Another 10-game slate is on tonight, beginning with...
The Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins and Jack Campbell man the nets. Toronto led off in the first period with a William Nylander power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly. The Maple Leafs added on with a Matthews goal, his sixteenth of the year, via Michael Bunting and Rielly. Toronto extended the lead as Nick Ritchie scored, thanks to Ondrej Kase. Columbus got on the board in the second period with an Oliver Bjorkstrand power play goal, his seventh of the season, with assists provided by Boone Jenner and Zach Werenski. The Maple Leafs shot back on a John Tavares power play goal, his twelfth of the year, helped along by Rielly and Nylander. Toronto padded the lead on a Matthews goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the season, made possible by Rielly. Daniil Tarasov replaced Merzlikins in goal in the third period. The Blue Jackets got one back with another Bjorkstrand goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, courtesy of Jake Bean and Gregory Hofmann. Columbus got closer with a Sean Kuraly goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Alexandre Texier and Eric Robinson. The Blue Jackets pulled closer on a Max Domi goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by Jakub Voracek and Jack Roslovic. The final stood at 5-4, with the three stars given to Matthews, Rielly, and Nylander, while Bjorkstrand gets an honorable mention.
Over in Montreal, the Canadiens welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy faces a lesser foe in Jake Allen in goal. Tampa Bay opened in the first period with a Patrick Maroon goal, his sixth of the season, going in unassisted. Montreal tied it in the second period on a Nick Suzuki goal, his sixth of the year, passed from David Savard and Jonathan Drouin. The Canadiens took the lead with a Mike Hoffman goal, his fifth of the season, made possible by Suzuki. The Lightning tied it in the third period with a Corey Perry goal, his sixth of the year, guided in by Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman. Tampa Bay took the lead with an Ondrej Palat goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Alex Killorn and Anthony Cirelli. This made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars going to Palat, Perry, and Suzuki.
Back in Ontario, the Ottawa Senators bring in the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin and Filip Gustavsson are the goalies. New York got going in the second period on an Anders Lee goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Josh Bailey and Scott Mayfield. Ottawa tied it on a Josh Norris power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Drake Batherson and Thomas Chabot. The Islanders retook the lead on an Oliver Wahlstrom goal, his eighth of the season, via Kieffer Bellows and Austin Czarnik. New York added on with another Lee goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, passed from Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech. The Islanders extended the lead in the third period as Bellows scored, thanks to Czarnik and Wahlstrom. The Senators pulled one back on a Nick Holden goal, courtesy of Tim Stutzle and Alex Formenton. New York responded with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his third of the season, helped along by Mayfield. Ottawa replied with a Formenton shorthanded goal, his fifth of the year, set up by Connor Brown. This only made it 5-3, the final, with the three stars going to Lee, Wahlstrom, and Bellows, while Czarnik, Mayfield, and Formenton get the honorable mentions.
Stateside, the Detroit Red Wings host the Nashville Predators. David Rittich and Alex Nedeljkovic are in the creases. Nashville began in the first period with a Ryan Johansen power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Matt Duchene and Roman Josi. The Predators added on with a Josi goal, his eighth of the year, guided in by Dante Fabbro and Johansen. Detroit got on the board with a Robby Fabbri power play goal, his sixth of the season, with assists provided by Pius Suter and Moritz Seider. Nashville replied in the third period with a Nick Cousins goal, his third of the year, fueled by Josi. The Predators extended the lead as Eeli Tolvanen scored his third of the season, thanks to Fabbro and Johansen. The Red Wings shot back with a Michael Rasmussen goal, his second of the year, helped along by Adam Erne and Vladislav Namestnikov. Nashville iced it at 5-2 with a Fabbro empty net goal, set up by Mark Borowiecki. The three stars were handed to Josi, Johansen, and Fabbro.
East to Buffalo, as the Sabres welcome the Anaheim Ducks. Anthony Stolarz and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are the backups in goal. Anaheim dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Sonny Milano goal, his eighth of the season, via Trevor Zegras and Rickard Rakell. The Ducks added on in the third period with a Sam Carrick goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Josh Manson. The three stars of the 2-0 game were Stolarz (25 save shutout), Milano, and Zegras.
Out west, the St. Louis Blues bring in the Florida Panthers. Spencer Knight and Ville Husso draw the starts in goal. Florida struck first in the first period with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Maxim Mamin and Carter Verhaeghe. St. Louis tied it in the second period with a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his eighth of the year, via Ivan Barbashev and Pavel Buchnevich. The Panthers took the lead back with a Brandon Montour goal, his third of the season, helped along by Verhaeghe and Mamin. The Blues retied it on a power play goal by Brayden Schenn, his fourth of the year, powered by Tarasenko and Jordan Kyrou. St. Louis took the lead in the third period with a Brandon Saad goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Barbashev and Logan Brown. Florida tied it again with a Jonathan Huberdeau goal, his ninth of the year, fueled by Radko Gudas and MacKenzie Weegar. Charlie Lindgren replaced Husso in net. The Blues won 4-3 in overtime with a Buchnevich goal, his tenth of the campaign, with helpers from Colton Parayko and Kyrou. The three stars went to Buchnevich, Tarasenko, and Barbashev, while Mamin and Verhaeghe get the honorable mentions.
Up in Winnipeg, the Jets host the Carolina Hurricanes. Frederik Andersen and Connor Hellebuyck tend the twines. Carolina started in the first period with a Jaccob Slavin goal, going in unassisted. The Hurricanes added on in the second period with a Sebastian Aho goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Jalen Chatfield and Nino Niederreiter. Winnipeg got on the board with a Nikolaj Ehlers goal, his tenth of the year, courtesy of Paul Stastny and Nate Schmidt. The Jets tied it on a Pierre-Luc Dubois power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, powered by Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. Carolina retook the lead on a Martin Necas power play goal, his sixth of the year, made possible by Seth Jarvis and Niederreiter. The Hurricanes extended the lead in the third period as Vincent Trocheck scored on the power play, his sixth of the season, thanks to Aho and Slavin. This held for a 4-2 final score, with the three stars being Slavin, Aho, and Niederreiter.
Back south to Chicago, as the Blackhawks welcome the New York Rangers. Alexandar Georgiev and Marc-Andre Fleury patrol the blue paint. New York kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Jacob Trouba goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome. Chicago tied it on an Erik Gustafsson goal, going in unassisted. The Blackhawks took the lead with a Kirby Dach goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome. The Rangers tied it on a Panarin power play goal in the second period, his eighth of the season, powered by Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. New York pulled ahead with a Kreider power play goal in the third period, his seventeenth of the year, with assists provided by Adam Fox and Panarin. The Rangers added on with a Kevin Rooney goal, his sixth of the season, coming off of Fox and Ryan Reaves. New York extended with a Panarin empty net goal, his ninth of the year, set up by Zibanejad and Trouba. The Rangers iced it at 6-2 as Barclay Goodrow scored his fourth of the campaign, with the help of Reaves and Rooney. The three stars were Panarin, Kreider, and Rooney, while Trouba, Fox, Zibanejad, and Reaves get the honorable mentions.
To Canada again, as the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Minnesota Wild. Cam Talbot and Mikko Koskinen guard the cages. Minnesota was first to score in the first period with a Joel Eriksson Ek power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Mats Zuccarello and Jonas Brodin. The Wild added on with a Marcus Foligno goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Matt Dumba and Eriksson Ek. Edmonton got on the board in the second period with a Jesse Puljujarvi goal, his eighth of the season, via Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman. Minnesota replied in the third period with a Victor Rask goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by Brodin and Zuccarello. The Wild extended the lead as Dmitry Kulikov scored his third of the season, thanks to Kirill Kaprizov and Jordie Benn. This stood for a 4-1 win, with the three stars going to Eriksson Ek, Brodin, and Talbot (38 for 39 in saves), while Zuccarello gets an honorable mention.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the Calgary Flames. Daniel Vladar and Adin Hill are the inexperienced goalies. Calgary drew first blood in the first period with a Dillon Dube goal, his third of the season, assisted by Milan Lucic. San Jose tied it on a Tomas Hertl power play goal, his tenth of the year, powered by Alexander Barabanov and Brent Burns. The Flames retook the lead with a Johnny Gaudreau goal, his tenth of the season, coming off of Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm. Calgary added on in the second period with an Adam Ruzicka goal, via Christopher Tanev and Brad Richardson. The Sharks got one back with an Erik Karlsson goal, his seventh of the year, helped along by Logan Couture and Jasper Weatherby. San Jose tied it on a Couture power play goal, his eighth of the season, with assists provided by Karlsson and Jonathan Dahlen. The Sharks gained the lead with a Hertl goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, courtesy of Barabanov. San Jose iced it at 5-3 in the third period with a Hertl empty net goal, completing his hat trick on his twelfth of the campaign, set up by Couture and Burns. The three stars were awarded to Hertl, Couture, and Karlsson, while Barabanov and Burns get the honorable mentions.
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