NHL 2023-24 - Day 84

There's 12 games on this Saturday, beginning with...

The Philadelphia Flyers hosting the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Carter Hart protect the nets. Calgary got going in the second period with a Jonathan Huberdeau goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Nazem Kadri and Martin Pospisil. Philadelphia tied it with a Morgan Frost goal, his sixth of the year, via Sean Walker and Tyson Foerster. The Flames took the lead with a MacKenzie Weegar goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Blake Coleman and Andrew Mangiapane. The Flyers retied it on a Sean Couturier power play goal, his tenth of the year, powered by Frost and Egor Zamula. Philadelphia pulled ahead in the third period with a Travis Konecny shorthanded goal, his twenty-first of the season, set up by Scott Laughton and Cam York. The final held at 3-2, with the three stars going to Frost, Konecny, and Couturier. 

Out in Colorado, the Avalanche welcome the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Ivan Prosvetov are set to start in goal. Florida led off in the first period with a Carter Verhaeghe goal, his twenty-first of the season, via Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett. The Panthers added on with a Sam Reinhart goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, courtesy of Gustav Forsling and Aleksander Barkov. Florida extended the lead as Reinhart scored his second of the game and twenty-seventh of the season, thanks to Barkov and Evan Rodrigues. Colorado got on the board in the second period with a Cale Makar goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. The Avalanche got closer with a Josh Manson goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Valeri Nichushkin and Logan O'Connor. Colorado tied it on a Nichushkin power play goal, his twentieth of the year, powered by Makar and Rantanen. The Panthers retook the lead with an Oliver Ekman-Larsson goal, his eighth of the season, helped along by Barkov and Rodrigues. Alexandar Georgiev replaced Prosvetov in goal. The Avalanche tied it in the third period with a Jonathan Drouin goal, his ninth of the year, fueled by Samuel Girard. Florida reclaimed the lead as Reinhart finished his hat trick on the power play with his twenty-eighth of the season, with the help of Matthew Tkachuk and Barkov. The Panthers padded the lead on a Kevin Stenlund goal, his seventh of the year, coming off of Ryan Lomberg. Florida continued with a Tkachuk empty net goal, his eighth of the season, set up by Verhaeghe and Aaron Ekblad. The Panthers struck again with a Verhaeghe empty net goal, his second of the game and twenty-second of the year, dished from Forsling. This made it 8-4, the final, with the three stars going to Reinhart, Barkov, and Verhaeghe, while Tkachuk, Rodrigues, Forsling, Makar, Nichushkin, and Rantanen get the honorable mentions.

At the regular time, the Boston Bruins bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Linus Ullmark tend the twines. Tampa Bay began in the first period with a Brayden Point goal, his eighteenth of the season, coming off of Nikita Kucherov. Boston tied it on a Trent Frederic power play goal, his eleventh of the year, passed from Kevin Shattenkirk and Hampus Lindholm. The Bruins took the lead with a Charlie McAvoy goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Danton Heinen and Matthew Poitras. Boston added on in the second period with a Frederic goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the year, courtesy of Matt Grzelcyk and Poitras. The Lightning got one back with a Kucherov goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, going in unassisted. The Bruins fired back with a David Pastrnak goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, helped along by Pavel Zacha. Tampa Bay replied with a Point goal, his second of the game and nineteenth of the season, made possible by Kucherov and Brandon Hagel. Boston answered in the third period with a Morgan Geekie goal, his eighth of the year, guided in by Pastrnak and Lindholm. The Bruins extended the lead as Jake DeBrusk scored his eighth of the season into an empty net while shorthanded, going in unassisted. Boston finished it at 7-3 with a Charlie Coyle unassisted goal, his fourteenth of the year. The three stars were Frederic, Pastrnak, and Kucherov, while Poitras, Lindholm, and Point get the honorable mentions.

In Montreal, the Canadiens host the New York Rangers. Jonathan Quick and Sam Montembeault man the nets. Montreal struck first in the first period with a Brendan Gallagher goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Jake Evans and David Savard. The Canadiens added on in the second period with a Sean Monahan goal, his tenth of the year, with a lone assist by Jesse Ylonen. Montreal extended the lead as Joel Armia scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Mitchell Stephens and Michael Pezzetta. New York got on the board with a Vincent Trocheck goal, his tenth of the year, helped along by Erik Gustafsson and Artemi Panarin. The Rangers got closer with a Panarin goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, fueled by Trocheck. New York tied it in the third period with an Adam Fox goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Jimmy Vesey and Will Cuylle. The Canadiens won 4-3 in the shootout with a lone tally by Cole Caufield. The three stars were Trocheck, Panarin, and Armia.

Back stateside, the New Jersey Devils welcome the Vancouver Canucks. Thatcher Demko and Nico Daws are the goalies. Vancouver dented the scoreboard in the second period with an Elias Pettersson goal, his sixteenth of the season, via Filip Hronek and Quinn Hughes. The Canucks added on with a J.T. Miller goal, his seventeenth of the year, courtesy of Brock Boeer and Hughes. Vancouver extended the lead as Miller scored his second of the game and eighteenth of the season, with the help of Pettersson and Ian Cole. New Jersey got on the board with a Colin Miller goal, assisted by Curtis Lazar and Michael McLeod. The Devils got closer with an Erik Haula goal, his ninth of the year, fueled by Jesper Bratt and Luke Hughes. The Canucks replied with a Conor Garland, his fifth of the season, coming off of Dakota Joshua and Carson Soucy. Vancouver padded the lead in the third period with a Pettersson goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, helped along by Boeser and Hughes. New Jersey answered with another Miller goal, his second of the game, with helpers from Chris Tierney and Brendan Smith. The Devils got closer with a Nico Hischier goal, his eleventh of the season, made possible by Smith and Haula. The Canucks iced it at 6-4 with a Joshua empty net goal, his tenth of the year, set up by Miller and Teddy Blueger. The three stars were Pettersson, Miller, and Quinn Hughes, while Joshua, Boeser, Miller, Haula, and Smith get the honorable mentions.

Over in Pittsburgh, the Penguins bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Tristan Jarry are the masked men. Buffalo opened in the first period with an Alex Tuch goal, his tenth of the season, via Connor Clifton and Tage Thompson. Pittsburgh tied it in the third period with a Rickard Rakell power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Erik Karlsson and Evgeni Malkin. The Sabres took the lead with a Zemgus Girgensons goal, his third of the season, assisted by Eric Robinson and Mattias Samuelsson. Buffalo iced it at 3-1 with a Rasmus Dahlin goal, his twelfth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Luukkonen (43 for 44 in saves), Girgensons, and Tuch.

Along to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets host the Minnesota Wild. Marc-Andre Fleury and Daniil Tarasov are in the blue paint. Columbus started in the first period with a Cole Sillinger goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Jake Bean and Adam Boqvist. Minnesota tied it with a Matt Boldy power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Brock Faber and Joel Eriksson Ek. The Blue Jackets took the lead back in the second period with a Sillinger goal, his second of the game and sixth of the season, passed from Kirill Marchenko. The Wild tied it again on another Boldy goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the year, assisted by Mats Zuccarello and Faber on the power play. Columbus pulled ahead as Sillinger completed his hat trick on his seventh of the season, thanks to Boqvist. Minnesota tied it again with a Marcus Johansson goal, his fifth of the year, fueled by Ryan Hartman. The Wild won 4-3 in overtime with a Marco Rossi goal, his twelfth of the campaign, helped along by Boldy and Faber. The three stars were Sillinger, Boldy, and Faber, while Boqvist gets an honorable mention.

Way out west, the San Jose Sharks welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs. Martin Jones and Mackenzie Blackwood patrol the creases. Toronto kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Mitchell Marner power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, powered by Morgan Rielly and William Nylander. The Maple Leafs added on in the second period with a Calle Jarnkrok goal, his tenth of the year, via Timothy Liljegren and Mark Giordano. Toronto extended the lead in the third period as Nylander scored his twentieth of the season, thanks to Tyler Bertuzzi and Jake McCabe. San Jose got on the board with a Mikael Granlund goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by Fabian Zetterlund and Mario Ferraro. The Maple Leafs iced it at 4-1 with another Nylander goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the campaign, with helpers from John Tavares and Bertuzzi. The three stars were Nylander, Jones (23 for 24 in saves), and Bertuzzi.

All the way east again, the Carolina Hurricanes bring in the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Antti Raanta are the veteran goalies. St. Louis was first to score in the first period with a Nathan Walker goal, assisted by Oskar Sundqvist and Torey Krug. Carolina tied it on a Teuvo Teravainen power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, powered by Jack Drury. The tie went to a shootout, where Jake Neighbours and Brayden Schenn lifted the Blues to a 2-1 win over Sebastian Aho. The three stars were Binnington (29 for 30 in saves), Raanta (21 for 22 in saves), and Walker.

Southwest to Dallas, as the Stars host the Nashville Predators. Kevin Lankinen and Scott Wedgewood are the backups in goal. Nashville drew first blood in the first period with a Gustav Nyquist goal, his tenth of the season, going in unassisted. The Predators added on in the second period with a Luke Evangelista goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Tommy Novak and Cole Smith. Dallas tied it on a Tyler Seguin goal, his fourteenth of the season, made possible by Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment. The Stars tied it with a Jamie Benn power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Thomas Harley and Jason Robertson. Nashville pulled ahead with a Filip Forsberg goal, his twentieth of the season, coming off of Nyquist and Ryan O'Reilly. The Predators extended the lead as Forsberg scored his second of the game and twenty-first of the year, thanks to O'Reilly and Luke Schenn. Dallas got one back with a Robertson goal, his thirteenth of the season, courtesy of Joel Hanley and Harley. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars being Forsberg, Nyquist, and Robertson, while O'Reilly and Harley get the honorable mentions.

Next up, the Vegas Golden Knights welcome the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin and Logan Thompson guard the cages. Vegas cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Jack Eichel goal, his seventeenth of the season, via Jonathan Marchessault and Alex Pietrangelo. New York tied it on a Mathew Barzal goal, his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Bo Horvat and Anders Lee. The Golden Knights took the lead back in the second period with a Pavel Dorofeyev goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Chandler Stephenson and Mark Stone. Vegas added on with a Nicolas Roy goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar. The Golden Knights extended the lead in the third period with an Eichel power play goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the season, powered by Lukas Cormier. The Islanders got one back with a Matt Martin goal, his second of the year, guided in by Casey Cizikas. Vegas fired back on a Roy goal, his second of the game and seventh of the season, helped along by Kolesar. The final held from here at 5-2, with the three stars given to Eichel, Roy, and Kolesar.

Finally, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Ottawa Senators. Anton Forsberg and Stuart Skinner are the goalies. Edmonton tallied first in the second period with a Zach Hyman power play goal, his twenty-third of the season, powered by Evan Bouchard and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Oilers added on in the third period with a Hyman goal, his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the year, passed from Bouchard. Ottawa got on the board with a Parker Kelly goal, his fourth of the season, courtesy of Brady Tkachuk and Erik Brannstrom. Edmonton shot back with a Hyman power play goal, completing his hat trick on his twenty-fifth of the year, with assists provided by Connor McDavid and Bouchard. This made it 3-1, the final, with the three stars being Hyman, Bouchard, and Skinner (30 for 31 in saves). 

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