Monday, August 3, 2020

NHL 2020 - Qualifying Round Day 3

The NHL is up to its full speed during the bubble restart, with six games on today. Leading off...

The Carolina Hurricanes take on the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Petr Mrazek are the veterans in goal. Carolina opened in the first period with an Andrei Svechnikov goal, coming off of Sebastian Aho and Sami Vatanen. New York tied it on an Artemi Panarin power play goal, powered by Ryan Strome and Tony DeAngelo. The Hurricanes took the lead in the second period with a Svechnikov power play goal, his second of the game with assists provided by Vatanen and Aho. Carolina added on with a Jordan Martinook goal, passed from Morgan Geekie and Brock McGinn. The Hurricanes extended the lead in the third period as Svechnikov completed his hat trick, with the help of Aho. This stood for a 4-1 win, with the three stars being Svechnikov, Aho, and Mrazek (23 for 24 in saves), while Vatanen gets an honorable mention. The Hurricanes lead the series 2-0.

Opening in the west, the Calgary Flames face the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Cam Talbot are the masked men. Winnipeg started in the first period with a Jansen Harkins goal, coming off of Adam Lowry and Jack Roslovic. The Jets added on with a Lowry goal in the second period, fueled by Roslovic and Josh Morrissey. Calgary got on the board with an Elias Lindholm goal, going in unassisted. The Flames tied it with a Sam Bennett goal, passed from Milan Lucic and Noah Hanifin. Winnipeg retook the lead in the third period with a Nikolai Ehlers power play goal, powered by Neal Pionk and Kyle Connor. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars going to Lowry, Roslovic, and Ehlers. The series is tied at 1.

Back east, the Tampa Bay Lightning meet the Washington Capitals in a round-robin game. Braden Holtby and Andrei Vasilevskiy tend the twines. Tampa Bay led off in the first period with a Nikita Kucherov goal, assisted by Brayden Point. The Lightning added on in the second period with a Mitchell Stephens goal, courtesy of Ryan McDonagh and Pat Maroon. Washington got on the board with a Richard Panik goal, helped along by Lars Eller and Radko Gudas. The Capitals tied it with an Evgeny Kuznetsov power play goal, powered by Dmitry Orlov and Nicklas Backstrom. The tie went to a shootout, where T.J. Oshie's tally for the Capitals fell short against Point and Kucherov for the Lightning, who won 3-2. The three stars went to Kucherov, Point, and Vasilevskiy (31 for 33 in saves).

In the west round-robin, the Vegas Golden Knights oppose the Dallas Stars. Ben Bishop and Robin Lehner protect the nets. Vegas began in the first period with a Chandler Stephenson goal, via William Karlsson and Mark Stone. Dallas tied it in the second period with a Joe Pavelski goal, helped along by Mattias Janmark and Miro Heiskanen. The Stars took the lead on a Jamie Oleksiak goal, courtesy of Blake Comeau and Heiskanen. Dallas added on with a Corey Perry power play goal, powered by Heiskanen and Roope Hintz. The Golden Knights got one back in the third period with a Stone goal, assisted by Nick Cousins and Zach Whitecloud. Vegas tied it on a Nate Schmidt goal, with a lone helper by Reilly Smith. The Golden Knights pulled ahead on a William Carrier goal, guided in by Schmidt and Ryan Reaves. Vegas won 5-3 with a Karlsson goal, fueled by Nicolas Roy. The three stars were Stone, Schmidt, and Karlsson, while Heiskanen gets an honorable mention.

East once more, with the Pittsburgh Penguins versus the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Matt Murray are in the blue paint. Pittsburgh struck first in the first period with a Sidney Crosby goal, his second of the postseason, via Jake Guentzel and Conor Sheary. The Penguins added on in the third period with a Jason Zucker goal, coming off of Sheary and Brian Dumoulin. Montreal got on the board with a Jesperi Kotkaniemi goal, his second of the playoffs, fueled by Artturi Lehkonen and Jeff Petry. Pittsburgh iced it at 3-1 with an empty net goal by Guentzel, set up Bryan Rust. The three stars were Guentzel, Sheary, and Murray (26 for 27 in saves). The series is now tied at 1.

Finally, the Edmonton Oilers host the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Mikko Koskinen receive the starting nods in goal. Edmonton kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Connor McDavid goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Darnell Nurse and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Oilers added on with another McDavid goal, his second of the game and third of the playoffs, passed from Nugent-Hopkins and Ethan Bear. Chicago got on the board with a Patrick Kane goal, helped along by Alex DeBrincat and Slater Koekkoek. Edmonton replied in the second period with a Tyler Ennis goal, going in unassisted. The Blackhawks countered on a Koekkoek goal, assisted by DeBrincat and Kirby Dach. Chicago tied it on an Olli Maatta goal, coming off of Dach and Kane. The Oilers retook the lead with a McDavid power play goal, finishing his hat trick on his fourth of the postseason, powered by Nugent-Hopkins and Alex Chiasson. Edmonton extended the lead as James Neal scored his second of the playoffs, going in unassisted. The Oilers padded the lead as Chiasson scored, also an unassisted goal.

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