Blues, Blackhawks set for Winter Classic

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ST. LOUIS — Playing in one of the NHL’s outdoor games is becoming an almost annual event for the Chicago Blackhawks, but for all but two members of the St. Louis Blues, Monday’s game will be a new experience.

The Winter Classic matchup at Busch Stadium will be the fifth outdoor game for the Blackhawks since 2009. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook each played in the previous four, and Corey Crawford started the last three in goal.

The only players who will be on the ice for the Blues to have played in an outdoor game are defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, who was with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the game against the Detroit Red Wings at the University of Michigan stadium on Jan. 1, 2014, and defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who was with Calgary for an outdoor game in 2011.

A third Blues defenseman, Robert Bortuzzo, played for the Pittsburgh Penguins in an outdoor game, but he is on injured reserve and won’t play on Monday.

Toews thinks there is at least one area where the extra experience playing outdoors could give the Blackhawks an advantage.

“Sometimes in games, it’s not like you get caught looking around but you are still trying to get your bearings,” he said after Sunday’s practice. “Everything is a little bit different. In hockey you use your peripheral vision a lot too. You don’t quite see your teammates, everything’s white and it’s harder to see in the distance where guys are. That’s the kind of thing you have to get used to a little bit.”

It also will be the first outdoor game — at least in the NHL — for Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, who has logged 1,441 regular-season games behind the bench since 1995.

Hitchcock said Sunday he coached an outdoor game before — against a team of prison inmates years ago when he was coaching in Prince Albert, Canada.

“I had this bright idea that we were going to give back to the community so I organized a game against the inmates,” he said. “They were playing for real and we were trying to play for fun. They won.

“It was a lot scarier than the one is going to be tomorrow. Really scary as a matter of fact. We were afraid to score a goal to be honest with you. … It wasn’t one of my brightest ideas.”

Hitchcock said being on the ice outdoors on Sunday also was emotional, reminding him of when he was growing up in Edmonton.

“My dad was a caretaker for two outdoor rinks and it just brings you back to the old days,” he said. “I told the guys I could be a laborer and they gave me two pieces of wood to carry onto a wheelbarrow, so I did my day’s work. It was really neat when I was out there with the workers.”

One of the challenges both teams might have to deal with is the weather. Rain is in the forecast, and there is a possibility the game could be delayed or even postponed until Tuesday. An NHL announcement on the game time is scheduled for 8 a.m. Monday.

“That’s the fun part about these types of games, all the different kinds of challenges and things that you run into,” Keith said. “I like that sort of thing, it’s different, it changes it up.”

The Blackhawks will be without Marcus Kruger, who was placed on injured reserve on Sunday because of an upper-body injury suffered on Friday night. Jaden Schwartz of the Blues missed practice on Sunday because of illness, but Hitchcock said he is hoping Schwartz will be well enough to play on Monday.

NHL Capsules (January 2, 2017)

TORONTO (AP) Auston Matthews scored in regulation and overtime in his first outdoor game, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday in the Centennial Classic.

In a game delayed 30 minutes at the start because of sun on the ice at BMO Field, Matthews won it with the 20th of his rookie season after the Maple Leafs blew a three-goal lead in the third period.

After eluding Red Wings defender Danny DeKeyser, the 19-year-old Matthews flipped a quick backhander into the upper reaches of the cage at 3:40 of overtime.

Anthony Mantha tied it for Detroit with 1.1 seconds left.

Leo Komarov, Mitch Marner, and Connor Brown also scored for Toronto, and Frederik Andersen made 33 saves. The Maple Leafs have won five straight to improve to 17-12-7.

Mantha scored twice for Detroit, Jonathan Ericsson and Dylan Larkin added goals and rookie Jared Coreau stopped 23 shots. The Red Wings dropped to 16-16-5.

It wasn’t an entirely full house at BMO with scattered empty seats among the 40,818 in attendance. The rink itself was placed on a tableau of the No. 100, signifying both the centennial season for both the Leafs and NHL. Before the game, the NHL revealed the first 33 players on its 100 greatest players list, a group that included former Red Wings great Gordie Howe and former Leafs goalie Johnny Bower.

DUCKS 4, FLYERS 3, SO

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Corey Perry scored the decisive shootout goal, Ryan Kesler had a hat trick and goalie John Gibson made 51 saves to set career and franchise records in Anaheim’s victory over Philadelphia.

Kesler had his fourth career hat trick and the first since April 7, 2011, with Vancouver. Gibson faced 54 shots. Jonathan Bernier, who played briefly in the second period, made one save

Philadelphia had a season-high 55 shots and limited Anaheim to 25 shots on goal. Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn scored for the Flyers, and Steve Mason made 23 saves.

CAPITALS 2, SENATORS 1

WASHINGTON (AP) – Defenseman Taylor Chorney broke a tie early in the third period with his first goal of the season and Washington held on to beat Ottawa.

Chorney’s shot from the point beat goalie Mike Condon through a screen. The defenseman has three goals in 130 NHL games in parts of seven seasons.

Karl Alzner also scored, and Braden Holtby stopped 23 shots. Kyle Turris scored for Ottawa.

NHL Capsules (January 1, 2017)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Cam Atkinson scored twice and the Columbus Blue Jackets stretched their winning streak to 15 games by stopping Minnesota’s 12-game run with a 4-2 victory over the Wild on Saturday night.

Never in NHL history had two teams taken winning streaks that long into a game, and Sergei Bobrovsky and the Blue Jackets made sure their party would stretch into the new year. Bobrovsky made 29 saves, yielding two or fewer goals for the 10th time during the run, and defensemen Jack Johnson and Seth Jones each had goals assisted by Brandon Saad in a frenetic second period sparked by consecutive fights.

Jason Zucker reignited the arena with his breakaway flip past Bobrovsky just 24 seconds into the third period for the Wild after he raced past Jones, but that was as close as they came. Devan Dubnyk stopped 21 shots, surrendering four goals for the second straight game after allowing three or fewer in his first 27 turns.

Mikael Granlund had the first goal for the Wild, who also had a franchise record-tying eight-game home winning streak end.

CAPITALS 6, DEVILS 2

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – T.J. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin scored 33 seconds apart in the second period to power Washington to a victory and a split of a home-and-home series with New Jersey.

The Devils stunned the Capitals with a 2-1 shootout victory on Thursday in Washington.

This one was all Capitals, with six different players all hitting the net. Brett Connolly, Jay Beagle, Justin Williams and Marcus Johansson also scored as Washington snapped a two-game losing streak.

Backup goalie Philipp Grubauer made 21 saves, improving his record to 6-1-1. Grubauer saw action for the first time in six games as Braden Holtby rested.

Kyle Palmieri and Beau Bennett scored for the Devils, who have only two wins in their last 12 games (2-9-1). Keith Kinkaid stopped 20 and New Jersey wasted nine power plays.

PENGUINS 4, CANADIENS 3, OT

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Evgeni Malkin scored a power-play goal 1:54 into overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.

Montreal was whistled for too many men on the ice 1:10 into OT, and then Malkin scored his 16th of the season. Conor Sheary tied it with 55 seconds left in the third period by scoring his ninth goal of the season.

Patric Hornqvist and Phil Kessel also scored for the Penguins, who won for the fifth time in six games. Pittsburgh won 12 of 15 games in December, finishing with 12 wins in a calendar month for the fourth time in team history and the second under coach Mike Sullivan.

Alexander Radulov, Paul Byron and Brian Flynn scored for the Canadiens, who have one win in their last five games. Montreal, on a season-high seven-game road trip, has seven wins in 17 road games this season.

Carey Price made 37 saves for Montreal.

KINGS 3, SHARKS 2

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Jeff Carter, Drew Doughty and Tanner Pearson each scored a goal, and Los Angeles returned home to beat San Jose.

Peter Budaj made 18 saves and Alec Martinez had two assists, helping end the Sharks’ four-game winning streak. The Kings stopped a three-game losing streak by breaking out of an offensive funk that sunk their nine-game road trip.

Los Angeles has now earned a point in 12 of 16 games at Staples Center this season.

Brent Burns scored his 15th goal of the season, Kevin Labanc added a goal and Martin Jones stopped 24 shots for the Sharks, who had won the first two games in the season series by allowing just two goals.

RANGERS 6, AVALANCHE 2

DENVER (AP) – Chris Kreider got his second career hat trick, J.T. Miller added two goals and New York beat Colorado.

Jimmy Vesey also scored, and Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello each had two assists for the Rangers, who have won three straight and nine of their last 12. Henrik Lundqvist returned after missing two games with the flu and stopped 25 shots.

The Rangers won their 12th road game in their last 16 tries, while the Avalanche dropped their 10th consecutive game at the Pepsi Center.

Cody McLeod and Blake Comeau scored for Colorado, which has lost eight of nine. Calvin Pickard, starting in a fourth consecutive game in place of injured Semyon Varlamov, stopped 31 shots.

ISLANDERS 6, JETS 2

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) – John Tavares and Ryan Strome each had a goal and an assist to help New York beat Winnipeg.

Nikolay Kulemin, Shane Prince, Anders Lee and Andrew Ladd also scored, Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson each had two assists, and Thomas Greiss made 32 saves. The Islanders have won four of their last five to get to .500 at 15-15-6.

Shawn Matthias scored a short-handed goal and Nikolaj Ehlers had a power-play tally for Winnipeg.

Connor Hellebuyck allowed four goals on 15 shots and was replaced by Michael Hutchinson with 5:47 left in the second period. Hutchinson made seven stops in relief.

PANTHERS 3, STARS 1

DALLAS (AP) – Jaromir Jagr scored his 756th career goal and had an assist, helping Florida end a four-game losing streak.

Jagr, who passed Mark Messier for second on the career scoring list last week, gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead less than 17 minutes in. His seventh goal of the season chased goalie Antti Niemi as the Stars’ season-best three-game winning streak ended.

Florida goalie James Reimer, Roberto Luongo’s backup, got his fifth win in his 15th appearance, stopping 35 of 36 shots, including all 19 in the third period. He beat Dallas twice with Toronto last season.

The 44-year-old Jagr, in his 24th NHL season, capped a quick two-goal spurt on a pair of power plays. The first came from former Dallas player Jussi Jokinen just six seconds after Jamie Benn was called for high-sticking.

LIGHTNING 3, HURRICANES 1

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Brian Boyle and Jonathan Drouin scored first-period power-play goals, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves and Tampa Bay beat Carolina.

Alex Killorn also scored for the Lightning, and Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman had two assists each.

Carolina got a goal from Sebastian Aho, and Cam Ward stopped 22 shots. The Hurricanes beat Chicago 3-2 on Friday night to extend their home point streak to 11 games (10-0-1). Carolina is 3-7-2 on the road over the same stretch.

BRUINS 3, SABRES 1

BOSTON (AP) – Patrice Bergeron and Tim Schaller scored second-period goals to help Boston beat Buffalo and complete a sweep of home-and-home games.

The victory also gave Boston a sweep of its four-game season series against the Sabres.

Frank Vatrano scored the other goal for Boston, which had lost five of its previous nine games but improved to 12-1-2 in the last 15 meetings against the Sabres. Tuukka Rask stopped 26 shots.

Former Boston University star and Hobey Baker winner Jack Eichel scored for Buffalo. Robin Lehner made 25 saves.

CANUCKS 3, OILERS 2, SO

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – Bo Horvat got the only goal in the shootout and added two assists, helping Vancouver beat Edmonton for its third straight win.

Alexandre Burrows and Sven Baertschi scored in regulation for the Canucks.

Drake Caggiula and Connor McDavid had goals for Edmonton.

Jacob Markstrom made 42 saves for Vancouver, and Cam Talbot stopped 30 shots for the Oilers.

FLAMES 4, COYOTES 2

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) – Michael Frolik had a goal and an assist in Calgary’s four-goal first period.

Mikael Backlund, Dennis Wideman and Lance Bouma also scored as Calgary improved to 4-0 against Arizona this season. Frolik stopped a 20-game drought with his first goal since Nov. 16 against the Coyotes, and rookie Matthew Tkachuk extended his point streak to six games with an assist.

Brendan Perlini and Martin Hanzal scored for Arizona, which has lost seven straight.

Devils recall Steven Santini from Albany (AHL)

The New Jersey Devils recalled defenseman Steven Santini from the Albany Devils (AHL) on Sunday.

In 15 games played with Albany this season, Santina has recorded no goals, assists, or points, but has a +4 +/- rating and 25 PIM.

Kings hold on for 3-2 win over Sharks behind Carter’s goal

LOS ANGELES (AP) To celebrate their 50th NHL season, the Los Angeles Kings honored the goal scorers from the ”Miracle on Manchester” playoff comeback prior to their game Saturday.

On this night, though, the Kings didn’t need a five-goal rally in the third period. They saw to that with a desperate early effort.

Jeff Carter, Drew Doughty and Tanner Pearson each scored a goal, and the Kings returned home to defeat the San Jose Sharks 3-2.

”We just needed a big two points,” Pearson said. ”Division game, four points were on the line. It was a big game overall and not just because it was San Jose. We need to win right now.”

Peter Budaj make 18 saves and Alec Martinez had two assists, helping break the Sharks’ four-game winning streak. The Kings ended a three-game skid by breaking out of an offensive funk that sunk their nine-game road trip.

Brent Burns scored his 15th goal of the season, Kevin Labanc added a goal and Martin Jones stopped 24 shots for the Sharks, who had won the first two games in the season series by allowing just two goals.

Jumping all over the Pacific Division leaders from the opening faceoff, the Kings went in front 1-0 on Pearson’s goal 4:17 into the first period. Pearson’s ninth goal of the season was a sniper shot from between the circles into the top right corner of the net.

Jones faced down a 13-6 shot disparity in the first period, as San Jose lost for only the second time in its last 10 games. The Kings kept the Sharks pinned in their own end for the better part of the first four minutes, a stretch broken up only by a fight between Kyle Clifford and Sharks center Micheal Haley that left Haley with a cut on his right knuckle.

”We know where they are in the standings so we knew they were going to be hungry and come out hard,” Jones said. ”That was the difference in the game. They were hungrier and they won a few more battles.”

Doughty capitalized on the power play after Burns tripped center Anze Kopitar 32 seconds into the second period. Doughty unloaded from the edge of the near circle, beating his former LA teammate over the right shoulder for his sixth goal and second on the power play to make it 2-0.

”We just tried to get a step ahead and that’s what we did,” Budaj said. ”It was a very good start. We didn’t give up much, but they are a very dangerous team and don’t need much to make it interesting and they did.”

After Burns scored a power-play goal 12 seconds into the third period, Carter responded with his team-leading 20th goal. Carter and Devin Setoguchi had a 2-on-1 break, but Carter held onto the puck all the way and buried a wrist shot to restore a two-goal advantage at 3-1.

Labanc scored with 6:03 remaining to pull within 3-2, but the Sharks could not find an equalizer.

”I thought as the game wore on we got our legs going a little bit, but you’ve got to do a little more than that to win a game like this,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said.

Los Angeles has now earned a point in 12 of 16 games at Staples Center this season.

”It was nice to be home,” Pearson said. ”Everyone in the league takes pride in their home ice and we got to be there, too.”

NOTES: The Kings honored Daryl Evans, Steve Bozek, Mark Hardy, Charlie Simmer, Doug Smith and Jay Wells for their role in Los Angeles’ comeback victory against the Oilers in Game 3 of a first-round series in 1982. … Sharks D Marc-Edouard Vlasic did not play after being hit in the face by a puck during Friday’s 2-0 win over Philadelphia. The Sharks also scratched C Tommy Wingels and LW Matt Nieto. … The Kings scratched D Matt Greene, D Tom Gilbert and C Andy Andreoff.

UP NEXT

The Sharks and Kings play again at San Jose on Tuesday night.

Horvat gets deciding goal in SO to lead Canucks past Oilers

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Bo Horvat got the only goal in the shootout and added two assists, helping the Vancouver Canucks beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Saturday night for their third straight win.

Alexandre Burrows and Sven Baertschi scored in regulation for the Canucks.

Drake Caggiula and Connor McDavid had goals for Edmonton.

Jacob Markstrom made 42 saves for Vancouver, and Cam Talbot stopped 30 shots for the Oilers.

Edmonton caught a break with eight minutes remaining in the opening period when the Canucks had a goal waved off. Markus Granlund picked the top corner past Talbot on a long shot, but a challenge by Edmonton determined that Brandon Sutter had interfered in the crease on the play.

Vancouver took the lead six minutes into the second period when Horvat picked off a careless pass by Eric Gryba and the puck ended up on the stick of Burrows, who scored his seventh of the season. The play was once again reviewed for interference but survived the challenge.

The Oilers tied the game at 12:31 of the second, just after a power play expired, when Caggiula’s shot from the slot hit Markstrom before trickling in.

Vancouver regained the lead five minutes into the third when Baertschi was able to cash in on his own rebound to score his eighth and make it 2-1.

Edmonton tied it again with 1:33 remaining when McDavid scored on the power play to tie Evgeni Malkin for the NHL scoring lead and send the game into extra time.

NOTES: It was the second of five meetings between the two teams, with the Oilers winning the first game 2-0 at home on Oct. 28. Edmonton has not traditionally fared well in games played on New Year’s Eve, coming into the game with a record of just 2-14-1. The last time they won one was a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Edmonton on Dec. 31, 1985. Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera missed his second game in a row due to an illness.

UP NEXT

Canucks: Return home to host Colorado on Monday night

Oilers: Will hope to snap the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 15-game winning streak on Tuesday in Columbus to start a four-game road swing.

Frolik, Flames beat Coyotes 4-2

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) – Michael Frolik had a goal and an assist in Calgary’s four-goal first period, and the Flames beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-2 on Saturday night.

Mikael Backlund, Dennis Wideman and Lance Bouma also scored as Calgary (20-17-2) improved to 4-0 against Arizona this season. Frolik stopped a 20-game drought with his first goal since Nov. 16 against the Coyotes, and rookie Matthew Tkachuk extended his point streak to six games with an assist.

Brendan Perlini and Martin Hanzal scored for Arizona (11-21-5), which has lost seven straight. Louie Domingue, subbing for regular starter Mike Smith, made 20 saves.

Flames goaltender Brian Elliott had 27 stops. He has won his last four starts after going over seven weeks without a win.

Frolik scored his seventh of the season at 6:08 of the first. Tkachuk’s power-play shot bounced into the slot and Frolik slid it past Domingue.

Wideman made it 2-0 at 12:09 on a shot from the point that went through two sets of legs before beating Domingue, who looked as if he didn’t see it.

The Flames struck again 29 seconds later when Bouma’s centering attempt banked in off the leg of Arizona defenseman Alex Goligoski.

Frolik then helped set up Backlund’s team-leading 11th goal at 15:42. Backlund has scored in four straight games with six goals over that span.

Calgary went 2 for 4 on the power play. The Flames’ power play was tops in the NHL in December, scoring 17 times on 49 chances.

Elliott was especially sharp in the second when Arizona outshot Calgary 16-6.

After Perlini neatly steered in Shane Doan’s centering pass at 15:40 of the second, the Coyotes had another prime scoring chance when Micheal Ferland’s giveaway at the blue line sprung Tobias Rieder on a breakaway, but Elliott stuck out his skate to deny him on a deke.

Hanzal’s goal at 11:53 of the third got Arizona within two, but it couldn’t make up the deficit.

NOTES: Tkachuk’s point streak ties the New York Rangers’ Brady Skjei for longest by a rookie this season. … Tkachuk also had six penalty minutes, giving him 70 on the season.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: Visit Vancouver on Wednesday night.

Flames: Host Colorado on Wednesday night.