There's 10 games on for this Thursday's slate. First up...
The Boston Bruins host the Buffalo Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Jeremy Swayman man the nets. Boston got going in the second period with a Dmitry Orlov power play goal, his sixth of the season, powered by Hampus Lindholm and David Pastrnak. The Bruins added on with a Jakub Lauko goal, his second of the year, courtesy of Brandon Carlo and Orlov. Boston extended the lead in the third period as Pavel Zacha scored his sixteenth of the season, thanks to David Krejci and Pastrnak. The Bruins padded the lead with a Pastrnak empty net goal, his forty-third of the year, set up by Krejci and Zacha. Buffalo got on the board with a Casey Mittelstadt goal, his tenth of the season, guided in by JJ Peterka and Peyton Krebs. Boston replied with a Patrice Bergeron shorthanded empty net goal, his twenty-second of the year, with helpers from Orlov and Carlo. The Bruins kept going with a Connor Clifton shorthanded empty net goal, his fifth of the season, helped along by Garnet Hathaway and Charlie Coyle. Boston struck again with a Lauko goal, his second of the game and third of the year, assisted by Coyle and Matt Grzelcyk. This made it 7-1, with the three stars being Pastrnak, Zacha, and Krejci, while Orlov, Lauko, Coyle, and Carlo get the honorable mentions.
Over in Detroit, the Red Wings welcome the Seattle Kraken. Martin Jones and Ville Husso patrol the creases. Seattle started in the first period with a Jared McCann goal, his twenty-eighth of the season, via Jordan Eberle and Matty Beniers. Detroit tied it on a Ben Chiarot goal, his fifth of the year, courtesy of Andrew Copp and Robby Fabbri. The Kraken took the lead on an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Alexander Wennberg and Jaden Schwartz. Seattle added on with a McCann goal, his second of the game and twenty-ninth of the year, guided in by Vince Dunn and Eeli Tolvanen. The Red Wings got one back with an Adam Erne goal, his seventh of the season, passed from Moritz Seider and Dylan Larkin. Detroit tied it in the second period with a Jonatan Berggren goal, his twelfth of the year, coming off of Filip Zadina and Gustav Lindstrom. Philipp Grubauer replaced Jones in goal. The Kraken regained the lead with a Schwartz goal, his fourteenth of the season, fueled by Eberle and Beniers. The Red Wings tied it on a Jake Walman goal, his sixth of the year, going in unassisted. Seattle won 5-4 in overtime with a Bjorkstrand power play goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the campaign, powered by McCann and Justin Schultz. The three stars were McCann, Bjorkstrand, and Schwartz, while Eberle and Beniers get the honorable mentions.
Down in Florida, the Panthers bring in the Nashville Predators. Kevin Lankinen and Sergei Bobrovsky are in the blue paint. Nashville began in the first period with a Matt Duchene power play goal, his nineteenth of the season, powered by Luke Evangelista and Roman Josi. The Predators added on with a John Leonard goal, via Josi and Cody Glass. Florida got on the board in the second period with a Brandon Montour goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Ryan Lomberg and Radko Gudas. The final stood at 2-1, with the three stars being Josi, Lankinen (30 for 31 in saves), and Leonard.
North to New York, as the Rangers host the Ottawa Senators. Cam Talbot and Jaroslav Halak draw the starts in goal. New York opened in the first period with a Chris Kreider shorthanded goal, his twenty-seventh of the season, set up by Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad. Ottawa tied it in the second period with a Shane Pinto goal, his sixteenth of the year, passed from Alex DeBrincat and Drake Batherson. The Senators took the lead with a Derick Brassard goal, his tenth of the season, coming off of Mathieu Joseph and Dyan Gambrell. The Rangers retied it on a Jacob Trouba goal, his fifth of the year, via Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. New York gained the lead with a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Zibanejad and Ben Harpur. Ottawa tied it again in the third period with Brassard's second goal of the game and his eleventh of the year, fueled by Claude Giroux. The Senators pulled ahead with a Giroux goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, guided in by Travis Hamonic and Brady Tkachuk. Ottawa iced it at 5-3 with a Tim Stutzle empty net goal, his twenty-ninth of the year, made possible by Tkachuk and Giroux. The three stars were Brassard, Giroux, and Tkachuk, while Zibanejad gets an honorable mention.
Back south, the Tampa Bay Lightning welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tristan Jarry and Andrei Vasilevskiy guard the cages. Tampa Bay led off in the first period with a Ross Colton goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Tanner Jeannot and Mikhail Sergachev. Pittsburgh tied it in the second period on a Jeff Petry goal, his fourth of the year, via Sidney Crosby. The Penguins took the lead on another Petry goal, his second of the game and fifth of the season, helped along by Jeff Carter and Danton Heinen. The Lightning tied it on a Brayden Point power play goal, his thirty-eighth of the year, guided in by Alex Killorn and Sergachev. Pittsburgh retook the lead with a Jason Zucker goal, his eighteenth of the season, made possible by Marcus Pettersson and Carter. Tampa Bay tied it on a Steven Stamkos power play goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, with assists provided by Nikita Kucherov and the goalie Vasilevskiy. The Penguins retook the lead with a Drew O'Connor goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Josh Archibald and Kris Letang. The Lightning retied it on a Victor Hedman goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Stamkos and Point. Pittsburgh won 5-4 in overtime on a Zucker goal, his second of the game and nineteenth of the campaign, fueled by Pettersson and Rickard Rakell. The three stars were Zucker, Stamkos, and Petry, while Carter, Pettersson, Point, and Sergachev received the honorable mentions.
Northwest to Chicago, as the Blackhawks bring in the Dallas Stars. Matt Murray and Petr Mrazek are set to start in goal. Dallas struck first in the first period with a Roope Hintz power play goal, his twenty-seventh of the season, powered by Joe Pavelski and Miro Heiskanen. Chicago tied it on a Cole Guttman goal, his third of the year, via Tyler Johnson and Jarred Tinordi. The Stars retook the lead with another Hintz power play goal, his second of the game and twenty-eighth of the season, with assists provided by Heiskanen and Jason Robertson. The Blackhawks tied it in the second period with a Seth Jones goal, his seventh of the year, going in unassisted. Dallas took the lead back in the third period with a Jamie Benn goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, helped along by Evgenii Dadonov and Wyatt Johnston. The Stars added on with an Esa Lindell empty net goal, his seventh of the year, set up by Pavelski. Dallas iced it at 5-2 with an empty net goal by Hintz, completing his hat trick on his twenty-ninth of the campaign, with a helper from Robertson. The three stars went to Hintz, Heiskanen, and Pavelski, while Robertson gets an honorable mention.
Westward to Calgary, where the Flames host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Joseph Woll is mismatched with Jacob Markstrom in goal. Calgary kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Blake Coleman shorthanded goal, his fourteenth of the season, going in unassisted. Toronto tied it in the second period with a Mitch Marner goal, his twenty-second of the year, courtesy of Auston Matthews and David Kampf. The Maple Leafs took the lead in the third period with a Calle Jarnkrok goal, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Morgan Rielly and William Nylander. This made it 2-1, the final, with the three stars going to Woll (25 for 26 in saves), Jarnkrok, and Marner.
Next up, the Vancouver Canucks welcome the Minnesota Wild. Marc-Andre Fleury and Thatcher Demko are the masked men. Minnesota drew first blood in the first period with a Kirill Kaprizov goal, his thirty-eighth of the season, coming off of Mats Zuccarello and Jared Spurgeon. Vancouver tied it on a Brock Boeser goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Vitali Kravtsov and Conor Garland. The Wild retook the lead in the second period on a Kaprizov goal, his second of the game and thirty-ninth of the season, via Ryan Hartman and Ryan Reaves. The final stayed at 2-1, with the three stars given to Kaprizov, Fleury (21 for 22 in saves), and Boeser.
Down in Los Angeles, the Kings bring in the Montreal Canadiens. Jake Allen and Pheonix Copley have the green light to start in goal. Montreal cracked the scoresheet in the first period with a Josh Anderson power play goal, his eighteenth of the season, going in unassisted. Los Angeles tied it in the second period with an Alex Iafallo goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Gabriel Vilardi. The Kings took the lead in the third period with a Vilardi goal, his twentieth of the season, via Matt Roy and Sean Durzi. Los Angeles added on with an Anze Kopitar goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, guided in by Quinton Byfield. The Canadiens got one back with a Denis Gurianov goal, his third of the season, passed from Mike Matheson and David Savard. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the three stars being Vilardi, Kopitar, and Iafallo.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks host the St. Louis Blues. Thomas Greiss and James Reimer are the veterans in goal. San Jose was first to score in the first period with an Alexander Barabanov goal, his twelfth of the season, via Andreas Johnsson and Mario Ferraro. The Sharks added on with a Logan Couture goal, his twenty-first of the year, courtesy of Erik Karlsson and Barabanov. St. Louis got on the board in the second period with a Colton Parayko goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Nikita Alexandrov and Josh Leivo. The Blues tied it on a Jordan Kyrou power play goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, powered by Pavel Buchnevich and Torey Krug. St. Louis took the lead with a Logan Brown goal, coming off of Buchnevich and Parayko. The Blues extended the lead as Brayden Schenn scored his seventeenth of the season on the power play, thanks to Kyrou and Buchnevich. San Jose got one back with a Steven Lorentz shorthanded goal in the third period, his sixth of the year, set up by Matt Benning. St. Louis replied with a Tyler Pitlick goal, his fourth of the season, made possible by Alexandrov. The Blues padded the lead on a Kasperi Kapanen empty net goal, his eighth of the year, with helpers from Buchnevich and Schenn. This made it 6-3, the final, with the three stars being Buchnevich, Kyrou, and Parayko, while Schenn and Alexandrov get the honorable mentions.
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