THREE STARS
1. Noel Acciari, Florida Panthers
The first hat trick of Acciari’s career helped Florida to a 6-1 rout of the Senators and ended the Panthers’ three-game losing streak. The three-goal night was also the first multi-goal game of his career.
2. Joonas Korpisalo, Blue Jackets
Korpisalo registered 30 saves and Oliver Bjorkstrand provided a pair of goals in the 3-0 shutout of the Capitals. The shutout was the third of Korpisalo’s career and he’s yet to lose to Washington in three career starts. Columbus’ win put head coach John Tortorella into 15th place all-time with 635.
3. David Perron, Blues
St. Louis scored four consecutive goals en route to a 5-2 win over the Avalanche. After going down 2-1 midway through the second period, the Blues scored twice in a 36-second span, with Perron tying the game on the power play. He’d complete the fifth hat trick of his career late in the third period with an empty netter to seal the victory.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NIGHT
• Acciari’s second goal came via some lovely dangling from Jonathan Huberdeau, who had four assists on the night. Huberdeau now has 400 points in 500 career NHL games:
• Artemi Panarin is wondering how this puck did not cross the goal line:
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCIPLINE CORNER
• Ryan Ellis on Pavel Buchnevich. Two-minute minor enough?:
• What about this hit by Tom Wilson on Vladislav Gavrikov?
NEWSY MONDAY
• Taylor Hall gets dealt to the Coyotes
• Hall is hoping to play some playoff hockey in Arizona
• Kovalchuk and the Kings are finally breaking up
• Crawford will return to Blackhawks bench from suspension on Jan. 2
• Farabee gets suspended three games
• POWER RANKINGS!
STATS OF THE NIGHT
The @PredsNHL had four goals scored by defensemen in a game for the third time in franchise history. The others: Oct. 22, 2009 (5) and Nov. 10, 2015 (4). #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/xS2zW9KzKZ
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 17, 2019
Jordan Binnington became the sixth goaltender in NHL history to earn his 40th NHL win prior to his 60th career contest. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/ZcDLw0Hsh4
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 17, 2019
SCORES
Predators 5, NY Rangers 2
Panthers 6, Senators 1
Blue Jackets 3, Capitals 0
Blues 5, Avalanche 2
Oilers 2, Stars 1
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.