NHL: 3 stories from Thursday night

It was another busy Thursday night in the NHL. The Canadiens celebrated Max Pacioretty's birthday with a victory, the Senators had two big wins for the night, and the Leafs rebounded nicely.

Habby birthday, Max

Max Pacioretty had a big night, scoring two goals on his birthday to help the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-1 victory over the St.Louis Blues. 

This is starting to be a pattern for the 26-year-old, who earned a hat trick on Nov. 20 of last year. 

Another Habs forward that had a big night was Lars Eller. He scored a goal against the team that drafted him 13th overall in 2007. It was a milestone night, as Eller suited up for the Habs for the 300th time. 

On a completely different note, St. Louis Blues' defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk had at least one play he wishes he could take back.

Dale Weise picked off a terrible pass from Shattenkirk to score a beautiful goal, which also tied the game at one a piece before the Canadiens took off.  

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St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko for his part continued to demonstrate that he can score some pretty great goals. He batted the puck out of midair to give the Blues an early lead.

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Senators make a kid's dream come true

Robin Lehner's 33 save performance, as well as a flurry of second period scoring helped the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators. 

However, earlier in the day they had a larger moral victory. The team signed 14-year-old Jonathan Pitre to a one-day ceremonial scouting contract. 

The young man has a rare genetic disease called Epidermolysis bullosa, which causes blistering, scarring and shearing of the skin. 

The incredibly painful disease prevents him from participating in his favourite sport, but the Senators kindly allowed him to take part in his own way. 

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Senators forward Zack Smith also played his 300th career NHL game, all with Ottawa. 

Leafs rebound on home ice

The Toronto Maple Leafs powered past the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 thanks to a two goal night from James van Riemsdyk. 

It was a team effort that helped the Leafs rebound from a pair of hugely disappointing losses in the past week.

David Clarkson opened up the scoring for the Leafs with his sixth goal of the season.That goal surpassed the five he scored in 60 games last season. 

There was a lot to like about the Leafs play, but it wasn't all perfect. Twitter posters got on slumping defenceman Jake Gardiner for his less than stellar play against Lightning forward Alex Killorn. 

Killorn managed to score a short-handed goal in the first period by easily skating around a stagnant Gardiner. People didn't respond well to the goal. 

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