We've got ten games on today, beginning with...
The Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Seattle Kraken. Martin Jones and Matt Murray are set to start in goal. Seattle got going in the second period with an Eeli Tolvanen power play goal, his fourth of the season, powered by Vince Dunn and Jared McCann. Toronto tied it on a John Tavares power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, with assists provided by Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews. The Kraken took the lead back with a Dunn goal, his fifth of the season, going in unassisted. Seattle added on with a McCann goal, his eighteenth of the year, passed from Jaden Schwartz and Dunn. The Kraken extended the lead as Matty Beniers scored his thirteenth of the season, thanks to Jordan Eberle and Andre Burakovsky. Seattle padded the lead in the third period with an Alexander Wennberg goal, his fifth of the year, via Yanni Gourde and Brandon Tanev. The final was 5-1, with the three stars given to Dunn, McCann, and Jones (26 for 27 in saves).
Up in Montreal, the Canadiens welcome the New York Rangers. Jaroslav Halak and Jake Allen are the veteran goalies. New York dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Chris Kreider goal, his eighteenth of the season, going in shorthanded and unassisted. The Rangers added on with a Braden Schneider goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Artemi Panarin and Vitali Kravtsov. New York extended the lead as Filip Chytil scored his tenth of the season, thanks to Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey. Montreal got on the board in the third period with a Joel Armia goal, via Arber Xhekaj and Jake Evans. The Rangers iced it at 4-1 with a Chytil empty net goal on the power play, his second of the game and eleventh of the year, set up by Adam Fox and K'Andre Miller. The three stars went to Chytil, Schneider, and Halak (17 for 18 in saves).
Stateside, the New Jersey Devils bring in the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Akira Schmid draw the starts in goal. St. Louis opened in the first period with a Jordan Kyrou goal, his nineteenth of the season, assisted by Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas. New Jersey tied it in the second period on a Jack Hughes goal, his twenty-third of the year, via Damon Severson and Erik Haula. The Devils took the lead with a Hughes goal, his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the season, with a lone helper by Tomas Tatar. The Blues tied it with an Ivan Barbashev goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Brandon Saad and Justin Faulk. St. Louis gained the lead in the third period with a Saad goal, his eleventh of the season, fueled by Barbashev and Noel Acciari. The Blues added on with a Thomas power play goal, his ninth of the year, powered by Brayden Schenn and Buchnevich. New Jersey pulled one back with a Nico Hischier power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, with assists provided by Dougie Hamilton and Jesper Bratt. St. Louis iced it at 5-3 with an empty net goal by Thomas, his second of the game and tenth of the year, set up by Buchnevich. The three stars were given to Thomas, Buchnevich, and Hughes, while Saad and Barbashev get the honorable mentions.
Over in Philadelphia, the Flyers host the Arizona Coyotes. Karel Vejmelka and Carter Hart man the nets. Arizona started in the first period with a Michael Carcone goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Barrett Hayton. Philadelphia tied it in the second period with a Travis Konecny power play goal, his twentieth of the year, powered by Tony DeAngelo and Morgan Frost. The Coyotes retook the lead with a Nick Ritchie goal, his eighth of the season, guided in by Hayton and Nick Schmaltz. The Flyers tied it on a Joel Farabee goal, his eighth of the year, via Frost and Konecny. Philadelphia gained the lead with a Wade Allison goal, his fourth of the season, passed from Kevin Hayes and Scott Laughton. The Flyers added on with an Ivan Provorov goal, his second of the year, coming off of Hayes and Cam York. Philadelphia extended the lead as Hayes scored his tenth of the season on the power play, thanks to Konecny and Frost. The Flyers padded the lead on a James van Riemsdyk goal, his sixth of the year, helped along by Owen Tippett and Frost. This made it 6-2, the final, with the three stars being Konecny, Frost, and Hayes, while Hayton gets an honorable mention.
Down in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Pyotr Kochetkov are in the blue paint. Carolina began in the first period with a Paul Stastny power play goal, his second of the season, powered by Brett Pesce and Teuvo Teravainen. Nashville tied it on a Filip Forsberg power play goal, his fifteenth of the year, with assists provided by Juuso Parssinen and Roman Josi. The Hurricanes pulled ahead in the second period with a Brady Skjei goal, his seventh of the season, fueled by Pesce and Martin Necas. The Predators tied it on a Mattias Ekholm goal, his fourth of the year, helped along by Parssinen. Carolina took the lead back with a Jordan Staal goal, his eleventh of the season, coming off of Jesper Fast and Jordan Martinook. Nashville tied it again with a Cody Glass goal, his fourth of the year, guided in by Mikael Granlund and Alexandre Carrier. The Predators gained the lead in the third period with a Mark Jankowski goal, his fourth of the season, with helpers from Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene. Nashville iced it at 5-3 with a Colton Sissons empty net goal, his sixth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Saros (64 for 67 in saves), Parssinen, and Pesce.
Along to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets bring in the Washington Capitals. Darcy Kuemper and Elvis Merzlikins are the goalies. Columbus led off in the first period with a Johnny Gaudreau goal, his eleventh of the season, via Emil Bemstrom. Washington tied it in the second period on a T.J. Oshie goal, his sixth of the year, guided in by Nick Jensen and Dmitry Orlov. The Capitals took the lead with a Nicolas Aube-Kubal goal, going in unassisted. The Blue Jackets tied it on a Gavin Bayreuther goal, passed from Adam Boqvist and Bemstrom. Washington retook the lead with a Martin Fehervary goal, his third of the season, assisted by Dylan Strome and Alexander Alexeyev. The Capitals added on with a Garnet Hathaway goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Anthony Mantha and Aliaksei Protas. Washington extended the lead as Oshie scored his second of the game and seventh of the season on the power play, powered by Strome and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Capitals padded the lead on a power play goal by Alex Ovechkin, his twenty-ninth of the year, with assists provided by Strome and Kuznetsov. This stood for a 6-2 win, with the three stars going to Oshie, Strome, and Kuznetsov, while Bemstrom gets an honorable mention.
Out west, the Edmonton Oilers host the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin and Jack Campbell protect the nets. Edmonton struck first in the first period with a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his twenty-second of the season, powered by Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Oilers added on with a Kailer Yamamoto shorthanded goal, his third of the year, set up by McDavid. New York got on the board with a Mathew Barzal goal, his eleventh of the season, assisted by Josh Bailey and Casey Cizikas. Edmonton replied with a Dylan Holloway goal, his second of the year, via Ryan McLeod and Philip Broberg. The Oilers extended the lead as Zach Hyman scored his eighteenth of the season, thanks to Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins. The Islanders got one back with a Cal Clutterbuck goal, his fourth of the year, coming off of Scott Mayfield. The final was 4-2, and the three stars were Draisaitl, McDavid, and Nugent-Hopkins.
Further along, the Vancouver Canucks welcome the Colorado Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev faces a lesser foe in Collin Delia in goal. Colorado drew first blood in the first period with a Mikko Rantanen power play goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, powered by Cale Makar and Artturi Lehkonen. The Avalanche added on with a Samuel Girard goal, his third of the year, via Andreas Englund and Alex Newhook in the second period. Vancouver got on the board with an Andrei Kuzmenko power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, with assists provided by Ilya Mikheyev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The Canucks tied it on a Kuzmenko goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, coming off of Elias Pettersson and Ethan Bear. Vancouver took the lead with a Brock Boeser goal, his seventh of the season, guided in by Bo Horvat. The Canucks iced it at 4-2 in the third period with an empty net goal by J.T. Miller, his fourteenth of the year, set up by Pettersson and Ekman-Larsson. The three stars were Kuzmenko, Pettersson, and Ekman-Larsson.
Down in Nevada, the Vegas Golden Knights bring in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Casey DeSmith and Adin Hill are the backups in goal. Vegas kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Phil Kessel goal, his seventh of the season, via Paul Cotter and William Karlsson. The Golden Knights added on with a Jack Eichel goal, his fourteenth of the year, courtesy of Nicolas Roy. Vegas extended the lead on a Chandler Stephenson power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by Mark Stone and Eichel. The Golden Knights padded the lead in the second period on a Stone goal, his seventeenth of the year, assisted by Brayden McNabb and Eichel. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Ty Smith goal, fueled by Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby. Vegas replied with a Cotter goal, his fifth of the season, guided in by Kessel and Karlsson. The Penguins got one back on a Crosby goal, his twentieth of the year, helped along by Rickard Rakell and Guentzel. The final was 5-2, with the three stars going to Eichel, Cotter, and Crosby, while Kessel, Stone, Karlsson, and Guentzel get the honorable mentions.
Finally, the Los Angeles Kings host the Boston Bruins. Jeremy Swayman and Pheonix Copley are the masked men. Los Angeles was first to score in the first period with a Phillip Danault goal, his thirteenth of the season, guided in by Alex Iafallo and Mikey Anderson. Boston tied it on a David Pastrnak goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, via Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy in the second period. The Bruins took the lead with a Marchand power play goal, his eleventh of the season, powered by McAvoy. The Kings tied it on a Sean Durzi goal, his fifth of the year, passed from Matt Roy and Anze Kopitar. Boston took the lead with a Trent Frederic goal in the third period, his eighth of the season, made possible by Brandon Carlo. The Bruins added on with another Frederic goal, his second of the game and ninth of the year, fueled by Nick Foligno and Charlie Coyle. Boston iced it at 5-2 with a Pastrnak empty net goal, his second of the game and twenty-seventh of the campaign, going in unassisted. The three stars belonged to Frederic, Pastrnak, and Marchand, while McAvoy gets an honorable mention.
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