NHL 2017-18 Day 177

Twelve games on a busy night of hockey, beginning with...

The New Jersey Devils hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. Frederik Andersen and Keith Kinkaid are in goal. Toronto led off in the first period with a William Nylander power play goal, his twentieth of the season, powered by Patrick Marleau and Auston Matthews. New Jersey tied it in the second period on a Pavel Zacha goal, his eighth of the year, courtesy of Patrick Maroon. The Devils took the lead with a Miles Wood goal, his eighteenth of the season, with a lone assist by Maroon. This held for a 2-1 win, with the three stars being Maroon, Kinkaid (31 for 32 in saves), and Andersen (37 for 39 in saves).

Over in Brooklyn, the New York Islanders welcome the New York Rangers. Ondrej Pavelec and Jaroslav Halak are the declining goalies. The Rangers started in the first period with a Kevin Hayes power play goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, powered by Brady Skjei and Mats Zuccarello. The Islanders tied it in the second period with a Thomas Hickey goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Mathew Barzal. The Islanders took the lead on an Anthony Beauvillier goal, his twenty-first of the season, via Andrew Ladd and Brock Nelson. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars going to Hallak (34 for 35 in saves), Beauvillier, and Hickey.

Along to Philadelphia, as the Flyers bring in the Carolina Hurricanes. Scott Darling and Brian Elliott draw the starts in goal. Carolina began in the first period with a Klas Dahlbeck goal, fueled by Jeff Skinner and Derek Ryan. Philadelphia tied it on an unassisted Michael Raffl goal, his twelfth of the season. The Hurricanes took the lead back with a Sebastian Aho goal, his twenty-ninth of the year, helped along by Valentin Zykov and Teuvo Teravainen. The Flyers tied it again in the second period on an Ivan Provorov goal, his sixteenth of the season, coming off of Sean Couturier and Shayne Gostisbehere. Philadelphia took the lead in the third period on a Claude Giroux goal, his thirty-first of the year, passed from Couturier and Gostisbehere. Carolina retied it on a Jordan Staal goal, his eighteenth of the season, courtesy of Justin Williams and Roland McKeown. The Flyers pulled ahead on a Jakub Voracek goal, his twentieth of the year, with helpers from Nolan Patrick and Radko Gudas. This made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars belonging to Couturier, Gostisbehere, and Voracek.

In DC, the Washington Capitals host the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Philipp Grubauer are the backups in goal. Nashville opened in the first period with a Craig Smith power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, powered by Ryan Johansen and P.K. Subban. Washington tied it on an Alex Ovechkin power play goal in the second period, his forty-seventh of the year, with assists provided by Evgeny Kuznetsov and John Carlson. The Capitals took the lead on a Kuznetsov power play goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, via Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie. The Predators tied it on another Smith goal, his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the year, made possible by Roman Josi and Kyle Turris. Washington retook the lead in the third period with another Kuznetsov goal, his second of the game and twenty-seventh of the season, going in unassisted. Nashville tied it again with a Josi power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, with helpers from Ryan Ellis and Turris. The Predators pulled ahead with a Johansen goal, his fifteenth of the season, coming off of Viktor Arvidsson and Ellis. They held on to win 4-3, with the three stars going to Johansen, Smith, and Kuznetsov, while Ellis, Josi, and Turris get the honorable mentions.

West to Ohio, where the Columbus Blue Jackets welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Matt Murray and Sergei Bobrovsky protect the nets. Columbus struck first in the first period with a Zach Werenski goal, his sixteenth of the season, assisted by Pierre-Luc Dubois and Artemi Panarin. Pittsburgh tied it on a Phil Kessel power play goal, his thirty-second of the year, powered by Justin Schultz and Sidney Crosby. The Blue Jackets regained the lead with a Matt Calvert goal, his ninth of the season, via Jack Johnson. The Penguins tied it again with a Patric Hornqvist goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, fueled by Schultz. Columbus retook the lead in the second period with a Boone Jenner power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, with assists provided by Thomas Vanek and Sonny Milano. Pittsburgh tied it once more in the third period with a Kris Letang power play goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Evgeni Malkin and Hornqvist. The Blue Jackets took another lead with a Cam Atkinson goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, helped along by Dubois and Panarin. The Penguins evened it as Conor Sheary scored his eighteenth of the year, with the help of Kessel. Pittsburgh won 5-4 in overtime on a Kessel goal, his second of the game and thirty-third of the campaign, an unassisted goal. Kessel, Hornqvist, and Schultz receive the three stars, while honorable mentions are given to Dubois and Panarin.

Up in Detroit, the Red Wings bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Antti Niemi and Jared Coreau draw spot starts in goal. Montreal kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Nicolas Deslauriers goal, his ninth of the season, made possible by Noah Juulsen and Karl Alzner. Detroit tied it on a Dylan Larkin goal, his fifteenth of the year, coming off of Xavier Ouellet and Martin Frk. The Red Wings took the lead with a Tyler Bertuzzi goal in the second period, his seventh of the season, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall. The Canadiens tied it again with a Brendan Gallagher goal, his thirty-first of the year, courtesy of Jonathan Drouin. Montreal took the lead with another Deslauriers goal, his second of the game and tenth of the season, going in unassisted. The Canadiens added on with an Artturi Lehkonen goal, his twelfth of the year, with a lone assist by Logan Shaw. Detroit got one back with a Darren Helm goal, his thirteenth of the season, passed from Larkin and Luke Witkowski. The Canadiens held on for the 4-3 win, with the three stars given to Deslauriers, Larkin, and Lehkonen.

To the south, the Florida Panthers host the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Roberto Luongo tend the twines. Florida started in the first period with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his twenty-seventh of the season, guided in by Evgenii Dadonov and Aaron Ekblad. The Panthers added on with a Frank Vatrano goal, his sixth of the year, with a lone assist by Nick Bjugstad. Boston got on the board with a Ryan Donato power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Torey Krug and Brad Marchand. The Bruins tied it in the second period with a Danton Heinen goal, his fifteenth of the year, passed from David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk. Florida won 3-2 in the third period on a Jared McCann goal, his ninth of the campaign, coming off of Mike Matheson and Colton Sceviour. The three stars were McCann, Vatrano, and Barkov.

Way to the north, the Winnipeg Jets welcome the Calgary Flames. Jon Gillies is mismatched with Connor Hellebuyck in goal. Winnipeg led off in the first period with a Blake Wheeler goal, his twenty-third of the season, made possible by Dustin Byfuglien and Kyle Connor. The Jets added on with a Paul Stastny goal in the second period, his sixteenth of the year, passed from Ben Chiarot and Nikolaj Ehlers. Calgary got on the board with a Spencer Foo goal, coming off of Michael Stone and Mikael Backlund. This held for the eventual 2-1 final, with the three stars given to Hellebuyck (31 for 32 in saves), Stastny, and Wheeler.

Over in Alberta, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Vegas Golden Knights. Malcolm Subban and Cam Talbot are in the blue paint. Edmonton opened in the first period with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his twenty-third of the season, assisted by Ty Rattie and Connor McDavid. Vegas tied it in the second period with a Brayden McNabb goal, his fifth of the year, coming off of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Ryan Carpenter. The Golden Knights took the lead with a Brandon Pirri goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Alex Tuch. The Oilers tied it again in the third period with a Matt Benning goal, his sixth of the year, via Ryan Strome and Drake Caggiula. Edmonton took the lead on a Michael Cammalleri power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Oilers added on with a Rattie goal, his fifth of the year, with a lone assist by McDavid. Vegas got one back with an Oscar Lindberg goal, his ninth of the season, fueled by Shea Theodore. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars going to McDavid, Rattie, and Cammalleri.

Further west, the Vancouver Canucks host the Arizona Coyotes. Darcy Kuemper and Jacob Markstrom are the serviceable goalies. Arizona began in the first period with a Christian Fischer goal, his fifteenth of the season, going in unassisted. Vancouver tied it in the second period with a Daniel Sedin goal, his twenty-second of the year, passed from Alexander Edler and Henrik Sedin. The Coyotes took the lead back with a Derek Stepan goal, his fourteenth of the season, courtesy of Richard Panik and Clayton Keller. Arizona added on with a Dylan Strome goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Max Domi and Luke Schenn. The Canucks got one back in the third period on a Jake Virtanen goal, his tenth of the season, with a lone assist by Bo Horvat. Vancouver tied it on an unassisted Brendan Leipsic goal, his fifth of the year. The Canucks won 4-3 in overtime with a Daniel Sedin power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-third of the campaign, powered by Henrik Sedin and Edler. The three stars were Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, and Edler.

Down in California, the Los Angeles Kings welcome the Minnesota Wild. Alex Stalock and Jonathan Quick are between the pipes. Los Angeles struck first in the first period with a Dustin Brown goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, passed from Christian Folin and Tanner Pearson. Minnesota tied it on a Ryan Murphy goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Nick Seeler and Daniel Winnik. The Wild took the lead with a Matt Dumba goal, his fourteenth of the season, guided in by Mikael Granlund and Mikko Koivu. The Kings retied it on another Brown power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-sixth of the year, powered by Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty. Los Angeles gained the lead on a Tobias Rieder goal, his twelfth of the season, fueled by Folin and Daniel Brickley. The Kings added on with a Brown goal, completing his hat trick on his twenty-seventh of the year, via Pearson and Alec Martinez. Minnesota got one back with an Eric Staal goal, his forty-first of the season, assisted by Dumba and Koivu. The Wild tied it on a shorthanded Nate Prosser goal, his third of the year, set up by Koivu, who got a sock trick, and Granlund. Los Angeles won 5-4 in overtime with a Brown goal, his fourth of the game and twenty-eighth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Anze Kopitar. The three stars were awarded to Brown, Pearson, and Folin, while Koivu, Dumba, and Granlund get honorable mentions.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Colorado Avalanche. Jonathan Bernier and Martin Jones are the masked men. San Jose kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Justin Braun goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Logan Couture and Mikkel Boedker. Colorado tied it in the third period on a Mikko Rantanen power play goal, his twenty-ninth of the year, powered by Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie. The Sharks took the lead back with a Couture power play goal, his thirty-fourth of the season, with assists provided by Kevin Labanc and Joe Pavelski. San Jose added on with a Joonas Donskoi goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Dylan DeMelo and Brenden Dillon. The Avalanche got one back with a Blake Comeau goal, his thirteenth of the season, via David Warsofsky and Matt Nieto. The Sharks iced it at 4-2 with a Tomas Hertl empty net goal, his twenty-second of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Couture, Donskoi, and Braun.

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