2015 NHL scores: Blackhawks stun Stars in overtime, World Juniors final set

Divison foes went toe-to-toe on Sunday.

Jan 5, 2015, 2:00 PM UTC

Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Aren’t rivalry nights supposed to be on Wednesdays?

That’s the line NBC has sold us for the last few months, but it sure seemed like rivalry night came three days early this week. Three inter-division games demanded attention on Sunday evening as rivals slugged it out.

The headlining act was in the Windy City between the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars. Chicago has been on a tear, and Dallas is outscoring teams at a ridiculous pace so you just knew there would be fireworks in the United Center. The matchup didn't disappoint -- the Stars and Blackhawks engaged in a back-and-forth slugfest until Patrick Sharp emerged with the winning goal in overtime.

Up north, the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning waged a similar skirmish in Ottawa for two periods. Ben Bishop looked shaky to start, but once he settled down so did his teammates. Steven Stamkos and company proceeded to knock their Atlantic foes even further down the pecking order with a 4-2 win.

Rivalry Sunday (as we're now calling it) began with a bang in Washington, where the ever-impressive Florida Panthers gave the Winter Classic winners a run for their money. But Brooks Laich, Carl Alzner and Andre Burakovsky combined to dash Florida's hopes of an upset.

All the NHL Scores

Carolina Hurricanes 2, Boston Bruins 1 (SO)

Washington Capitals 4, Florida Panthers 3

Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Ottawa Senators 2

Columbus Blue Jackets 4, Colorado Avalanche 3

Chicago Blackhawks 5, Dallas Stars 4 (OT)

Anaheim Ducks 4, Nashville Predators 3

Edmonton Oilers 5, New York Islanders 2

Three things we learned

1. Sign us up for a Blackhawks-Stars playoff series. It doesn’t matter if it happens this season or next, but a seven-game series between these two would be something to behold. Sure, it’d break the NHL playoff record for turnovers and sloppy defensive play. But when those two clubs meet, firewagon and wheels-off hockey ensues. It’s abundantly clear at this point that Chicago is still the class of the Central after their overtime win against the Stars on Sunday.

2. We’re getting a 2011 gold medal game rematch in the World Junior Championships. Four years ago, Russia stunned the world by mounting a big third period comeback to steal gold from Canada. They enter the gold medal game on Monday night with a more formidable track record, having ousted the United States in the quarterfinal. But their competition is even fiercer this time around. Canada has looked unbeatable in the tournament this year. Expect one heck of a gold medal game between those two.

3. We're not talking about Tyler Johnson enough. Last year in his rookie season, the Lightning winger registered 24 goals and 50 points in 82 games. In just 40 games this year, Johnson is on the verge of eclipsing those marks with 43 points, fourth best in the league. He scored twice on Sunday against the Senators. At some point this kid has to stop flying under our radars at some point, right?