I hope you all enjoyed the festive period as much as the players did.
26 of 31 teams took to the ice on Thursday night to kick off the post-Christmas period of the season.
Carolina Hurricanes v Washington Capitals
1-3
The Washington Capitals defeated the Carolina Hurricanes for their third consecutive win without an Alex Ovechkin goal. John Carlson got an empty netter to score his first goal since October.
Sebastian Aho netted the Canes’ only goal of the game, his 15th of the season.
Up Next:
Canes v Devils – Saturday, December 29th (1pm)
Capitals v Senators – – Saturday, December 29th (7pm)
New Jersey Devils v Boston Bruins
5-2
Mackenzie Blackwood, making his second NHL start, saved 40 shots to help New Jersey earn their fourth road victory in 19 games. It’s his first NHL win.
Blake Coleman scored twice, with Damon Severson, Kyle Palmieri and Nico Hischier also scoring for the Devils, who were without leading goalscorer Taylor Hall due to a lower-body injury.
The victory ended their run of bad luck against the Bruins, having previously lost 12 of 13 games at TD Garden.
Up Next:
Canes v Devils – Saturday, December 29th (1pm)
Bruins v Sabres – Saturday, December 29th (7pm)
Columbus Blue Jackets v New York Rangers
4-3 (OT)
In a back-and-forth game, it was Pierre-Luc Dubois who scored the winner just 31 seconds into overtime after the Blue Jackets had come from behind for their 4-3 victory.
Up Next:
Leafs v Blue Jackets – Friday, December 28th (7pm)
Rangers v Predators – Saturday, December 29th (8pm)
Detroit Red Wings v Pittsburgh Penguins
2-5
Pittsburgh won their fourth game straight, whilst Detroit’s Dylan Larkin extended his point streak to 12 games.
Phil Kessel scored two power-play goals and had an assist in the 5-2 thrashing of the Red Wings. Derick Brassard also scored twice, with Evgeni Malkin and Sid Crosby each having two assists in the matchup.
Up Next:
Red Wings v Stars – Saturday, December 29th (8pm)
Penguins v Blues – Saturday, December 29th (8pm)
Philadelphia Flyers v Tampa Bay Lightning
5-6 (OT)
Tampa Bay blew a 5-2 lead against the Flyers, luckily for them Alex Killorn scored 18 seconds into overtime to finally secure the win.
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos both scored four points on the night. Kucherov scored one and assisted three for his 17th goal and 44th assist of the season. Stamkos scored twice, taking his goal tally to 22 and assisted another, his 20th of the campaign.
Up Next:
Flyers v Panthers – Saturday, December 29th (7pm)
Canadiens v Lightning – Saturday, December 29th (7pm)
Buffalo Sabres v St Louis Blues
1-4
Ryan O’Reilly scored a goal in his first game against his former team as the Blues beat the Sabres 4-1 at the Enterprise Center.
Jack Eichel scored the only goal for Sabres, whilst Carter Hutton made 28 saves. Buffalo have now lost three of their past four and nine of 13 since their 10-game winning streak.
Up Next:
Bruins v Sabres – Saturday, December 29th (1pm)
Penguins v Blues – Saturday, December 29th (8pm)
Dallas Stars v Nashville Predators
2-0
Anton Kudobin made 49 saves for the Dallas Stars for his first shutout of the season. Meanwhile Tyler Pitlick and Mattias Janmark put the Stars on the scoreboard to earn a 2-0 victory in Nashville.
Up Next:
Red Wings v Stars – Saturday, December 29th (8pm)
Rangers v Predators – Saturday, December 29th (8pm)
Calgary Flames v Winnipeg Jets
4-1
Johnny Gaudreau scored a hat trick to help fly the Flames past the Jets for a 4-1 victory, ending their three-game losing streak.
The forward later left the game after he was slashed by Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien upon securing the hat trick.
Up Next:
Canucks v Flames – Saturday, December 29th (10pm)
Wild v Jets – Saturday, December 29th (4pm)
Minnesota Wild v Chicago Blackhawks
2-5
Patrick Kane scored a hat trick for Chicago to secure the home victory and Collin Delia played his part by making 46 saves in the defeat of the Minnesota Wild.
Zach Parise scored his 16th goal of the campaign, whilst Eric Staal registered his 12th assist and 13th goal of the season.
Up Next:
Wild v Jets – Saturday, December 29th (4pm)
Blackhawks v Avalanche – Saturday, December 29th (9pm)
Vancouver Canucks v Edmonton Oilers
4-2
The Vancouver Canucks handed the Edmonton Oilers their fourth successive defeat and beat them twice in the space of 11 days.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl both scored for the Oilers, with Connor McDavid getting first assist on both.
Tyler Motte, Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson and Antoine Roussel all scored for the visitors, all in the first period. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom contributed to the team effort with 30 saves on 32 shots. It’s their seventh win in their last 12 games.
Up Next:
Canucks v Flames – Saturday, December 29th (10pm)
Sharks v Oilers – Saturday, December 29th (4pm)
Colorado Avalanche v Vegas Golden Knights
1-2
Brandon Pirri scored the winner for the Knights in a tight game 10 minutes into the third period.
J.T. Compher opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period. On the day he was named captain of the Central Division’s All Star team, Nathan Mackinnon recorded his 35th assist of the season.
Just under two minutes later Paul Stastny scored to tie the game, the birthday boy also registered an assist on the winner.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves, whilst at the opposing end of the ice, Philipp Grubauer made 41.
Up Next:
Blackhawks v Avalanche – Saturday, December 29th (9pm)
Knights v Kings – Saturday, December 29th (4pm)
Arizona Coyotes v LA Kings
1-2
Jakob Chychrun opened the scoring at the Staples Center, but Arizona’s lead did not last for long, Jake Muzzin scored just over three minutes later to tie the game. Dustin Brown came to the Kings’ rescue with the winner early in the third period.
The victory, their fourth in a row, was helped majorly by Jonathan Quick, who made 26 saves.
Up Next:
Coyotes v Ducks – Saturday, December 29th (10pm)
Knights v Kings – Saturday, December 29th (4pm)
Anaheim Ducks v San Jose Sharks
2-4
Brent Burns scored a decisive goal in his 1,000th NHL game. Meanwhile Barclay Goodrow finished the game with three assists.
Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 25 saves in the game, whilst his counterpart, Chad Johnson made 20 from 22 during his 39:15 on the ice. He was replaced by John Gibson who saved 15 of 16 shots faced.
Up Next:
Coyotes v Ducks – Saturday, December 29th (10pm)
Sharks v Oilers – Saturday, December 29th (4pm)
KEY
ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN
Artistry of Sport 
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