(The Sports Xchange) – Highlights of National Hockey League games on Friday:
Blackhawks 4, Oilers 3 (OT)
It was 2 a.m. on Friday when Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville informed 32-year-old goaltender Jeff Glass that his NHL dream would finally be coming true.
After the Blackhawks lost in Vancouver on Thursday, Quenneville decided that Glass would be getting his first NHL start in Edmonton on Friday.
Glass is from Calgary, less than three hours down the highway. So in the middle of the night, the calls went out to family and friends.
They made the trek to Edmonton to be at Rogers Place on Friday to witness a Hollywood script unfolding in front of their eyes.
Glass made his NHL debut more than 13 years after he was drafted by Ottawa. He made 42 saves, leading the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers.
Patrick Kane scored the winner 50 seconds into overtime.
Glass wasn’t the only Hawk to enjoy a first. Jordan Oesterle, a former Oiler, scored his first career NHL goal.
Wild 4, Predators 2
Mikael Granlund registered his second career hat trick and Devan Dubnyk made 41 saves in his first start since Nov. 14 to lead the Minnesota Wild past Nashville in the first game of a back-to-back, home-and-home series between the two clubs.
Mikael Granlund registered his second career hat trick and Devan Dubnyk made 41 saves in his first start since Nov. 14 to lead Minnesota to a 4-2 win over Nashville on Friday night.
Matt Dumba’s second-period goal stood up as the game-winner and the Wild defenseman added an assist as Minnesota won its second straight coming out of the Christmas break.
P.K. Subban and Kyle Turris scored for the Predators (22-10-5) but goaltender Pekka Rinne was Nashville’s best player, making 34 saves in a game with a combined 81 shots on goal.
Flyers 5, Lightning 3
Philadelphia pulled the upset by taking advantage of facing backup Tampa Bay goalie Peter Budaj .
Philadelphia took the lead in the final minute of the second period, then got a wraparound goal from Brandon Manning in the third for a cushion.
Tampa Bay (27-8-2) took just its second loss of December after enjoying a 10-1-0 stretch coming in, along with eight straight wins at home.
Budaj (3-3-1) exited with an injury with 9:34 left in the game.
Sabres 4, Devils 3 (OT)
Buffalo rallied from a two-goal deficit on two Jack Eichel goals, and then won it 2:37 into overtime on Rasmus Ristolainen’s first goal since April 5.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Devils (22-9-6), who were attempting to sweep a six-game homestand for the first time in franchise history.
Despite the overtime defeat, New Jersey secured at least one point in the standings for the eighth consecutive game (6-0-2).
Senators 5, Blue Jackets 4
Columbus blew a two-goal lead for the second straight game.
The Senators were trailing 3-1 in the second period and scored four goals in a row to take control of the game and end a four-game losing streak.
Mark Stone and Bobby Ryan scored nearly two minutes apart in the third to give the Senators a 5-3 lead with 10:39 remaining.
Ducks 2, Flames 1
Rickard Rakell scored the decisive third-period power-play goal as Anaheim won for the third time in its last four contests.
Cam Fowler registered the other Ducks goal, and goaltender John Gibson made 22 saves.
Calgary (18-16-4) lost its third straight game and has lost six of its last eight contests. Michael Ferland scored the lone Flames goal.
Avalanche 4, Maple Leafs 3 (OT)
J.T. Compher’s goal 3:25 into overtime gave Colorado the win.
Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists for the Avalanche, and Nikita Zadorov had two assists.
The Maple Leafs are 2-1-1 on their season-long five-game road trip that ends Sunday in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights.
Stars 4, Blues 2
Alexander Radulov scored two goals, including the game-winner with 2:21 remaining, and Ben Bishop stopped 35 of 37 shots for Dallas.
On the go-ahead goal, Radulov beat Jake Allen, who stopped 25 of 28 shots, on a wrist shot from the right circle during a power play.
Jets 4, Islanders 2
Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck had 42 saves — several of which halted Islanders shooters in mid-celebration — to record his 14th victory at home and 20th overall.
The win came two days after losing their top center, Mark Scheifele for six to eight weeks with a shoulder injury.
Blake Wheeler, Kyle Connor and Adam Lowry each had a goal and an assist for the Jets, while Shawn Matthias opened the scoring with his first of the season after being a healthy scratch for 20 of the past 21 games.
Anders Lee scored both goals for the Islanders.
Red Wings 3, Rangers 2 (SO)
Frans Nielsen scored the only goal of the shootout to give Detroit a come-from-behind win.
Andreas Athanasiou and Henrik Zetterberg scored in regulation for Detroit, which snapped a three-game losing streak and has won only four of its last 17 games.
Jimmy Howard stopped 37 shots and thwarted Mats Zuccarello, Mika Zibanejad and Kevin Shattenkirk in the shootout. He also stopped defenseman Brady Skjei on a penalty shot with 2:38 left in overtime.
Hurricanes 2, Penguins 1
Cam Ward made 27 saves and the Hurricanes won their season-high fourth game in a row.
Derek Ryan and Aho scored for the Hurricanes, who have won seven of their last eight games.
Ward allowed only defenseman Brian Dumoulin’s first-period goal.
(Editing by John O’Brien)
