NHL 2023-24 - Day 129

There's 13 games on this Saturday. First up...

The Detroit Red Wings host the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Alex Lyon man the nets. Detroit led off in the first period with a Patrick Kane goal, his eleventh of the season, via Shayne Gostisbehere and Alex DeBrincat. The Red Wings added on with a Michael Rasmussen goal, his twelfth of the year, assisted by Lucas Raymond and Jeff Petry. Detroit extended the lead on an unassisted Robby Fabbri goal, his fourteenth of the season. The Red Wings padded the lead on a DeBrincat power play goal, his twentieth of the year, powered by Moritz Seider and Daniel Spring. Joel Hofer replaced Binnington in the second period. St. Louis got on the board with a Zack Bolduc goal, made possible by Brandon Saad and Nathan Walker. Detroit fired back with a J.T. Compher goal, his fourteenth of the season, guided in by Raymnod and Rasmussen. The Red Wings piled on with a DeBrincat goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the year, with a lone helper from Kane. The three stars of the 6-1 game were DeBrincat, Kane, and Rasmussen, while Raymond gets an honorable mention. 

Over in New Jersey, the Devils welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Jake Allen and Nico Daws are in the creases. Montreal got going in the second period with a Brendan Gallagher goal, his ninth of the season, via Jake Evans and Josh Anderson. New Jersey tied it on a Timo Meier goal, his eleventh of the year, coming off of Kevin Bahl and Tyler Toffoli. The Canadiens retook the lead with a Nick Suzuki goal, his twenty-first of the season, assisted by Cole Caufield and Johnathan Kovacevic. The Devils tied it on an Ondrej Palat goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Simon Nemec. New Jersey pulled ahead in the third period with a Nico Hischier power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, powered by Toffoli and Luke Hughes. The Devils added on with a Jesper Bratt goal, his twenty-first of the year, guided in by Meier. Montreal got one back with a Suzuki goal, his second of the game and twenty-second of the campaign, passed from Joel Armia and Mike Matheson. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars going to Meier, Toffoli, and Suzuki.

Along to New York, as the Islanders bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Ilya Sorokin tend the twines. Tampa Bay began in the first period with a Nick Paul goal, his sixteenth of the season, fueled by Brandon Hagel and Darren Raddysh. The Lightning added on with a Nikita Kucherov goal, his thirty-seventh of the year, guided in by Victor Hedman and Nick Perbix. Tampa Bay extended the lead in the second period on a Brayden Point power play goal, his twenty-ninth of the season, powered by Kucherov and Hedman. New York got on the board in the third period with an Anders Lee goal, his fifteenth of the year, passed from Mathew Barzal and Noah Dobson. The Islanders got closer with a Brock Nelson power play goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, made possible by Dobson. The Lightning iced it at 4-2 with a Luke Glendening empty net goal, his ninth of the year, set up by Hedman and Kucherov. The three stars were Kucherov, Hedman, and Dobson.

Next up, the Philadelphia Flyers host the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Samuel Ersson are set to start in goal. New York dented the scoreboard in the second period with an Alexis Lafreniere goal, his seventeenth of the season, via Vincent Trocheck and K'Andre Miller. Philadelphia tied it in the third period with a Tyson Foerster goal, his eleventh of the year, assisted by Scott Laughton and Travis Sanheim. The Rangers retook the lead with a Matt Rempe goal, passed from Barclay Goodrow and Braden Schneider. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars being Shesterkin (40 for 41 in saves), Rempe, and Lafreniere. 

Down in Florida, the Panthers welcome the Washington Capitals. Charlie Lindgren and Anthony Stolarz are the goalies. Florida cracked the scoresheet in the second period with a Nick Cousins goal, his third of the season, via Dmitry Kulikov and Brandon Montour. Washington tied it on a Sonny Milano power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Rasmus Sandin and Max Pacioretty. The Capitals took the lead in the third period with a Tom Wilson power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Dylan Strome and John Carlson. The Panthers retied it on an Aleksander Barkov power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, with assists provided by Carter Verhaeghe and Montour. Florida won 3-2 in overtime with a Gustav Forsling goal, his ninth of the campaign, helped along by Sam Bennett. The three stars were Montour, Forsling, and Barkov.

North to Ottawa, as the Senators bring in the Vegas Golden Knights. Logan Thompson and Anton Forsberg are the backups in goal. Vegas started in the first period with a Jonathan Marchessault goal, his thirtieth of the season, coming off of William Karlsson. The Golden Knights added on in the second period with a Chandler Stephenson power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Shea Theodore and Marchessault. Ottawa got on the board with a Thomas Chabot goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Mathieu Joseph and Claude Giroux. The Senators tied it on a Drake Batherson power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, with assists provided by Brady Tkachuk and Josh Norris. Ottawa took the lead in the third period with a Norris goal, his sixteenth of the season, guided in by Chabot and Erik Brannstrom. Vegas tied it on a Stephenson goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the year, via Karlsson and Theodore. The Senators won 4-3 in the shootout with a lone tally by Tim Stutzle. The three stars were Norris, Chabot, and Stephenson, while Karlsson, Marchessault, and Theodore get the honorable mentions.

Out west, the Colorado Avalanche host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ilya Samsonov and Alexander Georgiev have the green light to play in goal. Colorado opened in the first period with an Artturi Lehkonen power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. The Avalanche added on with an Andrew Cogliano goal, his fifth of the year, via MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Toronto got on the board with a Tyler Bertuzzi power play goal, his eighth of the season, with assists provided by Mitchell Marner and William Nylander. The Maple Leafs tied it in the second period on a Bertuzzi goal, his second of the game and ninth of the year, passed from Nylander and Max Domi. Toronto pulled ahead with a Marner goal, his twenty-third of the season, assisted by Matthew Knies and T.J. Brodie. Colorado tied it in the third period with a Rantanen goal, his thirtieth of the year, helped along by MacKinnon and Bowen Byram. The Maple Leafs pulled ahead on a Bertuzzi power play goal, completing his hat trick on his tenth of the season, guided in by Nylander and Auston Matthews. This made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars going to Bertuzzi, Nylander, and MacKinnon, while Marner and Rantanen get the honorable mentions.

Northwest to Vancouver, as the Canucks welcome the Boston Bruins. Jeremy Swayman and Thatcher Demko guard the cages. Boston got the first goal in the second period with a Jesper Boqvist goal, his third of the season, coming off of Justin Brazeau. The Bruins added on with a Danton Heinen goal, his eleventh of the year, via Trent Frederic and Morgan Geekie. Vancouver got on the board in the third period with a Brock Boeser goal, his thirty-second of the season, assisted by Nikita Zadorov and J.T. Miller. The Canucks tied it on a Filip Hronek goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Miller and Elias Pettersson. Vancouver won 3-2 in overtime with a Boeser goal, his second of the game and thirty-third of the campaign, fueled by Miller and Quinn Hughes on the power play. The three stars were Boeser, Miller, and Hronek.

Back east, the Carolina Hurricanes bring in the Dallas Stars. Jake Oettinger and Pyotr Kochetkov protect the nets. Dallas kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Jason Robertson goal, his nineteenth of the season, via Miro Heiskanen and Joe Pavelski. Carolina tied it in the second period with a Sebastian Aho goal, his twenty-second of the year, fueled by Jesper Fast and Andrei Svechnikov. The Stars took the lead back with a Wyatt Johnston goal, his nineteenth of the season, passed from Jamie Benn and Heiskanen. This held for a 2-1 win, with the three stars being Oettinger (20 for 21 in saves), Heiskanen, and Johnston.

In Canada again, the Edmonton Oilers host the Calgary Flames. Dan Vladar and Stuart Skinner draw the starts in goal. Calgary was first to score in the first period with a Nazem Kadri goal, his twenty-first of the season, via Walker Duehr and Noah Hanifin. The Flames added on with a Martin Pospisil goal, his sixth of the year, helped along by Connor Zary and Brayden Pachal. Calgary extended the lead as Hanifin scored his tenth of the season, thanks to Mikael Backlund and Jonathan Huberdeau. Edmonton got on the board with a Zach Hyman power play goal, his thirty-sixth of the year, powered by Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard. The Oilers got closer in the second period with another Hyman goal, his second of the game and thirty-seventh of the season, guided in by Leon Draisaitl and McDavid. The Flames answered with a Dryden Hunt goal, made possible by Huberdeau and Oliver Kylington. Calgary padded the lead as Hanifin scored his second of the game and eleventh of the year on the power play, with the help of Zary and Rasmus Andersson. The Flames continued in the third period with a Blake Coleman empty net goal, his twenty-third of the season, set up by Andrew Mangiapane. Edmonton got one back with a Mattias Janmark goal, his fourth of the year, going in unassisted. This only made it 6-3, the final, with the three stars belonging to Hanifin, Hyman, and Huberdeau, while Zary and McDavid get the honorable mentions.

Stateside, the Seattle Kraken welcome the Minnesota Wild. Marc-Andre Fleury and Joey Daccord are in the blue paint. Seattle struck first in the first period with a Vince Dunn goal, his tenth of the season, coming off of Jared McCann and Matty Beniers. Minnesota tied it with a Marcus Johansson goal, his ninth of the year, fueled by Mats Zuccarello and Jake Middleton. The Wild took the lead with a power play goal by Kirill Kaprizov, his twenty-fifth of the season, powered by Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman. Minnesota added on in the second period with a Matt Boldy power play goal, his twenty-third of the year, with helpers from Kaprizov and Zuccarello. The Wild extended the lead as Kaprizov scored his second of the game and twenty-sixth of the season, thanks to Joel Eriksson Ek and Brock Faber. Philipp Grubauer replaced Daccord in goal. Minnesota padded the lead with a Dakota Mermis goal, his third of the year, helped along by Zuccarello and Connor Dewar. The Kraken got one back with a Jordan Eberle goal, his thirteenth of the season, courtesy of Adam Larsson. The final held at 5-2, with the three stars handed to Kaprizov, Zuccarello, and Fleury (31 for 33 in saves).

Further south, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Kaapo Kahkonen are the Finnish goalies. Nashville drew first blood in the first period with a Kiefer Sherwood goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Roman Josi and Michael McCarron. The Predators added on with a Filip Forsberg power play goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, powered by Tommy Novak and Gustav Nyquist. San Jose got on the board with a Mikael Granlund goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Ty Emberson in the third period. Nashville replied with a Sherwood goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, fueled by Alexandre Carrier. The Sharks retook the lead with a Filip Zadina goal, his eighth of the season, helped along by Jan Rutta. The Predators iced it at 4-2 with an empty net goal by Nyquist, his fourteenth of the year, set up by Forsberg. The three stars were Sherwood, Nyquist, and Forsberg.

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings host the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and David Rittich are set to start in goal. Anaheim tallied first in the first period with a Jakob Silfverberg power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Ryan Strome and Cam Fowler. Los Angeles tied it on a Kevin Fiala power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, with assists provided by Adrian Kempe and Drew Doughty. The Ducks retook the lead in the second period with a Sam Carrick shorthanded goal, his eighth of the season, set up by Adam Henrique. The Kings tied it with a Doughty power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, assisted by Kempe and Fiala. The tie went to a shootout, where Pierre-Luc Dubois and Trevor Moore lifted the Kings 3-2 over Leo Carlsson and the Ducks. The three stars were Doughty, Fiala, and Kempe. 

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0 and on Bluesky @outsidersports0.bsky.social.