Gameday 79 (Sun, 07 Apr) - Results

St Louis v Detroit 1-0 - St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott hit the restart button late last month with a conditioning stint in the American Hockey League. In hindsight, the Blues may have wished they sent him back to Peoria much earlier in the season, because Elliott has been splendid since returning to the big club. Chris Porter scored his second goal of the season in the second period and Elliott made 28 saves for his first shutout of the season in a 1-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena on Sunday. Elliott, who had nine shutouts last season and shared the William M. Jennings Trophy with Jaroslav Halak, is 3-0 with only four goals allowed since returning from Peoria. He has gotten a chance to reconnect with the Blues because Halak is out with a groin injury. With Elliott's hot hand and rookie goalie Jake Allen contributing with a 26-save win Friday over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Blues have won four in a row since a three-game losing streak. The two points they earned Sunday moved them ahead of the Red Wings in the Western Conference standings. Depending on the outcome of the game between the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets later Sunday, St. Louis could finish the day in sixth-place after starting it in eighth. The Red Wings have lost four of their past six games and are now in eighth place, three points ahead of the Phoenix Coyotes. Their NHL record streak of 21 straight appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is on the line with just nine games left in the regular season. Detroit doesn't play again until Thursday. Elliott, though, was a big reason why the Red Wings came up with nothing on the scoreboard or in the points column. That's a big change from what the Blues were getting from him earlier in the season. Elliott was 3-5-1 with a bloated 3.57 goals-against average and paltry .849 save percentage in his first nine appearances of the season. St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock simply couldn't use him regularly anymore, and over the following 20 games, from Feb. 13-March 26, Elliott played just 72 minutes and got one start. Late last month, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong decided it would be best to send Elliott back to Peoria for a conditioning stint so he could get some games in. He played in two games and allowed only three goals on 56 shots for a 1.51 goals-against average and .946 save percentage. With Elliott returning to his 2011-12 form and Allen serving as a capable backup, the Blues have started to resemble the team that put up 109 points last season. They've allowed only five goals during their current four-game winning streak and their penalty kill is perfect on 18 chances dating back to seven games ago. They've outscored the Wild, Chicago Blackhawks, Blue Jackets and Red Wings by a combined 12-5. But it's not as if the Red Wings are feeling terrible about the way they played Sunday. In fact, coach Mike Babcock said he enjoyed coaching the game and enjoyed watching his team compete because he felt the effort was there and the difference between the streaking Blues and the Red Wings was marginal at best. Babcock, though, didn't necessarily like the Red Wings' power play. They were 0-for-3 with just two shots on goal. The Wings were 4-for-12 on the power play in the three previous games. Porter did at even strength with 3:32 left in the second period, and it was all the Blues needed to leap the Red Wings in the standings and pick up their first shutout win at Joe Louis Arena since Dec. 9, 2009.

Dallas v San Jose 5-4 - Two days after scoring his first NHL goal, Dallas Stars rookie Alex Chiasson did himself one better Sunday against the San Jose Sharks. Chiasson scored two goals, lifting the Dallas Stars to a 5-4 shootout victory against the San Jose Sharks, ruining their quest to make NHL history with a perfect seven-game homestand. Chiasson, who was called up from the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, scored his first goal Friday night against the Anaheim Ducks and now has three goals in three NHL games. Dallas snapped San Jose's seven-game overall winning streak and seven-game home streak. The Sharks finished 6-0-1 on the homestand and will begin a four-game road trip Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. According to STATS LLC, the Sharks would have become the first NHL team to have a perfect homestand of at least seven games if they had won Sunday. The Stars improved to 2-0-0 against the Sharks this season, also defeating them 3-1 Feb. 23 at Dallas. That Stars team included Brenden Morrow, Jaromir Jagr, Derek Roy and Michael Ryder. All four have since been traded, but the Stars haven't abandoned their Stanley Cup Playoff hopes. Benn scored the only goal in the shootout, beating Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi in the second round. Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen stopped all three shootout attempts he faced, from Logan Couture, Dan Boyle and Brent Burns. Eric Nystrom and Loui Eriksson also scored in regulation for Dallas, which overcame two two-goal deficits and won its second straight game. Tommy Wingels, Brent Burns, TJ Galiardi and Marc-Edouard Vlasic each scored a goal for San Jose, and Raffi Torres had a pair of assists and seven hits in his Sharks debut. The Sharks took a 4-2 lead into the third period, but the Stars fought back and pulled even. Chiasson took a cross-ice pass from Ray Whitney and beat Niemi at 6:07, cutting San Jose's lead to 4-3. At 9:14 of the third, Eriksson knocked a rebound past Niemi, who had stopped a Matt Fraser blast but couldn't control the puck. The Sharks gave up more than three goals in a game for the first time since a 5-3 road loss to Anaheim on March 18. The Sharks took a 1-0 lead in the first period on Wingels' goal and made it 2-0 at 3:06 of the second when Burns' laser from the right circle banked off Lehtonen's glove and into the net, just inside the right post. The Stars answered later in the second with a pair of goals in the span of 26 seconds, pulling even. First, Nystrom took a pass from Vernon Fiddler and scored from close range at 3:41, capitalizing on a turnover by Vlasic behind the Sharks' net. Then Chiasson scored his second goal of the game, beating Niemi after a loose puck came his way, just right of the crease. Galiardi gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead with a highlight-reel goal, spinning counterclockwise in the right circle and whipping a backhand shot past Lehtonen at 7:48 of the second. Torres earned his first assist with the Sharks after separating Nystrom from the puck with a check in Dallas' zone and getting the puck to Galiardi. Vlasic increased San Jose's lead to 4-2 with 4:29 left in the second, scoring a wraparound that wasn't credited until after a long video review. The puck snuck under Lehtonen's stick and pad, just inside the right post. Torres made his Sharks debut, four days after being traded by the Phoenix Coyotes for a third-round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. He wasted little time making an impact, finishing checks, throwing well-placed elbows and being a major irritant. Midway through the first period, Torres sent a Stars defenseman to the ice on his backside with a hard check behind the Dallas net. Moments later, Stars defenseman Brendon Dillon drew a two-minute penalty for cross-checking Torres at 11:49. Torres skated on the third line with center Joe Pavelski and Galiardi, replacing James Sheppard in the lineup. The Sharks took a 1-0 lead at 8:39 on Wingels' fourth goal of the season. Couture set the scoring play in motion when he battled defenseman Aaron Rome for the puck behind Dallas' net. Couture sent a pass to Patrick Marleau in the low slot. Marleau whiffed, but the puck went a few feet farther out to Wingels, who ripped it past Lehtonen. The Sharks scored first in five of their six wins at home. Sharks defenseman Jason Demers returned to the lineup after missing four games after taking a shoulder-to-head hit from the Detroit Red Wings' Cory Emmerton on March 28. Demers replaced rookie Matt Tennyson in the lineup. Stars wing Lane MacDermid, who scored a goal in each of his first two games with the Stars, was out with an upper-body injury he suffered Friday against Anaheim. Gulutzan said MacDermid didn't suffer a head injury and shouldn't be out long term. Tom Wandell played his first NHL game since Jan. 29.

Ottawa v Florida 1-2 - Craig Anderson made his long-awaited return to the Ottawa Senators lineup Sunday night, but it was the Florida Panthers' backup goalie who ended up with the starring role. Scott Clemmensen made 40 saves, and Dmitry Kulikov broke a tie with a power-play goal at 10:46 of the third period as the Panthers defeated the Senators 2-1 at BB&T Center. Clemmensen helped the Panthers win despite being outshot 41-17. Clemmensen, who watched top prospect Jacob Markstrom start Florida's previous six games, got his first victory in more than a month. He had lost his past five decisions since a 6-4 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 26. Clemmensen came into the game with the worst GAA (3.96) and save percentage (.862) among NHL goalies with at least 10 appearances this season, but he was brilliant from the start against Ottawa. The Senators have lost four straight to match their longest streak of the season. Ottawa missed a chance to tie the Toronto Maple Leafs for fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings and are two points ahead of the New York Rangers and New York Islanders. Clemmensen's most spectacular save came in the last five minutes of the second period when he stuck out his pad as he was falling and kicked out Turris' point-blank shot as the puck was reaching the goal line. It was a close enough call that the play was reviewed. Anderson, who came in with the best goals-against average and save percentage in the NHL, made 15 saves in his first appearance after missing 19 games with an ankle injury. When MacLean gave his players the day off on Saturday, Anderson spent it at his home in Coral Springs, Fla. Anderson spent three years as the backup to Tomas Vokoun with the Panthers from 2007-09 and came into the game Sunday with a 9-0-1 record in 11 career appearances against his former team. The victory was the Panthers' first this season against the Senators in three tries, and their second in the past 12 meetings. Marcel Goc also scored for the Panthers, who have the worst record in the Eastern Conference but have won four of five. Cory Conacher scored his first for the Senators after he was acquired at the NHL Trade Deadline in the deal that sent goalie Ben Bishop to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Conacher is second among NHL rookie scorers, two points behind Florida's Jonathan Huberdeau, who had an assist on the game-winning goal. Kulikov scored on Florida's only power play of the game. With Sergei Gonchar in the box for holding, Kulikov fired a wrist shot from the high slot that went through Ottawa forward Zack Smith and beat Anderson on the blocker side. Kulikov's goal was his second of the season, each a game-winner, the other coming March 30 in overtime against the New Jersey Devils. It was the fifth consecutive game with a power-play goal for the Panthers. They are 12-3-1 this season when they score at least one power-play goal, 1-17-5 when they don't. Ottawa was 0-for-5 on the power play, making the Senators 0-for-17 in their past four games. Conacher opened the scoring at 12:26 of the first period after Mika Zibanejad fed Jakob Silfverberg in the slot. Instead of shooting, Silfverberg slipped a pass across the crease to Conacher for the easy tap-in. Goc tied the game 1:08 into the second period when he tipped Tomas Fleischmann's wrist shot from the top of the left circle.

Minnesota v Columbus 3-0 - It took Jason Pominville two games to get his first two points for the Minnesota Wild. Pominville assisted on the first goal and scored the last one in Minnesota's 3-0 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday at Nationwide Arena. Pominville has been placed on the Wild's top line with Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise. Nicklas Backstrom made 24 saves for the Wild; he won his League-Leading 20th game of the season, his second by shutout. Backstrom was pulled after allowing two goals on two shots against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, and is now 17-0-2 after being removed from the previous game. Minnesota ended a three-game losing streak before starting a three-game homestand against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, followed by the St. Louis Blues and Columbus. Columbus, which had gotten at least a point in its previous 12 home games, lost after playing six of seven on the road. Minnesota scored two power-play goals 12 minutes apart in the second period. Suter got the first when he took a drop pass from Jared Spurgeon and fired a slap shot past Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky at 3:13. Pominville got his first point for Minnesota with an assist on a pass to Spurgeon. Charlie Coyle tapped in a pass from Mikael Granlund at 15:03 for the 2-0 lead. The Blue Jackets also were 0-for-4 on the power play, including two in the third period. Pominville tipped in a pass from Parise with 1:25 left in the game. He had 10 goals for Buffalo, but one in the 15 games prior to him being traded.

Tampa Bay v Washington 2-4 - Neither seemed possible in early February, but the Washington Capitals are atop their division and Alex Ovechkin is tied for the NHL lead in goals. Washington got two goals from their star wing in a 4-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday at Verizon Center. It was the Capitals' sixth straight victory against a Southeast Division opponent and broke a tie with the Winnipeg Jets for first place. Washington started 2-8-1 under new coach Adam Oates, and Ovechkin had three goals in those 11 games. He has 16 goals in his past 14 games. The Capitals scored the final three goals, two in the second period and an empty-netter by Ovechkin. It gave him 25 this season to tie Tampa Bay's Steve Stamkos for the League lead. Washington is 12-3-0 against its division this season, and 13-1-1 in its past 14 home games against Tampa Bay, which visits again Saturday. The Capitals are 18-9-1 since Feb. 7. Washington forward Joel Ward made the score 3-2 late in the second period with a strong move toward the net. He received the puck in a rush up ice at the offensive blue line along the left-wing boards. He curled around a defender and lifted a forehand from in close past Ben Bishop's glove with 3:39 left. Defenseman John Karlson earlier finished a rush to tie the game 2-2. Receiving a pass in the center faceoff circle, Karlson sped into the zone and blasted a slap shot to the top right corner at 12:54. Tampa Bay opened the scoring at 1:52 of the first period, seven seconds into a power play. Vincent Lecavalier won the faceoff back to Sami Salo, who passed to Martin St. Louis on the right wing. His cross-ice pass found Lecavalier at the far post for a tap-in past Michael Neuvirth. The Lightning were 13-0-1 when leading after one period this season. Tampa Bay led the Southeast at 6-1-0 but now sit fourth at 16-20-2. Ovechkin tied the game 1-1 at 3:14 of the second period when he deflected Jack Hillen's wrist shot from the point into the net. Ovechkin had five goals this weekend in back-to-back games against the Lightning and Florida Panthers. The Lightning took a 2-1 lead 3:23 later when Alex Killorn gathered a long, bouncing pass, eluded Hillen and slid the partial breakaway through Neuvirth's five-hole. Neuvirth made 28 saves, 11 in the third period, playing his first game since March 16. Ward left the game in the third period after injuring his leg blocking a shot.

Nashville v Chicago 3-5 - It's been considered a formality for a while, but the Chicago Blackhawks can officially say they've reserved a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After defeating the Nashville Predators 5-3 at United Center on Sunday night, the Blackhawks became the first team in the NHL to clinch a 2013 postseason berth. It's not the ultimate goal, of course, but it is the first step on the path to the Stanley Cup. Chicago can't finish any lower than seventh in the Western Conference but would like to be the top seed. Also scoring for Chicago (29-5-4) were Andrew Shaw, Bryan Bickell, Brandon Saad and Patrick Kane, who sealed it by potting his 20th into an empty net with 32 seconds left to play. Saad, Kane and Shaw added assists to join Toews with two-point nights. Ray Emery made 19 saves and defeated the Predators (15-17-8) for the second time in as many days, also winning 1-0 on Saturday at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. The Predators took a 3-2 lead 6:54 into the third period on David Legwand's goal, his 11th of the year, but Saad and Toews scored 55 seconds apart to put the Blackhawks up for good. Chances for the Predators are starting to run out. Nashville has eight games remaining and dropped a spot to 13th in the West with 38 points. There are four teams and five points separating the Predators from the West's eighth playoff spot. Nick Spaling and Shea Weber also scored for the Predators, who are 0-3-1 against Chicago with one meeting left, April 19 at United Center. Like the other three head-to-head matchups, the Blackhawks controlled most of the play but still went to the third period deadlocked 2-2 thanks to Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne (35 saves). Shaw put the Blackhawks up 1-0 at 6:34 of the first by standing in front of Rinne and tipping Michael Frolik's long wrister from the top of the left circle into the upper left corner of the net. It was Shaw's eight goal, first since March 18, and capped a great shift by Chicago's fourth line, which Shaw is centering mainly because the Blackhawks are playing without injured forwards Patrick Sharp and Dave Bolland. Chicago outshot Nashville 17-7 in the first period and 40-22 for the game, but the Predators scored some timely goals to stay in it. First it was Spaling, who tied it 1-1 with 2:44 left before the first intermission by burying a second chance into the net from the low slot. Then, after Bickell scored his second goal in as many days to put Chicago up 2-1 at 2:09 of the second, Weber knotted it again at 2-2 with his eighth goal of 2012-13. The Predators captain had the puck come right to him after a faceoff win by Spaling in the offensive zone. The defenseman fired a half-slapper from just above the right circle that sailed over Emery's shoulder, clanked off the crossbar and hit the back of the net. It was Weber's 107th career goal, which tied him with Jason Arnott for third in Predators history. The Blackhawks went into the third period with a 29-16 advantage in shots. They just didn't have the lead and knew that a mere point separated them from automatic playoff qualification, something that's been assumed since their 24-game point streak to start the season. The Predators didn't make it easy. Legwand put Nashville up 3-2 when he took a pass from behind the net by Matt Halischuk and zipped it through Emery's pads from the low slot. That set the stage for the goals by Saad and Toews, who've been red hot as two-thirds of a dynamic top line. Saad smacked a rebound of Keith's shot between Rinne's pads at 9:37 to make it 3-3, and Toews made it 4-3 after taking a great pass from Kane and launching a high, hard rocket from the top of the right circle that sailed through traffic and ripped into the top right corner of the net. Just like that, the Blackhawks knew for sure they'd be battling for the Stanley Cup for a fifth straight postseason. Now the overriding goal is to gear up for a deep playoff run.

New Jersey v Buffalo 2-3 - As the NHL regular season winds down, the Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils are clawing for a chance to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nathan Gerbe scored and Ryan Miller made three saves in the shootout to give Buffalo a 3-2 victory against New Jersey at First Niagara Center on Sunday. Buffalo had a 2-1 lead but gave up a shorthanded goal early in the third period that cost them a better opportunity to jump New Jersey in the Eastern Conference standings. With the win, Buffalo sits in 11th place with 38 points, four points behind the seventh-place New York Rangers. New Jersey is in ninth place with 40 points. The Sabres are winners of their past three games; the Devils are headed in the other direction. Buffalo also is no stranger to tight games. The Sabres have had 15 of their past 20 decided by one goal and are 7-3-5, overall 10-8-6 in 24 one-goal games this season. Buffalo improved its record in the shootout to 5-4. Miller made 37 saves for Buffalo through 65 minutes. Brodeur turned aside 23 shots. Patrick Kaleta and Ott scored for Buffalo. Mark Fayne and Steve Sullivan scored for New Jersey. The Devils, having lost their three previous games in regulation, are 2-5-5 in their past 12, 0-3-4 without injured forward Ilya Kovalchuk (shoulder). Forward Dainius Zubrus had an assist against the Sabres and knows time is winding down to collect points. New Jersey has nine games remaining. The Devils tied it 2-2, 6:46 into the third period while shorthanded. Zubrus carried the puck around the Buffalo net without much heat on him and sent it to Fayne at the top of the zone. The defenseman wristed a shot that beat Miller stick-side. The goal was Fayne's first of the season. Buffalo has allowed a League-worst seven shorthanded goals this season. The Sabres took a 2-1 lead on a perfect tic-tac-toe play in the Devils zone with 6:16 left in the second period. At the right point, Gerbe fired a pass across ice to Cody Hodgson in the left corner. Hodgson then knocked the puck to Ott in the slot, who settled it and roofed a shot over a diving Brodeur. Ott has scored in three straight games. He also has five points (four assists) in his past five games against New Jersey. New Jersey took advantage of a young Buffalo team with a solid forecheck. For long stretches of the game, the Devils were able to pin the Sabres in their zone, outshooting the home team 18-8 at one point. The Devils have had trouble scoring goals of late. They had four in their four games coming into Sunday, and Sullivan's power-play goal was the team's first in five games. Jochen Hecht turned an Andy Greene giveaway in the Devils' zone into the Sabres' first goal. On a Buffalo dump in, Brodeur played the puck to Greene in the corner. Greene sent the puck up ice, but Hecht intercepted it above the faceoff dots. Hecht then turned toward the net and threw a pass on goal. Kaleta, moving to the crease, tipped it in for his first of the season. It was Kaleta's first point since March 7, 2012 and his first goal since Feb. 8, 2012. Miller made a highlight reel-save with 2:06 to go in the first period when he stopped Sullivan with his paddle to prolong a shift in which the Devils brought about considerable pressure. That 2:20 shift for Buffalo's Luke Adam, Kevin Porter, Brian Flynn, Mark Pysyk and Adam Pardy finally ended when Porter was sent to the box for cross-checking Patrik Elias in the corner. Sullivan would not be denied in his next opportunity. On the faceoff, Ott won the draw, but Devils forward Steve Bernier picked off defenseman Tyler Myers' soft pass around the end boards. Bernier skated to the front, passed the puck into the crease, and Sullivan redirected it out of the reach of Miller's glove. Sullivan's goal was his first since being reacquired by the Devils via trade from the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday. He played in a New Jersey uniform for the first time Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs since his last stint with the Devils ended Feb. 20, 1997. Sullivan's prior goal with the Devils came on Feb. 15, 1997 against the Montreal Canadiens. Brodeur and Saku Koivu (Anaheim Ducks) are the other players from that game still playing in the NHL. Sullivan was New Jersey's first shooter in the shootout and his backhand opportunity was stopped by Miller.

Los Angeles v Anaheim 3-4 - Judging by the entertainment value of the series this season, this is as good a time as ever for the first Stanley Cup Playoff series between the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings. Bobby Ryan, Saku Koivu and Corey Perry each scored in the shootout as Anaheim prevailed, 4-3, Sunday in front of a raucous standing-room crowd of 17,494 at Honda Center. Perry clinched it with a wrist shot past Jonathan Bernier after Jeff Carter kept the Kings alive with a wicked backhand past Viktor Fasth. The Ducks won despite an impressive push by Los Angeles in the third period in a close, hard-fought local game that has typified the series now framed as the defending Stanley Cup champions against the Western Conference's No.2 team. Los Angeles came back from deficits of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2. The Ducks, playing their second straight game without their captain Getzlaf, got a power-play goal from Matt Beleskey at 4:54 of the third period and appeared headed for a regulation win until the Kings' top line forged a 3-3 tie. Dustin Brown drove to the net and batted in Anze Kopitar's rebound with 3:45 remaining. It was indicative of great desperation shown by Los Angeles, which outshot Anaheim 16-5 in the third period and 19-7 over the final 45 minutes. Brown, Kopitar and Justin Williams combined for 13 shots on goal. Getzlaf was ruled out before the game with a lower-body injury. Anaheim ended an 0-for-7 slump on the power play since Getzlaf went down Wednesday when Beleskey fished out the puck from a frozen Bernier for his first career power-play goal. The third period was set up by two swings of momentum at the end of the second. A wide-open Carter tied it 2-2 with a swipe of Brad Richardson's pass from the corner with 30 seconds left. It was a huge response goal 1:18 after Perry slipped behind the Kings defense to take an Andrew Cogliano stretch pass and break in to fire a wrist shot lower-left-corner on Bernier for his 23rd goal. Los Angeles had just hemmed in Anaheim for a long sequence and seemed to win most of the period, starting from Doughty's third goal this season, a power-play slap shot with Carter partially screening Fasth at 5:59. Anaheim's Kyle Palmieri opened the scoring with a drive to the net in which Bernier poke-checked the puck, only to have it bounce off Palmieri's skate into the goal at 2:54 of the first. Neither side allowed themselves to opine on what a postseason series would be like, but it was agreed this was a playoff-type game. They combined for 71 hits. The Ducks had 23 blocked shots.