Results - Thu, Mar 27, 2014

Montreal @ Detroit 5-4 - The Red Wings fought back from a slow start Thursday at Joe Louis Arena, but it wasn't enough to overcome the composure of the Canadiens. Montreal left town with a 5-4 victory, its fourth straight, although the Red Wings refused to make it an easy night for the Atlantic Division's second-place team. In order to win, the Canadiens needed goals in the third period by Max Pacioretty and Thomas Vanek to counter two quick goals by Detroit's Tomas Tatar that tied it 3-3 and one by Johan Franzen with 8:24 left in regulation that made it close. Montreal moved to 91 points and stayed two points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division. The Lightning, who beat the New York Islanders 3-2 in a shootout Thursday, have two games in hand on the Canadiens. The loss didn't knock the Red Wings (33-26-14) out of the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but it did cost them a chance to gain ground on the idle Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs. All three teams have 80 points; the Red Wings own tiebreakers on the other two. Detroit fell behind 2-0 on two goals by Montreal center Tomas Plekanec in the first period and spent the rest of the game trying to dig out of the hole. After falling behind by two goals twice in the first two periods, Detroit played the third with the desperation of a team on the verge of missing the postseason for the first time in 23 seasons. Tatar's early heroics in the third seemed to give the Red Wings a jolt, but Montreal's top line made sure it didn't become a gut-wrenching meltdown for the visitors. Pacioretty scored his 33rd goal 21 seconds after Tatar's tying goal, and Vanek got what proved to be the winner at 11:15. It was his 26th goal of the season and fifth in 11 games with the Canadiens since coming from the New York Islanders at the NHL Trade Deadline on March 5. Since his arrival, Vanek's line, which includes David Desharnais and Pacioretty, is steadily gaining confidence. Along with a second line featuring Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk, the Canadiens now have two top units loaded with scoring options. Detroit learned that the hard way. All five Montreal goals came off the sticks of top-six forwards. In addition to the goals by Plekanec, Pacioretty and Vanek, the Canadiens got a goal and an assist from Desharnais. Montreal charged out to the 2-0 lead on Plekanec's 19th and 20th goals of the season. P.K. Subban set up both shots with nice passes in the offensive zone and Plekanec did the rest. Falling behind might not be as a big deal to the Red Wings under normal circumstances, but they've struggled to create offense during an injury-plagued season. Their two most prolific scorers, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, are watching games on TV instead of playing, and the results are starting to show. Detroit had scored more than three goals in two of its previous 10 games, and most of that production came from Gustav Nyquist, who had a six-game goal streak snapped. Babcock continues to search for additional scoring, but he knows there's not enough on most nights to overcome multiple-goal deficits. They almost did thanks to a strong effort in the third, when things really got interesting. The goalies got a workout in the final 20 minutes, when five combined goals were scored. In the end, it was the Canadiens who withstood the pressure best.
NY Islanders @ Tampa Bay 2-3 SO - It took defenseman Sami Salo's first career shootout goal to end the highest-scoring tiebreaker in NHL history. Salo scored in the 13th round to give the Lightning a 3-2 victory against the Islanders on Thursday night. The 39-year-old deked and beat goaltender Evgeni Nabokov with a backhander to give the Lightning their fifth lead of the tiebreaker. Goaltender Ben Bishop ended the game by stopping Islanders rookie forward Johan Sundstrom after allowing goals in each of the previous four rounds in which his team had scored. The combined total of nine goals scored in the shootout is a record, as are the five goals scored by the Lightning. The 13 rounds are the most in a tiebreaker since Oct. 31, 2008, and are two shy of the record of 15 set by the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals in November 2005. The shootout attempt was a rarity for Salo, who's known more for his booming shot than subtle dekes. He had failed on his two previous career tries. When Salo got the call to shoot, there were five players left on the Lightning bench that had not had a turn. As the numbers dwindled, Salo got himself ready. Ryan Callahan had both regulation goals for the Lightning, who remained two points behind the Montreal Canadiens in the race for second place in the Atlantic Division. The Lightning have points in 10 consecutive games (6-0-4) and have gone past regulation in each of their past three games. Ryan Strome and Matt Donovan scored second-period goals for the Islanders. Nabokov finished with 29 saves through 65 minutes; Bishop stopped 25 shots. Callahan tied the game 2-2 at 5:50 of the third period when he fired home the rebound of a shot by Eric Brewer from just outside the crease for his 15th goal. Some hard work by the Islanders combined with sloppy play by the Lightning in their own end allowed New York to take a 2-1 lead into the third period. Strome and Donovan scored for the Islanders after Callahan deflected a point shot by Radko Gudas past Nabokov to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead 29 seconds into the second period. Valtteri Filppula got an assist on the goal, extending his consecutive game scoring streak to 10 games, during which he has four goals and 10 assists. That lead held up for 64 seconds, until Strome found some space between Bishop and the right post and slipped the puck past him for his fifth goal. Matt Martin and Donovan assisted. Donovan put the Islanders ahead at 9:17 when he took a pass from behind the net from Frans Nielsen and beat Bishop from the slot. Anders Lee also assisted. Neither team found the net in the first period, but Tampa had the best opportunity when Nikita Kucherov was denied on a 2-on-1 by a left pad save by Nabokov. John Persson, an emergency call-up from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League, arrived in time to start the game in place of Kyle Okposo. The Islanders' leading scorer was a late scratch due to a lower-body injury. With the addition of Persson, who arrived after warm-ups but just before the game began, the Islanders fielded a team that included 10 rookies, including nine skaters. Their enthusiasm and energy gave Tampa Bay all it could handle.
Carolina @ Florida 3-0 - Roberto Luongo's first appearance against the Hurricanes in more than five years isn't one he'll remember fondly. At the other end, Anton Khudobin enjoyed another successful night against the Panthers. Khudobin made 35 saves for his third career shutout, first this season, to help the Hurricanes to a 3-0 victory against the Panthers at BB&T Center on Thursday. Khudobin's previous shutout came almost exactly one year earlier, a 2-0 victory against the Buffalo Sabres on March 31, 2013, as a member of the Boston Bruins. His other shutout came as a member of the Minnesota Wild, on Jan. 16, 2011. His best save against Florida came in the final 15 seconds of the second period when he stopped Jesse Winchester on a breakaway. Jiri Tlusty scored twice for Carolina. With nine games remaining, the Hurricanes are seven points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the second of two Eastern Conference wild-card spots for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Luongo, whose previous game against Carolina was Feb. 3, 2009, as a member of the Vancouver Canucks, left the game after the first period as the result of an upper-body injury. Luongo was injured with 7:12 left in the first period when Hurricanes forward Radek Dvorak crashed into him. He didn't return to the Florida bench for the final two periods and was replaced by Dan Ellis, who was a backup for Carolina last season. Dvorak, who is second on Florida's all-time list for games played, came in on a rush and collided with Luongo after being pushed from behind by defenseman Erik Gudbranson. Dvorak raised his left arm before hitting Luongo, and the impact knocked the goalie down. Luongo remained on the ice for a few seconds but stayed in the game. Dvorak was assessed a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. Jeff Skinner scored the other Carolina goal. Tlusty had two great chances to get his second career hat trick, but was denied by his former teammate. Tlusty scored the only goal Luongo allowed off a 2-on-1 with Eric Staal. After taking a cross-ice feed from Staal, Tlusty held on to the puck until Luongo and defenseman Brian Campbell went down before firing it into the open net. Luongo ended up with 11 saves on 12 shots, facing only one shot after Dvorak crashed into him. Ellis stopped 18 of 20 shots he faced. Florida had a three-minute power play as the result of that play, after Gudbranson's roughing penalty expired, but did not manage a single shot on goal. Tlusty made it 2-0 at 2:30 of the second period. Andrei Loktionov's shot from the right circle was deflected and bounced to the left of the net, where Tlusty was waiting to put it home. The game marked the third this season in which Tlusty scored two goals. He also did it against the New York Islanders on Oct. 19 and against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 21. Skinner made it 3-0 at 5:46 of the second with his team-leading 28th goal. Ellis stopped Patrick Dwyer's shot on a 2-on-1, but he couldn't control the rebound. Dwyer got the puck behind the net and fed Skinner, standing alone at the side of the net.
Buffalo @ Nashville 1-6 - Predators captain Shea Weber scored twice Thursday to move into a tie for the NHL lead among defensemen with 20 goals. However, he was much more eager to talk about how Nashville snapped a six-game losing streak at Bridgestone Arena with a 6-1 victory against the Sabres and about two Predators rookies who each scored his first NHL goal. Nashville is 2-6-1 at home in its past eight games and had gone 0-5-1 in its previous six. The rough home stretch contributed to the Predators falling out of the Western Conference's wild-card race. Nashville began the day nine points behind the Phoenix Coyotes for the final wild-card spot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Phoenix beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in a shootout Thursday. Predators rookie centers Colton Sissons and Calle Jarnkrok each scored his first NHL goal as Nashville jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first period. Sissons scored at 6:26 to give Nashville a 1-0 lead. Rich Clune, with his back to the net from close range, put a backhander on goal, and Sissons charged the net to flip in the rebound. Colin Wilson scored his first goal since Dec. 30, a span of 33 games, at 11:44 to make it 2-0. Viktor Stalberg threw the puck at the end and it bounced off Buffalo defenseman Christian Ehrhoff. Wilson poked it in past Buffalo goalie Matt Hackett for his eighth goal before Ehrhoff could figure out where it was. The Predators struck again nine seconds later when forward Gabriel Bourque dug a puck out of the corner and threw it into the slot to a wide-open Jarnkrok, who snapped it past Hackett. Jarnkrok, acquired from the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Trade Deadline in exchange for David Legwand, has had a point in each of his first four NHL games (one goal, three assists) since the Predators called him up. He also has had a plus rating in each game. Injuries to forwards Paul Gaustad and Patrick Eaves, as well as poor performances by some others, opened the door for Sissons and Jarnkrok. Weber scored his first goal of the game on a 5-on-3 power play with his trademark slap shot. Eight seconds after the Sabres were called for too many men on the ice, Buffalo forward Johan Larsson, called up on an emergency basis earlier in the day, was whistled for closing his hand on the puck. Weber settled a loose puck and calmly slapped it in from 35 feet out with 43 seconds left in the period to give Nashville a 4-0 lead. Sabres coach Ted Nolan replaced Hackett with Nathan Lieuwen to start the second period. Hackett made 11 saves on 15 shots. Buffalo responded with a goal at 2:06. Rookie defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, called up on an emergency basis earlier in the day because of Tyler Myers' undisclosed injury, connected on a slap shot for his second goal. After recording four shots on goal in the first period, Buffalo pelted Predators goalie Carter Hutton with 29 in the final two periods. Hutton made 32 saves to earn his 17th win. Hutton, who entered the season having played in one NHL game, is now tied with the Detroit Red Wings’ Jimmy Howard and New Jersey Devils’ Martin Brodeur in wins, mostly owing to the four-month absence of Predators starting goalie Pekka Rinne due to a hip infection. Weber made it 5-1 with his second goal, 20th of the season, tying him with the Ottawa Senators' Erik Karlsson for the League lead among defensemen. He beat Lieuwen with a slap shot from the top of the right circle high to the blocker side at 6:19 of the second. Eric Nystrom scored the Predators' sixth goal with 40 seconds left in the third period. He converted Clune's pass from behind the net with a wrist shot from the slot; it was Clune’s second assist of the game. Buffalo has lost 10 of its past 12. The Sabres have the worst record in the League and had eight players sit out Thursday with injuries. Left wing Ville Leino played 58 seconds over two first-period shifts before leaving the game due to what the team said was “light-headedness.”

Vancouver @ Colorado 2-3 OT - Thanks to defenseman Tyson Barrie, who has turned into an overtime hero, the Avalanche defeated the Canucks 3-2 at Pepsi Center on Thursday and moved closer to securing their first Stanley Cup Playoff appearance since 2009-10. Barrie tipped Matt Duchene's pass over the shoulder of goalie Eddie Lack 55 seconds into the extra period for his third overtime goal this season and the fourth of his NHL career, a franchise record for a defenseman. Barrie has tied the franchise record for overtime goals in a season set by David Jones in 2010-11. Colorado are in third place in the Central Division with nine games to play, six on the road. The Avalanche moved within one point (99-98) of the second-place Chicago Blackhawks (42-17-15), who lost 3-0 on the road to the Boston Bruins. Vancouver remains in the hunt for a playoff spot with seven games remaining, six at home. They have 79 points, five behind the Phoenix Coyotes for the second Western Conference wild-card position. The Coyotes defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in a shootout. The Avalanche would have clinched a playoff spot if the Coyotes had lost. Gabriel Landeskog gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead at 8:58 of the second period, but the Canucks tied the game with 1:22 left before intermission on a goal by Zack Kassian. Landeskog, who has three goals in the past two games, was near the right post when he took Paul Stastny's pass from behind the net and lifted the puck over Lack's left leg for his career-high 24th goal. Kassian, who scored the winning goal Wednesday when the Canucks defeated the Minnesota Wild, got the tying goal Thursday when he poked the puck into the net after Dan Hamhuis' shot from the left-wing boards hit Avalanche defenseman Cory Sarich and dropped at the edge of the crease. The Canucks took a 1-0 lead at 10:50 of the first period on a power-play goal by defenseman Yannick Weber. Daniel Sedin got the play started when he passed to Nicklas Jensen in the slot. Jensen fed Weber driving from the left point towards the net for a shot into a half-open net. The Canucks have connected for a power-play goal in five of their past six games, while the Avalanche has permitted at least one power-play goal in 11 of their past 17 games. But Colorado managed to kill off four of five penalties, two of them in the second period with defenseman Andre Benoit in the box. Duchene tied the game at 15:40 with his first goal in seven games and 23rd of the season. Cody McLeod's shot from between the faceoff circles deflected to Benoit, who took a shot that Lack stopped before Duchene put in the rebound. Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa was shaken up and limped to the dressing room with 6:31 left in the second period after he took a hit from Landeskog along the boards. He returned at the start of the third period but played two shifts and didn't see the ice in the final 14:14 of regulation or overtime. Tortorella said Bieksa was "sore" and would know more about his status Friday after the Canucks return home.