It's one of the busiest days of the year, with fourteen games to be played. We begin with four matinees, the first from...
Buffalo, as the Sabres host the Winnipeg Jets. Michael Hutchinson and Chad Johnson make the starts in goal. Winnipeg led off in the first period with a Nikolaj Ehlers goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler. The Jets added on with an unassisted goal by Andrew Copp, his fourth of the year. Buffalo got on the board with a Hudson Fasching goal, made possible by Mark Pysyk and Casey Nelson. The Sabres tied it in the third period with a Sam Reinhart goal, his twenty-first of the season, helped along by Zemgus Girgensons. Buffalo took the lead with a Jack Eichel goal, his twenty-third of the year, via Reinhart. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars going to Reinhart, Eichel, and Fasching.
Over in Detroit, the Red Wings welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Petr Mrazek guard the cages. Detroit started in the first period with an Andreas Athanasiou goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Brad Richards and Jonathan Ericsson. Pittsburgh tied it in the second period with a Chris Kunitz goal, his seventeenth of the year, passed from Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby. The Penguins took the lead on a Letang goal, his fifteenth of the season, assisted by Phil Kessel and Trevor Daley. Pittsburgh added on with a Carl Hagelin goal, his tenth of the year, guided in by Kessel and Nick Bonino. The Penguins extended the lead as Kessel scored his twenty-second of the season, thanks to Ian Cole and Bonino. The Red Wings got one back in the third period with a Mike Green power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Pavel Datsyuk. Pittsburgh shot back with an Eric Fehr goal, his sixth of the season, helped along by Bonino, who got a sock trick. The Penguins padded the lead on a Hagelin goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, made possible by Kessel, who got a sock trick, and Bonino. Pittsburgh kept going with a Bonino power play goal, his sixth of the season, with assists provided by Kessel and Fehr. This stood for a 7-2 win, with the three stars being Kessel, Bonino, and Hagelin, while Letang and Fehr get the honorable mentions.
West to Colorado, where the Avalanche bring in the Minnesota Wild. Devan Dubnyk and Semyon Varlamov are the masked men. Minnesota dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Zach Parise goal, his twenty-third of the season, assisted by Mikael Granlund. The Wild added on with a Jordan Schroeder goal, his second of the year, coming off of Justin Fontaine and Marco Scandella. Minnesota extended the lead with a third period power play goal by Parise, his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the season, powered by Ryan Suter and Mikko Koivu. The Wild padded the lead as Granlund scored a shorthanded empty net goal, his eleventh of the year, set up by Erik Haula. The game ended 4-0, with the three stars handed to Parise, Dubnyk (29 save shutout), and Granlund.
Out in California, the last matinee sees the San Jose Sharks host the Dallas Stars. Antti Niemi faces his former team and Martin Jones in goal. Dallas began in the first period with a Mattias Janmark goal, his fourteenth of the season, fueled by Jordie Benn and Ales Hemsky. The Stars added on in the second period with another Janmark goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, via Jason Spezza and Stephen Johns. Dallas extended the lead as Patrick Sharp scored a power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, powered by Spezza and John Klingberg. San Jose got on the board in the third period with a Joel Ward shorthanded goal, his twenty-first of the year, going in unassisted. The Sharks got closer with a Tomas Hertl goal, his nineteenth of the season, made possible by Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns. The Stars iced it at 4-2 with a Jamie Benn empty net goal, his thirty-seventh of the year, set up by Sharp. The three stars were handed to Janmark, Sharp, and Spezza.
At the usual time, the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the New York Islanders. Jean-Francois Berube and Eddie Lack are the backups in goal. New York opened in the first period with a Kyle Okposo goal, his twenty-first of the season, courtesy of Nikolay Kulemin. The Islanders added on with a Kulemin goal, his eighth of the year, going in unassisted. Carolina got on the board in the second period with a Victor Rask goal, his eighteenth of the season, passed from Chris Terry and Brett Pesce. The Hurricanes tied it on a Jeff Skinner goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, assisted by Ron Hainsey and Riley Nash. Carolina pulled ahead with a Jay McClement goal, his third of the season, coming off of Ryan Murphy. New York tied it in the third period with a Cal Clutterbuck goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Casey Cizikas and Calvin de Haan. The Islanders won 4-3 in overtime with another Clutterbuck goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the campaign, helped along by Brock Nelson and Nick Leddy. The three stars went to Clutterbuck, Kulemin, and Okposo.
Up in Canada, the Montreal Canadiens bring in the New York Rangers. Antti Raanta and Mike Condon draw the starts in goal. New York was first to score in the first period with a J.T. Miller goal, his twenty-first of the season, helped along by Derek Stepan and Keith Yandle. Montreal tied it with a Lars Eller goal, his twelfth of the year, assisted by Greg Pateryn and Nathan Beaulieu. The Rangers retook the lead in the second period with a Derick Brassard goal, his twenty-seventh of the season, courtesy of Chris Kreider and Rick Nash. New York added on with a Kreider power play goal, his seventeenth of the year, powered by Brassard and Yandle. The Rangers extended the lead as Kreider scored his second of the game and eighteenth of the season, an unassisted goal. The Canadiens got one back with a Phillip Danault goal, his third of the year, made possible by David Desharnais and Sven Andrighetto. New York shot back as Stepan scored a power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, with assists provided by Mats Zuccarello and Brassard. This stood for a 5-2 win, with the three stars given to Kreider, Brassard, and Stepan, while Yandle gets an honorable mention.
Over in Ontario, the Ottawa Senators host the Anaheim Ducks. Frederik Andersen and Craig Anderson are the similarly named goalies. Ottawa cracked the scoresheet with a first period goal by Mike Hoffman, his twenty-seventh of the season, helped along by Bobby Ryan and Mika Zibanejad. The Senators added on in the second period with an Erik Karlsson goal, his fourteenth of the year, via Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Zack Smith. Ottawa extended the lead as Chris Neil scored his fourth of the season, with the help of Nick Paul. Anaheim got on the board with a Ryan Getzlaf goal in the third period, his twelfth of the year, with a lone assist by Jamie McGinn. The Ducks got closer with a Jakob Silfverberg goal, his sixteenth of the season, passed from Cam Fowler and Shawn Horcoff. Anaheim tied it on a Hampus Lindholm goal, his tenth of the year, coming off of Corey Perry and Rickard Rakell. The Ducks won 4-3 in overtime with a Rakell power play goal, his twentieth of the campaign, powered by Getzlaf and Fowler. The three stars were handed to Rakell, Getzlaf, and Fowler.
Back south, the Tampa Bay Lightning welcome in-state rivals in the Florida Panthers. Roberto Luongo faces a lesser foe in Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal. Tampa Bay struck first in the first period with a Tyler Johnson power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, powered by Nikita Nesterov and Ondrej Palat. Florida tied it with a Vincent Trocheck goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, coming off of Jussi Jokinen. The Panthers took the lead with a Jaromir Jagr power play goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, with assists provided by Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau. Florida added on with a second period goal by Jiri Hudler, his fifteenth of the year, made possible by Alex Petrovic and Nick Bjugstad. The Panthers extended the lead as Huberdeau scored his fifteenth of the season in the third period, guided in by Barkov and Jagr. The Lightning got one back with a Steven Stamkos power play goal, his thirty-sixth of the year, made possible by Brian Boyle and Nesterov. Florida iced it at 5-2 with a shorthanded empty net goal by Jokinen, his seventeenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars went to Huberdeau, Jagr, and Barkov, while Jokinen and Nesterov get the honorable mentions.
Returning to Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs bring in the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Jonathan Bernier are the experienced goalies. Toronto drew first blood in the first period with a Ben Smith goal, his second of the season, assisted by Colin Greening and Brooks Laich. Boston tied it in the second period with a Patrice Bergeron power play goal, his twenty-ninth of the year, powered by Matt Beleskey and Torey Krug. The Bruins took the lead on a Zdeno Chara goal, his ninth of the season, passed from David Krejci and Frank Vatrano. Boston added on in the third period with a Beleskey power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, with assists provided by Loui Eriksson and Krejci as it went into the empty net. The three stars in the 3-1 game were Beleskey, Krejci, and Rask (25 for 26 in saves).
Back stateside, the Washington Capitals host the St. Louis Blues. Jake Allen opposes Philipp Grubauer in goal. St. Louis got going in the second period with a Kyle Brodziak goal, his fifth of the season, via David Backes and Scottie Upshall. The Blues added on with a Colton Parayko goal, his eighth of the year, going in unassisted. St. Louis extended the lead as Vladimir Tarasenko scored his thirty-fifth of the season, thanks to Jori Lehtera and Paul Stastny. The Blues padded the lead with a third period Patrik Berglund goal, his ninth of the year, assisted by Alex Pietrangelo and Stastny. This made it 4-0, the final, with the three stars awarded to Allen (32 save shutout), Stastny, and Brodziak.
Southwest to Nashville, where the Predators welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets. Joonas Korpisalo and Pekka Rinne are the Finnish goalies. Nashville led off in the first period with a James Neal goal, his thirtieth of the season, made possible by Ryan Johansen and Roman Josi. Columbus tied it with a Boone Jenner goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, via Brandon Saad. The Predators took the lead on a Mattias Ekholm goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Ryan Ellis and Mike Ribeiro. Nashville added on in the second period with a Craig Smith goal, his nineteenth of the year, passed from Shea Weber and Josi. The Predators extended the lead as Weber scored his eighteenth of the season on the power play, guided in by Ribeiro and Filip Forsberg. Nashville padded the lead with a Calle Jarnkrok goal in the third period, his fourteenth of the year, fueled by Josi, who got a sock trick, and Neal. This stood for a 5-1 win, with the three stars handed to Josi, Weber, and Neal, while Ribeiro gets an honorable mention.
Northwest to Calgary, as the Flames bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Scott Darling and Joni Ortio are the lesser-known goalies. Chicago got going in the second period with an Andrew Ladd goal, his twenty-first of the season, going in unassisted. Calgary tied it with a Dougie Hamilton goal, his eleventh of the year, made possible by Freddie Hamilton and Johnny Gaudreau. The Blackhawks took the lead with an Andrew Shaw goal, his fourteenth of the season, passed from Michal Rozsival and Ladd. Chicago added on in the third period with an empty net goal by Ladd, his second of the game and twenty-second of the year, an unassisted. The Blackhawks iced it at 4-1 with a Teuvo Teravainen empty net goal, his twelfth of the campaign, set up by Patrick Kane and Niklas Hjalmarsson. The three stars went to Ladd, Darling (31 for 32 in saves).
Down in Los Angeles, the Kings host the Edmonton Oilers. Laurent Brossoit is mismatched with Jonathan Quick in goal. Los Angeles began in the first period with a Tyler Toffoli goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, coming off of Brayden McNabb and Milan Lucic. Edmonton tied it with a Jordan Eberle goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, passed from Jordan Oesterle. The Oilers took the lead with a Connor McDavid goal, his fifteenth of the season, going in unassisted. The Kings tied it on a Jeff Carter goal, his nineteenth of the year, made possible by Lucic and Luke Schenn. Los Angeles took the lead in the second period with a Toffoli goal, his second of the game and twenty-ninth of the season, with a lone assist by Lucic, who got a sock trick. The Kings added on with an Andy Andreoff goal, his fifth of the year, fueled by Toffoli and Carter. Los Angeles extended the lead with a shorthanded Trevor Lewis goal, his eighth of the season, set up by McNabb and the goalie Quick. Edmonton got one back in the third period with a Patrick Maroon goal, his eighth of the year, a power play goal, guided in by Andrej Sekera and Eberle. The Oilers edged closer with another Maroon goal, his second of the game and ninth of the season, with helpers from McDavid and Adam Clendening. The Kings iced it at 6-4 with an empty net goal by Carter, his twentieth of the year, dished from Toffoli and Jake Muzzin. The three stars went to Toffoli, Carter, and Maroon, while Lucic, McNabb, McDavid, and Eberle get the honorable mentions.
Finally, the Arizona Coyotes host the Philadelphia Flyers. Steve Mason and Mike Smith are the overrated goalies. Arizona dented the scoreboard with a Shane Doan power play goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, powered by Antoine Vermette and Alex Tanguay. The Coyotes added on with a Michael Stone goal, his sixth of the year, courtesy of Anthony Duclair and Martin Hanzal. Philadelphia got on the board with a Sean Couturier power play goal in the third period, his tenth of the campaign, set up by Shayne Gostisbehere and Matt Read. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars handed to Smith (34 for 35 in saves), Stone, and Doan.
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