NHL 2021 - Day 41

There's eight games on this Monday, beginning with...

The Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and James Reimer are set to start in goal. Carolina began in the first period with a Jesper Fast goal, coming off of Martin Necas and Jake Bean. Tampa Bay tied it in the second period with a Steven Stamkos power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Victor Hedman and Ondrej Palat. The Lightning took the lead with a Hedman goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by Mikhail Sergachev and Stamkos. The Hurricanes retied it on a Fast power play goal, his second of the game, with assists provided by Brett Pesce and Dougie Hamilton. Tampa Bay retook the lead in the third period with a Palat goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Jan Rutta and Brayden Point. The Lightning iced it at 4-2 with an Alex Killorn empty net goal, his third of the year, set up by Erik Cernak. The three stars were Palat, Hedman, and Stamkos, while Fast gets an honorable mention. 

Up in Toronto, the Maple Leafs welcome the Calgary Flames. David Rittich and Michael Hutchinson are the backups in goal. Calgary led off in the first period with a Sam Bennett goal, his third of the season, passed from Rasmus Andersson and Sean Monahan. The Flames added on in the second period with a Matthew Tkachuk power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Mark Giordano and Johnny Gaudreau. Calgary extended the lead in the third period as Monahan scored his third of the campaign on the power play, thanks to Tkachuk and Andersson. This stood for a 3-0 win, with the three stars being Rittich (34 save shutout), Tkachuk, and Monahan, while Andersson gets an honorable mention. 

Back south, the Florida Panthers host the Dallas Stars. Anton Khudobin and Chris Driedger are in the creases. Dallas started in the first period with a Blake Comeau goal, courtesy of Jason Robertson. Florida tied it in the second period with an Aaron Ekblad goal, his sixth of the season, passed from MacKenzie Weegar and Jonathan Huberdeau. The Panthers took the lead on an unassisted Keith Yandle goal, his third of the year. Florida iced it at 3-1 with an Aleksander Barkov empty net goal, his seventh of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Driedger (24 for 25 in saves), Yandle, and Khudobin (49 for 51 in saves). 

North to New York, as the Islanders bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Linus Ullmark and Semyon Varlamov are the masked men. Buffalo opened in the first period with a Curtis Lazar goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Henri Jokiharju and Casey Mittelstadt. New York tied it on an Anders Lee goal, his eighth of the year, courtesy of Jordan Eberle and Ryan Pulock in the second period. The Islanders took the lead in the third period with a Matt Martin goal, his second of the season, made possible by Andy Greene and Casey Cizikas. The Sabres retied it on a Sam Reinhart power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Victor Olofsson and Rasmus Dahlin. New York regained the lead with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau power play goal, his seventh of the campaign, with helpers from Oliver Wahlstrom and Nick Leddy. This held for a 3-2 win, with the three stars handed to Varlamov (34 for 36 in saves), Pageau, and Martin. 

Out west, the St. Louis Blues host the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Jordan Binnington protect the nets. Los Angeles struck first in the first period with a Gabriel Vilardi power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Jeff Carter and Carl Grundstrom. The Kings added on in the second period with an unassisted Dustin Brown goal, his ninth of the year. Los Angeles iced it at 3-0 with a Brown empty net goal, his second of the game and tenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars belonged to Quick (31 save shutout), Brown, and Vilardi. 

Moving along to Colorado, where the Avalanche welcome the Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury and Philipp Grubauer tend the twines. Vegas got going in the second period with an Alex Tuch power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by William Karlsson and Alex Pietrangelo. The Golden Knights added on with a Tuch goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, via Mark Stone. Vegas extended the lead as Jonathan Marchessault scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Karlsson and Nicolas Hague. This held for a 3-0 final score, with the three stars given to Fleury (34 save shutout), Tuch, and Karlsson.

Down in Arizona, the Coyotes host the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Darcy Kuemper guard the cages. Anaheim kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Jakob Silfverberg goal, his fourth of the season, going in unassisted. The Ducks added on with a Max Jones power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Max Comtois and Cam Fowler. Anaheim extended the lead as Fowler scored his second of the season, thanks to Ryan Getzlaf and Comtois. Arizona got on the board with a Christian Dvorak shorthanded penalty shot goal, his eighth of the year. The Coyotes got closer with a Derick Brassard goal, his third of the season, via Conor Garland and Phil Kessel. Arizona tied it as Jakob Chychrun goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Drake Caggiula and Clayton Keller. The Coyotes took the lead in the third period with a Dvorak power play goal, his second of the game and ninth of the campaign, with assists provided by Chychrun and Keller. This stood for a 4-3 win, with the three stars going to Dvorak, Chychrun, and Fowler, while Comtois and Keller get the honorable mentions.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Minnesota Wild. Kaapo Kahkonen and Martin Jones are in the blue paint. San Jose drew first blood in the first period with a Brent Burns goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Timo Meier and Rudolfs Balcers. Minnesota tied it on a Mats Zuccarello goal, his second of the year, guided in by Victor Rask and Kirill Kaprizov. The Wild took the lead on a Kaprizov goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Zuccarello and Carson Soucy. Minnesota added on in the second period with an Ian Cole goal, via Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno. The Wild extended the lead as Foligno scored his third of the year, with the help of Hartman and Zach Parise. The Sharks got one back on a Logan Couture goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Evander Kane and Kevin Labanc. Minnesota answered with a Jonas Brodin power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Zuccarello and Rask. The Wild finished it at 6-2 with a Rask empty net goal, his fifth of the campaign, set up by Cole and Zuccarello. The three stars went to Zuccarello, Rask, and Kaprizov, while Cole, Foligno, and Hartman get the honorable mentions. 

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.