NHL 2021-22 - Day 26

There's 12 games on today, with just one matinee. First up...

The Ottawa Senators host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Brian Elliott and Matt Murray are the goalies. Tampa Bay opened in the first period with a Victor Hedman power play goal, powered by Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point. Ottawa tied it in the second period with a Connor Brown goal, his second of the season, going in unassisted. The Lightning retook the lead on a Jan Rutta goal, coming off of Ondrej Palat. The Senators tied it on a Brady Tkachuk goal, his third of the year, passed from Drake Batherson and Josh Norris. Tampa Bay reclaimed the lead in the third period with a Stamkos goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Alex Killorn and Mathieu Joseph. The Lightning added on with a Palat goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Anthony Cirelli and Ryan McDonagh. Tampa Bay extended the lead on a Cirelli empty net goal, his third of the campaign, set up by Palat and Point. Ottawa got one back with a Logan Shaw goal, with helpers from Victor Mete and Parker Kelly. This only made it 5-3, the final, with the three stars going to Palat, Stamkos, and Cirelli, while Point gets an honorable mention. 

Down in Florida, the Panthers welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Frederik Andersen and Spencer Knight man the nets. Florida started in the first period with an Anthony Duclair power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Carter Verhaeghe and Brandon Montour. The Panthers added on with a Frank Vatrano power play goal, his second of the year, with assists provided by Montour and Duclair. Florida extended the lead as Anton Lundell scored his third of the season, thanks to Owen Tippett and Radko Gudas. The Panthers padded the lead on a Patric Hornqvist power play goal, fueled by Reinhart and Anthony Duclair. Antti Raanta took over for Andersen in goal to start the second period. Carolina got on the board in the second period with a Jesper Fast goal, his fifth of the year, passed from Jaccob Slavin and Vincent Trocheck. The Hurricanes pulled closer with a Trocheck power play goal, his third of the season, with helpers from Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen. Florida iced it at 5-2 with a Duclair empty net goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, set up by Verhaeghe. The three stars were Duclair, Montour, and Trocheck, while Verhaeghe gets an honorable mention.

Back north, the Buffalo Sabres bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Alex Nedeljkovic and Dustin Tokarski are patrolling the creases. Detroit led off in the first period with a Pius Suter goal, his second of the season, assisted by Lucas Raymond and Tyler Bertuzzi. Buffalo tied it in the second period on a Tage Thompson goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Jeff Skinner and Rasmus Asplund. The Sabres took the lead with a Rasmus Dahlin power play goal, powered by Will Butcher and Asplund. Buffalo added on in the third period with an Arttu Ruotsalainen goal, his second of the season, made possible by Colin Miller and John Hayden. The Red Wings got one back with a Bertuzzi goal, his seventh of the year, via Danny DeKeyser and Raymond. Detroit tied it on another Bertuzzi goal, his second of the game and eighth of the season, guided in by Suter and Raymond. The Red Wings won 4-3 in overtime with a Moritz Seider goal, set up by Bertuzzi. The three stars were Bertuzzi, Raymond, and Suter, while Asplund gets an honorable mention.

Into Canada, as the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Boston Bruins. Linus Ullmark and Jack Campbell are in the blue paint. Boston kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Taylor Hall power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Toronto tied it on a John Tavares goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Mitchell Marner and Morgan Rielly. The Maple Leafs took the lead with an Auston Matthews power play goal, his fourth of the season, with an assist provided by Marner. Toronto added on with another Matthews power play goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, courtesy of Rielly and Marner. The Maple Leafs extended the lead as Tavares scored his second of the game and sixth of the season, thanks to William Nylander and Rasmus Sandin. The Bruins got one back with a David Pastrnak goal, his third of the year, coming off of Marchand. Toronto iced it at 5-2 with a Marner empty net goal, his third of the season, going in unassisted. The three stars were awarded to Marner, Matthews, and Tavares, while Rielly and Marchand get the honorable mentions.

Along to Quebec, as the Montreal Canadiens welcome the Vegas Golden Knights. Robin Lehner and Jake Allen are the veteran goalies. Montreal was first to score in the first period with a Nick Suzuki power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Mike Hoffman. The Canadiens added on with a Tyler Toffoli goal, his third of the year, guided in by Brendan Gallagher and Suzuki. Vegas got on the board in the second period with an Alex Pietrangelo power play goal, his second of the season, with assists provided by Shea Theodore and Chandler Stephenson. The Golden Knights tied it on a Jonathan Marchessault goal, his fifth of the year, made possible by Nicolas Roy and Nicolas Hague. Vegas took the lead with a Dylan Coghlan power play goal, with helpers from Pietrangelo and Reilly Smith. The Golden Knights extended the lead with a Stephenson empty net goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. Vegas iced it at 5-2 with a Brayden McNabb empty net goal, set up by the goalie Lehner. The three stars were Pietrangelo, Stephenson, and Suzuki.

Back stateside, the Pittsburgh Penguins bring in the Minnesota Wild. Cam Talbot and Tristan Jarry are the masked men. Minnesota struck first in the first period with a Kirill Kaprizov goal, his second of the season, assisted by Alex Goligoski and Frederick Gaudreau. Pittsburgh tied it on a Kasperi Kapanen goal, courtesy of Jason Zucker and Evan Rodrigues. The Penguins took the lead with another Kapanen goal, his second of the game, via Rodrigues and Zucker. Pittsburgh added on in the second period with a Jake Guentzel goal, his third of the year, coming off of Bryan Rust and Mike Matheson. The Wild got one back with a Joel Eriksson Ek goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin. The Penguins replied with a Kapanen goal to finish a hat trick, with the help of Bryan Rust and Kris Letang. Minnesota got closer with a Spurgeon goal, his second of the year, guided in by Gaudreau and Kaprizov. The Wild tied it on a Ryan Hartman goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Matt Dumba and Adam Beckman. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Kevin Fiala, Kaprizov, and Nick Bjugstad lifted the Wild 5-4 over Guentzel, Rust, and the Penguins. The three stars belonged to Kapanen, Spurgeon, and Kaprizov, while Gaudreau, Rust, Rodrigues, and Zucker get the honorable mentions.

Next up, the Washington Capitals host the Philadelphia Flyers. Martin Jones and Vitek Vanecek are between the pipes. Philadelphia got going in the second period with a Derick Brassard goal, his second of the season, fueled by Cam Atkinson and Justin Braun. The Flyers added on with a Sean Couturier goal, his fifth of the year, via Rasmus Ristolainen and Claude Giroux. Washington got on the board with a Brett Leason goal, his second of the season, coming off of Connor McMichael and John Carlson. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars going to Jones (31 for 32 in saves), Couturier, and Brassard.

To Columbus, as the Blue Jackets welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Darcy Kuemper and Elvis Merzlikins protect the nets. Columbus drew first blood in the first period with a Gabriel Carlsson goal, via Jakub Voracek and Yegor Chinakhov. Colorado tied it on an Andre Burakovsky goal, his second of the season, assisted by Nazem Kadri and Samuel Girard. The Avalanche took the lead in the second period with another Burakovsky goal, his second of the game and third of the year, going in unassisted. The Blue Jackets tied it in the third period with an Alexandre Texier goal, his third of the season, passed from Eric Robinson and the goalie Merzlikins. Columbus took the lead with a Cole Sillinger goal, his fourth of the year, courtesy of Chinakhov and Vladislav Gavrikov. The Blue Jackets iced it at 4-2 with an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal, his fifth of the campaign, set up by Boone Jenner and Gavrikov. The three stars were Chinakhov, Burakovsky, and Gavrikov.

Up in Winnipeg, the Jets bring in the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin faces a lesser foe in Eric Comrie in goal. New York began in the first period with an Anders Lee goal, his second of the season, made possible by Josh Bailey. The Islanders added on in the third period with a Brock Nelson goal, his seventh of the year, via Kyle Palmieri and Adam Pelech. This made it 2-0, the final, with the three stars handed to Sorokin (24 save shutout), Lee, and Nelson.

Further west, the Calgary Flames host the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Jacob Markstrom tend the twines. Calgary dented the scoreboard in the first period with a Sean Monahan power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm. The Flames added on with a Brad Richardson goal, via Oliver Kylington and Trevor Lewis. Calgary extended the lead as Johnny Gaudreau scored his third of the year, coming off of Tkachuk and Noah Hanifin. The Flames padded the lead on another Gaudreau goal, his second of the game and fourth of the season, helped along by Tkachuk. Calgary continued with a Milan Lucic goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Dillon Dube and Andrew Mangiapane. The Flames struck again with a Tkachuk goal, his sixth of the season, set up by Gaudreau. This made it 6-0, the final, with the three stars awarded to Markstrom (22 save shutout), Tkachuk, and Gaudreau, while Lindholm gets an honorable mention.

Along to Arizona, as the Coyotes welcome the Seattle Kraken. Philipp Grubauer and Karel Vejmelka receive the starting nods in goal. Seattle cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Jordan Eberle goal, his sixth of the season, with a lone assist by Alexander Wennberg. The Kraken added on with a Yanni Gourde goal, his second of the year, assisted by Brandon Tanev and Jamie Oleksiak. Scott Wedgewood replaced Vejmelka in goal. Arizona got on the board with an Antoine Roussel goal, guided in by Shayne Gostisbehere. Seattle replied with a Nathan Bastian goal, going in unassisted. The Coyotes fired back in the second period with a Travis Boyd goal, his second of the season, made possible by Christian Fischer and Gostisbehere. Arizona tied it in the third period on a Lawson Crouse goal, his third of the year, guided by Johan Larsson and Jakob Chychrun. The Coyotes pulled ahead with a Phil Kessel power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Clayton Keller and Gostisbehere. The Kraken tied it again with a Mark Giordano goal, his third of the year, an unassisted goal. Arizona regained the lead with a Crouse goal, his second of the game and fourth of the campaign, via Larsson. This stood for a 5-4 win, with the three stars given to Crouse, Gostisbehere, and Larsson.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the New Jersey Devils. Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer are the veterans in goal. San Jose got on the board in the second period with a Rudolfs Balcers goal, his second of the season, assisted by Mario Ferraro and Brent Burns. New Jersey tied it on a Ryan Graves goal, via Nico Hischier and Michael McLeod. The Sharks took the lead back in the third period with a Jonathan Dahlen power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Burns and Nick Merkley. The Devils tied it with a Janne Kuokkanen goal, his second of the season, made possible by Jimmy Vesey and Colton White. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Jesper Bratt and Damon Severson lifted the Devils 3-2 over Logan Couture and the Sharks. The three stars were Bernier (25 for 27 in saves), Kuokkanen, and Graves. 

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