NHL 2021 - Day 49

An eight-game slate is on today, beginning with...

The Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter Hart and Tristan Jarry man the nets. Philadelphia got going in the second period with a Joel Farabee goal, his ninth of the season, via Sean Couturier. Pittsburgh tied it on a Kasperi Kapanen goal, his fourth of the year, going in unassisted. The Penguins took the lead with a Kapanen power play goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, powered by Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust. Pittsburgh added on with a Rust goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin. The Flyers got one back in the third period with a Farabee goal, his second of the game and tenth of the season, made possible by James van Riemsdyk and Travis Sanheim. The Penguins countered with a Cody Ceci goal, his second of the year, fueled by Jared McCann and Mark Friedman. Pittsburgh iced it at 5-2 with a Mike Matheson empty net goal, his second of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars belonged to Kapanen, Farabee, and Rust.

Up in Montreal, the Canadiens welcome the Ottawa Senators. Joey Daccord is mismatched with Carey Price in goal. Montreal dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Brendan Gallagher power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Corey Perry and Jeff Petry. The Canadiens added on with a Petry power play goal, his seventh of the year, with assists provided by Tomas Tatar and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Ottawa got on the board with an Artem Zub goal, his second of the season, passed from Drake Batherson and Mike Reilly. Montreal sealed it at 3-1 with a Tyler Toffoli empty net goal, his thirteenth of the year, set up by Nick Suzuki. The three stars were Petry, Price (26 for 27 in saves), and Gallagher.

Back stateside, the New Jersey Devils host the New York Islanders. Semyon Varlamov faces a lesser foe in MacKenzie Blackwood in goal. New York kicked off the scoring in the third period with an Oliver Wahlstrom goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Nick Leddy. The Islanders added on with an Anders Lee goal, his tenth of the year, passed from Andy Greene and Mathew Barzal. New Jersey got on the board with a Miles Wood goal, his seventh of the campaign, powered by Yegor Sharangovich and Nikita Gusev. This only made it 2-1, with the three stars given to Lee, Wahlstrom, and Varlamov (28 for 29 in saves).

Along to Manhattan, as the New York Rangers bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Carter Hutton and Igor Shesterkin draw the starts. New York led off in the first period with a Pavel Buchnevich goal, his sixth of the season, courtesy of Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox. Buffalo tied it on a Sam Reinhart goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Victor Olofsson and Jack Eichel. The Rangers retook the lead with an Alexis Lafreniere goal, his third of the season, assisted by Buchnevich. New York added on in the second period with a Chris Kreider goal, his tenth of the year, fueled by Ryan Lindgren and Fox. The Sabres got one back with a Tobias Rieder goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Rasmus Ristolainen and Rasmus Dahlin. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to Buchnevich, Fox, and Kreider.

Over in Columbus, the Blue Jackets host the Detroit Red Wings. Jonathan Bernier and Joonas Korpisalo protect the nets. Columbus began in the first period with a shorthanded and unassisted Cam Atkinson goal, his tenth of the season. Detroit tied it on an Anthony Mantha power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Christian Djoos and Bobby Ryan. The Blue Jackets took the lead back in the second period with a Riley Nash goal, his second of the season, helped along by Emil Bemstrom and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Columbus added on with a Jack Roslovic power play goal, his fifth of the year, with assists provided by Zach Werenski and Atkinson. The Blue Jackets extended the lead as Boone Jenner scored his seventh of the season, thanks to Werenski and Seth Jones. Thomas Greiss relieved Bernier to start the third period. This stood for a 4-1 win, with the three stars being Atkinson, Werenski, and Korpisalo (19 for 20 in saves).

Down in Nashville, the Predators welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. James Reimer and Juuse Saros are in the blue paint. Carolina opened in the first period with a Sebastian Aho goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Martin Necas. The Hurricanes added on with a Vincent Trocheck power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Dougie Hamilton and Jordan Staal. Pekka Rinne replaced Saros in goal to start the second period. Carolina extended the lead in the second period as Steven Lorentz scored, thanks to Jordan Martinook and Cedric Paquette. Nashville got on the board in the third period with a Calle Jarnkrok power play goal, his fifth of the season, with assists provided by Nick Cousins and Mattias Ekholm. The Predators got closer with an Ekholm goal, his third of the year, via Dante Fabbro and Erik Haula. The Hurricanes iced it at 4-2 with an Aho power play empty net goal, his second of the game and eighth of the campaign, set up by Staal and Jaccob Slavin. The three stars were Aho, Ekholm, and Lorentz.

North to Winnipeg, as the Jets host the Vancouver Canucks. Braden Holtby and Laurent Brossoit are given the starting nods in goal. Winnipeg started in the first period with a Mason Appleton goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Adam Lowry and Kyle Connor. Vancouver tied it on an Elias Pettersson goal, his tenth of the year, via Brock Boeser. The Jets took the lead back with a Mathieu Perreault goal, his fourth of the season, going in unassisted. Winnipeg added on in the second period with a Connor power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. The Canucks pulled back on a J.T. Miller power play goal, his sixth of the season, with assists provided by Quinn Hughes and Boeser. The Jets answered in the third period with a Paul Stastny goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Wheeler and Scheifele. Winnipeg iced it at 5-2 with a Wheeler empty net goal, his seventh of the campaign, set up by Scheifele and Connor. The three stars went to Wheeler, Connor, and Scheifele, while Boeser gets an honorable mention.

Finally, the Dallas Stars bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Anton Khudobin are the Russian goalies. Tampa Bay struck first in the first period with an Ondrej Palat power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos. The Lightning iced it at 2-0 in the third period with a Yanni Gourde empty net goal, his sixth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were awarded to Vasilevskiy (28 save shutout), Palat, and Gourde. 

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