NHL 2018/19 - Day 28

We complete four full weeks of the season with eleven games tonight, beginning with...

The Buffalo Sabres hosting the Calgary Flames. David Rittich and Carter Hutton are the lesser-known goalies. Buffalo led off in the first period with a Jack Eichel goal, his fourth of the season, with a lone assist by Jason Pominville. Calgary tied it on a Matthew Tkachuk goal in the third period, his fifth of the year, passed from Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan. The Flames won 2-1 in overtime with a Johnny Gaudreau goal, his sixth of the campaign, assisted by Mark Giordano and Monahan. The three stars were Monahan, Rittich (28 for 29 in saves), and Hutton (36 for 38 in saves).

Down in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Boston Bruins. Jaroslav Halak and Scott Darling draw the starts in goal. Carolina began in the first period with a Micheal Ferland power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Sebastian Aho and Valentin Zykov. Boston got on the board in the second period with a David Pastrnak power play goal, his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron. The Hurricanes reclaimed the lead on a Dougie Hamilton power play goal, his second of the season, with a lone assist by Jordan Staal. The Bruins tied it again with a Brad Marchand power play goal, his third of the year, fueled by Bergeron. Boston pulled ahead with a third period Marchand goal, his second of the game and fourth of the campaign, again from Bergeron. This held up for a 3-2 win, with the three stars going to Marchand, Bergeron, and Halak (42 for 44 in saves).

Back north, the Pittsburgh Penguins bring in the New York Islanders. Robin Lehner and Matt Murray are the masked men. New York started in the first period with an Andrew Ladd goal, his third of the season, via Valtteri Filppula and Ryan Pulock. The Islanders added on with a Brock Nelson goal, his sixth of the year, coming off of Josh Bailey and Matt Martin. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Dominik Simon goal, his second of the season, guided in by Sidney Crosby and Brian Dumoulin. The Penguins tied it on a Crosby goal, his sixth of the year, with a lone helper from Jamie Oleksiak. New York retook the lead in the second period on a Martin goal, his third of the season, made possible by Casey Cizikas. The Islanders extended the lead on a Jordan Eberle power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Mathew Barzal and Nick Leddy. Casey DeSmith replaced Murray in goal. New York padded the lead as Eberle scored his second of the game and third of the season, thanks to Barzal and Adam Pelech. To start the third period, Thomas Greiss relieved Lehner in goal. Pittsburgh got one back with an Evgeni Malkin goal, his sixth of the year, helped along by Phil Kessel and Oleksiak. The Islanders shot back with a Tom Kuhnhackl goal, with helpers from Leddy and Pulock. This stood for a 6-3 win, with the three stars given to Eberle, Barzal, and Crosby, while Martin, Leddy, Pulock, and Oleksiak earn the honorable mentions.

Over in Columbus, the Blue Jackets host the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Joonas Korpisalo protect the nets. Detroit opened in the first period with a Michael Rasmussen power play goal, powered by Thomas Vanek and Gustav Nyquist. The Red Wings added on with a Dylan Larkin shorthanded goal, his fifth of the season, set up by Darren Helm. Detroit extended the lead as Anthony Mantha scored his third of the year, thanks to Larkin and Niklas Kronwall. Sergei Bobrovsky replaced Korpisalo in goal. Columbus got on the board in the third period with a Josh Anderson goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Markus Hannikainen and Ryan Murray. The Blue Jackets got closer on a Markus Nutivaara goal, with a lone helper from Hannikainen. Columbus tied it on an unassisted Pierre-Luc Dubois goal, his fourth of the year. The Red Wings retook the lead with a Tyler Bertuzzi goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Dennis Cholowski and Mike Green. Detroit capped it at 5-3 with an empty net goal by Larkin, his second of the game and sixth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Larkin, Hannikainen, and Bobrovsky (23 for 24 in saves in relief).

Up in Canada, the Montreal Canadiens welcome the Dallas Stars. Ben Bishop and Carey Price tend the twines. Dallas got going in the second period with an Esa Lindell power play goal, with a lone assist by Devin Shore. The Stars added on with a Miro Heiskanen goal, his second of the season, passed from Shore and Lindell. Montreal got on the board in the third period with a Brendan Gallagher goal, his seventh of the year, coming off of Tomas Tatar. Dallas replied with a Shore shorthanded goal, his second of the season, set up by Radek Faksa. The Stars iced it at 4-1 with an Alexander Radulov empty net goal, his fifth of the year, via Jamie Benn. The three stars went to Shore, Lindell, and Bishop (34 for 35 in saves).

Way to the south, the Tampa Bay Lightning bring in the New Jersey Devils. Keith Kinkaid and Andrei Vasilevskiy are in the blue paint. New Jersey struck first in the first period with a Miles Wood goal, via Sami Vatanen and Mirco Mueller. The Devils added on with a Travis Zajac goal, his third of the season, with a lone assist by Wood. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Braydon Coburn goal, helped along by Brayden Point and Yanni Gourde. The Lightning tied it on a Coburn goal, his second of the game, made possible by Cedric Paquette and Adam Erne. Tampa Bay took the lead in the second period on a Point goal, his seventh of the year, passed from Gourde and Tyler Johnson. The Lightning extended the lead as Nikita Kucherov scored his fourth of the season on the power play, with the help of Ryan McDonagh and Steven Stamkos. Tampa Bay padded the lead on a Stamkos power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Kucherov and Point. New Jersey pulled one back on a Kyle Palmieri power play goal, his ninth of the season, with helpers provided by Taylor Hall and Will Butcher. The Lightning shot back on a Johnson goal in the third period, his fifth of the year, assisted by Point, who got a sock trick, and McDonagh. Tampa Bay chased Kinkaid with a Kucherov goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, guided in by J.T. Miller and Stamkos. The Lightning continued against Cory Schneider with a McDonagh goal, fueled by Point and Gourde, the latter earning his sock trick. The final held from here at 8-3, with the three stars given to Point, Kucherov, and Gourde, while Johnson, Stamkos, Coburn, McDonagh, and Wood earn the honorable mentions.

Slightly northwest to Nashville, as the Predators host the Vegas Golden Knights. Malcolm Subban and Juuse Saros are the backups in goal. Vegas drew first blood in the first period with a Reilly Smith power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Jonathan Marchessault and Shea Theodore. Nashville tied it on a Ryan Hartman goal in the second period, his second of the year, via Kevin Fiala and Roman Josi. The Predators took the lead with a Hartman goal, his second of the game and third of the season, coming off of Fiala and P.K. Subban. Nashville added on in the third period with a Calle Jarnkrok goal, his second of the year, helped along by Kyle Turris and Craig Smith. The Predators finished it at 4-1 with a Viktor Arvidsson empty net goal, his eighth of the campaign, set up by Josi. The three stars belonged to Hartman, Saros (23 for 24 in saves), and Josi.

In Canada again, the Edmonton Oilers welcome the Minnesota Wild. Alex Stalock and Cam Talbot are between the pipes. Edmonton was first to score in the first period with a Leon Draisaitl goal, his seventh of the season, via Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Oscar Klefbom. Minnesota tied it on a Zach Parise power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Matt Dumba and Nino Niederreiter. The Oilers took the lead back in the second period with a Connor McDavid goal, his ninth of the season, with a lone assist from Kris Russell. The Wild tied it again on a Jared Spurgeon goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Eric Staal and Niederreiter. Edmonton regained the lead with an Alex Chiasson goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Matt Benning and Draisaitl. Minnesota retied it on a Staal power play goal, his fourth of the year, with assists provided by Ryan Suter and Mikael Granlund. The Wild pulled ahead on a Granlund power play goal in the third period, his sixth of the campaign, made possible by Staal and Suter. This made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars going to Granlund, Staal, and Draisaitl, while Niederreiter and Suter get honorable mentions.

Down in Arizona, the Coyotes bring in the Ottawa Senators. Mike Condon is mismatched with Antti Raanta in goal. Arizona kicked off the scoring in the first period with an unassisted Alex Galchenyuk goal. The Coyotes added on with a Brad Richardson goal, his third of the season, via Michael Grabner and Nick Cousins. Arizona extended the lead as Derek Stepan scored a shorthanded goal, his second of the year, set up by Alex Goligoski. Craig Anderson relieved Condon in goal. Ottawa got on the board in the second period with an Alex Formenton goal, assisted by Chris Wideman and Chris Tierney. The Coyotes replied with a Richard Panik goal, his second of the season, going in unassisted. Arizona padded the lead in the third period on an Oliver Ekman-Larsson power play goal, powered by Clayton Keller and Galchenyuk. The final remained at 5-1, with the three stars going to Galchenyuk, Raanta (25 for 26 in saves), and Richardson.

Westward to Anaheim, as the Ducks host the Philadelphia Flyers. Brian Elliott and Ryan Miller are the experienced goalies. Philadelphia dented the scoreboard in the first period with a Sean Couturier power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Claude Giroux and Shayne Gostisbehere. Anaheim tied it in the second period with a Pontus Aberg goal, his third of the year, via Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm. The Flyers retook the lead with an Ivan Provorov goal, made possible by Giroux and Nolan Patrick. The Ducks tied it in the third period on an Aberg power play goal, his second of the game and fourth of the season, with assists provided by Cam Fowler and Ryan Getzlaf. Philadelphia retook the lead on a Patrick goal, his third of the year, coming off of Oskar Lindblom and Robert Hagg. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars handed to Patrick, Giroux, and Elliott (23 for 25 in saves).

Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Martin Jones guard the cages. San Jose cracked the scoresheet with a Brent Burns goal in the first period, his third of the season, made possible by Marcus Sorensen and Melker Karlsson. New York tied it on a Mats Zuccarello goal, his third of the year, coming off of Kevin Shattenkirk. The Rangers took the lead in the third period with a Chris Kreider goal, his fifth of the season, via Brady Skjei and Kevin Hayes. The Sharks retied it on a Timo Meier goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Burns. New York gained the lead again on a Kreider goal, his sixth of the season, courtesy of Zuccarello and Mika Zibanejad. San Jose tied it on a Tomas Hertl goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by Logan Couture and Meier. The Rangers won 4-3 with a lone shootout tally by Shattenkirk. The three stars were Kreider, Shattenkirk, and Zuccarello, while Burns and Meier get the honorable mentions.

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.