NHL 2021-22 - Day 5

A huge day with 14 games is on, beginning with one matinee in...

Buffalo, as the Sabres host the Arizona Coyotes. Karel Vejmelka and Dustin Tokarski draw the starts in goal. Arizona led off in the first period with an Andrew Ladd goal, via Ryan Dzingel and Johan Larsson. Buffalo tied it on a Cody Eakin power play goal in the second period, powered by Drake Caggiula and Rasmus Dahlin. The Sabres won 2-1 in a shootout with tallies by Tage Thompson and Arttu Ruotsalainen overpowering the Coyotes' lone marker from Nick Schmaltz. The three stars were Tokarski (20 for 21 in saves), Eakin, and Vejmelka (32 for 33 in saves). 

Down in Florida, the Panthers welcome the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin and Sergei Bobrovsky are the Russian goalies. Florida began in the first period with a Sam Bennett goal, fueled by Radko Gudas and Gustav Forsling. The Panthers added on in the second period with another Bennett goal, his second of the game, via Jonathan Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad. Florida extended the lead as Anthony Duclair scored his second of the season, thanks to MacKenzie Weegar. New York got on the board in the third period with an Oliver Wahlstrom power play goal, going in unassisted. The Panthers answered with a Bennett goal to complete his hat trick, with helpers from Matt Kiersted. Florida padded the lead with an Aleksander Barkov goal, made possible by Carter Verhaeghe and Forsling. The final stood at 5-1, with the three stars awarded to Bennett, Forsling, and Bobrovsky (29 for 30 in saves).

Back north, the Boston Bruins bring in the Dallas Stars. Braden Holtby and Jeremy Swayman are set to start in goal. Boston was first to score in the first period with a Brad Marchand penalty shot goal. Dallas tied it in the second period with a Luke Glendening goal, assisted by Tanner Kero. The Bruins retook the lead in the third period with a Jake DeBrusk goal, courtesy of Erik Haula and Nick Foligno. Boston added on with a Marchand empty net goal, his second of the game, set up by David Pastrnak. The final held at 3-1, with the three stars handed to Marchand, DeBrusk, and Swayman (27 for 28 in saves).

Along to Toronto, as the Maple Leafs host the Ottawa Senators. Anton Forsberg and Jack Campbell are the masked men. Toronto started in the first period with a Wayne Simmonds goal, courtesy of Rasmus Sandin and Travis Dermott. The Maple Leafs added on with an Alexander Kerfoot goal, made possible by William Nylander and Michael Bunting. Ottawa got on the board in the second period with a Josh Norris power play goal, powered by Drake Batherson and Tyler Ennis. Toronto answered in the third period with a Bunting goal, helped along by Kerfoot and Timothy Liljegren. This made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars belonging to Kerfoot, Bunting, and Campbell (20 for 21 in saves).

Staying in Canada, the Montreal Canadiens welcome the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Jake Allen are the goalies. New York dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Chris Kreider power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin. Montreal tied it in the third period with a Jonathan Drouin goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Christian Dvorak and Brett Kulak. The Rangers retook the lead on an Alexis Lafreniere goal, made possible by Zibanejad and Adam Fox. New York iced it at 3-1 with a Kevin Rooney empty net goal, going in unassisted. The three stars belonged to Shesterkin (31 for 32 in saves), Zibanejad, and Lafreniere. 

Back stateside, the Detroit Red Wings bring in the Vancouver Canucks. Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss are in the blue paint. Detroit struck first in the first period with a Robby Fabbri goal, courtesy of Marc Staal and Gustav Lindstrom. Vancouver tied it in the second period on a Conor Garland goal, via Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson. The Red Wings retook the lead with a Filip Zadina power play goal, powered by Mortiz Seider and Filip Hronek. Detroit iced it at 3-1 with a Sam Gagner empty net goal, set up by Tyler Bertuzzi. The three stars went to Greiss (40 for 41 in saves), Zadina, and Fabbri.

Next up, the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Chicago Blackhawks. Marc-Andre Fleury and Tristan Jarry guard the cages. Pittsburgh opened in the first period with a Teddy Blueger goal, his second of the season, passed from Brock McGinn and John Marino. The Penguins added on with a Drew O'Connor goal, via Dominik Simon. Pittsburgh extended the lead as McGinn goal, helped along by O'Connor. The Penguins padded the lead as Danton Heinen scored his third of the year, thanks to Jake Guentzel and Jeff Carter. Kevin Lankinen relieved Fleury. Chicago got on the board in the second period with a Patrick Kane power play goal, powered by Seth Jones and Alex DeBrincat. Pittsburgh replied with a Jason Zucker goal, set up by Kasperi Kapanen and Evan Rodrigues. The Blackhawks pulled one back with a Kirby Dach goal, his second of the season, coming off of Brandon Hagel and Kane. This only made it 5-2, the final, with the three stars being O'Connor, McGinn, and Kane.

To DC, as the Washington Capitals welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Vitek Vanecek receive the starting nods in goal. Washington cracked the scoresheet in the second period with an Alex Ovechkin goal, his third of the season, made possible by Trevor van Riemsdyk and Tom Wilson. Tampa Bay tied it in the third period with a Mikhail Sergachev goal, assisted by Steven Stamkos and Erik Cernak. The Lightning won 2-1 in overtime with a Stamkos goal, his third of the year, coming off of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. The three stars were Stamkos, Vasilevskiy (32 for 33 in saves), and Sergachev. 

Over in Columbus, the Blue Jackets bring in the Seattle Kraken. Philipp Grubauer and Elvis Merzlikins man the nets. Seattle got going in the second period with a Brandon Tanev goal, his third of the season, assisted by Ryan Donato. Columbus tied it in the third period with an Eric Robinson goal, courtesy of Gregory Hofmann and Scott Harrington. The Blue Jackets won 2-1 in overtime with a Patrik Laine goal, made possible by helped along by Zach Werenski and Max Domi.The three stars were Laine, Robinson, and Merzlikins (19 for 20 in saves).

South to Nashville, as the Predators host the Carolina Hurricanes. Frederik Andersen and Juuse Saros tend the twines. Carolina drew first blood in the first period with a Jesper Fast goal, his second of the season, coming off of Jordan Staal and Jaccob Slavin. Nashville tied it in the second period with a Ryan Johansen goal, going in unassisted. The Hurricanes took the lead in the third period with an Andrei Svechnikov goal, his third of the year, via Martin Necas and Brett Pesce. Carolina added on with a Teuvo Teravainen empty net goal, his second of the season, set up by Pesce and Sebastian Aho. The Predators shot back with a Filip Forsberg goal, made possible by Mattias Ekholm and Johansen. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars given to Pesce, Andersen (38 for 40 in saves), and Johansen.

Out west, the Colorado Avalanche welcome the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Darcy Kuemper patrol the creases. St. Louis kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Justin Faulk goal, via Jordan Kyrou and Tyler Bozak. The Blues added on in the second period with a Brayden Schenn goal, made possible by Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich. St. Louis extended the lead as David Perron scored, thanks to Brandon Saad and Colton Parayko. Colorado got on the board with an Andre Burakovsky goal, helped along by Nazem Kadri and Samuel Girard. The Blues responded in the third period with a Perron power play goal, his second of the game, powered by Ivan Barbashev and Faulk. The Avalanche got one back with a Tyson Jost goal, coming off of J.T. Compher and Mikko Rantanen. Colorado pulled closer on a Compher goal, passed from Kadri and Cale Makar. St. Louis iced it at 5-3 with a Ryan O'Reilly empty net goal, going in unassisted. The three stars were Perron, Faulk, and Kyrou, while Compher and Kadri get the honorable mentions.

Up in Edmonton, the Oilers bring in the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Mike Smith protect the nets. Edmonton started in the first period with a Derek Ryan goal, passed from Warren Foegele and Zack Kassian. The Oilers added on with a power play goal by Connor McDavid, powered by Jesse Puljujarvi and Leon Draisaitl. Edmonton extended the lead as McDavid scored another power play goal in the second period, with the help of Darnell Nurse and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Calgary got on the board with an Andrew Mangiapane goal, helped along by Dillon Dube and Juuso Valimaki. The Flames got closer with an Elias Lindholm goal in the third period, assisted by Matthew Tkachuk and Rasmus Andersson on the power play. The Oilers fired back with a Puljujarvi goal, his second of the season, guided in by Cody Ceci and Draisaitl. Edmonton iced it at 5-2 with a McDavid empty net goal to complete his hat trick, set up by Puljujarvi and Draisaitl. The three stars were handed to McDavid, Puljujarvi, and Draisaitl.

To California, as the San Jose Sharks welcome the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Adin Hill have the green light to start in goal. Winnipeg opened in the first period with a Pierre-Luc Dubois goal, made possible by Brenden Dillon and Neal Pionk. The Jets added on in the second period with an Andrew Copp shorthanded goal, set up by Adam Lowry. San Jose got on the board with an Andrew Cogliano shorthanded goal, with helpers from Logan Couture and Brent Burns. The Sharks tied it with a Jasper Weatherby power play goal, powered by Erik Karlsson and Kevin Labanc. San Jose pulled ahead with a Tomas Hertl power play goal, with assists by Weatherby and William Eklund. The Sharks extended the lead as Rudolfs Balcers scored, with the help of Timo Meier and Hertl. Winnipeg got one back with a Jansen Harkins goal, courtesy of Logan Stanley and Josh Morrissey. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars going to Weatherby, Hertl, and Balcers.

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the Minnesota Wild. Cam Talbot and Jonathan Quick are the veterans in goal. Los Angeles got going in the second period with a Viktor Arvidsson power play goal, powered by Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. Minnesota tied it on a Frederick Gaudreau goal, via Kevin Fiala and Dmitry Kulikov. The Wild took the lead with a Victor Rask goal, helped along by Kirill Kaprizov. Minnesota added on with a Ryan Hartman goal, assisted by Marcus Foligno and Jordan Greenway. The Kings got one back with a Kopitar goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Doughty and the goalie Quick. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars given to Kopitar, Doughty, and Hartman.

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.