NHL 2021 - Day 62

Ten games on an unusually busy Monday, beginning with...

The Tampa Bay Lightning hosting the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne faces a lesser foe in Curtis McElhinney in goal. Nashville got going in the second period with an Eeli Tolvanen goal, his sixth of the season, passed from Ryan Johansen and Calle Jarnkrok. The Predators added on with a Viktor Arvidsson power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Erik Haula and Jarnkrok. Nashville extended the lead on a Jarnkrok shorthanded goal, his seventh of the season, set up by Mattias Ekholm and the goalie Rinne. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Steven Stamkos goal, his thirteenth of the year, coming off of Yanni Gourde and Alex Killorn. The Predators finished it at 4-1 with an Ekholm empty net goal, his fifth of the campaign, with helpers from Dante Fabbro and Jarnkrok. The three stars were Jarnkrok, Ekholm, and Rinne (38 for 39 in saves). 

Up in Ottawa, the Senators welcome the Vancouver Canucks. Thatcher Demko and Joey Daccord are the young goalies. Vancouver opened in the first period with a Jayce Hawryluk goal, assisted by Brandon Sutter and Jordie Benn. The Canucks added on with an unassisted Tanner Pearson goal, his sixth of the season. Ottawa got on the board in the second period with a Josh Norris goal, his sixth of the year, fueled by Tim Stutzle and Artem Zub. The Senators tied it in the third period with a Colin White goal, his eighth of the season, via Brady Tkachuk. Vancouver won 3-2 in overtime with a J.T. Miller goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Quinn Hughes and Bo Horvat. The three stars were Miller, Pearson, and Demko (44 for 46 in saves). 

Back stateside, the Buffalo Sabres bring in the Washington Capitals. Vitek Vanecek and Carter Hutton man the nets. Washington led off in the first period with an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Justin Schultz and Conor Sheary. The Capitals added on in the second period with a Nicklas Backstrom goal, his eleventh of the year, assisted by T.J. Oshie and Nick Jensen. Washington extended the lead as Richard Panik scored his third of the season, thanks to Dmitry Orlov. The Capitals padded the lead on a Daniel Sprong goal, his sixth of the year, made possible by Jensen. Washington kept going in the third period with a Garnet Hathaway goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Schultz and Carl Hagelin. The Capitals iced it at 6-0 with an Alex Ovechkin goal, his eleventh of the year, via Sheary. The three stars were Vanecek (23 save shutout), Jensen, and Schultz, while Sheary gets an honorable mention. 

In Manhattan, the New York Rangers host the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter Hart and Keith Kinkaid are in the creases. Philadelphia began in the first period with a James van Riemsdyk goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Joel Farabee and Sean Couturier. The Flyers added on with an Ivan Provorov goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Couturier. New York got on the board in the second period with an Artemi Panarin goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Tarmo Reunanen and Ryan Strome. The Rangers tied it on a Colin Blackwell goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by Panarin and Brendan Smith. New York took the lead with a Julien Gauthier goal, his second of the season, fueled by Filip Chytil and Panarin. Philadelphia retied it on a Farabee power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek. The Rangers regained the lead in the third period with a Kevin Rooney goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Brendan Lemieux and Brett Howden. The Flyers tied it again with a Giroux power play goal, his sixth of the year, with assists provided by Voracek and Provorov. Philadelphia won 5-4 in overtime with an unassisted Voracek goal, his fourth of the campaign. The three stars were Voracek, Panarin, and Giroux, while Provorov, Farabee, and Couturier get the honorable mentions. 

West to Pittsburgh, as the Penguins welcome the Boston Bruins. Jaroslav Halak and Tristan Jarry patrol the creases. Boston struck first in the first period with a Matt Grzelcyk power play goal, powered by Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Pittsburgh tied it on an Evan Rodrigues goal, his second of the season, made possible by Kasperi Kapanen and Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins took the lead with a Sidney Crosby goal, his eleventh of the year, helped along by Jake Guentzel and Brian Dumoulin. Pittsburgh added on in the second period with a Malkin power play goal, his eighth of the season, with assists provided by Crosby and Kris Letang. The Penguins iced it at 4-1 in the third period with a Guentzel empty net goal, his eleventh of the year, set up by Bryan Rust and Crosby. The three stars were Crosby, Jarry (42 for 43 in saves), and Malkin, while Guentzel gets an honorable mention. 

Down in Florida, the Panthers bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Kevin Lankinen and Sergei Bobrovsky draw the starts in goal. Chicago kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Patrick Kane goal, his twelfth of the season, via David Kampf. Florida tied it on an Owen Tippett power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Gustav Forsling and Alex Wennberg. The Blackhawks took the lead again in the second period on a Philipp Kurashev goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Mattias Janmark and Calvin de Haan. Chicago added on with a Brandon Hagel goal, his third of the year, guided in by Dominik Kubalik and Duncan Keith. The Panthers got one back with an Aaron Ekblad power play goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Keith Yandle and Jonathan Huberdeau. Florida tied it on a Forsling goal, helped along by Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe. The Panthers pulled ahead in the third period with a shorthanded Barkov goal, his twelfth of the year, set up by Noel Acciari and MacKenzie Weegar. Florida extended the lead as Verhaeghe scored an empty net goal, his eleventh of the season, with the help of Barkov. The Panthers iced it at 6-3 with a Wennberg empty net goal, with helpers from Huberdeau and Patric Hornqvist. The three stars belonged to Barkov, Forsling, and Verhaeghe, while Wennberg and Huberdeau get the honorable mentions. 

Back in Canada, the Winnipeg Jets host the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Connor Hellebuyck tend the twines. Montreal was first to score in the first period with a Jesperi Kotkaniemi goal, his fourth of the season, via Jonathan Drouin and Josh Anderson. The Canadiens added on in the second period with an Anderson power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Tyler Toffoli and Nick Suzuki. Wininpeg got on the board with a Kyle Connor power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, with assists provided by Josh Morrissey and Paul Stastny. Montreal replied with a Toffoli goal, his sixteenth of the year, going in unassisted. The Jets got one back in the third period with a Connor power play goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the season, with helpers from Morrissey and Mark Scheifele. The Canadiens capped it at 4-2 with a Toffoli empty net goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, set up by Joel Edmundson. The three stars were Toffoli, Connor, and Anderson, while Morrissey gets an honorable mention. 

Westward to Calgary, as the Flames welcome the Edmonton Oilers. Mike Smith and Jacob Markstrom protect the nets. Calgary dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Dillon Dube goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Elias Lindholm. The Flames added on with a Lindholm goal, his seventh of the year, guided in by Oliver Kylington and Dube. Edmonton got on the board with an Adam Larsson goal, his third of the season, helped along by Kailer Yamamoto and Tyler Ennis. Calgary replied with an Andrew Mangiapane goal, his ninth of the year, assisted by Milan Lucic and Mikael Backlund. The Oilers got one back with a Josh Archibald goal, his fifth of the season, fueled by Devin Shore and Ethan Bear. Edmonton tied it in the third period with a Leon Draisaitl goal, his seventeenth of the year, coming off of Connor McDavid. The Flames retook the lead with a Noah Hanifin goal, his third of the season, with helpers from Mangiapane and Backlund. The Flames held on for a 4-3 win, with the three stars going to Lindholm, Mangiapane, and Dube, while Backlund gets an honorable mention.

Finally, the Vegas Golden Knights bring in San Jose Sharks. Devan Dubnyk and Marc-Andre Fleury are the veterans in goal. Vegas started in the first period with a Max Pacioretty power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, powered by Mark Stone and Shea Theodore. The Golden Knights added on in the third period with a Stone goal, his tenth of the year, via Pacioretty and Nicolas Hague. San Jose got on the board with a Timo Meier goal, his sixth of the campaign, assisted by Brent Burns. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars going to Stone, Pacioretty, and Fleury (23 for 24 in saves). 

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