Tuesday, February 23, 2016

2015-16 NHL Season - Day 131

Nine games on today to appease the hockey cravings. We begin with...

The Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Michal Neuvirth and Cam Ward are the goalies. Philadelphia was first to score in the first period with a Scott Laughton goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Matt Read and Radko Gudas. Carolina tied it with a Joakim Nordstrom goal in the second period, his eighth of the year, going in unassisted. The Hurricanes took the lead with a Jordan Staal goal, his sixteenth of the season, passed from Brett Pesce and Andrej Nestrasil. Carolina added on with a third period Eric Staal goal, his tenth of the year, coming off of Jay McClement and Elias Lindholm. The three stars of the 3-1 game were Ward (36 for 37 in saves), Jordan Staal, and Nordstrom.

Up in New Jersey, the Devils welcome the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Cory Schneider tend the twines. New Jersey opened in the first period with a Tyler Kennedy goal, his second of the season, via Damon Severson and Sergey Kalinin. New York tied it on a Kevin Hayes goal, his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Viktor Stalberg. The Rangers took the lead with a Dominic Moore goal, his sixth of the season, fueled by Keith Yandle and Marek Hrivik. The Devils retied it in the second period with a Kyle Palmieri goal, his twenty-third of the year, a power play goal powered by Joseph Blandisi and Jacob Josefson. New Jersey took the lead with a Lee Stempniak goal, his sixteenth of the season, guided in by Blandisi and Adam Larsson. The Devils added on in the third period with a Kalinin goal, his sixth of the year, with assists provided by Andy Greene and Adam Henrique. New Jersey extended the lead as Larsson scored his third of the campaign, an empty net goal going in unassisted. The three stars went to Kalinin, Larsson, and Blandisi.

Over in Detroit, the Red Wings bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Curtis McElhinney and Petr Mrazek are given the starting nods in goal. Columbus led off in the first period with a Boone Jenner goal, his twenty-second of the season, via Brandon Dubinsky and David Savard. Detroit tied it in the second period with a Riley Sheahan shorthanded goal, his eighth of the year, set up by Alexey Marchenko. In the shootout, the Red Wings took the game 2-1 with Sheahan and Andreas Athanasiou shootout tallies. The three stars belonged to Sheahan, Mrazek (28 for 29 in saves), and McElhinney (27 for 28 in saves).

South to Tampa Bay, as the Lightning host the Arizona Coyotes. Louis Domingue and Andrei Vasilevskiy are the inexperienced goalies. Tampa Bay began in the first period with a Steven Stamkos goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, fueled by Ryan Callahan and Alex Killorn. The Lightning added on in the second period with a shorthanded penalty shot goal by Cedric Paquette, his fourth of the year, coming after a Shane Doan hook. Arizona got on the board in the third period with a Jordan Martinook goal, his eighth of the campaign, made possible by Michael Stone and Doan. This made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars going to Vasilevskiy (29 for 30 in saves), Paquette, and Domingue (34 for 36 in saves).

Back north, the Toronto Maple Leafs welcome the Nashville Predators. Carter Hutton and James Reimer make the starts in goal. Nashville started in the first period with a Filip Forsberg power play goal, his twenty-first of the season, powered by Mike Ribeiro and Roman Josi. The Predators added on with a Forsberg goal in the second period, his second of the game and twenty-second of the year, via Craig Smith. Nashville extended the lead as Forsberg finished a natural hat trick on his twenty-third of the season, thanks to Josi and Ryan Ellis. Toronto got on the board with a third period goal by Josh Leivo, his third of the year, a power play goal with helpers from Nazem Kadri and Peter Holland. The Maple Leafs got closer with a Morgan Rielly goal, his sixth of the campaign, helped along by Holland and Kadri. This made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to Forsberg, Josi, and Holland, while Kadri gets an honorable mention.

Over in Winnipeg, the Jets bring in the Dallas Stars. Antti Niemi faces a lesser foe in Ondrej Pavelec in goal. Dallas struck first in the first period with a Jason Spezza power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, powered by Tyler Seguin and John Klingberg. Winnipeg tied it in the second period with an Alex Burmistrov goal, his sixth of the year, via Drew Stafford and Ben Chiarot. The Stars took the lead back with a Valeri Nichushkin goal, his seventh of the season, passed from Mattias Janmark. The Jets tied it again with a shorthanded Andrew Ladd goal, his seventeenth of the year, set up by Dustin Byfuglien and Joel Armia. Dallas took the lead again with a Colton Sceviour goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Klingberg. The Stars added on with a Jamie Benn power play goal, his thirty-first of the year, with assists provided by Patrick Sharp and Klingberg, the latter getting a sock trick. Winnipeg pulled back with a Mark Scheifele goal, his fourteenth of the season, coming off of Toby Enstrom and Blake Wheeler. Dallas iced it at 5-3 with a Benn empty net goal, his second of the game and thirty-second of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Klingberg, Benn, and Sceviour.

Down in Minnesota, the Wild host the New York Islanders. Jaroslav Halak and Devan Dubnyk guard the cages. New York drew first blood in the first period with a Matt Martin goal, his seventh of the season, courtesy of Steve Bernier and Casey Cizikas. The Islanders added on with a Frans Nielsen power play goal, his seventeenth of the year, powered by John Tavares and Anders Lee. Minnesota got on the board in the second period with a Chris Porter goal, his fourth of the season, via Mikael Granlund and Marco Scandella. New York replied with a third period Tavares power play goal, his twenty-third of the year, assisted by Lee and Kyle Okposo. The Islanders iced it at 4-1 with a shorthanded empty net goal by Nielsen, his second of the game and eighteenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were handed to Nielsen, Tavares, and Lee.

Back in Canada, the Edmonton Oilers welcome the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Cam Talbot are in the blue paint. Ottawa cracked the scoresheet with a first period Nick Paul goal, coming off of Chris Wideman and Curtis Lazar. The Senators added on with a Zack Smith power play goal in the second period, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Mark Stone and Mika Zibanejad. Edmonton got on the board with a Jordan Eberle goal, his nineteenth of the year, assisted by Brandon Davidson and Connor McDavid. Ottawa replied in the third period with an Alex Chiasson goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Smith. The Senators iced it at 4-1 with an empty net goal from Stone, his nineteenth of the year, set up by Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The three stars went to Smith, Anderson (31 for 32 in saves), and Stone.

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the Calgary Flames. Joni Ortio is mismatched with Jonathan Quick in goal. Los Angeles got going in the second period with a Luke Schenn goal, his fourth of the season, via Tanner Pearson and Trevor Lewis. Calgary tied it on a Sean Monahan goal, his eighteenth of the year, a power play goal powered by Jiri Hudler and Johnny Gaudreau. The Kings took the lead back with an Anze Kopitar power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, with helpers from Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin. The game ended in a 2-1 final, with the three stars being Kopitar, Quick (22 for 23 in saves), and Schenn.

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