Tuesday, December 29, 2015

2015-16 NHL Season - Day 80

Ten games on today, beginning with...

The Boston Bruins hosting the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Tuukka Rask are the veterans in goal. Boston was first to score in the first period on a Jimmy Hayes goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Kevan Miller. Ottawa tied it on a Chris Neil goal, his second of the year, via Shane Prince and Max McCormick. The Bruins took the lead back on a Patrice Bergeron power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, powered by Torey Krug and Ryan Spooner. Boston added on in the second period with a Matt Beleskey power play goal, his sixth of the year, guided in by Brett Connolly and Brad Marchand. The Senators pulled back with a Mika Zibanejad goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Neil and Prince. The Bruins shot back on a Bergeron power play goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, fueled by Krug and Seth Griffith. Ottawa countered on a Mike Hoffman goal, his eighteenth of the season, with assists provided by Erik Karlsson and Marc Methot. Boston answered on a Hayes goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, passed from Max Talbot and Loui Eriksson. The Bruins extended the lead as Beleskey scored his seventh of the season, thanks to Spooner and Eriksson. Boston finished it at 7-3 on a Hayes power play goal, completing his hat trick on his eighth of the year, with helpers by Talbot and Dennis Seidenberg. The three stars went to Hayes, Bergeron, and Beleskey, while Neil, Prince, Krug, Spooner, Talbot, and Eriksson get the honorable mentions.

Down to New Jersey, where the Devils welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Keith Kinkaid draw the starts in goal. Carolina dented the scoreboard on an Eric Staal goal, his sixth of the season, via Kris Versteeg and Elias Lindholm. New Jersey tied it with a Bobby Farnham goal, his fourth of the year, going in unassisted. The Hurricanes retook the lead on Staal's second of the game and seventh of the season, made possible by Versteeg. The Devils tied it again on a third period goal from Kyle Palmieri, his sixteenth of the year, coming off of Jon Merrill and Travis Zajac. New Jersey took the lead on a David Schlemko goal, his fourth of the campaign, assisted by Zajac and Lee Stempniak. This held up for a 3-2 win, with the three stars handed to Staal, Zajac, and Versteeg.

North to Toronto, with the Maple Leafs bringing in the New York Islanders. Thomas Greiss and Jonathan Bernier are the inconsistent goalies. New York struck first in the first period on a Brock Nelson goal, his thirteenth of the season, via Mikhail Grabovski and Ryan Strome. Toronto tied it on a Brad Boyes goal, his third of the year, passed from Shawn Matthias and Jake Gardiner. The Islanders took the lead as John Tavares scored his fourteenth of the season, with the help of Josh Bailey and Anders Lee. New York added on with a Frans Nielsen goal, his thirteenth of the year, made possible by Nick Leddy. The Maple Leafs pulled back in the second period with a P.A. Parenteau goal, his ninth of the season, guided in by Peter Holland and James van Riemsdyk. The Islanders shot back with a Nikolay Kulemin goal, his fourth of the year, with a lone assist by Nielsen. New York extended the lead as Matt Martin scored his fifth of the season, thanks to Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck. The Islanders padded the lead with a Lee goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Calvin de Haan and Tavares. James Reimer replaced Bernier for the third period. Toronto got one back in the third period with a Matthias goal, his third of the campaign, assisted by Boyes and Holland. This only made it 6-3, the final, with the three stars given to Nielsen, Tavares, and Lee, while Boyes, Matthias, and Holland get the honorable mentions.

Back stateside, the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen faces a lesser foe in Curtis McElhinney in goal. Columbus started in the first period with a Boone Jenner goal, his fourteenth of the season, courtesy of Cam Atkinson and Brandon Dubinsky. Dallas tied it on a Colton Sceviour goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Antoine Roussel and Cody Eakin. The Blue Jackets regained the lead with a Kevin Connauton goal, coming off of Nick Foligno and Ryan Johansen. Columbus added on with a Matt Calvert goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by William Karlsson and Rene Bourque. The Stars got one back with a Tyler Seguin goal, his twenty-first of the year, via Jamie Benn and John Klingberg in the second period. The Blue Jackets answered with a Brandon Saad goal, his fourteenth of the season, guided in by Dubinsky and Foligno. Dallas shot back in the third period on a Patrick Sharp goal, his fourteenth of the year, made possible by Jason Spezza and Mattias Janmark. Columbus countered with a Scott Hartnell goal, his fifteenth of the season, going in unassisted. The Blue Jackets iced it at 6-3 with a Bourque empty net goal, his second of the year, set up by Foligno and Dubinsky, both of whom got sock tricks. The three stars belonged to Bourque, Foligno, and Dubinsky.

Down in Florida, the Panthers welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Ben Scrivens and Roberto Luongo are in the blue paint. Montreal opened in the first period with a Max Pacioretty power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by P.K. Subban and Alex Galchenyuk. Florida tied it on an Aleksander Barkov power play goal, his tenth of the year, via Dmitry Kulikov and Aaron Ekblad. The Panthers took the lead in the second period on a Jaromir Jagr goal, his eleventh of the season, made possible by Jonathan Huberdeau and Barkov. Florida added on with a Barkov goal in the third period, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, assisted by Erik Gudbranson and Huberdeau. The three stars went to Barkov, Luongo (29 for 30 in saves), and Huberdeau.

Northwest to St. Louis, where the Blues bring in the Nashville Predators. Carter Hutton is mismatched with Jake Allen in goal. St. Louis led off in the first period on a Dmitrij Jaskin goal, his second of the season, via Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Pietrangelo. Nashville tied it on a shorthanded goal by Mattias Ekholm, his fourth of the year, set up by Mike Fisher. The Blues took the lead in the second period with a Robby Fabbri goal, his ninth of the season, courtesy of Jori Lehtera and Jaskin. St. Louis added on in the third period with a Kevin Shattenkirk goal, his sixth of the year, made possible by Lehtera and Colton Parayko. The Predators answered with a Shea Weber goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Roman Josi and the goalie Hutton. Nashville tied it as Colin Wilson scored his third of the year, thanks to Ryan Ellis and Ekholm. The Blues won 4-3 in overtime on an Alexander Steen goal, his thirteenth of the campaign, fueled by Paul Stastny and Pietrangelo. The three stars went to Jaskin, Ekholm, and Lehtera, while Pietrangelo gets the honorable mention.

North to Winnipeg, where the Jets host the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Connor Hellebuyck receive the starting nods. Winnipeg began in the first period on a Jacob Trouba shorthanded goal, his third of the season, set up by Drew Stafford and Mark Stuart. The Jets added on with an Andrew Ladd power play goal, his tenth of the year, powered by Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little. Winnipeg extended the lead on an Alex Burmistrov goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Little and Stafford. The Jets padded the lead as Trouba scored his second of the game and fourth of the year, with the help of Little, who got a sock trick, and Wheeler. Petr Mrazek relieved Howard in goal. Detroit got on the board in the third period with a Pavel Datsyuk power play goal, his fifth of the campaign, with assists provided by Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall. This only made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars awarded to Trouba, Little, and Hellebuyck (33 for 34 in saves), while Wheeler and Stafford get the honorable mentions.

Over in Alberta, the Calgary Flames welcome the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Karri Ramo are the solid goalies. Anaheim got going in the second period with a Shawn Horcoff goal, his sixth of the season, via Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm. This stood for a 1-0 win, with the three stars given to Horcoff, Gibson (14 save shutout), and Ramo (20 for 21 in saves).

Staying in the province, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Cam Talbot are the starters in goal. Los Angeles drew first blood in the second period on a Dwight King goal, passed from Dustin Brown and Trevor Lewis. The Kings added on with a Michael Mersch goal, with a lone assist from Andy Andreoff. Los Angeles extended the lead as Tyler Toffoli scored his eighteenth of the season, made possible by Azne Kopitar and Drew Doughty. Anders Nilsson replaced Talbot in goal. Edmonton got on the board with a Benoit Pouliot goal, his eighth of the year, assisted by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle. The Kings fired back on a Lewis goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Brown and King. The Oilers got one back in the third period on a Mark Letestu goal, his fifth of the year, via Lauri Korpikoski and Andrej Sekera. Los Angeles replied with a Brown power play goal, his fourth of the campaign, powered by Lewis and Jake Muzzin. This stood for a 5-2 win, with the three stars going to Lewis, Brown, and King.

Finally, the Arizona Coyotes host the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Anders Lindback are in the blue paint. Chicago got on the board first with a first period goal by Duncan Keith, his sixth of the season, coming on the power play from Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa. The Blackhawks added on with an Artem Anisimov goal, his thirteenth of the year, a power play goal via Brent Seabrook and Kane. Arizona got on the board with a Shane Doan goal, his ninth of the campaign, assisted by Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Michael Stone. The Coyotes tied it on a Zbynek Michalek goal, his second of the season, made possible by Ekman-Larsson and Craig Cunningham. Chicago took the lead back with a power play goal by Artemi Panarin, his eleventh of the year, powered by Seabrook and Keith. Louis Domingue replaced Lindback in goal. The Blackhawks extended the lead in the second period as Andrew Desjardins scored his second of the campaign, thanks to Teuvo Teravainen and Phillip Danault. Chicago padded the lead with a Kane goal, his twenty-second of the season, courtesy of Andrew Shaw and Erik Gustafsson. The Blackhawks continued with an unassisted Desjardins goal in the third period, his second of the game and third of the year. Arizona chipped back on a Doan power play goal, his second of the game and tenth of the campaign, guided in by Tobias Rieder and Ekman-Larsson, the latter getting a sock trick. The Coyotes edged closer on a Connor Murphy goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Rieder and Stone. Chicago answered with a Jonathan Toews shorthanded empty net goal, his twelfth of the year, set up by Teravainen and Keith. Arizona responded on a Doan power play goal, completing his hat trick on his eleventh of the campaign, helped along by Mikkel Boedker and Rieder, the latter getting a sock trick. The game ended at 7-5, with the three stars being Kane, Keith, and Doan, while Desjardins, Rieder, Ekman-Larsson, Stone, Seabrook, Teravainen, and Desjardins get the honorable mentions.

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