Detroit @ New Jersey 3-1 - Without several key players in the lineup, the Detroit Red Wings stifled the New Jersey Devils with an impressive defensive display on the way to a 3-1 victory Friday at Prudential Center. Johan Franzen and Tomas Tatar scored in the third period to snap a 1-1 tie, and Jonas Gustavsson needed 10 saves to give the Red Wings their fifth win in six games. The Devils were held to their lowest shot total of the season (11), tying a franchise record for fewest in a game. The Devils had 11 shots in a 3-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 27, 2001. Franzen, who extended his point streak to six games (three goals, five assists), collected a pass from Gustav Nyquist and deposited his ninth of the season to give Detroit its first lead with 7:20 remaining. Tatar scored an unassisted power-play goal with 1:03 to go. Tatar received his chance after Devils goalie Cory Schneider (18 saves) was whistled for an illegal play outside the trapezoid (Rule 1.8) at 18:52. The faceoff was won by Devils forward Dainius Zubrus, but a giveaway in the New Jersey end led to Tatar's shot from between the circles that beat Schneider high to the glove side. Schneider pleaded his case with the referee after getting called for the penalty and was noticeably upset after allowing the goal. He felt he made a successful clearing attempt after the puck entered the area behind the net. The Red Wings were playing without Darren Helm (shoulder), captain Henrik Zetterberg (back), center Pavel Datsyuk (concussion) and defenseman Danny DeKeyser (shoulder). Schneider made seven saves in the second, a period dominated by the Red Wings. He stopped a quick sequence of four shots by Todd Bertuzzi and Nyquist with Detroit on the power play. When defenseman Jon Merrill fell down to give the Red Wings an odd-man rush, Schneider made a stick save against Daniel Cleary at 17:29. The Red Wings' persistence paid off late in the second when Joakim Andersson scored his first goal in 15 games to pull the visitors into a 1-1 tie. Drew Miller collected a pass from Andersson off the end wall, and after putting a shot on Schneider at the right post, Andersson cleaned up the rebound at 19:24. Gustavsson's best save came 3:38 into the second period with the Devils holding a 1-0 lead. That's when Adam Henrique threw the puck in front from the right post and hit Gustavsson in the back. With the puck in the air behind him, the 6-foot-3 goalie reached back with his left arm and had the presence of mind to swat it away with his glove. The Devils opened a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Andy Greene in the first period. After collecting the puck behind his net, the defenseman skated the length of the ice before dishing to Patrik Elias on left wing after crossing the Red Wings blue line. Greene took a return pass from Elias in the slot and redirected his fourth of the season off the left arm of Gustavsson at 13:43. Bertuzzi, who played on the top line with Franzen and Nyquist, returned to the lineup after missing the previous six games with an upper-body injury. The Devils have five players on injured reserve: forwards Ryan Carter (leg), Stephen Gionta (ankle) and Ryane Clowe (head), defenseman Adam Larsson (lower body) and captain Bryce Salvador (non-displaced stress fracture in foot).
San Jose @ Carolina 3-5 - The Hurricanes trailed 2-0 midway through the game before storming back during an action-packed third period. Rookie forward Elias Lindholm scored on a deflection with six minutes left in regulation to break a 3-3 tie. The Sharks opened the scoring at 7:09 after Tommy Wingels set a screen in front of Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward and redirected Jason Demers' shot into the net. San Jose made it 2-0 at 16:31 when Marc-Edouard Vlasic's wrist shot from the left-wing boards slipped between Ward's pads. But defenseman Jay Harrison got the Hurricanes on the board at 11:36 of the second period, sending a wrister that hit the end boards and caromed off the skate of Sharks goaltender Alex Stalock's before sliding into the net. Carolina tied the game at 4:54 of the third period on Riley Nash's redirection in the slot, and suddenly it was a new game. Less than two minutes later, Jordan Staal gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead when he poked in a loose puck at the right post that Stalock initially thought he had covered with his glove. San Jose defenseman Justin Braun made it 3-3 at 9:35, beating Ward with a shot from just inside the blue line. That's when Lindholm took center stage. After assisting on the two previous goals, Lindholm, the fifth player taken in the 2013 NHL Draft, got position in the slot and deflected Andrej Sekera's shot past Stalock at 14:00 to give Carolina a 4-3 lead. It was the Swedish rookie's first multi-point game. Eric Staal's empty-netter sealed the victory, which moved the Hurricanes into second place in the Metropolitan Division. Carolina has 31 points, one more than the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals; however, both teams have games in hand on the Hurricanes.
Minnesota @ Columbus 0-4 - The Wild (17-9-5) were looking for a third straight win after defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 Thursday, but sloppiness with the puck contributed to two Blue Jackets goals. Jenner made it 3-0 with a rising shot from the left wing that went over the glove of Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom at 4:38 of the third period. It was the rookie's third goal, first since scoring twice at the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 17. Foligno's behind the back pass set up Umberger at 9:05 following a turnover created by Ryan Johansen, who had two assists. Atkinson took a stretch pass from Brandon Dubinsky in transition and sent a snap shot from the top of the right circle at 1:17 of the second period that went over the right shoulder of Backstrom, who got the start after Josh Harding won against the Blackhawks. Foligno scored his eighth, two more than he had in 45 games last season, on the power play at 5:40 when he went to the backhand at the crease to put in a rebound of a Johansen shot. A critical juncture after the Blue Jackets got in front was killing a two-man disadvantage for 72 seconds to reach midpoint of the second period. The Wild did not have a shot during the 5-on-3 but immediately into the second leg of the power play McElhinney went side-to-side to deny Jason Pominville then made a save on Zach Parise.
No comments:
Post a Comment