Gameday 85 (Sat, 13 Apr) - Results

Philadelphia v Buffalo 0-1 - Jhonas Enroth recorded the third shutout of his career just like his other two, with a 1-0 win. The Buffalo Sabres goaltender made 29 saves Saturday to record the team's first shutout of the season as Buffalo defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 at First Niagara Center. All three of Enroth's shutouts, including games on Nov. 18, 2011 against the Carolina Hurricanes and March 30, 2011 against the New York Rangers, have been decided by one goal. Philadelphia forward Daniel Briere had one last chance to tie the game, but his shot deflected up and off the crossbar as time expired. The last time the Sabres shut out the Flyers in a regular season game was December 4, 1998, when Buffalo won 3-0. Christian Ehrhoff scored 17 seconds into the third period on a shot he fired wide of the net to break a scoreless tie. Sabres forward Steve Ott won a faceoff to the right of Flyers goaltender Steve Mason and on the left wing, Kevin Porter knocked it back to Ehrhoff at the point. Ehrhoff's shot went wide, but caromed straight back off the end boards and in off Mason's right pad. Both teams have had trouble finding the back of net of late. In their past three games, the Flyers scored one goal in each. In similar fashion, the Sabres have been held to one goal in each of their past two games. Unsurprisingly, neither team had won a game in that stretch. The scoring drought raged on through two periods Saturday. Neither Enroth nor Mason had to be especially spectacular between the pipes in the first two periods. On one noteworthy chance for the Flyers a little more than 30 seconds into the second period, Enroth made a glove save on Claude Giroux's one-timer as the Flyers' captain skated in on a 2-on-1 with Simon Gagne. Mason stopped 20 of 21 shots in his third appearance for the Flyers since being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets at the trade deadline. Both teams are also on the outside of the postseason picture and are hoping to make a push into the Stanley Cup Playoffs with only a handful of games remaining for each. Buffalo has six games left; Philadelphia has seven games remaining. The Rangers held the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference heading into the slate of games on Saturday with 44 points. They visit the New York Islanders in a Saturday night matchup. With the win, Buffalo improves to 40 points while the Flyers remain at 37. Philadelphia is not yet eliminated, but both the players and the front office know that time is running out on this season. Before Ehrhoff's goal, the loudest cheers of the game were heard after a spirited fight between Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta and Flyers defenseman Oliver Lauridsen 1:31 into the game. Kaleta got the better of the fight, landing several left-hand punches. Chad Ruhwedel stepped right into the Sabres lineup on Saturday to make his professional debut after signing a two-year, entry-level contract hours before the game. The Sabres were down to five healthy defensemen after Tyler Myers broke a bone in his leg during the team's game against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. Myers blocked two shots by P.K. Subban during a Montreal 5-on-3 power play in the second period but played a regular shift for the duration of the game. The Sabres announced Myers' injury on Wednesday and opted not to recall anyone from their American Hockey League affiliate in Rochester. Ruhwedel, 22, played three seasons at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, and collected 15 goals and 63 points in 110 games. He earned First-Team All-America honors this year as well as 2013 Hockey East All-Conference First Team honors. The New England Hockey Writers Association named him the 2013 Bob Monahan Defenseman of the Year. He played 13 minutes on Saturday while paired with Mike Weber. He landed in Buffalo on a flight from Boston at 9 a.m. and didn't make it to the arena until 10:30 a.m. for a 3 p.m. faceoff. Ruhwedel said he played on adrenaline. Also before the game, the Sabres organization and Western New York elected officials broke ground on HARBORcenter, a $172 million project that will feature two full-size ice rinks, a full-service hotel, a two-story restaurant, street-level retail space and a five-level, 850-space parking structure. Expected to open in September 2014, the structure will be located across the street from First Niagara Center and will be connected to the arena. Holmgren announced after the game that forward Eric Wellwood, who underwent surgery Thursday after slicing his Achilles' tendon in a game with Adirondack of the AHL on April 8, is expected to miss the next 9-12 months. The team will have a better diagnosis in about eight weeks.

Vancouver v Colorado 3-4 - It had been more than three years since the Colorado Avalanche managed to defeat the Vancouver Canucks in regulation. The Avalanche finally accomplished the feat Saturday when Jan Hejda fired a shot from the left point past a screened Cory Schneider with 7.6 seconds remaining in regulation for a 4-3 win at Pepsi Center. The victory was the Avalanche's first in regulation in 21 games against the Canucks since a 3-2 decision on Oct. 8, 2009. It also snapped a 10-game winless streak (0-8-2) against their Northwest Division rivals since a 4-3 overtime win Jan. 18, 2011. Schneider had posted a 6-0-1 record with a 1.30 goals-against average in seven previous career decisions against the Avalanche. The Avalanche, which began the day 30th in the overall standings, have sandwiched wins against the Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks around a shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings since goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere criticized the team's attitude and effort following a 3-1 home loss to the Calgary Flames on Monday. The Avalanche tied the game 3-3 on PA Parenteau's goal with 7:03 to play. Matt Duchene passed into the slot to Parenteau, who managed to one-time the puck past Schneider despite being checked by defenseman Jason Garrison. Garrison put the Canucks in front 3-2 at 3:27 of the third period, 85 seconds after the Avalanche tied the game on a goal by Cody McLeod. Garrison ripped a point shot by Giguere for his first goal in nine games, since he scored against the Avalanche on March 24. McLeod, who had gone 24 games without a goal since Feb. 24 against Anaheim, poked the puck underneath Schneider at 2:02 off a pass from Ryan O'Reilly, who knocked the puck away from Vancouver's Max Lapierre in the corner. The Canucks got goals from Lapierre and Jannik Hansen 2:14 apart early in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. Lapierre beat Giguere to the short side with a shot from the middle of the right circle at 4:30, and Hansen scored his first goal in 12 games during a scramble in front at 6:44. Hansen was given the chance to skate on the Canucks' top line with the Sedin twins after being benched for the final 9:21 in Vancouver's 4-1 win on Wednesday against. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog opened the scoring at 1:50 of the first period following a giveaway by Kevin Bieksa, the Vancouver defenseman passed out of the corner right to Landeskog in the slot.

Montreal v Toronto 1-5 - If the Toronto Maple Leafs were looking for a confidence boost, Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens sure provided it Saturday. Price was pulled at 10:25 of the first period after allowing three goals on four shots as the Maple Leafs beat the visitors 5-1 at the Air Canada Centre. It was the earliest Price has been pulled from a game in his career and was Toronto's third win against Montreal in four meetings this season. It marked the first time in the season series the home team has been victorious. Jay McClement and Phil Kessel each scored a goal and an assist to pace the Maple Leafs, while James van Riemsdyk added two assists. Dion Phaneuf, Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov also scored one apiece for Toronto. Davis Drewiske replied for the Canadiens. The Maple Leafs entered the game with the NHL's third best penalty-killing until at 87.2 percent and once again held the opposition's power play off the board. Montreal was 0-for-4 and it was the sixth straight game the Leafs have kept the opposing power play goal-less. They are 22-for-22 over that span. The victory for Toronto goalie James Reimer improved his record to 16-5-5. Reimer, who works out with Price in the offseason, knows he won't have many easy battles against one of the best stoppers in the NHL. Strangely enough, Reimer said getting such a big lead early has a down side and often teams get lazy and careless. That was not the case with the Maple Leafs, who seemed to get stronger as the game wore on. While the Canadiens held a territorial edge in the first period, outshooting the Maple Leafs 13-5, Toronto led 4-1 after 20 minutes. Bozak opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs via the power play 1:59 into the game on a nifty tic-tac-toe passing play with linemates Kessel and van Riemsdyk drawing assists. Komarov, who is best known for his defensive play and hard hitting, made it 2-0 at 8:08 when he directed a pass to the front of the Montreal net that somehow found Price's five-hole and barely crawled over the goal line. Price was pulled after McClement scored his seventh of the season two minutes later. Drewiske scored Montreal's only goal of the game at 13:08 on a quick snap shot from the slot after taking a pass from rookie Brendan Gallagher. The Canadiens came close to pulling to within a goal two minutes later, but defenseman Andrei Markov's floater from the left point hit the far post. After that it was all Toronto, with Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf notching his eighth of the season at 17:06 of the first before Kessel scored his 15th just 4:42 into the second period. While there was plenty of talk about the Maple Leafs seeking an upgrade in goal at the trade deadline, that did not happen and Toronto seems content to go with Reimer as their No. 1 as it marches toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2004. Carlyle was pleased with what he saw from his stopper.

NY Rangers v NY Islanders 1-0 - The New York Rangers turned one of the New York Islanders' few defensive mistakes into two points. Defenseman Dan Girardi found a hole in the Islanders' defense, took a pass from Derick Brassard and snapped a quick shot from the lower right circle past Evgeni Nabokov and into the far corner at 3:11 of OT for a 1-0 victory at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Saturday. Girardi, who came into the game with just one goal this season, took advantage of a missed coverage by the Islanders' Josh Bailey to wind up alone. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 29 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season and the 44th of his career as the Rangers finished the season series against the Islanders with a 3-0-1 record. Nabokov made 19 saves in the first game between the teams to end regulation without a goal being scored since Dec. 9, 1989. The single point keeps the Islanders in seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings with 47 points, one more than the Rangers, who have a game in hand. The ninth-place Winnipeg Jets have 44 points and have also played one more game than the Rangers. It was arguably the biggest game between the teams since 1993, when a late-season overtime win by the Islanders essentially knocked the Rangers out of the playoffs and put the Islanders in. The sold-out Nassau Coliseum was rocking all night. There were 18 shots, 19 hits but no penalties or goals in the first period. The Islanders had 10 of the shots and came up with the best opportunity late in the period when Matt Moulson was alone in the slot. But Moulson didn't get all of his shot, and Lundqvist gloved the knuckling puck and held on. The Rangers dominated the first half of the second period, but Nabokov came up big at 2:35 when he got his right pad down to deny Darroll Powe's rebound try. The Rangers nearly scored three minutes later when Derek Stepan was able to deflect Ryan Callahan's power-play shot from the right circle through Nabokov's pads, but the puck hit the post and stayed out. The latter stages of the period belonged to the Islanders, who had a near-miss of their own near the 17-minute mark when Casey Cizikas picked up a rebound in the lower left circle and beat Lundqvist, but hit the inside of the far post. Lundqvist also got his pad down to deny Thomas Hickey, then made his best stop of the period with two minutes left when he stopped Kyle Okposo's blast from the slot after the Rangers' defensive coverage broke down. The Islanders came close again 1:45 into the third period when Colin McDonald's shot from the right circle beat Lundqvist but plinked off the crossbar. They had another chance after killing off the Rangers' third power play when Ryan McDonagh turned over the puck in his own zone, but Lundqvist stopped John Tavares and Brad Boyes in a five-second span. Lundqvist also used his catching glove to stop Tavares' rocket from the right circle 7:30 into the period. Okposo gave the Rangers a late power play when he was called for slashing at the 19-minute mark, but the Islanders killed the first minute to get into overtime and negated the second minute while playing 3-on-4.

Tampa Bay v Washington 5-6 - The Washington Capitals are so hot that they can blow a four-goal lead and still win. Mike Green's power-play goal 2:59 into overtime gave the Capitals their seventh consecutive victory, a 6-5 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, but not before Washington failed to hold a 5-1 lead. Vincent Lecavalier was called for slashing Marcus Johansson 1:53 into overtime, and the Capitals' League-leading power play worked the puck until Green was able to tee up a shot from the top of the right circle and beat Mathieu Garon for the win. The overtime goal prevented the Capitals from becoming the first team this season to lose after leading a game by four goals. More important for the Capitals was that the victory extended their Southeast Division lead over the second-place Winnipeg Jets to four points. The Capitals have 48 points to the Jets' 44; each team has six games to play. The Capitals started out like a team on fire, outshooting the Lightning 20-6 in the opening period and getting goals by Troy Brouwer, Jack Hillen and Alex Ovechkin in a span of less than six minutes late in the period to take a 3-0 lead to the dressing room. Ovechkin outraced the Lightning for a loose puck and hit a wide-open net at 19:22 after Ben Bishop overcommitted himself for his League-leading 27th goal. Brouwer's goal came on the last of Washington's four first-period power plays, and Lightning forward Martin St. Louis said playing down a man for so long was the main reason for the slow start. Jason Chimera was left all alone and beat Garon, who replaced Bishop, at 2:41 of the second period for a 4-0 lead. Richard Panik got Tampa Bay on the board at 3:55, but Eric Fehr restored Washington's four-goal lead at 5:26. But the rest of the period belonged to the Lightning, which put 21 shots on Braden Holtby and made it 5-2 at 18:47 on a goal by St. Louis. Tampa Bay continued to control play in the third period, and goals by Panik and St. Louis made it 5-4 with 11:43 left in regulation. The Lightning continued to press and tied the game with 2:35 left in regulation when Teddy Purcell beat Holtby for his 11th of the season. The full house at Verizon Center booed the home team when the horn sounded to end regulation.

Boston v Carolina 2-4 - When your success is measured in wins and losses, and you've lost 14 out of 15, it's not easy to keep believing. It might seem silly to suggest the Carolina Hurricanes have kept the faith, but after their 4-2 win against the Boston Bruins at PNC Arena on Saturday, you could hear it in the players' voices. The 1-13-1 skid that has cost them any realistic hope of making the playoffs left them all relieved, and committed to the hard-working style that has left them feeling deserving of a better fate. For the past couple weeks, the Hurricanes have routinely started strong, often outshooting their opponents decisively in the first period. From there, Carolina's fortunes have often turned. The pucks haven't gone in, and opposition goals have often come in bunches, leaving the Hurricanes to deal with the seven-game losing streak that was snapped Saturday. One exception to the trend came Monday, when Carolina goaltender Justin Peters was chased after giving up two goals on Boston's first four shots. That 6-2 loss left Peters searching for redemption. While Peters needed a steady performance, he turned a spectacular moment in the second period. With the score tied 1-1 and the Bruins on a 5-on-3 power play, Jaromir Jagr took a pass from David Krejci across the goal mouth for what appeared to be a certain go-ahead goal. He lifted a wrister toward an open net, only to have Peters sprawl to his left to glove the shot. Boston defenseman Matt Bartkowski put the Bruins up 1-0 in the first period with his first NHL goal, a shot that went through a Milan Lucic screen. Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner answered in the final minute of the period with a shot he banked off the back side of Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask. The Hurricanes gained momentum from killing off Boston's two-man advantage in the second period, and Jiri Tlusty staked them to a lead a few minutes later. Then Tyler Seguin tied the game, beating Peters on a breakaway. That provided the backdrop for Corvo's go-ahead goal, a snap shot on the receiving end of a nice pass from Marc-Andre Bergeron. During most nights of the Hurricanes' slide, that tie-breaking goal would have gone to the opponent. This time, there was relief all around. The Bruins’ loss came with a temporary cost. They could have clinched a playoff berth with one point. Despite holding down the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference, Boston coach Claude Julien is looking for something more from his team after losing two in a row. For at least one night, Carolina gets to walk away feeling better. At 17-22-2, the Hurricanes are playing mostly for their identity as the final weeks tick off the schedule.

Pittsburgh v Florida 3-1 - Even without their two superstars, the Pittsburgh Penguins continued their march Saturday toward clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Kris Letang and Brenden Morrow scored to give the Penguins a 2-0 first-period lead, and they held on for a 3-1 victory against the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center. Morrow added an empty-net goal with 20.5 seconds left. Evgeni Malkin joined Sidney Crosby on the sidelines Saturday when he was a late scratch with an upper-body injury. The Penguins had been 14-4 without either Malkin or Crosby, but this was the first time this season both were missing. Pittsburgh also was playing without defenseman Paul Martin (hand) and left wing James Neal (concussion). The victory increased Pittsburgh's lead atop the Eastern Conference to seven points over the Montreal Canadiens, who lost against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Boston Bruins, who missed a chance to pass Montreal when they lost against the Carolina Hurricanes, are eight points behind the Penguins. According to STATS, Inc., the Penguins are 24-13-5 since 2008 when playing without both Crosby and Malkin. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 25 shots for Pittsburgh. He preserved the lead by stopping Tomas Fleischmann on a partial breakaway in the final minute before Morrow's empty-net goal. Fleischmann's shot came almost from the same spot from where he beat Fleury for the game-winner in Florida's 6-4 victory against the Penguins at BB&T Center on Feb. 26. Rookie Beau Bennett, who moved up to a line with Morrow and Pascal Dupuis in Malkin's absence, had two assists for the first multi-point game of his NHL career. The Penguins have won four in a row since a two-game losing streak followed their 15-game winning streak in March. They are now 17-0 when leading after two periods. The Penguins allowed four power-play goals in their loss at Florida on Feb. 26, but killed off all four Panthers' power plays Saturday. Two of those came in the final 10:15 of regulation. It was a good bounce-back effort for the Penguins' penalty-killing unit, which gave up three power-play goals during a 6-3 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. Scottie Upshall scored for the Panthers, who have the fewest points in the NHL with 32. Jacob Markstrom, making his eighth start in the past nine games, made 19 saves. He was pulled from his previous start after allowing six goals on 23 shots in a 7-2 loss against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. Defenseman Mike Weaver returned to the Florida lineup after missing 20 games because of a lower-body injury. The Panthers, however, lost fellow defenseman Filip Kuba to a lower-body injury in the third period. Dineen said there was a "little bit of a concern" about Kuba, who didn't play in the final 15:24 of the game. Letang, who returned to action Thursday after missing the previous six games with a toe injury, opened the scoring at 14:49 when his slap shot from the blue line got through traffic and beat Markstrom to the stick side. Morrow, acquired in a trade with the Dallas Stars on March 24, scored his second goal in a Penguins' uniform at 18:27 after a strong individual effort by Bennett. Bennett skated around the Florida defense and behind the net before sending a pass across the crease to Morrow. The puck went behind the net when Morrow couldn't control the pass, but he banked it off Markstrom's backside. Upshall made it 2-1 at 4:10 of the second when he backhanded his own rebound. The goal came less than 15 seconds after Panthers defenseman Brian Campbell hit the post with a wrist shot from the high slot. The loss mathematically eliminated Florida from playoff contention. The Panthers, who won their first division title last season, can finish with no more than 46 points. The New York Rangers currently stand eighth in the Eastern Conference with 46 points and would win a tiebreaker with the Panthers because of a higher victory total, New York has 21, while the Panthers currently have 13.

Columbus v Minnesota 3-2 - There's little question which team was the better one in Saturday's game between the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets. Unfortunately for the home team, there's no question who was the best player. Minnesota had Grade-A scoring chances all night long, but beat Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky only twice on 41 shots as the Blue Jackets beat the Wild 3-2 in a shootout at Xcel Energy Center. Mark Letestu and Cam Atkinson scored against Niklas Backstrom in the tiebreaker, while Bobrovsky stopped Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu to give the Blue Jackets the extra point and a successful start to a six-game road trip. The Blue Jackets (19-16-7) have 45 points, the same as the eighth-place Dallas Stars and ninth-place Detroit Red Wings, both of whom have a game in hand in the battle for playoff berths in the Western Conference. The loss was Minnesota's third straight, all at home, though the single point gives the seventh-place Wild 47 and a two-point lead on the three teams behind them. Backstrom made 20 saves through 65 minutes, but was beaten easily by Letestu and Atkinson in the tiebreaker. Bobrovsky was outstanding all night long, making a number of fantastic saves including several in the game's opening 20 minutes. The Wild outshot the Jackets 15-6 in the first period, but could only score once. Even the first goal that beat Bobrovsky went off a Columbus skate, Brett Clark's shot was tipped by Pierre-Marc Bouchard in front and Bobrovsky made the save, but the rebound came out to the right post and was kicked into the net by Johnson at 15:59. The goal snapped Minnesota's scoreless streak at 137:24. Columbus controlled play for a six-minute stretch to start the second period and got goals by Vinny Prospal and Fedor Tyutin 2:25 apart, supplying enough offense to get the game to overtime. Columbus led 2-1 until the Wild's Jason Pominville slammed home a rebound with 3:15 left in regulation, getting Minnesota a huge point in the standings. An 0-3-0 homestand likely would have been devastating to the team's confidence as it heads out on a three-game trip of its own starting Monday in Calgary. Both teams played all but 17 seconds of the contest down a forward. On the game's first shift, Wild winger Charlie Coyle barreled over Jackets forward Artem Anisimov near the half wall in the Columbus zone. Brandon Dubinsky came to Anisimov's aid, instigating a fight with Coyle. Afterwards, the officials met near the penalty box and assessed Coyle a match penalty for contact to the head. Anisimov left the ice and did not return, suffering an upper-body injury. Columbus skated with a three-minute power play after Dubinsky's instigator expired, but the Jackets were without him for virtually the entire first period as he also served five for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct. Dubinsky also assisted on both goals for Columbus, including a spin-o-rama pass from behind the net to Prospal in the slot, who hammered home a one-timer to tie the game at 3:53 of the second. Tyutin's shot from the top of the left circle beat Backstrom after the Jackets kept the Wild's third line hemmed in its own zone for 1:11. Yeo saw the hit in question much differently than the officials, and said he believed his team would come away from the scrap with a two-minute power play. Instead, his team was down its first line right wing all night just a day after Yeo had reshuffled his team's lines in practice to try and create more scoring chances. After traveling to face the Colorado Avalanche on Monday, the Jackets head to the west coast for a critical stretch against the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars, the latter three are all within five points of the Jackets in the standings. Minnesota has winnable games against the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, both non-contending teams, before a test in San Jose on Thursday. The fifth-place Sharks lead the Wild by two points.

San Jose v Dallas 1-2 - A fast start and a big performance by their backup goaltender were enough to move the Dallas Stars into the final playoff berth in the Western Conference. Eric Nystrom and rookie Alex Chiasson gave Dallas a two-goal lead seven minutes into the game and Richard Bachman made 31 saves as the Stars earned their fifth straight victory by beating the San Jose Sharks 2-1 at American Airlines Center on Saturday night. The victory gives the Stars 45 points, the same as the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets. Dallas has more non-overtime victories than the Red Wings and has played one fewer game than the Blue Jackets. The Stars, who returned home after a 5-2 road victory against the Nashville Predators on Friday, made the most of an early burst of energy before hanging on. San Jose outshot Dallas 32-19, including 13-5 in the third period, but Brent Burns had the lone goal for San Jose, scoring off a rebound with the Sharks on the power play at 5:56 of the final period. Nystrom gave Dallas an early lead by scoring his seventh of the season from the left circle 1:57 into the game. Nystrom beat Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi, who made his 19th straight start, low on the glove side with a wrister that glanced off the far post before landing in the back of the net. Chiasson then lit the lamp for the Stars at 7:00, redirecting a long-range shot by Ray Whitney into the net for his sixth goal in six games since being called up from the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League last week. Dallas was on the power play for the second time in the game after San Jose's Raffi Torres had been whistled for interference at 6:38. Chiasson then deflected Whitney's blast, sending it first off the left post before going in to make it 2-0. Bachman started and won for the second time in as many nights. He has stopped 79 of 82 shots since coming on for starter Kari Lehtonen, who suffered a groin injury late in the first period of a 5-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. The Stars earned their third power play of the night at 7:18 of the second when Martin Havlat was guilty of high-sticking Dallas defenseman Alex Goligoski. Thirty-two seconds later, Loui Eriksson looked to make it a 3-0 game for Dallas, attempting to slip a 12-foot backhander inside the right post only to be foiled by Niemi's glove. San Jose finally went on the power play for the first time at 10:48 when Stephane Robidas was called for hooking. The Sharks generated several quality chances, forcing Bachman to come up with three huge saves within a nine-second span. Bachman stopped Joe Thornton's long wrister with a pad save at 11:42, then denied Joe Pavelski and finished the impressive sequence by stopping a 12-foot backhander by Patrick Marleau off a rebound before covering the puck. The teams combined for just 13 shots in the second period and Dallas held its 2-0 advantage after 40 minutes of play. At 3:14 of the third, Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle lost possession near the San Jose blue line, but Niemi made a pad save on a long wrister by Ryan Garbutt to keep it 2-0. San Jose finally got on the board when Burns scored off a power-play rebound. Bachman denied Galiardi's initial shot, but the ensuing rebound glanced off the right skate of Eriksson and found its way to Burns, who backhanded it into the net for his seventh of the season. Niemi left the ice with 60 seconds remaining in regulation and the Sharks spent most of that time in the Dallas zone but couldn't beat Bachman. Marleau had a couple of chances, but Bachman stopped his wrister with four seconds left and another chance went wide. The Stars appeared to be ready to throw in the towel when they dealt three veterans before the NHL Trade Deadline. Instead, they've gone on a run that has them in the top eight with two weeks remaining in the season.

Calgary v Edmonton 4-1 - The Calgary Flames know they won't be going to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so they're having fun playing the role of spoiler. One night after costing the Phoenix Coyotes a valuable point with an overtime victory, the Flames likely ended the playoff hopes of their biggest rival. 2011 first-round pick Sven Baertschi had a goal and an assist and rookie Max Reinhart scored his first NHL goal as the Flames beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 at Rexall Place on Saturday. Not only did beating their provincial rivals in their own building give the Flames a measure of revenge for an 8-2 shellacking by the Oilers at Scotiabank Saddledome 10 days ago, it also may have put the final nail in Edmonton's already-slim playoff hopes. The Oilers lost their fifth game in a row and remained six points out of the final playoff berth in the Western Conference with seven games remaining. They were serenaded by boos in the final minute from the unhappy sellout crowd. Mikael Backlund scored 26 seconds into the game for the Flames, and Dennis Wideman put them ahead to stay with a power-play goal 1:55 into the second period. Lennart Petrell celebrated his 29th birthday by scoring 78 seconds after Backlund's game-opening goal, pulling the Oilers into a 1-1 tie after one period. Backlund fired a wrister from the slot that hit both posts and went just over the goal line on the game's first shift, but Petrell's snap shot quickly got the Oilers even. Wideman slammed Jackman's rebound past Nikolai Khabibulin with five seconds remaining on a hooking call against Magnus Paajarvi, the third straight penalty against Edmonton. Baertschi's unassisted goal at 5:13 following a turnover by Ryan Smyth was a wrister from the slot that appeared to fool Khabibulin. It was Baertschi’s first goal in the NHL since March, 15, 2012. Reinhart, the son of former Flames defenseman Paul Reinhart, rocketed a shot from the left of the slot into the far top corner with 9:41 left in regulation after Jiri Hudler forced Justin Schultz into a turnover and Jackman touched the puck to him. Joey MacDonald, who got the start for the second night in a row, made 28 saves. He has been in goal for each of Calgary's past four victories.

Anaheim v Los Angeles 1-2 - Jonathan Quick's second-period misplay cost him a goal, but he was flawless while protecting a one-goal lead in the third period as the Los Angeles Kings beat the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 at Staples Center on Saturday night. Quick stopped Andrew Cogliano on the doorstep late in the second period, shortly before Mike Richards' power-play goal with 58 seconds left in the second that eventually stood as the game winner. Quick denied Matt Beleskey with his glove in the third, one of seven saves he made in the first seven minutes of the final period. Doughty also seems to be in groove, he scored a goal, assisted on Richards' tally and has six points in the past six games. The Kings moved within seven points behind the Ducks in the Pacific Division with six games remaining after another entertaining edition of the local series, which Los Angeles evened at 2-2. There were two breakaways, one shorthanded goal, one disallowed goal, Robyn Regehr's hit on Corey Perry and some fine goaltending. Quick finished with 19 saves to outduel Viktor Fasth, who made great stops on Dustin Brown and Kyle Clifford in the third period. L.A. now takes a two-day break with a 4-1-1 record in the past six games of its condensed schedule. L.A. yanked the momentum back late in the second and took a 2-1 lead into the third by converting on its fourth power play when Richards cranked a slap shot from the left circle with Brown screening Fasth at 19:02. Anaheim's penalty-killing unit actually provided the spark the Ducks needed to get going. With Daniel Winnik serving a slashing penalty early in the second period, Ryan Getzlaf blocked Jake Muzzin's shot and raced out to the puck first, getting there before Quick, who inexplicably came out above the left circle. Getzlaf easily put it in the open net at 3:07 for his fourth career shorthanded goal and his 14th goal this season. Anaheim came off a much-needed two days off but Los Angeles came out with more energy and played most of the opening period in the Ducks' end. It capitalized on Doughty's point shot that hit at least one Anaheim stick on its way to the net at 10:10. Trevor Lewis drove the length of the ice and had his shot stopped before Jarret Stoll grabbed the puck and L.A. worked it around up top. The Ducks were outshot, 6-1, in the first 20 minutes, the fewest shots the Kings have allowed in a period this season. L.A. typically closed well, too, and improved to 103-1-11 in its past 115 games when leading after two periods.