Eleven games on this Thursday, beginning with...
The Buffalo Sabres hosting the Detroit Red Wings. Magnus Hellberg and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are the backups in goal. Buffalo opened in the first period with a Casey Mittelstadt goal, his sixth of the season, via JJ Peterka and Owen Power. The Sabres added on in the second period with a Jeff Skinner goal, his seventeenth of the year, going in unassisted. Buffalo extended the lead as Mittelstadt scored his second of the game and seventh of the season on the power play, thanks to Power and Peterka. The Sabres padded the lead on a Kyle Okposo goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Zemgus Girgensons and Peyton Krebs. Buffalo continued with another Okposo goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, fueled by Tyson Jost and Victor Olofsson. Detroit got on the board in the third period with a Dominik Kubalik goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Elmer Soderblom. The Red Wings got another with a power play goal by Kubalik, his second of the game and twelfth of the season, powered by Joe Veleno and Jonatan Berggren. Detroit got closer with a Jordan Oesterle goal, his second of the year, with helpers from Andrew Copp and Berggren. Buffalo iced it at 6-3 with an Okposo empty net goal to complete his hat trick on his sixth of the year, set up by Girgensons and Dylan Cozens. The three stars were Okposo, Mittelstadt, and Kubalik, while Peterka, Power, and Berggren get the honorable mentions.
Down in Tampa Bay, the Lightning welcome the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Andrei Vasilevskiy tend the twines. New York led off in the first period with a Mika Zibanejad goal, his sixteenth of the season, going in unassisted. Tampa Bay tied it in the third period with a Brayden Point goal, his twentieth of the year, via Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. The tie went to a shootout, where Point and Alex Killorn lifted the Lightning 2-1 over Artemi Panarin and the Rangers. The three stars were Vasilevskiy (45 for 46 in saves), Point, and Shesterkin (39 for 40 in saves).
Also in Florida, the Panthers bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Sam Montembeault and Sergei Bobrovsky man the nets. Florida began in the first period with an Aleksander Barkov goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Gustav Forsling and Carter Verhaeghe. The Panthers added on with another Barkov power play goal, his second of the game and eighth of the year, powered by Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk. Montreal got on the board with an Arber Xhekaj goal, his fifth of the season, via Jonathan Drouin and Evgenii Dadonov. Florida answered with a Barkov goal to complete his hat trick on his ninth of the year, going in unassisted. The Canadiens got one back with a power play goal by Josh Anderson, his ninth of the season, with assists provided by Mike Hoffman and Xhekaj. The Panthers answered in the second period with a Tkachuk power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, guided in by Brandon Montour and Barkov. Florida padded the lead on a Verhaeghe goal in the third period, his eighteenth of the season, going in unassisted. The Panthers continued with another Tkachuk goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, helped along by Barkov and Montour on the power play. Florida struck again with an Eetu Luostarinen goal, his ninth of the season, made possible by Sam Bennett and Tkachuk. This made it 7-2, the final, with the three stars handed to Barkov, Tkachuk, and Verhaeghe, while Montour and Xhekaj get the honorable mentions.
Back north, the Washington Capitals host the Ottawa Senators. Cam Talbot and Darcy Kuemper are between the pipes. Washington got going in the second period with an Alex Ovechkin goal, his twenty-third of the season, assisted by Erik Gustafsson and Garnet Hathaway. The Capitals added on with a Dylan Strome goal, his seventh of the year, via Conor Sheary and Nick Jensen. Ottawa got on the board with a Jake Sanderson goal, his second of the season, going in unassisted. Washington replied with an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, his sixth of the year, an unassisted goal. The Senators got one back with a Tim Stutzle goal, his twelfth of the season, made possible by Claude Giroux. Ottawa tied it in the third period with an Alex DeBrincat goal, his twelfth of the year, with helpers from Shane Pinto and Drake Batherson. The Senators won 3-2 in overtime with a DeBrincat goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the season, coming off of Giroux. The three stars were DeBrincat, Giroux, and Stutzle.
Over in New York, the Islanders welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets. Joonas Korpisalo and Ilya Sorokin are set to start in goal. New York dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal, his eighth of the season, via Hudson Fasching. The Islanders added on with a Mathew Barzal power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Brock Nelson and Pageau. Columbus got on the board in the third period with an Emil Bemstrom goal, his third of the season, guided in by Marcus Bjork and Johnny Gaudreau. The three stars of the 2-1 game were Pageau, Sorokin (20 for 21 in saves), and Barzal.
Westward to St. Louis, as the Blues bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Alex Stalock is mismatched with Jordan Binnington in goal. St. Louis started in the first period with a Josh Leivo goal, his third of the season, via Nathan Walker and Alexey Toropchenko. Chicago tied it on a Patrick Kane power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Seth Jones and Max Domi. The Blues took the lead back with a Calle Rosen goal, his fourth of the season, going in unassisted. St. Louis iced it at 3-1 with a Brandon Saad empty net goal, his eighth of the year, set up by Justin Faulk. The three stars were Binnington (21 for 22 in saves), Rosen, and Leivo.
Up in Minnesota, the Wild host the Dallas Stars. Jake Oettinger and Marc-Andre Fleury protect the nets. Dallas kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Tyler Seguin power play goal, his eighth of the season, powered by Ryan Suter and Wyatt Johnston. Minnesota tied it on a Kirill Kaprizov goal, his twentieth of the year, passed from Jon Merrill. The Stars took the lead back with a Johnston goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Nils Lundkvist and Miro Heiskanen. Dallas added on with a power play goal by Jamie Benn, his fifteenth of the year, with assists provided by Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz. The Stars iced it at 4-1 with a Seguin empty net goal, his second of the game and ninth of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were Seguin, Johnston, and Oettinger (24 for 25 in saves).
Further north, the Winnipeg Jets welcome the Vancouver Canucks. Collin Delia and Connor Hellebuyck receive the starts in goal. Vancouver struck first in the first period with an Andrei Kuzmenko goal, his fifteenth of the season, coming off of Elias Pettersson. Winnipeg tied it on a Mark Scheifele power play goal in the second period, his twenty-first of the year, powered by Josh Morrissey and Kyle Connor. The Jets took the lead with a Pierre-Luc Dubois penalty shot goal, his seventeenth of the season. Winnipeg added on with a Scheifele power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-second of the year, with assists provided by Connor and Morrissey. The Canucks got one back with a Conor Garland goal, his sixth of the season, helped along by Quinn Hughes and Kuzmenko. The Jets iced it at 4-2 with Scheifele completed his hat trick on his twenty-third of the year, an empty net goal set up by Adam Lowry. The three stars belonged to Scheifele, Connor, and Morrissey, while Kuzmenko gets an honorable mention.
Stateside, the Colorado Avalanche bring in the Los Angeles Kings. Pheonix Copley and Alexandar Georgiev guard the cages. Los Angeles was first to score in the first period with a Gabriel Vilardi goal, his sixteenth of the season, fueled by Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Mikey Anderson. Colorado tied it in the second period with a J.T. Compher power play goal, his sixth of the year, powered by Mikko Rantanen and Evan Rodrigues. The Kings took the lead back with a Phillip Danault power play goal, his eleventh of the season, made possible by Viktor Arvidsson and Alex Iafallo. The Avalanche tied it again with an Andrew Cogliano goal, his fifth of the year, via Cale Makar. Colorado pulled ahead with a Makar goal, his ninth of the season, going in unassisted. The Avalanche added on with a Rodrigues goal, his ninth of the year, helped along by Rantanen and Makar. Los Angeles got one back in the third period with an Iafallo power play goal, his sixth of the season, with helpers from Arvidsson and Sean Durzi. The Kings tied it on a Sean Walker goal, his second of the year, guided in by Kevin Fiala and Blake Lizotte. The tie went into a shootout, where Arvidsson and Adrian Kempe lifted the Kings to a 5-4 win. The three stars were Makar, Iafallo, and Arvidsson, while Rodrigues and Rantanen get the honorable mentions.
South to Arizona, as the Coyotes host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Matt Murray and Karel Vejmelka patrol the creases. Arizona drew first blood in the first period with a Nick Bjugstad goal, his eighth of the season, going in unassisted. Toronto tied it on a Pontus Holmberg power play goal, his third of the year, powered by Conor Timmins and Pierre Engvall. The Maple Leafs took the lead with a Calle Jarnkrok power play goal, his eighth of the season, with assists provided by Timmins and Morgan Rielly. The Coyotes retied it on a Jakob Chychrun power play goal, his fourth of the year, helped along by Nick Ritchie and Shayne Gostisbehere. Toronto took the lead back with an Alexander Kerfoot goal, his sixth of the season, passed from Mark Giordano and Justin Holl. Arizona tied it on a J.J. Moser power play goal, his fifth of the year, coming off of Juuso Valimaki and Barrett Hayton. The Coyotes took the lead with a Jack McBain goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Lawson Crouse and Bjugstad. Arizona added on with a McBain empty net goal, his second of the game and sixth of the year, set up by Hayton. The Coyotes iced it at 6-3 with a Hayton empty net goal, his second of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars were McBain, Bjugstad, and Hayton, while Timmins gets an honorable mention.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the Philadelphia Flyers. Samuel Ersson and Kaapo Kahkonen are the lesser-known goalies. San Jose cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Tomas Hertl goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Erik Karlsson and Kevin Labanc. Philadelphia tied it on a Travis Konecny goal, his sixteenth of the year, coming off of Tony DeAngelo. The Sharks retook the lead in the second period with a Hertl power play goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the season, powered by Timo Meier and Logan Couture. San Jose added on in the third period with a Labanc goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Hertl and Karlsson. The Flyers got one back with an Owen Tippett goal, his eleventh of the season, courtesy of James van Riemsdyk and Nick Seeler. Philadelphia tied it on another Konecny goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, with helpers from DeAngelo and Scott Laughton. The Flyers won 4-3 in overtime with a DeAngelo goal, his seventh of the campaign, guided in by Ivan Provorov and Tippett. The three stars were Konecny, DeAngelo, and Tippett, while Hertl, Labanc, and Karlsson get the honorable mentions.
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