We've got twelve games on Saturday, though just one matinee. First up...
The Ottawa Senators hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning. Brian Elliott and Anton Forsberg are the goalies. Ottawa led off in the first period with a Josh Norris goal, his twelfth of the season, via Drake Batherson and Thomas Chabot. The Senators added on in the second period with a Brady Tkachuk power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Tim Stutzle. Ottawa extended the lead as Tkachuk scored on the power play again, his second goal of the game and tenth of the season, with the help of Chabot and Batherson. The Senators iced it at 4-0 in the third period with a Tkachuk empty net goal to complete his hat trick on his eleventh of the year, set up by Batherson. The three stars were Tkachuk, Forsberg (25 save shutout), and Batherson, while Chabot gets an honorable mention.
Stateside, the Buffalo Sabres welcome the Washington Capitals. Vitek Vanecek and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are in the blue paint. Washington started in the first period with a Lars Eller goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Conor Sheary and T.J. Oshie. Buffalo tied it on a Vinnie Hinostroza goal, his fifth of the year, guided in by Robert Hagg and Jacob Bryson. The Sabres took the lead in the second period with a Will Butcher goal, assisted by Rasmus Asplund and Kyle Okposo. The Capitals tied it on a Martin Fehervary goal, his third of the season, coming off of Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Daniel Sprong and Oshie lifted the Capitals over Victor Olofsson and the Sabres by a 3-2 score. The three stars were Oshie, Fehervary, and Eller.
Back in Canada, the Toronto Maple Leafs bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Kevin Lankinen and Petr Mrazek are the backups in goal. Chicago opened in the first period with a Jonathan Toews goal, his second of the season, assisted by Reese Johnson and Connor Murphy. Toronto tied it on a John Tavares power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Auston Matthews and William Nylander. The Maple Leafs took the lead with a Nylander goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Tavares and Timothy Liljegren. Toronto added on with a Matthews power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, with assists provided by Ondrej Kase and Nylander. Toronto extended the lead as Pierre Engvall scored his fourth of the season, thanks to Kyle Clifford and Alex Steeves. The Blackhawks got one back with a Murphy goal, his second of the year, guided in by Brandon Hagel. Chicago got closer in the third period with a Dominik Kubalik goal, his fifth of the season, with helpers from Philipp Kurashev and Jake McCabe. The Blackhawks tied it on a McCabe goal, his second of the year, via Riley Stillman and Ryan Carpenter. Toronto retook the lead on a David Kampf goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Morgan Rielly and T.J. Brodie. This stood for a 5-4 win, with the three stars going to Nylander, Matthews, and Tavares, while Murphy and McCabe get the honorable mentions.
To Pittsburgh, where the Penguins host the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Casey DeSmith draw the starts in goal. Pittsburgh began in the first period with a Brock McGinn goal, his seventh of the season, courtesy of Zach Aston-Reese and Chad Ruhwedel. Anthony Stolarz replaced an injured Gibson in the third period. This stood for a 1-0 win, with the three stars going to DeSmith (33 save shutout), McGinn, and Stolarz (13 saves in relief).
In St. Louis, the Blues welcome the Montreal Canadiens. Jake Allen and Charlie Lindgren face their former teams in goal. St. Louis struck first in the first period with a Pavel Buchnevich goal, his eleventh of the season, made possible by Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O'Reilly. The Blues added on with a Dakota Joshua goal, via Logan Brown and Matthew Peca in the second period. St. Louis extended the lead as Ivan Barbashev scored his tenth of the year on the power play, powered by Vladimir Tarasenko and Buchnevich. Montreal got on the board in the third period with an Alexander Romanov goal, his second of the season, coming off of Ryan Poehling. The Blues answered with a Torey Krug power play goal, his fourth of the year, with assists from O'Reilly and Brown. This stood for a 4-1 win, with the three stars being Buchnevich, Lindgren (22 for 23 in saves), and O'Reilly, while Brown and Tarasenko get the honorable mentions.
Back east, the New York Islanders bring in the New Jersey Devils. Akira Schmid is mismatched with Ilya Sorokin in goal. New Jersey kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Jesper Bratt goal, his eighth of the season, courtesy of Jonas Siegenthaler. New York tied it on a Noah Dobson power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Mathew Barzal and Oliver Wahlstrom. The Devils retook the lead with a Jack Hughes goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Pavel Zacha. The Islanders tied it on an Andy Greene goal, coming off of Barzal and Josh Bailey. New York took the lead on a Zach Parise shorthanded goal, set up by Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Scott Mayfield. The Islanders added on with a Pageau goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by Wahlstrom. The final remained at 4-2, with the three stars going to Pageau, Barzal, and Wahlstrom.
Out west, the Arizona Coyotes host the Philadelphia Flyers. Martin Jones and Karel Vejmelka are given the starting nods in goal. Philadelphia was first to score in the first period with a James van Riemsdyk goal, his fourth of the season, going in unassisted. Arizona tied it on a Jay Beagle goal, via Antoine Roussel and Loui Eriksson. The Flyers took the lead on a Scott Laughton goal in the second period, his sixth of the year, assisted by Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier. The Coyotes tied it again on a Nick Schmaltz goal, passed from Cam Dineen and Barrett Hayton. Philadelphia retook the lead on a Patrick Brown goal, going in unassisted. The Flyers added on with a van Riemsdyk goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, with assists provided by Konecny and Keith Yandle on the power play. Philadelphia extended the lead as Claude Giroux scored his tenth of the year, helped along by Cam Atkinson and Morgan Frost. Arizona pulled one back with a Lawson Crouse goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Schmaltz and Dineen. This only made it 5-3, the final, with the three stars handed to van Riemsdyk, Konecny, and Schmaltz, while Dineen gets an honorable mention.
Up in Calgary, the Flames welcome the Boston Bruins. Linus Ullmark and Jacob Markstrom are the Swedes in goal. Boston led off in the first period with a Connor Clifton goal, courtesy of Trent Frederic and Anton Blidh. The Bruins added on in the second period with a Brad Marchand goal, his eleventh of the season, via David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron. Boston extended the lead as Charlie McAvoy scored his fourth of the year, thanks to Bergeron and Marchand. Calgary got on the board with a Matthew Tkachuk goal, his twelfth of the season, coming off of Rasmus Andersson and Johnny Gaudreau on the power play. The Bruins replied in the third period with a Curtis Lazar goal, his second of the year, assisted by Frederic and Matt Grzelcyk. The Flames pulled one back on a Sean Monahan goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Milan Lucic and Andersson. This only made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars going to Marchand, Bergeron, and Frederic, while Andersson gets an honorable mention.
Also in Alberta, the Edmonton Oilers bring in the Carolina Hurricanes. Frederik Andersen and Mikko Koskinen are the veteran goalies. Carolina drew first blood in the first period with a Sebastian Aho power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, powered by Vincent Trocheck and Teuvo Teravainen. The Hurricanes added on with a Nino Niederreiter goal, his sixth of the year, guided in by Aho. Edmonton got on the board with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal, his third of the season, fueled by Jesse Puljujarvi and Darnell Nurse. Carolina replied in the third period with another Aho goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, going in unassisted. This stood for a 3-1 win, with the three stars given to Aho, Andersen (22 for 23 in saves).
Down in Seattle, the Kraken host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins and Philipp Grubauer are the masked men. Columbus got going in the second period with an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal, his ninth of the year, coming off of Boone Jenner. The Blue Jackets added on with a Jack Roslovic goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Max Domi and Jakub Voracek. Seattle got on the board with a Jared McCann goal, his eleventh of the year, via Jordan Eberle. Columbus replied on a Domi goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Roslovic Jake Bean. The Blue Jackets extended the lead as Domi scored his second of the game and sixth of the year, thanks to Bjorkstrand and Jenner. The Kraken got one back in the third period with a Jaden Schwartz power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Joonas Donskoi and Mark Giordano. Seattle got closer on a Morgan Geekie goal, his third of the year, made possible by Mason Appleton and Brandon Tanev. The Kraken tied it as Vince Dunn scored his third of the season, with the help of Adam Larsson and Calle Jarnkrok. Columbus won 5-4 in overtime with a Bean goal, his fourth of the year, with helpers from Voracek and Sean Kuraly. The three stars went to Domi, Bean, and Bjorkstrand, while Roslovic, Jenner, and Voracek get the honorable mentions.
South to Los Angeles, as the Kings welcome the Minnesota Wild. Kaapo Kahkonen and Jonathan Quick are between the pipes. Minnesota dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Marcus Foligno power play goal, his twelfth of the season, powered by Matt Dumba and Kevin Fiala. Los Angeles tied it on a Phillip Danault goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Drew Doughty. The Kings took the lead in the third period with a Brendan Lemieux goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Carl Grundstrom and Trevor Moore. This held for a 2-1 final score, with the three stars going to Quick (29 for 30 in saves), Lemieux, and Danault.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Dallas Stars. Braden Holtby and James Reimer guard the cages. San Jose began in the first period with a Tomas Hertl goal, his fourteenth of the season, via Timo Meier and Alexander Barabanov. The Sharks added on in the second period with an Erik Karlsson goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Meier and Barabanov. Dallas got on the board with a Michael Raffl goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Radek Faksa and Jani Hakanpaa. The comeback fell short at 2-1, with the three stars being Reimer (34 for 35 in saves), Meier, and Barabanov.
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