There's nine games on this Saturday, including a couple of matinees. First up...
The New Jersey Devils host the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Vitek Vanecek man the nets. New York led off in the first period with a Jimmy Vesey goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Alexis Lafreniere and Jacob Trouba. The Rangers added on with a Julien Gauthier goal in the second period, his sixth of the year, via Adam Fox and Barclay Goodrow. New Jersey got on the board with an unassisted Jack Hughes goal, his twenty-fifth of the season. New York fired back with a Chris Kreider goal, his nineteenth of the year, made possible by K'Andre Miller and Mika Zibanejad. The Devils got one back in the third period with a Jesper Bratt power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Nico Hischier and Hughes. New Jersey tied it on a Hughes goal, his second of the game and twenty-sixth of the year, assisted by Dawson Mercer and Ryan Graves. The Devils won 4-3 in overtime with a Damon Severson goal, his third of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Hughes, Severson, and Bratt.
Over in Columbus, the Blue Jackets welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Antti Raanta and Joonas Korpisalo are the Finnish goalies. Columbus got going in the second period with a Kirill Marchenko power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Kent Johnson and Marcus Bjork. The Blue Jackets added on with another Marchenko power play goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, with assists provided by Johnson and Emil Bemstrom. Carolina got on the board with a Max Pacioretty goal, via Seth Jarvis and Brady Skjei. The Hurricanes tied it on a Skjei power play goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Paul Stastny. Carolina pulled ahead with a Pacioretty power play goal, his second of the game, helped along by Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho. Columbus retied it in the third period with a Marchenko goal, completing his hat trick on his eighth of the year, passed from Cole Sillinger. The tie went to a shootout, where Marchenko, Patrik Laine and Johnson tallied to lift the Blue Jackets 4-3 over Svechnikov, Teuvo Teravainen and the Hurricanes. The three stars were Marchenko, Johnson, and Pacioretty, while Skjei gets an honorable mention.
Back east, the Buffalo Sabres bring in the Minnesota Wild. Marc-Andre Fleury and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are the goalies with hyphenated names. Buffalo opened in the first period with a Victor Olofsson goal, his fourteenth of the season, guided in by Casey Mittelstadt and Rasmus Dahlin. Minnesota tied it in the second period on a Brandon Duhaime goal, his fourth of the year, via Ryan Hartman and Matt Dumba. The Wild took the lead on a Kirill Kaprizov goal, his twenty-third of the season, courtesy of Calen Addison and Sam Steel on the power play. The Sabres tied it on a Tage Thompson power play goal, his thirty-first of the year, powered by Dahlin and Dylan Cozens. Buffalo took the lead back with a Dahlin goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Mittelstadt and Tyson Jost. The Sabres added on with a Cozens power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, with an assist provided by Alex Tuch. Minnesota got one back with a Hartman goal, his fifth of the season, fueled by Frederick Gaudreau. The Wild tied it on a Marcus Foligno goal in the third period, his fourth of the year, helped along by Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway. Minnesota took the lead with an Eriksson Ek power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, with helpers from Addison and the goalie Fleury. Buffalo tied it again on a Dahlin goal, his twelfth of the year, assisted by Mittelstadt and Owen Power. The Sabres won 6-5 in overtime with an Olofsson goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the campaign, with apples from Peyton Krebs and Dahlin. The three stars went to Dahlin, Olofsson, and Mittelstadt, while Cozens, Hartman, Eriksson Ek, and Addison get the honorable mentions.
In Toronto, the Maple Leafs host the Detroit Red Wings. Magnus Hellberg is mismatched with Ilya Samsonov in goal. Detroit started in the first period with a Jake Walman goal, his third of the season, coming off of Olli Maatta and Filip Hronek. Toronto tied it in the second period with a Mitch Marner power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, powered by Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly. The Maple Leafs took the lead on a John Tavares goal, his seventeenth of the season, helped along by Calle Jarnkrok and Mark Giordano. Toronto added on in the third period with a Pontus Holmberg goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Rielly and T.J. Brodie. The Maple Leafs extended the lead as Tavares scored his second of the game and eighteenth of the campaign into an empty net, set up by Marner and Justin Holl. The final was 4-1, and the three stars were Tavares, Marner, and Rielly.
Also in Ontario, the Ottawa Senators welcome the Seattle Kraken. Martin Jones and Anton Forsberg are given the starting nods in goal. Seattle began in the first period with an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Justin Schultz. Ottawa tied it on a Brady Tkachuk goal, his fourteenth of the year, via Tim Stutzle and Thomas Chabot. The Kraken took the lead back with a Jared McCann goal, his nineteenth of the season, passed from Jaden Schwartz and Alexander Wennberg. Seattle added on with a Schultz goal, his fourth of the year, courtesy of Jamie Oleksiak and Daniel Sprong. Cam Talbot replaced Forsberg in goal. The Senators got one back in the second period with a Stutzle power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, going in unassisted. Ottawa tied it on another Stutzle goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, guided in by Chabot and Artem Zub. The Kraken retook the lead with a Sprong goal, his twelfth of the season, fueled by Will Borgen. Seattle extended the lead as Matty Beniers scored his fourteenth of the year, helped along by Jordan Eberle. The Kraken padded the lead in the third period with a Dunn goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Andre Burakovsky and Adam Larsson. Seattle continued with an Eberle goal, his ninth of the year, with helpers from Burakovsky and Beniers. The Senators got one back with a Stutzle goal to complete his hat trick on his eighteenth of the season, made possible by Drake Batherson. The Kraken responded on a Burakovsky goal, his eleventh of the year, dished from Eberle and Dunn. The final held at 8-4, with the three stars given to Burakovsky, Eberle, and Stutzle, while Sprong, Dunn, Schultz, Beniers, and Chabot get the honorable mentions.
To Quebec, as the Montreal Canadiens bring in the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington faces his former teammate Jake Allen in goal. St. Louis struck first in the first period with a Brandon Saad goal, his twelfth of the season, fueled by Brayden Schenn and Ivan Barbashev. Montreal tied it in the second period with a Joel Armia goal, his second of the year, guided in by Jake Evans and Evgenii Dadonov. The Blues took the lead back with an Alexey Toropchenko goal, his second of the season, via Tyler Pitlick and Nikita Alexandrov. The Canadiens tied it again on a Kirby Dach power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Nick Suzuki and Christian Dvorak. Montreal took the lead in the third period with a Cole Caufield goal, his twenty-third of the season, made possible by Suzuki. St. Louis tied it on an Alexandrov goal, passed from Calle Rosen and Pitlick. The Blues gained the lead with a Pavel Buchnevich power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, going in unassisted. The Canadiens tied it on another Armia goal, his second of the game and third of the season, assisted by Evans and Dadonov. Montreal pulled ahead with a Josh Anderson goal, his eleventh of the year, coming off of Jonathan Drouin and Johnathan Kovacevic. The final held at 5-4, with the three stars going to Armia, Alexandrov, and Suzuki, while Evans, Dadonov, and Pitlick get the honorable mentions.
Out west, the Edmonton Oilers host the Colorado Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev and Stuart Skinner are between the pipes. Edmonton drew first blood in the first period with a Zach Hyman power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, powered by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Oilers added on with a Hyman power play goal in the second period, his second of the game and twentieth of the year, with assists provided by Tyson Barrie and Draisaitl. Colorado got on the board in the third period with a Nathan MacKinnon goal, his tenth of the season, guided in by Cale Makar and Evan Rodrigues. The Avalanche tied it on a Brad Hunt goal, via Rodrigues and Samuel Girard. Colorado won 3-2 in overtime with a Makar goal, his tenth of the year, coming off of MacKinnon and the goalie Georgiev. The three stars belonged to Makar, Hyman, and MacKinnon, while Draisaitl and Rodrigues get the honorable mentions.
Down in Vegas, the Golden Knights welcome the Los Angeles Kings. Pheonix Copley and Logan Thompson are in the blue paint. Los Angeles kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Kevin Fiala goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Blake Lizotte and Gabriel Vilardi. The Kings added on in the second period with a shorthanded Matt Roy goal, his fifth of the year, set up by Rasmus Kupari and Anze Kopitar. Los Angeles extended the lead as Fiala scored his second of the game and twelfth of the season, thanks to Sean Durzi and Vilardi. Adin Hill replaced Thompson in goal. The Kings padded the lead in the third period on a Viktor Arvidsson goal, his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Sean Walker and Phillip Danault. Vegas got on the board with a Jonathan Marchessault goal, his fifteenth of the season, passed from Nicolas Roy and Phil Kessel. Los Angeles answered with a Fiala empty net goal to complete his hat trick on his thirteenth of the year, courtesy of Lizotte and Vilardi. This made it 5-1, with the three stars going to Fiala, Vilardi, and Lizotte.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Boston Bruins. Linus Ullmark and James Reimer guard the cages. Boston was first to score in the first period with a Brad Marchand goal, his twelfth of the season, courtesy of Charlie McAvoy and Patrice Bergeron. The Bruins added on with a Craig Smith goal, his second of the year, via Nick Foligno and Charlie Coyle. San Jose got on the board with a Logan Couture goal, his fifteenth of the season, coming off of Alexander Barabanov and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The Sharks tied it in the second period with a Mario Ferraro goal, his second of the year, assisted by Matt Benning and Matt Nieto. Boston took the lead back with a David Pastrnak power play goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, powered by Marchand and McAvoy. The Bruins extended the lead as Pastrnak scored his second of the game and twenty-ninth of the year, with helpers from Bergeron and Marchand. The final held at 4-2, with the three stars being Pastrnak, Marchand, and Bergeron, while McAvoy gets an honorable mention.
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