Colorado Avalanche Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche center, says winning "cures" all

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1 SPORT-SCAN Anaheim Ducks Ducks search for offensive answers as they prepare to play the Devils Devils' Kyle Palmieri glad to be back home; Ducks miss his scoring ability Anaheim Ducks seek bounce-back win against New Jersey Devils Arizona Coyotes Coyotes searching for identity as adversity, injuries hit Boston Bruins Bruins outwork Penguins, sweep home-and-home series Bruins Ryan Spooner (four assists) was ready to help Bruins hope to continue climb against Penguins Bruins notebook: Ryan Spooner's scrap gets big praise from Bruins Frank Vatrano hat trick sparks Bruins past Penguins Bruins try to keep climbing in standings vs. Penguins Talking Points: Vatrano, Spooner motor Bruins Vatrano hat trick leads Bruins to 6-2 win over Pens Marchand finally doing some damage on second PP unit Rask likely starts as B s brace for desperate Penguins Julien: Not sitting here happy with what we ve done Buffalo Sabres Evander Kane living up to Buffalo s good neighbor spirit Sabres notebook: Kane, Blackhawks to make quick getaway Amerks crush Hartford 7-1 Calgary Flames Hitmen blank Tigers 2-0 to open home-and-home set Farm team Battle of Alberta outdoor game delayed a day due to rainout Big Blues standing in the way of Flames' hottest streak in a decade Flames' Ramo reflects on his winding road through pro hockey Conroy urges Burrows to make it right with O'Sullivan Calgary Flames asst.-gm Craig Conroy recalls different time in NHL Eric Francis -- Calgary Flames set sights on re-signing Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan Goalie Karri Ramo repaying Calgary Flames for recent trust Carolina Hurricanes The Checkers Derek Ryan had a long, strange, but fun trip to the team Panthers, Luongo shut out Canes Quick hits from the Canes morning skate Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Blackhawk players: The hockey memorabilia they collect Saturday's matchup: Blackhawks at Sabres Marcus Kruger undergoes wrist surgery, will be out for four months Recalled by Blackhawks, Phillip Danault glad he took 'step back to be better' Patrick Kane remains popular and controversial in his hometown of Buffalo Observations from the Blackhawks' 4-0 win over the Oilers Blackhawks' Kruger expected to miss 4 months after wrist surgery Like it or not, Patrick Kane has changed the narrative Blackhawks' Kruger to miss four months after wrist surgery Blackhawks: Patrick Kane returns to Buffalo for first time since investigation NHL 12/19/15 DAILY BRIEF Chicago Blackhawks cont'd Blackhawks: Marcus Kruger sidelined four months with dislocated wrist Blackhawks recall Phillip Danault from Rockford Colorado Avalanche Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche center, says winning "cures" all Columbus Blue Jackets Blue Jackets notebook Johansen says summer heart scare limited his conditioning Blue Jackets Q & A Davidson searching for answers after team's rough start Detroit Red Wings Adam Oates checking out Red Wings, critiquing power play? Red Wings' Brendan Smith earning confidence and praise Red Wings' Blashill picks Adam Oates' brain Red Wings look to play cleaner game vs Canucks Zetterberg ties it late, Wings fall in shootout Larkin's rookie class wows Wings vets Kindl squeezed out as Smith-Marchenko pairing flourishes Red Wings postgame: Detroit continues leaving valuable points on the table Jeff Blashill takes blame for Red Wings' lack of preparation in 'worst game, maybe all season' Red Wings overcome dreadful start to tie it late, but lose in a shootout Second-period analysis: Canucks 2, Red Wings First-period analysis: Canucks 1, Red Wings Detroit Red Wings notes: Hall of Famer Adam Oates brought in as consultant for weekend Red Wings Gameday: Past month has featured steady stream of one-goal games, overtimes Red Wings' lineup vs. Canucks: Jeff Blashill comfortable with Brendan Smith-Alexey Marchenko pairing Edmonton Oilers Oilers notebook: Connor McDavid is skating but his return still up in the air Oilers will play Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins and Hall on same line against Avalanche Oilers want to end two-game skid with win over Avalanche Mixing up the lines... Pouliot on ice... sharing the duties... McDavid sightings Florida Panthers Luongo makes 24 saves, Panthers beat Hurricanes Florida Panthers blank Hurricanes 2-0 for third victory in row ROAD WINS: Panthers end another successful road trip with 2-0 win over host Hurricanes... Florida has won eig Willie Mitchell scores rare goal to give Panthers 2-0 victory over Hurricanes Los Angeles Kings Kings are enjoying view from the top of standings What we learned from the Kings' 3-0 victory at Montreal on Thursday LA Kings take road show to Toronto for Hockey Night in Canada THAT 70 S LINE REUNITED AGAIN DECEMBER 18 PRACTICE QUOTES: DARRYL SUTTER DECEMBER 18 PRACTICE NOTES, PHOTOS WAKING UP WITH THE KINGS: DECEMBER 18

2 Minnesota Wild Mikko Koivu's hot streak is contagious Gameday preview: Wild at Nashville Wild heads to Music City on a roll Wild report: Devan Dubnyk cherishing rare set of stitches Wild riding high, and hoping to keep it that way Montreal Canadiens Stu Cowan: Gallagher Breaking Point is missing for Canadiens Hickey on Hockey: Habs would lose prized assets in any Stamkos deal Canadiens get bigger by calling up 6-foot-6 McCarron from AHL s IceCaps Can you imagine Steven Stamkos in a Habs sweater? Je me souviens means something to Canadiens Andrighetto This Date in Habs History: Dec. 18 Nashville Predators Slumping Predators trying to remain positive New Jersey Devils Devils' Jordin Tootoo recalls Christmas in Nunavut, Canada Does Devils' Kyle Palmieri hold any bitterness over being traded by Anaheim Ducks? NHL 2015: What time, TV channel is Anaheim Ducks vs. New Jersey Devils? Live stream, scoring update Devils co-owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer enter "investment deal" with Crystal Palace FC Kyle Palmieri expecting "weird" night facing former Ducks' teammates; "No hard feelings" about trade Devils center Adam Henrique surprises Newark East Side players with early holiday gifts "Still undecided" whether Zajac will return for Devils Saturday; Kinkaid to start vs. Ducks Travis Zajac practicing with Devils again; David Schlemko missing Devils struggle with inconsistency Devils' Kyle Palmieri eager to face former teammates New York Islanders Isles Limit Alcohol Sales Islanders Fall to Avalanche as Francois Beauchemin Scores Twice SEE IT: Watch the brawl at Islanders game that is forcing Barclays Center to change booze policy Barclays changes booze policy for Isles games after melee New York Rangers Jets Defeat the Rangers Derick Brassard s line struggles as Rangers fall to Jets Rangers' Derek Stepan back from injury in Winnipeg, Chris Summers & Magnus Hellberg recalled, Brady Skjei sent Derek Stepan s quick return has Rangers juggling lines again Rangers struggles become full-blown crisis in another disaster Raanta reportedly feeling better Hellberg, Summers recalled; Skjei re-assigned McIlrath s return to Peg and Yandle s mentorship Injuries force Rangers to juggle roster Slumping Rangers fall to Jets, Rangers-Jets in review Rangers at Jets It s Go Time! Ottawa Senators Ottawa Senators leave Sharks behind with three in the third Melnyk likes his team's chances if the dollar would just co-operate Remembering the Heatley trade: Milan Michalek is the one bright note in a sour deal Melnyk won't move Senators to any LeBreton arena owned by someone else Smith takes his lumps for taking the fall Prince aiming to get into Senators lineup Friday Game Day: Senators versus Sharks Craig Anderson not losing sleep over 1st goal Eugene Melnyk feeling good, happy to be alive Bryan Murray to decide future soon Senators' Zack Smith says I'm no diver Melnyk on rival Lebreton bid: Senators are not for sale Philadelphia Flyers Flyers figuring out how to win close games Flyers' Bellemare flies his family in from France for holidays Flyers' Mason back in groove, but has struggled vs. ex-teammates observations on Flyers' prospects from Phantoms' win Flyers Notes: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare flies in family for holidays Confident, calm Flyers can't pinpoint origin of recent success Flyers Notes: Giroux's captaincy reaching historical numbers Dave Hakstol working on time management in practice Pittsburgh Penguins Penguins' losing streak at 4 after Bruins dominate Penguins notebook: Sullivan leaning on video study to convey "right way" to play Conor Sheary steps into RW spot on Sidney Crosby's line Penguins lose second game in a row to Bruins San Jose Sharks San Jose Sharks yield three third-period goals in loss to Ottawa Senators Sharks have rough third period, lose in Ottawa Sharks Brent Burns becoming a shot machine Instant Replay: Sharks strike first, but fizzle out in Ottawa Morning Skate: Tierney improving as Sharks visit Senators Rewind: Sharks jolted back to life in second intermission of Toronto win St Louis Blues Brodziak won't play Saturday against Calgary Blues-Flames preview Special teams are bolstering the Blues Tarasenko's shot continues to impress Tampa Bay Lightning Bolts blow 3-goal lead as Capitals rally for 5-3 win Bolts notes: No timetable for frustrated Palat in return from injury Lightning's Palat bemoans latest 'unlucky' injury Lightning falls to Ovechkin, Capitals How Steven Stamkos snapped his 10-game goal drought Ondrej Palat on injury: 'Just unlucky'

3 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leafs goalie crunch opens door for Bernier Maple Leafs-Los Angeles Kings: Saturday game preview Maple Leafs draft gambles could pay off handsomely: Cox ou Marsh Trophy is Carey Price s latest reward for tenacity, hard work Game Day: Kings at Maple Leafs Goaltender Ray Emery joins Marlies Injuries force Leafs to keep playing Jonathan Bernier One of the worst things to happen to the game : The toll year-round hockey takes on young athletes Vancouver Canucks Canucks recall Linden Vey as Henrik Sedin latest centre to go down Canucks Game Day: Uh-oh Red Wings ready for wake-up call Linden Vey's shootout goal lifts Canucks over Red Wings, The Provies: A Baertschi, a Horvat, and a McCann walk into a bar Canucks 4, Red Wings 3: Gritty victory shows the light at the end of the tunnel Washington Capitals Philipp Grubauer comes in cold, gets win against Tampa Bay Ovechkin scores twice as Capitals rally from three-goal deficit for 5-3 win Capitals vs. Lightning: Game 31 discussion thread Chris Brown placed on waivers by Capitals Tom Wilson s match penalty is rescinded Why it was deja vu all over again for Grubauer Refusing to lose: Caps stun Lightning with emotional comeback Caps pull off remarkable comeback AAA Keys to the Game: Capitals vs. Lightning At 900 games, Caps' Chimera sees silver in his future NHL rescinds match penalty, no suspension for Tom Wilson Friday Six-Pack: Are the refs targeting Tom Wilson? Prospect Report: Connor Carrick earns NHL call-up Websites ESPN / Strong defense fueling current streak that has the Flames in a playoff spot ESPN / Rumblings: Senators GM Bryan Murray considering decreasing role ESPN / Rumblings: Canucks have big decisions to make next month ESPN / Rumblings: Steven Stamkos situation highlights issue with no-movement clauses Sportsnet.ca / Three things we learned in the NHL: History in the making Sportsnet.ca / PM Justin Trudeau responds to Subban s call for caroling Sportsnet.ca / Pittsburgh Penguins spoof Home Alone in awesome video Sportsnet.ca / Four possible trade destinations for Blue Jackets Ryan Johansen Sportsnet.ca / Connor McDavid now skating with Oilers Sportsnet.ca / Toronto Marlies sign goaltender Ray Emery to PTO Sportsnet.ca / MacLean: Johansen deal could be Seguin-like mistake Sportsnet.ca / West Coast Bias: Flames powered by Gaudreau s OT heroics TSN.CA / TSN Hockey's Top 10 Storylines of the Week TSN.CA / Dreger Report: Ducks continue to test Murray s patience TSN.CA / Time to adopt video review for major penalties TSN.CA / Statistically Speaking: Crawford on a roll Winnipeg Jets Big line busts out with nine points Leaders lead way to win Jets shuffle lineup ahead of game against Rangers Captain Andrew Ladd's penalties draw coach's attention Winnipeg Jets strike early, keep up pressure all night in win over Rangers The other St. Vital kid, Rangers' D Dylan McIlrath, loving life in the NHL Jets need to embrace playoff mentality SPORT-SCAN, INC

4 Anaheim Ducks Ducks search for offensive answers as they prepare to play the Devils Curtis Zupke The Anahim Ducks will continue to search for offense in-house unless they make an 11th-hour move before the NHL's roster freeze, which goes into effect Saturday and runs through Dec. 27. The Ducks continue a stretch of games that feature seven of eight on the road when they play the New Jersey Devils at 4 p.m. Saturday in a game that will be televised on Channel 13 and can be heard on 830 AM radio. It can't get much worse for Anaheim, which was shut out for the seventh time Thursday in a 3-0 loss at Buffalo and has scored one or zero goals in half of its 30 games. The Ducks are averaging an NHL-low 1.31 goals per game on the road and have not scored a power-play goal in December (0 for 13). Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau has demoted Ryan Getzlaf in parts of the last two games; he has scored just one goal, into an empty net, in 26 games. One of the offensive pieces the Ducks miss is winger Kyle Palmieri, who will face them for the first time since they traded him to New Jersey (his home state) in June. He has 13 goals, which ties him for the Devils' lead and would lead the Ducks. See the most-read stories in Sports this hour >> Palmieri told the Newark Star-Ledger that he thought the Ducks were going a "different way" toward the end of last season and "for me [the trade] was just a fresh start. I was excited about the opportunity, so I don't think there is any bitterness toward Anaheim in that regard." LA Times: LOADED:

5 Anaheim Ducks Devils' Kyle Palmieri glad to be back home; Ducks miss his scoring ability ERIC STEPHENS :30:39 NEWARK, N.J. The coldest of the Ducks forwards sought out one of the hottest New Jersey Devils as the latter hung around the ice rink Friday following his team s own practice. In catching up with Kyle Palmieri, Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said, I was actually going to borrow one of his sticks for tomorrow. Play on my knee. Palmieri laughed, agreeing that his would be too short for the 6-foot-4 center. But they re certainly much hotter. The winger has enough goals to loan a few out to some former teammates. The annual appearances in this area were momentous for Palmieri and his family during his years with the Ducks and now he is home for good and thriving. The winger has 13 goals in his first season with New Jersey, tying Adam Henrique for the team lead. Palmieri s 13 tallies are more than any Ducks player has this season and nearly double the combined output of Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg. Palmieri is just one goal off high-water marks set in each of the past two seasons in Anaheim, done over many more games. It is the classic case of a promising young player seizing on an expanded role with a new team. And it comes to no surprise for Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau. We always knew he had the skill and the talent, Boudreau said. The shot. All of those things together. His biggest thing was he was always either playing behind (Corey) Perry or (Teemu) Selanne. Last year he played with (Ryan) Kesler and (Matt) Beleskey most of the time and it was a pretty good line. Unfortunately, last year he was out for eight weeks. I m sure this year he started fresh. He was home and all excited. And this is the start he s getting. Hats off to him. Being traded at the NHL draft after the Ducks made him a first-round selection six years ago carried with it the requisite initial shock for Palmieri. Here was a 24-year-old, offensive-minded player on the upswing, not someone much older and past his prime. And then Palmieri quickly started to see the benefits of a move. There would be the chance for more ice time with the rebuilding Devils, who needed a player like him. Anytime you get that, it s going to be exciting, Palmieri said. But obviously I ve got an opportunity here that maybe wasn t available to me in Anaheim. And that s something I was looking forward to. I loved my time in Anaheim. But it was a fresh start for me to kind of prove myself in a different role. Getzlaf saw Palmieri develop from the time he was drafted to becoming an everyday player. Now he s giving the Devils something the Ducks desperately need. He s a pure goal scorer, Getzlaf said. He knows how to shoot the puck in the net. There was also the personal side to the deal. Palmieri was born on Long Island and grew up in the northern Jersey borough of Montvale, just 30 miles from where he attended games at the Devils former home in East Rutherford. His move to the Devils has allowed Palmieri to buy season tickets for his parents, Bruce and Tammy, to watch him regularly at Prudential Center in downtown Newark. And he has been able to watch his younger brother, Devon, play locally at the junior level. You got to try to change some things up, Boudreau said. That s what we did. We moved some guys around. And hopefully success in the past will create success in the future. Boudreau also shifted some personnel around on a power play that went 0 for 3 in Thursday s loss to Buffalo and is 0 for 13 over the past five games. The Ducks could go with a four-forward look on the top unit, moving Kesler up with Getzlaf, Perry and Jiri Sekac. Cam Fowler was the only defenseman as Sami Vatanen was shifted to the second unit with Hampus Lindholm. Boudreau wants to get his struggling leaders going so he put them together with the man advantage and let them win or lose the game for you. Our thinking is let s load up, Boudreau said. Let s load up our best players and see what happens. Orange County Register: LOADED: I was in Ireland so they knew (about the trade) before I did, he said. So when I finally got on the phone with them, they were ecstatic. LINE CHANGES With goals trickling drip by drip for the NHL s worst offensive team, Boudreau is moving his forwards around. Most notably, Rickard Rakell was at second-line center in practice while Kesler was shifted down to the third line. Patrick Maroon was bumped up to the top line.

6 Anaheim Ducks Anaheim Ducks seek bounce-back win against New Jersey Devils Elliott Teaford 12/18/15, 12:16 PM # Comments DUCKS AT DEVILS Faceoff: 4 p.m. TV/Radio: Ch. 13 / 830-AM Update: The Ducks fired 44 shots on goal Thursday, but none of them hit the back of the net and they began a four-game trip with a 3-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, their second consecutive defeat after winning two in a row. The Ducks were shut out for the seventh time in 30 games to start Coach Bruce Boudreau criticized the Ducks best players for failing to be their best players. Team captain Ryan Getzlaf was shifted off the top line during the last two games as Boudreau has searched for a way to spark the NHL s worst offense. Getzlaf has scored only one goal this season and the Ducks have a league-low 56. Their record for 27 points was 28th in the 30-team NHL going into Friday s games. The Devils are for 36 points. LA Daily News: LOADED:

7 Arizona Coyotes Coyotes searching for identity as adversity, injuries hit Sarah McLellan 4:09 p.m. MST December 18, 2015 The Coyotes have resembled a variety of teams this season and can t seem to settle on which one to permanently become. They ve had stretches where they ve thrived and deserved the points they banked followed by games where they didn t play so well and still managed to win. Currently, they re struggling and losing. It might not be fair to ask the Coyotes to reveal their true identity when they re without goaltender Mike Smith, a vital piece of their lineup who will be sidelined for at least the next two months to recover from surgery on a core muscle injury, but that s the challenge that seems to be facing the team when it hits the ice Saturday against the Islanders in its first of two games before the Christmas break. We need everybody to play well, and that hasn t changed anything, coach Dave Tippett said. There s not a team in the league that can rely on one or two players. On a given night, one or two might have a hot night. But to be a good team in this league, you need everybody to contribute and we re no different. The Coyotes have dropped seven of their past eight games and have given up at least five goals in all but two of those contests. In December, they re averaging goals-against per game compared to 2.75 in November and 2.91 in October. After getting beat a season-high seven times by the Blue Jackets Thursday, the Coyotes had allowed 102 goals the second-highest total in the NHL and carried the second-worst goals-against average (3.29). We need better goaltending, Tippett said. We need to play tighter in front of our goaltender, and one of the ways you can play tighter in front of your goaltender is to defend better but another way is your puck play has to be better so you defend less. Against the Blue Jackets, the Coyotes were particularly vulnerable in the middle of the ice with Columbus first two goals coming on uncontested shots in the slot. The lapses were a far cry from the play the team debuted to start the season when it collapsed on the front of the net and made it tough for the opposition to find space. They didn t have to work for it, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson said. I felt like we just gave them away. We can t do that. Aside from Smith, the Coyotes were missing center Martin Hanzal and defenseman Zbynek Michalek against the Blue Jackets two players who have the ability to help the Coyotes clean up their style. Michalek didn t practice Friday and won t play against the Islanders as he s still dealing with a lower-body injury, but Hanzal has a chance to return to the lineup after sitting out the previous four games with a lower-body injury. Should be ready, Hanzal said. We ll see how it reacts (Saturday), but I got through a full practice and I feel pretty good so hopefully I ll be ready to go. Goalie Anders Lindback was ill and didn t practice Friday, and it s unclear if he ll be able to play. Winger Anthony Duclair was out Thursday because of illness but has improved. He needs to get lots of fluids and some good sleep, Tippett said of Lindback. The Coyotes have been trying to stabilize and find a consistent rhythm for some time now, and that objective hasn t changed amid the adversity shuffled their way this week. Actually, overcoming the obstacles that they ve recently encountered just might help them figure out exactly who they are. To say one player or a couple games can define your year, that s not right, Tippett said. We need everybody to play well, as well as they can every night, and we ll let the chips fall. Arizona Republic LOADED:

8 Boston Bruins Bruins outwork Penguins, sweep home-and-home series That s just how goal scoring is, Vatrano said. Sometimes you ll go 10 games without a goal and then they just come in bunches. I m glad it finally came because I was getting a little impatient. Boston Globe LOADED: Amalie Benjamin December 19, 2015 PITTSBURGH The grinning didn t stop for Frank Vatrano on the bench, in a postgame interview on NESN, in the hallways, in the dressing room. It would melt away for a second, a necessary consequence of answering questions, but it was soon back again. It was to be expected, of course. Vatrano had just completed his first NHL hat trick, nabbing three goals against the Penguins to bolster the Bruins to their 6-2 win at the Consol Energy Center on Friday night, as they swept the home-and-home series. It had taken him all of 17 games. Finally, said Vatrano, who had gone nine games without a goal, of getting his first hat trick. It took too long. He was, perhaps, only half-kidding. It was a big night, too, for the Bruins, as they stretched their record to over their last 14 games. They now sit just 3 points back of the Canadiens in the Atlantic Division, with two games in hand. There s nights where you want to give your team a lot of credit and this is probably one of them, coach Claude Julien said. Because when you look at the team that we played against and how hard they came out, we knew they were going to play hard and come out hard. As the game went on, as usual, we kind of got better and we made the most of our chances. We got a lot from everybody, from the goaltenders to our Ds, who continue to play well in front of Tuukka [Rask] and defend well, and our forwards, same way. Vatrano got the Bruins on the board in the first period, scoring just 1 minute and 43 seconds after former UMass housemate and Melrose native Conor Sheary tallied his first NHL goal. Vatrano scored at 10:03, and the assist came from Ryan Spooner, a recurring theme on the night. It was a crucial goal at a crucial time. Any time you get scored on, you want to get that goal back quickly and kill the momentum, and that s what Frank s goal did for us, Julien said. It just got us right back in the game, killed the momentum a little bit and got us right back into where we wanted to be. Spooner, like Vatrano, had a career night, earning four assists and a career high for points in a game. And he nearly made it onto hockeyfights.com for the first time, which would have been a far more startling accomplishment for him. The teams traded scores in the second, with the first of Patrice Bergeron s two coming at 1:03, shorthanded, after some strong work by Brad Marchand. Trevor Daley scored for Pittsburgh at 2:39. But the back-and-forth stopped being so back-and-forth, as the Bruins finished the game with four unanswered goals. Loui Eriksson jammed in a rebound at 9:39 of the second for his 12th goal and seventh on the power play. Bergeron extended the lead with a four-on-four score 35 seconds into the third after a Sidney Crosby kneeing penalty negated a Pittsburgh power play. The puck took a weird bounce off the glass after a Zdeno Chara slap shot, and Bergeron had the wits and the hands to knock it past off-balance Penguins goalie Jeff Zatkoff (28 saves). Then came Vatrano, who scored at 12:18 and 15:18 of the third to give him five on the season, though it took some digging and some fighting off Penguins defenders to ultimately get it done. When you ve got an opportunity to score a hat trick, you stay on top of the puck, Julien said, smiling. Good for him. I think he s got some determination. He s a young player that s come a long ways, so he just continues to get better all the time. That s encouraging for us. And still a little surreal for Vatrano, who became the first Bruins rookie to score a hat trick since Blake Wheeler on Nov. 6, 2008, after taking shot after shot after shot in game after game after game.

9 Boston Bruins Bruins Ryan Spooner (four assists) was ready to help Amalie Benjamin December 19, 2015 PITTSBURGH Ryan Spooner surprised even himself. No, not with the four assists, a career high. It was when he dropped his gloves, coming to the defense of Dennis Seidenberg, who had been walloped by Pittsburgh s Patric Hornqvist in the second period on Friday night. With Hornqvist declining to fight, Spooner was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at 14:52. It was the first time, actually, Spooner said. I don t know what got into me. I just saw him get hit. I thought it was a charge, and just tried to stand up for him. He added, I mean, it probably wasn t the smartest thing for me to do. I thought he was going to fight me and I probably still would have got an instigating call. It was perhaps the only penalty of the six the Bruins accrued that his coach tolerated. Everybody recognized who it was that dropped the gloves, coach Claude Julien said. Whether it was warranted or not, I think he did a great thing and he showed his teammates that he s going to be there for them. I didn t mind that penalty, to be honest with you. I think the message that he sent to his team was much greater than the penalty itself. He wasn t the only one who felt that way. That s something we ve talked a lot about, and it s not necessarily about fighting, but about standing up for one another, showing that we care, Patrice Bergeron said. That was a great example right there. It definitely sends the right message around the room, that he wants it and I think it s great to see, especially from a young guy. But it certainly wasn t just the attempt at a fighting major that Julien (and the Bruins) appreciated. Of Spooner s four assists, three of them came at even strength, an area where Spooner has not always been at his best this season. He has turned it on, as of late, with 10 points in his last six games, three goals and seven assists. That has been a huge boost for a team that has sometimes relied too much on its top two lines. And Spooner has seemingly found some chemistry with Frank Vatrano, with Spooner assisting on all three of Vatrano s goals Friday. Our young guys are really stepping up, Julien said. We asked them to do that a while back and make sure that they re not just following in people s footsteps, but they have their own identity and bringing their own, I guess, flavor to the game. They want to be contributors, not followers. Pie in the sky Perhaps it was the pie. In a recent episode of Behind the B the Bruins in-house TV show about the team Matt Beleskey was shown on Thanksgiving handing out pies to local shelters. But there was a small stack of pies reserved for a certain Bruins head coach. On the note attached? In exchange for PP time! While that may not have been exactly the reason the frustration with Jimmy Hayes that led to the winger being a healthy scratch in two games might be a bit more likely Beleskey has gotten the power play time he wanted. He has replaced Hayes on the second unit as the net-front presence, though he still only has 12 minutes and 53 seconds of total power play time this season. Just been working hard and they switched it up a little, Beleskey said, chuckling, when asked about the pie gambit. So hopefully we can get some production out of our unit. The power play s been something last year that I had some success on being in front of the net. We ve talked about it this year about getting on there and they ve just kind of given me the opportunity lately. Beleskey contributed four of his 22 goals last season on the power play. He got opportunities to work in front of the net, to refine his game in that arena. That set him up to step in after the Bruins clearly weren t happy with the play of Hayes, either in five-on-five situations or on the power play. The second unit s production this season has been dwarfed by that of the first unit, which gets the lion s share of the ice time on the power play mostly because it keeps scoring. But the second unit would like to feel it s measuring up. Beleskey called it a healthy competition between the units. Hayes played 50 seconds on the power play Friday, but did not factor in the Bruins lone power-play goal. I want to get those loose pucks, get those corner battles, get the puck back up top and then set up in front of the net, Beleskey said of what he s been able to add to the unit. I think a screen s a huge part on the power play. Obviously if he can t see it, he s not going to stop it. That s something I ll try and do. Earlier this week, Julien praised Beleskey s effort this season. As Julien said, Every game he s got great opportunities. You d like to see him score, but it s not from lack of trying. He s been a guy we ve had pegged there all year long, in and out, Julien said. We ve got a lot of guys that can play power-play time. It s got nothing to do with trying to do something for him, more than he s deserving of being there. He does a good job of standing in front and usually pouncing on those loose pucks. He continued, That s what we ve known him to be, even last year and the years before. He s a hard-working guy. Some guys have natural talent and they can score goals and not even have to do much during the game. You don t see them at all and at the end of the night, they re on the score sheet. A guy like him just competes hard all the time and works hard to get his goals. At the same time, he s a guy that you know what you re going to get from him, game in, game out, and that s a good effort. Good standing With the downturn recently from the Canadiens in their last 10 games plus the upturn recently from the Bruins, Boston has been able to move up swiftly in the standings. Before Friday night s game against the Penguins, the Bruins were just 5 points back of Montreal in the Atlantic with three fewer games played. That sets up the Bruins well, as long as they can take advantage of those games in hand. It s exciting to see us move up in the standings, Julien said. It always is. Always gives you some motivation when those things are happening and, you know, I think for the longest time it s those games in hand just hurt us as far as being where we are right now. And just sticking with it, we ve still got some games in hand but at least we re in a spot where it s encouraging. Well-deserved award Julien said he was pleased to see Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs get the Lester Patrick Award, for outstanding service to hockey in the United States, on Thursday. I personally think it s well deserved, Julien said. He s done a lot for hockey. He s been in it for years. He s on the executive board of governors there. One of the guys that has a big say in what s going on in the league and I know he tries to do the best for the league. He s a person that s had a lot of success in his life because of how hard he works. I think he puts in the same attention to detail when it comes to his hockey club and to the league. I was happy to see him get it.... The Bruins took six minor penalties, but were perfect on the penalty kill. They didn t allow a single shot on the first two penalty kills. Boston Globe LOADED:

10 Boston Bruins Bruins hope to continue climb against Penguins Amalie Benjamin December 18, 2015 PITTSBURGH It s a familiar opponent for the Bruins on Friday night, as the team finishes up its home-and-home with the Penguins. The Bruins, of course, won the first game, shutting out the Penguins on Wednesday, despite playing almost the entirety of the second period in their own zone. They ll try to change that but not the outcome at the CONSOL Energy Center on Friday. For the Bruins, it s a chance to continue to move up the standings, to make good on all those games they have in hand. With the Canadiens having won just three of their last 10 games, the Bruins are now only five points from the top spot in the Atlantic with three fewer games played. It s exciting to see us move up in the standings, coach Claude Julien said. It always is. Always gives you some motivation when those things are happening and, you know, I think for the longest time it s those games in hand just hurt us as far as being where we are right now. And just sticking with it, we ve still got some games in hand but at least we re in a spot where it s encouraging. Not that that will make them overconfident in heading into the matchup with the Penguins. They know how tenuous it can be, how quickly teams can fall. I feel that the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to come out strong tonight, Julien said. They re at home, they ve got a new coach, they want to get a win under their new coach, and they re going to give us their best shot tonight. I expect this to be a real tough game and our guys are going to have to be ready for that. For their part, the Penguins are happy to see the Bruins again so quickly in the home-and-home. We get an opportunity to learn from our mistakes in that first game, Sidney Crosby said. We did some good things, but there are certain different things we can do better. Preparing and knowing what to expect, both teams have that advantage. I think it s a good thing. Penguins at a glance When, where: Friday, 7 p.m., at Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh. TV, radio: NESN, WBZ-FM (98.5). Goals: Evgeni Malkin 14, Phil Kessel 9, Sidney Crosby 6. Assists: Malkin 13, Crosby 13, Kris Letang 13, Kessel 9. Goaltending: Marc-Andre Fleury ( , 2.29 GAA), Jeff Zatkoff (2-2-1, 2.35 GAA). Head to head: This is the second of three meetings this season. The Bruins won, 3-0, Wednesday night at TD Garden. Miscellany: Winchester native and UMass product Conor Sheary made his NHL debut Wednesday against the Bruins, registering three shots on goal in 16:41 of ice time... The Penguins were shut out for the third time this season in the game and rank 28th in the league in scoring (2.23 goals per game). Boston Globe LOADED:

11 Boston Bruins Bruins notebook: Ryan Spooner's scrap gets big praise from Bruins Steve Conroy Saturday, December 19, 2015 PITTSBURGH There were times last night when Ryan Spooner looked very much like the highly skilled player who could center the type of effective third line for which the Bruins are hoping. He picked up three of his four assists on Frank Vatrano s hat trick. The first one was the prettiest and most important, a drop pass that led to Vatrano s tying goal in the first period. But everyone knows Spooner has skill. What the B s were talking about after the game was the fact that Spooner dropped the gloves. It didn t lead to a fight, but it was the willingness that mattered. Late in the second period, the Penguins Patric Hornqvist laid out Dennis Seidenberg with an opportunistic but legal hit. Spooner went right after Hornqvist, mitts flying, but the Penguin declined the offer, instead opting to take the power play. The B s easily killed it off the Pens inexplicably bad power play went 0-for-5 and Spooner earned his attaboys. Was that display from Spooner indicative of a team jelling? Sure it is, said coach Claude Julien. Everyone recognized who it was that dropped the gloves. Whether it was warranted or not, he did a great thing and he showed his teammates that he s going to be there for them. I didn t mind that penalty, to be honest with you. I think the message that he sent his team was much greater than the penalty itself. Patrice Bergeron said the one-for-all attitude is something the B s have been in search of. That s something that we ve talked a lot about, and it s not necessarily about fighting but about standing up for one another and showing that we care. That was a great example right there, said Bergeron. It definitely sends the right message around the room that he wants it. It s great to see, especially from a young guy. Spooner himself was a wee bit sheepish after the game. It was the first time, actually. I don t know what got into me. I saw him get hit and I thought it was a charge and I just tried to stand up for him, said Spooner. It probably wasn t the smartest thing for me to do. I thought he was going to fight me and I probably still would have gotten an instigating call. But again I just saw him get hit and I didn t think it was a clean hit, so I just tried to stand up for him. Brett s goal blues The one thing we all thought we knew about Brett Connolly was that he could score goals. But right now, that s the one thing he s not doing. Connolly has not scored since the Black Friday win over the Rangers, a span of nine games without a tally. Fortunately for him, he hasn t let any frustration bleed into the rest of his game as he s been able to keep his coveted right wing spot on the Bergeron-Brad Marchand line. He s skating well, playing physically and generally pulling his weight on that line. A timely goal would be nice, though. He s getting chances, said Julien before the game. I think right now, Conns is one of those guys who has always been able to score goals. Right now maybe (he needs) a little bit of patience when he gets that puck and knowing where to put it. Maybe he s pressing a little bit, who knows? But the part that I like is he s there, he s getting chances every game and once he figures out how to get the first one in, I think the rest will follow. Connolly has totals in 30 games. He s been dropped from the line at times during games when scoring s been needed most notably in the B s win over the Canadiens last week but he usually starts the game with the B s top forward pairing. I m happy with everything but finishing off some chances, said Connolly. I m creating chances, I m feeling good, I feel better defensively. So I just have to stick with it. It s a long season and you re going to go through ups and downs. I had a good start to the year and sometimes you go stale a little bit. Sooner or later they ll be going in, especially when you ve been getting chances like I have been lately. You just got keep shooting the puck. Sheary genius Melrose native and UMass alum Conor Sheary got his second NHL game against his hometowen team, and made good on it with his first goal and assist. Conor has a real high hockey IQ, said Pens coach Mike Sullivan, who also coached him in AHL Wilkes-Barrie. He s a good playmaker. He sees the ice well. He s very good in tight spaces. He can play that give-and-go game with whomever he plays. And he brings a got lot of energy. His former UMass teammate Vatrano outdid him, however, notching a hat trick. Conor s a good friend of mine. I lived with him for a year at UMass, me and eight guys, said Vatrano with a smile. He had a great game. I m proud of him. Boston Herald LOADED:

12 Boston Bruins Frank Vatrano hat trick sparks Bruins past Penguins at the right side of the net, swung around and just jammed the puck into Zatkoff s pads until it went through on the third try for a 3-2 lead. Boston Herald LOADED: Steve Conroy Saturday, December 19, 2015 PITTSBURGH It was a little more than a month ago, after the Bruins lost a particularly disheartening game to the San Jose Sharks, that people openly wondered whether coach Claude Julien s message was getting through to his team. That notion now seems like pure folly. After the Bruins completed the home-and-home sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins with a convincing 6-2 victory last night, Julien s team is now threatening to overtake the Montreal Canadiens, whom they trail by just three points with two games in hand. Frank Vatrano notched his first NHL hat trick, but this was very much a complete team victory. How many ways did the Bruins score? Let s count the ways. They scored 5-on-5, 4-on-4, on the power-play and on the penalty kill. They also had umpteen chances to score on a 4-on-3 but couldn t find the net. The Bruins entered the third period with a 3-2 lead and facing a lengthy penalty kill, but Brad Marchand drew a penalty on Sidney Crosby to nullify the Pittsburgh power play right away. And just 35 seconds into the third on the ensuing 4-on-4, Patrice Bergeron scored his second of the game off a fortunate bounce. Zdeno Chara s bid went over the Penguins net, but the puck bounced off the glass and right onto Bergeron s stick in front of the net for the goal. The B s appeared to have their fifth goal at 10:33 after Landon Ferraro followed up a Max Talbot rush and scored on a rebound, but the goal was waved off for goalie interference. It didn t matter. With 7:42 left, Vatrano scored his second of the game after battling for a loose puck in the crease, and then got the hat trick with 4:42 left. Loui Eriksson scored the other Bruins goal, on the power play in the second period. Coming off their shutout loss Wednesday to the Bruins at the Garden, the Penguins came into last night s game ranked 28th in offense in the league. But Pittsburgh got on the board first 8:20 into the game. Bergeron went to the endboards to collect a loose puck and tried to move it to Adam McQuaid in the corner, but Chris Kunitz turned it back. Crosby grabbed the puck and centered it out to Conor Sheary in the slot. The Melrose native and UMass product, playing in his second NHL game, ripped a low shot that beat B s goalie Tuukka Rask for his first career goal. With the assist, Crosby notched his first point in four games. The Bruins answered right back with the pride of East Longmeadow at 10:03. During a line change, Ferraro did a nice job of battling for the puck along the boards to keep the play alive before Ryan Spooner, just over the boards, was able to swoop in and pull it out of the puck. Spooner made a nice dish to Frank Vatrano, who snapped the puck over goalie Jeff Zatkoff s glove to even it up. It was the first goal or point of any kind for Vatrano, a college teammate of Sheary, since he had a goal and an assist in Detroit on Thanksgiving Eve. The Penguins had the only two power plays of the first period, but even their man-advantage units have been dismal this season (29th overall). Pittsburgh failed to get a shot on net on either power play. Pittsburgh s third power play went even worse than the first two. Brad Marchand made a great play of beating three Penguins up high on the left wing in the offensive zone before going on the attack. Once he drew some defenders to him, Marchand fed the puck back to Bergeron coming down the slot. Bergeron beat Zatkoff over the blocker at 1:03 for a shorthanded goal and a 2-1 B s lead. The Penguins tied it right back up at 2:39, just after the penalty was up. Trevor Daley used a Kunitz screen to beat Rask with a long-range shot. The B s got their first power play at 9:22 of the second period and needed all of 17 seconds to make it count. Loui Eriksson took a feed from Spooner

13 Boston Bruins Bruins try to keep climbing in standings vs. Penguins Steve Conroy Friday, December 18, 2015 PITTSBURGH--The Bruins have been winning regularly for a bit now, but only recently have the started to gain some traction in the standings. After beating the Penguins on Wednesday, they not only moved into second place in the Atlantic Division, but they could even set their sights on the division-leading Canadiens. A win tonight against the Penguins at the Consol Energy Center would pull the B's to within three points of the Habs with two games in hand. It's exciting to see us move up in the standings. It always is. It gives you some motivation when those things are happening, said coach Claude Julien. I think for the longest time those games in hand hurt us as far as far being where we (were). We're just sticking with it. We still have some games in hand, but we're in a spot now where it's encouraging. But the B's will have to play better than they did in their game against the Pens at the Garden on Wednesday to secure two points. The B's essentially took the second period off in the game, getting outshot 18-4 and spending nearly the entire period in their own zone. They did a decent job of keeping the chances to the outside, but they don't want to keep giving opportunities to the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Makin and Phil Kessel, no matter how much they may be struggling. The B's did not do a full morning skate, so we'll have to wait until game-time to see if there are any line changes. But it looked like Zach Trotman, Joe Morrow and Tyler Randell will be the scratches again. It also appears that Tuukka Rask will again face Jeff Zatkoff. Puck drop is a little after 7 p.m. Boston Herald LOADED:

14 Boston Bruins Talking Points: Vatrano, Spooner motor Bruins December 18, 2015, 11:30 pm Joe Haggerty GOLD STAR: Frank Vatrano made a huge play in the first period on the whistling wrist shot that tied up the game when the Penguins had the momentum, and then continued to build on that with a pair of third period goals for his first career NHL hat trick. He became the first Bruins rookie since Blake Wheeler in 2008 to get a hat trick, and continues an impressive show of offensive skill in his meteoric rise from undrafted UMass hockey player to legitimate NHL scoring threat. The sight of Vatrano digging for the goal in the third period with four Penguins jerseys all around him was a fantastic sight for a player with that kind of skill level. BLACK EYE: David Perron finished a minus-3 with zero shots on net, and gave up the puck to Brad Marchand for the second period goal that gave the Bruins a go-ahead score in the second period. He played with a lot more spirit and fight in the Wednesday night loss to the Bruins at TD Garden, but he was pretty much an invisible man for the Penguins this time around. He wasn t alone, however, as it was another tepid effort from Pittsburgh beyond a strong first period push that was fully endured by the Bruins before their counter-attack. TURNING POINT: The Bruins held a 3-2 lead into the third period with the Penguins starting things off with a power play, and it looked like the B s could give up the lead if they weren t too careful. Loui Eriksson had even missed a wide-open chance when he fumbled a slick cross-ice pass from Torey Krug at the end of a second period PP possession. But instead Sidney Crosby took an ill-advised kneeing penalty on Brad Marchand. That set up Patrice Bergeron for a 4-on-4 goal off an errant Zdeno Chara shot off the end boards. The goal gave the B s a comfortable two-goal advantage in the third period, and all the insurance offense they would need. HONORABLE MENTION: Ryan Spooner picked up a career-high four assists, and gave the slick drop pass to Frank Vatrano in the first period that ended up stopping Pittsburgh s early momentum in its tracks. The four helpers and plus-3 rating in 15:31 of ice time were indicative of how good the third line center played in the game, and he showed how engaged he was in the action while coming to the defense of Dennis Seidenberg in the second period. Seidenberg was clobbered by Patrick Hornqvist when he was already engaged in a 1-on-1 battle, and Spooner dropped the gloves trying to stand up to the Penguins forward. He earned a two-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct for his troubles when Hornqvist didn t engage with him, but the Bruins all appreciated the message he was sending. BY THE NUMBERS: 3 the number of power play goals allowed in their last 52 power plays faced by the Bruins penalty kill, which is killing at a 94.2 percent rate over that span. QUOTE TO NOTE: "There are nights when you want to give your team a lot of credit & this is one of 'em. We knew [Pittsburgh] would play hard. Claude Julien giving his Bruins credit after taking down the Penguins in the home-and-home series. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: