Sunday, February 19, 2017

NHL 2016/17 - Day 124

After Canada got the spotlight yesterday, today is Hockey Day In America, featuring another eleven games to fill the schedule. We begin with...

The New York Rangers hosting the Washington Capitals. Philipp Grubauer and Henrik Lundqvist play goal. New York led off in the first period with a Ryan McDonagh goal, his third of the season, coming off of Rick Nash and Derek Stepan. Washington tied it in the second period with an Alex Ovechkin power play goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, powered by Lars Eller and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Rangers retook the lead in the third period on a Mats Zuccarello goal, his twelfth of the campaign, made possible by Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. This made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars given to Zuccarello, Lundqvist (31 for 32 in saves), and McDonagh.

West to Pittsburgh, where the Penguins welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Petr Mrazek and Matt Murray draw the starts in goal. Detroit began in the first period with a Nick Jensen goal, his third of the season, assisted by Justin Abdelkader and Andreas Athanasiou. Pittsburgh tied it on a Tom Kuhnhackl shorthanded goal, his third of the year, set up by Kris Letang. The Red Wings retook the lead with a Steve Ott goal, his third of the season, passed from Riley Sheahan. Detroit added on in the third period with a Tomas Tatar goal, his fourteenth of the year, coming off of Henrik Zetterberg and Anthony Mantha. The Red Wings extended the lead as Thomas Vanek scored his fifteenth of the season, an unassisted goal. The Penguins got one back with a Sidney Crosby goal, his thirty-second of the year, with a lone assist by Jake Guentzel. Detroit iced it at 5-2 with a Luke Glendening empty net goal, his third of the campaign, with helpers from Ott and Zetterberg. The three stars were Ott, Zetterberg, and Tatar.

Up in Ottawa, the Senators bring in the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Mike Condon are given the starting nods in goal. Winnipeg started in the first period with a Dustin Byfuglien goal, his ninth of the season, courtesy of Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine. The Jets added on with a Mathieu Perreault goal, his sixth of the year, via Scheifele and Laine. Ottawa got on the board in the second period with a Mark Stone goal, his twenty-second of the season, a power play goal powered by Erik Karlsson and Dion Phaneuf. Winnipeg replied with a Josh Morrissey goal, his third of the year, going in unassisted in the third period. The Senators chipped back with a Zack Smith goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, made possible by Derick Brassard and Karlsson. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars given to Scheifele, Laine, and Karlsson.

Back stateside, the Buffalo Sabres host the Chicago Blackhawks. Scott Darling and Robin Lehner are in the blue paint. Chicago opened in the first period with a Ryan Hartman goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Tanner Kero and Duncan Keith. Buffalo tied it on an Evander Kane goal, his twenty-first of the year, via Jack Eichel and Rasmus Ristolainen. The Blackhawks took the lead back in the second period with a Marian Hossa goal, his twenty-first of the season, coming off of Marcus Kruger and Michal Kempny. Chicago added on with a Jonathan Toews goal, his twelfth of the year, guided in by Richard Panik and Nick Schmaltz. The Blackhawks extended the lead in the third period as Artem Anisimov scored his twenty-first of the season, thanks to Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin. Chicago padded the lead on a Kane goal, his twentieth of the year, with a lone assist from Panarin. The three stars of the 5-1 game were Kane, Panarin, and Darling (25 for 26 in saves).

Across the state, the New York Islanders welcome the New Jersey Devils. Keith Kinkaid and Jean-Francois Berube are the backups in goal. New Jersey struck first in the first period with a Miles Wood power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri. New York tied it on a Ryan Strome goal, his tenth of the year, helped along by Anthony Beauvillier and Dennis Seidenberg. The Islanders took the lead in the second period with a Casey Cizikas goal, his seventh of the season, fueled by Stephen Gionta. New York added on with a Strome goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, going in unassisted. The Islanders extended the lead as Andrew Ladd scored his sixteenth of the season, a shorthanded goal set up by Johnny Boychuk. The Devils answered with a Palmieri goal, his sixteenth of the year, coming off of Travis Zajac and Hall. New Jersey got closer with a Joseph Blandisi goal, guided in by Steven Santini and Stefan Noesen. New York shot back in the third period on a John Tavares power play goal, his twenty-first of the season, with assists provided by Strome and Anders Lee. The Islanders padded the lead with a Jason Chimera goal, his fifteenth of the year, an unassisted goal. The Devils got one back with a Hall power play goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, with helpers from Damon Severson and the goalie Kinkaid. The game ended at 6-4, with the three stars handed to Strome, Hall, and Palmieri.

West to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets bring in the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros is mismatched with Sergei Bobrovsky in goal. Nashville was first to score in the first period with a Ryan Ellis goal, his ninth of the season, fueled by Roman Josi and James Neal. The Predators added on with a Kevin Fiala goal in the second period, his seventh of the year, via Mike Fisher. Columbus got on the board with a Brandon Saad goal, his eighteenth of the season, assisted by Seth Jones and Zach Werenski. Nashville shot back with a Calle Jarnkrok goal, his twelfth of the year, guided in by Neal and P.K. Subban. The Blue Jackets pulled back with an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal, his second of the season, helped along by Alexander Wennberg and Werenski. Columbus tied it in the third period with a Werenski goal, his ninth of the year, coming off of Wennberg and Jones. The Predators retook the lead with a Mattias Ekholm goal, his third of the campaign, courtesy of Filip Forsberg and Subban. This stood for a 4-3 win, with the three stars being Werenski, Neal, and Subban, while Jones and Wennberg get the honorable mentions.

Down in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Curtis McElhinney and Cam Ward are between the pipes. Toronto got going in the second period with a Connor Brown goal, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak. The Maple Leafs added on with an Auston Matthews goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, with a lone assist by Jake Gardiner. Toronto extended the lead in the third period as Gardiner scored his eighth of the season, with the help of Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov. The Maple Leafs padded the lead on a Brown goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, guided in by van Riemsdyk and Gardiner. This made it 4-0, the final, with the three stars being Brown, McElhinney (37 save shutout), and Gardiner, while van Riemsdyk gets an honorable mention.

West to Denver, where the Colorado Avalanche welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ben Bishop and Calvin Pickard are the goalies. Tampa Bay opened in the first period with a Brayden Point goal, his eighth of the season, helped along by Alex Killorn and Victor Hedman. The Lightning added on in the second period with a Vladislav Namestnikov goal, his seventh of the year, via Valtteri Filppula and Brian Boyle. Colorado got on the board with a Mikko Rantanen goal, his thirteenth of the season, made possible by Blake Comeau and Matt Duchene in the third period. The Avalanche tied it on a Duchene goal, his sixteenth of the year, assisted by Tyson Barrie and Nathan MacKinnon. Tampa Bay won 3-2 in overtime on a Jonathan Drouin goal, his seventeenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Drouin, Duchene and Namestnikov.

Out in California, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Martin Jones guard the cages. Boston started in the first period with a Ryan Spooner goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Jimmy Hayes and Adam McQuaid. San Jose tied it on a Patrick Marleau goal in the second period, his twenty-first of the year, via Brent Burns and David Schlemko. The Bruins won 2-1 in overtime with a Brad Marchand goal, his twenty-fifth of the campaign, assisted by Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron. The three stars were Rask (29 for 30 in saves), Marchand, and Spooner.

Down in Anaheim, the Ducks host the Los Angeles Kings in a battle of California. Peter Budaj and John Gibson are the solid goalies. Anaheim dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Josh Manson goal, his second of the season, helped along by Ryan Getzlaf. This stood for a 1-0 win, with the three stars given to Gibson (24 save shutout), Manson, and Budaj (28 for 29 in saves).

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers. Michal Neuvirth and Ryan Miller occupy the creases. Philadelphia struck first in the first period with a Wayne Simmonds power play goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, powered by Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov. The Flyers added on with a Jakub Voracek goal in the second period, his fifteenth of the year, via Sean Couturier and Gostisbehere. Philadelphia extended the lead as Brayden Schenn scored a power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, thanks to Gostisbehere, who earned a sock trick. Vancouver got on the board with a Markus Granlund goal, his fifteenth of the year, guided in by Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. The Canucks got closer with a Jannik Hansen goal, his sixth of the season, fueled by Bo Horvat and Ben Hutton. The final held at 3-2, with the three stars going to Gostisbehere, Schenn, and Voracek.

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