Eleven games on for this Saturday, beginning with two matinees. The first is in...
Winnipeg, where the Jets host the St. Louis Blues. Pheonix Copley and Ondrej Pavelec are the backups in goal. Winnipeg started in the first period with a Bryan Little power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Dustin Byfuglien and Mark Scheifele. St. Louis tied it on a Kevin Shattenkirk power play goal, his tenth of the year, with assists provided by Paul Stastny and Vladimir Tarasenko. The Jets took the lead back in the second period on a Blake Wheeler goal, his fifteenth of the season, via Byfuglien and Mathieu Perreault. Winnipeg added on in the third period with another Little power play goal in the third period, his tenth of the year, assisted by Wheeler and Perreault. The Jets extended the lead as Scheifele scored his twenty-first of the season, made possible by Nikolaj Ehlers and Jacob Trouba. Winnipeg padded the lead with an Ehlers power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, helped along by Nic Petan and Trouba. The Blues got one back with a Paul Stastny goal, his twelfth of the season, via Jaden Schwartz. St. Louis got closer with a Shattenkirk goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, coming off of Alexander Steen and Schwartz. This made it 5-3, with the three stars going to Scheifele, Ehlers, and Little, while Wheeler, Trouba, Perreault, Byfuglien, Shattenkirk, Schwartz, and Stastny.
Down in Columbus, the Blue Jackets welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Michael Leighton is mismatched with Sergei Bobrovsky in goal. Columbus opened in the first period with a Markus Hannikainen goal, assisted by Josh Anderson and William Karlsson. The Blue Jackets added on with a Scott Hartnell goal, his twelfth of the season, via Dalton Prout and Scott Harrington. Carolina got on the board with a Sebastian Aho power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Elias Lindholm and Jaccob Slavin. The Hurricanes tied it on a Justin Faulk goal, his ninth of the season, courtesy of Ty Rattie. Columbus took the lead in the third period with another Hartnell goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the year, helped along by Sam Gagner and Prout. This made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars being Hartnell, Prout, and Hannikainen.
Back in Canada, the Montreal Canadiens bring in the Buffalo Sabres. Robin Lehner and Carey Price were given the starting nods in goal. Montreal got going in the second period with an Artturi Lehkonen goal, his eleventh of the season, passed from Paul Byron. Buffalo tied it on a Brian Gionta goal, his tenth of the year, via Evander Kane. The Canadiens retook the lead with a Phillip Danault goal, his tenth of the season, courtesy of Jeff Petry and Max Pacioretty. The Sabres retied it in the third period with a Cody Franson goal, his second of the year, helped along by Ryan O'Reilly. Buffalo won 3-2 in overtime with a Zach Bogosian goal, assisted by O'Reilly and Kane. The three stars were O'Reilly, Kane, and Bogosian.
South to Brooklyn, where the New York Islanders host the Los Angeles Kings. Peter Budaj and Jean-Francois Berube man the nets. New York led off in the first period with a Jason Chimera goal, his ninth of the season, guided in by Stephen Gionta. The Islanders added on with an Anders Lee power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, powered by John Tavares and Nick Leddy in the second period. Los Angeles got on the board in the third period with a Jeff Carter power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, assisted by Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar. The Kings tied it on a Doughty goal, his eighth of the year, via Andy Andreoff and Trevor Lewis. New York took the lead with a Lee power play goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the season, fueled by Leddy and Josh Bailey. The Islanders added on with a Tavares empty net goal on the power play, his nineteenth of the year, set up by Nikolay Kulemin and Thomas Hickey. This made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars going to Lee, Leddy, and Tavares, while Doughty gets an honorable mention.
Over in Philadelphia, the Flyers welcome the New Jersey Devils. Keith Kinkaid and Michal Neuvirth are between the pipes. New Jersey began in the first period with a Pavel Zacha goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Jacob Josefson and Kyle Quincey. Philadelphia tied it on a Travis Konecny goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Nick Cousins and Ivan Provorov. The Devils took the lead back in the second period with a Kyle Palmieri power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by P.A. Parenteau and Michael Cammalleri. New Jersey added on with a Miles Wood goal, his sixth of the year, via Cammalleri and Steven Santini. The Devils extended the lead in the third period as Wood scored again, his second of the game and seventh of the season, thanks to Taylor Hall and Karl Stollery on the power play. The game ended at 4-1, with Wood, Kinkaid (35 for 36 in saves), and Cammalleri earning the three stars.
In Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs bring in the Ottawa Senators. Mike Condon and Frederik Andersen play goal. Ottawa struck first in the first period with a Bobby Ryan goal, his tenth of the season, helped along by Marc Methot and Chris Neil. Toronto tied it in the second period with a Tyler Bozak power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by James van Riemsdyk and Nazem Kadri. The Maple Leafs took the lead in the third period with a Matt Martin goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Jake Gardiner and Kadri. The Senators tied it on a Mike Hoffman power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, with assists provided by Erik Karlsson and Dion Phaneuf. In the shootout, Ryan and Tom Pyatt topped Mitchell Marner for a 3-2 Senators win. The three stars went to Ryan, Kadri, and Hoffman.
In Texas, the Dallas Stars host the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby and Kari Lehtonen draw the starts in goal. Washington was first to score in the first period with an unassisted Andre Burakovsky goal, his ninth of the season. Dallas tied it with an Adam Cracknell goal, his sixth of the year, via Jordie Benn and Dan Hamhuis. The Stars took the lead in the second period with a Patrick Eaves goal, his seventeenth of the season, passed from Patrik Nemeth and Curtis McKenzie. Dallas added on with a Jamie Benn power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Eaves and Tyler Seguin. The Capitals got one back in the third period with an Alex Ovechkin power play goal, his twenty-second of the season, assisted by Matt Niskanen and Nicklas Backstrom. Washington tied it on a T.J. Oshie power play goal, his seventeenth of the year, with helpers from Niskanen and Backstrom. The Capitals won 4-3 in overtime with a Jay Beagle goal, his tenth of the campaign, helped along by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Niskanen, the latter earning a sock trick. The three stars were Niskanen, Backstrom, and Eaves.
West to Arizona, where the Coyotes welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ben Bishop and Mike Smith are the goalies. Arizona opened in the first period with a Tobias Rieder goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Radim Vrbata and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The Coyotes added on with a Vrbata goal, his eleventh of the year, via Martin Hanzal and Rieder. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Cedric Paquette goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Gabriel Dumont and Michael Bournival. Arizona answered in the second period with a Michael Stone power play goal, powered by Hanzal and Vrbata. The Coyotes extended the lead as Christian Fischer scored, assisted by Jamie McGinn and Alex Burmistrov. Arizona padded the lead with a Hanzal goal, his tenth of the year, fueled by Vrbata, who got a sock trick, and Rieder. Andrei Vasilevskiy replaced Bishop in goal to start the third period. The Lightning got one back with a third period Vladislav Namestnikov goal, his sixth of the season, courtesy of Valtteri Filppula and Ondrej Palat. Tampa Bay got closer with a Palat power play goal, his tenth of the year, with helpers from Tyler Johnson and Nikita Nesterov. This only made it 5-3, the final, with the three stars going to Vrbata, Hanzal, and Rieder, while Palat gets an honorable mention.
North to Minnesota, where the Wild bring in the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Devan Dubnyk tend the twines. Minnesota started in the first period with an Erik Haula goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Jason Pominville and Zach Parise. Anaheim tied it on a Stefan Noesen goal, his second of the year, helped along by Jared Boll and Cam Fowler. The Ducks took the lead with Fowler shorthanded goal, his tenth of the season, going in unassisted. Anaheim added on in the second period with a Corey Perry power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Ryan Kesler and Ryan Getzlaf. The Wild got one back with a Jason Zucker goal, his thirteenth of the season, an unassisted goal. Minnesota tied it in the third period with a Haula goal, his second of the game and ninth of the year, made possible by Ryan Suter and Matt Dumba. The Wild took the lead with a Suter goal, his seventh of the season, via Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle. Minnesota iced it at 5-3 with a Zucker goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, fueled by Mikael Granlund and Mikko Koivu. The three stars were Haula, Zucker, and Suter, while Fowler gets an honorable mention.
Over in Alberta, the Calgary Flames host the Edmonton Oilers in a Battle of Alberta. Laurent Brossoit opposes Chad Johnson in goal. Edmonton led off in the first period with an Anton Slepyshev goal, his third of the season, helped along by Drake Caggiula. The Oilers added on with a Mark Letestu goal, his tenth of the year, via Zack Kassian and Oscar Klefbom. Edmonton extended the lead as Jordan Eberle scored his tenth of the season, with the help of Benoit Pouliot and Adam Larsson. Brian Elliott relieved Johnson in goal. The Oilers padded the lead in the second period on a Connor McDavid goal, his sixteenth of the year, made possible by Draisaitl and Larsson. Edmonton kept going with an Eberle goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the season, assisted by Matthew Benning and Pouliot. Calgary got on the board with a Matthew Tkachuk power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Dougie Hamilton and Michael Frolik. The Oilers shot back with a Klefbom power play goal, his eighth of the season, with assists provided by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle. The Flames answered with a shorthanded and unassisted Sean Monahan goal in the third period, his fifteenth of the year. Calgary pulled closer with a Lance Bouma goal, his third of the season, guided in by T.J. Brodie and Dennis Wideman. Edmonton finished it at 7-3 with a Nugent-Hopkins empty net goal, his tenth of the year, set up by Eberle and Larsson, the latter earning a sock trick. The three stars were Eberle, Klefbom, and Larsson, while Nugent-Hopkins and Pouliot get the honorable mentions.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the Colorado Avalanche. Spencer Martin is mismatched with Martin Jones in goal. San Jose began in the first period with a Joel Ward power play goal, his fifth of the season, powered by Joe Thornton and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Colorado tied it in the second period on a Mikhail Grigorenko goal, his fifth of the year, via Nathan MacKinnon and Cody Goloubef. The Sharks retook the lead with a Melker Karlsson goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Ryan Carpenter. The Avalanche tied it in the third period with a Francois Beauchemin goal, his second of the year, going in unassisted. San Jose won 3-2 in overtime with a David Schlemko goal, his second of the campaign, helped along by Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc. The three stars went to Schlemko, Karlsson, and Ward.
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