NHL 2021 - Day 19

We've got eight games on this Sunday, beginning with...

The Buffalo Sabres hosting the New Jersey Devils. Eric Comrie and Carter Hutton are the backups in goal. New Jersey opened in the first period with a Michael McLeod goal, his second of the season, passed from P.K. Subban and Ryan Murray. The Devils added on with an Andreas Johnsson goal, his second of the year, coming off of Jesper Bratt and Ty Smith. Buffalo got on the board in the second period with a Curtis Lazar goal, his third of the season, assisted by Rasmus Ristolainen and Jake McCabe. The Sabres tied it on a Rasmus Dahlin power play goal, powered by Victor Olofsson and Jack Eichel. New Jersey retook the lead with a Miles Wood goal, his fourth of the year, courtesy of Janne Kuokkanen. Buffalo retied it in the third period with a Ristolainen power play goal, his second of the season, with assists provided by Olofsson and Eichel. The Devils regained the lead on a McLeod goal, his second of the game and third of the year, guided in by Wood and Nathan Bastian. New Jersey iced it at 5-3 with a Wood empty net goal, his second of the game and fifth of the campaign, set up by Pavel Zacha and Damon Severson. The three stars went to Wood, McLeod, and Ristolainen, while Eichel and Olofsson get the honorable mentions. 

Over in Detroit, the Red Wings welcome the Florida Panthers. Chris Driedger and Thomas Greiss are set to start in goal. Detroit started in the first period with a Dylan Larkin goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Givani Smith. Florida tied it on a Patric Hornqvist power play goal in the second period, his fifth of the year, powered by Jonathan Huberdeau and Keith Yandle. The Panthers took the lead with an Aaron Ekblad power play goal, his second of the season, with assists provided by Yandle and Huberdeau. Florida added on in the third period with a Carter Verhaeghe goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Aleksander Barkov and Markus Nutivaara. The Red Wings got one back with an Anthony Mantha goal, his third of the season, made possible by Bobby Ryan and Filip Hronek. This made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to Yandle, Huberdeau, and Verhaeghe.

Down in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes host the Dallas Stars. Anton Khudobin and James Reimer are in the creases. Carolina led off in the first period with a Jordan Staal power play goal, powered by Dougie Hamilton and Sebastian Aho. Dallas tied it on a Jamie Oleksiak goal, his second of the season, coming off of Jamie Benn. The Hurricanes took the lead back with a Brock McGinn shorthanded goal, set up by Staal and Brady Skjei. The Stars tied it again in the third period with an Andrew Cogliano goal, his second of the year, made possible by Blake Comeau and Miro Heiskanen. Dallas pulled ahead on a Benn goal, assisted by Alexander Radulov and the goalie Khudobin. Carolina tied it again with a Nino Niederreiter goal, his third of the season, helped along by Brett Pesce. In the shootout, Hamilton and Vincent Trocheck lifted the Hurricanes 4-3 over Radulov and the Stars. The three stars were Staal, Benn, and Hamilton. 

Northwest to Chicago, as the Blackhawks bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins and Kevin Lankinen are the goalies. Chicago began in the first period with a Philipp Kurashev goal, his third of the season, coming off of Patrick Kane and Mattias Janmark. Columbus tied it on a Boone Jenner goal, his third of the year, fueled by Jack Roslovic and Liam Foudy. The Blackhawks retook the lead in the third period with a Pius Suter goal, his fourth of the season, going in unassisted. Chicago added on with a Kane goal, his fourth of the year, via Kurashev. This stood for a 3-1 win, with the three stars being Kane, Kurashev, and Lankinen (32 for 33 in saves). 

Back east, the Philadelphia Flyers host the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin and Brian Elliott receive the starting nods in goal. Philadelphia struck first in the first period with a Joel Farabee goal, his third of the season, via James van Riemsdyk. New York tied it in the second period with a Nick Leddy power play goal, powered by Josh Bailey and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The Flyers retook the lead on a Farabee goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, courtesy of van Riemsdyk and Travis Sanheim. Philadelphia added on with a Farabee goal to complete his hat trick with his fifth of the season, made possible by Philippe Myers and van Riemsdyk. The Islanders got one back in the third period with a Bailey goal, assisted by Ryan Pulock and Mathew Barzal. New York tied it as Barzal scored his fourth of the year, thanks to Anders Lee. The flyers won 4-3 in overtime with a Kevin Hayes power play goal, his fifth of the campaign, with assists provided by Claude Giroux and Ivan Provorov. The three stars were handed to Farabee, van Riemsdyk, and Barzal, while Bailey gets an honorable mention. 

West again to Minnesota, as the Wild welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Hunter Miska and Cam Talbot are in the creases. Colorado drew first blood in the first period with a Joonas Donskoi goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. Minnesota tied it on a Jordan Greenway goal, his second of the year, passed from Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman. The Wild took the lead in the second period with a Victor Rask goal, his second of the season, coming off of Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter. The Avalanche retied it on a Cale Makar goal, via MacKinnon and Samuel Girard. Colorado pulled ahead in the third period on a Brandon Saad goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Nazem Kadri. Minnesota tied it again with a Rask goal, his second of the game and third of the season, fueled by Kirill Kaprizov. The Wild won 4-3 in overtime with a Jonas Brodin goal, his second of the year, set up by Greenway and Eriksson Ek. The three stars were Rask, Greenway, and MacKinnon, while Eriksson Ek gets an honorable mention.

Out in Anaheim, the Ducks host the St. Louis Blues. Ville Husso is mismatched with John Gibson in goal. Anaheim kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Jakob Silfverberg power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Ryan Getzlaf and Hampus Lindholm. St. Louis tied it in the second period with a Brayden Schenn goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Justin Faulk and Torey Krug. The Blues took the lead on a Sammy Blais goal, coming off of Mike Hoffman and Robert Thomas. St. Louis added on in the third period with a Schenn power play goal, his second of the game and sixth of the season, with assists provided by Ryan O'Reilly and David Perron. The Blues extended the lead as Colton Parayko scored, thanks to Niko Mikkola and Thomas. This stood for a 4-1 win, with the three stars given to Schenn, Thomas, and Husso (25 for 26 in saves).

Finally, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Ottawa Senators. Matt Murray and Stuart Skinner are the alliterative goalies. Edmonton was first to score in the first period with a Dominik Kahun goal, his second of the season, via Leon Draisaitl. The Oilers added on with a James Neal power play goal, powered by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid. Ottawa got on the board with a Colin White goal, passed from Evgenii Dadonov and Nick Paul. Edmonton replied with a Tyson Barrie power play goal, with assists provided by Draisaitl and McDavid. Marcus Hogberg replaced Murray in goal. The Oilers extended the lead as Neal scored his second of the game, with the help of Kyle Turris. Edmonton padded the lead with a Nugent-Hopkins power play goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by McDavid and Draisaitl. The Senators got one back on a Brady Tkachuk goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Connor Brown and Artem Zub. Ottawa got closer with a Drake Batherson power play goal, with helpers from Mike Reilly and Tkachuk. The Oilers shot back in the second period with a McDavid power play goal, his eighth of the year, coming off of Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins. Edmonton continued with a Darnell Nurse goal, his second of the season, dished from McDavid and Draisaitl. The Oilers kept going with a Kailer Yamamoto goal, his fourth of the year, helped along by Draisaitl and Barrie. The Senators got one back in the third period with a Tim Stutzle power play goal, his second of the season, fueled by White and Josh Norris. Ottawa pulled closer on an Austin Watson goal, his third of the year, guided in by Erik Gudbranson and Chris Tierney. The final stood from here at 8-5, with the three stars given to Draisaitl, McDavid, and Nugent-Hopkins, while Neal, Barrie, White, and Tkachuk get the honorable mentions. 

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