Saturday, April 8, 2017

NHL 2016/17 - Day 172

It's the penultimate day of the regular season, with fourteen games to be played. We begin early with...

The Ottawa Senators hosting the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Craig Anderson guard the cages. Ottawa got going in the second period with a Mike Hoffman goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, made possible by Mark Stone and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The Senators added on with a Derick Brassard goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Viktor Stalberg and Alexandre Burrows. Ottawa extended the lead in the third period as Pageau scored his eleventh of the season, thanks to Mark Borowiecki and Stone. New York got on the board with an unassisted Mika Zibanejad goal, his fourteenth of the year. The final stood at 3-1, with the three stars given to Pageau, Stone, and Brassard.

Down in Philadelphia, the Flyers welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Steve Mason draw the starts in goal. Philadelphia opened in the first period with a Pierre-Edouard Bellemare goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Chris VandeVelde and Roman Lyubimov. The Flyers added on with a Michael Del Zotto goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by Brayden Schenn and Dale Weise. Columbus got on the board in the second period with a Seth Jones power play goal, his twelfth of the season, powered by Alexander Wennberg and Nick Foligno. Philadelphia shot back with a Jakub Voracek power play goal, his twentieth of the year, with assists provided by Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds. The Flyers extended the lead as Ivan Provorov scored his seventh of the season, with the help of Andrew MacDonald and Schenn. The Blue Jackets got one back with a Boone Jenner goal, his eighteenth of the year, via Sam Gagner and Scott Hartnell. The final held at 4-2, with the three stars given to Schenn, Voracek, and Provorov.

Along to Boston, where the Bruins bring in the Washington Capitals. Philipp Grubauer and Anton Khudobin are the backups in goal. Washington started in the first period with a Marcus Johansson goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, assisted by Justin Williams. Boston tied it on a second period Colin Miller goal, his sixth of the year, fueled by Drew Stafford. The Capitals took the lead back with a Kevin Shattenkirk goal, his thirteenth of the season, guided in by Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. Washington added on with a Williams goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, via Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nate Schmidt. The final stayed at 3-1, with the three stars belonging to Williams, Shattenkirk, and Grubauer (21 for 22 in saves).

Out in California, the Los Angeles Kings host the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Jonathan Quick protect the nets. Chicago began in the first period with a Jonathan Toews goal, his twenty-first of the season, passed from Nick Schmaltz and Duncan Keith. Los Angeles tied it in the third period with a Tyler Toffoli power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, powered by Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter. The Blackhawks took the lead back with an Artemi Panarin goal, his thirty-first of the season, via Patrick Kane and Keith. The Kings tied it again with a Dustin Brown goal, his thirteenth of the year, helped along by Kopitar and Carter. Los Angeles won 3-2 in overtime with a Drew Doughty goal, his eleventh of the campaign, with helpers from Carter and Kopitar, both of whom earned sock tricks. The three stars went to Carter, Kopitar, and Keith.

Back east, the New Jersey Devils welcome the New York Islanders. Jaroslav Halak and Keith Kinkaid receive the starting nods in goal. New York dented the scoreboard in the second period with an Adam Pelech goal, his third of the season, passed from Nikolay Kulemin. The Islanders added on with an Anders Lee goal, his thirty-second of the year, via Nick Leddy and Anthony Beauvillier. New York extended the lead as Jason Chimera scored his nineteenth of the season in the third period, thanks to Alan Quine and Calvin de Haan. New Jersey got on the board with a Beau Bennett goal, his seventh of the year, going in unassisted. The Islanders shot back with a Lee power play goal, his second of the game and thirty-third of the season, powered by Josh Bailey and Leddy. The Devils shot back with a Bennett goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, assisted by Dalton Prout and Miles Wood. This only made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars being Lee, Bennett, and Leddy.

West to Detroit, where the Red Wings bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Charlie Lindgren is mismatched with Petr Mrazek in goal. Detroit led off in the first period with a Frans Nielsen goal, his seventeenth of the season, coming off of Darren Helm. Montreal tied it in the second period on a Nathan Beaulieu power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher. The Red Wings took the lead with a Dylan Larkin goal, his seventeenth of the season, guided in by Tomas Tatar and Matt Lorito. The Canadiens tied it on an Artturi Lehkonen goal, his eighteenth of the year, fueled by Nikita Nesterov. Montreal won 3-2 in overtime with an Alex Galchenyuk goal, his seventeenth of the campaign, assisted by Nesterov. The three stars belonged to Nesterov, Galchenyuk, and Lindgren (25 for 27 in saves).

South to Raleigh, with the Carolina Hurricanes hosting the St. Louis Blues. Carter Hutton and Cam Ward draw the starts in goal. St. Louis struck first in the first period with an Ivan Barbashev goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Alex Pietrangelo and Vladimir Tarasenko. Carolina tied it on a Klas Dahlbeck goal, his second of the year, made possible by Jordan Staal. The Hurricanes took the lead with a Jeff Skinner goal, his thirty-sixth of the season, guided in by Brett Pesce and Noah Hanifin. The Blues tied it in the second period with an Alexander Steen power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, powered by Pietrangelo and Tarasenko. Carolina retook the lead with a Joakim Nordstrom goal, his seventh of the season, via Sergey Tolchinsky and Victor Rask. St. Louis tied it again with a Ryan Reaves goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Kyle Brodziak and Scottie Upshall. The Blues took the lead in the third period with a shorthanded and unassisted Upshall goal, his tenth of the season. The Hurricanes equalized with a Skinner goal, his second of the game and thirty-seventh of the year, helped along by Hanifin and Pesce. In the shootout, Lee Stempniak of Carolina was bested by Patrik Berglund and Tarasenko for a 5-4 Blues win. The three stars were Upshall, Tarasenko, and Skinner, while Pietrangelo, Hanifin, and Pesce get the honorable mentions.

In Canada, the Toronto Maple Leafs welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Frederik Andersen are the solid goalies. Pittsburgh was first to score in the first period with a Phil Kessel goal, his twenty-third of the season, coming off of Matt Cullen and Tom Kuhnhackl. Toronto tied it on a James van Riemsdyk goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, fueled by Tyler Bozak and Roman Polak. Curtis McElhinney replaced Andersen after the latter was injured in the second period. The Maple Leafs took the lead back with a Bozak power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, powered by William Nylander and Jake Gardiner. The Penguins tied it on a Sidney Crosby power play goal, his forty-fourth of the year, with assists provided by Jake Guentzel and Justin Schultz. Pittsburgh took the lead in the third period with a Guentzel goal, his sixteenth of the season, going in unassisted. Toronto tied it on a Kasperi Kapanen goal, made possible by Matt Hunwick and Auston Matthews. The Maple Leafs gained the lead with a Connor Brown goal, his twentieth of the year, guided in by Gardiner and Hunwick. Toronto iced it at 5-3 with an empty net goal by Matthews, his fortieth of the campaign, an unassisted goal. The three stars went to Bozak, Guentzel, and Hunwick, while Gardiner and Matthews get the honorable mentions.

Back stateside, the Florida Panthers bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Robin Lehner and James Reimer man the creases. Florida cracked the scoresheet in the second period with a Nick Bjugstad goal, his seventh of the season, passed from Thomas Vanek and Reilly Smith. The Panthers added on with a Jonathan Huberdeau goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Jaromir Jagr on the power play. Florida extended the lead in the third period as Huberdeau scored his second of the game and tenth of the season, with a lone assist by Jagr. This made it 3-0, the final, with the three stars awarded to Huberdeau, Reimer (30 save shutout), and Jagr.

North once more to Winnipeg, with the Jets hosting the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Connor Hellebuyck are the masked men. Nashville drew first blood in the second period with a shorthanded and unassisted Ryan Ellis goal, his sixteenth of the season. Winnipeg tied it on a third period goal by Kyle Connor goal, his second of the year, via Adam Lowry. The Jets took the lead with a shorthanded Blake Wheeler goal, his twenty-sixth of the campaign, set up by Mark Scheifele and Dustin Byfuglien. This made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars awarded to Hellebuyck (33 for 34 in saves), Wheeler, and Connor.

In Texas, the Dallas Stars welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Jeremy Smith and Kari Lehtonen are in the blue paint. Dallas opened in the first period with a Devin Shore goal, his seventeenth of the season, passed from Cody Eakin and Greg Pateryn. The Stars added on with a Jamie Benn power play goal in the second period, his twenty-sixth of the year, powered by John Klingberg and Tyler Seguin. Colorado got on the board with a Mikko Rantanen goal, his nineteenth of the season, via Tyson Barrie and Sven Andrighetto. The Avalanche tied it on a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his eighteenth of the year, assisted by Francois Beauchemin and Blake Comeau. Colorado took the lead with a Nathan MacKinnon goal, his seventeenth of the season, courtesy of Barrie and J.T. Compher on the power play. Dallas tied it again with a Seguin goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, coming off of Esa Lindell and Klingberg. The Stars won 4-3 in the shootout with a Seguin tally. The three stars were Seguin, Klingberg, and Barrie.

Further west, the Arizona Coyotes bring in the Minnesota Wild. Darcy Kuemper and Mike Smith have the green light to play goal. Minnesota started in the first period with an Erik Haula goal, his fifteenth of the season, coming off of Jason Pominville. The Wild added on with an Eric Staal power play goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, powered by Charlie Coyle. Arizona got on the board with a third period Brendan Perlini goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Shane Doan and Alex Goligoski. Minnesota shot back with a Martin Hanzal power play goal, his twentieth of the year, with assists provided by Mikko Koivu and Matt Dumba. The score stayed at 3-1, with the three stars being Kuemper (20 for 21 in saves), Staal, and Hanzal.

Up in San Jose, the Sharks welcome the Calgary Flames. Brian Elliott and Aaron Dell draw the starts in goal. San Jose drew first blood in the second period with a Chris Tierney goal, his eleventh of the season, via Jannik Hansen. The Sharks added on with a Mikkel Boedker goal, his tenth of the year, courtesy of Tierney and Barclay Goodrow. Calgary got on the board with a Curtis Lazar goal, helped along by Matthew Tkachuk and Dougie Hamilton. San Jose replied in the third period with a Daniel O'Regan power play goal, powered by Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Brent Burns. The final stood at 3-1, with the three stars going to Dell (20 for 21 in saves), O'Regan, and Boedker.

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Cam Talbot and Ryan Miller are between the pipes. Edmonton cracked the scoresheet in the second period with a Jordan Eberle goal, his seventeenth of the season, helped along by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kris Russell. Vancouver tied it on a Brock Boeser power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin. The Oilers took the lead back in the third period on a Mark Letestu power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, with helpers from Connor McDavid and Oscar Klefbom. Edmonton added on with an Iiro Pakarinen goal, his second of the year, via Milan Lucic and Matt Benning. The Canucks pulled one back with an Alexander Edler goal, his sixth of the campaign, coming off of Reid Boucher and Henrik Sedin. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to Pakarinen, Letestu, and Henrik Sedin.

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