NHL 2021 - Day 116

The last huge day on the schedule sees 14 games. Only two are matinees, beginning with...

The Boston Bruins hosting the New York Rangers. Keith Kinkaid and Tuukka Rask make the starts in goal. New York got going in the second period with a K'Andre Miller goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Justin Richards and Filip Chytil. Boston tied it on a Nick Ritchie goal, his fifteenth of the year, guided in by Jake DeBrusk and Charlie McAvoy. The Bruins took the lead in the third period with a David Pastrnak goal, his twentieth of the season, fueled by Brad Marchand. The Rangers tied it again with a Mika Zibanejad goal, his twenty-third of the year, assisted by Pavel Buchnevich and Ryan Strome. New York took the lead with an Alexis Lafreniere goal, his twelfth of the season, helped along by Anthony Bitetto and Buchnevich. The Rangers added on with a Vitali Kravtsov goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Ryan Strome and Zac Jones. Boston pulled back on a Marchand power play goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, powered by David Krejci. New York countered with a Zibanejad goal, his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the year, with a lone helper from Buchnevich. The Bruins responded on a Patrice Bergeron goal, his twenty-third of the campaign, made possible by Matt Grzelcyk and McAvoy. This made it 5-4, the final, with the three stars going to Zibanejad, Buchnevich, and Marchand, while Strome and McAvoy get the honorable mentions.

Over in Pittsburgh, the Penguins welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Michael Houser and Maxime Lagace are set to start in goal. Pittsburgh dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Jeff Carter goal, his seventeenth of the season, coming off of Frederick Gaudreau. This stood for a 1-0 final score, with the three stars being Lagace (29 save shutout), Carter, and Houser (22 for 23 in saves). 

At the regular time, the Florida Panthers bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Sergei Bobrovsky are the Russian goalies. Florida started in the first period with an Alex Wennberg goal, his fourteenth of the season, courtesy of Gustav Forsling and MacKenzie Weegar. The Panthers added on in the second period with a Sam Bennett power play goal, his tenth of the year, powered by Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Luke Schenn goal, his second of the season, coming off of Yanni Gourde and Barclay Goodrow. Florida shot back with a Wennberg goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, assisted by Frank Vatrano. The Panthers extended the lead as Huberdeau scored his twentieth of the season, thanks to Bennett. Florida padded the lead in the third period when Wennberg completed his hat trick on his sixteenth of the year, going in unassisted. This made it 5-1, the final, with the three stars going to Wennberg, Huberdeau, and Bennett.

Way north to Toronto, as the Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens. Jake Allen and Jack Campbell protect the nets. Montreal opened in the first period with a Brett Kulak goal, his second of the season, coming off of Alex Belzile. The Canadiens added on with a Nick Suzuki goal in the second period, his thirteenth of the year, via Tyler Toffoli and Jeff Petry. Toronto got on the board with a Pierre Engvall goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Jason Spezza and Justin Holl. The Maple Leafs tied it on a William Nylander goal, his seventeenth of the year, guided in by John Tavares and Jake Muzzin. Toronto pulled ahead with a Mitchell Marner goal, his twentieth of the season, fueled by Auston Matthews. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars given to Marner, Nylander, and Engvall.

Back stateside, the Washington Capitals welcome the Philadelphia Flyers. Alex Lyon and Craig Anderson are the backups in goal. Philadelphia cracked the scoresheet in the third period with a Scott Laughton goal, his ninth of the season, guided in by James van Riemsdyk. Washington tied it on a Lars Eller goal, his eighth of the year, via Anthony Mantha and Justin Schultz. The Capitals won 2-1 in overtime with a Conor Sheary goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, assisted by Nic Dowd and Dmitry Orlov. The three stars were Sheary, Eller, and Anderson (28 for 29 in saves).

Over in New York, the Islanders bring in the New Jersey Devils. MacKenzie Blackwood and Ilya Sorokin draw the starts in goal. New York struck first in the first period with a Jordan Eberle goal, his sixteenth of the season, made possible by Mathew Barzal and Leo Komarov. New Jersey tied it on an Andreas Johnsson goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by Matt Tennyson and Michael McLeod. The Islanders took the lead with a Brock Nelson power play goal, his seventeenth of the season, powered by Oliver Wahlstrom and Nick Leddy. New York added on with a Nelson goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the year, coming off of Josh Bailey and Anthony Beauvillier. The Islanders extended the lead in the third period as Kyle Palmieri scored his tenth of the season, with the help of Wahlstrom and Adam Pelech. New York padded the lead with a Barzal goal, his sixteenth of the year, courtesy of Komarov. This stood for a 5-1 win, with the three stars handed to Barzal, Nelson, and Wahlstrom, while Komarov gets an honorable mention.

Northwest to Winnipeg, where the Jets host the Ottawa Senators. Filip Gustavsson and Connor Hellebuyck are in the blue paint. Ottawa began in the first period with a Connor Brown goal, his twentieth of the season, fueled by Victor Mete and Shane Pinto. The Senators added on with a Tim Stutzle goal, his tenth of the year, via Artem Zub. Winnipeg got on the board in the second period with a Mason Appleton goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Mark Scheifele. Ottawa replied in the third period with a Stutzle goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, passed from Brown and Pinto. The Jets got one back with a Scheifele goal, his twentieth of the season, coming off of Blake Wheeler and Derek Forbort. The Senators iced it at 4-2 as Stutzle finished his hat trick on a power play empty net goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Brown. The three stars went to Stutzle, Brown, and Scheifele, while Pinto gets an honorable mention.

Down in Columbus, the Blue Jackets welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Calvin Pickard and Matiss Kivlenieks play in goal. Detroit led off in the first period with a Jakub Vrana goal, his nineteenth of the season, assisted by Dennis Cholowski and Richard Panik. Columbus tied it on a Cam Atkinson goal, his fifteenth of the year, coming off of Patrik Laine and Seth Jones. The Red Wings took the lead back in the second period with a Danny DeKeyser goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Michael Rasmussen and Evgeny Svechnikov. The Blue Jackets retied it on an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal, his eighteenth of the year, passed from Eric Robinson and Gabriel Carlsson. Columbus took the lead in the third period with a shorthanded Robinson goal, his eighth of the season, set up by Nathan Gerbe. Detroit retied it on a Sam Gagner power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Filip Hronek and Christian Djoos. The Blue Jackets regained the lead on a Jack Roslovic goal, his twelfth of the season, made possible by Jones and Laine. The Red Wings pulled even again with a Valtteri Filppula goal, his sixth of the year, with helpers from Cholowski and Vrana. Columbus won 5-4 in overtime with a Max Domi goal, his ninth of the campaign, fueled by Bjorkstrand and Jones. The three stars belonged to Bjorkstrand, Jones, and Robinson, while Laine, Vrana, and Cholowski get the honorable mentions.

Along to Nashville, as the Predators bring in the Carolina Hurricanes. Alex Nedeljkovic and Juuse Saros are the younger goalies. Nashville was first to score in the second period with a Luke Kunin goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Mikael Granlund and Mattias Ekholm. The Predators added on in the third period with another Kunin goal, his second of the game and tenth of the year, via Granlund and Ryan Ellis. Carolina got on the board with a Morgan Geekie goal, his third of the season, coming off of Steven Lorentz and Max McCormick. Nashville iced it at 3-1 with an Erik Haula empty net goal, his ninth of the year, set up by Calle Jarnkrok. The three stars went to Kunin, Granlund, and Saros (21 for 22 in saves).

Up in Minnesota, the Wild host the Anaheim Ducks. Ryan Miller and Cam Talbot are the veteran goalies. Anaheim kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Rickard Rakell goal, his ninth of the season, made possible by Josh Mahura and Josh Manson. Minnesota tied it on a Jared Spurgeon power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala. The Wild took the lead in the second period with a Ryan Hartman goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. Minnesota added on with a Nick Bonino goal, his tenth of the year, guided in by Nico Sturm. The Ducks got one back in the third period with a Trevor Zegras goal, his third of the season, fueled by Max Comtois and Jamie Drysdale. Anaheim tied it with a Comtois goal, his sixteenth of the year, helped along by Rakell and Troy Terry. The Wild won 4-3 in overtime with a Victor Rask goal, his tenth of the campaign, with assists from Matt Dumba and Zuccarello. The three stars were Kaprizov, Comtois, and Zuccarello, while Rakell gets an honorable mention.

Out in Vegas, the Golden Knights welcome the St. Louis Blues. Ville Husso is mismatched with Marc-Andre Fleury in goal. Vegas started in the first period with a Reilly Smith goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by William Carrier and Keegar Kolesar. The Golden Knights added on with a shorthanded Chandler Stephenson goal, his fourteenth of the year, set up Alex Pietrangelo. St. Louis got on the board with a Colton Parayko goal, his second of the season, going in unassisted. Vegas replied in the third period with another Smith power play goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the year, courtesy of Alec Martinez and Pietrangelo. The Golden Knights iced it at 4-1 with a Smith empty net goal to complete his hat trick with his fourteenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Smith, Fleury (20 for 21 in saves), and Pietrangelo.

To Los Angeles, as the Kings bring in the Colorado Avalanche. Jonas Johansson and Calvin Petersen are in the blue paint. Colorado began in the first period with a Devon Toews goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Andre Burakovsky and J.T. Compher. The Avalanche added on with a Cale Makar power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Mikko Rantanen and Burakovsky. Los Angeles got on the board with a Sean Walker goal, his fourth of the season, via Gabriel Vilardi and Alex Iafallo. Colorado replied in the second period with a Toews goal, his second of the game and ninth of the year, coming off of Makar and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. The Kings got one back in the third period with a Rasmus Kupari goal, courtesy of Lias Andersson and Walker. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars being Toews, Makar, and Burakovsky, while Walker gets an honorable mention.

Up in Edmonton, the Oilers welcome the Vancouver Canucks. Thatcher Demko and Mike Smith protect the nets. Edmonton led off in the first period with a Connor McDavid goal, his thirty-second of the season, made possible by Ethan Bear and Darnell Nurse. The Oilers added on in the second period with a Jesse Puljujarvi goal, his fifteenth of the year, guided in by McDavid and Tyson Barrie. Vancouver got on the board with an unassisted J.T. Miller goal, his thirteenth of the season. The Canucks tied it with a Travis Boyd goal, his fourth of the year, via Jimmy Vesey. Edmonton retook the lead with a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his thirtieth of the season, powered by James Neal and McDavid. Vancouver tied it again with a Tyler Graovac goal, his second of the year, helped along by Jayce Hawryluk and Quinn Hughes. The Oilers reclaimed the lead with a Draisaitl power play goal, his second of the game and thirtieth of the season, with assists provided by McDavid and Nurse. The final held from here at 4-3, with the three stars given to McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nurse.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Arizona Coyotes. Adin Hill and Alexei Melnichuk are the inexperienced goalies. Arizona opened in the first period with a Christian Dvorak goal, his sixteenth of the season, made possible by Phil Kessel and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. San Jose tied it with a Rudolfs Balcers goal, his eighth of the year, via Alexander Chmelevski and Dylan Gambrell. The Coyotes retook the lead with a Dvorak power play goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the season, powered by Christian Fischer and Kessel. The Sharks tied it on a Kevin Labanc goal, his twelfth of the year, going in unassisted. San Jose pulled ahead in the second period with a Timo Meier goal, his twelfth of the season, coming off of Labanc. Arizona retied it with a Jan Jenik goal, his second of the year, fueled by Fischer and Victor Soderstrom. The Coyotes pulled ahead on a Conor Garland goal, his twelfth of the campaign, assisted by Alex Goligoski and Jakob Chychrun. The Sharks tied it again with an Alexander Barabanov goal, his third of the campaign, courtesy of Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane. Arizona won 5-4 in overtime with a Kessel goal, his twentieth of the campaign, an unassisted goal. The three stars were Kessel, Dvorak, and Fischer, while Labanc gets an honorable mention. 

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