Tuesday, February 24, 2015

NHL February 24th, 2015

Eleven games on today, beginning in...

Boston, as the Bruins host the Vancouver Canucks. Eddie Lack and Tuukka Rask are set to start in goal. Boston began with a Daniel Paille goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Loui Eriksson and Carl Soderberg. Vancouver tied it on a Ryan Stanton goal, his third of the year, coming off of Jannik Hansen. The Canucks took the lead in the third period on a Zack Kassian goal, his ninth of the campaign, assisted by Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. This gave them a 2-1 win, with the three stars going to Lack (40 for 41 in saves), Kassian, and Stanton.

Down in Carolina, the Hurricanes welcome the Philadelphia Flyers. Rob Zepp is mismatched with Cam Ward in goal. Carolina struck first in the first period on a Justin Faulk goal, his eleventh of the season, a power play goal powered by Eric Staal and Elias Lindholm. Philadelphia tied it on a Nicklas Grossmann goal, his fourth of the year, made possible by Jakub Voracek and Matt Read. The Hurricanes took the lead on a second period goal by Jeff Skinner, his fifteenth of the season, via Alexander Semin and Brett Bellemore. Carolina added on with a Jordan Staal goal, his fourth of the year, courtesy of Semin and Faulk. The Hurricanes extended the lead in the third period on a Jay McClement goal, his fourth of the campaign, helped along by Brad Malone. This made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars being Faulk, Ward (23 for 24 in saves), and Semin.

Back north, the New York Islanders bring in the Arizona Coyotes. Mike Smith and Chad Johnson draw the starts. New York dented the scoreboard in the second period as Anders Lee scored his twentieth of the season, thanks to Travis Hamonic and Brock Nelson. Arizona tied it on a Mark Arcobello goal, his twelfth of the year, via Martin Erat and David Moss. The Islanders took the lead in the third period on a Matt Martin goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Nikolay Kulemin and Kael Mouillierat. New York added on with a Johnny Boychuk goal, his seventh of the year, passed from John Tavares and Ryan Strome. The Islanders extended the lead on a Mouillierat goal, guided in by Colin McDonald and Kulemin. New York padded the lead with a Neslon goal, his seventeenth of the campaign, fueled by Josh Bailey and McDonald. This produced the 5-1 final, with the three stars going to Mouillierat, Nelson, and Kulemin, while McDonald gets an honorable mention.

Into Manhattan, where the New York Rangers host the Calgary Flames. Karri Ramo and Cam Talbot are the little-known goalies. New York got going in the third period as Kevin Hayes scored his twelfth of the season, thanks to Derick Brassard. This was all they needed for a 1-0 win, with the three stars going to Talbot (21 save shutout), Hayes, and Ramo (28 for 29 in saves).

West to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Michal Neuvirth and Anton Forsberg are the unknown goalies. Buffalo was first to score in the first period on a Cody Hodgson goal, his third of the season, coming off of Andrej Meszaros and Zach Bogosian. The Sabres added on with a Zemgus Girgensons goal, his fifteenth of the year, coming shorthanded and unassisted. Columbus got on the board in the second period with a Matt Calvert goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Brandon Dubinsky and Jack Johnson. Buffalo shot back on a Mark Pysyk goal, his second of the year, guided in by Brian Flynn and Marcus Foligno. The Sabres extended the lead with a Chris Stewart power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Girgensons. The Blue Jackets got one back on a Kevin Connauton goal, his eighth of the year, with assists provided by James Wisniewski and Ryan Johansen. This was it for the scoring, with the final standing at 4-2, and the three stars were Girgensons, Pysyk, and Neuvirth (45 for 47 in saves).

Into St. Louis, where the Blues bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Jake Allen are in the blue paint. Montreal opened in the first period on an Alex Galchenyuk goal, his seventeenth of the season, assisted by P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov. The Canadiens added on in the second period with a Galchenyuk goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the year, via Tomas Plekanec. St. Louis got on the board with a David Backes goal, his twentieth of the season, helped along by Vladimir Tarasenko and T.J. Oshie. Montreal shot back with a Brendan Gallagher goal, his sixteenth of the year, going in unassisted. The Canadiens extended the lead as Michael Bournival scored his third of the season, thanks to Galchenyuk and Lars Eller. The Blues got one back on an Oshie goal, his seventeenth of the year, coming off of Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester. Montreal finished it at 5-2 in the third period with a Gallagher power play goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the campaign, powered by Markov and Subban. The three stars were awarded to Galchenyuk, Gallagher, and Oshie, while Markov and Subban get the honorable mentions.

Back to Nashville, where the Predators host the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Pekka Rinne guard the cages. Colorado led off in the first period on a Nathan MacKinnon goal, his thirteenth of the season, guided in by Ryan O'Reilly and Brad Stuart. Nashville tied it on the sixth of the year by Calle Jarnkrok, going in unassisted. The Predators took the lead in the second period on a Craig Smith goal, his nineteenth of the season, via Mike Fisher. Nashville added on with a Roman Josi goal, his eleventh of the year, made possible by Matt Cullen. The Predators extended the lead in the third period on a Filip Forsberg goal, his twenty-first of the season, coming off of Mike Ribeiro. Nashville padded the lead with a shorthanded empty net goal by Eric Nystrom, his seventh of the year, set up by Josi. The Avalanche got one back on a John Mitchell power play goal, his seventh of the campaign, powered by Matt Duchene and Alex Tanguay. This only got them to 5-2, with the three stars going to Josi, Forsberg, and Jarnkrok.

North to Winnipeg, where the Jets welcome the Dallas Stars. Jhonas Enroth and Michael Hutchinson are the young goalies. Winnipeg started in the first period on a Bryan Little goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, assisted by Mark Scheifele and Andrew Ladd on the power play. Dallas tied it in the second period on an Erik Cole goal, his eighteenth of the year, with a lone assist by Jason Spezza. The Jets took the lead as Adam Lowry scored his seventh of the season, thanks to Adam Pardy. Winnipeg added on in the third period with a Dustin Byfuglien goal, his fifteenth of the year, made possible by Jacob Trouba. The Jets extended the lead on a Michael Frolik empty net goal, his thirteenth of the season, going in unassisted. The Stars got one back on a Jason Demers goal, his third of the year, helped along by Jamie Benn and Jordie Benn. This produced a 4-2 final, with the three stars given to Hutchinson (26 for 28 in saves), Byfuglien, and Lowry.

Back stateside, the Minnesota Wild bring in Edmonton Oilers. Ben Scrivens and Devan Dubnyk are the overrated goalies. Edmonton struck first in the first period on a Benoit Pouliot goal, his twelfth of the season, coming off of Jordan Eberle and Oscar Klefbom. Minnesota tied it on a Thomas Vanek goal, his thirteenth of the year, via Jordan Schroeder and Charlie Coyle. The Oilers took the lead back on another Pouliot goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the season, assisted by Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. This was it for the scoring, with the final standing at 2-1. The three stars went to Pouliot, Scrivens (33 for 34 in saves), and Eberle.

South to Chicago, where the Blackhawks host the Florida Panthers. Roberto Luongo faces a lesser foe in Scott Darling in goal. Chicago was first to score in the first period on a Jonathan Toews power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, powered by Marian Hossa and Brent Seabrook. The Blackhawks added on in the second period as Kris Versteeg scored his thirteenth of the year, thanks to Patrick Sharp and Brad Richards. Florida got on the board in the third period on a Jussi Jokinen goal, his sixth of the season, via Brad Boyes and Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers tied it on a Vincent Trocheck goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Tomas Fleischmann and Steven Kampfer. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Toews and Sharp gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 win. The three stars were Toews, Darling (34 for 36 in saves), and Luongo (36 for 38 in saves).

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings host the Detroit Red Wings. Jonas Gustavsson and Jonathan Quick are given the green light to start in goal. Los Angeles got going in the first period on a Justin Williams power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, powered by Anze Kopitar and Jake Muzzin. This was the only goal in the game, with the final being 1-0. The three stars went to Quick (20 save shutout), Williams, and Gustavsson (26 for 27 in saves).

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