NHL 2021 - Day 105

Eight games on today, beginning with...

The Washington Capitals hosting the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin and Vitek Vanecek are the young goalies. Washington led off in the first period with a Daniel Sprong goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Dmitry Orlov. This held up as a 1-0 win for the Capitals, with the three stars awarded to Vanecek (18 save shutout), Sprong, and Sorokin (32 for 33 in saves).

Over in Pittsburgh, the Penguins welcome the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Tristan Jarry are the goalies. Boston dented the scoreboard in the second period with a David Krejci goal, his seventh of the season, via Charlie McAvoy and the goalie Rask. The Bruins added on with a Brad Marchand goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, assisted by David Pastrnak and Curtis Lazar. Boston extended the lead as Taylor Hall scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Krejci and Mike Reilly. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Jeff Carter goal, his eleventh of the year, passed from Kris Letang and Kasperi Kapanen. This only made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars being Krejci, Rask (25 for 26 in saves), and Marchand.

To New Jersey, as the Devils host the Philadelphia Flyers. Brian Elliott and MacKenzie Blackwood are in goal. New Jersey began in the first period with a Nico Hischier power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Jack Hughes and Pavel Zacha. The Devils added on in the second period with a Zacha power play goal, his twelfth of the year, with assists provided by Hughes and Ty Smith. New Jersey extended the lead as Miles Wood scored his seventeenth of the season, going in unassisted. Philadelphia got on the board with an Oskar Lindblom goal, his eighth of the year, guided in by Jackson Cates and Nolan Patrick. The Flyers pulled closer in the third period with a Philippe Myers goal, going in unassisted. Philadelphia tied it on a Claude Giroux goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Jakub Voracek and Robert Hagg. The Devils regained the lead on a Connor Carrick goal, guided in by Smith and Michael McLeod. The Flyers retied it on a Sean Couturier goal, his fifteenth of the year, going in unassisted. New Jersey restored the lead with a Yegor Sharangovich goal, his twelfth of the season, helped along by Janne Kuokkanen. The Devils iced it at 6-4 with a Mikhail Maltsev empty net goal, his sixth of the year, set up by McLeod. The three stars were Zacha, Hughes, and Smith, while McLeod gets an honorable mention.

Next up, the New York Rangers bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is mismatched with Igor Shesterkin in goal. New York got going in the second period with a Brendan Smith goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. Buffalo tied it on a Sam Reinhart power play goal, his twenty-second of the year, powered by Casey Mittelstadt. The Rangers took the lead with an Alexis Lafreniere goal, his tenth of the season, coming off of Ryan Strome and Adam Fox in the third period. New York added on with a Mika Zibanejad power play goal, his twentieth of the year, with assists provided by Chris Kreider and Strome. This stood for a 3-1 win, with the three stars being Strome, Lafreniere, and Shesterkin (36 for 37 in saves).

West to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets host the Detroit Red Wings. Thomas Greiss and Elvis Merzlikins man the nets. The game remained scoreless into the shootout, where Patrik Laine and Oliver Bjorkstrand tallied to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 win. The three stars belonged to Merzlikins (41 save shutout), Greiss (33 save "shutout"), and Laine.

Down in Nashville, the Predators welcome the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Juuse Saros guard the cages. Nashville started in the first period with a Ryan Ellis goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Mattias Ekholm. Florida tied it on an Aleksander Barkov power play goal, his twenty-third of the year, powered by Keith Yandle and Jonathan Huberdeau. The Panthers retook the lead with an Anthony Duclair power play goal in the second period, his seventh of the season, with assists provided by Huberdeau and Sam Bennett. The Predators tied it on a Luke Kunin goal, his eighth of the year, guided in by Calle Jarnkrok and Mikael Granlund. Nashville took the lead with a Tanner Jeannot goal, his third of the season, passed from Roman Josi and Colton Sissons. Florida retied it on another Barkov goal, his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the year, helped along by Owen Tippett and MacKenzie Weegar. The Predators reclaimed the lead with Ellis' second goal of the game and fifth of the season, assisted by Matt Duchene and Nick Cousins. Spencer Knight replaced Bobrovsky in goal in the third period. The Panthers tied it again in the third period with a Tippett goal, his sixth of the year, with helpers from Huberdeau and Bennett. Florida gained the lead with a Frank Vatrano goal, his eighteenth of the season, courtesy of Alex Wennberg and Aleksi Heponiemi. The Panthers added on with a Huberdeau power play goal, his seventeenth of the year, made possible by Barkov and Bennett. Florida iced it at 7-4 with an awarded goal for Huberdeau, his second of the game and eighteenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Huberdeau, Barkov, and Bennett, while Tippett and Ellis get the honorable mentions.

Along to Chicago, as the Blackhawks host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Kevin Lankinen are the masked men. Tampa Bay opened in the first period with an Erik Cernak goal, his fourth of the season, going in unassisted. The Lightning added on with a Yanni Gourde goal, his seventeenth of the year, made possible by Mikhail Sergachev and Blake Coleman. Chicago got on the board with a Brandon Hagel goal, his eighth of the season, via Kirby Dach. Tampa Bay responded with an Alex Barre-Boulet goal, his second of the year, fueled by Ondrej Palat and Brayden Point. The Blackhawks got one back with a Wyatt Kalynuk goal, his fourth of the season, an unassisted goal. Malcolm Subban replaced Lankinen in goal to start the second period. The Lightning fired back in the second period with a Point goal, his twenty-first of the year, assisted by Palat. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Coleman scored his eleventh of the season, with the help of Tyler Johnson and Barclay Goodrow. The Lightning padded the lead on an Alex Killorn power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Sergachev and Point. Chicago got one back with a Duncan Keith goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Patrick Kane and Vinnie Hinostroza. The Blackhawks pulled closer in the third period with a Dominik Kubalik power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, with assists provided by Kane and Alex DeBrincat. Tampa Bay iced it at 7-4 with a Killorn goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the campaign, passed from Cernak. The final was 7-4, with the three stars going to Point, Cernak, and Coleman, while Killorn, Palat, Sergachev, and Kane get the honorable mentions.

Finally, the Dallas Stars bring in the Carolina Hurricanes. Alex Nedeljkovic and Anton Khudobin are in the creases. Carolina struck first in the first period with a Jordan Staal power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. The Hurricanes added on with an Aho goal, his twenty-first of the year, helped along by Brett Pesce and Svechnikov. Carolina extended the lead in the second period as Staal scored on the power play again, his second of the game and sixteenth of the season, with the help of Aho and Svechnikov. Dallas got on the board with a Jason Robertson goal, his fifteenth of the year, guided in by Roope Hintz. The Hurricanes replied in the third period with a Max McCormick goal, his second of the season, assisted by Morgan Geekie and Steven Lorentz. Carolina padded the lead with a Nino Niederreiter goal, his eighteenth of the year, passed from Staal. The final was 5-1, with the three stars awarded to Staal, Aho, and Svechnikov. 

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