Busy night in NHL lined with blowouts

Who says scoring is down in the NHL?

In a night when all but two teams were active - the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks watched from the sidelines - fans were treated to goals aplenty. In all, 98 goals were scored on the night, most coming in one-sided contests.

In Carolina, the Hurricanes pasted the Philadelphia Flyers 5-1. Hurricanes rookie forward Sebastian Aho scored the first hat trick of his career, the first Carolina freshman to do so since 2001. The Flyers had a stronger showing in the third period but managed just six shots through the first two frames.

In Montreal, the Canadiens captured their 30th win of the season, dropping the divisional rival Buffalo Sabres 5-2. Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty scored his second hat trick of the campaign, with linemate Alexander Radulov grabbing assists on two of the tallies.

South in Texas, the Dallas Stars were quick to chase Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen after the Stars netted three goals through the first 11:18 and five goals in the first period all together. Dallas scored the victory on the evening in a 6-3 final, with 12 Dallas skaters picking up at least one point in the win.

In all, 10 players finished with multi-goal efforts on the evening:

Player Opponent Goals
Seth Jones Rangers 2 goals
Patric Hornqvist Predators 2 goals
Sebastian Aho Flyers 3 goals
Max Pacioretty Sabres 3 goals
Kyle Palmieri Red Wings 2 goals
Alex Killorn Bruins 2 goals
Ryan Dzingel Panthers 2 goals
Michael Matheson Senators 2 goals
Tyler Graovac Oilers 2 goals
Jakob Silfverberg Avalanche 2 goals

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Avalanche pile up another loss in fall to Ducks

Another day, another loss.

Following Tuesday's 5-1 defeat to the Anaheim Ducks, the Colorado Avalanche marked their 32nd loss on the season, and third straight defeat.

The Avalanche have a single victory since Dec. 27, a stretch where the team has posted a 1-12-1 record, including Tuesday's loss to the Ducks. Colorado picked up a lone point following an overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 21.

To make matters worse? There are still 35 games of misery remaining.

This campaign already ranks as the fifth-worst since the Avalanche arrived in Denver in 1996:

Season Points Losses
2008-09 69 45
2010-11 68 44
2015-16 82 39
2011-12 88 35
2016-17 28 34

At their current pace, the Avalanche will finish the season with just 49 points. The previous franchise-low in a full season was set in 2008-09, when the Colorado club ended up with 69 points.

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Wild post 2nd straight 5-goal game as offense keeps rolling

For the second time in as many games, the Minnesota Wild's offense suffocated their opposition, as the club put up five goals in its dominant win over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.

The Wild went into the All-Star break fresh off a similar performance, taking down the St. Louis Blues by a score of 5-1.

It must be beginning to feel like routine for Minnesota, as this certainly isn't new territory for the club. The Wild have scored five goals in five of their past 10 games, with the first of that span being a seven-goal performance against the Montreal Canadiens - with Carey Price in the cage.

They've already scored five or more goals a total of 12 times through 49 games this season, after doing so 11 times over the entirety of 2015-16.

The club continues to score by committee as it rolls over the rest of the league. Tyler Graovac wired in two against the Oilers, while Zach Parise, Jason Zucker, and Chris Stewart each added a goal.

One game earlier, it was Graovac, Erik Haula, Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter, and Mikael Granlund putting pucks in the net. And veteran Eric Staal ranked as the team's goal-scoring leader heading into the tilt with Edmonton.

Plenty of goals to go around in Minnesota, it seems.

All in all, the Wild rank fourth in the league in terms of offensive prowess, scoring at a clip of 3.32 goals per game. With the 5-2 win over Edmonton, Minnesota remains the Western Conference leader with 71 points in the bag.

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Marchand takes out Stralman with dangerous trip

Brad Marchand was up to his old tricks.

The Boston Bruins forward claimed his latest victim Tuesday, dropping Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman with a slewfoot play late in the second period.

Marchand was not penalized on the play.

The incident comes just five days and two games after the league dropped the hammer on Marchand, hitting the Bruins winger with a maximum fine of $10,000 following a dangerous trip on Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall.

It's unknown whether the NHL will act on the play, but it will need to work in fast order, with the Bruins back in action Wednesday against the Washington Capitals.

The NHL defines a repeat offender as those who commit a second offense within an 18-month window, and considering the short turnaround from Marchand's latest indiscretion, the grounds exist for a longer penalty.

In all, here is short history of Marchand's long history of misdemeanors:

Date Offense Penalty
Jan. 26 '17 Dangerous trip fined $10 000
Dec. 30 '15 Illegal clipping suspended 3 games
Nov. 13 '15 Roughing fined $5 000
Jan. 16 '15 Slewfoot suspended 2 games
Jan. 09 '12 Illegal clipping suspended 5 games
Dec. 12 '11 Slewfoot fined $2 500
Mar. 17 '11 Elbowing suspended 2 games

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Watch: Draisaitl pots one-timer, reaches 20 goals for 1st time

Leon Draisaitl continues to prove he's more than a sidekick in Edmonton.

After breaking out with a 51-point effort last season, Draisaitl has taken his play to a new level in 2016-17, establishing himself as one of the game's brightest young stars.

He confirmed that step forward once again Tuesday, hitting 20 goals for the first time in his career with a rocket of a one-timer.

By reaching the 20-goal plateau, Draisaitl earned a $212,500 performance bonus, according to Cap Friendly.

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Scheifele’s 3-point effort propels Jets over struggling Blues

ST. LOUIS - Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists, Jacob Trouba scored a key third-period goal, and the Winnipeg Jets beat the St. Louis Blues 5-3 on Tuesday night.

Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers and Blake Wheeler also scored for the Jets, who improved to 12-4-1 within the Central Division and 3-0 against the Blues. Ondrej Pavelec made 24 saves.

Alexander Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Pietrangelo scored for the Blues, who lost their fourth straight on home ice. Jake Allen made 19 saves.

Winnipeg opened a 4-2 lead on Trouba's fourth of the season 3:33 into the third. Trouba initially fanned on the shot but the puck went off of Pietrangelo's skate and into the net.

The bad bounce on Trouba's goal was another tough break for Allen, who made his first start since being pulled after allowing four goals on 10 shots on Jan. 19. He was replaced in each of his previous three starts, allowing 10 goals on 36 shots during that span.

Allen received sarcastic cheers from the crowd of 19,483 for routine saves throughout the game.

Steen put St. Louis in front just 3:37 into the game on a shot from the point. It was the first time St. Louis scored the opening goal on home ice since Dec. 15.

Scheifele tied it with 30 seconds left in the first on a give-and-go with Blake Wheeler. It was Scheifele's second goal in two games, and Wheeler's assist gave him 20 points in his last 21 games.

Laine gave the Jets a 2-1 lead 22 seconds into the second period. Laine is on a seven-game point streak, and his 41 points leads all NHL rookies.

After Ehlers scored just seven seconds into Winnipeg's first power play, Tarasenko responded for the Blues with 52 seconds remaining in the second. It was Tarasenko's fifth goal and ninth point in his last seven games against the Jets.

NOTES: The Blues recalled F Ivan Barbashev from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. ... Jets F Mathieu Perreault missed his third straight game after taking a slash from Anaheim's Corey Perry on Jan. 23.

UP NEXT

Jets: Will travel to Dallas on Thursday.

Blues: Will host Toronto on Thursday.

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Blackhawks’ Bowman ‘not expecting’ to make a deadline deal this year

Last season, he went all in, but this time around, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman seems comfortable standing firm.

Bowman orchestrated a series of moves to bolster his club's attack a season ago, acquiring Andrew Ladd, Dale Weise, and Tomas Fleischmann in separate trades at the expense of two high picks, prospect Marko Dano, and depth forward Philip Danault.

The moves didn't pan out, as Chicago's playoff run lasted all of seven games.

On top of last year's postseason failure, it's a new team dynamic that leaves Bowman hesitant to shake things up this time around.

"There’s something to be said for chemistry and keeping your guys together, and not having someone come in externally, swoop in, and try to find a role for him," Bowman told Mark Lazerus of The Chicago Sun-Times. "So we’ll see. Things change quickly. But as we look at it today, I’m not expecting a big addition like that."

Chicago, in second place in the Central Division with 65 points, is relying on a crop of rookies more so than years past, and Bowman doesn't want to alter that.

"Established players, they don’t typically get better as the year goes on. They’re at their level and they maintain it or if anything, they drop off due to injury or fatigue or whatnot. But we’ve got a different dynamic at play. We’ve already seen it with a few of them. They’re better now than they were in October," Bowman said.

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Panthers’ blue line shows off depth with 4-goal effort

The Florida Panthers don't have a single defenseman ranking among the top 25 blue-line scorers in the league. But the club made it clear Tuesday night that they have more than enough talent on the back end to get the job done.

Florida's rearguards dominated offensively during their goal-fest against the Ottawa Senators. The Panthers finished the game with a 6-5 victory, the eventual game-winner coming with just 35 seconds left in the tilt.

Astoundingly, four of the Panthers' six tallies came from defensemen - Michael Matheson scored twice, while Jason Demers and Mark Pysyk added one goal each.

Ottawa managed to get in on the blue-line scoring as well - unsurprisingly given the absurd number of total goals in the contest - with Chris Wideman and Erik Karlsson both finding the back of the net.

Interestingly, the only two Panthers defenders who didn't register a point in the team's victory were arguably their two best - Keith Yandle and Aaron Ekblad, who rank first and second on the team in points for defensemen.

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Devils’ Palmieri rediscovers scoring touch on night of firsts

It was an evening to remember for Kyle Palmieri, as his New Jersey Devils dropped the Detroit Red Wings with a nail-biting 4-3 victory.

For the 25-year-old winger, it was an especially crucial one, as Palmieri got back on track with two goals - his first multi-goal effort of 2016-17.

The offensive outburst was surely needed, as Palmieri's play to this point hasn't inspired much confidence for the struggling Devils.

After breaking out with 30 goals and 57 points last season - both career highs and nearly double his previous marks - it seemed the former Anaheim Duck had found his stride back in his hometown.

Already rolling, Palmieri saw Taylor Hall come to town in the offseason - adding an elite talent to help him raise the Devils out of the league's offensive basement.

But it didn't quite work out that way. Instead, Palmieri's production tailed off, seeing his goals per game pace fall from 0.37 in 2015-16 to 0.23 this year. His overall points per game pace similarly fell, from 0.70 to 0.58.

A performance like the one Palmieri put forth against the Wings seems a fine remedy, however.

Not only did he register his first multi-goal game of the season, he also tallied his first career shorthanded goal, cutting through the Red Wings' powerplay unit for a highlight-reel finish.

With the impressive night, Palmieri's season totals now sit at 13 goals and 30 points through 49 games, while the Devils' point total rises to 51 points.

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Maple Leafs allow 5 1st-period goals for 1st time since 2009

It certainly wasn't the start they were looking for.

The Toronto Maple Leafs stood still as the Dallas Stars stormed out of the gate with five goals in the first period Tuesday.

It's the first time Toronto's allowed five first-period goals since April 3, 2009 against the Philadelphia Flyers, per Sportsnet Stats.

Devin Shore got things started for Dallas, just 2:53 into the opening frame.

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