NHL 2023-24 - Day 52

There's 13 games on this Saturday slate, beginning with...

The Dallas Stars hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jake Oettinger tend the twines. Dallas started in the first period with a Tyler Seguin goal, his eighth of the season, via Mason Marchment and Miro Heiskanen. The Stars added on with a Jason Robertson goal, his seventh of the year, guided in by Joe Pavelski. Dallas extended the lead as Jamie Benn scored his fifth of the season, thanks to Wyatt Johnston and Jani Hakanpaa. Tampa Bay got one back with a Victor Hedman power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Nikita Kucherov. The Stars answered in the second period with a Marchment goal, his seventh of the season, fueled by Hakanpaa and Esa Lindell. Dallas padded the lead on a Pavelski power play goal, his eleventh of the year, with assists provided by Thomas Harley and Roope Hintz. The Stars continued with a Robertson power play goal, his second of the game and eighth of the season, helped along by Benn and Hintz. Jonas Johansson replaced Vasilevskiy in the third period. Dallas kept going in the third period with a Harley goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by Pavelski and Ryan Suter. The Stars wrapped it up at 8-1 with a Sam Steel goal, his second of the campaign, passed from Radek Faksa and Lindell. The three stars were Pavelski, Robertson, and Marchment, while Benn, Harley, Hintz, Hakanpaa and Lindell get the honorable mentions. 

Up in Winnipeg, the Jets welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Arvid Soderblom is mismatched with Connor Hellebuyck in goal. Chicago opened in the first period with a Connor Bedard goal, his eleventh of the season, via Philipp Kurashev. Winnipeg tied it on a Mark Scheifele power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Gabriel Vilardi and Josh Morrissey. The Jets took the lead in the second period with a Morgan Barron goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Nikolaj Ehlers and Dylan DeMelo. Winnipeg added on with a Cole Perfetti goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Dylan Samberg and Declan Chisholm in the third period. The three stars of the 3-1 game were Hellebuyck (20 for 21 in saves), Barron, and Perfetti.

Back stateside, the Nashville Predators bring in the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin faces a lesser foe in Kevin Lankinen in goal. Nashville led off in the first period with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his eleventh of the season, via Liam Foudy and Philip Tomasino. The Predators added on with a Roman Josi power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Gustav Nyquist and O'Reilly. New York got on the board in the second period with a Jacob Trouba goal, his second of the season, coming off of Vincent Trocheck and Jonny Brodzinski. Nashville answered with a Colton Sissons shorthanded goal, his seventh of the year, set up by Yakov Trenin. The Rangers fired back on a Chris Kreider goal, his fourteenth of the season, courtesy of Trocheck and Adam Fox. New York tied it on a Trocheck power play goal, his sixth of the year, with assists provided by Mika Zibanejad and Fox. The Rangers pulled ahead in the third period with a Ryan Lindgren goal, passed from Fox and Brodzinski. The final stood at 4-3, with the three stars given to Trocheck, Fox, and O'Reilly, while Brodzinski gets an honorable mention.

South to Florida, as the Panthers host the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin and Anthony Stolarz patrol the creases. New York began in the first period with an Anders Lee power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Kyle Palmieri and Bo Horvat. Florida tied it on a Sam Reinhart goal, his sixteenth of the year, coming off of Evan Rodrigues and Brandon Montour. The Islanders took the lead back in the second period with a Pierre Engvall goal, his third of the season, via Alexander Romanov and Brock Nelson. New York added on with a Simon Holmstrom goal, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Julien Gauthier and Horvat. The Panthers pulled one back with a Matthew Tkachuk goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Carter Verhaeghe and Niko Mikkola. The Islanders answered in the third period with a Gauthier goal, made possible by Horvat. Florida responded with a Verhaeghe goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars going to Gauthier, Horvat, and Nelson, while Verhaeghe gets an honorable mention.

North to Raleigh, as the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Eric Comrie and Pyotr Kochetkov are the backups in goal. Carolina kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Sebastian Aho goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Seth Jarvis and Jaccob Slavin. The Hurricanes added on with a Jack Drury goal, his third of the year, fueled by Martin Necas and Jalen Chatfield. Carolina extended the lead in the second period as Aho scored his second of the game and eighth of the season on the power play, with the help of Andrei Svechnikov and Brent Burns. The Hurricanes padded the lead on a Stefan Noesen goal, his sixth of the year, courtesy of Necas and Slavin. Carolina continued with a Teuvo Teravainen power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Svechnikov and Burns. Buffalo got on the board with a Casey Mittelstadt goal in the third period, his fifth of the year, passed from Alex Tuch and Henri Jokiharju. Carolina fired back with a Brady Skjei shorthanded goal, his fourth of the season, set up by Teravainen. The Sabres countered with a Tyson Jost goal, his second of the year, helped along by Peyton Krebs. This only made it 6-2, the final, with the three stars being Aho, Teravainen, and Necas, while Svechnikov, Burns, and Slavin get the honorable mentions.

Further north, the Montreal Canadiens bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Ville Husso and Jake Allen are the veterans in goal. Detroit struck first in the first period with a Joe Veleno goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Lucas Raymond and Jake Walman. The Red Wings added on with a shorthanded goal by Christian Fischer, his second of the year, set up by Michael Rasmussen. Detroit extended the lead as Daniel Sprong scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Moritz Seider. Montreal got on the board with a Justin Barron goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Nick Suzuki. The Canadiens got closer in the second period with a shorthanded goal by Joel Armia, his third of the season, going in unassisted. The Red Wings shot back with an Alex DeBrincat power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Seider and Sprong. Montreal pulled one back in the third period with a Suzuki power play goal, his seventh of the season, helped along by Mike Matheson. The Canadiens tied it on a Gustav Lindstrom goal, his third of the year, fueled by Josh Anderson and Jake Evans. Detroit won 5-4 in overtime with a Walman goal, his fifth of the campaign, coming off of Dylan Larkin. The three stars were Walman, DeBrincat, and Seider, while Sprong and Suzuki get the honorable mentions.

Over in Ottawa, the Senators host the Seattle Kraken. Joey Daccord and Anton Forsberg receive the starts in goal. Ottawa was first to score in the first period with a Mathieu Joseph goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. The Senators added on in the second period with a Drake Batherson goal, his seventh of the year, passed from Tim Stutzle and Vladimir Tarasenko. The final stood at 2-0, with the three stars being Forsberg (39 save shutout), Joseph, and Batherson.

To Pennsylvania, as the Pittsburgh Penguins welcome the Philadelphia Flyers. Samuel Ersson and Tristan Jarry man the nets. Pittsburgh got going in the second period with an unassisted Kris Letang goal, his second of the season. Philadelphia tied it on an Owen Tippett goal, his eighth of the year, courtesy of Tyson Foerster. The Penguins retook the lead in the third period with a Jake Guentzel goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Erik Karlsson and Bryan Rust. The Flyers retied it on a Scott Laughton shorthanded goal, his second of the year, set up by Nick Seeler. Philadelphia gained the lead on a Foerster power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Cam York and Sean Couturier. Pittsburgh tied it on another Guentzel goal, his second of the game and ninth of the year, passed from Rust and Evgeni Malkin. The tie went to the shootout, where Couturier had the lone tally for a 4-3 Flyers win. The three stars were Foerster, Couturier, and Guentzel, while Rust gets an honorable mention.

In Ontario again, the Toronto Maple Leafs bring in the Boston Bruins. Linus Ullmark and Joseph Woll are the masked men. Boston was first to score in the first period with a David Pastrnak goal, his fourteenth of the season, via Brandon Carlo and Hampus Lindholm. The Bruins added on in the second period with a Kevin Shattenkirk goal, guided in by Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk. Toronto got on the board with an Auston Matthews goal, his fifteenth of the year, fueled by William Nylander and Matthew Knies. The Maple Leafs tied it in the third period with a Max Domi goal, coming off of Nicholas Robertson and Calle Jarnkrok. Boston pulled ahead on a Trent Frederic goal, his sixth of the season, passed from Derek Forbort and Morgan Geekie. Toronto tied it on a Matthews goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, with helpers from Mitchell Marner and John Tavares. Boston won 4-3 in overtime with a Brad Marchand goal, his eighth of the campaign, helped along by Pastrnak. The three stars were given to Pastrnak, Matthews, and Ullmark (37 for 40 in saves).

Out west, the Arizona Coyotes host the St. Louis Blues. Joel Hofer and Connor Ingram are the inexperienced goalies. Arizona opened in the first period with a Michael Carcone goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Alexander Kerfoot and Troy Stecher. The Coyotes added on with a Nick Schmaltz power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Kerfoot and Clayton Keller. Arizona extended the lead as Matias Maccelli scored his fourth of the season, thanks to Lawson Crouse and Michael Kesselring. St. Louis got on the board in the third period with a Brandon Saad goal, his fifth of the year, via Oskar Sundqvist and Nick Leddy. The Coyotes iced it at 4-1 with an empty net goal by Kerfoot, his second of the campaign, set up by Crouse. The three stars went to Kerfoot, Crouse, and Ingram (31 for 32 in saves).

Westward to Anaheim, as the Ducks welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Ivan Prosvetov and John Gibson are set to start in goal. Colorado started in the first period with a Bowen Byram goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Ross Colton and Miles Wood. The Avalanche added on with a Byram goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, made possible by Fredrik Olofsson and Josh Manson. Anaheim got on the board with an Adam Henrique power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano. Colorado replied with a Devon Toews goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon. The Ducks got one back with a Leo Carlsson goal, his seventh of the season, via Alex Killorn in the second period. Anaheim tied it on a Killorn power play goal, his second of the year, with assists provided by Carlsson and Pavel Mintyukov. The tie went to a shootout, where Carlsson's lone tally gave the Ducks a 4-3 win. The three stars were Carlsson, Byram, and Killorn.

In Nevada, the Vegas Golden Knights bring in the Washington Capitals. Darcy Kuemper and Logan Thompson protect the nets. Vegas began in the first period with a Jonathan Marchessault power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Jack Eichel and the goalie Thompson. The Golden Knights added on in the second period with an Eichel goal, his tenth of the year, via Ben Hutton. Vegas extended the lead in the third period as Mark Stone scored his seventh of the season, thanks to Eichel and Ivan Barbashev. Washington got on the board with a Tom Wilson goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Dylan Strome and John Carlson. The Golden Knights fired back with a Marchessault empty net goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the campaign, set up by Paul Cotter and William Karlsson. The final was 4-1, with the three stars going to Eichel, Marchessault, and Thompson (21 for 22 in saves).

Finally, the Calgary Flames host the Vancouver Canucks. Thatcher Demko and Jacob Markstrom guard the cages. Vancouver led off in the first period with a Quinn Hughes goal, his ninth of the season, via Brock Boeser and Filip Hronek. The Canucks added on with a Sam Lafferty goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by Ilya Mikheyev and Hronek. Calgary got on the board with a Mikael Backlund power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Adam Ruzicka and MacKenzie Weegar. Vancouver replied in the second period on a Mikheyev goal, his eighth of the year, guided in by Elias Pettersson and Lafferty. The Flames got one back with an Elias Lindholm goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Yegor Sharangovich and Chris Tanev in the third period. The Canucks replied with a Nikita Zadorov goal, his second of the year, set up by Tyler Myers. Calgary got one back on an Elias Lindholm power play goal, his second of the game and seventh of the season, coming off of Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson. 

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