2024-04-13 10:59:46
In the NHL, Tomáš Hertl contributed a goal to the Vegas hockey players’ 7:2 win over Minnesota and scored for the first time in his third start in his new place of work. The Czech center, whose defending Stanley Cup champion was acquired from San Jose, was voted the third star of the game for his performance. Karel Vejmelka made 38 saves in Arizona’s 3-2 overtime victory over Edmonton and was named the second star of the game.
Vegas players led 3:0 in the ninth minute and 4:1 after two periods. Hertl’s moment came at 42:27 when he added the team’s fifth goal from the stop.
The Czech striker scored the sixteenth goal of the season, but he was happy about the goal after almost three months, as he underwent knee surgery in February.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Hertl said of the goal.
“Everybody was happy, even the fans. It was great. Personally, I’m more happy with the win and that we made the playoffs today. But it’s definitely great to score my first goal here because it’s a lot of fun to play in this hall,” he added.
The Western Conference thus already knows the eight advancing to the playoffs a week before the end of the regular season. The last place was taken by Vegas thanks to the loss of St. Louis 2-5 with Carolina.
Seven different scorers were responsible for the victory of the defending champions of the Stanley Cup, and the best player of the evening was Chandler Stephenson, who assisted on four goals.
“We still want to improve and win the next matches to enter the playoffs in form and with a good feeling about our game,” Hertl said.
Vejmelka was surpassed only by teammate Matias Maccelli, who decided overtime and assisted on the first goal. Arizona led twice in regulation, with Josh Doan and Logan Cooley scoring on shortstops.
Edmonton played without their leader Connor McDavid for the second time in a row. The Czech goalkeeper was beaten by Adam Henrique from the penalty spot and Darnell Nurse with a shot from the blue line.
“We played well. The opposition had pressure, but we withstood it and our goalie made some really good saves,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said after the win.
His men played their first game since news of the club’s possible move to Salt Lake City, Utah. “We fought. The players stayed incredibly focused and followed the system. They impressed me,” added the coach.
Anaheim was losing to Calgary 0-4 after two periods, but dramatized the match and reduced the difference to a single goal in the 48th minute. The first goal was assisted by Radko Gudas, whose shot from the blue reached the net by Sam Colangelo and thus scored in his NHL debut.
But Andrej Kuzmenko had the last word, who adjusted the final score to 6:3 with two hits and at the same time completed a hat trick.
Jakob Silfverberg, who played his last home game for Anaheim and is ending his career in the NHL after twelve years, was symbolically rewarded for his services with the title of the first star of the match.
The 33-year-old attacker revealed after the game that he will return to his native Sweden, where he plans to continue his hockey career.
Filip Forsberg also scored three goals in Friday’s NHL program and helped Nashville win 5:1 in Chicago. The Predators forward improved to 46 goals on the season, surpassing the club record held by Matt Duchene.
NHL:
St. Louis – Carolina 2:5 (1:1, 1:1, 0:3)
Goals: 18. Bolduc, 26. Kyrou – 58. and 60. Guentzel, 19. Martinook, 29. Jarvis, 48. Slavin. Shots on goal: 31:42. Spectators: 18,096. Stars of the match: 1. Slavin (Carolina), 2. Kyrou (St. Louis), 3. Aho (Carolina).
Chicago – Nashville 1:5 (0:2, 1:2, 0:1)
Goals: 37. Kurashev – 6., 26., 42. F. Forsberg, 20. Sherwood, 30. Zucker. Shots on goal: 26:40. Spectators: 19,449. Stars of the game: 1. F. Forsberg, 2. Evangelista, 3. Lankinen (all Nashville).
Edmonton – Arizona 2:3 in overtime. (0:1, 1:1, 1:0 – 0:1)
Goals: 22. Henrique, 42. Nurse – 6. Doan, 26. Cooley, 62. Maccelli. Shots on goal: 40:28. Karel Vejmelka he intercepted the entire match for Arizona, conceding two goals from 40 shots and had a 95 percent shooting success rate. Spectators: 18,347. Stars of the match: 1. Maccelli, 2. Vejmelka (both Arizona), 3. E. Kane (Edmonton).
Anaheim – Calgary 3:6 (0:2, 0:2, 3:2)
Goals: 43. Colangelo (Gud), 47. Vatrano, 48. Zellweger – 26., 55. and 58. Kuzmenko, 6. Mangiapane, 12. Kadri, 39. Zary. Shots on goal: 22:27. Spectators: 17,174. Stars of the match: 1. Silfverberg (Anaheim), 2. Kadri, 3. Kuzmenko (both Calgary).
Vegas – Minnesota 7:2 (3:0, 1:1, 3:1)
Goals: 3. Roy, 7. Dorofeev, 9. Eichel, 34. Marchessault, 43. Hertl, 51. W. Karlsson, 54. Kolesar – 28. Chusnutdinov, 48. Hartman. Shots on goal: 30:27. Spectators: 18,415. Stars of the match: 1. Stephenson, 2. Hanifin, 3. Hertl (all Vegas).