NHL 2021 - Day 39

We've got 12 games on for today, beginning with...

The New Jersey Devils hosting the Buffalo Sabres. Linus Ullmark and MacKenzie Blackwood are the goalies. Buffalo started in the first period with a Colin Miller goal, his second of the season, assisted by Taylor Hall and Eric Staal. The Sabres added on in the second period with a Sam Reinhart goal, his fourth of the year, via Matt Irwin and Brandon Montour. Buffalo extended the lead on a Reinhart power play goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, powered by Jack Eichel and Rasmus Dahlin. New Jersey got on the board in the third period with a Kyle Palmieri goal, his third of the year, passed from Jack Hughes and Will Butcher. The Devils got closer with a P.K. Subban power play goal, with assists provided by Pavel Zacha and Jesper Bratt. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to Reinhart, Miller, and Ullmark (25 for 27 in saves). 

In DC, the Washington Capitals welcome the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Vitek Vanecek draw the starts in goal. New York opened in the first period with a Chris Kreider power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome. The Rangers added on in the second period with an Alexis Lafreniere goal, his second of the year, guided in by Panarin and Anthony Bitetto. New York extended the lead as Strome scored his fifth of the season, thanks to Ryan Lindgren and Pavel Buchnevich. Washington got on the board with a Dmitry Orlov goal, helped along by Nick Jensen. The Rangers iced it at 4-1 with a Mika Zibanejad shorthanded empty net goal, his second of the year, set up by Buchnevich in the third period. The three stars were Strome, Panarin, and Buchnevich. 

Outdoors at Lake Tahoe, the Colorado Avalanche are the designated hosts versus the Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury and Philipp Grubauer tend the twines. Colorado began in the first period with a Samuel Girard goal, his second of the season, via Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. The game experienced an hours-long delay before resuming at night with the second period. Vegas tied it in the second period with an Alec Martinez goal, assisted by Jonathan Marchessault and Alex Pietrangelo. The Avalanche retook the lead with a MacKinnon goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Devon Toews. Colorado added on with a Toews goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by MacKinnon and Rantanen. The Golden Knights got one back with an Alex Tuch goal, his fifth of the year, fueled by Zach Whitecloud. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to MacKinnon, Toews, and Rantanen in the season's longest game.

Back east, the Detroit Red Wings bring in the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Jonathan Bernier are the veterans in goal. Florida led off in the first period with an Alex Wennberg power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Anthony Duclair and Frank Vatrano. Detroit tied it on a Patrik Nemeth goal in the second period, courtesy of Christian Djoos and Luke Glendening. The Red Wings took the lead with a Mathias Brome goal, via Dylan Larkin. This held for a 2-1 win, with the three stars given to Bernier (38 for 39 in saves), Brome, and Nemeth.

Down in Carolina, the Hurricanes welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy faces a lesser foe in Alex Nedeljkovic in goal. Carolina got going in the second period with a Vincent Trocheck goal, his ninth of the season, made possible by Nino Niederreiter and Martin Necas. The Hurricanes added on with a Sebastian Aho goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Andrei Svechnikov. Carolina extended the lead in the third period as Cedric Paquette scored his second of the season, thanks to Jake Bean and Jordan Martinook. The Hurricanes iced it at 4-0 with a Svechnikov empty net goal, his seventh of the year, set up by Aho and Brock McGinn. The three stars were awarded to Nedeljkovic (24 save shutout), Aho, and Svechnikov.

Westward to St. Louis, as the Blues bring in the San Jose Sharks. Devan Dubnyk and Jordan Binnington are in the blue paint. San Jose struck first in the first period with an Evander Kane goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Kevin Labanc. The Sharks added on with a Logan Couture goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Labanc. San Jose extended the lead in the second period as Rudolfs Balcers scored, thanks to Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier. St. Louis got one back with a Brayden Schenn goal, his ninth of the season, helped along by Jordan Kyrou and Mike Hoffman. The Sharks replied with a Patrick Marleau goal, courtesy of Kane. The Blues pulled back on a Zach Sanford goal, his third of the year, via Torey Krug and Schenn. St. Louis got closer with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Hoffman and Kyrou. The Blues tied it as Kyrou scored his seventh of the year, thanks to David Perron and O'Reilly. The Sharks took the lead on another Couture goal, his ninth of the campaign, going in unassisted. This held for a 5-4 win, with the three stars being Couture, Kyrou, and Kane, while O'Reilly, Schenn, Hoffman, and Labanc get the honorable mentions.

Southwest to Arizona, where the Coyotes host the Los Angeles Kings. Calvin Petersen and Darcy Kuemper receive the starting nods in goal. Los Angeles dented the scoreboard in the second period with an Alex Iafallo power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Adrian Kempe and Anze Kopitar. Arizona tied it on a Derick Brassard power play goal, his second of the year, with assists provided by Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Phil Kessel. The Kings retook the lead in the third period with a shorthanded Trevor Moore goal, his second of the season, set up by Mikey Anderson and Drew Doughty. The Coyotes tied it with a Kessel power play goal, his sixth of the year, with helpers from Jordan Oesterle and Ekman-Larsson. Los Angeles regained the lead with a Gabriel Vilardi goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Jeff Carter and Doughty. The Kings iced it at 4-2 with an Iafallo empty net goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, via Kopitar. The three stars were Iafallo, Kessel, and Doughty, while Kopitar and Ekman-Larsson get the honorable mentions.

Eastward again to Columbus, with the Blue Jackets welcoming the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Elvis Merzlikins patrol the creases. Nashville was first to score in the first period with a Calle Jarnkrok power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Ryan Ellis. The Predators added on with a Colton Sissons goal, his third of the year, coming off of Luke Kunin and Yakov Trenin. Columbus got on the board with a Boone Jenner shorthanded goal, his sixth of the season, set up by Scott Harrington and Nick Foligno. The Blue Jackets tied it with a Gabriel Carlsson goal, via Oliver Bjorkstrand. Nashville retook the lead in the third period with Jarnkrok's second of the game and fourth of the year, going in unassisted. The Predators extended the lead as Filip Forsberg scored his eighth of the season, an unassisted goal. Joonas Korpisalo replaced an injured Merzlikins in the third period. The final was 4-2, with the three stars going to Jarnkrok, Sissons, and Forsberg.

Up in Montreal, the Canadiens bring in the Toronto Maple Leafs. Frederik Andersen and Carey Price tend the twines. Toronto drew first blood in the second period with an Auston Matthews power play goal, his seventeenth of the season, powered by Mitchell Marner and Morgan Rielly. The Maple Leafs added on with a Travis Boyd power play goal, his third of the year, with assists provided by Joe Thornton and Matthews. Montreal got on the board with a Jesperi Kotkaniemi goal, his second of the season, helped along by Tomas Tatar and Joel Edmundson. The Canadiens tied it with a Paul Byron goal. Toronto retook the lead with a Marner goal, his ninth of the year, assisted by Matthews and Zach Bogosian. The Maple Leafs extended the lead as Matthews scored his second of the game and eighteenth of the season on the power play, with the help of Rielly and Marner. Toronto padded the lead in the third period on an Alexander Kerfoot goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Jason Spezza and John Tavares. Montreal got one back with a Tyler Toffoli goal, his eleventh of the season, passed from Alexander Romanov and Brendan Gallagher. This only made it 5-3, the final, with the three stars awarded to Matthews, Marner, and Rielly.

Back stateside, the Pittsburgh Penguins host the New York Islanders. Semyon Varlamov and Tristan Jarry are between the pipes. Pittsburgh cracked the scoresheet in the second period with a Kris Letang power play goal, powered by Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. New York tied it on a Jordan Eberle goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Anthony Beauvillier. The Islanders took the lead in the third period with a Brock Nelson goal, his fifth of the year, fueled by Scott Mayfield. The Penguins tied it on a Mike Matheson goal, via Teddy Blueger and Sam Lafferty. Pittsburgh gained the lead on Letang's second goal of the game, assisted by Crosby and Jake Guentzel. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars going to Letang, Crosby, and Matheson.

In California, the Anaheim Ducks welcome the Minnesota Wild. Kaapo Kahkonen and John Gibson play in the blue paint. Minnesota kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Mats Zuccarello goal, assisted by Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon. The Wild added on with a Kevin Fiala goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. Minnesota extended the lead in the second period as Fiala scored a power play goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, powered by Jordan Greenway and Matt Dumba. Anaheim got on the board with a David Backes goal, his second of the season, helped along by Josh Mahura and Kevin Shattenkirk. The Wild answered with a Victor Rask goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Kaprizov and Zuccarello. Minnesota iced it at 5-1 with a Joel Eriksson Ek goal, his sixth of the campaign, courtesy of Ryan Hartman and Fiala. The three stars were Fiala, Zuccarello, and Kaprizov.

Finally, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Mikko Koskinen guard the cages. Edmonton got the first goal with an Alex Chiasson power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Connor McDavid. The Oilers added on with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his eighth of the year, via McDavid and Darnell Nurse. Calgary got on the board with an Andrew Mangiapane power play goal, his sixth of the season, with assists provided by Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm. Edmonton countered with a McDavid power play goal, his tenth of the year, with helpers from Tyson Barrie and Nugent-Hopkins. The Oilers extended the lead in the second period as McDavid scored his second of the game and eleventh of the season, going in unassisted. Edmonton chased Markstrom with McDavid's hat trick goal, his twelfth of the year, helped along by Kris Russell and Jujhar Khaira. David Rittich entered the game in goal for the Flames. The Oilers padded the lead on a Nugent-Hopkins power play goal, his second of the game and ninth of the season, guided in by Nurse and James Neal. Edmonton continued in the third period with a Josh Archibald goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Dominik Kahun and Draisaitl. This made it 7-1, the final, with the three stars handed to McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins, and Koskinen (43 for 44 in saves), while Nurse and Draisaitl get the honorable mentions. 

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