Six games on tonight, beginning with...
The Philadelphia Flyers hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning. Brian Elliott and Carter Hart are the goalies. Tampa Bay led off in the first period with a Ryan McDonagh goal, his second of the season, via Steven Stamkos and Mathieu Joseph. The Lightning added on with a Corey Perry goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by McDonagh and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. Tampa Bay extended the lead in the second period as Taylor Raddysh scored his second of the season, thanks to Victor Hedman and Ross Colton. The Lightning padded the lead on a Boris Katchouk goal, assisted by Colton and Hedman. Tampa Bay chased Hart with a shorthanded Joseph goal, his fourth of the year, going in unassisted. The Lightning continued against Martin Jones in the third period on a Pat Maroon goal, his fifth of the season, helped along by Perry and Hedman. Philadelphia got on the board with a Cam Atkinson power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Claude Giroux and Keith Yandle. Tampa Bay finished it at 7-1 with a Perry power play goal, his second of the game and fifth of the campaign, with assists provided by McDonagh and Colton. The three stars were Perry, McDonagh, and Colton, while Hedman and Joseph get the honorable mentions.
Over in Columbus, the Blue Jackets welcome the San Jose Sharks. Adin Hill and Elvis Merzlikins man the nets. Columbus began in the first period with an Adam Boqvist goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Justin Danforth. San Jose tied it on a Nick Bonino goal, his fourth of the year, via Matt Nieto and Andrew Cogliano. The Sharks took the lead in the second period with an Erik Karlsson goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Alexander Barabanov. The Blue Jackets tied it on a Sean Kuraly goal, his fourth of the year, helped along by Andrew Peeke and Alexandre Texier. San Jose regained the lead with a Brent Burns goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Nieto and Timo Meier. Columbus tied it again with a Cole Sillinger goal, his fifth of the year, going in unassisted. The Blue Jackets took the lead in the third period with a Jack Roslovic goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Max Domi and Peeke. Columbus added on with a Boqvist goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, guided in by Gabriel Carlsson and Jakub Voracek. The Sharks pulled one back on a Tomas Hertl goal, his ninth of the season, fueled by Jonathan Dahlen and Meier. The Blue Jackets iced it at 6-4 with a Texier empty net goal, his eighth of the year, set up by Gustav Nyquist and Eric Robinson. The three stars belonged to Boqvist, Texier, and Peeke, while Meier and Nieto get the honorable mentions.
Back east, the New York Islanders bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Marc-Andre Fleury and Semyon Varlamov are the veterans in goal. Chicago opened in the first period with a Brandon Hagel power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Alex DeBrincat and Seth Jones. New York tied it in the second period with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his second of the year, with assists provided by Sebastian Aho and Mathew Barzal. The Blackhawks retook the lead in the third period with a Dylan Strome goal, his second of the season, via DeBrincat and Erik Gustafsson. The Islanders tied it again on a Noah Dobson goal, fueled by Barzal and Josh Bailey. The tie went to a shootout, where Patrick Kane's lone tally gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 win. The three stars were DeBrincat, Barzal, and Fleury (22 for 24 in saves).
Out west, the Edmonton Oilers host the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Mikko Koskinen are in the creases. Los Angeles started in the first period with a Rasmus Kupari goal, his third of the season, fueled by Trevor Moore. The Kings added on in the second period with an Adrian Kempe goal, his ninth of the year, via Dustin Brown and Drew Doughty. Edmonton got on the board with a shorthanded Darnell Nurse goal, set up by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman. Los Angeles shot back with a Kempe power play goal, his second of the game and tenth of the season, powered by Arthur Kaliyev and Doughty. The Kings extended the lead as Doughty scored his second of the year on the power play, thanks to Anze Kopitar and Viktor Arvidsson. Los Angeles padded the lead on a Moore power play goal, his second of the season, with helpers from Lias Andersson and Sean Durzi. The final was 5-1, with the three stars handed to Kempe, Doughty, and Moore.
In Winnipeg, the Jets welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs. Joseph Woll and Connor Hellebuyck draw the starts in goal. Winnipeg struck first in the first period with a Pierre-Luc Dubois power play goal, his twelfth of the season, powered by Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. Toronto tied it on a Michael Bunting power play goal, his seventh of the year, with assists provided Pierre Engvall and Nick Ritchie. The Jets took the lead in the second period with an Andrew Copp goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Neal Pionk and Nate Schmidt. Winnipeg added on with an Evgeny Svechnikov goal, his second of the year, fueled by Dominic Toninato and Jansen Harkins. The Jets extended the lead as Kyle Connor scored his fifteenth of the season on the power play, with the help of Dubois and Wheeler. Winnipeg padded the lead as Nikolaj Ehlers scored his ninth of the year, thanks to Copp and Schmidt. The Maple Leafs got one back on an Auston Matthews power play goal, his fifteenth of the season, with helpers from John Tavares and William Nylander. Toronto got closer on an Ondrej Kase goal, his sixth of the year, helped along by Rasmus Sandin and Justin Holl. The Jets countered with a Scheifele power play goal in the third period, his sixth of the season, courtesy of Connor and Pionk. The final held at 6-3, with the three stars going to Dubois, Scheifele, and Connor, while Copp, Wheeler, Pionk, and Schmidt get the honorable mentions.
Finally, the Vegas Golden Knights bring in the Calgary Flames. Jacob Markstrom and Tobin Lehner tend the twines. Vegas kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Max Pacioretty goal, his sixth of the season, assisted by Chandler Stephenson and Mark Stone. The Golden Knights added on in the third period with a Nicolas Roy goal, his fourth of the year, via Shea Theodore and Reilly Smith. Calgary got on the board with an Elias Lindholm goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Rasmus Andersson. Vegas replied with an Evgenii Dadonov goal, his seventh of the year, passed from Roy and Mattias Janmark. The Flames got one back with an Andrew Mangiapane goal, his seventeenth of the season, made possible by Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to Roy, Dadonov, and Pacioretty.
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