Gameday 67 (Tue, 26 Mar) - Results

Florida v Toronto 2-3 - It has been an interesting season for Joffrey Lupul, to say the least. The veteran right-shooting left wing broke his arm in the Toronto Maple Leafs' fourth game of the season when he was nailed with an errant Dion Phaneuf slap shot, missed 25 games, then stormed back with three goals in two games before being suspended for two for an illegal hit. Since returning from the suspension, Lupul has picked right up where left off, scoring twice Tuesday night in a 3-2 nail-biter against the visiting Florida Panthers. The Panthers, who have been decimated with injuries and are last in the overall standings, gave the Maple Leafs a tough test. Despite a slow start, Toronto managed to win its third straight at home behind 40 saves from Ben Scrivens. Lupul, who scored once in a 3-2 shootout loss at the Boston Bruins on Monday, opened Tuesday night on a line with Nazem Kadri and Nikolai Kulemin. But when the Maple Leafs were outshot 16-7 in the first period and failed to generate any serious offense, Lupul was placed on a line with old mates Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak. The trio worked instant magic. Lupul, the seventh pick by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2002 NHL Draft, was well on his way to an all-star selection last season when the shoulder injury brought an abrupt end to his year. It would not be a stretch to suggest he was the best left wing in the NHL at the time of his injury, and he's working to get back to that level. The Maple Leafs vowed in the morning to come out strong against the inexperienced visitors, but did anything but. In fact, Toronto looked lethargic through the opening 20 minutes. With Maple Leafs defensive pair Cody Franson and Mark Fraser backing in a little too deep, allowing the Panthers the opportunity to rush the net, Florida left wing Tomas Fleischmann scored his seventh goal of the season on a 25-foot floater that found its way between the legs of Fraser and goaltender Ben Scrivens 6:39 into the game. Though the Maple Leafs continued to struggle early in the second period, things started to look up when Mikhail Grabovski took off alone with the puck from his own blue line. Alas, he started to lose the puck as he crossed center, then stumbled and fell at the Florida blue line to a sea of groans from the frustrated locals in the stands. Things took a turn for the better a few minutes later when Phaneuf scored his sixth of the season on a blast from the right point that found the far corner of the net. Phaneuf actually wound up to shoot, but delayed for a second, causing Panthers goalie Jacob Markstrom to drop. Seeing this, the Maple Leafs captain took aim at the far side of the goal and hit his target at 9:41. Toronto appeared to get a lift from the goal, and shortly afterward, Lupul drove hard to the net but failed to tip a pass behind Markstrom. The Maple Leafs continued to hold a territorial edge, but the Panthers served notice they weren't about to lay down when defenseman Erik Gudbranson showed great determination skating back hard to poke the puck away from Toronto's James van Riemsdyk, who was driving hard to the net with just under three minutes remaining. That was shortly after Panthers defender Brian Campbell forced Scrivens to make a toe save on a well-placed slap shot from the left point. With Florida's Filip Kuba serving a tripping penalty to start the third period, Lupul, Kessel and Bozak clicked on the power play 22 seconds in. Kessel made a deft cross-ice pass to Bozak, who in turn spotted Lupul driving the net. The puck got to the speedy wing, who simply redirected it past Markstrom. The Panthers came right back with a goal 33 seconds later when Shawn Matthias flew past startled defenseman Jake Gardiner, cut to the net and sneaked one past Scrivens. Less than three minutes later, Lupul scored his sixth in seven games with Kessel and Bozak again assisting. There was some concern initially that Carlyle and Lupul wouldn't get along based on their experience together in Anaheim, but that has not been the case. The coach, for his part, said the Ducks made a big mistake with Lupul before trading him to the Edmonton Oilers to acquire star defenseman Chris Pronger.

Montreal v Pittsburgh 0-1 - By his own estimation, Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price came within about five millimeters of playing a perfect game Tuesday. It's taking better than that to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins these days. Sidney Crosby scored, Tomas Vokoun and Marc-Andre Fleury combined for the Penguins' third shutout of the season, and Pittsburgh won its 13th consecutive game by beating Montreal 1-0 at Consol Energy Center. That and the play of Fleury and Vokoun. Fleury made 25 saves over the first two periods, but did not play the third because of an undisclosed injury. Fleury appeared dazed after Canadiens captain Brian Gionta pushed Pittsburgh's Tyler Kennedy into Fleury during the final minute of the second period. Play was stopped for several moments while Fleury composed himself, and he remained in the game through the end of the period. Vokoun made 12 saves in relief. Crosby's second-period goal was his 15th of the season for the Penguins, who have also won 10 in a row at home and have opened up a seven-point lead over the Canadiens and Bruins in the race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Montreal was shut out for the first time since Feb. 9 and has lost consecutive games for the first time this season. Price stopped 24 of 25 shots for Montreal, which had its five-game road winning streak snapped. The Penguins streak is the NHL's longest since the Washington Capitals ran off 14 straight in January-February of 2010. That's one of four streaks in NHL history longer than the Penguins' current run. The League record is 17, set by the Penguins late in the 1992-93 season. Fleury, who extended his personal winning streak to eight, earned his League-best 18th victory. Two of his best stops were pad saves on Michael Ryder four minutes into second and on Andrei Markov during a power play about 4 1/2 minutes later. But he was robbed of the chance for his second shutout of the season, and team-record 24th of his career, on a play that coach Dan Bylsma said the Penguins "took exception to." Gionta's response? "If you watch the replay, their own guy falls on Fleury. It's pretty much self-explanatory."

Bylsma said Fleury would continue to be evaluated, but offered no other details. The combined shutout was the fourth in Penguins' history and first since Feb. 2, 2011, when Brent Johnson fought New York Islanders counterpart Rick DiPietro during the final minute of a 3-0 win. The Penguins' streak began against the Canadiens on March 2 in Montreal, but that game was vastly different than this one. Pittsburgh claimed a 7-6 victory that night on Brandon Sutter's overtime goal. But the run-and-gun ways of the early portion of Pittsburgh's winning streak have given way to defensive struggles. The Penguins have allowed nine goals in their past nine games. Vokoun's best stop was denying a wrister by Montreal leading goal-scorer Tomas Plekanec from the inside of the right circle with 6:24 left. For the second time in a three-day span at Consol Energy Center, a game remained scoreless passed its midway point. Crosby broke it up both times, extending his point streak to five games with 6:41 left in the second Tuesday. Linemate Chris Kunitz hit Crosby with a perfect pass from inside the Penguins' blue line on their left wing across the ice to Crosby at Montreal's blue line on the right side. Crosby's wrist shot beat Price high and to the far side. Pittsburgh welcomed Brenden Morrow to the lineup two days after he was acquired in a trade with the Dallas Stars. Morrow left briefly for the dressing room late in the second period for an equipment issue but returned to play during the third. He had no points or shots, one hit and an even rating in 12:55 of ice time often skating on a line with Dustin Jeffrey and James Neal. The Penguins also had Kris Letang, in the lineup for the first time in four games. The League's top-scoring defenseman was taken off the injured reserve list Tuesday afternoon after missing time because of a lower-body injury. Letang logged more than 24 minutes but told RDS after the game that he was not 100 percent after the first period. The Penguins' winning streak has coincided with the month of March. At 13-0, they've set a team record for most wins in a calendar month. Pittsburgh has won nine in a row against Northeast Division teams, and nine of the 13 victories during its streak have been by one goal. Montreal lost despite a heavy advantage in shots on goal for the second time in four days. They outshot the Buffalo Sabres 39-18 in a 2-1 home loss on Saturday and held a 37-25 advantage in shots against the Penguins. Veteran forward Jeff Halpern played 14:51 for Montreal, three days after being claimed off waivers from the New York

NY Islanders v Washington 3-2 - The New York Islanders started fast, took a strong counter punch and found a winner late Tuesday night, and they will wake up Wednesday morning two points from a playoff spot because of it. John Tavares scored his 20th goal of the season with 5:18 remaining in the third period, and the Islanders claimed a key 3-2 victory against the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center in their quest for a spot in the top eight of the Eastern Conference. Washington defenseman Mike Green lost the puck in his feet to the left of his own net; Moulson scooped it up and fed Tavares for a quick one-timer from the right circle. Tavares became the second player to reach 20 goals this season. The Islanders, who haven't made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2007, moved past the Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes into ninth place in the East with the victory. They trail the eighth-place New York Rangers by two points; the Rangers also have a game in hand. Washington forward Brooks Laich took responsibility for the Islanders' game-winner, and coach Adam Oates called it a "tired play." Laich was on the ice for 50 seconds before the goal and 80 seconds in his previous shift. The Capitals (15-17-1) came home from a road trip with three straight wins and a chance to move into ninth, but a slow start and a second loss in as many contests against the Islanders damaged their charge towards a sixth consecutive playoff berth. The visiting Islanders (15-15-3) jumped out to a two-goal lead early in the first period. Michael Grabner scored his 11th of the season at 5:24 of the opening period on a one-timer off a pass by Keith Aucoin. This is Aucoin's first season with New York after four years in Washington's organization. He helped the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League to back-to-back Calder Cup victories, and had 22 points in 49 games for the Capitals. It was Grabner's first goal in six games. Josh Bailey made it 2-0 at 7:56 of the period. Frans Nielsen took the puck behind the Washington net and three Capitals players went with him. He still got the puck to Kyle Okposo in the left corner, and then the Islanders wing found Bailey in nearly the same spot where Grabner connected from. While Tavares' line has carried the Islanders at times, New York showed off some depth in this contest with goals from three different units at even strength. Washington dominated possession for the opening 30 minutes, but didn't have the shot advantage to show for it. Okposo had a great chance for a three-goal lead on the power play, but Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby stopped his point-blank attempt. Moments later when Matt Martin missed a long pass and another great chance at the third goal, the Capitals went the other way and Mike Ribeiro scored on the counter attack at 10:05 of the second period. It was the 11th of the season for Ribeiro, who is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and might have been playing in his last home game with the organization if general manager George McPhee were to deal him before the April 3 trade deadline. Ribeiro is the highest-scoring potential UFA in the League this season with 35 points, but the Capitals have also clawed back into playoff contention and may try to keep him as their long-term option at center behind Nicklas Backstrom, a hole the organization had been looking to fill for years before acquiring Ribeiro in June. Washington's top line had the puck in New York's end a lot in the opening two periods, and defenseman John Carlson made it a 2-2 contest at the end of a long offensive shift. Marcus Johansson, who was inches away from a pair of goals earlier in the game, set up Carlson for a shot from the right point that leaked through Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov at 13:28 of the second. Arthur Staple of Newsday reported it was the seventh time this season the Islanders have blown a two-goal lead. They are now 4-2-1 when they surrender such an advantage.

 

Winnipeg v Carolina 4-1 - The Winnipeg Jets had to learn a hard lesson last week when they lost back-to-back games to divisional rival Washington: There's no room for clunkers in this abbreviated season. The Jets showed they'd gotten got the message Tuesday night by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1. It's the second straight victory for Winnipeg, which is first in the Southeast Division with an 18-14-2 record. Although the second-place Hurricanes have three games in hand, the Jets pushed their lead to six points over Carolina, which is 0-5-1 in the last six. Evander Kane played a role in all the Winnipeg goals. After setting up Jokinen on a 2-on-1, he dished to Tobias Enstrom for a power-play blast in the second period. Five minutes later, Nik Antropov popped in the rebound of a Kane slap shot. Kane capped his night, and finished off the Hurricanes, with an unusual goal in third period. Hurricanes defenseman Jamie McBain tried to break up Kane's set-up pass through the slot, but instead backhanded the puck past Hurricanes netminder Justin Peters from the hash marks. The Jets withstood an early push from the Hurricanes as Winnipeg goaltender Ondrej Pavelec made some sparkling saves in the first period, particularly during a Carolina power play. Although the Hurricanes got on the scoreboard first when Jiri Tlusty scored his 14th goal of the season, Winnipeg looked fortified for withstanding the early onslaught. That was a fortunate turn of events for the Jets. Coach Claude Noel admitted to being worried after a morning skate he felt would leave observers thinking, "these guys are awful." Pavelec was busy all night, stopping 38 shots for his 15th win of the season. Having played in all but three of his team's 34 games, it's no surprise he has seen the second-most shots in the League. Pavelec's description of Carolina's play was far more charitable than the assessment from Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller. In his first full season as Carolina's coach, it is clear that Muller is showing a level of frustration that corresponds with the mounting winless streak. With four days off to prepare after back-to-back 4-1 home losses to Florida and New Jersey, Muller had tried to sell a positive message ahead of the game with Winnipeg: The team could use a little rest and refocus, then start the push to the playoffs. Did it bother him that the team didn't respond to the time off? Earlier in the day, the Hurricanes waived forward Jussi Jokinen, a 30-goal scorer just three seasons ago. While not a direct message to the team, the move certainly was an indicator that there is little margin for error for the team. Having scored just one goal in each of the last five games, Muller isn't sure the Hurricanes are getting the message. The Hurricanes now face a three-game road trip against three team in playoff position - Toronto, Winnipeg and Montreal. With the Hurricanes now in 10th place, there's no mistaking what the upcoming games mean to Carolina.

 

NY Rangers v Philadelphia 5-2 - New York Rangers coach John Tortorella came up with a winning combination when he juggled his lines before Tuesday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. With his team in a goal-scoring slump, Tortorella put Derek Stepan back in the middle of a trio with Rick Nash and Carl Hagelin. The new unit accounted for four of the Rangers' five goals as they continued their dominance of the Flyers with a 5-2 victory that kept them in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Stepan scored a goal and set up three others, including a pair by Nash. Hagelin had an assist, and all three players finished plus-3. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 32 shots for New York, which also got goals by Brad Richards and rookie Chris Kreider. The Rangers improved to 11-1-0 in their past 12 games against the Flyers, including 3-1-0 this season and 5-1-0 in their past six visits to Wells Fargo Center. Stepan set up Rick Nash's first-period goal and a second-period power-play tally by Brad Richards before beating Ilya Bryzgalov to make it 3-0. After the Flyers cut the margin to 3-2 on goals by Wayne Simmonds late in the second period and Jakub Voracek early in the third, Stepan got his third assist of the game on Nash's wraparound goal at 7:42. At 16-13-3, the Rangers have 35 points, two more than the ninth-place New York Islanders. The Rangers have played one fewer game. The Rangers will visit the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. The loss, combined with the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres, dropped the Flyers (13-17-2) into 14th place in the East. The Flyers host the Islanders, Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals later this week. Flyers coach Pater Laviolette changed up three of his lines but didn't get the same results as Tortorella. The Flyers have scored two or fewer goals in 21 of their 21 games. Defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who was honored before the opening faceoff for playing his 1,000th NHL game last week, said the Rangers simply wanted the game more. Nash opened the scoring at 14:54 of the first period when he took a pass from Stepan after a turnover and beat Bryzgalov with a wrister from the slot for the 300th goal of his career. Richards, who has struggled offensively for most of the season, scored his fifth at 3:14 of the second period when he took a feed from Stepan and blasted a slap shot from near the top of the right circle during a power play. It was Richards' first goal in eight games. Stepan reached double figures in goals at 5:46 when Nash's shot hit him in front of the net and he was able to pick up the loose puck and maneuver around Bryzgalov before tucking the puck into the net. The Flyers got one back when Simmonds jammed a puck past Lundqvist at 17:53 of the second during their only power play of the game. It became 3-2 at 6:28 of the third when Claude Giroux won an offensive-zone draw back to Bruno Gervais, whose straightaway slapper hit Voracek and deflected past Lundqvist. It was Voracek's sixth goal in 11 career games against the reigning Vezina Trophy winner. But the Rangers regained control when Nash came out from behind the net and put a wraparound past Bryzgalov's stick 1:14 after Voracek's goal. Kreider's first NHL goal since Feb. 5 ended all doubt about the outcome, and left the Flyers trying to figure out how to right the ship.

 

Buffalo v Tampa Bay 1-2 - The Tampa Bay Lightning gave their new coach something to be optimistic about. With Jon Cooper watching the team he'll officially begin coaching on Wednesday, the Lightning put together an energetic effort and held off the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on Tuesday night at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Cooper told the media before the game that he thought the Lightning still had a chance to make the playoffs. A few more efforts like this one and he might be right. With Mathieu Garon solid in net and Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis providing the offense, the Lightning showed little resemblance to the lackadaisical group that helped get former coach Guy Boucher fired. The Lightning were the aggressors all night, winning the battles for loose pucks and backchecking forcefully as they limited the Sabres to a season-low 14 shots on goal. In addition to seeing another much-needed two points vanish, Buffalo also lost its top scorer, Thomas Vanek, who left the ice during the third period with an upper-body injury and did not return. Tampa Bay had just two shots in the opening period, but grabbed a 1-0 lead at 16:01 when Stamkos backed into the left circle to find some space, took a pass from St. Louis and one-timed the puck over Ryan Miller's glove. It was Stamkos' League-leading 23rd goal of the season of the season. The Lightning opened up a two-goal lead at 8:15 of the second when St. Louis got his eighth goal of the season while Tampa Bay had a two-man advantage. With Buffalo defensemen Robyn Regehr and Mike Weber in the penalty box, St. Louis buried a feed by Teddy Purcell from Miller's left. Stamkos had the other assist. Buffalo had its best scoring opportunity in the middle period when Jason Pominville collected the puck just outside the crease to Garon's right. The Lightning netminder made an excellent cross-ice move to thwart the scoring chance. The Sabres broke up Garon's shutout bid with 3:08 left in regulation when Jordan Leopold skated down the slot and fired home a slap shot for his sixth goal of the season. Even though Buffalo cut the deficit to one goal, the Sabres didn't generate any serious scoring threats before time ran out. Foligno and Lightning defenseman Keith Aulie engaged in a lively battle near the midpoint of the second period. Foligno decked Aulie early, but Aulie popped back up and eventually floored Foligno before the officials stepped in. Trying to overcome a two-goal deficit is difficult at any time, but especially against Tampa Bay, which has dominated the third period this season. In all, 47 of the Lightning's 105 tallies have come in the final period; they are first in the League in third-period scoring. Tampa Bay (14-18-1) held the Sabres (13-16-4) scoreless on four power plays, three in the game's first 22 minutes. Lightning forward Benoit Pouliot returned to action after missing 11 games with an upper body injury. He played 5:52 and had two hits and one shot on net. Both Buffalo and the Lightning are battling long odds as they try to claw their way upward into a playoff position. Tampa Bay helped itself Tuesday night; Buffalo did not.

 

Edmonton v St Louis 3-0 - The Edmonton Oilers have a full arsenal of terrific young talent, but a crafty old-timer turned back the clock Tuesday. Forty-year-old Nikolai Khabibulin, playing in only his seventh game of the season, displayed some of his youthful brilliance of yesteryear with a scintillating 43-save effort for his 46th career shutout to lead the Oilers to a 3-0 victory against the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center. Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall each had three-point games, with Eberle picking up two goals and Hall scoring once, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two assists and the Oilers (12-13-7) snapped a three-game winless streak. Edmonton also won for the first time in St. Louis in seven games dating back to a 5-3 win Dec. 11, 2009. Khabibulin, 3-3-1 on the season, turned back wave after wave of shots throughout the game, including 21 in the second period alone. It was the first time he's blanked the Blues in 47 career starts against them. The Blues (17-13-2), who came in 11-1-1 in the last 13 against the Oilers and outshooting them 43-19 for the game, dropped their third in four games as they teeter on the edge of the postseason cutoff line. They held a closed-door meeting before media members were allowed into the locker room 22 minutes at game's end, and coach Ken Hitchcock did not address the media until 10:45 local time, or an hour, 17 minutes after the game. The Oilers cashed in on a Blues turnover when they broke out on a 3-on-1 following a David Perron turnover. Nugent-Hopkins poked the puck to Hall, who saucer-fed a pass to the top of the crease to Eberle. Eberle made no mistake in getting his eighth of the season with 8:31 remaining in the opening period, redirecting the puck into an open side past Jake Allen. Khabibulin was up to the task for the Blues' best chance, when Vladimir Tarasenko's wrister from the slot was snapped up by the 40-year-old's mitt to preserve the 1-0 lead. He also stopped Steen, Perron and David Backes on breakaways. Despite getting outshot 21-5 in the second period, the Oilers made the most of their limited opportunities, getting goals from Eberle at 3:26 and Hall at 5:17 to go up 3-0. Eberle got his second of the game when he took Nugent-Hopkins' pass and snapped a shot from the right circle over Allen's glove, and then Hall, who has 11 points in the last 11 games, cashed in on a breakaway attempt from Eberle, after Allen made the initial save but Hall pounced on the doorstep. The play unveiled after Eberle blocked a Barret Jackman wrister from the blue line. The ladder goal chased Allen from the game after allowing three goals on seven shots in favor of Jaroslav Halak, who stopped all 12 shots he saw. It was a bit of redemption for the Oilers, who lost twice to the Blues this month. They fell 4-2 here on March 1 and lost 3-0 at Rexall Place on Saturday.

 

Calgary v Chicago 0-2 - It wasn't perfect, but the Chicago Blackhawks did what coach Joel Quenneville hoped they'd do Tuesday. They built a lead heading into the third period against the Calgary Flames at United Center and then finished it off strong for a 2-0 victory. After two straight losses that saw them cough up leads in the final period, it was a step back in the right direction for a team that's still playing without injured star forwards Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa. Nick Leddy and Brent Seabrook scored for Chicago (25-4-3), while Kane added even more points to his remarkable season totals. Kane leads the Blackhawks with 41 points (17 goals and 24 assists) and has five goals and nine assists in his current point streak. He also continues to spark the offense in the absence of Sharp and Hossa, who are likely out for the rest of this week and maybe longer with upper-body injuries. Emery started in goal for Chicago and picked up his second victory in as many starts against the Flames (12-15-4) this season. Unlike the first win, on Feb. 2 in Calgary, Emery didn't get a ton of work. He only needed to make 16 saves, but he made several big ones late in the third to earn his first shutout since Feb. 1, 2010, when he also blanked Calgary while playing for the Philadelphia Flyers. That's because the Flames were outplayed by a wide margin. Calgary, outshot 16-3 in the second period and 35-16 for the game, lost for the fourth time in its past five games and dropped its seventh game in the last 10 – keeping the Flames 14th in the Western Conference. The loss could also ratchet up pressure on Flames general manager Jay Feaster to make one or more trades before the pending April 3 deadline, including one for Jarome Iginla, the longtime face of the franchise. This wasn't one of Iginla's better outings, either. He finished with no points, two shots and a minus-1 rating and had the puck deflect off his stick and flutter past Miikka Kiprusoff (33 saves) on Seabrook's goal at 17:48 of the second period. After the game, Iginla fielded numerous questions about trade speculation that will surround him until he is either dealt to a new team or sees the deadline expire without being moved. The Flames have to improve off this game, because they were pretty lackluster from start to finish. Seabrook's goal put Chicago up 2-0 and culminated a period dominated by Chicago, which got 13 more shots on goal and drew three penalties resulting in power plays. That was after Leddy had already given Chicago a 1-0 lead 7:09 into the game with his career-high fifth goal, which he put through the pads from the left circle after Kane's pass intended for Dave Bolland was tipped by Curtis Glencross and went straight to him. Kiprusoff had a clear view of the shot, but the puck kicked off the inside of his left pad and snuck past him. The Hawks outshot the Flames 11-6 in the first, but did let two more power-play chances go by without scoring, which continued a downtrend in production in three games since Hossa joined Sharp on the sidelines. Coming into the game, the Blackhawks had scored just one goal without Hossa and Sharp in their previous seven power-play opportunities (14.3 percent) and the dry spell stretched all the way to one for their last 11 after a failed 4:00 advantage early in the second against Calgary. After going 0-for-5, it stands at one for the last 12 (8.3 percent).

 

Columbus v Vancouver 0-1 - Cory Schneider kept his eyes open long enough to keep the Vancouver Canucks in the game late, and Maxim Lapierre closed his to end it. Lapierre roofed a backhand deke in the third round of the shootout for the only goal of the game, and Schneider overcame an uneventful start to make 17 saves before stopping all three attempts in the shootout as the Canucks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 1-0 Tuesday at Rogers Arena. The way Sergei Bobrovsky was playing, it wasn't a bad strategy. The Columbus goaltender was the biggest story of a slow-moving game until that final shot, bouncing back quickly from a rare off night in Saturday's 5-2 loss at Nashville by making 21 of his 34 saves in the first half of the game. He sent the game to the shootout by making a sprawling left pad breakaway save on Jannik Hansen with 30 seconds left in overtime, and stuffed Mason Raymond and Jordan Schroeder in the shootout before Lapierre finally beat him high. Bobrovsky, who was pulled after four goals in 10 minutes of the loss in Nashville, declined to do post-game interviews in English. His coach, Todd Richards, wasn't surprised by his strong play, pointing to his 8-0-2 streak to start March. While his goalie bounced back, Richards wouldn't say the same of his team, which started the month on an 8-0-3 run before the loss in Nashville. Despite moving within a point on the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, there wasn't much to like outside of the crease after being outshot 12-2 in the first period, 21-6 by the midway point of the game and 34-17 overall. The Canucks got exactly what they were looking for as they try to play through a run of injuries that left them without six forwards and with defenseman Keith Ballard playing left wing on the third line. With so many regulars out, Vancouver has relied on tight defense and a strong Schneider for five straight wins to move two points ahead of the Minnesota Wild atop the Northwest Division. It was Vancouver's second 1-0 win in the last three games. Schneider was reduced to the role of spectator while Bobrovsky turned away Tom Sestito alone in tight, and stuffed Lapierre on a partial break down the right wing in the first period, then denied Daniel Sedin and Jordan Schroeder from point-blank range early in the second. He got a break when the rebound of a high shot off his left shoulder landed behind him, but was cleared away. By the time the Blue Jackets registered their sixth shot, and arguably first real scoring chance, midway through the second, Bobrovsky had made 21 saves. Despite the start, Columbus matched Vancouver over the second half of the game, forcing Schneider to make some of the bigger stops, including a glove on that sixth shot from Foligno in the high slot. He got a piece of another rising Foligno shot midway through the third period and a couple of breaks, first when Prospal knocked a rebound just over the net, and again when defenseman Dan Hamhuis got his skate on Foligno's shot at an open net with 1:20 left to play. For the rest of the Canucks, the key was not trying to force too much, or cheat on offense after being turned aside repeatedly in the first 30 minutes.