Saturday, March 28, 2015

NHL March 28th, 2015

Thirteen games on as the season begins to hit the intense homestretch. We begin with the first of six matinees in...

DC, as the Washington Capitals host the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Braden Holtby guard the cages. Nashville opened in the first period on a Mattias Ekholm goal, his seventh of the season, via Gabriel Bourque and Anton Volchenkov. The Predators added on with a Mike Fisher goal, his eighteenth of the year, courtesy of Filip Forsberg and Bourque. Nashville extended the lead as Forsberg scored his twenty-third of the season, thanks to Mike Ribeiro. Holtby was replaced by Justin Peters. Washington got on the board in the second period with a Troy Brouwer goal, his nineteenth of the year, assisted by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Marcus Johansson. The Capitals pulled closer on a Brouwer shorthanded goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the season, set up by Brooks Laich. The Predators answered with a Ribeiro goal, his fifteenth of the year, with a lone helper from Forsberg. Washington got one back in the third period on a Mike Green goal, his seventh of the campaign, helped along by Matt Niskanen and Johansson. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars going to Forsberg, Brouwer, and Ribeiro, while Bourque and Johansson get the honorable mentions.

Over in Boston, the Bruins welcome the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Tuukka Rask tend the twines. Boston began in the first period on a Milan Lucic goal, his sixteenth of the season, fueled by Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. The Bruins added on with another Lucic goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, courtesy of Torey Krug and Ryan Spooner. Boston extended the lead on a Carl Soderberg goal, his twelfth of the season, going in unassisted. Rask was pulled early in the second period with an injury, and Niklas Svedberg relieved him. The Bruins padded the lead with a Reilly Smith goal, his thirteenth of the year, passed from Loui Eriksson and Soderberg. New York got on the board with a Rick Nash goal, his fortieth of the season, assisted by Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan. The Rangers pulled closer in the third period on a Matt Hunwick goal, his second of the year, helped along by Keith Yandle and J.T. Miller, but they still lost 4-2. The three stars were handed to Lucic, Soderberg, and Smith.

Backtracking to Long Island, as the New York Islanders bring in the Anaheim Ducks. Frederik Andersen faces a lesser foe in Michal Neuvirth in goal. Anaheim started in the first period on a Rickard Rakell goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Patrick Maroon. New York tied it on a Lubomir Visnovsky goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Ryan Strome and Thomas Hickey. The Ducks retook the lead in the second period with a Kyle Palmieri goal, his fourteenth of the season, via Matt Beleskey and James Wisniewski. Anaheim added on with an Andrew Cogliano goal, his fourteenth of the year, with a lone assist by Cam Fowler. The Islanders got one back in the third period on a Casey Cizikas goal, his eighth of the campaign, going in unassisted. They failed to tie it, losing 3-2, with the three stars going to Cogliano, Palmieri, and Rakell.

West to Philadelphia, as the Flyers host the San Jose Sharks. Alex Stalock is mismatched with Steve Mason in goal. San Jose led off in the first period on a Matt Irwin goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Chris Tierney and Tommy Wingels. Philadelphia tied it on a Michael Raffl goal, his twentieth of the year, guided in by Nicklas Grossmann and Jakub Voracek. The Sharks retook the lead on a Joe Pavelski power play goal, his thirty-sixth of the season, powered by Logan Couture and Brent Burns. The Flyers retied it in the third period as Claude Giroux scored a power play goal, his twenty-third of the year, fueled by Voracek and Michael Del Zotto. The tie went to a shootout, where Voracek was matched by Melker Karlsson before Burns won the game 3-2 for the Sharks. The three stars went to Burns, Voracek, and Mason (42 for 44 in saves).

Across Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Penguins welcome the Arizona Coyotes. Mike Smith faces his former backup, Thomas Greiss, in goal. Arizona dented the scoreboard in the third period on a Tye McGinn goal, his second of the season, guided in by Klas Dahlbeck and B.J. Crombeen. Pittsburgh tied it on a Daniel Winnik goal, his ninth of the year, coming off of Paul Martin and Sidney Crosby. The Penguins took the lead with a Steve Downie power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, powered by Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Pittsburgh added on with a Crosby power play goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, assisted by Derrick Pouliot and Malkin. The Coyotes got one back with a Tobias Rieder goal, his thirteenth of the campaign, fueled by Shane Doan and Mark Arcobello. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars given to Crosby, Malkin, and Downie.

Over in Detroit, the Red Wings bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ben Bishop and Petr Mrazek are in the creases. Detroit got going in the second period on a Joakim Andersson goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Kyle Quincey and Stephen Weiss. The Red Wings added on with a Justin Abdelkader goal, his twenty-third of the year, assisted by Gustav Nyquist. Detroit extended the lead on a Nyquist goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, with a lone assist by Quincey. The Red Wings iced it at 4-0 on a Luke Glendening empty net goal in the third period, his eleventh of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars went to Nyquist, Mrazek (23 save shutout), and Quincey.

At the normal time, the Carolina Hurricanes host the New Jersey Devils. Keith Kinkaid and Cam Ward draw the starts in goal. New Jersey struck first in the first period on a Patrik Elias power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Michael Cammalleri. Carolina tied it in the second period on a Chris Terry goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask. The Hurricanes took the lead in the third period on an Eric Staal goal, his twenty-first of the season, via Ryan Murphy and Jordan Staal. Carolina added on with a Justin Faulk goal, his fifteenth of the year, fueled by Elias Lindholm and John-Michael Liles. This produced the 3-1 final, with the three stars given to Ward (21 for 22 in saves), Eric Staal, and Faulk.

North to Montreal, as the Canadiens welcome the Florida Panthers. Roberto Luongo and Carey Price protect the nets. Montreal was first to score in the first period on a Lars Eller goal, his twelfth of the season, helped along by Jeff Petry and Nathan Beaulieu. Florida tied it on an Aleksander Barkov goal in the second period, his thirteenth of the year, coming off of Jonathan Huberdeau and Jaromir Jagr. The Panthers took the lead with a Barkov power play goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the season, powered by Huberdeau and Dmitry Kulikov. The Canadiens retied it as Alex Galchenyuk scored his twentieth of the year, a power play goal made possible by Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Markov. Montreal won 3-2 in overtime with a Max Pacioretty power play goal, his thirty-sixth of the campaign, passed from David Desharnais and P.K. Subban. The three stars belonged to Barkov, Pacioretty, and Huberdeau.

West to a Battle of Ontario, as the Toronto Maple Leafs bring in the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and James Reimer are called on to start in goal. Ottawa got going in the second period on a Mark Stone goal, his nineteenth of the season, guided in by Clarke MacArthur and Kyle Turris. The Senators added on with a Curtis Lazar goal, his sixth of the year, via Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Erik Condra. Toronto got on the board in the third period on a Tyler Bozak goal, his twentieth of the season, assisted by James van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel. Ottawa replied with a Turris power play goal, his twenty-second of the year, powered by David Legwand and Erik Karlsson. The Maple Leafs answered with another Bozak goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the season, made possible by van Riemsdyk and Kessel. Toronto tied it on a Bozak goal, his twenty-second of the year earning him a hat trick, fueled by van Riemsdyk, who got a sock trick, and Morgan Rielly. The Maple Leafs won 4-3 in overtime on an Eric Brewer goal, his second of the campaign, set up by Bozak and Kessel, the latter earning a sock trick. The three stars were Bozak, Kessel, and van Riemsdyk, while Turris gets an honorable mention.

South to St. Louis, as the Blues host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Brian Elliott are the masked men. Columbus opened in the first period on a William Karlsson goal, his third of the season, coming off of Scott Hartnell and Marko Dano. St. Louis tied it in the second period on a Patrik Berglund goal, his ninth of the year, made possible by Jaden Schwartz and Jori Lehtera. The Blue Jackets retook the lead with a Jack Johnson power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Fedor Tyutin and Brandon Dubinsky. The Blues retied it with a Vladimir Tarasenko power play goal, his thirty-sixth of the year, assisted by Berglund and Alex Pietrangelo. Columbus pulled ahead on a Boone Jenner goal, his seventh of the season, passed from Ryan Johansen and Cam Atkinson. The Blue Jackets won 4-2 with a third period empty net goal by Atkinson, his twentieth of the year, set up by Jenner and David Savard. The three stars were handed to Jenner, Atkinson, and Bobrovsky (29 for 31 in saves).

Back north, the Minnesota Wild welcome the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Devan Dubnyk are the reliable goalies. Minnesota started on a first period goal by Nino Niederreiter, his twenty-third of the season, guided in by Mikko Koivu and Chris Stewart. The Wild added on with a Koivu goal, his thirteenth of the year, passed from Stewart. Martin Jones replaced Quick for the second period. Los Angeles got on the board in the second period with a Dwight King goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli. Minnesota shot back in the third period on a Niederreiter power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the year, powered by Jared Spurgeon and Marco Scandella. The Wild iced it at 4-1 with a Koivu empty net goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were awarded to Niederreiter, Koivu, and Dubnyk (31 for 32 in saves), while Stewart gets an honorable mention.

Southwest to Colorado, as the Avalanche bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Anders Lindback and Semyon Varlamov are set to start in goal. Colorado led off in the first period on a Marc-Andre Cliche goal, his second of the season, fueled by Cody McLeod and Dennis Everberg. The Avalanche added on with a John Mitchell goal, his tenth of the year, coming off of Matt Duchene and Jarome Iginla. Matt Hackett relieved Lindback for the second period. Colorado extended the lead in the second period as Tyson Barrie scored his twelfth of the season, thanks to Ryan O'Reilly and Gabriel Landeskog. The Avalanche padded the lead on a Duchene goal, his nineteenth of the year, assisted by Iginla and Zach Redmond. Buffalo got on the board in the third period on an Andrej Meszaros goal, his fourth of the season, via Rasmus Ristolainen and Johan Larsson. Colorado shot back on a Brad Stuart goal, his third of the year, with assists provided by Duchene and Iginla, the latter getting a sock trick. The Sabres answered with another Meszaros goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, an unassisted goal. Buffalo pulled closer on a Ristolainen goal, his seventh of the year, made possible by Marcus Foligno and Zac Dalpe. This only made it 5-3, the final, with the three stars given to Duchene, Meszaros, and Iginla, while Ristolainen gets an honorable mention.

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks host the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Eddie Lack occupy the blue paint. Dallas began in the first period on a Jamie Benn goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, coming off of Tyler Seguin and Jason Demers. Vancouver tied it on a Nick Bonino goal, his fourteenth of the year, fueled by Radim Vrbata and Christopher Tanev. The Canucks took the lead in the second period on a Chris Higgins power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Dan Hamhuis and Tanev. The Stars tied it in the third period with a Patrick Eaves goal, his eleventh of the year, passed from Jason Spezza and Alex Goligoski. Dallas took the lead on a Seguin goal, his thirty-fourth of the season, assisted by Trevor Daley and Cody Eakin. Vancouver pulled even again with a Vrbata goal, his thirtieth of the year, coming on the power play from Bonino and Daniel Sedin. The Stars won 4-3 in overtime on a John Klingberg goal, his eleventh of the campaign, dished from Daley and Eakin. The three stars went to Seguin, Daley, and Eakin, while Bonino, Vrbata, and Tanev get the honorable mentions.

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