The bulk of teams end their regular season today, with 15 games on the schedule. First up...
The Toronto Maple Leafs host the Boston Bruins. Jeremy Swayman and Erik Kallgren are the young goalies. Boston led off in the first period with a Trent Frederic goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Craig Smith and Charlie Coyle. Toronto tied it on an Ilya Mikheyev power play goal, his twenty-first of the year, powered by Mark Giordano and Timothy Liljegren. The Maple Leafs took the lead with an unassisted William Nylander goal, his thirty-third of the season. Toronto added on with a Nicholas Abruzzese goal, helped along by Morgan Rielly. The Maple Leafs extended the lead in the third period as Nylander scored his second of the game and thirty-fourth of the year, going in unassisted. The Bruins got one back with a Jake DeBrusk power play goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, with assists provided by Craig Smith and Mike Reilly. Toronto iced it at 5-2 with a Pierre Engvall empty net goal, his fifteenth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Nylander, Abruzzese and Mikheyev.
Down in New York, the Rangers welcome the Washington Capitals. Ilya Samsonov and Alexandar Georgiev are set to start in goal. New York got going in the second period with a Filip Chytil goal, his eighth of the season, made possible by Kaapo Kakko and Braden Schneider. Washington tied it on a Justin Schultz goal, his fourth of the year, via Trevor van Riemsdyk. The Capitals took the lead with a John Carlson power play goal, his seventeenth of the season, powered by Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie. The Rangers retied it on an Alexis Lafreniere goal, his nineteenth of the year, coming off of Ryan Strome and Schneider. New York pulled ahead in the third period with a Dryden Hunt goal, his sixth of the season, helped along by Kakko and Adam Fox. The final held at 3-2, with the three stars going to Kakko, Hunt, and Schneider.
Along to Pittsburgh, as the Penguins bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jean-Francois Berube and Casey DeSmith are the backups in goal. Pittsburgh began in the first period with an Evgeni Malkin goal, his twentieth of the season, fueled by Danton Heinen and Marcus Pettersson. The Penguins added on with an Evan Rodrigues goal, his nineteenth of the year, helped along by Jake Guentzel and Teddy Blueger. Pittsburgh extended the lead as Pettersson scored his second of the season, thanks to Malkin and Brian Boyle. Elvis Merzlikins replaced Berube in goal. Columbus got on the board in the second period with a Justin Danforth goal, his tenth of the year, guided in by Gabriel Carlsson. The Penguins shot back on a Kris Letang goal, his tenth of the season, assisted by Brock McGinn and Jeff Carter. Pittsburgh padded the lead on a Boyle goal, his eleventh of the year, made possible by Pettersson and Blueger. The Blue Jackets got one back in the third period with an Oliver Bjorkstrand power play goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, powered by Gustav Nyquist and Jakub Voracek. Columbus got closer with a Nyquist power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, with helpers from Voracek and Jake Bean. This only made it 5-3, the final, with the three stars being Pettersson, Malkin, and Boyle, while Blueger, Nyquist, and Voracek get the honorable mentions.
Next up, the New Jersey Devils host the Detroit Red Wings. Magnus Hellberg and MacKenzie Blackwood are given the starting nods in goal. Detroit started in the first period with a Michael Rasmussen goal, his fifteenth of the season, courtesy of Oskar Sundqvist and Jake Walman. New Jersey tied it on a Dawson Mercer goal, his seventeenth of the year, via Fabian Zetterlund. The Red Wings reclaimed the lead in the second period with a Moritz Seider goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Sam Gagner and Rasmussen. The Devils tied it again with a Nolan Foote goal, his third of the year, with helpers from Dougie Hamilton and Jesper Boqvist. Detroit regained the lead with a Joe Veleno goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Tyler Bertuzzi and Lucas Raymond in the third period. New Jersey tied it again with a Zetterlund goal, his third of the year, passed from Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt. The Red Wings pulled ahead again with a Pius Suter goal, his fifteenth of the season, made possible by Jakub Vrana and Filip Hronek. Detroit iced it at 5-3 with a Bertuzzi empty net goal, his thirtieth of the year, set up by Gagner. The three stars were Rasmussen, Bertuzzi, and Zetterlund, while Gagner gets an honorable mention.
Over in Buffalo, the Sabres welcome the Chicago Blackhawks. Collin Delia and Dustin Tokarski man the nets. Chicago dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Dominik Kubalik goal, his fifteenth of the season, via Alex Vlasic and Tyler Johnson. Buffalo tied it in the third period with a Tage Thompson goal, his thirty-eighth of the year, assisted by Jeff Skinner. The Blackhawks retook the lead with a Dylan Strome goal, his twenty-second of the season, made possible by Caleb Jones and Alex DeBrincat. The Sabres retied it on an Owen Power goal, his second of the year, going in unassisted. Buffalo won 3-2 in overtime with a Casey Mittelstadt goal, his sixth of the campaign, coming off of Dylan Cozens and Henri Jokiharju. The three stars were Mittelstadt, Power, and Thompson.
Crossing into Canada, the Montreal Canadiens bring in the Florida Panthers. Jonas Johansson is mismatched with Carey Price in goal. Montreal opened in the first period with a Jordan Harris goal, courtesy of Jake Evans. The Canadiens added on with a Mike Hoffman goal, his fifteenth of the season, via David Savard. Montreal extended the lead as Cole Caufield scored his twenty-first of the year, thanks to Joel Edmundson and Jeff Petry. The Canadiens padded the lead on Brendan Gallagher power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Mathieu Perreault and Chris Wideman. Florida got on the board with a Ben Chiarot power play goal, his ninth of the year, with assists provided by Eetu Luostarinen and Aleksi Heponiemi. Montreal shot back in the second period with another Caufield goal, his second of the game and twenty-second of the season, going in unassisted. The Canadiens continued with a Perreault goal, his fourth of the year, with helpers from Christian Dvorak and Josh Anderson. Montreal kept going with an Evans goal, his thirteenth of the season, made possible by Rem Pitlick and Gallagher. The Canadiens struck again with a Dvorak goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Anderson. Montreal piled on in the third period with a Caufield goal to complete his hat trick on his twenty-third of the season, fueled by Mike Hoffman and Nick Suzuki. The Canadiens grabbed another with a Tyler Pitlick goal, helped along by Michael Pezzetta. The Panthers got one back on a Noel Acciari goal, his third of the year, dished from Chiarot and Ryan Lomberg. The final held at 10-2, with the three stars awarded to Caufield, Gallagher, and Evans, while Hoffman, Dvorak, Perreault, Anderson, and Chiarot get the honorable mentions.
Stateside again, the Philadelphia Flyers host the Ottawa Senators. Anton Forsberg and Martin Jones receive the starts in goal. Philadelphia struck first in the first period with a James van Riemsdyk power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, powered by Owen Tippett and Ivan Provorov. Ottawa tied it in the second period with a Josh Norris goal, his thirty-fifth of the year, guided in by Brady Tkachuk. The Senators took the lead in the third period with a Travis Hamonic goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Alex Formenton and Thomas Chabot. The Flyers tied it again with a Tippett power play goal, his tenth of the year, with assists provided by Provorov and Morgan Frost. Ottawa pulled ahead on a Tkachuk power play goal, his thirtieth of the season, assisted by Tim Stutzle and Chabot. The Senators iced it at 4-2 with an Austin Watson empty net goal, his tenth of the year, set up by Chabot and Parker Kelly. The three stars were Chabot, Tkachuk, and Tippett, while Provorov gets an honorable mention.
Moving along to New York again, as the Islanders welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Ilya Sorokin tend the twines. New York kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his eighteenth of the season, assisted by Noah Dobson and Anders Lee. Tampa Bay tied it on a Steven Stamkos goal, his fortieth of the year, via Erik Cernak and Ondrej Palat. The Islanders retook the lead with an unassisted Kieffer Bellows goal, his sixth of the season. New York added on with a Josh Bailey power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, powered by Anthony Beauvillier and Dobson. The Lightning got one back in the third period with a Corey Perry power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, with assists provided by Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. Tampa Bay tied it with a Ryan McDonagh goal, his fourth of the year, passed from Pat Maroon and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. The Lightning pulled ahead on a Stamkos goal, his second of the game and forty-first of the season, made possible by Ondrej Palat. Tampa Bay extended the lead as Stamkos completed his hat trick on his forty-second of the year, thanks to Palat and Kucherov. The Islanders got one back with a Zdeno Chara goal, his second of the season, with helpers from Mathew Barzal and Zach Parise. The Lightning finished it at 6-4 with a Brandon Hagel empty net goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, set up by McDonagh and Anthony Cirelli. The three stars were Stamkos, Palat, and McDonagh, while Kucherov and Dobson get the honorable mentions.
Westward to St. Louis, where the Blues bring in the Vegas Golden Knights. Logan Thompson and Ville Husso protect the nets. Vegas was first to score in the first period with a Mark Stone power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Alex Pietrangelo and Max Pacioretty. St. Louis tied it on a David Perron goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, guided in by Torey Krug. The Blues took the lead in the second period with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his twentieth of the season, helped along by Krug. The Golden Knights tied it on a Jack Eichel goal, his thirteenth of the year, passed from Zach Whitecloud and Ben Hutton. St. Louis reclaimed the lead with a Jordan Kyrou power play goal, his twenty-seventh of the season, with assists provided by Brandon Saad and O'Reilly. Vegas tied it on a Whitecloud goal, his eighth of the year, coming off of Eichel and Evgenii Dadonov. The Golden Knights pulled ahead in the third period with a William Karlsson goal, his twelfth of the season, with a lone helper from Jonathan Marchessault. Vegas added on with a Marchessault goal, his thirtieth of the year, with Karlsson returning the favor with the lone assist. The Blues got one back with an O'Reilly power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the season, with helpers from Kyrou and Perron. The Golden Knights fired back on an Eichel goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, fueled by Dadonov and Nicolas Roy. Vegas iced it at 7-4 with a Pacioretty empty net goal, his nineteenth of the campaign, set up by Shea Theodore. The three stars were Eichel, O'Reilly, and Whitecloud, while Pacioretty, Karlsson, Marchessault, Dadonov, Perron, Kyrou, and Krug get the honorable mentions.
North to Winnipeg, as the Jets host the Calgary Flames. Dan Vladar and Connor Hellebuyck are between the pipes. Calgary drew first blood in the first period with a Matthew Tkachuk goal, his forty-second of the season, going in unassisted. Winnipeg tied it on a Blake Wheeler goal, his sixteenth of the year, via Nikolaj Ehlers and Paul Stastny. The Jets took the lead in the second period with a Mason Appleton goal, his eighth of the season, helped along by Josh Morrissey and Zach Sanford. Winnipeg iced it at 3-1 in the third period with a Brenden Dillon empty net goal, his third of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Hellebuyck (32 for 33 in saves), Appleton, and Vladar (40 for 42 in saves).
Backtracking to Minnesota, as the Wild welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Pavel Francouz and Marc-Andre Fleury are in the blue paint. Minnesota led off in the first period with a Jordan Greenway goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Marcus Foligno. The Wild added on with a Tyson Jost goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Kirill Kaprizov and Jon Merrill. Minnesota extended the lead in the second period as Kaprizov scored his forty-seventh of the season, thanks to Ryan Hartman and Jared Spurgeon. Colorado got on the board with a Nazem Kadri goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, via Mikko Rantanen. The Wild finished it at 4-1 in the third period with a Greenway empty net goal, his second of the game and tenth of the campaign, set up by Jacob Middleton and Matt Dumba. The three stars were Kaprizov, Greenway, and Fleury (27 for 28 in saves).
Further south to Dallas, as the Stars bring in the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson and Jake Oettinger protect the nets. Anaheim began in the first period with a Max Comtois goal, his sixth of the season, via Sam Steel and Jamie Drysdale. Anthony Stolarz replaced Gibson in the second period. Dallas tied it in the second period with a Thomas Harley goal, assisted by Radek Faksa and Joel Kiviranta. The Stars took the lead with a Joel Hanley goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Faksa and Jani Hakanpaa. The Ducks tied it again with a Troy Terry goal, his thirty-seventh of the season, coming off of Adam Henrique and Trevor Zegras. Dallas pulled ahead in the third period with a Jason Robertson power play goal, his forty-first of the year, powered by Miro Heiskanen and Roope Hintz. The Stars finished it at 4-2 with an empty net goal by Vladislav Namestnikov, his sixteenth of the campaign, set up by Tyler Seguin and the goalie Oettinger. The three stars were Faksa, Robertson, and Harley.
In Canada once more, the Edmonton Oilers host the Vancouver Canucks. Spencer Martin and Mikko Koskinen have the green light to play in goal. Vancouver opened in the first period with a J.T. Miller goal, his thirty-second of the season, assisted by Brad Hunt and Conor Garland. Edmonton tied it in the third period with a Brett Kulak goal, his fifth of the year, via Kailer Yamamoto. The Canucks retook the lead on a Garland goal, his nineteenth of the season, passed from Quinn Hughes and Luke Schenn. The Oilers tied it on a Tyson Barrie goal, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Zack Kassian and Derick Brassard. The tie went to a shootout, where Devin Shore's lone tally lifted the Oilers to a 3-2 win. The three stars were Garland, Barrie, and Koskinen (39 for 41 in saves).
To Seattle, as the Kraken welcome the San Jose Sharks. Kaapo Kahkonen and Chris Driedger receive the starts in goal. Seattle started in the first period with a Yanni Gourde goal, his twenty-first of the season, coming off of Karson Kuhlman and Dennis Cholowski. The Kraken added on with an Adam Larsson goal, his eighth of the year, via Jamie Oleksiak and Matty Beniers. Seattle iced it at 3-0 with a Victor Rask empty net goal in the third period, his ninth of the campaign, set up by Riley Sheahan and Will Borgen. The three stars belonged to Driedger (24 save shutout), Gourde, and Larsson.
Finally, the Arizona Coyotes bring in the Nashville Predators. Connor Ingram and Karel Vejmelka are the lesser-known goalies. Nashville struck first in the first period with a Colton Sissons goal, his seventh of the season, made possible by Roman Josi and Dante Fabbro. The Predators added on with a Ryan Johansen goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, guided in by Philip Tomasino and Jeremy Davies. Nashville extended the lead as Eeli Tolvanen scored his eleventh of the season, going in unassisted. The Predators chased Vejmelka with a goal by Mikael Granlund, his eleventh of the year, passed from Matt Duchene and Filip Forsberg. Arizona got on the board with a Shayne Gostisbehere goal, his thirteenth of the season, fueled by Alex Galchenyuk. The Coyotes got closer in the second period with a Travis Boyd goal, his seventeenth of the year, helped along by Nick Schmaltz and Kyle Capobianco. Arizona pulled closer with a Jack McBain goal, his second of the season, assisted by Antoine Roussel and Loui Eriksson. The Coyotes tied it as Michael Carcone scored his fourth of the year, thanks to Janis Moser and Nathan Smith. Arizona pulled ahead on a Gostisbehere goal, his second of the game and fourteenth of the season, helped along by Galchenyuk. This stood for a 5-4 final, with the three stars going to Gostisbehere, Galchenyuk, and Sateri (27 for 27 in saves in relief).
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