NHL 2021-22 - Day 74

New Year's Day is here, with nine games on throughout the day. First up...

The Columbus Blue Jackets host the Carolina Hurricanes. Antti Raanta and Daniil Tarasov are the backups in goal. Columbus led off in the first period with a Zach Werenski goal, his sixth of the season, via Jack Roslovic and Emil Bemstrom. The Blue Jackets added on with an Adam Boqvist goal, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Gustav Nyquist. Columbus extended the lead on a shorthanded Nyquist goal, his sixth of the season, set up by Alexandre Texier. Frederik Andersen replaced Raanta in goal. The Blue Jackets padded the lead on a Texier goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Eric Robinson. Carolina got on the board with a Steven Lorentz goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Tony DeAngelo and Derek Stepan. The Hurricanes got closer with a Brady Skjei goal, his second of the year, fueled by Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis. Elvis Merzlikins replaced Tarasov goal in the third period. Carolina got closer with another Skjei goal, his second of the game and third of the season, with helpers from Brett Pesce and Vincent Trocheck. The Hurricanes tied it on a Nino Niederreiter goal, his tenth of the year, helped along by Ian Cole and the goalie Andersen. Carolina pulled ahead with an Ethan Bear goal, his second of the season, coming off of Martin Necas and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The Hurricanes surged with a Lorentz goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, made possible by Jarvis. Carolina iced it at 7-4 with a Svechnikov empty net goal, his tenth of the campaign, set up by Trocheck. The three stars were Lorentz, Svechnikov, and Skjei, while Trocheck, Jarvis, Texier, and Nyquist get the honorable mentions.

Over in Boston, the Bruins welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Linus Ullmark are between the pipes. Buffalo began in the first period with a Vinnie Hinostroza goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Brett Murray and Rasmus Dahlin. Boston tied it in the second period with a Craig Smith goal, his third of the year, via Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy. The Sabres replied with a Jeff Skinner goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson. Buffalo added on with a Tuch power play goal, powered by Peyton Krebs and Thompson. The Bruins got one back on a Nick Foligno goal in the third period, helped along by Jake DeBrusk. Boston tied it on a Taylor Hall goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Matt Grzelcyk and McAvoy. The Bruins won 4-3 in overtime with a Charlie Coyle goal, his eighth of the campaign, with helpers from Marchand and McAvoy. The three stars were McAvoy, Marhand, and Tuch, while Thompson gets an honorable mention.

Down in Florida, the Panthers bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Sam Montembeault and Sergei Bobrovsky are the former teammates in goal. Florida opened in the first period with a Sam Bennett goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Anthony Duclair and Jonathan Huberdeau. Montreal tied it on a Jonathan Drouin goal, his sixth of the year, guided in by Sami Niku and David Savard. The Canadiens took the lead in the second period with a Nick Suzuki goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Jesse Ylonen and Niku. The Panthers tied it on an Aleksander Barkov power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Sam Reinhart and Huberdeau. Florida took the lead with a Frank Vatrano goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Reinhart and Owen Tippett. The Panthers added on in the third period with a Bennett goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, helped along by MacKenzie Weegar and Huberdeau. Florida extended the lead as Mason Marchment scored his second of the campaign, with the help of Anton Lundell. This made it 5-2, the final, with the three stars going to Bennett, Huberdeau, and Reinhart, while Niku gets an honorable mention.

Back north, the New York Islanders host the Edmonton Oilers. Mikko Koskinen and Ilya Sorokin are in the creases. New York struck first in the first period with an Anders Lee power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Kieffer Bellows and Noah Dobson. Edmonton tied it on a Leon Draisaitl goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, via Duncan Keith and Cody Ceci in the second period. The Oilers took the lead in the second period with a Darnell Nurse goal, his second of the season, assisted by Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid. The Islanders retied it in the third period on an Anthony Beauvillier goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Austin Czarnik and Ross Johnston. New York won 3-2 in overtime with a Dobson goal, his fifth of the campaign, passed from Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech. The three stars went to Dobson, Beauvillier, and Lee.

To Nashville, as the Predators welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Collin Delia is mismatched with Juuse Saros in goal. Nashville started in the first period with a Filip Forsberg goal, his fifteenth of the season, via Matt Duchene and Mattias Ekholm. The Predators added on with a Ryan Johansen goal, his tenth of the year, fueled by Forsberg and Ekholm. Nashville extended the lead on a Nick Cousins power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Ekholm and Philip Tomasino. Arvid Soderblom replaced Delia in goal. The Predators padded the lead in the second period as Tanner Jeannot scored his ninth of the year, thanks to Colton Sissons and Yakov Trenin. Nashville kept going on a Roman Josi power play goal, his eleventh of the season, made possible by Johansen and Duchene. Chicago got on the board with a Philipp Kurashev goal, his second of the year, passed from Calvin de Haan and Henrik Borgstrom. The Predators shot back with a Jeannot goal, his second of the game and tenth of the season, helped along by Matt Benning and Trenin. This made it 6-1, the final, with the three stars handed to Jeannot, Ekholm, and Forsberg, while Johansen, Duchene, and Trenin get the honorable mentions. 

Up in Minnesota, the Wild bring in the St. Louis Blues for the Winter Classic. Jordan Binnington and Cam Talbot tend the twines. St. Louis was first to score in the first period with a David Perron goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Ryan O'Reilly and Marco Scandella. Minnesota tied it on a Kirill Kaprizov goal, his thirteenth of the year, via Ryan Hartman. The Blues took the lead on a Jordan Kyrou goal in the second period, his eleventh of the season, going in unassisted. St. Louis added on with a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Kyrou and Robert Thomas. The Blues extended the lead on an Ivan Barbashev power play goal, his twelfth of the season, powered by Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich. St. Louis padded the lead on a Kyrou goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the year, with a helper from Thomas. The Wild got one back with a Rem Pitlick goal, his sixth of the season, helped along by Victor Rask and Nick Bjugstad. The Blues replied with a Torey Krug goal, his fifth of the year, coming off of Barbashev. Kaapo Kahkonen replaced Talbot in goal for the third period. Minnesota got one back in the third period with a Hartman goal, his fifteenth of the season, with assists provided by Mats Zuccarello and Kaprizov. The Wild pulled closer with a Kevin Fiala goal, his seventh of the year, fueled by Kaprizov and Alex Goligoski. The final was 6-4, and the three stars belonged to Kyrou, Barbashev, and Kaprizov, while Hartman and Thomas get the honorable mentions.

In Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Ottawa Senators. Matt Murray and Jack Campbell are the veterans in goal. Toronto kicked off the scoring in the first period with a shorthanded Justin Holl goal, set up by David Kampf and T.J. Brodie. The Maple Leafs added on with an Ilya Mikheyev shorthanded goal, via Alexander Kerfoot and Brodie. Toronto extended the lead in the second period on a Brodie goal, his second of the season, assisted by Morgan Rielly and Kerfoot. The Maple Leafs padded the lead in the third period on a William Nylander goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Travis Dermott and Kerfoot. Toronto continued with a Mikheyev power play goal, his second of the game, powered by Ondrej Kase and Jason Spezza. The Maple Leafs struck again with another Nylander goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the campaign, coming off of John Tavares and Rasmus Sandin. This made it 6-0, the final, with the three stars going to Nylander, Mihkeyev, and Brodie, while Kerfoot gets an honorable mention.

Out west, the Seattle Kraken welcome the Vancouver Canucks. Thatcher Demko and Philipp Grubauer patrol the creases. Vancouver drew first blood in the first period with an unassisted Vasily Podkolzin goal, his seventh of the season. The Canucks added on with a Nils Hoglander power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Brad Hunt and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Seattle got on the board in the second period with a Calle Jarnkrok goal, his fourth of the season, courtesy of Carson Soucy and Yanni Gourde. Vancouver replied in the third period with a Tyler Motte goal, his third of the year, made possible by Matthew Highmore and Juho Lammiko. The Kraken got one back with a Will Borgen goal, coming off of Alex Wennberg. The Canucks shot back with a Conor Garland goal, his tenth of the season, fueled by Quinn Hughes and Tanner Pearson. Vancouver iced it at 5-2 with a Pearson empty net goal, his sixth of the year, set up by J.T. Miller and Tyler Myers. The three stars were Pearson, Motte, and Garland.

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the Philadelphia Flyers. Martin Jones and Jonathan Quick are in the blue paint. Los Angeles got going in the first period with a Viktor Arvidsson goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore. Philadelphia tied it on a Joel Farabee goal, his tenth of the year, via Cam Atkinson and Claude Giroux. The Kings retook the lead on a Moore goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Danault and Arvidsson. Los Angeles added on with an Adrian Kempe power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, powered by Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. The Kings extended the lead as Brendan Lemieux scored his seventh of the season, thanks to Arthur Kaliyev and Doughty. The Flyers got one back in the third period with a Kevin Hayes power play goal, his third of the year, with assists provided by Giroux and Atkinson. Los Angeles fired back with a Danault goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Moore and Arvidsson. Philadelphia got one back with an Ivan Provorov goal, his fourth of the year, with helpers from Farabee and Atkinson. The Kings iced it at 6-3 with an Arvidsson empty net goal, his second of the game and eighth of the campaign, set up by Moore. The three stars were Arvidsson, Moore, and Danault, while Doughty, Farabee, Atkinson, and Giroux get the honorable mentions. 

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