Monday, February 29, 2016

2015-16 NHL Season - Day 137

Six games on today, the NHL's Trade Deadline day. We begin the part of the season that sees old faces in new places with...

The New York Rangers hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. Joonas Korpisalo and Antti Raanta are the little-known goalies. New York opened in the first period with a Mats Zuccarello goal, his twenty-first of the season, via Dan Boyle. Columbus tied it on a third period goal by Cam Atkinson, his twentieth of the year, going in unassisted. The Rangers regained the lead with a Derek Stepan shorthanded goal, his fourteenth of the season, set up by Ryan McDonagh. This made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars given to Stepan, Raanta (26 for 27 in saves), and Zuccarello.

Over in Pittsburgh, the Penguins welcome the Arizona Coyotes, their frequent trading partners. Louis Domingue is mismatched with Marc-Andre Fleury in goal. Pittsburgh struck first in the first period with a Patric Hornqvist goal, his thirteenth of the season, made possible by Sidney Crosby. The Penguins added on with Hornqvist's second of the game and fourteenth of the year, assisted by Chris Kunitz and Crosby. Pittsburgh extended the lead in the second period as Kunitz scored his twelfth of the season, thanks to Kris Letang and Crosby, the latter getting a sock trick. The Penguins padded the lead with a Hornqvist power play goal, completing his hat trick on his fifteenth of the year, powered by Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel. Pittsburgh kept going in the third period with a Letang goal, his eleventh of the season, helped along by Olli Maatta and Hornqvist. The Penguins iced it at 6-0 with a Matt Cullen goal, his ninth of the year, coming off of Bryan Rust and Ian Cole. The three stars were awarded to Hornqvist, Crosby, and Fleury (30 save shutout), while Kunitz and Letang get the honorable mentions.

Up in Toronto, the Maple Leafs bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Garret Sparks are the backups in goal. Tampa Bay got going in the second period with a Tyler Johnson goal, his tenth of the season, helped along by Nikita Kucherov and Braydon Coburn. The Lightning added on with Johnson's second of the game and eleventh of the year, going in unassisted. Toronto got on the board in the third period with a Nazem Kadri goal, his twelfth of the campaign, courtesy of Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars given to Johnson, Vasilevskiy (31 for 32 in saves), and Sparks (26 for 28 in saves).

Back in Pennsylvania, the Flyers host the Calgary Flames. Jonas Hiller and Michal Neuvirth are the inconsistent goalies. Calgary started in the first period with a Sean Monahan goal, his twentieth of the season, a power play goal powered by Johnny Gaudreau and T.J. Brodie. Philadelphia tied it on a Bryaden Schenn goal, his nineteenth of the year, helped along by Claude Giroux and Radko Gudas. The Flyers took the lead in the second period with a Wayne Simmonds power play goal, his twenty-second of the season, with assists provided by Giroux and Shayne Gostisbehere. Philadelphia added on with a Schenn goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the year, assisted by Andrew MacDonald and Giroux, the latter getting a sock trick. The Flyers extended the lead as Schenn finished his hat trick on his twenty-first of the season, with the help of Mark Streit and Giroux on the power play. The Flames got one back with a Micheal Ferland goal, his fourth of the year, courtesy of Mark Giordano and Brodie. Calgary edged closer with a Michael Frolik goal, his eleventh of the season, with helpers from Joe Colborne and Dougie Hamilton. The Flyers iced it at 5-3 with an empty net goal from Simmonds, his second of the game and twenty-third of the year, set up by Michael Raffl and Nick Schultz. The three stars were awarded to Schenn, Giroux, and Simmonds, while Brodie gets an honorable mention.

Down in Dallas, the Stars welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Antti Niemi are the experienced goalies. Detroit dented the scoreboard in the second period with an Andreas Athanasiou goal, his third of the season, guided in by Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist. Dallas tied it on a Colton Sceviour goal, his eighth of the year, via Vernon Fiddler and Alex Goligoski. The Red Wings took the lead back in the third period with another Athanasiou goal, his second of the game and fourth of the season, passed from Mike Green and Luke Glendening. The Stars tied it as Fiddler scored his eighth of the year, thanks to Ales Hemsky and Jason Demers. Detroit won 3-2 in overtime with an unassisted power play goal by Pavel Datsyuk, his thirteenth of the campaign. The three stars went to Athanasiou, Fiddler, and Howard (39 for 41 in saves).

Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Mike Condon and Martin Jones are the young goalies. San Jose was first to score in the first period with a Joe Thornton goal, his fifteenth of the season, coming off of Joe Pavelski and Justin Braun. Montreal tied it on a Brendan Gallagher goal, his eighteenth of the year, passed from Max Pacioretty and P.K. Subban. The Sharks took the lead back with a Pavelski goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, assisted by Thornton and Brent Burns. San Jose added on with a second period Burns goal, his twenty-first of the year, via Thornton. The Canadiens answered with a Torrey Mitchell goal, his seventh of the season, guided in by Paul Byron and Phillip Danault. The Sharks replied with a Melker Karlsson goal, his eighth of the year, helped along by Chris Tierney and Dainius Zubrus. San Jose extended the lead as Nick Spaling scored his third of the season, thanks to Logan Couture and Paul Martin. The Sharks padded the lead with a Pavelski goal, his second of the game and twenty-ninth of the year, with assists provided by Tierney and Burns. The final stood from here at 6-2, with the three stars given to Pavelski, Thornton, and Burns, while Tierney gets an honorable mention.

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