NHL 2021 - Day 44

Ten games on tonight, beginning with...

The New York Islanders hosting the Boston Bruins. Jaroslav Halak and Semyon Varlamov are the veterans in goal. Boston led off in the first period with a Nick Ritchie goal, his seventh of the season, via Jakub Zboril and Charlie Coyle. New York tied it with an Adam Pelech unassisted goal. The Islanders took the lead with a Mathew Barzal goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Nick Leddy and the goalie Varlamov. The Bruins tied it again in the second period with a Craig Smith goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Jake DeBrusk and Urho Vaakanainen. New York took the lead with an Anthony Beauvillier goal, going in unassisted. The Islanders added on with a Jordan Eberle goal, his eighth of the year, helped along by Barzal and Anders Lee. New York extended the lead with a shorthanded Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his eighth of the season, set up Pelech. The Islanders padded the lead as Lee scored his ninth of the year, thanks to Noah Dobson and Leddy. New York continued with an Oliver Wahlstrom goal, his second of the campaign, coming off of Ryan Pulock and Casey Cizikas. This made it 7-2, the final, with the three stars being Barzal, Lee, and Pelech, while Leddy gets an honorable mention.

Down in Florida, the Panthers welcome the Dallas Stars. Jake Oettinger and Sergei Bobrovsky are the goalies. Dallas got going in the second period with a Joe Pavelski power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Justin Dowling and Miro Heiskanen. The Stars added on with a Jamie Benn goal, his fourth of the year, via John Klingberg and Radek Faksa. Florida got on the board in the third period with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his eighth of the season, passed from Carter Verhaeghe and MacKenzie Weegar. The Panthers tied it on an Anton Stralman goal, his second of the year, helped along by Mason Marchment and Eetu Luostarinen. Florida took the lead with a Frank Vatrano goal, his fifth of the campaign, made possible by Alex Wennberg and Patric Hornqvist. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars going to Vatrano, Stralman, and Barkov.

Back north, the Buffalo Sabres bring in the New Jersey Devils. MacKenzie Blackwood and Linus Ullmark are in the blue paint. Buffalo began in the first period with a Riley Sheahan goal, his second of the season, fueled by Victor Olofsson. Carter Hutton replaced an injured Ullmark in the second period. New Jersey tied it in the second period with a Jesper Bratt goal, guided in by Pavel Zacha. The Sabres took the lead with a Casey Mittelstadt power play goal, powered by Eric Staal and Colin Miller. The Devils tied it on a Miles Wood power play goal in the third period, his sixth of the year, with assists provided by Nikita Gusev and Ty Smith. New Jersey took the lead with a Nico Hischier goal, made possible by Zacha. Buffalo tied it again with a Sam Reinhart power play goal, his seventh of the season, with assists provided by Taylor Hall and Rasmus Dahlin. New Jersey won 4-3 in overtime with a Zacha goal, his fifth of the year, made possible by Bratt and Smith. The three stars belonged to Zacha, Bratt, and Smith.

To Columbus, where the Blue Jackets host the Chicago Blackhawks. Malcolm Subban and Joonas Korpisalo receive the starting nods in goal. Chicago dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Patrick Kane goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Alex DeBrincat and Calvin de Haan. The Blackhawks iced it at 2-0 with a Carl Soderberg empty net goal, his fourth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Subban (27 save shutout), Kane, and Korpisalo (25 for 26 in saves).

South to Tampa Bay, as the Lightning welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. James Reimer and Curtis McElhinney are the experienced goalies. Carolina struck first in the first period with a Brett Pesce goal, his second of the season, guided in by Jesper Fast and Sebastian Aho. Tampa Bay tied it in the second period with a Mikhail Sergachev goal, helped along by Brayden Point. The Lightning took the lead with a Yanni Gourde goal, his fifth of the year, passed from Victor Hedman and goalie McElhinney. Tampa Bay iced it at 3-1 with a Barclay Goodrow empty net goal, his fifth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were McElhinney (31 for 32 in saves), Gourde, and Sergachev.

North again to DC, as the Washington Capitals bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry and Vitek Vanecek draw the starts. Washington opened in the first period with a Nicklas Backstrom goal, his ninth of the season, passed from Nick Jensen and Jakub Vrana. The Capitals added on in the third period with a T.J. Oshie goal, his fifth of the year, via Lars Eller and John Carlson. Pittsburgh got on the board with a shorthanded and unassisted Brandon Tanev goal, his fifth of the season. The Penguins tied the game on a Jake Guentzel goal, his seventh of the year, coming off of Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby. Washington took the lead on a Tom Wilson power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Carlson and Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals added on with a Carl Hagelin empty net goal, his second of the year, going in unassisted. Washington extended the lead as Eller scored an empty net goal, his third of the campaign, with the help of Oshie and Backstrom. The final was 5-2, with the three stars given to Oshie, Carlson, and Backstrom, while Eller gets an honorable mention.

In Canada, the Ottawa Senators host the Calgary Flames. David Rittich and Matt Murray are the masked men. Ottawa started in the first period with a Drake Batherson goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Tim Stutzle and Artem Anisimov. The Senators added on with an Erik Gudbranson goal, coming off of Chris Tierney. Calgary got on the board in the second period with a Milan Lucic goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Dillon Dube and Christopher Tanev. Ottawa replied with a Connor Brown goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. The Senators extended the lead as Erik Brannstrom scored his second of the year, an unassisted goal. Artyom Zagidulin replaced Rittich in goal. Ottawa padded the lead in the third period on a Colin White goal, his third of the season, passed from Nick Paul. The Senators continued with a White goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, helped along by Thomas Chabot and Evgenii Dadonov. This stood for a 6-1 win, with the three stars handed to White, Murray (29 for 30 in saves), and Gudbranson.

Back stateside, the Detroit Red Wings welcome the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Jonathan Bernier are between the pipes. Detroit kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Luke Glendening goal, his second of the season, coming off of Filip Zadina and Darren Helm. Nashville tied it on a Mikael Granlund power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Roman Josi and Eeli Tolvanen. The Red Wings retook the lead in the second period with a Sam Gagner goal, assisted by Bobby Ryan. The Predators tied it in the third period with an Erik Haula goal, courtesy of Ryan Ellis and Luke Kunin. Detroit reclaimed the lead with another Gagner goal, his second of the game, fueled by Ryan and Danny DeKeyser. The Red Wings added on with an Adam Erne goal, his second of the season, guided in by Helm and Glendening. Detroit finished it at 5-2 with a Gagner empty net goal to complete his hat trick, going in unassisted. The three stars were Gagner, Ryan, and Helm, while Glendening gets an honorable mention.

Crossing the border again, the Winnipeg Jets bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Connor Hellebuyck tend the twines. Montreal drew first blood in the first period with a Joel Armia goal, his third of the season, via Alexander Romanov and Paul Byron. The Canadiens added on with another Armia goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, assisted by Jonathan Drouin and Jeff Petry. Winnipeg got on the board in the second period with a Kyle Connor power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. Montreal responded with a Tomas Tatar power play goal, his fifth of the year, with assists provided by Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Petry. The Jets fired back on a Connor goal, his second of the game and tenth of the season, fueled by Paul Stastny and Nikolaj Ehlers. Winnipeg tied it on a Wheeler goal, his sixth of the year, courtesy of Neal Pionk and Pierre-Luc Dubois. The Jets took the lead in the third period with a Nate Thompson goal, coming off of Mason Appleton and Adam Lowry. Winnipeg extended the lead as Dubois scored his fourth of the season, thanks to Mathieu Perreault and Andrew Copp. The Jets iced it at 6-3 with a Scheifele empty net goal, his eleventh of the year, set up by Wheeler and Copp. The three stars went to Connor, Wheeler, and Dubois, while Scheifele, Copp, Armia, and Petry get the honorable mentions.

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks host the Edmonton Oilers. Mike Smith and Thatcher Demko receive the starting nods in goal. Edmonton cracked the scoresheet in the second period with an Alex Chiasson power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Tyson Barrie. The Oilers added on in the third period with a Jesse Puljujarvi power play goal, his sixth of the year, with assists provided by Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. Edmonton iced it at 3-0 with a McDavid empty net goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, set up by Kailer Yamamoto. The three stars were Smith (32 save shutout), McDavid, and Chiasson. 

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.