NHL 2019-20 - Day 137

We've got eleven games on for this Saturday, beginning with three matinees. First up...

The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Buffalo Sabres. Carter Hutton and Tristan Jarry are the goalies. Buffalo opened in the first period with a Zemgus Girgensons goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Kyle Okposo. The Sabres added on with a Sam Reinhart goal, his twenty-second of the year, going in unassisted. Buffalo extended the lead on a Jack Eichel power play goal, his thirty-fourth of the season, powered by Rasmus Ristolainen and Reinhart. Pittsburgh got on the board in the second period with an unassisted Evgeni Malkin goal, his nineteenth of the year. The Sabres answered with a Jeff Skinner goal in the third period, his twelfth of the season, fueled by Marcus Johansson and Michael Frolik. Buffalo padded the lead with another Eichel power play goal, his second of the game and thirty-fifth of the year, with assists provided by Rasmus Dahlin and Ristolainen. The Penguins got one back with a Malkin goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the campaign, with a lone helper from Patric Hornqvist. This made it 5-2, the final, with the three stars being Eichel, Malkin, and Reinhart, while Ristolainen gets an honorable mention.

Across Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Flyers welcome the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Carter Hart are the masked men. Philadelphia started in the first period with a Scott Laughton goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Ivan Provorov and Justin Braun. The Flyers added on with a Laughton goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the year, courtesy of Braun. Philadelphia extended the lead in the second period as Sean Couturier scored his nineteenth of the season, thanks to Jakub Voracek and Matt Niskanen. Winnipeg got on the board with a Josh Morrissey goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers. The Jets got closer in the third period with a Patrik Laine power play goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, made possible by Neal Pionk and Blake Wheeler. The Flyers responded with a Tyler Pitlick goal, his seventh of the year, fueled by Robert Hagg and Braun. The final stood at 4-2, with the three stars being Laughton, Braun, and Hart (27 for 29 in saves).

Next up, the New Jersey Devils bring in the Washington Capitals. Ilya Samsonov and MacKenzie Blackwood are the young goalies. New Jersey led off in the first period with a Jesper Bratt goal, his thirteenth of the season, via Damon Severson. The Devils took the lead with a Wayne Simmonds power play goal in the second period, his eighth of the year, powered by Bratt and Nikita Gusev. Washington got on the board with a Tom Wilson power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, with assists provided by John Carlson and Nicklas Backstrom. The Capitals tied it on an Alex Ovechkin goal in the third period, his forty-second of the year, passed from Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nick Jensen. New Jersey took the lead with a Severson goal, his eighth of the season, helped along by Gusev and Kyle Palmieri. This made it 3-2, the final, with the htree stars being Severson, Bratt, and Gusev.

At the regular time, the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Carolina Hurricanes. James Reimer and Frederik Andersen are between the pipes, but Reimer was injured early in the first period and Petr Mrazek came on in relief. Toronto began in the first period with an Alexander Kerfoot goal, his ninth of the season, made possible by Jake Muzzin and Kasperi Kapanen. Carolina tied it on a Lucas Wallmark goal in the second period, his eleventh of the year, via Brock McGinn. The Hurricanes took the lead with a Nino Niederreiter power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Martin Necas and Jake Gardiner. Carolina added on with a Warren Foegele goal, his twelfth of the year, fueled by Joel Edmundson and Jordan Staal. Mrazek later got hurt, forcing the Hurricanes to deploy emergency backup goalie David Ayres. The Hurricanes extended the lead as Sebastian Aho scored his thirty-sixth of the season on the power play, thanks to Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov. The Maple Leafs got one back with a John Tavares goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, with helpers from Tyson Barrie and William Nylander. Toronto pulled closer with a Pierre Engvall goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Barrie and Kapanen. Carolina answered in the third period with a Foegele goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the year, going in unassisted. The Hurricanes padded the lead with a Necas goal, his sixteenth of the season, an unassisted goal. The three stars were Ayres (eight for 10 in saves in relief), Necas, and Foegele, while Kapanen and Barrie get the honorable mentions.

Also in Ontario, the Ottawa Senators welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Craig Anderson play in the blue paint. Montreal struck first in the first period with a Max Domi goal, his fourteenth of the season, with a lone assist by Paul Byron. The Canadiens added on with an unassisted Domi goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year. Montreal extended the lead as Byron scored his second of the season, thanks to Ilya Kovalchuk. The final held at 3-0, with the three stars awarded to Price (30 save shutout), Domi, and Byron.

Back stateside, the New York Rangers bring in the San Jose Sharks. Aaron Dell and Igor Shesterkin draw the starts in goal. New York kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Jesper Fast goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome. San Jose tied it on a Joe Thornton goal, his third of the year, courtesy of Timo Meier and Mario Ferraro. The Sharks took the lead in the second period with a Thornton power play goal, his fourth of the season and second of the game, powered by Brent Burns and Kevin Labanc. The Rangers retied it on a Mika Zibanejad goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, fueled by Panarin. New York took the lead with a Fast goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the season, helped along by Jacob Trouba and Strome. This held up for a 3-2 win, with the three stars given to Fast, Panarin, and Thornton, while Strome and Shesterkin (44 for 46 in saves) get the honorable mentions.

Southwest to Nashville, where the Predators host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins and Juuse Saros are the young goalies. Nashville was first to score in the first period with a Ryan Johansen goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Colin Blackwell and Ryan Ellis. The Predators added on with a Mikael Granlund goal, his fifteenth of the year, with a lone helper by Filip Forsberg. Columbus got on the board in the second period with a Boone Jenner goal, his eleventh of the season, helped along by Nathan Gerbe and Stefan Matteau. The Blue Jackets tied it on an Eric Robinson goal, his sixth of the year, via Jakob Lilja and Vladislav Gavrikov. Columbus pulled ahead with an Emil Bemstrom power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Markus Nutivaara and David Savard. Nashville retied it on a Colton Sissons goal, his eighth of the year, courtesy of Forsberg. In the shootout, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Gustav Nyquist were beat by Forsberg, Ellis, and Rocco Grimaldi. The three stars of the 4-3 Predators win were Forsberg, Ellis, and Sissons.

Further along to Arizona, where the Coyotes welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Antti Raanta are between the pipes. Tampa Bay drew first blood in the first period with an Anthony Cirelli goal, his fifteenth of the season, made possible by Alex Killorn and Cameron Gaunce. Arizona tied it on a Conor Garland goal, his twenty-first of the year, via Ilya Lyubushkin and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The Coyotes took the lead with a Clayton Keller goal, his fourteenth of the season, courtesy of Alex Goligoski and Derek Stepan. Arizona added on in the second period with a Carl Soderberg power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, going in unassisted. The Lightning got one back with an Ondrej Palat goal, his fifteenth of the season, passed from Gaunce and Yanni Gourde. Tampa Bay tied it as Brayden Point scored his twenty-second of the year, thanks to Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. The Coyotes retook the lead with a Brad Richardson goal, his fifth of the season, helped along by Taylor Hall. Arizona extended the lead as Keller scored his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, thanks to Lawson Crouse. The Coyotes padded the lead on a Garland power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-second of the season, powered by Nick Schamltz and Hall. Arizona iced it at 7-3 with a Stepan goal, his tenth of the year, fueled by Garland and Keller. The three stars belonged to Keller, Garland, and Stepan, while Hall and Gaunce get the honorable mentions.

Up in Vancouver, the Canucks bring in the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Jacob Markstrom guard the cages. Vancouver got going in the first period with a Troy Stecher goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Tyler Motte and Jay Beagle. Boston tied it on a David Pastrnak goal, his forty-fourth of the year, courtesy of Matt Grzelcyk. The Canucks took the lead back with a Bo Horvat power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, powered by J.T. Miller and Tyler Toffoli. Vancouver added on with an Adam Gaudette goal in the second period, his eleventh of the year, via Quinn Hughes. The Canucks extended the lead as Tanner Pearson scored his eighteenth of the season, thanks to Loui Eriksson and Tyler Myers. Vancouver padded the lead on an Eriksson goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by Horvat and Alexander Edler.. The Canucks continued in the third period on an Elias Pettersson goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, made possible by Miller and Stecher. The Bruins got one back with a Pastrnak goal, his second of the game and forty-fifth of the year, with helpers from Torey Krug and Brad Marchand on the power play. Jaroslav Halak replaced Rask in goal. Boston got closer with a Chris Wagner goal, his fifth of the season, set up by Grzelcyk and Sean Kuraly. Vancouver answered on a Toffoli goal, his nineteenth of the year, with a lone assist by Miller. The Canucks kept going with another Toffoli goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the season, fueled by Hughes. Vancouver poured it on with a Jake Virtanen goal, his seventeenth of the year, dished rom Edler and Stecher. This made it 9-3, the final, with the three stars awarded to Toffoli, Miller, and Pastrnak, while Stecher, Eriksson, Horvat, Hughes, Edler, and Grzelcyk get the honorable mentions.

Back south to Nevada, as the Vegas Golden Knights host the Florida Panthers. Samuel Montembeault is mismatched with Marc-Andre Fleury in goal. Florida cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Mike Hoffman goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, assisted by Mark Pysyk and Vincent Trocheck. Vegas tied it on a Tomas Nosek goal, his seventh of the year, passed from Ryan Reaves and Nick Holden. The Panthers took the lead back in the second period with an Evgenii Dadonov power play goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, powered by Aleksander Barkov and Keith Yandle. The Golden Knights retied it on a William Carrier goal, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Chandler Stephenson. Vegas gained the lead with a Max Pacioretty goal, his twenty-ninth of the season, coming off of Shea Theodore. The Golden Knights added on with a Reilly Smith goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, via Jonathan Marchessault and Paul Stastny. Florida pulled back with an Aleksi Saarela goal, his second of the season, made possible by Hoffman and Dadonov. Vegas iced it at 5-3 with a Smith empty net goal, his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the year, set up by Stastny and Nosek.

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings host the Colorado Avalanche. Pavel Francouz and Jonathan Quick occupy the creases. Los Angeles dented the scoreboard with an Austin Wagner penalty shot goal, his fifth of the season. Colorado tied it on a Ryan Graves goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Gabriel Landeskog and Ian Cole. The Avalanche won 2-1 with a Joonas Donskoi tally in the shootout. The three stars were Francouz (20 for 21 in saves), Graves, and Quick (30 for 31 in saves).

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