Thursday, April 4, 2024

NHL 2023-24 - Day 169

There are nine games on this Thursday slate. First up...

The Carolina Hurricanes host the Boston Bruins. Jeremy Swayman and Frederik Andersen guard the cages. Boston started in the first period with a Brad Marchand goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, assisted by Morgan Geekie and Charlie Coyle. The Bruins added on with a David Pastrnak goal, his forty-seventh of the year, passed from Pavel Zacha and Danton Heinen. Boston extended the lead as Heinen scored his sixteenth of the season, thanks to Pastrnak and Zacha. Carolina got on the board in the second period with a Jake Guentzel power play goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, powered by Stefan Noesen and Brady Skjei. The Bruins iced it at 4-1 with a Hampus Lindholm empty net goal, his third of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Pastrnak, Heinen, and Zacha.

In Columbus, the Blue Jackets welcome the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin and Daniil Tarasov get the starting nods in goal. New York struck first in the first period with a Pierre Engvall power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Ryan Pulock and Kyle Palmieri. Columbus tied it on a Dmitri Voronkov power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, with assists provided by Kirill Marchenko and Alexandre Texier. The Islanders reclaimed the lead with a Bo Horvat goal, his thirty-second of the season, guided in by Mathew Barzal and Alexander Romanov. The Blue Jackets tied it again with a Marchenko goal, his twenty-first of the year, assisted by Zach Werenski and Cole Sillinger. Jet Greaves replaced Tarasov in goal. New York pulled ahead in the third period with a Noah Dobson goal, his ninth of the season, passed from Barzal and Romanov. The Islanders finished it at 4-2 with a Palmieri empty net goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Marchenko, Barzal, and Romanov, while Palmieri gets an honorable mention.

To Montreal, as the Canadiens bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Matt Tomkins and Cayden Primeau are the inexperienced goalies. Montreal opened in the first period with a Joel Armia goal, his fifteenth of the season, courtesy of Brendan Gallagher and Alex Newhook. Tampa Bay tied it on a Nick Paul power play goal, his twenty-first of the year, powered by Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning took the lead with a Michael Eyssimont goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Tyler Motte and Matt Dumba. The Canadiens tied it in the second period on an Armia goal, his second of the game and sixteenth of the year, coming off of Newhook and Gallagher. Tampa Bay regained the lead with a Steven Stamkos goal, his thirty-third of the season, passed from Anthony Cirelli and Calvin de Haan. The Lightning added on with a Paul goal, his second of the game and twenty-second of the year, guided in by Eyssimont. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Brandon Hagel scored his twenty-fourth of the season, with the help of Darren Raddysh and Cirelli. The Lightning padded the lead with a Kucherov goal, his forty-third of the year, coming on the power play thanks to Point and Stamkos. Montreal got one back with a Juraj Slafkovsky goal in the third period, his sixteenth of the season, with helpers from Arber Xhekaj and Mike Matheson. The Canadiens got closer with a Cole Caufield goal, his twenty-second of the year, fueled by Nick Suzuki and Slafkovsky. Tampa Bay iced it at 7-4 with a Stamkos empty net goal, his second of the game and thirty-fourth of the campaign, set up by Kucherov. The three stars were Stamkos, Kucherov, and Paul, while Point, Eyssimont, Cirelli, Armia, Slafkovsky, Newhook, and Gallagher get the honorable mentions.

Over in Ottawa, the Senators host the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Joonas Korpisalo are the veterans in goal. Florida began in the first period with a Nick Cousins goal, his sixth of the season, passed from Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett. The Panthers added on with a Dmitry Kulikov goal, courtesy of Eetu Luostarinen and Evan Rodrigues. Florida extended the lead in the second period as Anton Lundell scored his eleventh of the year, thanks to Luostarinen and Kulikov. The Panthers padded the lead on a Bennett goal, his nineteenth of the season, assisted by Tkachuk and Josh Mahura. Anton Forsberg replaced Korpisalo in goal. Florida continued with a Sam Reinhart goal, his fifty-third of the year, helped along by Aleksander Barkov and Vladimir Tarasenko. The Panthers kept going in the third period with a Tkachuk power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, powered by Barkov. The final stood at 6-0, with the three stars going to Bobrovsky (30 save shutout), Tkachuk, and Reinhart, while Bennett, Cousins, Barkov, and Luostarinen get the honorable mentions.

Back stateside, the Washington Capitals welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Alex Nedeljkovic and Charlie Lindgren are in the blue paint. Pittsburgh led off in the first period with a Ryan Shea goal, via Reilly Smith and Lars Eller. The Penguins added on with a Pierre-Olivier Joseph goal, his second of the season, coming off of Kris Letang and Drew O'Connor. Pittsburgh extended the lead in the second period as Michael Bunting scored his seventeenth of the year, thanks to Valtteri Puustinen and Erik Karlsson. Washington got on the board in the third period with a power play goal by Alex Ovechkin, his twenty-seventh of the season, powered by Sonny Milano and Hendrix Lapierre. The Penguins iced it at 4-1 with an Eller empty net goal, his fifteenth of the year, set up by Smith. The three stars went to Nedeljkovic (29 for 30 in saves), Eller, and Smith.

Onward to Minnesota, as the Wild bring in the Colorado Avalanche. Justus Annunen is mismatched with Filip Gustavsson in goal. Colorado was first to score in the first period with an Artturi Lehkonen goal, his fourteenth of the season, fueled by Jack Johnson and Casey Mittelstadt. Minnesota tied it on a Vinni Lettieri goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Mason Shaw and Jake Lucchini. The Avalanche retook the lead with a Jonathan Drouin power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, powered by Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon. Colorado added on in the second period with a Drouin goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, courtesy of MacKinnon and Devon Toews. The Wild got one back with a Declan Chisholm power play goal, his second of the season, with assists provided by Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. The Avalanche fired back in the third period with a MacKinnon goal, his forty-eighth of the year, guided in by Drouin. Colorado iced it at 5-2 with a Mikko Rantanen empty net goal, his fortieth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Drouin, MacKinnon, and Lehkonen.

Up in Winnipeg, the Jets host the Calgary Flames. Dustin Wolf and Connor Hellebuyck are in the creases. Calgary drew first blood with a MacKenzie Weegar power play goal in the first period, his nineteenth of the season, powered by Jonathan Huberdeau and Andrei Kuzmenko. Winnipeg tied it on a Gabriel Vilardi power play goal, his seventeenth of the year, with helpers from Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey. The Jets took the lead with a Nikolaj Ehlers goal, his twenty-third of the season, passed from Cole Perfetti. The Flames tied it on a Daniil Miromanov goal, his third of the year, fueled by Weegar. Winnipeg regained the lead with a Toffoli power play goal, his thirty-first of the season, assisted by Vladislav Namestnikov and Ehlers. The Jets added on in the third period with a Vilardi goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the year, guided in by Morrissey and Neal Pionk. Winnipeg iced it at 5-2 with a Vilardi empty net goal to complete his hat trick on his nineteenth of the campaign, set up by Sean Monahan and Mark Scheifele. The three stars were Vilardi, Ehlers, and Weegar, while Morrissey gets an honorable mention.

Back south, the Nashville Predators welcome the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Juuse Saros protect the nets. Nashville kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Roman Josi goal, his twentieth of the season, coming off of Ryan O'Reilly and Filip Forsberg. St. Louis tied it on a Brandon Saad goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, assisted by Robert Thomas. The Predators took the lead back in the second period on a Forsberg power play goal, his forty-second of the season, powered by Gustav Nyquist and O'Reilly. Nashville added on with an Anthony Beauvillier power play goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Nyquist and Luke Evangelista. The Predators extended the lead in the third period as Michael McCarron scored his twelfth of the season, thanks to Kiefer Sherwood. The Blues got one back with a Jake Neighbours goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, made possible by Justin Faulk and Torey Krug. St. Louis got closer with a Jordan Kyrou goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, coming off of Faulk and Pavel Buchnevich on the power play. Nashville replied with a Forsberg empty net goal, his second of the game and forty-third of the year, set up by Nyquist and Ryan McDonagh. The Predators padded the lead on a Mark Jankowski empty net goal, his seventh of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Forsberg, Nyquist, and O'Reilly, while Faulk gets an honorable mention.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Los Angeles Kings. David Rittich and Mackenzie Blackwood are the goalies. Los Angeles tallied first in the first period with an unassisted Adrian Kempe goal, his twenty-fifth of the season. The Kings added on with an Akil Thomas goal, fueled by Jordan Spence and Pierre-Luc Dubois. San Jose got on the board in the third period with a Klim Kostin goal, his eighth of the year, guided in by Mikael Granlund and William Eklund. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars going to Rittich (15 for 16 in saves), Thomas, and Kempe. 

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