Winnipeg @ Boston 1-4 - Torey Krug sent the Boston Bruins off on their three-game California road trip in style Saturday. The defenseman snapped an 11-game goal drought with two and set a career-high with three points in the Bruins' 4-1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets at TD Garden. Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien put on a skating display prior to scoring first 10:54 into the game. After he stole a Krug pass at the red line, Byfuglien gained the zone and landed a shot on Rask. Byfuglien got the rebound, skated around the net, and rifled the puck past the goalie from the top of the left circle. Krug bounced back, first with an assist on the game-tying goal. At the end of a shift, Gregory Campbell won a battle down low and fed Paille for a wraparound attempt Pavelec blocked. The rebound scooted to Krug at the left circle, and he fed the puck across to Paille for a one-timer at 14:06. Krug scored the next two. At 3:08 of the second period, he dragged the puck off the left wall and fired a shot through a Florek screen past Pavelec for a 2-1 lead. Krug put the Bruins ahead 3-1 with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that went off Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Trouba's stick before it landed in the back of the net at 7:18. Reilly Smith extended the Bruins' lead to 4-1 at 9:59 of the third period. Brad Marchand's shot from the right dot trickled through Pavelec, and Smith tapped it in from behind the goaltender.
New Jersey @ Buffalo 1-2 - Matt D'Agostini's power-play goal with 8:11 remaining in the third period gave the Buffalo Sabres a 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at First Niagara Center on Saturday. D'Agostini, claimed off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 27, scored his first goal of the season when he put a loose puck past Devils goalie Cory Schneider. The Devils had a chance to get on the board first in the second period Saturday, but Sabres goalie Ryan Miller stopped a breakaway by Adam Henrique with 4:37 left. The Sabres took a 1-0 lead when Matt Moulson scored with 31 seconds to go in the second period. The power-play goal came when forward Tyler Ennis connected with Moulson on a pass in front of the net. Marcus Foligno was tied up with a defender, and Moulson used the distraction to put a loose puck over Schneider's shoulder for his 14th goal of the season. The Devils had a goal disallowed at 7:02 of the third period because of an injury stoppage after Buffalo's Tyler Myers hit New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus with an illegal check to the head that left Zubrus down on the ice. Devils forward Michael Ryder put the puck in the net, but the officials ruled they blew the whistle before that happened. With Linus Omark already serving a too-many-men penalty, the Devils tied the game on the 5-on-3 power play when Ryder put a loose puck past Miller at 7:46. The Devils squeezed in on the Sabres defense and passes from forward Travis Zajac and defenseman Marek Zidlicky helped set up Ryder's 13th of the season. D'Agostini's game-winning power play happened because Zubrus took an interference penalty on Myers at 10:03 of the third.
NY Rangers @ Toronto 7-1 - Any jubilation the Toronto Maple Leafs might have felt after winning the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic earlier in the week was gone long before the final buzzer Saturday night. So was any frustration the New York Rangers might have felt after a poor effort 24 hours earlier. Toronto returned home after winning the NHL's signature regular-season game New Year's Day but was dominated in a 7-1 loss to the New York Rangers at Air Canada Centre. Dominic Moore scored twice and Cam Talbot stopped 25 shots for New York, which rebounded with its biggest offensive night of the season after a 5-2 road loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday. The Rangers led 5-0 and knocked starting goaltender Jonathan Bernier from the game before the Maple Leafs finally got on the scoreboard late in the second period on a goal by Joffrey Lupul. New York added third-period goals by Brad Richards and Brian Boyle, and finished with a 50-26 margin in shots on goal and an 85-53 margin in attempts. Every Rangers skater had at least one shot on goal; 15 had at least one point. Talbot started after Henrik Lundqvist allowed five goals in the loss to the Penguins the night before. New York is 2-0-0 against Toronto this season. The Rangers are 6-1-0 in the past seven games between the teams and 5-1-0 in their past six visits to Air Canada Centre, where the full house vented its unhappiness with the home team early and often. After the loss in Pittsburgh 24 hours earlier, New York came out flying from the opening faceoff. The Rangers tested Bernier on the first shift when Chris Kreider blew past the defense and came in alone. Kreider swept across the top of the crease, but Bernier laid out to stop his shot. The Rangers continued to carry the play and were rewarded at 6:57, when Dan Girardi's right-point wrister floated through traffic before Carl Hagelin tipped it past Bernier for a 1-0 lead. Hagelin's 10th of the season came on the return rush after Talbot denied Peter Holland on a wide-open rebound attempt. Bernier made a handful of good stops to keep the lead at one goal, but the Rangers continued to win puck battles all over the ice and took advantage of a misplay by the goaltender to make it 2-0 at 15:57. Moore carried down the left side and took a bad-angle shot from the left circle that slid through Bernier's five-hole into the net. The period finished with the Rangers leading 2-0 on the scoreboard, 18-7 in shots on goal and 34-13 in attempted shots. New York continued to dominate play in the second period, and that paid off in a third goal at 10:39. With Mats Zuccarello going to the net and occupying two defenders, Marc Staal fed a wide-open Benoit Pouliot for an easy slam-dunk past a defenseless Bernier. Kreider made it 4-0 exactly four minutes later when he succeeded on almost the same play on which he failed to capitalize in the first period. The forward blew past Cody Franson down the left side, cut in front and went forehand-to-backhand before sliding the puck past Bernier for his 11th. Moore ended Bernier's night at 16:35 with his second unassisted goal of the game. He strolled down the right side, cut past defenseman Jake Gardiner on his way to the net, and beat Bernier high to the far side for his third goal of the season. James Reimer replaced Bernier, who made 27 saves, and Lupul ended Talbot's shutout bid 67 seconds later when he zipped a shot from near the right faceoff dot that caught the top corner on the short side for his 12th of the season. Richards added a goal 9:03 into the third period, and Boyle tipped home Michael Del Zotto's power-play shot with 3:56 remaining. Toronto lost forward David Clarkson to a left-foot injury after he got hit with a shot from Del Zotto, and defenseman Jonas Gunnarsson to an upper-body injury following a hit from Hagelin.
Ottawa @ Montreal 4-3 OT - The Senators pounced on the Montreal Canadiens early, squandered a 3-1 third-period lead, then won 4-3 in overtime on a power-play goal by Clarke MacArthur at Bell Centre, establishing a season high with their fourth straight win. The Senators haven't needed their captain to embark on this winning streak; Jason Spezza sat out a fourth straight game due to a hip flexor injury. Spezza is expected to play in Ottawa's next game Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver. The game nearly ended poorly for the Senators, with a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes vanishing within the first five minutes of the third period on Canadiens goals by Daniel Briere and Brian Gionta. But the Senators were able to settle down and finish the period strong, with Erik Condra driving the net and forcing Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban to take a hooking penalty with 18.4 seconds to play in regulation that led to MacArthur's power play winner in overtime. Senators rookie Mark Stone scored his first NHL goal at 13:50 of the first period, beating Canadiens goaltender Carey Price with a quick backhand move on a breakaway off an assist from Matt Kassian, the first of his NHL career. Kassian joked on Twitter after the game that he had to play "Rock, Paper, Scissors" with Stone for the puck. Briere began the game on Montreal's fourth line but was moved up to left wing on a line with Gionta and Tomas Plekanec to start the second period, a trio that had played together earlier in the season. The move paid off in the third, with Plekanec drawing assists on Briere's and Gionta's goals. Briere had gone 10 games without a point and Gionta 13 games without a goal prior to Saturday. Montreal defenseman Douglas Murray, another offseason free agent signing, had two assists for his first points as a Canadien. He had been on the ice for one Montreal goal in 22 games prior to Saturday. Down 3-1 entering the third period, the Canadiens got going quickly on a nifty goal by Briere at 1:57. With a puck battle going on behind the goal line, Briere set himself up to Anderson's right. Plekanec found him there, and Briere quickly lifted the puck under the crossbar from a sharp angle for his seventh of the season to cut the Senators lead to 3-2. The revamped line struck again less than three minutes later when Plekanec took a shot from the point that handcuffed Anderson and landed behind him in the crease. Gionta jumped in and shoveled it over the goal line at 4:46 for his sixth of the season. The Senators pounced on the Canadiens off the opening faceoff, with Colin Greening scoring his fourth of the season 13 seconds into the game, converting a feed out of the corner from Condra. Briere tied the game at 11:32 with his sixth of the season, taking a feed from Travis Moen and converting his own rebound in front. The Senators regained their lead when Stone scored at 13:50, and Condra made it 3-1 just 14 seconds later by banking a centering pass off the skate of Montreal defenseman Francis Bouillon and past Price for his fourth of the season.
Nashville @ Florida 4-5 SO - Captain Ed Jovanovski provided inspiration for the Florida Panthers by making his season debut. Tomas Kopecky provided the heroics in the shootout. Kopecky scored in the sixth round to give the Panthers a 5-4 win against the Nashville Predators on Saturday at BB&T Center after they squandered a 4-2 lead in the last 5:08 of regulation. After Tim Thomas stopped Gabriel Bourque in the first half of the sixth round, Kopecky ended the game with a quick shot that beat Marek Mazanec to the glove side. It was the second shootout winner in three weeks for Kopecky, who scored with the same move in the 10th round to give Florida a 3-2 victory against the Washington Capitals on Dec. 13. Jonathan Huberdeau also scored in the shootout for the Panthers. David Legwand scored for the Predators. Florida evened its shootout record at 5-5; Nashville is 0-4. The goal by Legwand is the only one in 16 attempts for the Predators, who have lost their past two in shootouts and have a seven-game shootout losing streak dating to last season. Jovanovski returned after missing 83 games over the past two seasons and undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in April. The defenseman got 15:54 of ice time and had a plus-3 rating along with partner Alex Petrovic, who left the game with an injury early in the third period and did not return. Brad Boyes and Marcel Goc each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, and rookie Aleksander Barkov extended his point streak to five games with two assists. Barkov, the second pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, has a goal and five assists during the streak, and 11 points in his past 11 games. Kopecky and Sean Bergenheim scored in regulation for the Panthers, who went 2-2-1 during their homestand and are headed for a three-game road trip against the Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils. Huberdeau had two assists, and Thomas, making his second consecutive start after missing nine games with a lower-body injury, made 38 saves in 65 minutes. Jones, the fourth player taken in the 2013 draft, scored his fourth goal of the season but his first in 20 games. It came in the third period after his giveaway led to a Florida goal earlier in the period. Fisher has four goals and five assists during a four-game point streak. Mazanec made his fourth consecutive start and stopped 25 shots. Florida seemed headed for a comfortable victory before Jones made it 4-3 at 14:52 of the third period with a wrist shot from the high slot that beat Thomas high to the stick side. Gaustad tied it with 48 seconds left after Mazanec was pulled for an extra attacker. He had an easy tap-in after Shea Weber's shot from the point was stopped and bounced into the crease behind Thomas. Bergenheim broke a 2-2 tie at 17:29 of the second period off a feed from Barkov. After Bergenheim misfired on a one-timer off a Boyes pass across the net, Barkov simply tapped the puck back to him. Bergenheim didn't miss his second chance, firing a low shot to the far side. Goc made it 4-2 at 1:34 of the third after Huberdeau picked off an errant pass from Jones behind the Nashville net and fed the puck in front to Goc for a one-timer. Barkov set up the goal by Boyes, which tied the game 1-1 at 11:03 of the first period. Barkov and Boyes worked a pretty give-and-go before Barkov shot from close range. Mazanec made the save, but Boyes poked home a loose puck at his feet while Barkov was tangled with Jones. Kopecky gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead at 17:56 after Goc's shot hit the outside of the net from a sharp angle and the puck bounced off the skate of Mattias Ekholm and went to the front of the net. Kopecky poked the puck past an unsuspecting Mazanec. Smith opened the scoring 6:42 into the game with his sixth goal in seven games. He grabbed a loose puck in a crowd in front of the net and beat Thomas.
Carolina @ NY Islanders 3-2 - The Hurricanes turned eight minutes of second-period mistakes by the New York Islanders into three goals. Anton Khudobin did the rest. The best player during the scoreless first period was Khudobin, who stopped all 10 shots he faced. He robbed Ryan Strome on a rebound try midway through the period, then foiled Kyle Okposo on a 2-on-1 with 2:40 remaining. Okposo cut around the defense and swept left-to-right through the slot, but Khudobin stayed with him and got his arm and glove up high enough to deny Okposo's wrister. The Islanders, who entered last in the NHL in killing penalties, had little trouble killing off back-to-back minors early in the second period. But a turnover by Andrew MacDonald behind his net 20 seconds after Thomas Hickey's penalty expired led to the game's first goal. Carolina's Patrick Dwyer took the puck away from MacDonald and swept a pass to Malhotra for a quick one-timer over Nabokov's glove at 6:57. The lead lasted 44 seconds. Tavares picked off a bad pass by Drayson Bowman in the Carolina zone and played give-and-go with Vanek before tucking the puck behind Khudobin at 7:41 for his 17th goal of the season. The assist stretched Vanek's point streak to eight games. Carolina took advantage of a blown defensive coverage by the Islanders to regain the lead at 13:12. Dwyer worked the puck free along the left boards and found an unchecked Staal all by himself in the slot. He took one stride and snapped a shot past Nabokov for his ninth of the season and a 2-1 lead. More Islanders mistakes led to another Carolina goal 57 seconds later. Calvin de Haan's attempted dump-in appeared to hit a skate at the blue line and triggered an odd-man rush the other way. Nabokov stopped Jeff Skinner's wide-open blast, but no one picked up Sutter, who backhanded the rebound into the net at 14:09 for his first goal of the season and second in the NHL. The Islanders tested Khudobin throughout the final five minutes, but their only goal came on a deflection by Vanek after Alexander Semin was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Hurricanes lost captain Eric Staal with a lower-body injury in the second period. He played 11 shifts and saw 9:48 of ice time before leaving. Muller said Staal would be assessed to see if he will be able to play against the Nashville Predators on Sunday in Raleigh.
Columbus @ St Louis 2-6 - Patrick Berglund was rewarded Saturday by scoring twice, including one 14 seconds into the third period that helped the Blues pull away and eventually defeat the Blue Jackets 6-2 in front of 19,611 fans at Scottrade Center. For Berglund, all it took was a switch from center to left wing that helped spur on a bit of offense. The Blues are accustomed to gearing up as the game moves along, and the second period was no exception. Down 2-0, they took a 3-2 lead on goals by Berglund, and Sobotka and Lapierre, who scored 1:34 apart. Jackman's one-timer from the right point deflected off Berglund in the slot, off the left post and in at 7:03, cutting Columbus' lead to 2-1. Sobotka power drove the net with a backhand shot McElhinney stopped, but Sobotka followed his shot into the net after hitting Tarasenko's skate at 15:55. Lapierre ripped a slap shot from the top of the right circle past McElhinney with Fedor Tyutin screening at 17:29 to give the Blues the lead. Berglund's redirection of Tarasenko's centering feed from the right boards over McElhinney's left shoulder 14 seconds into the third period gave the Blues a 4-2 lead. It was Berglund's fourth goal in seven games after he had two goals in 31. Backes returned to the Blues lineup after missing four games with an upper-body injury, and he helped Schwartz score to make it 5-2 at 8:47 of the third. Pietrangelo's first goal in 29 games (his prior one was on Nov. 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning) came on a wrist shot from the left circle at 14:13 and made it 6-2. The Blue Jackets took it to one of the best home teams in the NHL early, getting goals from Anisimov early and a fortuitous bounce to grab a 2-0 lead. Anisimov fired a wrist shot from the high slot after getting Brandon Dubinsky's pass past a screened Elliott 3:58 into the game, and Letestu's shot from the left-corner boards caromed off defenseman Ian Cole's skate, over Elliott and down into the goal at 11:22 for a 2-0 lead.
Washington @ Minnesota 3-5 - Ryan Suter scored three goals for his first career hat trick and the first by a defenseman in franchise history to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 5-3 victory against the Washington Capitals on Saturday at Xcel Energy Center. Suter scored a pair of power-play goals 38 seconds apart in the second period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. With the Wild leading 4-3 midway through the third period, Suter stepped out of the penalty box, creating a 2-on-1 break with fellow defenseman Clayton Stoner. Stoner floated a pass to Suter in the left circle for a wrist shot that sailed over Braden Holtby's blocker for his fifth goal of the season. All five of Suter's goals came during a four-game homestand that concluded Saturday.
"I came out of the box and saw some of
their guys were changing," Suter said. "I was hoping
he was going to pass, I was just hoping I didn't miss the net."
Once he realized Suter was the one with him,
Stoner said there was no doubt what he was doing with the puck. After
an abysmal first period in which the Wild were outshot 11-1 and booed
off the ice trailing 2-0, things turned around in the second. As the
second period began, Yeo paced the bench in an effort to rally his
troops. Whatever he said worked wonders. Nino
Niederreiter got Minnesota on the board at 2:16, taking a
backhand feed from Charlie
Coyle between the circles and beating Holtby with a snap shot for
his eighth of the season. Back-to-back penalties four seconds apart
gave the Wild 1:56 of 5-on-3 power-play time, and Suter made the
Capitals pay. His blast from the point beat Holtby at 6:56 to make it
2-2, and a seeing-eye wrist shot 38 seconds later made its way
through traffic and under Holtby's blocker to give the Wild their
first lead of the night. Washington evened the score on a fluky goal
at 13:50 when defenseman Mike
Green's shot from the point deflected off the end wall into the
crease, then off Wild goaltender Niklas
Backstrom and into the net. But the Wild got some puck luck of
their own at 17:04 when a shot from the point by defenseman Keith
Ballard was tipped in the slot by Zucker. The puck went up in the
air, over Holtby and into the net for Zucker's second goal of the
season and second in as many games. It was Zucker's first career
power-play goal. Washington scored a pair of goals 13 seconds apart
in the first period. Marcus
Johansson gathered in a loose puck in front and beat Backstrom at
12:02 to open the scoring. On the next shift, Green deked around Wild
forward Matt
Cooke and fired a wrist shot through a screen from the right
circle, beating Backstrom short side for his fourth of the season.
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