Tuesday, December 27, 2016

NHL 2016/17 - Day 73

After the three days off for Christmas, the NHL is back. We begin with...

The New York Rangers hosting the Ottawa Senators. Mike Condon and Antti Raanta are the backups in goal. Ottawa started in the first period with a Mark Borowiecki goal, assisted by Mike Hoffman and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The Senators added on with a Zack Smith goal, his eighth of the season, courtesy of Erik Karlsson and Mark Stone. New York got on the board with a Nick Holden goal, his fifth of the year, coming off of Ryan McDonagh and Kevin Hayes. Ottawa replied with a Cody Ceci goal, passed from Hoffman and Pageau. The Rangers countered with a Derek Stepan goal, his eighth of the season, made possible by Chris Kreider and McDonagh in the second period. New York tied it on a Stepan power play goal, his second of the and ninth of the year, powered by Mats Zuccarello and McDonagh, who earned a sock trick. The Rangers took the lead in the third period on a Holden goal, his second of the game and sixth of the season via Brady Skjei and Matt Puempel. The game ended at 4-3, with the three stars belonging to Holden, Stepan, and McDonagh, while Hoffman and Pageau get the honorable mentions.

Across town in Brooklyn, the New York Islanders welcome the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby and Jaroslav Halak protect the nets. New York opened in the first period with a Cal Clutterbuck goal, his third of the season, made possible by Nikolay Kulemin and Ryan Strome. Washington tied it on a Justin Williams goal, his eighth of the year, via Alex Ovechkin and Dmitry Orlov. The Islanders took the lead in the second period with an Andrew Ladd goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Thomas Hickey and Alan Quine. The Capitals tied it again in the third period on an Ovechkin goal, his sixteenth of the year, assisted by Williams and Evgeny Kuznetsov. New York took the lead back on a Ladd goal, his second of the game and seventh of the season, passed from Quine and Hickey. The Jets added on with an unassisted Anders Lee goal, his thirteenth of the year. Washington pulled back with an Andre Burakovsky goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Jay Beagle and Matt Niskanen. The final held at 4-3, with the three stars going to Ladd, Ovechkin, and Williams, while Hickey and Quine get the honorable mentions.

Out to New Jersey, where the Devils bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Cory Schneider are the masked men. New Jersey led off in the first period with a P.A. Parenteau goal, his ninth of the season, passed from Taylor Hall. Pittsburgh retied it on an Evgeni Malkin power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, powered by Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel. The Devils took the lead with an Adam Henrique power play goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac. The Penguins tied it again with a Crosby goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, with a lone assist by Conor Sheary. Pittsburgh tied it on a Justin Schultz goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Malkin and Crosby. The Penguins added on with a Carl Hagelin goal in the third period, his fourth of the year, courtesy of Chad Ruhwedel. Pittsburgh iced it at 5-2 with an empty net goal by Bryan Rust, his tenth of the campaign, set up by Nick Bonino and Hagelin. The three stars belonged to Crosby, Malkin, and Hagelin.

West to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets host the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Sergei Bobrovsky tend the twines. Columbus began in the first period with a Scott Hartnell goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Lukas Sedlak and Sam Gagner. The Blue Jackets added on with a Seth Jones goal, his sixth of the year, via Hartnell and Brandon Saad. Columbus extended the lead as Matt Calvert scored his fifth of the season, with a lone assist by Josh Anderson. Boston got on the board with a David Backes goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of David Krejci. The Bruins got closer with an Austin Czarnik goal, his fifth of the season, fueled by Riley Nash and Torey Krug. Boston tied it on a Krejci goal in the second period, his seventh of the year, guided in by Ryan Spooner and Backes. The Blue Jackets retook the lead with a Nick Foligno power play goal in the third period, his eleventh of the season, powered by Alexander Wennberg and Zach Werenski. The game ended at 4-3, with the three stars being Hartnell, Backes, and Krejci.

In Detroit, the Red Wings welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Robin Lehner and Petr Mrazek are in the creases. Buffalo struck first in the first period with an Evander Kane goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Brian Gionta and Zach Bogosian. The Sabres added on with a Sam Reinhart power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Rasmus Ristolainen and Jack Eichel. Detroit got on the board in the second period with a Henrik Zetterberg goal, his seventh of the season, via Steve Ott and Anthony Mantha. Buffalo retook the lead with an Eichel goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by Marcus Foligno. The Red Wings pulled back on a Drew Miller goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Dylan Larkin. Detroit tied it in the third period with an unassisted Thomas Vanek power play goal, his sixth of the year. The Sabres regained the lead on a Kane goal, his second of the game and eighth of the season, courtesy of Gionta and Dmitry Kulikov. The game ended at 4-3, with the three stars going to Kane, Gionta, and Eichel.

Down to Nashville, where the Predators bring in the Minnesota Wild. Devan Dubnyk and Pekka Rinne are between the pipes. Minnesota was first to score in the first period with a Zach Parise power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Matt Dumba and Charlie Coyle. Nashville tied it in the second period with a Filip Forsberg goal, his sixth of the year, via Ryan Johansen and Mattias Ekholm. The Wild retook the lead with a Chris Stewart goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Eric Staal and Jordan Schroeder. The Predators tied it again on a Reid Boucher goal, coming off of Austin Watson and Calle Jarnkrok. Minnesota won 3-2 in overtime with a Jared Spurgeon goal, his third of the year, passed from Schroeder and Coyle. The three stars went to Coyle, Schroeder, and Dubnyk (28 for 30 in saves).

Northwest to Chicago, where the Blackhawks host the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Corey Crawford play in the blue paint. Winnipeg opened in the first period with a Blake Wheeler goal, his eleventh of the season, helped along by Bryan Little and Jacob Trouba. The Jets added on with a Mark Scheifele goal, his fifteenth of the year, assisted by Trouba and Nikolaj Ehlers. Chicago got on the board in the second period with an Artem Anisimov goal, his fifteenth of the season, courtesy of Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin. Winnipeg answered in the third period with a Drew Stafford goal, his second of the year, coming off of Nic Petan and Marko Dano. This made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars going to Scheifele, Trouba, and Hellebuyck (33 for 34 in saves).

Westward to Colorado, where the Avalanche welcome the Calgary Flames. Brian Elliott faces a lesser foe in Calvin Pickard in goal. Colorado started in the first period with a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie. Calgary tied it on a second period Mikael Backlund goal, his eighth of the year, via Matthew Tkachuk and Dennis Wideman. The Flames took the lead with a Sam Bennett goal, his ninth of the season, courtesy of Deryk Engelland and Backlund. Calgary added on with a Johnny Gaudreau goal, his eighth of the year, fueled by Wideman and T.J. Brodie. The Avalanche got one back on a Jarome Iginla goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Carl Soderberg and Cody Goloubef. The Flames countered with a Backlund goal, his second of the game and ninth of the year, helped along by Dougie Hamilton and Michael Frolik. Calgary extended the lead in the third period as Gaudreau scored his second of the game and ninth of the season, thanks to Kris Versteeg and Matt Stajan. Colorado replied with a Landeskog goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, with assists provided by MacKinnon and Goloubef. The Flames responded with a Versteeg power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Brodie and Gaudreau. This made it 6-3, the final, with the three stars awarded to Gaudreau, Backlund, and Versteeg, while Landeskog, Brodie, Wideman, MacKinnon, and Goloubef get the honorable mentions.

South to Arizona, where the Coyotes bring in the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Mike Smith are the veteran goalies. Dallas got going in the second period with a shorthanded Jason Spezza goal, his seventh of the season, set up by Jordie Benn. Arizona tied it on an Anthony Duclair goal, his second of the year, helped along by Martin Hanzal and Tobias Rieder. The Stars took the lead back with a Jamie Benn power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Tyler Seguin and Spezza. Dallas added on with a John Klingberg empty net goal, his third of the year, set up by the goalie Lehtonen. The Coyotes got one back on a Radim Vrbata penalty shot goal, his ninth of the campaign. The game ended at 3-2, with the three stars being Spezza, Lehtonen (35 for 37 in saves), and Jamie Benn.

Finally, the Anaheim Ducks host the San Jose Sharks in a Battle of California. Martin Jones and John Gibson play goal. San Jose struck first in the first period with a Paul Martin goal, his third of the season, assisted by Logan Couture and Mikkel Boedker. Anaheim tied it in the second period with an Ondrej Kase goal, his second of the year, via Nick Ritchie and Antoine Vermette. The Sharks took the lead back with a Melker Karlsson goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Joel Ward and Brent Burns. The Ducks tied it on a Jakob Silfverberg goal, his tenth of the year, passed from Ryan Kesler and Andrew Cogliano. San Jose won 3-2 in overtime with a Burns goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, guided in by Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton. The three stars were Burns, Karlsson, and Martin.

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