NHL 2021 - Day 14

A whopping 13 games today, with one postponement due to the Carolina Hurricanes' ongoing outbreak. First up...

The Boston Bruins host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry is mismatched with Tuukka Rask in goal. Boston opened in the first period with a Brad Marchand shorthanded goal, his fourth of the season, set up by Charlie McAvoy. The Bruins added on with a Nick Ritchie power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Marchand and McAvoy in the second period. Pittsburgh got on the board in the third period with a Jason Zucker goal, passed from Jared McCann and Drew O'Connor. The Penguins tied it on a Kasperi Kapanen goal, via Evgeni Malkin and Zucker. Boston won 3-2 in overtime with a Craig smith goal, his second of the campaign, courtesy of David Krejci. The three stars were Marchand, Zucker, and McAvoy.

Along to Buffalo, as the Sabres welcome the New York Rangers. Alexandar Georgiev and Linus Ullmark man the nets. New York started in the first period with a Chris Kreider goal, his second of the season, assisted by Pavel Buchnevich. Buffalo tied it on a Dylan Cozens power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Eric Staal and Rasmus Ristolainen. The Rangers took the lead with a K'Andre Miller goal, via Colin Blackwell and Brendan Lemieux. The Sabres retied it in the second period on a Tobias Rieder goal, his second of the season, helped along by Matt Irwin. Buffalo took the lead on a Jack Eichel power play goal, with assists provided by Victor Olofsson and Rasmus Dahlin. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars being Eichel, Ullmark (28 for 30 in saves), and Rieder.

Next up, the New Jersey Devils bring in the Philadelphia Flyers. Brian Elliott and Scott Wedgewood are in the creases. Philadelphia led off in the first period with a James van Riemsdyk power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Ivan Provorov and Jakub Voracek. The Flyers added on in the second period with another van Riemsdyk goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, via Provorov and Claude Giroux. New Jersey got on the board with a Michael McLeod goal, coming off of Miles Wood and Nathan Bastian. The Devils tied it on a Travis Zajac goal, his second of the season, assisted by Andreas Johnsson and Janne Kuokkanen. Philadelphia retook the lead in the third period on a Nolan Patrick goal, his second of the year, guided in by Giroux and Travis Konecny. The Flyers extended the lead as Joel Farabee scored his second of the season, thanks to Scott Laughton and Oskar Lindblom. Philadelphia padded the lead with an unassisted empty net goal by Provorov, his second of the year. New Jersey got one back with a Pavel Zacha goal, his second of the campaign, helped along by Nicholas Merkley and Dmitry Kulikov. This only made it 5-3, the final, with the three stars being van Riemsdyk, Provorov, and Giroux.

In DC, the Washington Capitals host the New York Islanders. Semyon Varlamov and Vitek Vanecek draw the starts in goal. Washington began in the first period with a John Carlson power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Justin Schultz and Nicklas Backstrom. New York tied it on a Noah Dobson goal, assisted by Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle. The Islanders took a lead in the second period with a Barzal goal, his third of the year, going in unassisted. The Capitals retied it on a Daniel Sprong goal, fueled by Daniel Carr and Carlson. Washington took the lead in the third period with a Schultz goal, his second of the campaign, guided in by Garnet Hathaway and Brenden Dillon. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars going to Schultz, Carlson, and Barzal.

Over in Columbus, the Blue Jackets welcome the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Joonas Korpisalo are the goalies. Columbus struck first in the first period with a Kevin Stenlund goal, passed from Mikko Koivu and Dean Kukan. The Blue Jackets added on with an Alexandre Texier goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Oliver Bjorkstrand and Boone Jenner. Florida got on the board with a Carter Verhaeghe goal, his third of the year, helped along by Anthony Duclair and Alex Wennberg. The Panthers tied it on an Aleksander Barkov goal in the second period, via Verhaeghe and Duclair. Columbus took the lead back in the third period with a shorthanded Cam Atkinson goal, set up Nick Foligno and David Savard. Florida tied it on a Patric Hornqvist goal, his fourth of the campaign, coming off of Aaron Ekblad and MacKenzie Weegar. The tie went to a shootout, where Jonathan Huberdeau and Hornqvist topped Bjorkstrand for a 4-3 Panthers win. The three stars were Hornqvist, Verhaeghe, and Duclair.

In Nashville, the Predators bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Malcolm Subban and Pekka Rinne are between the pipes. Chicago was first to score in the first period with a Dylan Strome power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Andrew Shaw and Dominik Kubalik. Nashville tied it in the second period with a Yakov Trenin goal, made possible by Mathieu Olivier. The Blackhawks retook the lead on an unassisted Mattias Janmark goal, his third of the year. The Predators tied it in the third period on a Mikael Granlund goal, his second of the season, coming off of Nick Cousins and Mattias Ekholm. Nashville won 3-2 in overtime with a Roman Josi goal, going in unassisted. The three stars were Josi, Granlund, and Trenin.

Up in Winnipeg, the Jets host the Edmonton Oilers. Mikko Koskinen and Connor Hellebuyck guard the cages. Edmonton cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Darnell Nurse and James Neal. Winnipeg tied it on an Andrew Copp power play goal, his third of the year, with assists provided by Adam Lowry and Nikolaj Ehlers. The Oilers retook the lead with an Adam Larsson goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Patrick Russell. Edmonton added on with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins power play goal, his fourth of the year, with helpers from Connor McDavid and Nurse. The Jets fired back on a Mathieu Perreault goal, made possible by Lowry and Ehlers. Winnipeg tied it in the third period with an Ehlers goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Paul Stastny and Copp. The Jets took the lead with a Stastny goal, his second of the year, fueled by Copp and Eglers. Winnipeg extended the lead as Lowry scored his fourth of the season, thanks to Derek Forbort and Neal Pionk. The Oilers pulled one back on a McDavid goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Nurse and Nugent-Hopkins. The Jets iced it at 6-4 with a Copp empty net goal, his second of the game and fourth of the campaign, set up by Mark Scheifele and Mason Appleton. The three stars were awarded to Copp, Ehlers, and Lowry, while Stastny, McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins and Nurse get the honorable mentions.

Back stateside, the Minnesota Wild welcome the Los Angeles Kings. Calvin Petersen and Kaapo Kahkonen are the backups in goal. Los Angeles got going in the second period with a Kurtis MacDermid goal, assisted by Andreas Athanasiou and Jeff Carter. Minnesota tied it in the third period on a Joel Eriksson Ek goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Jordan Greenway and Marcus Foligno. The Kings took the lead back with a Carl Grundstrom goal, his second of the year, via Trevor Moore and Sean Walker. This held for a 2-1 win, with the three stars being Petersen (32 for 33 in saves), Grundstrom, and MacDermid.

Down in Dallas, the Stars bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Thomas Greiss and Anton Khudobin are the veterans in goal. Detroit drew first blood in the first period with a Vladislav Namestnikov goal, passed from Taro Hirose and Givani Smith. Dallas tied it in the second period on a John Klingberg power play goal, powered by Denis Gurianov and Joe Pavelski. The Stars won 2-1 in overtime with a Jason Dickinson goal, guided in by Klingberg and Gurianov. The three stars were Klingberg, Khudobin (20 for 21 in saves), and Gurianov.

To Canada again, as the Calgary Flames host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Frederik Andersen and Jacob Markstrom tend the twines. Toronto started in the first period with a Wayne Simmonds goal, his second of the season, passed from Justin Holl and Jimmy Vesey. The Maple Leafs added on with an Auston Matthews power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Mitchell Marner and Morgan Rielly. Calgary got on the board in the second period with a Johnny Gaudreau goal, his third of the season, assisted by Sean Monahan and Noah Hanifin. Toronto replied with a Travis Boyd goal, made possible by Pierre Engvall and Jake Muzzin. The Flames got one back with a Milan Lucic goal, via Juuso Valimaki and Mikael Backlund. Calgary tied it with Gaudreau's second goal of the game and third of the year, a power play goal helped along by Monahan and Mark Giordano. The Maple Leafs retook the lead with a Marner goal, his fifth of the season, with assists provided by Matthews and Rielly. This stood for a 4-3 final score, with the three stars given to Marner, Gaudreau, and Matthews, while Rielly and Monahan get the honorable mentions.

South to Colorado, as the Avalanche welcome the San Jose Sharks. Martin Jones and Philipp Grubauer patrol the creases. San Jose struck first in the first period with a Ryan Donato goal, his third of the season, guided in by Kevin Labanc and Logan Couture. Colorado got on the board with a Joonas Donskoi goal, his third of the year, passed from Erik Johnson and Valeri Nichushkin. The Avalanche took the lead with a Brandon Saad goal, his second of the season, made possible by Cale Makar and Andre Burakovsky. Colorado added on with a Mikko Rantanen power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Nathan MacKinnon and Makar. The Avalanche extended the lead in the second period as Nichushkin scored an unassisted shorthanded goal. Colorado padded the lead on a Samuel Girard goal, via Tyson Jost and Kiefer Sherwood. Devan Dubnyk replaced Jones in goal. The Sharks got one back with a Noah Gregor goal, his second of the season, with helpers from Dylan Gambrell and Timo Meier. The Avalanche responded with a Devon Toews goal, his third of the year, courtesy of Gabriel Landeskog. Colorado continued with another Saad goal, his second of the game and third of the season, assisted by Burakovsky and Nazem Kadri. San Jose got one back in the third period with a Couture goal, his third of the year, helped along by Donato and Labanc. The final held at 7-3, with the three stars handed to Saad, Nichushkin, and Makar, while Burakovsky, Couture, Donato, and Labanc get the honorable mentions.

Along to Arizona, where the Coyotes bring in the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Darcy Kuemper protect the nets. Anaheim got going in the first period with a Danton Heinen goal, going in unassisted. This stood for a 1-0 final score, with the three stars handed to Gibson (31 save shutout), Heinen, and Kuemper (23 for 24 in saves).

Finally, the Vegas Golden Knights host the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Robin Lehner are the reliable goalies. Vegas opened in the first period with an Alex Tuch goal, his third of the season, via Keegan Kolesar and Alex Pietrangelo. St. Louis tied it on a David Perron goal, his second of the year, coming off of Ryan O'Reilly. The Blues took the lead with a Perron power play goal, his second of the game and third of the season, powered by Torey Krug and Jaden Schwartz. St. Louis added on with a Schwartz goal, his second of the year, guided in by Brayden Schenn. The Golden Knights got one back in the second period with a Max Pacioretty goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Mark Stone and Alec Martinez. The Blues countered with a Jordan Kyrou goal, his third of the year, going in unassisted. Vegas pulled one back in the third period with a Pacioretty power play goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, courtesy of Shea Theodore and Stone. The Golden Knights tied it on a Pacioretty goal to complete his hat trick with his sixth of the year, fueled by Martinez and Stone. In the shootout, Perron and Schenn struck for the Blues to top Theodore and the Golden Knights 5-4 in the game. The three stars belonged to Pacioretty, Perron, and Stone, while Martinez, Theodore, Schwartz, and Schenn get the honorable mentions. 

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