NHL 2018/19 - Day 64

Eleven games on for tonight, beginning with...

The Philadelphia Flyers hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky faces a lesser foe in Anthony Stolarz in goal. Philadelphia began in the first period with a Claude Giroux goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier. Columbus tied it on a Seth Jones goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Oliver Bjorkstrand and Brandon Dubinsky. The Blue Jackets took the lead with a Dubinsky goal, his third of the season, assisted by Scott Harrington and Artemi Panarin. Columbus added on in the third period with a Boone Jenner goal, his sixth of the year, with a lone assist by Panarin. The Flyers got one back with a Travis Sanheim goal, coming off of Giroux and Konecny. Philadelphia tied it on another Sanheim goal, his second of the game, via Jakub Voracek and Shayne Gostisbehere. The Blue Jackets won 4-3 in overtime with a Jones goal, his second of the game and fifth of the campaign, helped along by Cam Atkinson. The three stars went to Jones, Sanheim, and Dubinsky, while Giroux, Panarin, and Konecny get the honorable mentions.

Across Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Penguins welcome the New York Islanders. Thomas Greiss and Casey DeSmith are the underrated goalies. Pittsburgh led off in the first period with a Kris Letang goal, his sixth of the season, courtesy of Derick Brassard and Phil Kessel. New York tied it on a shorthanded Brock Nelson goal, his tenth of the year, set up by Tom Kuhnhackl and Scott Mayfield. The Penguins retook the lead with another Letang goal, his second of the game and seventh of the season, assisted by Bryan Rust and Brian Dumoulin. Pittsburgh added on with a Riley Sheahan goal in the second period, his fourth of the year, passed from Evgeni Malkin and Jamie Oleksiak. The Penguins extended the lead on a Phil Kessel power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. Pittsburgh padded the lead as Kessel scored his second of the game and twelfth of the year, thanks to Crosby and Guentzel. The Islanders got one back with an Anders Lee goal, his eleventh of the season, with a lone assist by Ryan Pulock in the third period. The Penguins countered on a Crosby goal, his fifteenth of the year, fueled by Kessel and Guentzel, the latter earning a sock trick. This made it 6-2, the final, with the three stars awarded to Kessel, Letang, and Crosby, while Guentzel gets an honorable mention.

In Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Jonathan Bernier and Garret Sparks are the backups in goal. Toronto opened in the first period with a Kasperi Kapanen goal, his eleventh of the season, courtesy of Jake Gardiner and Andreas Johnsson. Detroit tied it on a Jonathan Ericsson goal, his second of the year, via Thomas Vanek. The Red Wings took the lead with a Luke Glendening goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Niklas Kronwall and Jacob de la Rose. Detroit added on with a Gustav Nyquist goal, his seventh of the year, passed from Dylan Larkin and Mike Green. The Red Wings extended the lead in the second period as Green scored his third of the season, with the help of Martin Frk and Nyquist. The Maple Leafs got one back in the third period with a John Tavares goal, his eighteenth of the year, fueled by Morgan Rielly and Gardiner. Toronto pulled closer with a Zach Hyman goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Igor Ozhiganov and Mitchell Marner. The Maple Leafs tied it on a Johnsson goal, his sixth of the year, with helpers from Auston Matthews and Kapanen. Detroit won 5-4 in overtime with a Larkin goal, his eleventh of the campaign, set up by Nyquist. The three stars went to Nyquist, Larkin, and Green, while Kapanen, Gardiner, and Johnsson earn the honorable mentions.

Way to the south, the Florida Panthers host the Colorado Avalanche. Philipp Grubauer and Roberto Luongo are in the creases. Colorado started in the first period with a Mikko Rantanen goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Patrik Nemeth and Nathan MacKinnon. Florida tied it on a Colton Sceviour goal, his third of the year, passed from Bogdan Kiselevich and MacKenzie Weegar. The Avalanche retook the lead with a shorthanded and unassisted Carl Soderberg goal in the second period, his tenth of the season. The Panthers retied it on an Aaron Ekblad power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Jared McCann and Mike Matheson. Colorado regained the lead in the third period with a J.T. Compher goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Gabriel Landeskog. The Avalanche added on with a Soderberg goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, helped along by Colin Wilson and Samuel Girard. Colorado iced it at 5-2 with a Landeskog empty net goal, his seventeenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars went to Soderberg, Grubauer (33 for 35 in saves), and Landeskog.

Back in Canada, the Ottawa Senators welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Craig Anderson are the masked men. Ottawa struck first in the first period with a Mark Stone goal, his fourteenth of the season, via Colin White. Montreal tied it on a Jeff Petry goal, his fourth of the year, assisted by Michael Chaput and Kenny Agostino. The Canadiens took the lead in the second period with a Paul Byron goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Phillip Danault and Artturi Lehkonen. Montreal added on with an Andrew Shaw goal, his eighth of the year, courtesy of Jonathan Drouin and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The Senators got one back with a White power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Ryan Dzingel and Stone. The Canadiens shot back in the third period with a Brendan Gallagher goal, his thirteenth of the year, helped along by Tomas Tatar and Petry. Montreal iced it at 5-2 with a Byron empty net goal, his second of the game and sixth of the campaign, set up by Shea Weber. The three stars were handed to Byron, Petry, and Stone, while White earned an honorable mention.

To Florida again, as the Tampa Bay Lightning bring in the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask faces a lesser foe in Louis Domingue in goal. Boston was first to score in the first period with a David Pastrnak goal, his twentieth of the season, with a lone helper from Colby Cave. Tampa Bay tied it on a Brayden Point goal, his twenty-first of the year, assisted by Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson. The Lightning took the lead in the third period with a Mathieu Joseph goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Alex Killorn and Dan Girardi. Tampa Bay added on with a shorthanded and unassisted Anthony Cirelli goal, his fifth of the year. The Bruins got one back with a David Krejci goal, his third of the campaign, passed from Pastrnak and David Backes. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars given to Pastrnak, Cirelli, and Joseph.

Far northwest, the Calgary Flames host the Minnesota Wild. Alex Stalock and Mike Smith occupy the creases. Calgary got going in the second period with an Elias Lindholm goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Johnny Gaudreau and Mark Giordano. The Flames added on in the third period with another Lindholm goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, guided in by Gaudreau and Giordano. This stood for a 2-0 win, with the three stars going to Lindholm, Smith (31 save shutout), and Gaudreau, while Giordano earns an honorable mention.

Down in Arizona, the Coyotes welcome the Washington Capitals. Pheonix Copley and Adin Hill are the little known goalies. Arizona drew first blood in the first period with a Christian Fischer goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Derek Stepan. Washington tied it on a Jakub Vrana goal, his ninth of the year, via Brett Connolly and Evgeny Kuznetsov in the second period. The Coyotes retook the lead with a Lawson Crouse goal, his sixth of the season, guided in by Nick Cousins and Jordan Oesterle. The Capitals tied it on a Matt Niskanen goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Travis Boyd and the goalie Copley. Washington pulled ahead in the third period with an Andre Burakovsky goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Niskanen and Dmitry Orlov. The Capitals capped it at 4-2 with an Alex Ovechkin empty net goal, his twenty-first of the year, set up by Nicklas Backstrom. The three stars were Niskanen, Burakovsky, and Copley (27 for 29 in saves).

Into Nevada, where the Vegas Golden Knights bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Marc-Andre Fleury tend the twines. Vegas kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Reilly Smith power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Max Pacioretty and Jonathan Marchessault. The Golden Knights added on with a Deryk Engelland goal, via Smith and William Karlsson. Chicago got on the board in the second period with a Jonathan Toews goal, his thirteenth of the year, passed from David Kampf and Duncan Keith. The Blackhawks tied it on a Dylan Strome goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Patrick Kane and Keith. Chicago pulled ahead in the third period with an Artem Anisimov goal, his sixth of the year, going in unassisted. Vegas tied it on a Marchessault goal, his eleventh of the season, made possible Smith and Shea Theodore. The Golden Knights took the lead on an Alex Tuch goal, his ninth of the year, with a lone helper by Pacioretty. The final stood at 4-3, with the three stars being Smith, Marchessault, and Pacioretty, while Keith gets an honorable mention.

Up in Canada again, the Vancouver Canucks host the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Jacob Markstrom are between the pipes. Vancouver dented the scoreboard in the first period with an Alexander Edler power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Nikolay Goldobin and Elias Pettersson. The Canucks added on with a Bo Horvat goal, his thirteenth of the year, passed from Jake Virtanen and Antoine Roussel. Nashville got on the board in the second period with a Ryan Hartman goal, his eighth of the season, courtesy of Yannick Weber and Ryan Johansen. Vancouver answered on a Virtanen goal, his ninth of the year, via Roussel and Horvat. The Canucks extended the lead as Pettersson scored his fourteenth of the season on a penalty shot earned by drawing a slash against Mattias Ekholm. Vancouver padded the lead in the third period with a Loui Eriksson goal, his fifth of the year, made possible by Christopher Tanev. The Predators got one back with a Colton Sissons goal, his fifth of the season, fueled by Roman Josi and Miikka Salomaki. Nashville pulled closer with a Matt Irwin goal, with helpers from Weber and Sissons. The final remained at 5-3, with the three stars given to Pettersson, Virtanen, and Horvat, while Roussel, Sissons, and Weber take the honorable mentions.

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings host the New Jersey Devils. Keith Kinkaid and Jonathan Quick play in goal. New Jersey cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Kyle Palmieri power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, powered by Taylor Hall and Will Butcher. Los Angeles tied it with a Brendan Leipsic goal, his third of the year, via Jake Muzzin and Alec Martinez. The Devils took the lead back in the second period with an unassisted Travis Zajac goal, his ninth of the season. The Kings retied it on an Adrian Kempe goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Drew Doughty and Austin Wagner. New Jersey regained the lead on a Palmieri goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the season, courtesy of Hall. The Devils added on with a Butcher goal, his second of the year, assisted by Miles Wood and Zajac. Los Angeles got one back with a Kyle Clifford goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. New Jersey responded in the third period with a Nico Hischier goal, his sixth of the year, coming off of Sami Vatanen and Hall, the latter earning a sock trick. The Devils iced it at 6-3 with a Blake Coleman empty net goal, his ninth of the campaign, set up by Andy Greene and Damon Severson. The three stars belonged to Palmieri, Zajac, and Hall, while Butcher earns an honorable mention.

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