Gameday 49 (Fri, 08 Mar) - Results

Ottawa v NY Rangers 3-2 - Desperate for a road victory, for a victory of any kind for that matter, the Ottawa Senators didn't sit back and play for overtime during the third period Friday night against the New York Rangers. Instead, the Senators played the role of the fierce aggressors and were rewarded with their first regulation road win in nearly two months. Jakob Silfverberg's goal with 4:41 remaining gave the Senators a 3-2 victory at Madison Square Garden, ending their four-game losing streak and snapping the Rangers' four-game winning streak. The Senators entered the game 0-3-1 on their five-game road trip and with three wins away from Scotiabank Place this season. Their prior road victory came Feb. 18, a 2-1 shootout win against the New Jersey Devils, and they hadn't earned a road win in a 60-minute game since defeating the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Jan. 24 in the Senators' third game of the season. Instead of taking a conservative tact, the Senators kept the gas pedal floored. They fired 17 third-period shots on Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, and it was their 12th that found the back of the net. Senators defenseman Eric Gryba, who nearly scored minutes early but had his shot ring off the crossbar, fired a blast that Lundqvist was unable to control. The puck came to rest on the stick of Silfverberg, whose quick release could not be handled by Lundqvist. In a game in which Lundqvist and the Senators' Robin Lehner were in the midst of a Swedish goaltending duel and finished with 36 and 33 saves, respectively, Silfverberg, a 22-year-old Swede, stole the spotlight when it mattered most. Since April 2006, Ottawa is 12-1-1 in regular-season games at Madison Square Garden. It wasn't as though the Rangers were sitting back and absorbing all of the Senators' best shots Friday, New York fired 13 on Lehner during the third period, many from prime scoring areas. Lehner's best save came at 6:43 of the third with the game tied 2-2. Rangers captain Ryan Callahan made a nice play with his stick on Chris Phillips behind the goal line, knocking the puck away from the Senators' defenseman and onto the stick of Marian Gaborik. Stepan positioned himself for what looked like an easy goal from the top of the crease, but Lehner lunged to get his blocker on the point-blank shot that was labeled for the open side of the net. Lehner grew up a big fan of Lundqvist, and his father, Michael, served as Lundqvist's goaltender coach in Sweden. When Lehner found out Thursday he'd be getting the start against Lundqvist, he admitted he had some nerves. The 21-year-old looked shaky early, and the Senators' 2-0 lead evaporated on goals by Rick Nash and Brad Richards, who returned to the lineup after missing two games with back and neck stiffness. There was nothing Lehner could do about Nash's goal, as it changed direction and dipped after tipping off a defender's stick. But Lehner lamented the second goal; he was off his angle and not ready after Carl Hagelin dropped the puck to Richards for the quick shot. The Senators continue to stockpile points despite losing defenseman Erik Karlsson (Achilles) and Jason Spezza (back) to long-term injuries. Since losing Karlsson for the season Feb. 13, and with Spezza already long gone at that point (although he's looking likely to return before the end of the season) the Senators are 6-3-2. In the competitive Northeast Division, the Senators are in fourth place with 30 points, enough to hold sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The eighth-place Rangers, with 26 points in 23 games, were playing the second half of back-to-back games but seemed to find their legs after a slow start. A troubling number for the Rangers is their record against the East's top eight this season: 3-7-1. From here, the Rangers go on a four-game road trip that hits Washington, Buffalo, Winnipeg and Pittsburgh, their first extended time away from home this season. Of their remaining 25 games, the Rangers play 16 away from MSG. The Senators will get the weekend off before a showdown with the Northeast-leading Boston Bruins and will look to bring the same mindset into that game they had in the third period against the Rangers.

Winnipeg v Florida 3-2 - Ondrej Pavelec and Dustin Byfuglien helped the Winnipeg Jets leave the BB&T Center with a smile at least one time this season. Pavelec stopped 38 of 40 shots and Byfuglien scored with 40.5 seconds left in overtime to give the Jets a 3-2 victory against the Florida Panthers on Friday night. The Jets lost at the BB&T Center in their first two visits, 4-1 on Tuesday and 6-3 back on Jan. 31. Byfuglien scored after Winnipeg, which had squandered a 2-0 lead, kept possession of the puck in the Florida zone for a long stretch. The big defenseman grabbed a loose puck along the boards, skated toward the middle of the ice, used a toe drag to get past Tomas Kopecky and fired a wrist shot that beat Jacob Markstrom to the short side. It was Byfuglien's fourth goal of the season, but his first in 14 games. His last one came on Jan. 27 against the New York Islanders. Winnipeg evened the season series at two games apiece, with both of their victories coming in overtime. The Jets won 3-2 at MTS Centre on Feb. 5. Andrew Ladd had a goal and an assist for the Jets, who completed a three-game swing in Florida with a 2-1-0 record. They wrap up their four-game road trip against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. The Jets beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1, on Thursday night behind a 28-save effort by goalie Al Montoya. As was the case Thursday, the Jets' penalty killing played a big role in Friday's victory. Winnipeg killed off all four Panthers power plays, extending its streak of successful kills to 21. Montoya got the start Thursday after Noel said after Tuesday's loss against Florida that Pavelec looked tired. He looked anything but tired on Friday when he came up big time and time again, particularly in the third period when Florida outshot Winnipeg 12-4. Blake Wheeler had the other goal for the Jets, who moved to within a point of the New York Rangers for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Jonathan Huberdeau and Shawn Matthias scored for the Panthers, who have lost seven of nine and have the worst record in the NHL at 7-12-6. Huberdeau, who leads NHL rookies with 12 goals, has scored in each of the four games against Winnipeg. The Panthers are 0-5 in games decided in overtime. They're also 1-1 in shootouts, and five of the six non-regulation losses have come at home. One night after being pulled after allowing two goals on two shots in a 7-1 road loss against the Washington Capitals, Markstrom was back in net and he rebounded from a tough start with a solid outing. Markstrom, the Panthers' goalie of the future, finished with 25 saves. Right wing Kris Versteeg was back in the Florida lineup after he missed the previous 12 games with an upper-body injury. He came in with eight goals against the Jets during the past two seasons, including his only one this season, but was held scoreless. Winnipeg led 2-1 going into the third period before Matthias tied the game at 5:50. Jack Skille sprinted to keep the puck from getting out of the Winnipeg zone and his flip bounced over the stick of defenseman Grant Clitsome. Kopecky grabbed the loose puck and fed Matthias, who fired a shot high over a sprawling Pavelec. Ladd, who has seven points in his past five games, opened the scoring 2:35 into the game on Winnipeg's first shot, making it three goals on three shots against Markstrom over the past two games. After a turnover in the neutral zone, Ladd came in on a 2-on-1 and fired a wrist shot from just outside the left dot. The puck found its way between Markstrom's left arm and his body and trickled over the goal line just before Wheeler slid and knocked the net off its moorings. Wheeler made it 2-0 at 17:48 when he took advantage of a defensive breakdown by the Panthers. He held on to the puck after crossing the blue line and let three defenders get down close to the net before firing a wrist shot that beat Markstrom high to the glove side. Huberdeau cut the lead with 12.9 seconds left in the period when he batted home a loose puck in front of the net. The Panthers had the better of play over the last two periods, but the Jets found a way to win on a night when they didn't play their best.

Edmonton v Nashville 0-6 - The Nashville Predators were battling a near-historic futility in terms of scoring entering their game on Friday. Earlier in the week, general manager David Poile made two waiver claims and called up a defenseman to shake up his team. The moves worked almost as if scripted, with one of those claimed forwards, Zach Boychuk, registering a goal and the other, Bobby Butler, drawing three penalties in their respective debuts for Nashville, which beat Edmonton 6-0 at Bridgestone Arena. Colin Wilson had two goals, giving him a team-leading seven, and two assists, Shea Weber had three assists while Pekka Rinne made 24 saves for his League-leading fourth shutout. The only bad news for Nashville was that Patric Hornqvist left the game with about 16 minutes left in the second period clutching his shoulder and did not return. Trotz ruled Hornqvist out for Saturday's home game against Minnesota and said Hornqvist would need to be evaluated. Edmonton's Theo Peckham rode him into the boards and Hornqvist, who scored the game-winning goal on Friday, appeared to jam his shoulder as he reached out his arm to brace himself against the glass. With all of its scoring woes, Nashville could ill afford to lose Hornqvist, who scored twice in his last five games and has led the team in goals in two of the previous three seasons. The game was only the second in Nashville's last seven in which the Predators scored more than one goal. They entered the night averaging fewer than two goals per game, putting them on pace to be the League's second-lowest scoring team in the last 63 years. Nashville was 1-5-0 in those previous six. Nashville got off to a fast start, picking up a power-play goal by Hornqvist at 6:07 of the first period, as he swatted in a puck from close range. The goal was Hornqvist's third, assisted by Wilson and Mike Fisher. Butler, making his debut for the Predators, earned the power play when he drew a slashing call from Nick Schultz at 4:52; he later used his speed to draw a tripping call on Ryan Whitney at 10:23 of the second period and also drew a roughing call on Ryan Jones. Seconds before Hornqvist's goal, Rinne kept the game scoreless when he stopped Jones on a shorthanded breakaway. Jones went in alone when Nashville's Sergei Kostitsyn, manning the point, fell down. David Legwand sent Nashville into intermission up 2-0 when he scored the flukiest of goals. From behind the red line, he flipped the puck on net as if for a line change. The puck bounced toward the net toward Edmonton goalie Devan Dubnyk. He stabbed at it with his catching glove, but it dipped under his arm and went into the net with 69 seconds left in the period. Trotz said he thought the play gave Nashville some confidence, something it has lacked recently. Yann Danis started the second period in goal for Edmonton in place of Dubnyk. On the first shift of the period, Rich Clune greeted him by converting a feed from Paul Gaustad at close range. Boychuk's goal came at 18:22 of the second, as he deftly deflected Weber's point shot. Wilson added two goals in the third period, the second one coming on the power play. Wilson did not necessarily agree that it was a relief for the Predators to break out of such a scoring slump. Edmonton entered with losses in four straight, three in regulation. For all of their young firepower, the Oilers have been shut out on consecutive nights and have not scored a power-play goal during the last five games (they did not earn a power play on Friday). Edmonton is 1-4-2 on its nine-game road trip, with stops remaining in Chicago and Colorado. In three of its last four games, Edmonton has been outscored by 14-2 but coach Ralph Krueger was hopeful that some injured veterans, goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, defenseman Mark Fistric and center Shawn Horcoff, would soon rejoin the team and bring some "freshness."

Chicago v Colorado 2-6 - The Streak is over. The Chicago Blackhawks' remarkable 24-game run without a regulation loss, the best start to a season in NHL history, came to a screeching halt Friday night at the Pepsi Center, as did their franchise-record 11-game winning streak. The Colorado Avalanche, who had one win in their previous seven games, stunned the Blackhawks with five consecutive goals, four in the second period, on the way to a 6-2 victory before a raucous sellout crowd of 18,007 (many clad in red Blackhawks jerseys), that chanted "End the streak!" in the final minutes. The Blackhawks went 21-0-3 during the streak. Only the 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens (28 games) and the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers (35 games) played more consecutive games in one season without a regulation loss. Friday's win gave the Avalanche some measure of revenge after losing 3-2 in Chicago on Wednesday when the Blackhawks' Daniel Carcillo scored with 49.3 seconds left in regulation. Counting the final six games end of last season, the Blackhawks had gained at least one point in 30 consecutive games. The Avalanche were led by center Matt Duchene, who matched his career high for points in a game with four (one goal, three assists), while Stastny and PA Parenteau each contributed a goal and two assists. Duchene snapped a 1-1 tie at 4:16 of the period with a shot from the slot that went past Crawford's left arm. Defenseman Erik Johnson, who missed the previous 11 games with a concussion, set up the play with a pass from the right side. The Avalanche made it 3-1 just 33 seconds later when Ryan O'Reilly slipped a centering pass to John Mitchell for a shot that beat Crawford to the stick side. It marked just the third time this season that the Blackhawks trailed by as many as two goals, prompting Quenneville to call time. The Avalanche went on a power play six minutes later when Crawford tripped Aaron Palushaj, and they made him pay when O'Reilly scored from the right point at 10:47 -- four seconds into the man advantage. Jamie McGinn increased the lead to 5-1 at 13:58 off a setup from Duchene, who beat Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith to the puck along the end boards and passed in front. The Blackhawks, who were 3-0-1 when trailing after two periods, got a goal from Bryan Bickell at 8:53 of the third period, which Parenteau answered at 15:46. The Blackhawks scored first for the 12th time this season on a goal by Jonathan Toews at 5:44 of the opening period. It came on their initial shot of the game after an Avalanche turnover. The Avalanche tied the game 1-1 at 16:36 on a power-play goal by Stastny. Duchene was in the right circle when he slid a hard pass into the slot for Stastny, who redirected the puck past Crawford. The Avalanche came into the game ranked last in the NHL on the power play with just eight goals in 67 man advantages. Stastny's goal ended the team's 0-for-13 drought on power plays covering parts of six games.

Calgary v Anaheim 0-4 - If Ryan Getzlaf and the Anaheim Ducks felt any more at home against at the Calgary Flames, they'd have to install a Barcalounger at center ice. Getzlaf had a goal and an assist for career points Nos. 500 and 501 on the day Anaheim announced his eight-year, $66 million contract extension, and goalie Viktor Fasth stopped 29 shots as the Ducks won their 10th straight home game by beating the Flames 4-0 on Friday. The score was somewhat deceptive, the Ducks were outplayed for at least the first half of the game, but the Flames couldn't get a puck past Fasth. Getzlaf joined Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne as the only Ducks players to reach the 500-point club, and it only seems like another eight years will pass before Calgary wins at Anaheim after it dropped its 16th straight regular season game at Honda Center dating to its last win here on Jan. 19, 2004. Anaheim can match its franchise-record 11-game run at home with a win Sunday against the St. Louis Blues. For that, they can thank Fasth, the 30-year-old first-year goaltender recorded his second career shutout in his 13th NHL game and is perfect (5-0-0) at home. Getzlaf's tap-in goal for a 4-0 edge finished off what had been a fairly tight game. Anaheim clung to a 1-0 lead on Daniel Winnik's goal 75 seconds into the game as Fasth helped Anaheim overcome a solid puck-possession game by Calgary in the early stages. The Flames outshot the Ducks 22-9 before Bobby Ryan snapped a shot from the left circle through Miikka Kiprusoff's legs to make it 2-0 at 13:38 of the second period. Playing back up on the top line, Ryan finished off a cycle play after Getzlaf fended off a defender at the half wall and passed to Corey Perry behind the net. Just 2:14 later, Sheldon Souray ripped a point shot that appeared to hit a Calgary player in the slot on its way into the net. Calgary beat the Ducks in a 2006 Stanley Cup Playoff game, but its regular-season losing streak is so long that only Jarome Iginla and Kiprusoff remain from the that team. That either team made it through the first 20 minutes was accomplishment enough. Ryan briefly left the game when he took an awkward fall against the end boards, and Brad Staubitz briefly left after he took a skate to the face. Even Perry took a spill and staggered back to the play. Boudreau said Staubitz was okay. Anaheim shut out the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday and owns a scoreless streak of 137:11.