NHL 2021 - Day 51

There's ten games on for a busy day today, beginning with...

The Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Brian Elliott and Tristan Jarry are the goalies. Pittsburgh opened in the first period with a Kris Letang goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. The Penguins added on with a Mark Friedman goal, via Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. Pittsburgh extended the lead as Jared McCann scored his fourth of the year, thanks to Kasperi Kapanen and Evgeni Malkin. Philadelphia got on the board with a Sean Couturier power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Travis Konecny and Jakub Voracek. The Flyers got closer in the second period with a Claude Giroux goal, his second of the year, coming off of Oskar Lindblom and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. Philadelphia tied it in the third period on a Scott Laughton goal, his sixth of the season, with assists provided by Giroux and Lindblom. The Flyers pulled ahead with a Giroux goal, his second of the game and third of the season, assisted by Aube-Kubel and Lindblom. This made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars being Giroux, Lindblom, and Aube-Kubel.

Up in Montreal, the Canadiens welcome the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Jake Allen draw the starts in goal. Winnipeg struck first in the first period with a Paul Stastny goal, his sixth of the season, courtesy of Blake Wheeler and Neal Pionk. The Jets added on with a Mathieu Perreault goal, his fifth of the year, going in unassisted. Montreal got on the board in the second period with a Brendan Gallagher power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Tomas Tatar and Corey Perry. The Canadiens tied it on a Tyler Toffoli goal, his fourteenth of the year, assisted by Nick Suzuki and Jonathan Drouin. Winnipeg retook the lead on another Stastny goal in the third period, his second of the game and seventh of the season, via Mark Scheifele. Montreal retied it with a Perry goal, his third of the year, coming off of Drouin and Jeff Petry. The Jets won 4-3 in overtime with a Pierre-Luc Dubois goal, his fifth of the campaign, guided in by Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor. The three stars went to Stastny, Drouin, and Dubois, while Perry gets an honorable mention.

Back stateside, the Carolina Hurricanes bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Jonathan Bernier and Alex Nedeljkovic in the blue paint. Detroit began in the first period with a Filip Zadina goal, his second of the season, assisted by Vladislav Namestnikov and Sam Gagner. Carolina tied it on an Andrei Svechnikov power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Dougie Hamilton and Jordan Staal. The Red Wings took the lead in the second period with another Zadina goal, his second of the game and third of the season, coming off of Adam Erne and Evgeny Svechnikov. The Hurricanes retied it with a Martin Necas goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Vincent Trocheck and Nino Niederreiter. Carolina pulled ahead in the third period on a Staal goal, his eighth of the season, courtesy of Jesper Fast and Hamilton. The Hurricanes added on with a Fast goal, his third of the year, with helpers from Andrei Svechnikov and Staal. Carolina iced it at 5-2 with a Niederreiter empty net goal, his tenth of the campaign, set up by Necas and Jaccob Slavin. The three stars belonged to Staal, Necas, and Fast, while Niederreiter, Andrei Svechnikov, Zadina, and Hamilton get the honorable mentions.

North to New Jersey, as the Devils host the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and MacKenzie Blackwood are the young goalies. New Jersey started in the first period with a Jack Hughes goal, his fifth of the season, via Sami Vatanen. New York tied it in the second period with a Chris Kreider power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Ryan Strome and Pavel Buchnevich. The Rangers took the lead with another Kreider goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the season, passed from Ryan Lindgren and Strome. New York added on in the third period when Kreider completed his natural hat trick on his thirteenth of the year, with the help of Filip Chytil. The Rangers extended the lead as Buchnevich scored his seventh of the season, thanks to Alexis Lafreniere. Aaron Dell replaced Blackwood in goal. New York padded the lead with a Brendan Smith goal, his second of the year, helped along by Phillip Di Giuseppe and Kevin Rooney. The Rangers continued on a Lafreniere goal, his fourth of the campaign, courtesy of Mika Zibanejad. This stood for a 6-2 win, with the three stars being Kreider, Lafreniere, and Buchnevich, while Strome gets an honorable mention.

Along to Long Island, where the New York Islanders welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Jonas Johansson and Ilya Sorokin are the backups in goal. New York led off in the first period with a Noah Dobson goal, his second of the season, made possible by Jordan Eberle and Mathew Barzal. The Islanders added on with a Matt Martin goal, his third of the year, coming off of Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck. Buffalo got on the board in the second period with a Taylor Hall goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Cody Eakin. New York replied with an Anthony Beauvillier goal, his second of the year, passed from Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey. The Islanders extended the lead in the third period as Eberle scored his ninth of the season, with the help of Lee. The Sabres got one back with a Rasmus Ristolainen goal, his third of the year, assisted by Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart. New York replied with a Martin goal, his second of the game and fourth of the season, with a helper from Cizikas. This held for a 5-2 win, with the three stars being Martin, Eberle, and Cizikas.

Westward to Chicago, as the Blackhawks bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Kevin Lankinen guard the cages. Chicago got going in the second period with a Ryan Carpenter shorthanded goal, his fourth of the season, set up by Brandon Hagel. The Blackhawks added on with an Alex DeBrincat goal, his twelfth of the year, assisted by Patrick Kane and Connor Murphy. Tampa Bay got on the board with an Anthony Cirelli shorthanded goal in the third period, his sixth of the campaign, set up by Jan Rutta and Alex Killorn. The Lightning tied it on a Steven Stamkos goal, his eleventh of the season, via Yanni Gourde. Tampa Bay won 3-2 in overtime with a Killorn goal, his fourth of the year, set up Victor Hedman. The three stars were Killorn, Stamkos, and Cirelli.

Down in Nashville, the Predators host the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Pekka Rinne are the experienced goalies. Florida kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Carter Verhaeghe goal, his eighth of the season, passed from Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad. The Panthers added on with a Mason Marchment goal, made possible by Ekblad. Florida extended the lead in the second period as Jonathan Huberdeau scored his ninth of the year, coming off of Patric Hornqvist. Nashville got on the board with a Mattias Ekholm goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Viktor Arvidsson and Roman Josi. The Panthers replied with an Ekblad power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Barkov and Huberdeau. The Predators pulled one back with a Filip Forsberg goal, his tenth of the season, fueled by Arvidsson and Ekholm. Florida shot back in the third period with another Ekblad power play goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, with assists provided by Barkov and Keith Yandle. Nashville chipped back on a Colton Sissons goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Brad Richardson and Forsberg. The Predators got closer on a Ryan Johansen goal, with helpers from Arvidsson and Forsberg. This only made it 5-4, the final, with the three stars given to Ekblad, Barkov, and Huberdeau, while Forsberg, Ekholm, and Arvidsson get the honorable mentions.

Further south, the Dallas Stars welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets. Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Khudobin protect the nets. Columbus dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Boone Jenner goal, his eighth of the season, made possible by Nick Foligno and David Savard. The Blue Jackets added on in the third period with an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal, his seventh of the year, going in unassisted. Columbus extended the lead as Eric Robinson scored his fourth of the season, thanks to Jenner and Gabriel Carlsson. Dallas got on the board with a Miro Heiskanen goal, via Jamie Benn and Joe Pavelski. The Stars got closer with a Jason Robertson goal, his third of the year, helped along by Esa Lindell and John Klingberg. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars being Jenner, Robinson, and Bjorkstrand.

Way up north, the Calgary Flames bring in the Ottawa Senators. Matt Murray and David Rittich patrol the creases. Calgary drew first blood in the first period with a Brett Ritchie goal, assisted by Derek Ryan and Rasmus Andersson. The Flames added on with a Dillon Dube goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm. Ottawa got on the board with a Josh Norris goal, his fifth of the year, passed from Brady Tkachuk and Connor Brown. Calgary replied with a Sean Monahan goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. The Flames extended the lead as Josh Leivo scored, with the help of Johnny Gaudreau and Monahan. Joey Daccord replaced Murray in goal. Calgary padded the lead in the second period on a Dube goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, courtesy of Matthew Tkachuk and Mark Giordano. The Flames continued in the third period with a Dube goal to complete his hat trick with his sixth of the season, made possible by Matthew Tkachuk. The Senators got one back with an Artem Anisimov power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Erik Brannstrom and Norris. Ottawa got closer with a Ryan Dzingel goal, his third of the season, with a lone assist by Thomas Chabot. Calgary fired back on a Ryan goal, via Ritchie. The final held at 7-3, with the three stars given to Dube, Matthew Tkachuk, and Ryan, while Ritchie, Monahan, and Norris get the honorable mentions.

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Michael Hutchinson and Thatcher Demko are in the creases. Vancouver was first to score in the first period with a Jake Virtanen goal, his second of the season, helped along by Quinn Hughes and Tanner Pearson. Toronto tied it on a Pierre Engvall goal, his second of the year, coming off of Ilya Mikheyev. The Canucks took the lead back in the second period with a Virtanen power play goal, his second of the game and third of the season, powered by Adam Gaudette and Tyler Myers. Vancouver added on in the third period with a Bo Horvat goal, his tenth of the year, assisted by Alexander Edler and Nate Schmidt. The final remained at 3-1, with the three stars handed to Virtanen, Horvat, and Demko (32 for 33 in saves). 

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