Wednesday, December 31, 2014

NHL December 31st, 2014

Here's the definitive last post of the year. We have eleven games on for New Year's Eve. We begin in the afternoon with...

The Winnipeg Jets hosting the New York Islanders. Jaroslav Halak and Ondrej Pavelec are the veteran goalies. New York struck first in the first period on a Ryan Strome goal, his seventh of the season, via Anders Lee and Nick Leddy. The Islanders added on with a Frans Nielsen power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Johnny Boychuk and Strome. Winnipeg got on the board in the second period on an Andrew Ladd goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Blake Wheeler and Paul Postma. New York replied with a Nielsen goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, assisted by Strome. The Jets got one back with a Ladd power play goal in the third period, his second of the game and fourteenth of the season, made possible by Mathieu Perreault and Bryan Little. The Islanders answered on a Lee goal, his ninth of the year, with assists provided by Strome, who got a sock trick, and Nielsen. New York wrapped it up at 5-2 with a Josh Bailey power play goal into an empty net, set up by Travis Hamonic and Calvin de Haan. The three stars went to Strome, Nielsen, and Ladd, while Lee gets an honorable mention.

Back in Buffalo, the Sabres welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jhonas Enroth draw the starts in goal. Tampa Bay started in the first period on a Matthew Carle goal, his fourth of the season, courtesy of Ondrej Palat. Buffalo tied it on a Tyler Ennis power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Nikita Zadorov and Matt Moulson. The Lightning retook the lead with a Palat power play goal in the second period, his ninth of the season, passed from Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov. Tampa Bay added on in the third period on a Brett Connolly goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Anton Stralman and Palat. The Lightning extended the lead as Kucherov scored his sixteenth of the season, thanks to Johnson and Stralman. Tampa Bay padded the lead with a Kucherov goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, made possible by Palat and Johnson, both of whom got sock tricks. This produced the 5-1 final, with the three stars being Palat, Kucherov, and Johnson, while Stralman gets an honorable mention.

Down in Florida, the Panthers bring in the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist faces a lesser foe in Al Montoya in goal. New York was first to score in the first period with a Chris Kreider goal, his sixth of the season, passed from Derek Stepan and Kevin Klein. The Rangers added on in the second period on a Derick Brassard goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Ryan McDonagh and Carl Hagelin. New York extended the lead with a McDonagh goal, his third of the season, a power play goal, going in unassisted. Florida got on the board with a Tomas Fleischmann goal, his fourth of the year, with a lone helper by Jonathan Huberdeau. The Panthers pulled closer on a Jimmy Hayes goal in the third period, his eleventh of the season, a power play goal powered by Aleksander Barkov and Dave Bolland. The Rangers answered with a Martin St. Louis goal, his twelfth of the year, with assists provided by Stepan and Kreider. New York padded the lead with a Dominic Moore goal, his second of the campaign, coming off of St. Louis and Stepan, the latter getting a sock trick. The three stars of the 5-2 game were St. Louis, Kreider, and McDonagh, while Stepan gets an honorable mention.

North to Boston, as the Bruins host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jonathan Bernier and Tuukka Rask are the masked men. Toronto led off in the first period on a Leo Komarov goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Peter Holland. Boston tied it in the second period with a Carl Soderberg goal, his eighth of the year, coming on the power play from Reilly Smith and Dougie Hamilton. The Maple Leafs took the lead on a James van Riemsdyk goal, his seventeenth of the season, passed from Phil Kessel. Toronto added on with a Kessel power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, powered by Dion Phaneuf and Cody Franson. The Bruins got one back with a David Krejci goal, his fifth of the season, via Milan Lucic and Seth Griffith. Boston tied it on a Torey Krug goal, his seventh of the year, made possible by Loui Eriksson and Soderberg. In the ensuing shootout, the Maple Leafs got goals from Mike Santorelli and Nazem Kadri to top a Krug tally for a 4-3 win. The three stars went to Kessel, Soderberg, and Krug.

Over in Pittsburgh, the Penguins welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Marc-Andre Fleury are in the creases. Carolina opened in the first period with an Eric Staal goal, his ninth of the season, fueled by Elias Lindholm and Jiri Tlusty. Pittsburgh tied it on a Chris Kunitz goal, his eleventh of the year, via Beau Bennett and Andrew Ebbett. The Penguins took the lead with a Brandon Sutter goal in the third period, his eighth of the campaign, set up by Bennett and Kunitz. This was good for a 2-1 win, with the three stars being Kunitz, Fleury (24 for 25 in saves), and Bennett.

Further west to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets bring in the Minnesota Wild. Darcy Kuemper and Sergei Bobrovsky receive the starting nods. Minnesota began in the first period on a Zach Parise power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, powered by Mikko Koivu and Thomas Vanek. Columbus tied it on a Kevin Connauton goal in the second period, his fifth of the year, going in unassisted. The Blue Jackets took the lead in the third period on a David Savard goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Connauton and Brandon Dubinsky on the power play. Columbus iced it at 3-1 with an empty net goal by Ryan Johansen, his tenth of the year, set up by Dubinsky and Nick Foligno. The three stars were Connauton, Bobrovsky (28 for 29 in saves), and Dubinsky.

Up in Detroit, the Red Wings host the New Jersey Devils. Cory Schneider and Jimmy Howard guard the cages. New Jersey got going in the second period on a Joe Whitney goal, via Tim Sestito. Detroit tied it as Darren Helm scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Gustav Nyquist and Johan Franzen. The Red Wings took the lead in the third period on a Henrik Zetterberg goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Niklas Kronwall and Pavel Datsyuk. Detroit added on with another Helm goal, his second of the game and seventh of the campaign, fueled by Franzen and Nyquist. This produced a 3-1 final, with the three stars being Helm, Nyquist, and Franzen.

Way southwest to Anaheim, where the Ducks welcome the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Frederik Andersen are between the pipes. San Jose led off in the first period with a Joe Pavelski goal, his eighteenth of the season, via Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Joe Thornton. The Sharks added on in the third period with a Pavelski power play goal, his nineteenth of the year and second of the game, powered by Brent Burns and Logan Couture. San Jose iced it at 3-0 with a Couture empty net goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, set up by Vlasic. The three stars were awarded to Pavelski, Niemi (28 save shutout), and Couture, while Vlasic gets an honorable mention.

Back east, the Dallas Stars bring in the Arizona Coyotes. Devan Dubnyk and Kari Lehtonen are the goalies. Dallas dented the scoreboard in the second period on a Brett Ritchie goal, coming off of Travis Moen and Vernon Fiddler. The Stars added on with a Colton Sceviour goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Jamie Benn. Dallas extended the lead as Benn scored his eleventh of the year in the third period, a power play goal powered by Cody Eakin and Tyler Seguin. The Stars padded the lead as Eakin potted his seventh of the season, thanks to Antoine Roussel and Alex Goligoski. Dallas struck again with an Ales Hemsky goal, his fourth of the year, made possible by Jason Demers and Jason Spezza. The Stars ended it at 6-0 with a Ryan Garbutt goal, his seventh of the campaign, with a lone assist by Goligoski. The three stars belonged to Benn, Lehtonen (32 save shutout), and Eakin, while Goligoski gets an honorable mention.

Northwest to Colorado, where the Avalanche host the Philadelphia Flyers. Steve Mason and Semyon Varlamov are the overrated goalies. Philadelphia started in the first period with a Jakub Voracek power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds. Colorado tied it in the second period on a Nate Guenin goal, coming off of Marc-Andre Cliche and Max Talbot. The Avalanche took the lead on a Borna Rendulic goal, passed from Gabriel Landeskog and Brad Stuart. The Flyers retied it in the third period with a Vincent Lecavalier goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by Braydon Coburn and Chris VandeVelde. Philadelphia took the lead with a Claude Giroux power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, with a lone assist by Mark Streit. Colorado tied it with a Jarome Iginla goal, his ninth of the year, coming on the power play from Nick Holden and Alex Tanguay. The Avalanche won 4-3 in overtime as Ryan O'Reilly scored his seventh of the campaign, with the help of Tyson Barrie and Stuart. The three stars went to O'Reilly, Stuart, and Iginla.

Finally, the last game of 2014 is a Battle of Alberta, with the Calgary Flames hosting the Edmonton Oilers. Ben Scrivens and Jonas Hiller make the starts in goal. Edmonton struck first in the first period with a Matt Fraser power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by David Perron and Nail Yakupov. The Oilers added on in the second period with a Jordan Eberle goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Leon Draisaitl and Taylor Hall. Calgary got on the board with a Joe Colborne power play goal, his second of the season, via Sean Monahan and Curtis Glencross. The Flames tied it with a Lance Bouma goal in the third period, his sixth of the year, courtesy of Paul Byron and Raphael Diaz. Edmonton pulled ahead with an Andrew Ference goal, his second of the season, made possible by Draisaitl and Perron. Calgary retied it on a Colborne goal, his second of the game and third of the year, passed from Monahan and Glencross. The Flames won 4-3 in overtime on a Josh Jooris goal, his ninth of the campaign, set up by Jiri Hudler and Dennis Wideman. The three stars were Colborne, Monahan, and Glencross, while Perron and Draisaitl get honorable mentions.

Follow me on Twitter @KipperScorpion.

No comments :

Post a Comment