There's 10 games on, including a number of matinees today. First up...
The Buffalo Sabres host the San Jose Sharks. Kaapo Kahkonen and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are in goal. Buffalo got going in the second period with a Casey Mittelstadt goal, his twelfth of the season, via Kyle Okposo and Ryan Johnson. The Sabres added on with an Alex Tuch power play goal, his twelfth of the year, powered by Jack Quinn and Mittelstadt. Buffalo iced it at 3-0 with a Jordan Greenway empty net goal, his fourth of the campaign, set up by Mittelstadt and Rasmus Dahlin. The three stars were Mittelstadt, Luukkonen (28 save shutout), and Tuch.
Over in Boston, the Bruins welcome the New Jersey Devils. Nico Daws and Jeremy Swayman are in the blue paint. Boston dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Charlie Coyle goal, his fifteenth of the season, made possible by Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. The Bruins added on in the third period with a Pastrnak power play goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, powered by Charlie McAvoy and Marchand. Boston finished it at 3-0 with an unassisted Trent Frederic goal, his thirteenth of the campaign. The three stars went to Swayman (31 save shutout), Pastrnak, and Marchand.
Along to Pittsburgh, as the Penguins bring in the Seattle Kraken. Joey Daccord and Tristan Jarry are the masked men. Pittsburgh cracked the scoresheet in the second period with a Drew O'Connor goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Bryan Rust and Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins added on with a Sidney Crosby goal, his twenty-fifth of the year, courtesy of Kris Letang and Rickard Rakell. Pittsburgh iced it at 3-0 with a Crosby empty net goal, his second of the game and twenty-sixth of the campaign, set up by Rakell and Erik Karlsson. The three stars were awarded to Crosby, Jarry (22 save shutout), and Rakell.
West to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets host the Vancouver Canucks. Casey DeSmith and Elvis Merzlikins are the goalies. Vancouver opened in the first period with a J.T. Miller goal, his twentieth of the season, assisted by Nikita Zadorov. Columbus tied it on a Yegor Chinakhov goal, his eleventh of the year, passed from Johnny Gaudreau. The Canucks retook the lead with a Conor Garland goal, his sixth of the season, courtesy of Teddy Blueger and Dakota Joshua. The Blue Jackets tied it with a Dmitri Voronkov power play goal in the second period, his eighth of the year, powered by Adam Boqvist and Gaudreau. Vancouver regained the lead on an Elias Pettersson power play goal, his twenty-third of the season, with assists provided by Miller and Quinn Hughes. Columbus pulled even again with a Voronkov goal in the third period, his second of the game and ninth of the year, made possible by Jack Roslovic. The tie went to a shootout, where Kirill Marchenko had the lone tally to give the Blue Jackets a 4-3 win. The three stars were Voronkov, Gaudreau, and Miller.
Down in Florida, the Panthers welcome the Anaheim Ducks. John Gibson faces former teammate Anthony Stolarz in goal. Florida started in the first period with a Sam Bennett power play goal, his ninth of the season, powered by Evan Rodrigues and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The Panthers added on with a shorthanded Sam Reinhart goal, his thirty-second of the year, set up by Niko Mikkola. Anaheim got on the board with an Alex Killorn goal, his fifth of the season, courtesy of Adam Henrique. The Ducks tied it in the second period with a shorthanded Henrique goal, his eleventh of the year, with a lone assist by Frank Vatrano. Florida pulled ahead again on a Carter Verhaeghe power play goal, his twenty-third of the season, with assists provided by Brandon Montour and Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers extended the lead as Bennett scored his second of the game and tenth of the year, thanks to Matthew Tkachuk and Verhaeghe. Anaheim got one back with a Jakob Silfverberg goal, his second of the season, helped along by Sam Carrick. The Ducks tied it as Troy Terry scored his eleventh of the year in the third period, with the help of Jackson LaCombe. Anaheim won 5-4 in overtime with a Killorn goal, his second of the game and sixth of the campaign, guided in by Vatrano and Cam Fowler. The three stars were Killorn, Bennett, Henrique, while Verhaeghe and Vatrano get the honorable mentions.
Back north, the Carolina Hurricanes bring in the Los Angeles Kings. David Rittich and Antti Raanta man the nets. Los Angeles led off in the first period with a Trevor Moore goal, his nineteenth of the season, assisted by Phillip Danault and Vladislav Gavrikov. Carolina tied it in the second period on a Jordan Martinook goal, his fifth of the year, made possible by Seth Jarvis and Brent Burns. The Kings retook the lead with a Danault goal, his ninth of the season, coming off of Matt Roy and Gavrikov. Los Angeles added on with an Alex Laferriere goal, his sixth of the year, passed from Mikey Anderson and Pierre-Luc Dubois. The Kings extended the lead as Dubois scored his ninth of the season, courtesy of Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Anderson. Yaniv Perets replaced Raanta in goal. The Hurricanes got one back with a Jack Drury goal, his eighth of the year, made possible by Stefan Noesen and Jalen Chatfield. Los Angeles iced it at 5-2 with a Moore shorthanded empty net goal, his second of the game and twentieth of the campaign, set up by Danault and Roy. The three stars were Danault, Moore, and Dubois, while Anderson, Roy, and Gavrikov get the honorable mentions.
Next up, the Minnesota Wild host the New York Islanders. Ilya Sorokin and Marc-Andre Fleury protect the nets. Minnesota began in the first period with a Mats Zuccarello power play goal, his seventh of the season, powered by Brock Faber and Matt Boldy. The Wild added on in the second period with a Connor Dewar goal, his seventh of the year, going in unassisted. Minnesota extended the lead as Joel Eriksson Ek scored his sixteenth of the season on the power play, with the help of Kirill Kaprizov and Zuccarello. The Wild padded the lead in the third period with an Eriksson Ek shorthanded goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, set up by Marcus Foligno and Zach Bogosian. Minnesota finished it at 5-0 with a Foligno goal, his seventh of the campaign, helped along by Frederick Gaudreau and Jonas Brodin. The three stars were Fleury (21 save shutout), Eriksson Ek, and Zuccarello, while Foligno gets an honorable mention.
Out west, the Vegas Golden Knights welcome the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Logan Thompson tend the twines. Vegas struck first in the first period with a Mark Stone goal, his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Pavel Dorofeyev and Nicolas Hague. The Golden Knights added on with a Stone goal in the second period, his second of the game and fourteenth of the year, via Chandler Stephenson and Dorofeyev. Nashville got on the board with a Luke Evangelista goal, his ninth of the season, made possible by Alexandre Carrier and Roman Josi. Vegas answered with a Stone goal to complete his hat trick on his fifteenth of the year, coming off of Stephenson. The Golden Knights iced it at 4-1 with an empty net goal by Jonathan Marchessault in the third period, his eighteenth of the campaign, set up by Alex Pietrangelo and Nicolas Roy. The three stars were Stone, Dorofeyev, and Stephenson.
Back east, the Montreal Canadiens bring in the Colorado Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev and Jake Allen patrol the creases. Colorado kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Ross Colton power play goal, his tenth of the season, powered by Jonathan Drouin and Cale Makar. Montreal tied it on a Juraj Slafkovsky power play goal, his fifth of the year, with assists provided by Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. The Avalanche pulled ahead in the second period with a Makar goal, his tenth of the season, passed from Samuel Girard and Nathan MacKinnon. The Canadiens tied it with a Rafael Harvey-Pinard goal, fueled by Jake Evans and Brendan Gallagher. Montreal took the lead with a Caufield power play goal his thirteenth of the year, helped along by Suzuki and Michael Matheson. Colorado tied it again with a Devon Toews goal, his seventh of the season, guided in by Mikko Rantanen and Makar. The Canadiens gained the lead with a Joel Armia goal, his seventh of the year, via Sean Monahan and David Savard. This stood for a 4-3 win, with the three stars given to Makar, Caufield, and Suzuki.
Finally, the St. Louis Blues host the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter Hart and Joel Hofer are in the blue paint. Philadelphia drew first blood in the second period with a Scott Laughton goal, his fourth of the season, via Garnet Hathaway and Sean Walker. St. Louis tied it on an Oskar Sundqvist power play goal, his fifth of the year, powered by Brayden Schenn and Scott Perunovich. The Flyers retook the lead with a Ryan Poehling goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Egor Zamula and Cam Atkinson. The Blues retied it in the third period with a Brandon Saad goal, his eleventh of the year, guided in by Schenn and Jordan Kyrou. Philadelphia regained the lead with an Owen Tippett goal, his sixteenth of the season, fueled by Travis Konecny and Morgan Frost. The Flyers iced it at 4-2 with an unassisted Joel Farabee goal, his fifteenth of the year. The three stars were Schenn, Tippett, and Hart (28 for 30 in saves).
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