We're up for eight games today. We begin with...
The Boston Bruins hosting the Detroit Red Wings. Alex Nedeljkovic and Linus Ullmark are in goal. Detroit got going in the second period with a Filip Zadina goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Pius Suter. Boston tied it in the third period with a David Pastrnak power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Taylor Hall and Charlie McAvoy. The Red Wings took the lead with a Marc Staal goal, assisted by Vladislav Namestnikov and Gustav Lindstrom. The final stood at 2-1, with the three stars going to Nedeljkovic (41 for 42 in saves), Staal, and Zadina.
Down in Florida, the Panthers welcome the Washington Capitals. Ilya Samsonov and Sergei Bobrovsky are the Russian goalies. Washington began in the first period with a Connor McMichael goal, his third of the season, coming off of Nick Jensen and Dmitry Orlov. The Capitals added on with a Beck Malenstyn goal, via Brett Leason and Trevor van Riemsdyk. Florida got on the board with a Joe Thornton goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Aaron Ekblad and Jonathan Huberdeau. Washington shot back in the second period with a Lars Eller goal, his second of the season, fueled by Tom Wilson and Orlov. The Capitals extended the lead as Jensen scored his third of the year, with the help of Carl Hagelin and Nic Dowd. The Panthers got one back in the third period on a Ryan Lomberg goal, his second of the season, coming off of Patric Hornqvist and Eetu Luostarinen. Florida pulled closer on a Luostarinen shorthanded goal, his seventh of the year, set up by Lomberg and MacKenzie Weegar. The Panthers tied it on a Sam Bennett power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Ekblad and Huberdeau. Florida pulled ahead with a Sam Reinhart power play goal, his fifth of the year, with helpers from Ekblad and Huberdeau. The three stars were Ekblad, Huberdeau, and Luostarinen, while Lomberg, Jensen, and Orlov get the honorable mentions.
Back north, the New Jersey Devils host the San Jose Sharks. James Reimer and MacKenzie Blackwood man the nets. San Jose led off in the first period with a Noah Gregor goal, assisted by Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The Sharks added on in the second period with a Jacob Middleton goal, his second of the season, via Gregor and Alexander Barabanov. San Jose extended the lead as Timo Meier scored his tenth of the year on the power play, thanks to Logan Couture and Jonathan Dahlen. The Sharks padded the lead on an Erik Karlsson goal, his fourth of the season, guided in by Barabanov and Rudolfs Balcers. New Jersey got on the board in the third period with a Tomas Tatar goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Pavel Zacha and Nico Hischier. The Devils got closer with a Jesper Bratt goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Andreas Johnsson. San Jose replied with a Meier empty net goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, going in unassisted. The final stood at 5-2, with the three stars given to Meier, Gregor, and Barabanov.
In St. Louis, the Blues bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Brian Elliott and Andrei Vasilevskiy are set to start in goal. Tampa Bay started in the first period with an Anthony Cirelli goal, his seventh of the year, via Taylor Raddysh and Victor Hedman. The Lightning added on with a Corey Perry power play goal, his third of the season, powered by Alex Killorn and Hedman. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Erik Cernak scored, thanks to Raddysh and Ross Colton. St. Louis got on the board in the second period with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Jordan Kyrou and Colton Parayko. The Blues got closer with a Logan Brown goal, helped along by Oskar Sundqvist. St. Louis tied it on an Ivan Barbashev power play goal in the third period, his eighth of the season, with assists provided by Scott Perunovich and Pavel Buchnevich. The tie went to a shootout, where O'Reilly's lone tally lifted the Blues to a 4-3 win. The three stars were O'Reilly, Raddysh, and Hedman.
Backtracking to Nashville, as the Predators host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins and Juuse Saros are the masked men. Nashville opened in the first period with a Filip Forsberg goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene. The Predators added on with a Yakov Trenin goal, his third of the year, via Colton Sissons and Tanner Jeannot. Nashville extended the lead as Forsberg scored his second of the game and eighth of the season, thanks to Granlund. Joonas Korpisalo replaced Merzlikins in goal. The Predators padded the lead on a Forsberg goal to complete his hat trick with his ninth of the year, courtesy of Granlund and Duchene. Nashville continued with another Forsberg goal on the power play, his fourth of the game and tenth of the season, powered by Granlund and Ryan Johansen. The Predators struck again in the third period with a Nick Cousins goal, his second of the year, guided in by Philip Tomasino and Thomas Novak. This made it 6-0, the final, with the three stars awarded to Forsberg, Granlund, and Saros (27 save shutout), while Duchene gets an honorable mention.
Up in Minnesota, the Wild welcome the Arizona Coyotes. Scott Wedgewood and Kaapo Kahkonen are in the blue paint. Arizona struck first in the first period with a Clayton Keller goal, his sixth of the season, guided in by Phil Kessel and Shayne Gostisbehere. Minnesota tied it on a Joel Eriksson Ek goal, his ninth of the year, via Dmitry Kulikov and Jordan Greenway. The Wild took the lead with a Kirill Kaprizov goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Ryan Hartman and Alex Goligoski in the second period. Minnesota added on with a Greenway goal, coming off of Jon Merrill and Victor Rask. The Wild extended the lead as Jonas Brodin scored his third of the year, thanks to Kaprizov and Hartman. The Coyotes got one back with an Anton Stralman goal, his second of the season, made possible by Jakob Chychrun and Keller. Minnesota responded with a Marcus Foligno goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Brodin and Greenway. The final held at 5-2, with the three stars given to Greenway, Kaprizov, and Brodin, while Keller and Hartman get the honorable mentions.
South to Dallas, as the Stars host the Carolina Hurricanes. Frederik Andersen and Braden Holtby guard the cages. Dallas kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Roope Hintz goal, his eighth of the season, courtesy of Joe Pavelski. The Stars added on in the second period with another Hintz goal, his second of the game and ninth of the year, via Pavelski and Jason Robertson. Dallas extended the lead in the third period as Pavelski scored his seventh of the season, thanks to Robertson. Carolina got on the board with a Jesperi Kotkaniemi goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by Jaccob Slavin and Nino Niederreiter. The Stars iced it at 4-1 with a Hintz empty net goal, completing his hat trick on his tenth of the campaign, set up by Miro Heiskanen. The three stars were awarded to Hintz, Pavelski, and Holtby (39 for 40 in saves), while Robertson gets an honorable mention.
Finally, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Jonathan Quick are the American goalies. Anaheim dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Troy Terry goal, his fourteenth of the season, going in unassisted. Los Angeles tied it on an Alex Iafallo goal, his seventh of the year, via Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault. The Ducks retook the lead with a Kevin Shattenkirk goal, his fifth of the season, an unassisted tally. Anaheim added on in the third period with a Cam Fowler power play goal, his fourth of the year, powered by Adam Henrique and Shattenkirk. The Ducks extended the lead as Isac Lundestrom scored his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. The Kings got one back with an Adrian Kempe goal, his eighth of the year, helped along by Matt Roy and Anze Kopitar. Los Angeles pulled closer on an Iafallo goal, his second of the game and eighth of the season, made possible by Drew Doughty and Sean Durzi. The Kings tied it on a Dustin Brown goal, his third of the year, assisted by Roy and Kopitar. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Shattenkirk and Trevor Zegras lifted the Ducks to a 5-4 win over Lias Andersson and the Kings. The three stars were Shattenkirk, Iafallo, and Roy, while Kopitar gets an honorable mention.
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