Sunday, February 11, 2018

NHL 2017-18 Day 124

Nine games on again today, including four matinees. We begin with...

The St. Louis Blues hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Matt Murray and Jake Allen are the masked men. St. Louis got going in the second period with a Kyle Brodziak goal, his ninth of the season, passed from Christ Thorburn and Scottie Upshall. Pittsburgh tied it on a Sidney Crosby goal, his eighteenth of the year, via Conor Sheary. The Penguins took the lead with an unassisted Bryan Rust goal in the third period, his eighth of the season. Pittsburgh added on with a Riley Sheahan goal, his sixth of the year, with a lone assist by Dominik Simon. The Penguins iced it at 4-1 with a Crosby empty net goal, his second of the game and nineteenth of the campaign, set up by Simon and Rust. The three stars were Crosby, Rust, and Murray (33 for 34 in saves), while Simon gets an honorable mention.

Back east, the Washington Capitals welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Braden Holtby draw the starts in goal. Washington led off in the first period with an Alex Ovechkin power play goal, his thirty-third of the season, powered by John Carlson and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Detroit tied it on a Justin Abdelkader goal, his ninth of the year, helped along by Frans Nielsen. The Red Wings took the lead in the second period with a Luke Glendening goal, his eighth of the season, via Darren Helm and Nielsen. Detroit added on with an Anthony Mantha goal, his nineteenth of the year, courtesy of Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist. The Red Wings extended the lead as Tomas Tatar scored his thirteenth of the season, thanks to Dylan Larkin. The Capitals got one back in the third period with a Brett Connolly goal, his fourteenth of the year, coming off of Jay Beagle. Washington pulled closer with a Dmitry Orlov goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Devante Smith-Pelly and Beagle. The Capitals tied it on a Nicklas Backstrom power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, with assists provided by Carlson and Ovechkin. Detroit took the 5-4 win in overtime with a Tatar goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the campaign, made possible by Larkin and Nick Jensen. The three stars were Tatar, Larkin, and Nielsen, while Ovechkin, Carlson, and Beagle get the honorable mentions.

Northwest to Winnipeg, as the Jets bring in the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Connor Hellebuyck are in the creases. Winnipeg began in the first period with a Nikolaj Ehlers goal, his twenty-first of the season, made possible by Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler. New York tied it on a Mats Zuccarello goal, his ninth of the year, going in unassisted. The Rangers took the lead in the third period with a Jimmy Vesey goal, his eleventh of the season, helped along by Brady Skjei and David Desharnais. The Rangers iced it at 3-1 with a Michael Grabner empty net goal, his twenty-third of the year, an unassisted goal. The three stars were given to Lundqvist (36 for 37 in saves), Vesey, and Zuccarello.

The last matinee today has the Dallas Stars hosting the Vancouver Canucks. Jacob Markstrom and Ben Bishop are the goalies. Vancouver opened in the first period with an unassisted Reid Boucher goal. The Canucks added on with a Jake Virtanen goal, his seventh of the season, going in unassisted. Vancouver extended the lead as Thomas Vanek scored his sixteenth of the year, thanks to Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. The Canucks padded the lead with a Bo Horvat power play goal in the second period, his thirteenth of the season, powered by Brock Boeser and Alexander Edler. Kari Lehtonen replaced Bishop in goal. Vancouver continued with another Boucher goal, his second of the game, helped along by Derrick Pouliot and Virtanen. The Canucks got another in the third period with an Erik Gudbranson goal, his second of the year, passed from Darren Archibald and Brandon Sutter. This produced the 6-0 final, with the three stars awarded to Boucher, Markstrom (30 save shutout), and Virtanen.

At the normal time, the Buffalo Sabres welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Jonathan Bernier and Robin Lehner are set to start in goal. Colorado started in the first period with an Alexander Kerfoot goal, his thirteenth of the season, courtesy of Colin Wilson and Nikita Zadorov. Buffalo tied it on a shorthanded Benoit Pouliot goal, his eleventh of the year, set up by Ryan O'Reilly. The Avalanche retook the lead on a shorthanded and unassisted Matt Nieto goal, his tenth of the season. Colorado added on with a Wilson goal, his fifth of the year, passed from Gabriel Landeskog. The Sabres got one back with a shorthanded Casey Nelson goal, via O'Reilly and Justin Falk. The Avalanche answered with a Tyson Jost power play goal in the third period, his fifth of the season, powered by Tyson Barrie and Mikko Rantanen. Colorado extended the lead as Gabriel Bourque scored his fifth of the year, thanks to Anton Lindholm. Buffalo pulled back on an O'Reilly goal, his seventeenth of the season, with helpers from Kyle Okposo and Rasmus Ristolainen on the power play. The Sabres got closer with an Evander Kane goal, his eighteenth of the year, going in unassisted. They couldn't tie it, losing 5-4, with the three stars given to Wilson, O'Reilly, and Bourque.

Down in New Jersey, the Devils bring in the Boston Bruins. Anton Khudobin and Eddie Lack are the backups in goal. Boston struck first in the first period with a shorthanded and unassisted Torey Krug goal, his ninth of the season. New Jersey tied it on a Miles Wood goal, his fifteenth of the year, made possible by Blake Coleman. The Bruins retook the lead on a Tim Schaller shorthanded goal, his ninth of the season, going in unassisted. The Devils tied it again in the second period with a Taylor Hall goal, his twenty-first of the year, via Nico Hischier. Boston regained the lead with a Krug power play goal, his second of the game and tenth of the season, powered by Ryan Spooner and Patrice Bergeron. New Jersey equalized on a Kyle Palmieri goal, his thirteenth of the year, passed from Hall and Sami Vatanen. The Bruins took the lead again in the third period on an Adam McQuaid goal, his first of the season, assisted by Riley Nash and Matt Grzelcyk. Boston iced it at 5-3 with a Bergeron empty net goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, set up by Brad Marchand and David Backes. The three stars were Krug, Bergeron, and Hall.

Along to Brooklyn, as the New York Islanders host the Calgary Flames. Mike Smith and Jaroslav Halak are the experienced goalies. New York was first to score in the first period with a Casey Cizikas goal, his seventh of the season, going in unassisted. The Islanders added on in the second period with an Anthony Beauvillier goal, his thirteenth of the year, fueled by Mathew Barzal and Nick Leddy. Calgary got on the board with a Mark Jankowski power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Sam Bennett and Johnny Gaudreau. The Flames tied it in the third period with a Matthew Tkachuk goal, his nineteenth of the year, via Michael Frolik and Brett Kulak. Calgary took the lead on a Tkachuk goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the campaign, guided in by Travis Hamonic and Frolik. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars going to Tkachuk, Frolik, and Jankowski.

Out in California, the Anaheim Ducks welcome the San Jose Sharks. Martin Jones and John Gibson guard the cages. Anaheim drew first blood in the first period with an Ondrej Kase goal, his fifteenth of the season, coming off of Adam Henrique and Nick Ritchie. The Ducks added on in the third period with a Cam Fowler goal, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Kase and Ritchie. San Jose got on the board with a Logan Couture goal, his twenty-third of the season, made possible by Tomas Hertl and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The Sharks tied it on a Timo Meier goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Couture and Brent Burns. The Sharks won 3-2 with shootout tallies by Joe Pavelski and Couture. The three stars were Couture, Kase, and Ritchie.

Finally, the Vegas Golden Knights bring in the Philadelphia Flyers. Michal Neuvirth and Marc-Andre Fleury are in the blue paint. Vegas kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Brayden McNabb goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Reilly Smith and William Karlsson. Philadelphia tied it on a Sean Couturier goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, courtesy of Travis Konecny and Claude Giroux. The Flyers took the lead with an Andrew MacDonald goal in the second period, his third of the season, via Couturier and Konecny. Philadelphia added on with a Giroux goal, his eighteenth of the year, assisted by Couturier and Ivan Provorov. The Flyers finished it at 4-1 in the third period with an unassisted empty net goal by Radko Gudas. The three stars were Couturier, Neuvirth (38 for 39 in saves), and Giroux, while Konecny gets an honorable mention.

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