The schedule shrunk today to ten games, beginning with...
The Boston Bruins hosting the Minnesota Wild. Kaapo Kahkonen and Jeremy Swayman are the young goalies. Boston started in the first period with a Taylor Hall power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Mike Reilly and Erik Haula. Minnesota tied it on a Kirill Kaprizov power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, with assists provided by Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Fiala. The Wild took the lead with a Nico Sturm power play goal, his sixth of the season, helped along by Jonas Brodin and Connor Dewar. Minnesota added on with a Matt Boldy goal, courtesy of Marcus Foligno and Brodin. The Bruins got one back on a Brad Marchand power play goal, his twelfth of the year, with helpers from Patrice Bergeron and Matt Grzelcyk. The final held at 3-2, with the three stars being Brodin, Boldy, and Sturm.
Along to Buffalo, as the Sabres welcome the San Jose Sharks. Adin Hill and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are in the creases. San Jose began in the first period with a Matt Nieto goal, his third of the season, coming off of Andrew Cogliano and Nick Bonino. The Sharks added on with a Timo Meier goal, his fourteenth of the year, passed from Tomas Hertl and Mario Ferraro. San Jose extended the lead as Hertl scored his seventh of the season, thanks to Alexander Barabanov. Buffalo got on the board in the second period with a Jeff Skinner goal, his eleventh of the year, via Victor Olofsson. The Sabres got closer in the third period with a Zemgus Girgensons power play goal, his seventh of the campaign, powered by Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin. The three stars of the 3-2 game were Hertl, Meier, and Nieto.
Down in Tampa Bay, the Lightning bring in the Calgary Flames. Dan Vladar is mismatched with Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal. Tampa Bay got going in the second period with a Corey Perry goal, his tenth of the season, via Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Victor Hedman. The Lightning added on with a Brayden Point goal in the third period, his twelfth of the year, assisted by Nikita Kucherov and Ryan McDonagh. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Ondrej Palat scored his thirteenth of the season, thanks to Kucherov. The Lightning padded the lead on an Alex Killorn goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Steven Stamkos and McDonagh. Calgary got on the board with a Dillon Dube goal, his fourth of the campaign, helped along by Sean Monahan and Oliver Kylington. This only made it 4-1, with the three stars being Kucherov, McDonagh, and Point.
Back north, the New Jersey Devils host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Joonas Korpisalo and MacKenzie Blackwood man the nets. New Jersey opened in the first period with a Tomas Tatar goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes. Columbus tied it on a Max Domi goal, his eighth of the year, via Vladislav Gavrikov and Cole Sillinger. The Devils took the lead with a Bratt power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Hughes and Nathan Bastian in the third period. New Jersey iced it at 3-1 with a Hughes empty net goal, his ninth of the year, set up by Tatar and Ryan Graves. The three stars were Hughes, Bratt, and Tatar.
In Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Flyers welcome cross-state rivals in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry and Carter Hart protect the nets. Pittsburgh led off in the first period with a Bryan Rust power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby. The Penguins added on with another Rust goal, his second of the game and ninth of the year, assisted by Evan Rodrigues and Letang. Pittsburgh extended the lead as Jake Guentzel scored his seventeenth of the season, with the help of Letang and Brian Dumoulin. Philadelphia got on the board in the second period with a Cam Atkinson goal, his fourteenth of the year, guided in by Joel Farabee and Scott Laughton. The Penguins shot back in the third period with a Rodrigues goal, his fifteenth of the season, via Kasperi Kapanen. Pittsburgh padded the lead on a Guentzel goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the year, courtesy of Crosby and Rust. The Penguins continued with a shorthanded Brian Boyle goal, his fourth of the season, set up by John Marino. The Flyers got one back with an Oskar Lindblom goal, his fourth of the year, fueled by Morgan Frost and Zack MacEwen. The final stood at 6-2, with the three stars being Rust, Guentzel, and Rodrigues, while Letang and Crosby get the honorable mentions.
South to Dallas, as the Stars bring in the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Braden Holtby are the veterans in goal. Florida struck first in the first period with an Aleksander Barkov power play goal, his thirteenth of the season, powered by Jonathan Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad. Dallas tied it on a Michael Raffl goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of John Klingberg and Radek Faksa. The Panthers retook the lead with a shorthanded Barkov goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the season, set up by Ekblad and Anton Lundell in the second period. The Stars retied it with a Denis Gurianov goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Jamie Benn and Miro Heiskanen on the power play. Florida pulled ahead again on a Patric Hornqvist goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Gustav Forsling and Radko Gudas. Dallas tied it on a Jason Robertson goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Klingberg and Joe Pavelski. The Stars took the lead with a Tyler Seguin goal, his ninth of the season, made possible by Gurianov. The Panthers tied it again with a MacKenzie Weegar goal, his second of the year, fueled by Eetu Luostarinen and Hornqvist. Dallas pulled ahead with a Benn goal, his ninth of the season, helped along by Gurianov. Florida tied it once more with a Huberdeau goal, his twelfth of the year, courtesy of Ekblad and Barkov. The tie went to a shootout, where Pavelski and Robertson lifted the Stars to a 6-5 win. The three stars were given to Gurianov, Barkov, and Benn, while Ekblad, Huberdeau, Klingberg, and Hornqvist get the honorable mentions.
Next up, the Colorado Avalanche host the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck and Darcy Kuemper guard the cages. Winnipeg kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Mark Scheifele power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Andrew Copp and Neal Pionk. Colorado tied it on a Nazem Kadri goal, his twelfth of the year, guided in by Erik Johnson and Andre Burakovsky. The Avalanche pulled ahead with a Gabriel Landeskog power play goal, his eleventh of the season, with assists provided by Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon. Colorado added on with a Rantanen goal, his sixteenth of the year, fueled by MacKinnon and Landeskog. The Avalanche extended the lead as Landeskog scored his second of the game and twelfth of the season, thanks to MacKinnon and Devon Toews. Colorado padded the lead in the third period on a MacKinnon goal, his fourth of the year, with helpers from Samuel Girard and Bowen Byram. The Avalanche continued with a Landeskog goal, completing his hat trick on his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Rantanen and MacKinnon on the power play. Colorado tacked on one more with a Byram power play goal, his fifth of the year, made possible by Johnson and Burakovsky. The three stars of the 7-1 game were MacKinnon, Landeskog, and Rantanen, while Byram, Johnson, and Burakovsky get the honorable mentions.
In Arizona, the Coyotes welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Marc-Andre Fleury and Karel Vejmelka receive the starting nods in goal. Arizona was first to score in the first period with a Dysin Mayo goal, his second of the season, courtesy on Shayne Gostisbehere and Alex Galchenyuk. The Coyotes added on with a Johan Larsson goal, via Janis Moser and Gostisbehere. Chicago got on the board in the second period with a Kirby Dach goal, his sixth of the year, assisted by Philipp Kurashev and Connor Murphy. The Blackhawks tied it on a MacKenzie Entwistle goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Jonathan Toews and Calvin de Haan. Arizona retook the lead with a Travis Boyd power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Phil Kessel and Moser. The Coyotes extended the lead as Clayton Keller scored his eleventh of the season, thanks to Boyd. Arizona padded the lead on a Larsson power play goal, his second of the game, with assists provided by Boyd and Kessel. Chicago pulled one back with a Toews goal, his fifth of the year, helped along by Jake McCabe and Riley Stillman. The Blackhawks got closer with an Alex DeBrincat power play goal, his twenty-first of the season, guided in by Dylan Strome and Patrick Kane. The Coyotes iced it at 6-4 with a Larsson empty net goal, his third of the year completing his hat trick, set up by Lawson Crouse and Keller. The three stars were Larsson, Boyd, and Keller, while Gostisbehere, Moser, Kessel, and Toews get the honorable mentions.
Up in Nevada, the Vegas Golden Knights bring in the New York Rangers. Alexandar Georgiev and Robin Lehner patrol the creases. Vegas drew first blood in the first period with a Jonathan Marchessault power play goal, his seventeenth of the season, powered by Reilly Smith and Nicolas Roy. New York tied it on a Chris Kreider goal in the second period, his twenty-first of the year, via Mika Zibanejad and Kaapo Kakko. The Golden Knights retook the lead on a Mark Stone goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Evgenii Dadonov and Chandler Stephenson. Vegas added on with a Mattias Janmark goal, his seventh of the year, helped along by Keegan Kolesar and Ben Hutton. The Golden Knights extended the lead as Brett Howden scored his fourth of the season, thanks to Nolan Patrick and Dylan Coghlan. Vegas padded the lead on a Marchessault goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the year, fueled by Smith. The final stood at 5-1, with the three stars being Marchessault, Smith, and Lehner (18 for 19 in saves).
Finally, the Los Angeles Kings host the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Jonathan Quick are the masked men. Nashville cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Filip Forsberg power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Roman Josi and Mikael Granlund. The Predators added on with a Matt Duchene power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, courtesy of Forsberg and Josi. Nashville extended the lead as Matt Luff scored in the second period, with the help of Michael McCarron and Nick Cousins. Los Angeles got on the board with a Dustin Brown goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. The Kings got closer with a Martin Frk power play goal, with helpers from Drew Doughty and Viktor Arvidsson. The Predators shot back with a Yakov Trenin empty net goal, his eighth of the year, set up by Tanner Jeannot. The three stars went to Forsberg, Josi, and Luff.
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