NHL 2021 - Day 48

There's seven games on the slate this time, beginning with...

The Ottawa Senators hosting the Calgary Flames. David Rittich and Matt Murray are in goal. Ottawa got going in the second period with an Artem Anisimov goal, via Tim Stutzle. The Senators added on with a Drake Batherson goal, his eighth of the season, courtesy of Josh Norris and Stutzle. Calgary got on the board with a Milan Lucic power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Mikael Backlund. Ottawa replied with an unassisted Batherson goal, his second of the game and ninth of the season. The Senators extended the lead on Colin White's unassisted empty net goal in the third period, his sixth of the year. Ottawa padded the lead as Evgenii Dadonov scored his seventh of the campaign, thanks to Thomas Chabot and Nikita Zaitsev. The final stood at 5-1, with the three stars being Batherson, Stutzle, and Murray (27 for 28 in saves). 

Down in Florida, the Panthers welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Alex Nedeljkovic and Chris Driedger make the starts in goal. Carolina began in the first period with a Brett Pesce power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Jake Bean and Martin Necas. Florida tied it in the third period with a Frank Vatrano goal, his seventh of the year, coming off of Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe. The Panthers took the lead on an Eetu Luostarinen goal, his third of the season, assisted by Mason Marchment. The Hurricanes tied it again with a Vincent Trocheck goal, his eleventh of the year, passed from Nino Niederreiter and Necas. Carolina won 3-2 in overtime with a Necas goal, his third of the campaign, guided in by Sebastian Aho and Dougie Hamilton. The three stars belonged to Necas, Trocheck, and Nedeljkovic (44 for 46 in saves). 

Back north, the Winnipeg Jets bring in the Vancouver Canucks. Thatcher Demko and Connor Hellebuyck are in the creases. Vancouver led off in the first period with a Nate Schmidt goal, his third of the season, made possible by Brandon Sutter and Adam Gaudette. The Canucks added on with a J.T. Miller goal, his fifth of the year, via Schmidt and Elias Pettersson. Vancouver extended the lead on a Nils Hoglander power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Tyler Myers and Gaudette. The Canucks iced it at 4-0 with a Pettersson empty net goal, his ninth of the year, set up by Brock Boeser. The three stars were handed to Demko (27 save shutout), Schmidt, and Gaudette, while Pettersson gets an honorable mention. 

In Nevada, the Vegas Golden Knights host the Minnesota Wild. Cam Talbot and Marc-Andre Fleury guard the cages. Vegas dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Cody Glass power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Mark Stone and Shea Theodore. Minnesota tied it on a Jordan Greenway goal, his third of the year, going in unassisted. The Wild took the lead on a Marcus Foligno goal, his fifth of the season, helped along by Jonas Brodin. The Golden Knights tied it again with a Max Pacioretty power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Stone and Chandler Stephenson. Minnesota regained the lead with a Nick Bonino goal, his second of the season, made possible by Nico Sturm and Foligno. The Wild added on with a Foligno goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, via Zach Parise and Brodin. Vegas got one back in the third period with a Nicolas Hague goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Stone and Zach Whitecloud. The Golden Knights tied it on an Alex Tuch goal, his eighth of the year, with helpers from Stone and Pacioretty. Vegas won 5-4 in overtime with a Pacioretty goal, his tenth of the campaign, set up by Stone. The three stars were awarded to Stone, Pacioretty, and Foligno, while Brodin gets an honorable mention.

Up to Canada once more, as the Edmonton Oilers welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs. Michael Hutchinson and Mikko Koskinen are the backups in goal. Toronto started in the first period with a Zach Hyman goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Morgan Rielly and Ilya Mikheyev. The Maple Leafs added on with an unassisted William Nylander goal, his ninth of the year. Toronto extended the lead on a Rielly power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Mitchell Marner and Nylander. Mike Smith took over in goal in the second period. This stood for the eventual 3-0 final score, with the three stars given to Hutchinson (31 save shutout), Rielly, and Nylander.

Down in California, the Anaheim Ducks bring in the St. Louis Blues. Ville Husso is mismatched with John Gibson in goal. Anaheim opened in the first period with an Isac Lundestrom goal, his third of the season, coming off of Max Comtois and Cam Fowler. St. Louis tied it on a Jordan Kyrou goal, his eighth of the year, helped along by Ryan O'Reilly and Zach Sanford. The Blues took the lead in the second period with a David Perron goal, his seventh of the season, via Brayden Schenn. St. Louis added on with a Sanford power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Vince Dunn and Justin Faulk. The Blues extended the lead as Dakota Joshua scored, thanks to Kyle Clifford and Marco Scandella. The Ducks got one back in the third period with a Lundestrom goal, his second of the game and fourth of the season, assisted by Rickard Rakell. Anaheim got closer as Lundestrom completed his hat trick on his fifth of the year, with the help of Kevin Shattenkirk and Rakell. The Blues fired back with a Sanford shorthanded empty net goal, his sixth of the season, going in unassisted. The Ducks pulled one back with a Ryan Getzlaf power play goal, his second of the year, with assists provided by Jakob Silfverberg and Fowler. This only made it 5-4, the final, with the three stars being Sanford, Lundestrom, and Fowler, while Rakell gets an honorable mention.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the Colorado Avalanche. Philipp Grubauer and Martin Jones man the nets. Colorado struck first in the first period with a Samuel Girard goal, his third of the season, assisted by Andre Burakovsky and Devon Toews. The Avalanche added on in the second period with a Gabriel Landeskog power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Nazem Kadri and Nathan MacKinnon. San Jose got on the board with a Radim Simek goal, via Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Rudolfs Balcers. The Sharks tied it on a Kevin Labanc goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Evander Kane and Logan Couture. San Jose took the lead in the third period with a Rudolfs Balcers goal, his second of the year, passed from Dylan Gambrell and Timo Meier. The Sharks extended the lead as Erik Karlsson scored on the power play, thanks to Kane and Meier. San Jose padded the lead on a John Leonard goal, his third of the season, made possible by Meier. The Sharks iced it at 6-2 with a Kane empty net goal, his eighth of the year, set up by Brent Burns. The three stars were Kane, Meier, and Balcers. 

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