NHL 2021 - Day 89

Seven games on Sunday, beginning with...

The Philadelphia Flyers hosting the Buffalo Sabres. Linus Ullmark and Carter Hart start in goal. Philadelphia opened in the first period with an Oskar Lindblom goal, his sixth of the season, via Shayne Gostisbehere and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. The Flyers added on with a Joel Farabee power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, powered by Nolan Patrick and Sean Couturier. Buffalo got on the board in the second period with a Sam Reinhart goal, his fourteenth of the season, courtesy of Jeff Skinner. The Sabres tied it on an Arttu Ruotsalainen goal, made possible by Dylan Cozens. Philadelphia took the lead in the third period with a Gostisbehere goal, his eighth of the year, assisted by Farabee and Philippe Myers. Buffalo tied it again on a Skinner goal, his fifth of the season, helped along by Victor Olofsson and Jacob Bryson. The Sabres pulled ahead with a Rasmus Asplund goal, his fifth of the year, coming off of Bryson. Buffalo iced it at 5-3 with a Casey Mittelstadt empty net goal, his sixth of the campaign, set up by Kyle Okposo and Riley Sheahan. The three stars were Skinner, Gostisbehere, and Bryson, while Farabee gets an honorable mention.

Out in Nevada, the Vegas Golden Knights welcome the Arizona Coyotes. Adin Hill and Marc-Andre Fleury are in the creases. Vegas dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Tomas Nosek goal, his seventh of the season, courtesy of Jonathan Marchessault. This made it 1-0, the final, with the three stars being Fleury (14 save shutout), Nosek, and Hill (28 for 29 in saves).

To Anaheim, as the Ducks bring in the Colorado Avalanche. Jonas Johansson is mismatched with John Gibson in goal. Colorado started in the first period with an Andre Burakovsky goal, his twelfth of the season, via Valeri Nichushkin. The Avalanche added on with a Gabriel Landeskog power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, powered by Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen in the second period. Anaheim got on the board in the third period with a Jamie Drysdale goal, his second of the season, assisted by Troy Terry and Sam Carrick. Colorado replied with a Ryan Graves goal, fueled by Tyson Jost and Landeskog. The Avalanche finished with a 4-1 win on a MacKinnon goal, his sixteenth of the year, passed from Makar and Landeskog. The three stars were Landeskog, MacKinnon, and Johansson (24 for 25 in saves).

Back east, the Boston Bruins host the Washington Capitals. Vitek Vanecek and Dan Vladar are the young goalies. Washington led off in the first period with a T.J. Oshie power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, powered by Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Capitals added on with a Lars Eller goal, his sixth of the year, via Carl Hagelin and Garnet Hathaway. Washington extended the lead as Conor Sheary scored his ninth of the season, thanks to Dmitry Orlov and Daniel Sprong. The Capitals padded the lead in the second period with a Sheary power play goal, his second of the game and tenth of the year, with assists provided by Tom Wilson and Jakub Vrana. Washington continued with a Nic Dowd goal, his eighth of the season, with lone helper by Hagelin. The Capitals struck again with a Wilson power play goal, his tenth of the year, with helpers from Alex Ovechkin and Justin Schultz. Boston got on the board in the third period with a Craig Smith power play goal, his eighth of the season, guided in by Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle. Washington fired back on an Oshie goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, helped along by Backstrom. The Capitals piled on with an Eller goal, his second of the game and seventh of the campaign, made possible by Oshie and Brenden Dillon. The three stars of the 8-1 game were Oshie, Sheary, and Eller, while Wilson, Backstrom, and Hagelin get the honorable mentions.

On Long Island, the New York Islanders welcome the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin are the Russian goalies. The Islanders began in the first period with a Kyle Palmieri power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey. The Islanders added on in the second period with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his twelfth of the year, via Jordan Eberle and Mathew Barzal. The Rangers got on the board with a Libor Hajek goal, his second of the season, assisted by Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil. The Rangers tied it it on a Brendan Smith goal, his third of the year, guided in by Mika Zibanejad and Vitali Kravtsov. The Islanders won 3-2 in overtime with a Ryan Pulock goal, courtesy of Barzal. The three stars were Barzal, Pulock, and Pageau.

To New Jersey, as the Devils bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry and MacKenzie Blackwood patrol the creases. Pittsburgh struck first in the first period with a Colton Sceviour goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Teddy Blueger and Marcus Pettersson. The Penguins added on with a Secviour goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, guided in by Mike Matheson and Cody Ceci. New Jersey got on the board with a Miles Wood goal, his fourteenth of the season, passed from Sami Vatanen and Jesper Bratt. Pittsburgh responded in the second period with a Bryan Rust goal, his seventeenth of the year, assisted by Brian Dumoulin and Kris Letang. The Penguins extended the lead with a Jake Guentzel power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, powered by Rust and Jared McCann in the third period. The Devils fired back on a P.K. Subban goal, his fourth of the year, going in unassisted. Pittsburgh iced it at 5-2 with a Guentzel empty net goal, his second of the game and nineteenth of the campaign, set up by Sidney Crosby and Matheson. The three stars went to Rust, Sceviour, and Guentzel, while Matheson gets an honorable mention.

Finally, the Dallas Stars host the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Anton Khudobin are the masked men. Dallas kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Roope Hintz goal, his thirteenth of the season, helped along by John Klingberg. Nashville tied it with a Ryan Ellis goal, his third of the year, courtesy of Luke Kunin. The Predators took the lead in the second period with a Yakov Trenin goal, his fourth of the season, via Colton Sissons. The Stars tied it again with a Jamie Oleksiak goal, his fourth of the year, assisted by Hintz. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Ryan Johansen lifted the Predators to a 3-2 win with his lone tally. The three stars were Hintz, Trenin, and Ellis. 

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.