NHL 2021 - Day 72

Eleven games on tonight, beginning with...

The Boston Bruins hosting the New York Islanders. Semyon Varlamov and Tuukka Rask tend the twines. Boston struck first in the first period with a Karson Kuhlman goal, coming off of Charlie McAvoy and Anders Bjork. The Bruins added on with a Steven Kampfer power play goal, powered by McAvoy and David Krejci. Jaroslav Halak replaced an injured Rask to start the second period. New York got on the board in the second period with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his eleventh of the season, guided in by Scott Mayfield and Leo Komarov. The Islanders tied it in the third period with a Josh Bailey goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Brock Nelson and Nick Leddy. New York took the lead on an Oliver Wahlstrom goal, his ninth of the season, via Pageau and Anthony Beauvillier. Boston retied it on a Bjork goal, his second of the year, with a lone assist by Charlie Coyle. The Islanders won 4-3 in overtime with a Beauvillier goal, his fifth of the campaign, made possible by Leddy and Pageau. The three stars belonged to Beauvillier, Pageau, and Leddy, while Bjork and McAvoy get the honorable mentions.

Over in Philadelphia, the Flyers welcome the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Carter Hart are the masked men. New York opened in the first period with a Ryan Strome goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox. The Rangers added on with a Pavel Buchnevich goal, his twelfth of the year, via Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. New York extended the lead on a Zibanejad power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Fox and Strome. The Rangers padded the lead on a Zibanejad power play goal in the second period, his second of the game and ninth of the year, guided in by Fox and Strom. New York continued when Zibanejad completed his hat trick on the power play with his tenth of the season, thanks to Strome and Fox. Brian Elliott replaced Hart in goal. The Rangers kept going with a K'Andre Miller goal, his third of the year, fueled by Brendan Lemieux and Zibanejad. Philadelphia got on the board with a Claude Giroux goal, his eighth of the season, with helpers from Kevin Hayes and Joel Farabee. The Flyers got closer on a Hayes power play goal, his tenth of the year, with assists provided by Sean Couturier and Shayne Gostisbehere. New York answered with a shorthanded goal by Buchnevich, his second of the game and thirteenth of the season, set up by Fox and Zibanejad. Philadelphia pulled back on a Couturier power play goal, his ninth of the year, dished from Travis Konecny and Gostisbehere. The Rangers countered with a Filip Chytil goal, set up by Alexis Lafreniere and Jacob Trouba. The final stood at 8-3, with the three stars awarded to Zibanejad, Fox, and Buchnevich, while Strome, Couturier, Hayes, and Gostisbehere get the honorable mentions.

Along to DC, as the Washington Capitals bring in the New Jersey Devils. MacKenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek man the nets. New Jersey started in the first period with an unassisted Nicholas Merkley goal, his second of the season. Washington tied it on a Dmitry Orlov goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Justin Schultz and Daniel Sprong. The Devils took the lead in the second period with a Miles Wood goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Janne Kuokkanen and Damon Severson. The Capitals tied it on an Alex Ovechkin goal, his fifteenth of the year, helped along by Sprong and John Carlson. Washington pulled ahead with an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, his fourth of the season, via Ovechkin and Brenden Dillon. New Jersey retied it on a Jesper Bratt power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Ty Smith and Pavel Zacha. The Capitals retook the lead with a Kuznetsov goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, guided in by Schultz. The final held from here at 4-3, with the three stars going to Kuznetsov, Ovechkin and Sprong, while Schultz gets an honorable mention.

West to Columbus, with the Blue Jackets hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. Alex Nedeljkovic and Joonas Korpisalo start in goal. Columbus got going in the second period with a Zach Werenski goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Kevin Stenlund and Seth Jones. Carolina tied it on a Cedric Paquette goal, his third of the year, guided in by Brady Skjei and Steven Lorentz. The Hurricanes took the lead with a Martin Necas goal, his seventh of the season, via Andrei Svechnikov and Jake Bean. The Blue Jackets tied it in the third period with a Cam Atkinson power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Patrik Laine and Jones. Carolina retook the lead on a Nino Niederreiter goal, his fourteenth of the season, passed from Jaccob Slavin and Dougie Hamilton. Columbus tied it on an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal, his twelfth of the year, fueled by Atkinson and Jones. The Hurricanes won 4-3 in overtime with a Sebastian Aho goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, set up by Necas. The three stars were Necas, Jones, and Atkinson.

Up in Ottawa, the Senators welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jack Campbell and Anton Forsberg are the backups in goal. Ottawa began in the first period with a Connor Brown shorthanded goal, his seventh of the season, set up by Chris Tierney. Toronto tied it in the second period with an Ilya Mikheyev goal, his fifth of the year, passed from T.J. Brodie and Zach Hyman. The Maple Leafs took the lead in the third period with a Jason Spezza goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Alexander Kerfoot. The Senators tied it on an Alex Formenton goal, guided in by Clark Bishop and Ryan Dzingel. Toronto won 3-2 in overtime with a Justin Holl goal, his second of the year, made possible by Mitchell Marner and Auston Matthews. The three stars were Holl, Spezza, and Mikehyev.

Back stateside, the Pittsburgh Penguins bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Dustin Tokarski and Casey DeSmith are in the blue paint. Pittsburgh led off in the first period with a Radim Zohorna goal, courtesy of Anthony Angello and Frederick Gaudreau. The Penguins added on with a Jared McCann power play goal in the second period, his sixth of the season, powered by Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby. Pittsburgh extended the lead in the third period as McCann scored on the power play again, his second of the game and seventh of the year, thanks to Letang and Crosby. The Penguins iced it at 4-0 with a Jake Guentzel empty net goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, set up by Bryan Rust and Crosby. The three stars were DeSmith (36 save shutout), McCann, and Crosby, while Letang gets an honorable mention.

Over in Chicago, the Blackhawks host the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Kevin Lankinen patrol the creases. Chicago dented the scoreboard in the second period on a Patrick Kane power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, powered by Carl Soderberg and Brandon Hagel. The Blackhawks added on with a Pius Suter goal, his tenth of the year, via Alex DeBrincat and Kane. Chicago iced it at 3-0 in the third period with a Hagel empty net goal, his fourth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars belonged to Lankinen (41 save shutout), Kane, and Hagel.

North to Minnesota, as the Wild welcome the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Cam Talbot guard the cages. Minnesota cracked the scoresheet in the second period with a Marcus Johansson goal, his third of the season, fueled by Kevin Fiala and Jonas Brodin. The Wild added on with a Kirill Kaprizov goal, his eleventh of the year, assisted by Mats Zuccarello. This made it 2-0, the final, with the three stars given to Talbot (37 save shutout), Johansson, and Kaprizov.

Back south to Nashville, as the Predators bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Thomas Greiss and Juuse Saros are set to start in goal. Nashville kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Rocco Grimaldi goal, his fourth of the season, via Erik Haula and Nick Cousins. The Predators added on with an Eeli Tolvanen power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Roman Josi. Nashville extended the lead as Grimaldi scored his second of the game and fifth of the season, going in unassisted. Calvin Pickard replaced Greiss in goal. The Predators padded the lead with a Grimaldi goal to complete his hat trick on his sixth of the year, thanks to Haula. Detroit got on the board with a Bobby Ryan power play goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Christian Djoos and Robby Fabbri. Nashville answered in the second period with a Mikael Granlund goal, his seventh of the year, helped along by Josi and Dante Fabbro. The Predators continued in the third period with a Mathieu Olivier goal, his third of the season, guided in by Ben Harpur. Nashville struck again with a Grimaldi goal, his fourth of the game and seventh of the year, an unassisted tally. The final was 7-1, with the three stars handed to Grimaldi, Josi, and Haula.

Further south to Dallas, as the Stars host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevksiy and Jake Oettinger draw the starts in goal. Tampa Bay drew first blood in the second period with a Yanni Gourde goal, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Cal Foote and Ondrej Palat. The Lightning added on with an Alex Killorn goal, his tenth of the year, via Mikhail Sergachev and Anthony Cirelli. Dallas got on the board with a Miro Heiskanen goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Blake Comeau. The Stars tied it in the second period with a Joe Pavelski power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, powered by Roope Hintz and John Klingberg. Dallas took the lead with a Jason Robertson goal, his fifth of the season, guided in by Pavelski and Hintz. Tampa Bay tied it in the third period with a Palat goal, his twelfth of the year, passed from Gourde and Victor Hedman. The Stars reclaimed the lead with a Hintz goal, his tenth of the season, courtesy of Robertson and Pavelski. This stood for a 4-3 win, with the three stars being Hintz, Pavelski, and Robertson, while Palat and Gourde get the honorable mentions.

Finally, the Colorado Avalanche host the Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury and Philipp Grubauer protect the nets. Vegas was first to score in the first period with a Max Pacioretty goal, his seventeenth of the season, made possible by Mark Stone and Alec Martinez. Colorado tied it in the second period with a Joonas Donskoi power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Samuel Girard and Devon Toews. The Avalanche took the lead with a J.T. Compher goal, his third of the season, going in unassisted. Colorado added on with a Cale Makar goal, his third of the year, passed from Logan O'Connor and Gabriel Landeskog. The Avalanche extended the lead as Landeskog scored his eleventh of the season, helped along by Mikko Rantanen and Makar. Colorado padded the lead in the third period as Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored his fourth of the year, thanks to Compher. This made it 5-1, the final, with the three stars being Compher, Makar, and Landeskog. 

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