SCOREBOARD
Thursday, Jan. 3
Toronto at Pittsburgh (7:30 p.m. EST). The Penguins return home after beating Buffalo in the Winter Classic on Tuesday.
STARS
Tuesday
-Sidney Crosby, Penguins, had an assist and scored the deciding goal in the shootout to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 win over Buffalo in the Winter Classic.
-Ladislav Nagy and Alexander Frolov, Kings. Nagy had his third career hat trick and two assists and Frolov had two goals and three assists as Los Angeles pounded Chicago 9-2.
-Mike Green, Capitals, had two goals and an assist to help Washington defeat Ottawa 6-3.
-Jason Blake, Maple Leafs, scored a goal and chipped in two assists and Toronto got past Tampa Bay 4-3 in a shootout.
HOT IN THE COLD
Ty Conklin finished with 36 saves, including seven in overtime, as Pittsburgh edged Buffalo 2-1 in a shootout on Tuesday in the Winter Classic at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Conklin has yet to lose in five starts since being called up on Dec. 6 after Penguins starter Marc-Andre Fleury was injured. Conklin also upped his record to 1-1 in NHL outdoor games.
PLAYING LIKE ROYALTY
Los Angeles scored a season-high five power-play goals in a 9-2 rout of Chicago on Tuesday. The victory was the Kings’ third straight following an eight-game losing streak and they hadn’t scored more than three times in any of their previous 10 contests. The offensive explosion was the team’s biggest since Nov. 16, 1995, when they beat the New York Islanders 9-2.
LUCKY NEW YEAR
Toronto downed Tampa Bay 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday to improve to 16-4-2 when playing a home game on New Year’s Day.
CAPITALS PUNISH SENS
Eastern Conference-leading Ottawa was beaten by Washington 6-3 Tuesday and fell to 0-3 against the Capitals (16-19-5) this season. In the three losses, the Senators have given up 18 goals.
SNAPPED
Jason Spezza’s 10-game point-scoring streak ended in Ottawa’s 6-3 loss to Washington on Tuesday. … Jason Blake hadn’t recorded a point in eight games before registering a goal and two assists in Toronto’s 4-3 shootout win over Tampa Bay. It was his second three-point game with the Maple Leafs.
SPEAKING
“I’d love to do it again. I thought it was awesome. It was good for the game. It may not be the best hockey game because of the situation, because of the weather, because of the snow, but the atmosphere was incredible. The hell with the cynics.” – Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff, on the success of Tuesday’s Winter Classic. 71,217 people watched the Sabres fall to Pittsburgh 2-1 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.