Gameday 81 (Tue, 09 Apr) - Results

Philadelphia v NY Islanders 1-4 - The New York Islanders moved a step closer to their first Stanley Cup Playoff berth since 2007 and pushed the Philadelphia Flyers closer to their first playoff-free season in six years. Michael Grabner scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period, and Evgeni Nabokov made 26 saves as the Islanders defeated the Flyers 4-1 on Tuesday night at Nassau Coliseum to move into seventh place in the Eastern Conference. John Tavares added an insurance goal with 1:37 left, and Casey Cizikas hit the empty net 28 seconds later for the Islanders (20-16-4), who have 44 points. That's two more than the eighth-place New York Rangers, who have a game in hand, and the Winnipeg Jets, and four ahead of the New Jersey Devils. Matt Moulson also scored for the Islanders, who've won four in a row at home. The Islanders' late run toward a playoff berth has led to an unaccustomed dose of scoreboard-watching on Long Island. The Islanders have gotten a boost from the play of Nabokov. Since March 24, he has stopped 146 of 158 shots, a .924 save percentage, going 6-1-1 with one shutout. The Islanders snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Flyers at the Coliseum and improved to 7-1-1 in their past nine games overall. Jakub Voracek scored the goal for the Flyers (17-19-3), who remained 13th in the East, five points out of eighth place. Goaltender Steve Mason, acquired at the NHL Trade Deadline from the Columbus Blue Jackets, made 28 saves. After a cautious first few minutes by both teams, the Flyers capitalized on a defensive breakdown to grab a 1-0 lead. Voracek got behind the New York defense, took a 120-foot pass from Giroux and went in alone on Nabokov. His backhander sat under Nabokov's pads, but Islanders defenseman Andrew MacDonald slid into his goaltender, carrying the puck over the goal line at 6:28. It was Voracek's team-high 17th of the season and came on the Flyers' second shot on goal. Moulson tied it just over nine minutes later on a nice three-way passing play by the Islanders' first line. Tavares took a hit in his own zone to get the puck to Brad Boyes, who carried into the Philadelphia zone on a 2-on-2 rush. Flyers defenseman Bruno Gervais cheated slightly toward Boyes, who slipped a pass to a briefly unguarded Moulson for a quick wrister past Mason at 15:36. It was Moulson's 13th of the season. Chances were few through the first 15 minutes of the second period before Mason made his best save of the night, stopping Kyle Okposo's breakaway backhander. But that seemed to inspire the Islanders, who picked up their play and were rewarded at 17:42 when Colin McDonald's pass from the right boards found Grabner in the slot. He used defenseman Luke Schenn as a screen and rifled a 20-footer past Mason for his 13th of the season to give New York its first lead. The Islanders stayed aggressive in the third period, outshooting the Flyers 11-8, and put the game away when Tavares and Moulson went in 2-on-1. Mason stopped Tavares' shot, but defenseman Eric Gustafsson's desperate slide to keep Moulson away from the rebound put the puck into the net instead, giving Tavares his 24th goal of the season. The crowd of 13,888 made itself felt as the third period went on, chanting "We want the playoffs!" and "Last-place Flyers!"

Pittsburgh v Carolina 5-3 - On the night the Pittsburgh Penguins clinched the Atlantic Division championship, three newcomers grew a little more comfortable in their roles. Forwards Jussi Jokinen, Brenden Morrow and Jarome Iginla all chipped in on the score sheet in a 5-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes, and all expressed their gratitude for being part of this front-running team. In a League where late-season trades are an annual reality, it was endearing to hear the newest Penguins still dealing with the quirkiness of joining a new team. Iginla shares those traits, and they were on display on the game-winning goal. After knocking down a puck in the neutral zone, he played pitch-and-catch with Evgeni Malkin, who finished by knocking in Iginla's rebound at 10:02 of the third period. It was the second of two goals in 13 seconds, as Pittsburgh rallied from a 3-2 deficit. Beau Bennett had scored on a backhander moments earlier. Carolina started the scoring early in the first period on a goal from defenseman Joe Corvo, but two more Pittsburgh newbies combined to tie the score just 1:32 later. Jussi Jokinen, playing his second game since being dealt from the Hurricanes, collected a loose puck and sent a backhand to Morrow for his first as a Penguin. The two previously played parts of three seasons together with the Dallas Stars. For Jokinen's part, the game held extra meaning. He was well-regarded by his teammates, and he still feels very strongly about his their current plight. The Hurricanes had lost nine of 10 when Jokinen left the team. The tailspin has now grown to 13 of 14, including a franchise-record, seven-game losing streak at home. Despite the rash of losses, Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller has rarely changed his tone in recent weeks, instead pointing out that his team continues to play hard. In the visitor's dressing room the outlook is far brighter. Not only are the Penguins locked into the playoffs, but the newcomers are feeling at home. That's important for guys like Iginla and Morrow, veterans who know the dynamics of just one other franchise, having played in one city their entire careers. If the little things are important, Jokinen, Iginla and Morrow should all fit the mold in Pittsburgh. Each has built a reputation in the League as a two-way player who doesn't cheat on the details of the game. Now that each has earned his second scoring point in Pittsburgh, the blending of the old guard and the new faces moves a step closer to completion, even for someone like Iginla, who was the face of Calgary's franchise for 17 years.

San Jose v Columbus 0-4 - The Columbus Blue Jackets aren't going away in the race for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots for his fourth career shutout, all in his past 15 games, and newcomer Marian Gaborik had a goal and an assist Tuesday, leading the Blue Jackets to a 4-0 win against the San Jose Sharks at Nationwide Arena. Matt Calvert, James Wisniewski and Ryan Johansen also scored for the Blue Jackets, who had lost their previous two games. The Blue Jackets moved within two points of the eighth-place Detroit Red Wings, who have a game in hand, as they try to make the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. The Blue Jackets have gotten points in 17 of their past 21 games (12-4-5). They had a four-game home winning streak ended when they lost 3-0 to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. That defeat also snapped a club-record 12-game points streak at home (9-0-3). Bobrovsky's best saves came on Patrick Marleau's point-blank wrister in the third period and Dan Boyle's power-play slap shot in the second. San Jose remained fifth in the Western Conference with 47 points, but is just four points above eighth place. The Sharks were coming off a seven-game homestand on which they picked up 13 of 14 possible points, losing in overtime to the Dallas Stars on Sunday before hitting the road. This was the opener of a four-game trip. Columbus had been manhandled in the second period 48 hours earlier by Minnesota, but this time it was the Blue Jackets who took charge. Up 1-0, they had 11 of the first 12 shots while scoring twice. Wisniewski made it 2-0 at 3:09 when he took a pass from defense partner Adrian Aucoin and fired a straightaway one-timer past Antti Niemi from just inside the blue line. Less than two minutes later, Gaborik, playing his second home game for the Blue Jackets, set up Johansen to make it 3-0. Gaborik evaded two Sharks in the right circle and slid a backhand pass to Johansen in the slot. He went down to one knee on the one-timer and put it high into the net. Gaborik benefited from a perfect setup from Artem Anisimov, a former teammate with the Rangers, to complete the scoring at 7:16 of the third period. Gaborik got behind the defense, took Anisimov's pass, faked Niemi to the ice with a forehand and then tapped in the puck with a backhand. Matt Calvert opened the scoring 8:39 into the game by jamming home the rebound of Cam Atkinson's wraparound for his eighth of the season. San Jose's Adam Burish beat Bobrovsky with 5:21 left in the third, but the goal was waved off because he was in the crease.

Washington v Montreal 3-2 - If there was one thing that was tempering the Washington Capitals' hot streak of late, it was that they had done it largely by facing teams that are in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference. No one can say that about them anymore. Alex Ovechkin scored his sixth goal in three games to spark the Capitals and Michal Neuvirth made 27 saves to hold off a late Montreal Canadiens' rally in a 3-2 win at Bell Centre on Tuesday. The victory was Washington's fifth in a row and sixth in seven games, but all of those were played against teams that are currently out of the playoffs in the conference. Eric Fehr and Jack Hillen also scored for the Capitals (21-17-2), who maintained their two-point lead on the Winnipeg Jets, 4-1 winners Tuesday, atop the Southeast Division. Lars Eller scored twice and Alex Galchenyuk had two assists for the Canadiens (25-9-5), who lost for just the second time in seven games. Ovechkin's goal gave him 17 in his past 15 games and his linemate Nicklas Backstrom had two assists to extend his point streak to seven games. Galchenyuk's two assists extended the rookie's point streak to a season-high four games, with two goals and three assists over that span. With the Canadiens leading 1-0 in the second period and the Capitals failing to beat Carey Price on their first 14 shots on goal, Washington scored twice on four shots over a span of 1:46 to take control of the game. Ovechkin started things off with a masterful move to get around Michael Ryder while cutting across the high slot, then letting go of a wobbler of a wrist shot that appeared to dip severely just as it was reaching Price, flying under his glove at 7:50 of the second. A Hillen shot from the side boards was then tipped by Fehr on its way toward Price, hitting the Montreal goaltender in the chest and flipping over his head behind him, where it was tipped in by teammate Andrei Markov at 9:36. Hillen put the Capitals ahead 3-1 at 5:33 of the third when his shot from the point went past an Ovechkin screen in front and beat Price high to the glove side for the defenseman's first goal of the season. The Canadiens charged back at the Capitals and it paid off at 16:38 when Eller scored his second of the game, tipping home a Nathan Beaulieu point shot to bring the Canadiens within one. The Capitals came roaring out of the gates in the first, registering the first nine shots on goal of the game and testing Price on repeated occasions with high quality scoring chances. Backstrom was turned aside by two Price pad saves 80 seconds into the game, Mathieu Perreault suffered the same fate about a minute later and Jay Beagle had another great chance off a Nathan Beaulieu turnover just prior to the three-minute mark. The Canadiens got their first shot at 6:22 off the stick of Rene Bourque, who made his return to the lineup after a 21-game absence due to a concussion, and took over for the remainder of the period, outshooting Washington 7-2 from that point onward. The pressure paid off at 15:44 when Galchenyuk entered the zone with speed, deked around Capitals defenseman John Carlson and set up Brandon Prust for a shot from the slot. Prust's shot missed the mark, but he gathered the puck behind the net and sent it out front to Eller for his fifth of the season. The Canadiens continued their territorial advantage to open the second, going from a 9-0 shot deficit to a 15-12 edge before the period was four minutes old. But it didn't last, with Ovechkin sparking his team to a quick turnaround and ultimately holding on for its fifth straight victory.

Ottawa v Tampa Bay 2-3 - They may be slim, but the Tampa Bay Lightning's postseason hopes are still alive. Steven Stamkos' power-play goal with 5:04 left in regulation gave the Lightning a 3-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Tuesday. Stamkos finished off a cross-ice pass by Vincent Lecavalier by beating Craig Anderson for his 26th goal of the season, tying him with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals for the League lead as the Bolts (17-20-2) pulled within six points of the New York Rangers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Ben Bishop, acquired by Tampa Bay from Ottawa at the April 3 trade deadline, made 31 saves to defeat his former team. Ottawa and the New York Islanders have 44 points; the Senators are sixth in the Eastern Conference and the Islanders are seventh because Ottawa has a game in hand. Ottawa tied the game 21 seconds into the final period on an unusual power-play goal. As the puck softly floated toward the Lightning net, Tampa Bay defenseman Matt Carle reached up with his stick and accidentally tipped it over Bishop's waiting glove. Guillaume Latendresse took advantage of the gift lying at his feet to score his sixth goal of the season. But ultimately, the Senators gave the Lightning one too many power plays. With Sergei Gonchar in the box for hooking, Martin St. Louis got the puck to Lecavalier, whose cross-ice pass found Stamkos for the game-winner. Anderson finished with 21 saves for the Senators, who have three games remaining on a seven-game road trip. The Lightning trailed 1-0 after one period but needed less than five minutes of the second to take the lead. Pierre-Cedric Labrie scored his first NHL goal in his 26th career game at 2:35 when he sent a rebound from just outside the crease into the Ottawa net while Anderson was screened by Nate Thompson. Labrie was playing in his first game after missing five with a lower-body injury. B.J. Crombeen also assisted. Less than two minutes later, with Ottawa's Kyle Turris and Peter Regin both in the penalty box, Lecavalier converted the 5-on-3 opportunity when he buried a rebound of Teddy Purcell's hard shot from the just above the crease to give the Lightning the lead. Lecavalier's goal was his ninth of the season and was also assisted by St. Louis, who picked up his 900th NHL point. Ottawa took the lead at 14:29 of the opening period when a shot by Turris bounded off Bishop and into the air. Daniel Alfredsson, alone in the crease, waited patiently for the puck to fall below the crossbar before he legally batted it into the empty net for his ninth of the season. Ryan Malone returned to the lineup for Tampa Bay after missing nine games with a shoulder injury. Malone had 15:43 of ice time, one shot on goal and two blocked shots.

Buffalo v Winnipeg 1-4 - The Buffalo Sabres and Winnipeg Jets entered Tuesday's action looking up the Eastern Conference standings, and feeling the heat of nearby Stanley Cup Playoff contenders lurking behind. The Jets made some breathing room for themselves, scoring three second-period goals to fuel a 4-1 win at MTS Centre and dealing Buffalo's playoff aspirations a setback. The Jets started the game sitting 10th in the East, two points behind the Southeast Division-leading Washington Capitals. The Sabres trailed the Jets by two points, owning a game in hand. The Jets' win helped them keep pace with the Capitals, who took a 3-2 road decision from the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. The Capitals own a game in hand on the Jets. Winnipeg also slipped past the New Jersey Devils into ninth place and matched the eighth-place New York Rangers at 42 points. The Jets survived the loss of defenseman Tobias Enstrom after he departed the game in the first period and did not return. Jets coach Claude Noel said afterward that Enstrom, who missed 19 games with a shoulder injury earlier in the season, is "day-to-day." Buffalo, meanwhile, remains four points out of a playoff spot and drifting in 11th place. Winnipeg, in the midst of a six-game homestand, won its second consecutive game after a five-game losing streak had knocked the Jets out of the Southeast lead and nearly crushed their playoff chances. Buffalo's three-game winning streak ended. The Sabres' home date with Montreal on Thursday begins a stretch of six home games over their final eight in their bid to make one last push for a postseason berth. Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec made his League-leading 37th appearance and stopped 29 shots. Kevin Porter's third-period goal ended Pavelec's shutout bid. The Jets have limited the Sabres to one goal in each of the teams' past five meetings. Buffalo's Ryan Miller finished with 26 saves and held the game Sabres in the game early. Rolston and his club expected a fast start from the Jets, who dominated early. Winnipeg took the game's first six shots and pinned down Buffalo through the opening 10 minutes. But the Sabres recovered and carried the play for much of the rest of the first period. The evening began with promise after the Sabres had regained leading scorer Thomas Vanek, who returned to the Sabres' lineup after missing four games because of an upper-body injury, But the trio of Vanek, Tyler Ennis and Drew Stafford all went minus-four, as the Sabres' hold on the game loosened early in the second period. Wellwood's fourth goal gave the Jets a 1-0 second-period lead. Gagnon followed with his first NHL goal five minutes later to put the Jets up 2-0. Noel liked his club's first period, and Winnipeg's work finally paid off. Wellwood opened the scoring 4:54 into the second period with his second goal in two games after managing two in his first 31. Ehrhoff blocked Evander Kane's right-side shot, sending the puck skidding into the slot, where Wellwood converted before Miller could scramble into position. Gagnon's goal made it 2-0 when he snuck into the slot and one-timed Dustin Byfuglien's right-side pass low past Miller at 10:04. Ladd and Bryan Little combined on the Jets' third goal. Little slipped a pass through the Buffalo defense, and Ladd finished the play with a backhand-forehand move. Gagnon impressed Noel in his third game since a recall from the St. John's IceCaps of the American Hockey League, where he had earned monthly league honors in March after registering nine goals and nine assists in 11 games. With 22 seconds to play in the period, Ladd put the Sabres in a three-goal hole with his first since March 14, ending a 13-game run. After the Jets killed off a Sabres' power play late in the third period, Blake Wheeler put it away with an empty-netter. The Ladd-Little-Wheeler trio have combined for 10 points over the past two games for the Jets, who have scored all seven of their goals in the second period in those games.

St Louis v Nashville 1-0 - The St. Louis Blues' road show continues to rack up points at a critical time of the season. The surging Blues made it five in a row Tuesday, giving them a more secure spot among the Western Conference's top eight teams in a 1-0 win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. Alexander Steen scored the lone goal for the Blues and Brian Elliott, on his 28th birthday, earned his second straight shutout, his 11th as a Blue and the 20th of his career. The Blues, who beat the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 on the road Sunday, own a shutout streak of 141:24, dating back to the second period of a home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. The Blues (22-14-2) are on a season-high five-game winning streak, their first since March 3-11, 2012, with three of those wins coming on the road. The Blues jumped into sixth place in the Western Conference race; St. Louis and the Minnesota Wild, who lost 1-0 to the Chicago Blackhawks, both have 44 points, but the Blues have a game in hand. The Blues, who have not lost since they acquired defensemen Jordan Leopold from Buffalo and Jay Bouwmeester from Calgary last week, smothered the Predators, limiting Nashville to 15 shots. Elliott was certainly grateful for the light workload. The Predators (15-18-8) have dropped four in a row and saw their fading playoff hopes take another hit. Nashville is in 13th place, has seven games remaining and trails the eighth-place Red Wings by five points. It was Predators' second straight 1-0 loss at home, they lost by the same score to the Blackhawks on Saturday. The Predators played the game without five regular forwards, Mike Fisher, Paul Gaustad, Brandon Yip, Colin Wilson and Gabriel Bourque, because of injury. The Blues came in waves at the depleted Predators, but Pekka Rinne kept the game scoreless until Steen broke the stalemate with his first goal in seven games. Steen took Vladimir Sobotka's pass and ripped a slap shot from the left circle through Rinne's pads with 3:23 left in the second period for a 1-0 lead. Once the Blues got the lead, they went into lockdown mode. On Sunday in Detroit, Elliott came up with timely saves. This time, the defense did a good job limiting Nashville's offensive chances, the Predators were limited to five shots in the third period. The Blues smothered the Predators' offense, limiting the home team's zone time, thus the low shot number and easy workload for Elliott, whose shutout streak dates back to the third period Thursday at Chicago.

Chicago v Minnesota 1-0 - Tuesday's game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild came down to two things: Who would make the first mistake, and would the team benefitting from it take advantage? The teams battled to a 0-0 standstill late into the second period until Chicago got the bounce it needed. Marian Hossa took advantage of a Wild turnover and scored his 14th goal of the season 15:14 into the second period, supplying all the offense the Blackhawks would need in a 1-0 victory at Xcel Energy Center. Chicago goaltender Ray Emery, starting his third straight game, stopped 20 shots to record his third shutout in his past five starts and improve to 15-1-0. His best period was the second, when he made 10 saves. He stopped six to close out the win in the third. Chicago had the better first-period chances but ran into stingy Minnesota goaltender Niklas Backstrom. He stopped 11 shots then gloved a sure goal at the left post for Patrick Sharp five minutes into the second to keep the game scoreless. Finally, late in the second, Hossa was in the right place at the right time. Wild defenseman Clayton Stoner attempted a breakout pass from the right half wall but Hossa intercepted it in the slot. He came in alone and beat Backstrom with a wrist shot through the five-hole. The goal was vintage Hossa. Long known as one of the NHL's best two-way wings, the play illustrated his ability to turn a nice defensive play into instant offense. Backstrom stopped 30 shots; he's lost four of his past six starts and is 20-11-2 this season. Chicago, which already clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, returns home Friday to play the Detroit Red Wings. The Blackhawks will play four of their next five games at the United Center. Minnesota could help Chicago wrap up the Central Division championship by winning against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. Chicago would need to get one game to overtime the rest of the way to win the division. With regulation losses by the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, the Wild missed an opportunity to gain ground on both. A 1-0 win by the Blues at the Nashville Predators pulled St. Louis into a tie for sixth place in the west with Minnesota, setting up a crucial game here Thursday night. The teams are one point back of the Sharks and two behind the Kings. Minnesota trails the Vancouver Canucks by four points in the Northwest Division. Each team has nine games remaining.

Los Angeles v Dallas 1-5 - The Dallas Stars knew they needed a big third period to keep their playoff hopes alive. That's exactly what they produced against the defending Stanley Cup champions. Vernon Fiddler and Ray Whitney each scored twice in the third period and backup goaltender Richard Bachman stopped all 22 shots he faced as the Stars beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 on Tuesday night. Whitney broke a 1-1 tie when he beat Jonathan Quick 52 seconds into the third period. Fiddler sandwiched a pair of goals around one by Whitney in a span of 5:58 midway through the period to blow the game open. The loss kept the Kings in fourth place in the Western Conference playoff race, one point ahead of the San Jose Sharks. Dallas and the Columbus Blue Jackets are even with 41 points, two behind the eighth-place Detroit Red Wings. The game didn't start well for the Stars. Thirty-four seconds after the opening faceoff, Dallas forward Loui Eriksson earned a double minor by high-sticking Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr, producing a small cut below Regehr's right eye. And much as the Kings did in their most recent visit to Dallas, a 3-2 win on March 31, they scored early. This time it was Drew Doughty delivering on the power play, sending a 25-foot wrister top shelf over the glove of Lehtonen at 1:13 of the opening period. Doughty's shot from the left circle came after a stellar pass from Anze Kopitar from the opposite circle. Doughty now has goals in three straight games. Dallas failed to convert on its first power play, but the Stars tied the game six seconds after L.A.'s Jordan Nolan returned to the ice when defenseman Alex Goligoski scored his second of the year by beating Quick with a slapper from well inside the left circle. Goligoski picked up a rebound after Quick stopped Aaron Rome's long slap shot but couldn't control the puck. The Stars preserved the tie by killing off three L.A. power plays in the second period, including a four-minute advantage when Rome earned a double minor for high-sticking Mike Richards at 9:40. Dallas, which won its third straight, came out firing in the third period and needed less than a minute to go ahead to stay. Whitney put the Stars ahead when his wrister from the high slot sailed over Quick's glove for his eighth of the season. Stars rookie Alex Chiasson, playing in just his fourth career game, picked up his first NHL assist on the play. Fiddler scored his second of the season when he redirected a blast by Stephane Robidas into the left side of the Kings net at 7:58. Whitney added his second of the night at 11:06 on a short wrist shot following a turnover by Kings' captain Dustin Brown near his own blue line. Fiddler added his second of the game at 13:56 when his shot deflected off a Kings player and into the back of the net. Quick stopped 26 shots in the loss.