Gameday 46 (Tue, 05 Mar) - Results

Tampa Bay v New Jersey 5-2 - Tampa Bay Lightning coach Guy Boucher was just glad to see his players finally rewarded for a solid performance. After watching strong efforts go to waste due to brief lapses in previous games, the Lightning were able to snap a five-game losing streak Tuesday behind strong team play and 25 saves from Anders Lindback en route to a 5-2 decision over the New Jersey Devils before 15,229 fans at Prudential Center. Nate Thompson struck for a career-high two goals, and Martin St. Louis (one goal, one assist), Alexander Killorn (one goal, one assist), Vincent Lecavalier (two assists) and Cory Conacher (two assists) chipped in with two points apiece for the Lightning, who play five of their next six games on home ice. Killorn's goal, his fourth of the season, gave Tampa Bay (10-12-1) a 3-0 lead 13:13 into the second period. Thompson's second goal of the game 8:36 into the third gave the visitors a 4-0 advantage and sent many of the hometown fans to the exits. Those who remained witnessed an entertaining finish as the Devils rallied for two goals in a span of 1:31 to close the gap. Adam Henrique denied Lindback his first shutout of the season when he scored off a nifty backhand attempt in front at the 13:44 mark. The shorthanded goal was a League-leading sixth for the Devils. Patrik Elias then connected for a power-play goal off a scramble in the slot off assists from Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk at 15:15 to pull the Devils within 4-2. After Elias scored his first goal in six games, Boucher called timeout. Thompson, who was twice assisted by Conacher, said every player was focused even after giving up the two quick goals. The victory enabled the Lightning to avenge a 4-2 loss to the Devils from Feb. 7. The Devils have lost six straight (0-5-1) for the first time since Dec. 17 to Dec. 29, 2010. Killorn's goal forced Devils coach Peter DeBoer to replace starting goalie Johan Hedberg with backup Keith Kinkaid. Hedberg, who allowed three goals on 11 shots, has lost his past seven starts. Martin Brodeur is on injured reserve with back soreness. Kinkaid's best save came 1:08 into the third when he denied Steven Stamkos off a breakaway by extending his left pad and turning away the NHL's leading goal-scorer. Kinkaid, making his NHL debut, finished with 12 saves. His appearance marked the first time since December 2010 that a goalie other than Brodeur or Hedberg was playing between the Devils' pipes. Tampa Bay took a 2-0 lead early in the second when Killorn received a feed from Lecavalier at the Devils blueline, patiently skated into the zone and took the puck backhand-to-forehand before feeding St. Louis at the left post. He made no mistake, dropping in his sixth goal of the season to Hedberg's short side at 5:53. The Lightning opened a 1-0 lead 17:04 into the first when Thompson took a pass from Conacher down the slot and snapped home his first goal in 10 games past Hedberg. Lindback, making his first start since Feb. 24 in a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, looked sharp in the opening period with nine saves.

Montreal v NY Islanders 3-6 - Radek Martinek's goal drought and the Montreal Canadiens' streak of not losing in regulation both came to an end Tuesday night. Martinek scored his first goal since the opening week of last season to break a third-period tie as the New York Islanders defeated the Canadiens 6-3, handing them their first regulation loss in 12 games. The Canadiens hadn't gone without a point since losing 6-0 at home on Feb. 9, and they overcame a two-goal deficit to get even at 3-3 on power-play goals by P.K. Subban and Brian Gionta. But Martinek broke the tie at 7:56 of the final period when his slapper from the left point sailed through traffic and past Carey Price. The goal was the veteran defenseman's first in the National Hockey League since Oct. 12, 2011, one of seven games he played for the Columbus Blue Jackets last season before being sidelined by injuries. He had spent the rest of his career with New York, and his previous goal for the Islanders came on March 31, 2011. Martinek was playing his third game of the season in his second stint with the Islanders. He dressed because Lubomir Visnovsky went home to Slovakia for personal reasons. John Tavares swatted home a loose puck with 1:07 left for his 14th of the season to provide some insurance as the Islanders beat the Eastern Conference leaders for the second time in as many meetings. Colin McDonald hit the empty net to give the Islanders (10-11-2) back-to-back home victories for the first time this season. They are 4-8-1 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum this season and 2-2-1 with games against the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals remaining on a seven-game homestand. Matt Moulson also scored on the power play for the Islanders, and Michael Grabner added an even-strength goal. Martin also had an assist on McDonald's goal, as well as adding to his League-leading total with six hits. Tomas Plekanec opened the scoring in the first period for Montreal, which was 8-0-3 in its past 11 games. Gionta's goal was the 20,000th goal in franchise history for Montreal (14-5-4), the most of any team in NHL history. Price surrendered five goals on 23 shots. He's allowed nine goals in two games against the Islanders this season and 12 in his past two starts. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 29 shots for New York. Montreal capitalized on some poor Islanders play in their own zone to grab an early lead. Michael Ryder bumped Martinek off the puck behind the net and fed Alex Galchenyuk in the left corner. Galchenyuk zipped a pass to an uncovered Plekanec in the slot for a quick one-timer at 5:21. Plekanec's 10th goal made him the first Canadiens player to reach double figures this season. The Islanders evened the game early in the second period after Alecei Emelin was called for slashing Frans Nielsen 49 seconds after the opening faceoff. Mark Streit carried from his own zone all the way to the left half-wall, then fed a pass across the slot to Moulson, who whipped a wrist shot past Price at 1:23 for his 11th of the season. It was the first time since Nov. 26, 2011, that Tavares wasn't on the ice when Moulson scored. He had been on the ice for 39 in a row and assisted on 25 of those. New York couldn't cash in on a 37-second two-man advantage, but the Islanders converted during the 5-on-4 power play. Tavares worked the puck out of the right corner to Brad Boyes, who found Martin alone in the slot for a quick snap shot past Price at 12:10. It was Martin's second goal of the season, and the first of his career on the power play. Grabner capitalized on a fortuitous bounce to make it 3-1 just 48 seconds later. Thomas Hickey's left-point shot hit a defender in front of the net and caromed right to Grabner, who rifled it into the empty right side for his ninth of the season. Montreal got a 20-second two-man advantage late in the period and converted just as the first penalty expired. Subban's straightaway blast through traffic went past a screened Nabokov at 16:49. The defenseman's fifth of the season came two seconds into the 5-on-4 advantage. The Canadiens tied it on another power-play goal 6:07 into the third period. A bad New York change led to a bench minor for too many men, and Gionta slammed home the rebound of Subban's shot for his seventh of the season. But the tie lasted less than two minutes before Martinek put the Islanders ahead to stay.

Boston v Washington 3-4 - The Washington Capitals had the Boston Bruins right where they wanted them, with the Bruins holding a 3-0 lead. The Capitals scored four unanswered goals, the last by Eric Fehr 37 seconds into overtime, to defeat the Bruins 4-3 Tuesday at Verizon Center. Boston has six losses (three regulation) and has led in four of them. It dropped its second in a row after winning six straight. Washington has won four of five and seven of 10. The game-winner came when Fehr busted between Bruins defensemen Dougie Hamilton and Dennis Seidenberg and lifted a backhand over Tuukka Rask's glove and under the crossbar. Washington rallied on second-period goals by Mike Ribeiro and Tomas Kundratek, and got the tying score from Wojtek Wolski with 6:05 remaining in the third. Fehr entered the Bruins zone and flipped a pass between Hamilton's legs that was gathered by Wolski in the slot. He flipped a backhand over Rask to even it 3-3. Marchand scored on a shorthanded penalty shot, and Zdeno Chara and Hamilton added first-period goals to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead. With the Capitals on a power play, Marchand scooped a loose puck in the neutral zone and headed toward goalie Braden Holtby on a breakaway. Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin caught Marchand from behind but hooked him, resulting in the penalty shot. Marchand kept the puck on his forehand and while skating to his left sent it against the grain between Holtby's legs at 6:29. It was Marchand's 12th goal of the season, moving him into a tie for fifth in the National Hockey League. Boston took a 2-0 lead when Milan Lucic fed an advancing Chara in the left circle. The big defenseman's shot deflected off teammate David Krejci right back to him and Chara converted at 17:07. A little more than a minute later, Ovechkin was called for interference after checking Chris Kelly, who a split-second before had passed the puck. On the power play, Lucic sent a pass from behind the net to Krejci, who backhanded a pass to Nathan Horton, who backhanded a pass to Hamilton, whose blast from near the blue line beat Holtby at 18:30. Washington started its comeback with two second-period goals. Chara's clearing attempt was stopped at the blue line by Capitals defenseman Steve Oleksy, whose high shot was tapped to the ground by Ovechkin. He passed to Ribeiro on the left side, and he beat Rask 5:46 into the second. It was the first point for 27-year-old Oleksy, making his NHL debut in the absence of Mike Green (injured) and Roman Hamrlik (waived Tuesday). Kundratek then scored his first NHL goal in his 24th career game, converting a pass from Fehr at 11:32, after Nicklas Backstrom won a faceoff in the Bruins' zone.

Buffalo v Calgary 3-4 - There was a time when Justin Peters was a high-energy battler in the Carolina net. In three previous seasons, Peters has been an on-and-off presence in the Hurricanes crease. For the first two, his physical energy was on display for everyone to see as he reached and lunged for pucks, sometimes having success, sometimes not. On Tuesday night, in his first NHL game of the season, the 26-year-old brought a level of patience his starting assignment, looking spectacular at times as the Hurricanes beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 at PNC Arena. Peters will get an extended opportunity with the Hurricanes after Ward was diagnosed with a sprained MCL and will miss six to eight weeks. Peters will share the duties with Dan Ellis. After a rocky season as Ward's backup in 2010-11, Peters spent most of the 2011-12 season with Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League. But his seven NHL appearances that season revealed a different player, one with enough poise to register a .931 save percentage. For the most of the first period, Peters managed to relax and settle in, as the Hurricanes took an early 1-0 lead on Jiri Tlusty's goal. But after a Joe Corvo slap shot extended the Carolina lead to 2-0 in the second, the Sabres came to life. Peters responded by making increasingly difficult saves as the period continued. After stopping Tyler Ennis on a short breakaway, he shut down Jason Pominville on the backhand. When he gloved TJ Brennan's rising blast to the far post, Brennan threw his head back in frustration. Peters saved his best for the final moments of the second period. In a goalmouth scramble, the puck squirted free to Thomas Vanek with an open net at the left post. Peters came across the crease and batted Vanek's bid away with the barrel of his goal stick. The teams played a more wide-open third period. Buffalo forward Cody Hodgson cut the lead in half, only to have Carolina's Jussi Jokinen take a feed from Eric Staal to extend the lead to 3-1. Brennan closed the gap again, converting a long rebound off the glass. But Alex Semin then buried a pass from Staal, who earned his third assist of the night. Cody Hodgson made it 4-3 with 35 seconds remaining. The late comeback was little consolation for the Sabres, who had earned seven points in their past four games. Staal continues to enjoy a career scoring pace. With 12 goals and 28 points in 22 games he is entrenched among the league's top 10. It will take more than a stellar effort from Staal for the Hurricanes to reach the playoffs for the first time in four years. Players like Peters, now an integral part of the lineup, will have to play their roles successfully as well. For his part, Peters showed the demeanor a player who had been here before, holding his team in the game when the action heated up. He's still getting his feet wet as an NHL player, despite being seven seasons into his professional career, one that has provided more good than bad.

Edmonton v Columbus 3-4 - Sergei Bobrovsky didn't start Tuesday night's game against the Edmonton Oilers, but he sure finished it. Bobrovsky, who relieved Steve Mason 31 seconds into the second period, stopped all 21 shots he faced through regulation and overtime before denying Sam Gagner and Ales Hemsky in the shootout as the Columbus Blue Jackets earned a 4-3 victory at Nationwide Arena. Derek McKenzie, Vinny Prospal and Jack Johnson scored in regulation for Columbus (7-12-4), which has now won back-to-back games. Artem Anisimov scored in the first round of the shootout before Mark Letestu sealed the deal when he beat Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk in the third round. Jeff Petry, Ryan Whitney and Magnus Paajarvi scored for the Oilers (8-10-4), who have lost three in a row. They are now 1-2-2 on their nine-game road trip, which continues Thursday night at Detroit. They've been outshot 111-67 on the trip thus far. Edmonton needed just 4:23 to get on the scoreboard as Petry tallied his third goal of the season to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead. With the teams at even strength, Petry took a pass from Eric Belanger and let go a wrister from the point that found its way through a crowd and past Mason. It was Petry's fifth point in as many games after he was held pointless through his first 17 appearances this season. MacKenzie tied things up for Columbus just 3:31 later when he took a nice feed from Jared Boll and ripped a wrister from the right circle past Dubnyk. It was MacKenzie's third goal of the season and snapped a seven-game scoring drought. Prospal gave the Blue Jackets their first lead of the night with 6:15 remaining in the opening period. With Columbus on a power play, Letestu let go a soft wrist shot from the point that was denied by Dubnyk. But Prospal parked himself in front of the net and managed to jam the rebound over the goal line to make it 2-1. It was Prospal's 10th point in the past 13 games. The lead didn't last long, however, as Whitney made it a 2-2 game with 1:17 left in the first. Whitney, who also scored last Friday at St. Louis, took a pretty feed from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and fired a wrister from the top of the right circle that beat Mason to the far side. Taylor Hall also picked up an assist, his team-leading 15th of the season. Paajarvi regained the lead for Edmonton just 31 seconds into the second period. Paajarvi, who ended a four-game drought Sunday night at Minnesota, seized control of the puck in the slot after it trickled away from Gagner and quickly snapped it past Mason to make it 3-2. The goal prompted Richards to pull Mason, who was beaten three times on seven shots. Columbus defenseman Jack Johnson tied the game for the third time midway through the second period. Johnson, who had just one goal in his first 18 games, one-timed a feed from Derick Brassard in the slot past Dubnyk to make it 3-3. Edmonton had the best scoring chance in overtime. After Nick Foligno was whistled for closing his hand on the puck, Nugent-Hopkins fed Jordan Eberle at the left side of the net for what appeared to be a sure goal. But Bobrovsky managed to make a sprawling pad save to preserve the 3-3 tie.

Philadelphia v NY Rangers 2-4 - John Tortorella summed up what Rick Nash has meant to the all-of-a-sudden streaking New York Rangers in three quick words. "He's ignited us," Tortorella said. Isn't that why the Rangers gave up some key pieces off their 109-point team last season to acquire Nash over the summer? The answer is yes, and Nash is making Ranger fans forget all about Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and that first-round pick that now belongs to the Columbus Blue Jackets. After missing four consecutive games with an undisclosed injury, the Rangers went 0-3-1 in those games, Nash has returned energized and aggressive and the Rangers are 3-0-0. He scored twice in the third period Tuesday night to carry New York to a 4-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers; a victory that lifted the Rangers over the Flyers in the Eastern Conference standings. The Rangers, who also got a pair of first-period goals from Ryan Callahan, have 24 points in 21 games; the Flyers have 23 points in 24 games. Both teams are in action Thursday as the Flyers host the Pittsburgh Penguins while the Rangers visit the New York Islanders. Nash has four goals and two assists in the three games he's played since returning to the lineup. He has seven goals and 11 assists in 17 games this season, and all seven of Nash's goals have come in the third period, including a go-ahead goal Sunday in a 3-2 shootout win over Buffalo. Nash also scored in that shootout and had the primary assist on Derek Stepan's game-tying goal. He had a goal, an assist and 12 shots on goal in New York's 4-1 win against Tampa Bay last Thursday. Nash insists nothing he hasn't changed anything in his game since returning to the lineup, and Tortorella backs him on that. They both said he was getting the same amount of opportunities early in the season but the puck just wasn't going in. It is now, and the Rangers are playing arguably their most consistent hockey of the season. So has Callahan, who has three goals and five points in the last four games. He gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal just 90 seconds into the game, then tied the game at 2-2 just before the first intermission with a beauty of a 5-on-5 goal. Callahan carried the puck in front the left-wing half-wall, darted around a sliding Luke Schenn, got to the blue paint, pulled the puck back to avoid Ilya Bryzgalov's poke check and then tucked the puck in between the right post and Bryzgalov's left skate. The Flyers took the 2-1 lead on power-play goals by Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek separated by 9:49. They didn't score again. The score stayed 2-2 through the second intermission, but Nash quickly changed that when he beat Bryzgalov with a hard shot off the rush 2:50 into the third period. Dan Girardi chipped the puck up to Nash, who carried it in from the red line, between the benches, and unloaded a shot that beat Bryzgalov. Nash scored the insurance goal on a breakaway with 8:18 left in the third period. He didn't break stride despite the fact that Flyers defenseman Timonen was hooking him from behind. However, the victory came at a price for the Rangers. They were already playing without Brad Richards (soreness) before losing defenseman Marc Staal to a scary injury 5:45 into the third period. Staal, who does not wear a visor, was struck near the right eye after Timonen's low slap shot from the point was deflected by Voracek. He fell to the ice and was writhing in pain as blood poured out of his face. Staal was able to get up on his own and, while covering his face, he skated off with the help of trainer Jim Ramsay. The Rangers did not provide an official update on Staal after the game. The Flyers also lost a defenseman in the game as Nicklas Grossmann suffered a lower-body injury in the first period and did not return.

Winnipeg v Florida 1-4 - The Florida Panthers were in dire need of some good news Tuesday, and two of their brightest prospects helped deliver it. Rookie Jonathan Huberdeau scored on a penalty shot, goalie of the future Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves and the Panthers beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 at the BB&T Center. The victory came on the same day Panthers general manager Dale Tallon announced that Stephen Weiss, the longest-tenured member of the team, would undergo season-ending wrist surgery. Shawn Matthias added a highlight-reel goal for the injury-ravaged Panthers, who won for only the third time in 12 games. Tomas Kopecky and Mike Santorelli also scored, and Tomas Fleischmann had two assists. In addition to Weiss, Tallon announced Tuesday that defenseman Mike Weaver (lower body) and goalie Jose Theodore (lower body) would miss at least another month; defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (upper body) would miss 3-4 weeks; and forward Scottie Upshall (lower body) and defenseman Ed Jovanovski (lower body) would be out at least another week to 10 days. The Panthers also were without forward Kris Versteeg, who has eight goals in eight games against Winnipeg over the past two seasons. Markstrom, who played in two games earlier this season and was recalled when Theodore was placed on injured reserve Sunday, was particularly impressive in the third period while the Panthers were nursing a lead. He stopped all 18 shots he faced in that period. Huberdeau set a Panthers' record with his second penalty-shot goal this season when he gave Florida a 3-1 lead at 14:50 of the second period. He also beat the Philadelphia Flyers' Ilya Bryzgalov in a 5-2 victory on Feb. 21. Huberdeau became the first NHL rookie with two penalty-shot goals in a season since 2000-01 when Columbus' David Vyborny went 2-for-2. Huberdeau, who has scored in all three games against Winnipeg this season, leads all rookies with 11 goals. He beat Ondrej Pavelec with a wrist shot to the glove side that found its way just under the crossbar. Huberdeau's goal came after Matthias broke a 1-1 tie at 9:55 of the second period with his second goal in three games. After getting the puck just inside the Florida blue line, Matthias picked up speed, then beat defenseman Mark Stuart with a slick one-handed backhand-to-forehand move before firing a wrist shot past the glove of Pavelec. Santorelli, who was sent down to the American Hockey League earlier this season, scored his first National Hockey League goal since Feb. 28, 2012. With Weiss done for the season, Santorelli took over his spot in the dressing room. His goal at 3:43 of the third period came after he took a cross-ice pass from Brian Campbell at the side of the net. He deked Pavelec to the outside before bringing the puck back and stuffing it home on the backhand. Kyle Wellwood scored his first goal of the season for the Jets, who had won five of their last seven. Pavelec stopped 22 shots. Kopecky opened the scoring 5:07 into the game with his seventh goal in 10 games, beating Pavelec on a one-timer just outside the right faceoff dot. The goal came seconds after Fleischmann prevented a Winnipeg goal when he got his stick in the way as Bryan Little was about to put a rebound into an open net. Wellwood, back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the past four games, tied the game at 1-1 at 1:42 of the second period with a wrist shot from the slot. He had been held to only two assists in his first 15 games. But the Jets then watched Florida score the next three goals in a disappointing replay of their first visit to the BB&T Center Jan. 31, when the Panthers scored the last four goals to win 6-3.

Colorado v Detroit 1-2 - Colorado had most of the scoring chances. Detroit had the hot goaltender, and the bounces. Jimmy Howard stopped 36 shots and Niklas Kronwall's fluke goal late in the second period wound up being the game-winner as the Red Wings held off the Avalanche 2-1 on Tuesday night. The Red Wings led 1-0 late in the second period when Kronwall fired a shot from the blue line that missed the target and hit the lively end boards at Joe Louis Arena just as goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere was extending his right leg. The puck hit Giguere's skate and deflected into the net at 17:32 to put the Red Wings up 2-0. Kronwall's goal enabled Detroit to survive a goal by Colorado's Paul Stastny with 1:30 left in regulation. Stastny backhanded his own rebound into the net after Howard stopped the first 34 shots he faced. The Avalanche nearly got a lucky bounce of their own in the final 15 seconds when a shot went wide and caromed off the boards back to Matt Duchene in front of the net. But Duchene couldn't beat Howard. A frustrated Duchene broke his stick into three pieces after the final buzzer. Detroit has held the opposition without a goal through 40 minutes in each of its last four games. Howard is now 5-2-1 in his career against the Avalanche. Detroit opened the scoring 7:00 into the second period when Johan Franzen beat Jean-Sebastien Giguere on a breakaway for his fourth of the season. Franzen took a lead pass from Damien Brunner and beat Giguere under the crossbar. Howard's best save came two minutes into the third period when he stretched as far as he could on his side to stop a wide-open John Mitchell in front of the net. Mitchell had time to go forehand-to-backhand but couldn't get the puck past Howard. Later in the period, Howard denied PA Parenteau on a breakaway. Giguere stopped 31 shots for the Avalanche, who play at Chicago on Wednesday night. Colorado fell to 8-9-4 overall and 2-7-3 away from home.

Minnesota v Chicago 3-5 - The Chicago Blackhawks show no signs of slowing down. The Blackhawks, who entered the NHL in 1926, won a franchise-record 10th straight game by holding off the Minnesota Wild 5-3 on Tuesday night. Not only did the Blackhawks eclipse the previous mark of nine consecutive victories, set in December 2008, they also pushed their streak of games with at least a point to 23 games, the longest from the start of a season in NHL history. As has often happened this season, the Hawks managed to make life interesting in the third period. They led 4-1 before goals by Ryan Suter and Kyle Brodziak cut the margin to one and left the packed house at United Center feeling a little uneasy. But the feeling didn't last long. Patrick Kane scored at 11:33 of the third by roofing his 12th goal of the season, just 1:01 after Brodziak cut it to 4-3. Kane's goal was the first allowed by rookie Darcy Kuemper, who relieved starter Niklas Backstrom to start the second period. The opening period was one Backstrom would probably like to forget after allowing four goals on 17 shots. After falling behind 1-0 on Devin Setoguchi's goal 8:22 into the game, the Blackhawks responded with a blizzard of goals on a snowy night in the Windy City. As a press box full of national media watched, Chicago upped its record to 20-0-3 and continued its journey to change National Hockey League history. Counting last season's 3-0-3 finish, the Blackhawks have recorded at least a point in 29 straight games, moving them past the 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens into second place on the League's all-time list of longest point streaks. The 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers ran off 35 straight games with at least a point and stand alone in Chicago's sights. The early goal against, for instance, continued a recent trend of falling behind early and overcoming a deficit to win. As they've done 12 other times this season, the Blackhawks bounced back after letting in the first goal, they are a League-best 10-0-3 in such situations. The Blackhawks barely blinked after Setoguchi put the Wild up 1-0 by converting Matt Cullen's rebound from just in front of the crease. Continuing a season-long trend, the Blackhawks simply washed out Setoguchi's marker by scoring four of their own in a 5:43 span. Saad, who had his first multi-point game with a three-point night, knotted it 1-1 at 13:02 with his fourth goal. Bickell followed it up with his first of the game at 13:46 and then scored again at 17:12. Next was the capper. Fittingly, it was scored by Hossa, who fired home his 10th goal of the season to make it 4-1 on a night that started with a pregame ceremony to honor his 1,000th NHL game, which he played this past Sunday in Detroit. Hossa was joined on the ice by his wife and baby daughter, and was given a commemorative silver hockey stick plus a painting of him hoisting the Stanley Cup following the Blackhawks' 2010 championship. Hossa's goal developed just 1:33 after Bickell's second tally when Saad picked up a loose puck in the slot and dished it out for his second primary assist of the period. Hossa banged his stick on the ice for the pass, which he received just inside the right circle and snapped into the upper right corner of the net. It was the 427th goal of Hossa's career, and at that point the stunned pro-Blackhawks crowd was on its feet, reveling in the sounds of Chicago's now-infamous goal song, "Chelsea Dagger," by The Fratellis. Leading up to that moment were the goals by Saad and Bickell. Saad scored on a backhander through traffic after his first attempt hit Toews in front of the blue paint. Bickell's first was also scored off a rebound, which he scooped to the right of Backstrom, wheeled and fired through Mikael Granland's legs into the net for a 2-1 lead. Bickell then took a short pass from Saad 3:26 later in the left circle and made it 3-1 by flipping a shot over Backstrom's catching glove into the upper right corner. Minnesota, meanwhile, found out what it's been like for most of the Western Conference. The Wild (11-9-2) came into the game as one of just three teams to have beaten the Blackhawks this season, all in shootouts. Minnesota, which beat Chicago 3-2 in a shootout on Jan. 30 at Xcel Energy Center, also came into this game after winning five of its previous seven games.

San Jose v Vancouver 3-2 - Adam Burish was content to be part of a big night for the San Jose Sharks' penalty killers Tuesday night. Scoring his first goal for his new team as a member of that unit was a nice bonus. Burish staked the Sharks to a 2-0 lead on a shorthanded breakaway early in the second period, and then helped goaltender Antti Niemi kill off five power plays, including one in overtime, before Joe Pavelski finished off the Vancoucer Canucks in the fourth round of a 3-2 shootout win. San Jose coach Todd McLellan credited the penalty kill for providing energy when, after giving up the tying goal with 25 seconds left in the second period, it snuffed out a Vancouver chance to start the third. Despite several great chances in the third period, San Jose didn't finish it off until the shootout, when Logan Couture tied it in the third round and Niemi stopped Alexandre Burrows to start the fourth, setting up Pavelski for the winner on a wrist shot high to the blocker side of Cory Schneider. The Sharks killed off another chance with six minutes left, and again in overtime as the Canucks finished 0-for-5 with the man advantage. Niemi was a huge part of it, finishing with 36 saves through the end of regulation before stopping three of four in the shootout. San Jose also got goals from unlikely sources, with Burish and Scott Gomez both scoring their first in a Sharks' uniform to end one-year droughts. For a team that hasn't scored more than two goals in regulation in 11 games over more than a month, it was a welcome contribution. In addition to Niemi, he singled out Brad Stuart, who assisted on both goals and lost teeth blocking a shot on a third-period penalty kill, as well as Michal Handzus and Douglas Murray, for killing off the overtime penalty. As good as they were, the Canucks were left shaking their heads at being unable to convert, especially on the 4-on-3 in overtime, as their run of power-play futility extended to 0-for-15 over the last six games. Jannik Hansen also scored, and Schneider stopped 29 shots, including eight in overtime, before getting beat on two of four in the shootout as the Canucks lost for the fourth time in five games. Gomez, who also went more then a year before scoring his first goal last season, opened the scoring 7:23 in on a rebound that found him alone in the high slot for a shot over the right shoulder of a dropping Schneider, just under the cross bar and inside the post. It was actually only 23 games between goals for Gomez, but Burish snapped a 44-game drought with his first since Feb. 16, 2012, converting a nice shorthanded breakaway pass from Stuart with a quick wrist shot from between the top of the faceoff circles that beat Schneider off the tip of the glove and in. After Sedin closed the gap, Hansen scored for a third-straight game with 25 seconds left in the period to tie it, continuing a whirlwind four days that included the birth of premature twins between Saturday night's home win against the Los Angeles Kings and Sunday's road loss to the Calgary Flames. Hansen, who was able to attend the surprise birth only because the Canucks' charter flight Saturday night was delayed by a snowstorm in Canada, has five points in three games. His latest came after a turnover by Sharks forward Ryane Clowe allowed the Canucks to extend a long shift in San Jose's end. Mason Raymond, who has three points since moving to center with the injury to Ryan Kesler, dropped a pass for Hansen inside the top of the left faceoff circle, and his shot beat Niemi high as he dropped to look under Higgins screen. Both teams had several chances to, but the goalies made a handful of good saves in the final eight minutes and throughout a back and forth overtime. Canucks defenseman Keith Ballard, back in the lineup after two games as a healthy scratch, left the game midway through the third period with a charley horse and did not return. He will be re-evaluated Wednesday.

St Louis v Los Angeles 4-6 - The Los Angeles Kings' domination of the St. Louis Blues is alive and well. The Kings' dominance of the Blues was strong enough to overcome a two-goal deficit in the third period, they scored three goals in a six-minute span Tuesday night on the way to a 6-4 victory. Los Angeles trailed 4-1 in the second period and were still down 4-2 going into the third, but Mike Richards, Jake Muzzin and Jeff Carter scored on L.A.'s first seven shots as the Kings wrapped up their seventh win in eight games. Including last year's sweep in the Western Conference Semifinals, Los Angeles has won seven straight against St. Louis and run roughshod over the Blues in almost every game. Kyle Clifford summed it up with an uppercut that briefly knocked out Roman Polak in the first period and electrified the crowd. It was L.A. that looked woozy in the second period; the Kings were playing the second half of a home back-to-back. But pressure in the Blues' zone produced two goals on their first three shots of the third period to tie it at 4-4. Richards cranked home a shot from the slot at 1:33 after Dustin Penner worked the boards, and Muzzin slipped a shot short side on Jaroslav Halak at 2:32. Carter's game-winner was a wrist shot from the left circle at 6:09 that chased Jaroslav Halak. Anze Kopitar added an insurance goal against Brian Elliott with 5:09 remaining, and after the game, St. Louis recalled Jake Allen from Peoria of the American Hockey League. Apparently there weren't any big speeches at second intermission. The Kings simply continued their closing procedure: they have outscored opponents 25-12 in the third, including 8-1 the past two games. Jonathan Bernier, starting on consecutive nights for the first time in his career, didn't make it past the early stages of the second period. Sutter typically doesn't like pulling his goalie, but he removed Bernier for Jonathan Quick after David Perron tipped Alex Pietrangelo just 1:14 into the second period for a 3-1 lead. Chris Stewart beat Quick with a wicked top-shelf backhand for a 4-1 lead before L.A. cut the margin back to two goals on Voynov's wrister from the right wall. St. Louis didn't have much after that, and captain David Backes knows why. The Kings prevailed despite going 0 for 6 on the power play. St. Louis has given L.A. 32 power plays in the past six meetings. It didn't matter in this one, though.