Thursday, April 9, 2015

NHL April 9th, 2015

The third-to-last night of the regular season is on tonight, and the playoff races have reached their fever pitch. We begin the first of eleven games in...

New York, as the Rangers host the Ottawa Senators. Andrew Hammond and Henrik Lundqvist draw the starts. Ottawa got going in the second period with a Clarke MacArthur goal, his sixteenth of the season, fueled by Mark Stone and Kyle Turris. The Senators added on with a Turris goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, passed from MacArthur and Eric Gryba. Ottawa extended the lead with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau empty net goal, his ninth of the campaign, set up by Curtis Lazar and Mark Borowiecki. This made it 3-0, the final, with the three stars going to Hammond (26 save shutout), MacArthur, and Turris.

Over in Philadelphia, the Flyers welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Ray Emery are the veteran goalies. Carolina struck first in the first period with a Brett Bellemore goal, his second of the season, passed from Eric Staal and Jordan Staal. The Hurricanes added on in the third period as Ryan Murphy scored his fourth of the year, a power play goal powered by John-Michael Liles and Nathan Gerbe. Philadelphia got on the board with a Sean Couturier goal, his fifteenth of the season, guided in by Mark Streit and Claude Giroux. Carolina won 3-1 with a Jordan Staal empty net goal, his sixth of the year, set up by Ron Hainsey. The three stars belonged to Ward (27 for 28 in saves), Jordan Staal, and Murphy.

Up in Montreal, the Canadiens bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Carey Price protect the nets. Detroit was first to score in the first period on a Tomas Tatar goal, his twenty-ninth of the season, fueled by Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. Montreal tied it with an Andrei Markov goal, his tenth of the year, passed from P.K. Subban. The Canadiens took the lead in the second period with a Jeff Petry goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Torrey Mitchell and Brandon Prust. The Red Wings tied it again as Datsyuk scored his twenty-sixth of the year, thanks to Zetterberg. Detroit regained the lead on a shorthanded and unassisted Darren Helm goal, his fifteenth of the season. Montreal tied it on a Tomas Plekanec power play goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, powered by Markov and Subban. The Canadiens won 4-3 in overtime on a Lars Eller goal, his fifteenth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Petry. The three stars went to Petry, Markov, and Datsyuk, while Zetterberg and Subban get the honorable mentions.

South to Tampa Bay, as the Lightning host the New Jersey Devils. Keith Kinkaid is mismatched with Ben Bishop in goal. New Jersey began in the first period on a Steve Bernier power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Adam Henrique and Scott Gomez. Tampa Bay tied it on a Tyler Johnson goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, guided in by Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat. The Lightning took the lead on a Nikita Nesterov goal, his second of the season, coming on the power play from Johnson and Kucherov. The Devils tied it again with a second period Patrik Elias goal, his thirteenth of the year, with a lone assist by Stephen Gionta. Tampa Bay regained the lead as Steven Stamkos scored his forty-third of the season, a power play goal coming off of Palat and Victor Hedman. New Jersey evened it with a Bernier goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, via Henrique and Gomez. The Lightning won 4-3 in overtime on a Johnson goal, his second of the game and twenty-ninth of the campaign, with helpers from Kucherov and Palat, both of whom got sock tricks. The three stars belonged to Johnson, Bernier, and Kucherov, while Palat, Henrique, and Gomez get the honorable mentions.

Staying in the state, the Florida Panthers welcome the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Roberto Luongo guard the cages. Boston dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Patrice Bergeron power play goal, his twenty-third of the season, powered by Loui Eriksson and Torey Krug. Florida tied it on a power play goal by Aleksander Barkov, his sixteenth of the year, assisted by Jaromir Jagr and Aaron Ekblad. The Panthers took the lead in the third period on a Jonathan Huberdeau goal, his fourteenth of the season, guided in by Jagr and Brian Campbell. Florida added on with a Brad Boyes goal, his fourteenth of the year, with assists provided by Dave Bolland and Willie Mitchell. The Bruins got one back as Brad Marchand scored his twenty-third of the season, with the help of Dennis Seidenberg and David Krejci. The Panthers secured a 4-2 victory on a Jimmy Hayes goal, his nineteenth of the year, with a lone helper by Jussi Jokinen. The three stars went to Jagr, Luongo (34 for 36 in saves), and Boyes.

Northwest to St. Louis, as the Blues bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Jake Allen are the masked men. St. Louis led off in the second period on a Dmitrij Jaskin goal, his twelfth of the season, coming on the power play from David Backes and Alex Pietrangelo. The Blues added on in the third period with a Paul Stastny goal, his sixteenth of the year, via Jaden Schwartz and Kevin Shattenkirk. Chicago got on the board with an Andrew Shaw goal, his fifteenth of the campaign, passed from Teuvo Teravainen and Michal Rozsival. The final stood at 2-1, with the three stars given to Allen (21 for 22 in saves), Stastny, and Jaskin.

Backtracking to Nashville, as the Predators host the Minnesota Wild. Darcy Kuemper and Pekka Rinne occupy the creases. Nashville started in the first period on a Filip Forsberg goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, going in unassisted. The Predators added on with a Seth Jones goal, his eighth of the year, courtesy of Mike Santorelli and Craig Smith. Minnesota got on the board with a second period goal by Jason Zucker, his twentieth of the season, coming on the power play from Justin Fontaine and Matthew Dumba. The Wild tied it with a Marco Scandella goal, his tenth of the year, coming off of Matt Cooke and Jordan Schroeder. Minnesota took the lead in the third period on a Jason Pominville goal, his eighteenth of the season, assisted by Jared Spurgeon and Mikael Granlund. The Wild iced it at 4-2 with a Zucker empty net goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the year, set up by Chris Stewart and Mikko Koivu. The three stars were handed to Zucker, Pominville, and Kuemper (32 for 34 in saves).

Way northwest to Calgary, as the Flames welcome the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Jonas Hiller are between the pipes. Calgary opened in the first period on a Johnny Gaudreau goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, assisted by Jiri Hudler and Dennis Wideman. The Flames added on with a Hudler goal, his thirtieth of the year, coming off of Mason Raymond and Wideman. Los Angeles got on the board in the third period with a Jordan Nolan goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Alec Martinez and Mike Richards. Calgary iced it at 3-1 with an empty net goal by Hudler, his second of the game and thirty-first of the year, set up by Sean Monahan and Gaudreau. The three stars were awarded to Hudler, Gaudreau, and Hiller (33 for 34 in saves), while Wideman gets an honorable mention.

Down in Colorado, the Avalanche bring in the Winnipeg Jets. Ondrej Pavelec and Reto Berra are the mediocre goalies. The scoreless tie went to a shootout, where Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene gave Colorado the win by a 1-0 score. The three stars were Berra (41 save shutout), Pavelec (21 save "shutout"), and Duchene.

Back in Alberta, the Edmonton Oilers host the San Jose Sharks. Antti Niemi faces a lesser foe in Laurent Brossoit in goal. Edmonton got going in the second period with a Nail Yakupov goal, his thirteenth of the season, going in unassisted. San Jose tied it on a Patrick Marleau third period goal, his nineteenth of the year, an unassisted goal. The Sharks took the lead with a Bryan Lerg goal, passed from Logan Couture and Taylor Fedun. San Jose iced it at 3-1 with an empty net goal by Matthew Nieto, his tenth of the campaign, set up by Tommy Wingels and Chris Tierney. The three stars were given to Lerg, Niemi (26 for 27 in saves), and Brossoit (49 for 51 in saves).

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks host the Arizona Coyotes. Mike Smith and Eddie Lack are in the blue paint. Vancouver dented the scoreboard in the first period with a Daniel Sedin goal, his nineteenth of the season, assisted by Henrik Sedin and Alexander Edler. The Canucks added on with a Ronalds Kenins goal, his fourth of the year, courtesy of Jannik Hansen and Bo Horvat. Vancouver extended the lead with a Yannick Weber power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Edler and Henrik Sedin. The Canucks padded the lead on another Weber power play goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, passed from Daniel Sedin and Edler, the latter getting a sock trick. Louis Domingue took over for Smith in net. Vancouver finished it at 5-0 in the third period with a Dan Hamhuis power play goal, with assists provided by Chris Higgins and Nick Bonino. The three stars went to Weber, Edler, and Lack (28 save shutout), while Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin get the honorable mentions.

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