NHL 2018/19 - Day 25

Eleven games are spread by ten hours in starting times on Saturday, beginning with four matinees. The first game is from...

New Jersey, as the Devils host the Florida Panthers. James Reimer and Keith Kinkaid draw the starts in goal. New Jersey opened in the first period with a Kyle Palmieri goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Damon Severson and Nico Hischier. The Devils added on in the second period with a Taylor Hall goal, his second of the year, via Palmieri and Hischier. New Jersey extended the lead as Blake Coleman scored his third of the season, thanks to Mirco Mueller and Travis Zajac. Florida got on the board with a Mike Matheson goal, made possible by Jonathan Huberdeau in the third period. The Panthers got closer with a Mike Hoffman goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Keith Yandle and Evgenii Dadonov. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars given to Palmieri, Hischier, and Kinkaid (35 for 37 in saves).

In Philadelphia, the Flyers welcome the New York Islanders. Robin Lehner and Michal Neuvirth are the passable goalies. New York began in the first period with a Leo Komarov goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Adam Pelech and Johnny Boychuk. The Islanders added on with an Anthony Beauvillier goal, passed from Jordan Eberle and Mathew Barzal. New York extended the lead in the second period as Brock Nelson scored his fourth of the year, thanks to Josh Bailey and Anders Lee. Philadelphia got on the board with an unassisted Jori Lehtera goal. The Islanders replied with a Pelech goal in the third period, with a lone helper by Lee. New York padded the lead with a Nelson goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, assisted by Lee, who earned a sock trick. The Islanders iced it at 6-1 with a Lee power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Bailey and Barzal. The three stars went to Lee, Nelson, and Pelech, while Bailey and Barzal took the honorable mentions.

Southwest to Nashville, as the Predators bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Mikko Koskinen and Juuse Saros are the backups in goal. Edmonton started in the first period with a Drake Caggiula goal, via Darnell Nurse and Tobias Rieder. The Oilers added on with a Leon Draisaitl power play goal in the second period, his fifth of the season, powered by Milan Lucic and Connor McDavid. Nashville got on the board with a Filip Forsberg power play goal, his eighth of the year, with assists provided by Ryan Johansen and P.K. Subban. Edmonton countered with a McDavid goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Oilers extended the lead as Draisaitl scored again in the third period, his second of the game and sixth of the year, with helpers from Rieder and Oscar Klefbom. The Predators got one back with another Forsberg goal, his second of the game and ninth of the season, assisted by Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson. Nashville got closer with Forsberg completing his hat trick on a power play goal, his tenth of the year, fueled by Johansen, who got a sock trick, and Subban. Edmonton iced it at 5-3 with an unassisted Caggiula goal, his second of the game. The three stars went to Draisaitl, Forsberg, and Johansen, while McDavid, Rieder, Caggiula, and Subban earn the honorable mentions.

Northwest to Calgary, where the Flames host the Washington Capitals. Pheonix Copley and Mike Smith are the sub-par goalies. Washington led off in the first period with a Jakub Vrana goal, his third of the season, made possible by Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Capitals added on with a T.J. Oshie power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Alex Ovechkin and Kuznetsov. Calgary got on the board with a Travis Hamonic goal, guided in by Johnny Gaudreau and Sam Bennett. The Flames tied it on an Elias Lindholm power play goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Gaudreau and Mark Giordano. Washington reclaimed the lead in the second period on a Matt Niskanen goal, his second of the year, passed from Brett Connolly and Dmitrij Jaskin. Calgary tied it again in the third period with a Matthew Tkachuk goal, his fourth of the campaign, fueled by Rasmus Andersson and Giordano. The tie went to a shootout, where Kuznetsov, and Nicklas Backstrom lifted the Capitals to a 4-3 win over Sean Monahan and the Flames. The three stars were Kuznetsov, Gaudreau, and Giordano.

Back east, the Boston Bruins welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Tuukka Rask and Carey Price tend the twines. Montreal struck first in the first period with a Brendan Gallagher goal, his sixth of the season, courtesy of Matthew Peca and Xavier Ouellet. The Canadiens added on with a Max Domi goal, his fifth of the year, via Jonathan Drouin and Artturi Lehkonen. Montreal iced it at 3-0 in the third period with a Jordie Benn empty net goal, set up by Lehkonen. The three stars went to Price (33 save shutout), Lehkonen, and Gallagher.

In Canada, the Toronto Maple Leafs bring in the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Frederik Andersen guard the cages. Winnipeg drew first blood in the first period with a Kyle Connor power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Blake Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien. The Jets added on with a Mark Scheifele goal in the second period, his sixth of the year, going in unassisted. Toronto got on the board with a Nazem Kadri goal, his second of the season, assisted by Mitchell Marner and Ron Hainsey in the third period. The Maple Leafs tied it on a Jake Gardiner goal, with a lone assist by Marner. Toronto took the lead with a Kasperi Kapanen goal, his sixth of the year, coming off of John Tavares and Zach Hyman. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars handed to Marner, Kapanen, and Gardiner.

Stateside, the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Buffalo Sabres. Linus Ullmark and Joonas Korpisalo are the backups in goal. Buffalo was first to score in the first period with a Kyle Okposo goal, his third of the season, made possible by Tage Thompson and Casey Nelson. Columbus tied it on a Pierre-Luc Dubois goal, his third of the year, via Artemi Panarin. The Sabres took the lead back with a Jeff Skinner goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Jake McCabe and Jack Eichel. The Blue Jackets tied it again in the second period with a Panarin goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Dubois and Cam Atkinson. Columbus pulled ahead with an Atkinson goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Riley Nash and Zach Werenski. The Blue Jackets added on with another Atkinson goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, guided in by Nick Foligno and Scott Harrington. Buffalo got one back with a Jason Pominville goal, his fifth of the season, fueled by Eichel and McCabe. The Sabres retied it on a Casey Mittelstadt power play goal, with helpers from Pominville and Skinner. Columbus won 5-4 in overtime with a Panarin goal, his second of the night, set up by Dubois. The three stars were awarded to Panarin, Atkinson, and Dubois, while Skinner, Pominville, eichel, and McCabe get the honorable mentions.

Westward to St. Louis, as the Blues welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Jake Allen protect the nets. St. Louis kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his third of the season, coming off of Zach Sanford and Colton Parayko. Chicago tied it on a Patrick Kane goal, his tenth of the year, via Artem Anisimov and Brandon Saad. The Blues took the lead back with a Sanford goal, his third of the season, assisted by David Perron and O'Reilly. The Blackhawks tied it again with an Anisimov goal, his second of the year, made possible by Kane. St. Louis took the lead once more in the second period on a Vladimir Tarasenko power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Vince Dunn and O'Reilly. The Blues added on with a Tyler Bozak goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Oskar Sundqvist and Sanford. Chicago pulled one back with a Kane goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the season, guided in by Anisimov and Henri Jokiharju. Chad Johnson replaced Allen due to injury. St. Louis replied with a Tarasenko goal in the third period, his second of the game and fifth of the year, fueled by Alex Pietrangelo and Jaden Schwartz. The Blues extended the lead on a Pietrangelo empty net goal, set up by Jay Bouwmeester and Brayden Schenn. St. Louis padded the lead as Alexander Steen scored his fourth of the campaign, thanks to Schenn and Pietrangelo. The three stars were Tarasenko, Pietrangelo, and Kane, while Anisimov, O'Reilly, Schenn, and Sanford are honorable mentions for this 7-3 Blues win.

Up in Minnesota, the Wild bring in the Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov and Devan Dubnyk are the masked men. Colorado cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Mark Barberio goal, coming off of Vladislav Kamenev. Minnesota tied it on a Mikael Granlund goal in the second period, his fifth of the season, assisted by Nino Niederreiter and Eric Staal. The Wild took the lead with a Staal power play goal in the third period, his third of the year, powered by Granlund and Jason Zucker. Minnesota added on with a Jonas Brodin shorthanded empty net goal, his second of the season, set up by Jared Spurgeon and Eric Fehr. The Avalanche got one back on a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his tenth of the year, with a lone helper by Mikko Rantanen. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars handed to Staal, Granlund, and Brodin.

Way to the south, the Arizona Coyotes host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Louis Domingue faces his old team and Antti Raanta in goal. Arizona dented the scoreboard in the first period with a Jordan Oesterle goal, passed from Brad Richardson and Vinnie Hinostroza. The Coyotes added on with a Clayton Keller goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Jason Demers and Alex Galchenyuk. Arizona extended the lead as Derek Stepan scored, with the help of Brendan Perlini and Alex Goligoski. The Coyotes padded the lead on a Hinostroza goal, his third of the year, via Goligoski and the goalie Raanta in the second period. Arizona kept going with a shorthanded Michael Grabner goal, set up by Richardson. The Coyotes continued in the third period with another shorthanded Grabner goal, his second of the game, going in unassisted. Tampa Bay got on the board with an Adam Erne power play goal, powered by Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde. Arizona finished it at 7-1 with an unassisted Richard Panik goal. The three stars were Grabner, Hinostroza, and Richardson, while Goligoski gets an honorable mention.

The last game sees the Vancouver Canucks host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Casey DeSmith and Jacob Markstrom have the green light to play in goal. Pittsburgh got going in the second period with a Phil Kessel goal, his seventh of the season, passed from Olli Maatta and Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins added on with a Sidney Crosby goal, his fourth of the year, via Dominik Simon and Jake Guentzel. Pittsburgh extended the lead as Malkin scored in the third period, his fourth of the season, thanks to Daniel Sprong. The Penguins padded the lead on another Malkin goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, coming off of Kessel and Carl Hagelin. Pittsburgh capped it at 5-0 with a Crosby goal, his second of the game and fifth of the campaign, made possible by Jamie Oleksiak and Guentzel. The three stars were Malkin, Crosby, and DeSmith (29 save shutout), while Kessel and Guentzel get the honorable mentions.

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