It's a big night as the season winds down, with eleven games filling the schedule. The first is in...
Boston, as the Bruins host the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Tuukka Rask man the nets. Carolina struck first in the first period with a Jaccob Slavin goal, his second of the season, passed from Justin Faulk and Nathan Gerbe. Boston tied it with a Loui Eriksson goal, his twenty-ninth of the year, with a lone assist by John-Michael Liles in the third period. The tie went to a shootout, where the Hurricanes' Noah Hanifin scored the lone tally for a 2-1 win. The three stars went to Ward (35 for 36 in saves), Rask (27 for 28 in saves), and Slavin.
Over in New Jersey, the Devils welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Chad Johnson and Cory Schneider protect the nets. Buffalo got going in the second period with a Ryan O'Reilly power play goal, his twenty-first of the season, powered by Jack Eichel and Rasmus Ristolainen. The Sabres added on with a Johan Larsson goal, his tenth of the year, going in unassisted in the third period. New Jersey got on the board with a Jacob Josefson power play goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Tyler Kennedy and Kyle Palmieri. Buffalo iced it at 3-1 with an empty net goal by Eichel, his twenty-fourth of the year, an unassisted goal. The three stars were Eichel, Johnson (18 for 19 in saves), and Larsson.
Along to DC, where the Washington Capitals bring in the New York Islanders. Christopher Gibson is mismatched with Braden Holtby in goal. Washington led off in the first period with an Alex Ovechkin goal, his forty-sixth of the season, passed from T.J. Oshie and Marcus Johansson. New York tied it in the second period with a John Tavares goal, his thirty-first of the year, fueled by Thomas Hickey and Kyle Okposo. The Capitals took the lead back with an Oshie goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, coming off of Johansson and John Carlson in the third period. Washington added on with another Ovechkin, his second of the game and forty-seventh of the year, guided in by Oshie and Johansson, the latter getting a sock trick. The Islanders answered with an Okposo goal, his twenty-second of the season, via Tavares and Frans Nielsen. New York tied it as Anders Lee scored his fifteenth of the year, thanks to Nick Leddy and Ryan Strome. The Islanders won 4-3 in overtime with a Hickey goal, his sixth of the campaign, with helpers from Tavares and Strome. The three stars went to Hickey, Tavares, and Ovechkin, while Okposo, Oshie, Johansson, and Strome get the honorable mentions.
Up in Montreal, the Canadiens host the Florida Panthers. Roberto Luongo and Mike Condon receive the starting nods. Florida began in the first period with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, courtesy of Jaromir Jagr and Jonathan Huberdeau. Florida tied it on an Alex Galchenyuk power play goal in the second period, his twenty-eighth of the year, powered by Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher. The Panthers took the lead back with a Nick Bjugstad power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, assisted by Teddy Purcell and Jagr. Florida added on in the third period with a Greg McKegg goal, his second of the year, via Shawn Thornton and Aaron Ekblad. The Panthers extended the lead as Jiri Hudler scored his sixteenth of the campaign, with the help of Purcell and Jakub Kindl. The final held at 4-1, with the three stars being Luongo (32 for 33 in saves), Jagr, and Purcell.
Back stateside, the New York Rangers welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Henrik Lundqvist are in the blue paint. Tampa Bay opened in the first period with an Andrej Sustr goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Vladislav Namestnikov and Jonathan Marchessault. The Lightning added on with an Ondrej Palat goal, his sixteenth of the year, helped along by Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov. New York tied it on a Derek Stepan power play goal in the second period, his twenty-first of the season, powered by Mats Zuccarello and Keith Yandle. The Rangers tied it in the third period with another Stepan goal, his second of the game and twenty-second of the year, guided in by Zuccarello and Kevin Klein. New York took the lead with a Chris Kreider goal, his twenty-first of the campaign, passed from Marc Staal and Stepan. This produced the 3-2 final, with the three stars awarded to Stepan, Zuccarello, and Kreider.
Into Canada again, where the Ottawa Senators bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Matt Murray and Andrew Hammond are the little-known goalies. Ottawa started in the first period with an Erik Karlsson goal, his sixteenth of the season, helped along by Mike Hoffman and Mika Zibanejad. The Senators added on with a Hoffman goal, his twenty-ninth of the year, fueled by Ben Harpur and Chris Wideman in the second period. Ottawa extended the lead as Zack Smith scored his twenty-third of the season, thanks to Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Fredrik Claesson. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Patric Hornqvist goal, his twenty-second of the year, via Nick Bonino and Justin Schultz. The Penguins pulled closer with a Sidney Crosby goal, his thirty-fourth of the season, guided in by Hornqvist and Kris Letang. Pittsburgh tied it in the third period with a Carl Hagelin goal, his thirteenth of the year, assisted by Bonino. The Penguins took the lead with a Hagelin goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the season, with a lone assist by Bonino. Pittsburgh iced it at 5-3 with a Crosby empty net goal, his second of the game and thirty-fifth of the year, set up by Letang and Chris Kunitz. The three stars went to Hagelin, Bonino, and Crosby, while Hornqvist, Letang, and Hoffman get the honorable mentions.
South to Nashville, with the Predators hosting the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Pekka Rinne are the masked men. Nashville was first to score in the first period with a Colin Wilson goal, his sixth of the season, helped along by James Neal and Ryan Johansen. The Predators added on with a Filip Forsberg power play goal, his thirty-second of the year, powered by Johansen and Shea Weber. Colorado got on the board with a Mikkel Boedker goal, his eleventh of the season, via Tyson Barrie and Matt Duchene. The Avalanche tied it in the second period with a Jarome Iginla goal, his twenty-first of the year, courtesy of Shawn Matthias and Duchene. Nashville took the lead in the third period with a Mike Fisher goal, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Roman Josi and Wilson. Colorado tied it again with a Matthias goal, his eleventh of the year, made possible by Zach Redmond and John Mitchell. The Predators took the lead with a Craig Smith goal, his twenty-first of the campaign, with helpers from Forsberg and Mattias Ekholm. This stood for a 4-3 win, with the three stars handed to Wilson, Forsberg, Matthias, while Johansen and Duchene get the honorable mentions.
Back north, the Minnesota Wild welcome the San Jose Sharks. James Reimer and Devan Dubnyk are the quality goalies. San Jose drew first blood in the first period with a Logan Couture goal, his fifteenth of the season, helped along by Brenden Dillon and Joonas Donskoi. The Sharks added on in the second period with a Patrick Marleau power play goal, his twenty-third of the year, powered by Couture and Joe Thornton. San Jose extended the lead as Marleau scored his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the campaign in the third period, with the help of Melker Karlsson and Dillon. The final stood at 3-0, with the three stars going to Marleau, Couture, and Reimer (29 save shutout), while Dillon gets an honorable mention.
Along to Chicago, where the Blackhawks bring in the Arizona Coyotes. Louis Domingue and Scott Darling are the mediocre goalies. Chicago led off in the first period with a Richard Panik goal, his sixth of the season, via Jonathan Toews and Niklas Hjalmarsson. The Blackhawks added on with a Toews shorthanded and unassisted goal, his twenty-seventh of the year. Chicago extended the lead in the second period with a Patrick Kane power play goal, his forty-fourth of the season, powered by Artemi Panarin and Brent Seabrook. The Blackhawks padded the lead as Andrew Ladd scored his twenty-fourth of the year on the power play, thanks to Trevor van Riemsdyk and Panarin. Chicago kept going with a Ladd power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the season, helped along by Kane and Panarin, the latter getting a natural sock trick. Arizona got on the board in the third period with a Connor Murphy goal, his sixth of the year, fueled by Jiri Sekac. The Blackhawks fired back with an Andrew Desjardins goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Marcus Kruger and Michal Rozsival. The Coyotes got closer with a Brad Richardson goal, his eleventh of the year, passed from Shane Doan and Max Domi. The final remained at 6-2, with the three stars being named as Toews, Panarin, and Ladd, while Kane gets an honorable mention.
Into Alberta, where the Calgary Flames host the Los Angeles Kings. Jhonas Enroth and Joni Ortio receive the green lights to play goal. Calgary began in the first period with a Mikael Backlund goal, his eighteenth of the season, helped along by Joe Colborne and Deryk Engelland. Los Angeles tied it with a Milan Lucic goal, his eighteenth of the year, via Anze Kopitar and Jake Muzzin. The Kings took the lead in the second period with a Lucic goal, his second of the game and nineteenth of the campaign, courtesy of Kopitar and Drew Doughty. The Flames tied it with a Hunter Shinkaruk goal, his second of the season, assisted by Mark Giordano and Johnny Gaudreau. Calgary took the lead in the third period with a Giordano power play goal, his twenty-first of the year, powered by Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Los Angeles tied it again with an Andy Andreoff goal, his seventh of the campaign, going in unassisted. The Flames pulled ahead with an Engelland goal, his second of the season, with helpers from Micheal Ferland and Colborne. The Kings tied it on a Kris Versteeg goal, his fourteenth of the year, fueled by Jamie McBain and Tyler Toffoli. Los Angeles won 5-4 in overtime with an unassisted Jeff Carter goal, his twenty-fourth of the campaign. The three stars belonged to Lucic, Giordano, and Engelland, while Colborne, Gaudreau, and Kopitar get the honorable mentions.
Finally, the Anaheim Ducks host the Winnipeg Jets. Michael Hutchinson and John Gibson are the young goalies. Anaheim cracked the scoresheet with a first period Corey Perry power play goal, his thirty-third of the season, powered by Ryan Getzlaf and Sami Vatanen. Winnipeg tied it in the third period with a Marko Dano goal, his fifth of the year, fueled by Jacob Trouba and Alex Burmistrov. The Jets won 2-1 in overtime with a Blake Wheeler goal, his twenty-fourth of the campaign, guided in by Mark Scheifele and Dustin Byfuglien. The three stars were Wheeler, Dano, and Hutchinson (27 for 28 in saves).
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