Gameday 44 (Sun, 03 Mar) - Results

Chicago v Detroit 2-1 - It's starting to feel like the Chicago Blackhawks won't lose a game in regulation the rest of the season. Just when it seemed the Detroit Red Wings might be the first team to defeat Chicago in 60 minutes of hockey, the Blackhawks had one final shot with a powerplay, all-or-nothing, and they did it, Patrick Kane buried a quick shot to cap a power play with 2:02 left in regulation to send an exciting rivalry game into overtime Sunday at Joe Louis Arena. It then went to a shootout, which was decided by Kane, who used his patented slow-down, multiple-deke move to beat Jimmy Howard and give Chicago a 2-1 victory, extending their season-starting point streak to 22 games. The goal was Kane's 11th of the season, and it assured the Blackhawks (19-0-3) of at least a point, a string of 28 games in a row dating to last season. Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford, who finished with 32 saves in regulation and overtime, stopped three Detroit shootout attempts, including Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg to end it. Kane's regulation goal was a perfect example of how Chicago has stayed unbeaten in regulation. The situation was created by Jonathan Ericsson's delay-of-game penalty, and 23 seconds later, the game was knotted 1-1 after Sharp's point blast was blocked by Detroit's Niklas Kronwall and Chicago's Viktor Stalberg beat Kyle Quincey to the puck by a fraction of a second. Quincey had his stick cocked to clear it when Stalberg backhanded a short pass to Kane in the bottom of the right circle. The Blackhawks' leading scorer then ripped a shot that skipped off Howard's blocker into the short side of the net. It was the ninth-straight victory for the Blackhawks, which tied the franchise record set in December of the 2008-09 season. As for the Red Wings (10-8-4), it was the second one-goal loss to their Central Division rivals this season, the first, on Jan 27 at United Center, ended 2-1 in overtime. This time, Detroit's Johan Franzen nearly won it in overtime, but a frustrating day for him continued when his backhand shot clanged off the left post. Howard (32 saves) came up with a big stop in overtime against Kane with one second left to force the shootout. It was the perfect way to cap this game. After a scoreless first period largely dominated by the Blackhawks, both teams ratcheted up the intensity in the second. The goalies were tested and came up with great saves to keep zeroes on the scoreboard. Chicago made the first big push early in the second. One shift in particular stood out, featuring a mix of players from the Blackhawks' third and fourth lines. It lasted 1:13 and the puck never left the Detroit zone. Chicago put five shots on goal against Howard, with Nick Leddy firing the first, followed by two each from Brandon Saad and Michael Frolik, who also fired a shot from the slot over the net with Howard out of position. As it turned out, that shift might have been what Detroit needed to snap out of its funk. After trailing in shots 18-8 midway through the second, the Red Wings finally put some heat on Crawford, who was starting for the first time since leaving after the first period of a Feb. 28 game against the St. Louis Blues with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Crawford made a couple of stops to deny Franzen in the second, and the Red Wings outshot the Blackhawks 13-3 before the horn sounded. Crawford was sharp during a power play late in the period, when he stopped six shots. The Red Wings carried the momentum into the third, when Tomas Tatar finally scored the game's first goal at 2:43. Joakim Andersson picked up the primary assist by slipping Tatar a feed from behind the net to the low slot for a one-time redirect past Crawford, who then made several more huge saves to keep it a one-goal game.

Ottawa v NY Islanders 2-3 - Eighty percent of John Tavares was enough to give the New York Islanders a welcome victory at Nassau Coliseum. Tavares, who missed practice Saturday with an illness that limited his ice time, scored on a sensational move in the third round of the shootout to give the Islanders a 3-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday. Tavares deked his way past goaltender Robin Lehner and slid the puck into the net to clinch the victory after Frans Nielsen scored on the first shot of the tiebreaker. The win was the Islanders' first in four games on a seven-game homestand. Ironically, it was the Islanders' first win in the nine games this season in which Tavares didn't have a point. It was their third win in 12 games at Nassau Coliseum this season. It was a disappointing outcome for the Senators, who allowed Michael Grabner's go-ahead goal with 3:29 left in regulation but earned a point when Patrick Wiercioch's power-play slapper hit the stick of Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic and went past Nabokov. Grabner, one of the NHL's fastest players, jumped off the bench on a line change and raced into the Ottawa zone, where he picked up an errant clearing pass by Kaspars Daugavins and rifled a shot from the high slot past Lehner to put the Islanders in front. Ottawa tied the game with 1:09 remaining when Wiercioch's straightaway slap shot from just inside the blue line sailed through a tangle of bodies and past Nabokov. Lehner, a rookie making his second start of the season, made 33 saves for the Senators. Nabokov stopped 29 shots for the Islanders. The Islanders jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 7:48 when Brad Boyes scored his fifth of the season, snapping a shot from well inside the left circle off Lehner's glove and under the crossbar. Tavares started the play with a takeaway behind his own net; Boyes finished it by converting a pass from Matt Moulson. Lehner made the best of his 10 first-period saves three minutes later when he used his pads to stop Tavares on a breakaway. The busiest player on either team was Islanders forward Matt Martin, who was credited with eight hits in the opening 20 minutes. Both sides had chances in the early stages of the second period before Ottawa tied the game at 8:36. Chris Neil tried to pass the puck into the slot, but Hamonic got his stick on it. It deflected right to Mika Zibanejad, who quickly whipped a 15-footer behind Nabokov for his fourth of the season. Ottawa had two excellent chances to break the tie on its first power play after Colin McDonald was called for hooking at 15:31. Alfredsson bulled his way from the right corner to the net, only to have his backhander denied by Nabokov, who got a break a few seconds later when a right-point blast by Wiercioch rang the left post. The Senators had the better of play for the first half of the third period, but Nabokov preserved the tie with 11:40 to go when he stopped Colin Greening on a rebound try after making saves on Alfredsson and Wiercioch seconds earlier.

Colorado v Columbus 1-2 - The Columbus Blue Jackets finally found a way to win a one-goal game. Artem Anisimov's power-play goal at 2:26 of overtime gave the Blue Jackets a 2-1 win against the visiting Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. Late on a power play with Colorado's PA Parenteau off for hooking 42 seconds into overtime, the Blue Jackets set up deep in the Avalanche zone. With R.J. Umberger screening goalie Semyon Varlamov, Anisimov fired a low wrist shot from the right faceoff circle that found the back of the net and snapped a four-game winless streak. The Blue Jackets had lost four in a row, each by one goal, the past two in overtime. They had lost seven times in eight games, all but one of those by one goal. Blue Jackets forward Vinny Prospal scored the game-tying goal early in the third, and the Blue Jackets went beyond 60 minutes for the third straight time. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 18 saves. Parenteau scored for the Avalanche, and goalie Semyon Varlamov stopped 32 of 34 shots. Prospal's power-play goal at 4:04 of the third tied it 1-1. The Blue Jackets already were on a power play with Patrick Bordeleau in the penalty box for holding when Matt Duchene was sent off for a hooking penalty. Columbus took advantage of the 5-on-3 when Prospal got a pass from Fedor Tyutin, skated into the right circle and fired a low shot that deflected off the stick of Avalanche forward Ryan O'Reilly and past Varlamov. It was Prospal's team-best eighth goal of the season. It was O'Reilly's season debut after the Avalanche matched an offer sheet tendered him by the Calgary Flames this week. After a scoreless first period, Parenteau gave the Avalanche the lead with 7:35 left in the second. Taking a pass from Shane O'Brien just above the circles, he looped a high wrist shot on net that bounced off the shoulder of Bobrovsky and glanced off the crossbar. The goal was allowed to stand after a review showed Duchene did not tip the shot with a high stick. A scoreless first period saw both teams have the chance to score the game's first goal. The Blue Jackets had a two-man advantage for 1:20 midway through the period after the Avalanche were whistled for too many men on the ice while killing off a penalty on Shane O'Brien. However, the Blue Jackets couldn’t get a shot on net, as first Duchene then Jan Hejda blocked shots. The Avalanche had a power play earlier in the period when Tyutin was sent off for cross-checking, but managed one shot.

St Louis v Dallas 1-4 - The Dallas Stars atoned for a poor showing on Thursday night to hand the St. Louis Blues a 4-1 defeat Sunday before 16,633 fans at American Airlines Center. Derek Roy had a goal and two assists, Erik Cole scored his first goal for Dallas since a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, and Loui Eriksson and Jaromir Jagr provided insurance in the third period. Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen delivered a 25-save performance for his eighth victory of the season, and Dallas ended a two-game losing streak three days after suffering a 5-1 home loss to the Edmonton Oilers. But early on it looked like this game might be a repeat of the previous meeting between the Stars and Blues, a game Jan. 26 in Dallas that ended in a 4-3 win for St. Louis. David Perron had two goals for St. Louis in that win. And when Perron netted his seventh of the season 4:20 into this game, tucking the puck just inside the left post on a beautiful display of precise stickhandling and skating, it looked like this might be the Blues' day. However, before the puck dropped after the goal, Dallas' Antoine Roussel and St. Louis' Chris Stewart dropped the gloves, a scrum that everyone in the Stars' room felt gave them a much-needed spark to turn the game in their favor. The Stars scored four unanswered goals to send the Blues to defeat in the first game of a five-game road trip. Dallas tied it 1-1 at 15:49 of the first when Cole beat goaltender Brian Elliott with a 15-foot wrister from the slot. After two St. Louis turnovers in their end, Roy fed Roussel, who laid the puck back to Cole, who converted for the goal. The Stars took the lead 2-1 with 1:40 remaining before the first intermission when Roy scored his third of the season. After T.J. Oshie turned over the puck along the right boards, Roy dashed in and flicked a 33-foot wrister that trickled under the right shoulder of Elliott, giving Dallas' revamped second line its second goal of the period. An apparent game-tying goal by Blues rookie Adam Cracknell at 8:59 of the third was nullified when officials determined he used a kicking motion to score. Eriksson's seventh of the season from the right face-off circle, which came after a cross-ice pass from Jordie Benn at 12:48, made it 3-1, and Jagr's seventh of the season with 1:00 remaining made it 4-1. Elliott stopped 23 of 27 shots in his first start since Feb. 11 to receive his sixth straight loss. The teams return to the ice on the road at Los Angeles later this week. St. Louis will face the Kings at Staples Center on Tuesday, two days before Dallas meets the defending Stanley Cup champions for the first time this season.

Carolina v Florida 3-2 - The weekend home-and-home series between the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers proved a tough one on goaltenders. It also was very productive for the Hurricanes. Justin Faulk and Alexander Semin scored a minute apart late in the first period and the Hurricanes held on to complete the weekend sweep, winning 3-2 at BB&T Center on Sunday. Cam Ward started a second consecutive game in net for Carolina but had to leave midway through the second period because of a leg injury. On Monday, the Hurricanes revealed Ward suffered a third-degree MCL sprain that will sideline him for 6-8 weeks. He was replaced by Dan Ellis, who had been scratched from his scheduled start due to illness. Ellis stopped 19 of the 21 shots he faced, including 14 of 15 in the third period. With Florida's Jose Theodore on injured reserve after sustaining a right-leg injury Saturday, Scott Clemmensen got the start for the Panthers. But his backup for the first 16 minutes was goaltending coach Robb Tallas, who had to suit up as an emergency fill-in after Jacob Markstrom's equipment didn't arrive with him on his flight from San Antonio after his call-up. After giving up six goals in relief of Theodore on Saturday, Clemmensen made 21 saves Sunday and had to endure sporadic chants of "We Want Markstrom!" from the home fans. In addition to Theodore, the Panthers were without two players injured Saturday: forward Scottie Upshall (lower body) and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who was placed on injured reserve Sunday with an upper-body injury. Jordan Staal had the other goal for the Hurricanes, who extended their lead over the Winnipeg Jets atop the Southeast Division to four points. The Hurricanes went into the weekend with an 0-5-0 record against division opponents, including a 5-1 loss against the Panthers in the season opener Jan. 19 at BB&T Center. Rookie Jonathan Huberdeau had his team-leading ninth and 10th goals for the Panthers, who lost for the 10th time in 12 games (2-6-4). Peter Mueller had an assist on each. It was another strong outing for Florida's "Kid Line," which includes rookie center Drew Shore. Florida (6-11-5), coming off the first division title in franchise history, sits in last place in the Eastern Conference with 17 points. The Hurricanes, who had led once after the first period in their first 19 games, made it two in a row Sunday night. Carolina this weekend recorded more victories against Florida than it managed all of last season when the Panthers took five of six meetings. Avoiding penalties was a big factor in Carolina's success. After not having to kill a single penalty Saturday, the Hurricanes were shorthanded once Sunday. After the game remained scoreless during Tallas' time on the Florida bench, Faulk opened the scoring at 18:08 when he one-timed a Panthers clearing attempt at the point and took advantage of traffic in front of Clemmensen. Exactly a minute later, Semin beat Clemmensen with a backhand after getting behind Panthers defensemen Brian Campbell and Erik Gudbranson and taking a nifty feed from Jiri Tlusty. The quick goals were a repeat of Saturday night when the Hurricanes scored twice in a span of 49 seconds late in the first period to turn a 1-0 lead into a 3-0 cushion. This time, Carolina had to wait until 6:10 of the second to make it 3-0, when Staal got to the front of the net and redirected a pass from Jeff Skinner. Ward left the game at 8:56 of the period, less than a minute after Hurricanes defenseman Joe Corvo slid into him trying to defend Jack Skille's rush to the net. Despite staying in the game, Ward seemed to favor his left leg. After he prepared to stop a shot from the point, he went down when the puck was deflected away and he tried to quickly change direction. Ward stopped all 15 shots he faced. Huberdeau, who was named NHL Rookie of the Month for February, beat Ellis at 16:05 of the second period when he tapped in a feed from Mueller from the boards near the top of the circle and across the net. Ellis came up with some big saves in the third period, including stopping defenseman Colby Robak on a 2-on-1 and stopping Huberdeau's shot from the slot. Huberdeau beat Ellis again with 54.6 seconds left off another great cross-ice feed from Mueller.

Montreal v Boston 4-3 - When Zdeno Chara is off the ice for the Boston Bruins, there's a lot more room for opponents to roam. The Montreal Canadiens took advantage of that Sunday night, scoring twice in the third period while Chara was serving out a minor for instigating, a fighting major and a 10-minute misconduct to earn a 4-3 comeback victory against the Bruins at TD Garden. Montreal's David Desharnais scored twice, including the game-winner 9:17 into the third period. Max Pacioretty tied the game earlier in the third. Chara was assessed 17 minutes in penalties for instigating a fight with Montreal defenseman Alexei Emelin with five minutes to play in the second period. Chara took offense to a hit Emelin had thrown at Tyler Seguin moments earlier in the neutral zone. Though the Bruins could ill afford to lose their captain and one of the League's best defensemen, Chara had just witnessed Emelin break his stick while checking Seguin. The Boston forward looked shaken up and left the ice for several seconds before returning. The game between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference featured plenty of offensive and physical fireworks. There were 48 penalty minutes, including a fight between Boston's Milan Lucic and Montreal's Brandon Prust in the second period. Down 3-2 to start the third, Montreal tied the game at 5:31 when Pacioretty's wrist shot from the high slot hit something and eluded goaltender Tuukka Rask (22 saves). Desharnais then scored the winner during a scramble in front after a wide shot by Brendan Gallagher and a pass to the crease by Pacioretty. Montreal goalie Peter Budaj, making his first start since Feb. 18, finished with 31 saves. The Canadiens decided to go with their backup after Carey Price lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 7-6, Saturday night. Budaj stopped all 10 shots he faced in the third period. Montreal jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a Tomas Plekanec power-play goal 9:57 into the game. Seguin answered at 10:47, but Desharnais' pass to the front deflected in off a Boston skate to put Montreal back ahead 16 seconds later. The Bruins scored the only goals in the second period. Patrice Bergeron benefited from Andrei Markov kicking in a loose puck at 4:06. Then Dougie Hamilton one-timed a bouncing puck over Budaj's shoulder into the top of the net for a 3-2 Boston lead with 9:20 gone in the middle session. Montreal is two points ahead of Boston for first place in the East with the Bruins holding three games in hand. Expectations were low for the Canadiens, but Montreal has split its first two meetings with the two-time defending Northeast Division champion Bruins.

Buffalo v NY Rangers 2-3 - The New York Rangers were on the road to defeat Sunday, perhaps the loss was still off in the distance, but it was only a few exits away, before Buffalo Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta steered the game in an entirely different direction early in the third period. Already down a man but with the Sabres ahead thanks to a Drew Stafford goal, Kaleta drove a defenseless Brad Richards into the boards. Kaleta was issued a major penalty along with a game misconduct for checking from behind, giving the Rangers a lengthy two-man advantage and five-minute power play that infused life into a lifeless performance. Derek Stepan scored seven seconds after Kaleta was tossed, and Rick Nash put the Rangers ahead with a goal 43 seconds later. Nathan Gerbe would pull the Sabres back even with nine seconds left in the penalty, but the Rangers emerged with a 3-2 victory on the strength of shootout goals from Nash and Ryan Callahan. Richards was down on the ice for about three minutes, writhing in pain after going headfirst into the left-wing boards after sliding a puck deeper into the Sabres zone. He skated to the locker room under his own power and returned during the five-minute power play, saying afterward he was stunned by the hit but had no ill effects from the collision with the boards. Stepan, who showed about as much emotion as he has in his time with the Rangers after tying the score 1-1, said it was important to get a goal with a two-man advantage but played down his reaction after finishing the pass from Nash. The Sabres answered with Gerbe's shorthanded score at 8:19. It set the stage for a thrilling overtime in which Buffalo had more than its fair share of chances to come away with two points. The Sabres started overtime with 1:26 of power-play time that became a brief 5-on-3 when Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi was called for boarding Tyler Ennis at the 54-second mark. The Sabres fired seven shots on goal during the first 2:54 of overtime, but Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist turned them all aside during his 28-save performance. Lundqvist gave full credit to the Rangers' special teams, which generated two power-play goals in a game for the first time this season. The victory was the Rangers' second straight after dropping four in a row. The Sabres, who had their three-game winning streak snapped, have earned points in four consecutive games under Rolston, who is 3-2-1 since taking over for Lindy Ruff on Feb. 20. The Rangers sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Philadelphia Flyers, who have played three more games than their Atlantic Division rival. The Rangers play host to the Flyers on Tuesday, then will play 10 of their final 27 games at MSG. The Sabres are in 12th place, three points out of eighth. They'll travel to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday happy to get a point in New York but aware that a lack of discipline may have prevented them from picking up two.

Edmonton v Minnesota 2-4 - There are any number of statistics that tell the story of the Minnesota Wild's mastery of the Edmonton Oilers when these Northwest Division rivals hook up at Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota scored three third-period goals Sunday in a dominant defensive effort against Edmonton, winning 4-2 and improving to 19-1-0 in its past 20 in this building against the Oilers. The one stat that told the story for Edmonton on Sunday was shots on goal. After putting seven on Niklas Backstrom in the first period, the Oilers were held off the shot chart in the second period. It was the fifth time in franchise history the Oilers were held without a shot for an entire period, and first since Nov. 8, 2006. Minnesota's masterful effort in the middle frame was the third shot-chart shutout in team history, the first since March 31, 2009. A 29-7 difference in shots through 40 minutes did not translate on the scoreboard, however, with the teams tied 1-1. But instead of being frustrated, the Wild responded nine seconds into the third, grabbing the lead for good on a slick play by captain Mikko Koivu, who lifted the stick of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at the Minnesota blueline, corralled the puck and rifled a wrist shot past Devan Dubnyk for his fourth goal of the season. Six minutes later, Charlie Coyle's backhander extended the Wild lead to 3-1 and proved to be the game-winner. For Coyle, one of Minnesota's top prospects, it was his first goal at home and first two-point game. The Wild jumped ahead 2:37 into the game on Jared Spurgeon's second goal of the season, a snap shot from the point which found its way through traffic in front. The Oilers tied the score 1-1 with 2:02 left in the first period when Magnus Paajarvi banged home a rebound of his wrap-around attempt. Edmonton wouldn't find the net again until 12:56 of the third when a clearing attempt by Koivu bounced off the skate of Sam Gagner behind the net then off Ryan Suter's chest and in, narrowing the gap to 3-2. But on the power play than three minutes later, Dany Heatley redirected a point shot by Koivu for his eighth of the season to give Minnesota some insurance. Koivu's three-point night was the 20th of his career. The Wild are 18-2-0 when he puts up three points. The Wild outshot the Oilers 43-21 and pulled four points ahead of Edmonton in the Northwest Division and to within two of the division-leading Vancouver Canucks, who lost to the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Sunday. The Wild will get the ultimate test Tuesday night when they play at the Chicago Blackhawks, who have yet to lose a game in regulation this season. The Wild did deal the Blackhawks one of their three overtime losses in a 3-2 shootout victory Jan. 30 in St. Paul. Edmonton dropped to 1-2-1 on its nine-game road trip, which continues Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Vancouver v Calgary 2-4 - A southern Alberta snowstorm couldn't stop the Vancouver Canucks. Daniel Taylor and the Calgary Flames could. Taylor made 29 saves for his first NHL victory, Jarome Iginla scored the game-winner late in the third period, and the Flames defeated the Canucks 4-2 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday night. Poor weather conditions delayed the Canucks' flight from Vancouver to Calgary more than 12 hours after their 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings late Saturday night. The wait kept the Canucks from arriving at the rink until two hours before puck drop. Iginla scored with 7:24 remaining to give the Flames (8-8-4) two points over their travel-weary rival. One second after an abuse of officials penalty served by David Booth expired, Iginla's centering pass hit Jason Garrison in front and redirected past goalie Roberto Luongo to put the Flames up 3-2. After that, Taylor held the Canucks (11-6-4) at bay, turning aside Sedin on the doorstep looking for a rebound in the crease with 2:23 remaining. Jay Bouwmeester also blocked what looked to be an empty-net tap-in. Mike Cammalleri, with his second goal of the game, hit the back of the empty Vancouver net with 23 seconds remaining to secure Taylor's first win. The 26-year-old, former seventh-round draft pick had played one NHL game prior to this season, in 2008 for the Los Angeles Kings. Though it was the Canucks who arrived late to the rink, both teams were slow to start, with the game's first shot coming nearly seven minutes in. Still, Vancouver found a way to open the scoring. Sprung on a clear-cut breakaway by Jannik Hansen, Chris Higgins fired his sixth of the season past the blocker of Taylor at 7:49. The goal marked the second time in his two NHL starts Taylor allowed a goal on the second shot he faced. After Mason Raymond hit the crossbar four minutes later and Taylor blockered off a partial breakaway attempt off the stick of Booth, Cammalleri drew the Flames even. Skating in 1-on-3, Cammalleri let off a wrist shot from just inside the blueline that Luongo whiffed on. It was the goalie's first game since giving up eight goals to the Detroit Red Wings a week ago. Hansen wasted little time restoring the Canucks' lead in the second period after some Luongo magic. Taking away a virtually empty net from Flames rookie Sven Baertschi with his right pad, Luongo then got his arm down to prevent Iginla from jamming in the rebound. Hauling the puck up ice moments later, Hansen managed to bat a Cam Barker rebound out of mid-air and behind Taylor for a 2-1 lead at 2:36. Calgary's Lee Stempniak responded with his sixth of the season four minutes later. Initially stopped by Luongo on a partial break set-up, Stempniak corralled a Matt Stajan centering pass in the slot and fired a shot that beat the keeper over the glove to again knot the score.