Saturday, April 3, 2021

NHL 2021 - Day 81

Eleven games going on a Saturday, beginning with three matinees. First up...

The Boston Bruins host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Casey DeSmith and Jaroslav Halak man the nets. Pittsburgh led off in the first period with a Mark Jankowski goal, his third of the season, guided in by Mike Matheson. Boston tied it in the second period with an unassisted Patrice Bergeron goal, his eleventh of the year. The Bruins took the lead with a David Pastrnak goal, his fifteenth of the season, coming off of Nick Ritchie and David Krejci. The Penguins retied it on a Jake Guentzel goal, his sixteenth of the year, fueled by Sidney Crosby and Brian Dumoulin. Pittsburgh took the lead with a Jared McCann power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Guentzel and Crosby. Boston retied it with a Brad Marchand goal, his fifteenth of the year, helped along by Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie McAvoy. The Bruins pulled ahead with a Krejci power play goal, his second of the season, with assists provided by Marchand and Pastrnak. Boston added on with a Marchand goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, passed from McAvoy and Bergeron. The Penguins got one back in the third period with a Cody Ceci goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Jankowski and Sam Lafferty. The Bruins countered with a Pastrnak goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, assisted by Ritchie. Pittsburgh pulled back with a shorthanded Crosby goal, his fifteenth of the season, set up by Guentzel. Boston iced it at 7-5 with a Marchand empty net goal, his seventeenth of the year, with helpers from Charlie Coyle and McAvoy. The three stars were Marchand, Pastrnak, and Crosby, while Guentzel, Jankowski, Krejci, Bergeron, Ritchie, and McAvoy get the honorable mentions. 

Down in Tampa Bay, the Lightning welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Thomas Greiss and Andrei Vasilevskiy are the masked men. Tampa Bay began in the first period with a Ross Colton goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Pat Maroon and Andreas Borgman. The Lightning added on with a Brayden Point goal, his sixteenth of the year, courtesy of Victor Hedman and Ondrej Palat. Detroit got on the board in the third period with an Adam Erne goal, his eighth of the season, helped along by Frans Nielsen and Darren Helm. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars being Vasilevskiy (25 for 26 in saves), Point, and Colton. 

Moving along to Nashville, as the Predators bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Kevin Lankinen and Juuse Saros are in the creases. Nashville opened in the first period with an Eeli Tolvanen power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Calle Jarnkrok and Roman Josi. The Predators added on with a Colton Sissons shorthanded penalty shot in the second period, his sixth goal of the year. Nashville extended the lead in the third period as Luke Kunin scored his third of the campaign, thanks to Jeremy Davies and Ben Harpur. This stood for a 3-0 win, with the three stars being Saros (41 save shutout), Tolvanen, and Sissons. 

At the regular time, the New York Islanders host the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter Hart and Ilya Sorokin are the young goalies. New York drew first blood in the first period with an Anthony Beauvillier power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Matt Martin and Jordan Eberle. The Islanders added on in the second period with another Beauvillier goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, coming off of Mathew Barzal. Philadelphia got on the board in the third period with a Claude Giroux goal, his tenth of the season, going in unassisted. The Flyers tied it on another Giroux goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, via Travis Konecny and Jakub Voracek. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Barzal's lone tally gave the Islanders a 3-2 win. The three stars were Beauvillier, Barzal, and Giroux.

South to Raleigh, as the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Dallas Stars. Jake Oettinger and Alex Nedeljkovic draw the starts in goal. Dallas started in the first period with an Andrew Cogliano goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Mark Pysyk and Blake Comeau. Carolina tied it on a Dougie Hamilton goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Vincent Trocheck. The Hurricanes took the lead in the second period with a Haydn Fleury goal, via Steven Lorentz and Jordan Martinook. The Stars retied it on a Jamie Benn power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by John Klingberg and Miro Heiskanen. Dallas gained the lead in the third period with a Tanner Kero goal, his second of the year, passed from Jason Robertson and Pysyk. This made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to Kero, Pysyk, and Oettinger (41 for 43 in saves).

Further south to Florida, as the Panthers host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins and Sergei Bobrovsky patrol the creases. Florida got going in the second period with a MacKenzie Weegar goal, his third of the season, passed from Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe. The Panthers added on with an Alex Wennberg goal, his ninth of the year, coming off of Frank Vatrano and Patric Hornqvist. Florida extended the lead as Wennberg scored his second of the game and tenth of the season, thanks to Weegar and Gustav Forsling. Joonas Korpisalo replaced Merzlikins in goal for the third period. Columbus got on the board in the third period with an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal, his fourteenth of the year, via Michael Del Zotto and Alexandre Texier. The Panthers answered with a Vatrano goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Owen Tippett. The Blue Jackets countered with a Zach Werenski goal, his sixth of the year, guided in by Riley Nash. Florida iced it at 5-2 with a Wennberg empty net goal to complete his hat trick on his eleventh of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Wennberg, Weegar, and Vatrano.

Back up north, the Buffalo Sabres bring in the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Linus Ullmark are between the pipes. New York struck first in the first period with an Artemi Panarin power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Chris Kreider and Adam Fox. Buffalo tied it on a Casey Mittelstadt goal, his third of the year, assisted by Taylor Hall and Rasmus Dahlin. The Rangers retook the lead in the second period with a Panarin goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the season, fueled by Fox and Ryan Lindgren. The Sabres tied it in the third period with a Victor Olofsson goal, his tenth of the year, via Kyle Okposo and Sam Reinhart. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Tage Thompson gave the Sabres a 3-2 win. The three stars were Panarin, Fox, and Olofsson.

In Canada, the Montreal Canadiens host the Ottawa Senators. Anton Forsberg and Carey Price are set to start in goal. Ottawa kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Brady Tkachuk power play goal, his twelfth of the season, powered by Drake Batherson and Thomas Chabot. Montreal tied it on a Tyler Toffoli power play goal, his nineteenth of the year, with assists provided by Nick Suzuki and Shea Weber. The Senators took the lead back with a Connor Brown shorthanded goal, his ninth of the season, set up by Nick Paul and Braydon Coburn. The Canadiens tied it on a Josh Anderson goal, his twelfth of the year, passed from Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Victor Mete. Ottawa pulled ahead again on an Evgenii Dadonov goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Thomas Chabot and Artem Anisimov. The Senators added on with another Dadonov goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, with helpers from Anisimov and Tim Stutzle. Montreal got one back with Anderson's second goal of the game and thirteenth of the season, helped along by Suzuki and Weber. Ottawa shot back with an Alex Formenton goal, his second of the year, with a lone helper from Anisimov. The Senators iced it at 6-3 with a Batherson empty net goal, his twelfth of the campaign, with a lone assist from Mike Reilly. The three stars went to Anisimov, Dadonov, and Batherson, while Anderson, Suzuki, Weber, and Chabot get the honorable mentions.

Back stateside, the Colorado Avalanche welcome the St. Louis Blues. Ville Husso and Philipp Grubauer are in the blue paint. Colorado was first to score in the first period with a Nathan MacKinnon goal, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Gabriel Landeskog and Devon Toews. St. Louis tied it on a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his thirteenth of the year, guided in by Brayden Schenn and David Perron. The Avalanche took the lead in the third period with a Cale Makar goal, his fourth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars of the 2-1 game were Grubauer (27 for 28 in saves), Makar, and MacKinnon.

Down in Nevada, the Vegas Golden Knights host the Minnesota Wild. Cam Talbot and Marc-Andre Fleury protect the nets. Vegas cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Tomas Nosek goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Nicolas Roy and Alex Tuch. Minnesota tied it in the third period with a Kirill Kaprizov power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, powered by Joel Eriksson Ek and Kevin Fiala. The Wild took the lead with an Eriksson Ek goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Jordan Greenway and Ryan Suter. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars given to Eriksson Ek, Talbot (27 for 28 in saves), and Kaprizov.

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the San Jose Sharks. Martin Jones and Jonathan Quick are the veteran goalies. San Jose dented the scoreboard in the first period with a Kevin Labanc goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Nikolai Knyzov and Evander Kane. Los Angeles tied it on a Dustin Brown goal, his fifteenth of the year, via Anze Kopitar and Alex Iafallo. The Sharks took the lead back in the second period with an Evander Kane goal, his sixteenth of the season, assisted by Logan Couture and Labanc. The Kings tied it with a shorthanded Trevor Moore goal, his fifth of the year, going in unassisted. San Jose took the lead back in the third period with a Dylan Gambrell goal, his third of the campaign, helped along by John Leonard. This made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars being Kane, Labanc, and Gambrell. 

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