NHL 2021 - Day 109

One of the busiest days of the season is here, with 15 games on. First up...

The Boston Bruins host the Buffalo Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Jeremy Swayman receive the starting nods in goal. Boston led off in the first period with a Craig Smith goal, his eleventh of the season, via David Krejci and Taylor Hall. Buffalo tied it on a Riley Sheahan shorthanded goal, his fourth of the year, set up by Jacob Bryson and Casey Mittelstadt. The Bruins retook the lead with a Sean Kuraly goal, his third of the season, made possible by Nick Ritchie. Boston added on with a Patrice Bergeron goal, his nineteenth of the year, courtesy of Jeremy Lauzon and Brad Marchand. Dustin Tokarski replaced an injured Luukkonen in the third period. The Bruins extended the lead as Ritchie scored his thirteenth of the season, with the help of Matt Grzelcyk and Kevan Miller. Boston padded the lead on Smith's second goal of the game and twelfth of the year, coming off of Mike Reilly and Krejci. The Sabres got one back with an Arttu Ruotsalainen goal, his fifth of the season, via Rasmus Asplund and Mittelstadt. The Bruins capped it at 6-2 with Smith completing his hat trick on his thirteenth of the year on the power play, powered by Krejci and Charlie Coyle. The three stars were Smith, Krejci, and Ritchie, while Mittelstadt gets an honorable mention. 

Along to Detroit, as the Red Wings welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Curtis McElhinney and Thomas Greiss are set to start in goal. The game was scoreless into a shootout, where Jakub Vrana, Filip Zadina, Valtteri Filppula, and Sam Gagner lifted the Red Wings 1-0 over Ross Colton, Brayden Point, and Tyler Johnson for the Lightning. The three stars were Greiss (33 save shutout), McElhinney (15 save "shutout"), and Gagner. 

At the regular time, the Washington Capitals bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry and Ilya Samsonov are the goalies. Pittsburgh began in the first period with a Bryan Rust goal, his twenty-first of the season, going in unassisted. The Penguins added on in the second period with another Rust goal, his second of the game and twenty-second of the year, an unassisted goal. Pittsburgh extended the lead as Jeff Carter scored his twelfth of the season, thanks to Kris Letang. This stood for a 3-0 win, with the three stars awarded to Rust, Jarry (23 save shutout), and Carter.

On Long Island, the New York Islanders host the New York Rangers. Alexandar Georgiev and Semyon Varlamov man the nets. The Islanders opened in the first period with an Anthony Beauvillier goal, his twelfth of the season, made possible by Josh Bailey and Nick Leddy. The Islanders added on with a Mathew Barzal goal, his fifteenth of the year, coming off of Bailey. The Islanders extended the lead as Beauvillier scored his second of the game and thirteenth of the season, thanks to Brock Nelson and Bailey. This stood for a 3-0 win, with the three stars going to Varlamov (30 save shutout), Beauvillier, and Bailey.

Up to Toronto, as the Maple Leafs welcome the Vancouver Canucks. Thatcher Demko and Jack Campbell are in the blue paint. Vancouver kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Tanner Pearson goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Quinn Hughes and Bo Horvat. Toronto tied it with an Auston Matthews goal, his thirty-seventh of the year, fueled by Mitchell Marner and Nick Foligno. The Maple Leafs took the lead in the second period with another Matthews goal, his second of the game and thirty-eighth of the season, via Marner. Toronto added on in the third period with an Adam Brooks goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Justin Holl and Jason Spezza. The Maple Leafs extended the lead as Alex Galchenyuk scored his fourth of the season, made possible by William Nylander and John Tavares. Toronto iced it at 5-1 with a Joe Thornton empty net goal, his fifth of the year, set up by Travis Dermott and Morgan Rielly. The three stars went to Matthews, Marner, and Campbell (26 for 27 in saves).

Back stateside, the Carolina Hurricanes bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins and Alex Nedeljkovic are between the pipes. Columbus started in the first period with a Max Domi goal, his eighth of the season, via Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eric Robinson. Carolina tied it with a Teuvo Teravainen goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. The Hurricanes won 2-1 in overtime with a Dougie Hamilton goal, his ninth of the campaign, with a lone helper by the goalie Nedeljkovic. The three stars were Nedeljkovic (31 for 32 in saves), Hamilton, and Teravainen.

To Canada again, with the Montreal Canadiens hosting the Ottawa Senators. Filip Gustavsson and Cayden Primeau are the unknown goalies. Ottawa got going in the second period with a Tim Stutzle goal, his ninth of the season, guided in by Artem Zub and Colin White. The Senators added on in the third period with a Thomas Chabot goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by Evgenii Dadonov and Shane Pinto. Montreal got on the board with a Jeff Petry goal, his twelfth of the season, coming off of Tyler Toffoli. The Canadiens tied it on a Toffoli goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, passed from Nick Suzuki and Corey Perry. Montreal won 3-2 in overtime with a Cole Caufield goal, courtesy of Petry and Jake Evans. The three stars belonged to Toffoli, Petry, and Caufield.

Down in Philadelphia, the Flyers welcome the New Jersey Devils. MacKenzie Blackwood and Brian Elliott have the green light to start in goal. New Jersey struck first in the first period with a Jesper Bratt goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Pavel Zacha and Kevin Bahl. The Devils added on in the second period with a Janne Kuokkanen goal, his seventh of the year, coming off of Jack Hughes and Yegor Sharangovich. New Jersey extended the lead in the third period as Nico Hischier scored his sixth of the season, a shorthanded and unassisted goal. The Devils padded the lead on a Sharangovich goal, his fifteenth of the year, via Hughes. Philadelphia got on the board with a Joel Farabee goal, his sixteenth of the campaign, passed from Shayne Gostisbehere and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. This only made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars going to Sharangovich, Hughes, and Blackwood (31 for 32 in saves).

Westward to Chicago, where the Blackhawks bring in the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Kevin Lankinen protect the nets. Florida was first to score in the first period with an Anthony Duclair goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Sam Bennett and Gustav Forsling. The Panthers added on with a Nikita Gusev goal, his third of the year, fueled by Ryan Lomberg and Radko Gudas. Chicago got on the board with a Connor Murphy power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Brett Connolly and Adam Gaudette. The Blackhawks tied it with an Alex DeBrincat goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, passed from Gaudette and Ian Mitchell. Florida retook the lead with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, coming off of Forsling and Duclair. The Panthers extended the lead in the third period as Duclair scored his second of the game and tenth of the year, thanks to Barkov and Grigori Denisenko. Florida padded the lead on an Owen Tippett goal, his seventh of the season, helped along by Bennett. Chicago answered with a Kirby Dach power play goal, his second of the year, with assists provided by Philipp Kurashev and Brandon Hagel. The Blackhawks got one back with a Dominik Kubalik goal, his seventeenth of the campaign, with helpers from Patrick Kane and DeBrincat. This made it 5-4, the final, with the three stars given to Duclair, Barkov, and DeBrincat, while Bennett, Forsling, and Gaudette get the honorable mentions.

North to Minnesota, with the Wild hosting the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington faces a lesser foe in Kaapo Kahkonen in goal. St. Louis began in the first period with a Jordan Kyrou goal, his twelfth of the season, going in unassisted. The Blues added on with a Sammy Blais goal, his eighth of the year, via Tyler Bozak and Robert Bortuzzo. Minnesota got on the board in the second period with a Mats Zuccarello goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Dumba. St. Louis replied with a David Perron goal, his fifteenth of the year, fueled by Niko Mikkola and Ryan O'Reilly. The Wild got one back in the third period with a Nico Sturm goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Jonas Brodin. Minnesota tied it with a Brodin goal, his eighth of the year, with helpers from Jared Spurgeon and Kevin Fiala. The Wild won 4-3 in overtime with a Fiala goal, his nineteenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Fiala, Brodin, and Sturm.

Back south to Nashville, as the Predators welcome the Dallas Stars. Anton Khudobin and Juuse Saros are the masked men. Nashville won 1-0 in overtime with an Erik Haula goal, his eighth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Mattias Ekholm. The three stars were Saros (28 save shutout), Haula, and Khudobin (33 for 34 in saves).

To the west, the Colorado Avalanche bring in the San Jose Sharks. Josef Korenar and Devan Dubnyk are set to start in goal. San Jose dented the scoreboard in the second period with an Alexander Barabanov power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Tomas Hertl and Erik Karlsson. Colorado tied it on a Nathan MacKinnon goal, his twentieth of the year, via Conor Timmins and Mikko Rantanen. The Avalanche took the lead with an Andre Burakovsky goal, his fifteenth of the season, guided in by J.T. Compher. Colorado added on with a Patrik Nemeth goal, his third of the year, fueled by Cale Makar and MacKinnon. The Sharks got one back in the third period with a shorthanded Logan Couture goal, his seventeenth of the season, set up by Evander Kane. The Avalanche responded with a Rantanen goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, coming off of Devon Toews and Timmins. San Jose got one back with a Hertl goal, his sixteenth of the season, passed from Brent Burns and Barabanov. The final was 4-3 with the three stars being MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Timmins, while Hertl and Barabanov get the honorable mentions.

Along to Arizona, as the Coyotes host the Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury and Darcy Kuemper guard the cages. Vegas led off in the first period with a William Karlsson goal, his fourteenth of the season, via Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith. The Golden Knights added on with a Mark Stone goal, his twentieth of the year, assisted by Max Pacioretty and Chandler Stephenson. Arizona got on the board in the third period with a Christian Fischer goal, his third of the season, made possible by Lawson Crouse and Jakob Chychrun. The Coyotes tied it on a Christian Dvorak power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, powered by Clayton Keller and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Vegas won 3-2 in overtime with a Marchessault power play goal, his fifteenth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Alex Pietrangelo. The three stars were Marchessault, Stone, and Karlsson.

Out in California, the Anaheim Ducks welcome the Los Angeles Kings. Calvin Petersen and Ryan Miller start in goal. Anaheim opened in the first period with a Trevor Zegras goal, his second of the season, coming off of Max Comtois and Jacob Larsson. The Ducks added on in the second period with a Danton Heinen goal, his seventh of the year, via Larsson and Cam Fowler. Anaheim extended the lead as Nicolas Deslauriers scored his fifth of the season, thanks to Derek Grant and Heinen. The Ducks padded the lead in the third period with a Max Jones goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Heinen and Jamie Drysdale. Los Angeles got on the board with a Brendan Lemieux goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Sean Walker. Anaheim fired back with a Larsson goal, helped along by Haydn Fleury. The Ducks continued with a Comtois goal, his fourteenth of the year, with helpers from Zegras and Troy Terry. The Kings got one back with a Tobias Bjornfot goal, assisted by Adrian Kempe and Andreas Athanasiou. This made it 6-2, the final, with the three stars handed to Larsson, Heinen, and Zegras, while Comtois gets an honorable mention.

Finally, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Mike Smith tend the twines. Edmonton started in the first period with a Connor McDavid power play goal, his twenty-ninth of the season, powered by Leon Draisaitl and Tyson Barrie. The Oilers added on with an Ethan Bear goal, his second of the year, via McDavid and Draisaitl. Calgary got on the board in the second period with a Johnny Gaudreau goal, his eighteenth of the season, coming off of Matthew Tkachuk and Christopher Tanev. Edmonton replied with a Josh Archibald empty net goal, his seventh of the year, set up by Draisaitl and McDavid. The Oilers iced it at 4-1 with a Darnell Nurse empty net goal, his fifteenth of the campaign, with assists provided by Archibald and Draisaitl. The three stars were McDavid, Draisaitl, and Smith (29 for 30 in saves), while Archibald gets an honorable mention. 

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