The hockey rolls on with seven games today, beginning with...
The Montreal Canadiens hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jack Campbell and Jake Allen are the goalies. Montreal led off in the first period with a Tomas Tatar goal, his ninth of the season, fueled by Paul Byron and Phillip Danault. The Canadiens added on with a Nick Suzuki power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Shea Weber and Jonathan Drouin. Toronto got on the board in the second period with an Auston Matthews goal, his thirty-second of the season, made possible by Mitchell Marner and Morgan Rielly. The Maple Leafs tied it on a John Tavares goal, his thirteenth of the year, guided in by Ilya Mikheyev and Zach Hyman. Montreal retook the lead on a Josh Anderson goal, his fifteenth of the season, helped along by Brett Kulak. The Canadiens iced it at 4-2 in the third period with a Tatar empty net goal, his second of the game and tenth of the year, set up by Byron and Jeff Petry. The three stars were Tatar, Byron, and Anderson.
Stateside, the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer make the starts in goal. Detroit dented the scoreboard in the third period with an Adam Erne goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Michael Rasmussen and Valtteri Filppula. The Red Wings added on with a Filip Zadina power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Rasmussen and Dylan Larkin. Carolina got on the board with a Nino Niederreiter goal, his fifteenth of the season, coming off of Warren Foegele and Jordan Staal. Detroit iced it at 3-1 with a Sam Gagner empty net goal, his fifth of the year, set up by Filppula and Danny DeKeyser. The three stars were Bernier (37 for 38 in saves), Filppula, and Rasmussen.
North again to Ottawa, as the Senators bring in the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Anton Forsberg are in the blue paint. Winnipeg began in the first period with a Kyle Connor power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, powered by Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele. The Jets added on with a Nikolaj Ehlers goal, his eighteenth of the year, via Derek Forbort and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Ottawa got on the board with a Brady Tkachuk power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, with assists provided by Josh Norris and Thomas Chabot. The Senators tied it with a Connor Brown goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Chris Tierney and Erik Brannstrom. Ottawa pulled ahead in the third period with an Evgenii Dadonov goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Chabot and Norris. The Senators capped it at 4-2 with an unassisted Tkachuk goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year. The three stars belonged to Tkachuk, Chabot, and Norris.
Moving along to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets host the Chicago Blackhawks. Kevin Lankinen and Joonas Korpisalo man the creases. Columbus started in the first period with a Stefan Matteau goal, coming off of Seth Jones and Kole Sherwood. Chicago tied it on a Duncan Keith power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane. The Blue Jackets retook the lead in the second period with a Patrik Laine goal, his eleventh of the year, passed from Max Domi and Vladislav Gavrikov. The Blackhawks tied it again in the third period on a Philipp Kurashev goal, his eighth of the season, courtesy of Kane. Chicago took the lead with a Brett Connolly goal, his third of the year, going in unassisted. Columbus tied it again with an unassisted Laine goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the season. The Blackhawks won 4-3 in overtime with a Brandon Hagel goal, his sixth of the year, fueled by Kirby Dach and Wyatt Kalynuk. The three stars belonged to Laine, Kane, and Hagel.
Westward to Colorado, where the Avalanche welcome the Arizona Coyotes. Ivan Prosvetov is mismatched with Philipp Grubauer in goal. Colorado opened in the first period with a Brandon Saad goal, his thirteenth of the season, passed from Samuel Girard and Tyson Jost. The Avalanche added on in the second period with a Nathan MacKinnon power play goal, his seventeenth of the year, powered by Cale Makar and Gabriel Landeskog. Colorado extended the lead as Mikko Rantanen scored his twenty-fourth of the season, thanks to MacKinnon and Makar. Arizona got on the board in the third period with a Michael Bunting power play goal, his sixth of the year, with assists provided by Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Phil Kessel. The Coyotes got closer with a Johan Larsson goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Dryden Hunt and Alex Goligoski. The Avalanche replied with a Rantanen empty net goal, his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the year, set up by Devon Toews. The final was 4-2, and the three stars were Rantanen, MacKinnon, and Makar.
Out in California, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the Vegas Golden Knights. Robin Lehner and Calvin Petersen are the masked men. Los Angeles struck first in the first period with an Austin Wagner goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Brendan Lemieux and Blake Lizotte. The Kings added on with an Anze Kopitar goal in the second period, his ninth of the year, via Dustin Brown and Alex Iafallo. Vegas got on the board with a Nicolas Roy goal, his third of the season, made possible by Shea Theodore. The Golden Knights tied it on a shorthanded Mark Stone goal, his thirteenth of the year, set up by Chandler Stephenson. Vegas took the lead in the third period with an Alex Tuch goal, his fourteenth of the season, going in unassisted. The Golden Knights closed out a 4-2 with a Max Pacioretty power play goal, his twentieth of the year, powered by Theodore and Stone. The three stars were Stone, Theodore, and Tuch.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the Anaheim Ducks. Anthony Stolarz and Martin Jones protect the nets. Anaheim kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Max Comtois goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Derek Grant and Josh Manson. The Ducks added on with an Alexander Volkov goal, his fifth of the year, via Sam Carrick and Nicolas Deslauriers. Anaheim extended the lead as Volkov scored his second of the game and sixth of the season, thanks to Adam Henrique and Jacob Larsson. The Ducks padded the lead in the third period with a Rickard Rakell goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Andrew Agozzino and Comtois. This made it 4-0, the final, with the three stars going to Stolarz (46 save shutout), Volkov, and Comtois.
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