By Zachary McMahon-
There was a lot of action in the NHL on New Year’s Eve 2024, as several east coast teams had their final matches of the calendar year 2024.
Only one of the east coast teams won on Dec. 31, and it was a Philadelphia Flyers win against the San Jose Sharks, and that will be the stud of the day.
Two duds of the night will be the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders. More information will come in the article.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. San Jose Sharks
Travis Konecny scored his team-leading 17th goal in the second period with a powerplay goal after Mikael Granlund tripped Sean Couturier.
Nick Seeler, Ryan Poehling, and Egor Zamula also scored for the Flyers.
Samuel Ersson made 15 saves before getting injured at the start of the third period and was replaced by backup Aleksei Kolosov, who combined for the shutout. The Flyers defense also blocked 22 shots from the Sharks, the Flyers are the NHL’s leader in shot blocks as the Flyers won 4-0 over the Sharks.
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Canes defenseman Ty Smith scored his first goal as a Cane on a powerplay in the first period, as the Blue Jackets lead 2-1 at the end of the first period.
The Canes reversed the course in the second period with Jack Roslovic and Jersperi Kotkaniemi both scored to take the 3-2 lead.
Dmitri Voronkov scored the tying goal in the third period on a powerplay with Sean Monahan’s third assist, as he’s had multiple points in four out of the last six games (four goals, seven assists).
Adam Fantilli scored in the fourth round of the shootout, and Sebastian Aho got his wrist shot by Elvis Merzikins, as the Hurricanes lost 4-3 over the Blue Jackets. This was the Canes second shootout loss of the season to the Blue Jackets. Outside of the Blue Jackets, the Canes are 2-0 in overtime games this season.
New York Islanders vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored his ninth goal of the season, as it would be the only goal for the Isles, as they lost 3-1 to the Maple Leafs.
David Kampf, Steven Lorentz, and former Islander John Tavares all scored for the Maple Leafs.
The power play has been a problem for the Isles, as they have a season percentage of 11.5%, which is the worst in the league, and they were 0 for 1 on a power play caused by Tavares holding Adam Pelech on the boards in the second period.
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