Saturday, April 4, 2015

NHL April 4th, 2015

Thirteen games on today, the second of three big Saturdays in a row. We begin with...

The Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Ray Emery and Cam Ward are the veteran goalies. Carolina started in the first period on an Elias Lindholm goal, his seventeenth of the season, coming off of Jordan Staal and Eric Staal. The Hurricanes added on in the second period with an unassisted Jordan Staal goal, his fifth of the year. Philadelphia got on the board with a power play goal by Michael Raffl, his twenty-first of the season, powered by Sean Couturier and Michael Del Zotto. The Flyers tied it in the third period with a Couturier goal, his fourteenth of the year, via Brayden Schenn and Del Zotto. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Nathan Gerbe and Chris Terry's goals for Carolina topped a Nick Cousins tally for Philadelphia to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 win. The three stars went to Jordan Staal, Couturier, and Del Zotto.

Up in Columbus, the Blue Jackets welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Sergei Bobrovsky guard the cages. Pittsburgh opened in the first period on a Sidney Crosby goal, his twenty-seventh of the season, fueled by Patric Hornqvist and Ian Cole. The Penguins added on in the second period as Brandon Sutter scored his eighteenth of the year, thanks to Cole and Nick Spaling. Columbus got on the board with a Nick Foligno goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, passed from Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov. The Blue Jackets tied it with a Matt Calvert goal, his eleventh of the year, made possible by Marko Dano and Mark Letestu. Columbus gained the lead in the third period on a Foligno goal, his second of the game and twenty-ninth of the season, assisted by Dubinsky. The Blue Jackets extended the lead with a Scott Hartnell goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, guided in by Dano and Alexander Wennberg. Pittsburgh got one back on a Ben Lovejoy goal, his second of the season, helped along by Blake Comeau and Daniel Winnik. Columbus iced it at 5-3 on an empty net goal by Foligno, completing his hat trick on his thirtieth of the year, set up by David Savard and Dubinsky, the latter getting a sock trick. The three stars went to Foligno, Dubinsky, and Dano, while Cole gets an honorable mention.

Crossing into Canada, as the Winnipeg Jets bring in the Vancouver Canucks. Eddie Lack and Ondrej Pavelec are in the blue paint. Winnipeg struck first in the first period on a Jim Slater goal, his fifth of the season, via Jiri Tlusty and Toby Enstrom. The Jets added on with a Michael Frolik goal, his eighteenth of the year, assisted by Bryan Little and Mathieu Perreault. Vancouver got on the board with a Henrik Sedin power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, powered by Alexander Edler and Daniel Sedin. The Canucks tied it as Daniel Sedin scored his seventeenth of the year, thanks to Radim Vrbata and Dan Hamhuis. Winnipeg pulled ahead on a Lee Stempniak goal, his thirteenth of the season, fueled by Perreault and Tyler Myers. The Jets extended the lead in the second period on a Mark Scheifele goal, his fifteenth of the year, coming off of Blake Wheeler and Jacob Trouba. Vancouver pulled back on an Alexandre Burrows goal, his seventeenth of the season, with assists provided by Kevin Bieksa and Luca Sbisa. Winnipeg shot back on a Stempniak goal in the third period, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, dished from Perreault, who earned a sock trick. Vancouver got one back on a Burrows goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the season, with helpers provided by Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. This only made it 5-4, the final, with the three stars going to Stempniak, Perreault, and Daniel Sedin, while Henrik Sedin and Burrows get the honorable mentions.

Back east, the Bruins host the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Tuukka Rask are between the pipes. Boston got going in the second period on a Patrice Bergeron goal, his twenty-second of the season, courtesy of Brad Marchand and David Krejci. Toronto tied it on a James van Riemsdyk goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, passed from Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner. The Bruins won 2-1 with a Bergeron shootout goal. The three stars were Bergeron, Rask (27 for 28 in saves), and Reimer (49 for 50 in saves).

Down in New York, the Islanders welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Andrey Makarov is mismatched with Jaroslav Halak in goal. New York was first to score in the first period on a Kyle Okposo power play goal, his seventeenth of the season, powered by John Tavares and Frans Nielsen. The Islanders added on in the third period with a Brock Nelson goal, his twentieth of the year, going in unassisted. New York extended the lead as Nikolay Kulemin scored his fourteenth of the season, with the help of Travis Hamonic and Lubomir Visnovsky. This stood for a 3-0 final, with the three stars going to Halak (21 save shutout), Okposo, and Nelson.

Across town, the New York Rangers bring in the New Jersey Devils. Cory Schneider and Henrik Lundqvist tend the twines. New York began in the first period with a Rick Nash goal, his forty-second of the season, assisted by Mats Zuccarello and Keith Yandle. The Rangers added on with a Yandle goal, his sixth of the year, coming off of Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan. New York extended the lead as Dominic Moore scored his eighth of the season, thanks to Tanner Glass and Jesper Fast. Keith Kinkaid replaced Schneider in goal. The Rangers padded the lead in the second period on a shorthanded Stepan goal, his fourteenth of the year, set up by Nash and Ryan McDonagh. New York continued in the third period with a Derick Brassard goal, his eighteenth of the season, via Martin St. Louis and Marc Staal. The Rangers kept going with a Moore goal, his second of the game and ninth of the year, courtesy of McDonagh and Dan Girardi. New Jersey got on the board with a Tuomo Ruutu goal, his eighth of the season, dished from Mark Fraser and Jordin Tootoo. This made it a 6-1 final, and the three stars were Nash, Yandle, and Moore, while Stepan and McDonagh get honorable mentions.

Back in Canada, the Ottawa Senators host the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby and Andrew Hammond are in the creases. Ottawa led off in the first period with a Mark Stone goal, his twenty-first of the season, passed from Clarke MacArthur and Eric Gryba. The Senators added on with a MacArthur power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, powered by Erik Karlsson and Mika Zibanejad. Ottawa extended the lead with a Zibanejad power play goal, his twentieth of the season, fueled by Bobby Ryan and Karlsson. Washington got on the board in the second period with a Marcus Johansson goal, his nineteenth of the year, via Brooks Orpik and John Carlson. The Capitals pulled closer in the third period as Mike Green scored his ninth of the season, thanks to Nicklas Backstrom and Troy Brouwer. Washington tied it with a Brouwer goal, his twenty-first of the year, assisted by Carlson and Eric Fehr. The Senators won 4-3 in overtime with a Kyle Turris goal, his twenty-third of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars went to Zibanejad, MacArthur, and Brouwer, while Karlsson and Carlson get the honorable mentions.

Way south to Florida, as the Panthers welcome their cross-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ben Bishop and Roberto Luongo protect the nets. Tampa Bay dented the scoreboard in the second period on a Steven Stamkos power play goal, his forty-first of the season, powered by Tyler Johnson and Nikita Nesterov. The Lightning added on with another Stamkos goal, his second of the game and forty-second of the year, with a lone assist by Ryan Callahan. Tampa Bay extended the lead in the third period with a Callahan goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, helped along by Stamkos. The Lightning padded the lead on Johnson's twenty-seventh of the year, guided in by Jonathan Drouin. This made it 4-0, the final, with the three stars belonging to Stamkos, Callahan, and Johnson, while Bishop (34 save shutout) gets an honorable mention.

North to Minnesota, as the Wild bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Devan Dubnyk are set to start in goal. Minnesota struck first in the first period on a Zach Parise goal, his thirty-first of the season, assisted by Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville. Detroit tied it on a Riley Sheahan goal, his thirteenth of the year, passed from Stephen Weiss and Danny DeKeyser. The Red Wings took the lead in the second period with a Gustav Nyquist power play goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, powered by Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall. The Wild retied it in the third period as Parise scored his second of the game and thirty-second of the year, with the help of Pominville and Ryan Suter on the power play. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Nyquist was matched by Pominville, Thomas Vanek evened out Sheahan, and then Darren Helm won it for the Red Wings 3-2. The three stars were handed to Parise, Pominville, and Helm.

Backtracking to Nashville, as the Predators host the Dallas Stars. Jhonas Enroth and Pekka Rinne draw the starts. Nashville opened in the first period on a Filip Forsberg goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, fueled by Mattias Ekholm and Seth Jones. Dallas tied it in the second period with a Travis Moen goal, his third of the year, coming off of Colton Sceviour. The Stars took the lead in the third period with a Tyler Seguin power play goal, his thirty-seventh of the season, powered by John Klingberg and Patrick Eaves. Dallas added on with a Sceviour goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Moen and Alex Goligoski. The Predators got one back on a Ryan Ellis goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Forsberg and James Neal. Nashville tied it on a Neal goal, his twenty-third of the year, via Mike Ribeiro and Gabriel Bourque. The Stars won 4-3 with an overtime penalty shot goal by Cody Eakin, his eighteenth of the campaign, coming after he was slashed by Ekholm. The three stars went to Sceviour, Moen, and Forsberg, while Neal gets an honorable mention.

Southwest to Arizona, as the Coyotes welcome the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi and Mike Smith are between the pipes. Arizona started in the first period on an Oliver Ekman-Larsson goal, his twenty-second of the season, coming on the power play from Mark Arcobello and John Moore. San Jose tied it on a Tomas Hertl power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Taylor Fedun and Chris Tierney. The Coyotes took the lead back with a Shane Doan power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, guided in by Michael Stone and Ekman-Larsson. Arizona added on in the second period with another Ekman-Larsson goal, his second of the game and twenty-third of the year, passed from Sam Gagner and Doan. The Sharks replied with a Joe Thornton goal, his fifteenth of the season, made possible by Brent Burns and Melker Karlsson. The Coyotes answered in the third period with an Arcobello goal, his seventeenth of the year, dished from Doan and Tobias Rieder. San Jose pulled back with a Tierney power play goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Matt Irwin and Fedun. The Coyotes iced it at 5-3 with a Gagner empty net goal, his fourteenth of the year, set up by Martin Erat and David Moss. The three stars were Ekman-Larsson, Doan, and Arcobello, while Gagner, Tierney, and Fedun get the honorable mentions.

North to Edmonton, for a Battle of Alberta between the host Oilers and visiting Calgary Flames. Karri Ramo and Ben Scrivens are the starting goalies, but Ramo got hurt early and was replaced by Jonas Hiller in goal. Calgary was first to score in the first period on a Joe Colborne goal, his eighth of the season, fueled by Mason Raymond and Dennis Wideman. The Flames added on in the second period with a Markus Granlund goal, his seventh of the year, with assists provided by Josh Jooris and Wideman. Calgary extended the lead in the third period as Wideman scored a power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Kris Russell and Sean Monahan. The Flames padded the lead with Granlund's second of the game and eighth of the year, made possible by Jooris. This made it 4-0, the final, with the three stars going to Wideman, Granlund, and Jooris, while Hiller gets an honorable mention for recording 27 saves in relief of Ramo.

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Jonathan Quick are the reliable goalies. Los Angeles began in the first period with a Dwight King goal, his twelfth of the season, passed from Jeff Carter and Robyn Regehr. Colorado tied it on a Ryan O'Reilly goal in the second period, his sixteenth of the year, guided in by Gabriel Landeskog and Alex Tanguay. The Kings took the lead back on an Alec Martinez goal, his sixth of the season, fueled by Tyler Toffoli and Carter. Los Angeles won 3-1 with a third period goal by Marian Gaborik, his twenty-sixth of the year, coming off of Anze Kopitar and Regehr. The three stars were given to Regehr, Carter, and Martinez.

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