There's 11 games on this Saturday, beginning with...
The Colorado Avalanche hosting the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Alexandar Georgiev protect the nets. Colorado opened in the first period with an Alex Newhook goal, his twelfth of the season, guided in by Logan O'Connor and Brad Hunt. The Avalanche added on with a J.T. Compher goal, his tenth of the year, passed from Samuel Girard and O'Connor. Colorado extended the lead in the second period as Evan Rodrigues scored his eleventh of the season, thanks to Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. St. Louis got on the board with a Brayden Schenn power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Torey Krug and Jordan Kyrou. The Blues got closer in the third period with an unassisted Ivan Barbashev goal, his ninth of the season. The Avalanche iced it at 4-2 with an empty net goal by Matt Nieto, his ninth of the year, set up by Mikko Rantanen. The three stars were O'Connor, Rodrigues, and Compher.
Southeast to Florida, as the Panthers welcome the Boston Bruins. Jeremy Swayman and Alex Lyon are set to start in goal. Boston started in the first period with a Craig Smith goal, his third of the season, going in unassisted. Florida tied it in the second period with a Brandon Montour goal, his tenth of the year, fueled by Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk. The Bruins took the lead with a Charlie Coyle unassisted goal, his eleventh of the season. The Panthers retied it in the third period with a Sam Bennett goal, his twelfth of the year, coming off of Radko Gudas. Boston pulled ahead on a David Pastrnak goal, his thirty-eighth of the season, via Matt Grzelcyk and David Krejci. Florida tied it on a Barkov goal, his fourteenth of the year, courtesy of Aaron Ekblad and Tkachuk. The Panthers won 4-3 in overtime with a Sam Reinhart goal, his seventeenth of the campaign, helped along by Barkov and Anton Lundell. The three stars were Barkov, Tkachuk, and Reinhart.
Up in Ottawa, the Senators bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Sam Montembeault and Anton Forsberg are in goal. Ottawa got going in the second period with an Alex DeBrincat goal, his sixteenth of the season, assisted by Claude Giroux. The Senators added on with a Giroux power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, powered by Ridly Greig and Jake Sanderson. Ottawa extended the lead as Giroux scored his second of the game and nineteenth of the season, thanks to Thomas Chabot and DeBrincat. The Senators padded the lead on a Mathieu Joseph empty net goal, his third of the year, set up by Nick Holden. Ottawa continued with a Derick Brassard goal, his eighth of the campaign, with helpers from Drake Batherson and Holden. This made it 5-0, with the three stars being Giroux, Forsberg (28 save shutout), and Holden.
Back south, the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick and Andrei Vasilevskiy are in the blue paint. Tampa Bay began in the first period with a Brayden Point goal, his twenty-ninth of the season, via Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning added on with a Pierre-Edouard Bellemare goal, his third of the year, guided in by Nick Perbix. Los Angeles got on the board with a Jaret Anderson-Dolan goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Kevin Fiala. Tampa Bay replied on a Corey Perry goal, his ninth of the year, assisted by Perbix and Vladislav Namestnikov. The Lightning extended the lead in the second period as Ross Colton scored his tenth of the season, thanks to Perbix and Pat Maroon. The Kings got one back with a Phillip Danault goal, his fourteenth of the year, fueled by Alex Iafallo and Drew Doughty. Tampa Bay replied in the third period with a Victor Hedman goal, his fourth of the season, helped along by Steven Stamkos and Point. The final held at 5-2, with the three stars going to Perbix, Point, and Perry.
North again to Pittsburgh, as the Penguins welcome the San Jose Sharks. Kaapo Kahkonen and Casey DeSmith man the creases. San Jose led off in the first period with a Mikey Eyssimont goal, his third of the season, via Logan Couture and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Pittsburgh tied it on an Evgeni Malkin power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, powered by Rickard Rakell and Sidney Crosby. The Penguins took the lead with a Crosby power play goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, with assists provided by Malkin and Jake Guentzel. The Sharks tied it on an Erik Karlsson goal, his sixteenth of the year, fueled by Alexander Barabanov and Steven Lorentz. San Jose took the lead in the second period with a Noah Gregor goal, his third of the season, helped along by Couture. Pittsburgh tied it on a Ryan Poehling shorthanded goal, his fifth of the year, set up by Brian Dumoulin. The Sharks regained the lead on a Barabanov goal, his seventh of the season, guided in by Couture and Matt Benning. The Penguins tied it again with a Malkin goal, his second of the game and nineteenth of the year, made possible by Jeff Petry. San Jose pulled ahead on a Couture goal, his eighteenth of the season, assisted by Barabanov and Vlasic. The Sharks iced it at 6-4 with a Couture empty net goal, his second of the game and nineteenth of the year, set up by Karlsson. The three stars were Couture, Malkin, and Barabanov, while Karlsson, Crosby, and Vlasic get the honorable mentions.
Over in Winnipeg, the Jets bring in the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter Hart and Connor Hellebuyck guard the cages. Philadelphia struck first in the first period with a Noah Cates goal, his eighth of the season, made possible by Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett. The Flyers added on in the second period with a Kieffer Bellows goal, guided in by Rasmus Ristolainen and Cates. Philadelphia extended the lead in the third period as Tippett scored his fourteenth of the year, thanks to Ristolainen and Cam York. The Flyers padded the lead on a Tony DeAngelo goal, his ninth of the season, helped along by Scott Laughton. David Rittich replaced Hellebuyck in goal. The final held at 4-0, with the three stars awarded to Hart (40 save shutout), Cates, and Tippett, while Ristolainen gets an honorable mention.
Back east, the New York Islanders host the Vegas Golden Knights. Logan Thompson and Semyon Varlamov have the green light to start in goal. New York dented the scoreboard in the second period with an Anders Lee goal, his nineteenth of the season, assisted by Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson. Vegas tied it with a William Carrier goal, his twelfth of the year, guided in by Chandler Stephenson and Phil Kessel. The Islanders won 2-1 in overtime with a Mathew Barzal goal, his twelfth of the campaign, made possible by Anthony Beauvillier and Adam Pelech. The three stars were Barzal, Varlamov (44 for 45 in saves), and Lee.
Westward again to Minnesota, where the Wild welcome the Buffalo Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Marc-Andre Fleury are the masked men. Buffalo kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Jack Quinn goal, his eighth of the season, going in unassisted. Minnesota tied it on a Joel Eriksson Ek power play goal, his eighteenth of the year, powered by Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. The Sabres took the lead in the second period with a Zemgus Girgensons goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Kyle Okposo and Peyton Krebs. The Wild tied it on a Jared Spurgeon goal, his ninth of the year, guided in by Frederick Gaudreau and Jake Middleton. The tie went to a shootout, where Zuccarello, Kaprizov, and Gaudreau tallied to top Tage Thompson as the Wild beat the Sabres 3-2. The three stars were Guadreau, Kaprizov, and Zuccarello.
Out in Edmonton, the Oilers bring in the Chicago Blackhawks. Petr Mrazek and Jack Campbell are the veteran goalies. Edmonton drew first blood in the first period with a Tyson Barrie power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid. Chicago tied it in the second period with a Jason Dickinson goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Patrick Kane and Philipp Kurashev. The Oilers retook the lead with a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his twenty-ninth of the season, with assists provided by McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins. Edmonton added on with a Barrie goal, his second of the game and seventh of the year, passed from Zach Hyman and Darnell Nurse. The Oilers extended the lead as McDavid scored his forty-first of the season, thanks to Draisaitl and Hyman. Edmonton padded the lead on a Hyman goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, helped along by Ryan McLeod and Nurse. The Blackhawks got one back with a Jonathan Toews power play goal in the third period, his fourteenth of the season, courtesy of Patrick Kane and Taylor Raddysh. The Oilers fired back with an Evander Kane goal, his sixth of the year, coming off of Draisaitl. Edmonton kept going with a McLeod goal, his eighth of the season, going in unassisted. Chicago pulled one back with a Raddysh goal, his fourteenth of the year, made possible by Max Domi. Emergency backup Matt Berlin made a brief relief appearance at the end of the 7-3 game. The three stars went to McDavid, Draisaitl, and Hyman, while Barrie, McLeod, Nugent-Hopkins, Nurse, Raddysh, and Kane get the honorable mentions.
In Seattle, the Kraken host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins and Philipp Grubauer draw the starts in goal. Seattle was first to score in the first period with a Morgan Geekie goal, his fifth of the season, helped along by Brandon Tanev and Carson Soucy. The Kraken added on in the second period with an Alexander Wennberg goal, his tenth of the year, courtesy of Jordan Eberle and Jared McCann. Columbus got on the board with a Kent Johnson goal, his tenth of the season, via Jack Roslovic. Seattle replied in the third period with an Eeli Tolvanen goal, his tenth of the year, coming off of Oliver Bjorkstrand. The final held at 3-1, with the three stars being Grubauer (24 for 25 in saves), Wennberg, and Tolvanen.
Finally, the Anaheim Ducks host the Arizona Coyotes. Connor Ingram and John Gibson patrol the creases. Arizona cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Nick Ritchie goal, his ninth of the season, courtesy of Christian Fischer and Travis Boyd. Anaheim tied it in the second period with a Max Jones goal, his fourth of the year, via John Klingberg and Urho Vaakanainen. The Ducks won 2-1 in overtime with a Trevor Zegras goal, his eighteenth of the campaign, assisted by Klingberg. The three stars were Gibson (32 for 33 in saves), Klingberg, and Ingram (43 for 45 in saves).
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