Gameday 94 (Mon, 22 Apr) - Results

Winnipeg v Buffalo 2-1 - Antti Miettinen moved the Winnipeg Jets within a point of a Stanley Cup Playoff spot in the Eastern Conference on Monday. Miettinen broke a 1-1 tie with 7:36 remaining in regulation as the Jets earned a 2-1 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center. Winnipeg is currently on a 6-0-1 run and Monday's win sets up a game against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday that will have major playoff implications. The Jets are already eagerly looking ahead. With two games remaining, Winnipeg sits in ninth place with 51 points, one back of the seventh-place New York Rangers, the eighth-place Ottawa Senators and the No. 3 seed, the Southeast Division-leading Capitals. The Jets are also two-points behind the sixth-place New York Islanders. None of those teams have clinched a playoff berth yet. Washington can clinch the Southeast on Tuesday with a win in regulation or overtime. Winnipeg is 1-3-0 against the Capitals this season. Washington outscored the Jets 10-1 in the past two games, which were played on back-to-back nights in Winnipeg. The Jets entered the game coming off a six-game homestand in which they went 5-0-1. That run helped put them back in the playoff picture as their victory against the Sabres improved their record to 24-19-3. Aaron Gagnon also scored for Winnipeg, while Ondrej Pavelec made 24 saves in his 11th straight start. His best stop of the night came with 5:45 left in regulation, when he robbed Thomas Vanek with a glove save. Pavelec and the Jets defense also prevented Buffalo's steadiest pressure of the night, which came with under a minute to go and the extra skater on. Goaltender Jhonas Enroth kept Buffalo in the game, turning aside 37 shots. Vanek, Buffalo's leading scorer, tallied for the Sabres. The Sabres (19-21-6) were eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the New York Rangers on Friday. For the game winner, Miettinen accepted a pass from James Wright at the right point and took a slap shot that made its way under Enroth's left arm and trickled in over the goal line. Miettinen said he didn't even see it go in. Gagnon opened the scoring 7:42 into the second period. Jets defenseman Derek Meech skated in down the left wing boards and threw a pass in front of the net just in front of the red line. Gagnon deflected the puck up over Enroth's left shoulder as three Sabres watched. The goal was Gagnon's third goal of the season and Meech's first point of the 2012-13 campaign. Vanek tied the game with 8:03 to play in the second with his ninth power-play goal of the season. Drew Stafford crept in from the left point and swung a pass cross-ice to Tyler Ennis. Ennis put the puck toward the net and Vanek deflected it top shelf for his team-leading 18th goal. With his goal, Vanek passed Mike Foligno for the sixth-most goals in Sabres' history with 248. Vanek is four behind Craig Ramsay for fifth place. Kane was awarded a penalty shot with 5:01 to play in the first period after Sabres defenseman Andrej Sekera dived and interfered with Kane on his way to the net. Enroth made a glove save on the penalty shot attempt that deflected up and over the net. Enroth is now 1-for-2 in his career on penalty shots, while Kane is 1-for-5 in his career. The penalty shot was one of 15 saves Enroth made in the first period to keep the game scoreless as the Jets outshot the Sabres 15-4. Enroth had made 29 saves in the game by the time the second period wrapped up. Enroth capped off an acrobatic sequence late in the second period by stopping Jets captain Andrew Ladd with the back of his skate while facing the mouth of the net. After a shot went off the post, Enroth was scrambling on his back outside of the crease without a stick. The puck made its way to the front of the net and Enroth stopped lad with his back turned to the play. He stopped another shot by Gagnon before Buffalo was able to clear the zone. Jets forward Kyle Wellwood left the game in the second period after blocking a shot from Vanek.

Pittsburgh v Ottawa 3-1 - The Stanley Cup Playoff picture became hazy for the Ottawa Senators on Monday. As they dropped their second game in a row, falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 in front of a sellout crowd at Scotiabank Place. Tyler Kennedy scored with 2:34 left to put the game away for the Penguins off a Matt Cooke pass from behind the net. With the loss, the Senators, who have yet clinch a postseason berth, now find themselves in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Jets, after beating the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 Monday, sit only one point behind the Senators with three games left. Ottawa will visit the Washington Capitals on Thursday. Dustin Jeffrey and Jarome Iginla also scored for the Penguins, while Brenden Morrow had two assists. Patrick Wiercioch scored the lone goal for the Senators. Tomas Vokoun, who played in his 700th career game, also garnered his 300th victory. Vokoun made 34 saves, while Craig Anderson stopped 21 out of 24 shots for Ottawa. Monday also marked a special night for Bylsma. He now has 200 NHL career wins through 316 games coached, the fastest in League history to reach that mark. Pittsburgh opened the scoring at 6:15 of the first, when a tic-tac-toe play between Pascal Dupuis and Morrow finished with a one-timer from the slot, courtesy of Jeffrey. The Penguins weren't done, making the score 2-0 after Morrow's perfect pass from behind the net found Iginla, who was waiting to the left of Anderson. Iginla tapped the puck past the goaltender's left pad at 10:28 for his third goal in his past three games. Despite three power plays in the first, the Senators were unable to solve Vokoun, and exited the period without a goal. Prior to Monday, the Senators had not scored on the power play in the past four games. Ottawa's best chance in the second came nine minutes into the second, when Guillaume Latendresse skated down the left wing and fed a saucer pass across the slot to Erik Condra, who fired a wrist shot on Vokoun. But the Pittsburgh goaltender saw the shot clearly, and made a left pad save, preserving the 2-0 lead. The Senators were forced to kill off 48 seconds of a 5-on-3 penalty in the second, after Chris Phillips for called for high-sticking Cooke at 11:04, followed by Milan Michalek being penalized for tripping Deryk Engelland at 11:54. The Penguins peppered Anderson with shots, but the Ottawa netminder stood tall against the onslaught. It took six attempts, but the Sens were finally able to score on the power play. Ottawa made the score 2-1 on a goal from Wiercioch, after Morrow was called for tripping Eric Gryba at 7:13. Wiercioch sent a blast from the point through traffic, beating Vokoun at 7:18. Monday also marked Cooke's return to Ottawa since his incident with Erik Karlsson on Feb. 13 in Pittsburgh. Cooke's skate accidentily cut the Achilles tendon of Karlsson, forcing last season's Norris Trophy winner to undergo surgery. Karlsson, while making strides in his recovery, has yet to play since the injury occurred. The media has made such a big deal out of it, blowing it all out of proportion, while also encouraging the Senators to resort to 'Goon' tactics. Whatever the hit on Karlsson, nothing warranted the kind of cheap shots that were dished out by the senators. I actually hope they fail to make the playoffs now as a team like that do not deserve to make the post-season. Ironically if the do make the playoffs they could well face the Penguins in the opening round.

As for Cooke himself, the Penguins' winger would like to move forward from the incident. "We're leaving here with two points and putting pressure on Chicago for first overall, It's not even about [the Karlsson injury] any more. It was a freak accident and there was nothing I could have done to change it. It's an unfortunate part of this game. I'm happy he's having a great recovery and hopefully he's playing soon. Media made a lot out of it and that carries weight their players and their fans and it's understandable. It's nice to get this [game] out of the way."

Phoenix v Detroit 0-4 - The Detroit Red Wings desperately needed two points Monday. They got them. Johan Franzen scored twice and Jimmy Howard made 34 saves to help the Red Wings beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-0 and continue their push to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Red Wings moved within a point of the eighth-place Columbus Blue Jackets in the Western Conference. Detroit, which had won only one of its past six contests, has qualified for the postseason 21 years in a row. Damien Brunner scored late in the first period and Valtteri Filppula had a power-play goal late in the second to help the Wings match their season high in power-play scoring. Franzen had an empty-net goal with 1:22 left. The Coyotes, five points behind with Blue Jackets, are on the brink of elimination after losing for the fourth time in five games with the potential to earn just six more points in the fading regular season. Phoenix reached the conference finals last year before falling to the Los Angeles Kings. Detroit scored on its first shot when Franzen redirected a puck past Mike Smith 2:37 into the game on a power play. The Red Wings didn't let a shot get to Howard for more than six minutes. Meanwhile, they went 13-plus minutes without a shot of their own and needed Howard to make some key saves to keep the lead. He stopped Doan's shot on a power play midway through the first period and got his stick and pads on Radim Vrbata's one-timer with six minutes left in the first period. Soon after killing a penalty, the Red Wings scored another goal with an extra skater. Brunner scored at 19:24 of the first from the bottom of the right circle off Henrik Zetterberg's pass from the top of the right circle. It was his first goal since April 1, his second in 22 games and by setting up Franzen's goal, he had his first multipoint game since a two-goal, two-assist game on Feb. 24 against Vancouver. Detroit's Daniel Cleary was called for tripping twice in the first four-plus minutes of the second period and the Coyotes failed to take advantage of either power play while being held to just two shots. Doan had an open net midway through the second period only to have rookie defenseman Danny Dekeyser extend his stick far enough to deflect the shot over the net. Filppula scored from a sharp angle at the bottom of the first circle at 16:09 of the second period to give Detroit a 3-0 lead. He scored for the first time in eight games and had his second goal in 17 contests. Howard faced a flurry of shots and finished with his second shutout in nine days and fourth of the season. He earned his 128th career victory, tying Tim Cheveldae for fifth in franchise history.

 

Anaheim v Edmonton 3-0 - The Anaheim Ducks are Pacific Division champions. Viktor Fasth made 24 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as the Ducks clinched the Pacific crown with a 3-0 victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday at Rexall Place. Ryan Getzlaf, Radek Dvorak and Sami Vatanen scored for the Ducks (29-11-6), who won back-to-back games in Edmonton to capture their first divisional title since 2007, the year they went on to win the Stanley Cup. The Oilers (17-21-7) have now lost eight of their past nine. Edmonton has not made the postseason since it reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2006. Anaheim started the scoring six minutes in on the power play as Getzlaf picked the puck out of a scramble out front and calmly slipped his 15th of the season past Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin. The Ducks went up 2-0 at 11:48 as Emerson Etem was left alone to send a beautiful no-look backhand pass to Dvorak for an easy tap-in. The only good chance in a scoreless second period belonged to the Ducks, as Kyle Palmieri was alone in tight, but stoned on a quick glove save by Khabibulin with two minutes remaining. The shots were 18-16 in Anaheim’s favor after 40 minutes. The Ducks took a three-goal lead four minutes into the third period as Vatanen sent a long shot through traffic that found the top corner of the net. Next up for the Oilers is a home date against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday. The Ducks finish off a four-game road trip in Vancouver on Thursday. Oilers center Eric Belanger made his return after missing 13 straight games with a groin injury. He replaced Magnus Paajarvi, who was nursing a foot injury. The Ducks, who were already without defensemen Sheldon Souray and Luca Sbisa due to lower-body injuries, had to scratch forward Bobby Ryan due to an illness.

 

Chicago v Vancouver 1-3 - The Vancouver Canucks hope to use one of their best games of an up-and-down, injury-riddled season as a springboard to better things in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Chicago Blackhawks plan to forget one of their worst efforts, perhaps their only poor game, start to finish, all season, of a dominant season as fast as they can. Led by four points from Daniel and Henrik Sedin, and buoyed by an effective new second line, the Canucks clinched their fifth-straight Northwest Division title on Monday with a convincing 3-1 win against the NHL-leading Blackhawks at Rogers Arena. Jannik Hansen also scored and Cory Schneider made 24 saves for the Canucks, who are locked into the third seed in the Western Conference behind Chicago and the Anaheim Ducks, who clinched the Pacific Division on Monday. Vancouver also won the season series against Chicago (2-0-1), a team the Canucks have met in three of the last four playoffs. Daniel Carcillo ended Schneider's shutout bid with 8:10 left after a clearing attempt from behind the net hit the referee's skate and bounced right to the Chicago forward at the side of the with the goalie out of position. That was as close as the Blackhawks got, and it could have been a lot worse if not for Corey Crawford, who made several spectacular stops among his 29 saves. It may have been a costly loss for the Blackhawks, who still have a three-point lead on the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Presidents' Trophy, but played the final two periods without second-line center Dave Bolland because of a groin injury. Playing with 20-year-old defenseman Frank Corrado making his NHL debut in their top-four, and debuting a loaded-up second line with Selke Trophy winning center on right wing with trade deadline addition Derek Roy and Chris Higgins, the Canucks set a physical tone early and controlled the game for long stretches. It was Chicago's worst defeat since the 6-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on March 8 that ended the Blackhawks' NHL record-setting 24-game point streak to start the season. Crawford was the only reason it wasn't more one-sided early, sprawling across to get his outstretched blocker on Higgins' one-touch on a 2-on-1 feed from Roy 3:30 in, then flashing his glove windmill style to stop Jason Garrison on a one-time blast and Roy on another 2-on-1 break. Garrison's one-timer from the right point deflected twice, first off defenseman Johnny Oduya's stick and then off Hansen's skate, before beating him just inside the post. It was the eighth goal in 10 games for a Canucks' power play that had been near the bottom of the NHL for most of the season, clicking at better than 25 per cent over that stretch after being half that before the streak. It was also just the second goal surrendered by the Blackhawks' fourth-ranked penalty killers in 17 games, a run that saw them kill 35 of 36 coming in. It may have been a costly attempt, as centers Bolland and Marcus Kruger both left for the dressing room soon after. Only Kruger returned for the second period, taking Bolland's place on the second line for the remainder of the game. Chicago failed to get a shot on its first power play midway through the second period, and Kassian, who only plays the first shift after a penalty kill with the Sedin twins, doubled the lead on the next shift, parking atop the crease to shovel Daniel Sedin's pass from behind the net between Crawford's legs. The goal set off a pair of celebrations. The first was by Kassian, who scored five goals in the first seven games of the season, but had only found the back of the net once more since. The next was a standing ovation from the sellout crowd for Daniel Sedin, who passed former captain Markus Naslund for second place in franchise scoring with 757 points, 33 behind twin brother Henrik, who recorded the second assist. The Sedins had the crowd back on its feet with 43.8 seconds left in the period. After Schneider made a great save off Duncan Keith trailing on a 3-on-2 rush with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews at one end, Henrik sent Daniel in alone at the other, and he lifted a backhand deke past Crawford to make it 3-0.