Gameday 24 (Mon, 11 Feb) - Results

Philadelphia v Toronto 2-5 - A strong second period was the difference in the game as the Toronto Maple Leafs scored three goals in a span of 4:10 in a 5-2 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Air Canada Centre on Monday night. It was the fourth straight win for Toronto (8-5-0), but it may prove to be a painful one. Goaltender James Reimer had to be helped off the ice early in the second period with a lower-body injury. Reimer sustained the injury during a scramble in his crease. After the puck was cleared from the zone, he stayed down on his knees till the trainer arrived. Colton Orr got things started early in the second, beating Nicklas Grossmann to chip in a Frazer McLaren rebound at 2:05 to give the Maple Leafs a 2-1 lead. The Flyers (5-7-1) were victimized once again just 28 seconds later, when Matt Frattin was able to get behind Braydon Coburn and deflect a Cody Franson shot past a surprised Ilya Bryzgalov. With the visitors reeling, Clarke MacArthur chased Bryzgalov from the Flyers' net when he one-timed a pass from Nazem Kadri to give the Maple Leafs a 4-1 lead at 6:15. It was the second goal of the season for MacArthur and the second point of the night for Kadri. Bryzgalov stopped only three of six shots in the second period and finished the game with 10 saves on 14 shots. He was replaced by Brian Boucher, who was recalled from the American Hockey League on Sunday. Boucher was projected to start Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets, but whether that still is the case is now uncertain. The Flyers play their next five games on the road and currently sport a 1-6-0 record away from Wells Fargo Center. Ben Scrivens replaced Reimer and stopped all but one of the 33 shots he faced. His best save came in the second period, when he robbed Brayden Schenn. Scrivens stopped 20 shots in the second period; Reimer stopped 12 of 13 shots before suffering the injury. Defenseman Korbinian Holzer was ejected from the game in the second period. He was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for boarding Tye McGinn at 13:31. Toronto was able to kill off the penalty and received a rousing ovation from the home crowd. The Flyers got out to the start they wanted when Toronto-area native Wayne Simmonds opened the scoring 38 seconds in to the game. Simmonds was able to poke a loose puck behind Reimer after Kimmo Timonen took the initial shot. The Maple Leafs would tie the game at 14:49 when Dion Phaneuf scored his second goal of the season from the point. Leo Komarov set up the scoring play, skating into the Flyers' zone and then sending a quick pass back to the Maple Leafs' captain Phaneuf now has goals in back-to-back games. Reimer made the save of the period at 16:15 when he stoned a charging Matt Read. From behind the net, Claude Giroux centered the puck to Read, who was able to take several strides toward the Maple Leafs' goal before unleashing a shot. Reimer went across his body and got his left pad on the puck to keep the score tied at 1. It was the first meeting between the Flyers and Maple Leafs since they consummated a trade in June that sent Luke Schenn to the Flyers for James van Riemsdyk. Schenn had an assist, while van Riemsdyk scored his team-leading eighth goal early in the third period to make it 5-1. The goal by van Riemsdyk was by far the prettiest of the game, as he blew by Luke Schenn before slipping the puck past Boucher on the short side. Sean Couturier missed the game with flu-like symptoms. The Flyers gave no further update on his status.

Carolina v NY Islanders 6-4 - Jiri Tlusty lost his hat trick after a scoring change. He was more than happy to take the two points instead. Tlusty had two goals and two assists, all in the third period, as the Carolina Hurricanes survived some shaky penalty-killing to beat the New York Islanders 6-4 on Monday night. Carolina trailed 3-2 after two periods, but needed only 30 seconds to pull even. A dominant first shift ended with Tlusty racing to the front of the net to tip home Alexander Semin's hard pass from the lower right circle for his second goal of the season. After Semin's 200th NHL goal, a pass that deflected off Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic in the slot and floated into the net at 5:33, put Carolina ahead, Tlusty was originally given credit for what proved to be the winning goal, a tip-in of Jay Harrison's shot at 9:09, and his empty-netter would have completed a hat trick. But Tlusty said after the game that he wasn't sure the goal was his, and a review gave it to Eric Staal instead. The win was a bit of revenge for the Hurricanes, who were swept by the Islanders in their four meetings last season. The Islanders came into the game having allowed a League-high 18 third-period goals and had no answer for the Hurricanes' forechecking as they lost their fifth in a row and fell to 1-5-0 at home. The Hurricanes dominated play 5-on-5, but the Islanders shook off an 0-for-22 power-play drought by connecting on their first four advantages. It was a tough night for Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro, who was making only his second appearance of the season and the first since Jan. 25 – as well as his first at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum since Nov. 23, 2011. He had some good moments, but was the subject of some derisive cheers after allowing three goals in the first 9:09 of the third period. Tim Wallace and Jeff Skinner also scored for the Hurricanes, and Cam Ward stopped 24 shots as Carolina improved to 3-1-1 on a six-game road trip that ends Tuesday night in New Jersey. Frans Nielsen scored in the first period, and John Tavares and Matt Moulson had goals in the second. Moulson made it 5-4 with New York's fourth power-play goal at 11:32 of the final period, but the Islanders couldn't convert when Eric Staal was called for tripping with 6:10 to play. The Islanders snapped their four-game power-play drought just 2:48 after the opening faceoff. With Jordan Staal in the box for an offensive-zone slash on Mark Streit, Josh Bailey circled the net and found Nielsen for a quick one-timer from the slot past Ward at 2:48 for his first of the season. Ward kept the deficit at one with a handful of fine stops, including one on a semi-breakaway by Bailey midway through the period, and Carolina's fourth line tied the game at 13:48. Jamie McBain's slapper from the top of the right circle hit the skate of Wallace and deflected past DiPietro. The goal, the first of the season for the former Islander, was confirmed after video review. The Islanders scored two more power-play goals in less than 2 ½ minutes early in the second period. Tavares backhanded a rebound past Ward at 5:23 for his seventh of the season. After Skinner tied it 39 seconds later with his seventh, a blast from the slot off a broken play, Moulson put the Islanders back in front at 7:46 when he one-timed Brad Boyes' perfect pass across the slot into the open right side for his fifth of the season. DiPietro preserved the lead through two periods with three excellent stops. He denied Skinner from just outside the crease near the nine-minute mark, then got in front of Eric Staal's wide-open blast from the left circle less than a minute later. With 4:20 remaining, he gloved Tim Gleason's left-point blast through traffic and held on with Eric Staal in his lap. But the Hurricanes' persistence was enough to overcome a poor night on the penalty kill.

San Jose v Columbus 2-6 - The Columbus Blue Jackets got off to a fast start Monday night and never took the pedal off the metal. Brandon Dubinsky had a goal and an assist and the Blue Jackets had their biggest offensive assault of the season in a 6-2 victory against the San Jose Sharks at Nationwide Arena on Monday night. James Wisniewski and Nikita Nikitin added goals, Cody Goloubef picked up his first National Hockey League goal and Vinny Prospal and Mark Letestu tied a franchise record by scoring eight seconds apart in the third period. Nick Foligno and Matt Calvert each had two assists. Columbus scored 43 seconds into the game, added two goals 1:11 apart in the second period and then scored three goals in the opening 5:45 of the final period. Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski scored for the Sharks, who have lost five in a row after a 7-0 start to the 2012-13 season. The Blue Jackets completed a franchise record-tying six-game homestand with a record of 2-3-1. In one of the wildest periods of the season, the teams scored three goals in 84 seconds, the Blue Jackets expanded a one-goal lead in the second. They stacked up three power plays, including 36 seconds of 5-on-3. After that expired, they made it 2-0 with the man advantage when R.J. Umberger fought off Brad Stuart in the right corner to muck out the puck. Derick Brassard ended up with it, skating along the goal line toward the cage, drawing goalie Thomas Greiss. But Brassard slid a quick pass to Wisniewski for a one-timer at the left hash to make it 2-0. Just over a minute later, it was 3-0. Goloubef, playing in his fifth career NHL game, sat in the right point while Derek MacKenzie carried the puck along the back boards and slid the puck from the left corner across the ice to him. He steadied the puck and then rocketed a slap shot, with Foligno and Derek Dorsett providing traffic in front of the net. The 23-year-old defenseman had four goals in 21 games at AHL Springfield this season. Before that goal could be announced, San Jose's Marleau pulled up at the top of the left circle and hit a hard shot that Wisniewski couldn't block and Steve Mason couldn't stop. It was Marleau's 10th goal of the season, but first point in six games, and came just 13 seconds after Goloubef's goal. Seconds later, the puck leaked through a scrum in front of the net and Mason had to dive to cover it as it slid across the goal line. Not long after that, Foligno carried the puck from end to end past several Sharks for a one-on-one chance that Greiss was able to stop. After the break, the Blue Jackets were at it again. Just 21 seconds into the third Calvert slid a pass from behind the goal cage to the onrushing Nikitin, who put his blade on the ice and almost pushed the puck through Greiss for his first of the year. Dubinsky, who hadn't scored a goal since April 5, 2012, at Pittsburgh while he was a New York Ranger, had a big first 20 minutes. Dubinsky came to Columbus in the blockbuster deal that sent Rick Nash to the Rangers last summer. Dubinsky dug the puck off the back boards for a centering pass to Fedor Tyutin that was deflected wide of the cage. Calvert collected it and tried to get a shot on goal that was tipped back to Dubinsky, who jammed it past Greiss.

Los Angeles v St Louis 4-1 - Suddenly, Scottrade Center is becoming a happy haven for visiting teams. The Los Angeles Kings were the latest beneficiaries. Jeff Carter scored twice, and the Kings won for only the second time in six tries by beating the free-falling St. Louis Blues 4-1 Monday night, the Blues' fourth loss in a row on home ice and fifth in a row (0-4-1). Jonathan Bernier picked up his first win of the season in only his second start by stopping 21 shots, Davis Drewiske and Jarret Stoll added goals and Slava Voynov collected a pair of assists, as the Kings (4-5-2) felt good about their game coming along despite a gut-wrenching 3-2 loss at Detroit 24 hours earlier, a game in which the game-winner was scored with 4.5 seconds remaining. The Blues have lost five in a row for the first time since Jan. 2-12, 2011, when they were also 0-4-1. They’ve also dropped four in a row at home for the first time since Jan. 23-Feb. 6, 2010, when they were 0-2-2. Alex Steen had the lone goal for the Blues, who have been outscored 21-8 on this homestand. The Blues also caught everyone off-guard when Jaroslav Halak, who was listed as the starter for the game, was a late scratch. The team did not immediately announce anything, but reports indicated Halak re-aggravating the groin strain that caused him to miss the last three-plus games in pre-game warm-ups. Halak is 3-0-0 on the season, but it was a struggling Brian Elliott, who stopped 19 shots, that played against the Kings. Carter converted a 2-on-1 play after Blues defenseman Wade Redden got caught in a bad pinch, redirecting Voynov's centering feed past Elliott 8:31 into the game for the lone first-period goal. Carter struck again, this time, taking Keaton Ellerby's pass and beating Ian Cole to the front and tucking a backhand through Elliott's pads 3:23 into the second for a 2-0 Kings lead. Drewiske netted his first of the season, a power play goal from the slot with 4:38 to play in the period to make it 3-0. However, the Blues got one back late when Steen wired a one-timer from the right point past Bernier with 42.5 seconds left in the period, the Blues' League-leading 16th power play goal to make it 3-1. It was the only blemish on Bernier's card. Stoll took a pass from Voynov in the slot and one-timed a shot high over Elliott 3:36 into the third period to restore the Kings' three-goal lead, as the Kings are feeling like they've regained some swagger.

Phoenix v Colorado 3-2 - Thanks to a fortunate break Monday night, the Phoenix Coyotes remained hot, climbed above the .500 mark and pulled into eighth place in the Western Conference. Coyotes captain Shane Doan scored his second goal of the game with 58.9 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Coyotes a come-from-behind 3-2 victory against the slumping Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. Doan wired a shot over the shoulder of goalie Semyon Varlamov off a pass from Kyle Chipchura after Avalanche defenseman Greg Zanon cleared the puck from behind the net into the left corner. The puck hit a referee's skate and bounced right to Chipchura. The Coyotes had to kill off back-to-back penalties that began late in regulation and needed several key saves by goalie Mike Smith to put themselves in position to win. Phoenix has gone 5-1-2 in the past eight games and is 6-5-2 overall. The Avalanche, who failed to capitalize on four power plays and has gone a National Hockey League-worst 3-for-37 with the man advantage this season, had a 4-on-3 power play for the first 1:21 of the overtime. The Avalanche gained a point, but finished 1-2-1 on a four-game homestand and have gone 2-5-1 in the past eight games. Smith, who finished with 41 saves, has posted a 7-1-1 record against the Avalanche in his career. He entered the game with a 1.55 goals-against average against Colorado. The Coyotes tied the game 2-2 on a goal by Oliver Ekman-Larsson at 11:39 of the third period. He beat Varlamov from a sharp angle in the right circle after the Avalanche turned the puck over in the neutral zone. The Avalanche took a 2-1 lead in the second period on goals by Mark Olver and Duchene that came 3:04 apart. Olver converted Milan Hejduk's pass out of the corner at 2:24. The assist gave Hejduk 799 career points. Only Joe Sakic, Peter Stastny and Michel Goulet have collected 800 or more points in Quebec/Colorado franchise history. Duchene connected on a breakaway at 5:28 for his first goal in eight games, since he scored twice Jan. 24 against Columbus. Doan lost the puck after crossing the Colorado blue line and PA Parenteau knocked it to Duchene, who sped into the Coyotes end and slipped the puck beneath the sprawling Smith. Doan opened the scoring at 9:10 of the first period after Chipchura intercepted Avalanche defenseman Ryan O'Byrne's clearing attempt. Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson suffered an undisclosed injury after getting hit early in the third period and didn't return. The Avalanche are already banged up on the blue line with Matt Hunwick (torso) and Ryan Wilson (ankle) sidelined with injuries.

Minnesota v Calgary 2-1 - With just five goals in front of him in his last four starts, Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom banked on being stingy. Backstrom stopped 23 of 24 shots and Mikko Koivu scored the shootout winner in his 500th career NHL game as the Wild beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday. The win marks the first time Minnesota (6-5-1) has won away from Xcel Energy Center this season, while the Flames (3-4-3) have now lost two straight. After Jiri Hudler and Zach Parise traded goals earlier in the shootout, Koivu threw a forehand-to-backhand deke that Flames starter Leland Irving bit on while Backstrom got a pad on a similar move from Alex Tanguay to preserve the victory and drop Calgary to 0-3 in shootouts this year. Down 1-0 heading into the third, Hudler's goal pushed Calgary to overtime and the eventual shootout. Just 1:28 into the period, Hudler looked off teammate Roman Cervenka on a 2-on-1 and snapped the puck through the legs of Backstrom to knot the game 1-1. Neither Backstrom nor Irving allowed another by them to force overtime. One shot generated from each side in the extra session yielded no result either, pushing the contest to a shootout. After trading chances in the second period, Kyle Brodziak put the Wild up with 1:38 remaining in the period. Forcing a turnover along the boards, Ryan Suter pushed the puck into the slot for Devin Setoguchi. Setoguchi quickly fed a cutting Brozdiak, who deked Irving and slid the puck in the net while in mid air to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. Both teams couldn't find the back of the net in the opening period, but it wasn't from a lack of trying from the Wild early on. Twenty-three seconds into the game, Irving was forced to make a pair of stops on Koivu, including one from three feet out to thwart an early Minnesota edge. Matt Stajan was equally unsuccessful in his bid to put the Flames on the board at 3:08. After Mark Giordano's original point shot hit Backstrom and trickled wide, Stajan wasn't able to collect the rebound, pull it back and stuff it across the goal line.