Thursday, January 4, 2024

NHL 2023-24 - Day 82

It's another 13-game day, beginning with...

The Boston Bruins hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Alex Nedeljkovic and Jeremy Swayman are set to start in goal. Boston started in the first period with a Brad Marchand goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy. Pittsburgh tied it on a Drew O'Connor goal, his fifth of the year, coming off of Kris Letang and Lars Eller. The Penguins took the lead with a Ryan Graves goal, his second of the season, via Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell. The Bruins retied it on a Pastrnak goal, his twenty-third of the year, courtesy of Hampus Lindholm and Morgan Geekie. Pittsburgh retook the lead with a Jake Guentzel goal, his eighteenth of the season, passed from Crosby and Letang. The Penguins added on with an Eller goal, his seventh of the year, with helpers from O'Connor and Erik Karlsson. Pittsburgh extended the lead in the second period as Jeff Carter scored his fifth of the season, thanks to Letang and Bryan Rust. Boston got one back with a Geekie goal, his seventh of the year, helped along by Pastrnak and McAvoy. The Bruins pulled closer with a Brandon Carlo goal, his third of the season, made possible by Geekie and Jake DeBrusk. Boston tied it in the third period with a Marchand shorthanded goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, set up by Charlie Coyle. The Penguins regained the lead with a Crosby power play goal, his twenty-second of the season, fueled by Karlsson. The final held from here at 6-5, with the three stars going to Crosby, Letang, and Pastrnak, while Geekie, Eller, O'Connor, Karlsson, Marchand, and McAvoy get the honorable mentions.

Along to Montreal, as the Canadiens welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Devon Levi and Jake Allen are in the creases. Buffalo got going in the second period with a Casey Mittelstadt power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Jeff Skinner and Rasmus Dahlin. The Sabres added on with a Skinner power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, with assists provided by Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson. Montreal got on the board with a Joel Armia shorthanded goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. Buffalo replied in the third period with a Jack Quinn goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by JJ Peterka and Connor Clifton. The Sabres extended the lead as Thompson scored his eleventh of the season, thanks to Skinner and Tuch. Buffalo padded the lead with an empty net goal by Dahlin, his eleventh of the year, set up by Mittelstadt. The Sabres finished it at 6-1 with another Thompson goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the campaign, guided in by Skinner and Quinn. The three stars were Skinner, Thompson, and Quinn, while Mittelstadt, Dahlin, and Tuch get the honorable mentions.

Stateside, the New York Rangers bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Petr Mrazek and Igor Shesterkin are the veteran goalies. New York opened in the first period with an Artemi Panarin goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, coming off of Alexis Lafreniere and Vincent Trocheck. The Rangers added on in the second period with a Chris Kreider power play goal, his twentieth of the year, powered by Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad. Chicago got on the board with a Colin Blackwell goal, via Boris Katchouk and Jaycob Megna. New York answered in the third period with a Jacob Trouba goal, his third of the season, guided in by Panarin and Trocheck. The Rangers extended the lead as Jimmy Vesey scored his eighth of the year, thanks to Will Cuylle and Braden Schneider. This stood for a 4-1 win, with the three stars going to Trocheck, Shesterkin (22 for 23 in saves), and Panarin.

Over in Philadelphia, the Flyers host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Daniil Tarasov and Samuel Ersson are the backups in goal. Philadelphia began in the first period with a Travis Konecny goal, his nineteenth of the season, assisted by Joel Farabee and Sean Couturier. The Flyers added on in the third period with a Konecny goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the year, via Farabee and Couturier. Columbus got on the board with a Damon Severson goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Adam Fantilli and Jake Christiansen. The Blue Jackets tied it on a Jake Bean goal, his third of the year, guided in by Jack Roslovic and Erik Gudbranson. The tie went to a shootout, where Johnny Gaudreau's lone tally gave the Blue Jackets a 3-2 win. The three stars were Konecny, Farabee, and Couturier.

Southwest to Dallas, as the Stars welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev and Scott Wedgewood are in the blue paint. Dallas kicked off the scoring in the first period with an Evgenii Dadonov goal, his ninth of the season, going in unassisted. Colorado tied it on a Nathan MacKinnon goal, his twenty-first of the year, guided in by Miles Wood and Jack Johnson. The Stars pulled ahead in the second period with a Tyler Seguin goal, his twelfth of the season, passed from Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment. Dallas added on with a Joe Pavelski power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, powered by Duchene and Miro Heiskanen. The Avalanche got one back with a Jonathan Drouin power play goal, his seventh of the season, with assists provided by Devon Toews and MacKinnon. The Stars countered in the third period with a Seguin goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the year, fueled by Marchment. Colorado replied with a Drouin goal, his second of the game and eighth of the season, passed from Johnson. The Avalanche tied it on a Mikko Rantanen goal, his twentieth of the year, assisted by Logan O'Connor and Cale Makar. Colorado won 5-4 in overtime with a MacKinnon goal, his second of the game and twenty-second of the campaign. The three stars belonged to MacKinnon, Drouin, and Seguin, while Toews, Johnson, Duchene, and Marchment get the honorable mentions.

Up in Minnesota, the Wild bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Marc-Andre Fleury guard the cages. Tampa Bay dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Darren Raddysh goal, via Luke Glendening. The Lightning added on with another Raddysh goal, his second of the game, fueled by Conor Sheary and Tyler Motte. Tampa Bay extended the lead in the third period on a Victor Hedman power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Nikita Kucherov and Nick Paul. Minnesota got on the board with a Zach Bogosian goal, passed from Alex Goligoski and Ryan Hartman. The Lightning iced it at 4-1 with a Brandon Hagel empty net goal, his eleventh of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Raddysh, Vasilevskiy (22 for 23 in saves), and Hedman.

Backtracking to Nashville, as the Predators host the Calgary Flames. Dan Vladar is mismatched with Juuse Saros in goal. Calgary struck first in the first period with a Connor Zary power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Yegor Sharangovich and Rasmus Andersson. The Flames added on with a Blake Coleman goal, his fifteenth of the year, coming off of Mikael Backlund. Nashville got on the board with a Filip Forsberg goal, his nineteenth of the season, via Ryan O'Reilly and Gustav Nyquist. Calgary replied with a Nazem Kadri goal, his eleventh of the year, going in unassisted. The Predators got one back with a Colton Sissons goal, his twelfth of the season, fueled by Dante Fabbro and Roman Josi. The Flames shot back with an Andersson goal, his sixth of the year, guided in by Zary. Calgary extended the lead as Noah Hanifin scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Andrew Mangiapane and Coleman. Kevin Lankinen replaced Saros for the third period. Nashville got one back in the third period with a Michael McCarron goal, his sixth of the year, courtesy of Philip Tomasino and Tommy Novak. The Flames answered with a Sharangovich goal, his twelfth of the season, helped along by Elias Lindholm. The final held at 6-3, with the three stars going to Coleman, Sharangovich, and Zary, while Andersson gets an honorable mention.

West to St. Louis, as the Blues welcome the Vancouver Canucks. Thatcher Demko and Jordan Binnington protect the nets. Vancouver led off in the first period with a Conor Garland goal, his fourth of the season, via Teddy Blueger and Dakota Joshua. St. Louis tied it in the second period with a Colton Parayko goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. The Blues took the lead with a Thomas goal, his sixteenth of the season, fueled by Scott Perunovich and Pavel Buchnevich. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars going to Thomas, Binnington (25 for 26 in saves), and Parayko.

Out in Arizona, the Coyotes bring in the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin and Connor Ingram are the masked men. New York was first to score in the first period with a Bo Horvat power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Noah Dobson and Brock Nelson. The Islanders added on with a Mike Reilly goal, his third of the year, guided in by Mathew Barzal and Horvat. Arizona got on the board in the second period with a Nick Schmaltz power play goal, his eleventh of the season, with assists provided by Sean Durzi and Alexander Kerfoot. New York replied in the third period with an Anders Lee goal, his eleventh of the year, coming off of Barzal. The Islanders extended the lead as Julien Gauthier scored his fifth of the season, thanks to Simon Holmstrom and Dobson. New York padded the lead on a Horvat goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, going in unassisted. This stood for a 5-1 win, with the three stars going to Horvat, Sorokin (25 for 26 in saves), and Barzal, while Dobson gets an honorable mention.

North to Nevada, as the Vegas Golden Knights host the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Logan Thompson guard the cages. Vegas drew first blood in the first period with a Pavel Dorofeyev goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Mark Stone. Florida tied it on a Sam Bennett power play goal, his seventh of the year, powered by Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Aaron Ekblad. The Panthers took the lead in the second period with a Matthew Tkachuk power play goal, his seventh of the season, with assists provided by Brandon Montour and Sam Reinhart. Florida added on with a Carter Verhaeghe goal, his twentieth of the year, helped along by Gustav Forsling and Montour. The Panthers extended the lead as Reinhart scored a power play goal in the third period, his twenty-fifth of the season, with the help of Tkachuk and Verhaeghe. This made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars being Verhaeghe, Reinhart, and Tkachuk, while Montour gets an honorable mention.

Northwest to Seattle, as the Kraken welcome the Ottawa Senators. Joonas Korpisalo and Joey Daccord are the goalies. Seattle cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Yanni Gourde goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Eeli Tolvanen. The Kraken added on with a Tomas Tatar goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Jordan Eberle and Vince Dunn in the second period. Seattle extended the lead as Andre Burakovsky scored, with the help of Kailer Yamamoto. Ottawa got on the board in the third period with a Parker Kelly goal, his third of the season, helped along by Dominik Kubalik and Thomas Chabot. The Kraken iced it at 4-1 with a Dunn empty net goal, his seventh of the year, set up by Eberle. The three stars were Daccord (31 for 32 in saves), Dunn, and Eberle.

Down in California, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Mackenzie Blackwood draw the starts in goal. San Jose got the first goal in the second period with an Alexander Barabanov goal, his third of the season, assisted by William Eklund and Ty Emberson. Winnipeg tied it on a Morgan Barron goal, his eighth of the year, coming off of Neal Pionk and Brenden Dillon. The Jets took the lead with a Gabriel Vilardi power play goal in the third period, his eighth of the season, powered by Nikolaj Ehlers and Mark Scheifele. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars given to Hellebuyck (27 for 28 in saves), Vilardi, and Barron.

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings host the Detroit Red Wings. Alex Lyon and David Rittich are the veteran backups in goal. Los Angeles tallied first in the first period with an Adrian Kempe goal, his thirteenth of the season, via Alex Laferriere and Pierre-Luc Dubois. The Kings added on with a Matt Roy goal, courtesy of Anze Kopitar and Quinton Byfield. Detroit got on the board with a Robby Fabbri goal, his tenth of the year, passed from Olli Maatta and Daniel Sprong. The Red Wings tied it on a Jeff Petry goal, his second of the season, made possible by Dylan Larkin and Joe Veleno. Detroit took the lead in the third period with a Fabbri goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, a power play goal powered by Sprong and Patrick Kane. Los Angeles retied it on a Kempe goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the season, with helpers from Dubois and Laferriere. The tie went to a shootout, where Lucas Raymond and Kane lifted the Red Wings to a 4-3 win. The three stars were Fabbri, Kane, and Kempe, while Sprong, Dubois, and Laferriere get the honorable mentions. 

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