The forth week of this shortened NHL season got under way Monday with 6 games on tap.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Philadelphia Flyers

The Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Philadelphia Flyers up at the Air Canada Centre and came into the night’s game on a 3 game win streak. The Leafs got some offensive production from the unlikely source of tough guy Colton Orr, who got his first goal of the season in the 2nd period. Leafs fans did get a scare in the 2nd period when goalie James Reimer went down with a lower body injury and had to be helped off the ice by a teammate. This forced backup goalie Ben Scrivens to come in and take over, and boy did he, stopping 32 of 33 shots faced and eventually earning the #1 star of the game. Off-season acquisition James van Riemsdyk faced the Flyers for the first time since being traded this past summer and added a goal of his own putting his season total at 8. I think JVR can safely say ‘look at me now’ after getting off to an outstanding start in his first season with the Leafs. Toronto easily beat Philadelphia 5-2 handing the Flyers their first loss in 4 games.

San Jose Sharks vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

The San Jose Sharks went into Monday night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets still looking for their first win in February. They would leave Nationwide Arena still looking for that win. Columbus exploded to put up 6 goals against the Sharks, which included 2 goals in 8 seconds during the 3rd period making it the fastest 2 goals scored in Blue Jacket history. The night of first continued as Brandon Dubinsky got his first goal in a Columbus uniform, since coming over from the NY Rangers, in the blockbuster trade for Rick Nash this past summer. The final first of the night is a first everyone likes to see and that’s when rookie defensemen Cody Goloubef netted his first career NHL goal. Final score was 6-2 making it 5 straight losses for the Sharks.

Carolina Hurricanes vs. NY Islanders

The Carolina Hurricanes traveled to NY to take on the Islanders and in a back and forth battle were able to hang on to get the victory. Hurricanes captain Eric Staal came into the game looking to extended his current point streak to 9 games and he did just that with a point early in the 3rd period. Despite converting on 4 of their 5 power plays and having the lead three separate times, the Islanders were not able to walk away with the 2 points. Alex Semin added the 200th goal of his career to the 6-4 win over New York, giving Carolina points in 4 straight games.

Los Angeles Kings vs. St Louis Blues

The Los Angeles Kings took on the St Louis Blues at the Scottrade Center in St Louis on Monday with the Kings trying for just their 2nd win of the month. The Blues looked as though they would be getting goalie Jarislav Halak back from the IR to start the game but Halak tweaked his groin during the pregame skate forcing Brian Elliot to make the start. None of that mattered to the Kings as they got a 2 goal performance from Jeff Carter propelling them over the Blues 4-1. St Louis is still also still looking for their first win this month.

Colorado the Avalanche vs. Phoenix Coyotes

Out in Colorado the Avalanche squared off against the Phoenix Coyotes at the Pepsi Center. The Avs still without their captain Babriel (whoops I mean Gabriel) Landeskog, who has now missed 7 straight games with a concussion, held the lead until later in the 3rd period when the Coyotes were able to tie it up and force overtime. With just under a minute left in OT Phoenix captain Shane Doan put in the game winner making it 2-1 and the 175 multiple point game of his career.

Minnesota Wild vs. Calgary Flames

The final game of the night took place out in Calgary where the Minnesota Wild took on the Flames. After losing the 1st three games in the month of February the Wild were looking to make it 2 in a row. The score stayed tied 1-1 throughout the OT period forcing a shootout. Zach Parise was up first for Minnesota and he put a move on the Flames goalie Leland Irving that was slicker then Justin Timberlake’s hairdo from the Grammys putting the Wild up 1-0 in the shootout. Mikko Koivu, playing in his 500th NHL game, also put a nifty move on Irving to put in his shootout attempt. This forced a must score attempt for Alex Tanguay but he was not able to convert giving the Wild the 2-1 shootout victory.

Well that’s all that was on the schedule for Monday night, folks. Check back in tomorrow for the latest NHL recap!