We've got eight games on a busy Friday, beginning with...
The Carolina Hurricanes hosting the San Jose Sharks. James Reimer and Antti Raanta are the goalies. San Jose opened in the first period with an Oskar Lindblom goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Evgeny Svechnikov and Steven Lorentz. Carolina tied it on a Calvin de Haan goal, his second of the year, via Dylan Coghlan and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The Hurricanes took the lead in the third period with a Sebastian Aho power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, powered by Stefan Noesen. The Sharks tied it on a Nick Bonino goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Mikey Eyssimont. San Jose took the lead with an Eyssimont goal, his second of the season, passed from Nico Sturm and Mario Ferraro. The Sharks added on with a Ferraro empty net goal, his third of the year, set up by Eyssimont. Carolina replied with an Aho goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the season, assisted by Teuvo Teravainen and Jalen Chatfield. The Hurricanes tied it on a Martin Necas goal, his twentieth of the year, guided in by Andrei Svechnikov and Brent Burns. Carolina won 5-4 in overtime with another Necas goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the campaign, with a lone assist by Svechnikov. The three stars were Necas, Aho, and Eyssimont, while Ferraro and Svechnikov get the honorable mentions.
Up in New York, the Rangers welcome the Vegas Golden Knights. Adin Hill and Jaroslav Halak are the backups in goal. New York started in the first period with a Chris Kreider goal, his twentieth of the season, guided in by Vincent Trocheck. The Rangers added on with a Trocheck goal, his fourteenth of the year, via Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Lindgren. Vegas got on the board in the second period with a Phil Kessel goal, his ninth of the season, guided in by William Carrier and William Karlsson. New York answered in the third period with a Filip Chytil goal, his sixteenth of the year, helped along by Braden Schneider and Ben Harpur. The Rangers iced it at 4-1 with a Jimmy Vesey empty net goal, his ninth of the campaign, set up by Schneider. The three stars were Trocheck, Halak (33 for 34 in saves), and Schneider.
Further north, the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Ottawa Senators. Anton Forsberg and Ilya Samsonov are in the blue paint. Ottawa led off in the first period with a Thomas Chabot goal, his eighth of the season, assisted by Tim Stutzle and Erik Brannstrom. Toronto tied it on a Joey Anderson goal, his second of the year, fueled by Alexander Kerfoot and Justin Holl. The Senators retook the lead in the second period with a Brady Tkachuk goal, his eighteenth of the season, coming off of Travis Hamonic and Stutzle. The Maple Leafs retied it on a William Nylander power play goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, powered by John Tavares and Mitch Marner. Ottawa pulled ahead again with a Derick Brassard power play goal, his seventh of the season, with assists provided by Giroux and Jake Sanderson. The Senators added on with a Drake Batherson goal, his fifteenth of the year, helped along by Shane Pinto. Ottawa extended the lead in the third period as Tkachuk scored an unassisted goal, his nineteenth of the season. The Senators padded the lead on a Giroux goal, his seventeenth of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars of the 6-2 game were Tkachuk, Giroux, and Stutzle.
Back in New York, the Islanders bring in the Detroit Red Wings. Magnus Hellberg is mismatched with Ilya Sorokin in goal. New York got going in the second period with an Anders Lee goal, his eighteenth of the season, assisted by Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson. The Islanders added on in the third period with a Nelson goal, his nineteenth of the year, coming off of Palmieri and Ryan Pulock. This stood for a 2-0 win, with the three stars being Sorokin (23 save shutout), Nelson, and Palmieri.
Way south to Florida, as the Panthers host the Los Angeles Kings. Pheonix Copley and Alex Lyon man the nets. Los Angeles began in the first period with an Anze Kopitar goal, his fifteenth of the season, coming off of Quinton Byfield and Adrian Kempe. The Kings added on with a Kempe shorthanded goal, his twentieth of the year, set up by Blake Lizotte. Los Angeles extended the lead in the second period as Viktor Arvidsson scored a shorthanded goal, his thirteenth of the season, thanks to Mikey Anderson and Phillip Danault. Florida got on the board with a Ryan Lomberg goal, his seventh of the year, courtesy of Nick Cousins and Eric Staal. The Panthers got closer with a Brandon Montour goal, his ninth of the season, fueled by Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe. The Kings replied in the third period with an unassisted empty net goal by Matt Roy, his sixth of the year. Florida got one back with a Verhaeghe goal, his twenty-sixth of the campaign, with helpers from Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov. This only made it 4-3, the final, with the three stars going to Verhaeghe, Kempe, and Tkachuk.
Over in Dallas, the Stars welcome the New Jersey Devils. Vitek Vanecek and Jake Oettinger guard the cages. Dallas struck first in the first period with a Ty Dellandrea goal, his seventh of the season, via Jamie Benn and Wyatt Johnston. The Stars added on with a Roope Hintz power play goal, his twentieth of the year, powered by Miro Heiskanen and Joe Pavelski. New Jersey got on the board in the second period with a Jack Hughes goal, his thirty-second of the season, helped along by Dougie Hamilton. The Devils tied it on a Miles Wood goal, his eighth of the year, passed from Nathan Bastian and Damon Severson. New Jersey won 3-2 in overtime with a Hughes goal, his second of the game and thirty-third of the campaign, with a lone assist by Jesper Bratt. The three stars were Hughes, Wood, and Vanecek (33 for 35 in saves).
Northwest to Seattle, as the Kraken host the Calgary Flames. Dan Vladar and Martin Jones are the masked men. Seattle kicked off the scoring in the first period with a John Hayden goal, via Will Borgen and Daniel Sprong. Calgary tied it on an Elias Lindholm goal, his fifteenth of the season, assisted by Tyler Toffoli and Dillon Dube. The Flames took the lead with a Toffoli goal, his eighteenth of the year, passed from Blake Coleman and Lindholm. Calgary added on with a Nikita Zadorov goal, his eighth of the season, helped along by Lindholm and MacKenzie Weegar. The Kraken got one back in the third period with an Eeli Tolvanen goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Oliver Bjorkstrand and Adam Larsson. The Flames shot back with a Noah Hanifin goal, his fourth of the season, with helpers from Mikael Backlund and Coleman. Calgary iced it at 5-2 with a Coleman empty net goal, his tenth of the year, set up by Andrew Mangiapane and Backlund. The three stars belonged to Lindholm, Coleman, and Toffoli, while Backlund gets an honorable mention.
Finally, the Vancouver Canucks bring in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Joonas Korpisalo and Collin Delia are in the creases. Vancouver was first to score in the first period with an Elias Pettersson shorthanded goal, his twentieth of the season, set up by Bo Horvat. Columbus tied it on a Kirill Marchenko power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Adam Boqvist and Patrik Laine. The Canucks retook the lead with a Quinn Hughes power play goal, his fifth of the season, with assists provided by J.T. Miller and Horvat. Vancouver added on with an Ilya Mihkeyev goal, his thirteenth of the year, passed from Brock Boeser and Horvat. The Canucks extended the lead in the third period as Dakota Joshua scored his eighth of the season, thanks to Horvat and Boeser. Vancouver padded the lead on a Pettersson power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-first of the year, fueled by Miller and Hughes. The Blue Jackets got one back with another Marchenko power play goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the campaign, coming off of Boone Jenner and Johnny Gaudreau. This only made it 5-2, the final, with the three stars going to Pettersson, Horvat, and Marchenko, while Hughes, Miller, and Boeser get the honorable mentions.
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