Saturday, April 11, 2015

NHL April 11th, 2015

All teams play on today's regular season finale, and then no games will be played until the playoffs start on Wednesday. We begin the first of fifteen games in...

Philadelphia, as the Flyers host the Ottawa Senators. Andrew Hammond and Steve Mason are in goal. Ottawa struck first in the first period on a Mark Stone power play goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, powered by Clarke MacArthur and Kyle Turris. Philadelphia tied it in the second period as Matt Read scored his eighth of the year, thanks to Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier. The Senators took the lead back with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his tenth of the season, via Curtis Lazar and Marc Methot. Ottawa iced it at 3-1 on an unassisted Stone goal, his second of the game and twenty-sixth of the year. The three stars belonged to Stone, Hammond (34 for 35 in saves), and Pageau.

Over in DC, the Washington Capitals welcome the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Braden Holtby tend the twines. New York opened in the first period on a Kevin Hayes goal, his seventeenth of the season, passed from Ryan McDonagh and Martin St. Louis. The Rangers added on with a Derick Brassard power play goal, his nineteenth of the year, powered by Hayes and Dan Boyle. New York extended the lead with a Dominic Moore goal in the second period, his tenth of the season, with a lone assist by St. Louis. Washington got on the board with an Alex Ovechkin power play goal, his fifty-third of the year, fueled by John Carlson and Nicklas Backstrom. The Rangers shot back with an empty net goal by Jesper Fast, his sixth of the campaign, set up by Moore and Tanner Glass. The Capitals got one back on a Stanislav Galiev goal, with assists provided by Michael Latta and Brooks Orpik. The final stood at 4-2, with the three stars given to Hayes, Moore, and St. Louis.

Out west, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the San Jose Sharks. Alex Stalock and Jonathan Quick receive the starting nods in goal. San Jose was first to score in the first period on a Brent Burns goal, his seventeenth of the season, a power play goal powered by Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton. Los Angeles tied it on a Tyler Toffoli goal in the second period, his twenty-third of the year, courtesy of Jarret Stoll and Andy Andreoff. The Kings took the lead in the third period on a Brayden McNabb goal, his second of the season, assisted by Drew Doughty and Jeff Carter. Los Angeles added on with a Marian Gaborik goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, guided in by Jake Muzzin and Justin Williams. The Kings finished it at 4-1 with an Andreoff empty net goal, his second of the campaign, set up by Toffoli. The three stars were handed to Toffoli, Quick (20 for 21 in saves), and Andreoff.

East to St. Louis, as the Blues host the Minnesota Wild. Devan Dubnyk and Brian Elliott are the solid goalies. St. Louis got going in the second period with a Dmitrij Jaskin goal, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Olli Jokinen and Patrik Berglund. The Blues added on with a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his thirty-seventh of the year, made possible by Alexander Steen and Chris Butler. Minnesota got on the board with a Marco Scandella goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Erik Haula and Matt Cooke. St. Louis answered on a Jori Lehtera goal, his thirteenth of the year, guided in by Steen and Tarasenko. Darcy Kuemper relieved Dubnyk for the third period. The Blues extended the lead as Lehtera scored his second of the game and fourteenth of the season, an unassisted power play goal. The Wild got one back with a Zach Parise power play goal, his thirty-third of the year, powered by Mikael Granlund and Thomas Vanek. This only made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars given to Lehtera, Tarasenko, and Steen.

The last of five matinees had the Winnipeg Jets welcoming the Calgary Flames in a minor-leaguer showcase game. Joni Ortio and Michael Hutchinson are the backups in goal. Calgary started with a Michael Ferland goal in the first period, his second of the season, made possible by Sam Bennett. Winnipeg tied it on a Drew Stafford goal, his eighteenth of the year, courtesy of Adam Pardy. The Jets took the lead in the third period as Michael Frolik scored his nineteenth of the season, with the help of Mark Scheifele. Winnipeg added on with a Lee Stempniak goal, his fifteenth of the year, via Andrew Copp. The Jets extended the lead on an Adam Lowry goal, his eleventh of the season, going in unassisted. Winnipeg padded the lead on a Matt Halischuk goal, his third of the year, passed from Stempniak and Keaton Ellerby. The final was 5-1, and the three stars were Stempniak, Hutchinson (24 for 25 in saves), and Frolik.

At the normal time, the Buffalo Sabres bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Anders Lindback are in the creases. Pittsburgh dented the scoreboard on a second period goal by Brandon Sutter, his twentieth of the season, made possible by Blake Comeau and Nick Spaling. The Penguins won 2-0 on a third period Sutter goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the year, courtesy of Daniel Winnik and Patric Hornqvist. The three stars went to Sutter, Fleury (28 save shutout), and Lindback (36 for 38 in saves).

Down in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes host the Detroit Red Wings. Petr Mrazek and Cam Ward are called on to start. Detroit led off in the first period with a Landon Ferraro goal, via Luke Glendening. The Red Wings added on with a Joakim Andersson empty net goal in the third period, his third of the campaign, set up by Tomas Tatar and Darren Helm. This made it a 2-0 win, with the three stars handed to Mrazek (35 save shutout), Ferraro, and Andersson.

Back north, the New York Islanders welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets. Curtis McElhinney is mismatched with Jaroslav Halak in goal. Columbus began in the first period with a Cam Atkinson power play goal, his twenty-second of the season, powered by Boone Jenner and David Savard. New York tied it on a second period goal by Kyle Okposo, his eighteenth of the year, coming off of Josh Bailey and Nikolay Kulemin. The Islanders took the lead in the third period as Eric Boulton scored his second of the season, via Tyler Kennedy and Nick Leddy. New York added on with a Tavares goal, his thirty-eighth of the year, passed from Okposo and Leddy. The Blue Jackets got one back on a Brandon Dubinsky goal, his thirteenth of the season, courtesy of Kevin Connauton and Cody Goloubef. Columbus tied it as Alexander Wennberg scored his fourth of the year, thanks to Marko Dano and Scott Hartnell. The Islanders retook the lead on a Kulemin goal, his fifteenth of the season, assisted by Tavares and Lubomir Visnovsky. The Blue Jackets pulled even again with a Hartnell goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, guided in by Artem Anisimov and Jack Johnson. In the shootout, Wennberg matched Tavares before Atkinson gave Columbus the 5-4 win. The three stars went to Tavares, Atkinson, and Hartnell, while Okposo, Leddy, Kulemin, and Wennberg get the honorable mentions.

Into Canada, where the Toronto Maple Leafs bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Jonathan Bernier protect the nets. Toronto struck first in the first period as Phil Kessel scored his twenty-fifth of the season, thanks to Tyler Bozak and Andrew MacWilliam. Montreal tied it with an unassisted David Desharnais goal, his fourteenth of the year. The Maple Leafs retook the lead on a Casey Bailey goal, passed from Dion Phaneuf and Peter Holland. The Canadiens tied it again on a second period goal by Tomas Plekanec, his twenty-sixth of the season, assisted by Andrei Markov and Devante Smith-Pelly. Toronto took the lead again as Bozak potted his twenty-third of the year, with the help of James van Riemsdyk and Kessel. Montreal evened the score on a Jacob De La Rose goal, his fourth of the season, going in unassisted. The Canadiens won 4-3 in the shootout with tallies by Desharnais and Alex Galchenyuk. The three stars went to Desharnais, Kessel, and Bozak.

Back stateside, the Florida Panthers host the New Jersey Devils. Cory Schneider faces a lesser foe in Al Montoya in goal. New Jersey got going in the second period on a Jordin Tootoo goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Travis Zajac and Eric Gelinas. Florida tied it as Dave Bolland scored his sixth of the year, thanks to Brad Boyes and Jussi Jokinen. The Panthers took the lead in the third period with a Jonathan Huberdeau goal, his fifteenth of the season, helped along by Jaromir Jagr and Aleksander Barkov. The Devils retied it with a Damon Severson goal, his fifth of the year, passed from Michael Cammalleri and Peter Harrold. Florida retook the lead on a Jagr power play goal, his seventeenth of the campaign, powered by Dmitry Kulikov and Aaron Ekblad. This held up for a 3-2 win, with the three stars given to Jagr, Huberdeau, and Bolland.

Staying in the state, the Tampa Bay Lightning welcome the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Ben Bishop guard the cages. Tampa Bay dented the scoreboard in the second period with an unassisted goal by Jonathan Marchessault. Boston tied it with a Loui Eriksson goal, his twenty-second of the season, made possible by Chris Kelly and Dennis Seidenberg. The Lightning regained the lead in the third period on a Nikita Nesterov goal, his third of the year, coming off of Matthew Carle and Marchessault. The Bruins tied it again with a Brad Marchand goal, his twenty-fourth of the campaign, via Torey Krug and David Krejci. Tampa Bay won win a lone shootout tally by Victor Hedman. The three stars of the 3-2 game went to Marchessault, Hedman, and Nesterov.

West to Dallas, as the Stars bring in the Nashville Predators. Carter Hutton and Jhonas Enroth make the spot starts. Dallas was first to score in the first period on a Jamie Benn goal, his thirty-third of the season, coming off of Cody Eakin and Patrick Eaves. Nashville tied it with a Filip Forsberg goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, via Ryan Ellis and Mike Ribeiro. The Stars retook the lead on Benn's second of the game and thirty-fourth of the season, assisted by John Klingberg on the power play. Dallas added on as Benn scored his thirty-fifth of the year in the third period to secure a hat trick, an empty net goal going in unassisted. The Stars iced it at 4-1 with an Eakin goal, his nineteenth of the campaign, made possible by Trevor Daley and Benn. The three stars went to Art Ross trophy winner Benn, Eakin, and Enroth (24 for 25 in saves).

Northwest to Colorado, as the Avalanche host the Chicago Blackhawks. Scott Darling and Semyon Varlamov are all padded up. Colorado opened in the first period with a Cody McLeod goal, his seventh of the season, guided in by Tyson Barrie and Joey Hishon. Chicago tied it in the second period with a Patrick Sharp goal, his fourteenth of the year, via Bryan Bickell and Michael Paliotta. The Avalanche retook the lead on a Jarome Iginla power play goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, powered by Zach Redmond and Matt Duchene. The Blackhawks tied it in the third period as Brandon Saad scored his twenty-third of the year, thanks to Marian Hossa and Michal Rozsival. Colorado shot back on an Iginla power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-ninth of the campaign, assisted by Alex Tanguay and Gabriel Landeskog. This made it a 3-2 final, with the three stars going to Iginla, McLeod, and Varlamov (28 for 30 in saves).

Down in Arizona, the Coyotes welcome the Anaheim Ducks. Frederik Andersen and Mike Smith are the masked men. Anaheim started in the first period on a Ryan Getzlaf goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, assisted by Tomas Fleischmann and Corey Perry. The Ducks added on with a Jakob Silfverberg goal in the third period, his thirteenth of the year, guided in by Andrew Cogliano and Getzlaf. Arizona got on the board with a third period goal by Sam Gagner, his fifteenth of the campaign, fueled by Martin Erat and David Moss. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars belonging to Getzlaf, Andersen (23 for 24 in saves), and Silfverberg.

The last game of the regular season sees the Vancouver Canucks bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Ben Scrivens and Ryan Miller occupy the creases. Edmonton led off in the first period with a Nail Yakupov goal, his fourteenth of the season, coming off of Derek Roy. The Oilers added on with a Jordan Eberle goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, passed from Benoit Pouliot. Vancouver got on the board with a Daniel Sedin goal, his twentieth of the season, fueled by Alexander Edler and Henrik Sedin. The Canucks tied it in the second period as Kevin Bieksa scored his fourth of the year, with the help of Linden Vey and Brandon McMillan. Edmonton pulled ahead with a Taylor Hall goal, his fourteenth of the season, guided in by Pouliot and Oscar Klefbom. The Oilers extended the lead as Pouliot scored his nineteenth of the year, thanks to Martin Marincin and Hall. Vancouver pulled back with a Sven Baertschi goal, made possible by Radim Vrbata. Edmoton answered with a Teddy Purcell goal, his twelfth of the season, with a lone helper from David Musil. The Canucks chipped back in the third period on a Jannik Hansen goal, his sixteenth of the year, with assists provided by Bo Horvat and Edler. Vancouver tied it with Baertschi's second of the game, assisted by Nick Bonino and Vrbata. The Canucks won 6-5 in overtime on Edler's eighth of the campaign, dished from Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. The three stars went to Edler, Pouliot, and Baertschi, while Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Hall, and Vrbata get the honorable mentions.

Follow me on Twitter @KipperScorpion and check in starting Wednesday for the Stanley Cup Playoffs!

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