NHL 2021-22 - Day 95

We've got eleven games this Saturday, including a pair of matinees. First up...

The Buffalo Sabres host the Philadelphia Flyers. Martin Jones and Michael Houser are the goalies. Buffalo led off in the first period with a Jeff Skinner goal, his fifteenth of the season, via Alex Tuch and Dylan Cozens. Philadelphia tied it on a Rasmus Ristolainen goal, his second of the year, coming off of Travis Sanheim. The Flyers took the lead with a Claude Giroux goal, his thirteenth of the season, passed from Ivan Provorov and Cam Atkinson. The Sabres tied it again with a Tage Thompson power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Tuch and Skinner. Buffalo took the lead with another Thompson power play goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the season, made possible by Rasmus Dahlin. The Sabres chased Jones with a Peyton Krebs goal, with helpers from Henri Jokiharju and Mark Jankowski. Carter Hart came into the game in relief. Buffalo added on in the second period with another Krebs goal, fueled by Rasmus Asplund. The Sabres extended the lead in the third period as Skinner scored his second of the game and sixteenth of the year on the power play, thanks to Rasmus Dahlin and Thompson. Philadelphia got one back with another Giroux power play goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the campaign, guided in by Travis Konecny and Atkinson. The final was 6-3, with the three stars being Krebs, Thompson, and Skinner, while Giroux, Tuch, Dahlin, and Atkinson get the honorable mentions. 

Along to Boston, as the Bruins host the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Tuukka Rask are the masked men. Winnipeg began in the first period with a Jansen Harkins goal, his fourth of the season, courtesy of Dominic Toninato. Boston tied it on an Oskar Steen goal, his second of the year, helped along by Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk. The Jets took the lead back with an Andrew Copp goal, his eleventh of the season, via Mark Scheifele. The Bruins tied it in the second period with a Coyle goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Derek Forbort. Boston took the lead in the third period with a David Pastrnak power play goal, his nineteenth of the campaign, powered by Matt Grzelcyk and Brad Marchand. This made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars being Coyle, Pastrnak, and Rask (22 for 24 in saves). 

At the regular time, the New Jersey Devils host the Carolina Hurricanes. Jack LaFontaine and Jon Gillies are the unknown goalies. Carolina started in the first period with an Andrei Svechnikov goal, his fourteenth of the season, coming off of Vincent Trocheck and Brendan Smith. The Hurricanes added on with an Ian Cole goal, his second of the year, passed from Martin Necas and Svechnikov. New Jersey got on the board with a Nathan Bastian goal, his seventh of the season, courtesy of Ryan Graves and Janne Kuokkanen. The Devils tied it on another Bastian goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, via Graves and Michael McLeod. Carolina retook the lead in the second period with a Josh Leivo goal, helped along by Tony DeAngelo and Jaccob Slavin. New Jersey tied it again on a McLeod goal, his third of the season, assisted by Andreas Johnsson and P.K. Subban. The Devils took the lead with a Johnsson goal, his tenth of the year, with helpers from Dawson Mercer and Pavel Zacha. The Hurricanes retied it on a Brady Skjei goal, his sixth of the season, fueled by Derek Stepan and Leivo. New Jersey gained the lead with a Jesper Bratt goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Yegor Sharangovich and Graves. The Devils extended the lead in the third period as Jack Hughes scored his tenth of the season, with the help of Damon Severson and Nico Hischier on the power play. New Jersey padded the lead on a Zacha goal, his tenth of the year, with assisted provided by Mercer and Johnsson. This made it 7-4, the final, with the three stars handed out to Bastian, Johnsson, and Zacha, while McLeod, Graves, Mercer, Svechnikov, and Leivo get the honorable mentions.

Over in New York, the Rangers welcome the Arizona Coyotes. Karel Vejmelka is mismatched with Igor Shesterkin in goal. Arizona opened in the first period with a Liam O'Brien goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Loui Eriksson and Shayne Gostisbehere. New York tied it on a Jacob Trouba goal, his seventh of the year, via Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. The Coyotes pulled ahead again with an Andrew Ladd goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Christian Fischer and Riley Nash. Arizona added on in the second period with a Clayton Keller goal, his fifteenth of the year, guided in by Nick Schmaltz and Travis Boyd. The Rangers got one back on a shorthanded goal by Kreider, his twenty-seventh of the season, set up by Trouba. New York tied it on a Julien Gauthier goal, his third of the year, passed from Dryden Hunt and Kevin Rooney. The Rangers took the lead with an Artemi Panarin power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Adam Fox and Zibanejad. New York extended the lead as Kreider scored his second of the game and twenty-eighth of the year, going in unassisted. The Rangers padded the lead in the third period as Trouba scored his second of the game and eighth of the season, thanks to K'Andre Miller and Ryan Strome. Scott Wedgewood replaced Vejmelka in goal. New York continued with Kreider completing his hat trick on his twenty-ninth of the year, with helpers from Fox and Panarin on the power play. The final stood at 7-3, with the three stars awarded to Kreider, Trouba, and Zibanejad, while Panarin and Fox get the honorable mentions.

Next up, the New York Islanders bring in the Toronto Maple Leafs. Petr Mrazek and Semyon Varlamov are the veterans in goal. Toronto was first to score in the first period with a Mitchell Marner shorthanded goal, his ninth of the season, set up by Morgan Rielly. New York tied it on a Zach Parise goal, his second of the year, via Scott Mayfield. The Maple Leafs took the lead on a Pierre Engvall goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. Toronto added on in the second period with a Rielly goal, his fifth of the year, passed from William Nylander and Alexander Kerfoot. The final held at 3-1, with the three stars given to Rielly, Mrazek (25 for 26 in saves), and Engvall.

Down in DC, the Washington Capitals host the Ottawa Senators. Matt Murray and Vitek Vanecek are the alliterative goalies. Ottawa struck first in the first period with a Thomas Chabot goal, his second of the season, fueled by Austin Watson and Nick Paul. The Senators added on in the second period with a Zach Sanford goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Alex Formenton. Washington got on the board in the third period with an Alex Ovechkin goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, coming off of Trevor van Riemsdyk and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Capitals tied it on another Ovechkin goal, his second of the game and twenty-ninth of the year, via Nicklas Backstrom. Washington won 3-2 in overtime with a Backstrom goal, his second of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Vanecek (20 for 22 in saves).

Out west, the Colorado Avalanche welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Cayden Primeau and Darcy Kuemper draw the starts in goal. Colorado kicked off the scoring in the first period with an Alex Newhook power play goal, his ninth of the season, guided in by Samuel Girard and Devon Toews. The Avalanche added on with a Valeri Nichushkin power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Girard and Toews. Montreal got on the board with an Artturi Lehkonen goal, his fifth of the season, fueled by Nick Suzuki and Tyler Toffoli. The Canadiens tied it in the third period with a Suzuki power play goal, his eighth of the year, with assists provided by Christian Dvorak and Mike Hoffman. Colorado won 3-2 in overtime with a Gabriel Landeskog goal, his fifteenth of the campaign, passed from Nichushkin and Toews. The three stars were Toews, Nichushkin, and Suzuki, while Girard gets an honorable mention.

Backtracking to Nashville, as the Predators bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Alex Nedeljkovic and Juuse Saros protect the nets. Nashville got going in the second period with a Nick Cousins power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Philip Tomasino and Mattias Ekholm. The Predators added on with a Matt Duchene goal, his eighteenth of the year, courtesy of Filip Forsberg and Matt Tennyson. Detroit got on the board with an Adam Erne goal, his fourth of the season, via Tyler Bertuzzi and Marc Staal. Nashville replied in the third period with a Forsberg goal, his twentieth of the year, guided in by Tennyson and Duchene. The Predators iced it at 4-1 with a Duchene empty net goal, his second of the game and nineteenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Duchene, Forsberg, and Tennyson.

Up in Minnesota, the Wild host the Chicago Blackhawks. Kevin Lankinen and Kaapo Kahkonen are the Finnish goalies. Chicago drew first blood in the first period with a Henrik Borgstrom goal, his third of the season, fueled by Erik Gustafsson. The Blackhawks added on with an Alex DeBrincat power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, powered by Seth Jones and Dylan Strome. Minnesota got on the board with a Joel Eriksson Ek power play goal, his twelfth of the season, with assists provided by Mats Zuccarello and Jared Spurgeon. The Wild tied it on a Kirill Kaprizov power play goal, his seventeenth of the year, helped along by Zuccarello and Spurgeon in the third period. Chicago got on the board with a Borgstrom goal, his second of the game and fourth of the season, via MacKenzie Entwistle and Ryan Carpenter. Minnesota tied it again with a Kevin Fiala goal, his tenth of the year, passed from Jordan Greenway and Alex Goligoski. The Wild won 4-3 in overtime with a Marcus Foligno goal, his sixteenth of the campaign, made possible by Greenway and Goligoski. The three stars were Borgstrom, Greenway, and Zuccarello, while Spurgeon and Goligoski get the honorable mentions.

To Alberta, as the Edmonton Oilers welcome the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Mikko Koskinen guard the cages. Calgary led off in the first period with a Matthew Tkachuk goal, his eighteenth of the season, assisted by Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin. The Flames added on with a Milan Lucic power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson. Edmonton got on the board with an Evan Bouchard power play goal, his seventh of the season, via Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. The Oilers tied it on another Bouchard power play goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, with assists provided by McDavid and Draisaitl. Edmonton took the lead with a Brendan Perlini goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Derek Ryan and Cody Ceci. Calgary tied it again on a Hanifin goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Johnny Gaudreau and Tkachuk. The Oilers took the lead on a Draisaitl goal, his twenty-seventh of the season, made possible by Duncan Keith. Edmonton iced it with a Draisaitl empty net goal, his second of the game and twenty-eighth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars of the 5-3 game were Draisaitl, Hanifin, and Bouchard, while McDavid and Tkachuk get the honorable mentions.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Brian Elliott and James Reimer are in the blue paint. Tampa Bay began in the first period with a Ross Colton goal, his seventh of the season, via Ryan McDonagh. The Lightning added on with a Steven Stamkos goal, his twentieth of the year, coming off of Alex Killorn and Cal Foote. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Mathieu Joseph scored his seventh of the season, thanks to Stamkos and Mikhail Sergachev. The Lightning padded the lead as Corey Perry scored his eleventh of the year, with the help of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and McDonagh. Adin Hill replaced Reimer in goal. San Jose got on the board with a Jaycob Megna goal, helped along by Ryan Merkley. Tampa Bay replied in the second period with a Brayden Point goal, his sixteenth of the season, courtesy of Nikita Kucherov and Anthony Cirelli. The Lightning continued in the third period with a Killorn power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Victor Hedman and Kucherov. Tampa Bay struck again with another Colton goal, his second of the game and eighth of the season, guided in by Taylor Raddysh and Sergachev. The final stood at 7-1, with the three stars going to Colton, Stamkos, and Killorn, while Kucherov, Sergachev, and McDonagh. 

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