Gameday 14 (Fri, 01 Feb) - Results

Philadelphia v Washington 2-3 - After losing two previous games by blowing third-period leads, the Washington Capitals put together a solid final 20 minutes Friday night to get a much-needed win. Troy Brouwer and Wojtek Wolski scored third-period goals as the Capitals defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 at Verizon Center in a battle of two struggling teams. Washington led 2-1 after two periods at the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday and Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, only to see both games end up as 3-2 losses. Brouwer put the Capitals ahead to stay at 3:57 of the final period when he set up in the lower left circle, took Mike Green's diagonal pass from the right point and snapped a shot high to the short side that went over Ilya Bryzgalov's right shoulder. It was Brouwer's third of the season and his first in eight career games against the Flyers. Wolski gave Washington a two-goal lead at 6:44 when he picked the pocket of defenseman Luke Schenn in the neutral zone after a Philadelphia faceoff win, raced in alone and dribbled a backhander past Bryzgalov for his second of the season. Wolski's goal proved to be the game-winner when Philadelphia's Braydon Schenn banged a loose puck past Braden Holtby at 10:30 after Matt Read's shot from the left circle hit the crossbar. Holtby finished with 29 saves. Bryzgalov stopped 23 shots. The victory was the second of the season for the Capitals (2-5-1). The Flyers lost their third in a row and fell to 2-6-0. They have scored 16 goals in their first eight games. Alex Ovechkin had seven shots on goal but didn't score, Bryzgalov made a nice save on him early in the third period and a diving play by a Flyers defender cost him a chance at an empty-net goal in the final minute. Though Ovi didn't hit the scoresheet, coach Adam Oates was very pleased. It took more than 31 minutes for either team to get on the scoreboard. The Flyers grabbed a 1-0 lead at 11:32 of the second period when defenseman Bruno Gervais sneaked down from the right point and found a loose puck just outside the crease after Danny Briere's wraparound try slithered off his stick and across the goalmouth. Gervais popped it into the open left side for his first goal with the Flyers. Philadelphia continued to carry the play, the Flyers outshot the Capitals 14-6 in the middle period, but Washington got even at 17:42, when a defensive breakdown allowed Backstrom to go in on a breakaway. Backstrom made a deke on Bryzgalov before lifting a backhander under the crossbar for his first of the season. Before Brouwer's goal, Washington missed a golden chance to take the lead when it was unable to capitalize on a 5-on-3 advantage for the first 1:13 of the third period. The Flyers played much of the game without two forwards, Zach Rinaldo was ejected along with the Capitals' Matt Hendricks when both received game misconducts along with fighting majors at 18:14 of the first period. That fight came seconds after a high hit by Washington defenseman John Erskine leveled Philadelphia forward Wayne Simmonds, who did not return. Flyers forward Mike Knuble, who spent the past three seasons with Washington, said the short bench had no real effect.

Ottawa v Carolina 0-1 - Hurricanes goaltender Dan Ellis sat back in his locker stall, as relaxed as he had looked moments before when he finished off a tense 1-0 shutout of the Ottawa Senators Friday night. The 33-save performance was reason enough to feel contentment. But the 32-year-old goaltender felt something more in the afterglow of this win. Like so many goaltenders, Ellis faced a bumpy road to the NHL. But last summer, after six seasons in the NHL, he found himself without a contract and nursing a serious groin tear. Without a job, he accepted a minor-league contract with Carolina's American Hockey League affiliate in Charlotte, N.C. With no guarantee of an NHL job, he caught the eye of Hurricanes management with solid play in 18 games with the Checkers. When the NHL season started in January, he earned a one-way NHL deal. Ellis has been nearly flawless with the Hurricanes. He provided two scoreless periods in relief of Cam Ward in the season opener, then earned a 3-1 victory at Buffalo on Jan. 25. In his first home start Friday night, he recorded his 13th career shutout. He needed every last save, as Eric Staal scored the game's only goal late in the first period, redirecting Alexander Semin's wrister from the high slot. The Hurricanes benefitted from three consecutive days of practice leading up to the game, leaning on the defense to play well in front of the net. Ottawa had a chance to turn the momentum in the game when Carolina defenseman Jamie McBain was whistled for a four-minute high-sticking penalty against Chris Neil. But the Senators struggled to set up in the offensive zone, managing just one shot during the first 3:30 of power-play time. Milan Michalek and Kyle Turris tested Ellis late in the man-advantage, but Ellis was sharp. He faced several quality chances throughout the evening, but his defense gave him a good look at nearly every Ottawa shot. The Senators absorbed just their second loss, falling to 5-2-1. Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson continued his torrid pace, keeping his goals-against average at. 0.99. The NHL's First Star for January, Anderson is 5-1-1 and has not allowed a goal after the first period in any of his seven appearances. Staal provided all the offense the Hurricanes would need, putting the finishing touch on a nice bit of skating by Semin. Staal has five goals in his last four games. The Hurricanes would have liked an insurance goal, particularly against the red-hot Anderson. Instead, they played more than 44 minutes protecting a 1-0 lead. But the night belonged to Ellis. After three appearances, his goals-against average is 0.75 and his save percentage is an eye-popping .977. All of that from a guy who paid four years of minor-league dues. The "long route" he spoke of included humble beginnings, including a championship season in the ECHL with the Idaho Steelheads in 2003-04. After all the injuries, uncertainty and the humble road to the NHL, Ellis is sure of one thing.

Winnipeg v Tampa Bay 3-8 - The Tampa Bay Lightning warmed up for a much-anticipated visit from the New York Rangers by beating up on the Winnipeg Jets. The NHL's highest-scoring offense was in top form Friday night as the Lightning rolled over the road-weary Jets 8-3 in front of a packed house at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Many of the 19,204 fans figure to be back Saturday night when the Rangers come to town. The Lightning entered the night averaging a League-high 4.83 goals per game, and raised that figure with the highest output by any team in the first two weeks of the new season. They led 3-0 after one period and 6-0 after two, allowing coach Guy Boucher to focus on Saturday's game during the third period. Cory Conacher scored twice and tacked on two assists to take the rookie scoring lead with 12 points, and Steven Stamkos had a goal and two assists to extend his scoring streak to seven games as the Lightning improved to 6-1-0, including 5-0-0 at home. Tampa Bay's 37 goals are the most in the NHL, six more than runner-up St. Louis has scored in eight games. The Lightning scored three more power-play goals, all in the first period, on five attempts. They're now 12-for-35 (34.3 percent) for the season and 11-for-26 (42.3 percent) at home. Conacher opened the scoring at 7:57, and the Lightning then scored a pair of 5-on-3 goals following a major penalty to Chris Thorburn at 12:11 for checking Sami Salo from behind. Ron Hainsey and Mark Stuart took minor penalties during the five-minute major, giving Tampa Bay 2:15 of 5-on-3 power-play time, and both Stamkos and Lecavalier beat Ondrej Pavelec to give the Lightning a 3-0 lead after one period. Conacher scored 26 seconds into the second period, tipping in Eric Brewer's shot, and Nate Thompson ended Pavelec's night when he scored his first of the season at 4:43. But his replacement, Al Montoya, fared no better and had a rude reception as Teddy Purcell scored from the slot a minute after the goaltending change to make it 6-0. Winnipeg got third-period goals from Tobias Enstrom, Paul Postma and Andrew Ladd. For Postma, it was his first in the NHL. The late goals made the game appear more competitive than it was. Tampa Bay got third-period goals from Ryan Malone and Benoit Pouliot. Anders Lindback made 26 saves for his fourth consecutive win. The Jets, who left Winnipeg this week with a three-game winning streak, lost for the third time in four nights. They allowed five goals in the third period of a 6-3 loss at Florida on Thursday and surrendered three in each of the first two periods against the Lightning. Winnipeg will have three days to figure it out before Florida comes to the MTS Centre on Tuesday night.

St Louis v Detroit 3-5 - Henrik Zetterberg made sure the Detroit Red Wings didn't let this game with the St. Louis Blues get away from them. The Red Wings avenged an embarrassing opening-night loss by defeating the red-hot Blues 5-3 on Friday night, and Zetterberg, Detroit's new captain, had a hat trick and two assists. Detroit lost 6-0 at St. Louis on Jan. 19 and was in danger of blowing a 2-0 lead before rallying with the see-saw game's final three goals. The Red Wings had 30 shots on goal after managing only 14 in the opener. With the Blues killing off a match penalty to David Backes for a blow to the head of Kent Huskins, Pavel Datsyuk gave the Red Wings a 4-3 lead when his shot from the right-wing side made it through a screen set by Johan Franzen at 11:55 of the third. Jonathan Ericsson's first goal of the season tied it 3-3 at 4:31 of the third. He converted a feed from Zetterberg, his second assist to go along with the game's first two goals. Zetterberg completed the hat trick with an empty-net shorthanded goal scored from his stomach while fighting off two Blues for the puck in the crease. He did not practice Thursday because he was not feeling well. Zetterberg has 12 points during a six-game points streak; Datsyuk has nine over the same period as the Wings learn to adapt without retired former captain Nicklas Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom. The tying and winning goals came against Brian Elliott, who came on in relief of injured Blues starter Jaroslav Halak. Halak was hit in the mask late in the first period, an impact that cut his upper lip. After playing for another four minutes, Halak left the game with 3:37 to go in the period. Jimmy Howard made 23 saves for the Red Wings. St. Louis (6-2-0) had its four-game winning streak snapped. Detroit (4-2-1) won consecutive games for the first time this season. Patrick Berglund gave the Blues a 3-2 lead 4:30 into the second period with a power-play goal on a bouncing puck that he knocked home from about a foot off the ice. Detroit took a 2-0 lead in the first 8:07 on a pair of goals by Zetterberg, the first during a 5-on-3 power play on a feed from Damien Brunner, the second less than two minutes later on a breakaway created by a long outlet pass from Ericsson. But St. Louis tied it 2-2 before the end of the period. Kevin Shattenkirk's power-play goal bounced in off the post at 9:50, and Matt D'Agostini's first of the season on a partial breakaway came at 13:04. The Blues were playing on back-to-back nights after three days off before a 4-1 win at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

Phoenix v Dallas 3-4 - With a three-game road trip coming up, the Dallas Stars desperately needed two points from Friday night's game against Phoenix. Thanks to Jaromir Jagr, they got them Jagr delivered the game-deciding goal in the fourth round of the shootout as the Stars snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 before 18,181 at American Airlines Center. Jagr, who was just 5-for-23 in the tiebreaker before Friday, ripped a wrist shot that hit the bottom of goaltender Mike Smith's glove, rolled over his pad and trickled over the goal line to give the Stars the win. The Stars (3-4-1) begin a three-game trip in Phoenix on Saturday and couldn't afford a home loss. Smith, returning after missing four games with a lower-body injury, stopped 21 of 24 shots. Dallas goaltender Kari Lehtonen made 31 saves. Martin Hanzal had two goals for the Coyotes (2-4-2, 6 points), while Oliver Ekman-Larsson had two assists. Hanzal has been bothered with injuries, but he was the Coyotes' biggest offensive force. The three goals in regulation were a bonanza for the Stars, who had scored just nine times in their last six games. The Stars led 2-0 in the first period thanks to the first NHL goals by Antoine Roussel, who was making his NHL debut, and rookie defenseman Brenden Dillon. Roussel, the eighth player in NHL history to be born in France, was the first Star to score in his league debut since Raymond Sawada did so against Edmonton on Feb. 9, 2009. Phoenix got one back at 14:00 when Radim Vrbata knocked a 12-foot tip-in off the stick of Dallas center Jamie Benn to make it 2-1. It was Vrbata's third of the season and came after he redirected a shot by Ekman-Larsson from the point The Coyotes drew the first power play of the night when Dallas defenseman Jordie Benn was whistled for holding David Moss 1:16 before the first intermission. Phoenix tied the game one second after the power play ended when Hanzal beat Lehtonen with a short backhander 45 seconds into the second period. Lehtonen had denied Ekman-Larsson's initial effort, but Hanzal was waiting to pounce at the far post. At 13:53, things got heated between these Pacific Division rivals. After Dillon delivered a blow to Ekman-Larsson's face near the Stars blue line, he and Phoenix's Kyle Chipchura dropped the gloves behind the Dallas goal, earning 24 total penalty minutes for their confrontation. Just 21 seconds after that scrum, Michael Ryder put Dallas back in front by beating Smith on the short side with a wrister from the top of the left circle. It was the 400th point of Ryder's career. Hanzal tied it again with 1:34 remaining before the intermission, beating Lehtonen to the far side with a long wrist shot. After a scoreless overtime and shootout, Vrbata gave the Coyotes the lead in the shootout by scoring to start the second round. Jamie Benn tied it in the third round before Jagr won it. Stars rookie defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, the 14th player taken in the 2011 NHL Draft, saw 17:31 of ice time in his NHL debut. The teams meet again Saturday in Glendale as Phoenix starts a three-game homestand.

Chicago v Vancouver 1-2 - Jordan Schroeder still doesn't have an NHL goal, but the Vancouver Canucks' rookie does have a game-decider. Schroeder scored the only goal of the shootout in the fourth round, slipping the puck between Corey Crawford's legs to lift the Canucks to a 2-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night. Schroeder, a first-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, was playing just his sixth NHL game, and has already earned enough of that trust to get a chance in the shootout after the Canucks lost two of their first three. Vancouver had only converted two of 13 chances before his five-hole shot trickled towards the line, finally knocked over off the goalie's stick as he spun around and reached back for it. Nothing got through at the other end as Roberto Luongo continued a hot streak that has seen him reclaim his starting job from Cory Schneider. Starting a third straight game and coming off a shutout of Colorado on Wednesday, Luongo made 27 saves through the end of overtime before stopping Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Nick Leddy for his first shootout win in three chances. It's hard to imagine Luongo, whose save percentage is up to .944 after losing his job to Schneider early in last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, won't get another chance to play again Monday in Edmonton. The Blackhawks have been doing the same early this season, winning their first six games before dropping the last two in shootouts. The Hawks may have lost more than the extra point, second-line center David Bolland left the game early in the third period. He appeared to get hit by the stick of a spinning Jannik Hansen, breaking his stick in frustration as he tried to get to the bench and needing help to get to the locker room, hunched over and hobbling the whole way. Quenneville also had no complaints about his slumping power play, though it went 0-for-5 and failed to register a shot on a 4-on-3 opportunity for the final 1:11 of overtime. Neither team surrendered much in this battle of bitter rivals. Alexander Edler opened the scoring with 4:18 left in the first period, starting a rush by outskating two Chicago forecheckers to get out of his own end before finishing it two passes later when he got the puck back in the high slot and fired it over Crawford's shoulder. Vancouver was fortunate to escape the period with the lead. Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith, booed every time he touched the puck because of the high hit that concussed Daniel Sedin late last season, fired a shot off both posts with 3:40 left in the period. Brandon Saad beat Edler wide, drawing a penalty as he cut to the net and slipped the puck between Luongo's legs, but the whistle went before Hamhuis fished it off the goal line with 1:35 left. Luongo had to turn away Saad alone in tight after walking past Edler again early in the second, getting a piece of his shot with the glove. He flashed the leather on a good Bryan Bickell chance from the top of the left circle off a rush with 6:31 left in the period. Things are going so well right now for Luongo, who expected to be traded before the season started, that even old rivals are saluting him.

Minnesota v Anaheim 1-3 - If Kyle Palmieri indulges in some birthday cake, he might want to save an extra plate for Teemu Selanne. Palmieri was bumped up to the second line on his 22nd birthday Friday night and the presents were neatly wrapped by the 42-year-old Selanne, who helped set up both of Palmieri's goals as the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Minnesota Wild, 3-1. The game-winner came at 4:21 of the second after Anaheim kept the puck in Minnesota's end. Selanne got it behind the goal line and fed a beautiful pass to a streaking Palmieri, who banged it into the open net for his second career two-goal game. Selanne assisted on all three goals and moved into a tie with Doug Gilmour for 17th on the all-time points list with 1,414. Ryan added a late power-play goal and had two assists while centering Palmieri and Selanne. It was the latest wrinkle by Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau, who has played Palmieri on every line but the third in seven games. Moving Ryan to center on that line was in part to get him going. In its previous two games, Minnesota received much-needed production from its second and third lines, but against Anaheim it got almost nothing from the top line of Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley, which put no shots on goal through 55 minutes. Matt Cullen played four shifts in the third period but Wild coach Mike Yeo did not have an update on his status. The Wild got five shots on a late power play, but rookie goalie Viktor Fasth backstopped a blue-collar penalty kill by the Ducks. Fasth shook off a shaky beginning in his second NHL start and improved to 2-0-0. He is the first goalie in Anaheim history to win his first two NHL starts. Niklas Backstrom did his part with 28 saves, but the Wild, which dealt Chicago its first loss in seven games Wednesday, couldn't get its first road win of the season (0-2-1). Boudreau made a key tactical move by putting Francois Beauchemin and Sheldon Souray out frequently against the top line. The two worked well against San Jose on Tuesday, and it might the closest thing Anaheim has to a shutdown pairing. The Ducks tied it 1-1 at 6:49 of the second on a rush started by Selanne's breakup of a pass to Parise at center ice. Selanne got it to Ryan, who drew a defender to him and dished to an open Palmieri for a one-timer into a wide-open net. Anaheim had Minnesota on its heels for most of the first period, but the Wild came out with a 1-0 lead on a soft goal allowed by Fasth. Marco Scandella wristed a shot from the left circle that squeezed through five-hole on the unscreened Fasth. It was Scandella's fourth career goal. Anaheim's Corey Perry briefly left the game midway through the second after he was felled by Clayton Stoner's shoulder. Linemate Ryan Getzlaf later crunched Stoner against the half-wall. Sami Vatanen became the fourth player to make his NHL debut this season for the Ducks. The defenseman, 21, was paired with Luca Sbisa and played on the first power-play unit. Toni Lydman was scratched because of "wear and tear" and the back-to-back situation, according to a team spokesman. He is expected to return Saturday.