Friday, December 18, 2015

2015-16 NHL Season - Day 71



Eleven games lead off the day’s schedule, beginning with…

The Buffalo Sabres hosting the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Chad Johnson are the little-known goalies. Buffalo got going in the second period on an Evander Kane goal, his seventh of the season, passed from Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart. The Sabres added on with a Jake McCabe goal, his third of the year, courtesy of Cal O’Reilly and Nicolas Deslauriers. Buffalo extended the lead as Jamie McGinn scored his seventh of the campaign, set up by Rasmus Ristolainen and Josh Gorges. This made it 3-0, the final, with the three stars going to Johnson (44 save shutout), Kane, and McCabe.

Over in New Jersey, the Devils welcome the Florida Panthers. Al Montoya is mismatched with Cory Schneider in goal. Florida led off in the first period on a Jussi Jokinen goal, his seventh of the season, a power play goal powered by Brandon Pirri and Vincent Trocheck. The Panthers added on with a Dmitry Kulikov goal, coming off of Jaromir Jagr and Brian Campbell. Florida extended the lead as Pirri scored his seventh of the year, thanks to Corban Knight and Logan Shaw in the second period. The Panthers padded the lead on a third period Reilly Smith goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Trocheck and Jokinen. New Jersey got on the board with a Sergey Kalinin goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Kyle Palmieri and David Schlemko on the power play. Florida iced it at 5-1 with a Shaw empty net goal, his third of the campaign, set up by Pirri and Knight. The three stars were Pirri, Jokinen, and Trocheck, while Knight and Shaw get the honorable mentions.

Back into Philadelphia, where the Flyers bring in the Vancouver Canucks. Jacob Markstrom and Steve Mason are the middling goalies. Philadelphia opened in the first period on a Michael Raffl goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Evgeny Medvedev and Matt Read. The Flyers added on with a Sean Couturier goal in the third period, his fifth of the year, helped along by Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek. The three stars were handed to Mason (36 save shutout), Raffl, and Couturier.

Into Canada, where the Montreal Canadiens host the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Mike Condon draw the starts in goal. Los Angeles dented the scoreboard on a Drew Doughty goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Tyler Toffoli. The Kings added on with an Anze Kopitar goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Doughty and Marian Gaborik. Los Angeles extended the lead in the third period as Gaborik scored an empty net goal, his seventh of the campaign, set up by Milan Lucic. The three stars of the 3-0 game belonged to Doughty, Quick (45 save shutout), and Gaborik.

In Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs welcome the San Jose Sharks. Martin Jones and Garret Sparks are the young goalies. San Jose started in the first period on a Joe Pavelski power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Brent Burns and Patrick Marleau. The Sharks added on with a Marleau power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, made possible by Pavelski and Burns. Jonathan Bernier relieved Sparks at this time. Toronto got on the board with a Peter Holland goal, his fifth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Daniel Winnik. The Maple Leafs took the lead on a Leo Komarov goal, his eleventh of the season, passed from Frank Corrado and Nazem Kadri. Toronto took the lead with a James van Riemsdyk goal, his tenth of the year, fueled by P.A. Parenteau and Tyler Bozak. The Maple Leafs extended their lead on a Michael Grabner goal, his second of the campaign, helped along by Holland and Winnik. San Joe pulled back as Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored his fourth of the season, thanks to Justin Braun. The Sharks tied it on a Matt Nieto goal, his fourth of the year, with helpers from Chris Tierney and Joonas Donskoi. San Jose won 5-4 with a Burns goal in overtime, his eleventh of the campaign, guided in by Thornton and Pavelski. The three stars were handed to Burns, Pavelski, and Marleau, while Holland and Winnik get the honorable mentions.

Back stateside, the St. Louis Blues bring in the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Jake Allen tend the twines. Nashville was first to score in the first period on a Roman Josi power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Filip Forsberg and Shea Weber. St. Louis tied it on a David Backes goal in the third period, his tenth of the year, via Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk. The Blues took the lead on a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his twentieth of the campaign, coming off of Alexander Steen and Paul Stastny. This held for a 2-1 win, with the three stars being Allen (27 for 28 in saves), Tarasenko, and Rinne (31 for 33 in saves).

North to Minnesota, with the Wild hosting the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Devan Dubnyk are the masked men. Minnesota began in the first period on a Mikko Koivu goal, his seventh of the season, fueled by Thomas Vanek and Zach Parise. The Wild added on with a Matt Dumba goal in the second period, his fifth of the year, coming on the power play from Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund. New York got on the board with a Dominic Moore goal, his third of the season, via Emerson Etem and Tanner Glass. Minnesota replied in the third period on a Jason Pominville power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Koivu and Ryan Suter. The Wild extended the lead as Chris Porter scored his second of the season, thanks to Justin Fontaine and Suter. Antti Raanta finished the game instead of Lundqvist. The Rangers got one back on a Ryan McDonagh goal, his fifth of the year, with helpers from J.T. Miller and Jesper Fast. Minnesota iced it at 5-2 with a Koivu goal, his eighth of the campaign and second of the game, assisted by Ryan Carter and Charlie Coyle. The three stars went to Koivu, Suter, and Pominville.

Back south, the Chicago Blackhawks welcome the Edmonton Oilers. Cam Talbot and Corey Crawford are in the creases. Chicago struck first in the first period on a Jonathan Toews goal, his tenth of the season, fueled by Marian Hossa and Teuvo Teravainen. The Blackhawks added on with a Teravainen goal in the second period, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Toews and Hossa. Chicago extended the lead as Teravainen scored his second of the game and eighth of the season, thanks to Hossa, who got a sock trick, and Toews. The Blackhawks iced it at 4-0 with an Artemi Panarin goal, his tenth of the year, passed from Brent Seabrook and Patrick Kane. The three stars went to Teravainen, Toews, and Hossa, while Crawford (33 save shutout) gets an honorable mention.

Down in Dallas, the Stars bring in the Calgary Flames. Karri Ramo and Kari Lehtonen are the Finnish goalies. Dallas drew first blood on a shorthanded goal by Johnny Oduya, his fourth of the season, set up by Vernon Fiddler. Calgary tied it on a Sean Monahan goal, his eleventh of the year, coming off of Johnny Gaudreau and Kris Russell. The Flames took the lead on a Dougie Hamilton goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Joe Colborne and Matt Stajan. Calgary added on with a Mason Raymond goal in the second period, his third of the year, helped along by Mikael Backlund. This made it 3-1, the eventual final, with the three stars going to Ramo (35 for 36 in saves), Hamilton, and Monahan.

Northwest to Denver, as the Colorado Avalanche welcome the New York Islanders. Thomas Greiss and Semyon Varlamov are the goalies. Colorado opened in the first period with a Francois Beauchemin goal, his fourth of the season, via Andreas Martinsen. New York tied it on a Brock Nelson power play goal in the second period, his eleventh of the year, powered by Marek Zidlicky and Mikhail Grabovski. The Avalanche retook the lead on a Beauchemin goal in the third period, his second of the game and fifth of the campaign, made possible by Carl Soderberg and Blake Comeau. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars going to Beauchemin, Varlamov (33 for 34 in saves), and Greiss (28 for 30 in saves).

Finally, the Arizona Coyotes bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Curtis McElhinney and Anders Lindback are the poor goalies. Columbus started with a Brandon Saad goal, his eleventh of the season, via Alexander Wennberg and Scott Hartnell. The Blue Jackets added on with a Matt Calvert goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by Cam Atkinson and Kevin Connauton. Arizona got on the board with an unassisted Antoine Vermette goal, his fourth of the season. The Coyotes tied it in the second period on a Viktor Tikhonov power play goal, powered by Jordan Martinook and Michael Stone. Arizona pulled ahead on a Tobias Rieder goal, his seventh of the year, fueled by Vermette and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Columbus retied it on a Wennberg goal, his second of the season, guided in by Saad. The Blue Jackets took the lead on an Atkinson goal, his tenth of the year, with a lone assist by the goalie McElhinney. Louis Domingue replaced Lindback in goal. The Coyotes retied it with a Martinook goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Shane Doan. Columbus gained the lead again on a Nick Foligno goal, his fifth of the year, coming off of Saad. The Blue Jackets extended the lead as David Clarkson scored, with the help of Hartnell and Boone Jenner. Arizona answered on Rieder’s second of the game and eighth of the season, with assists provided by Nicklas Grossmann and Mikkel Boedker. Columbus finished it at 7-5 with an empty net goal by Brandon Dubinsky, his sixth of the year, set up by Wennberg and Atkinson. The three stars went to Saad, Atkinson, and Rieder, while Wennberg, Hartnell, Vermette, and Martinook get honorable mentions.

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