Gameday 63 (Fri, 22 Mar) - Results

Pittsburgh v NY Islanders 4-2 - The Pittsburgh Penguins are now 11-for-11 in March. Brandon Sutter's goal early in the third period broke a tie, and Pittsburgh defeated the reeling New York Islanders 4-2 Friday night at Nassau Coliseum. The Penguins' 11-game winning streak matches the longest in the NHL this season. The Chicago Blackhawks won 11 straight from Feb. 15 through March 6. Sutter slammed home a perfect cross-crease pass from Matt Cooke on a 2-on-1 break after the Islanders failed to clear their zone. Penguins goalie Tomas Vokoun made the lead stand up, with seven of his 33 saves in the third period, and Pascal Dupuis put the puck into the empty net a split-second before the final horn. Vokoun struggled in outings early in the winning streak and was bailed out by his offense. But Friday he was the reason the Penguins extended their streak on a night when they were outplayed for long stretches. The Penguins have outscored opponents in the third period by a League-high 20 goals; the Islanders have allowed a League-high 47 third-period goals and have an NHL-worst minus-17 scoring margin in third periods. Joe Vitale and Chris Kunitz also scored for the Penguins, who lead the Eastern Conference with a 24-8-0 record and 48 points. Mark Streit and Josh Bailey each had a goal for the Islanders, who lost for the third time in four days, all at home; they dropped to 13-15-3, including 5-11-2 at the Coliseum. New York has lost three of four against Pittsburgh this season. Unlike the losses earlier in the week, Islanders coach Jack Capuano had no complaints with his team's effort. The Islanders, who are 0-5-0 in the second game of back-to-backs, came out flying against a team that had been off for two days. New York took the first nine shots of the game, then scored on the 10th. Frans Nielsen won an offensive-zone draw back to Matt Carkner, who slid a pass to Streit for a straightaway slapper from just inside the blue line. Streit's shot hit the stick of defender Tanner Glass and knuckled past Vokoun at 7:46 for his fifth of the season. The Islanders kept the Penguins from getting a shot on Evgeni Nabokov until James Neal tested him from the left circle with 7:07 remaining in the first. Though Pittsburgh began to carry the play late in the period, the Islanders ended the first 20 minutes ahead 1-0 on the scoreboard and 14-3 on the shot clock. Vokoun kept his team from falling further behind. Pittsburgh continued to have the better of the play early in the second period and took advantage of a bad New York change to tie the score at 8:11. A giveaway by Colin McDonald gave the Penguins a 2-on-1 break from the Islanders' blue line. Vitale raced in on left wing and snapped a shot from just to the right of the faceoff dot that beat Nabokov high to the far corner for his second of the season. New York went back in front at 17:18 after a couple of hard-working shifts kept Pittsburgh penned in its zone. Vokoun stopped Travis Hamonic's shot from the right point, but John Tavares nudged the rebound to Bailey, who tucked it inside the left post for his fourth. It appeared the Islanders would take a 2-1 lead into the dressing room, but Kunitz tied it with 14 seconds left when his wrister from the high slot went through the five-hole on Nabokov. Kunitz's 19th of the season was his fourth in four games against the Islanders. The Islanders are trying to remain optimistic about their Stanley Cup Playoff chances, they're three points out of eighth place, but because of their third-period problems, they're going backward instead of forward. New York has led or been tied in the third period of 25 of its 31 games, but has won 13 (13-9-3). The Islanders have been outscored 9-0 in this week's home losses to the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens and the Penguins.

Calgary v Columbus 1-5 - The Columbus Blue Jackets set one franchise record and extended another Friday night. Columbus scored three times in 75 seconds of the second period, the fastest three goals in Blue Jackets history, and defeated the Calgary Flames 5-1 to put their team-best points streak at 12 games, winning 8 of their last 10 outings. Nick Foligno scored twice in 51 seconds before Artem Anisimov added an unassisted goal to turn a 1-1 game into a 4-1 blowout at Nationwide Arena. Foligno's first came when he skated off the left-wing boards with the puck into a crowd of players between the circles. He pushed a shot that snuck under the right pad of Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff at 13:05. The second was created on a cycle when R.J. Umberger fought through the Flames defense, fell, got up and fed a pass to Foligno between the circles. His wrist shot from there went over Kiprusoff's catching glove at 13:56. The two goals by Foligno were his fourth and fifth of the season and equaled his output of the prior 29 games. They were the fastest pair by one player in Blue Jackets history, 37 seconds quicker than two Umberger scored in a 2009 game. Anisimov benefitted from a soft defensive-zone turnover by Flames forward Lee Stempniak, sending a shot from the right circle past a helpless Kiprusoff at 14:20 for his seventh of the season. The former record of three goals in 1:46 was established during the Blue Jackets' first season, 2000-01. Columbus won its third straight and is 8-0-4 during its 12-game surge. After playing nine of the past 10 at home, the Blue Jackets start a four-game road trip Saturday against the Nashville Predators. The Blue Jackets, at 13-12-6, are above .500 for the first time since they were 1-0-1 on Jan. 21. Their 32 points are the same as the eight-place San Jose Sharks' and within four of five other Western Conference teams, though Columbus has played the most games. The Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead on a goal from fourth-liner Jared Boll. After a forecheck, Gilles' pass deflected off the skate of Calgary defenseman T.J. Brodie right to Boll in the slot. His high shot got inside the right post at 16:56 of the first period. Gilles got his first assist on Boll's second goal of the season, then scored his first of the season with 6:46 left in the game. Calgary tied the game 4:24 into the second period on a three-man passing play that ended with a goal by Curtis Glencross. Stempniak came out from behind the net with the puck, which he fed to Matt Stajan. His quick distribution found Glencross alone at the left post, where he scored his team-leading 13th. Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped the other 24 shots he faced, his eighth game allowing one goal or fewer in March. Calgary, which lost 5-3 Thursday at Nashville, dropped all three games on this trip and is 0-8-1 in their past nine on the road. The Flames are 2-6-0 in their past eight overall heading into a home game Sunday against the St. Louis Blues.

Washington v Winnipeg 6-1 - The Washington Capitals came here this week simply hoping to save their season. They left having done that, and much more. The Capitals departed with a pair of wins against the Winnipeg Jets that pulled them within three points of a Stanley Cup Playoff spot in the crowded Eastern Conference standings. Washington delivered a 6-1 thrashing at MTS Centre on Friday to take both ends of a rare two-day, two-game series. Mike Green returned to the Washington blue line from injury, goaltender Braden Holtby further found his game, and the Capitals finally have a relatively healthy lineup for the first time this season. Holtby and the Capitals knew the stakes heading into the two games, which started with a 4-0 shutout Thursday. The Jets remain first in the Southeast Division with 34 points, but the second-place Carolina Hurricanes hold two games in hand and sit two points behind. The Capitals scooted past the Tampa Bay Lightning, Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders into 10th place in the East, three points behind eighth-place Carolina. The Jets had to view the game Friday as a chance to wipe away a poor performance. Now they will have to wait another two days for redemption when they meet Tampa Bay at home Sunday. The Capitals face another test Sunday when they visit Madison Square Garden to play the ninth-place New York Rangers, who also own a three-point edge on Washington. The Capitals ripped apart the Jets defense early, scoring four times on their first 10 shots. Washington’s second line of Laich, Brouwer and Mike Ribeiro continues to torment the Jets. Laich scored for the first time after making his season debut earlier this week, and Brouwer added a first-period goal that built a 2-0 lead. The Capitals blew the game open early in the second period on goals from Jay Beagle and Alex Ovechkin in the first 7:35. Beagle’s goal ended starter Ondrej Pavelec’s evening, and Ovechkin greeted replacement Al Montoya with his team-leading 14th. Green piled on a goal early in the third period, and Ovechkin’s second closed the scoring with 4:02 remaining. Holtby had 30 saves. Only a goal from Winnipeg’s Dustin Byfuglien halfway through the final period finally solved Holtby, who shut out the Jets on March 2 and held them scoreless for 190:37 over parts of four games. Pavelec exited with six saves on nine shots; Montoya made 12 saves in relief.The two wins followed a solid effort Tuesday at the Pittsburgh Penguins, where the Capitals lost a tight 2-1 game that coach Adam Oates considered his club’s best of the season. The Jets, who have lost three of four games, again struggled on the power play against a Washington club ranked 29th on the penalty kill. Winnipeg went 0-for-5 after starting the night 25th in the League. Its troubles on home ice also continue, with the Jets having won seven of their first 15 home dates. Washington took a 1-0 lead by pouncing on Byfuglien's defensive-zone turnover. Ribeiro scurried with the puck out of the left corner toward the back of the net before zipping a pass to Laich, who pumped a left-dot shot past Pavelec’s glove at 12:10. Washington knocked Pavelec out of the game 5:50 into the second period when Joel Ward outhustled Nik Antropov to a puck behind the Winnipeg net. Ward pushed a pass to Beagle, whose one-timer beat Pavelec from the bottom of the right circle. Ovechkin scored on the Capitals’ next shot, cranking a high blast that tore past Montoya. Winnipeg meets Tampa Bay before embarking on a busy week featuring a pair of games against Carolina and a visit to Pittsburgh. The Jets do not plan to practice Saturday.

Detroit v Anaheim 5-1 - The Anaheim Ducks said they weren't concerned about a letdown following their epic matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks two days earlier, not with their fiercest rival in town for the weekend. But the Detroit Red Wings proceeded to shred the Ducks' usually efficient puck-moving defense, chase goalie Viktor Fasth and ride Justin Abdelkader's first career hat trick for a 5-1 win Friday night. Abdelkader doubled his season goal total in highlight fashion with a terrific 1-on-1 play against Sheldon Souray in the first period and two one-timers in the second. Noted Ducks-killer Pavel Datsyuk delivered the daggers with a goal and a takeaway that led to Abdelkader's third goal, Datsyuk's 250th career goal and 500th career assist, respectively. The dam has burst for Abdelkader, who has five goals in two games after he tallied one in his first 28. Of course, it helps to play on a line with Pavel Datsyuk. Riding high on its win Wednesday against Chicago and the return of Corey Perry from a four-game suspension, Anaheim's franchise-record 13-game home winning streak ended in a thud, as did a League-high 12-game point streak. It was their first regulation loss since Feb. 25 and first home loss since Jan. 25, but no one was pointing to the Chicago game as a factor. Abdelkader snapped a no-look pass from Johan Franzen past Fasth at 3:06 of the second period after Detroit played keepaway in Anaheim's zone. He finished Franzen's feed at 12:46 for a 4-1 lead after Datsyuk stole Luca Sbisa's pass to Selanne as Anaheim tried to break out of its zone. Abdelkader added an assist on Franzen's goal with 4:43 remaining for a four-point night. Anaheim owns 14 come-from-behind wins this season, including the Chicago game, but Jimmy Howard stood tall with 33 saves as the Ducks dissolved. Captain Ryan Getzlaf committed a hooking penalty that led to Datsyuk's goal, then took himself off the ice another five minutes when he fought Jonathan Ericsson to try and spark his team. Datsyuk was unchecked in front of the net on a Detroit power play to backhand in a loose puck at 14:59 of the first period to put the Red Wings ahead to stay. Detroit's road power play has scored in four straight games after it broke the franchise record set in 1938-39 by going scoreless in its first 10 road games. Selanne actually helped Anaheim get out of the gate with a pretty finish of Kyle Palmieri's pass on a 3-on-2 rush for a 1-0 lead. It was his 671stt career goal. But a rare bad sequence by Souray and Francois Beauchemin led to Detroit's first goal. Deep in his own end, Brendan Smith sent a long stretch pass that went right to Beauchemin, but Beauchemin had the puck go off him and right to Abdelkader, who badly beat Souray to the net and stuffed it through the five-hole on Fasth at 13:26.