There's 11 games on this Thursday, beginning with...
The Buffalo Sabres hosting the Dallas Stars. Jake Oettinger and Eric Comrie are set to start in goal. Dallas struck first in the first period with a Wyatt Johnston goal, his sixteenth of the season, coming off of Jani Hakanpaa and Evgenii Dadonov. The Stars added on with a Joe Pavelski power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, powered by Jason Robertson and Jamie Benn. Dallas extended the lead as Benn scored his twenty-seventh of the season, thanks to Miro Heiskanen and Ryan Suter. Buffalo got on the board with a Jordan Greenway goal, his third of the year, guided in by Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson. The Stars shot back in the second period with a Joel Kiviranta goal, his seventh of the season, assisted by Robertson and Joel Hanley. The Sabres got one back with a Kyle Okposo goal, his ninth of the year, fueled by JJ Peterka and Ilya Lyubushkin. Dallas answered again with a Suter goal, his second of the season, courtesy of Mason Marchment and Ty Dellandrea. Buffalo got one back in the third period with a Skinner goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, made possible by Greenway and Thompson. The Stars replied with a Dadonov goal, his sixth of the season, helped along by Benn and Hakanpaa. Dallas padded the lead on a Radek Faksa goal, his ninth of the year, passed from Max Domi and Kiviranta. The Stars continued with another Faksa goal, his second of the game and tenth of the season, dished from Marchment. Dallas kept going on a Roope Hintz goal, his thirty-first of the year, with helpers from Robertson and Pavelski. The Sabres got one back with a Victor Olofsson goal, his twenty-fourth of the season, with assists from Peterka and Peyton Krebs. The Stars shot back on a Marchment goal, his eleventh of the year, delivered by Heiskanen and Colin Miller. This made it 10-4, the final, with the three stars going to Faksa, Benn, and Marchment, while Robertson, Pavelski, Dadonov, Kiviranta, Heiskanen, Hakanpaa, Skinner, Thompson, Greenway, and Peterka get the honorable mentions.
Down to Raleigh, where the Hurricanes welcome the Philadelphia Flyers. Felix Sandstrom and Pyotr Kochetkov are the inexperienced goalies. Carolina opened in the first period with an Andrei Svechnikov power play goal, his twenty-third of the season, powered by Martin Necas and Brent Burns. This stood for a 1-0 win, with the three stars going to Kochetkov (19 save shutout), Svechnikov, and Sandstrom (28 for 29 in saves).
Up in Montreal, the Canadiens bring in the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Sam Montembeault draw the starts in goal. Montreal led off in the first period with a Kaiden Guhle goal, his fourth of the season, assisted by Denis Gurianov and Rem Pitlick. New York tied it on an Alexis Lafreniere power play goal, his fourteenth of the year, powered by Adam Fox and Artemi Panarin. The Canadiens took the lead back with an Alex Belzile goal, his fourth of the season, coming off of Guhle and Chris Wideman. The Rangers tied it in the second period with a Jacob Trouba goal, his sixth of the year, via Panarin and Patrick Kane. Montreal pulled ahead with a Josh Anderson shorthanded goal, his nineteenth of the season, set up by Chris Tierney. New York tied it on a Kane power play goal, his seventeenth of the year, with assists provided by Trouba and Panarin. The tie went to a shootout, where Mika Zibanejad had the lone tally for a 4-3 win for the Rangers. The three stars were Kane, Trouba, and Panarin, while Guhle gets an honorable mention.
Stateside again to Pittsburgh, where the Penguins host the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin and Tristan Jarry protect the nets. New York started in the first period with an Anders Lee power play goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, powered by Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri. Pittsburgh tied it on a Jake Guentzel goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, courtesy of Marcus Pettersson and Sidney Crosby. The Penguins took the lead with a Jason Zucker goal, his twenty-second of the season, via Evgeni Malkin and Jeff Petry. Pittsburgh added on in the second period with a Josh Archibald goal, his fifth of the year, fueled by Brian Dumoulin and Petry. The Islanders got one back with a Hudson Fasching goal, his fifth of the season, coming off of Casey Cizikas and Sebastian Aho. New York tied it on another Lee goal, his second of the game and twenty-sixth of the year, assisted by Noah Dobson and Brock Nelson. The Islanders won 4-3 in overtime with a Nelson goal, his twenty-eighth of the campaign, guided in by the goalie Sorokin. The three stars were Lee, Nelson, and Petry.
South to Tampa Bay, as the Lightning welcome the Vegas Golden Knights. Jonathan Quick and Andrei Vasilevskiy are the masked men. Vegas began in the first period with a Keegan Kolesar goal, his seventh of the season, fueled by Teddy Blueger and Brett Howden. Tampa Bay tied it on a Brayden Point goal, his fortieth of the year, via Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. The Golden Knights pulled ahead in the third period with a William Karlsson shorthanded goal, his twelfth of the season, set up by Alex Pietrangelo. Vegas added on with a Chandler Stephenson power play goal, his thirteenth of the year, powered by Shea Theodore and Reilly Smith. The Lightning got one back with a Kucherov goal, his twenty-sixth of the season, assisted by Mikhail Sergachev and Point. Tampa Bay tied it again with a Point power play goal, his second of the game and forty-first of the year, with assists provided by Kucherov and Sergachev. The Golden Knights won 4-3 in overtime with an Alec Martinez goal, his second of the campaign, made possible by Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault. The three stars were Point, Kucherov, and Sergachev.
Backtracking to DC, where the Washington Capitals bring in the New Jersey Devils. Akira Schmid and Darcy Kuemper are in the creases. Washington drew first blood in the first period with a Trevor van Riemsdyk goal, his seventh of the season, going in unassisted. New Jersey tied it in the second period with an Erik Haula power play goal, his eighth of the year, powered by Dawson Mercer and Damon Severson. The Devils took the lead with a Mercer goal, his twenty-second of the season, coming off of Nico Hischier and Tomas Tatar. The Capitals tied it again with a Dylan Strome goal, his fifteenth of the year, courtesy of T.J. Oshie and Sonny Milano. The tie went to a shootout, where Timo Meier had the lone tally for a 3-2 Devils win. The three stars were Mercer, Haula, and Kuempre (38 for 40 in saves).
Along to Boston, as the Bruins host the Edmonton Oilers. Stuart Skinner and Jeremy Swayman are the young goalies. Boston was first to score in the first period with a Brad Marchand goal, his twentieth of the season, coming off of David Pastrnak and Brandon Carlo.The Bruins added on with a Pastrnak goal, his forty-fifth of the year, guided in by David Krejci. Edmonton got on the board in the second period with an Evan Bouchard goal, his fourth of the season, via Mattias Janmark. The Oilers tied it on a Ryan McLeod goal, his eleventh of the year, assisted by Devin Shore. Edmonton pulled ahead in the third period with a Darnell Nurse goal, his seventh of the season, passed from Cody Ceci and Leon Draisaitl. This stood for a 3-2 win, with the three stars going to Pastrnak, Nurse, and McLeod.
Westward to St. Louis, as the Blues welcome the San Jose Sharks. Kaapo Kahkonen and Jordan Binnington are in the blue paint. San Jose kicked off the scoring in the first period with an Erik Karlsson goal, his twentieth of the season, via Alexander Barabanov and Andreas Johnsson. St. Louis tied it on a Torey Krug goal, his sixth of the year, courtesy of Robert Thomas. The Blues took the lead in the second period with a Sammy Blais goal, his third of the season, coming off of Colton Parayko. The Sharks tied it on a Tomas Hertl goal, his eighteenth of the year, passed from Barabanov. St. Louis took the lead in the third period with a Jakub Vrana goal, his second of the season, assisted by Pavel Buchnevich and Kasperi Kapanen. The Blues added on with a Thomas power play goal, his sixteenth of the year, powered by Brandon Saad and Buchnevich. The final held at 4-2, with the three stars going to Thomas, Buchnevich, and Barabanov.
Southwest to Arizona, as the Coyotes bring in the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros faces a lesser foe in Ivan Prosvetov in goal. Arizona began in the first period with a Brett Ritchie goal, his seventh of the season, via J.J. Moser and Christian Fischer. The Coyotes added on in the third period with a Barrett Hayton power play goal, his eleventh of the year, powered by Clayton Keller and Travis Boyd. Arizona extended the lead as Jack McBain scored his tenth of the season, thanks to Lawson Crouse and Matias Maccelli. Nashville got on the board with a Cody Glass goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Luke Evangelista and Thomas Novak. The Coyotes replied with an empty net goal by Nick Schmaltz, his twenty-first of the campaign, set up by Patrik Nemeth and Keller. The three stars were Prosvetov (39 for 40 in saves), Keller, and Hayton.
North to Colorado, where the Avalanche host the Los Angeles Kings. Joonas Korpisalo and Alexandar Georgiev tend the twines. Los Angeles led off in the first period with an Adrian Kempe goal, his thirty-first of the season, coming off of Anze Kopitar and Matt Roy. The Kings added on with a Gabriel Vilardi goal, his twenty-second of the year, via Kopitar and Quinton Byfield. Colorado got on the board in the second period with an Evan Rodrigues goal, his thirteenth of the season, courtesy of Samuel Girard and Alex Newhook. Los Angeles answered in the third period with a Kempe goal, his second of the game and thirty-second of the year, passed from Vladislav Gavrikov and Kopitar. The Avalanche got one back with a Nathan MacKinnon power play goal, his twenty-seventh of the season, powered by Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen. The Kings fired back with a Phillip Danault goal, his seventeenth of the year, guided in by Jordan Spence and Kevin Fiala. Los Angeles iced it at 5-2 with a Danault empty net goal, his second of the game and eighteenth of the campaign, set up by Trevor Moore. The three stars were Kempe, Danault, and Kopitar.
Finally, the Seattle Kraken host the Ottawa Senators. Mads Sogaard is mismatched with Philipp Grubauer in goal. Ottawa struck first in the first period with a Shane Pinto goal, his seventeenth of the season, assisted by Nick Holden and Jakob Chychrun. The Senators added on with a Chychrun goal, his ninth of the year, via Holden and Tim Stutzle. Ottawa extended the lead as Patrick Brown scored his third of the season, thanks to Mathieu Joseph. Seattle got on the board with a Jared McCann shorthanded goal, his thirty-second of the year, going in unassisted. The Kraken got closer in the second period with a Jaden Schwartz goal, his sixteenth of the season, guided in by Vince Dunn and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Seattle tied it as McCann scored his second of the game and thirty-third of the year, with the help of Daniel Sprong and Yanni Gourde. The Kraken took the lead in the third period on a Dunn goal, his twelfth of the season, made possible by Gourde. The Senators retied it on a Claude Giroux goal, his twenty-seventh of the year, passed from Stutzle. Ottawa gained the lead with an Alex DeBrincat goal, his twenty-first of the season, fueled by Jake Sanderson and Giroux. The final was 5-4, with the three stars going to Giroux, McCann, and Chychrun, while Stutzle, Dunn, Holden, and Gourde get the honorable mentions.
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