The Prudential Center remains a house of horrors for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Adam Henrique and Michael Ryder both scored and picked up an assist on the other’s goal as the New Jersey Devils closed out 2013 with a 2-1 win over the visiting Penguins on Tuesday afternoon. Martin Brodeur made 19 saves for the Devils, who improved to 5-1-2 in their last eight games and 13-3-0 against the Penguins at Prudential Center since the start of the 2008-09 season. Marc-Andre Fleury turned away 28 shots for Pittsburgh, which suffered just its third loss in its last 17 games.
Final Score: NY Rangers 2, Florida 1 (SO)
Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Dan Girardi scored the tying goal late in regulation, and Brad Richards won it with the lone goal in the shootout, as the Rangers rallied past Florida, 2-1, on Tuesday. Henrik Lundqvist made 21 stops in regulation and three more in the game’s final segment for New York, which has won two in a row and four of five overall. Tim Thomas, who participated in his 400th career contest, stopped 29 shots for the Panthers, losers in four of their last five. Brad Boyes recorded the lone score for the hosts.
Final Score: St. Louis 2, Minnesota 1
St. Paul, MN (SportsNetwork.com) – Brian Elliott turned away 24 shots as St. Louis held on to beat Minnesota, 2-1, at Xcel Energy Center. T.J. Oshie and Jaden Schwartz tallied for the Blues, winners of three straight and eight of 11. Ryan Suter scored and Josh Harding made 21 saves for the Wild, who have dropped six in a row.
Final Score: NY Islanders 5, Boston 3
Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) – John Tavares netted a pair of third-period goals and picked up two assists as the New York Islanders rallied from a two- goal deficit to beat Boston, 5-3, at TD Garden. Frans Nielsen tallied twice and Kyle Okposo added a goal and two helpers for the Islanders, who have won two in a row for the first time since Nov. 1-2. Thomas Vanek and Andrew McDonald each contributed two assists to back a 35-save effort by Evgeni Nabokov. David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara provided offense for the Bruins, who hadn’t dropped two straight in regulation since Oct. 26-30. Tuukka Rask was on the hook for all five goals on 31 shots.
Final Score: Carolina 5, Montreal 4 (OT)
Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Alexander Semin scored the winner at 3:27 of overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes rallied for a 5-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Carolina trailed 3-0 entering the third, but scored four straight goals to take the lead before Montreal tied the game halfway through the frame. The Hurricanes had to survive a double-minor to Eric Staal with 3:29 to play in regulation, but killed it off. On the winning goal, Ron Hainsey fired a slap-pass from the right point to the left circle where Semin gathered the puck on the backhand, then turned around and fired a shot on net that beat Carey Price for the win. Jeff Skinner had two goals and an assist, Staal finished with a goal and two assists, with Manny Malhotra also scoring for the Hurricanes, who snapped a five-game losing streak. Cam Ward stopped 21 shots. Max Pacioretty scored twice while P.K. Subban and Lars Eller also scored for the Canadiens, who have lost their last two. Price was tagged for all five goals on 42 shots.
Final Score: Winnipeg 3, Buffalo 0
Winnipeg, MB (SportsNetwork.com) – Al Montoya turned aside 27 shots for his second shutout of the season to lead the Winnipeg Jets over the Buffalo Sabres, 3-0, at MTS Centre. Keaton Ellerby, Jacob Trouba, and Anthony Peluso all lit the lamp for the Jets, winners of three straight. Jhonas Enroth allowed two goals on 25 shots as the Sabres have now dropped two of their last three.
Final Score: Dallas 3, Los Angeles 2
Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Tyler Seguin and Erik Cole scored in the second period, and Dallas clipped Los Angeles, 3-2, at American Airlines Center. Cole added a first-period marker and Kari Lehtonen came up with 23 saves for the Stars, winners in five of their last seven outings. Ben Scrivens stopped 29 shots for the Kings, who received goals from Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar in their fourth straight loss.
Final Score: Colorado 5, Columbus 3
Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) – Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon both lit the lamp in the third period to help lift the Colorado Avalanche over the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-3, at Pepsi Center. Jan Hejda, Jamie McGinn, and Ryan O’Reilly also scored, while Matt Duchene contributed two assists for the Avalanche, who snapped a four-game skid. Semyon Varlamov made 35 saves in the win. Ryan Johansen, Boone Jenner, and Nick Foligno provided the goals for the Jackets, who have lost two straight after winning three in a row. Curtis McElhinney allowed five goals on 23 shots.
Final Score: Anaheim 6, San Jose 3
Anaheim, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Ryan Getzlaf posted a goal and two assists as the Anaheim Ducks took a 6-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks to close a home-and-home set. Matt Beleskey and Nick Bonino each posted a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who dropped the opener of this set in San Jose, 3-1, on Sunday that saw a franchise-best 10-game winning streak stopped. Jonas Hiller made 33 saves in the win. Dan Boyle, Bracken Kearns and Logan Couture all scored for the Sharks, who had won four straight coming into the game. Antti Niemi was pulled in the third period as he gave up five goals on 34 shots. Alex Stalock allowed a goal on four shots the rest of the way.
Final Score: Philadelphia 4, Calgary 1
Calgary, AB (SportsNetwork.com) – Brayden Schenn posted a goal and two assists as the Philadelphia Flyers took a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames. Braydon Coburn, Scott Hartnell and Mark Streit all scored for the Flyers, who have won the first three games of a six-game road trip. Ray Emery made 23 stops in the win. Sean Monahan had the only goal of the game for the Flames, who have dropped three straight and seven of eight. Reto Berra gave up three goals on 20 shots in the loss.
Final Score: Phoenix 4, Edmonton 3 (OT)
Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – Keith Yandle contributed two goals that included the game-winner with 6.5 seconds left in overtime to give the Phoenix Coyotes a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Yandle stripped the puck from an Oiler in the Coyotes zone and raced up the left side and drove in on net to wrist the shot through the arm of Ilya Bryzgalov for the win. Tim Kennedy and Mikkel Boedker supplied the other two goals for Phoenix. Mike Smith allowed three goals on 10 shots and was pulled in the second. Thomas Greiss turned aside all 15 shots he faced in relief to allow Phoenix to halt a three-game skid. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, David Perron, and Justin Schultz scored for the Oilers and Taylor Hall contributed three assists. Bryzgalov gave up four goals on 44 shots in Edmonton’s second straight loss.
