Seven games on for today again, beginning with...
The Boston Bruins hosting the Edmonton Oilers. Cam Talbot and Tuukka Rask protect the nets. Edmonton led off in the first period with a Patrick Maroon goal, his twelfth of the season, courtesy of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Boston tied it on a Colin Miller goal, his third of the year, via Austin Czarnik and Torey Krug. The Bruins took the lead in the second period on a Patrice Bergeron goal, his eighth of the season, helped along by David Pastrnak and Kevan Miller. The Oilers tied it again on a Maroon goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the year, assisted by Eric Gryba and McDavid. Edmonton took the lead in the third period with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his eighth of the season, with a lone assist by Matthew Benning. The Oilers added on with a Maroon goal, his fourteenth of the year, going in unassisted as he completed his hat trick. Boston got one back with a David Krejci power play goal, his ninth of the campaign, powered by Bergeron and Brad Marchand. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars handed to Maroon, Bergeron, and McDavid.
Down in DC, the Washington Capitals welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky and Braden Holtby tend the twines. Washington opened in the first period with a Daniel Winnik goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Jay Beagle and Nate Schmidt. The Capitals added on with a John Carlson goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Marcus Johansson and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Washington extended the lead in the second period as Schmidt scored, with the help of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The Capitals padded the lead on an Andre Burakovsky goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Carlson. Washington continued in the third period with a Justin Williams goal, his eleventh of the year, coming off of Kuznetsov. This produced the 5-0 final, with the three stars awarded to Schmidt, Carlson, and Holtby (29 save shutout), while Kuznetsov gets an honorable mention.
Further south, the Tampa Bay Lightning bring in the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Andrei Vasilevskiy are the masked men. Nashville started in the first period with a Mike Fisher power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Ryan Johansen and Mattias Ekholm. The Predators added on in the second period with a Filip Forsberg goal, his ninth of the year, fueled by Kevin Fiala and Johansen. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Tyler Johnson power play goal, his twelfth of the season, with helpers from Victor Hedman and Alex Killorn. Nashville shot back with a Colton Sissons goal, his third of the year, helped along by Fisher. The Predators extended the lead as Ryan Ellis scored his fifth of the season, thanks to Colin Wilson and Viktor Arvidsson. Nashville padded the lead on a shorthanded Sissons goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, set up by Calle Jarnkrok. The Predators kept going with another Sissons goal, completing his hat trick on his fifth of the campaign, with helpers from Jarnkrok and Anthony Bitetto. The game ended at 6-1, with the three stars being Sissons, Fisher, and Rinne (27 for 28 in saves), while Johansen and Jarnkrok get the honorable mentions.
Northwest to St. Louis, where the Blues host the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Jake Allen man the nets. Carolina began in the first period with a Derek Ryan goal, his fifth of the season, guided in by Brock McGinn and Jordan Staal. St. Louis tied it on a Joel Edmundson goal in the second period, helped along by Alexander Steen and Paul Stastny. The Blues took the lead back with a Vladimir Tarasenko power play goal, his nineteenth of the year, powered by Robby Fabbri and Jori Lehtera. The Hurricanes tied it again with a Jay McClement goal, his third of the season, coming off of Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce. Carolina took the lead in the third period with a Jeff Skinner power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, with assists provided by Noah Hanifin and Victor Rask. The Hurricanes iced it at 4-2 with a Ryan empty net goal, his second of the game and sixth of the campaign, set up by Staal and McGinn. The three stars were Ryan, McGinn, and Staal.
Continuing to Chicago, where the Blackhawks welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Anders Nilsson and Corey Crawford are in the creases. Buffalo struck first in the first period with an unassisted Marcus Foligno goal, his sixth of the season. Chicago tied it on a Ryan Hartman goal, his seventh of the year, going in unassisted. The Sabres retook the lead with a Kyle Okposo power play goal, his twelfth of the season, powered by Ryan O'Reilly and Rasmus Ristolainen. The Blackhawks tied it on an Artem Anisimov goal, his seventeenth of the year, passed from Michal Kempny and Patrick Kane. Buffalo took the lead in the third period on a Jack Eichel power play goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by O'Reilly and Okposo. Chicago retied it on an Anisimov goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the year, via Kane and Duncan Keith. The Blackhawks won 4-3 in overtime on Kane's twelfth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Kane, Anisimov, and Okposo, while O'Reilly gets an honorable mention.
Out in California, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Jared Coreau and Jeff Zatkoff make the starts in goal. Detroit was first to score in the first period with a Thomas Vanek goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Frans Nielsen and Andreas Athanasiou. The Red Wings added on with an Athanasiou goal, his sixth of the year, made possible by Anthony Mantha. Detroit extended the lead as Vanek scored his second of the game and ninth of the season, thanks to Athanasiou and Jonathan Ericsson. The Red Wings padded the lead on a third period Mantha goal, his tenth of the year, via Tomas Tatar and Nick Jensen. This stood for a 4-0 win, with the three stars awarded to Vanek, Athanasiou, and Mantha, while Coreau (34 save shutout) gets an honorable mention.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the Minnesota Wild. Devan Dubnyk and Martin Jones guard the cages. San Jose got going in the second period with a Joonas Donskoi goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Kevin Labanc and Brenden Dillon. The Sharks added on with a Joe Pavelski goal, his thirteenth of the year, passed from Brent Burns and Logan Couture. Minnesota got on the board with an Eric Staal power play goal, his twelfth of the season, powered by Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle. The Wild tied it on a Zach Parise goal, his seventh of the year, helped along by Nino Niederreiter and Staal. San Jose took the lead back with a Joel Ward goal, his third of the season, via Burns and Patrick Marleau. The Sharks extended the lead as Marleau scored his eleventh of the year, thanks to Ward and Chris Tierney. Minnesota pulled back with a Staal goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the season, with a lone assist by Parise. The Wild tied it on a Mikko Koivu goal, his tenth of the year, guided in by Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker. Minnesota took the lead on another Koivu goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the campaign, with helpers from Granlund and Zucker. The final held at 5-4, with the three stars going to Koivu, Staal, and Parise, while Ward, Marleau, Granlund, Zucker, and Burns earn the honorable mentions.
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