NHL 2021 - Day 60

We've got 12 games on Saturday, with two matinees. First up...

The Boston Bruins host the New York Rangers. Keith Kinkaid and Jaroslav Halak man the nets. New York led off in the first period with a K'Andre Miller goal, his second of the season, assisted by Pavel Buchnevich and Mika Zibanejad. The Rangers added on in the second period with a Chris Kreider goal, his fourteenth of the year, via Zibanejad and Jacob Trouba. New York extended the lead in the third period as Ryan Strome scored his tenth of the season, thanks to Artemi Panarin and Colin Blackwell. The Rangers capped it at 4-0 with a Buchnevich goal, his eighth of the year, courtesy of Kreider. The three stars were Kinkaid (18 save shutout), Kreider, and Buchnevich, while Zibanejad gets an honorable mention. 

Over in Columbus, the Blue Jackets welcome the Dallas Stars. Jake Oettinger and Elvis Merzlikins patrol the creases. Columbus began in the first period with a Max Domi goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Jack Roslovic and Emil Bemstrom. Dallas tied it on an Andrew Cogliano goal, his third of the year, guided in by Radek Faksa and Jamie Oleksiak. The Stars took the lead in the second period with an Andrej Sekera goal, via Cogliano and Blake Comeau. The Blue Jackets retied it on a Cam Atkinson goal, his eleventh of the season, made possible by Domi and Roslovic. Columbus took the lead with a Nick Foligno goal, his fifth of the year, with a lone helper from Zach Werenski. Dallas tied it again in the third period with a Denis Gurianov goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Jason Dickinson and Jamie Benn. The Blue Jackets won 4-3 in overtime with a Werenski goal, his second of the year, passed from Oliver Bjorkstrand and Roslovic. The three stars were Werenski, Roslovic, and Domi, while Cogliano gets an honorable mention. 

Up in Toronto, the Maple Leafs bring in the Winnipeg Jets. Laurent Brossoit is mismatched with Frederik Andersen in goal. Winnipeg dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Mason Appleton goal, his eighth of the season, courtesy of Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp. Toronto got on the board with a Jake Muzzin shorthanded goal, his second of the year, set up Mitchell Marner. The Maple Leafs took the lead with a William Nylander goal, his twelfth of the season, fueled by Joe Thornton and Justin Holl. The Jets tied it again with a Paul Stastny goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Mark Scheifele and Logan Stanley. Winnipeg took the lead with a Lowry goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Appleton and Dylan DeMelo. The Jets added on with a Nikolaj Ehlers goal, his fourteenth of the year, helped along by Neal Pionk and Copp. Winnipeg extended the lead as Scheifele scored his twelfth of the season on the power play, thanks to Josh Morrissey and Blake Wheeler. The three stars were Appleton, Lowry, and Scheifele, while Copp gets an honorable mention.

Back stateside, the Philadelphia Flyers host the Washington Capitals. Ilya Samsonov and Brian Elliott draw the starts in goal. Washington opened in the first period with a Daniel Sprong goal, his fifth of the season, guided in by Jakub Vrana and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Capitals added on with a Carl Hagelin goal, his third of the year, via Nick Jensen and Garnet Hathaway. Philadelphia got on the board in the second period with a James van Riemsdyk goal, his twelfth of the season, going in unassisted. Washington replied with a Jensen goal, his second of the year, coming off of Hagelin. Carter Hart replaced Elliott in goal. The Flyers got one back with a Nolan Patrick goal, his third of the season, assisted by Jakub Voracek and Travis Sanheim. The Capitals shot back with an Alex Ovechkin power play goal, his tenth of the year, powered by Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson. Washington extended the lead as Nic Dowd scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Hathaway and Carlson. Philadelphia countered with a Shayne Gostisbehere power play goal, his fifth of the year, with assists provided by Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny. Flyers got closer on a Claude Giroux goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Voracek and Sanheim. This only made it 5-4, the final, with the three stars going to Jensen, Hagelin, and Carlson, while Hathaway, Voracek, and Sanheim get the honorable mentions.

South to Florida, as the Panthers welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Kevin Lankinen and Sergei Bobrovsky are in the blue paint. Chicago got going in the second period with a Brandon Hagel goal, his second of the season, guided in by Dominik Kubalik and David Kampf. Florida tied it on an Aleksander Barkov goal, his tenth of the year, assisted by Anthony Duclair and MacKenzie Weegar. The Panthers took the lead with a Carter Verhaeghe goal, his tenth of the season, fueled by Duclair and Barkov. Florida added on with a Frank Vatrano goal, his tenth of the year, via Owen Tippett and Radko Gudas. The Panthers extended the lead as Barkov scored his second of the game and eleventh of the season, with the help of Duclair and Verhaeghe. The Blackhawks got one back on an Adam Boqvist goal, his second of the year, coming off of Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane. This only made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars going to Barkov, Verhaeghe, and Duclair.

Staying in the state, the Tampa Bay Lightning bring in the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Andrei Vasilevskiy are the veterans in goal. Tampa Bay started in the first period with a Tyler Johnson goal, his sixth of the season, helped along by Erik Cernak and Blake Coleman. The Lightning added on with a Mathieu Joseph goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Cernak and Steven Stamkos. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Alex Killorn scored his seventh of the season on the power play, powered by Ondrej Palat and Victor Hedman. Nashville got on the board with a Yakov Trenin goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Viktor Arvidsson. The Lightning replied with a Brayden Point goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Mikhail Sergachev. The Predators got one back in the third period with an Alexandre Carrier goal, with assists from Trenin and Mathieu Olivier. Nashville got closer with an Erik Haula power play goal, his third of the year, guided in by Calle Jarnkrok and Nick Cousins. Tampa Bay fired back on a Coleman goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Barclay Goodrow and Johnson. The Lightning iced it at 6-3 with an empty net goal by Ryan McDonagh, his third of the year, set up by Palat. The three stars were Johnson, Palat, and Cernak, while Trenin gets an honorable mention.

Back up north, the Buffalo Sabres host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Casey DeSmith and Carter Hutton are set to start in goal. Pittsburgh cracked the scoresheet in the second period with a Jake Guentzel power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. The Penguins added on in the third period with a Sidney Crosby empty net goal, his tenth of the year, set up by Ketang. Pittsburgh iced it at 3-0 with a Mark Jankowski empty net goal, his second of the campaign, helped along by Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev. The three stars belonged to DeSmith (24 save shutout), Guentzel, and Letang.

Over in New Jersey, the Devils welcome the New York Islanders. Semyon Varlamov and MacKenzie Blackwood are the masked men. New Jersey struck first in the first period with a Pavel Zacha goal, his seventh of the season, fueled by Kyle Palmieri and Ryan Murray. New York tied it on an Oliver Wahlstrom goal, his fifth of the year, going in unassisted. The Devils retook the lead in the second period with a Janne Kuokkanen goal, his fourth of the season, via Yegor Sharangovich and Travis Zajac. The Islanders tied it in the third period with a Kieffer Bellows goal, assisted by Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle. New York took the lead on another Bellows goal, coming off of Eberle. The final stood at 3-2, with the three stars being Bellows, Eberle, and Wahlstrom.

Out west, the Calgary Flames bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Jacob Markstrom tend the twines. Calgary kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Sean Monahan goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Brett Ritchie. The Flames added on with a Monahan power play goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, powered by Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm. Calgary extended the lead in the second period as Mikael Backlund scored his fifth of the season, with the help of Andrew Mangiapane and Milan Lucic. Montreal got on the board with a Jeff Petry goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Jonathan Drouin and Joel Edmundson. Calgary won 3-1, with the three stars being Monahan, Markstrom (24 for 25 in saves), and Backlund.

Backtracking to St. Louis, as the Blues host the Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury faces a lesser foe in Ville Husso in goal. Vegas drew first blood in the first period on a Shea Theodore goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson. The Golden Knights added on with a Mark Stone goal, his eighth of the year, via Max Pacioretty and Theodore in the third period. St. Louis got on the board with a Sammy Blais goal, his third of the season, coming off of Vladimir Tarasenko and Justin Faulk. Vegas replied with a Pacioretty goal, his thirteenth of the year, fueled by Chandler Stephenson and Brayden McNabb. The Golden Knights replied with a Stone goal, his second of the game and ninth of the season, courtesy of Pacioretty and Stephenson. Vegas iced it at 5-1 with an Alex Tuch empty net goal, his thirteenth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Pacioretty, Stone, and Fleury (34 for 35 in saves), while Theodore and Stephenson get the honorable mentions.

In Anaheim, the Ducks welcome the San Jose Sharks. Martin Jones and Ryan Miller are the goalies. San Jose was first to score in the first period with an Evander Kane goal, his eleventh of the season, going in unassisted. Anaheim tied it with a Max Jones goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by Kevin Shattenkirk and Isac Lundestrom. The Sharks retook the lead with a Kevin Labanc goal, his seventh of the season, via Tomas Hertl and Mario Ferraro. San Jose added on with a Dylan Gambrell goal, courtesy of Ryan Donato and John Leonard. This held for a 3-1 win, with the three stars going to Jones (26 for 27 in saves), Labanc, and Gambrell.

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Mikko Koskinen and Thatcher Demko protect the nets. Vancouver got on the board in the second period with a Bo Horvat power play goal, his twelfth of the season, going in unassisted. Edmonton tied it on a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, powered by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid. The Canucks took the lead with a Tyler Myers goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Jordie Benn and Nils Hoglander in the third period. The Canucks won 2-1, with the three stars given to Demko (34 for 35 in saves), Myers, and Horvat. 

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