NHL 2021-22 - Day 69

Another one-game night, as the Vegas Golden Knights host the Tampa Bay Lightning to lead the NHL into its holiday break. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Laurent Brossoit are the goalies. Tampa Bay began in the first period with a Gabriel Fortier goal, assisted by Mikhail Sergachev. Vegas tied it on a Mark Stone goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Max Pacioretty and Shea Theodore on the power play. The Golden Knights took the lead in the second period with a Stone goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, guided in by Chandler Stephenson. Vegas added on with a Nicolas Roy goal, his sixth of the season, fueled by Theodore and Zach Whitecloud. The Lightning took the lead with a Pierre-Edouard Bellemare goal, his third of the year, with helpers from Corey Perry and Pat Maroon. Tampa Bay tied it with an Anthony Cirelli goal, his ninth of the season, courtesy of Alex Killorn and Zach Bogosian. The Lightning pulled ahead in the third period with a Steven Stamkos power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, powered by Victor Hedman and Ondrej Palat. This made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars going to Stamkos, Stone, and Theodore. 

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NHL 2021-22 - Day 68

Just one game left on the schedule for this Monday, as the Dallas Stars host the Minnesota Wild. Cam Talbot and Jake Oettinger are the goalies. Dallas led off in the first period with a Joe Pavelski goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen. The Stars added on with a shorthanded and unassisted Esa Lindell goal. Minnesota got on the board with a Ryan Hartman goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. The Wild got closer with a Kevin Fiala goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Marcus Foligno. Dallas replied with a Tyler Seguin goal, his eighth of the year, fueled by Denis Gurianov and Jamie Benn. The Stars extended the lead in the second period on a Roope Hintz power play goal, his twelfth of the season, powered by John Klingberg and Robertson. Minnesota pulled one back with a Kaprizov goal, his twelfth of the year, with helpers from Zuccarello and Alex Goligoski. Dallas shot back on a Jacob Peterson goal, his fifth of the season, helped along by Gurianov in the third period. The Stars padded the lead as Heiskanen scored his fourth of the year, thanks to Michael Raffl. The Wild answered on a Fiala power play goal, his sixth of the season, with assists provided by Hartman and Kaprizov. Dallas iced it at 7-4 with a Benn empty net goal, his eighth of the year, set up by Radek Faksa. The three stars were Heiskanen, Benn, and Fiala, while Kaprizov, Hartman, Robertson, Gurianov, and Zuccarello get the honorable mentions.

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NHL 2021-22 - Day 67

Just four games left on the schedule for Sunday, beginning with...

The New York Islanders hosting the Vegas Golden Knights. Robin Lehner and Ilya Sorokin tend the twines. Vegas opened in the first period with a Jonathan Marchessault goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Zach Whitecloud and Reilly Smith. New York tied it on a Brock Nelson power play goal, his tenth of the year, powered by Noah Dobson and Oliver Wahlstrom. The Golden Knights retook the lead on a Shea Theodore power play goal, his fifth of the season, with assists provided by Chandler Stephenson and Max Pacioretty. The Islanders tied it on a Kieffer Bellows goal, his second of the year, coming off of Zach Parise. New York pulled ahead with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Wahlstrom and Anders Lee. Vegas retied it on a Theodore goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, with a lone helper by Alex Pietrangelo. The tie went to a shootout, where Theodore and Nicolas Roy lifted the Golden Knights to a 4-3 win. The three stars were Theodore, Wahlstrom, and Marchessault. 

In Winnipeg, the Jets welcome the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Connor Hellebuyck guard the cages. Winnipeg got going in the second period with a Nikolaj Ehlers goal, his twelfth of the season, coming off of Mark Scheifele and Paul Stastny. St. Louis tied it on a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his twelfth of the year, passed from Ivan Barbashev and Pavel Buchnevich. The Jets took the lead back with a Scheifele goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Ehlers. Winnipeg added on in the third period with a Stastny goal, his sixth of the year, guided in by Ehlers and Brenden Dillon. The Blues got one back with a Niko Mikkola shorthanded goal, his second of the season, set up by Buchnevich and Barbashev. The Jets countered on a Stastny power play goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, powered by Ehlers and Adam Lowry. The final held at 4-2 with the three stars being Ehlers, Stastny, and Scheifele, while Buchnevich and Barbashev get the honorable mentions. 

Back stateside, the Washington Capitals bring in the Los Angeles Kings. Garret Sparks is mismatched with Vitek Vanecek in goal. Washington struck first in the first period with a Connor McMichael goal, his fourth of the season, via Joe Snively. The Capitals added on in the second period with a Justin Schultz goal, his second of the year, assisted by Conor Sheary and Garnet Hathaway. Los Angeles got on the board with a Blake Lizotte shorthanded goal, his third of the season, set up by Alex Iafallo and Anze Kopitar. The Kings tied it in the third period with a Christian Wolanin goal, passed from Matt Roy. Los Angeles took the lead with an Adrian Kempe goal, his twelfth of the year, coming off of Roy and Dustin Brown. The final held from here at 3-2, with the three stars being Kempe, Roy, and Wolanin.

Finally, the New Jersey Devils host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry and Jon Gillies are in the blue paint. Pittsburgh started in the first period with a shorthanded Teddy Blueger goal, his seventh of the season, going in unassisted. The Penguins added on in the second period with a Danton Heinen goal, his ninth of the year, via Marcus Pettersson and Jason Zucker. New Jersey got on the board with a Janne Kuokkanen goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Ty Smith and Yegor Sharangovich. Pittsburgh replied in the third period with a Mike Matheson goal, his third of the year, guided in by Dominik Simon. The Devils pulled one back with a Nathan Bastian power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Dougie Hamilton and Pavel Zacha. The Penguins held on for a 3-2 win, with the three stars being Matheson, Heinen, and Blueger. 

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