NHL 2021 - Day 84

There's nine games on tonight, beginning with...

The Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Petr Mrazek are the masked men. Florida started in the first period with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his fifteenth of the season, via MacKenzie Weegar and Carter Verhaeghe. Carolina tied it in the second period with a Vincent Trocheck power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, powered by Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. The Panthers retook the lead with a Barkov goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the season, assisted by Verhaeghe and Mason Marchment. The Hurricanes tied it in the third period with a Hamilton power play goal, his fifth of the year, with assists provided by Trocheck and Sebastian Aho. Carolina took the lead with an unassisted Jordan Staal goal, his eleventh of the season. The Hurricanes added on with a Staal empty net goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the year, set up by Warren Foegele. Carolina iced it at 5-2 with a Jesper Fast empty net goal, his sixth of the campaign, with a lone helper by Aho. The three stars belonged to Trocheck, Barkov, and Staal, while Aho and Verhaeghe get the honorable mentions.

Up in New York, the Islanders welcome the Washington Capitals. Vitek Vanecek and Semyon Varlamov are between the pipes. New York dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Brock Nelson goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Josh Bailey and Ryan Pulock. This stood for a 1-0 win, with the three stars awarded to Varlamov (29 save shutout), Nelson, and Vanecek (38 for 39 in saves).

Across town, the New York Rangers bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry and Igor Shesterkin are in the creases. New York led off in the first period with a Colin Blackwell goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba. The Rangers added on with a Mika Zibanejad goal, his thirteenth of the year, via Pavel Buchnevich. New York extended the lead as Panarin scored his twelfth of the season on the power play, thanks to Adam Fox and Chris Kreider. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Jared McCann power play goal, his tenth of the year, powered by Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby. The Rangers replied with a Ryan Strome power play goal, his twelfth of the season, coming off of Panarin and Fox. Casey DeSmith replaced Jarry in goal. New York padded the lead in the second period with an Alexis Lafreniere goal, his sixth of the year, with helpers from Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko. The Penguins got one back with a Mike Matheson goal, his fourth of the season, courtesy of Colton Sceviour and Mark Jankowski. The Rangers replied in the third period with a Kakko goal, his sixth of the year, with helpers from Trouba and Blackwell on the power play. Pittsburgh fired back with a Jake Guentzel goal, his seventeenth of the season, made possible by Matheson and Letang. New York countered with a Fox shorthanded goal, his fifth of the year, set up by Zibanejad and Strome. The Rangers continued with a Buchnevich goal, his fifteenth of the season, helped along by Chytil and Panarin. The Penguins chipped back with a Brian Dumoulin goal, dished from Radim Zohorna and Jankowski. The final stood at 8-4, with the three stars being Panarin, Fox, and Zibanejad, while Buchnevich, Strome, Kakko, Blackwell, Chytil, Trouba, Matheson, Letang, and Jankowski get the honorable mentions.

West to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Joonas Korpisalo protect the nets. Columbus opened in the first period with a Zac Dalpe goal, helped along by Max Domi and Seth Jones. The Blue Jackets added on in the second period with a Jack Roslovic goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Cam Atkinson. Columbus extended the lead on a Domi power play goal in the third period, his sixth of the year, powered by Zach Werenski and Roslovic. The Blue Jackets padded the lead on a Nick Foligno empty net goal, his seventh of the season, set up by Alexandre Texier. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Ross Colton goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Tyler Johnson and Pat Maroon. The Lightning got closer with a Luke Schenn goal, coming off of Ryan McDonagh and Maroon. The three stars of the 4-2 game were Roslovic, Domi, and Maroon.

Back east, the Philadelphia Flyers welcome the Boston Bruins. Jeremy Swayman and Carter Hart are the goalies. Boston began in the first period with a Patrice Bergeron goal, his thirteenth of the season, courtesy of Craig Smith and Brad Marchand. The Bruins added on with a Bergeron power play goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, powered by David Pastrnak and Marchand. Philadelphia got on the board in the second period with a Jakub Voracek goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Travis Konecny. The Flyers tied it on a Shayne Gostisbehere goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Voracek and Ivan Provorov. Boston retook the lead in the third period with a Marchand shorthanded goal, his eighteenth of the season, set up by Jeremy Lauzon and Connor Clifton. The Bruins iced it at 4-2 with a Bergeron empty net goal, his fifteenth of the year, assisted by Marchand and Chris Wagner. The three stars belonged to Bergeron, Marchand, and Swayman (40 for 42 in saves).

Next up, the New Jersey Devils bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Linus Ullmark and Scott Wedgewood are set to start in goal. New Jersey struck first in the first period with a Damon Severson goal, his third of the season, helped along by Tyce Thompson and Mikhail Maltsev. Buffalo tied it on a Rasmus Asplund goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Casey Mittelstadt. The Sabres took the lead with a Brandon Montour goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Tage Thompson and Colin Miller. The Devils retied it on a Jesper Bratt power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Travis Zajac and Pavel Zacha. New Jersey took the lead in the second period with a Zacha goal, his eighth of the season, fueled by Bratt and Miles Wood. Buffalo retied it on a Rasmus Dahlin goal, his third of the year, coming off of Riley Sheahan and Kyle Okposo. The Sabres pulled ahead in the third period with a Mittelstadt power play goal, his fourth of the season, with an assist by Dahlin. Buffalo iced it at 5-3 with a Rasmus Ristolainen empty net goal, his fourth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Mittelstadt, Dahlin, and Zacha, while Bratt gets an honorable mention.

Along to Detroit, as the Red Wings host the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Thomas Greiss man the nets. Detroit kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Danny DeKeyser goal, his second of the season, going in unassisted. Nashville tied it in the third period with a Luke Kunin goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Roman Josi and Matt Benning. The Red Wings took the lead back with an Adam Erne goal, his ninth of the season, passed from Jon Merrill and Christian Djoos. The Predators tied it again with a Mikael Granlund power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Calle Jarnkrok and Josi. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Ryan Johansen and Josi tallied to give the Predators a 3-2 win. The three stars were Josi, Granlund, and Kunin.

Down in Chicago, the Blackhawks welcome the Dallas Stars. Jake Oettinger and Kevin Lankinen are the young goalies. Chicago drew first blood in the first period with a Kirby Dach goal, assisted by Patrick Kane and Connor Murphy. The Blackhawks added on in the second period with a Dominik Kubalik goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Vinnie Hinostroza and Adam Boqvist. Chicago extended the lead as Alex DeBrincat scored his twentieth of the year, going in unassisted. Dallas got on the board in the third period with an Andrew Cogliano shorthanded goal, his fifth of the season, set up by Blake Comeau. The Stars got closer with a Radek Faksa goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Esa Lindell and Comeau. The Blackhawks iced it at 4-2 with a Kane empty net goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, with helpers from DeBrincat and Calvin de Haan. The three stars were Kane, DeBrincat, and Comeau.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Martin Jones tend the twines. Anaheim was first to score in the first period with an Adam Henrique goal, his eleventh of the season, made possible by Danton Heinen and Kevin Shattenkirk. The Ducks added on in the second period with a Max Comtois power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Jamie Drysdale and Sam Carrick. San Jose got on the board with a Patrick Marleau power play goal, his third of the season, with assists provided by Kevin Labanc and Erik Karlsson. Anaheim shot back on an Isac Lundestrom goal, his sixth of the year, courtesy of Josh Manson and David Backes. The Ducks extended the lead as Nicolas Deslauriers scored his fourth of the season, thanks to Troy Terry and Ben Hutton. Anaheim padded the lead on a Backes empty net goal, his third of the year, set up by Deslauriers and Derek Grant in the third period. This stood for a 5-1 win, with the three stars going to Gibson (34 for 35 in saves), Deslauriers, and Backes. 

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