NHL 2018/19 - Day 115

Thirteen games on a busy day today, beginning with two matinees. First up...

The Philadelphia Flyers host the Edmonton Oilers. Cam Talbot and Carter Hart are in goal. Philadelphia led off in the first period with a Sean Couturier power play goal, his twentieth of the season, powered by Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux. Edmonton tied it on a Ty Rattie goal, his third of the year, with a lone assist by Milan Lucic. The Oilers took the lead with a Connor McDavid goal, his thirtieth of the season, courtesy of Zack Kassian and Jujhar Khaira. Edmonton added on in the second period with an Adam Larsson goal, his second of the year, via Kevin Gravel and McDavid. The Flyers got one back with a Giroux power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, with assists provided by Shayne Gostisbehere and Voracek .The Oilers shot back in the third period with a shorthanded and unassisted Kassian goal, his sixth of the year. Philadelphia chipped back on a Travis Konecny power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, made possible by Oskar Lindblom and Couturier. The Flyers tied it with a Wayne Simmonds power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, passed from Giroux and Voracek, the latter earning a sock trick. Philadelphia won 5-4 in overtime with a Nolan Patrick goal, his tenth of the campaign, fueled by James van Riemsdyk and Travis Sanheim. The three stars were Giroux, Voracek, and McDavid, while Kassian and Couturier get the honorable mentions.

Up in Montreal, the Canadiens welcome the New Jersey Devils. Antti Niemi and MacKenzie Blackwood are the backups in goal. Montreal began in the first period with a Jesperi Kotkaniemi goal, his seventh of the season, guided in by Artturi Lehkonen and Jordie Benn. New Jersey tied it on a Will Butcher power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Kyle Palmieri and Marcus Johansson. The Canadiens retook the lead on a Phillip Danault goal, his ninth of the season, via Jeff Petry and Max Domi in the second period. The Devils retied it in the third period with a Nico Hischier goal, his fifteenth of the year, coming off of Kevin Rooney. New Jersey won 3-2 in overtime on a Hischier goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the campaign, passed from Mirco Mueller. The three stars went to Hischier, Blackwood (37 for 39 in saves), and Butcher.

At the usual time, the New York Islanders bring in the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Robin Lehner are in the creases. New York started in the first period with a Casey Cizikas goal, his twelfth of the season, made possible by Matt Martin and Johnny Boychuk. Los Angeles tied it with an Anze Kopitar goal, his fifteenth of the year, via Alex Iafallo and Dustin Brown. The Kings took the lead in the third period with an Ilya Kovalchuk goal, his tenth of the season, guided in by Brown and Kopitar. The Islanders retied it on a Mathew Barzal goal, his fifteenth of the year, coming off of Ryan Pulock and Josh Bailey. New York took the lead with a Michael Dal Colle goal, his second of the season, assisted by Pulock and Leo Komarov. The Islanders iced it at 4-2 with a Brock Nelson empty net goal, his seventeenth of the year, set up by Pulock, who got a sock trick, and Cal Clutterbuck. The three stars were Pulock, Kopitar, and Brown.

In Canada again, the Ottawa Senators host the Detroit Red Wings. Jonathan Bernier and Craig Anderson man the nets. Detroit opened in the first period with a Danny DeKeyser goal, his third of the season, coming off of Thomas Vanek and Nick Jensen. The Red Wings added on with a Darren Helm goal, his fourth of the year, courtesy of Martin Frk and Luke Glendening. This held up as the eventual 2-0 final score, with the three stars awarded to Bernier (35 save shutout), DeKeyser, and Helm.

Also in Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Matt Murray and Garret Sparks protect the nets. Pittsburgh struck first in the first period with a Sidney Crosby power play goal, his twenty-third of the season, powered by Kris Letang. The Penguins added on with a Teddy Blueger goal, his second of the year, passed from Garrett Wilson and Olli Maatta. Toronto got on the board with an Auston Matthews goal, his twenty-third of the season, via Travis Dermott and Jake Gardiner. The Maple Leafs tied it in the second period with a Dermott goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by Gardiner and Patrick Marleau. Toronto pulled ahead with a Zach Hyman goal, his ninth of the season, helped along by Morgan Rielly and Mitchell Marner. This stood for their eventual 3-2 win, with the three stars being Dermott, Hyman, and Sparks (28 for 30 in saves).

Way to the south, the Florida Panthers bring in Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury and James Reimer are between the pipes. Florida kicked off the scoring in the first period with an unassisted Aleksander Barkov goal, his eighteenth of the season. Vegas tied it on a Max Pacioretty goal, his sixteenth of the year, via Paul Stastny. The Panthers retook the lead on a Mike Hoffman goal in the third period, his twenty-fourth of the season, made possible by Derick Brassard. Florida iced it at 3-1 with an empty net goal by Frank Vatrano, his seventeenth of the year, set up by Barkov and Aaron Ekblad. The three stars went to Barkov, Reimer (34 for 35 in saves), and Hoffman.

Northwest to Winnipeg, as the Jets host the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Connor Hellebuyck guard the cages. Winnipeg drew first blood in the first period with an Andrew Copp goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Mason Appleton. The Jets added on with a Jack Roslovic power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Jacob Trouba and the goalie Hellebuyck. Winnipeg extended the lead as Blake Wheeler scored his tenth of the season, with the help of Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey. The Jets padded the lead on a Bryan Little goal, his twelfth of the year, guided in by Dmitry Kulikov. Winnipeg continued with another Roslovic power play goal, his second of the game and sixth of the season, with assists provided by Mathieu Perreault and Patrik Laine. The Jets struck again with a Brendan Lemieux goal, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Copp. Chad Johnson relieved Gibson at this time. Anaheim got on the board in the second period with a Nick Ritchie goal, his seventh of the season, passed from Cam Fowler. The Ducks got closer with a Daniel Sprong goal, his ninth of the year, fueled by Ritchie and Korbinian Holzer. Winnipeg responded with a Tyler Myers goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Appleton and Ben Chiarot. The Jets got another when Roslovic completed his hat trick on his seventh of the year, the power play goal set up by Little and Trouba. Winnipeg kept going in the third period with a Little goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the season, with helpers from Chiarot and Roslovic. Anaheim got one back with a Devin Shore goal, his sixth of the year, dished from Jakob Silfverberg and Michael Del Zotto. This only made it 9-3, the final, with the three stars given to Roslovic, Little, and Copp, while Appleton, Trouba, Chiarot, and Ritchie get the honorable mentions.

Backtracking to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets welcome the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Joonas Korpisalo are the lesser-known goalies. St. Louis was first to score in the first period with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his nineteenth of the season, coming off of Alex Pietrangelo and Vladimir Tarasenko. The Blues added on with a Carl Gunnarsson goal, his third of the year, passed from Brayden Schenn and Tarasenko. Columbus got on the board in the third period with an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Artemi Panarin. St. Louis answered with a Tarasenko goal, his eighteenth of the year, via O'Reilly and Schenn. The Blue Jackets pulled back with a Pierre-Luc Dubois goal, his nineteenth of the season, courtesy of Panarin and Cam Atkinson. The Blues iced it at 4-2 with an Oskar Sundqvist empty net goal, his eleventh of the year, set up by Schenn, who earned a sock trick. The three stars belonged to Tarasenko, Schenn, and O'Reilly, while Panarin gets an honorable mention.

East to New York, as the Rangers bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Louis Domingue and Henrik Lundqvist are set to start in goal. Tampa Bay cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Yanni Gourde goal, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Ryan McDonagh and Mathieu Joseph. The Lightning added on with an Erik Cernak goal, via Ryan Callahan and Cedric Paquette in the second period. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Steven Stamkos scored his twenty-eighth of the year, thanks to Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov. New York got on the board with a Mats Zuccarello goal, his ninth of the season, helped along by Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. The Rangers got closer in the third period with a Kevin Hayes power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Zibanejad and the goalie Lundqvist. This was as close as it got, with the Lightning winning 3-2. The three stars were handed to Zibanejad, Stamkos, and Cernak.

Southwest to Nashville, as the Predators host the Dallas Stars. Anton Khudobin and Pekka Rinne are given the starting nods in goal. Nashville led off in the first period with a Calle Jarnkrok goal, his ninth of the season, made possible by Ryan Hartman and Colton Sissons. Dallas tied it on a Tyler Seguin goal, his twenty-first of the year, assisted by Alexander Radulov and Esa Lindell. The Stars took the lead in the third period with a Blake Comeau goal, his sixth of the season, guided in by Mattias Janmark and Radek Faksa. Dallas added on with a Janmark goal, his fourth of the year, via Faksa and Lindell. This held up for a 3-1 win, with the three stars going to Khudobin (38 for 39 in saves), Janmark, and Lindell, while Faksa gets an honorable mention.

Way north to Minnesota, as the Wild welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Collin Delia and Alex Stalock are in the creases. Minnesota began in the first period with a Jason Zucker power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, powered by Mikael Granlund and Ryan Suter. Chicago tied it in the second period with an Alex DeBrincat goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, fueled by Dominik Kahun and Dylan Strome. The Blackhawks took the lead on an Erik Gustafsson goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Kahun and Strome. The Wild retied it in the third period with a Mikko Koivu goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Zach Parise and Jared Spurgeon. Chicago regained the lead with a Jonathan Toews power play goal, his twenty-third of the season, with helpers from Patrick Kane and DeBrincat. Minnesota tied it again with a Victor Rask goal, his second of the year, guided in by Jordan Greenway and Marcus Foligno. The Blackhawks won 4-3 in overtime with a Gustafsson power play goal, his second of the game and tenth of the campaign, set up by DeBrincat and Toews. The three stars were Gustafsson, DeBrincat, and Toews, while Kahun and Strome get the honorable mentions.

Along to Denver, as the Colorado Avalanche bring in the Vancouver Canucks. Jacob Markstrom and Semyon Varlamov are the average goalies. Vancouver dented the scoreboard in the first period with a Jake Virtanen goal, his twelfth of the season, coming off of Antoine Roussel and Brandon Sutter. The Canucks added on with a Brock Boeser goal, his seventeenth of the year, via Elias Pettersson. Vancouver extended the lead in the second period as Roussel scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Bo Horvat and Virtanen. Colorado got on the board with a Matt Calvert goal, his eighth of the year, courtesy of Nikita Zadorov and Matt Nieto. The Canucks replied with a Tyler Motte goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Troy Stecher. Vancouver padded the lead in the third period with a Nikolay Goldobin power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Josh Leivo and Ben Hutton. This made it 5-1, the final, with the three stars going to Roussel, Markstrom (34 for 35 in saves), and Virtanen.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the Arizona Coyotes. Darcy Kuemper and Martin Jones are in the blue paint. Arizona got going in the second period with a Conor Garland goal, his tenth of the season, going in unassisted. San Jose tied it on a Kevin Labanc goal, his sixth of the year, via Brent Burns and Marcus Sorensen. The Sharks took the lead on a Joe Pavelski goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, coming off of Timo Meier and Logan Couture. The Coyotes tied it in the third period with Josh Archibald goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Mario Kempe and Lawson Crouse. San Jose won 3-2 in overtime with a Burns goal, his tenth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Tomas Hertl. The three stars were given to Burns, Jones (31 for 33 in saves), and Pavelski.

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