Saturday, December 15, 2018

NHL 2018/19 - Day 73

Ten games on this Saturday, beginning with...

The Minnesota Wild hosting the Calgary Flames in the lone matinee. David Rittich and Devan Dubnyk protect the nets. Calgary started in the first period with a shorthanded Mark Giordano goal, his fifth of the season, set up by Mark Jankowski. Minnesota tied it in the second period with a Jordan Greenway goal, his fifth of the year, via Mikael Granlund. The Flames took the lead on a Matthew Tkachuk goal in the third period, his fourteenth of the season, passed from James Neal and T.J. Brodie. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars given to Rittich (34 for 35 in saves), Tkachuk, and Giordano.

At the regular time, the Montreal Canadiens welcome the Ottawa Senators. Mike McKenna is mismatched with Carey Price in goal. Montreal opened in the first period with a Matthew Peca goal, his third of the season, going in unassisted. Ottawa tied it on a Colin White goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Brady Tkachuk. The Senators took the lead in the second period with a Mikkel Boedker goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Mark Stone. The Canadiens retied it on a Jesperi Kotkaniemi goal in the third period, his fourth of the year, via Artturi Lehkonen and Jeff Petry. Montreal pulled ahead on a Shea Weber goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Andrew Shaw and Phillip Danault. The Canadiens added on with a Paul Byron goal, his seventh of the year, passed from Kotkaniemi and Lehkonen. Montreal capped it at 5-2 with a Jonathan Drouin empty net goal, his eleventh of the campaign, set up by Max Domi and Peca. The three stars went to Kotkaniemi, Peca, and Lehkonen.

Back stateside, the New York Islanders bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Jonathan Bernier and Thomas Greiss make the starts in goal. Detroit led off in the first period with a Gustav Nyquist power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Dylan Larkin and Thomas Vanek. New York tied it with an Anthony Beauvillier goal, his tenth of the year, coming off of Mathew Barzal and Josh Bailey. The Red Wings retook the lead with a Trevor Daley goal, his second of the campaign, via Tyler Bertuzzi and Vanek. The Islanders tied it again in the third period on a Barzal power play goal, his fourth of the season, with assists provided by Anders Lee and Nick Leddy. New York took the lead with a Casey Cizikas goal, his eighth of the year, fueled by Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin. Detroit retied it as Vanek scored his fourth of the campaign, with the help of Andreas Athanasiou and Niklas Kronwall. The tie went to a shootout, where Barzal's lone tally gave the Islanders a 4-3 win. The three stars were Barzal, Vanek, and Bernier (45 for 48 in saves).

West to Pittsburgh, as the Penguins host the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Matt Murray are between the pipes. Pittsburgh began in the first period with a shorthanded Matt Cullen goal, his third of the season, set up by Bryan Rust and Jack Johnson. The Penguins added on with a Rust goal, his fifth of the year, via Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. Los Angeles got on the board in the second period with a Jake Muzzin goal, his third of the season, made possible by Anze Kopitar and Alex Iafallo. Pittsburgh replied with an unassisted Tanner Pearson goal, his fourth of the year. The Kings answered with a Matt Luff goal, his seventh of the season, guided in by Austin Wagner and Drew Doughty. Los Angeles tied it in the third period with an Iafallo power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Adrian Kempe and Muzzin. The Penguins won 4-3 in overtime with a Phil Kessel power play goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, with helpers from Evgeni Malkin and Olli Maatta. The three stars were given to Iafallo, Rust, and Muzzin.

In DC, the Washington Capitals welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Carter Hutton and Pheonix Copley are the lesser-known goalies. Buffalo struck first in the first period with a Jack Eichel goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Dahlin. Washington tied it on a Brett Connolly goal, his seventh of the year, with a lone assist by Devante Smith-Pelly. The Capitals took the lead with a Jakub Vrana goal, his tenth of the season, passed from Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Sabres retied it in the second period with an Eichel power play goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the year, powered by Dahlin and Rasmus Ristolainen. Buffalo edged ahead on a Dahlin power play goal, his third of the season, with assists provided by Jeff Skinner and Reinhart. Washington retied it on an Alex Ovechkin goal, his twenty-ninth of the year, made possible by Nicklas Backstrom and Dmitry Orlov. The tie went into a shootout, where Kuznetsov and Ovechkin topped Casey Mittelstadt to give the Capitals the 4-3 win. The three stars belonged to Dahlin, Eichel, and Ovechkin, while Kuznetsov and Reinhart get the honorable mentions.

To the south, the Florida Panthers bring in the Toronto Maple Leafs. Frederik Andersen and Roberto Luongo guard the cages. Florida drew first blood in the first period with an Aleksander Barkov power play goal, his twelfth of the season, powered by Evgenii Dadonov and Mike Hoffman. The Panthers added on in the second period with a Jonathan Huberdeau power play goal, his ninth of the year, with assists provided by Keith Yandle and Hoffman. Toronto got on the board in the third period with a John Tavares goal, his twentieth of the season, via Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly. The Maple Leafs tied it on a Mitchell Marner goal, his seventh of the year, fueled by Nazem Kadri and Nikita Zaitsev. Florida retook the lead with a Barkov goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the season, made possible by Troy Brouwer and Denis Malgin. Toronto tied it again with a Marner goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, courtesy of Rielly and Gardiner. The Panthers won 4-3 in overtime with Barkov completing his hat trick on his fourteenth of the campaign, with a lone helper by Huberdeau. The three stars were Barkov, Marner, and Huberdeau, while Hoffman, Rielly, and Gardiner take the honorable mentions.

Back north, the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Sergei Bobrovsky tend the twines. Columbus dented the scoreboard in the first period with a Markus Nutivaara goal, his fourth of the season, via Boone Jenner. Anaheim tied it on a Daniel Sprong goal, his second of the year, with a lone assist by Josh Manson. The Ducks took the game 2-1 in overtime on another Sprong goal, his second of the game and third of the campaign, helped along by Adam Henrique. The three stars went to Sprong, Gibson (36 for 37 in saves), and Bobrovsky (20 for 22 in saves).

Backtracking to Nashville, as the Predators welcome the New Jersey Devils. Keith Kinkaid and Juuse Saros are the men in the creases. Nashville kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Frederick Gaudreau goal, his second of the season, passed from Miikka Salomaki and Mattias Ekholm. New Jersey tied it in the third period on a Brian Boyle goal, his ninth of the year, assisted by Marcus Johansson and Jesper Bratt. The tie went to a shootout, where Ryan Johansen and Ryan Ellis lifted the Predators 2-1 over Kyle Palmieri and the Devils. The three stars belonged to Saros (33 for 34 in saves), Gaudreau, and Kinkaid (27 for 28 in saves).

Out west, the Colorado Avalanche bring in the Dallas Stars. Anton Khudobin and Semyon Varlamov are between the pipes. Colorado was first to score in the first period with a Gabriel Landeskog power play goal, his twentieth of the season, powered by Tyson Barrie and Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche added on with a Matt Calvert goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Matt Nieto. Colorado extended the lead as Mikko Rantanen scored his fourteenth of the season on the power play, thanks to MacKinnon. Ben Bishop replaced Khudobin to start the second period. Dallas got on the board with an Esa Lindell shorthanded goal, his sixth of the year, set up by Mattias Janmark and Taylor Fedun. The Stars got closer with an unassisted Tyler Seguin goal, his ninth of the season. The Avalanche shot back with a Rantanen power play goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, with assists provided by MacKinnon, who earned a sock trick, and J.T. Compher. Dallas answered on a Seguin power play goal in the third period, his second of the game and tenth of the season, passed from Fedun and Alexander Radulov. The Stars tied it on a Jamie Benn goal, his thirteenth of the year, fueled by Seguin and Radulov. Colorado claimed the lead again with a Landeskog goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the season, helped along by Erik Johnson. The Avalanche iced it at 4-1 with a MacKinnon empty net goal, his twenty-first of the year, with a lone helper from Rantanen. The three stars were Rantanen, MacKinnon, and Seguin, while Landeskog, Radulov, and Fedun take the honorable mentions.

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers. Anthony Stolarz and Jacob Markstrom are the starting goalies. Vancouver got going in the first period with a Christopher Tanev goal, via Nikolay Goldobin and Bo Horvat. The Canucks added on with a Loui Eriksson goal, his sixth of the season, guided in by Adam Gaudette and Alex Biega. Alex Lyon replaced Stolarz due to injury. Vancouver extended the lead as Josh Leivo scored his seventh of the year, thanks to Brock Boeser and Troy Stecher. Philadelphia got on the board with an unassisted Scott Laughton goal, his seventh of the season. The Canucks replied in the second period with a Boeser goal, his eleventh of the year, assisted by Stecher and Elias Pettersson. Vancouver iced it at 5-1 with a Markus Granlund empty net goal in the third period, his sixth of the campaign, set up by Tyler Motte and Jay Beagle. The three stars were handed to Boeser, Markstrom (31 for 32 in saves), and Stecher.

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.

No comments :

Post a Comment