Thursday, December 21, 2017

NHL 2017-18 Day 78

We're back with ten games on today, beginning with...

The Boston Bruins hosting the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Tuukka Rask protect the nets.  Boston dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Torey Krug goal, his sixth of the season, going in unassisted. Winnipeg tied it on a Patrik Laine goal, his eighteenth of the year, helped along by Nikolaj Ehlers and Bryan Little. The tie went to a shootout, where Little was bested by David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy as the Bruins take the 2-1 win. The three stars were Rask (37 for 38 in saves), Little, and Hellebuyck (32 for 33 in saves).

Down in New Jersey, the Devils welcome the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Cory Schneider are between the pipes. New Jersey opened in the first period with a John Moore goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Nico Hischier and Kyle Palmieri. New York tied it on a Jimmy Vesey goal, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Paul Carey and David Desharnais. The Rangers took the lead with a Nick Holden goal, his second of the season, assisted by Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich. The Devils retied it in the second period with a shorthanded Blake Coleman goal, his fifth of the year, set up by Steven Santini. New York regained the lead in the third period with a Kevin Hayes goal, his ninth of the season, made possible by Brendan Smith and Mats Zuccarello. New Jersey retied it on a Brian Boyle power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Taylor Hall and Palmieri. The tie went to a shootout, where Palmieri and Boyle lifted the Devils to the 4-3 win over Mika Zibanejad of the Rangers. The three stars were Boyle, Palmieri, and Coleman.

Over in Brooklyn, the New York Islanders bring in the Anaheim Ducks. Ryan Miller and Jaroslav Halak draw the starts in goal. Anaheim started in the first period with a Hampus Lindholm goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Andrew Cogliano and Ryan Getzlaf. The Ducks added on with an Ondrej Kase goal, his eighth of the year, coming off of Josh Manson and Nick Ritchie. New York got on the board with a Mathew Barzal power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Josh Bailey and John Tavares. Anaheim replied with a Lindholm goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, with a lone assist by Getzlaf. The Islanders answered on a Tavares power play goal, his twentieth of the season, with assists provided by Bailey and Barzal. New York tied it on a third period Tavares goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the year, guided in by Bailey, who got a sock trick, and Nick Leddy. The Islanders took the lead with an Andrew Ladd goal, his ninth of the season, helped along by Jordan Eberle and Scott Mayfield. The Ducks tied it as Rickard Rakell scored his ninth of the year, thanks to Brandon Montour and Getzlaf, the latter earning a sock trick. Anaheim won 5-4 in overtime with a Lindholm goal, his sixth of the campaign completing his hat trick, with helpers from Getzlaf and Ondrej Kase. The three stars were awarded to Lindholm, Getzlaf, and Tavares, while

West to Pittsburgh, as the Penguins host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Murray guard the cages. Columbus got going in the second period with a Pierre-Luc Dubois goal, his eighth of the season, helped along by Artemi Panarin and Gabriel Carlsson. Pittsburgh tied it on a Patric Hornqvist power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Phil Kessel and Kris Letang. The Penguins took the lead on an Evgeni Malkin power play goal, his twelfth of the season, with a lone assist by Sidney Crosby. The Blue Jackets retied it on a Panarin power play goal, his eighth of the year, with assists provided by Seth Jones and Dubois. In the shootout, Malkin and Letang bested Cam Atkinson for a 3-2 Penguins win. The three stars were Malkin, Dubois, and Panarin, while Letang gets an honorable mention.

Down in Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning welcome the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Andrei Vasilevskiy are the masked men. Ottawa led off in the first period with an unassisted Bobby Ryan goal, his fourth of the season. Tampa Bay tied it in the second period with a Tyler Johnson goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. The Senators took the lead with a Cody Ceci goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Derick Brassard and Fredrik Claesson. The Lightning retied it on a Yanni Gourde goal, his eleventh of the year, coming off of Cory Conacher and Killorn. Ottawa retook the lead with a Brassard power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Erik Karlsson and Mark Stone. Tampa Bay tied it again with a Vladislav Namestnikov goal, his fifteenth of the year, fueled by Victor Hedman and Kucherov. The tie went to a shootout, where Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos gave the Lightning a 4-3 win. The three stars were Kucherov, Brassard, and Killorn.

Northwest to Nashville, as the Predators bring in the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Pekka Rinne are the veterans in goal. Carolina began in the first period with a Derek Ryan power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Noah Hanifin and Jeff Skinner. The Hurricanes added on with an Elias Lindholm goal, his tenth of the year, via Skinner and Justin Faulk. Carolina extended the lead as Hanifin scored his seventh of the season on the power play, with the help of Justin Williams and Ryan. The Hurricanes chased Rinne with a Victor Rask goal, his eighth of the year, coming off of Hanifin and Trevor van Riemsdyk. Nashville got on the board with a Kevin Fiala goal, his tenth of the season, courtesy of P.K. Subban. This stood for the eventual 4-1 final score, with the three stars given to Hanifin, Ryan, and Skinner.

Back south, the Dallas Stars host the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Ben Bishop are the alliterative goalies. Dallas struck first in the first period with a Jamie Benn goal, his fifteenth of the season, coming off of Remi Elie and Dan Hamhuis. The Stars added on with an Antoine Roussel goal, his fourth of the year, via Hamhuis and Greg Pateryn in the second period. Dallas extended the lead as Tyler Seguin scored his fifteenth of the season, a power play goal, with the help of Jason Spezza and John Klingberg. The Stars padded the lead on a Seguin goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, with a lone assist by Devin Shore. This stood for a 4-0 win, and the three stars went to Seguin, Hamhuis, and Bishop (24 save shutout).

In Canada, the Edmonton Oilers welcome the St. Louis Blues. Jake Allen and Cam Talbot are in the creases. St. Louis cracked the scoresheet in the third period with a Tage Thompson goal, passed from Colton Parayko and Paul Stastny. Edmonton tied it on an unassisted Michael Cammalleri goal, his fifth of the season. The Blues retook the lead with a Patrik Berglund goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Brayden Schenn and Alex Pietrangelo. The Oilers tied it on a Connor McDavid goal, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Leon Draisaitl and Milan Lucic. Edmonton took the lead with a Drake Caggiula goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Patrick Maroon. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars being Caggiula, McDavid, and Cammalleri.

Down in San Jose, the Sharks bring in the Vancouver Canucks. Jacob Markstrom and Aaron Dell occupy the creases. Vancouver was first to score in the first period with a Brendan Gaunce goal, assisted by Erik Gudbranson and Jake Virtanen. San Jose tied it on a Joe Thornton power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Kevin Labanc and Brent Burns. The Sharks took the lead with a Timo Meier goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Dylan DeMelo and Labanc. San Jose added on with a Thornton power play goal, his second of the game and seventh of the season, with helpers from Joe Pavelski and Labanc, the latter earning a sock trick. The Canucks got one back with a Virtanen goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Michael Del Zotto and Alex Biega. Vancouver tied it on a Brock Boeser goal, his nineteenth of the season, fueled by Biega and Sam Gagner. The Sharks retook the lead with a power play goal by Tomas Hertl, his ninth of the year, made possible by Pavelski and Thornton. The Canucks tied it again in the third period with a Daniel Sedin goal, his eighth of the season, with helpers from Henrik Sedin and Loui Eriksson. San Jose won 5-4 in overtime with a Labanc goal, his fourth of the year, with a lone assist from Hertl. The three stars were Labanc, Hertl, and Thornton, while Virtanen, Biega, and Pavelski get honorable mentions.

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings host the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Jonathan Quick play goal. Colorado drew first blood in the second period with a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Los Angeles tied it in the third period with an Alec Martinez goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Torrey Mitchell and Andy Andreoff. The Kings won 2-1 in overtime with a Dustin Brown goal, his thirteenth of the campaign, fueled by Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar. The three stars were Brown, Quicn (31 for 32 in saves), and Martinez.

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