NHL 2023-24 - Day 71

It's a 12-game Thursday, beginning with...

The Buffalo Sabres hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ilya Samsonov and Devon Levi start in goal. Buffalo began in the first period with a Jordan Greenway goal, his third of the season, coming off of Connor Clifton and Zach Benson. Toronto tied it on an Auston Matthews goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, going in unassisted. The Maple Leafs took the lead with a Max Domi power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Morgan Rielly and Timothy Liljegren. The Sabres tied it again with an Owen Power goal, his second of the year, passed from Benson and Casey Mittelstadt. Buffalo took the lead with a Jeff Skinner goal, his thirteenth of the season, courtesy of Alex Tuch. The Sabres added on in the second period with a Rasmus Dahlin power play goal, his ninth of the year, with an assist provided by Tage Thompson. Toronto got one back with a Calle Jarnkrok shorthanded goal, his eighth of the season, set up by William Nylander and Liljegren. Buffalo answered with a Thompson goal, his ninth of the year, fueled by Tuch and Skinner. Martin Jones replaced Samsonov in goal. The Sabres extended the lead on a Kyle Okposo shorthanded goal, his seventh of the season, an unassisted goal. Buffalo padded the lead in the third period with a Jack Quinn goal, guided in by JJ Peterka and Clifton. The Sabres continued on a Skinner goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, with helpers from Tuch and Thompson. Buffalo struck again with another Okposo goal, his second of the game and eighth of the season, made possible by Peyton Krebs and Ryan Johnson. The final held at 9-3, with the three stars given to Skinner, Okposo, and Tuch, while Thompson, Benson, Clifton, and Liljegren get the honorable mentions.

Down in Florida, the Panthers welcome the St. Louis Blues. Joel Hofer and Sergei Bobrovsky receive the starts in goal. St. Louis got going in the second period with a Jordan Kyrou goal, his eighth of the season, via Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich. The Blues added on with a Buchnevich goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Kyrou and Thomas. Florida got on the board with an Eetu Luostarinen goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Dmitry Kulikov. St. Louis replied with an Alexey Toropchenko goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Marco Scandella and Brandon Saad. The Blues iced it at 4-1 with an empty net goal by Buchnevich, his second of the game and twelfth of the campaign, set up by Oskar Sundqvist and Thomas. The three stars were Buchnevich, Kyrou, and Thomas.

Back north, the Columbus Blue Jackets bring in the Washington Capitals. Charlie Lindgren and Elvis Merzlikins patrol the creases. Washington struck first in the first period with an Anthony Mantha power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson. Columbus tied it on an Cole Sillinger goal in the second period, his third of the year, via Emil Bemstrom and Johnny Gaudreau. The Capitals took the lead with a Mantha goal, his second of the game and ninth of the season, guided in by Aliaksei Protas and Carlson. The Blue Jackets tied it in the third period with a Yegor Chinakhov goal, his ninth of the year, assisted by Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko. Washington won 3-2 in overtime with an Ovechkin goal, his sixth of the campaign, passed from Dylan Strome and Carlson. The three stars were Mantha, Ovechkin, and Carlson.

Over in Philadelphia, the Flyers host the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Samuel Ersson are in the blue paint. Philadelphia led off in the first period with a Morgan Forst goal, his fourth of the season, courtesy of Bobby Brink and Owen Tippett. Nashville tied it in the second period with a Cole Smith shorthanded goal, his fifth of the year, set up by Colton Sissons. The Flyers took the lead with a Sean Couturier power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Frost. The Predators retied it on a Philip Tomasino goal, his third of the year, guided in by Tommy Novak and Filip Forsberg. Nashville took the lead with a Tomasino goal, his second of the game and fourth of the season, via Sissons. The Predators iced it at 4-2 with a Gustav Nyquist empty net goal, his fifth of the year, coming off of Forsberg. The three stars went to Tomasino, Sissons, and Forsberg.

Across Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Penguins welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Pyotr Kochetkov and Alex Nedeljkovic man the nets. Pittsburgh started in the first period with a Sidney Crosby goal, his nineteenth of the season, made possible by Rickard Rakell and Jake Guentzel. Carolina tied it on a Teuvo Teravainen goal, his twelfth of the year, via Jack Drury and Jaccob Slavin. The tie went to a shootout, where the Penguins won 2-1 with a lone tally by Crosby. The three stars were Crosby, Nedeljkovic (23 for 24 in saves), and Kochetkov (24 for 25 in saves).

South to Tampa Bay, as the Lightning bring in the Vegas Golden Knights. Jiri Patera is mismatched with Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal. Vegas opened in the first period with a Jonathan Marchessault goal, his sixteenth of the season, assisted by Paul Cotter and Brayden McNabb. The Golden Knights added on with an Ivan Barbashev goal, his ninth of the year, via Mark Stone and Jack Eichel. Tampa Bay got on the board in the second period with an Alex Barre-Boulet goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Victor Hedman and Conor Sheary. The Lightning tied it on a Nikita Kucherov power play goal, his twenty-third of the year, powered by Steven Stamkos and Hedman. Tampa Bay took the lead on a Brayden Point power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, with assists provided by Nick Paul and Kucherov. The Lightning extended the lead as Point scored his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, thanks to Paul and Kucherov. Vegas got one back in the third period with a Marchessault power play goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the season, guided in by William Karlsson and Eichel. The Golden Knights tied it on a Paul Cotter goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by McNabb and Ben Hutton. The Lightning took the lead back with a Paul goal, his eleventh of the campaign, with helpers from Hedman and Point. The final stood at 5-4, with the three stars going to Point, Paul, and Kucherov, while Hedman, Marchessault, Eichel, Cotter, and McNabb get the honorable mentions.

North again to New Jersey, as the Devils host the Edmonton Oilers. Calvin Pickard and Akira Schmid are the backups in goal. Edmonton was first to score in the first period with a Ryan McLeod goal, his third of the season, guided in by Sam Gagner. The Oilers added on with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his eighth of the year, assisted by Mattias Ekholm and Connor McDavid. Vitek Vanecek replaced Schmid in goal. New Jersey got on the board with a Dawson Mercer goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Michael McLeod. The Devils tied it in the second period with a Jonas Siegenthaler goal, courtesy of Simon Nemec and Michael McLeod. New Jersey pulled ahead on a Timo Meier goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Mercer. Edmonton tied it on a McDavid goal, his twelfth of the season, fueled by Ekholm and Nugent-Hopkins. The Oilers took the lead with a Leon Draisaitl goal, his fourteenth of the year, going in unassisted. Edmonton extended the lead as Adam Erne scored, thanks to Gagner. The Oilers padded the lead as Ryan McLeod scored his second of the game and fourth of the season, an unassisted goal. The final was 6-3, and the three stars were Ryan McLeod, McDavid, and Nugent-Hopkins, while Mercer, Ekholm, and Michael McLeod get the honorable mentions.

Way south to Dallas, where the Stars welcome the Vancouver Canucks. Thatcher Demko and Scott Wedgewood are between the pipes. Vancouver kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Dakota Joshua goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Conor Garland and Teddy Blueger. Dallas tied it on a Tyler Seguin goal, his tenth of the year, courtesy of Matt Duchene and Miro Heiskanen. The Stars took the lead with a Roope Hintz goal in the second period, his eleventh of the season, via Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski. The Canucks tied it with a Brock Boeser goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, fueled by J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes. Vancouver pulled ahead with a Garland goal in the third period, his third of the season, coming off of Joshua and Blueger. Dallas tied it again with a Thomas Harley goal, his ninth of the year, with helpers from Robertson and Heiskanen. The Stars won 4-3 in overtime with a Duchene goal, his eleventh of the campaign, helped along by Harley and Wyatt Johnston. The three stars belonged to Duchene, Harley, and Garland, while Joshua, Robertson, Heiskanen, and Blueger get the honorable mentions.

Up in Minnesota, the Wild bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Sam Montembeault and Filip Gustavsson protect the nets. Minnesota drew first blood in the first period with a Matt Boldy power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Kirill Kaprizov and Marco Rossi. The Wild added on with a Rossi goal, his eleventh of the year, fueled by Zach Bogosian and Marcus Foligno. Montreal got on the board in the second period with a David Savard goal, his second of the season, guided in by Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. The Canadiens tied it on a Suzuki power play goal in the third period, his ninth of the year, with assists provided by Juraj Slafkovsky and Michael Matheson. Minnesota pulled ahead with a Brock Faber power play goal, his second of the season, made possible by Kaprizov and Rossi. Montreal tied it again with a Slafkovsky goal, his third of the year, passed from Savard and Matheson. The Wild won 4-3 in overtime with a Kaprizov goal, his eleventh of the campaign, assisted by Marcus Johansson and Faber. The three stars were Kaprizov, Faber, and Rossi, while Suzuki, Slafkovsky, Savard, and Matheson get the honorable mentions.

Southwest to Colorado, as the Avalanche host the Ottawa Senators. Joonas Korpisalo and Alexandar Georgiev are the starting goalies. Colorado led off in the first period with a Nathan MacKinnon power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Jonathan Drouin and Cale Makar. Ottawa tied it on a Josh Norris power play goal, his eleventh of the year, with assists provided by Drake Batherson and Tim Stutzle. The Senators took the lead with a Ridly Greig goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Dominik Kubalik and Jakob Chychrun. The Avalanche tied it on another MacKinnon goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, fueled by Valeri Nichushkin. Ottawa retook the lead in the second period with a Jacob Bernard-Docker goal, his second of the season, guided in by Jiri Smejkal and Mark Kastelic. The Senators added on with a Batherson goal, his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Vladimir Tarasenko and Artem Zub. Colorado got one back with a Mikko Rantanen power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, going in unassisted. The Avalanche tied it on a MacKinnon goal, completing his hat trick on his seventeenth of the year, with helpers from Devon Toews and Nichushkin. Colorado pulled ahead with a Rantanen power play goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the season, helped along by MacKinnon and Makar. The Avalanche iced it at 6-4 with a MacKinnon empty net goal, his fourth of the game and eighteenth of the year, set up by Nichushkin.

In California, the Anaheim Ducks welcome the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Lukas Dostal draw the starts in goal. Calgary began in the first period with a Nick DeSimone goal, assisted by Connor Zary and Elias Lindholm. The Flames added on in the second period with a Lindholm power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Nazem Kadri and Yegor Sharangovich. Calgary iced it at 3-0 with an A.J. Greer empty net goal, his sixth of the year, set up by Lindholm. The three stars belonged to Markstrom (27 save shutout), Lindholm, and DeSimone.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Arizona Coyotes. Karel Vejmelka and Mackenzie Blackwood are the goalies. Arizona dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Michael Kesselring goal, his third of the season, via Clayton Keller. San Jose tied it on an Anthony Duclair goal, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Fabian Zetterlund. The Coyotes took the lead with a Keller goal, his twelfth of the season, made possible by Alexander Kerfoot and Sean Durzi. Arizona added on with a Kerfoot goal, his third of the year, guided in by Nick Schmaltz and Durzi. The Sharks got one back in the third period with a Filip Zadina goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Mario Ferraro and William Eklund. The Coyotes fired back with a Schmaltz power play goal, his tenth of the year, powered by Kerfoot and Keller. Arizona extended the lead as Lawson Crouse scored his fourteenth of the season, thanks to Matias Maccelli and Nick Bjugstad. The final stood from here at 5-2, with the three stars going to Keller, Kerfoot, and Schmaltz, while Durzi gets an honorable mention. 

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