Thursday, March 20, 2014

NHL Day 171 2013-2014

Nine games on the schedule today, beginning with...

The New Jersey Devils hosting the Minnesota Wild. Ilya Bryzgalov and Cory Schneider draw the starts. New Jersey was first to score in the first period on a Michael Ryder goal, his seventeenth of the season, courtesy of Patrik Elias and Adam Henrique. The Devils added on in the second period with a shorthanded goal by Mark Fayne, his fourth of the year, set up by Henrique and Elias. Minnesota got on the board with a Zach Parise power play goal in the third period, his twenty-fourth of the season, powered by Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon. New Jersey shot back with a power play goal by Jaromir Jagr, his twenty-third of the year, assisted by Ryane Clowe and Travis Zajac. The Wild pulled back on a Mikael Granlund goal, his eighth of the season, helped along by Spurgeon. Minnesota tied it on a Matt Cooke goal, his tenth of the year, guided in by Marco Scandella and Jonas Brodin. The Devils won 4-3 in overtime on an Andy Greene goal, his eighth of the campaign, with assists provided by Henrique and Elias, both of whom got sock tricks. The three stars belonged to Henrique, Elias, and Spurgeon.

Over in Philadelphia, the Flyers welcome the Dallas Stars. Tim Thomas and Steve Mason are the overrated goalies. Philadelphia began in the first period with a Mark Streit goal, his ninth of the season, with a lone assist by Claude Giroux. The Flyers added on with a power play goal by Wayne Simmonds, his twenty-second of the year, powered by Scott Hartnell and Jakub Voracek. Dallas got on the board in the second period with a power play goal by Jamie Benn, his twenty-eighth of the season, coming off of Tyler Seguin and Alex Goligoski. Philadelphia replied with Simmonds' second of the game and twenty-third of the year, via Vincent Lecavalier and Brayden Schenn. The Stars shot back on a Jamie Benn goal, his second of the game and twenty-ninth of the season, with a lone helper from Seguin. The Flyers answered on a Michael Raffl goal, his ninth of the year, helped along by Sean Couturier and Kimmo Timonen. This made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars going to Simmonds, Benn, and Seguin.

Up in Montreal, the Canadiens bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Carey Price guard the cages. Montreal struck first in the first period with a Brendan Gallagher power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, powered by Alex Galchenyuk and Tomas Plekanec. Columbus tied it with a shorthanded goal from Derek MacKenzie, his eighth of the year, set up by Mark Letestu. The Blue Jackets took the lead in the second period on a Brandon Dubinsky goal, his fourteenth of the season, courtesy of Blake Comeau and Jack Johnson. The Canadiens tied it in the third period on a Thomas Vanek goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, via Max Pacioretty and P.K. Subban. Columbus took the lead on an unassisted goal by Ryan Johansen, his twenty-seventh of the campaign. This was good for a 3-2 win, with the three stars awarded to Johansen, Dubinsky, and MacKenzie.

West to Ontario, as the Ottawa Senators host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ben Bishop faces former teammate Robin Lehner in goal. Tampa Bay opened in the first period with a Teddy Purcell goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Victor Hedman and Tyler Johnson. Ottawa tied it on a Clarke MacArthur goal, his twenty-first of the year, a shorthanded goal set up by Kyle Turris. The Lightning retook the lead with another Purcell goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the season, guided in by Hedman and Johnson. The Senators pulled even as Erik Karlsson netted his eighteenth of the year, a power play goal powered by Mike Hoffman and Jason Spezza. Tampa Bay pulled ahead on a second period power play goal by Valtteri Filppula, his twenty-third of the season, passed from Ondrej Palat and Sami Salo. Ottawa tied it again with an Ales Hemsky goal, his eleventh of the year, via Milan Michalek. The Lightning regained the lead with an Eric Brewer goal, made possible by J.T. Brown and Alex Killorn. Tampa Bay added on with a Ryan Callahan power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, with helpers from Palat and Salo. The Senators got one back with a Michalek goal, his thirteenth of the year, from Karlsson and Spezza. The final was 5-4, with the three stars going to Purcell, Karlsson, and Michalek, while Hedman, Johnson, Palat, and Salo get the honorable mentions.

Back stateside, the Detroit Red Wings welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Jimmy Howard protect the nets. Detroit started in the first period with a Daniel Alfredsson goal, his sixteenth of the season, coming off of Johan Franzen and Danny DeKeyser. The Red Wings added on as Gustav Nyquist scored his twentieth of the year in the second period, a power play goal powered by Alfredsson and Niklas Kronwall. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Lee Stempniak goal, his tenth of the season, via Chris Kunitz and Robert Bortuzzo. The Penguins tied it on an Evgeni Malkin goal, his twentieth of the year, with a lone assist by James Neal and Jussi Jokinen. Pittsburgh took the lead with a Malkin power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the season, fueled by Neal and Jokinen. Detroit retied it in the third period with a Tomas Tatar goal, his fifteenth of the year, with assists provided by Riley Sheahan and DeKeyser. The Red Wings took the lead again on an unassisted Todd Bertuzzi goal, his ninth of the season. The Penguins tied it again on a Craig Adams goal, his fourth of the year, thanks to Brandon Sutter and Joe Vitale. Detroit won in the last second of overtime on a shorthanded Alfredsson goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the campaign, set up by Nyquist. The three stars of the 5-4 game were Alfredsson, Nyquist, and Malkin, with the honorable mentions going to Neal, Jokinen, and DeKeyser.

Westward to Edmonton, as the Oilers bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Matt Hackett is mismatched with Ben Scrivens in goal. Edmonton led off in the first period with a Taylor Hall power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, powered by Justin Schultz and David Perron. Buffalo tied it in the second period as Cory Conacher scored his fifth of the year, a power play goal made possible by Jamie McBain. The Sabres took the lead in the third period with Conacher's second of the game and sixth of the season, fueled by Torrey Mitchell and Cody Hodgson. Buffalo added on as Drew Stafford netted his fifteenth of the year, thanks to Tyler Ennis. This made it 3-1, the final, with Conacher, Hackett (35 for 36 in saves), and Stafford getting the three stars.

Way south to Arizona, as the Phoenix Coyotes host the Florida Panthers. Roberto Luongo and Mike Smith are the Canadian Olympic goaltenders. Phoenix began in the first period with a Radim Vrbata power play goal, his twentieth of the season, powered by Martin Hanzal and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The Coyotes added on with an Antoine Vermette goal, his twenty-third of the year, thanks to Michael Stone and Mikkel Boedker. Florida got on the board with a third period goal by Scott Gomez, his second of the campaign, with a lone assist from Dmitry Kulikov. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars going to Smith (22 for 23 in saves), Vermette, and Vrbata.

Out in Los Angeles, the Kings welcome the Washington Capitals. Jaroslav Halak and Jonathan Quick are the masked men. Los Angeles opened in the first period with an Anze Koptiar goal, his twenty-second of the season, fueled by Marian Gaborik and Justin Williams. Washington tied it on a Joel Ward goal in the third period, his twenty-second of the year, assisted by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom. The Kings won with goals by Gaborik and Carter in the shootout, topping a lone tally by Kuznetsov. Gaborik, Quick (21 for 22 in saves), and Kuznetsov were the three stars.

Finally, in San Jose, the Sharks bring in the Anaheim Ducks. Frederik Andersen and Antti Niemi are called on for the starts. San Jose started in the first period with a Patrick Marleau power play goal, his twenty-ninth of the season, powered by Joe Thornton and Logan Couture. Anaheim tied it in the second period on a Mathieu Perreault power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, guided in by Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. The Ducks took the lead in the third period on a Teemu Selanne goal, his eighth of the season, via Perry and Getzlaf. The Sharks tied it with a Thornton goal, his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski. San Jose won 3-2 as Burns deposited his twentieth of the campaign, with the help of Thornton and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The three stars went to Burns, Thornton, and Perry, while Getzlaf gets an honorable mention.

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