There's thirteen games on a Thursday night. First up...
The Boston Bruins host the Chicago Blackhawks. Kevin Lankinen and Jeremy Swayman are the goalies. Chicago struck first in the first period with a Charlie Coyle goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Connor Clifton. Chicago tied it on an Alex DeBrincat goal, his thirty-fourth of the year, assisted by Patrick Kane. The Blackhawks took the lead with a Brandon Hagel goal, his nineteenth of the season, courtesy of Jonathan Toews and Kirby Dach. The Bruins tied it on a Jack Ahcan power play goal, powered by Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Boston took the lead with a Pastrnak power play goal, his thirty-second of the year, with assists provided by Charlie McAvoy and Marchand. Chicago tied it again in the third period with a Hagel goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the season, helped along by DeBrincat and Dylan Strome. The Bruins retook the lead with Pastrnak's second goal and game and thirty-third of the year, with a helper from Taylor Hall. The three stars were Pastrnak, Hagel, and DeBrincat.
Over in Buffalo, the Sabres welcome the Vegas Golden Knights. Laurent Brossoit and Craig Anderson are in the creases. Buffalo kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Peyton Krebs goal, his fourth of the season, via Vinnie Hinostroza and Dylan Cozens. Vegas tied it on a Ben Hutton goal, his third of the year, going in unassisted. The Sabres took the lead back with a Victor Olofsson power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Kyle Okposo and Henri Jokiharju. Buffalo iced it at 3-1 with an Alex Tuch empty net goal, his eighth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were given to Anderson (30 for 31 in saves), Olofsson, and Krebs.
In Toronto, the Maple Leafs bring in the Arizona Coyotes. Scott Wedgewood and Petr Mrazek are set to start in goal. Arizona began in the first period with an Alex Galchenyuk goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Riley Nash and Dysin Mayo. The Coyotes added on with a Jakob Chychrun goal, his sixth of the year, guided in by Phil Kessel and Galchenyuk. Arizona extended the lead in the second period as Travis Boyd scored his twelfth of the season, thanks to Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz. Toronto got on the board with a Pierre Engvall goal, his tenth of the year, fueled by Alexander Kerfoot and Timothy Liljegren. The Coyotes replied with a Christian Fischer goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Lawson Crouse and Matias Maccelli. Erik Kallgren replaced Mrazek in goal. The Maple Leafs pulled one back in the third period with a Kerfoot goal, his tenth of the year, helped along by T.J. Brodie and William Nylander. Toronto pulled closer with an Auston Matthews goal, his forty-fourth of the season, courtesy of Michael Bunting. The Maple Leafs tied it on a Nylander goal, his twenty-third of the year, dished from Kerfoot. Arizona won 5-4 in overtime with a Chychrun goal, his second of the game and seventh of the campaign, made possible by Maccelli. The three stars were Chychrun, Maccelli, and Galchenyuk, while Kerfoot and Nylander get the honorable mentions.
Also in Ontario, the Ottawa Senators host the Seattle Kraken. Chris Driedger and Anton Forsberg man the nets. Ottawa drew first blood in the first period on a Josh Norris goal, his twenty-first of the season, assisted by Brady Tkachuk and Nick Holden. The Senators added on in the second period with a Tkachuk goal, his twentieth of the year, coming off of Artem Zub and Tim Stutzle. Ottawa extended the lead as Parker Kelly scored his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. Seattle got on the board in the third period with a Jared McCann goal, his twenty-second of the year, via Vince Dunn and Jordan Eberle. The Kraken got closer with a Ryan Donato goal, his twelfth of the season, passed from Jamie Oleksiak and Morgan Geekie. Seattle tied it as Mason Appleton scored his sixth of the year, thanks to Yanni Gourde and Colin Blackwell. The Senators won 4-3 in overtime with a Norris power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-second of the campaign, powered by Thomas Chabot and Connor Brown. The three stars were Norris, Tkachuk, and Kelly.
Back stateside, the Detroit Red Wings welcome the Minnesota Wild. Cam Talbot and Alex Nedeljkovic draw the starts in goal. Minnesota led off in the first period with a Matt Boldy goal, his tenth of the season, via Kevin Fiala and Frederick Gaudreau. Detroit tied it on a Jakub Vrana goal, his second of the year passed from Joe Veleno and Sam Gagner. The Wild took the lead with an unassisted Joel Eriksson Ek goal, his eighteenth of the year. The Red Wings tied it on a Lucas Raymond goal, his seventeenth of the season, assisted by Nick Leddy and the goalie Nedeljkovic. Detroit took the lead with a Vrana goal, his second of the game and third of the season, a power play goal powered by Filip Hronek and Leddy. The Red Wings added on with a Raymond goal in the second period, his second of the game and eighteenth of the year, guided in by Leddy and Vladislav Namestnikov. Minnesota got one back with a Mats Zuccarello power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, with assists provided by Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Hartman. The Wild tied it in the third period with a Boldy goal, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, helped along by Gaudreau and Alex Goligoski. Minnesota pulled ahead with a Kirill Kaprizov goal, his twenty-ninth of the season, with helpers from Matt Dumba and Eriksson Ek. Detroit retied it on a Jordan Oesterle goal, his second of the year, fueled by Filip Zadina and Veleno. The tie went to a shootout, where Zuccarello and Fiala scored for the Wild to take a 6-5 win. The three stars were Boldy, Eriksson Ek, and Gaudreau, while Raymond, Vrana, Leddy, and Veleno get the honorable mentions.
Down in Florida, the Panthers bring in the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter Hart and Sergei Bobrovsky are the masked men. Florida started in the first period on a Carter Verhaeghe goal, his nineteenth of the season, fueled by Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad. The Panthers added on with a power play goal by Sam Reinhart, his twentieth of the year, powered by Jonathan Huberdeau and Ekblad. Florida extended the lead as Reinhart scored again on the power play, his second of the game and twenty-first of the season, thanks to Huberdeau and Barkov. The Panthers padded the lead on another Verhaeghe goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the year, going in unassisted. Philadelphia got on the board in the second period with a James van Riemsdyk goal, his thirteenth of the season, via Kevin Hayes. The Flyers got one back with a Cam Atkinson goal, his twenty-first of the year, guided in by Derick Brassard and Claude Giroux. Philadelphia pulled closer with a power play goal by Travis Konecny, his tenth of the season, with assists provided by Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen. Florida replied with an Anthony Duclair power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, made possible by Huberdeau and Ekblad. The Panthers iced it at 6-3 with a Reinhart empty net goal, completing his hat trick on his twenty-second of the campaign, set up by Huberdeau and Ekblad. The three stars were Reinhart, Huberdeau, and Verhaeghe, while Ekblad and Barkov get the honorable mentions.
Back north, the New Jersey Devils host the Winnipeg Jets. Eric Comrie and Nico Daws are the unknown goalies. Winnipeg opened in the first period with a Brenden Dillon goal, his second of the season, via Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler. New Jersey tied it on a Jack Hughes power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, powered by Jesper Bratt and Damon Severson. The Jets took the lead in the second period with a Kyle Connor goal, his thirty-fifth of the season, going in unassisted. The final held at 2-1, with the three stars going to Connor, Comrie (33 for 34 in saves), and Dillon.
South again to Raleigh, as the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta protect the nets. Carolina got going in the third period with an Ethan Bear goal, his third of the season, guided in by Jesper Fast. The Hurricanes added on with a Sebastian Aho empty net goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, going in unassisted. The final held at 2-0, with the three stars awarded to Raanta (36 save shutout), Bear, and Kuemper (35 for 36 in saves).
In New York, the Islanders bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Joonas Korpisalo and Ilya Sorokin are tabbed to start in goal. New York was first to score in the first period with a Brock Nelson power play goal, his twenty-second of the season, powered by Josh Bailey and Noah Dobson. The Islanders added on with a Bailey goal, his fourth of the year, via Kyle Palmieri and Ryan Pulock in the second period. New York extended the lead as Anders Lee scored his seventeenth of the season, thanks to Adam Pelech and Anthony Beauvillier. The Islanders padded the lead on a Jean-Gabriel Pageau shorthanded goal, his tenth of the year, set up by Pulock. New York continued in the third period with another Lee goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the season, assisted by Beauvillier and Pulock. The Islanders finished it at 6-0 with a Lee power play goal to complete his hat trick on his nineteenth of the year, with helpers from Sebastian Aho and Beauvillier. The three stars were Lee, Sorokin (25 save shutout), and Pulock, while Bailey and Beauvillier get the honorable mentions.
Out west, the St. Louis Blues host the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Ville Husso guard the cages. St. Louis cracked the scoresheet in the first period on a Robert Thomas goal, his ninth of the season, via Jordan Kyrou and Colton Parayko. The Blues added on with an Ivan Barbashev goal, his eighteenth of the year, assisted by Brandon Saad and Torey Krug. St. Louis extended the lead as Thomas scored his second of the game and tenth of the season, thanks to Kyrou and Vladimir Tarasenko. New York got on the board with a Ryan Strome power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Adam Fox and the goalie Shesterkin. The Blues replied in the second period with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his thirteenth of the season, helped along by Brayden Schenn. St. Louis padded the lead as Jake Walman scored his third of the year, with the help of Robert Bortuzzo and O'Reilly. The Blues continued with a Perron goal, his fourteenth of the season, guided in by Marco Scandella and Schenn. The Rangers got one back with a K'Andre Miller power play goal, his fifth of the year, with assists provided by Artemi Panarin and Fox. The final held at 6-2, with the three stars given to Thomas, O'Reilly, and Perron, while Kyrou, Schenn, and Fox get the honorable mentions.
Down in Nashville, the Predators welcome the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Juuse Saros are between the pipes. Nashville dented the scoreboard in the first period with a Matt Duchene power play goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, powered by Filip Forsberg and Mikael Granlund. The Predators added on in the second period with a Forsberg goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, via Duchene and Mattias Ekholm. Anaheim got on the board with an Adam Henrique goal, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Josh Mahura. Nashville replied with a Colton Sissons goal, his sixth of the year, coming off of Matt Benning and Tanner Jeannot. The Predators iced it at 4-1 with a Duchene empty net goal, his second of the game and twenty-ninth of the campaign, set up by Forsberg and Roman Josi. The three stars were Duchene, Forsberg, and Saros (27 for 28 in saves).
Northwest to Calgary, as the Flames bring in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jacob Markstrom tend the twines. Calgary opened in the first period with a Johnny Gaudreau power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, powered by Tyler Toffoli and Rasmus Andersson. Tampa Bay tied it in the second period with an Alex Killorn goal, his eighteenth of the year, coming off of Ross Colton and Mathieu Joseph. The Flames took the lead back with a Gaudreau goal, his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the season, passed from Matthew Tkachuk. Calgary added on with a Mikael Backlund goal, his ninth of the year, made possible by Erik Gudbranson and Trevor Lewis. The Flames extended the lead as Gaudreau completed his hat trick on his twenty-sixth of the season, thanks to Elias Lindholm and Andersson in the third period. This held for a 4-1 win, with the three stars awarded to Gaudreau, Markstrom (30 for 31 in saves), and Andersson.
Finally, the Los Angeles Kings host the San Jose Sharks. Zach Sawchenko and Jonathan Quick receive the starts in goal. San Jose started in the first period with a Brent Burns power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Erik Karlsson and Logan Couture. Los Angeles tied it on a Phillip Danault goal, his seventeenth of the year, guided in by Trevor Moore and Andreas Athanasiou. The Kings took the lead with an Athanasiou goal, his ninth of the season, via Moore and Olli Maatta. Los Angeles added on with a shorthanded Moore goal in the second period, his eleventh of the year, set up by Danault. The Sharks got one back with a Nick Bonino power play goal, his seventh of the season, with assists provided by Jonathan Dahlen and Jacob Middleton. San Jose tied it on an Alexander Barabanov goal in the third period, his ninth of the year, passed from Karlsson and Tomas Hertl. The Sharks won 4-3 in overtime with a Hertl goal, his twenty-third of the campaign, fueled by Barabanov and Burns. The three stars were Hertl, Barabanov, and Burns, while Karlsson, Moore, Danault, and Athanasiou get the honorable mentions.
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