NHL 2021-22 - Day 173

It's a twelve-game day today, beginning with...

The Boston Bruins hosting the Ottawa Senators. Anton Forsberg and Linus Ullmark man the nets. Boston began in the first period with a Marc McLaughlin goal, his third of the season, coming off of Nick Foligno and Curtis Lazar. The Bruins added on with a Jesper Froden goal, via Matt Grzelcyk and Taylor Hall. Jeremy Swayman replaced an injured Ullmark in the second period. Ottawa got on the board in the second period with a Brady Tkachuk goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, guided in by Tim Stutzle. The Senators tied it on a Josh Norris power play goal, his thirty-third of the season, powered by Drake Batherson and Stutzle. Ottawa pulled ahead on a Stutzle power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, with assists provided by Batherson and Tkachuk. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars going to Stutzle, Tkachuk, and Batherson.

In Buffalo, the Sabres welcome the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Craig Anderson make the starts in goal. Buffalo struck first in the first period with a Rasmus Asplund goal, eighth of the season, courtesy of Henri Jokiharju. St. Louis tied it on a power play goal by David Perron, his twenty-fifth of the year, powered by Torey Krug and Vladimir Tarasenko. The Blues took the lead in the second period with a Brandon Saad power play goal, his twenty-first of the season, with assists provided by Robert Thomas and Tarasenko. The Sabres retied it on an Alex Tuch goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Owen Power and Tage Thompson. St. Louis took the lead back with a Tarasenko goal, his twenty-ninth of the season, made possible by Pavel Buchnevich and Thomas. The Blues added on with another Tarasenko goal, his second of the game and thirtieth of the year, with helpers from Krug and Thomas. St. Louis extended the lead in the third period as Buchnevich scored his twenty-sixth of the season, thanks to Thomas and Colton Parayko. The Sabres iced it at 6-2 with a Tarasenko empty net goal to complete his hat trick on his thirty-first of the year, set up by Buchnevich and Thomas. The three stars were awarded to Tarasenko, Thomas, and Buchnevich, while Krug gets an honorable mention.

Over to Toronto, as the Maple Leafs bring in the Washington Capitals. Ilya Samsonov and Jack Campbell are the masked men. Toronto opened in the first period with a Michael Bunting goal, his twenty-first of the season, made possible by Mitchell Marner and Auston Matthews. The Maple Leafs added on with a William Nylander goal, his twenty-ninth of the year, via Pierre Engvall and Jake Muzzin. Washington got on the board with a John Carlson goal in the second period, his fifteenth of the season, going in unassisted. Toronto replied with an Ilya Lyubushkin goal, fueled by Morgan Rielly and John Tavares. The Maple Leafs extended the lead as Nylander scored his second of the game and thirtieth of the year, thanks to Rielly. Vitek Vanecek replaced Samsonov in goal. Toronto padded the lead on an Ilya Mikheyev goal, his sixteenth of the year, courtesy of Matthews and Tavares. The Maple Leafs continued with a Bunting goal, his second of the game and twenty-second of the season, with helpers from Engvall. The Capitals got one back with a Tom Wilson goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, helped along by Lars Eller and Carlson. Toronto fired back with a Mikheyev goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the season, assisted by Lyubushkin and Tavares. Washington answered on a Nic Dowd goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Trevor van Riemsdyk and Johan Larsson. The final stood at 7-3, with the three stars handed to Tavares, Nylander, and Bunting, while Carlson, Mikheyev, Lyubushkin, Rielly, Matthews, and Engvall receive the honorable mentions.

Down in Tampa Bay, the Lightning host the Anaheim Ducks. Anthony Stolarz is mismatched with Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal. Tampa Bay started in the first period with a Ross Colton goal, his seventeenth of the season, via Steven Stamkos. The Lightning added on with an Alex Killorn goal, his twenty-second of the year, helped along by Anthony Cirelli and Erik Cernak. Anaheim got on the board with an Adam Henrique goal, his sixteenth of the season, coming off of Kevin Shattenkirk and Cam Fowler. The Ducks tied it on another Henrique goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, assisted by Ryan Getzlaf. Anaheim took the lead with another Terry goal, his and thirty-fourth of the season, passed from Andrej Sustr and Getzlaf. Brian Elliott replaced Vasilevskiy in goal. Tampa Bay tied it in the third period with a Nikita Kucherov goal, his sixteenth of the year, courtesy of Stamkos and Corey Perry. The Lightning won 4-3 in overtime with a Cirelli goal, his sixteenth of the campaign, with helpers from Killorn and Mikhail Sergachev. The three stars were Stamkos, Cirelli, and Killorn, while Henrique and Getzlaf get the honorable mentions.

Back north, the Pittsburgh Penguins welcome the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin and Tristan Jarry guard the cages. Pittsburgh led off in the first period with a Kris Letang goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby. The Penguins added on with a Danton Heinen goal, his sixteenth of the year, fueled by Brian Boyle and Teddy Blueger. New York got on the board with a Zach Parise goal in the second period, his fourteenth of the season, via Mathew Barzal. Pittsburgh answered with a Guentzel goal, his thirty-sixth of the year, coming off of Crosby. The Penguins extended the lead in the third period as Crosby scored his twenty-ninth of the season, thanks to Guentzel and Mike Matheson. The Islanders got one back with an Anders Lee goal, his twenty-sixth of the year helped along by Brock Nelson. Pittsburgh answered on a Brock McGinn empty net goal, his twelfth of the season, set up by Jeff Carter and Blueger. New York countered with a Zdeno Chara goal, with a lone helper from Nelson. The Penguins iced it at 6-3 with an empty net goal by Guentzel, his second of the game and thirty-seventh of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars belonged to Guentzel, Crosby, and Blueger, while Nelson gets an honorable mention.

Backtracking to Raleigh, as the Carolina Hurricanes bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Alex Nedeljkovic faces his former team and Antti Raanta in goal. Detroit got going in the second period with a Moritz Seider power play goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi. The Red Wings added on in the third period with an Adam Erne goal, his sixth of the year, via Mitchell Stephens. Detroit extended the lead as Filip Zadina scored his tenth of the season, with the help of Filip Hronek. The final held at 3-0, with the three stars awarded to Nedeljkovic (46 save shutout), Seider, and Erne.

Southwest to Dallas, as the Stars host the Minnesota Wild. Marc-Andre Fleury faces a lesser foe in Scott Wedgewood in goal. Minnesota was first to score in the first period with a Kevin Fiala goal, his twenty-seventh of the season, coming off of Frederick Gaudreau and Matt Boldy. Dallas tied it in the second period with a Jason Robertson power play goal, his thirty-fifth of the year, powered by Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski. The Wild retook the lead on a shorthanded Fiala goal, his second of the game and twenty-eighth of the season, set up by Gaudreau. The Stars retied it in the third period on another Robertson goal, his second of the game and thirty-sixth of the year, assisted by Hintz and Miro Heiskanen. Minnesota won 3-2 in overtime with a Gaudreau goal, his twelfth of the campaign, fueled by the goalie Fleury and Fiala. The three stars were Gaudreau, Fiala, and Robertson, while Hintz gets an honorable mention.

Along to Nashville, as the Predators welcome the Edmonton Oilers. Mike Smith and Juuse Saros are between the pipes. Edmonton kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his fifty-second of the season, powered by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid. The Oilers added on with another Draisaitl goal, his second of the game and fifty-third of the year, guided in by Zach Hyman. Edmonton extended the lead as Darnell Nurse scored his ninth of the season shorthanded, set up by Evander Kane and Cody Ceci. The Oilers padded the lead in the third period as Draisaitl finished his hat trick on his fifty-fourth of the year, thanks to McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins on the power play. The final held at 4-0, with the three stars awarded to Draisaitl, Smith (30 save shutout), and McDavid, while Nugent-Hopkins gets an honorable mention.

Up in Chicago, the Blackhawks bring in the San Jose Sharks. James Reimer and Kevin Lankinen are in the creases. Chicago drew first blood in the first period with a Patrick Kane goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, courtesy of Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat. San Jose tied it with a Timo Meier goal, his thirty-second of the year, passed from Tomas Hertl and Brent Burns. The Blackhawks took the lead with a Taylor Raddysh power play goal in the second period, his ninth of the season, powered by Seth Jones and Kane. The Sharks tied it again with a Scott Reedy goal, his third of the year, guided in by Matt Nieto and Sasha Chmelevski. Chicago pulled ahead with a Calvin de Haan goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Kane and DeBrincat. The Blackhawks added on in the third period with a Strome goal, his twenty-first of the year, helped along by Jones and DeBrincat. San Jose pulled back with a Rudolfs Balcers goal, his ninth of the season, fueled by Logan Couture and Erik Karlsson. The Sharks tied it with a Jaycob Megna goal, his second of the year, assisted by Meier and Hertl. The tie lasted to a shootout, where DeBrincat's lone tally lifted the Blackhawks to a 5-4 win. The three stars were DeBrincat, Kane, and Strome, while Meier, Hertl, and Jones get the honorable mentions.

Out west, the Colorado Avalanche host the New Jersey Devils. Andrew Hammond and Pavel Francouz are the backups in goal. Colorado dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Logan O'Connor goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Darren Helm and Josh Manson. The Avalanche added on with an Andre Burakovsky goal, his twenty-second of the year, via Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin. Colorado extended the lead as Lehkonen scored his fifteenth of the season on the power play, powered by Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar. New Jersey got on the board in the third period with a Jesper Bratt goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, fueled by Pavel Zacha. The final stayed at 3-1, with the three stars going to Lehkonen, Francouz (26 for 27 in saves), and Burakovsky. 

North to Calgary, where the Flames welcome the Vegas Golden Knights. Logan Thompson is mismatched with Jacob Markstrom in goal. Calgary drew first blood in the first period with a Dillon Dube power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Tyler Toffoli and Mikael Backlund. Vegas tied it on a Jack Eichel goal, his twelfth of the year, assisted by Jonathan Marchessault and Mattias Janmark. The Golden Knights took the lead with an Evgenii Dadonov goal, his nineteenth of the season, with assists provided by Nicolas Roy and William Karlsson. Vegas added on with a Michael Amadio goal, his tenth of the year, coming off of Karlsson. The Golden Knights extended the lead as Marchessault scored his twenty-ninth of the season, thanks to Janmark and Ben Hutton. Dan Vladar replaced Markstrom in goal. Vegas padded the lead on a Roy power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, helped along by Shea Theodore and Marchessault. The Golden Knights continued in the third period with a Karlsson shorthanded goal, his tenth of the campaign, set up by Dadonov. This made it 6-1, the final, with the three stars handed to Marchessault, Karlsson, and Dadonov, while Roy and Janmark get the honorable mentions.

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks bring in the Arizona Coyotes. Karel Vejmelka and Thatcher Demko man the creases. Vancouver got the first goal in the first period with an Alex Chiasson goal, his eleventh of the season, via J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes. The Canucks added on with a Sheldon Dries power play goal, powered by Brad Hunt and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Vancouver extended the lead in the second period as Elias Pettersson scored his twenty-seventh of the year on the power play, with the help of Hughes and Miller. Arizona got on the board with an Andrew Ladd goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Phil Kessel and Janis Moser. The Canucks answered with a Vasily Podkolzin power play goal, his twelfth of the year, with assists provided by Miller and Hughes. Vancouver padded the lead on a Conor Garland goal, his sixteenth of the season, helped along by Podkolzin. The Canucks continued with a Podkolzin goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the year, made possible by Miller. Vancouver struck again in the third period with a Chiasson goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the season, with helpers from Miller and Tyler Myers. The final was 7-1, with the three stars going to Miller, Podkolzin, and Hughes, while Chiasson gets an honorable mention. 

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