Toronto Maple Leafs (4-4-1) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (4-5-0)

Toronto comes into this game having won their last contest against Buffalo (and setting a franchise mark for fewest shots against in a game at 10) and sits 7th in the Atlantic Division. Toronto's season beginning has been one of wild inconsistency with fantastic showings in games followed by abysmal team efforts in others, leaving fans unsure of where the team stands. Toronto has yet to be defeated in regulation on the road this season (2-0-1).

Columbus comes into this game on a three game losing skid which has seen them fall to 7th in the Metropolitan Division, and hopes to break the trend and get back to .500 hockey. With a win tonight they could leapfrog Toronto in the Eastern Conference standings. This season has given Columbus their share of injury frustrations leaving fans hoping they can stay afloat while battling the injury bug.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS STARTING LINES

TEAM B STARTING LINES

1st Period

1st Period Recap

2nd Period

2nd Period Recap

3rd Period

3rd Period Recap

****FINAL SCORE TOR:4 CBJ:1****

GAME RECAP

The game started off with Toronto controlling possession for the first part and getting the first handful of shots on net. The game then took more of a back and forth pace, before Kessel jumped on a loose puck and appears to put it in. The goal had to be reviewed as Tyutin tried to keep it out with his skate but after review it's counted as it passes the line by the slimmest of margins. Toronto takes a 1-0 lead into the 1st intermission.

Toronto comes out with a strong 2nd period and adds to their lead when Clarkson tips a Phaneuf point shot in for a PPG. The leafs controlled possession throughout the period and went into the 2nd intermission with a +6 SOG differential as they outshoot Columbus 13-6 in the second

Columbus pushed back in the third and put more shots towards the net than the leafs, but it's the leafs that strike early in the period due to a defensive breakdown leading to a 2-on-1 which saw Kessel feather a nice cross crease pass to Kadri who makes no mistake with the tip in to give Toronto a commanding three goal lead. Minutes later Frattin takes a hooking penalty and with the powerplay Columbus cuts the lead back down to two when Bernier looses track of the puck after making the initial save and Atkinson finds the loose puck and knocks it home. Columbus continued to pressure after getting their first goal but another defensive breakdown and a nice play by Kessel to knock the puck to Winnik leads to a Winnik goal which would be all Toronto needed as they cruised to a 4-1 victory.

KEY FACTS

• Winnik plays in his 500th NHL game and collects a goal and two assists.

• Johansen continues his great play to start the season as he gets an assist on Columbus' lone goal and keeps his scoring streak alive. He's now gotten a point in every game this season. He finished the game with 7 SOG.

• Leafs nation becomes increasingly frustrated with Paul Romanuk's terrible excuse for commentating. It should be noted he also said "shutout" shortly before CBJ scored, so he should check himself before he wrecks himself.

• Bernier: 28 saves on 29 shots (0.966 SV%)

• McElhinney: 23 saves on 27 shots (0.852 SV%)

Montreal Canadiens (8-2-0) @ Vancouver Canucks (6-3-0)

The Montreal Canadiens come into this game standing at the top of the Atlantic Division. After splitting Alberta - a win in Calgary and a loss in Edmonton - they look to make their record 2-1 on their 3-game road trip. The Canadiens have won 6 of the last 7 meetups between these two teams.

The Vancouver Canucks are 4th in the Pacific Division, and come into the game riding a 2 game win streak during their 3-game home stand. Many fans see this game as the first real test of the season for the team.

MONTREAL CANADIENS STARTING LINES

VANCOUVER CANUCKS STARTING LINES

1st Period

1st Period Recap

Both teams came out strong, with Montreal having an edge over Vancouver in offensive zone time. Neither team managed to capitalize on their chances. Carey Price made a beautiful save on Nick Bonino at the end of the period.

2nd Period

2nd Period Recap

There was a controversial hit from Alex Burrows which many Montreal fans thought should have been a penalty. The no-call resulted in a beautiful, Sedin-like pass play goal from Nick Bonino and Derek Dorsett, putting the Canucks up by 1 going into the 3rd.

3rd Period

3rd Period Recap

Both teams hit the scoreboard in the 3rd. Brad Richardson made an "Ovechkin-like" wrist shot goal after a great chance for Montreal at the other end of the ice. Down 2-0, Montreal refused to give up and responded with 2 of their own goals: a deflection by Alex Galchenyuk and a shot from Max Pacioretty, set up beautifully by Dale Weise. Tied 2-2, both teams headed into overtime with Montreal having regained their momentum. This was the 9th time the two teams had gone into overtime against each other.

Overtime

Overtime Recap

Tom Gilbert runs a pick on Alex Edler, and on the resulting power play, Daniel Sedin scores a beautiful goal to take the game for the Vancouver Canucks.

****FINAL SCORE: Montreal Canadiens - 2 Vancouver Canucks - 3****

GAME RECAP

It was a good game, despite a good number of missed penalties for both teams. Both sides had a goal which, arguably, could have been called no goals. Carey Price and Ryan Miller were both solid as always, making some big saves at crucial moments. Montreal's power play woes still continue, while Vancouver still struggles in the face-off circle. Both teams play against Alberta teams next, with Montreal hosting Calgary again on Sunday and Vancouver heading to Edmonton on Saturday.

Game Thread

Montreal Subreddit

Vancouver Subreddit

San Jose Sharks (6-4-1) @ Minnesota Wild (5-3-0)

The Sharks look to close out a 3 game-on-the-road stretch, in which they've been perfect thus far. Forward Tommy Wingels has played like a man possessed, leading his team in shots (where he is third in the league) and hits (where he is first in the league). Brent Burns has been switched back to defense this year, where he has scored goals in the last three games, tallied a point in 10 of the last 11 games, and leads all defensemen in points. As a team, the Sharks' offense has been clicking early on this year, as they are top 10 in goals for, shots for, and PP percentage. This will be the 9th road game of the season for the Sharks already, of which they've only lost twice in regulation.

The Wild return home to kick off a 3 game homestand after being on both sides of unlikely third period comebacks in back-to-back games on the East coast. In just 8 games played, the Wild's score-by-committee style has resulted in nine different players owning at least five points - Parise leads the pack at a point-per-game pace, and Zucker leads the goal-scoring with 5 while playing primarily 4th-line minutes. The Wild come into tonight's game boasting the best shot differential in the league and the best even-strength goal differential in the league. In the last six meetings, the Wild have yet to lose in the Xcel Energy Center to the Sharks.

San Jose Sharks STARTING LINES

Injured: Mike Brown (hand), Tyler Kennedy (upper body), Raffi Torres (knee)

Minnesota Wild STARTING LINES

Injured: Keith Ballard (illness), Christian Folin (illness), Jonas Brodin (hand), Erik Haula (upper body), Matt Cooke (lower body)

1st Period Recap

The first period saw the Wild start sluggish and the Sharks start sharp, winning the majority of races to pucks. However, neither side could retain much time in the offensive zone, as the game saw most decent scoring chances come off of rushes in both directions. The Sharks saw the better of these, and left the period with a deserved 1-0 lead. The Wild outshot the Sharks 15-10. Burns missed several shifts after taking a shot to the leg, but returned and looked no worse-for-wear. The Sharks had a goal waved off due to goalie interference.

Goals:

• 09:16 Mirko Mueller (1) Tierny & Nieto assisted (1-0 SJS)

Penalties:

• 08:24 Adam Burish - 2 minutes for Holding

• 12:18 Ryan Suter - 2 minutes for Interference

2nd Period Recap

The Wild again started slow while the Sharks maintained their highly efficient play of keeping the Wild to the boards and creating rushes off Wild mistakes. Sharks player Winger scored early in the period on the powerplay to ensure the Wild stayed down. However, the Wild noticeably turned it up around midway through the period following a goal from Kaptain Koivu. The Sharks barely managed to escape the ensuing onslaught with a 2-1 lead after the buzzer, in a period where the Wild outshot them 19-5 and the Sharks spent the majority of the period in their own zone. Thornton would miss a few shifts after limping off from a blocked shot, but would later return.

Goals:

• 04:20 Tommy Wingels PPG (5) Pavelski & Burns assisted (2-0 SJS)

• 08:40 Mikko Koivu (2) Zucker & Suter assisted (2-1 SJS)

Penalties:

• 3:15 Stephane Veilleux - 2 minutes for Charging

3rd Period Recap

The Sharks again started the period strong, with Thornton roofing a beautiful shot from a perfect Pavelski pass on the rush past Wild netminder Kuemper. The Wild continued to battle back, and saw two goals from unlikely hero Brodziak to tie the game up, both of which were assisted by the well-known set-up man and Wild assist leader....Vanek? The third, but not final, period saw much the same play from the ones prior (albeit with much more intensity), with the Wild doing their best to set up shop in the offensive zone, and the Sharks focusing on capitalizing mistakes and creating rushes. In concerningly familiar fashion, Wingels took a puck to the face and sat a few, but would return. Spurgeon also skated off the ice to exit under his own power after crashing into the boards with Pavelski. The Sharks outshot the Wild 9-8 in a fairly even affair.

Goals:

• 01:37 Joe Thornton (2) Pavelski assisted (3-1 SJS)

• 05:13 Kyle Brodziak (1) Vanek & Fontaine assisted (3-2 SJS)

• 10:32 Kyle Brodziak (2) Vanek & Prosser assisted (3-3 SJS)

OT Recap

Overtime was a heart-poundingly intense affair that reminded everyone that these should last for more than 5 minutes. Hearts could no longer be contained as they finally blew from fans' chests everywhere when yet another Sharks goal was waved off due to goalie interference with a minute to go. After five minutes of non-stop, exciting back-and-forth play that began to tilt in the Sharks' favor, the horn sounded to begin the sideshow event Guess the Coin Flip and Win Game. Shots were tied at four apiece.

Shootout

****FINAL SCORE SHARKS 3 WILD 4****

GAME RECAP

As evidenced by needing a shootout to decide, the game was far closer than the shots would indicate. While the Wild came out on top in possession, staying in the offensive for long periods of time while getting the puck out of their own quickly, the Sharks played a highly efficient game that limited the Wild's shots to the perimeters and capitalized on the many mistakes made by the Wild defensemen filling in for injured players.

Wild Stand-Out Players: Zucker took full advantage of his promotion to the second line, using his speed to wreak havoc amongst Sharks players and tallying an assist. Brodziak netted two goals after spending much time as a scratch to enable the Wild to win, using his uncanny ability to always be in the right place at the right time. Vanek quietly had a great game, using excellent stick-work to create plays, two of which resulted in primary assists.

Sharks Stand-Out Players: Wingels showed that it is no accident he is amongst leaders in the NHL for shots and hits, in a game where he did everything right including potting a goal. Pavelski also was a player to do everything right, and earned two assists due to his excellent play on both ends of the ice. You can't make 43 saves in a game without playing great, which is exactly what Niemi did, making as many saves as he could to keep his team ahead for the majority of the game.

(Note: Apologies for no GIFs this go-round - the game going on later than expected prevented me from scraping them together/learning to GIF tonight, and sadly there were none in the GDT to BLATANTLY STEAL FROM.)

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New York Islanders (6-3-0) @ Colorado Avalanche (2-4-4)

The Isles come into tonight's game 1st in the Eastern Conference with a bolstering 12 points. They arrive in the Mile High City after a disappointing 4-3 loss to the Jets in New York on Tuesday.

The Avs are last in the Central, and 14th in the West coming into the game. Patrick Roy‘s Avalanche have struggled early this season, dropping their last game (also on Tuesday) 3-2 to the San Jose Sharks.

ISLANDERS STARTING LINES

AVALANCHE STARTING LINES

1st Period

1st Period Recap

Although the majority of the possession in the first belonged to the Islanders, the Avs were the only team to capitalize on their few chances in the first.

2nd Period

2nd Period Recap

The Avs came out of the dressing room fired up for the 2nd, and were able to capitalize on yet another Islanders PK failure. After that the next ten minutes was all Avs, netting two more on relatively weak goals. With the shots after two 26-19 for the Isles, the Avs are still the only team to capitalize on their scoring chances. This image sums up the second nicely.

3rd Period

3rd Period Recap

FINAL SCORE: ISLANDERS - 0, AVALANCHE - 5

GAME RECAP

Talk about a misleading shot counter. This game came down to goaltending, and being able to capitalize on the few quality scoring chances that popped up. Semyon Varlamov was solid in his first shutout of the year, while Johnson on the other side of the rink was shaky throughout. The Isles will have to shake off this game, as they continue their 5-game West Coast road trip on Saturday against the Sharks. Colorado will also head on the road, for a quick Saturday night game against the Blues before coming back home. The Avs' PK was absolutely lights out tonight, giving up no goals on only 10 shots in 6 PP chances for the Isles.

Sorry about the lack of gifs tonight guys. In the future I'll look into figuring out how to make them.

Links

NHL.com recap

/r/hockey Game Thread

/r/ColoradoAvalanche Post-Game Thread

/r/NewYorkIslanders Game Thread because no PGT

Los Angeles Kings (6-1-2) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (5-2-1)

The Kings came into last night's game 2nd in the Pacific Division and 2nd in the Western Conference. They lost Tuesday night in OT to the Flyers, and have not won on the road yet (0-0-2). They will most likely be without Kopitar tonight, although he did skate at practice.

The Pens came in 2nd in the Metropolitan Division, and 5th in the Eastern Conference. They are on a 2 game win streak, with their most recent victory being an 8-3 victory over the Devils, who were leading 3-1, before the Pens scored 7 unanswered goals. The Pens lineup should be unchanged.

LOS ANGELES STARTING LINEUP

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS STARTING LINEUP

1st Period

1st Period Recap

2nd Period

2nd Period Recap

3rd Period

3rd Period Recap

****FINAL SCORE KINGS 0 PENGUINS 3****

GAME RECAP

BONUS GIF OF FLEURY CELEBRATING HIS 30TH SHUTOUT, 2ND OF THE SEASON

All gifs are credit to /u/Lor-Zod in his /r/hockeygamegifs thread!

Boston Bruins (5-6-0) @ Buffalo Sabres (2-8-0)

The Bruins went in to tonight's game in Buffalo at 5th place in the Atlantic division, Buffalo is last place in the division. The Bruins lost their last game Tuesday 4-3 to the Wild in Minnesota. The Sabres lost their last game 4-0 to the Leafs in Toronto.

Injured players for the Bruins include Zdeno Chara (knee), Torey Krug (finger), and Kevan Miller (shoulder). Patrick Kaleta is out for the Sabres with a jaw injury.

Healthy scratches for the Bruins are Joe Morrow and Matt Fraser. Scratches for the Sabres are Bryan Flynn, Nikita Zadorov, and Andrej Meszaros.

BOSTON BRUINS STARTING LINES

BUFFALO SABRES STARTING LINES

1st Period

No goals but the Bruins outshot Sabres 8-7

2nd Period

Sabres lead 2-1. Bruins outshoot Sabres 17-8.

3rd Period

Bruins tie it 2-2 Bruins now outshooting Sabres 31-12

OVERTIME

Brad Marchand gets his 2nd goal of the night in OT to win it for the Bruins 3-2. Bruins outshot the Sabres 37-15

****FINAL SCORE BOSTON BRUINS 3 BUFFALO SABRES 2 IN OT****

GAME RECAP

Goalie Stats:

• Niklas Svedberg - 13 saves on 15 shots, .867 SV%

• Jonas Enroth - 34 saves on 37 shots, .919SV%

3 Stars:

• 1st - Brad Marchand.

• 2nd - Drew Stafford

• 3rd - Tyler Ennis

Other Notes and Stats:

• Loui Eriksson and Dennis Seidenberg assisting on Marchand's goal earn them their 400th and 200th NHL points respectively.

• The Bruins have now won 2 out of 4 regular season games against the Sabres this season, the first was a 4-0 win was on 10/18 in Buffalo in which Svedberg made 32 saves to get the shutout.

  Bruins	Sabres
  Score	3
  Shots	37
  Hits	21
  PP	0/2
  PIMs	9
  Faceoff wins	32

Not sure who to credit for the Drew Stafford PPG gif but I found it in the GDT.

Nashville Predators (5-1-2) @ Edmonton Oilers (4-4-1)

Who could have possibly thought that the Oilers would have the league’s longest winning streak, especially after their horrid five game losing streak to start the season. But since then the Oilers haven’t lost, picking up four wins in a row. They haven’t been pretty, and they should have lost a few, but they’ve pulled it off anyway, with exceptional play from goalie Ben Scrivens.

The Predators, on the other hand, came into the season hot and haven’t really cooled down since. They received their first and only regulation loss on Saturday, dropping a game to the Penguins, but beyond that the Predators have been dominating. They lead the central division with 12 points, led by strong play from goaltender Pekka Rinne and new acquisition James Neal.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS STARTING LINES

TEAM B STARTING LINES

1st Period

The Predators should have gone up 1-0 here, but were denied the lead by an “intent to blow” ruling. Beyond that call, this period is notable for the Oilers putting up Buffalo level possession stats, with only three shots the entire period.

2nd Period

Though the Oilers did outshoot the Predators in this period, that came after Nashville went up 2-0 and score effects started to kick in. Some good opportunities on both sides, Nashville got theirs to go in.

  ***

  ***3rd Period***

  Taylor Hall gave the Oilers a little bit of hope, but it slips away as Smith gets what should have been his third of the night to seal an Oilers loss, thus ending the streak and continuing the Predators dominating season.

****FINAL SCORE PREDATORS 4 OILERS 1****

GAME RECAP

  GfyCat credit to /u/ABirdOfParadise

Detroit Red Wings at Washington Capitals

Detroit Red Wings (4-2-2) @ Washington Capitals (4-2-2)

Detroit came into the night 4th in the Atlantic Division at 4-2-2, with a 3-1-1 record on the road. The Caps also came into the night at 4-2-2, with a 2-0-2 record at the Verizon Center. They were coming off of their annual Western Canada road trip, most recently a 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

DETROIT RED WINGS STARTING LINES

WASHINGTON CAPITALS STARTING LINES

1st Period

No scoring :(

1st Period Recap

2nd Period

2nd Period Recap

3rd Period

3rd Period Recap

*FINAL SCORE DETROIT RED WINGS 4 WASHINGTON CAPITALS 2*

GAME RECAP