Thursday, December 28, 2017

NHL 2017-18 Day 82

Seven games tonight, beginning in...

Tampa Bay, as the Lightning host the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Andrei Vasilevskiy tend the twines. Montreal got going in the second period with a Brendan Gallagher power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Charles Hudon and Joe Morrow. Tampa Bay tied it on a Steven Stamkos goal, his fourteenth of the year, via Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. The Lightning took the lead in the third period with a Brayden Point goal, his fifteenth of the season, passed from Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat. Tampa Bay added on with a Stamkos power play goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, assisted by Vladislav Namestnikov and Palat. This made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars given to Stamkos, Palat, and Vasilevskiy (31 for 32 in saves).

Up in DC, the Washington Capitals welcome the Boston Bruins. Anton Khudobin is mismatched with Braden Holtby in goal. Boston opened in the first period with a David Backes goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Riley Nash and Danton Heinen. The Bruins added on with a Noel Acciari goal, his third of the year, with a lone assist by Sean Kuraly. Washington got on the board in the second period with a Lars Eller goal, his fifth of the season, guided in by Tom Wilson. The Capitals tied it on an Alex Ovechkin power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, powered by John Carlson and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Boston retook the lead in the third period with another Backes goal, his second of the game and seventh of the season, helped along by Heinen and Jake DeBrusk. Washington retied it on a Brett Connolly goal, his eighth of the year, via Eller and Madison Bowey. The Capitals won 4-3 in the shootout with a lone tally by Ovechkin. The three stars were Eller, Ovechkin, and Backes, while Heinen gets an honorable mention.

Back south, the Florida Panthers bring in the Philadelphia Flyers. Brian Elliott and James Reimer are in the creases. Florida started in the first period with a Jared McCann goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Nick Bjugstad and Mike Matheson. The Panthers added on in the second period with a shorthanded goal by Derek MacKenzie, set up by Colton Sceviour. Florida extended the lead as Jonathan Huberdeau scored his thirteenth of the year, thanks to Bjugstad and Aleksander Barkov. Philadelphia got on the board in the third period with a Scott Laughton goal, his sixth of the season, courtesy of Travis Konecny and Michael Raffl. The Flyers got closer with a Sean Couturier goal, his seventeenth of the year, made possible by Shayne Gostisbehere and Claude Giroux. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars handed to Bjugstad, Huberdeau, and MacKenzie.

Out west, the Arizona Coyotes host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Frederik Andersen and Scott Wedgewood make the starts in goal. Toronto led off in the first period with a shorthanded and unassisted Zach Hyman goal, his seventh of the season. The Maple Leafs added on with an Auston Matthews goal, his fifteenth of the year, fueled by William Nylander and Jake Gardiner. Toronto extended the lead as Mitchell Marner scored his fifth of the season, with the help of Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk. Arizona got on the board with a Josh Archibald goal, coming off of Jordan Martinook. The Coyotes got closer with a Brendan Perlini goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Tobias Rieder and Derek Stepan. The Maple Leafs answered in the second period with a Patrick Marleau power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, powered by Marner and Morgan Rielly. Toronto padded the lead on an unassisted Nylander goal, his eighth of the year. The Maple Leafs continued with a Marleau goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the season, assisted by Marner and Leo Komarov. Arizona got one back with a Martinook goal, his third of the year, made possible by Rieder and Jakob Chychrun. The Coyotes got closer in the third period with a Christian Fischer power play goal, his tenth of the season, with helpers from Clayton Keller and Alex Goligoski. Toronto iced it at 7-4 with a Connor Brown goal, his tenth of the year, an empty net goal with assists provided by Rielly and Marleau. The three stars where Marleau, Marner, and Martinook, while Nylander and Rielly get the honorable mentions.

Up in Vancouver, the Canucks welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Anton Forsberg and Jacob Markstrom are the lesser-known goalies. Vancouver began in the first period with a Sam Gagner goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Nikolay Goldobin and Thomas Vanek. Chicago tied it on a Nick Schmaltz power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith. The Canucks retook the lead with a Vanek goal, his eleventh of the season, helped along by Gagner and Brock Boeser in the second period. Vancouver added on in the third period with a Gagner goal, his sixth of the year and second of the game, made possible by Vanek and Boeser. The Canucks extended the lead as Vanek scored his second of the game and twelfth of the season, thanks to Boeser and Troy Stecher. Vancouver padded the lead on a Boeser goal, his twenty-first of the year, fueled by Vanek, who got a sock trick, and Alexander Edler. The Blackhawks got one back with a Ryan Hartman goal, his sixth of the campaign, guided in by Alex DeBrincat and John Hayden. This made it 5-2, the final, with the three stars given to Vanek, Gagner, and Boeser.

South to Los Angeles, as the Kings bring in the Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury and Jonathan Quick protect the nets. Los Angeles struck first in the first period with a Marian Gaborik goal, his sixth of the season, passed from Derek Forbort and Drew Doughty. Vegas tied it in the second period with a Jonathan Marchessault goal, his thirteenth of the year, helped along by Colin Miller and Reilly Smith. The Golden Knights took the lead in the third period with a Brendan Leipsic goal, assisted by Alex Tuch and Cody Eakin. The Kings tied it again with a Doughty goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Jake Muzzin. Vegas won 3-2 in overtime with a David Perron goal, his ninth of the year, with a lone assist by Smith. The three stars were Smith, Perron, and Doughty.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the Calgary Flames. David Rittich and Martin Jones are between the pipes. Calgary was first to score in the first period with a Garnet Hathaway goal, his second of the season, passed from Sam Bennett and Mark Jankowski. San Jose tied it on a Joe Pavelski power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Joe Thornton and Kevin Labanc. The Flames retook the lead with a Mikael Backlund power play goal, his eighth of the season, with assists provided by Matthew Tkachuk and Mark Giordano. The Sharks tied it in the third period with a Timo Meier goal, his sixth of the year, courtesy of Brent Burns and Brenden Dillon. The tie went to a shootout, where Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi scored to give the Sharks a 3-2 win. The three stars were Pavelski, Meier, and Jones (32 for 34 in saves).

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