NHL 2022-23 - Day 117

The NHL is back in full force now, with a 14-game Saturday. The first seven of them are matinees, beginning with...

The Detroit Red Wings hosting the Vancouver Canucks. Spencer Martin and Ville Husso are set to start in goal. Detroit began in the first period with a Dylan Larkin goal, his seventeenth of the season, assisted by Moritz Seider and Ben Chiarot. The Red Wings added on with a Jonatan Berggren goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Chiarot and Seider. Vancouver got on the board in the second period with an Anthony Beauvillier power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes. Detroit answered with a Larkin power play goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the year, with assists provided by Robby Fabbri and David Perron. The Red Wings extended the lead in the third period as Filip Hronek scored his eighth of the season, thanks to Olli Maatta and Michael Rasmussen. Detroit padded the lead on a Berggren power play goal, his second of the game and tenth of the year, with helpers from Tyler Bertuzzi and Larkin. The Canucks got one back on an Elias Pettersson goal, his twenty-fifth of the campaign, made possible by Beauvillier. The final stood from here at 5-2, with the three stars going to Larkin, Berggren, and Seider, while Beauvillier and Chiarot get the honorable mentions. 

Over in Buffalo, the Sabres welcome the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are the goalies. Buffalo led off in the first period with a Tage Thompson power play goal, his thirty-fifth of the season, powered by Rasmus Dahlin and Dylan Cozens. The Sabres added on with a Casey Mittelstadt goal, his eighth of the year, fueled by Victor Olofsson and Tyson Jost. Calgary got on the board in the second period with a Jakob Pelletier goal, assisted by Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau. The Flames tied it on a Mikael Backlund goal, his tenth of the season, passed from Blake Coleman and Chris Tanev. Calgary pulled ahead on a Dennis Gilbert goal, guided in by Dillon Dube and Elias Lindholm. The Flames extended the lead as Kadri scored his twentieth of the year, thanks to Huberdeau and Tanev. Calgary padded the lead in the third period with a Tyler Toffoli goal, his twentieth of the season, coming off of Dube and Gilbert. The Flames continued on a Toffoli power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the year, with assists provided by Dube and the goalie Markstrom. Calgary finished it at 7-2 with a Dube goal, his thirteenth of the campaign, helped along by Lindholm and Toffoli. The three stars belonged to Dube, Toffoli, and Gilbert, while Kadri, Huberdeau, Lindholm, and Tanev get the honorable mentions. 

Into Ottawa, where the Senators bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Jack Campbell and Anton Forsberg draw the starts in goal. Edmonton opened in the first period with a Connor McDavid goal, his forty-second of the season, assisted by Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman. Ottawa tied it in the second period on a Jake Sanderson goal, his third of the year, courtesy of Mathieu Joseph and Brady Tkachuk. The Oilers retook the lead on a Hyman penalty shot goal, his twenty-seventh of the season. Edmonton added on with a Ryan McLeod shorthanded goal, his tenth of the year, set up by McDavid. The Senators got one back with a Claude Giroux power play goal, his twenty-first of the season, powered by Ridly Greig and Shane Pinto. Ottawa tied it on an Erik Brannstrom goal, helped along by Alex DeBrincat and Nick Holden. The Oilers retook the lead in the third period on a Jesse Puljujarvi goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Brett Kulak and Darnell Nurse. Edmonton extended the lead as Derek Ryan scored his eighth of the season shorthanded, thanks to Kulak and Evander Kane. The Oilers padded the lead on a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, with assists provided by Draisaitl and McDavid. This made it 6-3, the final, with the three stars going to McDavid, Hyman, and Draisaitl, while Kulak gets an honorable mention. 

Along to Quebec, as the Montreal Canadiens host the New York Islanders. Semyon Varlamov and Sam Montembeault are in the blue paint. Montreal started in the first period with a Nick Suzuki goal, his seventeenth of the season, assisted by Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Josh Anderson. New York tied it on a Brock Nelson goal, his twenty-first of the year, guided in by Noah Dobson and Sebastian Aho. The Islanders took the lead with a Bo Horvat power play goal in the second period, his thirty-fourth of the season, powered by Dobson and Nelson. The Canadiens tied it in the third period with a Justin Barron goal, made possible by Evgenii Dadonov and Mike Hoffman. New York retook the lead on a Matt Martin goal, his sixth of the year, fueled by Alexander Romanov and Scott Mayfield. Montreal retied it with a Kirby Dach goal, his twelfth of the season, courtesy of Michael Matheson and Hoffman. The Canadiens won 4-3 in overtime with a Matheson goal, his second of the year, helped along by Hoffman. The three stars were Hoffman, Matheson, and Nelson, while Dobson gets an honorable mention. 

Stateside, the Philadelphia Flyers welcome the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Carter Hart are the masked men. Nashville got going in the second period with a Nino Niederreiter goal, his fourteenth of the season, coming off of Matt Duchene and Cody Glass. Philadelphia tied it on a Kevin Hayes goal, his seventeenth of the year, assisted by Joel Farabee and Patrick Brown. The Predators won 2-1 in overtime with a Duchene goal, his sixteenth of the campaign, fueled by Ryan Johansen and Roman Josi. The three stars went to Duchene, Saros (23 for 24 in saves), and Niederreiter. 

Down in Dallas, the Stars bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy faces a lesser foe in Scott Wedgewood in goal. Tampa Bay dented the scoreboard in the second period with an Anthony Cirelli goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Brandon Hagel and Alex Killorn. Dallas tied it on a Jamie Benn goal, his twenty-first of the year, going in unassisted. The Lightning took the lead in the third period with another Cirelli goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, passed from Victor Hedman and Killorn. Tampa Bay iced it at 3-1 with an empty net goal by Hagel, his twenty-second of the year, set up Nikita Kucherov and Cirelli. The three stars were Cirelli, Vasilevskiy (28 for 29 in saves), and Hagel, while Killorn gets an honorable mention. 

Northeast to Boston, as the Bruins host the Washington Capitals. Darcy Kuemper and Jeremy Swayman protect the nets. Washington struck first in the first period with a Nicklas Backstrom power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Marcus Johansson and Dmitry Orlov. The Capitals added on in the second period with a Garnet Hathaway goal, his ninth of the year, going in unassisted. Boston got on the board with a Nick Foligno goal, his eighth of the campaign, passed from Connor Clifton and Taylor Hall. This only made it 2-1, the eventual final, with the three stars going to Kuemper (27 for 28 in saves), Hathaway, and Backstrom. 

South to Florida, where the Panthers welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev and Sergei Bobrovsky are in the creases. Colorado kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Logan O'Connor shorthanded goal, his sixth of the season, set up by Andrew Cogliano and Samuel Girard. The Avalanche added on with a Matt Nieto goal, his tenth of the year, via J.T. Compher. Florida got on the board in the second period with an Aaron Ekblad goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart. The Panthers tied it on a Sam Bennett goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Eric Staal and Matthew Tkachuk. Colorado retook the lead with a Devon Toews goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Bowen Byram and Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche extended the lead on a MacKinnon power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, powered by Mikko Rantanen. Florida got one back with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his fifteenth of the season, with helpers from Reinhart and Tkachuk in the third period. Colorado iced it at 5-3 as MacKinnon scored his second of the game and sixteenth of the year into an empty net, with the help of Rantanen and Compher. The three stars went to MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Compher, while Tkachuk and Reinhart get the honorable mentions. 

Up to Raleigh, as the Carolina Hurricanes bring in the New York Rangers. Jaroslav Halak and Frederik Andersen patrol the creases. New York drew first blood in the first period with a Mika Zibanejad power play goal, his twenty-seventh of the season, powered by Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin. Carolina tied it in the second period with an unassisted Teuvo Teravainen goal, his sixth of the year. The Hurricanes pulled ahead on a Jesperi Kotkaniemi goal, his eighth of the season, made possible by Calvin de Haan and Andrei Svechnikov. The Rangers retied it on a Panarin goal, his thirteenth of the year, fueled by Vincent Trocheck and Jimmy Vesey. New York pulled ahead in the third period with another Panarin goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the season, assisted by Braden Schneider and Trocheck. The Rangers added on with a Panarin goal to complete his natural hat trick on his fifteenth of the year, with the help of K'Andre Miller. New York extended the lead on a Kaapo Kakko empty net goal, his eleventh of the season, set up by Alexis Lafreniere and Jacob Trouba. The Rangers padded the lead as Panarin scored his fourth of the game and sixteenth of the year, thanks to Vesey. The three stars of the 6-2 game were awarded to Panarin, Trocheck, and Vesey. 

Further north, the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins and Joseph Woll receive the starting nods in goal. Toronto was first to score in the first period with a William Nylander goal, his twenty-ninth of the season, assisted by Alexander Kerfoot and Calle Jarnkrok. The Maple Leafs added on with a Michael Bunting goal, his sixteenth of the year, coming off of Mitch Marner. Columbus got on the board in the second period with a Boone Jenner goal, his fifteenth of the season, made possible by Kirill Marchenko. The Blue Jackets tied it on a Marchenko goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Jenner and Johnny Gaudreau. Columbus pulled ahead with a Sean Kuraly goal, his tenth of the season, courtesy of Kent Johnson and Mathieu Olivier. Toronto retied it in the third period with a Morgan Rielly power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Marner and Nylander. The Blue Jackets retook the lead on a Johnson goal, his eleventh of the campaign, with helpers from Cole Sillinger and Jack Roslovic. This stood for a 4-3 win, with the three stars being Johnson, Marchenko, and Jenner, while Nylander and Marner get the honorable mentions. 

Back across the border, the St. Louis Blues welcome the Arizona Coyotes. Karel Vejmelka and Jordan Binnington occupy the creases. Arizona led off in the first period with a Clayton Keller goal, his twentieth of the season, fueled by Nick Schmaltz and Juuso Valimaki. The Coyotes added on with a Schmaltz power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Keller and Valimaki. St. Louis got on the board in the second period with a Brandon Saad goal, his fifteenth of the season, guided in by Pavel Buchnevich and Colton Parayko. The Blues tied it on a Sammy Blais goal, helped along by Nick Leddy and Brayden Schenn. St. Louis gained the lead in the third period with a Robert Thomas goal, his thirteenth of the year, coming off of Jordan Kyrou and Buchnevich. The Blues extended the lead as Calle Rosen scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Tyler Pitlick and Alexey Toropchenko. St. Louis padded the lead on another Rosen goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, with helpers from Schenn and Kyrou. Arizona pulled back with a Keller goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the season, passed from Barrett Hayton and Troy Stecher. The Coyotes got closer with a Nick Bjugstad power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, with assists provided by Schmaltz and Valimaki. Arizona tied it as Lawson Crouse scored his seventeenth of the season, with the help of Schmaltz and Valimaki. The Blues won 6-5 in overtime with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his eleventh of the year, made possible by Buchnevich and Parayko. The three stars were Schmaltz, Buchnevich, and Rosen, while Keller, Valimaki, Schenn, Kyrou, and Parayko get the honorable mentions. 

Up in Minnesota, the Wild bring in the New Jersey Devils. Vitek Vanecek and Filip Gustavsson protect the nets. Minnesota began in the first period with a Joel Eriksson Ek power play goal, his twentieth of the season, powered by Calen Addison and Mats Zuccarello. New Jersey tied it in the second period with a Tomas Tatar goal, his eleventh of the year, coming off of Ondrej Palat and Dougie Hamilton. The Devils took the lead with a Tatar goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the season, via Damon Severson and Jesper Boqvist. The Wild tied it in the third period with a Ryan Hartman goal, his sixth of the year, fueled by Matt Dumba and Jonas Brodin. The tie went to a shootout, where Zuccarello and Frederick Gaudreau lifted the Wild to a 3-2 win. The three stars were Tatar, Zuccarello, and Hartman. 

Further north to Winnipeg, where the Jets welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Petr Mrazek and Connor Hellebuyck man the nets. Winnipeg cracked the scoresheet in the second period with a Josh Morrissey goal, his eleventh of the season, going in unassisted. The Jets added on with a Blake Wheeler power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, helped along by Kyle Connor and Morrissey. Winnipeg extended the lead as Mark Scheifele scored his thirty-second of the season, thanks to Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers. Chicago got on the board in the third period with a Tyler Johnson goal, his sixth of the year, made possible by Jake McCabe and Jason Dickinson. The Jets iced it at 4-1 with a Wheeler empty net goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, set up by Morgan Barron and Adam Lowry. The three stars were Wheeler, Morrissey, and Hellebuyck (31 for 32 in saves).

Finally, in Los Angeles, the Kings bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Casey DeSmith and Pheonix Copley get the starts in goal. Los Angeles struck first in the first period with a Jaret Anderson-Dolan goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Alexander Edler and Rasmus Kupari. The Kings added on with an Alex Iafallo goal, his eighth of the year, via Kupari and Kevin Fiala. Los Angeles extended the lead in the second period as Adrian Kempe scored his twenty-third of the season, thanks to Anze Kopitar and Quinton Byfield. The Kings padded the lead on another Kempe goal, his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the year, made possible by Kopitar and Mikey Anderson. Los Angeles kept going with Kempe completing his hat trick on his twenty-fifth of the season, helped along by Kopitar and Drew Doughty on the power play. The Kings continued in the third period with a Kempe power play goal, his fourth of the game and twenty-sixth of the year, powered by Fiala and Doughty. The final stood at 6-0, with the three stars going to Kempe, Kopitar, and Copley (25 save shutout), while Doughty, Fiala, and Kupari get the honorable mentions. 

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.