Thursday, March 19, 2015

NHL March 19th, 2015

Ten games on a busy night in hockey, beginning with...

The Montreal Canadiens hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. Anton Khudobin and Carey Price man the nets. Montreal began in the first period on a Dale Weise goal, his tenth of the season, coming off of Manny Malhotra and Brandon Prust. The Canadiens added on with a Brendan Gallagher goal, his twentieth of the year, via Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty. Montreal extended the lead in the second period as David Desharnais scored his twelfth of the season, thanks to Tom Gilbert and Weise. The Canadiens padded the lead in the third period on a Pacioretty goal, his thirty-fifth of the year, made possible by Plekanec. This stood for a 4-0 win, with the three stars going to Price (31 save shutout), Weise, and Pacioretty, while Plekanec gets an honorable mention.

Over in Ontario, the Ottawa Senators welcome the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Andrew Hammond are called on to start. Ottawa struck first in the first period on a Kyle Turris goal, his eighteenth of the season, assisted by Milan Michalek and Mark Stone. Boston tied it on a Carl Soderberg goal, his eleventh of the year, coming off of Loui Eriksson and Dougie Hamilton. The Bruins took the lead with a Ryan Spooner goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Milan Lucic and David Pastrnak. The Senators tied it as Michalek scored his thirteenth of the year, thanks to Stone and Turris. Ottawa took the lead back in the second period with a David Legwand goal, his ninth of the season, guided in by Erik Condra and Alex Chiasson. Boston tied it on a power play goal by Spooner, his second of the game and fifth of the year, powered by Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron. The Senators regained the lead on a shorthanded goal by Jean-Gabriel Pageau, his fifth of the season, set up by Condra. The Bruins tied it again with a Krug goal, his twelfth of the year, helped along by Soderberg and Pastrnak. Ottawa claimed the lead again in the third period on a Bobby Ryan goal, his eighteenth of the season, dished from Cody Ceci and Mika Zibanejad. The Senators iced it at 6-4 with an empty net goal by Turris, his second of the game and nineteenth of the year, with helpers provided by Stone, who got a sock trick, and Michalek. The three stars were Turris, Michalek, and Spooner, while Stone, Krug, Soderberg, and Pastrnak get the honorable mentions.

Staying in the province, the Toronto Maple Leafs brings in the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Jonathan Bernier are the masked men. San Jose started in the first period on a Tomas Hertl goal, his twelfth of the season, guided in by Chris Tierney and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The Sharks added on in the second period as Logan Couture scored his twenty-third of the year, thanks to Brent Burns and Joe Thornton. Toronto got on the board with a Jake Gardiner goal, his third of the season, via Leo Komarov and Brandon Kozun. San Jose shot back with a Melker Karlsson goal, his thirteenth of the year, made possible by Thornton and Joe Pavelski. The Sharks extended the lead on a Tommy Wingels goal, his fifteenth of the campaign, helped along by Matthew Nieto and Couture. This made it 4-1, the eventual final, with the three stars being Couture, Niemi (27 for 28 in saves), and Thornton.

Way south to Florida, where the Panthers host the Detroit Red Wings. Petr Mrazek is mismatched with Roberto Luongo in goal. Florida got going in the second period on a Jaromir Jagr goal, his thirteenth of the season, fueled by Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers added on with a Brandon Pirri goal, his seventeenth of the year, assisted by Jagr and Aaron Ekblad. Florida extended the lead in the third period with an unassisted goal by Scottie Upshall, his eighth of the season, going in unassisted. Detroit got on the board with an Erik Cole goal, his twentieth of the year, passed from Tomas Tatar and Riley Sheahan. This made it a 3-1 final, with the three stars given to Jagr, Pirri, and Luongo (26 for 27 in saves).

Back into Canada, where the Winnipeg Jets welcome the St. Louis Blues. Brian Elliott and Ondrej Pavelec are the veteran goalies. St. Louis dented the scoreboard in the second period on a David Backes goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, guided in by Paul Stastny and Alex Pietrangelo. Winnipeg tied it on a Drew Stafford goal, his fifteenth of the year, coming off of Tyler Myers and Toby Enstrom. In the shootout, Stafford and Andrew Ladd combined to beat T.J. Oshie for a 2-1 Jets win. The three stars went to Pavelec (32 for 33 in saves), Stafford, and Elliott (33 for 34 in saves).

A little south to Minnesota, where the Wild bring in the Washington Capitals. Devan Dubnyk and Braden Holtby are given the starting nods. Washington was first to score in the second period on an Alex Ovechkin goal, his forty-sixth of the season, fueled by Karl Alzner and Matt Niskanen. The Capitals added on with an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, his ninth of the year, going in unassisted. Minnesota got on the board with a Christian Folin goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund. Washington answered in the third period with another Ovechkin goal, his second of the game and forty-seventh of the year, made possible by Nicklas Backstrom. The Wild shot back with a Jared Spurgeon power play goal, his ninth of the campaign, powered by Thomas Vanek and Granlund. They took a 3-2 loss, with the three stars given to Ovechkin, Granlund, and Kuznetsov.

Down in Dallas, the Stars host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Kari Lehtonen guard the cages. Dallas opened in the second period with a Brett Ritchie goal, his sixth of the season, guided in by Jamie Benn and Shawn Horcoff. The Stars added on with a Benn goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, passed from Tyler Seguin and Cody Eakin. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Kris Letang goal, his eleventh of the campaign, via Sidney Crosby and Christian Ehrhoff. This produced the 2-1 final, with the three stars going to Benn, Lehtonen (31 for 32 in saves), and Ritchie.

Up to Alberta, as the Flames welcome the Philadelphia Flyers. Steve Mason and Karri Ramo are the surprisingly reliable goalies. Calgary led off in the second period with a Dennis Wideman goal, his thirteenth of the season, fueled by Jiri Hudler. The Flames added on with a T.J. Brodie goal, his eleventh of the year, made possible by Deryk Engelland and Johnny Gaudreau. Mason was pulled for Ray Emery. Philadelphia got on the board with a Claude Giroux goal, his nineteenth of the season, via Jakob Voracek and Nicklas Grossmann. Calgary shot back in the third period on a Sean Monahan power play goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, powered by Gaudreau and Kris Russell. The Flames finished it at 4-1 with a Gaudreau power play goal, his twentieth of the campaign, assisted by Hudler and Russell. The three stars belonged to Gaudreau, Hudler, and Russell.

West to British Columbia, as the Vancouver Canucks bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Eddie Lack are in the creases. Vancouver dented the scoreboard in the second period on a Bo Horvat goal, his twelfth of the season, going in unassisted. The Canucks added on with a Daniel Sedin goal, his fifteenth of the year, assisted by Henrik Sedin and Alexandre Burrows. Columbus got on the board with a Rene Bourque goal, his fourth of the season, via Ryan Johansen. The Blue Jackets tied it on a Marko Dano goal, his sixth of the year, courtesy of Artem Anisimov and Nick Foligno. Columbus took the lead on a Cam Atkinson power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, powered by Mark Letestu and Jack Johnson. The Blue Jackets extended the lead in the third period on a Dano goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, guided in by Alexander Wennberg. Columbus chased Lack with a Scott Hartnell goal, his twenty-second of the season, made possible by Dano and David Savard. The Blue Jackets padded the lead on a Wennberg goal, his third of the year, going unassisted into the empty net. The three stars were awarded to Dano, Wennberg, and Atkinson.

Finally, the Arizona Coyotes host the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov faces a lesser foe in Louis Domingue in goal. Arizona struck first in the first period on an Oliver Ekman-Larsson goal, his eighteenth of the season, coming off of Sam Gagner and Shane Doan. Colorado tied it on a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his twelfth of the year, passed from Gabriel Landeskog and Alex Tanguay. The Avalanche took the lead with a Jarome Iginla goal, his twenty-third of the season, guided in by John Mitchell and Jan Hejda. Colorado added on with a Freddie Hamilton goal, made possible by Brad Stuart and Daniel Briere. The Coyotes got one back in the third period on another Ekman-Larsson goal, his second of the game and nineteenth of the year, assisted by Lauri Korpikoski and Brandon Gormley. The Avalanche shot back on a Matt Duchene goal, his eighteenth of the season, via Dennis Everberg. Colorado finished it at 5-2 on a Landeskog empty net goal, his twentieth of the year, set up by O'Reilly. The three stars went to O'Reilly, Ekman-Larsson, and Landeskog.

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