Toronto @ Boston 4-3 - Tyler Bozak scored twice to go with an assist, Phil Kessel had three assists, and Jonathan Bernier made 38 saves in the Maple Leafs' 4-3 win against the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday night. Bernier faced 41 shots as Toronto beat Boston for the first time this season; the Maple Leafs had not beaten the Bruins since Game 6 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Toronto hung on despite getting outshot 15-6 and getting pinned in its own zone for much of the final 75 seconds of regulation with the Bruins' goaltender pulled. It took the Bruins 3:38 to grab the lead. Reilly Smith made a move to the middle of the ice in front of the Toronto net, getting off a backhand shot around Maple Leafs defenseman Carl Gunnarsson on Bernier from between the hash marks. The rebound deflected to Brad Marchand left of the slot for the rebound shot and a 1-0 lead. Bozak's first of two goals in the first period tied the game at 5:52. After an icing, Bozak beat Gregory Campbell clean on a faceoff and Kessel set up Gunnarsson for a one-timer from the blue line. Bozak scored on the rebound. The Bruins jumped back in front when Patrice Bergeron shocked Bernier with a spinning backhand wraparound shot that snuck in the short side at 10:48 for a 2-1 lead. But Bozak tied it again, this time on a power play. James van Riemsdyk found a loose puck in front and fed a cross-ice pass past Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk for a one-timer to make it 2-2 at 12:47. Toronto's power play cashed in for the second time at 7:09 of the second period to give the Maple Leafs a 3-2 lead. Kessel's quick cross-ice pass found Gardiner at the right dot. The defenseman stopped the puck, then whizzed a wrist shot past Rask's glove, with the goaltender getting a piece of the shot but not enough as Toronto took a 3-2 lead. Early in the third period, the Maple Leafs extended their lead to two goals. Nikolai Kulemin gained the Boston zone with little resistance and dished off to van Riemsdyk, whose wrist shot from the top of the right circle ticked off Chara's stick and beat Rask for a 4-2 lead with 1:00 elapsed. Campbell got the Bruins back within one with a backhand goal from in front at 9:35 after Daniel Paille stole a Gardiner pass behind the net and bumped the puck out to Campbell. The Bruins fired 15 shots on goal in the third period, including several in the waning moments, but came up one goal short. Although the Bruins and Maple Leafs played two times prior this season, the memory of the Maple Leafs' collapse with a three-goal lead in the third period of Game 7 of last year's playoff series is still fresh for many. That didn't alter Bozak's confidence as his team tried to hang on for the win. With just 3:03 gone in the game dirty dog Shawn Thornton droped the gloves with Frazer Mclaren. It was his first appearance on home ice since he vicioulsy attacked Brooks Orpik and received a 15 game suspension.
Tampa Bay @ NY Rangers 2-1 - Already down 1-0, Tampa Bay's night appeared to take a turn for the worse when it momentarily lost its top defensemen. Brian Boyle took Hedman hard into the corner boards with 6:16 remaining in the first period. Hedman skated on his own to the bench, but appeared to favor his right hand before heading to the dressing room at the next whistle. Hedman did return and took the first shift of the second period. He didn't appear any worse for wear, leading all Lightning skaters by playing 8:21 in the period. Most important, he sparked Tampa Bay's comeback with his 10th goal of the season. With Ryan Callahan off for high-sticking, the defenseman's blast beat Lundqvist cleanly to tie the game 1:10 into the period. It was confirmation that the 6-foot-6 Swede was OK. The Lightning took the lead nine seconds after Hedman's blast. Kucherov was sprung on a breakaway by a bouncing puck off the stick of Radko Gudas. The Russian rookie came in on Lundqvist before deking and beating him through the legs for his seventh at 1:19. After appearing flat-footed at the beginning of the second, the Rangers earned some quality scoring chances later in the period. Skating down the wing, Callahan wristed a hard shot that Bishop snagged with his glove at 10:55. Nash snapped a shot from the right circle 38 seconds later, but Bishop made the save and covered up with traffic in front. Outscored 2-0 in the second, New York was unable to maintain the energy it showed throughout the first period. The teams had already traded scoring chances in the early going when Nash sent Chris Kreider on a partial breakaway 5:48 into the game. Kreider streaked in from the left wing and went to the backhand. But in his first game since sustaining a wrist injury against the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 5, Bishop stretched out his left pad to stone Kreider. After carrying the play for much of the first, the Rangers opened the scoring with 8:05 remaining when Richards took a Callahan feed from behind the net and beat Bishop. Richards' 12th of the season tied him for the team lead and marked the first time Bishop had allowed a goal against New York as a member of the Lightning. Trailing 2-1 after 40 minutes, New York came out flying at the start of the third, maintaining possession for large stretches in the Lightning zone. The Rangers were awarded with a power play when Gudas was called for tripping 6:37 into the third. With that, a power-play unit that had scored in five straight games went to work against a Lightning penalty kill that had allowed a goal in five straight. Each streak would be snapped by the end of the night. Ryan McDonagh's slap shot 32 seconds into the Gudas' penalty was deflected and beat Bishop, but went off the left post. Mats Zuccarello then took a pass from Benoit Pouliot at the lip of the crease 23 seconds later, but Bishop made the save and Tampa Bay killed the penalty. After allowing two third-period power-play goals Monday in a 3-2 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay's penalty kill then held the Rangers to two shots after Alex Killorn was called for tripping with 4:39 remaining.
Philadelphia @ Buffalo 4-3 - Vincent Lecavalier scored with 14.8 seconds left in regulation to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 4-3 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center on Tuesday night. Matt Read dug the puck out behind the net and fed Lecavalier, whose one-timer from the top of the left circle beat sprawled goalie Jhonas Enroth after a flurry of chances in the Sabres' end. Lecavalier's goal capped a wild third period in which the teams combined to score five goals after playing to a 1-1 tie through 40 minutes. The Sabres, who lost in regulation at home for the in nine games, took at 2-1 lead at 6:27 of the third when Matt D'Agostini scored his second goal of the season. D'Agostini dove for a centering pass by Steve Ott and poked the puck past Flyers goaltender Steve Mason. Philadelphia tied it with 6:32 left when Brayden Schenn fired a loose puck past Enroth. Schenn had the puck come to him after it took a funny hop off the glass and slid through the crease. Schenn collected the puck, spun, and hit the half-empty net for his 12th goal of the season. A goaltender interference penalty to Buffalo's Zenon Konopka put the Flyers on the power play and they took advantage of it with 4:07 left when Scott Hartnell scored his 11th goal of the season. Hartnell skated into the slot, took a feed from Wayne Simmonds and beat Enroth with a high wrist shot. Tyler Ennis tied it with 3:13 remaining when his slap shot from the right circle got through Mason and went over the goal line for his 10th goal of the season. Cody Hodgson put the Sabres ahead at 6:59 of the first period when he deked and beat Mason after he received a pass in front of the net from Ott. It was Hodgson's ninth goal of the season and first since coming off injured reserve with an upper-body injury on Sunday. Flyers captain Claude Giroux had a chance to tie the game but was robbed by Enroth at 12:03. Giroux fired a backhander at what appeared to be an open net, but Enroth dove across the crease and stopped the puck with his blocker hand. But the Flyers tied the game when forward Jakub Voracek scored on the power play at 1:40 of the second period. With Konopka in the box for holding, Voracek took a pass from Simmonds and beat Enroth for his 13th goal of the season. Voracek was all alone in the right circle and had time to place his shot as Enroth tried to get back in position.
New Jersey @ Montreal 4-1 - If this was the final game in Montreal of Martin Brodeur's storied career, it was a perfect way to say goodbye to his hometown. Brodeur's 29 saves were more than enough as the New Jersey Devils had a rare offensive outburst by their standards to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 at Bell Centre on Tuesday. It was fitting that as Brodeur left the ice after playing against a team that meant so much to him throughout his childhood, he did so with Canadiens fans applauding when he was named the game's first star. Considering Brodeur improved his record to 20-9-1 in Montreal, the ovation was a rare occurrence for the Devils star. Brodeur was not the only likely future Hall of Fame member to star for the Devils. Jaromir Jagr, also 41, scored their first goal at 17:23 of the first period to snap a 10-game goal drought and tie the game 1-1. It was his 695th career goal, moving him past Mark Messier for seventh place on the NHL's all-time list. Max Pacioretty scored his 20th goal of the season for the Canadiens (26-16-5), who lost for the second time in three games. The Canadiens had to scratch center David Desharnais just before the game with a virus, forcing coach Michel Therrien to dress seven defensemen with Francis Bouillon taking the spot in the lineup. Montreal scored first when Pacioretty rifled a shot from the top of the faceoff circle past an unscreened Brodeur at 7:00 of the first period, giving him his second career 20-goal season. Jagr tied it at 17:23 when he came down the right wing toward the corner, stopped suddenly and cut to the middle on Josh Gorges before putting a low shot through a crowd past Carey Price and inside the far post for his 14th goal of the season. The Devils took the lead early in the second period with a power-play goal from Gelinas, who one-timed a blast from the point that beat Price with the help of a screen from Montreal defenseman Douglas Murray at 1:20. Henrique made it 3-1 less than three minutes later with his 12th of the season on some nice work from his linemates. Michael Ryder's one-timer from the slot forced Price to make a difficult save, and Ryane Clowe came crashing into the crease looking for a rebound, instead sending the puck to Henrique for an easy tap-in goal at 4:02. Price made an incredible save off Ryder at 7:33 to keep the Canadiens within striking distance, going post-to-post to stop him with his glove on a 2-on-1 rush. That save looked like it could be a big one when Brendan Gallagher appeared to score for Montreal less than a minute later at 8:30, but the goal was disallowed after video review determined Gallagher kicked the puck past Brodeur with his right skate. The Canadiens generated very little in the third period, when the Devils limited them to six shots on Brodeur. Zubrus scored into an empty net off a pass from Jagr with 13.1 seconds to play.
NY Islanders @ Florida 2-4 - The Panthers broke out of their scoring slump with three first-period goals, built a 4-0 lead and held on to beat the streaking Islanders at BB&T Center. Florida wasted little time getting on the scoreboard Tuesday, with Barkov scoring his eighth goal of the season 32 seconds in. It was the fastest goal of the season for the Panthers, topping Brad Boyes' goal 1:55 in during a 6-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Florida's home opener Oct. 11. After a turnover in the neutral zone, Boyes and Barkov came in on a 2-on-1 and passed the puck from one side of the net to the other three times before Barkov finally one-timed it into a wide-open net. Shore made it 2-0 at 15:34 with his first goal in nine games this season. After skating with the puck behind the net, Shore spun around in the low-circle area and fired the puck to the net. His hot went in off the skate of defenseman Brian Strait, and the goal was upheld after video review. Bjugstad completed the first-period scoring after another New York turnover. Upshall stole the puck at the blue line and fed Bjugstad a diagonal pass at the bottom of the left circle. Bjugstad made a quick move to his forehand and flicked a shot high to the glove side right before being hit from behind. Upshall increased the lead to 4-0 at 15:59 of the second with a shorthanded goal. He stole the puck from Islanders defenseman Andrew MacDonald at the blue line and beat Poulin on a breakaway with a deke to his forehand. It was the first goal in 16 games for Upshall, who was tripped from behind and fell to the ice right after putting the puck past Poulin. Although the Panthers scored when they were a man down, they didn't get any help from their power play, which is ranked last in the NHL. Florida was 0-for-5 and failed to score on a 5-on-3 that lasted 1:14 in the first period and again on a four-minute power play in the third period after Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan was assessed a double minor for high sticking. Florida is 0-for-22 with the man advantage in its past seven games. It also was a rough outing for 2013 Calder Trophy winner Jonathan Huberdeau. The Panthers left wing was stopped on a breakaway in the first period and was held without a goal for a 14th consecutive game. He also took two of Florida's three penalties, was minus-2, and didn't see the ice for the final 17:22. The Islanders scored with 30.2 seconds left in the second when McDonald one-timed Martin's pass from behind the net. De Haan had the second assist, extending his point streak to five games. Vanek cut the Panthers' lead to 4-2 at 2:38 of the third when he tapped in Frans Nielsen's backhand pass from behind the net.
Calgary @ Nashville 2-4 - Ryan Ellis scored a beautiful goal to put Nashville ahead. The defenseman skated into Calgary's zone, saw he had plenty of time, and unleashed a wicked slap shot 55 seconds into the third period for his second goal of the season. Ellis shot often, which helped to provide some offense. He had four shots, four other attempts blocked and two that missed the net. He earned a primary assist with 9:08 left when Viktor Stalberg deflected his slap shot. Nashville's Craig Smith scored his team-leading 14th goal, on the power play at 2:40 of the third, putting in a rebound of Seth Jones' point shot. Calgary goalie Karri Ramo, who was coming off a 2-0 shutout victory Monday against the Carolina Hurricanes, had trouble locating the puck with Nashville forward Nick Spaling creating traffic in front. Nashville scored its first power-play goal when Calgary's Matt Stajan went off for interference for the second time in the first period. Roman Josi set up Shea Weber for a one-timer, and Weber put his trademark slap shot above Ramo's catching glove at 15:52. The goal was Weber's 11th, most in the League by a defenseman. Calgary tied the game with 64 seconds left in the first period. Skating behind the net, Jiri Hudler took advantage of a defensive breakdown by Nashville and found Lee Stempniak open. He buried a wrist shot from 16 feet out. Calgary had a power-play goal immediately waved off at 4:17 of the third period. The officials ruled the Flames played the puck with a high stick before the shot that eventually went in the net was made. Mikael Backlund scored with 6:53 left for Calgary.
Ottawa @ Minnesota 3-0 - Kyle Turris and Clarke MacArthur connected for the winning goal 13:06 into the game as the Senators earned a 3-0 win against the Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The goal was a beauty. MacArthur stretched to stay onside at the blue line and exploded to the front of the Wild net. Turris, at the right half-wall, fired a laser onto MacArthur's tape and he tipped it in for his 16th of the season. MacArthur's goal was all the offense Ottawa needed thanks to a solid effort from goaltender Robin Lehner, who made 27 saves for his first shutout since a 32-save, 1-0 win against the Boston Bruins on Feb. 28, 2012. The Senators are bunched with seven other teams in the battle for the two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup Playoff race. Ottawa and the Detroit Red Wings have 50 points, one behind the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs, who hold the two playoff positions. The Senators have at least one point in nine of their last 10 games. Despite a 15-3 edge in shots through 20 minutes, the Senators led only 1-0. Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper, making his fourth NHL start this season, kept his team in the game with 14 stops in the first period and 22 through 40 minutes. The Wild played marginally better in the second period and appeared poised to make a third-period push, putting four quick shots on Lehner to open the period. But a bad break almost six minutes into the third helped Ottawa put the game away. Wild defenseman Marco Scandella attempted a one-timer at the point, but his stick snapped in two, allowing Erik Condra to go in alone on Kuemper. Despite having his right arm wrapped up by Scandella, Condra slipped the puck through the goaltender's five-hole at 5:55 for his fifth of the season. Turris added his 13th of the season, scoring a power-play goal with 2:22 left. Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson assisted on two of the Senators' three goals. His 33 assists are second among defenseman behind Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks, who has 41.
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