There's nine games on tonight, beginning with...
The Ottawa Senators hosting the Los Angeles Kings. Pheonix Copley is mismatched with Cam Talbot in goal. Los Angeles began in the first period with a Matt Roy goal, his fourth of the season, via Sean Durzi and Anze Kopitar. The Kings added on with a Mikey Anderson goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Blake Lizotte and Alex Iafallo. Ottawa got on the board with a Drake Batherson power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Tim Stutzle and Thomas Chabot. Los Angeles replied with a Viktor Arvidsson power play goal, his sixth of the year, with assists provided by Trevor Moore and Durzi. The Kings extended the lead as Arvidsson scored his second of the game and seventh of the season, thanks to Kevin Fiala and Kopitar. Los Angeles padded the lead in the second period with a Fiala power play goal, his ninth of the year, coming off of Drew Doughty and Kopitar. Anton Forsberg replaced Talbot in goal. The Senators got one back in the third period with a Chabot power play goal, his fifth of the season, with helpers from Alex DeBrincat and Stutzle. The final was 5-2, with the three stars going to Arvidsson, Kopitar, and Fiala, while Durzi, Chabot, and Stutzle get the honorable mentions.
Down in Tampa Bay, the Lightning welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Ville Husso and Andrei Vasilevskiy guard the cages. Detroit got going in the second period with a Michael Rasmussen goal, his fourth of the season, via Dominik Kubalik and Filip Hronek. The Red Wings added on in the third period with a Jonatan Berggren goal, his third of the year, assisted by Olli Maatta and Joe Veleno. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Steven Stamkos goal, his fourteenth of the season, passed from Victor Hedman and Corey Perry. Detroit replied with an Adam Erne empty net goal, his fourth of the year, set up by Andrew Copp. The Lightning got one back with a Brayden Point goal, his eleventh of the season, helped along by Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov. The Red Wings iced it at 4-2 with a David Perron empty net goal, his eighth of the year, with helpers from Copp and Hronek. The three stars were Husso (43 for 45 in saves), Hronek, and Copp.
Back north, the New Jersey Devils bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Arvid Soderblom and Vitek Vanecek are in the creases. New Jersey started in the first period with a Dougie Hamilton goal, his seventh of the season, fueled by Jack Hughes. The Devils added on with a Nico Hischier goal in the second period, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Jonas Siegenthaler and Hamilton. New Jersey extended the lead as Jesper Bratt scored his tenth of the season, powered by Hughes and Hamilton on the power play. The final stood at 3-0, with the three stars awarded to Vanecek (24 save shutout), Hamilton, and Hughes.
Over in Pittsburgh, the Penguins host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins and Tristan Jarry man the nets. Columbus led off in the first period with a Johnny Gaudreau goal, his ninth of the season, assisted by Patrik Laine. Pittsburgh tied it in the second period with a Bryan Rust goal, his seventh of the year, coming off of Brian Dumoulin. The Penguins took the lead with a Sidney Crosby goal, his fourteenth of the season, fueled by Jake Guentzel and Rickard Rakell. Pittsburgh added on with a Crosby power play goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, powered by Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins extended the lead in the third period as Teddy Blueger scored, thanks to Rust. The final stayed at 4-1, with the three stars given to Crosby, Rust, and Guentzel.
In New York, the Islanders welcome the St. Louis Blues. Thomas Greiss and Ilya Sorokin are the veteran goalies. St. Louis opened in the first period with a Josh Leivo goal, assisted by Brayden Schenn. New York tied it on a Noah Dobson goal, his eighth of the season, via Mathew Barzal and Oliver Wahlstrom. The Blues took the lead in the second period with an Ivan Barbashev goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Will Bitten and Niko Mikkola. St. Louis added on with a Ryan O'Reilly goal, his ninth of the season, courtesy of Leivo and Justin Faulk. The Blues extended the lead in the third period as Noel Acciari scored his seventh of the year, thanks to Nathan Walker and Faulk. St. Louis padded the lead on a Colton Parayko goal, made possible by Jordan Kyrou and Nick Leddy. The Islanders got one back with a Zach Parise power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Josh Bailey and Dobson. New York pulled closer on a Hudson Fasching goal, helped along by Matt Martin and Brock Nelson. The Islanders chipped away with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his seventh of the year, guided in by Parise. The Blues answered with a Robert Thomas empty net goal, his fifth of the season, set up by Brandon Saad. St. Louis iced it at 7-4 with an empty net goal by Acciari, his second of the game and eighth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were handed to Acciari, Leivo, and Faulk, while Dobson and Parise get the honorable mentions.
Northwest to Winnipeg, where the Jets bring in the Florida Panthers. Spencer Knight and Connor Hellebuyck tend the twines. Winnipeg struck first in the first period with a Mark Scheifele power play goal, his fourteenth of the season, powered by Pierre-Luc Dubois and Josh Morrissey. Florida tied it on a Carter Verhaeghe power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, assisted by Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Montour. The Jets retook the lead with a Kyle Connor goal, his ninth of the season, passed from Dubois and Brenden Dillon. Winnipeg added on in the second period with another Connor goal, his second of the game and tenth of the year, coming off of Dubois. Sergei Bobrovsky replaced Knight in goal. The Jets extended the lead as Scheifele scored his second of the game and fifteenth of the season on the power play, with the help of Connor and Nate Schmidt. The Panthers got one back in the third period with a Zac Dalpe goal, courtesy of Chris Tierney and Matt Kiersted. Winnipeg fired back with an Adam Lowry empty net goal, his fifth of the year, set up by Dylan Samberg. The final stood at 5-2, with the three stars handed to Connor, Scheifele, and Dubois.
South to Dallas, where the Stars host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Matt Murray and Jake Oettinger protect the nets. Toronto kicked off the scoring in the first period with a John Tavares goal, his thirteenth of the season, coming off of Mitchell Marner and Mark Giordano. The Maple Leafs added on with an Auston Matthews goal, his thirteenth of the year, going in unassisted. Toronto extended the lead in the second period as Rasmus Sandin scored his second of the season, thanks to Michael Bunting and Matthews. The Maple Leafs padded the lead in the third period with an Alexander Kerfoot empty net goal, his second of the year, set up by Timothy Liljegren. The final stood at 4-0, with the three stars awarded to Murray (44 save shutout), Matthews, and Tavares.
Out west, the Anaheim Ducks welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Pyotr Kochetkov and John Gibson are between the pipes. Anaheim drew first blood in the first period with an Adam Henrique goal, his eighth of the season, via Kevin Shattenkirk and Troy Terry. Carolina tied it on a Brady Skjei goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Jack Drury and Paul Stastny. The Ducks took the lead back with a Max Comtois goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Jakob Silfverberg. The Hurricanes tied it in the second period with a Sebastian Aho goal, his eleventh of the year, fueled by Seth Jarvis and Jaccob Slavin. Anaheim retook the lead with a Brett Leason goal, his third of the season, courtesy of Mason McTavish and Max Jones. Carolina tied it again with a Jordan Staal goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Brent Burns and Jesper Fast. The Ducks won 4-3 in overtime with a Ryan Strome goal, his seventh of the campaign, helped along by Cam Fowler and Frank Vatrano. The three stars were Strome, Leason, and Comtois
Finally, the Seattle Kraken bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Jake Allen and Martin Jones are the goalies. Montreal was first to score in the first period with a Johnathan Kovacevic goal, made possible by Mike Matheson and Kirby Dach. Seattle tied it on a Shane Wright goal, via Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde. The Canadiens retook the lead with a Cole Caufield goal, his fifteenth of the season, helped along by Nick Suzuki in the second period. Montreal added on with a Josh Anderson goal, his seventh of the year, passed from Christian Dvorak and Juraj Slafkovsky. The Canadiens extended the lead as Rem Pitlick scored, thanks to Joel Edmundson and Jake Evans. The Kraken got one back with a Jared McCann goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Andre Burakovsky. The final was 4-2, and the three stars were Anderson, Kovacevic, and Wright.
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