Saturday, October 7, 2017

NHL 2017-18 Day 4

It's as full of a day as possible in the NHL this year, as fifteen games are set to go. We begin with one matinee in...

New Jersey, as the Devils host the Colorado Rapids. Jonathan Bernier and Cory Schneider are in goal. New Jersey opened in the first period with an Adam Henrique power play goal, powered by Will Butcher and Kyle Palmieri. The Devils added on in the second period with a Jimmy Hayes power play goal, with helpers from Palmieri and Butcher. Colorado got on the board with a Carl Soderberg goal, via Tyson Jost and J.T. Compher. New Jersey replied with a Jesper Bratt power play goal, helped along by Taylor Hall and Butcher, the latter earning a sock trick. The Devils extended the lead as John Moore scored a shorthanded goal in the third period, set up by Bratt. This made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars going to Butcher, Schneider (40 for 41 in saves), and Bratt, while Palmieri gets an honorable mention.

At the regular time, the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Minnesota Wild. Alex Stalock and Scott Darling draw the starts in goal. Minnesota started in the first period with a Jason Zucker power play goal, powered by Matt Dumba and Mike Reilly. Carolina tied it on a Joakim Nordstrom goal, helped along by Marcus Kruger and Brock McGinn. The Wild retook the lead with a Chris Stewart goal, his second of the season, via Jared Spurgeon and Marcus Foligno. Minnesota added on with an Eric Staal goal, courtesy of Zucker and Charlie Coyle in the second period. The Hurricanes got one back with a Derek Ryan power play goal, with assists provided by Justin Williams and Victor Rask. Carolina tied it in the third period as Noah Hanifin scored, thanks to Sebastian Aho and Elias Lindholm. The Hurricanes pulled ahead on a Rask goal, made possible by Aho and Lindholm. The Wild tied it at the last second with a Mikko Koivu goal, fueled by Staal and Ryan Suter. In the shootout, the Hurricanes got the 5-4 win on a lone tally by Jaccob Slavin. The three stars went to Rask, Aho, and Lindholm, while Zucker and Staal get the honorable mentions.

Up in Brooklyn, the New York Islanders bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Robin Lehner and Jaroslav Halak are in the blue paint. New York led off in the first period with a John Tavares goal, with a lone assist by Jordan Eberle. The Islanders added on in the second period a shorthanded and unassisted Tavares goal, his second of the game. New York extended the lead as Casey Cizikas scored a shorthanded goal, thanks to Andrew Ladd. The Islanders padded the lead with a Josh Bailey goal, helped along by Joshua Ho-Sang and Jason Chimera. Chad Johnson replaced Lehner in goal. Buffalo got on the board with an Evander Kane goal, set up by Jack Eichel. The Sabres got closer with another shorthanded goal from Kane, fueled by Ryan O'Reilly. New York responded in the third period with an Anthony Beauvillier goal, passed from Nick Leddy and Cizikas. Buffalo countered with an Eichel goal, assisted by Rasmus Ristolainen and Kane. The Islanders iced it at 6-3 with a Cizikas empty net goal, his second of the game with helpers from Tavares and Bailey. The three stars were Cizikas, Tavares, and Kane, while Eichel and Bailey get the honorable mentions.

Over to Michigan, where the Detroit Red Wings host the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Jimmy Howard protect the nets. Detroit dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Martin Frk goal, his second of the season, with a lone assist from Dylan Larkin. Ottawa tied it on an unassisted Dion Phaneuf goal. In the shootout, the Red Wings got a lone tally from Frans Nielsen to win 2-1. The three stars were Howard (37 for 38 in saves), Anderson (29 for 30 in saves), and Frk.

Backtracking to Pittsburgh, where the Penguins welcome the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Matt Murray are called on to start in goal. Pittsburgh began in the first period with an Evgeni Malkin goal, coming off of Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin. The Penguins added on with a Jake Guentzel goal, helped along by Bryan Rust and Sidney Crosby. Pittsburgh extended the lead in the second period as Ryan Reaves scored, thanks to Olli Maatta and Carter Rowney. The Penguins padded the lead with a Maatta goal in the third period, his second of the year, courtesy of Crosby and Rust. The final stood at 4-0, with the three stars given to Maatta, Murray (26 save shutout), and Rust, while Crosby gets an honorable mention.

Up in Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs bring in the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Frederik Andersen are the veteran goalies. Toronto struck first in the first period with a Dominic Moore goal, helped along by Nikita Zaitsev. New York tied it on a J.T. Miller goal, via Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes. The Maple Leafs retook the lead with a Zach Hyman goal, assisted by William Nylander. Toronto added on with an unassisted Jake Gardiner power play goal. The Maple Leafs extended the lead as Zaitsev scored, thanks to Ron Hainsey and Nazem Kadri. Toronto padded the lead with a Hyman goal, his second of the game, going in unassisted. The Rangers got one back with a Kevin Shattenkirk power play goal, powered by Mats Zuccarello and Kreider. Ondrej Pavelec replaced Lundqvist at the start of the second period. New York got closer with a Mika Zibanejad power play goal, his third of the season, guided in by Shattenkirk and Zuccarello. The Rangers chipped closer with a Marc Staal goal, coming off of Zuccarello, who got a sock trick, and Ryan McDonagh. New York tied it on a Zuccarello goal, made possible by Staal and Miller. The Maple Leafs regained the lead with a Tyler Bozak goal in the third period, fueled by Gardiner and Mitchell Marner. Toronto continued with a Leo Komarov power play goal, dished from Nylander and Auston Matthews. The Maple Leafs finished it at 8-5 with a Kadri power play goal, hissecond of the year, with assists provided by Patrick Marleau and Komarov. The three stars were Kadri, Hyman, and Zuccarello, while Komarov, Miller, Shattenkirk, Staal, Gardiner, Zaitsev, Nylander, and Kreider get honorable mentions.

Back stateside, the Washington Capitals host the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Braden Holtby tend the twines. Washington was first to score in the first period with an Alex Ovechkin goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Jakub Vrana and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Capitals added on with a T.J. Oshie goal, via Nicklas Backstrom and Andre Burakovsky. Washington extended the lead as Ovechkin scored a power play goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, thanks to Kuznetsov and Backstrom. The Capitals padded the lead with an Ovechkin goal, completing his second hat trick of the year on his sixth of the season, with helpers from Kuznetsov, who got a sock trick, and Aaron Ness. Price was replaced by Al Montoya to start the second period. Montreal got on the board with a shorthanded Brendan Gallagher goal, set up by Paul Byron. Washington answered with Ovechkin's fourth of the game and seventh of the year, made possible by Kuznetsov and John Carlson. The Capitals continued with a Nathan Walker goal, fueled by Devante Smith-Pelly and Jay Beagle. This proved to be the end of the scoring, with the 6-1 final leading to three stars honors for Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, and Backstrom.

South to Florida, where the Panthers welcome their in-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy faces a lesser foe in James Reimer in goal. Tampa Bay drew first blood in the first period with a Nikita Kucherov goal, his second of the season, via Steven Stamkos and Vladislav Namestnikov. The Lightning added on with a Namestnikov power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Stamkos and Kucherov. Florida got on the board with an Evgenii Dadonov power play goal, fueled by Aaron Ekblad and Jonathan Huberdeau. The Panthers tied it in the second period with a Nick Bjugstad goal, coming off of Dadonov and Jared McCann. Tampa Bay retook the lead with a Brayden Point goal, with a lone assist by Ondrej Palat. Florida retied it in the third period with a Colton Sceviour goal, passed from Micheal Haley and Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers took the lead on a McCann goal, helped along by Bjugstad and Connor Brickley. Florida extended the lead as Vincent Trocheck scored, thanks to Radim Vrbata and Barkov. The Lightning got one back with a Tyler Johnson goal, with helpers from Yanni Gourde and Point. This wouldn't be enough, as the Panthers won 5-4, and the three stars belonged to Dadonov, Bjugstad, and McCann, while Point, Kucherov, Namestnikov, Barkov, and Stamkos get honorable mentions.

Northwest to Missouri, where the St. Louis Blues bring in the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen is mismatched with Jake Allen in goal. St. Louis got going in the first period with a Carl Gunnarsson goal, assisted by Paul Stastny and Vladimir Sobotka. The Blues added on with a Joel Edmundson goal, via Alex Pietrangelo and Jaden Schwartz. St. Louis extended the lead as Schwartz scored, thanks to Dmitrij Jaskin and Brayden Schenn. Dallas got on the board in the third period with a John Klingberg power play goal, powered by Alexander Radulov and Devin Shore. The Blues replied with a Vladimir Tarasenko power play goal, with assists provided by Pietrangelo and Schenn. The Stars got one back with a Mattias Janmark goal, helped along by Jason Spezza and Brett Ritchie. The final stood from here at 4-2, with the three stars given to Schwartz, Pietrangelo, and Schenn.

Up in Chicago, the Blackhawks host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Joonas Korpisalo and Corey Crawford are between the pipes. Chicago opened in the first period with a Patrick Kane goal, his second of the season, coming off of Ryan Hartman and Gustav Forsling. The Blackhawks added on with a Brandon Saad power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp. Chicago extended the lead in the second period as Toews scored, with the help of Saad. Columbus got on the board with a Sonny Milano goal, his second of the season, via Nick Foligno and Gabriel Carlsson. The Blackhawks answered with a Jan Rutta goal, with a lone assist by Kane. Chicago wrapped it up at 5-1 with a Richard Panik goal, his second of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars went to Saad, Kane, and Toews.

In the desert, the Arizona Coyotes welcome the Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury and Antti Raanta receive the green light in goal. Arizona started in the first period with a Tobias Rieder goal, assisted by Jordan Martinook and Luke Schenn. Vegas tied it in the third period with an unassisted Nate Schmidt goal. The Golden Knights won 2-1 in overtime with a James Neal goal, his third of the year, made possible by David Perron and Schmidt. The three stars were Schmidt, Fleury (27 for 28 in saves), and Neal.

Up in Canada, the Vancouver Canucks bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Cam Talbot and Jacob Markstrom are set to start in goal. Edmonton led off in the first period with a Kris Russell goal, via Zack Kassian and Milan Lucic. Vancouver tied it on a Bo Horvat power play goal, powered by Ben Hutton and Markstrom. The Canucks took the lead with an unassisted Brandon Sutter goal. Vancouver added on in the second period with a Horvat goal, his second of the game, fueled by Loui Eriksson and Alexander Edler. Laurent Brossoit took over for Talbot in goal. The Oilers got one back in the third period with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins power play goal, with helpers from Patrick Maroon and Russell. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to Horvat, Russell, and Markstrom (33 for 35 in saves plus an assist).

Over in Alberta, the Calgary Flames host the Winnipeg Jets. Steve Mason and Mike Smith are the experienced goalies. Winnipeg began in the first period with a shorthanded and unassisted Brandon Tanev goal. Calgary tied it on a T.J. Brodie power play goal, powered by Johnny Gaudreau and Kris Versteeg. The Jets retook the lead with a Mark Scheifele power play goal, his second of the season, coming off of Blake Wheeler and Mathieu Perreault. Winnipeg added on with a Patrik Laine goal, helped along by Perreault and Josh Morrissey. The Flames got one back in the second period with another Brodie goal, assisted by Michael Stone and Gaudreau. Calgary tied it on a Micheal Ferland power play goal, passed from Mark Giordano and Gaudreau, the latter earning a sock trick. The Flames took the lead with a Gaudreau goal, fueled by Brodie and Curtis Lazar. Calgary extended the lead as Versteeg scored, with the help of Sean Monahan and Brodie. The Flames padded the lead in the third period with a Mikael Backlund goal, made possible by Dougie Hamilton and Matthew Tkachuk. This made it 6-3, the final, with the three stars awarded to Brodie, Gaudreau, and Versteeg, while Perreault gets an honorable mention.

In California, the Anaheim Ducks welcome the Philadelphia Flyers. Brian Elliott and John Gibson stand in the creases. Philadelphia struck first in the first period with an Ivan Provorov goal, passed from Nolan Patrick and Jordan Weal. Anaheim tied it on an Antoine Vermette goal, via Ondrej Kase and Josh Manson. The Flyers took the lead back in the second period with a Sean Couturier goal, assisted by Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux. The Ducks tied it in the third period with a shorthanded and unassisted Cam Fowler goal. Philadelphia won 3-2 in overtime with a Wayne Simmonds goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Couturier and Provorov. The three stars were Couturier, Simmonds, and Provorov.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Martin Jones are the masked men. Los Angeles was first to score in the first period with a Dustin Brown goal, via Anze Kopitar. San Jose tied it on a Mikkel Boedker goal, passed from Brenden Dillon and Dylan DeMelo. The Kings took the lead back with a Kopitar goal, guided in by Jake Muzzin. Los Angeles added on in the second period with a Kopitar goal, fueled by Brown and Derek Forbort. The Kings extended the lead as Nick Shore scored an unassisted goal. The final held at 4-1, with the three stars awarded to Kopitar, Brown, and Quick (24 for 25 in saves).

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