Eight games on for a Saturday, beginning with...
The Nashville Predators hosting the Ottawa Senators. Cam Talbot and Juuse Saros are the goalies. Nashville got going in the second period with a Yakov Trenin goal, his second of the season, assisted Mark Jankowski and Tanner Jeannot. Ottawa tied it on a Claude Giroux goal, his twelfth of the year, courtesy of Derick Brassard and Shane Pinto. The Senators took the lead with an Alex DeBrincat goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Pinto and Drake Batherson in the third period. Ottawa added on with a Batherson power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Brady Tkachuk. The Predators got one back with a Nino Niederreiter goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Roman Josi and Ryan Johansen. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to Batherson, Pinto, and DeBrincat.
Along to Dallas, as the Stars welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Ville Husso and Jake Oettinger tend the twines. Detroit began in the first period with a Dylan Larkin goal, his tenth of the season, via Austin Czarnik. Dallas tied it on a Denis Gurianov goal, his second of the year, coming off of Mason Marchment and Tyler Seguin. The Stars pulled ahead in the second period with a Jamie Benn power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen. The Red Wings tied it on a David Perron goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Ben Chiarot and Moritz Seider. Dallas won 3-2 in overtime with a Nils Lundkvist goal, his third of the campaign, guided in by Marchment. The three stars were Marchment, Lundkvist, and Benn.
Over in Tampa Bay, the Lightning host the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy are the Russian goalies. Tampa Bay led off in the first period with a Pat Maroon goal, via Anthony Cirelli and Cal Foote. Florida tied it in the second period with a Zac Dalpe goal, his second of the season, made possible by Josh Mahura and Eric Staal. The Lightning retook the lead with a Brayden Point goal in the third period, his fourteenth of the year, coming off of Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel. Tampa Bay added on with a Mikhail Sergachev goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Foote and Vladislav Namestnikov. The Lightning extended the lead as Steven Stamkos scored his fifteenth of the year, thanks to Alex Killorn and Nick Paul. The final was 4-1, and the three stars were Vasilevskiy (24 for 25 in saves), Foote, and Point.
Up in Montreal, the Canadiens bring in the Los Angeles Kings. Pheonix Copley and Jake Allen are in the blue paint. Los Angeles started in the first period with an Anze Kopitar goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Kevin Fiala. The Kings added on with a Viktor Arvidsson goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Phillip Danault and Mikey Anderson. Los Angeles extended the lead in the third period as Alexander Edler scored, thanks to Blake Lizotte. Montreal got on the board with a Mike Hoffman goal, his sixth of the season, via Kaiden Guhle and Evgenii Dadonov. The Canadiens got closer with a Cole Caufield goal, his sixteenth of the year, with helpers from Jordan Harris and Christian Dvorak. The Kings iced it at 4-2 with an Adrian Kempe empty net goal, his ninth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Edler, Arvidsson, and Kopitar.
Stateside, the Pittsburgh Penguins welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Casey DeSmith man the nets. Pittsburgh opened in the first period with a Rickard Rakell power play goal, his twelfth of the season, powered by Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. The Penguins added on with a Crosby goal, his sixteenth of the year, helped along by Jake Guentzel and Brian Dumoulin. Buffalo got on the board with a Peyton Krebs goal in the third period, his second of the season, coming off of Casey Fitzgerald and Zemgus Girgensons. Pittsburgh replied on a Crosby goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, set up by Guentzel and Bryan Rust. The final was 3-1, and the three stars were Crosby, DeSmith (37 for 38 in saves), and Guentzel.
North again to Toronto, as the Maple Leafs host the Calgary Flames. Dan Vladar and Matt Murray are the masked men. Toronto struck first in the first period with an Auston Matthews power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by William Nylander and Rasmus Sandin. Calgary tied it on a Noah Hanifin goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Jonathan Huberdeau and Elias Lindholm. The Flames took the lead on a Nazem Kadri goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Dillon Dube and Andrew Mangiapane. The Maple Leafs tied it again with a Nylander power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, with assists provided by Sandin and Mitch Marner. Calgary gained the lead in second period with a Trevor Lewis goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Mikael Backlund. Toronto tied it on a Nylander goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, guided in by Matthews. The Flames took the lead again with a Hanifin power play goal, his second of the game and third of the season, with helpers from Adam Ruzicka and Mangiapane. The Maple Leafs tied it again with a Michael Bunting goal, his fifth of the year, fueled by Matthews and Nylander. Toronto won 5-4 in overtime with a Marner power play goal, his twelfth of the campaign, thanks to Nylander and John Tavares. The three stars belonged to Nylander, Matthews, and Hanifin, while Marner, Sandin, and Mangiapane get the honorable mentions.
In New York, the Islanders bring in the Carolina Hurricanes. Pyotr Kochetkov and Ilya Sorokin guard the cages. Carolina dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Paul Stastny goal, via Andrei Svechnikov and Brady Skjei. The Hurricanes added on in the third period with a Jesperi Kotkaniemi goal, his third of the season, assisted by Brent Burns and Teuvo Teravainen. Carolina iced it at 3-0 with a Jordan Staal goal, his seventh of the year, helped along by Jordan Martinook and Stefan Noesen. The three stars were Kochetkov (16 save shutout), Stastny, and Kotkaniemi.
Finally, the Vancouver Canucks host the Minnesota Wild. Filip Gustavsson and Spencer Martin patrol the creases. Minnesota kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Matt Boldy power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Mats Zuccarello and Calen Addison. The Wild added on in the second period with a Connor Dewar shorthanded goal, his fourth of the year, going in unassisted. Minnesota extended the lead in the third period as Sam Steel scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Zuccarello. The final stood at 3-0, with the three stars awarded to Gustavsson (35 save shutout), Zuccarello, and Boldy.
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