Friday
Anaheim v Dallas 1-3 - The Dallas
Stars' fast start was too much for the Anaheim
Ducks. Trevor
Daley and Jamie
Benn scored power-play goals in the opening 20 minutes to lead
the Stars to their third consecutive victory, a 3-1 win against the
Ducks on Friday night. Dallas dominated the first period, outshooting
Anaheim 16-7 and scoring twice while keeping the Ducks on their
heels. From the opening faceoff, Dallas looked like a team on a
mission, making life tough on Ducks goaltender Jonas
Hiller by creating a multitude of chances and traffic in front of
the Anaheim net. Loui
Eriksson added a third-period goal and Kari
Lehtonen made 20 saves, allowing only a second-period tally by
Nick Bonino,
as Dallas snapped Anaheim 's four-game winning streak. Dallas opened
the scoring at 8:48 of the opening period when Daley one-timed a
straightaway slapper from just inside the blue line over the blocker
of a screened Hiller. It was Daley's first goal since Dec. 31, 2011,
a span of 56 games. Brad
Staubitz, whose roughing penalty allowed the Stars to score their
first power-play goal, gave Dallas a five-minute advantage when he
was called for spearing Dallas rookie Brenden
Dillon at 12:34. Once again, the Stars wasted little time in
making the Ducks pay, just 25 seconds into the long power play,
Benn rifled a shot from the bottom of the left circle that caught the
far top corner for his fourth goal of the season. Anaheim coach Bruce
Boudreau not only took issue with the spearing call on Staubitz, but
he also took exception to what he felt was Dallas defenseman Stephane
Robidas spearing Perry earlier in the opening period, a play
on which no call was made. Perry and Robidas fought shortly after the
incident; Robidas ended up with a couple of facial cuts. Hiller did
not return to the ice for the second period after suffering a lower
body injury late in the first. He was replaced by rookie Viktor
Fasth, who stopped 11 of 12 shots. The Ducks dominated the second
period, outshooting Dallas 13-5, but managed only one goal. Bonino
scored his fourth of the season when he deflected a Luca
Sbisa blast from the right circle past Lehtonen at 15:23 to make
it 2-1. About a minute after the goal. Lehtonen made the save of the
game when he robbed Daniel
Winnik on a 3-on-1 break. Winnik, coming late down the slot,
attempted to slip a backhand into the short side but Lehtonen stopped
the shot with his glove. It was a play both coaches agree was a
turning point in the game. The Stars added an insurance goal with
7:14 left in regulation when Eriksson beat Fasth with a short-side
wrist shot for his fourth of the season. Derek
Roy and Alex
Goligoski each earned their second assists of the night. Anaheim
pulled Fasth with 2:55 remaining, but the Ducks managed little
consistent pressure even with the extra skater. The Ducks play again
Saturday night in St. Louis while Dallas gets a few days off before
playing at Edmonton on Wednesday, the Stars' second visit to Rexall
Place in a week.
Saturday
Pittsburgh v New Jersey 1-3 - With so many opportunities on the power play
Saturday afternoon, the New
Jersey Devils were bound to come through eventually. Adam
Henrique and Bobby
Butler each scored power-play goals in the final 10 minutes of
the third period to lift the Devils into first place in the Atlantic
Division with a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh
Penguins in a game that included 16 power-play opportunities
thanks to 20 minor penalties committed by the two teams. The Devils,
who had 10 of the power-play chances in the game, have won four in a
row to take over first place in the division from the Penguins, who
had their five-game winning streak snapped largely because they were
guilty of 12 minor penalties. Pittsburgh and New Jersey are back at
it Sunday at Consol Energy Center (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN) for the
rubber match of their three-games-in-nine-days stretch. The Penguins
beat the Devils, 5-1, a week ago in Pittsburgh. Henrique, who missed
an open net during a power play in the second period, scored off a
rebound from the left circle with 9:04 left in the third. Butler got
his first goal for the Devils 2:12 later with a snap shot from the
right circle. Butler also had the primary assist on Henrique's goal
as his shot from just above the right circle rang off the near post
and bounced out the other side, right onto Henrique's stick. Rookie
forward Stefan
Matteau scored his first career NHL goal late in the second
period as the Devils were able to erase an early 1-0 deficit thanks
in large part to the repeated power-play opportunities Pittsburgh
gave them. Evgeni
Malkin was called for three minors (interference, tripping,
roughing) and Joe
Vitale was caught for boarding twice. Paul
Martin (holding), Pascal
Dupuis (elbowing), Tanner
Glass (hooking), James
Neal (slashing), Deryk
Engelland (interference), Robert
Bortuzzo (roughing) and Brooks
Orpik (unsportsmanlike conduct) were also guilty. For a while it
looked like the Penguins penalty killers and goalie Marc-Andre
Fleury (25 saves) would let them get away with all the penalties.
New Jersey was 0-for-3 on the power play with one shot in goal in the
first period. The Devils got dangerous in the second, but still
failed on two chances despite seven shots on goal. However, it was in
the second period that the Devils figured out what they needed to do
on the power play. With the Penguins willing to oblige them with five
more opportunities in the third, it became just a matter of time
until the Devils got a few past Fleury. New Jersey's power play
finished 2-for-10. It has contributed six goals over the four-game
winning streak. The Devils also got the lone 5-on-5 goal of the
afternoon. It's one that Matteau will never forget. He tied the game
at 1-1 with 3:29 left in the second period after defenseman Andy
Greene found him with a perfect diagonal slap pass from the left
point to the lower part of the right circle. Greene appeared to fool
Fleury as the Penguins goalie came out to challenge the defenseman's
slap-pass and couldn't get over in time to stop Matteau from
depositing the puck into the open net. Matteau, whose entry-level
contract kicked in when he played his sixth game of the season
Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, came into the game with no
points and three shots on goal. Until Matteau's goal, Brandon
Sutter's power-play goal 83 seconds into the game was the
difference. Pittsburgh appeared nearly inches away from taking the
lead again just before the end of the second period thanks to a
potentially costly decision by Martin
Brodeur (24 saves) to go retrieve his stick in the corner after
the Devils' penalty killers cleared the zone. As Brodeur was getting
his stick, Fleury raced the puck up the ice to Malkin, who tried to
shoot into the open net from the right point. The puck first hit
Brodeur's left skate as he was trying to get back to the crease. It
then bounced off the left post and rode down the goal line before
Brodeur was able to play it from his knees on the right side. Brodeur
was laughing as the period came to an end, but Malkin's long-range
shot would not have counted as a goal because the Penguins were
offside.
Carolina v Philadelphia 3-4 - For the Philadelphia
Flyers on Saturday, it wasn't about how they started, it was how
they finished. A turnover by the team's top line led to them falling
behind in the game's first minute, but that same line responded by
scoring in overtime as the Flyers beat the visiting Carolina
Hurricanes 4-3. Danny
Briere's shot from the slot at 1:47 of extra time provided the
difference in the game. He took a cross-ice feed from Nicklas
Grossmann and led a breakout up the left side of the ice. As he
got to the left circle, he cut to the middle of the ice, he used
defenseman Kurtis
Foster as a decoy, found room open in the slot and beat Carolina
goalie Cam
Ward inside the post. Brayden
Schenn had a goal and two assists, Jakub
Voracek had a goal and an assist and Matt
Read also had a goal as the Flyers closed a four-game homestand
with seven of a possible eight points, including a pair of wins
against the Hurricanes in seven days. Joe
Corvo scored to force overtime and added an assist for the
Hurricanes, and Jiri
Tlusty and Jeff
Skinner also had goals for Carolina, which saw its two-game win
streak snapped. It was Corvo's first game back in the lineup after
being scratched from the previous three, and he made an impact in the
game's opening seconds. Carolina captain Eric
Staal beat Sean
Couturier on a faceoff in the Flyers' zone, winning the puck back
to Corvo. He fired a shot from the right point that Flyers goalie
Ilya Bryzgalov
stopped, but the rebound went to an open Tlusty in the slot, and he
scored high over Bryzgalov's blocker just 17 seconds into the game.
The reason the faceoff was in the Flyers' end was due to a turnover
by the Flyers' Wayne
Simmonds, who made his return after missing the previous three
with a concussion. Simmonds started on the Flyers' top line, along
with Briere and Claude
Giroux, but on the game's first shift tried passing the puck
across the ice in the defensive zone. Staal intercepted it and put a
shot on net that Bryzgalov stopped to halt play. The Hurricanes
scored off the ensuing faceoff. On Saturday it was Schenn's line,
with Voracek and Couturier, which did the job. Schenn's second goal
of the season tied the game at 13:52 of the first. He got a step on
Carolina's Bobby
Sanguinetti as he cut through the slot and got his stick on Kimmo
Timonen's shot, re-directing it past Ward. And just 15 seconds
after Skinner's goal made it 2-2, Schenn led a rush down the left
side of the ice and fed a centering pass to Voracek, who outworked
Carolina's Tim
Gleason to get his stick on the puck and deflect it past Ward.
Schenn also drew an assist on the winning goal, and the three-point
game was his first multi-point game of the season. Carolina tied the
game in the third when Corvo's shot from the right point hit Foster
in the shoulder, floated over Bryzgalov, landed behind the
Philadelphia goalie and trickled across the goal line at 7:58. Corvo
made the most of his 20:10 of ice time, putting seven shots on net
after having just nine in five previous games. The Hurricanes had
chances to build on the momentum after Corvo's goal, as they badly
outplayed the Flyers in the third. They outshot them 13-7 in the
final 20 minutes, but they came up short when they got a power play
at 11:07 and produced just one shot on goal. It was reminiscent of
the teams' meeting last week, when Carolina's power play went just
1-for-6. Despite the loss, the Hurricanes were happy to leave with a
point. They improved to 2-1-1 on their six-game road trip, and have
earned points in three straight, with games at the New York Islanders
and New Jersey Devils still to come. The Hurricanes played most of
the game with just 11 forwards following Tim
Wallace's game misconduct for boarding the Flyers' Tye
McGinn at 6:34 of the first period. Wallace appeared to hit
McGinn in the head along the boards by the Flyers' bench. McGinn
remained down for a few moments, but was able to leave the ice under
his own power and was able to return later in the first.
Winnipeg v Ottawa 1-0 - After losing their last three on the road, the
Winnipeg Jets
found success in Ottawa Saturday afternoon, courtesy of Al
Montoya. Winnipeg's backup goaltender was the catalyst behind a
1-0 Jets victory over the Ottawa
Senators at Scotiabank Place. Montoya earned his second win of
the season, making 33 saves for his third career shutout. Alexei
Ponikarovsky scored the lone goal for Winnipeg (5-5-1) to hand
the Senators (6-4-2) their first regulation loss at home this season.
It was a battle of the backup goaltenders for this Hockey Day in
Canada matinee. Ben
Bishop got his second start of the season and turned away 36
shots. The play of Bishop kept Ottawa in the game, but the team
couldn't find the offense they desperately needed. Ottawa nearly took
the lead halfway through the first period when Stephane
Da Costa charged up the ice on a breakaway. He tried to go stick
side on Montoya, but the Jets goaltender stymied the 23-year-old
center with a blocker save. An Erik
Karlsson pass that deflected off Da Costa's skate nearly played
into the Jets' hands midway through the second. The puck was picked
off by Kyle
Wellwood, whose prime scoring chance was blocked by a sprawling
Marc Methot.
After failing to capitalize on two power play attempts through the
game's first two periods, one of Ottawa's best scoring opportunities
came late in the middle frame. As the period wound down, Evander
Kane turned the puck over in the Jets' zone to Daniel
Alfredsson, whose point-blank shot was stopped by Montoya. While
Ottawa took 12 shots in the second, they allowed 16 by Winnipeg, a
number of which were facilitated by Senators giveaways that could
have proven costly. One neutral-zone turnover by Mike
Lundin, who was playing in just his second game of the season,
led to a two-on-one break for the Jets. With Andrew
Ladd on his wing, Bryan
Little fired a wrist shot, but Bishop continued to stand tall and
made the glove save. Kane almost redeemed himself in the second for
his giveaway earlier in the match when he fired a shot from the top
of the left circle. Fortunately for Bishop and the Senators, the puck
rang off the post with 1:04 left in the period. The game remained
scoreless until the third period, with the game's lone goal coming
courtesy of a giveaway by Karlsson. The defenseman's clearing attempt
was intercepted by Wellwood, who fired the puck from the half-board.
His shot was redirected by Ponikarovsky past Bishop, giving Winnipeg
the lead 5:57 into the period. Montoya held the fort from that point
on and the Jets killed off Tobias
Enstrom's hooking penalty midway through the period to preserve
the Winnipeg victory. Ottawa's offense has been notably inconsistent
since the loss of Jason
Spezza on Jan. 27. Spezza, who required back surgery to repair a
herniated disc, ranked fourth in League scoring last season. Ottawa
has now scored seven goals in their last five games and have been
shut out twice in that stretch. The Senators' captain and all-time
leading scorer refused to use the absence of their top center as an
excuse for the team's offensive woes.
Edmonton v Detroit 1-2 - Nikolai
Khabibulin looked great in his season debut, but sometimes that
isn't enough when Pavel
Datsyuk is on the other side. Datsyuk had a goal and an assist,
and Jimmy
Howard made 23 saves Saturday to help the Detroit
Red Wings to a 2-1 victory against the Edmonton
Oilers at Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings now have victories in
three straight. Khabibulin stopped 28 of 30 shots, a few in
spectacular fashion, but it wasn't enough for the Oilers, who have
dropped five consecutive games (0-2-3). Datsyuk set up Kronwall’s
power-play goal at 6:08 of the third period to put the Red Wings back
in front after the teams traded tallies in the second. The Russian
playmaker collected the puck during a scrambled situation near the
right circle and sent it back to Kronwall near the blue line for a
blast with Johan
Franzen providing the screen. It was Datsyuk who put the Red
Wings in the lead midway through the second period after a scoreless
first. Damien
Brunner sent the puck to Datsyuk at the edge of the crease with
Detroit enjoying a power play at 8:33 of the second. Datsyuk now has
four goals and 12 points, four behind captain Henrik
Zetterberg for the team lead. Edmonton rookie Justin
Schultz answered with an extra-man marker of his own late in the
middle period. Schultz's blast from the top of the offensive zone
leveled the score at 17:55 of the second. It was Schultz's fourth
goal of the season, all on the power play. He leads all rookie
defensemen in goals and points and all first-year players in
power-play scores. Edmonton finished the afternoon 1-for-8 on the
power play. The Oilers failed to capitalize on a 5-on-3 for 1:07 in
the third period. This was Khabibulin's season debut and first game
action since March 30. He began the season on injured reserve after
having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip in April. The
40-year-old goaltender is the second-oldest to appear in an NHL game
this season, he is months younger than Martin Brodeur. Howard's
current backup, 20-year-old Petr
Mrazek, became the youngest in the League this season when he
made his NHL debut Thursday. Mrazek was nine days old when the
Unified Team (the former Soviet Union minus the Baltic countries)
claimed gold at the 1992 Winter Olympics with a young Khabibulin
watching as the third-string goaltender. Both teams have been
hamstrung by injuries. Even with Khabibulin back, the Oilers were
short seven players. Top center Ryan
Nugent-Hopkins was back in the lineup, but with fellow pivots
Shawn Horcoff,
Eric Belanger
and Anton
Lander injured, veteran Ryan
Smyth spent his second straight game in the middle. The Red Wings
also were short seven players, including a pair of defensemen (Carlo
Colaiacovo and Brendan
Smith) and three potential top-nine forwards (Darren
Helm, Todd
Bertuzzi and Mikael
Samuelsson).
Phoenix v San Jose 1-0 - Phoenix
Coyotes goaltender Mike
Smith is making a habit of shutting out the San
Jose Sharks. After shutting out San Jose three times last season,
Smith blanked them again Saturday afternoon at HP Pavilion, lifting
the Coyotes to a 1-0 victory in a shootout and sending the Sharks to
their fourth straight defeat. Smith notched his 21st career shutout,
making Coyotes coach Dave Tippett a winner in his 750th NHL game
behind the bench. Smith stopped both shots he faced in the shootout,
rejecting Michal
Handzus and James
Sheppard. The Coyotes' Mikkel
Boedker scored in the first round, beating Sharks goaltender
Antti Niemi
with a back-hand shot to his stick side. Then in the third round,
Radim Vrbata
beat Niemi with another back-hand shot to his stick side, his 30th
career shootout goal. Smith made 33 saves. Niemi stopped 21 shots for
his 20th career shutout. Both teams were coming off of losses to the
Chicago Blackhawks. The Coyotes fell behind 4-0 and fell 6-2 to
Chicago on Thursday night at home. The Sharks blew a 2-0 lead and
lost 5-3 to Chicago on Tuesday night, their third straight loss after
starting the season with seven straight victories. The Sharks beat
Phoenix 5-3 in their home opener last month, but they didn't have to
face Smith, who missed the game with a lower-body injury. Smith
posted a 1.98 goals-against average and .948 save percentage in six
starts against San Jose last season. The Sharks out-shot the Coyotes
30-19 in regulation and 15-3 in the third period, but couldn't get a
puck past Smith. The Sharks fired three more shots to two for Phoenix
in a scoreless overtime. Phoenix went on a power play for the final
20 seconds left in overtime, but didn't put a shot on net. The Sharks
nearly broke through for the game's first goal early in the third on
the power play with Boyd
Gordon in the box for delay of game. First Dan
Boyle, then Joe
Pavelski rifled shots from the slot, but Smith turned away both.
The Sharks had four shots on that power play and another just seconds
after it ended. The Coyotes blocked 22 shots, eight by Zbynek
Michalek, to just 11 for San Jose. They out-hit the Sharks 17-14.
Phoenix center Martin
Hanzal missed most of the third period and all of overtime after
suffering an undisclosed injury while blocking a shot. San Jose’s
offensive struggles continued Saturday. After scoring 23 goals in
their first five games, the Sharks have scored only 11 goals over
their past six. They went 0-for-4 on the power play and have just one
goal in their last 25 power play chances. The Sharks had only three
shots with just over four minutes left in the first period before
turning up the pressure. Handzus had a great chance to score after
taking a pass directly in front of Smith in the low slot, but a
sprawling Smith rejected his shot. Late in the period, Thornton had
the puck twice near the crease, but couldn't get it past Smith.
Sharks defenseman Brent
Burns was activated from injured reserve and made his season
debut against the Coyotes, skating with Brad
Stuart. To clear a roster spot for Burns, the Sharks sent
defenseman Matt
Irwin to Worcester of the American Hockey League. Defenseman
Douglas Murray
was a healthy scratch. Burns was on the ice for 20:38 with one shot
and two hits. Coyotes defenseman Rostislav
Klesla, who returned to the lineup after missing nine games with
a lower body injury, had a team-high three shots in the first period.
Sharks fourth-line center Scott
Gomez had a solid chance to score at 6:11 of the second period
after taking a cross-ice pass from Patrick
Marleau, but Smith gloved his blast. Midway through the period,
Clowe got his stick on a pass just in front of the crease. Smith
turned away that shot, too. Boedker had a chance to break through
after a Sharks’ turnover in their zone with around nine minutes
left in the second. He ripped a shot from the slot, but Niemi snagged
it.
Toronto v Montreal 6-0 - The Toronto
Maple Leafs may never want to play at home again. Phil
Kessel had a goal and two assists and James
Reimer made 37 saves for his first shutout of the season to give
the Maple Leafs a 6-0 win against the Montreal
Canadiens on Saturday, their fourth in a row on the road. The
victory improved the Leafs record to 6-1-0 away from the Air Canada
Centre, where they will play the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday in an
attempt to improve on their home record of 1-4-0. Dion
Phaneuf also had a goal and an assist and Leo
Komarov scored his first NHL goal for the Maple Leafs, who jumped
past the Canadiens (6-4-1) and the Ottawa Senators into fifth in the
Eastern Conference. Kessel scored in a second game in a row after
going without a goal in his first 10 games. Phaneuf also snapped a
drought of his own, scoring his first of the season and getting his
first points since the first game, a 2-1 win against these same
Canadiens in the same building. The Canadiens lost their third
straight game (0-2-1) since a 6-2-0 start in the first season behind
the bench for coach Michel Therrien, who faces his first mini crisis
of the young season. Reimer continued his standout play in goal for
the Maple Leafs in his first game in Montreal since suffering a
concussion after being hit in the head by Canadiens captain Brian
Gionta on Oct. 22, 2011. It was the fourth time in his last five
starts that Reimer allowed two or fewer goals. With the score out of
hand, the game featured a number of dust ups in the third period with
three fights, four roughing minors and four 10-minute misconducts
handed out by referees Tim Peel and Rob Martell. Video appeared to
show Toronto's Mikhail
Grabovski biting the arm of Max
Pacioretty during a scrum, Colton
Orr just missed making a knee on knee contact with Canadiens
center Tomas
Plekanec, and Toronto coach Randy Carlyle accused Montreal's
Brandon Prust
of a "cheap shot" on Grabovski. As ugly as it ended, the
game could not have gotten off to a better start for the Maple Leafs
thanks to Nikolai
Kulemin, who blocked an Andrei
Markov shot at the Toronto blue line, beat Markov to the loose
puck and then perfectly set up Komarov cutting to the net just 59
seconds after the opening faceoff. Van Riemsdyk was at the root of
Toronto's second goal, tipping a John-Michael
Liles point shot to force a difficult save by Carey
Price, but the rebound went right to Tyler
Bozak on the opposite side of the net for his second in as many
games and fourth of the season at 6:33. The Canadiens had made a
habit of playing strong first periods this season, coming in to
Saturday's game having outscored opponents 11-5 and outshot them
115-76 after 20 minutes, but this was easily their worst start to a
game of the season. Still, down 2-0 the Canadiens remained within
striking distance, except the Maple Leafs doubled their lead to 4-0
in the second period despite being outshot 20-7 in the middle frame.
Kessel made a pretty pass out of the corner to a cutting van Riemsdyk
to set him up for his team-leading seventh goal of the season at
3:36, and Kessel beat Price with a rather innocent looking shot on a
power play at 18:01 to make it 4-0. The third period was no different
as the Maple Leafs tacked on another two goals. Korbinian
Holzer scored his second goal in three games at 4:20 of the third
off a rebound of an Orr backhand, and Phaneuf scored on a 5-on-3
power play off a pass from Kessel at 13:15.
Buffalo v NY Islanders 3-2 - It's been an up-and-down season for Buffalo
Sabres goaltender Ryan
Miller. Saturday night was definitely one of the ups. Miller
stopped 41 shots, and Alexander
Sulzer scored the go-ahead goal 7:35 into the third period as the
Sabres defeated the New
York Islanders 3-2 despite being outshot 43-15. The Sabres had
allowed four or more goals in each of their past six games. Miller is
the only reason it's not seven in a row. Miller did get a little help
from his goal posts in the third period. A rocket from the right
circle by John
Tavares rang off the right post, and Tavares' backhander on a
penalty shot with 3:53 left also drew iron and stayed out. The win
gave the Sabres back-to-back victories after they went 3-6-1 in their
first 10 games. The Sabres had not had a shot on goal in the third
period before Steve
Ott carried into the New York zone and left a drop pass for
Sulzer at the left point. The defenseman's high shot went past a
couple of bodies in front, hit the shoulder of goaltender Evgeni
Nabokov and trickled into the net for Sulzer's third of the
season. NHL scoring leader Thomas
Vanek and defenseman Christian
Ehrhoff also scored for the Sabres, who've won their past two
games. Tavares and Colin
McDonald had goals for the Islanders, who've been outscored 14-5
in dropping four in a row, including three at home. New York was
scoreless on its three power plays and is 0-for-22 with the man
advantage during the losing streak after going 9-for-24 during a
4-2-1 start. The Islanders dominated the first period, outshooting
Buffalo 15-4 and keeping Miller busy, but the Sabres turned one of
their few offensive forays into the game's first goal. Vanek fired
home his 11th of the season at 9:11 after he and Cody
Hodgson whacked away at a loose puck following a shot by Jordan
Leopold that hit a body in front. New York kept the pressure on
and was finally rewarded when Tavares scored his sixth of the season
with 41.1 seconds left in the period. Tavares was just off the left
post when Brain Strait's point shot caromed off Leopold in front; the
forward picked up the loose puck and slid it into the net before
Miller could go from right to left. The second period followed the
same script: long periods of domination by the Islanders, followed by
a Sabres goal. Buffalo went eight minutes without getting a shot on
Nabokov, but took a 2-1 lead at 12:21 when Hodgson's pass from just
inside the Islanders' blue line sent Ehrhoff in alone. He snapped a
10-footer past Nabokov's blocker for his first of the season and a
2-1 lead. The Islanders continued to press and tied it on a goal by
their fourth line. Casey
Cizikas pickpocketed Buffalo defenseman Mike
Weber behind the net after Strait intentionally fired wide.
Cizikas wheeled out behind the net and found McDonald, whose
one-timer beat Miller cleanly at 17:35. It was his second NHL goal,
first with the Islanders. Tavares' postgame frustration was evident –
and understandable. The Islanders had 82 shot attempts to 37 for
Buffalo, won more faceoffs (29-27) and were credited with more hits
(17-13). The only place they didn't win was on the scoreboard. The
game marked the Islanders debut of defenseman Lubomir
Visnovsky, who was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks on Draft Day
but had not reported to the team until this week. He played 20:34,
had three shots on goal and was plus-2. Forward Josh
Bailey also played for the first time this season after knee
surgery.
Florida v Washington 0-5 - The Washington
Capitals entered Saturday's game against the Florida
Panthers with specific instructions from their general manager:
stop taking penalties and stop letting in goals. The Capitals went
2-for-2, and decided to score some too. Braden
Holtby made 27 saves and Troy
Brouwer had two goals in a 5-0 win at Verizon Center.
Washington's third victory in 12 games ended a three-game losing
streak. They remain last in the Eastern Conference, however. The
Capitals took three minor penalties (one coincidental) and a fighting
major. The Panthers managed three shots on their two power plays, and
Holtby stopped the other 24 for his first shutout of the season,
fourth of his career. Washington capitalized on a Florida mistake to
take a 1-0 lead late in the first period. Panthers forward Jerred
Smithson's clearing attempt from behind his net was intercepted
by John
Carlson, whose one-timer from the right-wing circle deflected off
Brouwer past Jose
Theodore at 17:45. The Capitals opened a two-goal lead in the
second. Holtby launched a pass from in front of his net to Brouwer at
the opposite blue line. He skated to the right-wing circle and
blasted a shot over Theodore's glove 3:26 into the period. Later,
after a five-man battle along the left-wing boards, the puck hopped
to Ward's stick, and his shot found the net at 11:55. Alex
Ovechkin, playing on a line with Mike
Ribeiro and Jason
Chimera, extended his point streak to four games with his first
even-strength goal at 3:49 of the third period. Mathieu
Perreault made it 5-0 when he whacked in a long rebound off a
shot by Jeff
Schultz. The goal with 10:32 remaining knocked Theodore, the
Capitals goaltender from 2008-10, from the game with 16 saves. He was
replaced by Scott
Clemmensen. Perreault, who also had an assist, had been a healthy
scratch the prior five games. The Panthers had won three of four with
an overtime loss after a five-game losing streak. They sit in 13th
place in the East. The teams have two days off before playing again
in Florida on Tuesday.
Anaheim v St Louis 6-5 - Nick
Bonino was visibly shaken ... but for good reasons. The Anaheim
Ducks center scored in the sixth round of the shootout to give
his team a 6-5 victory against the St.
Louis Blues on Saturday night. It was Bonino's first shootout
attempt of his career and first game-winning goal. The Ducks scored
on four of six shootout attempts, including Saku
Koivu, Corey
Perry and Ryan
Getzlaf. A night after slumbering through a 3-1 loss at Dallas,
the Ducks (8-2-1) got back on the horse after falling behind by a
pair of goals in the first period against a Blues team that fell to
0-3-1 in its last four games. St. Louis got shootout goals from David
Perron, Chris
Stewart and Alex
Steen. The Blues thought they had the winner with 22.2 seconds
left in overtime when Ian
Cole beat Ducks goalie Viktor
Fasth, but the officials waved the goal off, calling Patrik
Berglund for incidental contact with the goalie. Replays showed
Francois
Beauchemin give a bit of a push to Berglund, forcing the contact.
Koivu collected a goal and an assist and Beauchemin picked up a pair
of assists to help the Ducks overcome a two-goal deficit. Fasth,
after a tough start to the game, stopped 26 shots to pick up his
fifth win in as many starts to begin his NHL career, tying San Jose's
Norm Schaefer (Oct. 26-Nov. 5, 2005) for best start to begin an NHL
career. The Blues, who allowed five or more goals in four straight
games for the first time since Oct. 25-Nov. 4, 2005, got a goal and
an assist from David
Backes, Steen and Stewart, Perron and T.J.
Oshie also scored goals and Kevin
Shattenkirk and Andy
McDonald picked up a pair of assists. But for the first time
since taking over as Blues coach, Hitchcock was publicly displeased
with his starting netminder Brian
Elliott, who's manned the net since the groin strain to Jaroslav
Halak. Halak could return on Monday, but Elliott had another
less-than-stellar performance, stopping only 18 of 23 shots and
Hitchcock said Jake
Allen would start Monday against the Kings if Halak is not ready.
Elliott, who was part of the best goalie tandem in the National
Hockey League last season with Halak when they won the Jennings
Trophy, saw his record fall to 3-4-1 with a 3.51 goals-against
average and .853 save percentage. This, after he was 23-10-4 with
nine shutouts, 1.56 GAA and .940 save percentage. Hitchcock was
looking for a better start from his team and got one, as the Blues
jumped on the Ducks with relentless pressure and took a 3-1 lead.
Steen netted his first of the season, as the Blues improved on their
League-leading power play that came in 13-for-39 on the season,
ripping a slap shot through Fasth's five-hole 6:21 into the game.
After Ryan got the Ducks even with a goal Elliott would like to have
back at 11:09, Backes scored the Blues' first 5-on-5 goal in the last
182:26 when he collected a deflected shot at the top of the circle
and snapped a wrister top shelf with 4:30 remaining in the period.
Perron got his third of the season when he collected Shattenkirk's
point shot and fired into an open side after a Fasth save with 34
seconds left to give the Blues a two-goal lead. But the ice tilted
heavily in favor of the Ducks in the second, who got goals from
Selanne, Andrew
Cogliano and Ryan in a span of 1:41 to erase a two-goal deficit.
Selanne netted his 667th career goal when Koivu's shot from the slot
deflected off a Blues defender to the side of the net, where Selanne
won't miss many open sides at 12:40 to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Cogliano tied it 45 seconds later when his shot from a bad angle went
in off Elliott's left skate as the Blues netminder was moving
post-to-post, and Ryan picked up his second of the game off broken
coverage, and Ryan roofed a wrister at 14:21 to give the Ducks their
first lead of the game. Instead of wilting, the Blues got the
equalizer from Oshie, who pursued Ducks' defenseman Toni
Lydman and poked the puck through traffic with a heavy forecheck
that sneaked past Fasth to tie the game 4-4 3:21 into the third.
Koivu gave the Ducks a 5-4 lead when he one-timed Ryan's pass high
into the goal past Elliott with 6:19 remaining, but Stewart popped
home a puck at the side of the net, a Steen shot through traffic on
the power play again with 4:34 to play to tie the game 5-5. Fasth had
given up only five goals in his previous four starts. The Ducks
improved to 4-1-1 on the road and jumped over San Jose in the Pacific
Division standings. The Blues also announced during the game that
veteran wing Jamie
Langenbrunner will be sidelined indefinitely. Langenbrunner, 37,
will have surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip.
Nashville v Minnesota 1-2 - Devin
Setoguchi picked a heck of a time to score his first goal of the
season. The winger scored off a one-timer with 38.2 seconds left in
overtime to lift the Minnesota
Wild to a 2-1 win against the Nashville
Predators on Saturday at Xcel Energy Center. Setoguchi's
goal-scoring pedigree is no secret. Despite the fact he turned 26
just over a month ago and has only four full seasons in the National
Hockey League, Setoguchi already has one 30-goal and two other
20-goal seasons under his belt. It's why the Wild traded all-star
defenseman Brent Burns to San Jose two summers ago to land his
services. In each of his four full campaigns, Setoguchi has scored
his first goal of the season in either his team's first or second
game. So when Minnesota suited up Saturday for its 11th game of the
season, and Setoguchi was still goal-less, one can understand the
kind of pressure he was feeling. What made things even more
frustrating for Setoguchi was how snake-bitten he was. After a poor
start to the season, Wild coach Mike Yeo sent him a message, demoting
the veteran to the fourth line. He responded by playing his strongest
two games of the season. Yeo rewarded him by moving him back to the
second line and inserting him on the power play in overtime. Scoring
the winner was also especially rewarding, because it was Setoguchi
who nearly wore the goat horns in regulation. With the game tied 1-1
approaching the midway point of the third period, Setoguchi was
whistled for a double-minor high sticking penalty after Nashville
captain Shea
Weber lifted Setoguchi's stick into Weber's face. It was a bad
break, and one that sent him to the penalty box for four minutes with
the game in the balance. For Backstrom, who was pulled after two
periods in a 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night, it
was a great response. Entering the night, Backstrom was 18-2-4 with a
1.95 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage in games after
being pulled. Yeo bet on history and his gamble paid off in spades.
His sprawling save with under three minutes to play in overtime
denied Nashville defender Ryan
Ellis of a sure game-winner and allowed Minnesota to snap its
three-game losing streak. After fighting the puck for 40 minutes
Thursday, Backstrom was calm and collected all night, limiting
rebound chances. He and the team responded well after Paul
Gaustad's goal just over 10 minutes into the contest gave the
Predators a 1-0 lead. Gaustad's first of the season was the only one
the Predators could get past the veteran Finn all night. He made 25
saves to improve to 4-4-1 on the season. Chris
Mason was nearly as stellar on the other side, stopping 30 of 32
shots in just his second start of the season, ironically both in this
building. After allowing just one goal in a 3-1 win over the Wild
almost three weeks ago, Mason nearly stole another one for his team.
Mason was especially stellar in the extra frame, stoning Dany
Heatley on a pair of chances down low in the opening seconds of
overtime. He also robbed Mikko
Koivu on an open net and made a nice pad save on Setoguchi a few
seconds before his winner. The loss snapped a four-game winning
streak for the Predators. Following the game, Trotz was more
concerned about the penalty called on his team that allowed Minnesota
the power play that led to the game-winner. With 2:12 remaining, on a
faceoff to Mason's right, the puck hit the ice and bounced in the
air, appearing to land on Gaustad's hand, which was still on his
stick. The referee called Gaustad for playing a faceoff with his
hand, a new rule instituted just this season. The Wild also got a
goal from winger Cal
Clutterbuck, who tipped a Ryan
Suter shot from the point at 12:59 of the second period. The
tally was his second of the season and tied the game at one.
Nashville outshot Minnesota 12-8 in the third period, with many of
those shots coming on the power play after Setoguchi's double-minor.
Until that point, at 6:18 of the third, the Wild had allowed just 13
shots to Backstrom all night.
Calgary v Vancouver 1-5 - It only took a couple of seconds for the puck to
deflect off Jordan
Schroeder's stick in the low slot, hit the goaltender and trickle
into the net. But for Vancouver
Canucks' rookie, it felt a lot longer. Schroeder, a first-round
pick in 2009, didn't have to wait nearly as long for his second one,
rounding out the scoring with 4:19 left in a 5-1 win against the
Calgary Flames
on Saturday night. Having the first one under his belt finally made
it a lot easier to score the second. For Schroeder, a skilled center
who heard a lot about being just 5-foot-8 while waiting four years to
make his NHL debut, it was no coincidence both goals came within 15
feet of the net. The first was a nifty deflection on a power play in
the low slot. The second came on a rebound after a play he started
with a nice cross-ice pass. For a while, it didn't look like
Vancouver would produce much against a Flames' team riddled with key
injuries. Calgary was outshooting the Canucks 11-4 when Lee
Stempniak opened the scoring for with 1:42 left in the first
period. But the Canucks took over soon after. Alexandre
Burrows jammed in a rebound to tie it 8:34 into the second
period, and Schroeder put the Canucks ahead for good 27 seconds later
by ending a 2-for-32 funk on the power play. Kevin
Bieksa scored with 2:32 left in the second period, and Chris
Higgins added another 1:18 into the third before Schroeder capped
things off. More probably would have if not for Leland
Irving, who had several spectacular stops among 26 saves as he
made his second straight start since star Miikka
Kiprusoff strained his knee. In addition to their workhorse No.1
goaltender, the Flames were missing three key forwards, including
Mike
Cammalleri, as they tried to win three straight for the first
time this season. Daniel
Sedin and Henrik
Sedin combined to set up both Burrows and Bieksa. The second
assist gave Henrik 755 career points for the Canucks, just one behind
former captain and teammate Markus Naslund for the franchise record.
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