NHL 2018/19 - Day 18

A big day of games occurs on Saturday, with thirteen set to be played. The first four are matinees, beginning with...

The Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Colorado Avalanche. Philipp Grubauer and Curtis McElhinney are the backups in goal. Colorado led off in the first period with a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his sixth of the season, via Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche added on with a Landeskog power play goal in the second period, his second of the game and seventh of the year, powered by MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie. Colorado extended the lead in the third period as MacKinnon scored his eighth of the season, thanks to Nikita Zadorov. Carolina got on the board with a Micheal Ferland goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. This only made it 3-1, with the three stars being Grubauer (42 for 43 in saves), Landeskog, and MacKinnon.

Up in Philadelphia, the Flyers welcome the New Jersey Devils. Keith Kinkaid and Brian Elliott are in the blue paint. New Jersey began in the first period with a Damon Severson power play goal, powered by Marcus Johansson and Miles Wood. Philadelphia tied it on a Travis Konecny power play goal, his second of the season, with assists provided by Travis Sanheim and Jordan Weal. The Flyers took the lead in the second period with a Nolan Patrick goal, via Jakub Voracek. The Devils tied it again in the third period with a Brian Boyle power play goal, his third of the year, assisted by Will Butcher and Taylor Hall. Philadelphia answered with a Voracek goal, his third of the season, coming off of Ivan Provorov and Sanheim. The Flyers added on with a Wayne Simmonds empty net goal, his sixth of the year, made possible by Claude Giroux and Provorov. Philadelphia iced it at 5-2 with a Scott Laughton empty net goal, his fourth of the campaign, set up by Voracek and Jori Lehtera. The three stars were given to Voracek, Sanheim, and Provorov.

Out in California, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Linus Ullmark is mismatched with Jonathan Quick in goal. Buffalo started in the first period with a Jason Pominville goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Jack Eichel and Jake McCabe. The Sabres added on in the second period with a Jeff Skinner goal, his second of the year, assisted by Eichel and Pominville. Buffalo extended the lead as Skinner scored again, his second of the game and third of the season, thanks to Marco Scandella and Pominville. The Sabres padded the lead on a Zach Bogosian goal, guided in by Johan Larsson and Zemgus Girgensons. Los Angeles got on the board with a Drew Doughty power play goal in the third period, powered by Alex Iafallo and Jeff Carter. Buffalo iced it at 5-1 with a Skinner empty net goal to complete his hat trick with his fourth of the year, set up by Evan Rodrigues and Eichel, the latter earning a sock trick. The three stars were Skinner, Eichel, and Pominville.

Northeast to Winnipeg, as the Jets host the Arizona Coyotes. Antti Raanta faces a lesser foe in Laurent Brossoit in goal. Arizona opened in the first period with a Christian Fischer goal, coming off of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Nick Cousins. Winnipeg tied it on an Adam Lowry goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Josh Morrissey and Jacob Trouba. The Jets took the lead in the second period with a Tyler Myers goal, with a lone assist from Trouba. Winnipeg added on with a Morrissey power play goal, powered by Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. The Coyotes got one back in the third period with a Clayton Keller goal, his second of the year, fueled by Ekman-Larsson and Derek Stepan. The Jets responded on a Mathieu Perreault goal, assisted by Trouba, who got a sock trick, and Jack Roslovic. Arizona pulled back with another Keller goal, his second of the game and third of the season, via Ekman-Larsson, who got a sock trick. Winnipeg capped it at 5-3 with a Blake Wheeler empty net goal, his second of the year, set up by Connor and Myers. The three stars belonged to Morrissey, Keller, and Trouba, while Ekman-Larsson, Myers, and Connor get the honorable mentions.

At the regular time, the Ottawa Senators welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Craig Anderson are the goalies. Montreal struck first in the first period with a Max Domi power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Jonathan Drouin and Jeff Petry. The Canadiens added on with a Phillip Danault goal, fueled by Paul Byron and Artturi Lehkonen. Ottawa got on the board with a Mark Stone goal, his third of the year, via Chris Tierney. Montreal replied with a Byron goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Joel Armia and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The Senators got one back in the second period on a Mikkel Boedker goal, his second of the year, with a lone helper from Colin White. Ottawa tied it on a Matt Duchene power play goal, with assists provided by Bobby Ryan and Stone. The Senators won 4-3 in overtime with a Stone goal, his second of the game and fourth of the campaign, coming off of Duchene and Thomas Chabot. The three stars belonged to Stone, Duchene, and Byron.

Also in Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs bring in the St. Louis Blues. Jake Allen and Frederik Andersen protect the nets. St. Louis got going in the second period with a Robert Bortuzzo goal, via David Perron. The Blues added on with a Zach Sanford goal, assisted by Perron and Alex Pietrangelo. St. Louis extended the lead as Ryan O'Reilly scored, thanks to Vladimir Tarasenko and Pat Maroon. Toronto got on the board with a Morgan Rielly goal in the third period, his fourth of the season, coming off of Mitchell Marner and Jake Gardiner. The Blues iced it at 4-1 with an Ivan Barbashev shorthanded empty net goal, set up by O'Reilly. The three stars were O'Reilly, Perron, and Allen (22 for 23 in saves).

Down south, the Florida Panthers host the Detroit Red Wings. Michael Hutchinson and Jimmy Howard are set to start in goal. Florida was first to score in the first period with a Keith Yandle goal, via Evgenii Dadonov and Nick Bjugstad. The Panthers added on with a Bjugstad goal, his second of the season, coming off of Aleksander Barkov. Detroit got on the board in the second period with a Dennis Cholowski power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Andreas Athanasiou and Frans Nielsen. The Red Wings tied it on a Thomas Vanek power play goal, his second of the season, made possible by Nielsen and Cholowski. Detroit took the lead on a Dylan Larkin goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Darren Helm and Gustav Nyquist. Florida retied it in the third period with a Mike Hoffman goal, his second of the season, passed from Yandle and Barkov. The Red Wings won 4-3 in overtime with a Nyquist goal, helped along by Larkin. The three stars went to Nyquist, Larkin, and Cholowski, while Nielsen, Yandle, Bjugstad, and Barkov earn honorable mentions.

Backtracking to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Sergei Bobrovsky tend the twines. Chicago drew first blood in the first period with an Alex DeBrincat goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Dominik Kahun and Brent Seabrook. Columbus tied it with a Zach Werenski goal, his second of the year, fueled by Markus Nutivaara and Alexander Wennberg. The Blackhawks retook the lead in the third period on a Marcus Kruger goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Alexandre Fortin and Patrick Kane. Chicago added on with a Kane goal, his sixth of the year, guided in by Seabrook and Nick Schmaltz. The Blackhawks finished with a 4-1 win on a Kane empty net goal, his second of the game and seventh of the campaign, set up by Artem Anisimov. The three stars were given to Kane, Crawford (37 for 38 in saves), and Seabrook.

Northwest to Minnesota, as the Wild bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Alex Stalock are occupying the creases. Tampa Bay kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Ryan Callahan goal, via Anton Stralman and J.T. Miller. The Lightning added on with a Yanni Gourde goal, his third of the season, passed from Ryan McDonagh and Steven Stamkos. Minnesota got on the board with a Charlie Coyle goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Nino Niederreiter. Tampa Bay replied with a Miller power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov. The Wild got one back in the second period on a Marcus Foligno goal, made possible by Eric Fehr and J.T. Brown. Minnesota tied it in the third period with a Zach Parise goal, his third of the year, helped along by Mikko Koivu and Jared Spurgeon. The Wild pulled ahead with a Jason Zucker goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Matt Dumba. The Lightning retied it on a Stralman goal, coming off of Gourde and Ondrej Palat. Minnesota won 5-4 in overtime on a Mikael Granlund goal, his third of the year, with helpers from Coyle and the goalie Stalock. The three stars were Coyle, Stralman, and Gourde, while Miller gets an honorable mention.

Over in Edmonton, the Oilers host the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Cam Talbot have the green light to play in goal. Nashville dented the scoreboard in the second period with a shorthanded P.K. Subban goal, his second of the season, set up by Colton Sissons and Mattias Ekholm. The Predators added on with a Viktor Arvidsson goal, his fourth of the year, courtesy of Nick Bonino and  Ekholm. Nashville iced it at 3-0 with a Roman Josi empty net goal, his second of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Saros (31 save shutout), Subban, and Ekholm.

In British Columbia, the Vancouver Canucks welcome the Boston Bruins. Jaroslav Halak and Jacob Markstrom are the backups in goal. Vancouver started in the first period with a Brandon Sutter goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Jake Virtanen and Troy Stecher. Boston tied it on a Joakim Nordstrom goal in the third period, his second of the year, assisted by John Moore and Matt Grzelcyk. The Canucks won 2-1 in overtime with a Bo Horvat goal, his fifth of the campaign, with a lone helper from Brock Boeser. The three stars were handed to Markstrom (30 for 31 in saves), Horvat, and Sutter.

South to Vegas, where the Golden Knights bring in the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Marc-Andre Fleury guard the cages. Vegas opened in the first period with a William Karlsson power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Jonathan Marchessault and Brad Hunt. The Golden Knights added on in the second period with a Ryan Reaves goal, via Nick Holden and Cody Eakin. Anaheim got on the board with a Ben Street goal in the third period, his third of the year, coming off of Cam Fowler and Ryan Getzlaf. Vegas capped it at 3-1 with a Marchessault empty net goal, his fifth of the campaign, set up by Reilly Smith. The three stars went to Marchessault, Fleury (17 for 18 in saves), and Gibson (42 for 44 in saves).

Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the New York Islanders. Robin Lehner and Martin Jones are between the pipes. San Jose struck first in the first period with a Timo Meier goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl. New York tied it on a Brock Nelson goal, his second of the year, via Josh Bailey and Anders Lee. The Sharks retook the lead in the second period with a Joonas Donskoi goal, his third of the season, assisted by Antti Suomela. San Jose added on with a Brent Burns goal, made possible by Hertl and Donskoi. The Sharks extended the lead in the third period as Couture scored his fifth of the year, with the help of Hertl, who got a sock trick, and Joakim Ryan. This held up for a 4-1 win, with the three stars given to Couture, Hertl, and Donskoi.

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