Friday, December 29, 2017

NHL 2017-18 Day 83

Eleven games on tonight, beginning with...

The New Jersey Devils hosting the Buffalo Sabres. Robin Lehner and Cory Schneider are the goalies. New Jersey opened in the first period with a Miles Wood goal, his tenth of the season, passed from Stefan Noesen and Pavel Zacha. Buffalo tied it in the second period with a Jacob Josefson goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Jordan Nolan. The Devils took the lead with a Marcus Johansson power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Sami Vatanen and Nico Hischier. New Jersey added on with a John Moore goal, his fifth of the year, with a lone assist by Brian Gibbons. The Sabres got one back with a Jack Eichel goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Jake McCabe and Zemgus Girgensons. Buffalo tied it in the third period with another Eichel goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, with assists provided by Kyle Okposo and Rasmus Ristolainen on the power play. The Sabres won 4-3 in overtime with a Ristolainen goal, going in unassisted. The three stars were Ristolainen, Eichel, and Josefson.

West to Detroit, where the Red Wings welcome the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Jimmy Howard are the veterans in goal. New York started in the first period with a David Desharnais goal, his fourth of the season, with a lone assist by Jimmy Vesey. Detroit tied it in the second period with an Andreas Athanasiou goal, his sixth of the year, via Dylan Larkin. The Rangers retook the lead in the third period with a Ville Lettieri goal, coming off of Boo Nieves. The Red Wings retied it on a Henrik Zetterberg goal, his sixth of the season, helped along by Gustav Nyquist. Detroit won 3-2 in the shootout with a Frans Nielsen tally. The three stars were Howard (37 for 39 in saves), Zetterberg, and Lundqvist (33 for 35 in saves).

Down in Carolina, the Hurricanes bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry and Cam Ward draw the starts in goal. Pittsburgh led off in the first period with a Brian Dumoulin goal, his second of the season, helped along by Jake Guentzel and the goalie Jarry. Carolina tied it on a Derek Ryan goal in the second period, his eighth of the year, assisted by Elias Lindholm and Klas Dahlbeck. The Hurricanes took the lead with an unassisted Sebastian Aho goal, his eleventh of the season. This stood for the eventual 2-1 win, with the three stars given to Ward (27 for 28 in saves), Aho, and Ryan.

North to Ottawa, as the Senators host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Mike Condon are in the creases. Columbus got going in the second period with a Sonny Milano goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Boone Jenner and Markus Nutivaara. Ottawa tied it on a Derick Brassard goal, his tenth of the year, coming off of Erik Karlsson and Mark Stone. The Blue Jackets took the lead with a Josh Anderson goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, helped along by Artemi Panarin. Columbus added on with a Milano goal, his second of the game and eighth of the season, with a lone assist by Seth Jones. The Senators got one back with a Nick Paul goal, via Dion Phaneuf and Nate Thompson. Ottawa tied it on a Matt Duchene goal, his seventh of the year, guided in by Johnny Oduya. The Senators pulled ahead in the third period with a Stone goal, his fifteenth of the season, fueled by Phaneuf. Ottawa extended the lead as Bobby Ryan scored his fifth of the year, thanks to Karlsson. The Blue Jackets got one back with a Zach Werenski power play goal, his eleventh of the campaign, powered by Anderson and Pierre-Luc Dubois. This only made it 5-4, the final, with the three stars being Stone, Karlsson, and Phaneuf, while Anderson and Milano gets honorable mentions.

South again to Tampa Bay, where the Lightning welcome the Philadelphia Flyers. Brian Elliott and Peter Budaj play in goal. Tampa Bay began in the first period with a Steven Stamkos power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, powered by Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. Philadelphia tied it in the second period with a Wayne Simmonds power play goal, his twelfth of the year, with assists provided by Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek. The Flyers took the lead with a Shayne Gostisbehere power play goal, his eighth of the season, passed from Simmonds and Claude Giroux. The Lightning tied it on a Brayden Point goal, his sixteenth of the year, courtesy of Ondrej Palat and Kucherov. Philadelphia retook the lead with a Couturier goal, his eighteenth of the season, assisted by Giroux and Travis Konecny. The Flyers added on with a Brandon Manning goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Giroux and Konecny. Tampa Bay got one back with a shorthanded and unassisted Tyler Johnson goal, his tenth of the season. Philadelphia iced it at 5-3 with a Valtteri Filppula empty net goal, his ninth of the year, set up by Voracek and Couturier. The three stars went to Couturier, Giroux, and Simmonds, while Voracek, Konecny, and Kucherov.

Up in Canada, the Winnipeg Jets bring in the New York Islanders. Jaroslav Halak and Connor Hellebuyck are the masked men. Winnipeg struck first in the first period with a Shawn Matthias goal, made possible by Adam Lowry. The Jets added on with a Blake Wheeler goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine. New York got on the board with an Anders Lee goal, his twenty-third of the year, coming off of John Tavares and Josh Bailey in the second period. Winnipeg replied in the third period with a Connor goal, his twelfth of the season, passed from Laine. The Jets extended the lead as Lowry scored his eighth of the year on the power play, thanks to Jacob Trouba and Wheeler. The Islanders got one back with a Lee goal, his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the season, with a lone helper by Ryan Pulock. This only made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars given to Lowry, Connor, and Wheeler, while Laine and Lee get the honorable mentions.

Back stateside, the Minnesota Wild host the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Devan Dubnyk protect the nets. Minnesota drew first blood in the first period with a Mikael Granlund goal, his ninth of the season, with a lone assist by Matt Dumba. Nashville tied it on a P.K. Subban goal, his eighth of the year, coming off of Alexei Emelin. The Wild retook the lead with a Granlund power play goal, his second of the game and tenth of the season, powered by Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter. Minnesota added on in the second period with a Dumba goal, his seventh of the year, guided in by Jonas Brodin and Matt Cullen. The Predators got one back with a Kyle Turris power play goal in the third period, his eighth of the season, with assists provided by Subban and Roman Josi. The Wild answered with a Granlund empty net goal, his eleventh of the year completing his hat trick with the help of Eric Staal and Mikko Koivu. The three stars were Granlund, Dumba, and Subban.

Way down in Dallas, the Stars welcome the St. Louis Blues. Jake Allen and Ben Bishop are between the pipes. Dallas dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Mattias Janmark goal, his eighth of the season, helped along by Jason Spezza and Julius Honka. St. Louis tied it on a Vladimir Tarasenko goal in the third period, his sixteenth of the year, going in unassisted. The Blues took the lead with a Tage Thompson goal, his second of the season, passed from Alex Pietrangelo and Alexander Steen. The Stars retied it on a Jamie Benn goal, his sixteenth of the year, an unassisted goal. Dallas took the lead with an Alexander Radulov power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, powered by John Klingberg and Esa Lindell. The Stars won 4-2 as Radulov scored a power play empty net goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, set up by Dan Hamhuis and Benn. The three stars went to Radulov, Benn, and Bishop (35 for 37 in saves).

In Alberta, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff Glass is mismatched with Cam Talbot in goal. Edmonton cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Jesse Puljujarvi power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Oscar Klefbom. Chicago tied it on a Ryan Hartman goal, his seventh of the year, helped along by Patrick Kane and Nick Schmaltz. The Blackhawks took the lead in the second period with an Alex DeBrincat power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Schmaltz and Duncan Keith. Chicago added on in the third period with a Jordan Oesterle power play goal, passed from Vinnie Hinostroza. The Oilers got one back with a Nugent-Hopkins goal, his fifteenth of the year, courtesy of Puljujarvi and Kris Russell. Edmonton tied it on a Leon Draisaitl goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Nugent-Hopkins and Patrick Maroon. The Blackhawks won 4-3 in overtime on a Kane goal, his sixteenth of the year, guided in by Keih and Schmaltz. The three stars were Kane, Schmaltz, and Keith, while Nugent-Hopkins and Puljujarvi get the honorable mentions.

Down in Colorado, the Avalanche host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Calvin Pickard faces his former team and Semyon Varlamov in goal. Colorado was first to score in the first period with a Nathan MacKinnon goal, his sixteenth of the season, coming off of Gabriel Landeskog. Toronto tied it on a Matt Martin goal, his third of the year, via Josh Leivo and Roman Polak. The Avalanche retook the lead in the second period with a Mikko Rantanen goal, his twelfth of the season, guided in by MacKinnon and Nikita Zadorov. The Maple Leafs retied it on a Polak goal, his second of the year, passed from Andreas Borgman and Patrick Marleau. Colorado took the lead again in the third period on an Alexander Kerfoot goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Zadorov and MacKinnon. Toronto tied it on a James van Riemsdyk goal, his seventeenth of the year, assisted by Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner. The Avalanche won 4-3 in overtime with a J.T. Compher power play goal, his seventh of the campaign, powered by Samuel Girard and Carl Soderberg. The three stars were MacKinnon, Zadorov, and Polak.

Finally, the Anaheim Ducks host the Calgary Flames. Mike Smith and John Gibson guard the cages. Anaheim kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Cam Fowler goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Ryan Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell. Calgary tied it in the second period with a Micheal Ferland goal, his fifteenth of the year, passed from Matt Bartkowski and the goalie Smith. The Ducks took the lead in the third period with a Rakell power play goal, his twelfth of the campaign, powered by Getzlaf and Jakob Silfverberg. This made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars given to Rakell, Getzlaf and Gibson (22 for 23 in saves).

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