There were 10 games that took place Thursday night with 8 of the 10 games being between Eastern Conference teams.

 

Buffalo Sabres vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs spoiled new Sabres coach Ron Roston’s NHL debut with a 3-1 win. James van Riemsdyk got two goals in the win and is now tied for second in the league with 11 goals. The Leafs also got a goal from captain Dion Phaneuf to get them on the board first, which was the 100th goal of his career. The Sabres current skid continues having now lost 3 in a row and 5 of their last 6. The Leafs, however, have now won 7 of their last 9 games and are currently in 2nd place in the Northeast Division.

 

Florida Panthers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Rookie Jonathan Huberdeau had a 4 point night (2G, 2A) in leading his Panthers past the Flyers 5-2. The Panthers started with a 4-0 lead that they never gave up. The Flyers were able to get 2 late goals from Luke Schenn and Jakub Voracek but that was as far as they got. Huberdeau is making an early bid for the Calder trophy getting his 7th and 8th goals on Thursday and now leads the team in both points and goals. The Panthers chased Ilya Bryzgalov in the 2nd period on Huberdeau’s 2nd of the night. The Flyers lost their 1st game in the last 3, while the Panthers snapped a 5 game losing streak.

 

New Jersey Devils vs. Washington Capitals

With just over eight minutes left in the 3rd period Ilya Kovalchuk scored on a 5 on 3 power play to give the Devils the lead and eventual win. The Devils were down 2-1 going into the 3rd period where they came back to score 2 goals and complete the comeback. Washington got goals from Mathieu Perreault and Mike Ribeiro in the losing effort. After starting off the month red hot the Devils have cooled off a bit lately winning only 2 of the last 5 games. The Caps are continuing to struggle still only having 5 wins in the season and are currently last in the Southeast Division.

 

Winnipeg Jets vs. Carolina Hurricanes

Blake Wheeler got the first and last goals on the night for the Jets to squeeze past the Hurricanes. The 3rd period went back and forth in scoring goals until Wheeler shot the game winner with just under five minutes to go in the game. Carolina, who had 4 main players out with injuries including the latest loss of Jeff Skinner due to a concussion, got 2 goals from Jiri Tlusty and another from Jordan Staal in the loss. The Hurricanes are still sitting in 1st place in their division. Winnipeg’s captain Andrew Ladd played in his 500th career game Thursday and was able to add a 3rd period goal in the win.

 

New York Islanders vs. Montreal Canadiens

No better time to get your first NHL goal then in OT to beat a hot team. Thomas Hickey did just that when he scored 3:12 into OT giving the Islanders the win over the Canadiens. Montreal got out to a 2-0 lead in the first but the Islanders made the come back to tie it in the third and win it in overtime. Max Pacioretty had a great effort in the loss getting goals 3 and 4 on the season. The loss snapped a 5 game winning streak for the Habs. The Islanders got 2 power play goals from Matt Moulson and 1 from Frans Nielson before Hickey got the game winner in OT.

 

New York Rangers vs. Ottawa Senators

In the 7th round of the shootout Kaspars Daugavins put one past Henrik Lundqvist to earn the 3-2 win over the Rangers. Despite getting the 2 points the Senators suffered another huge loss when goalie Craig Anderson went down with an ankle injury in the 3rd period and had to be helped off the ice. The Rangers got 2 goals in the 3rd period putting them up 2-1, but Mika Zibanejad and got the typing goal in the 3rd to force the eventual shootout. The Rangers continue to be on a bit of a slide losing 3 of the last 4. Ben Bishop came in to take over for Anderson, and stopped Chris Kreider in the 7th SO round sealing the victory.

 

Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Nathan Horton put in 2 goals helping the Bruins to a 4-2 win over the Lightning. The Bruins added two more goals, one from Patrice Bergeron and the other from Brad Marhand, giving the B’s a 6-1-1 road record on the season. Tampa Bay received goals from Steven Stamkos and Cory Conacher but it wasn’t enough and the Lightning snapped a 2 game winning streak. The Bruins penalty kill continues to be #1 in the league and have now had 17 stops in a row after killing off 3 penalties Thursday. The was the first meeting between the two teams as the previous meeting in Boston was postponed due to Super Storm Nemo.

 

Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Detroit Red Wings

The Blue Jackets shot 3 unanswered goals to give them the 3-2 win over the Red Wings. Detroit got out to a 2-0 lead but RJ Umberger and Derek Dorsett both got their 2nd goals of the year before Vinny Prospal got the game winning goal with just 25 seconds left. Scary moment early in the second period when Artem Anisimov went down behind the net causing Red Wings Kyle Quincey to land right on top of his head. Anisimov had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher and was taken to a local hospital. Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said after the game that Anisimov was alert and stable in the hospital. Derek Doresett earned a Gordie Howe hat trick with his first period fight and third period goal and assist.

 

Vancouver Canucks vs. Dallas Stars

The Canucks got two 3rd period goals from Jason Garrison and Henrik Sedin to come from behind and beat the Stars. Vancouver also got goals from Alex Burrows and Kevin Bieksa snapping a 3 game losing skid. Cory Schneider making his second straight start made 22 saves in the win. The Stars got goals from Jamie Benn, Michael Ryder and Brenden Morrow but have now lost the last three of four games including Thursday’s loss.

 

Minnesota Wild vs. Edmonton Oilers

Matt Cullen had 2 goals and an assist in the 3-1 victory over the Oilers. Ryan Smyth had the lone goal in the loss and the Oilers have now lost seven of the nine games so far in the month of February. Taylor Hall with just 2:33 left in the game received a five minute major kneeing penalty after colliding with Cal Clutterbuck at center ice. Hall was also ejected from the game for the play. Clutterbuck stayed on the ice in serious pain before being helped off the ice by two teammates. The Wild have won four of their last 6 games and remain in 2nd place in the Northwest Division.

 

Some exciting news to leave you with tonight! Kevin McGran of The Star reported that the Maple Leafs and Red Wings will get another shot to play in the Winter Classic next January, 2014. The Star is reporting that the NHL is in the final talks with both the University of Michigan and the Detroit Tigers for use of their stadiums for the weekend festivities. The Leafs and Wings were supposed to meet this past January for this seasons Winter Classic before it was cancelled due to the lockout. The Star’s source expects the official announcement to come in early spring.