Gameday 25 (Tue, 12 Feb) - Results

Carolina v New Jersey 4-2 - The Hurricanes had every excuse to check out Tuesday in front of 17,625 fans at Prudential Center when they were down to five defensemen following a second-period injury to Joni Pitkanen and the New Jersey Devils were beginning to put the pedal to the metal after pulling into a 2-2 tie. It never happened, Jiri Tlusty would score a pair of third-period goals, including an empty-netter, and Cam Ward finished with 26 saves to lead the Hurricanes to a 4-2 victory. The loss snapped the Devils' five-game winning streak. Carolina closed out its season-high six-game road trip with a 4-1-1 mark atop the Southeast Division, third in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes return home Thursday to play the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tlusty, who scored twice in a 6-4 victory over the New York Islanders on Monday, gave Carolina a 3-2 lead 7:25 into the third period on a power-play goal. After collecting a pass from Eric Staal at the right post, Tlusty directed a shot over Brodeur's glove hand on the short side. The helper by Staal on Tlusty's goal extended his point-scoring streak to 10 games (eight goals, eight assists). The Devils were pushing hard over the final five minutes but a tripping penalty on Andy Greene at 17:23 forced the Devils to play shorthanded down the stretch. Goalie Martin Brodeur (21 saves) was pulled for an extra attacker with 1:07 remaining to give each team five skaters. Stephen Gionta would get two golden opportunities but was denied by Ward with under a minute left before Tlusty hit an empty net with 33.6 seconds left. The win was even more impressive when you consider Carolina was forced to play without minute-muncher Pitkanen, who was sidelined the entire third period with a lower-body injury. Carolina denied New Jersey on two power-play opportunities in the final period while holding a 3-2 lead. The Devils pulled into a 2-2 tie 1:34 into the third when Ryan Carter scored an unassisted goal right in front of Ward for his second of the season. Steve Bernier stripped the puck from Justin Faulk, who was attempting to lug the disk up ice off the transition, and Carter picked it up before lofting a backhand attempt over Ward's right pad. Patrick Dwyer gave the Hurricanes their first lead of the game, 2-1, 18:29 into the second when he deflected home a shot from the right point by Jay Harrison. The defenseman took a pass from Faulk and ripped a shot that nicked Dwyer in front. Brodeur had no chance on the shot, screened by Dwyer and Devils defenseman Adam Larsson. The Hurricanes tied the game, 1-1, on a power-play goal by Jussi Jokinen just 1:36 into the second. New Jersey's David Clarkson broke in 1-on-1 against Ward after taking a feed from Adam Henrique at the 12:40 mark, but the Carolina keeper was in perfect position to make one of his eight saves in the period. Brodeur was sharp in the first, turning aside 10 shots. Despite playing less than 24 hours earlier against the Islanders, the Hurricanes dictated much of the action in the opening 10 minutes before the Devils finally began generating some chances on Ward. When Jokinen was whistled for hooking at 15:35, the Devils' power play went to work. At 24 seconds into the man advantage, Ilya Kovalchuk ripped a shot from the left point that blew by Ward high on the short side. The puck went in and out of the cage with such force, the goal light never came on as the judge likely believed the puck had hit the crossbar. After an additional three minutes of action, a stoppage of play finally allowed the officials to review Kovalchuk's shot and confirm his blast had indeed hit the back iron just underneath the crossbar before popping out.

NY Rangers v Boston 4-3 - After a third period to forget, the New York Rangers left Causeway Street with a victory to remember, and one they can use as a learning tool. Despite squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period, the Rangers rode shootout goals by Rick Nash and Ryan Callahan to a 4-3 victory, their third straight win, against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. The Bruins scored twice the final two minutes of regulation to tie the game with goaltender Tuukka Rask on the bench for an extra attacker. The Bruins' three-game winning streak came to an end, and they took their first defeat in three shootouts this season. The Bruins started their rally just as their fourth failed power play of the night expired. One second after Nash left the box, David Krejci flipped a rebound over Henrik Lundqvist's right pad into the back of the net at 8:44. Nathan Horton trimmed the Rangers' lead to 3-2. Andrew Ference's shot went off Lundqvist's chest and Horton buried the rebound with 1:31 remaining. The Bruins pressured as the clock crept below a minute to play. Gregory Campbell was causing havoc in front of the net when Patrice Bergeron's shot was blocked to Brad Marchand, who buried it short side from a tough angle to tie the game at 3 with 43 ticks remaining. But I don't think we're going to get carried away with thinking this was a great situation. I think we're fortunate to get this point, and we'll take it and hopefully learn from it." For his efforts, Lundqvist was awarded the Rangers' "Broadway Hat." He finished with 37 saves in regulation and overtime, then stopped three of four Boston attempts in the shootout. Only Marchand beat him. Carl Hagelin continued his hot hand from Sunday's win against Tampa Bay into Tuesday. The forward scored his third goal in two games at 10:37 of the opening period for a 1-0 lead. Derek Stepan's second goal of the season doubled the Rangers' lead at 8:17 of the second. Anton Stralman's first goal in 39 games dating back to last season staked the Rangers to a commanding 3-0 lead with 2:07 elapsed in the third period. The Bruins' third-period rally aside, Rangers coach John Tortorella said he saw enough that he liked in his team's play to think New York will continue to build on its recent success after a slow start to the season.

Buffalo v Ottawa 0-2 - Craig Anderson refused to take credit for his 42-save shutout of the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. Instead, Ottawa's goaltender was quick to praise his teammates for their role in the Senators' 2-0 victory at Scotiabank Place. The previous franchise record for saves in a shutout was 35, held by Dominik Hasek, Ron Tugnutt and Martin Gerber. Erik Karlsson and Erik Condra scored less than two minutes apart in the second period for the Senators, who had lost their last two games. Karlsson's first career shorthanded goal broke Ottawa's offensive drought, the Senators had gone 121:35 without scoring. The reigning Norris Trophy winner leads the Senators with six goals this season. Five of Anderson's saves in his second shutout of the season came against NHL scoring leader Thomas Vanek, who was held off the scoresheet by the Senators for the second time this month. Vanek leads the League with 11 goals and 23 points. The Sabres have lost their last two games. Both teams had chances in the scoreless first period. Stephane Da Costa found himself with the puck behind the Sabres' net and hit a waiting Kaspars Daugavins in front, but Ryan Miller stopped his shot 6:10 into the game. Thirty seconds later, Anderson was forced to make several big stops. Steve Ott rifled a shot from one knee that deflected through traffic before Anderson tipped the puck in the air at the last instant to keep it out of the net. After Buffalo regained control, Nathan Gerbe passed across to Christian Ehrhoff, who sent a wrist shot into the chest of Ottawa goaltender. Kyle Turris had a chance to put the Senators up on the power play after Ehrhoff was called for tripping at 11:40, but Karlsson's pass from the point slipped through Turris' legs and outside the open left corner of Miller's net. The Sabres another great chance late in the period, but Drew Stafford misfired at a half-empty net during a 3-on-2 break. Ottawa ended its scoring drought while killing off a second-period penalty to defenseman Mark Methot. Milan Michalek was in possession of the puck in the Sabres' zone when Karlsson called for it and sent a slap shot from the point past Miller at 15:20. The Senators made it 2-0 just 1:54 later when Mike Lundin passed across the point to Sergei Gonchar, who sent a shot through traffic towards Miller. The Buffalo goaltender made the initial stop, but Condra grabbed the rebound during a scramble and tipped the puck past Miller. Anderson stopped all 15 shots he faced in the third period. The Sabres spent a lot of the night killing penalties. Ottawa went 0-for-8 on the power play, but Ruff said spending so much time on the penalty kill made it tough to generate offense. With the Sabres playing their third game in four nights, Miller agreed that having to kill eight penalties was a big drain on his team's energy because it kept Ruff from being able to roll four lines.

Montreal v Tampa Bay 4-3 - The Montreal Canadiens snapped their three-game winless streak, but they had to withstand Tampa Bay's third-period comeback and survive a shootout to do it. David Desharnais scored the only goal in the shootout to give the Canadiens a 4-3 win Tuesday night at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, but not until after the Lightning overcame a three-goal deficit in the final six minutes of regulation. Montreal appeared to be cruising to victory with a 3-0 until Victor Hedman scored with 5:56 remaining to ruin Carey Price's bid for his first shutout since Feb. 11, 2012. Hedman then charged the net to bat a cross-ice pass from Teddy Purcell out of the air and behind Price to cut the Montreal lead to one goal with 1:43 remaining. The two goals matched Hedman's total coming into the game. Sami Salo sent the game into overtime with just 44 seconds left to play when his power-play slap shot from the blue line deflected off a skate in front and went past Price with Tampa Bay goaltender Anders Lindback off the ice for an extra skater and Montreal's Tomas Plekanec in the penalty box for tripping. The goal was the first of the season for Salo and his first as a member of the Lightning. Salo also got an assist on Hedman's second goal for his 45th career multi-point game. But Desharnais scored in the second round of the shootout, and Price stopped Steven Stamkos for the win. Montreal (7-4-1) dominated the second period and scored twice to put the Lightning in a three-goal hole after 40 minutes. At 8:21 P.K. Subban collected his second point of the game when he sent the puck through traffic and into the net for his second goal of the season. Lars Eller, who assisted on Subban's goal, also helped set up Travis Moen's first of the season with 66 seconds left in the period. Moen, who beat Lindback from the low slot, scored his first goal in 21 games, dating to Dec. 31, 2011. Brian Gionta opened the scoring with his third goal of the season at 19:17 of the first period when he converted a pass from Subban during a 5-on-3 advantage. Alexander Killorn was sent off for tripping at 18:03 and Hedman was called for roughing 45 seconds later. Gionta then tipped Plekanec's pass into the net to give Montreal a 1-0 lead. After a 6-1-0 start, Tampa Bay has gone 0-4-1, and Boucher didn't try to hide his frustration after the latest loss. Montreal held Tampa Bay's potent power play in check, allowing just one goal on five chances and limiting the Lightning to three shots with the extra man. It all came down to the shootout and Desharnais, the second Montreal shooter, who fired a low wrister into the net.

Washington v Florida 6-5 - The Washington Capitals were far from satisfied with their performance Tuesday night. But given how much of a struggle the start of the 2012-13 has been for them, all they cared about was being able to pull off a third-period comeback. Troy Brouwer scored 32 seconds into overtime as the Capitals rallied from a 5-3 deficit to beat the Florida Panthers 6-5 at the BB&T Center for their first road victory, as well as their first winning streak. Brouwer scored on a breakaway when he stuffed home the rebound after Scott Clemmensen had stopped him. He was sprung loose by a nice feed from Nicklas Backstrom. The victory gave the Capitals, who shut out the Panthers 5-0 at Washington on Saturday, a sweep of the home-and-home set. Washington entered Tuesday's action with only seven points, the lowest total in the Eastern Conference. With the victory, the Capitals caught up to the New York Islanders, although Washington has played one more game. Mike Ribeiro had a goal and two assists for the Capitals, and Alex Ovechkin and Fehr each had a goal and an assist. Karl Alzner and Matt Hendricks had the other Washington goals. The six goals set a new season high for the Capitals, topping the five they scored against the Panthers on Saturday night. Braden Holtby finished with 27 saves, the same total he had in his shutout Saturday night. Rookie Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice for the Panthers, who have lost five straight against Washington dating back to last season, and Drew Shore scored his first NHL goal. Tomas Fleischmann and Shawn Matthias had the other Florida goals, and Peter Mueller had two assists. Clemmensen, making his third start of the season, stopped 23 shots. The Capitals' comeback began after Shore scored on a midair rebound that bounced in off defenseman John Erskine. Shore, playing in his 10th NHL game after being recalled from San Antonio on Jan. 21, had two assists coming into the game. Fehr made it 5-4 at 14:53 when he tipped in Mike Green's shot from the point. Ovechkin tied it at 17:11, only 4 seconds into a Washington power play. With Huberdeau in the box for slashing, the Capitals won the faceoff back to Ovechkin, who fired a wrist shot that beat Clemmensen low to the stick side. Huberdeau's two second-period goals came after Alzner had tied the game at 2-2 at 5:33 with a slap shot right off the faceoff. Huberdeau's first goal came when he got his stick on Erik Gudbranson's wrist shot from the point after it had first been tipped by Mueller. After Hendricks tied it again at 10:21 with a nifty backhand one-timer off a feed from Ovechkin, Huberdeau got his second off a nice feed from behind the net from Mueller. The goal came seconds after Ovechkin hit the post with a wrist shot from the high slot. Florida led 2-1 after a first period highlighted by a heavy check by Ovechkin on Kris Versteeg and their ensuing scuffle. The big check 1:13 into the game shook up Versteeg, who left the ice for a brief period. On his next shift, Versteeg cross-checked Ovechkin, leading to the scuffle. With Washington on the power play after Versteeg received an extra minor, Ribeiro gave Washington the lead when he one-timed a loose puck sliding across the slot. Fleischmann tied it at 10:18 thanks to a little bit of luck. After a Washington turnover in its own zone, Fleischmann skated toward the middle with the puck on his backhand before whirling around for a wrist shot. The puck was going wide of the net, but it bounced off the skate of Erskine and past Holtby. Matthias gave Florida the lead at 13:09 of the third when he one-timed Marcel Goc's feed from behind the net to the slot. After Washington outshot Florida 5-1 in the early going, the Panthers had a 12-0 shot advantage over the next 12:26.

Philadelphia v Winnipeg 3-2 - The Philadelphia Flyers had everything working against them heading into a meeting with the Winnipeg Jets Tuesday night. But the Flyers wiped away conventional wisdom and churned out a workmanlike 3-2 win at MTS Centre. The Flyers, 1-6-0 on the road this season before meeting the Jets and on the second game of a six-game road trip, arrived in Winnipeg early Tuesday morning after a long trip following their latest road setback against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Before facing the Jets, Philadelphia had lost four consecutive road games since recording its only road victory Jan. 26 against the Florida Panthers. Center Sean Couturier did not continue on the Winnipeg leg of the trip after sitting out the loss at Toronto, where Flyers coach Peter Laviolette had pulled goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. But Philadelphia (6-7-0) received goals from Brayden Schenn, Kimmo Timonen and Tye McGinn in front of a 24-save night from Bryzgalov in a rebound effort from Monday. Philadelphia held the hosts to six shots in the third period while Jakub Voracek chipped in two assists. Voracek has posted six points over his past six games. Opponents have outscored the Jets 14-7 in the first period this season, but Andrew Ladd notched two goals for Winnipeg (5-6-1), including a tally in the final minute to pull the club within a goal. Ladd also recorded a two-goal game against the Flyers in Winnipeg last season. With Dustin Byfuglien's return to the Winnipeg line-up after a five-game absence with an undisclosed injury, the Jets staged an energetic opening 10 minutes and controlled the game's pace. But the Flyers put up two goals on their first six shots against Jets back-up goaltender Al Montoya. Back in net after posting a road shutout against the Ottawa Senators Feb. 10, Philadelphia victimized Montoya with two goals, missed a point-blank chance and nearly scored on a breakaway over the final 12 minutes of the first period. Montoya departed the game after the second period with what the Jets termed a lower-body injury. Ondrej Pavelec, who has been battling the flu, replaced Montoya to start the third period. Noel would not disclose Montoya's prognosis afterward. Bryzgalov countered Montoya in net and delivered a superb effort. Winnipeg rolled off a 7-1 shots advantage during a late second-period span while down a goal. But Bryzgalov held the Jets scoreless, including stopping Winnipeg's dangerous Evander Kane on three point-blank opportunities. Philadelphia grabbed a pair of one-goal leads to take a 2-1 advantage into the third period. McGinn greeted Pavelec with a goal 4:17 into the final period that provided Bryzgalov with late insurance. Schenn made the Flyers' first shot of the game more than eight minutes into the game count. Voracek spun out of the right corner into the circle before flinging a soft shot on net that Schenn tipped high into the net for a 1-0 advantage at 8:07. Montoya bounced back three minutes later, however, when Harry Zolnierczyk, recalled earlier in the day from the American Hockey League to replace Couturier, blocked Paul Postma's right-point shot attempt inside the Philadelphia blue line. Zolniercyzk raced in alone on Montoya, but the goaltender blocked a backhanded attempt with his left pad to hold the Philadelphia lead at one. Ladd's team-leading fifth goal ended Philadelphia's lead later in the first period. Blake Wheeler muscled the puck into the left circle before distributing a pass into the slot that Ladd one-timed past Bryzgalov at 14:12. The Jets' League-worst penalty kill has tormented Noel all season, and a Zach Redmond cross-checking penalty put Winnipeg in another hole late in the first period. Timonen extended his point streak to four games when he used the man-advantage to take back Philadelphia's lead when he took a bouncing puck at the point and ripped a shot that cut through slot traffic and through Montoya's pads. Winnipeg's inability to close out scoring chances in the second period stalled their comeback bid, and Noel struggled to diagnose the problem. McGinn finished off the Jets early in the third period when he deflected Voracek's right-side pass past Pavelec. McGinn also bested Jets defenseman Mark Stuart in a second-period fight and won praise from Laviolette. The Flyers will continue their road trip Friday evening against the New Jersey Devils as they look to undo some of the damage that their early-season road struggles have created.

San Jose v Nashville 0-1 - The San Jose Sharks have to be grateful February is the shortest month. San Jose remained without a win this month, losing 1-0 in overtime to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. The Sharks are 0-3-3 in February after winning all seven of their January games. Nashville's Colin Wilson tipped Ryan Ellis' shot from the blue line past San Jose goalie Antti Niemi 2:08 in OT. Ellis carried into the Sharks' zone as Wilson headed toward the net. He deflected the puck, sending it slowly through Niemi, and his second try to put it in wasn't needed as it trickled inside the right post. It doesn't get any easier for the Sharks, who next make two visits to play the Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks sandwiched around a game at the St. Louis Blues. Their six-game road trip ends at the Dallas Stars on Feb. 23. Nashville ended a two-game losing streak which came after a four-game win streak. The Predators went a franchise record 176:18 between goals, scoring against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday before being shut out by Chicago on Sunday. Pekka Rinne made 25 saves for his second shutout in his past four games. He defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 on Feb. 7. Gabriel Bourque preserved Rinne's shutout a minute into overtime. Rinne made a save on Joe Pavelski, then one on Patrick Marleau that had the goalie sprawled on his belly when the puck dribbled past his skate behind him in the crease. Bourque cleared the puck. Niemi made 24 saves. He and the Sharks lost a 1-0 shootout to the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday. Tuesday, San Jose's power play went 0-for-6, making it 1-for-22 over five games. The Sharks lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-2 on Monday. During their slide, they have lost twice in a shootout, once in overtime, and once by a goal in regulation.

Anaheim v Chicago 3-2 - The Anaheim Ducks made their intentions clear Tuesday morning. They wanted to spoil the Chicago Blackhawks' homecoming party by becoming the first team to beat the NHL's hottest team in regulation when the two met at a raucous United Center on Tuesday night. In the end, the visitors accomplished half of their goal. The Blackhawks (10-0-3) still haven't been defeated in regulation, but did lose 3-2 to the Ducks in a shootout, after Anaheim tied it on a late goal in the third by Andrew Cogliano and then killed off two Chicago power plays in OT to force the breakaways contest that decided it. Corey Perry's goal in the shootout was the clincher for Anaheim (9-2-1), which also got a marker by Nick Bonino. The goal Cogliano referred to was scored by Blackhawks rookie Brandon Saad midway through the second period for a 2-1 Chicago lead that nearly stood up as the game-winner. After being checked and losing his balance, Saad fired a puck from the left circle while in mid-air that bounced off the back of Ducks goalie Viktor Fasth (28 saves) and headed toward the goal line. A video review from Toronto determined the puck actually did cross the line before the net was knocked off the moorings during the ensuing scramble, which upset the spoiler-minded Ducks and gave a big lift to the Blackhawks, who played their first home game since coming back from an impressive six-game road trip. The Blackhawks appeared in control for much of the third period despite the narrow one-goal lead thanks in large part to another great performance by goalie Corey Crawford (29 saves), who made several highlight-worthy stops to keep Anaheim off the board. His most memorable came late in the first, when he made a dazzling glove save from close range to stop Perry following a turnover behind the net. Still, it was a frustrating night for the Blackhawks overall. They went just 1-for-6 on the power play and only got one goal in the shootout, scored by captain Jonathan Toews. Nick Leddy also scored in regulation for Chicago, just 28 seconds before Saad's marker in the second, while Ryan Getzlaf added the Ducks' first goal just 3:33 into the second to cap a power play. After a scoreless first period filled with impressive saves by both goalies, Getzlaf was credited for Anaheim taking a 1-0 lead, but he was actually looking to zip a pass across the crease to the back side of the net for Perry. Instead, Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook got his stick on the puck and deflected it past Crawford. It took a little less than seven minutes for Chicago to respond, but when it happened it was loud and furious. Leddy's second goal of the season 17 seconds into a power play knotted it 1-1, but it was the sequence leading up to the advantage that got the home fans riled up. After Blackhawks power forward Bryan Bickell leveled Getzlaf in the corner of the Ducks zone, Anaheim enforcer Brad Staubitz went right after him and started throwing punches. Each was assessed a fighting major, but Staubitz was given an instigating minor and a 10-minute misconduct to put the Blackhawks on the power play and set up Leddy's momentum-changing goal. Saad's goal really turned the tide and not even back-to-back penalties to Johnny Oduya and Michael Frolik less than two minutes afterward could slow the surge. Despite two good penalty killers in the box, Chicago showed why it's leading the League in penalty killing by thwarting the Ducks' 5-on-3 advantage, spurred by great efforts from Crawford, Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Marcus Kruger. Fasth, meanwhile, matched Crawford save for save. It continued a blistering start to the 30-year old Swedish rookie's NHL career. Fasth, who's filling in for injured starter Jonas Hiller, improved to 6-0-0 after coming into the game with a 1.72 goals-against average and .932 save percentage.

Dallas v Edmonton 4-1 - The Dallas Stars just keep finding ways to beat the Edmonton Oilers. Eric Nystrom and Brenden Dillon scored lucky-bounce goals Tuesday night as the Stars beat the Oilers 4-1 for their sixth straight victory against Edmonton. Jaromir Jagr and Ryan Garbutt added insurance goals late in the third period as Dallas won its fourth straight visit to Rexall Place. The Stars are 11-1-0 in their last 12 meetings with the Oilers and 19-3-2 in their last 24. Overall, Dallas is 47-15-4-7 in 74 games against Edmonton since the move. The victory was their 759th in Dallas, one more win than they earned in Minnesota from 1967-93. They're even more dominant in Edmonton, the Stars are 28-5-2-2 in 37 visits since they moved from Minnesota 20 years ago. Kari Lehtonen made 35 saves as the Stars won their fourth in a row. Devan Dubnyk made 25 saves for Edmonton, which lost the opener of a five-game homestand and has dropped six of its last seven. Dallas broke a 1-1 tie on Nystrom's pinball goal 44 seconds into the third period. Nystrom fired a wrister from the high slot that hit the stick of Edmonton's Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, bounced off a surprised Dubnyk and went into the net for his first goal in 30 games, dating back to last season. Perhaps the best news for the Stars was that they got three of their four goals from players who aren't among their top-six forwards. Jagr, who scored the overtime winner in Edmonton last week, made it 3-1 by rifling a wrist shot past Dubnyk with 4:35 remaining for his 669th career goal, moving him past Luc Robitaille into 10th place on the all-time list. Garbutt got the second of his career with 2:43 to play. The Oilers scored the only goal of the first period on a brilliant individual effort by Taylor Hall. The first player chosen in the 2010 NHL Draft grabbed a pass from Eberle, raced through center ice, cut wide in the Dallas zone and fired a wrist shot past Lehtonen at 12:59 for his third of the season. The Oilers outshot Dallas 11-9 in the opening period. The Stars tied it 4:23 into the second period on a fluke goal. Dillon, a rookie defenseman, was credited with his second of the season when his shot hit Edmonton's Lennart Petrell, popped off the glass and deflected into the net off Dubnyk. Lehtonen preserved the tie with three big saves in the final 75 seconds of the period. With the Oilers on a power play, he stopped Sam Gagner on a rebound with 1:15 remaining, then denied a wide-open Hall at the left post 45 seconds later. Eberle then broke through the defense, but Lehtonen made his 15th save of the period by nudging his backhander just outside the post eight seconds before the final horn.

Minnesota v Vancouver 1-2 - Goaltender Darcy Kuemper made a good impression on the Minnesota Wild after being called up from the minors and thrown into a tough National Hockey League debut Tuesday night. It wasn't enough to top more of the same from Vancouver Canucks veteran Roberto Luongo. With a lot of eyes on Kuemper playing his first NHL game after Josh Harding was unable to start due to symptoms related to medication for multiple sclerosis, it was Luongo that put on a clinic. He made 25 saves, including several good ones among 10 in the third period, to backstop the Canucks to a 2-1 win, spoiling Kuemper's debut. While the rest of the Wild openly lamented another frustrating night offensively, the 22-year-old still sounded a little in awe after an evening that started with pre-game well wishes from Luongo. Luongo has been among the best in the NHL for those five or six years, but now finds himself fighting for playing time with Cory Schneider, who took over the No.1 job during last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs. It hasn't mattered lately who is in the net for the Canucks, who have won six straight, with Luongo in net for four of them. Jannik Hansen added the eventual winning goal midway through the second period, finishing off a pretty three-way passing play. The Wild are worried about the points slipping away because they can't put goals on the board. Minnesota had won two straight after a 2-1 shootout victory in Calgary the night before, but outside of shootouts has scored just seven goals in the last six games. Devin Setoguchi scored the only goal late on a second-period power play, but Minnesota was turned aside, by either Luongo or the post, on several point-blank chances in the third, leaving both prized free agent addition Zach Parise and coach Mike Yeo visibly frustrated. Bieksa opened the scoring in the late stages of a power play 11:33 into the first period, and Luongo, back in goal after watching Schneider win the last two, kept the Canucks ahead with a terrific right pad stop off a Charlie Coyle one timer from the slot with seven minutes left in the period. He didn't face a shot the first half of the second period, and Hansen doubled the lead 9:03 in after a pretty toe drag by Mason Raymond near the blue line. After keeping it onside, Raymond fed the puck cross-ice to Keith Ballard, who sent it back across to the other side for a wide-open Hansen for a snap shot over Kuemper and just under the crossbar. Minnesota shook up its lineup despite consecutive wins, sending defenseman Marco Scandella to the AHL to clear roster room for Kuemper, making Pierre-Marc Bouchard a healthy scratch in favor or Torrey Mitchell, and waiving forward Matt Kassian to make room the return of defenseman Jared Spurgeon from a foot injury. Despite the shake up, the Wild didn't record a second-period shot until 10:15, but converted its third less than three minutes later. Mikael Granlund won the puck in the corner from Jason Garrison, and Matt Cullen fed it to Setoguchi alone at the side of the net to Luongo's right. Setoguchi made a nice move, spinning away from the goal as he pulled the puck back to his forehand before lifting it over Luongo's shoulder on the far side with two seconds left in a power play. That ended Luongo's bid for a fourth-straight shutout of the Wild on home ice, a streak of 228 minutes and 26 seconds that strangely coincides with being pulled from his last three starts in Minnesota. Kuemper who was dominating in 16 games for the Houston Aeros in the AHL this season, didn't look at all out of place in his first taste of the NHL, throwing out his blocker to deny Daniel Sedin in tight 27 seconds into the third period. That gave the Wild a chance, but Luongo was both good and lucky to prevent the tying goal five minutes later, stuffing Parise in front before Ryan Suter rang the rebound off the post from the slot. He added close-range stops off Setoguchi and Kyle Brodziak shortly after Kuemper was pulled for an extra attacker in the final minute.