NHL 2021 - Day 18

We've got 12 games on for Saturday, with just one matinee in store. First up...

The Buffalo Sabres host the New Jersey Devils. Scott Wedgewood and Linus Ullmark play in goal. Buffalo got going in the second period with an Eric Staal goal, his third of the season, via Taylor Hall and Brandon Montour. New Jersey tied it on a Ty Smith power play goal, his second of the year, powered by P.K. Subban and Pavel Zacha. The Devils took the lead in the third period with an Andreas Johnsson goal, guided in by Jack Hughes and Damon Severson. The Sabres retied it on a Tobias Rieder goal, his third of the season, made possible by Cody Eakin and Colin Miller. Buffalo retook the lead on a Victor Olofsson power play goal, his fourth of the year, with assists provided by Rasmus Dahlin and Hall. New Jersey retied it on a Janne Kuokkanen goal, passed from Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian. The Sabres won 4-3 in the shootout with a lone tally by Jack Eichel. The three stars were Hall, Olofsson, and Kuokkanen. 

At the regular time, the Detroit Red Wings welcome the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Thomas Greiss are set to start in goal. Florida began in the first period with an Aleksander Barkov power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Jonathan Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad. Detroit tied it on an Anthony Mantha goal, his second of the year, passed from Vladislav Namestnikov and Taro Hirose. The Red Wings took the lead on a Tyler Bertuzzi goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Troy Stecher and Marc Staal. The Panthers tied it again with a Keith Yandle power play goal, his second of the year, with assists provided by Patric Hornqvist and Barkov. Florida won 3-2 in overtime with an Aleksi Heponiemi goal, set up by Anthony Duclair. The three stars went to Barkov, Heponiemi, and Yandle.

Out in Edmonton, the Oilers bring in the Toronto Maple Leafs. Frederik Andersen and Mikko Koskinen protect the nets. Edmonton led off in the first period with a Dominik Kahun goal, via Leon Draisaitl. Toronto tied it on a William Nylander goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by John Tavares and Ilya Mikheyev. The Oilers retook the lead with a Josh Archibald goal, his second of the year, coming off of Connor McDavid and Tyler Ennis. Edmonton added on with a McDavid power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Tyson Barrie. The Maple Leafs got one back on an Auston Matthews goal, his sixth of the year, made possible by Mitchell Marner and Jake Muzzin. Toronto tied it on a Zach Hyman power play goal, his second of the season, with helpers from Tavares and Mikko Lehtonen. The Oilers won 4-3 in overtime with a McDavid goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, fueled by Draisaitl and Barrie.

Back east, the Carolina Hurricanes host the Dallas Stars. Anton Khudobin and Petr Mrazek make the starts in goal, but James Reimer replaced Mrazek early in the first period. Carolina opened with a Vincent Trocheck goal, his third of the season, assisted by Martin Necas and Steven Lorentz. The Hurricanes added on with another Trocheck goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, a power play goal powered by Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal. Carolina extended the lead as Andrei Svechnikov scored his fourth of the season on the power play, thanks to Aho and Trocheck. The Hurricanes padded the lead on a Ryan Dzingel power play goal, his second of the year, with assists provided by Necas and Jake Gardiner. Dallas got on the board in the third period with a Joe Pavelski power play goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of John Klingberg and Denis Gurianov. The final stood from here at 4-1, with the three stars going to Trocheck, Aho, and Necas.

Up in Montreal, the Canadiens welcome the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen patrol the creases. Calgary started in the first period with a Johnny Gaudreau power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk. The Flames won 2-0 with a Mikael Backlund empty net goal, his second of the year, set up by Lindholm in the third period. The three stars were Markstrom (37 save shutout), Gaudreau, and Lindholm.

Back stateside, the New York Rangers bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Casey DeSmith and Alexandar Georgiev are the backups in goal. Pittsburgh struck first in the first period with a Jason Zucker goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Kasperi Kapanen. New York tied it on a Brendan Lemieux goal, via Phillip Di Giuseppe and Ryan Lindgren. The Penguins took the lead back with a Brandon Tanev goal, his third of the year, passed from Joseph and Teddy Blueger. The Rangers retied it in the second period with a Kevin Rooney shorthanded goal, set up by K'Andre Miller and Ryan Strome. Pittsburgh replied with a Kapanen goal, his second of the season, fueled by Evgeni Malkin. New York tied it again on a Chris Kreider goal, his third of the year, helped along by Jacob Trouba and Miller. The Rangers took the lead with an Artemi Panarin power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Pavel Buchnevich and Tony DeAngelo. The Penguins tied it again in the third period with a Jake Guentzel goal, his third of the year, with helpers from Cody Ceci and John Marino. Pittsburgh won 5-4 in overtime with a Sidney Crosby goal, his fourth of the campaign, assisted by Joseph and Bryan Rust. The three stars were Joseph, Kapanen, and Miller.

Along to Philadelphia, as the Flyers host the New York Islanders. Semyon Varlamov and Carter Hart guard the cages. Philadelphia kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Jakub Voracek goal, his second of the season, assisted by Claude Giroux and Scott Laughton. The Flyers added on with a Kevin Hayes goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by James van Riemsdyk and Ivan Provorov. New York got one back in the second period with a Jordan Eberle goal, his third of the season, fueled by Adam Pelech and Brock Nelson. The Islanders tied it on a Scott Mayfield goal, passed from Nick Leddy and Mathew Barzal. Philadelphia won 3-2 in overtime with a Laughton goal, going in unassisted. The three stars were Laughton, Hayes, and Voracek.

Down in Tampa Bay, the Lightning welcome the Nashville Predators. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Pekka Rinne are the veterans in goal. Nashville cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Ryan Ellis power play goal, powered by Nick Cousins and Filip Forsberg. Tampa Bay tied it in the second period on a Tyler Johnson power play goal, with a lone assist by Anthony Cirelli. The Lightning took the lead on a Callan Foote goal, helped along by Mikhail Sergachev and Brayden Point. Tampa Bay added on with a Victor Hedman goal, his second of the season, assisted by Cirelli and Alex Killorn. The Lightning extended the lead as Steven Stamkos scored his third of the year on the power play, with the help of Hedman and Point. The Predators pulled one back in the third period with a Mathieu Olivier power play goal, with assists provided by Ryan Johansen and Roman Josi. Nashville got closer with a Viktor Arvidsson goal, his second of the campaign, coming off of Mikael Granlund and Forsberg. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars going to Hedman, Cirelli, and Point, while Forsberg gets an honorable mention.

Backtracking to DC, the Washington Capitals bring in the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Vitek Vanecek receive the starting nods in goal. Washington drew first blood in the first period with a Nicklas Backstrom goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. The Capitals added on in the second period with a Trevor van Riemsdyk goal, via Brenden Dillon and Backstrom. Washington extended the lead as Richard Panik scored a power play goal, powered by Tom Wilson and Alex Ovechkin. Boston got on the board with a Nick Ritchie power play goal, his fourth of the season, with assists provided by David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron. The Bruins got one back with a Brad Marchand goal in the third period, his fifth of the year, helped along by Charlie McAvoy and Bergeron. Boston tied it on a McAvoy goal, passed from David Pastrnak and Bergeron. The Capitals won 4-3 in overtime with an Ovechkin goal, his second of the campaign, courtesy of Backstrom and John Carlson. The three stars were Ovechkin, Bergeron, and Backstrom, while McAvoy gets an honorable mention.

Next up, the Minnesota Wild host the Colorado Avalanche. Philipp Grubauer and Kaapo Kahkonen are in the blue paint. Colorado was first to score in the first period with a Logan O'Connor goal, via Samuel Girard and Cale Makar. Minnesota tied it on a Matt Dumba goal, his third of the season, made possible by Jonas Brodin and Jordan Greenway. The Avalanche took the lead with a Joonas Donskoi power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Brandon Saad and Andre Burakovsky. Colorado added on in the second period with a Mikko Rantanen goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. The Avalanche extended the lead in the third period as Saad scored his fourth of the year, thanks to MacKinnon and Rantanen. Colorado padded the lead as J.T. Compher scored a power play goal, with the help of Burakovsky and Girard. This held for a 5-1 win, with the three stars being Rantanen, Saad, and Girard, while MacKinnon and Burakovsky get the honorable mentions.

Southwest to Anaheim, as the Ducks welcome the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and John Gibson tend the twines. St. Louis dented the scoresheet in the first period with a Jordan Kyrou goal, his fourth of the season, via Braden Schenn and Torey Krug. The Blues added on with a Zach Sanford goal, coming off of David Perron and Colton Parayko. St. Louis extended the lead as Kyrou scored his second of the game and fifth of the year, thanks to Schenn and Jaden Schwartz. Ryan Miller replaced Gibson in goal. Anaheim got on the board with a Max Jones goal, helped along by Rickard Rakell and Ryan Getzlaf. The Blues responded in the second period with a Perron goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Ryan O'Reilly. St. Louis padded the lead in the third period with a Kyle Clifford goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Oskar Sundqvist. The Blues continued with a Vince Dunn power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Mike Hoffman and Kyrou. The final remained at 6-1, with the three stars awarded to Kyrou, Perron, and Sanford, while Schenn gets an honorable mention.

Finally, the Winnipeg Jets bring in the Vancouver Canucks. Thatcher Demko and Connor Hellebuyck are between the pipes. Vancouver lit the lamp in the first period with a Brock Boeser goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Alexander Edler and Elias Pettersson. Winnipeg tied it on a Mason Appleton goal, passed from Adam Lowry. The Canucks retook the lead on a Nils Hoglander goal, his third of the year, coming off of Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson. Vancouver added on in the second period with a Zack MacEwen goal, courtesy of Jordie Benn and J.T. Miller. The Canucks iced it at 4-1 with a Boeser empty net goal, his second of the game and eighth of the campaign, set up by Nate Schmidt. The three stars were handed to Boeser, Demko (23 for 24 in saves), and Hoglander. 

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