 29-22-8. 

Goals:

SJS - Matt Irwin (5) - from Melker Karlsson and Joe Pavelski (5:26 1ST)
NSH - Shea Weber (14) - from Mike Fisher (13:42 1ST)
NSH - Craig Smith (16) - from Mattias Ekholm and Mike Ribeiro (16:02 1ST) *GWG*
NSH - Craig Smith PPG (17) - from Colin Wilson and Seth Jones (0:52 2ND)
NSH - Paul Gaustad (2) - from Gabriel Bourque and Shea Weber (1:43 2ND)
NSH - James Neal (20) - from Mike Ribeiro (10:31 2ND)

Goalies:

WG - Pekka Rinne (42 saves on 43 shots: 34-7-2) LG - Alex Stalock (32 saves on 37 shots: 5-7-1) 

Three Stars:

3. Shea Weber (1 goal, 1 assist) - Nashville

2. Craig Smith (2 goals, GWG) - Nashville

1. Pekka Rinne (42 saves on 43 shots for the win) - Nashville

Three Stars of the Night:

3. Matt Calvert - Calvert scored 2 goals (including the game-winner) in the Blue Jacket's 5-2 win over the Flyers.

2. Pekka Rinne - Rinne stopped 42 of 43 shots in the Predators 5-1 win over the Sharks.

1. Jamie Benn - Benn scored 3 goals (including the game-winner) in the Stars 4-1 win over the Blues.

Interesting Stats of the Night:

-Jamie Benn scored his 1st career hat trick.

-Pekka Rinne picked up his NHL-leading 34th win of the season.
-The Leafs dropped their 4th consecutive game and have now lost 15 of their last 16 games,

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

Nashville Predators - 6 game winning streak

Los Angeles Kings - 5 game winning streak

New York Rangers - 4 game winning streak

Boston Bruins - 4 game losing streak

Arizona Coyotes - 4 game losing streak
Toronto Maple Leafs - 4 game losing streak

Buffalo Sabres - 4 game losing streak

Forman Faceoff Highlight of the Night:

-Jamie Benn with his 1st career hat trick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3nBH3ghVyg

What's up next - Wednesday February 18th: There are 6 NHL games on tap for Wednesday night:

1. Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators at 7:00 PM ET (In Ottawa)

2. Detroit Red Wings vs. Chicago Blackhawks at 7:30 PM ET (In Chicago) {***Forman's Game of the Night***}

3. Minnesota Wild vs. Calgary Flames at 9:30 PM ET (In Calgary)

4. Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche at 10:00 PM ET (In Colorado)

5. Boston Bruins vs. Edmonton Oilers at 10:00 PM ET (In Edmonton)

6. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Anaheim Ducks at 10:00 PM ET (In Anaheim)

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff