Gameday 32 (Tue, 19 Feb) - Results

Winnipeg v Buffalo 2-1 - The mood in each team's dressing room couldn't have been more different after the Winnipeg Jets played the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. After the Jets' 2-1 win at First Niagara Center, music blared and there were many happy faces in the visitors' locker room. At the other end of the hallway, the Sabres held a closed-door meeting. When the room finally opened to the media, it was quiet and the players were somber. The Jets have been held to two or fewer goals in each of their past six games, but that didn't prevent them from picking up two points against the Sabres as they moved out of the basement of the Eastern Conference standings. Following a homestand in which Winnipeg went 0-3-0, Noel wanted to focus on building morale and strengthening the team's mentality in tight games. Bryan Little and Andrew Ladd scored to give the Jets a 2-0 lead. Little exactly one minute into the game, Ladd with the eventual game-winner early in the second period. Jason Pominville scored his seventh goal of the season for the Sabres near the end of the second period. Ondrej Pavelec got the start for the Jets, stopping 29 shots in his 200th NHL game. Buffalo is searching for answers after losing four of their past five games. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, obviously dissatisfied with his club's effort, said he was embarrassed and that the coaching staff is going to evaluate every aspect of the roster. The crowd at First Niagara Center expressed its displeasure with the product on the ice with a series of boos throughout the game. Winnipeg opened a five-game road trip. Over the next week, they travel to play the Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers. Winnipeg was killing off a League-low 65.9 percent of its penalties entering the game, but killed off all three Buffalo power plays, including one with less than four minutes to play. On Little's goal to make it 1-0, Evander Kane won a battle behind the net and passed the puck out to the top of the crease. Little, unguarded, snapped it in for his third of the year. Kane extended his point streak to four games (two goals and two assists). Winnipeg nearly extended its lead midway through the period, but Blake Wheeler was denied when Miller reached out with the paddle of his stick along the ice and prevented the puck from crossing the goal line. Miller stopped Jim Slater on a partial breakaway with just over two minutes left in the first. On Buffalo's next rush up the ice, Pavelec reached out and made a nifty glove save on Drew Stafford. Miller later stopped Kane on a shorthanded rush with 19 seconds left. Winnipeg made it 2-0 at 5:44 of the second period. Sabres forward Nathan Gerbe tried to clear the zone but had his pass to Pominville broken up in the middle of the ice by Jets defenseman Ron Hainsey. Hainsey poked a pass to Ladd and the Jets captain threw a puck on goal that trickled in past Miller, who might have been screened by Sabres defenseman Alexander Sulzer. The goal was Ladd's eighth of the season, fourth in four games. Pominville helped bring Buffalo back to life with 21.3 seconds to play in the second period to make it 2-1. Stepping over the blue line, he wristed a shot top shelf over Pavelec from 31 feet out. The Sabres captain had been held without a point in his past six games, tying a career-high drought. Buffalo's Cody Hodgson extended his point streak to three games (two goals and one assist) with a helper on the goal. Pavelec tracked down and caught a rocket from the point by Tyler Myers early in the third period to keep the Jets ahead. Defenseman Andrej Sekera missed his second straight game for Buffalo with a charley horse. Winnipeg placed defenseman Tobias Enstrom (shoulder) on injured reserve retroactive to Feb. 16.

Montreal v NY Rangers 3-1 - Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller sat side-by-side in the visiting locker room at Madison Square Garden following the Montreal Canadiens' 3-1 victory against the New York Rangers on Tuesday night, smiling and laughing about the team's fifth straight win. The 19-year-old Galchenyuk broke a streak of 13 games without a goal by finishing a pass, that may have been intended for Eller, from Brandon Prust early in the third period to put the Canadiens ahead for good. Winning is the bottom line, but it didn't prevent Eller, who has just one goal in his last 14 games, from giving it to Galchenyuk for stepping in front of a pass that was headed right onto his stick. The Canadiens were playing their second game in two nights and looked every bit like a team that had expended all of its energy Monday night in Montreal. Through 20 minutes of scoreless, whistle-filled hockey, the Canadiens had just three shots on goal; the Rangers had five. The Rangers grabbed a 1-0 lead midway through the second period when defenseman Anton Stralman scored his second goal of the season. The goal came during a delayed penalty in which the Canadiens simply stopped skating, allowing Stralman to get to the doorstep for the easy goal. It appeared that could be enough, as the Canadiens were still struggling to generate offense. That all changed after a controversial call late in the second period that went against the Rangers. Canadiens forward Erik Cole chipped the puck into the Rangers zone, but failed to gain the red line before doing so. Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto raced back to touch the puck for what he believed would be an icing, but it was waived off before he slapped the puck away. The Rangers never regained possession in their zone, and it led to Max Pacioretty slamming a one-timer from the slot past goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to draw the Canadiens even with 1:15 left in the period on just their ninth shot of the game. Prust spent two-plus seasons with the Rangers before signing with the Canadiens in July as a free agent. It was an emotional return for Prust, who had never played in MSG as a visitor with any team. He made his presence felt all night, playing a season-high 16:26 and helping set up the winner. With the Rangers on a power play in the final three minutes looking to tie the game, Prust was on the ice killing the penalty. He had four hits and a blocked shot on the night, and his tireless work led to Raphael Diaz's empty-net goal with 1:06 remaining that sealed it. Canadiens goaltender Carey Price put forth a workmanlike effort, making 24 saves to improve to 9-3-0. The victory pushed the Canadiens into first place in the Eastern Conference, something to which Price reacted with nothing but indifference. The Rangers, meanwhile, dropped from the top 8 in the Eastern Conference and now sit at 8-6-1, trailing the Tampa Bay Lightning based on the regulation/overtime wins tiebreaker. They were without forward Rick Nash, who missed the game with an undisclosed injury. Nash was a game-time decision against the Washington Capitals on Sunday, but looked like he was at 100 percent in that contest. Whatever is ailing Nash, it was enough to keep him out of the lineup against the Canadiens. His presence was clearly missed as the Canadiens clogged the neutral zone and made it nearly impossible for the Rangers to generate any speed through the neutral zone.

NY Islanders v Ottawa 1-3 - Two different players scored their first career NHL goal Tuesday night, as the Ottawa Senators beat the New York Islanders 3-1 at Scotiabank Place. Andre Benoit and Dave Dziurzynski each scored against Isles goaltender Rick DiPietro, who stopped 23 of 26 shots in just his third start of the season. New York lost for the seventh time in its last nine games (2-7-0). Dziurzynski's first shot came from the top of the left circle and was bobbled by DiPietro, and the latter couldn't seize control of the puck. Dziurzynski was able to collect the loose puck and lifted the rebound into the net to give Ottawa a 3-1 lead with just 2:35 left in regulation. Colin Greening also scored for the Senators (9-6-2), who won their second in a row. Travis Hamonic scored the only goal for the Islanders (6-9-1). Ottawa has now won its last four games against the Islanders, outscoring them 19-4. Craig Anderson made 37 saves for the win. DiPietro's last victory against the Senators came on Jan. 13, 2008. New York nearly scored at the halfway mark of the first period. Mark Streit whirled around with the puck and passed diagonally across the zone to Matt Martin, who was ready with a point-blank shot. Anderson was forced to dive across the goalmouth in preparation for the save, but the puck sailed over the net at the last second. Ottawa had its best chance with two minutes left in the period. Derek Grant skated through the Islanders' offensive zone and shot from the high slot. DiPietro made the initial save and tried to swat it away with his stick. He ended up tipping the puck back to Grant as he skated by the right side of the net. Grant went for the tip-in, but DiPietro managed to make the save. The Islanders had their final opportunity with about 1:20 left in the period. Chris Phillips turned it over to Keith Aucoin just outside the Ottawa blue line. He passed it across to Josh Bailey, who backhanded the puck over Anderson's shoulder and off the crossbar. Ottawa broke through in the second period and ended two droughts in the process. Kyle Okposo was called for holding at 5:37, giving the Senators a power play. Playing with the man advantage had been a struggle of late for Ottawa, going 0-for-24 in its previous six games. Daniel Alfredsson gained control of the puck behind the net and passed out in front into traffic, where Greening was able to tip it in past DiPietro at 6:01. It was Greening's first goal since Jan. 27. After dropping down the depth chart over the past month, coach Paul MacLean held Greening out of the lineup against Toronto on Feb. 16. Being a healthy scratch gave the forward a chance to re-evaluate his game. Just over two minutes later, Jakob Silfverberg passed diagonally to the right point, where Benoit was waiting. The defenseman sent a long shot from just inside the blue line past DiPietro at 8:37, as the Senators grabbed a 2-0 lead. For the 29-year-old Benoit, his goal was one to savor. The journeyman had played in Finland, Sweden and Russia over the course of his career, and signed with Ottawa as a free agent last July. With the treasured puck already perched on his locker's shelf, the defenseman was all smiles after the game. After pressuring the Senators through the opening minutes of the third period, the Islanders would capitalize. Marty Reasoner dug the puck out from the corner, and passed to Hamonic in the slot. Hamonic caught Anderson off guard and fired through the goaltender's pads at 2:44, making the score 2-1. It was Hamonic's first goal in 15 games. John Tavares was held pointless for the second consecutive game after scoring six goals and two assists in his previous five games. Hamonic wouldn't allow his team off the hook, despite the improvement in play. New York lost 7-0 to Philadelphia on home ice Monday afternoon.

Toronto v Tampa Bay 2-4 - Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Ben Scrivens entered Tuesday night's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning riding a two-game shutout streak. He exited with 14:02 remaining in the third period after allowing four goals on 13 shots. The Lightning scored twice in the final period, including a power-play goal on a blast from the left point by defenseman Matt Carle, to cruise to a 4-2 win over the Maple Leafs at Tampa Bay Times Forum. If Scrivens had any thoughts of a third consecutive shutout, those vanished at 9:25 of the opening period. A mishandled pass in the Maple Leafs zone bounced to Benoit Pouliot, who slid the puck to wide-open Vincent Lecavalier. Lecavalier's wrist shot was good for his sixth goal of the season and ended Scrivens' shutout streak at 147:35. The score extended Lecavalier's point streak to five games, and Martin St. Louis was credited with an assist, his League-leading 18th. The Maple Leafs evened the score, 1-1, with 2:01 remaining in the first. Nikolai Kulemin was allowed to stickhandle unimpeded through the slot, and though Lightning goaltender Anders Lindback made the save on his shot, the puck went to a charging Mikhail Grabovski, who collected his fourth goal of the season on the rebound. With just under five minutes gone in the second period, Cory Conacher's pass from behind the net found Steven Stamkos in front of the crease and Stamkos did not miss, opening up a 2-1 lead for Tampa Bay while collecting his 10th goal of the season. Pouliot had the second of his three assists; he has 12 points over his past 10 games. Lightning forward Alexander Killorn scored his second career goal in as many games when his soft shot from the left side found a way through Scrivens and into the Toronto net at 2:49 of the third. The score opened the two-goal cushion for the Lightning. Carle's goal knocked Scrivens from the net. Jussi Rynnas, on the roster in place of injured James Reimer, got his first action this season and stopped six shots in relief. The Maple Leafs (10-7-0) pulled within 4-2 with just under four minutes remaining when James van Riemsdyk scored his ninth goal of the season off a deflection in front of the crease. Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak assisted. Lindback stopped 23 shots, including a highlight-reel save in the third period as the netminder moved swiftly across the crease to rob Kulemin as he tried to complete a 2-on-1. Tampa Bay (8-6-1) produced 19 shots on net, equaling their season low, which came against the New Jersey Devils in a 4-2 loss Feb. 7. But shots on goal weren't necessarily part of the game plan Tuesday, with the Lightning looking to take advantage of the back-to-back game that Toronto was playing.

San Jose v St Louis 2-1 - The travel-weary St. Louis Blues tried to will their way to two points. But the San Jose Sharks had other ideas. They had problems of their own. On a day when the Blues arrived 12-1/2 hours prior to the puck drop against the Sharks, 14 hours after they were scheduled to arrive, because of mechanical issues with the team's charter flight out of Vancouver, the Blues had steam early but ran out late. Tim Kennedy's goal with 6:58 remaining was the difference when the Sharks ended a seven-game winless skid with a 2-1 victory over the Blues on Tuesday night at Scottrade Center, stopping St. Louis' three-game winning streak. Kennedy, who got his second goal in three games played, fired a shot from a sharp angle inside the left circle that squirted through Jake Allen into the goal. Joe Thornton also scored for the Sharks, who came in 0-4-3 in seven games after starting the season 7-0-0. Patrik Berglund got the Blues rolling with a goal, but they couldn't get much else mustered. It was their fifth straight loss at home (0-4-1), something that hasn't happened since dropping five in a row from Dec. 18, 2009-Jan. 2, 2010. The Blues were a bit sluggish at the start but were able to get through a pair of early penalty kills. Allen made some key stops, including one on Joe Pavelski in the slot after a turnover less than two minutes into the game. The Blues held the Sharks without a shot over the final 10:19 of the first period and built a 1-0 lead when Berglund, who has a goal in a career-best four straight, scored his team-leading ninth of the season 12:54 into the game. Vladimir Sobotka was able to curl around the San Jose goal and thread a pass to Berglund in the low slot, and the center was able to push it under Antti Niemi's right arm. Thornton's first goal in 10 games tied it for the Sharks, when he collected a rebound off Dan Boyle's shot from the slot 3:55 into the second period. It was the Sharks' first regular-season goal in St. Louis since Devin Setoguchi scored on Dec. 18, 2010, a span of 148:51. The Sharks held the Blues without a shot for much of the third period and were able to limit the pressure around Niemi, who made 25 saves.

Detroit v Nashville 3-4 - Shea Weber and the Nashville Predators heard the questions over and over through the first 13 games of the season: When will he break out? Why hasn't he scored? Was it the pressure of the 14-year, $110-million deal he signed in the offseason? Was it the loss of his long-time defense partner Ryan Suter? Predators general manager David Poile and coach Barry Trotz preached patience, that Weber would break out. Over the last four games, Weber has broken out with a vengeance, as the Detroit Red Wings learned the hard way on Tuesday, when Weber scoring the winning goal in overtime for a 4-3 win against their Central Division rivals at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators captain now has goals in three straight games. He also earned an assist on Tuesday, giving him six points in his last four games. The 6-foot-4, 234-pound defenseman scored 44 seconds into overtime, collecting a rebound off Colin Wilson's shot that went wide off the backboards and beating Jonas Gustavsson before he could recover. Gustavsson stopped 16 of 18 shots. Weber, a runner-up for the Norris Trophy each of the last two seasons, called the goal lucky, but earlier he rang a slap shot off the post that got behind Gustavsson, so maybe things evened out for him. Including the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Nashville entered Tuesday with six non-shootout wins over Detroit in its previous seven meetings. Both teams came in needing a victory: Detroit had not won its previous three, giving up 11 goals in the process, and Nashville had not won in its past two, though both teams had earned an overtime or shootout loss apiece. Overall, Nashville has gone 7-2-2 in its last 11 and moved to 21 points, four up on the Red Wings. As Weber alluded, Nashville took a 2-0 lead early and the margin could have been larger. Detroit escaped down 2-1 thanks to a shorthanded goal by Danny Cleary. The Red Wings persevered through four minor penalties, the loss of top defenseman Niklas Kronwall for most of the period and a goalie change. Nashville took advantage on the second of Detroit defenseman Jakub Kindl's three penalties in the period for a power-play goal. Craig Smith received Wilson's nifty goalmouth feed and whipped it past Jimmy Howard from the left post at 5:01. It was the first goal of the season for Smith, who performed in the NHL SuperSkills competition last year as a rookie, despite playing in every game this season. Nashville went up 2-0 at 10:41 when Gabriel Bourque redirected Scott Hannan's point shot past Howard. Only 8:38 into the period, Detroit changed goalies, as it was later announced that Howard (five saves on seven shots) suffered an upper-body injury. After the game, Detroit coach Mike Babcock revealed that Howard had been hit by a puck in practice and had blurry vision. Late in the period, Gustavsson received a penalty for delay of game for freezing the puck after he lost his stick in the corner. Ironically, that supplied Detroit's only goal of the period as Pavel Datsyuk, who was magical on the night, set up a wide open Cleary for a wrist shot, which beat Pekka Rinne (26 saves) as his own defenseman, Jonathon Blum, skated into him at 15:01. Kronwall left the game at the 5:43 mark after a hit by Nashville's Rich Clune, for which Clune received a boarding penalty. Kronwall played only three shifts but returned to start the second period. Through two periods, Nashville maintained a 6-1 advantage in power plays, but led only 2-1. After a scoreless second period, a flurry of three goals in a span of 2:17 broke out in the third. First, Detroit tied the game at 11:33 of the third period when Nashville defenseman Kevin Klein, a hero of last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs series victory over Detroit, knocked former Predator Jordin Tootoo's centering pass into his own net. Tootoo was playing his first game against his former team after eight seasons in a Nashville uniform. Then Roman Josi put Nashville back ahead 3-2 when his wrist shot from the sideboards deflected off Joakim Andersson's stick at 12:54. Finally, in an incredible display of skill, Pavel Datsyuk skated through four Nashville defenders and beat Rinne under his blocker arm with a wrist shot at 13:30. Trotz talked about how Datsyuk looks small of stature off the ice but is so incredibly strong on it. He also spoke reverentially of the joy with which Datsyuk plays. After the game, Datsyuk did show much of that joy. But even though the Red Wings have not won in their last four games and have allowed 15 goals in the process, Datsyuk said the Red Wings are making baby steps towards progress. Still, starting Wednesday out of playoff position is not familiar territory for them.

Vancouver v Chicago 3-4 - The puck left Ryan Kesler's stick at a high rate of speed, but it nestled into the catching glove of goalie Ray Emery and just like that, the Chicago Blackhawks had themselves another victory. In doing so, the Blackhawks also upped their streak to 16 consecutive games to start the season with at least a point with a thrilling 4-3 shootout win Tuesday night against the rival Vancouver Canucks inside a raucous United Center. That matches the mark set by the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks, who went on to win the Stanley Cup, and gives Chicago (13-0-3) a chance to move into the top spot alone at home on Friday night against the San Jose Sharks, a team the Blackhawks have already beaten twice. It wasn't all good news. Early in the third period, with Chicago leading 3-1, Blackhawks star forward Marian Hossa dropped to the ice following a collision with Vancouver's Jannik Hansen near the benches. After lying motionless, face down on the ice for a few minutes, Hossa got to his feet and headed straight to the locker room. Quenneville said the team would know more on Wednesday, but the Blackhawks don't have practice and public updates are likely to be put on hold until Thursday. Quenneville also said that, to his knowledge, Hossa hadn't been taken to a hospital for observation. Hansen, meanwhile, said he and Hossa were both jumping for a puck that kicked into the air above them. Hossa also got knocked out of a playoff series last spring against the Phoenix Coyotes after an illegal hit delivered by Raffi Torres by the benches. It was a similar sight again, only this time Hossa didn't need a stretcher. Prior to the incident, which drew a roughing minor for Hansen, Hossa was having a big game. He'd just scored back-to-back goals in the second period to give the Blackhawks a commanding 3-1 lead starting the third. Patrick Sharp also scored his second goal in as many games during the second to knot it 1-1 just 6:36 into the period, after Daniel Sedin's goal put the Canucks (8-3-4) up 1-0 at 13:34 of the first. Hossa earned the game's first star honors and his teammates placed their player-awarded "heavyweight belt" in front of his locker. His first goal came off a hard slapper during a power play to beat Cory Schneider and give Chicago its first lead 13:48 into the second, but his second tally will be the one that's replayed on the highlights. After winning a puck battle with Alexandre Burrows along the half wall, Hossa carried the puck below the goal line behind the Canucks' net, stickhandled it while weaving through the crease, slipped a short pass ahead to himself and then tapped it home backhanded off Schneider's skate blade inside the post. Thanks to goals late in regulation by Alexander Edler and Kevin Bieksa that tied it 3-3 with 1:01 left before the third ended, Quenneville found himself with another Hossa-related situation to mull after overtime expired with no goals. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane took their usual turns as the first and second shootout options, but Quenneville had originally planned to go with Hossa as the third shooter. Instead, he picked Andrew Shaw, who beat Schneider with a pretty backhand deke despite some admitted nervous tension. Shaw usually scores "dirty" goals off loose pucks around the net, but this one was all skill. It was also his first successful attempt on his third try in the NHL. Kane and Vancouver's Chris Higgins also scored in the shootout, with Kane's goal needing a video review from Toronto to determine that Schneider actually knocked it between his own pads with his glove. After Shaw scored, Kesler zipped a wrist shot on Vancouver's next attempt that was picked out of mid-air by Emery (29 saves) to end the game. It was just as exciting at the start of the contest, with a first period that featured five combined breakaways and no goals scored on any of them. Daniel Sedin's fifth marker of the season, scored 13:34 into the first, was the lone tally of the opening period. He shoveled it backhanded through the five hole against Emery from the right circle, and did it just 30 seconds after the Blackhawks goalie made an outstanding pad save against him on a breakaway shot directed toward the same target area. Schneider (40 saves) came up with big stops against breaks by Hossa, Sharp and Dave Bolland, while Emery made two against Daniel Sedin, including the one just prior to his goal.

Los Angeles v Edmonton 3-1 - Jeff Carter broke a 1-1 tie with just 49.4 seconds remaining in regulation and Jonathan Quick made 23 saves as the Los Angeles Kings earned a 3-1 victory against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place on Tuesday night. Colin Fraser scored in the second period and Jarret Stoll added an empty-net tally for Los Angeles, which moved back to the .500 mark with the win (6-6-2). Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 35 of 37 shots for the Oilers, who lost for the second time in the past three games and fell to the .500 mark (6-6-3). After the Oilers turned the puck over at the Kings' blue line, Carter beat Khabibulin through the legs with a quick shot. Trevor Lewis had two assists and was a plus-3 for the Kings, who bounced back from a 3-2 loss at Chicago on Sunday. Los Angeles went 0-for-2 on the power play. Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and Justin Schultz were all minus-3 for Edmonton. The Oilers went 1-for-4 with the man advantage. The Kings took a 1-0 lead at 4:44 of the second period when Khabibulin made a save on a long shot by Jordan Nolan, but the Oilers were unable to clear the rebound as Fraser swooped in for his first of the season. Los Angeles held the bulk of the momentum in the period, at one point outshooting Edmonton 13-1, but the Oilers fought back to tie things up. Seconds after Khabibulin made a diving save after an odd bounce off the boards, Edmonton connected on the power play as a shot by Sam Gagner beat a screened Quick at 16:50.