Thursday, January 29, 2015

NHL January 29th, 2015

Eleven games tonight, beginning on...

Long Island, where the New York Islanders host the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak tend the twines. Boston struck first in the first period on a Reilly Smith goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Milan Lucic and David Krejci. The Bruins added on with a Patrice Bergeron goal, his twelfth of the year, a power play goal powered by Dougie Hamilton and Smith. New York got on the board in the second period as John Tavares goal, his twenty-third of the season, thanks to Cal Clutterbuck and Travis Hamonic. The Islanders tied it on a Michael Grabner goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Johnny Boychuk and Tavares. Boston took the lead back on an unassisted Kevan Miller goal, his second of the season. The Bruins extended the lead with a Torey Krug goal, his tenth of the year, helped along by Smith and Lucic. Boston padded the lead on a Lucic empty net goal, his tenth of the campaign, set up by Krejci and Zdeno Chara. This made it 5-2, the final, with the three stars being Smith, Lucic, and Tavares, while Krejci gets the honorable mention.

Also in New York, the Rangers welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist guard the cages. Montreal dented the scoreboard in the third period on a Max Pacioretty goal, his twenty-second of the season, via Dale Weise and Alexei Emelin. This was all they needed for the 1-0 win. The three stars went to Price (24 save shutout), Pacioretty, and Lundqvist (25 for 26 in saves).

Over to Philadelphia, the Flyers bring in the Winnipeg Jets. Michael Hutchinson and Steve Mason are in the creases. Philadelphia was first to score in the first period on a Chris VandeVelde goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Michael Del Zotto and Luke Schenn. Winnipeg tied it on a Mathieu Perreault goal, his sixteenth of the year, courtesy of Michael Frolik. The Flyers took the lead as Wayne Simmonds scored his eighteenth of the season, a power play goal powered by Jakub Voracek and Brayden Schenn. The Jets tied it again on a Perreault power play goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, with assists provided by Dustin Byfuglien and Mark Scheifele. Philadelphia took the lead in the second period on a Nick Schultz goal, helped along by Petr Straka and Ryan White. The Flyers added on with a Brayden Schenn goal, his eleventh of the season, made possible by Simmonds. Philadelphia iced it at 5-2 with a Sean Couturier empty net goal, his eleventh of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Brayden Schenn, Perreault, and Simmonds.

Up in Ottawa, the Senators host the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen faces a lesser foe in Robin Lehner in goal. Dallas led off in the first period on a Jamie Benn power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by John Klingberg and Patrick Eaves. The Stars added on with a Colton Sceviour goal, his sixth of the year, via Vernon Fiddler and Trevor Daley. Dallas extended the lead as Ales Hemsky goal, his eighth of the season, coming on the power play from Daley and Sceviour. Ottawa got on the board with a Mika Zibanejad goal, his twelfth of the year, fueled by Bobby Ryan and Clarke MacArthur. The Senators pulled closer with a Ryan power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, with a lone assist by Cody Ceci. Ottawa tied it in the third period with an Alex Chiasson goal, his eighth of the year, made possible by Kyle Turris. The Stars took the lead back with an unassisted goal by Klingberg, his seventh of the season. Dallas padded the lead on a Daley shorthanded empty net goal, his twelfth of the year, set up by Cody Eakin. The Stars iced it at 6-3 with a shorthanded, unassisted, empty net goal by Benn, his second of the game and sixteenth of the campaign. The three stars went to Daley, Klingberg, and Sceviour, while Benn gets an honorable mention.

South to Tampa Bay, where the Lightning welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Petr Mrazek and Ben Bishop draw the starts. Tampa Bay opened in the first period on a Cedric Paquette goal, his seventh of the season, guided in by Alex Killorn and Jason Garrison. Detroit tied it on a Darren Helm goal, his ninth of the year, via Jonathan Ericsson and Pavel Datsyuk. The Lightning took the lead back with a Paquette goal, his second of the game and eighth of the season, courtesy of Jonathan Drouin and Killorn. Tampa Bay added on in the second period on a Steven Stamkos power play goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, powered by Anton Stralman and Drouin. The Lightning extended the lead as Paquette scored his ninth of the season, a shorthanded and unassisted goal to secure his hat trick. Tampa Bay padded the lead on a Mark Barberio goal, coming off of Andrej Sustr and Tyler Johnson. This was good for a 5-1 win, with the three stars being Paquette, Drouin, and Killorn.

North again to Toronto, the Maple Leafs bring in the Arizona Coyotes. Mike Smith and Jonathan Bernier are set to start in goal. Toronto began in the first period on a Phil Kessel goal, his twentieth of the season, assisted by James van Riemsdyk and Morgan Rielly. Arizona tied it on an Oliver Ekman-Larsson shorthanded goal in the third period, his thirteenth of the year, set up by Lauri Korpikoski. The Coyotes took the lead as Martin Hanzal scored his eighth of the season, thanks to Sam Gagner. Arizona iced it at 3-1 with a Gagner power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Keith Yandle and Martin Erat. The three stars were given to Gagner, Smith (24 for 25 in saves), and Hanzal.

Backtracking to Florida again, as the Panthers host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Curtis McElhinney and Roberto Luongo are in the blue paint. Columbus got going in the second period on a Jack Johnson goal, his fifth of the season, fueled by Cam Atkinson and Nick Foligno. Florida tied it on a Jonathan Huberdeau goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Brad Boyes and Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers took the lead with an Aaron Ekblad goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Brian Campbell and Dave Bolland. The Blue Jackets tied it on an Alexander Wennberg goal, his second of the year, via Artem Anisimov and Josh Anderson. Florida took the lead in the third period with a Sean Bergenheim power play goal, his eighth of the campaign, his eighth of the campaign, powered by Dmitry Kulikov and Alex Petrovic. This was good for a 3-2 win, with the three stars being Bergenheim, Ekblad, and Huberdeau.

Northwest to St. Louis, where the Blues welcome the Nashville Predators. Carter Hutton and Brian Elliott are between the pipes. Nashville started in the first period on a Mike Fisher goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Roman Josi and Shea Weber on the power play. The Predators added on in the second period on a Filip Forsberg goal, his seventeenth of the year, courtesy of Craig Smith and Mike Ribeiro. St. Louis got on the board with a Jaden Schwartz goal, his seventeenth of the season, via Vladimir Tarasenko and Carl Gunnarsson. The Blues tied it on a T.J. Oshie goal, his fourteenth of the year, coming off of Paul Stastny and David Backes. St. Louis took the lead on a Steve Ott goal, his second of the season, fueled by Kevin Shattenkirk and Patrik Berglund. Nashville retied it on a shorthanded goal by Fisher, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, set up by Josi and Calle Jarnkrok. The Blues regained the lead on a Ryan Reaves goal, his fourth of the season, with a lone assist by Dmitrij Jaskin. The Predators retied it on a James Neal goal, his sixteenth of the year, passed from Fisher and Colin Wilson. The tie went to a shootout, where Oshie and Shattenkirk topped Josi for a 5-4 Blues win. The three stars went to Fisher, Josi, and Shattenkirk.

Continuing to Calgary, where the Flames bring in the Minnesota Wild. Devan Dubnyk and Jonas Hiller are the average goalies. Minnesota led off in the first period on a Zach Parise goal, his twentieth of the season, assisted by Thomas Vanek. This held up for a 1-0 win, with the three stars being Dubnyk (30 save shutout), Hiller (31 for 32 in saves), and Parise.

Also in Alberta, the Edmonton Oilers host the Buffalo Sabres. Jhonas Enroth and Ben Scrivens are the lousy goalies. Buffalo struck first in the first period on a Tyler Myers goal, his second of the season, via Torrey Mitchell and Brian Gionta. Edmonton tied it on a Matt Fraser goal, his sixth of the year, courtesy of Anton Lander and Luke Gazdic. The Oilers took the lead on an Oscar Klefbom goal, passed from Lander and Fraser. Edmonton added on in the third period, assisted by Teddy Purcell and Fraser. The Sabres got one back on a Rasmus Ristolainen goal, his fourth of the campaign, coming off of Gionta and Zemgus Girgensons. This only made it 3-2, with the three stars given to Lander, Fraser, and Gionta.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the Anaheim Ducks. Ilya Bryzgalov and Antti Niemi received the starting nods. Anaheim was first to score in the first period on an Andrew Cogliano goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg. San Jose tied it on a Joe Pavelski goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, guided in by Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau on the power play. The Sharks took the lead in the second period with a Barclay Goodrow goal, his third of the campaign, courtesy of James Sheppard and Tomas Hertl. San Jose added on with a Marleau goal, his tenth of the season, via Brent Burns and Thornton. The Sharks extended the lead as Matt Irwin scored his third of the year, thanks to Logan Couture. San Jose padded the lead with a Sheppard goal, his fifth of the campaign, assisted by Goodrow and Hertl. The Sharks chased Bryzgalov (replaced by Frederik Andersen) on a shorthanded Brenden Dillon goal, his second of the season, set up by Matthew Nieto and Matt Tennyson. The Ducks got one back in the third period on a Matt Beleskey goal, his nineteenth of the year, with helpers from Ryan Kesler and Kyle Palmieri. Anaheim pulled closer on a Patrick Maroon goal, his sixth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Hampus Lindholm. This made it 6-3, the final, with the three stars being Goodrow, Marleau, and Sheppard, while Thornton and Hertl get the honorable mentions.

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