Tuesday, February 5, 2019

NHL 2018/19 - Day 118

Twelve games on today, beginning with...

The Washington Capitals hosting the Vancouver Canucks. Jacob Markstrom and Braden Holtby get the starts in goal. Washington led off in the first period with a T.J. Oshie goal, his sixteenth of the season, made possible by Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals added on in the third period with a Brett Connolly goal, his tenth of the year, courtesy of Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jakub Vrana. Vancouver got on the board with a Markus Granlund goal, his ninth of the season, via Antoine Roussel and Ben Hutton. Washington answered with a Vrana goal, his sixteenth of the year, passed from Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson. The Canucks pulled back with an unassisted Elias Pettersson goal, his twenty-fourth of the campaign. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars going to Vrana, Kuznetsov, and Holtby (30 for 32 in saves).

Up in Boston, the Bruins welcome the New York Islanders. Robin Lehner and Tuukka Rask are set to start in goal. Boston got going in the second period with a Patrice Bergeron goal, his seventeenth of the season, assisted by David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand. New York tied it on a Jordan Eberle power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson. The Bruins took the lead back in the third period with a Peter Cehlarik goal, his third of the season, guided in by Kevan Miller. Boston iced it at 3-1 with a Bergeron empty net goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the year, set up by Pastrnak and Marchand. The three stars belonged to Bergeron, Pastrnak, and Rask (28 for 29 in saves), while Marchand gets an honorable mention.

Along to Buffalo, where the Sabres bring in the Minnesota Wild. Devan Dubnyk and Linus Ullmark are in the creases. Buffalo began in the first period with an Evan Rodrigues power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Rasmus Ristolainen and Jack Eichel. Minnesota tied it with a Jared Spurgeon goal, his ninth of the year, via Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker in the second period. The Sabres retook the lead with a C.J. Smith goal, his second of the season, made possible by Sam Reinhart. Buffalo added on with a Rasmus Dahlin power play goal, his sixth of the year, with assists provided by Eichel and Casey Mittelstadt. The Wild got one back with a Spurgeon goal, his second of the game and tenth of the season, coming off of Luke Kunin and Ryan Suter. Minnesota tied it with a Charlie Coyle goal, his tenth of the year, fueled by Kunin and Greg Pateryn. The Sabres retook the lead in the third period on a Reinhart goal, his thirteenth of the season, with a lone helper from Jake McCabe. The Wild tied it again on a Zach Parise goal, his twenty-first of the year, guided in by Coyle and Suter. In the shootout, Reinhart had the only tally to lift the Sabres to a 5-4 win. The three stars were Reinhart, Spurgeon, and Eichel, while Coyle, Suter, and Kunin get the honorable mentions.

Next up, the New Jersey Devils host the Los Angeles Kings. Jack Campbell and Keith Kinkaid are in the blue paint. Los Angeles started in the first period with an Adrian Kempe goal, his eighth of the season, with a lone assist by Carl Hagelin. New Jersey tied it in the second period with a Pavel Zacha goal, his ninth of the year, helped along by Jesper Bratt and Drew Stafford. The Kings retook the lead in the third period with a Tyler Toffoli power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. Los Angeles added on with a Toffoli goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, courtesy of Michael Amadio and Brendan Leipsic. The Kings extended the lead as Dion Phaneuf scored, thanks to Kopitar. Los Angeles padded the lead on an Ilya Kovalchuk goal, his eleventh of the campaign, made possible by Kopitar, who got a sock trick. This held for a 5-1 win, with the three stars given to Toffoli, Kopitar, and Campbell (29 for 30 in saves).

West to Pittsburgh, as the Penguins welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Curtis McElhinney returns from injury, facing Matt Murray in goal. Carolina opened in the first period with a Jordan Martinook goal, his twelfth of the season, courtesy of Brock McGinn and Jaccob Slavin. The Hurricanes added on with a Brett Pesce goal, his fifth of the year, coming off of Justin Williams and Nino Niederreiter in the second period. Carolina extended the lead on an empty net goal in the third period from Micheal Ferland, his fourteenth of the season, set up by Lucas Wallmark. The Hurricanes padded the lead as Andrei Svechnikov scored his thirteenth of the year, thanks to Trevor van Riemsdyk. This capped it at 4-0, with the three stars awarded to McElhinney (23 save shutout), Martinook, and Pesce.

To the south, the Florida Panthers bring in the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and James Reimer are the backups in goal. Florida struck first in the first period with a Henrik Borgstrom power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Frank Vatrano and Aaron Ekblad. The Panthers added on with an Aleksander Barkov power play goal in the third period, his nineteenth of the year, with helpers from Mike Hoffman and Keith Yandle. St. Louis got on the board with a Colton Parayko goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Oskar Sundqvist. The Blues tied it on a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his twentieth of the year, passed from Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko. St. Louis took the lead on an unassisted Vince Dunn goal, his sixth of the campaign. This stood for a 3-2 Blues win, with the three stars being Dunn, O'Reilly, and Parayko.

Back north, the Montreal Canadiens host the Anaheim Ducks. Chad Johnson is mismatched with Carey Price in goal. Montreal kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Brendan Gallagher goal, his twentieth of the season, assisted by Jonathan Drouin. The Canadiens added on with a Jesperi Kotkaniemi goal, his ninth of the year, made possible by Joel Armia and Mike Reilly. Montreal extended the lead as Gallagher scored his second of the game and twenty-first of the season, with the help of Drouin and Shea Weber. Anaheim got on the board in the second period with a Ryan Getzlaf goal, his eleventh of the year, via Corey Perry and Devin Shore. The Canadiens replied in the third period with a Phillip Danault goal, his tenth of the campaign, helped along by Drouin, who got a sock trick, and Gallagher. This made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars given to Gallagher, Drouin, and Price (24 for 25 in saves).

Returning to Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning welcome the Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury and Andrei Vasilevskiy tend the twines. Tampa Bay drew first blood in the first period with a Brayden Point power play goal, his thirty-first of the season, powered by Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. The Lightning added on in the second period with a Mathieu Joseph goal, his thirteenth of the year, via Stamkos and Braydon Coburn. Vegas got on the board with a Cody Eakin goal, his fourteenth of the season, with a lone assist by Jon Merrill. The Golden Knights tied it in the third period with a Valentin Zykov goal, made possible by William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault. In the shootout, Vegas prevailed 3-2 with a lone tally by Alex Tuch. The three stars were Zykov, Vasilevskiy (35 for 37 in saves), and Stamkos.

Northwest to Nashville, where the Predators bring in the Arizona Coyotes. Calvin Pickard and Pekka Rinne are between the pipes. Arizona was first to score in the first period with a Vinnie Hinostroza goal, his ninth of the season, guided in by Alex Goligoski and Richard Panik. Nashville tied it on a Craig Smith goal, his fifteenth of the year, passed from Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis in the second period. The Predators took the lead with a Filip Forsberg power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, powered by Roman Josi and Ryan Johansen. Nashville added on with an Ellis goal, his sixth of the year, fueled by Frederick Gaudreau and Ryan Hartman. The Coyotes got one back with a third period goal by Derek Stepan, his eleventh of the season, with a lone helper from Jordan Oesterle. The Predators shot back with a Calle Jarnkrok goal, his tenth of the year, helped along by Colton Sissons and Josi. Nashville finished it at 5-2 with a Josi empty net goal, his tenth of the campaign, set up by Jarnkrok. The three stars were named as Josi, Ellis, and Jarnkrok.

In Canada again, the Winnipeg Jets host the San Jose Sharks. Martin Jones and Connor Hellebuyck guard the cages. Winnipeg cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Blake Wheeler goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Josh Morrissey and Jacob Trouba. San Jose tied it on a Logan Couture power play goal, his twentieth of the year, powered by Joe Pavelski and Kevin Labanc. The Jets retook the lead in the second period with a Mathieu Perreault goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Tyler Myers and Brandon Tanev. The Sharks tied it again in the third period with a Marcus Sorensen goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Labanc and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. San Jose won 3-2 in overtime with a shorthanded Pavelski goal, his twenty-ninth of the campaign, set up by Brent Burns. The three stars were Pavelski, Labanc, and Sorensen.

West to Alberta, as the Edmonton Oilers welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Cam Ward and Cam Talbot are the similarly-named goalies. Chicago dented the scoreboard in the first period with an Erik Gustafsson power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Jonathan Toews. Edmonton tied it on a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his thirtieth of the year, with assists provided by Connor McDavid and Darnell Nurse. The Oilers took the lead on another Draisaitl power play goal, his second of the game and thirty-first of the season, coming off of McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Blackhawks retied it in the third period with a John Hayden goal, his third of the year, guided in by Marcus Kruger and Chris Kunitz. Chicago pulled ahead with a Dylan Strome goal, his thirteenth of the season, made possible by Dominik Kahun and Alex DeBrincat. The Blackhawks added on with a Patrick Kane goal, his thirty-second of the year, assisted by Brandon Saad and Artem Anisimov. Mikko Koskinen replaced Talbot in goal. Chicago extended the lead as Drake Caggiula scored his ninth of the season, with the help of Toews and Kane. The Blackhawks padded the lead on a Kahun power play goal, his ninth of the year, via Brent Seabrook and Saad. This produced the 6-2 final score, with the three stars handed to Kahun, Kane, and Draisaitl, while Toews, Saad, and McDavid get the honorable mentions.

Finally, the Colorado Avalanche bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Philipp Grubauer man the nets. Columbus had the first goal when Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his tenth of the season, thanks to Alexander Wennberg and David Savard. Colorado tied it on an unassisted Erik Johnson goal, his fourth of the year. The Blue Jackets retook the lead with a Pierre-Luc Dubois goal, his twentieth of the season, courtesy of Scott Harrington and Dean Kukan. The Avalanche tied it again with a Nikita Zadorov goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by Nathan MacKinnon and Johnson. Colorado pulled ahead in the second period with a Samuel Girard goal, his third of the season, passed from Gabriel Bourque and Sheldon Dries. Columbus tied it again with a Cam Atkinson goal, his twnety-ninth of the year, with a lone helper by Artemi Panarin. The Blue Jackets gained the lead on a Josh Anderson goal, his seventeenth of the season, made possible by Boone Jenner and Kukan in the third period. Columbus added on with a Wennberg power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Seth Jones and Anthony Duclair. The Blue Jackets iced it at 6-3 with a Dubois empty net goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the campaign, set up by Zach Werenski and Jenner. The three stars went to Dubois, Wennberg, and Kukan, while Jenner and Johnson get the honorable mentions.

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.

No comments :

Post a Comment