Boston 2, Winnipeg 1
Charlie McAvoy picked a perfect way to celebrate his 20th birthday.
New Jersey 4, NY Rangers 3
Though the calendar confirmed it was not even Christmas yet, everything about Thursday night's 4-3 victory by the New Jersey Devils over the New York Rangers at the Prudential Center screamed playoffs except, perhaps, for the fact that the wildly entertaining game was decided by a shootout.
Anaheim 5, NY Islanders 4
Seventy-five seconds. That's all that separated the Anaheim Ducks from a third consecutive regulation loss and a third blown two-goal lead in what was becoming a hellish six-game road trip.
Pittsburgh 3, Columbus 2
Patience is something that was in scant supply for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the defending Stanley Cup champions who thought they should be playing better and winning more.
Tampa Bay 4, Ottawa 3
Brayden Point scored the deciding goal in a shootout to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.
Carolina 4, Nashville 1
The domination started almost as soon as the game did.
Dallas 4, Chicago 0
Tyler Seguin scored twice and Dallas Stars coach Ken Hitchcock won his 800th game in a 4-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night at American Airlines Center.
Edmonton 3, St. Louis 2
After being outscored 12-4 in two previous losses to the St. Louis Blues this season, the Edmonton Oilers gained a little revenge Thursday.
Los Angeles 2, Colorado 1
On a night when one Los Angeles Kings player was honored for playing his 1,000th NHL game, another closed the show as he hit the same plateau.
San Jose 5, Vancouver 4
After scoring three goals in his first four games, Kevin Labanc had no idea how long it would be before he scored again.