Gameday 27 (Thu, 14 Feb) - Results

NY Islanders v NY Rangers 4-3 - The Islanders turned a two-goal deficit into a 4-3 shootout victory against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on the strength of three second-period goals by Colin McDonald, John Tavares and Brad Boyes in a span of 7:25 and tallies in the tiebreaker by Frans Nielsen and Tavares. Nabokov was brilliant in making 36 saves to snap the Islanders' five-game losing streak and halt the Rangers' three-game win streak. He also stopped Marian Gaborik and Rick Nash in the shootout to seal the comeback victory. Capuano shuffled his lines a bit to start the second period and put McDonald with Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas. It paid off immediately, as Cizikas capitalized on a turnover by Rangers defenseman Marc Staal and fed McDonald for the quick shot that cut the lead to 2-1 at the 29-second mark. Cizikas and Martin answered the bell at the other end of the ice during a 5-on-3 power play for the Rangers with Eric Boulton and Nielsen, the Islanders' top penalty-killing forward, in the box. The Rangers failed to put a puck on Nabokov during the 33-second two-man advantage, as defenseman Travis Hamonic blocked a shot by Nash and defenseman Andrew MacDonald atoned for a gaffe that led to a Rangers goal in the first period by smothering a one-time attempt from Derek Stepan. Twelve seconds after Nielsen left the penalty box, Tavares tied the game with a 2-on-1 goal, and 40 seconds later, Boyes put the Islanders ahead 3-2. But for Tavares, it was the first shift of the second period that turned the tide for the Islanders. The Rangers pushed back before the second period came to a close. It wasn't a textbook power-play goal, but Carl Hagelin's fifth goal of the season and fourth in the last three games pulled the Rangers into a 3-3 tie. An entry pass into the zone deflected on Nabokov, who was a hair late in covering it, allowing Hagelin to sweep it just across the goal line. This marked the second straight game in which the Rangers allowed a multigoal lead to slip away. They fumbled a 3-0 lead in the third period against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday before winning in a shootout, but weren't as fortunate against the Islanders. As stirring as the second period was, the third period lacked the same wide-open action. Tavares had a glorious chance to put the Islanders ahead with 3:59 left in regulation, but Biron slid across to make the save and smother the rebound. There were eight shots in overtime, but a chance that missed the net was by far the best for either team. Michael Grabner raced through the neutral zone for a breakaway with 11 seconds remaining, but his backhand attempt fluttered off his stick and wide of the near post, setting the stage for the one-sided shootout. It was not the most memorable of nights for Rangers center Brad Richards. He took just one, 47-second shift in the third period, but was on the ice for two shifts in overtime. He was credited with three giveaways, although he did get the primary assist on Gaborik's goal that gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the first period. The Islanders will try to build on this win when they host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. Nabokov feels like he's just repeating himself, but he knows the Islanders need to string together victories to climb into playoff contention before it's too late.

Toronto v Carolina 1-3 - At the beginning of February, Carolina defenseman Joe Corvo had some unwanted time on his hands. He spent some of it pondering the eventual end of his playing career. Corvo, known for offensive skills, scored the opening goal and assisted on the game-winner Thursday night as Carolina beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 at PNC Arena. In the four games since returning after his benching, Corvo has two goals and five points. An underrated defender, he is most noted for a hard shot, deft passing and a knack for pinching in for scoring chances. If the past few games are any indication, he has found his answer. His resurgence has coincided with Carolina's recent 5-0-1 stretch that has lifted the Hurricanes into first place in the Southeast Division. Against the Leafs, he provided the spark in an otherwise tentative game. In the second period, after holding in a clearing attempt, Corvo jumped into a scramble to send a wrister over Toronto goaltender Ben Scrivens' shoulder. Toronto forward Nazem Kadri's fourth goal of the season pulled the Leafs into a 1-1 tie, as Dion Phaneuf's shot deflected in off him. But Corvo triggered Carolina's next goal with a pass up the middle of the ice to Jeff Skinner. A moment later, Jussi Jokinen located a loose puck and popped in his second goal in two games. Jordan Staal finished the scoring just over than two minutes later, slamming home a long rebound. Corvo's newfound groove is a relief to Carolina coach Kirk Muller. From the start, he had hoped to lean on the veteran blueliner. The same can be said for goaltender Dan Ellis. In his fourth start of the season, Ellis lowered his goals-against average to 1.74. Most of his 22 saves were of the garden variety, as the Hurricanes' defense limited Toronto's scoring chances all evening. Toronto's loss snapped a four-game winning streak, leaving the Leafs 8-6-0. Aside from a very strong third period from Scrivens, the Leafs were flat, failing to generate any sustained offense. During the four-game winning streak, the Leafs outscored their opponents 17-6. Against Carolina, they managed just 22 shots, just five in the third period. The Hurricanes climb to 8-4-1, a particularly solid record given their 0-2-0 start. Coupled with a solid 4-2 win at New Jersey on Tuesday night that closed the road trip, the Hurricanes are playing their best hockey of the season. With role players and defensemen like Corvo adding to the offense, Carolina is looking dangerous.

Washington v Tampa Bay 4-3 - The Washington Capitals might be finding their way. The Tampa Bay Lightning are losing theirs. The Capitals stretched their season-high winning streak to three games with a 4-3 victory against the Lightning on Thursday at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. For Tampa Bay, the loss continued a downward slide that is now a six-game winless stretch after a 6-1-0 start. Jay Beagle’s first goal of the season looked like added insurance when he stretched the Capitals' lead to 4-1 with 12:29 remaining, poking the puck through a scrum in front of Tampa Bay goaltender Mathieu Garon. As it turned out, the Capitals, who started the season 2-8-1 under new coach Adam Oates, needed that insurance. Tampa Bay, hoping for the sort of late third-period rally that saw them battle back with three goals against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, cut the Capitals' lead to two when Teddy Purcell converted a pass from Steven Stamkos and beat Washington netminder Braden Holtby. Less than five minutes later, Nate Thompson picked up a break-out pass from Martin St. Louis, cruised in alone and tightened the game to 4-3. It was Tampa Bay's fifth one-goal loss of the season. Earlier in the third period, Capitals forward Eric Fehr skated down the right side and sent a blistering shot that Garon missed. Fehr's second goal of the game, third of the season, made it 3-1, with Mathieu Perrault picking up his third assist of the game. The Capitals took a 2-1 lead at 5:09 of the second period when Lightning defenseman Matthew Carle was ambushed behind his net by Capitals forward Joel Ward. Once Ward had the steal, he sent the puck in front, where it bounced from Perrault to Fehr, who tapped it behind Garon. Troy Brouwer got Washington on the board before Tampa Bay even had a shot on net when he scored on a power play 2:40 into the game. With Victor Hedman in the penalty box for hooking, the Capitals executed a perfect extra-man opportunity, moving the puck around swiftly until Perrault sent the puck to Brouwer, who buried the chance from the low slot. St. Louis tied the score for the Lightning at 8:23 when he collected a wide shot from Vincent Lecavalier and hacked away from Holtby’s left until the puck finally slipped into the net. His fourth goal of the season broke a 10-game scoring drought for St. Louis, who hadn’t scored since Jan. 21 in the second game of the season against the New York Islanders. Holtby was especially sharp, stopping 27 shots, including a glove save which robbed Teddy Purcell in the first period and a denial of St. Louis from just outside the crease in the second. The win was Holtby’s fourth of the season. Garon, who got the start when Anders Lindback came up ill Thursday morning, made 35 saves as his record fell to 1-3-0. The Capitals (5-8-1), finally finding some traction and consistency, continue their road trip against the New York Rangers on Sunday. The Lightning (6-6-1) head out for a one-game road trip when they visit the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Montreal v Florida 1-0 - Montreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien wanted to give prized rookie Alex Galchenyuk some overtime experience Thursday night. Galchenyuk rewarded him by helping produce the only goal of the game. Galchenyuk’s strong individual effort set up Rene Bourque’s goal 2:50 into overtime as the Canadiens defeated the Florida Panthers 1-0 at BB&T Center. Galchenyuk skated up ice 2-on-2 and kept battling after Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov poked the puck off his stick, eventually sending a rolling puck across the crease. It found its way to the left of the net to Bourque, who batted it out of midair past goalie Jose Theodore. With the assist, Galchenyuk, who turned 19 two days ago, snapped a five-game pointless streak after he had a goal and six assists in his first seven NHL games. Montreal goalie Carey Price made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season, the 17th of his career. Two have come against Florida. Price wasn’t tested often in the first two periods, but he made several big saves during a two-minute stretch in the third. In winning their second consecutive game, the Canadiens improved to 5-0-0 against Southeast Division teams this season. Montreal is 2-0-0 against Florida, with a 4-1 victory at Bell Centre on Jan. 22. The victory, coming two days after the Canadiens won at the Tampa Bay Lightning, helped Montreal jump past the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators into fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Theodore, who came in with a 2-2-1 record, 4.62 goals-against average and .861 save percentage in six career games against his former team, made 31 saves for the Panthers. It was a good bounce-back effort from Theodore, who was pulled midway through the third period of Saturday’s 5-0 loss at the Washington Capitals in his prior start. This was the third time the teams played a 1-0 game decided in overtime. The Canadiens have won all three, also victorious in 2001 and 2006. The Panthers have lost three in a row after going 3-0-1 in their previous four games. The past two losses have come in overtime, Thursday’s preceded by a 6-5 setback against Washington on Tuesday. The teams played a tight game through the first two periods, with few good scoring chances on either side, before play opened up a bit in the third. Five minutes into the third, Theodore robbed P.K. Subban with a pad save after Subban got around a couple of Florida players with some nifty stick handling. Midway through, Panthers rookie Jonathan Huberdeau found himself alone on Price, who made the save. Huberdeau’s shot was one of five in a one-minute span for the Panthers.

Phoenix v Nashville 0-3 - Pekka Rinne stopped 19 shots for his second straight shutout as the Predators defeated the Phoenix Coyotes 3-0 Thursday night. Rinne, who blanked the San Jose Sharks 1-0 Tuesday, has three shutouts in his past four starts and has gone 137:41 without allowing a goal. Gabriel Bourque, Nick Spaling and Mike Fisher scored third-period goals for the Predators, who were frustrated by Mike Smith through 40 minutes. The Coyotes goaltender made point-blank stops on Fisher and Bourque in the final 10 seconds of the second period. Phoenix had its best chance of the game just over three minutes after the opening faceoff. With all but one Nashville player caught in the offensive zone, all five Coyotes on the ice drove into the Predators zone on a 5-on-1 break. Steve Sullivan fired a wrist shot, but Rinne was able to glove the puck and force a faceoff. Bourque finally broke through at 2:40 of the third period when Martin Erat's shot hit his skate and deflected into the net for a power-play goal with Coyotes forward Mikkel Boedker in the penalty box. It was Bourque's third goal of the season. Spaling made it 2-0 at 9:38 when his high snap shot from the right circle beat Smith to the glove side for his third of the season. Fisher added some insurance with 1:44 left in regulation when he set up in the right circle and one-timed a feed from Ellis for his second of the season. Smith finished with 26 saves for Phoenix, which had won the first two games of a three-game road trip and shut out the Predators 4-0 in Arizona on Jan. 28.

Colorado v Minnesota 4-3 - Having lost three games in a row and badly needing a win, the Colorado Avalanche leaned on their veterans Thursday night. Milan Hejduk and Jean-Sebastien Giguere played starring roles for the Avalanche when they defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-3 in a shootout at Xcel Energy Center. Hejduk, celebrating his 37th birthday, scored once in regulation and was credited with the winner in the shootout. A notorious Wild killer through the years, Hejduk's regulation goal was his 22nd against Minnesota, the second-most allowed to a player by the franchise (Calgary Flames' Jarome Iginla, 35). Colorado had scored four goals during its three-game skid; Minnesota had one goal in six straight games. Heading into the third period Thursday, Colorado led 2-1 and it looked like both teams were tapped out. But an offensive explosion in the third turned a rather dull game into an exciting one, including a critical one-minute stretch late in the period. With the game tied 2-2, Wild wing Dany Heatley zoomed into the Avalanche zone and split a pair of defenders before the puck was knocked off his stick. Mikko Koivu, following his teammate, swooped on the loose puck and flipped a backhander off Giguere's glove, then the crossbar, and in at 11:56, giving the Wild its first lead. But it was short-lived. Minnesota dumped the puck into Colorado's zone on the faceoff and the Avalanche rushed up ice 2-on-2. Colorado failed on that scoring chance, but used the momentum to gain zone time. For nearly 30 seconds, the Avalanche pummeled the Wild, creating several quality chances before finally tying the game on a wraparound goal by Matt Duchene that he banked in off Jared Spurgeon's sprawled body at the right post. The response was big for the Avalanche, who led much of the second period after goals by Aaron Palushaj and Hejduk sandwiched a Wild score by Zach Parise. Minnesota tied the game 2-2 on a dirty goal by Mike Rupp 2:30 into the third. The fourth-liner, playing with the Wild's second group, dug out a puck behind the net and went to the right post, hammering away at the puck until it slipped through Giguere. Rupp's first of the season gave the Wild its first sustained momentum of the night, leading to its quick lead 10 minutes later. Giguere wasn't flashy in net but made big stops when he had to, including two against Parise and Koivu in the shootout to capture his second victory of the season. Duchene also scored in the shootout for Colorado, which improved to 5-6-1; with 11 points, the Avalanche are two behind the second-place Wild, who have played one more game. The Avalanche continue Northwest Division play at the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night. Minnesota (6-7-1) has two days off before facing the Detroit Red Wings at home Sunday afternoon.