NHL News and Notes from Thursday, January 14th, 2021
News
- St. Louis Blues forward Sammy Blais has been suspended for two games for an Illegal Check to the Head on defenseman Devon Toews of the Colorado Avalanche on January 13th.
- Blais was assessed a minor for elbowing at 4:33 of the first period.
- Under the terms of the CBA, and based on his AAV, Blais will forfeit $25,862.06.
Game Recaps
- Washington Capitals v. Buffalo Sabres – 7p ET
- The Washington Capitals kick off their 2020-21 season with a back to back in Buffalo as they take on the offensively revamped Sabres. In the first period The Caps would strike first as Nicklas Backstrom would open the scoring, but Taylor Hall would score his first as a Sabre to tie the game back at one. However, while on the powerplay TJ Oshie would strike to give the Capitals the 2-1 lead. In the second period The Caps defense would come alive as both John Carlson and Brenden Dillon would score their firsts of the season. Tobias Rieder would net his first as a Sabre to cut the Caps lead to two. Then in the third period Jake McCabe would strike 20 seconds into the period to bring the Sabres back within one, but 26 seconds later Jakub Vrana would rip off Marc Staal and undress Carter Hutton to give the Caps their two goal lead back. Then late in regulation the Sabres would try to tie it up as they would pull goalie for the extra attacker, and while Victor Olofsson would strike to bring the Sabres within one, Garnet Hathaway would hit the empty netter to give the Capitals the 6-4 victory.
- Boston Bruins v. New Jersey Devils – 7p ET
- In New Jersey the Boston Bruins look to get the jump on the Devils, and late in the first period on the powerplay the B’s would strike as Brad Marchand would net his first of the season to take the 1-0 lead. After a scoreless second period Miles Wood would end the shutout bid by Boston as he would score his first of the season to tie the game at one. Boston would strike back with a Nick Ritchie tally on the powerplay top retake the lead, but 34 seconds later Ty Smith would score his first career NHL goal to tie the game at two. After going scoreless in the extra frame, the Devils and Bruins would require a shootout to settle this one, and it would be Marchand for the B’s as he would score the lone goal of the shootout to give Boston the 3-2 victory.
- New York Islanders v. New York Rangers – 7p ET
- At the legendary Madison Square Garden, it would be the Battle of New York as the Rangers would play host to the Islanders. In the first period the Islanders would get the puck moving in their directions as Brock Nelson (PPG), Anders Lee, and Mathew Barzal would score to give the Isles the commanding 3-0 lead. Then in the second period Jordan Eberle would strike on the powerplay to grow the Isles lead to four, and then in the third period would play lights out hockey to give the Islanders the 4-0 victory.
- Dallas Stars v. Florida Panthers – 7p ET
- Postponed
- Carolina Hurricanes v. Detroit Red Wings – 730p ET
- Out in the Central Division we would see the Carolina Hurricanes travel to Detroit to take on the Red Wings. In the first period Nino Niederreiter would net his first of the season to give the Canes the 1-0 lead. Ryan Dzingel and Andrei Svechnikov would each tally a goal in the third period and Petr Mrazek would record 14 saves to give the Hurricanes the 3-0 shutout win.
- Columbus Blue Jackets v. Nashville Predators – 8p ET
- In another Central Division battle, the Columbus Blue Jackets would get the jump on their hosts in Nashville as Boone Jenner would score his first of the season to give the Jackets the 1-0 lead over the Predators. Then in the second period Luke Kunin would net his first of the season to tie the game at one for the Preds. In the third period, Filip Forsberg and Calle Jarnkrok would each score and the Nashville Predators would take down the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1. Juuse Saros would go on to record 29 saves in this contest.
- Calgary Flames v. Winnipeg Jets – 8p ET
- Up in Canada in the North Division the Calgary Flames would travel to Winnipeg looking to torch the Jets, and in the first period Patrik Laine would score for the Jets, but goals from Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau, and Elias Lindholm would give the Flames the 3-1 lead. Then in the second period Mark Scheifele would strike to bring the Jets back within one, and then later in the period while on the powerplay Kyle Connor would strike to tie the game at three. As the game heads into the extra frame, Patrik Laine would go on to score the game winner and the Jets take the 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames.
- Vancouver Canucks v. Edmonton Oilers – 9p ET
- In the second game of their back to back to start the season, the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers would tangle once again in Edmonton. In the first period Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would strike on the powerplay to give the Oilers the 1-0 lead. then with one second left in the first, Connor McDavid would net his first of the season to give the Oilers the 2-0 lead. As the contest enters the second period, Nate Schmidt would net his first goal as a Canuck at the 3:24 mark to give the Oilers the 2-1 lead. Connor McDavid would net a power play goal at 8:26 to make it a 3-1 contest. Tyler Motte would score at 10:21 to make it a one-goal contest but Connor McDavid would get the hat trick with his goal at 15:08 in the period. In the third period, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would give the Oilers the 5-2 lead and the win with a goal at 11:42. For Vancouver, Thatcher Demko would have a 41 save performance and Edmonton’s Mikko Koskinen would record 38 saves.
- San Jose Sharks v. Arizona Coyotes – 9p ET
- Out in the desert the Arizona Coyotes would play host to the San Jose Sharks, and in the first period it would be the Sharks taking a bite out of the Coyotes as Tomas Hertl would score on the powerplay to give San Jose the 1-0 lead, and then would strike again for his second of the game for the 2-0 lead. In the second period, Conor Garland would get the Coyotes on the board at the 15:46 mark. In the third period, Evander Kane would get on the score sheet at 11:24 to give the Sharks the 3-1 advantage. However, the Coyotes would respond when Clayton Keller would score at 16:30 to make it a 3-2 Sharks lead. With four seconds left in the period, Arizona would make it a 3-3 contest with a goal by Phil Kessel. The Sharks would win the game 4-3 after the shootout. Martin Jones would record 31 saves for San Jose and Darcy Kuemper would record 32 saves.
- Anaheim Ducks v. Vegas Golden Knights – 10p ET
- In the first contest between these two teams on the season, each team looks to start of the season in the win column. In the first period, Jonathan Marchessault would open the scoring early in the period. Tomas Nosek would get the Golden Knights 2-0 lead with a goal at the 2:13 mark. Anaheim would get on the board with a pair of goals by Max Comtois. Vegas new team captain would score early in the third to regain the lead at 3-2. Max Pacioretty would score his first goal on the season at 10:59 to once again give the Golden Knights the two-goal advantage. Alex Tuch would seal the victory for the Vegas Golden Knights at 19:46 with and empty net goal and Vegas takes the 5-2 win. John Gibson would have 24 saves for the Ducks and Robin Lehner would have 20 saves for Vegas.
- Minnesota Wild v. Los Angeles Kings – 10p ET
- In this contest, both the Wild and Kings will look to start the season off on the right foot with a win. In the first period, Minnesota will strike first with a goal by Jonas Brodin at 16:06. With three seconds left in the period, Los Angeles will tie the game with a Jeff Carter goal. In the second period, the Kings will take the 2-1 lead when Andreas Athanasiou will net his first goal as a King. Adrian Kempe would score at 17:05 to give the Kings the 3-1 lead. In the third period, Victor Rask would score at 3:15 to bring the Wild within a goal. Minnesota’s Marcus Foligno would tie the game 3-3 with a goal at 9:42 in the period. As the contest heads into the extra frame, Kirill Kaprizov would net his first NHL goal in overtime and the Wild would down the Kings 4-3. Cam Talbot would record 32 saves for the Wild and Jonathan Quick would have a 23 save performance.
Today’s Games
- WAS v. BUF – 7p ET
- PIT v. PHI – 7p ET
- CHI v. TB – 7p ET
- DAL v. FLA – 7p ET
- TOR v. OTT – 7p ET
- STL v. COL – 9p ET
