Playing on a rink that stretched from first base to third
base, the Rangers made the league’s fifth Classic event a memorable one to stay
atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Mike Rupp scored twice as New York improved to 3-0 this
season against Philadelphia.
The NHL surrounded the rink with Christmas trees, fire wood,
fake snow, and even trash-can fires. But there was nothing artificial in the
elements with snow flurries late in the second period and temperatures that
dipped into the 30s, forcing 46,967 fans to bundle up for the big game.
Brayden Schenn and Claude Giroux scored for the Flyers. It
was Schenn’s first career goal.
Flyers star Jaromir Jagr played only a minute in the second
period before leaving for good. Jagr said after the game he injured his left
leg and expected to return soon.
New York defenseman Marc Staal returned to the lineup after
a season-long absence due to a concussion.
In Ottawa, Daniel Alfredsson
scored his 401st goal on a power play 4 minutes into overtime to give Ottawa a
win over New Jersey.
Alfredsson, who scored his 400th in overtime Friday against
Calgary, beat Martin Brodeur with 59.4 seconds left in the extra period after
David Clarkson was called for hooking 2:58 into overtime.
Ottawa’s Erik Condra tied it at 2 with a short-handed goal
13:17 into the third. Jason Spezza scored t 1:21 into the third to spoil
Brodeur’s bid for his first shutout of the season.
Craig Anderson made 27 saves for Ottawa, which has won three
in a row.
Dainius Zubrus and David Clarkson scored in the second to
put New Jersey up 2-0. The Devils had won two in a row and nine of 12.
In Vancouver, British Columbia,
Michael Handzus scored the only goal in a shootout to lift San Jose over
Vancouver.
Jannik Hansen and Cody Hodgson scored for the Canucks in
regulation. Benn Ferriero and Patrick Marleau gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead midway
through the game.
In the shootout, Handzus faked twice and then beat Canucks
goalie Roberto Luongo on the stick side.
The Sharks won for the first time against Vancouver in three
tries this season. The Canucks also beat the Sharks in five games in last
season’s Western Conference finals.
In Chicago, Ryan Smyth, Taylor Hall
and Andy Sutton scored in the second period and Edmonton bounced back from
Daniel Carcillo’s nasty hit during a chippy victory over Chicago.
Jordan Eberle had two assists for the Oilers, including a
perfect backhand pass to Sutton for the tiebreaking score. Ben Eager added an
insurance goal in the third period as Edmonton snapped a three-game slide.
Jonathan Toews, Andrew Brunette and Jimmy Hayes scored for
the Blackhawks, who had won 10 of 13.
Devan Dubnyk made a couple of big stops in the final few
minutes to preserve the victory. He finished with 39 saves.
Carcillo launched Edmonton defenseman Tom Gilbert into the boards
7:23 into the second period, resulting in a major boarding penalty and a game
misconduct. Carcillo and Gilbert both went down after the vicious hit and had
to be helped off the ice.
In Los Angeles, Ryan O’Reilly
scored the tying goal with 5:43 left in the third period, Milan Hejduk got the
only goal in a shootout and Semyon Varlamov made 31 saves to lead surging
Colorado over Los Angeles.
Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, trying for his NHL-leading
sixth shutout, finished with 20 saves. He stopped Colorado’s first 19 shots
before O’Reilly carried the puck into the Kings’ zone off a turnover by Kyle
Clifford and scored on a 30-foot wrist shot.
Colorado has won eight of its last nine games.
The Avalanche are 7-0 in shootouts and have won their past
10 tiebreakers, one shy of the NHL record for consecutive shootout wins set by
the Dallas Stars during the 2005-06 season.
Quick is 3-4 in shootouts after going 10-0 last season.
