Gameday 69 (Thu, 27 Mar) - Results

Carolina v Toronto 3-6 - If there were one word to describe Phil Kessel, it might well be "shooter." Kessel has one of the hardest and most accurate shots in the NHL. But he's more than just a gunner, he also takes delight in setting up his linemates, and his ability to hit the open man is an underrated part of his game. Kessel's passing ability was on display Thursday night when he registered two assists as the Toronto Maple Leafs moved a step closer to their first playoff berth since 2004 by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3. The game was actually a lot closer than the final score suggests, as the Maple Leafs scored twice into the empty net after Joffrey Lupul's goal with 3:10 left in regulation snapped a 3-3 tie. Kessel's two assists give him 24 on the season to go with 10 goals, and his 34 points are moving him toward the League's top 10 scorers. The 25-year-old finished sixth in in the NHL in scoring last season. The Maple Leafs went back to the lines they used at the start of Tuesday's game against the Florida Panthers and the move paid early dividends when the trio of Tyler Bozak, Kessel and James van Riemsdyk struck just 3:58 into the opening period. Van Riemsdyk corralled the puck at the left side of the Carolina net and made a nifty behind-the-back pass to Kessel, who immediately relayed it to Bozak at the far side of the goal. Bozak scored easily on a bewildered Justin Peters for his 10th goal of the season. Kessel had a glorious opportunity to put the Maple Leafs up by two five minutes later when he blew past flat-footed defender Jay Harrison and broke in alone, only to fail on his attempt to beat Peters on the forehand with a shot aimed at the five-hole. Toronto defenseman Cody Franson did give the Maple Leafs a 2-0 lead at 9:03 of the second period with his third goal of the season, and again it was Kessel setting up the play. After taking a pass at the left point from Phaneuf, Kessel directed a perfect cross-ice pass to Franson, who was breaking toward the net from the right point. Franson easily drilled a low snap shot past Peters. Carolina, which had beaten Toronto in its previous two meetings this season, roared back with three straight goals and appeared to be primed to hand the Maple Leafs a third defeat. Eric Staal scored a nifty shorthanded goal on a breakaway at 11:29, beating Toronto's James Reimer through the five-hole, and Alexander Semin tied it at 15:52 during a power play with a seeing-eye shot to the top corner that Reimer had no chance on. Jordan Staal, Eric's younger brother, gave the Hurricanes their first lead the lead when he drove hard to the net off the right-wing boards and snapped a shot over Reimer's right shoulder at 6:55 of the third period. But the Maple Leafs, riding a three-game winning streak on home ice, didn't give up. Phaneuf tied it at 14:35 with his seventh of the season and second in as many games, beating Peters with a blast from the point. then Joffrey Lupul brought the crowd to its feet with an end-to-end dash that concluded with the speedy left wing cutting to the net and slipping a shot into the far side of the net past Peters. It was Lupul's seventh goal in eight games this season, all seven have come in the five games since he returned from a broken arm March 16. Jay McClement and Nikolai Kulemin hit the empty net for the Maple Leafs. While Toronto appears primed to make its first post-season appearance in nine years, Carolina has dropped eight in a row and is fading in the Eastern Conference standings. Jordan Staal, in his first year with the Hurricanes after winning a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, said losing a game after scoring three straight goals to take the lead is frustrating.

NY Islanders v Philadelphia 4-3 - The New York Islanders didn't let a two-goal deficit or a blown lead in the final seconds of regulation keep them from leaving Wells Fargo Center with a much-needed two points. Josh Bailey's goal in the fourth round of the shootout gave the Islanders a 4-3 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday for their first three-game winning streak of the season. The Islanders overcame an early 2-0 deficit and went ahead 3-2 late in the third period on a pair of goals by fourth-line forward Colin McDonald. But New York's Frans Nielsen was called for a faceoff violation with 1:30 left in regulation, and Philadelphia's Scott Hartnell whacked home a rebound with 29.8 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. After a scoreless five minutes, Philadelphia's Claude Giroux and New York's Brad Boyes scored in the second round of the tiebreaker. Evgeni Nabokov stopped two shots, and Ilya Bryzgalov denied John Tavares before Bailey ended the game by ripping a wrist shot into the right corner. The Islanders continue to thrive away from Nassau Coliseum, where their 6-11-2 record is among the worst home marks in the NHL. Thursday's victory followed a 3-2 win at the Washington Capitals on Tuesday and lifted their road record to 10-4-2. The Islanders (16-15-3) are ninth in the Eastern Conference with 35 points. The eighth-place New York Rangers, who lost to the Ottawa Senators 3-0 on Thursday, also have 35 but have played one fewer game. The Flyers, who couldn't hold an early lead after Hartnell and Mike Knuble scored in the first period, fell to 13-17-2. They're on the verge of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2007. The Flyers came out far more spirited than they did for Tuesday's 5-2 home loss to the Rangers and grabbed the lead by capitalizing on their first power play. With Islanders defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky off for interference, Hartnell took a pass from Giroux in the left circle and misfired on a wrist shot. But the fluttering puck fooled Nabokov and knuckled into the far corner at 4:14 for Hartnell's third of the season. The Islanders rebounded by putting plenty of pressure on Bryzgalov, taking eight consecutive shots at one point. But the Flyers turned a giveaway during a line change into the game's second goal. New York defenseman Thomas Hickey threw a pass to no one in particular from just outside his blue line; Giroux grabbed it and raced in on a quick 2-on-1 with Knuble. The 40-year-old forward took Giroux's perfect pass, deked Nabokov and slid a backhander into a wide-open net at 17:25 for his third of the season. The Islanders, who were blanked 7-0 at home by Bryzgalov and the Flyers on Presidents Day, finally put a puck past him, but Andrew MacDonald's blast crossed the goal line about a half-second before the first period ran out, sending the Flyers off with a 2-0 lead. New York finally got one that counted with 60 seconds left in the second period. After some sustained pressure by the Islanders, Tavares grabbed the puck in the lower right circle and backhanded it toward the slot, where it hit the skate of Flyers defenseman Luke Schenn and went into the net. It was Tavares' 21st of the season; only Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos (23) has more. McDonald tied the game at 10:04 of the third, firing a pass from Keith Aucoin behind Bryzgalov, and gave the Islanders the lead with 4:23 left in regulation when he picked up a deflected clearing pass and ripped a slapper from the high slot that ticked the skate of Flyers defenseman Bruno Gervais and went into the net. The Islanders continue their road trip Saturday afternoon, when they'll try to end the Pittsburgh Penguins' 14-game winning streak.

Winnipeg v Pittsburgh 0-4 - Talk about the perfect month. Not only have the Pittsburgh Penguins added two former captains to their already star-studded lineup, they're one victory away from capping the only perfect full month the NHL has ever seen. Pascal Dupuis scored two goals, Tomas Vokoun made 20 saves for his 50th career shutout and the Penguins dominated the Winnipeg Jets 4-0 Thursday night for their 14th consecutive victory. Should Pittsburgh win at home Saturday against the New York Islanders, it would cap the only calendar month of at least 10 games without a loss or tie by a team in NHL history. Evgeni Malkin had a goal in his return from a nine-game injury absence, and Chris Kunitz scored for Eastern Conference-leading Pittsburgh (27-8-0), which extended its home winning streak to a franchise record-tying 11 games. The Penguins shut out an opponent for the second consecutive game and have allowed nine goals in their past 10 contests. Pittsburgh is on the verge of adding another great player. Jarome Iginla, acquired in a trade with the Calgary Flames early Thursday morning, did not join the Penguins in time for this game. Though coach Dan Bylsma called his top line of Kunitz, Dupuis and NHL scoring leader Crosby "the best line in hockey" and vowed to keep it together, speculation abounds that Iginla will skate on Crosby's wing. That makes sense, Iginla has 525 career goals and was on Crosby's line at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Dupuis, though, seemingly won't give up the coveted spot without a fight, even as he politely and steadfastly maintains he'll play anywhere with anyone. Dupuis scored 4:12 into the second period off assists from Kunitz and Crosby to tie Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos for the NHL lead with 15 even-strength goals. Dupuis added his 17th overall with 1:23 to play in the second, his NHL-high eighth shorthanded goal over the past three seasons. Dupuis' second goal was his 200th point with the Penguins. He just missed his second career hat trick 4-1/2 minutes into the third when his redirection of Matt Niskanen's slap-pass went wide of a vast expanse of open net. Dupuis hit the post late in the first period during the same shift that Malkin eventually scored his sixth of the season, his second since Feb. 20. Malkin missed 13 of the previous 16 games with a concussion (four games) and a shoulder injury (nine games). Crosby had another assist on Kunitz's goal that opened the scoring 15:03 into the game. Crosby's blind backhand backward pass from below the goal line onto the tape of Kunitz's stick was arguably the prettiest of his League-leading 41 assists this season. Kunitz's goal was his 20th, the third consecutive season and the fifth time in his career he's had at least that many. Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec did not start for the first time in 12 games. He started both of the Jets' games at Consol Energy Center last season, in which the Penguins scored eight times each. Al Montoya made his first start since March 7, second since Feb. 9, and had 39 saves in defeat. Vokoun came on in relief of Marc-Andre Fleury at the start of the third period of Tuesday's 1-0 win against the Montreal Canadiens. Fleury sustained an upper-body injury that kept him out of Thursday's game. He took part in the morning skate and said he felt OK, but the team recalled Jeff Zatkoff from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League in the afternoon. Vokoun extended his personal winning streak to six. In his past six appearances, Vokoun has a 0.80 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage. He is the 26th NHL goalie to record 50 shutouts. One of Vokoun's best saves was stopping Kyle Wellwood on a partial breakaway with 7:42 to play. Vokoun, who has two shutouts this season, also turned aside two shots during 1:56 of Winnipeg 5-on-3 time early in the third. The Penguins have not allowed a goal in their past 148:24 of play. Douglas Murray was part of that penalty-killing effort in his Penguins debut. The hulking defenseman, acquired in a trade from the San Jose Sharks on Monday, registered three hits, a blocked shot, two shots on goal, and a plus-1 rating in 18:20 of ice time. Former Dallas Stars captain Brenden Morrow played 14:38 in his second game with the Penguins after coming over in a trade Sunday. The winning streak is the tied for the third-longest in NHL history. The Mario Lemieux-led Penguins had a record 17-game run going at this time 20 years ago. Crosby has 11 points in a six-game point streak and a 12-point lead over Kunitz for the League scoring lead. The Crosby-Kunitz-Dupuis line has combined for 32 goals over the past 17 games. The Penguins have won 12 in a row at home against the Jets franchise, which maintained its six-point lead in the Southeast Division.

NY Rangers v Ottawa 0-3 - Even with all their injuries, the Ottawa Senators still have the New York Rangers' number. Ben Bishop stopped 24 shots for his first shutout of the season as the Senators beat the Rangers 3-0 on Thursday night for their fourth consecutive victory. Andre Benoit scored late in the second period to put Ottawa ahead to stay, Guillaume Latendresse beat Henrik Lundqvist with 7:44 left in regulation and Colin Greening hit the empty net with 2:02 remaining to wrap up the Senators' fifth consecutive victory against the Rangers. Bishop outplayed Lundqvist, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, who turned away 26 shots. Lundqvist is just 3-5-1 in his last nine games, and perplexed by his team's continuing struggles. The Senators, despite missing Erik Karlsson, Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek and starting goaltender Craig Anderson, improved to 19-9-6 and are fifth in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers (16-14-3) are tied for the final playoff berth with the Islanders at 35 points, though the Rangers have a game in hand. After a defense-oriented first few minutes, the Rangers nearly took the lead midway through the first period when Derek Stepan's pass from behind the Ottawa net found Rick Nash, who backhanded the puck across the high slot to Carl Hagelin. But Hagelin fired wide from just inside the left circle. New York got another great opportunity when Patrick Wiercioch turned the puck over in the right corner to New York's Kris Newbury, who was skating up the slot. But Bishop got his pad on Newbury's wrister and did the same to Ryan Callahan's wrist shot after the Rangers' captain picked off Eric Condra's attempted clear. Ottawa's best chance in the first came late in the period when Kyle Turris passed across the offensive zone to Eric Gryba, but the rookie defenseman's wrist shot from inside the right circle wound up in Lundqvist's glove. The Senators had a 2-on-1 chance early in the second period, but Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh broke up Jacob Silfverberg's pass. Lundqvist sprawled across the crease near the 12-minute mark to keep Condra from burying a rebound. The Senators finally broke through with 48.8 seconds left in the period. With Anton Stralman off for tripping Mike Hoffman, Mika Zibanejad passed to Benoit, who one-timed a blast from the blue line through traffic and past Lundqvist for his second of the season. McDonagh had a great chance to tie the game early in the third period when McDonagh was left open in the left circle with plenty of net to shoot at and Bishop out of position. But the 6-foot-7 goaltender dove across the net to make the save with his blocker. Latendresse gave Ottawa some breathing room when he finished off a feed from Zibanejad for his fourth goal in six games. Zibanejad has five helpers during a four-game assist streak. The line of Latendresse, Zibanejad and Silfverberg has been paying offensive dividends for the Senators. Silfverberg also had an assist on Latendresse's goal, giving him one goal and two helpers in his last three games. However, Latendresse knows the trio's role isn't just about putting pucks in the net. With the Rangers barely clinging to the final playoff berth in the East, coach John Tortorella admitted that the loss on Thursday was aggravating.

Buffalo v Florida 4-5 - Jonathan Huberdeau listened to some advice from an injured teammate, and it paid immediate dividends. The Florida Panthers' rookie sensation snapped a nine-game goal drought with a game-tying power-play tally with 6:09 left in regulation, then scored in the shootout as his team rallied to beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-4 on Thursday night at BB&T Center. Huberdeau's goal was his 13th of the season, tops among NHL rookies. Huberdeau, who hadn't scored since March 8 against the Winnipeg Jets, couldn't remember the last time he had gone that long without a goal at any level. Huberdeau's goal came in the second round of the shootout and was awarded after the play was reviewed, as the puck barely crossed the goal line. He scored after Buffalo captain Jason Pominville had given the Sabres a 1-0 lead on the opening attempt of the tiebreaker. Florida won the shootout in the fourth round when Mike Santorelli beat Ryan Miller with a backhand-to-forehand deke and a high shot. The goal was Santorelli's ninth in 18 career shootout attempts. Thursday marked the second consecutive meeting between the teams that went to a shootout. The Sabres won 4-3 at BB&T Center on Feb. 28, 25 days after the Panthers won 4-3 at Buffalo. The Panthers improved to 2-1 in shootouts this season, although they're 0-5 in games ending in overtime. Buffalo is now 4-3 in shootouts. Florida sent the game to OT after squandering a 2-0 lead, then coming back from two one-goal deficits in the third period. Shawn Matthias scored twice in regulation for the Panthers, giving him nine goals in his past 15 games. Matthias has 12 goals on the season, topping his previous career high of 10 accomplished in 79 games last season. Tomas Fleischmann had the other goal for Florida, which snapped a three-game losing streak and won at home for the first time since March 5. Peter Mueller and Brian Campbell each had two assists. Florida goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 36 shots in regulation and overtime, and all four goals against him came off deflections. Nathan Gerbe, Andrej Sekera, Drew Stafford and Marcus Foligno scored for the Sabres, who were swept on a two-game Florida trip for the fifth time in 28 sets of back-to-back games against the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. They dropped a 2-1 decision in Tampa on Tuesday. Sekera was back in the lineup Thursday after missing five games with an upper-body injury. Stafford had been a healthy scratch the previous two. Miller, who was in net for Tuesday's loss against the Lightning, made 36 saves. Buffalo erased a 2-0 deficit in the second period with three unanswered goals, which matched their output of their previous two games combined. They accomplished this despite playing without leading scorer Thomas Vanek, who's out with an upper-body injury. Along with Vanek, the Sabres also played the last two periods without left wing Ville Leino, who was benched by coach Ron Rolston after being penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct with 40 seconds left in the first period for berating an official. The Panthers took advantage when Fleischmann scored on the ensuing power play 43 seconds into the second period to give Florida a 2-0 lead. One positive note for Buffalo was the performance of Stafford, who had an assist along with his goal and had five shots. Buffalo led 3-2 before Matthias evened it 5:23 into the third on a play that was set up by his hustle. He poked the puck away from Steve Ott from behind in the Buffalo zone, and Mueller fired a shot that was stopped by Miller before Matthias put home the rebound. After Foligno scored a power-play goal at 11:33 when he deflected Jordan Leopold's shot from the point past Markstrom, Huberdeau tied it again with a power-play goal when he one-timed Mueller's feed in front of the net past Miller.

Los Angeles v St Louis 4-2 - The Los Angeles Kings have gone into two tough buildings in a row and come up with key goals late in regulation to leave with two points. On Monday, it was Dustin Brown scoring with less than two minutes to give L.A. a victory at Chicago. Three nights later, it was Mike Richards' turn to be the hero, he stuffed a puck past Jaroslav Halak with 2:43 remaining to break a tie as the Kings beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2. The play went to review, as Halak had his skate up against the post. Jeff Carter did lift the goal from behind before the puck got stuffed in but it was determined to be a good goal, as Richards outworked the Blues' Andy McDonald. Justin Williams added an empty-netter with 1:16 remaining to seal the win for the Kings (19-12-2). It used to be that the Blues had L.A.'s number, but the tide has turned heavily in favor of the Kings in recent meetings. Brown and Trevor Lewis also scored for the Kings, who won for the fourth time in six games while beating the Blues for the eighth straight time, including four wins in a second-round playoff sweep last spring. They've outscored the Blues 29-13 in that stretch. The Kings grabbed the two crucial points in the standings, giving them 40 on the season. Vladimir Tarasenko scored both goals for the Blues (17-14-2) and Halak stopped 36 shots, the 39 shots he faced were the most he's seen in any of his 15 appearances this season. The loss was the Blues' fourth in five games, and since they don't play again until Monday, they could end the weekend outside of the top eight in the Western Conference looking in. They came into the game in seventh place. The Kings outshot the Blues 13-7 in the opening period but Halak's goaltending kept them off the board. The Kings had the best scoring chances following two Blues turnovers. Jarret Stoll fired high on a breakaway attempt with 9:49 remaining after a Steen turnover towards the end of a Blues power play, and Halak made a right pad stop on Richards' backhand attempt on a semi-break down the right side following McDonald's turnover. Brown gave the Kings a 1-0 lead when he was able to convert a rebound of a Kopitar chance 4:42 into the second period. Halak made stops on Rob Scuderi and Kopitar on the doorstep, but the puck got to Brown on the opposite side of the net. The Blues tied it at 10:55, with Tarasenko scoring his first in 10 games when he connected for a power-play goal, the Blues' first man advantage goal in five games. The Russian rookie followed up his own rebound after getting a feed in the slot from David Perron. Jonathan Quick, who stopped 20 shots, made the initial save but left a rebound in the slot. The goal broke a 106:07 scoring drought for the Blues dating back to Saturday at Edmonton. But the Kings reestablished the lead when Lewis was able to outwork Wade Redden at the side of the Blues goal after a dump-in by Stoll and beat Halak with a near-side backhand just 1:53 after the Blues tied it. Tarasenko equalized the game again for the Blues, as he followed up Alex Pietrangelo's one-timer and stuffed the puck past Quick from just off the goal line. Tarasenko, coming off the right half-wall, beat Scuderi to the position and finished it off 6:44 into the third. The Kings were able to get a Brown winner with 1:27 remaining to beat the Blackhawks 5-4 on Monday. Richards' first goal in eight games pushed the Kings into fifth place, pending Detroit's game with San Jose Thursday night.

Phoenix v Nashville 7-4 - For one glorious period, the Phoenix Coyotes' offensive struggles were a thing of the past. Their seven-game losing streak is over as well. Radim Vrbata scored twice in the Coyotes' six-goal opening period, and Phoenix went on to defeat the Nashville Predators 7-4 Thursday for their first victory since March 12. Phoenix (14-15-5) came into the game having scored eight goals during an 0-6-1 slide that has dropped them out of the top eight in the Western Conference. But they sent Vezina Trophy finalist Pekka Rinne to the bench less than four minutes into the game while grabbing a 3-0 lead. Nashville (14-14-6) saw its three-game winning streak emphatically ended. The Coyotes led 3-0 almost before the fans at Bridgestone Arena had settled into their seats. Martin Hanzal scored an unassisted goal at 1:46; Vrbata made it 2-0 at 3:42 on a backhand wraparound; and David Moss hammered in a rebound eight seconds later. That brought a goaltending change for Nashville, with Chris Mason replacing Rinne. It didn't help, Matthew Lombardi scored his 100th NHL goal at 7:08, and Keith Yandle connected for a power-play goal on a one-timer at 8:26. Nashville finally got on the board at 9:03 when David Legwand beat Jason LaBarbera, and Rich Clune made it 6-2, 30 seconds later. Vrbata scored his second of the night at 15:57 on a bad-angle screen shot from the left boards near the goal line, only to see Gabriel Bourque tip a shot past LaBarbera 32 seconds later to cut the margin to 6-3. The Coyotes scored six times on 13 shots in the opening period; defenseman Rostislav Klesla assisted on four of the six goals. Nashville had three goals on 17 shots. The six goals ties the most scored in one period in the League this season; the San Jose Sharks scored six times in the first period at the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 22. The six goals matched Nashville's franchise record for most goals against in one period. Rinne re-entered the game for the second period and was beaten by Antoine Vermette at 2:44 to make it 7-3. LaBarbera, playing in place of injured starter Mike Smith, allowed a goal to Shea Weber midway through the third period and finished with 34 saves. Coyotes forward Steve Sullivan, a former Predators player, was honored for his 1,000th NHL game.

Columbus v Edmonton 4-6 - The Columbus Blue Jackets learned that playing run-and-gun hockey with the Edmonton Oilers isn't a good idea. The Blue Jackets scored 10 seconds after the opening faceoff Thursday and had leads of 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3. But they couldn't slow down the Oilers, who got a goal and two assists from Sam Gagner as they rallied for a 6-4 victory at Rexall Place. Ales Hemsky scored the go-ahead goal with 3:08 remaining in regulation, beating Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky through the five-hole on the return rush after Edmonton's Devan Dubnyk robbed Cam Atkinson's bid for a hat trick. Gagner hit the empty net in the final minute, and the Oilers (13-13-7) pulled even with the Blue Jackets (13-14-7) in the Western Conference standings. Columbus, Edmonton, Dallas and Phoenix all have 33 points, three behind the eighth-place St. Louis Blues. Bobrovsky, whose goaltending fueled Columbus' recent 8-0-4 run, had a tough night, he allowed five goals on 24 shots. Richards said his team's inability to manage the puck was a bigger reason for the loss. The game couldn't have started better for Columbus. Atkinson scored on a one-timer before the echoes of "O, Canada" had subsided, then set up Matt Calvert's goal at 12:04 of the first period to give Columbus a 2-0 lead. But Magnus Paajarvi scored on a backhander late in the period to get the Oilers on the board, and Jordan Eberle stepped through the defense before flipping the puck past Bobrovsky 39 seconds into the middle period to make it 2-2. Calvert appeared to get his second of the night with just under three minutes left in the second when a rebound bounced off Nikolai Khabibulin and hit the Columbus forward's skate as he was being driven into the net; however, a video review waved off the goal, saying Calvert used his skate to kick the puck into the net. But Artem Anisimov got a goal that counted with 1:26 left in the period, beating Khabibulin from the right circle, to put the Blue Jackets back in front. The lead lasted 31 seconds before Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff tied the game again by finishing off a pass by Nail Yakupov. Atkinson got the Blue Jackets off to a fast start in the third period and ended Khabibulin's night by scoring 27 seconds after intermission, but Corey Potter's shot from the blue line somehow went through the five-hole on Bobrovsky at 3:00 to get the Oilers even again.

Colorado v Vancouver 1-4 - Reunited after a couple of games apart and a few more in which they struggled, the Vancouver Canucks' top line had a chat before the game on Thursday. Alexandre Burrows and Daniel and Henrik Sedin talked about not trying to force the issue offensively, about taking care of their defensive responsibilities first, and letting the scoring chances come to them at the other end. Against the Colorado Avalanche it usually does. Burrows scored the opening goal early and set up Daniel Sedin's game-winner with 8:28 left to lead Vancouver to a 4-1 victory. Henrik Sedin and Chris Higgins added empty-net goals, and the top line finished with six points as the Canucks improved to 18-0-2 against Colorado during the past 3 1/2 years. After jumping out to a 1-0 lead an 8-1 shot advantage the first nine minutes, the Canucks were being outshot 21-7 when Colorado's Matt Duchene tied it 4:02 into the third period. But the top line put the Canucks back in front off an offensive-zone faceoff that went from the point down to Burrows in the left corner and quickly into the high slot to Daniel Sedin for a quick wrist shot through Henrik's screen beat Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov between the legs. If not for Cory Schneider, the Avalanche would have tied the game a lot sooner. Schneider made the best of his 32 saves in the second half of a first period that ended with 10 straight shots by Colorado, turning aside point-blank opportunities for Jamie McGinn and PA Parenteau, and robbing Milan Hejduk alone in tight. Schneider has allowed just six goals during a six-game winning streak that put the Canucks two points ahead of the Minnesota Wild atop the Northwest Division. He even got an assist on Henrik's empty net goal with 1:24 left to play. Before the streak, Schneider had one win in five games and watched Roberto Luongo start four straight, but he used that time to tighten up his game. Varlamov finished with 16 saves for the Avalanche, who have lost four straight, eight of nine, and are 2-12-3 on the road this season. Upset after falling behind 2-0 and being dominated in the first period of a 4-3 loss to the Calgary Flames the night before, the Avalanche were down 1-0 early against the Canucks after some pretty passing from the Sedins. A point shot was blocked in the high slot, but bounced to Daniel. He spun into a blind backhand pass across the ice to Henrik, who one-touched it back the other way, stranding Varlamov and leaving Burrows with an empty net. It was the second goal in seven games for Burrows and snapped a skid that saw the Sedins record one assist combined in the past four games. They were perhaps guilty of thinking those goals might come too easy against Colorado. After a Burrows holding penalty, the Avalanche recorded the final 10 shots of the period, finishing with a 32-12 shot advantage over the final 51 minutes. Colorado had a great chance to defeat Vancouver in regulation for the first time in a long time on the power play a few minutes later. But Schneider turned aside Erik Johnson alone in the slot, and Daniel Sedin restored the lead two minutes later, giving the Canucks 10 straight wins against the Avalanche. It just wasn't enough to end a much longer slump against the Canucks.

Detroit v San Jose 0-2 - Another night, another shutout for San Jose Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi. Niemi stopped 27 shots for his second shutout in as many nights as the Sharks beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 at HP Pavilion on Thursday. Niemi, who made 22 saves in a 4-0 victory against Anaheim on Wednesday, posted consecutive shutouts for the third time in his NHL career, all as a Shark. Two seasons ago, he blanked the Boston Bruins on Feb. 5, 2011, and the Washington Capitals three days later, both on the road. Last season he shut out the Calgary Flames on the road, just before the All-Star break. A week later, he shut out the Columbus Blue Jackets at home. This marked the first time in his career that Niemi posted shutouts on back-to-back nights and the first time that's happened in Sharks history. Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns scored for the Sharks, who won their third straight game, their longest streak since winning seven straight to open the season, and have won the first two games on their seven-game home stand. Pavelski and Burns each scored a goal for the third straight game, helping the Sharks climb into sole possession of seventh place in the Western Conference with 38 points, two points ahead of the St. Louis Blues and one behind Detroit. Detroit's three-game winning streak came to the end, but the Red Wings finished their four-game road trip with a 3-1-0 record, grabbing six of a possible eight points. Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard stopped 22 of 24 shots. Pavelski gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 18:59 of the first period with his 10th goal of the season. He scored for the third straight game since being switched from a second-line wing to a third-line center. Linemates Ryane Clowe and TJ Galiardi each earned an assist on the goal. Pavelski won a battle for the puck along the boards behind the net and scored on a wraparound shot that bounced off Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall's skate and past Howard. Kronwall and the Red Wings, who had their five-game road winning streak snapped, were on the wrong side of that bounce. After a scoreless second period, Burns gave the Sharks some breathing room at 2:07 of the third. The goal was Burns' fifth of the season; all of them have come since he was switched from a defenseman to a right wing on March 12 against St. Louis. He has 10 points in nine games as a top-line forward. Joe Thornton earned the assist after taking the puck away from defenseman Brian Lashoff deep in Detroit's zone and passing the puck to Burns, who ripped a shot over Howard's glove and inside the right post. Both teams played a remarkably clean game. The first and only penalty of the game didn't come until just 9:16 remained when Sharks forward TJ Galiardi was called for hooking. For the first time in Sharks history, an opponent went an entire game without a penalty. The one penalty and two penalty minutes set Sharks records for fewest combined penalties and penalty minutes. The Red Wings had scored at least one power-play goal in eight straight games before Thursday, but the Sharks killed that power play with Niemi making a handful of saves, including on a shot from Henrik Zetterberg from close range. Niemi improved to 9-2-2 all-time against Detroit, a team he often faced while playing for the Chicago Blackhawks and one that usually brings the best out of him. When the Sharks and Red Wings met on Feb. 28 in San Jose, they combined for just two goals with Detroit winning 2-1 in a shootout. The rematch had much the same feel with neither team able to generate much offense or good scoring chances. Red Wings forward Johan Franzen left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. Babcock had no update on his condition.