There's 12 games on this Saturday, including three matinees. First up...
The Boston Bruins host the New York Islanders. Semyon Varlamov and Linus Ullmark start in goal. Boston led off in the first period with a Craig Smith goal, his fifteenth of the season, made possible by Brandon Carlo and Charlie Coyle. The Bruins added on with a Taylor Hall power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, powered by Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand. New York got on the board with a Brock Nelson goal, his thirtieth of the season, via Zdeno Chara and Anders Lee. Boston replied in the second period with a David Pastrnak goal, his thirty-seventh of the year, guided in by Erik Haula and Hall. The Bruins extended the lead as Marchand scored his twenty-eighth of the season, thanks to Patrice Bergeron. The Islanders shot back with a Lee power play goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, with assists provided by Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Noah Dobson. Boston answered with a Haula goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Pastrnak and Hall. The Bruins padded the lead with a Jake DeBrusk goal, his sixteenth of the year, fueled by Marchand and McAvoy. New York got one back in the third period with a Zach Parise power play goal, his tenth of the campaign, helped along by Anthony Beauvillier and Kyle Palmieri. This made it 6-3, the final, with the three stars going to Hall, Marchand, and Pastrnak, while Haula, Lee, and McAvoy get the honorable mentions.
Over in Detroit, the Red Wings welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Brian Elliott and Alex Nedeljkovic are in the creases. Detroit dented the scoreboard in the third period with an Oskar Sundqvist goal, his sixth of the season, via Pius Suter and Adam Erne. Tampa Bay tied it on a Steven Stamkos power play goal, his twenty-ninth of the year, powered by Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli. The Lightning won 2-1 in overtime with a Point power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the campaign, with assists provided by Stmakos and Cirelli. The three stars were Point, Stamkos, and Cirelli.
Out in Vegas, the Golden Knights bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Kevin Lankinen and Logan Thompson are the lesser-known goalies. Chicago began in the first period with a Dominik Kubalik goal, his twelfth of the season, via Jake McCabe and Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks added on with a second period with a Toews goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Alex DeBrincat. Chicago extended the lead as Dylan Strome scored his nineteenth of the season, thanks to Caleb Jones and Patrick Kane. Vegas got on the board in the third period with a Chandler Stephenson goal, his seventeenth of the year, passed from Evgenii Dadonov. The Golden Knights got closer with a William Karlsson goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Dylan Coghlan and Jonathan Marchessault. Vegas tied it on a Jack Eichel goal, his seventh of the year, with helpers from Stephenson and Shea Theodore. The Blackhawks retook the lead on a DeBrincat goal, his thirty-seventh of the season, guided in by Kane and Seth Jones. The Golden Knights tied it again with an Alex Pietrangelo goal, his twelfth of the year, with assists provided by Nicolas Roy and Mattias Janmark. Vegas won 5-4 in overtime with a Dadonov goal, his seventeenth of the campaign, coming off of Roy and Marchessault. The three stars were Dadonov, Stephenson, and Roy, while Marchessault, DeBrincat, Toews, and Kane get the honorable mentions.
At the usual time, the Montreal Canadiens host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Erik Kallgren and Jake Allen make the starts in goal. Toronto opened in the first period with an Auston Matthews goal, his forty-seventh of the season, assisted by Michael Bunting and Mitchell Marner. Montreal tied it on a David Savard goal, his third of the year, via Laurent Dauphin and Nick Suzuki in the second period. The Canadiens took the lead with a Cole Caufield power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, powered by Chris Wideman and Suzuki. The Maple Leafs tied it in the third period with a William Nylander power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the year, coming off of John Tavares and Marner. Montreal took the lead with a Paul Byron goal, his fourth of the season, going in unassisted. The Canadiens iced it at 4-2 with a Christian Dvorak empty net goal, his eighth of the year, set up by Byron and Savard. The three stars were Byron, Savard, and Suzuki, while Marner gets an honorable mention.
Over in Ottawa, the Senators welcome the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky and Anton Forsberg are in the blue paint. Ottawa started in the first period with an Alex Formenton goal, his fifteenth of the season, via Michael Del Zotto. The Senators added on with an Artem Zub goal, his fifth of the year, assisted by Josh Norris and Drake Batherson. Ottawa extended the lead as Dylan Gambrell scored his second of the season, thanks to Tyler Ennis. Florida got on the board with an Anthony Duclair power play goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, powered by Claude Giroux and Sam Reinhart. The Panthers got closer on a Patric Hornqvist goal, his tenth of the season, coming off of Gustav Forsling and Noel Acciari. Florida tied it in the third period with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, with helpers from Jonathan Huberdeau and Giroux. The tie lasted to a shootout, where Barkov's lone tally gave the Panthers a 4-3 win. The three stars were Barkov, Giroux, and Duclair.
Stateside, the Washington Capitals bring in the New Jersey Devils. Nico Daws and Vitek Vanecek are the goalies. New Jersey got going in the second period with a Jack Hughes goal, his twenty-second of the season, courtesy of Yegor Sharangovich and Dawson Mercer. Washington tied it on a Tom Wilson goal, his twentieth of the year, via Conor Sheary and John Carlson. The Devils retook the lead on a Damon Severson goal, his tenth of the season, made possible by Ryan Graves and Jesper Boqvist. The Capitals tied it on a Connor McMichael goal in the third period, his ninth of the year, passed from Justin Schultz and Carlson. Washington took the lead with a Nicklas Backstrom goal, his sixth of the season, helped along by Anthony Mantha. The Capitals added on with an Alex Ovechkin power play goal, his forty-second of the year, powered by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Backstrom. New Jersey got one back with a Jesper Bratt goal, his twenty-second of the season, assisted by Hughes and Nico Hischier. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars being Backstrom, Hughes, and Carlson.
Down in Dallas, the Stars host the Vancouver Canucks. Thatcher Demko and Jake Oettinger protect the nets. Dallas cracked the scoresheet in the second period with a Jacob Peterson goal, his eleventh of the season, passed from Jamie Benn. Vancouver tied it on an Elias Pettersson power play goal, his nineteenth of the year, assisted by Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller. The Canucks took the lead in the third period with a Pettersson goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the season, coming off of Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Vancouver added on with a Bo Horvat empty net goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, going in unassisted. The Canucks iced it at 4-1 with a Miller goal, his twenty-eighth of the campaign, helped along by Luke Schenn and Tanner Pearson. The three stars were Pettersson, Miller, and Demko (35 for 36 in saves).
Back north, the St. Louis Blues welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Antti Raanta and Ville Husso are the Finnish goalies. Carolina struck first in the first period with a Martin Necas shorthanded goal, his eleventh of the season, set up by Jesper Fast and Jaccob Slavin. The Hurricanes added on with a Seth Jarvis goal in the second period, his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Teuvo Teravainen and Ian Cole. Carolina extended the lead as Brett Pesce scored his sixth of the season, thanks to Jesperi Kotkaniemi. St. Louis got on the board with a Pavel Buchnevich goal, his twentieth of the year, via Nick Leddy and Robert Thomas. The Hurricanes shot back with an Andrei Svechnikov power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, powered by Sebastian Aho and Teravainen. The Blues got one back on a Buchnevich power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the year, with assists provided by Jordan Kyrou and Thomas. Carolina shot back with an empty net goal by Svechnikov, his second of the game and twenty-fifth of the season, coming off of Vincent Trocheck and Necas. The Hurricanes padded the lead with a Nino Niederreiter empty net goal, his twentieth of the year, with helpers from Pesce and Fast. Carolina finished it at 7-2 with a Jarvis goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the campaign, dished from Cole and Tony DeAngelo. The three stars belonged to Svechnikov, Necas, and Buchnevich, while Jarvis, Cole, Aho, Teravainen, Fast, and Thomas get the honorable mentions.
Further north, the Minnesota Wild bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins and Marc-Andre Fleury are the veterans in goal. Minnesota was first to score in the first period with a Kirill Kaprizov power play goal, his thirty-fourth of the season, powered by Mats Zuccarello and Joel Eriksson Ek. Columbus tied it in the second period with a Jake Bean goal, his fifth of the year, via Jack Roslovic and Dean Kukan. The Blue Jackets took the lead with a Jakub Voracek goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Vladislav Gavrikov and Patrik Laine. The Wild tied it in the third period on another Kaprizov goal, his second of the game and thirty-fifth of the year, assisted by Jonas Brodin and Kevin Fiala. Minnesota won 3-2 in overtime with a Jared Spurgeon goal, his sixth of the campaign, courtesy of Fiala and Frederick Gaudreau. The three stars were Kaprizov, Fiala, and Spurgeon.
Out west, the Calgary Flames host the Edmonton Oilers. Mikko Koskinen and Jacob Markstrom guard the cages. Edmonton kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Derick Brassard goal, his eighth of the season, via Evan Bouchard and Duncan Keith. Calgary tied it on an Elias Lindholm goal, his thirty-third of the year, assisted by Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau. The Flames took the lead with a Christopher Tanev goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Blake Coleman and Dillon Dube. Calgary added on with a Mikael Backlund goal, his eleventh of the year, helped along by Andrew Mangiapane and Tyler Toffoli. The Oilers got one back with a Leon Draisaitl goal, his forty-fifth of the season, coming off of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zack Kassian. Edmonton tied it on a Draisaitl power play goal in the second period, his second of the game and forty-sixth of the year, powered by Zach Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins. The Flames reclaimed the lead on an Oliver Kylington goal, his eighth of the season, with helpers from Gaudreau and Tanev. The Oilers tied it again with a Nugent-Hopkins power play goal, his eighth of the year, with assists provided by Connor McDavid and Draisaitl. Calgary regained the lead on a Tkachuk goal, his thirty-first of the season, guided in by Gaudreau and Tanev. The Flames extended the lead as Tkachuk scored his second of the game and thirty-second of the year, thanks to Gaudreau and Noah Hanifin. Edmonton pulled one back with a Draisaitl power play goal, completing his hat trick on his forty-seventh of the season, passed from McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins. Calgary answered with a Lindholm goal, his second of the game and thirty-fourth of the year, fueled by Gaudreau and Tkachuk. The Flames padded the lead on a Backlund goal, his second of the game and twelfth of the season, with helpers from Toffoli and Hanifin. Calgary continued with a Dube goal, his ninth of the year, dished from Backlund. The final held at 9-5, with the three stars going to Gaudreau, Tkachuk, and Lindholm, while Backlund, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, Tanev, Dube, Toffoli, Hanifin, and McDavid get the honorable mentions.
In California, the Los Angeles Kings welcome the Seattle Kraken. Philipp Grubauer and Cal Petersen patrol the creases. Los Angeles got on the board first in the first period with a Gabriel Vilardi goal, his second of the season, passed from Olli Maatta. The Kings added on in the second period with an Anze Kopitar goal, his seventeenth of the year, via Alex Iafallo and Adrian Kempe. Seattle got on the board with a Daniel Sprong goal, his tenth of the season, courtesy of Carson Soucy. Los Angeles replied with a Jordan Spence goal, coming off of Arthur Kaliyev and Blake Lizotte. The Kings extended the lead in the third period as Sean Durzi scored his third of the year on the power play, with the help of Kopitar and Kempe. The Kraken got one back with a Morgan Geekie goal, his sixth of the campaign, assisted by Will Borgen and Kole Lind. This only made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars going to Kopitar, Kempe, and Spence.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Anaheim Ducks. Lukas Dostal is mismatched with James Reimer in goal. San Jose drew first blood in the first period with a Marc-Edouard Vlasic goal, his third of the season, via Ryan Merkley and Scott Reedy. The Sharks added on in the second period with a Timo Meier goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, guided in by Alexander Barabanov. Anaheim got on the board in the third period a Gerry Mayhew goal, his seventh of the season, passed from Dominik Simon. San Jose replied with a Meier power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-ninth of the year, powered by Barabanov and Tomas Hertl. The Sharks extended the lead as Meier completed his hat trick on his thirtieth of the season, made possible by Hertl and Brent Burns. The final stood at 4-1, with the three stars handed to Meier, Barabanov, and Hertl.
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