Tampa Bay @ Carolina 5-3 - Tampa Bay needed all the goals they could muster; Carolina fired 51 shots on net, 17 each period. Bishop had to be sharp throughout, beginning with an early stretch when the Hurricanes raced to an 8-1 advantage in shots at the start of the game. Then the Lightning turned the tide on the power play. Mark Barberio scored at the edge of the crease at 6:09, taking a backhand pass from Alex Killorn. The Hurricanes played the sequence at a disadvantage after Andrej Sekera's stick was broken by a shot. Patrick Dwyer handed off his stick and went to the bench for a replacement, only to have Barberio find the net before Dwyer could help defend. Tampa Bay made it 2-0 less than two minutes later on Palat's 10th of the season, a one-timer from the slot after a Martin St. Louis pass from the left wing. Nikita Kucherov pushed the lead to 3-0 at 15:07 after Ryan Malone started the play by winning a couple puck battles along the boards. That spelled the end of the night for Carolina goaltender Justin Peters, who had not played since Dec. 27. He was relieved by Anton Khudobin. Although Teddy Purcell pushed the Tampa Bay lead to 4-0 just 24 seconds into the second period, the Hurricanes kept pressing. Alexander Semin finished a beautiful end-to-end rush on the power play with a shot inside the far post at 1:46. Less than four minutes later, Eric Staal stole the puck from Jean-Philippe Cote in the neutral zone and fired a shot between Bishop's legs. Barberio scored his second goal at 8:12 after hard-working shift by the Lightning. His slap shot from the high slot deflected off Sekera's stick. Carolina defenseman Ron Hainsey cut Tampa Bay's lead to 5-3 at 6:14 of third period, and the Hurricanes threatened until the end. With less than two minutes remaining, Semin crept in on goal with Bishop sprawled on the ice. Bishop's 48 saves eclipsed the 47 made by Antero Niittymaki against the Boston Bruins on March 25, 2010.
Washington @ NY Rangers 1-4 - This is what the New York Rangers were hoping for when they acquired an Olympic gold-medalist and five-time All-Star in the summer of 2012. Rick Nash scored two goals, including his fourth game-winner in the past six games, to give the Rangers a 4-1 win against the Washington Capitals on Sunday at Madison Square Garden. With the victory, New York is 7-1-1 in its past nine games. After scoring seven goals in his first 26 games this season, Nash has seven in his past eight games, marking one of his hottest stretches since coming to New York from the Columbus Blue Jackets on July 23, 2012. It was a glaring defensive miscue by the Capitals that allowed Nash to open the scoring 70 seconds into the game. Defenseman Dmitry Orlov's clearing attempt went right to Nash near the blue line. He then sped in from the left wing before lifting a quick backhand past Grubauer's outstretched glove on the Rangers' first shot. The Canadian Olympian only needed one more shot to double his output and take over the team lead in goals with his 14th of the season. Karl Alzner was called for hooking at 15:47, 23 seconds after Martin Erat was whistled for the same penalty, giving the Rangers a 5-on-3 advantage. Cradling the puck at the right faceoff circle, Nash's quick shot squeezed between Grubauer's legs to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead 29 seconds into their two-man advantage. Nash's second of the evening was a goal Grubauer admitted he would have liked to have back. Lundqvist had to be sharp early to maintain New York's lead, especially when Ovechkin's forecheck caused a defensive-zone giveaway by Dan Girardi with 12:14 remaining in the first. Nicklas Backstrom took the turnover and fed Marcus Johansson, who then found Mike Green wide open at the point. Green's hard wrist shot was deflected out of play by Lundqvist, who held the fort early as Washington outshot the Rangers 8-3 in the opening 11:03. Alzner had barely left the penalty box after Nash's second goal when Stepan added to New York's lead. The Rangers center fired a wrister from the point that went through a maze of players and beat Grubauer to the glove side with 2:11 remaining in the first. Stepan's ninth gave New York a 3-0 lead, prompting Washington coach Adam Oates to pull Grubauer in favor of Holtby for the second straight game. Down 4-1, Washington thought they had reduced New York's lead playing 4-on-4 with 9:39 left in the second. Green made a nice move to elude Brad Richards at the point before beating Lundqvist high to the glove side. But Erat was whistled for interference, giving New York 61 seconds of 4-on-3 play. The Rangers wouldn't score on the ensuing man advantage. But they enjoyed plenty of time on the power play, as Erat took three of Washington's six minors through 40 minutes. Until then, the only sign of hope for the Capitals had been on a 5-on-3 that came after Carl Hagelin was called for slashing 30 seconds into the second as Chris Kreider served a slashing minor he took with 34 seconds left in the opening period. Taking a cross-ice pass from Green, Ovechkin wired a slap shot over Lundqvist's right shoulder 59 seconds into the second for his League-leading 35th goal. The Rangers' penalty kill quickly responded. Coming down the left wing, Dominic Moore fired a slap shot that was kicked away by Holtby's left pad, but Callahan outmuscled Orlov to the net and deposited his ninth of the season shorthanded at 2:25. The Rangers captain gave New York a 4-1 lead five seconds before Hagelin's penalty expired and 86 seconds after Washington's captain got his team on the board.
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