NHL 2023-24 - Day 73

There's 14 games on today to take us into the holiday break. First up...

The Nashville Predators welcome the Dallas Stars. Scott Wedgewood and Juuse Saros are the goalies. Nashville got going in the second period with a Michael McCarron goal, his fifth of the season, via Ryan McDonagh and Philip Tomasino. The Predators added on with a Colton Sissons power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Gustav Nyquist and Ryan O'Reilly. Dallas got on the board in the third period with an Evgenii Dadonov goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Esa Lindell and Roope Hintz. The Stars tied it with a Craig Smith goal, his third of the year, coming off of Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski. Dallas took the lead with a Jani Hakanpaa goal, going in unassisted. This made it a 3-2 win for the Stars, with the three stars going to Hakanpaa, Smith, and Dadonov.

Down in Florida, the Panthers bring in the Vegas Golden Knights. Jiri Patera and Sergei Bobrovsky are in goal. Vegas dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Mark Stone goal, his eleventh of the season, via Ivan Barbashev. Florida tied it on a Sam Bennett goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Carter Verhaeghe and Brandon Montour. The Panthers took the lead with a Gustav Forsling goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Evan Rodrigues and Aleksander Barkov. The Golden Knights tied it on a Pavel Dorofeyev goal, his third of the year, guided in by Ben Hutton and Keegan Kolesar. Florida pulled ahead in the third period with a Verhaeghe power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, powered by Montour and Matthew Tkachuk. The Panthers added on with a Sam Reinhart power play goal, his nineteenth of the year, with assists provided by Barkov and Tkachuk. This stood for a 4-2 win, with the three stars given to Verhaeghe, Barkov, and Montour, while Tkachuk gets an honorable mention.

At the regular time, the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Martin Jones and Daniil Tarasov are the backups in goal. Toronto kicked off the scoring in the first period with an Auston Matthews goal, his twenty-seventh of the season, fueled by Mitchell Marner. Columbus tied it in the second period with a Justin Danforth goal, his eighth of the year, guided in by Johnny Gaudreau and Adam Fantilli. The Maple Leafs retook the lead with a John Tavares goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by T.J. Brodie and William Nylander. Toronto added on with another Matthews power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-eighth of the year, powered by Marner and Nylander. The Maple Leafs extended the lead on a shorthanded goal by Nylander, his sixteenth of the season, set up by Matthews and Jake McCabe. The final stood at 4-1, with the three stars being Matthews, Nylander, and Marner.

Over in Minnesota, the Wild welcome the Boston Bruins. Linus Ullmark and Marc-Andre Fleury are the veteran goalies. Boston began in the first period with a David Pastrnak power play goal, his twentieth of the season, powered by Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand. Minnesota tied it on a Joel Eriksson Ek power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, going in unassisted. The Wild took the lead with a Kirill Kaprizov goal, his twelfth of the season, made possible by Alex Goligoski and Eriksson Ek. Minnesota added on in the third period with a Marcus Foligno goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by Pat Maroon and Frederick Gaudreau. The Bruins got one back with a Morgan Geekie goal, his fifth of the season, guided in by Danton Heinen and Trent Frederic. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars being Eriksson Ek, Foligno, and Kaprizov.

Back east, the New Jersey Devils bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Michael Hutchinson and Vitek Vanecek are set to start in goal. Detroit led off in the first period with a Patrick Kane goal, his fifth of the season, via Alex DeBrincat and Jake Walman. New Jersey tied it on a Timo Meier goal, his seventh of the year, going in unassisted. The Red Wings took the lead on a Shayne Gostisbehere goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Daniel Sprong and Christian Fischer. The Devils tied it in the third period with another Meier goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, courtesy of Luke Hughes and Dawson Mercer. New Jersey pulled ahead on a Tyler Toffoli goal, his fourteenth of the season, an unassisted goal. This held for a 3-2 win, with the three stars being Meier, Toffoli, and Vanecek (22 for 24 in saves).

In Ottawa, the Senators host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Alex Nedeljkovic and Anton Forsberg draw the starts in goal. Ottawa started in the first period with a Jakob Chychrun goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Claude Giroux and Josh Norris. Pittsburgh tied it with a Lars Eller power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Reilly Smith and Kris Letang. The Senators retook the lead on a Norris goal, his twelfth of the season, made possible by Brady Tkachuk and Erik Brannstrom. Ottawa added on in the second period with a Tkachuk goal, his fifteenth of the year, passed from Giroux and Chychrun. The Penguins got one back on a Rickard Rakell goal, with helpers from Sidney Crosby and Smith. The Senators replied with a Brannstrom goal, his second of the season, coming off of Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson. Pittsburgh got one back in the third period with a Drew O'Connor goal, his third of the year, helped along by Letang and Marcus Pettersson. The Penguins tied it on a Letang goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Pettersson. Ottawa won 5-4 in overtime with a Tim Stutzle goal, his seventh of the year, fueled by Drake Batherson. The three stars were given to Tkachuk, Norris, and Chychrun, while Brannstrom, Letang, Giroux, Pettersson, and Smith get the honorable mentions.

Back stateside, the Washington Capitals welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Charlie Lindgren are the masked men. Tampa Bay opened in the first period with a Luke Glendening goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Victor Hedman. Washington tied it in the second period with an Anthony Mantha goal, coming off of Nick Jensen and Aliaksei Protas. The tie went to a shootout, where Brayden Point and Hedman lifted the Lightning to a 2-1 win over Evgeny Kuznetsov and the Capitals. The three stars were Hedman, Vasilevskiy (32 for 33 in saves), and Lindgren (19 for 20 in saves).

Further south, the Carolina Hurricanes bring in the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin and Pyotr Kochetkov are the Russian goalies. New York was first to score in the first period with a Sebastian Aho goal, via Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson. Carolina tied it on a Teuvo Teravainen goal, his thirteenth of the season, passed from Seth Jarvis and Dmitry Orlov. The Islanders retook the lead with a Nelson goal, his sixteenth of the year, coming off of Mike Reilly and Palmieri. New York added on with a Bo Horvat goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee. The Hurricanes got one back in the second period with a Sebastian Aho power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Michael Bunting and Andrei Svechnikov. The Islanders fired back with a Reilly goal, his second of the season, fueled by Barzal and Lee. Carolina got one back in the third period with a Jaccob Slavin goal, his fourth of the year, courtesy of Martin Necas and Svechnikov. New York answered with a Lee goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Noah Dobson and Horvat. The Hurricanes answered with a Stefan Noesen power play goal, his tenth of the year, with assists provided by Necas and Brady Skjei. The comeback fell short as the Islanders won 5-4, with the three stars being Lee, Horvat, and Nelson, while Reilly, Barzal, Palmieri, Svechnikov, and Necas get the honorable mentions.

North again to New York, as the Rangers host the Buffalo Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Igor Shestekrin start in goal. New York struck first in the first period with a Ryan Lindgren goal, his second of the season, assisted by Jonny Brodzinski and Nick Bonino. The Rangers added on with an Artemi Panarin power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, powered by Mika Zibanejad. Buffalo got on the board with a Rasmus Dahlin goal, his tenth of the season, courtesy of Jordan Greenway. The Sabres tied it in the second period with a Jack Quinn goal, his second of the year, passed from Dylan Cozens and JJ Peterka. New York retook the lead with a Zibanejad goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Chris Kreider and Blake Wheeler. Buffalo tied it in the third period with a Casey Mittelstadt goal, his ninth of the year, with a lone helper from Greenway. The Rangers won 4-3 in overtime with a Kreider goal, his seventeenth of the campaign, with helpers from Zibanejad and Adam Fox. The three stars were Zibanejad, Kreider, and Greenway.

Out west, the St. Louis Blues welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Arvid Soderblom and Jordan Binnington receive the starts in goal. St. Louis drew first blood in the first period with a Robert Thomas goal, his thirteenth of the season, via Pavel Buchnevich. Chicago tied it on a Connor Bedard goal, his thirteenth of the year, guided in by Philipp Kurashev and Isaak Phillips. The Blackhawks took the lead with an Anthony Beauvillier goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Jarred Tinordi and Taylor Raddysh. Chicago added on in the second period with a Nick Foligno power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Kurashev and Raddysh. The Blues got one back with a Colton Parayko goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Sammy Blais and MacKenzie MacEachern. The Blackhawks fired back with a Jason Dickinson goal, his eleventh of the year, fueled by Raddysh and Tinordi. Chicago extended the lead as Foligno scored a shorthanded goal, his second of the game and eighth of the season, set up by Tinordi. St. Louis got one back with a Brandon Saad power play goal, his ninth of the year, with assists provided by Kevin Hayes and Scott Perunovich. The Blues got closer with a Jake Neighbours power play goal, his eleventh of the season, with helpers from Justin Faulk and Hayes. St. Louis tied it as Jordan Kyrou scored his eighth of the year, with the help of Thomas and Buchnevich. The Blues took the lead with a Faulk goal, his second of the season, with a lone assist from Torey Krug. St. Louis iced it at 7-5 with an empty net goal by Kyrou, his second of the game and ninth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Kyrou, Faulk, and Thomas, while Foligno, Buchnevich, Hayes, Raddysh, Tinordi, and Kurashev get the honorable mentions.

In California, the Anaheim Ducks bring in the Seattle Kraken. Joey Daccord and Lukas Dostal make the starts. Seattle led off in the first period with an Oliver Bjorkstrand power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Jared McCann and Vince Dunn. The Kraken added on with a Dunn goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by Matty Beniers and Tomas Tatar. Anaheim got on the board in the second period with a Frank Vatrano power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, going in unassisted. Seattle replied in the third period with a Tatar goal, his third of the year, helped along by Dunn and Beniers. The Ducks got one back with a Trevor Zegras goal, his second of the season, via Pavel Mintyukov and Troy Terry. The final was 3-2, with the three stars being Dunn, Tatar, and Beniers.

Backtracking to Colorado, as the Avalanche host the Arizona Coyotes. Connor Ingram and Alexandar Georgiev protect the nets. Colorado began in the first period with a Bowen Byram goal, his sixth of the season, via Ross Colton. The Avalanche added on with a Valeri Nichushkin goal in the second period, his sixteenth of the year, assisted by Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews. Colorado extended the lead as Josh Manson scored his third of the season, thanks to Fredrik Olofsson and Logan O'Connor. The Avalanche padded the lead on an Olofsson goal, his third of the year, passed from Andrew Cogliano and O'Connor. Arizona got on the board with an Alexander Kerfoot power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Michael Carcone and Sean Durzi. The final held at 4-1, with the three stars going to Olofsson, Georgiev (24 for 25 in saves), and O'Connor.

Northwest to Vancouver, as the Canucks welcome the San Jose Sharks. Mackenzie Blackwood and Thatcher Demko are between the pipes. Vancouver opened in the first period with an Andrei Kuzmenko goal, his seventh of the season, helped along by Ilya Mikheyev and Elias Pettersson. The Canucks added on with a Kuzmenko goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, via J.T. Miller and Pettersson on the power play. San Jose got on the board with a Mikael Granlund goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Anthony Duclair and Mario Ferraro. The Sharks tied it on a Tomas Hertl goal, his twelfth of the year, passed from Filip Zadina and Ferraro. Vancouver reclaimed the lead in the second period on a Nils Aman goal, his second of the season, made possible by Teddy Blueger. The Canucks added on with a Sam Lafferty goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Ian Cole and Conor Garland. San Jose got one back with a Fabian Zetterlund goal, his ninth of the season, with helpers from Ferraro and Granlund. Vancouver replied with a Dakota Joshua goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Garland and Blueger. The Sharks pulled closer in the third period with a Jacob MacDonald goal, his sixth of the season, helped along by Zadina and Jan Rutta. The Canucks answered with a Pius Suter goal, his sixth of the year, with assists from Quinn Hughes and Miller. Vancouver iced it at 7-4 with a Hughes empty net goal, his tenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Kuzmenko, Pettersson, and Miller, while Blueger, Garland, Hughes, Granlund, Ferraro, and Zadina get the honorable mentions.

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Cam Talbot guard the cages. Los Angeles started in the first period with a Quinton Byfield goal, his ninth of the season, via Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar. Calgary tied it on a Rasmus Andersson goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Mikael Backlund and Andrew Mangiapane. The Kings took the lead with a Pierre-Luc Dubois goal, his sixth of the season, guided in by Jordan Spence and Phillip Danault. The Flames tied it in the second period with a Blake Coleman shorthanded goal, his eleventh of the year, set up by Yegor Sharangovich. Los Angeles pulled ahead with an Alex Laferriere goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Doughty and Mikey Anderson. The Kings added on with a Trevor Moore goal, his sixteenth of the year, assisted by Matt Roy. Calgary got one back with a Coleman power play goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the season, powered by Adam Ruzicka and MacKenzie Weegar. Los Angeles iced it at 5-3 with a Byfield empty net goal, his second of the game and tenth of the year, with helpers from Adrian Kempe and Kopitar. The three stars went to Byfield, Coleman, and Doughty, while Kopitar gets an honorable mention. 

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