NHL 2023-24 - Day 157

It's a calm 11-day Saturday, beginning with...

The New York Islanders hosting the Wininpeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Semyon Varlamov get the starts in goal. New York opened in the first period with an unassisted Cal Clutterbuck goal, his sixth of the season. The Islanders added on with a Clutterbuck goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, passed from Matt Martin and Alexander Romanov. Winnipeg got on the board with a Vladislav Namestnikov goal, his tenth of the season, courtesy of Morgan Barron and Dylan DeMelo. New York replied with a Kyle Palmieri goal, his twenty-third of the year, coming off of Brock Nelson and Bo Horvat. The Islanders extended the lead in the second period as Hudson Fasching goal, his fourth of the season, thanks to Mathew Barzal and Ryan Pulock. New York padded the lead on a Barzal goal, his twenty-second of the year, fueled by Fasching and Anders Lee. Laurent Brossoit replaced Hellebuyck in goal. The Islanders continued with a Lee goal, his eighteenth of the season, guided in by Barzal and Fasching. The Jets got one back with a Mason Appleton goal, his thirteenth of the year, with helpers from Nikolaj Ehlers and Josh Morrissey. Winnipeg got closer with a Cole Perfetti goal, his fifteenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The final stood at 6-3, with the three stars given to Barzal, Clutterbuck and Fasching, while Lee gets the honorable mention. 

Along to Philadelphia, as the Flyers welcome the Boston Bruins. Linus Ullmark and Samuel Ersson man the nets. Philadelphia got going in the second period with a Travis Konecny goal, his twenty-ninth of the season, coming off of Tyson Foerster and Scott Laughton on the power play. Boston tied it on a Justin Brazeau goal, his fifth of the year, via Charlie Coyle and Mason Lohrei. The Flyers retook the lead with a Konecny goal, his second of the game and thirtieth of the season, assisted by Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett. The Bruins tied it on a Danton Heinen goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Morgan Geekie and Jake DeBrusk. Philadelphia regained the lead with a Foerster goal, his eighteenth of the season, helped along by Ryan Poehling. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars being Konecny, Foerster, and Ersson (18 for 20 in saves). 

Out west, the Minnesota Wild bring in the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Marc-Andre Fleury are the veterans in goal. St. Louis started in the first period with a Jake Neighbours goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, made possible by Brayden Schenn. Minnesota tied it in the second period on a Marcus Johansson goal, his tenth of the year, helped along by Brock Faber and Matt Boldy. The Wild took the lead with a Marco Rossi goal, his nineteenth of the season, via Kirill Kaprizov. The Blues retied it on a Jordan Kyrou goal, his twenty-third of the year, coming off of Pavel Buchnevich. Minnesota regained the lead with a Rossi goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the season, assisted by Mats Zuccarello and Kaprizov. St. Louis tied it again in the third period with a Kyrou goal, his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the year, fueled by Buchnevich and Nick Leddy. The Blues pulled ahead on a Kyrou goal, completing his hat trick on his twenty-fifth of the season, with helpers from Brandon Saad and Buchnevich. The Wild evened it on a Faber goal, his seventh of the year, passed from Ryan Hartman and Jake Middleton. St. Louis won 5-4 in overtime with a Saad goal, his twenty-second of the campaign, guided in by Kasperi Kapanen and Justin Faulk. The three stars were Kyrou, Rossi, and Buchnevich, while Faber, Saad, and Kaprizov get the honorable mentions. 

Down in Nashville, the Predators host the Detroit Red Wings. Alex Lyon is mismatched with Juuse Saros in goal. Nashville dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Filip Forsberg goal, his thirty-ninth of the season, assisted by Roman Josi and Gustav Nyquist. This stood for a 1-0 final score, with the three stars awarded to Saros (23 save shutout), Forsberg, and Lyon (32 for 33 in saves).

Up in New Jersey, the Devils welcome the Ottawa Senators. Joonas Korpisalo and Jake Allen are in the blue paint. Ottawa led off in the first period with a shorthanded Mathieu Joseph goal, his eleventh of the season, going in unassisted. New Jersey tied it in the second period with a Jesper Bratt goal, his twenty-third of the year, an unassisted goal. The Devils took the lead with a Thomas Nosek goal, his second of the season, guided in by Ondrej Palat and Dawson Mercer. The Senators retied it on a Ridly Greig goal, his eleventh of the year, via Joseph. Ottawa pulled ahead on an Angus Crookshank goal, his second of the season, assisted by Thomas Chabot and Tim Stutzle. The Senators added on with a Chabot goal, his eighth of the year, fueled by Brady Tkachuk and Erik Brannstrom. Ottawa extended the lead in the third period as Drake Batherson scored his twenty-fourth of the season, thanks to Tkachuk. The final stood at 5-2, with the three stars going to Joseph, Chabot, and Tkachuk.

To Toronto, as the Maple Leafs bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Stuart Skinner and Ilya Samsonov protect the nets. Toronto began in the first period with a Bobby McMann goal, his twelfth of the season, fueled by John Tavares and Timothy Liljegren. The Maple Leafs added on with a William Nylander power-play goal, his thirty-ninth of the year, powered by Liljegren. Toronto extended the lead as Pontus Holmberg scored his fifth of the season, thanks to Max Domi and Auston Matthews. The Maple Leafs padded the lead on another Holmberg goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, made possible by McMann and Morgan Rielly. Toronto kept going with a McMann goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the season, assisted by Nylander and Tavares. Calvin Pickard replaced Skinner in goal for the third period. Edmonton got on the board in the third period with a Zach Hyman power play goal, his forty-ninth of the year, with assists provided by Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard. The Oilers got closer with a Corey Perry power play goal, his tenth of the season, helped along by Evander Kane and McDavid. Edmonton chipped closer on a Leon Draisaitl goal, his thirty-sixth of the year, with helpers from McDavid and Bouchard. Martin Jones replaced Samsonov in goal. The Maple Leafs iced it at 6-3 with a Matthews empty net goal, his fifty-eighth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were McMann, Holmberg, and Nylander, while Matthews, Tavares, Liljegren, McDavid, and Bouchard get the honorable mentions.

Back stateside, the New York Rangers host the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Igor Shesterkin tend the twines. Florida struck first in the first period with a Matthew Tkachuk goal, his twenty-third of the season, via Josh Mahura and Carter Verhaeghe. The Panthers added on in the second period with an Eetu Luostarinen goal, his twelfth of the year, coming off of Sam Reinhart and Uvis Balinskis. New York got on the board with an Adam Fox power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, powered by Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad. The Rangers tied it with an Artemi Panarin goal, his forty-second of the year, courtesy of Trocheck and Fox. Florida took the lead with a Verhaeghe goal in the third period, his thirty-first of the season, assisted by Brandon Montour and Tkachuk. New York tied it on another Panarin goal, his second of the game and forty-third of the year, guided in by Zac Jones and Trocheck. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Zibanejad and Panarin lifted the Rangers to a 4-3 win over Reinhart and the Panthers. The three stars were Panarin, Trocheck, and Verhaeghe, while Tkachuk and Fox get the honorable mentions.

Westward to Vancouver, as the Canucks welcome the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Casey DeSmith receive the starts in goal. Vancouver kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Nils Hoglander goal, his twenty-first of the season, via Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland. The Canucks added on in the second period with another Hoglander goal, his second of the game and twenty-second of the year, passed from Pettersson and Garland. Calgary got on the board with a Rasmus Andersson goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of A.J. Greer and Kevin Rooney. Vancouver replied in the third period with a J.T. Miller power play goal, his thirty-fourth of the year, powered by Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes. Vancouver extended the lead with an Elias Lindholm empty net goal, his fourteenth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The Flames got one back on a Joel Hanley goal, assisted by Brayden Pachal and Greer. This made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars being Hoglander, Pettersson, and Garland, while Greer gets an honorable mention.

Down in San Jose, the Sharks bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Petr Mrazek faces a lesser foe in Devin Cooley in goal. San Jose was first to score in the first period with a Thomas Bordeleau power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Fabian Zetterlund and Calen Addison. The Sharks added on with another Bordeleau goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, via Justin Bailey and Nico Sturm. San Jose extended the lead in the second period as Zetterlund scored his nineteenth of the season, thanks to Klim Kostin and Mario Ferraro. The Sharks padded the lead on another Zetterlund goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the year, made possible by William Eklund and Mikael Granlund. Chicago got on the board with a Ryan Donato goal, his eleventh of the season, fueled by Taylor Raddysh and Tyler Johnson. The Blackhawks got closer with a Johnson goal, his sixteenth of the year, with helpers from Donato and Raddysh. Chicago pulled closer on a Seth Jones goal, his fifth of the season, guided in by Wyatt Kaiser and Connor Bedard. The Blackhawks tied it on a Philipp Kurashev goal, his fifteenth of the year, passed from Donato and Nick Foligno. Chicago won 5-4 in overtime with a Jones goal, his second of the game and sixth of the campaign, assisted by Kurashev. The three stars were Jones, Kurashev, and Donato, while Zetterlund, Bordeleau, Johnson, and Raddysh get the honorable mentions.

Further south, the Los Angeles Kings host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Cam Talbot guard the cages. Los Angeles cracked the scoresheet in the first period with an Adrian Kempe goal, his twenty-second of the season, via Anze Kopitar and Quinton Byfield. Tampa Bay tied it on a power play goal by Brayden Point, his forty-first of the year, going in unassisted. The Kings took the lead back in the second period with a Trevor Moore goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, made possible by Pierre-Luc Dubois. Los Angeles added on in the third period with a Mikey Anderson goal, his second of the year, an unassisted goal. The Lightning got one back with a Steven Stamkos power play goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, powered by Point and Anthony Duclair. Tampa Bay tied it on another Stamkos goal, his second of the game and twenty-ninth of the year, guided in by Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. The Kings won 4-3 in overtime with a Vladislav Gavrikov goal, his sixth of the campaign, passed from Kempe and Kopitar. The three stars were Kempe, Stamkos, and Kopitar, while Point gets an honorable mention.

Finally, the Vegas Golden Knights host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Daniil Tarasov and Adin Hill are between the pipes. Columbus drew first blood in the first period with an Erik Gudbranson goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko. Vegas tied it in the second period with an Ivan Barbashev goal, his fifteenth of the year, guided in by Nicolas Roy. The Golden Knights took the lead with a Jack Eichel goal, his twenty-third of the season, coming off of Zach Whitecloud and Chandler Stephenson. Vegas added on in the third period with a Pavel Dorofeyev goal, his tenth of the year, fueled by Shea Theodore and Anthony Mantha. The Golden Knights extended the lead with an Eichel power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the campaign, powered by Theodore and Stephenson. The Blue Jackets got one back with a Carson Meyer goal, helped along by Dmitri Voronkov and Trey Fix-Wolansky. This only made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars being Eichel, Theodore, and Stephenson. 

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