NHL 2021 - Day 98

Eight games on tonight, beginning with...

The Buffalo Sabres hosting the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Dustin Tokarski man the nets. Boston led off in the first period with a Brad Marchand goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, assisted by David Pastrnak and Mike Reilly. The Bruins added on in the second period with a Connor Clifton goal, coming off of Sean Kuraly and Curtis Lazar. The final was 2-0, with the three stars given to Rask (32 save shutout), Marchand, and Clifton.

Down in Tampa Bay, the Lightning welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Alex Nedeljkovic and Andrei Vasilevskiy are in the blue paint. Carolina got going in the second period with a Nino Niederreiter goal, his sixteenth of the season, assisted by Vincent Trocheck and Martin Necas. The Hurricanes added on with a Jordan Staal goal, his fourteenth of the year, fueled by Dougie Hamilton and Niederreiter. Carolina extended the lead as Steven Lorentz scored his second of the season, thanks to Morgan Geekie. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Brayden Point goal, his twentieth of the year, via Ondrej Palat and Ryan McDonagh. The Hurricanes iced it at 4-1 in the third period with an unassisted Jordan Martinook empty net goal, his third of the campaign. The three stars were Niederreiter, Nedeljkovic (26 for 27 in saves), and Staal.

Back north to Long Island, as the New York Islanders host their crosstown rivals, the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Semyon Varlamov are the masked men. The Islanders started in the first period with a Josh Bailey goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anthony Beauvillier. The Islanders added on in the second period with a Brock Nelson goal, his sixteenth of the year, via Nick Leddy and Kyle Palmieri. The Islanders extended the lead on a Beauvillier power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Noah Dobson and Jordan Eberle. The Rangers got on the board with a Kevin Rooney goal, his seventh of the year, guided in by Brendan Smith and Vitali Kravtsov. The Islanders replied in the third period with a Pageau goal, his thirteenth of the season, passed from Beauvillier and Bailey. The Islanders padded the lead on a Bailey goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, with helpers from Beauvillier and Andy Greene. The Islanders kept going with an Eberle goal, his fifteenth of the season, helped along by Travis Zajac. The final stood at 6-1, with the three stars being Beauvillier, Bailey, and Pageau, while Eberle gets an honorable mention.

Over in Pittsburgh, the Penguins bring in the New Jersey Devils. Scott Wedgewood and Tristan Jarry are set to start in goal. Pittsburgh began in the first period with a Mike Matheson goal, his fifth of the season, via Cody Ceci and Jared McCann. The Penguins added on with a Bryan Rust goal, his eighteenth of the year, fueled by Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. Pittsburgh extended the lead as Brian Dumoulin scored his third of the season, thanks to the goalie Jarry. The Penguins padded the lead on a Jeff Carter goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by McCann and Kris Letang. Aaron Dell replaced Wedgewood in goal. Pittsburgh continued in the second period with a Teddy Blueger goal, his sixth of the season, with helpers from Evan Rodrigues and Zach Aston-Reese. The Penguins struck again with a Rodrigues power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Jason Zucker and John Marino. New Jersey got on the board in the third period with a Nico Hischier power play goal, his fourth of the season, with assists provided by Nicholas Merkley and Will Butcher. The Devils pulled closer with a Yegor Sharangovich shorthanded goal, his eleventh of the year, going in unassisted. New Jersey chipped closer with a Nathan Bastian goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Butcher and Miles Wood. Pittsburgh replied with a Crosby goal, his eighteenth of the year, assisted by Guentzel and Rust. The Devils fired back with a Jack Hughes goal, his tenth of the season, dished from Sharangovich and Janne Kuokkanen. New Jersey kept climbing back with a Nolan Foote goal, passed from Merkley and Damon Severson. The Devils came within one on an Andreas Johnsson goal, his fourth of the year, going in unassisted. The final stayed at 7-6, with the three stars being Crosby, Rodrigues, and Rust, while Sharangovich, Guentzel, McCann, Merkley, and Butcher get the honorable mentions.

South again to Florida, as the Panthers host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Joonas Korpisalo and Spencer Knight are between the pipes. Florida opened in the first period with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his nineteenth of the season, assisted by Nikita Gusev and Mason Marchment. The Panthers added on with a Sam Bennett goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Anthony Duclair and Jonathan Huberdeau. Columbus got on the board with a Jack Roslovic power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Cam Atkinson and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Florida answered with a Bennett goal in the second period, his second of the game and seventh of the year, helped along by Huberdeau and Duclair. The Panthers extended the lead as Ryan Lomberg scored his second of the season, with the help of Frank Vatrano and Markus Nutivaara. Florida padded the lead on a Huberdeau goal, his sixteenth of the year, fueled by Duclair and Radko Gudas. This stood for a 5-1 win, with the three stars belonging to Bennett, Huberdeau, and Duclair.

Westward to Dallas, as the Stars welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Jonathan Bernier and Jake Oettinger are the goalies. Dallas struck first in the first period with a Tanner Kero goal, his third of the season, fueled by Jamie Benn. The Stars added on with a Jason Robertson goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Jason Dickinson and Joel Hanley. Dallas extended the lead as Joe Pavelski scored his nineteenth of the season, with the help of Robertson and Dickinson. The Stars padded the lead on a Jamie Oleksiak goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Denis Gurianov in the second period. Detroit got on the board with a Valtteri Filppula goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Jakub Vrana. The Red Wings got one back in the third period with a Dylan Larkin goal, his ninth of the year, via Filip Hronek and Sam Gagner. Dallas iced it at 5-2 with a Blake Comeau empty net goal, his fourth of the campaign, set up by Andrew Cogliano. The three stars were Robertson, Dickinson, and Pavelski.

Up in Vancouver, the Canucks host the Toronto Maple Leafs. David Rittich and Braden Holtby are set to start in goal. Toronto kicked off the scoring in the first period with a John Tavares goal, his fifteenth of the season, via William Nylander and Alexander Kerfoot. Vancouver tied it on a Brandon Sutter goal, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Brock Boeser and Travis Hamonic in the second period. The Canucks took the lead with a Quinn Hughes goal, his third of the season, coming off of J.T. Miller. The Maple Leafs tied it with a Tavares power play goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, powered by Nylander and Auston Matthews. Toronto took the lead in the third period with an Adam Brooks shorthanded goal, his second of the season, set up Mitchell Marner and Justin Holl. Vancouver tied it on a Nils Hoglander goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Boeser and Hughes. The Canucks took the lead with a Tanner Pearson power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Miller and Hughes. Vancouver added on with a Pearson goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, going in unassisted. The Canucks iced it at 6-3 with a shorthanded empty net goal by Sutter, his second of the game and eighth of the campaign, with a lone helper from Nate Schmidt. The three stars belonged to Pearson, Sutter, and Hughes, while Boeser, Miller, Tavares, and Nylander get the honorable mentions.

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the Anaheim Ducks. Anthony Stolarz and Calvin Petersen are between the pipes. Los Angeles was first to score in the first period with a Carl Grundstrom goal, his sixth of the season, via Andreas Athanasiou and Blake Lizotte. The Kings added on in the second period with an Anze Kopitar goal, his tenth of the year, assisted by Drew Doughty and Dustin Brown. Los Angeles extended the lead as Athanasiou scored his tenth of the season, thanks to Olli Maatta and Lizotte. The Kings padded the lead in the third period as Lizotte scored his third of the year, with the help of Grundstrom and Athanasiou. Anaheim got on the board with a Cam Fowler goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Rickard Rakell and Max Comtois. The three stars of the 4-1 game were Athanasiou, Lizotte, and Grundstrom. 

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