We've got ten games on today in the last truly busy day for awhile. We begin with...
The New York Islanders hosting the New Jersey Devils. Cory Schneider and Jaroslav Halak are the veterans in goal. New York led off in the first period with an Anders Lee goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, assisted by Ryan Pulock and Thomas Hickey. New Jersey tied it on a Travis Zajac goal in the second period, his fourth of the year, via Marcus Johansson and Sami Vatanen. The Islanders retook the lead with an Anthony Beauvillier goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle. The Devils retied it with a Zajac shorthanded goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, set up by Brian Gibbons. New Jersey took the lead in the third period on a Miles Wood goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Will Butcher and Taylor Hall. The Devils added on with a Hall goal, his fifteenth of the year, guided in by John Moore and Wood. New York got one back with a Sebastian Aho power play goal, powered by John Tavares and Barzal. The Islanders tied it again on a Cal Clutterbuck goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Aho and Brock Nelson. New York won 5-4 in the shootout with a lone tally by Nelson. The three stars went to Aho, Nelson, and Barzal, while Zajac, Hall, and Wood get the honorable mentions.
Over in Philadelphia, the Flyers welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Robin Lehner and Michal Neuvirth make the starts in goal. Buffalo got going in the second period with a Ryan O'Reilly power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Jack Eichel and Rasmus Ristolainen. Philadelphia tied it on a Shayne Gostisbehere goal, his ninth of the year, fueled by Scott Laughton and Jori Lehtera. The Flyers took the lead with a Sean Couturier power play goal, his twenty-second of the season, with assists provided by Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek. Philadelphia added on in the third period with a Couturier empty net goal, his second of the game and twenty-third of the year, set up by Voracek and Michael Raffl. The Flyers iced it at 4-1 with an Ivan Provorov goal, his eighth of the campaign, with helpers from Wayne Simmonds and Andrew MacDonald for the empty net tally. The three stars were Couturier, Voracek, and Neuvirth (30 for 31 in saves).
West to Chicago, as the Blackhawks bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Cam Talbot and Anton Forsberg are in the blue paint. Chicago began in the first period with a Nick Schmaltz goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Ryan Hartman and Jan Rutta. The Blackhawks added on with an Alex DeBrincat goal, his fourteenth of the year, passed from David Kampf. Edmonton got on the board in the second period with a Darnell Nurse goal, his third of the season, via Michael Cammalleri and Zack Kassian. Chicago replied with a Brandon Saad goal, his thirteenth of the year, fueled by Jonathan Toews and Vinnie Hinostroza. The Blackhawks extended the lead as Jordan Oesterle scored his third of the season in the third period, an unassisted goal. This made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars being Forsberg (32 for 33 in saves), DeBrincat, and Saad.
Back east, the Washington Capitals host the St. Louis Blues. Carter Hutton and Braden Holtby are in the creases. Washington opened in the first period with a Brett Connolly power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson. St. Louis tied it in the second period with a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his eighteenth of the year, passed from Ivan Barbashev and Joel Edmundson. The Blues took the lead with an Alexander Steen power play goal, his sixth of the season, with assists provided by Brayden Schenn and Alex Pietrangelo. The Capitals retied it on an Ovechkin power play goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, helped along by Carlson and Nicklas Backstrom. Washington pulled ahead with a Lars Eller goal, his sixth of the season, via T.J. Oshie and Madison Bowey. St. Louis retied it on a Carl Gunnarsson goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Patrik Berglund and Tage Thompson. The Capitals won 4-3 in overtime with a Backstrom goal, his ninth of the campaign, with a lone assist by Oshie. The three stars went to Backstrom, Ovechkin, and Oshie, while Carlson gets the honorable mention.
Northwest to Winnipeg, as the Jets welcome the San Jose Sharks. Martin Jones and Connor Hellebuyck protect the nets. Winnipeg started in the first period with a Matt Hendricks goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Joel Armia and Andrew Copp. The Jets added o with a Marko Dano goal in the second period, his second of the year, via Jacob Trouba and Copp. San Jose got on the board with a Logan Couture power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, powered by Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns. Winnipeg replied on a Mathieu Perreault power play goal, his eleventh of the year, with helpers from Blake Wheeler and Tyler Myers. The Jets iced it at 4-1 with a Perreault empty net goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the campaign, set up by Myers. The three stars belonged to Perreault, Hellebuyck (31 for 32 in saves), and Copp, while Myers earns an honorable mention.
The last of the early starts has the Columbus Blue Jackets bringing in the Florida Panthers. James Reimer and Sergei Bobrovsky are the masked men. Columbus struck first in the first period with a Nick Foligno power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Pierre-Luc Dubois and Seth Jones. Florida tied it on a Jonathan Huberdeau power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, with assists provided by Evgenii Dadonov and Aleksander Barkov in the second period. The Blue Jackets took the lead on a Dubois power play goal, his ninth of the season, helped along by Jones and Artemi Panarin. The Panthers retied it in the third period with a Barkov goal, his thirteenth of the year, passed from Huberdeau and Keith Yandle. The tie went to a shootout, where Panarin, Jack Johnson, and Josh Anderson lifted the Blue Jackets 3-2 over Barkov and Mike Matheson. The three stars were Dubois, Panarin, and Jones, while Huberdeau and Barkov get the honorable mentions.
In Quebec, the Montreal Canadiens host the Vancouver Canucks. Anders Nilsson and Carey Price are between the pipes. Montreal was first to score in the first period with an unassisted Karl Alzner goal. The Canadiens added on with an Alex Galchenyuk power play goal in the second period, his tenth of the season, powered by Jeff Petry and Jonathan Drouin. Vancouver got on the board with a Daniel Sedin goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Alexander Edler and Henrik Sedin. The Canucks tied it on a Michael Del Zotto goal in the third period, his second of the season, assisted by Brock Boeser and Daniel Sedin. Montreal retook the lead on a Brendan Gallagher goal, his sixteenth of the year, with a lone assist by Alzner. The Canadiens extended the lead as Paul Byron scored his eleventh of the season, thanks to Gallagher. Montreal iced it at 5-2 with a Max Pacioretty empty net goal, his tenth of the year, set up by Phillip Danault and Petry. The three stars were Gallagher, Alzner, and Daniel Sedin, while Petry gets an honorable mention.
Back stateside, the Detroit Red Wings welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Louis Domingue and Petr Mrazek are the backups in goal. Tampa Bay drew first blood in the first period with a Dan Girardi goal, his third of the season, guided in by Vladislav Namestnikov and Yanni Gourde. The Lightning added on with a Tyler Johnson goal, his thirteenth of the year, passed from Girardi and Ondrej Palat. Detroit got on the board with a Gustav Nyquist goal in the second period, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Tyler Bertuzzi and Henrik Zetterberg. Tampa Bay answered on a Gourde goal, his thirteenth of the year, fueled by Alex Killorn and Namestnikov. The Red Wings got one back with a Justin Abdelkader goal in the third period, his seventh of the season, via Anthony Mantha. The Lightning countered on a Nikita Kucherov goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, made possible by Steven Stamkos. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Gourde scored his fourteenth of the campaign, thanks to Palat. This made it 5-2, the final, with the three stars being Gourde, Girardi, and Palat, while Namestnikov gets an honorable mention.
Over in Pittsburgh, the Penguins bring in the Boston Bruins. Tuukka Rask and Tristan Jarry receive the starting nods in goal. Boston kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Ryan Spooner goal, his fourth of the season, via Kevan Miller and Jake DeBrusk. Pittsburgh tied it on a Jamie Oleksiak goal, his third of the year, fueled by Matt Hunwick and Carl Hagelin. The Penguins took the lead with a Phil Kessel power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, powered by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Pittsburgh added on with a Kris Letang goal, his third of the year, with a lone assist by Crosby. The Bruins got one back in the second period with a Brad Marchand goal, his seventeenth of the season, made possible by Patrice Bergeron. Boston tied it on a Noel Acciari goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Brandon Carlo and Marchand. The Bruins pulled ahead on a David Pastrnak goal, his seventeenth of the season, going in unassisted. Boston extended the lead as David Backes scored his eighth of the year, with the help of Zdeno Chara and Danton Heinen. The Penguins got one back on a Malkin power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, with assists provided by Crosby, who got a sock trick, and Patric Hornqvist. Pittsburgh tied it in the third period with a Riley Sheahan goal, his fourth of the year, going in unassisted. The Penguins won 6-5 in overtime with another Malkin goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the campaign, with helpers from Kessel and Letang. The three stars belonged to Malkin, Crosby, and Marchand, while Letang and Kessel get honorable mentions.
Finally, the Vegas Golden Knights host the New York Rangers. Ondrej Pavelec and Marc-Andre Fleury are the experienced goalies. New York dented the scoreboard in the first period with a Mika Zibanejad goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Michael Grabner and Vinni Lettieri. Vegas tied it on a James Neal goal, his eighteenth of the year, passed from David Perron. The Golden Knights took the lead with a William Karlsson goal in the third period, his twenty-second of the campaign, assisted by Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars given to Fleury (28 for 29 in saves), Karlsson, and Neal.
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