Thursday, December 14, 2017

NHL 2017-18 Day 71

We're back for a big day of hockey, beginning with...

The Boston Bruins hosting the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby faces a lesser foe in Anton Khudobin in goal. Washington began in the first period with a Jakub Vrana goal, his tenth of the season, via Matt Niskanen. Boston tied it in the second period with a Patrice Bergeron power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Brad Marchand and Danton Heinen. The Capitals took the lead back with a Nicklas Backstrom power play goal, his sixth of the season, with assists provided by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin. Washington added on in the third period with an Alex Chiasson goal, his fifth of the year, passed from Christian Djoos and John Carlson. The Capitals extended the lead with a shorthanded and unassisted Chiasson goal, his second of the game and sixth of the season. The Bruins got one back with a David Krejci goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Charlie McAvoy and Jake DeBrusk. Washington answered with an Ovechkin empty net goal, his twenty-second of the season, set up by Niskanen. Boston replied with a Bergeron power play goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, with assists provided by Heinen and Krejci. This made it 5-3, the final, with the three stars given to Chiasson, Bergeron, and Ovechkin, while Niskanen and Heinen get the honorable mentions.

Down in Philadelphia, the Flyers welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Robin Lehner and Brian Elliott draw the starts in goal. Buffalo led off in the first period with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his eighth of the season, made possible by Zemgus Girgensons. Philadelphia tied it on a Travis Sanheim goal, coming off of Dale Weise and Jordan Weal. The Flyers took the lead in the second period with a Valtteri Filppula goal, his eighth of the year, courtesy of Jakub Voracek and Michael Raffl. This stood for a 2-1 final, with the three stars handed to Elliott (19 for 20 in saves), Sanheim, and Filppula.

West to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets bring in the New York Islanders. Thomas Greiss and Sergei Bobrovsky are in the blue paint. Columbus opened in the first period with a Zach Werenski goal, his tenth of the season, fueled by Artemi Panarin. The Blue Jackets added on with a Markus Nutivaara goal, his second of the year, passed from Alexander Wennberg and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Columbus extended the lead as Pierre-Luc Dubois scored his sixth of the season, a power play goal with help from Werenski and Panarin. New York got on the board in the second period with a Josh Bailey goal, his sixth of the year, helped along by John Tavares. The Islanders got closer with a Casey Cizikas goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Scott Mayfield and Calvin de Haan. New York tied it as Bailey scored his second of the game and seventh of the year, thanks to Tavares and Anders Lee. The Blue Jackets reclaimed the lead on a Seth Jones goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Cam Atkinson and Bjorkstrand. Columbus padded the lead with a Nick Foligno goal, his seventh of the year, guided in by Bjorkstrand, who gets a sock trick, and Wennberg. The Islanders got one back in the third period with a Bailey power play goal to complete his hat trick on his eighth of the season, with a lone helper by Tavares, who got a sock trick. The Blue Jackets won it 6-4 with a Josh Anderson goal, his twelfth of the year, an empty net goal going in unassisted. The three stars were Bailey, Bjorkstrand, and Tavares, while Werenski, Panarin, and Wennberg get the honorable mentions.

Up in Montreal, the Canadiens host the New Jersey Devils. Cory Schneider and Carey Price guard the cages. New Jersey started in the first period with a Stefan Noesen goal, his third of the season, helped along by Andy Greene and Jesper Bratt. Montreal tied it on an Andrew Shaw goal, his eighth of the year, guided in by Jordie Benn and Phillip Danault. The Canadiens won 2-1 in overtime with a Tomas Plekanec goal, his fourth of the campaign, via Charles Hudon and Alex Galchenyuk. The three stars went to Price (31 for 32 in saves), Plekanec, and Noesen.

Back stateside, the St. Louis Blues welcome the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Jake Allen protect the nets. Anaheim got going in the second period with an Andrew Cogliano goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Rickard Rakell and Andy Welinski. The Ducks added on with a third period Kevin Roy goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Cam Fowler and Ryan Getzlaf. Anaheim extended the lead as Roy scored again, his second of the game and sixth of the season, thanks to Derek Grant and Logan Shaw. St. Louis got on the board with a Patrik Berglund goal, his third of the year, courtesy of Magnus Paajarvi and Carl Gunnarsson. The final stood at 3-1, with the three stars given to Roy, Cogliano, and Gibson (29 for 30 in saves).

In Canada again, the Winnipeg Jets bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Connor Hellebuyck are the masked men. Chicago struck first in the first period with a Vinnie Hinostroza goal, with a lone assist by Patrick Sharp. The Blackhawks added on with a Tommy Wingels goal, his fifth of the season, via Lance Bouma. Chicago extended the lead as Nick Schmaltz scored his sixth of the year, helped along by Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane. The Blackhawks padded the lead with a Kane goal in the second period, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Schmaltz and Connor Murphy. Winnipeg got on the board in the third period with a Nikolaj Ehlers power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, powered by Tyler Myers and Bryan Little. Chicago replied with a Michal Kempny goal, passed from Brent Seabrook. This made it 5-1, the final, with the three stars handed to Kane, Schmaltz, and Crawford (27 for 28 in saves).

South to Minnesota, where the Wild host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Frederik Andersen and Alex Stalock receive the starting nods in goal. Minnesota was first to score in the first period with a Tyler Ennis goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Ryan Suter. The Wild added on in the third period with a Mikael Granlund goal, his seventh of the year, coming off of Eric Staal and Nino Niederreiter. This stood for a 2-0 win, with the three stars awarded to Stalock (28 save shutout), Ennis, and Granlund.

Northwest to Alberta, where the Calgary Flames welcome the San Jose Sharks. Aaron Dell and Mike Smith are between the pipes. Calgary kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Michael Frolik goal, his sixth of the season, going in unassisted. San Jose tied it on a Timo Meier goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Chris Tierney and Joonas Donskoi. The Sharks took the lead in the second period with a power play goal by Tierney, his eighth of the season, powered by Meier and Kevin Labanc. The Flames retied it in the third period with a Johnny Gaudreau goal, his thirteenth of the year, via Garnet Hathaway. San Jose retook the lead on a Donskoi goal, his eighth of the campaign, helped along by Joe Thornton and Justin Braun. This held up for a 3-2 win, with the three stars given to Donskoi, Tierney, and Meier.

Staying in the province, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Laurent Brossoit are the little-known goalies. Nashville dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Pontus Aberg goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Mattias Ekholm and Calle Jarnkrok. The Predators added on with a Kevin Fiala power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Ekholm and Kyle Turris. Nashville extended the lead as Turris scored his seventh of the season, assisted by Craig Smith. The Predators padded the lead on a Roman Josi power play goal, his seventh of the year, with assists provided by Filip Forsberg and P.K. Subban. This produced the eventual 4-0 final, with the three stars awarded to Saros (46 save shutout), Turris, and Ekholm.

Down in Denver, the Colorado Avalanche host the Florida Panthers. James Reimer and Semyon Varlamov are the veteran goalies. Colorado cracked the scoresheet in the second period with a Nathan MacKinnon goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Tyson Barrie and Tyson Jost. Florida tied it on an Aleksander Barkov shorthanded goal, his eleventh of the year, set up by Jared McCann. The Avalanche retook the lead in the third period on a MacKinnon goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the campaign, passed from Mark Barberio and Mikko Rantanen. This held up for a 2-1 win, with the three stars awarded to MacKinnon, Varlamov (32 for 33 in saves), and Barkov.

Further to the south, the Arizona Coyotes welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Antti Raanta make the starts in goal. This game saw Tampa Bay score first, with a Vladislav Namestnikov power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, powered by Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning added on with a Brayden Point goal, his fourteenth of the year, via Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson. Tampa Bay extended the lead in the second period as Kucherov scored his twenty-second of the season, thanks to Victor Hedman. Arizona got on the board with a Clayton Keller power play goal, his twelfth of the year, with assists provided by Derek Stepan and Brendan Perlini. The Lightning answered in the third period with a Johnson goal, his eighth of the campaign, guided in by Point and Anton Stralman. This stood for a 4-1 win, with the three stars going to Point, Kucherov, and Johnson.

Finally, the Vegas Golden Knights bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury tend the twines. Vegas drew first blood in the first period with a James Neal goal, his fifteenth of the season, guided in by Colin Miller and David Perron. Pittsburgh tied it on an Ian Cole goal, his second of the year, passed from Carl Hagelin and Riley Sheahan. The Golden Knights took the lead with a Jon Merrill goal in the third period, assisted by Erik Haula. This gave them a 2-1 win, with the three stars being Fleury (24 for 25 in saves), Merrill, and Neal.

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