There's twelve games on this Saturday, and we'll begin out west with...
The Los Angeles Kings hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. Frederik Andersen and Calvin Petersen are the goalies. Carolina led off in the first period with a Seth Jarvis goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Sebastian Aho and Tony DeAngelo. Los Angeles tied it on a Blake Lizotte goal, via Brendan Lemieux and Alexander Edler. The Hurricanes retook the lead with a Derek Stepan goal, his third of the year, guided in by Jordan Martinook and Brady Skjei. The Kings tied it again with an Adrian Kempe goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Edler and Anze Kopitar. Carolina took the lead in the second period with an Aho goal, his eighth of the year, fueled by Andrei Svechnikov and the goalie Andersen. Los Angeles tied it again on a Kempe shorthanded goal, his second of the game and seventh of the season, going in unassisted. The Hurricanes restored the lead on a Jesperi Kotkaniemi goal, his third of the year, with helpers from Stepan and Jaccob Slavin. The Kings evened it again on a Lemieux goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Matt Roy. Carolina pulled ahead once more with a Martin Necas goal, his fourth of the year, helped along by Nino Niederreiter and Jordan Staal. This stood for a 5-4 win, with the three stars going to Aho, Stepan, and Kempe, while Lemieux and Edler get the honorable mentions.
Way east to Tampa Bay, as the Lightning welcome the New Jersey Devils. MacKenzie Blackwood and Andrei Vasilevskiy are the masked men. Tampa Bay began in the first period with a Jan Rutta goal, his second of the season, going in unassisted. New Jersey tied it on a Yegor Sharangovich goal, via Alexander Holtz. The Lightning retook the lead with a Pat Maroon goal, his third of the year, guided in by Ross Colton and Mikhail Sergachev. Tampa Bay added on in the second period with a Victor Hedman goal, his third of the season, coming off of Boris Katchouk and Rutta. The Devils pulled one back in the third period with a Dawson Mercer goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Sharangovich and Jonas Siegenthaler. New Jersey tied it on a Jimmy Vesey goal, his fourth of the season, fueled by P.K. Subban and Siegenthaler. The Devils pulled ahead on a Sharangovich goal, his second of the game, helped along by Jesper Bratt. New Jersey iced it at 5-3 with a Tomas Tatar empty net goal, his second of the year, set up by Ryan Graves. The three stars were awarded to Sharangovich, Rutta, and Siegenthaler.
Also in Florida, the Panthers bring in the Minnesota Wild. Cam Talbot and Sergei Bobrovsky are the veterans in goal. Florida opened in the first period with an Owen Tippett goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Aaron Ekblad and Frank Vatrano. The Panthers added on in the second period with a Vatrano goal, his fifth of the year, via Joe Thornton and Radko Gudas. Minnesota got on the board with a Joel Eriksson Ek power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Mats Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov. Florida responded with another Vatrano goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, courtesy of Gustav Forsling. The Wild got one back in the third period with a Kaprizov goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Frederick Gaudreau. The Panthers shot back with a Carter Verhaeghe goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by MacKenzie Weegar and Ekblad. Minnesota got closer with a Marcus Foligno goal, his sixth of the season, guided in by Alex Goligoski and Victor Rask. Florida replied with an empty net goal by Sam Bennett, his sixth of the year, set up by Jonathan Huberdeau. The Wild got one back with a Ryan Hartman goal, his ninth of the campaign, with a helper from Eriksson Ek. The final was 5-4, with the three stars going to Vatrano, Kaprizov, and Eriksson Ek, while Ekblad gets an honorable mention.
Up north, the Philadelphia Flyers host the Boston Bruins. Linus Ullmark and Martin Jones are in the creases. Boston drew first blood in the first period with a Tomas Nosek goal, his second of the season, assisted by Anton Blidh and Matt Grzelcyk. The Bruins added on in the second period with a Derek Forbort goal, his third of the year, via Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Philadelphia got on the board with a Derick Brassard goal, his third of the season, coming off of Cam Atkinson and Claude Giroux. The Flyers tied it with a Brassard power play goal, his second of the game and fourth of the year, powered by Giroux and Ivan Provorov. Boston retook the lead with a Forbort goal, his second of the game and fourth of the season, guided in by Craig Smith and Jake DeBrusk. The Bruins extended the lead in the third period as Smith scored, thanks to Erik Haula and DeBrusk. Boston padded the lead with a Pastrnak goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Jakub Zboril and Charlie Coyle. The final held at 5-2, with the three stars given to Forbort, Pastrnak, and Smith, while Brassard, DeBrusk and Giroux get the honorable mentions.
Along to Toronto, as the Maple Leafs welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry and Jack Campbell guard the cages. Pittsburgh struck first in the first period with a Jake Guentzel goal, his seventh of the season, coming off of Bryan Rust and Brian Dumoulin. The Penguins added on with a Jeff Carter goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Jason Zucker and Kasperi Kapanen. This stood for a 2-0 win, with the three stars going to Jarry (26 save shutout), Guentzel, and Carter.
Over in Quebec, the Montreal Canadiens bring in the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Samuel Montembeault are in the blue paint. Montreal started in the first period with an Artturi Lehkonen goal, assisted by David Savard and Jake Evans. The Canadiens added on with a Christian Dvorak goal, his third of the season, guided in by Josh Anderson and Jonathan Drouin in the second period. Montreal extended the lead as Brendan Gallagher scored on the power play, his fourth of the year, powered by Drouin and Tyler Toffoli. The Canadiens padded the lead on a Ryan Poehling goal, his second of the season, coming off of Chris Wideman and Lehkonen. Montreal continued with another Poehling goal, his second of the game and third of the year, via Toffoli and Wideman. David Rittich replaced Saros in goal. Nashville got on the board in the third period with a Matt Duchene power play goal, his tenth of the season, fueled by Roman Josi and Ryan Johansen. The Predators got closer with another Duchene power play goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, with assists provided by Mikael Granlund and Eeli Tolvanen. Nashville pulled one back as Duchene completed his natural hat trick with his twelfth of the season, courtesy of Johansen and Granlund. The Canadiens iced it at 6-3 with an empty net goal by Toffoli, his fourth of the year, set up by Joel Armia. The three stars were handed to Duchene, Poehling, and Toffoli, while Lehkonen, Drouin, Wideman, Johansen, and Granlund get the honorable mentions.
Back stateside, the New York Islanders host the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Semyon Varlamov are the experienced goalies. Calgary kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Brad Richardson goal, his second of the season, going in unassisted. The Flames added on with an Andrew Mangiapane power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Noah Hanifin and Johnny Gaudreau. New York got on the board with a Brock Nelson power play goal, his eighth of the season, with assists provided by Richard Panik and Kyle Palmieri. Calgary replied in the second period with a Mangiapane power play goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, with helpers from Hanifin and Mikael Backlund. The Islanders got one back in the third period with a Nelson goal, his second of the game and ninth of the season, an unassisted goal. The Flames shot back with a Trevor Lewis empty net goal, going in unassisted. Calgary iced at 5-2 with a Gaudreau empty net goal, his seventh of the year, set up by Elias Lindholm and Hanifin. The three stars were Mangiapane, Gaudreau, and Hanifin, while Nelson gets an honorable mention.
Southwest to Texas, where the Dallas Stars welcome the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Jake Oettinger are between the pipes. Dallas got going with a Ryan Suter power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Denis Gurianov and Jamie Benn in the second period. The Stars added on with a shorthanded Roope Hintz goal, his fourth of the year, set up by Michael Raffl and Esa Lindell. St. Louis got on the board with a Brandon Saad power play goal, his seventh of the season, helped along by David Perron and Torey Krug. Dallas replied in the third period with a Hintz shorthanded goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, via Raffl. The Stars iced it at 4-1 with a Benn empty net goal, his second of the game and sixth of the campaign, coming off of Joe Pavelski and Lindell. The three stars belonged to Hintz, Benn, and Raffl, while Lindell gets an honorable mention.
Westward to Arizona, as the Coyotes bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Alex Nedeljkovic and Scott Wedgewood are set to start in goal. Detroit was first to score in the first period with a Dylan Larkin goal, his ninth of the season, via Lucas Raymond. Arizona tied it in the third period on a Ryan Dzingel goal, his second of the year, guided in by Cam Dineen and Lawson Crouse. The Coyotes won 2-1 in overtime with a Clayton Keller goal, his fourth of the campaign, set up by Jakob Chychrun and Phil Kessel. The three stars were Wedgewood (33 for 34 in saves), Keller, and Dzingel.
Up in Vegas, the Golden Knights host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins and Laurent Brossoit are in net. Columbus led off in the first period with a Gustav Nyquist goal, his third of the season, via Jake Bean and Zach Werenski. The Blue Jackets added on with an Alexandre Texier shorthanded goal, his sixth of the year, set up by Bean and Werenski. Vegas got on the board in the second period with a Keegan Kolesar goal, assisted by Jake Leschyshyn. The Golden Knights tied it in the third period with a shorthanded Reilly Smith goal, his seventh of the season, going in unassisted. Vegas pulled ahead on a Mattias Janmark goal, coming off of Nicolas Hague and Kolesar. The final held at 3-2, with the three stars going to Kolesar, Bean, and Werenski.
Further north, the Edmonton Oilers welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Kevin Lankinen and Stuart Skinner are the backups in goal. Edmonton began in the first period with a Connor McDavid goal, his twelfth of the season, made possible by Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard. The Oilers added on with a Tyson Barrie power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Leon Draisaitl and McDavid. Edmonton extended the lead as Kailer Yamamoto scored a shorthanded goal, his fourth of the season, set up by Colton Sceviour. The Oilers padded the lead on a Ryan McLeod goal, his second of the year, guided in by Warren Foegele and Philip Broberg. Chicago got on the board with an Alex DeBrincat goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Kirby Dach and Seth Jones. The Blackhawks got closer with a DeBrincat goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, fueled by Philipp Kurashev. Edmonton replied with a Draisaitl shorthanded goal, his eighteenth of the season, via Bouchard. The final held from here at 5-2, with the three stars given to McDavid, Draisaitl, and DeBrincat, while Bouchard gets an honorable mention.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Washington Capitals. Ilya Samsonov and Adin Hill protect the nets. Washington struck first in the first period on a Conor Sheary goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Daniel Sprong and Aliaksei Protas. The Capitals added on with an Alex Ovechkin power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by John Carlson and T.J. Oshie. Washington extended the lead in the third period as Sheary scored his second of the game and fifth of the season, thanks to Carlson and Ovechkin. The Capitals iced it at 4-0 with an Ovechkin empty net goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, set up by Nic Dowd. The three stars were Ovechkin, Samsonov (22 save shutout), and Sheary, while Carlson gets an honorable mention.
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