Monday, November 21, 2016

NHL 2016/17 - Day 40

Seven games on for this strange week, which will defy the usual scheduling pattern. We begin with...

The Buffalo Sabres hosting the Calgary Flames. Brian Elliott and Robin Lehner are in goal. Calgary led off in the first period with a Mikael Backlund goal, his third of the season, helped along by Michael Frolik and Matthew Tkachuk. Buffalo tied it on a Kyle Okposo power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen in the second period. The Sabres took the lead with a Johan Larsson goal, his third of the campaign, via Evander Kane and Taylor Fedun on the power play. Buffalo added on with a Matt Moulson power play goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Okposo and Fedun. The Flames got one back with a Tkachuk goal in the third period, his fifth of the year, coming off of Dougie Hamilton and Mark Giordano. The Sabres replied with a Marcus Foligno goal, his fourth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Reinhart. The three stars of the 4-2 game were Okposo, Fedun, and Tkachuk, while Reinhart gets an honorable mention.

Down in Pittsburgh, the Penguins welcome the New York Rangers. Antti Raanta and Marc-Andre Fleury are in the creases. Pittsburgh began in the first period with a Jake Guentzel goal, via Phil Kessel and Trevor Daley. The Penguins added on with a Guentzel goal, his second of the game, coming off of Evgeni Malkin. New York got on the board in the second period with an unassisted Rick Nash goal, his eighth of the season. The Rangers tied it with a Michael Grabner goal, his twelfth of the year, passed from Ryan McDonagh. New York took the lead on a shorthanded goal by J.T. Miller, his eighth of the season, set up by Kevin Hayes. The Rangers extended the lead in the third period as Hayes scored his ninth of the year, thanks to McDonagh. New York iced it at 5-2 with a Derek Stepan empty net goal, his third of the campaign, with helpers from Nash and Grabner. The three stars went to Hayes, Grabner, and Nash, while Guentzel and McDonagh get the honorable mentions.

West to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets bring in the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov faces a lesser foe in Curtis McElhinney in goal. Columbus opened in the first period with a Cam Atkinson goal, his sixth of the season, passed from Brandon Dubinsky and Brandon Saad. Colorado tied it in the second period on a Tyson Barrie goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Mikko Rantanen and Carl Soderberg. The Avalanche took the lead on an Erik Johnson goal, via Nathan MacKinnon and Fedor Tyutin. The Blue Jackets retied it in the third period on another Atkinson goal, his second of the game and seventh of the season, made possible by Sam Gagner and Zach Werenski. Colorado won 3-2 in overtime with a Matt Duchene goal, his seventh of the year, coming off of Johnson. The three stars were Johnson, Duchene, and Atkinson.

South to Nashville, where the Predators host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ben Bishop and Pekka Rinne tend the twines. Nashville started in the first period with a Viktor Ardvidsson goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis. The Predators added on with a P.K. Subban power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Ellis and Mike Ribeiro in the second period. Nashville extended the lead as Subban scored his second of the game and fifth of the season, thanks to Filip Forsberg and Ellis, the latter earning a sock trick. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Tyler Johnson goal in the third period, his seventh of the year, helped along by Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. The game ended at 3-1, with the three stars awarded to Subban, Ellis, and Rinne (23 for 24 in saves).

In Texas, the Dallas Stars bring in the Minnesota Wild. Darcy Kuemper and Antti Niemi are masked men. Dallas got going in the second period with a Jamie Oleksiak goal, via Patrick Eaves and Jason Spezza. Minnesota tied it on a Nino Niederreiter power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Mikael Granlund and Mikko Koivu. The Stars took the lead back in the third period on a Brett Ritchie goal, his fifth of the year, passed from Julius Honka and Radek Faksa. The Wild retied it with an Erik Haula goal, his second of the season, guided in by Niederreiter and Jason Pominville. Dallas won 3-2 in overtime on a Jamie Benn goal, his sixth of the year, fueled by Tyler Seguin and Jordie Benn. The three stars were Jamie Benn, Niederreiter, and Niemi (27 for 29 in saves).

In Alberta, the Edmonton Oilers welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Cam Talbot man the nets. Edmonton was first to score in the first period with an Oscar Klefbom goal, his third of the season, made possible by Connor McDavid and Matthew Benning. The Oilers added on with a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Klefbom and McDavid. Edmonton extended the lead in the second period as Andrej Sekera scored his second of the season, with the help of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Drake Caggiula. The Oilers padded the lead in the third period on an Anton Slepyshev goal, his second of the year, passed from Jesse Puljujarvi. Edmonton iced it at 5-0 with a Draisaitl power play goal, his second of the game and sixth of the campaign, assisted by Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle. The three stars went to Draisaitl, Klefbom, and McDavid, while Talbot (31 save shutout) gets an honorable mention.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the New Jersey Devils. Keith Kinkaid and Martin Jones play goal. San Jose struck first in the first period with a shorthanded and unassisted Chris Tierney goal. The Sharks added on with a Patrick Marleau goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Joe Pavelski and Paul Martin. San Jose extended the lead in the second period as Logan Couture scored his fifth of the year on the power play, with the help of Brent Burns and Joe Thornton. The Sharks padded the lead with a Burns goal in the third period, his seventh of the season, going in unassisted. The final stood at 4-0, with Burns, Jones (26 save shutout), and Tierney getting the three stars.

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