All but the Blue Jackets took to the ice Saturday as we head toward the end of 2018. The main talking point leading up to the day’s games was John Tavares returning to the Barclays Center for the first time since leaving the Islanders for the Maple Leafs over the summer.
As expected it was an action packed day of fixtures with the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils starting us off.
Carolina Hurricanes v New Jersey Devils
0-2
Mackenzie Blackwood kept his first NHL shutout to lift his Devils past the Hurricanes. The 22-year-old rookie made 37 saves in the game. Though the Canes did get a puck past him the officials controversially called no goal for goaltender interference on captain Justin Williams. The call infuriated so many fans across the NHL that they took to social media to convey their disappointment.
Pavel Zacha was a menace all game and it paid off when he scored a shorthander 19:24 into the second period. Andy Greene sealed the victory with an empty netter as Carolina were still seething from the no-goal decision.
Up Next:
Flyers v Canes – Monday, December 31st (6pm)
Canucks v Devils – Monday, December 31st (1pm)
Vegas Golden Knights v Los Angeles Kings
4-1
Malcolm Subban got his first victory of the season as the Golden Knights defeated the Kings in LA. The feat was made extra special by it coming during the dads’ trip. It also ended the Kings’ four-game winning streak.
Alex Tuch and Paul Stastny registered a goal and assist for the Knights who have now won two straight. The other goals came from William Karlsson and Will Carrier.
Anze Kopitar scored the host’s only goal of the game in the first period.
Up Next:
Knights v Coyotes – Sunday, December 30th (8pm)
Kings v Avalanche – Monday, December 31st (8pm)
San Jose Sharks v Edmonton Oilers
7-4
The San Jose Sharks scored seven to hand the Oilers their fifth successive defeat.
Erik Karlsson, upon his return from suspension, scored one and assisted an additional three. The Swede now has 14pts (1g,13a) during his nine-game point streak. Logan Couture and Melker Karlsson each scored twice, whilst Joonas Donskoi and Tomas Hertl scored one and assisted one.
The hosts attempted a comeback in the third period, coming from 7-2 down to end the game with four goals, however, their attempt was too little, too late.
Up Next:
Sharks v Flames – Monday, December 31st (9pm)
Jets v Oilers – Monday, December 31st (9pm)
Minnesota Wild v Winnipeg Jets
3-1
Minnesota Wild held off the Winnipeg Jets to end their five-game losing streak. Devan Dubnyk made 26 saves between the pipes, whilst Matt Bartkowski, Charlie Coyle and Eric Fehr scored for Minnesota.
Patrik Laine scored his first goal in six games for the Jets, who have now scored one goal or less in four their past five games and lost their second straight Saturday evening.
Up Next:
Penguins v Wild – Monday, December 31st (6pm)
Jets v Oilers – Monday, December 31st (9pm)
Boston Bruins v Buffalo Sabres
3-2 (OT)
After Jake DeBrusk scored the equalizer late in third, Sean Kuraly netted the winner with 1:16 remaining in overtime to give Boston a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
Marco Scannella and Johan Larsson scored, Jeff Skinner registered his 13th assist of the season and Carter Hutton made 39 saves for the Sabres.
Up Next:
Bruins v Blackhawks – Tuesday, January 1st (1pm)
Islanders v Sabres – Monday, December 31st (6pm)
New York Islanders v Toronto Maple Leafs
4-0
John Tavares made his first return to the Islanders since joining the Maple Leafs over the summer. Heading into the game his former teammates said it was going to be weird coming up against their former captain.
It wasn’t a very happy return for Tavares as his new team lost 4-0 at the hands of his old one. Mathew Barzel played a huge role by scoring a natural hat trick within the span of 7:44 in the second period.
Whilst all eyes were on the reunion, the road victory saw Islanders coach Barry Trotz get NHL career win number 782, tying Al Arbour for fourth on the all-time list.
Up Next:
Islanders v Sabres – Monday, December 31st (6pm)
Wild v Leafs – Thursday, January 3rd (2pm)
Washington Capitals v Ottawa Senators
3-2
In a game that saw Alex Ovechkin not score for the fourth time in a row, Tyler Lewington and Madison Bowey each scored their first NHL goal for the Caps as they defeated the Senators 3-2. Meanwhile resident badboy Tom Wilson scored a goal and assisted another, whilst Pheonix Copley made 31 saves for Washington, who won their fourth consecutive game.
On the other side of the puck Colin White and Mark Stone each registered a goal and an assist in their defeat.
Up Next:
Predators v Capitals – Monday, December 31st (12:30pm)
Senators v Blue Jackets – Monday, December 31st (7pm)
Montreal Canadiens v Tampa Bay Lightning
5-6
Adam Erne scored the tiebreaker with 1:02 remaining in regulation as Tampa Bay extended their point streak to 14 games with an entertaining 6-5 victory at Amalie Arena on Saturday.
Erne scored twice and assisted another. Yanni Gourde and Anton Stralman each recorded a goal and an assist, whilst Andrei Vasilevskiy made 33 saves. Nikita Kucherov scored his 18th of the season and took his assist tally to 45.
Andrew Shaw scored twice for the Canadiens, with Jordie Benn scoring and assisting another. Phillip Danault had three assist for the visitors, who’s three-game winning streak came to an end.
Up Next:
Canadiens v Stars – Monday, December 31st (8:30pm)
Lightning v Ducks – Monday, December 31st (8pm)
Philadelphia Flyers v Florida Panthers
1-2
The Florida Panthers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers with two goals in the third period. Mike Hoffman tied the game at 13:16, with Jonathan Huberdeau scoring the winner 1:06 from time.
Shayne Gostisbehere opened the scoring for the visitors after just 1:45 of play. Each team had multiple chances to take the game heading in their direction, but they failed to convert on the majority. Flyers‘ goaltender Carter Hart, who was making his fourth NHL start made 34 saves, but it was Panthers goalie James Reimer who was the more successful of the two, saving 34 of 35 shots.
Up Next:
Flyers v Canes – Monday, December 31st (6pm)
Panthers v Red Wings – Monday, December 31st (7:30pm)
Pittsburgh Penguins v St Louis Blues
6-1
Four of the Penguins’ six goals against the Blues came on the power play, leading to their seventh win in the last eight games.
Sid Crosby finished with a goal and three assists, Kris Letang had three assists, Matt Murray made 30 saves in net and Juuso Riikola scored his first NHL goal.
The host’s only goal came from David Perron. Goaltender Jake Allen was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 17 shots, he was replaced by Jordan Binnington who made 11 saves.
Up Next:
Penguins v Wild – Monday, December 31st (6pm)
Rangers v Blues – Monday, December 31st (7pm)
New York Rangers v Nashville Predators
4-3
Jesper Fast helped lift the Rangers past the Predators with two goals and an assist, helped by Mika Zibanejad who had an assist on every goal. Chris Kreider and Marc Staal also scored for the visitors, who ended their three-game losing streak.
The Preds goals came from Nick Bonino (2) and Kevin Fiala (1), with the latter also registering two assists. Pekka Rinne made 18 saves. Nashville are 0-5-1 in their past six games.
Up Next:
Rangers v Blues – Monday, December 31st (7pm)
Predators v Capitals – Monday, December 31st (12:30pm)
Detroit Red Wings v Dallas Stars
1-5
Alexander Radulov scored twice for the Dallas Stars in their 5-1 home victory against Detroit. Blake Comeau and Jason Spezza put themselves on the score sheet and both racked up an assist.
It was Dallas’ first game since CEO Jim Lites publicly made critical comments of captain Jamie Benn and forward Tyler Seguin on Friday. The latter answered back by registering an assist on Radulov‘s second.
Dylan Larkin extended his point streak for the Red Wings, who have lost four straight games, by scoring their only goal of the night.
Up Next:
Panthers v Red Wings – Monday, December 31st (7:30pm)
Canadiens v Stars – Monday, December 31st (8:30pm)
Chicago Blackhawks v Colorado Avalanche
3-2 (OT)
Patrick Kane scored twice, including the decider 41 seconds into overtime and assisted another. Meanwhile Dylan Strome assisted two.
Collin Delia made 30 saves on 32 shots for the visitors. His counterpart, Semyon Varlamov made 34 of 37.
Nathan MacKinnon scored is 23rd of the season with Avalanche’s second goal of the night. Their first was scored on the power play by Mikko Rantanen, his 17th of the campaign.
Up Next:
Bruins v Blackhawks – Tuesday, January 1st (1pm)
Kings v Avalanche – Monday, December 31st (8pm)
Arizona Coyotes v Anaheim Ducks
5-4 (OT)
The Arizona Coyotes came from behind to defeat the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center on Saturday. Jakob Chychrun scored the equalizing goal 14:37 into the third period, before Nick Schmaltz netted the winner just 33 seconds into overtime.
Schmaltz and Oliver Ekman-Larsson each had a goal and an assist, Alex Galchenyuk and Clayton Keller both recorded two assists. Adin Hill made 37 saves in net for the Coyotes, who’ve had just one regulation win in their past 12 games (4-8-0).
Ondrej Case scored twice for the hosts, Nick Ritchie had three assists, whilst Adam Henrique had a goal and an assist. John Gibson made 25 saves for the 19-15-6 Ducks, who have lost five in a row.
Up Next:
Knights v Coyotes – Sunday, December 30th (8pm)
Lightning v Ducks – Monday, December 31st (8pm)
Vancouver Canucks v Calgary Flames
3-2 (OT)
Alexander Edler scored with 1:54 remaining in overtime to give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 win against the Calgary Flames.
Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson both scored in regulation for the Canucks, whilst Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves for Vancouver, who are 8-2-1 in their past 11 games.
On the other side of the puck, Mark Jankowski scored and got an assist, Travis Hamonic also scored and Noah Hanifin registered his 15th assist of the season. David Rittich made 24 saves for the Flames, who are now 1-2-2 in their past five games after winning eight of their previous nine.
Up Next:
Canucks v Devils – Monday, December 31st (1pm)
Sharks v Flames – Monday, December 31st (9pm)
KEY
ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN
Artistry of Sport 
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