Sunday night is not usually a busy night in the NHL but the day before Halloween is different.
There are eight games on the slate with Monday being a rare dark night.
Let’s get to the action.
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BUFFALO 3 WINNIPEG 1
Kyle Okposo scored twice and Brian Gionta potted the eventual game winner as Buffalo won the lone afternoon game 3-1 over the Jets in Winnipeg.
Okposo was the Sabres big offseason acquisition and he has now scored three times in the last two games to give him four on the season with three assists in seven games.
Robin Lehner returned to the Sabres net after missing the previous three games due to illness, and was strong between the pipes as he stopped 37 of 38 shots.
Only Nikolaj Ehlers beat the Buffalo netminder and that was less than five minutes into the third period, but Lehner was stellar the rest of the way.
Michael Hutchinson got the start for the Jets but was pulled after Okposo’s second goal at the 13:39 mark of the second. He made 12 saves while Connor Hellebuyck was perfect on 13 shots the remainder of the game but it was too little, too late.
Hudson Fasching played only one shift as he re-injured his groin. Consider him day-to-day for now.
Mark Scheifele had seven shots to lead both teams.
PHILADELPHIA 4 CAROLINA 3
Defenseman Brandon Manning’s shorthanded game winner in the third made a winner of goaltender Michal Neuvirth as the Flyers prevailed over Carolina 4-3.
It was Manning’s second goal of the season as he was one of three Flyers defensemen to find the back of the net.
Radko Gudas with his first and Shayne Gostisbehere with an unassisted power play goal gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead as they sandwiched a goal by Hurricanes defensemen Justin Faulk.
Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist and is now at 12 points, which ties him for the scoring lead with Connor McDavid who played later in the evening.
Jeff Skinner continued his hot play with his fifth of the season as well as chipping in with an assist, while Viktor Stalberg also scored for the Canes.
Cam Ward stopped 24 shots and is now 1-3-1 this season.
FLORIDA 5 DETROIT 2
Colton Sceviour picked up his first NHL hat trick and added an assist to lead the Panthers to a 5-2 win over Detroit.
Sceviour was an offseason signing as he played last season in Dallas. He did it all three ways as he scored on the power play, shorthanded and at even strength. He also drew an assist on Vincent Trocheck’s fourth of the season.
Jonathan Marchessault, another offseason pickup, scored his sixth of the season.
Dylan Larkin on the power play and defenseman Brendan Smith with his first, scored for the Red Wings.
James Reimer stopped 34 shots to pick up his first win as a member of the Panthers.
It was not a good night for Petr Mrazek who gave up four goals on 10 shots before being pulled. He is now 4-3 with a 2.94 GAA and a .910 save percentage.
Jimmy Howard stopped 13 of 14 shots and saw his GAA rise to 0.86 while his save percentage stands at .973. There could be a goaltending controversy starting soon in Detroit.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS 5 TORONTO 1
The Islanders scored three third period goals after the Maple Leafs cut the lead in half to pull away and defeat Toronto 5-1.
Brock Nelson and Shane Prince each had a goal and an assist to lead the way.
Travis Hamonic opened the scoring 1:01 into the first with his second while Casey Cizikas popped his first of the year to make it 2-0 at the end of the first.
There was no scoring in the second and Jake Gardiner scored his first of the season on the power play to make it a 2-1 contest.
But the Islanders then struck hard and often. Prince and Nelson made it 4-1 and Josh Bailey with his second, finished the scoring with 44 seconds left in the game.
Thomas Greiss stopped 33 shots to square his record at 2-2. He has a 2.28 GAA and a .925 save percentage this season and has outplayed Jaroslav Halak.
Jhonas Enroth made a rare appearance in the Toronto net as he stopped 30 of 35 in taking the loss.
James van Riemsdyk was a minus-four on Sunday.
Despite playing alongside Prince and Nelson, Andrew Ladd’s troubles continued as he did not have a point. He has only one assist all season in nine contests.
CHICAGO 3 LOS ANGELES 0
Corey Crawford made 32 saves in picking up his first shutout of the season as the Chicago Blackhawks blanked Los Angeles 3-0.
Jonathan Toews came into the game with only three assists but had a goal and a helper to lead the Blackhawks.
Artem Anisimov scored his sixth of the season after scoring 20 in all of last year. The Russian has 11 points in only nine games after a 42 point season in 2015-16.
Marian Hossa finished the scoring with a power play effort with 1:10 left in the game into the empty net to clinch the win.
Peter Budaj stopped 26 shots to lose his second game in a row as he is now 4-2. He won his first four starts, all in overtime or a shootout.
Brayden McNabb missed the game with an upper body injury suffered Saturday. He was seen wearing a sling on his right arm.
NEW YORK RANGERS 6 TAMPA BAY 1
It was a big night for Michael Grabner and his linemates as Grabner had the hat trick to lead the Rangers to a big 6-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
J.T. Miller had a goal and two assists while Kevin Hayes assisted on three as the trio combined to go plus-12 on the night.
Rick Nash is now up to seven points as he had a goal and an assist in the win while Jimmy Vesey scored his fifth in his rookie season.
Steven Stamkos broke the shutout bid of Raanta with 3:24 go to in the game as he scored on the power play. It was his sixth of the season.
Ben Bishop gave up all six goals on 37 shots as he continues his struggles in net. He has last three of his last four and has given up 15 goals on 121 shots. He currently is 3-3 with a 3.69 GAA and a .880 save percentage. He has opened the door for Andrei Vasilevskiy who is 2-1 this season with a 2.05 GAA and a .929 save percentage.
Ryan Callahan made his seasonal debut as he missed the first eight games of the season recovering from offseason hip surgery.
OTTAWA 2 EDMONTON 0
Craig Anderson was sensational as he stopped all 37 shots that came his way, leading the Ottawa Senators to a 2-0 win over Edmonton.
It has been a very tough week for Anderson who went home to comfort his wife who has been diagnosed with cancer. She insisted he return to the Senators for the game with Andrew Hammond out of action with an injury and he did her proud.
Mike Hoffman’s first of the season at the 12:18 mark of the second would hold up to be the game winner but Bobby Ryan’s third goal of the season, into the empty case sealed the win for the Senators.
Cam Talbot gave up only one goal on 21 shots but it was not enough to prevent the Oilers crowd from going home upset with their second loss of the season.
Mark Borowiecki and Zack Kassian went at it late in the first and both took five minute majors.
WASHINGTON 3 CALGARY 1
Marcus Johansson scored twice and Brett Connolly scored his first of the season as the Capitals went into Calgary and beat the Flames 3-1.
Jay Beagle picked up a couple of assists in the game.
Mikael Backlund with his first of the season was the lone goal scorer for Calgary.
Braden Holtby turned aside 21 shots for the victory as he is now 3-2-1 this season.
Brian Elliott played well once again in net as he gave up only two goals on 28 shots with the second of Johansson’s goals going into the empty net. It was his first loss after three straight wins and he is now 3-4 with a 2.99 GAA and a .898 save percentage. He started off the season giving up 16 goals on 87 shots which is a .816 save percentage so he has really improved in his last four games.
