It's a loaded Saturday with 13 games, beginning with...
The Minnesota Wild hosting the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Filip Gustavsson are in goal. Minnesota began in the first period with a Calen Addison goal, his second of the season, assisted by Marcus Foligno and Joel Eriksson Ek. Anaheim tied it on a Ryan Strome goal, his sixth of the year, via Frank Vatrano. The Wild took the lead with a Connor Dewar goal, his second of the season, coming off of Mason Shaw and Ryan Reaves. The Ducks tied it in the second period with a Cam Fowler power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Mason McTavish and Trevor Zegras. Anaheim pulled ahead with a Zegras goal, his ninth of the season, made possible by Troy Terry and Dmitry Kulikov. Minnesota retied it in the third period with an Eriksson Ek power play goal, his eighth of the year, with assists provided by Addison and Matt Boldy. The Ducks regained the lead on a Terry power play goal, his eleventh of the season, passed from Adam Henrique and McTavish. The Wild tied it again on a Kirill Kaprizov goal, his fifteenth of the year, courtesy of Mats Zuccarello and Jared Spurgeon. The tie went to a shootout, where Kaprizov and Boldy lifted the Wild to a 5-4 win over Zegras and the Ducks. The three stars were Eriksson Ek, Spurgeon, and Boldy, while Terry, Zegras, and McTavish receive the honorable mentions.
To the east, the Boston Bruins welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Pavel Francouz and Linus Ullmark are between the pipes. Boston struck first in the first period with a David Pastrnak power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy. The Bruins added on with a Trent Frederic goal, his fourth of the year, passed from McAvoy and Pavel Zacha. Boston extended the lead in the second period as Pastrnak scored his second of the game and sixteenth of the season, helped along by David Krejci. Colorado got on the board in the third period with an Andrew Cogliano goal, his fourth of the year, going in unassisted. The Bruins replied with another Frederic goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, guided in by Taylor Hall and Charlie Coyle. Boston padded the lead on a Jake DeBrusk goal, his eighth of the year, made possible by Derek Forbort and Patrice Bergeron. The final stood at 5-1, with the three stars handed to Pastrnak, Frederic, and McAvoy.
In Ottawa, the Senators bring in the San Jose Sharks. Kaapo Kahkonen and Anton Forsberg draw the starts in goal. San Jose started in the first period with a Tomas Hertl power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Alexander Barabanov and Timo Meier. Ottawa tied it on a Brady Tkachuk goal, his twelfth of the year, coming off of Drake Batherson and Tim Stutzle on the power play. The Sharks retook the lead with another Hertl goal, his second of the game and ninth of the season, fueled by Erik Karlsson and Kevin Labanc. The Senators tied it in the second period on a Claude Giroux goal, his tenth of the year, going in unassisted. Ottawa took the lead with a Stutzle power play goal, his tenth of the season, with assists provided by Batherson and Alex DeBrincat. The Senators added on in the third period with a Thomas Chabot power play goal, his fourth of the year, helped along by Mathieu Joseph and Giroux. Ottawa extended the lead as Giroux scored his second of the game and eleventh of the season, thanks to Tyler Motte. The final stood at 5-2, with the three stars given to Giroux, Stutzle, and Hertl, while Batherson gets an honorable mention.
Next up, the Detroit Red Wings host the Vegas Golden Knights. Adin Hill is mismatched with Ville Husso in goal. Vegas led off in the first period with a Jack Eichel goal, his thirteenth of the season, via Chandler Stephenson and Brayden McNabb. The Golden Knights added on in the second period with a Jonathan Marchessault power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Shea Theodore and Mark Stone. Detroit got on the board with an Oskar Sundqvist power play goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Dominik Kubalik and Dylan Larkin. Vegas replied with a Phil Kessel goal, his fifth of the year, coming off of Nicolas Roy. The Golden Knights iced it at 4-1 with an empty net goal by Reilly Smith, his twelfth of the campaign, set up by Kessel and McNabb. The three stars were Kessel, Hill (24 for 25 in saves), and McNabb.
Down in Tampa Bay, the Lightning welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs. Matt Murray and Andrei Vasilevskiy protect the nets. Toronto dented the scoreboard in the second period on a Mitchell Marner shorthanded goal, his ninth of the season, set up by David Kampf. Tampa Bay tied it on a Vladislav Namestnikov goal, assisted by Anthony Cirelli and Erik Cernak. The Maple Leafs took the lead with a William Nylander goal, his fourteenth of the year, via Auston Matthews and Michael Bunting. The Lightning tied it in the third period on a Nikita Kucherov power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Steven Stamkos and Corey Perry. Tampa Bay took the lead with a Ross Colton power play goal, his sixth of the year, with assists provided by Mikhail Sergachev and Perry. Toronto tied it on a Marner power play goal, his second of the game and tenth of the season, going in unassisted. The Lightning won 4-3 in overtime with an Alex Killorn goal, his of the year, guided in by Cirelli. The three stars were Cirelli, Marner, and Perry.
North to Philadelphia, as the Flyers bring in the New Jersey Devils. Akira Schmid and Carter Hart draw the starts in goal. New Jersey got going in the second period with a Fabian Zetterlund goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Miles Wood and Michael McLeod. Philadelphia tied it on a Travis Konecny power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Noah Cates and Kevin Hayes. The Devils took the lead in the third period with a Dawson Mercer goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Wood. New Jersey added on with a Jack Hughes goal, his thirteenth of the year, via Erik Haula. The Flyers got closer with a Lukas Sedlak goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Travis Sanheim and Tony DeAngelo. The Devils held on for a 3-2 win, with the three stars going to Hughes, Mercer, and Wood.
Across Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Penguins host the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Tristan Jarry guard the cages. Pittsburgh opened in the first period with a Kasperi Kapanen goal, his third of the season, via Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Bryan Rust. The Penguins added on with a Rust goal, his sixth of the year, courtesy of Jason Zucker and Evgeni Malkin. St. Louis got on the board with a Pavel Buchnevich goal, his eighth of the season, passed from Nick Leddy and Colton Parayko. Pittsburgh answered with another Kapanen power play goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, powered by Malkin and Jeff Carter. The Penguins extended the lead as Zucker scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Malkin and Rust. Thomas Greiss replaced Binnington in goal. The Blues got one back with a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by Robert Thomas and Parayko. Pittsburgh replied with a Kapanen power play goal, completing his hat trick on his fifth of the season, with helpers from Rust and Zucker. The Penguins iced it at 6-2 with a Sidney Crosby empty net goal, his thirteenth of the year, set up by Jake Guentzel in the third period. The three stars went to Kapanen, Rust, and Zucker, while Malkin and Parayko get the honorable mentions.
Out west, the Edmonton Oilers welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Jake Allen and Stuart Skinner are in the creases. Montreal drew first blood in the first period with a Nick Suzuki power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, powered by Mike Matheson and Kirby Dach. Edmonton tied it on a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid on the power play in the second period. The Oilers took the lead with a Draisaitl goal, his seventeenth of the season, with assists provided by McDavid and Tyson Barrie on the power play. Edmonton added on with a McDavid goal, his twentieth of the year, passed from Barrie and Zach Hyman. The Canadiens got one back with an Evgenii Dadonov goal, his second of the season, assisted by Joel Armia and Johnathan Kovacevic. Montreal tied it on an Arber Xhekaj power play goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Juraj Slafkovsky. The Oilers regained the lead with a Darnell Nurse goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by Draisaitl and Hyman. Edmonton extended the lead as McDavid scored his second of the game and twenty-first of the year, thanks to Draisaitl. The final held at 5-3, with the three stars awarded to McDavid, Draisaitl, and Hyman, while Barrie gets an honorable mention.
East again to New York, as the Rangers bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Petr Mrazek and Jaroslav Halak are the veterans in goal. Chicago kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Reese Johnson goal, his second of the season, assisted by Jake McCabe and Boris Katchouk. The Blackhawks added on in the second period with a Patrick Kane power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Jonathan Toews and Seth. Chicago extended the lead as Max Domi scored his eighth of the season on the power play, thanks to Jones and Kane. New York got on the board with a Mika Zibanejad power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, helped along by Adam Fox and Artemi Panarin. Arvid Soderblom replaced an injured Mrazek in the third period. The Blackhawks replied with a Taylor Raddysh power play goal, his seventh of the season, with helpers from Kane and Domi. The Rangers got one back with a Chris Kreider goal, his twelfth of the year, fueled by Zibanejad and Panarin. Chicago iced it at 5-2 with a Domi empty net goal, his second of the game and ninth of the campaign, set up by Jason Dickinson and McCabe. The three stars belonged to Domi, Kane, and Zibanejad, while Jones, McCabe, and Panarin get the honorable mentions.
Westward once more to Calgary, as the Flames host the Washington Capitals. Darcy Kuemper and Dan Vladar protect the nets. Calgary opened in the first period with a Blake Coleman goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Adam Ruzicka and Mikael Backlund. Washington tied it on a Conor Sheary power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Sonny Milano and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Flames took the lead in the second period with an Andrew Mangiapane goal, his fifth of the season, guided in by Backlund and Ruzicka. Charlie Lindgren replaced Kuemper late in the second period. Calgary added on in the third period with a Ruzicka goal, his sixth of the year, fueled by Backlund and Rasmus Andersson. The Flames extended the lead as Mangiapane scored his second of the game and sixth of the season, thanks to Dillon Dube and Nazem Kadri. The Capitals got one back with a John Carlson goal, his eighth of the year, via Lars Eller and Dylan Strome. Calgary iced it at 5-2 with an Elias Lindholm empty net goal, his eighth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Ruzicka, Mangiapane, and Backlund.
Over in Vancouver, the Canucks welcome the Arizona Coyotes. Karel Vejmelka and Spencer Martin are the inexperienced goalies. Arizona cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Christian Fischer goal, his fifth of the season, via Liam O'Brien and Juuso Valimaki. Vancouver tied it on a Bo Horvat power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, powered by Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes. The Coyotes retook the lead in the second period with a power play goal by Jakob Chychrun, his second of the season, with assists provided by Shayne Gostisbehere and Matias Maccelli. The Canucks tied it in the third period with a Brock Boeser goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Pettersson. Vancouver won 3-2 in overtime with a Horvat power play goal, his second of the game and nineteenth of the campaign, set up by Hughes and J.T. Miller. The three stars belonged to Horvat, Hughes, and Pettersson.
Stateside, the Seattle Kraken bring in the Florida Panthers. Spencer Knight and Philipp Grubauer patrol the creases. Florida was first to score in the first period with a Carter Verhaeghe goal, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Sam Bennett and Marc Staal. The Panthers added on with a Verhaeghe power play goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, powered by Brandon Montour and Tkachuk. Seattle got on the board in the second period with a Jared McCann goal, his eleventh of the season, made possible by Jordan Eberle. Florida fired back with a Tkachuk power play goal, his twelfth of the year, with assists provided by Aaron Ekblad and Bennett. The Panthers extended the lead in the third period as Aleski Heponiemi scored, thanks to Eric Staal and Gustav Forsling. Florida padded the lead on a Forsling power play goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Bennett and Eetu Luostarinen. The final stood at 5-1, with the three stars being Verhaeghe, Tkachuk, and Forsling, while Bennett gets an honorable mention.
Finally, the Los Angeles Kings host the Carolina Hurricanes. Pyotr Kochetkov and Jonathan Quick occupy the blue paint. Carolina started in the first period with a Brady Skjei goal, his third of the season, passed from Jordan Martinook and Jesper Fast. The Hurricanes added on with a Martin Necas power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Brent Burns and Stefan Noesen. Carolina extended the lead in the second period as Sebastian Aho scored his tenth of the season, thanks to Necas and Seth Jarvis. Los Angeles got on the board in the third period with an Arthur Kaliyev goal, his ninth of the year, with assists provided by Phillip Danault and Sean Durzi. The Hurricanes answered with an Andrei Svechnikov goal, his fifteenth of the season, made possible by Burns and Brett Pesce. The Kings got one back with a Samuel Fagemo goal, guided in by Blake Lizotte and Matt Roy. The final stood at 4-2, with the three stars being Necas, Burns, and Aho.
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