NHL Recaps: David Pastrnak hat trick powers Bruins, Stars thump Panthers, and more
The Daily Goal Horn
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NHL Recaps: January 8, 2023
The NHL docket for Sunday entertained fans with eight games.
Nicklas Backstrom (hip) and Tom Wilson (ACL) made their season debuts for the Washington Capitals after recovering from offseason surgery. Oddly enough, they didn’t provide any offensive punch but helped their team blank the Columbus Blue Jackets 1-0.
In other games, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, St, Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, Winnipeg Jets, and Pittsburgh Penguins were all victorious.
However, we start the recaps with a brilliant performance by David Pastrnak registering four points as the Boston Bruins clobbered the Anaheim Ducks.
NHL Recaps: David Pastrnak powers Bruins
Bruins 7 vs Ducks 1
David Pastrnak registered his 13th career hat trick as part of a four-point performance as the Boston Bruins rolled past the host Anaheim Ducks 7-1 on Sunday night.
Pastrnak scored three goals and added an assist to pace the Bruins, who improved to 11-0-3 over their last 14 games after sweeping a three-game California road trip. Pastrnak became the third player in the NHL to reach the 30-goal mark this season.
“We are all playing together,” Pastrnak said via NHL.com. “We’re playing well. We’re a heck of a team. Since the first game, every line is doing its part and we’re all playing well. Winning makes it way easier to have fun.”
Patrice Bergeron reached a milestone by registering the 600th assist of his illustrious career. And defenseman Hampus Lindholm scored an unassisted goal in his first game back to Anaheim.
Trevor Zegras scored the lone goal and John Gibson stopped 35 shots for Anaheim, which had won back-to-back games.
Capitals 1 vs Blue Jackets 0
Darcy Kuemper made 38 saves to lead Washington to a shutout of visiting Columbus.
Kuemper leads the NHL with four shutouts this season. Erik Gustafsson scored the lone goal for the Capitals when his shot hit the skate of Columbus defenseman Tim Berni just outside the bottom of the circle and deflected between goalie Elvis Merzlikins’ legs for a 1-0 lead at 2:43 of the first period.
Merzlikins made 18 saves for the Blue Jackets, who outshot the Capitals 38-19.
Blues 3 vs Wild 0
Thomas Greiss made 35 saves for his 16th career shutout as visiting St. Louis blanked Minnesota in St. Paul.
In his first appearance since Dec. 20, Greiss made 23 saves in the third period to seal the victory for the Blues — who have earned points in 11 of their last 14 games. Brayden Schenn scored twice for St. Louis and Brandon Saad had a goal and an assist.
Filip Gustavsson made 21 saves for the Wild, who suffered just their third regulation loss in their last 13 games.
Maple Leafs 6 vs Flyers 2
Calle Jarnkrok and John Tavares each had one goal and two assists to lift Toronto past host Philadelphia.
Conor Timmins added one goal and one assist for the Maple Leafs, who have won two straight. Auston Matthews, Zach Aston-Reese and Timothy Liljegren scored one goal apiece and Mitch Marner contributed three assists. Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray made 34 saves.
Travis Konecny and Nicolas Deslauriers scored one goal each for the Flyers, who had their season-best four-game winning streak snapped. Flyers goaltender Carter Hart stopped 29 shots.
NHL Recaps: Stars beat Panthers
Stars 5 vs Panthers 1
Jason Robertson scored two goals, Jake Oettinger made 27 saves and Dallas beat visiting Florida.
“I got a lot of Grade A looks tonight,” Robertson said via NHL.com. “When you get that many, your confidence starts to feel good, especially when you get one early and just start hammering away.”
Defensemen Nils Lundkvist and Esa Lindell each posted second-period goals for the Stars, and fellow blue-liner Miro Heiskanen added an empty-netter as Dallas regrouped from back-to-back road losses in their last two contests to win their third straight at home.
Carter Verhaeghe scored for Florida, which went 0-for-4 on the power play and failed in its attempt to win three in a row for the first time this season. Trying to make their way into playoff position in the Eastern Conference, the Panthers have lost nine of their last 14 games.
Jets 7 vs Canucks 4
Kyle Connor had a hat trick and Winnipeg extended its win streak to five games with a high-scoring victory against visiting Vancouver.
It was Connor’s second hat trick of the season and fourth of his NHL career. It also helped him reach the 20-goal mark for the sixth consecutive season.
Pierre-Luc Dubois had four assists for the Jets and David Rittich made 34 saves in the victory. J.T. Miller had a three-point night for the Canucks, who were coming off a victory against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.
Penguins 4 vs Coyotes 1
Jake Guentzel scored twice to help Pittsburgh snap a six-game losing streak with a win over host Arizona in Tempe.
Jason Zucker and Jeff Carter also scored, and Sidney Crosby added two assists for the Penguins, who were 0-4-2 in their past six games and won despite going 0-for-6 on the power play to extend their drought to 0-for-21 over the last four games.
Barrett Hayton scored for the Coyotes, who lost their fifth straight and had their three-game home winning streak snapped.
Blackhawks 4 vs Flames 3 (OT)
Max Domi scored the game-winner at 1:04 of overtime and Lukas Reichel had a goal and two assists to boost host Chicago over Calgary.
Domi fell to his knees in the offensive zone but maintained control of the puck and dropped a pass behind him. Reichel fed it back to Domi, who crashed the net to score the pivotal goal.
Alex Stalock stopped 44 shots to help Chicago win consecutive games for the first time since October. Chicago was outshot 47-25 but persevered to defeat Calgary, which was skating in the opener of a five-game road trip.
–Field Level Media
–The Daily Goal Horn