There's 12 games on today, beginning with...
The Buffalo Sabres hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning. Brian Elliott and Eric Comrie are in goal. Tampa Bay led off in the first period with a Brayden Point power play goal, his thirty-ninth of the season, powered by Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. Buffalo tied it on a Tage Thompson power play goal, his forty-second of the year, with a lone assist by Rasmus Dahlin. The Sabres took the lead with a Vinnie Hinostroza goal, his second of the season, passed from Casey Mittelstadt and Dylan Cozens. Buffalo added on with an unassisted Tyson Jost goal, his sixth of the year. The Sabres extended the lead as Jack Quinn scored his twelfth of the season, thanks to Thompson and Jeff Skinner. Buffalo padded the lead in the third period on a Skinner power play goal, his twenty-sixth of the year, going in unassisted. The Lightning got one back with an Alex Killorn goal, his sixteenth of the season, helped along by Nick Perbix and Nick Paul. Tampa Bay got closer with a shorthanded Killorn goal, his second of the game and seventeenth of the year, set up by Tanner Jeannot and Victor Hedman. This only made it 5-3, the final, with the three stars given to Thompson, Skinner, and Killorn.
Over in New York, the Islanders welcome the Detroit Red Wings. Magnus Hellberg is mismatched with Ilya Sorokin in goal. Detroit got going in the second period with a Dylan Larkin power play goal, his twenty-third of the season, powered by Moritz Seider and Robby Fabbri. New York tied it in the third period with a Zach Parise goal, his sixteenth of the year, courtesy of Sebastian Aho and Kyle Palmieri. The Islanders took the lead with an Anders Lee goal, his twenty-third of the season, via Hudson Fasching and Casey Cizikas. New York added on with a Palmieri power play goal, his tenth of the year, with assists provided by Noah Dobson and Brock Nelson. The Islanders extended the lead as Lee scored his second of the game and twenty-fourth of the campaign, with the help of Josh Bailey. This stood for a 4-1 win, with the three stars given to Lee, Palmieri, and Sorokin (22 for 23 in saves).
Next up, the Boston Bruins bring in the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Linus Ullmark tend the twines. Boston began in the first period with a Charlie Coyle goal, his twelfth of the season, assisted by Tyler Bertuzzi and Trent Frederic. The Bruins added on with a Tomas Nosek shorthanded goal in the second period, his fifth of the year, set up by Coyle. New York got on the board with an Alexis Lafreniere power play goal, his twelfth of the season, powered by Jacob Trouba and Vladimir Tarasenko. Boston replied in the third period with a Patrice Bergeron goal, his twenty-third of the year, courtesy of Brad Marchand and Dmitry Orlov. The Bruins extended the lead as David Pastrnak scored his forty-fourth of the season, thanks to Charlie McAvoy and David Krejci. The Rangers got one back with a Lafreniere goal, his second of the game and thirteenth of the year, with helpers from Niko Mikkola and Kaapo Kakko. This made it 4-2, the final, with the three stars given to Coyle, Lafreniere, and Bergeron.
Down in Dallas, the Stars host the Colorado Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev and Jake Oettinger guard the cages. Dallas started in the first period with a Jason Robertson goal, his thirty-sixth of the season, via Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski. The Stars added on with a Miro Heiskanen goal, his ninth of the year, courtesy of Jamie Benn. Colorado got on the board with a Samuel Girard goal, his fifth of the season, passed from Alex Newhook. Dallas replied with a Pavelski goal, his fifteenth of the year, helped along by Robertson and Hintz. The Stars extended the lead in the second period as Mason Marchment scored his tenth of the season, thanks to Ryan Suter and Tyler Seguin. Dallas padded the lead on a Radek Faksa goal, his eighth of the year, coming off of Esa Lindell. Keith Kinkaid replaced Georgiev in goal. The Stars kept going in the third period with a Wyatt Johnston goal, his fifteenth of the season, going in unassisted. The Avalanche got one back with an Andrew Cogliano goal, his tenth of the year, helped along by Girard and Logan O'Connor. Colorado got closer with a power play goal by Evan Rodrigues, his twelfth of the season, powered by Newhook and Girard. Dallas iced it at 7-3 with a Robertson empty net goal, his thirty-seventh of the year, going in unassisted. The three stars were Robertson, Girard, and Pavelski, while Hintz and Newhook get the honorable mentions.
Back east, the Florida Panthers welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins. Casey DeSmith and Sergei Bobrovsky are in the blue paint. Florida struck first in the first period with a Sam Bennett goal, his fifteenth of the season, coming off of Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk. The Panthers added on with an Aaron Ekblad power play goal in the second period, his tenth of the year, powered by Aleksander Barkov and Brandon Montour. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Kris Letang power play goal, his eighth of the season, with assists provided by Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin. Florida replied with an Eetu Luostarinen goal, his fifteenth of the year, coming off of Barkov. The Panthers extended the lead in the third period as Carter Verhaeghe scored his thirty-second of the season, with the help of Tkachuk and Montour. The final was 4-1, and the three stars were Verhaeghe, Barkov, and Tkachuk, while Montour gets an honorable mention.
Out west, the San Jose Sharks bring in the Washington Capitals. Darcy Kuemper and Kaapo Kahkonen are the masked men. San Jose opened in the first period with a Tomas Hertl power play goal, his sixteenth of the season, powered by Erik Karlsson and William Eklund. The Sharks added on with an Alexander Barabanov goal, his thirteenth of the year, via Logan Couture and Andreas Johnsson. Washington got on the board in the second period with a Craig Smith goal, his fifth of the season, assisted by Dylan Strome and Sonny Milano. The Capitals tied it on a Nicolas Aube-Kubel goal, his third of the year, guided in by Conor Sheary and Nic Dowd. Washington gained the lead on a Matt Irwin goal, coming off of Gabriel Carlsson and Aube-Kubel. The Capitals extended the lead as Smith scored his second of the game and sixth of the season, thanks to Rasmus Sandin and Strome. Washington padded the lead in the third period with a power play goal by T.J. Oshie, his sixteenth of the year, with assists provided by Alex Ovechkin and Sandin. San Jose pulled one back with a Nico Sturm goal, his thirteenth of the season, helped along by Noah Gregor and Karlsson. The Capitals replied with an Ovechkin goal, his thirty-fourth of the year, made possible by Tom Wilson and Carlsson. Washington continued with another Ovechkin goal, his second of the game and thirty-fifth of the season, with helpers from Vincent Iorio and Sandin. The Capitals piled on with a Strome goal, his fourteenth of the year, courtesy of Milano. The final held at 8-3, with the three stars going to Ovechkin, Sandin, and Smith, while Strome, Aube-Kubel, Milano, Carlsson, and Karlsson get the honorable mentions.
Heading east again, the Ottawa Senators host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins and Cam Talbot draw the starts in goal. Ottawa drew first blood in the first period with a Travis Hamonic goal, his fourth of the season, via Mathieu Joseph and Jake Sanderson. Columbus tied it on a Jack Roslovic goal, his seventh of the year, going in unassisted. The Senators took the lead back with a Tim Stutzle goal, his thirtieth of the season, passed from Brady Tkachuk and Jakob Chychrun. Ottawa added on in the second period with another Hamonic goal, his second of the game and fifth of the year, coming off of Alex DeBrincat and Sanderson. The Senators extended the lead as Chychrun scored his eighth of the season, thanks to Erik Brannstrom and Julien Gauthier. Michael Hutchinson relieved Merzlikins in goal. The Blue Jackets got one back with a Patrik Laine power play goal, his nineteenth of the year, powered by Kirill Marchenko. Ottawa answered in the third period with a shorthanded Stutzle goal, his second of the game and thirty-first of the season, set up by Joseph. The final held at 5-2, with the three stars given to Stutzle, Hamonic, and Chychrun, while Joseph and Sanderson get the honorable mentions.
Westward again to Vancouver, as the Canucks welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs. Matt Murray and Thatcher Demko patrol the creases. Vancouver dented the scoreboard in the second period with an Andrei Kuzmenko power play goal, his twenty-ninth of the season, powered by Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser. Toronto tied it in the third period with a John Tavares power play goal, his twenty-eighth of the year, with assists provided by William Nylander and Morgan Rielly. The Canucks took the lead with an Elias Pettersson shorthanded goal, his twenty-ninth of the season, set up by J.T. Miller and Tyler Myers. Vancouver added on with a Miller shorthanded goal, his twenty-first of the year, coming off of Pettersson and Hughes. The Canucks extended the lead as Nils Aman scored his third of the season, thanks to Boeser and Phillip Di Giuseppe. This stood for a 4-1 final, with the three stars given to Pettersson, Miller, and Boeser, while Hughes gets an honorable mention.
In Winnipeg, the Jets bring in the Edmonton Oilers. Jack Campbell and Connor Hellebuyck occupy the creases. Edmonton kicked off the scoring in the first period with a Leon Draisaitl power play goal, his thirty-ninth of the season, powered by Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard. Winnipeg tied it on a Mark Scheifele goal, his thirty-sixth of the year, coming off of Dylan DeMelo and Nino Niederreiter. The Jets took the lead with a Josh Morrissey goal, his fourteenth of the season, assisted by Neal Pionk. The Oilers tied it in the second period with a Mattias Janmark shorthanded goal, his sixth of the year, set up by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Edmonton pulled ahead with a Draisaitl goal, his second of the game and fortieth of the season, going in unassisted. Winnipeg retied it on an Adam Lowry goal, his eighth of the year, fueled by Morgan Barron and Brenden Dillon. The Jets gained the lead on a Kyle Capobianco goal, his second of the season, passed from Blake Wheeler. The Oilers retied it as Draisaitl completed his hat trick on his forty-first of the year, with the help of Connor McDavid and Bouchard on the power play. Winnipeg retook the lead with a Barron goal, his sixth of the season, made possible by Morrissey. The Jets added on with a Morrissey power play goal, his second of the game and fifteenth of the year, with assists provided by Kyle Connor and Scheifele. Edmonton replied in the third period with a Nick Bjugstad goal, his fourteenth of the season, guided in by Devin Shore and Bouchard. Winnipeg iced it at 7-5 with a DeMelo empty net goal, his third of the year, set up by Vladislav Namestnikov. The three stars went to Morrissey, Draisaitl, and Scheifele, while Barron, DeMelo, and Bouchard get the honorable mentions.
Down in Chicago, the Blackhawks host the Nashville Predators. Juuse Saros and Petr Mrazek are the veterans in goal. Chicago was first to score in the first period with a Seth Jones goal, his eighth of the season, coming off of Andreas Athanasiou and Lukas Reichel. Nashville tied it on a Philip Tomasino power play goal, his second of the year, powered by Yakov Trenin and Kiefer Sherwood. The Predators took the lead in the second period with a Tyson Barrie goal, his eleventh of the season, guided in by Thomas Novak and Ryan McDonagh. Nashville iced it at 3-1 with a Colton Sissons empty net goal, his tenth of the year, set up by Trenin and Cole Smith. The three stars were Saros (27 for 28 in saves), Trenin, and Barrie.
Next up, the Calgary Flames welcome the Minnesota Wild. Filip Gustavsson and Jacob Markstrom protect the nets. Minnesota got the first goal on a Joel Eriksson Ek goal, his twenty-second of the season, courtesy of Marcus Johansson and Matt Boldy. The Wild added on in the third period with a Marcus Foligno goal, his fifth of the year, passed from Frederick Gaudreau and Sam Steel. Minnesota extended the lead as Boldy scored his seventeenth of the season, thanks to Eriksson Ek. The final held at 3-0, with the three stars awarded to Gustavsson (31 save shutout), Eriksson Ek, and Boldy.
Finally, the Los Angeles Kings bring in the St. Louis Blues. Jordan Binnington and Joonas Korpisalo are between the pipes. Los Angeles initiated the scoring on a Carl Grundstrom goal, his seventh of the season, via Matt Roy and Rasmus Kupari. St. Louis tied it on a Robert Thomas goal, his fifteenth of the year, guided in by Pavel Buchnevich and Justin Faulk. The Kings took the lead with an Adrian Kempe goal in the second period, his twenty-ninth of the season, assisted by Quinton Byfield. The Blues tied it in the third period with a Kasperi Kapanen shorthanded goal, his ninth of the year, set up by Brandon Saad. Los Angeles took the lead with a Gabriel Vilardi power play goal, his twenty-first of the season, powered by Kevin Fiala and Drew Doughty. The Kings iced it at 4-2 with a Fiala empty net goal, his twenty-second of the year, with helpers from Viktor Arvidsson and Doughty. The three stars were Fiala, Doughty, and Vilardi.
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