NHL scores: Kings rally; blowouts rule the night

The Los Angeles Kings had their first taste of life without Jonathan Quick for the time being, and with 15 minutes to play in regulation it was not looking good.

They trailed by two goals on Long Island before rallying with three straight goals to end the game, all of them coming from players under the age of 24 (Slava Voynov, Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli). That's what makes the Kings so dangerous. They not only have a core of veterans that can play at an all-star level, they also have a nice collection of younger players that is starting to make an impact in the NHL.

The Stars and Blues were both 7-3 winners over the Flames and Avalanche respectively, while the Tampa Bay Lightning (minus Steven Stamkos) crushed the Anaheim Ducks.

All the NHL Scores

Bruins 3, Blue Jackets 2

Blackhawks 5, Coyotes 4

Sharks 2, Canucks 1

Certainly not on this night. The big interconference matchup was in Tampa Bay between the Ducks and Lightning, the best teams in their respective conferences when the night started. Anaheim was absolutely smoked in Tampa Bay, thanks in large part to a pair of three-point performances from Martin St. Louis and Valtteri Filppula. The Lightning are now 2-0 since losing Steven Stamkos and haven't missed a beat. Pretty stunning, actually.

Oh yes, and this was by far Colorado's worst game of the season. It was so bad that even Matt Duchene was fighting, and that can't be a good thing for the Avalanche. Absolutely nothing went right for Colorado in this game, including Jean-Sebastien Giguere dropping the puck on the goal line for Alex Steen to tap it in for his league-leading 16th goal. Ugly, ugly game for the Avalanche.

They were so close. Fifty-five seconds away if you want to be exact. But that's when Sharks rookie Tomas Hertl scored a game-tying goal to send it to overtime, where Dan Boyle ended it for the Sharks on the power play.

Let's put it this way: Starting goalie Kari Lehtonen was able to do this at the end of the game.

Yeah. Tyler Seguin scored four goals, Jamie Benn recorded six points, and the Stars cruised to a 7-3 win in Calgary. The Stars have now won five of their past six games.

The rich get richer, and the poor get ... some magic beans. The Chicago Blackhawks are already one of the deepest teams in the league (oh, and also the defending champs) and acquired Kris Versteeg from Florida for two fringe prospects (if you even want to call them prospects at this point) and managed to get the Panthers to pick up half of the money still remaining on Versteeg's contract this season and over the next two years. He may not be the same player he was back in 2009-10 when he helped Chicago win the Cup, but he's still a nice depth addition to a team that's already swimming in talent.

Loui Eriksson goals this season in 13 games: Three. Tyler Seguin goals on Thursday night: Four. The two players were the focal points of the blockbuster trade this past summer, and so far the deal is working out quite well for the Stars. Boston is still a great team, one of the best in the Eastern Conference, but it's awfully hard to trade a player as talented and young as Seguin. There is superstar potential with that guy, and it is starting to show in Dallas.

• The Blackhawks perspective on the Kris Versteeg trade.
• T.J. Oshie reverse checks Jamie McGinn during the Blues' blowout win.
• What do the Blue Jackets need to do?
• Filip Forsberg is back with the Predators.

Follow @SBNationNHL