NHL 2021 - Day 102

Eleven games on for Saturday, beginning with...

The Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the New Jersey Devils. MacKenzie Blackwood and Casey DeSmith are the goalies. Pittsburgh opened in the first period with a Jeff Carter goal, his tenth of the season, fueled by Jason Zucker and Mike Matheson. The Penguins added on with a Jared McCann power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Jake Guentzel and Kris Letang. Pittsburgh extended the lead in the second period as Bryan Rust scored his twentieth of the season, thanks to Guentzel and Cody Ceci. New Jersey got on the board with a Jack Hughes goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Yegor Sharangovich and Will Butcher. The Devils got closer in the third period with a Miles Wood goal, his fifteenth of the season, coming off of Ryan Murray and Damon Severson. The Penguins iced it at 4-2 with a Sidney Crosby empty net goal, his twentieth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Guentzel, Rust, and DeSmith (34 for 36 in saves). 

Out in St. Louis, the Blues welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Devan Dubnyk and Jordan Binnington receive the starting nods in goal. Colorado started in the first period with a Cale Makar power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Andre Burakovsky and Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche added on with a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his seventeenth of the year, via Makar and MacKinnon. St. Louis got on the board with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his eighteenth of the season, assisted by Brayden Schenn. The Blues tied it with another O'Reilly goal, his second of the game and nineteenth of the year, helped along by Schenn and Colton Parayko. St. Louis took the lead with an Ivan Barbashev goal, his fourth of the season, courtesy of Torey Krug and Sammy Blais. Colorado retied it in the second period with a MacKinnon power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, with assists provided by Makar and Burakovsky. The Blues regained the lead on a Mike Hoffman power play goal in the third period, his fourteenth of the season, coming off of Krug and O'Reilly. St. Louis iced it at 5-3 with an O'Reilly empty net goal, his twentieth of the year, set up by Tyler Bozak. The three stars were O'Reilly, MacKinnon, and Schenn, while Makar, Krug, and Burakovsky get the honorable mentions. 

Down in Florida, the Panthers bring in the Carolina Hurricanes. Alex Nedeljkovic and Chris Driedger are the goalies. Carolina began in the first period with a Dougie Hamilton goal, his seventh of the season, via Andrei Svechnikov and Steven Lorentz. Florida tied it on a MacKenzie Weegar goal, his fourth of the year, assisted by Jonathan Huberdeau and Sam Bennett. The Hurricanes retook the lead in the second period with a Hamilton power play goal, his second of the game and eighth of the season, powered by Sebastian Aho and Vincent Trocheck. Carolina added on in the third period with a Svechnikov goal, his fourteenth of the year, helped along by Brett Pesce and Jake Gardiner. The Panthers got one back with a Gustav Forsling goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Huberdeau and Weegar. Florida tied it on an Alex Wennberg shorthanded goal, his twelfth of the year, set up by Weegar and Anthony Duclair. The Panthers won 4-3 in overtime with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his twenty-second of the campaign, passed from the goalie Driedger. The three stars were Weegar, Huberdeau, and Hamilton, while Svechnikov gets an honorable mention.

North to Long Island, as the New York Islanders host the Washington Capitals. Ilya Samsonov and Ilya Sorokin are the Russian goalies. Washington led off in the first period with a Garnet Hathaway goal, his fifth of the season, helped along by Nick Jensen. The Capitals added on with a T.J. Oshie goal, his seventeenth of the year, passed from Nicklas Backstrom and Anthony Mantha. New York got on the board with an Anthony Beauvillier power play goal, his tenth of the season, going in unassisted. The Islanders retied it on an Adam Pelech shorthanded goal, his third of the year, going in unassisted. Washington regained the lead on a Nic Dowd goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Trevor van Riemsdyk and Brenden Dillon. The Capitals extended the lead as Daniel Sprong scored his eighth of the year, thanks to Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dillon. New York pulled one back on a Jean-Gabriel Pageau power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, with assists provided by Noah Dobson and Mathew Barzal. Washington answered in the third period with a Kuznetsov goal, his ninth of the year, going in unassisted. The Capitals padded the lead with a Sprong goal, his second of the game and ninth of the season, via Tom Wilson and Kuznetsov. This made it 6-3, the final, with the three stars going to Kuznetsov, Sprong, and Dillon.

Moving on to Winnipeg, as the Jets welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jack Campbell and Connor Hellebuyck are the masked men. Winnipeg struck first in the first period with a Nikolaj Ehlers goal, his twenty-first of the season, via Paul Stastny and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Toronto tied it with a Joe Thornton goal, his fourth of the year, assisted by Jason Spezza and Adam Brooks. The Maple Leafs took the lead with a Mitchell Marner goal, his seventeenth of the season, coming off of Jake Muzzin and Nick Foligno. Toronto added on in the second period with a John Tavares goal, his seventeenth of the year, passed from William Nylander and Rasmus Sandin. The Maple Leafs iced it at 4-1 in the third period with an Alexander Kerfoot empty net goal, his eighth of the campaign, set up by Ilya Mikheyev and Justin Holl. The three stars were Marner, Campbell (25 for 26 in saves), and Tavares.

Over in Calgary, the Flames bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Cayden Primeau is mismatched with Jacob Markstrom in goal. Montreal kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Nick Suzuki goal, his ninth of the season, made possible by Jake Evans and Erik Gustafsson. Calgary tied it on a Johnny Gaudreau goal, his sixteenth of the year, guided in by Matthew Tkachuk and Christopher Tanev. The Flames took the lead in the second period with a Milan Lucic goal, his ninth of the season, via Derek Ryan. Calgary added on with a Gaudreau goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, fueled by Andrew Mangiapane. The Canadiens got one back with a Tyler Toffoli power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, powered by Corey Perry and Gustafsson. The Flames fired back in the third period with a Brett Ritchie goal, his third of the year, assisted by Ryan and Joakim Nordstrom. Calgary iced it at 5-2 with a Rasmus Andersson empty net goal, his fourth of the campaign, going in unassisted.

Back east, the Detroit Red Wings host the Dallas Stars. Anton Khudobin and Jonathan Bernier are between the pipes. Detroit was first to score in the first period with a Dennis Cholowski goal, coming off of Evgeny Svechnikov and Richard Panik. Dallas tied it in the third period with a Mark Pysyk goal, his second of the season, via Jason Robertson and Jamie Oleksiak. The Stars won 2-1 in overtime with a Jamie Benn goal, his tenth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Benn, Bernier (50 for 52 in saves), and Pysyk.

Across the country, the San Jose Sharks welcome the Minnesota Wild. Kaapo Kahkonen and Martin Jones man the nets. Minnesota cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Ryan Suter goal, his second of the season, via Jordan Greenway. The Wild added on with a Marcus Foligno goal, his ninth of the year, coming off of Joel Eriksson Ek. Minnesota extended the lead as Jared Spurgeon scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello. Josef Korenar replaced Jones in goal. The Wild padded the lead in the second period with a Kevin Fiala goal, his seventeenth of the year, made possible by Marcus Johansson and Spurgeon. San Jose got on the board in the third period with a Logan Couture goal, his fifteenth of the season, fueled by Timo Meier and Rudolfs Balcers. Minnesota shot back with a Kirill Kaprizov power play goal, his twenty-second of the year, powered by Fiala and Nick Bonino. The Sharks replied with an Evander Kane goal, his eighteenth of the season, helped along by Tomas Hertl and Nikolai Knyzhov. San Jose got closer with a Joachim Blichfeld unassisted goal. The Wild capped it at 6-3 with a Bonino empty net goal, his seventh of the year, set up by Ian Cole. The three stars went to Spurgeon, Fiala, and Blichfeld.

Down in Anaheim, the Ducks bring in the Vegas Golden Knights. Robin Lehner and John Gibson tend the twines. Vegas drew first blood in the first period with a Chandler Stephenson goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Max Pacioretty. The Golden Knights added on with another Stephenson goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the year, via Shea Theodore. Vegas extended the lead in the second period as William Carrier scored his fifth of the season, with the help of Alex Pietrangelo. Anaheim got on the board in the third period with a Sam Steel goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Troy Terry and Alexander Volkov. The Golden Knights shot back with a William Karlsson goal, his twelfth of the season, coming off of Jonathan Marchessault and Pietrangelo. Vegas padded the lead on a Theodore goal, his seventh of the year, with helpers from Brayden McNabb and Stephenson. The final stood at 5-1 with the three stars going to Stephenson, Theodore, and Pietrangelo.

In Los Angeles, the Kings host the Arizona Coyotes. Darcy Kuemper and Calvin Petersen protect the nets. Arizona got going in the first period with a John Hayden goal, made possible by Derick Brassard and Lane Pederson. The Coyotes added on in the second period with a Lawson Crouse goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Alex Goligoski and Phil Kessel. Arizona extended the lead in the third period on a Jakob Chychrun power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, powered by Goligoski. The Coyotes padded the lead with a Kessel goal, his seventeenth of the season, going in unassisted. This made it 4-0, the final, with the three stars awarded to Kuemper (26 save shutout), Kessel, and Goligoski.

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks host the Ottawa Senators. Matt Murray and Braden Holtby draw the starts in goal. Vancouver dented the scoreboard in the first period with a Nate Schmidt goal, his fourth of the season, going in unassisted. Ottawa tied it on a Colin White goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Josh Brown and Evgenii Dadonov. Marcus Hogberg replaced an injured Murray in the second period. The Canucks took the lead back in the second period with a Brock Boeser power play goal, his seventeenth of the season, powered by Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller. The Senators tied it in the third period with a Dadonov goal, his thirteenth of the year, going in unassisted. Vancouver reclaimed the lead on a Tanner Pearson goal, his ninth of the season, helped along by Bo Horvat and Travis Hamonic. The Canucks added on with an empty net goal by Miller, his tenth of the year, set up by Tyler Motte and Horvat. This made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars going to Miller, Horvat, and Dadonov. 

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