NHL 2021 - Day 16

It's another 13-game day in the league, beginning with...

The Boston Bruins hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry and Jaroslav Halak make the starts. Boston began in the first period with a Chris Wagner unassisted goal. Pittsburgh tied it on a Cody Ceci goal, via Bryan Rust and Teddy Blueger. The Bruins took the lead back with a Sean Kuraly goal, assisted by Anders Bjork. Boston added on in the second period with a Patrice Bergeron goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie Coyle. The Bruins extended the lead as Bergeron scored his second of the game and fifth of the year, a power play goal powered by Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy. This stood for a 4-1 final score, with the three stars handed to Bergeron, Halak (16 for 17 in saves), and Kuraly.

Along to Buffalo, where the Sabres welcome the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Linus Ullmark man the nets. New York led off in the first period with a Ryan Strome goal, his second of the season, guided in by Artemi Panarin and Pavel Buchnevich. Buffalo tied it on a Jack Eichel goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Sam Reinhart. The Rangers took the lead in the second period with a Panarin goal, his third of the season, going in unassisted. The Sabres retied it in the third period on a Reinhart power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Taylor Hall and Victor Olofsson. New York won 3-2 in overtime with an Alexis Lafreniere goal, coming off of Colin Blackwell. The three stars were Panarin, Lafreniere, and Reinhart.

Down in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Petr Mrazek get the starting nods in goal. Carolina won 1-0 in overtime with a Martin Necas goal, assisted by Jordan Staal and Dougie Hamilton. The three stars were Mrazek (32 save shutout), Necas, and Vasilevskiy (35 for 36 in saves).

Back north, the Montreal Canadiens host the Calgary Flames. David Rittich and Carey Price are the goalies. Montreal opened in the first period with a Brendan Gallagher power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Corey Perry and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The Canadiens added on with a Shea Weber power play goal, his second of the year, with assists provided by Jeff Petry and Jonathan Drouin. Montreal extended the lead in the second period as Josh Anderson scored his fourth of the season, thanks to Kotkaniemi and Drouin. The Canadiens padded the lead on a shorthanded goal by Tyler Toffoli, his sixth of the year, set up by Nick Suzuki. Calgary got on the board in the third period with a Milan Lucic goal, his second of the year, passed from Sam Bennett and Derek Ryan. The Flames got closer with a Rasmus Andersson power play goal, his second of the campaign, helped along by Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm. This made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars going to Anderson, Drouin, and Kotkaniemi.

Stateside, the New Jersey Devils welcome the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter Hart and Scott Wedgewood are in the blue paint. New Jersey started in the first period with a Damon Severson goal, via Ryan Murray. Philadelphia tied it on a Nate Prosser goal, passed from Erik Gustafsson and Kevin Hayes. The Flyers took the lead in the third period with a Michael Raffl goal, his second of the season, made possible by Connor Bunnaman and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. Philadelphia added on with a Claude Giroux goal, assisted by Gustafsson and Jakub Voracek. This stood for a 3-1 win, with the three stars given to Gustafsson, Hart (33 for 34 in saves), and Raffl.

To DC, as the Washington Capitals bring in the New York Islanders. Semyon Varlamov and Vitek Vanecek are between the pipes. New York struck first in the first period with an Oliver Wahlstrom goal, coming off of Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The Islanders added on with a Casey Cizikas goal, fueled by Cal Clutterbuck. New York extended the lead as Anders Lee scored his third of the season on the power play, thanks to Mathew Barzal and Noah Dobson. Washington got on the board in the second period with a Conor Sheary goal, passed from John Carlson and Brenden Dillon. The Capitals got closer with another Sheary goal, his second of the game, assisted by Zdeno Chara and Richard Panik. Washington tied it on a Garnet Hathaway goal, his second of the year, guided in by Carl Hagelin and Nic Dowd. The Capitals took the lead with a Carlson power play goal, his third of the season, with assists provided by Justin Schultz and Nicklas Backstrom. Washington padded the lead on a Chara goal, made possible by Schultz and Michael Sgarbossa. The Capitals iced at 6-3 with a Tom Wilson empty net power play goal, his fourth of the year, set up by T.J. Oshie and Backstrom. The three stars were Sheary, Carlson, and Chara, while Schultz and Backstrom get the honorable mentions.

West to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets host the Florida Panthers. Chris Driedger and Elvis Merzlikins are the backups in goal. Columbus was first to score in the first period on a Mikko Koivu goal, made possible by Eric Robinson and Dean Kukan. Florida tied it in the second period on a Carter Verhaeghe goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Anthony Duclair. The Blue Jackets took the lead back in the third period with a Max Domi power play goal, assisted by Zach Werenski. The Panthers retied it with an Eetu Luostarinen goal, his second of the year, guided in by Anton Stralman and Markus Nutivaara. The Blue Jackets won 3-2 in the shootout on a lone tally by Alexandre Texier. The three stars were Domi, Koivu, and Merzlikins (33 for 35 in saves).

Up in Minnesota, the Wild welcome the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Kaapo Kahkonen patrol the creases. Minnesota cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Marcus Johansson goal, his second of the season, coming off of Nick Bonino and Carson Soucy. The Wild added on with a Kevin Fiala goal, his third of the year, going in unassisted. Minnesota extended the lead as Kirill Kaprizov scored his second of the season, with the help of Johansson and Ian Cole. Los Angeles got on the board in the second period with a Dustin Brown power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. The Kings got closer with a Doughty power play goal, his third of the season, with assists provided by Kopitar and Michael Amadio. The Wild responded with a Nick Bjugstad goal, his second of the year, made possible by Jonas Brodin and Zach Parise. Minnesota continued in the third period with a Joel Eriksson Ek goal, his fifth of the season, guided in by Brodin and Jordan Greenway. Los Angeles got one back with an Alex Iafallo goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Brown and Kale Clague. This only made it 5-3, the final, with the three stars given to Johansson, Doughty, and Brown, while Kopitar and Brodin get the honorable mentions.

Down in Dallas, the Stars bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Jonathan Bernier and Jake Oettinger get the starting nods in goal. Dallas drew first blood in the first period with a Joe Pavelski goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Tanner Kero and Miro Heiskanen. The Stars added on in the second period with an Andrew Cogliano goal, coming off of Justin Dowling and Denis Gurianov. Detroit got on the board with a Valtteri Filppula goal, via Troy Stecher and Bobby Ryan. Dallas replied with a Gurianov goal, his third of the year, going in unassisted. Thomas Greiss replaced Bernier in goal. The Stars extended the lead in the third period as Jamie Oleksiak scored, thanks to Heiskanen and Kero. The Red Wings got one back with a Tyler Bertuzzi power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Filip Hronek and Dylan Larkin. Detroit pulled closer with a Danny DeKeyser goal, courtesy of Michael Rasmussen and Christian Djoos. Dallas responded on a Ty Dellandrea power play goal, helped along by Heiskanen and Alexander Radulov. The Stars padded the lead with a Dowling empty net goal, set up by Jason Dickinson and Gurianov. Dallas iced it at 7-3 with a John Klingberg goal, his second of the year, with a lone helper by Dellandrea. The three stars were Gurianov, Heiskanen, and Dellandrea, while Dowling and Kero get the honorable mentions.

Over in Arizona, the Coyotes host the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Darcy Kuemper tend the twines. Anaheim kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Jakob Siflverberg goal, his second of the season, going in unassisted. Arizona tied it on a Christian Dvorak goal, his second of the year, made possible by Jakob Chychrun and Derick Brassard. The Coyotes took the lead with a Conor Garland goal, his third of the season, passed from Jordan Oesterle and Clayton Keller. The Ducks tied it with a Danton Heinen power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Max Comtois and Cam Fowler. Arizona pulled ahead with Dvorak's second goal of the game and third of the season, a power play goal helped along by Phil Kessel and Nick Schmaltz. This held up for a 3-2 win, with the three stars being Dvorak, Heinen, and Garland.

Next up, the Colorado Avalanche welcome the San Jose Sharks. Devan Dubnyk and Philipp Grubauer are the masked men. Colorado got going in the third period with a Nazem Kadri goal, his second of the season, fueled by Brandon Saad and Joonas Donskoi. The Avalanche added on with an Andre Burakovsky goal, his third of the year, via Kadri and Saad. Colorado extended the lead as Kadri scored his second goal of the game on the power play, his third of the year, powered by Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon. The final stood at 3-0, with the three stars given to Kadri, Grubauer (21 save shutout), and Saad.

Up in Edmonton, the Oilers bring in the Toronto Maple Leafs. Frederik Andersen and Mikko Koskinen protect the nets. Toronto began in the first period with a Jason Spezza goal, via Travis Boyd. The Maple Leafs added on with a William Nylander goal, his third of the season, assisted by John Tavares and Spezza. Edmonton got on the board with a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Connor McDavid and Darnell Nurse in the second period. The Oilers tied it in the third period with another Draisaitl power play goal, his second of the game and sixth of the season, guided in by McDavid and Tyson Barrie. Toronto retook the lead with a power play goal by Wayne Simmonds, his third of the year, with assists provided by Mitchell Marner and Morgan Rielly. Edmonton tied it again with a Zack Kassian goal, coming off of Kyle Turris and Adam Larsson. The Maple Leafs reclaimed the lead on an Auston Matthews power play goal, his fifth of the season, helped along by T.J. Brodie and Alexander Kerfoot. This stood for a 4-3 win, with the three stars going to Spezza, Draisaitl, and McDavid.

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks host the Ottawa Senators. Matt Murray and Braden Holtby guard the cages. Vancouver led off in the first period with a Brock Boeser power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes. The Canucks added on with an Elias Pettersson goal, his third of the year, coming off of Boeser and Hughes. Vancouver extended the lead in the second period as Boeser scored his second of the game and sixth of the season, with the help of Pettersson and the goalie Holtby. Ottawa got on the board with a Thomas Chabot goal, his second of the year, going in unassisted. The Canucks responded in the third period with a Tanner Pearson goal, his second of the season, made possible by Nils Hoglander. The final held at 4-1, with the three stars given to Boeser, Pettersson, and Hughes. 

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