Sunday, December 27, 2015

2015-16 NHL Season - Day 78

Nine games for today, beginning with...

The Ottawa Senators hosting the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Craig Anderson man the nets. Ottawa was first to score in the first period on a Mark Stone power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson. Boston tied it on a David Krejci goal in the second period, his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Matt Beleskey and Loui Eriksson. The Senators retook the lead on a Mika Zibanejad goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Bobby Ryan and Mike Hoffman. Ottawa iced it at 3-1 on a Stone empty net goal, his second of the game and tenth of the year, set up by Turris and Karlsson. The three stars were Stone, Anderson (38 for 39 in saves), and Turris, while Karlsson gets an honorable mention.

Down in Dallas, the Stars welcome the St. Louis Blues. Brian Elliott and Kari Lehtonen are the de facto backups in goal. Dallas led off in the first period on a Patrick Sharp power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, powered by Alex Goligoski and Jamie Benn. The Stars added on in the third period with a Benn goal, his twenty-third of the year, a power play goal with a lone assist by Sharp. Dallas iced it at 3-0 with an unassisted empty net goal from Cody Eakin, his ninth of the campaign. The three stars were handed to Sharp, Benn, and Lehtonen (22 save shutout).

Northeast to New York, with the Islanders bringing in the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jonathan Bernier and Thomas Greiss are in the blue paint. Toronto got going in the second period with a Tyler Bozak goal, his ninth of the season, passed from Roman Polak and P.A. Parenteau. The Maple Leafs added on with a Michael Grabner goal, his fifth of the year, coming off of Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly. New York got on the board with a Nikolay Kulemin goal in the third period, his third of the season, fueled by Nick Leddy and Ryan Strome. Toronto iced it at 3-1 with a James van Riemsdyk empty net goal, his thirteenth of the year, set up by Kadri. The three stars went to Bernier (25 for 26 in saves), Kadri, and Greiss (35 for 37 in saves).

South again to Florida, with the Panthers hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. Curtis McElhinney is mismatched with Roberto Luongo in goal. Florida struck first in the first period with an Aaron Ekblad goal, his ninth of the season, fueled by Reilly Smith and Vincent Trocheck. The Panthers added on with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his eighth of the year, via Jonathan Huberdeau. Columbus got on the board in the second period on a Brandon Saad goal, his thirteenth of the season, helped along by Justin Falk and Kevin Connauton. Florida replied with another Barkov goal in the third period, his second of the game and ninth of the year, passed from Huberdeau. The Blue Jackets chipped back on a Cam Atkinson power play goal, his eleventh of the campaign, powered by Saad and Alexander Wennberg. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars belonging to Barkov, Saad, and Huberdeau.

Northwest to Chicago, where the Blackhawks welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Eddie Lack and Corey Crawford draw the starts in goal. Carolina dented the scoreboard in the second period on a Justin Faulk goal, his fourteenth of the season, made possible by Jeff Skinner and Phillip Di Giuseppe. The Hurricanes added on with a third period Victor Rask goal, his tenth of the year, via Skinner and Brett Pesce. Chicago got on the board with a Brent Seabrook goal, his sixth of the campaign, with a lone helper by Andrew Shaw. This only made it 2-1, with the three stars going to Skinner, Ward (35 for 36 in saves), and Rask.

Out in Colorado, the Avalanche bring in the Arizona Coyotes. Anders Lindback and Semyon Varlamov are between the pipes. Colorado began in the first period on a Jarome Iginla power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Nathan MacKinnon and John Mitchell. The Coyotes tied it in the third period on a Michael Stone goal, his third of the year, via Mikkel Boedker and Antoine Vermette. The Coyotes won 2-1 in overtime on a Boedker goal, his twelfth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were named as Boedker, Lindback (38 for 39 in saves), and Stone.

In California, the Anaheim Ducks host the Philadelphia Flyers. Steve Mason and John Gibson protect the nets. Anaheim opened in the first period on a Ryan Getzlaf power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Sami Vatanen and Cam Fowler. Philadelphia tied it on a Jakub Voracek goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Nick Schultz and Sean Couturier. The Flyers took the lead on a Michael Raffl power play goal in the second period, his fifth of the season, passed from Matt Read and Couturier. The Ducks tied it again with a Corey Perry power play goal, his twelfth of the year, assisted by Getzlaf and Patrick Maroon. Anaheim took the lead in the third period on a Perry goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the season, with a lone helper by Vatanen. The Ducks added on with a Shawn Horcoff shorthanded goal, his fifth of the year, set up by Andrew Cogliano and Clayton Stoner. The three stars belonged to Perry, Getzlaf, and Vatanen, while Couturier gets an honorable mention.

Into Canada, where the Winnipeg Jets welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jeff Zatkoff and Connor Hellebuyck occupy the creases. Winnipeg started in the first period with a Bryan Little penalty shot goal, his fourteenth of the season, coming after Ben Lovejoy hooked him. This stood as the only goal, for a 1-0 Jets win. The three stars were awarded to Hellebuyck (30 save shutout), Little, and Zatkoff (27 for 28 in saves).

Finally, the Calgary Flames bring in the Edmonton Oilers for a battle of Alberta. Anders Nilsson and Karri Ramo are the Scandinavian goalies. Edmonton drew first blood with a Benoit Pouliot goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Oilers added on with another Pouliot goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, via Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle. Calgary got on the board in the second period with a Johnny Gaudreau goal, his sixteenth of the season, passed from T.J. Brodie and Joe Colborne. Edmonton replied on a Teddy Purcell goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl. The Flames answered with a shorthanded goal from Matt Stajan, his second of the season, set up by Markus Granlund and Brodie. Calgary tied it as Mark Giordano scored his eighth of the year on the power play, powered by Dennis Wideman and Jiri Hudler. The Flames gained the lead on a Gaudreau goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the season, going in unassisted. Calgary iced it at 5-3 on another Giordano power play goal, his second of the game and ninth of the year, with helpers provided by Dougie Hamilton and Mikael Backlund. The three stars were Gaudreau, Giordano, and Pouliot, while Brodie, Nugent-Hopkins, and Eberle get the honorable mentions.

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.

No comments :

Post a Comment