Wednesday, December 27, 2017

NHL 2017-18 Day 81

The NHL returns to action with eleven games tonight, beginning with...

The Boston Bruins hosting the Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson and Tuukka Rask are in goal. Boston led off in the first period with a Kevan Miller goal, passed from David Backes and Riley Nash. The Bruins added on with a Danton Heinen goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Ryan Spooner and Matt Grzelcyk. Boston extended the lead in the second period as Nash scored his third of the year, going in unassisted. Ottawa got on the board with a Thomas Chabot goal, his second of the season, made possible by Mark Stone and Derick Brassard. The Bruins replied with a Nash goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, guided in by Anders Bjork. Boston iced it at 5-1 with a Backes goal, his fifth of the season, helped along by Grzelcyk and Heinen. The three stars were Nash, Heinen, and Backes, while Grzelcyk gets an honorable mention.

Down in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Cam Ward are the veteran goalies. Carolina began in the first period with a Teuvo Teravainen goal, his ninth of the season, with a lone assist by Justin Faulk. Montreal tied it in the second period with an Alex Galchenyuk goal, his ninth of the year, fueled by Jeff Petry. The Hurricanes took the lead back in the third period with a Sebastian Aho power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Elias Lindholm and Jordan Staal. Carolina iced it at 3-1 with an Aho empty net goal, his second of the game and tenth of the year, set up by Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce. The three stars were Aho, Ward (23 for 24 in saves), and Teravainen.

Back north, the New Jersey Devils bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Cory Schneider protect the nets. New Jersey opened in the first period with a Nico Hischier goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Steven Santini and Taylor Hall. The Devils added on with a Hischier goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, with helpers from Hall and Jesper Bratt. Detroit got on the board in the second period with a Justin Abdelkader goal, his sixth of the season, courtesy of Tyler Bertuzzi and Dylan Larkin. New Jersey iced it at 3-1 with a Sami Vatanen empty net goal in the third period, his second of the year, set up by Blake Coleman. The three stars went to Hischier, Hall, and Schneider (31 for 32 in saves).

In Brooklyn, the New York Islanders host the Buffalo Sabres. Robin Lehner and Jaroslav Halak are in the creases. New York got going in the second period with a Jason Chimera goal, his second of the season, via Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas. Buffalo tied it on a Zemgus Girgensons goal, his third of the year, made possible by Jack Eichel and Marco Scandella. The Sabres took the lead in the third period with a Kyle Okposo goal, his sixth of the season, with a lone assist by Evander Kane. The Islanders retied it on a Josh Bailey goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by John Tavares. New York won 3-2 in overtime with a Mathew Barzal goal, his thirteenth of the campaign, passed from Bailey and Tavares. The three stars were Bailey, Tavares, and Halak (35 for 37 in saves).

West to Pittsburgh, where the Penguins welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Murray guard the cages. Columbus started in the first period with a Sonny Milano goal, his sixth of the season, via Seth Jones and Markus Nutivaara. The Blue Jackets added on with a Boone Jenner goal, his fourth of the year, assisted by Oliver Bjorkstrand and Nick Foligno. Pittsburgh got on the board in the second period with a Conor Sheary goal, his tenth of the season, helped along by Bryan Rust and Riley Sheahan. Columbus answered with an Artemi Panarin goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Matt Calvert and David Savard. The Penguins got one back in the third period with a Phil Kessel power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, powered by Patric Hornqvist and Evgeni Malkin. The Blue Jackets answered on another Panarin goal, his tenth of the year, with helpers from Josh Anderson and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Pittsburgh countered with a Malkin power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, with assists provided by Kessel and Sidney Crosby. The Penguins tied it on a Jake Guentzel goal, his thirteenth of the year, fueled by Hornqvist and Malkin. In the shootout, Malkin and Crosby tallied to give the Penguins a 5-4 win. The three stars were Malkin, Hornqvist, and Kessel, while Panarin and Crosby get the honorable mentions.

Back east, the New York Rangers bring in the Washington Capitals. Philipp Grubauer and Ondrej Pavelec are the backups in goal. The game went into a shootout scoreless, where Mats Zuccarello and Mika Zibanejad lifted the Rangers to a 1-0 win. The three stars were Pavelec (30 save shutout), Grubauer (37 save "shutout"), and Zibanejad.

To the west, the St. Louis Blues host the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Jake Allen tend the twines. Nashville struck first in the first period with a Craig Smith goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Roman Josi. The Predators added on in the second period with a Calle Jarnkrok goal, his tenth of the year, via Filip Forsberg and Matt Irwin. St. Louis got on the board in the third period with a Vladimir Sobotka goal, his seventh of the campaign, assisted by Kyle Brodziak and Alex Pietrangelo. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars given to Rinne (29 for 30 in saves), Jarnkrok, and Smith.

Up in Winnipeg, the Jets welcome the Edmonton Oilers. Cam Talbot and Connor Hellebuyck are the masked men. Edmonton was first to score in the first period with a shorthanded Leon Draisaitl goal, his ninth of the season, set up by Connor McDavid and Brandon Davidson. Winnipeg tied it on a Bryan Little goal, his sixth of the year, courtesy of Nikolaj Ehlers and Mathieu Perreault. The Jets took the lead with a Joel Armia goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Matt Hendricks and Dmitry Kulikov. The Oilers retied it on a Jesse Puljujarvi goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Kris Russell and McDavid. Winnipeg retook the lead in the second period with a Kyle Connor goal, his eleventh of the season, guided in by Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. The Jets added on with an Armia goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, going in unassisted. Edmonton got one back with a Jujhar Khaira goal, his seventh of the campaign, made possible by Ryan Strome and Draisaitl. This only made it 4-3, the eventual final, with the three stars given to Armia, McDavid, and Draisaitl.

Back stateside, the Minnesota Wild bring in the Dallas Stars. Ben Bishop and Alex Stalock draw the starts in goal. Dallas drew first blood in the first period with a Tyler Seguin goal, his eighteenth of the season, assisted by Esa Lindell and Devin Shore. Minnesota tied it on a Jared Spurgeon goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Charlie Coyle and Tyler Ennis. The Wild took the lead in the second period with an Eric Staal goal, his fifteenth of the season, fueled by Coyle and Jonas Brodin. The Stars retied it on a Mattias Janmark power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Seguin and Jamie Benn. Minnesota regained the lead on a Mikael Granlund power play goal, his eighth of the season, with assists provided by Jason Zucker and Mikko Koivu. The Wild iced it at 4-2 with a Zucker empty net goal in the third period, his fifteenth of the year, set up by Granlund and Ryan Suter. The three stars belonged to Granlund, Seguin, and Coyle, while Zucker gets an honorable mention.

Southwest to Colorado, where the Avalanche host the Arizona Coyotes. Antti Raanta and Semyon Varlamov are in the creases. Arizona dented the scoreboard in the first period with a Tobias Rieder goal, his sixth of the season, passed from Brendan Perlini and Jakob Chychrun. Colorado tied it on a Mikko Rantanen goal, his eleventh of the year, helped along by Erik Johnson and Gabriel Landeskog. The Coyotes retook the lead in the second period with an Alex Goligoski goal, his fourth of the season, via Clayton Keller. Arizona added on with a Lawson Crouse goal in the third period, made possible by Josh Archibald. This stood for a 3-1 win, with the three stars being Raanta (25 for 26 in saves), Goligoski, and Crouse.

Finally, the Anaheim Ducks host the Vegas Golden Knights. Malcolm Subban and John Gibson receive the starting nods in goal. Anaheim kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Rickard Rakell goal, his eleventh of the season, helped along by Jakob Silfverberg and Brandon Montour. Vegas tied it on a Shea Theodore goal, his third of the year, guided in by Tomas Nosek and Oscar Lindberg. The Golden Knights took the lead with a second period Cody Eakin goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. Vegas added on in the third period with a William Karlsson goal, his seventeenth of the year, courtesy of Jonathan Marchessault. The Golden Knights iced it at 4-1 with a David Perron empty net goal, his eighth of the campaign, set up by Erik Haula and Nate Schmidt. The three stars were Subban (27 for 28 in saves), Eakin, and Karlsson.

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