Thursday, March 17, 2016

2015-16 NHL Season - Day 154

Eight games for tonight, with the first in...

New Jersey, where the Devils host the Minnesota Wild. Devan Dubnyk and Keith Kinkaid are the alliterative goalies. New Jersey quickly opened in the first period with a Devante Smith-Pelly goal, his eleventh of the season, helped along by Tyler Kennedy and Travis Zajac. The Devils added on with a Mike Sislo goal, going in unassisted. Minnesota got on the board with a Nino Niederreiter power play goal, his seventeenth of the year, powered by Mikael Granlund and Jared Spurgeon. New Jersey answered with a Reid Boucher goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Kyle Palmieri and Jon Merrill. The Devils extended the lead in the second period as Smith-Pelly scored his second of the game and twelfth of the year, thanks to Kennedy. The Wild pulled back on a Spurgeon power play goal, his eighth of the season, made possible by Mikko Koivu and Ryan Suter. New Jersey responded with an Adam Henrique goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, via Joseph Blandisi. The Devils padded the lead with Sislo's second of the game, with helpers from Blandisi and Damon Severson. Minnesota answered with a Justin Fontaine goal, his fifth of the season, guided in by David Jones and Erik Haula. New Jersey shot back on a Henrique goal, his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the year, passed from Smith-Pelly and Kennedy, the latter getting a sock trick. The Wild roared back on a Koivu goal, his sixteenth of the campaign, with assists provided by Charlie Coyle and Zach Parise. The final stood from here at 7-4, with the three stars going to Sislo, Smith-Pelly, and Henrique, while Koivu, Spurgeon, Blandisi, and Kennedy get the honorable mentions.

Over in Pittsburgh, the Penguins welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Eddie Lack and Matt Murray are the backups in goal. Carolina started with a first period Phillip Di Giuseppe goal, his seventh of the season, going in unassisted. The Hurricanes added on with a Riley Nash goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Jeff Skinner and Chris Terry. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Sidney Crosby goal, his thirtieth of the season, an unassisted goal. The Penguins tied it in the second period with a Phil Kessel goal, his twenty-first of the year, helped along by Carl Hagelin and Ian Cole. Pittsburgh took the lead with a Crosby goal, his second of the game and thirty-first of the season, assisted by Cole and Hagelin. The Penguins iced it at 4-2 with a third period goal by Nick Bonino, his fifth of the year, passed from Kessel and Hagelin, the latter getting a sock trick. The three stars were Crosby, Hagelin, and Kessel, while Cole gets an honorable mention.

A bit more west, the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Sergei Bobrovsky protect the nets. Detroit began in the first period with a Luke Glendening goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Riley Sheahan and Andreas Anthansiou. The Red Wings added on in the third period with a Henrik Zetterberg goal, his thirteenth of the year, assisted by Justin Abdelkader and Dylan Larkin. Detroit extended the lead as Darren Helm scored his eleventh of the season, an unassisted goal. Columbus got on the board with an Alexander Wennberg power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Cam Atkinson and Boone Jenner. This only made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars given to Zetterberg, Howard (27 for 28 in saves), and Helm.

Up in Toronto, the Maple Leafs bring in the Florida Panthers. Roberto Luongo and Jonathan Bernier are in the blue paint. Florida got going in the second period with an unassisted Jussi Jokinen power play goal, his fourteenth of the season. The Panthers added on with another Jokinen goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, going in unassisted. Toronto got on the board with a Morgan Rielly goal, his eighth of the season, via Michael Grabner and Nikita Soshnikov. Florida answered in the third period with a Jaromir Jagr empty net goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, set up by Brian Campbell. The Panthers iced it at 4-1 with a Teddy Purcell empty net goal, his twelfth of the campaign, with helpers from Nick Bjgustad and Jiri Hudler. The three stars belonged to Jokinen, Luongo (32 for 33 in saves), and Jagr.

Back stateside, the Nashville Predators host the New York Islanders. Thomas Greiss and Pekka Rinne are called on to start in goal. Nashville led off in the first period with a James Neal, his twenty-seventh of the season, assisted by Calle Jarnkrok. New York tied it in the second period with a Ryan Pulock goal, via John Tavares. The Predators retook the lead with a Ryan Ellis goal, his eighth of the year, fueled by Ryan Johansen and Mattias Ekholm on the power play. Nashville added on with a Johansen goal, his twelfth of the season, helped along by Neal and Anthony Bitetto. The Islanders got one back in the third period with a Brock Nelson goal, his twenty-third of the year, guided in by Thomas Hickey. The Predators iced it at 4-2 with an Austin Watson goal, his third of the campaign, set up by Mike Fisher and Roman Josi. The three stars went to Neal, Johansen, and Ellis.

Down in Dallas, the Stars welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ben Bishop and Kari Lehtonen are between the pipes. Tampa Bay struck first in the first period with a Nikita Kucherov goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, made possible by Alex Killorn and Andrej Sustr. Dallas tied it with a Jason Spezza goal, his twenty-ninth of the year, coming off of Valeri Nichushkin. The Lightning retook the lead in the second period with a Steven Stamkos goal, his thirty-second of the season, a power play goal powered by Kucherov and Anton Stralman. The Stars pulled back with a Jamie Benn goal, his thirty-fifth of the year, via Cody Eakin. Tampa Bay shot back with a Stamkos goal, his second of the game and thirty-third of the season, helped along by Killorn and Victor Hedman. Dallas tied it in the third period with a Stephen Johns goal, courtesy of Eakin and Benn. The Stars gained the lead with a Benn goal, his second of the game and thirty-sixth of the year, with helpers from Eakin, who got a sock trick, and Tyler Seguin. This stood for a 4-3 win, with the three stars being Benn, Stamkos, and Eakin, while Kucherov and Killorn get the honorable mentions.

West to Arizona, with the Coyotes hosting the San Jose Sharks. Martin Jones and Mike Smith occupy the creases. Arizona was first to score in the first period with a Michael Stone goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Alex Tanguay. San Jose tied it in the second period with a Tomas Hertl goal, his seventeenth of the year, helped along by Paul Martin and Joe Thornton. The Coyotes took the lead in the third period with a Shane Doan goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, courtesy of Klas Dahlbeck and Max Domi. Arizona iced it at 3-1 with an Antoine Vermette empty net goal, his fifteenth of the year, set up by Stone and Kevin Connauton. The three stars went to Stone, Smith (27 for 28 in saves), and Doan.

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Jonathan Quick tend the twines. New York drew first blood with an unassisted J.T. Miller goal, his nineteenth of the season. Los Angeles tied it on a Dustin Brown goal, his eleventh of the year, passed from Jeff Carter and Luke Schenn. The Rangers took the lead with a Dan Boyle goal in the second period, his seventh of the season, assisted by Viktor Stalberg. New York added on with a third period goal by Kevin Hayes, his twelfth of the year, courtesy of Kevin Klein and Miller. The Kings shot back with a Kyle Clifford goal, his second of the season, made possible by Carter and Brown. Los Angeles tied it with an Anze Kopitar goal, his twenty-third of the year, via Milan Lucic and Drew Doughty. The Kings won 4-3 in overtime with a Koptiar goal, his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the campaign, with helpers from Jake Muzzin and Carter, the latter getting a sock trick. The three stars were awarded to Kopitar, Carter, and Brown, while Miller gets an honorable mention.

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.

No comments :

Post a Comment