Results - Thu, Jan 30, 2014

Montreal @ Boston 4-1 - The Canadiens started backup goaltender Peter Budaj on Thursday for the first time in nine games. The Bruins countered with No. 1 goalie Tuukka Rask, who entered the Atlantic Division showdown fourth in the NHL in save percentage. The result was a 4-1 Canadiens win, with Budaj stopping 34 of 35 shots to earn his first victory since Dec. 4 and Rask watching the final 26 minutes from the bench at TD Garden Such is the unpredictability of the longtime rivalry between the Canadiens and Bruins. Montreal has now won the past five matchups between the teams. Nine Canadiens registered at least one point against Boston, with forwards Daniel Briere (goal, assist) and Brendan Gallagher (two assists) enjoying multipoint nights. The Canadiens have won two in a row after losing their prior four. For the second straight game, they ended an opponent's four-game winning streak. Boston had scored six goals in each of their prior three games. But the Bruins were unable to solve Budaj enough to keep the score tight, and Bruins coach Claude Julien pulled Rask late in the second period after he'd allowed three goals on 18 shots. Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin sustained a season-ending knee injury against the Bruins last April when he collided with Milan Lucic. He created a good memory against Boston when he scored his first goal this season on a one-timed blast from the top of the right circle through several screens and past Rask for a 1-0 lead at 2:16 of the first period. Montreal doubled its lead at 14:32 on Max Pacioretty's breakaway goal. After David Desharnais picked off Daniel Paille's cross-ice pass, he bumped the puck up to Gallagher at the blue line, and the Canadiens forward sprung his linemate. Pacioretty held off the defenseman Johnny Boychuk and beat Rask with a backhand shot. The Bruins were back within one goal by the first intermission.Dougie Hamilton's one-time blast from the right point after some great board work and a pass up the wall from Loui Eriksson beat Budaj at 15:28. A double minor against Brad Marchand for roughing helped Montreal extend its lead in the second period. Eleven seconds after Marchand's penalty, Brian Gionta tipped Tomas Plekanec's shot past Rask for a 3-1 lead at 11:54. That goal ended the night for Rask, who fell to 2-9-2 against Montreal in his career. Briere beat Johnson with a wrister on a breakaway on Montreal's first shot against the backup at 13:46. A giveaway by Eriksson at the Montreal blue line led to Briere's breakaway and the 4-1 Montreal lead. Johnson stopped the next 14 shots he faced. It didn't appear the Bruins will forget this loss in a hurry.

"I would say from what I remember, the worst game of the year, and you can't have success if you're playing like that." Bruins center Patrice Bergeron said.

Florida @ Toronto 3-6 - Toronto trailed 2-0 after goals by Nick Bjugstad and Sean Bergenheim in the game's first 13:50. Kadri and James van Riemsdyk assisted on Cody Franson's goal at 16:49 that cut the deficit to 2-1 before the Leafs went ahead to stay thanks to a fast start in the second period. Mason Raymond and van Riemsdyk scored 31 seconds apart in the opening minute of the middle period to put Toronto ahead to stay. Raymond's goal came 27 seconds into the period and van Riemsdyk followed with a power-play goal by tipping Phil Kessel's shot past Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen. Toronto blew the game open by scoring three times in the third period. Nikolai Kulemin gave the Maple Leafs a 4-2 at 4:00 when he one-timed a pass from Lupul past Clemmensen for his eighth goal of the season. Kadri had his second assist of the game on that goal, and the line finished with six points. Kadri's assist on Kulemin's goal was the 100th point of his career. He has 12 points in the past eight games. Lupul made it 5-2 at 6:22 on the power play by taking a pass from Kadri in the left circle and firing a shot over Clemmensen's shoulder for his 16th goal of the season. Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov cut the lead to 5-3 with 5:31 remaining when his point shot went through traffic in front of the net to beat Bernier, but Tyler Bozak's 10th goal of the season with 1:23 to play put the game away. The Panthers got on the board first when Bjugstad deked and put a backhander over Bernier's blocker at 1:39 of the first period for his 12th goal of the season. Bjugstad broke in alone after a quick pass from the boards by Scottie Upshall. Bergenheim made it 2-0 at 13:50 when he scored on a give-and-go with Brad Boyes for his 13th of the season. Franson cut the lead to 2-1 with his fourth goal of the season. His wrist shot from the point got through traffic in front of the net and past Clemmensen.
Washington @ Columbus 2-5 - It was an all-around bad game for some of Washington's top players. Defenseman Mike Green left in the first period and did not return after being checked into the glass by Columbus forward Boone Jenner, and forward Alex Ovechkin had a career-worst minus-5 rating. Coach Adam Oates said Green will be evaluated Friday for an undisclosed injury, and that he did not think Jenner's hit was dirty. There was no penalty called. Ovechkin had two shots on goal, and one in the first period could have put the Capitals ahead 1-0 during a power play. But goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made a fabulous glove save off a one-timer by his Russian Olympic teammate. The Blue Jackets struck when Derek MacKenzie scored his sixth of the season, and his second shorthanded goal, with two seconds left on an instigator penalty to Nick Foligno. RJ Umberger dug the puck out of a scrum in front of the Columbus bench, and MacKenzie collected it and skated toward the goal unimpeded. He used a backhand-forehand move that left goalie Braden Holtby helpless. Then Ryan Johansen took over. He leads Columbus with 40 points (21 goals, 19 assists) in 54 games. The fourth pick in the 2010 NHL Draft had 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists) in 107 games during his first two seasons. He showed maturity and patience on each goal Thursday, the first which made the score 2-0 in the first period and the other that made it 4-0 in the second. Johansen, centering a new line with Jenner and Nathan Horton, started and ended the sequence that led to a two-goal lead at 16:56 of the first. He swiped the puck in the neutral zone and dangled into the offensive zone before circling to his left and sending a cross-ice pass to Ryan Murray. The rookie defenseman's shot was tipped by Jenner on the way through, and the rebound off Holtby came to Johansen. Dubinsky scored 4-on-4 24 seconds into the second period with a shot two strides inside the blue line that may have hit a Washington stick and handcuffed Holtby, who had 24 saves. Johansen made it 4-0 off a wide wraparound that gave him plenty of time and space to shovel in a backhand. Columbus did not score on five power plays in the second period; Washington did on the second-to-last with a Joel Ward breakaway for his 14th goal. Bobrovsky faced 12 shots in the first two periods but was peppered with 20 in the third when he was beaten only by an Eric Fehr backhand at 3:18 that made the score 4-2. Fehr has nine goals. Atkinson took a pass through the crease from Matt Calvert and slammed home his 17th goal 64 seconds later.
Tampa Bay @ Ottawa 3-5 - The Senators hardly had to deal with Ben Bishop at all in their former goalie's first game at Canadian Tire Centre as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Bishop, who is among the NHL leaders in wins (26), goals-against-average (2.01), save percentage (.932) and shutouts (four), did not return after leaving at 1:49 of the first period after he was injured on the play that led to Methot's opening goal. The former Ottawa goalie came out of his net and dove headfirst to challenge Senators forward Mika Zibanejad in a race for the puck. Zibanejad came up with the puck, and Bishop was struck on the back of the head by Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov's skate. Methot scored into a wide open net while Bishop lay on the ice. Anders Lindback replaced Bishop and allowed Karlsson's goal with 24.7 seconds remaining in the opening period, second-period goals by Zack Smith and Kyle Turris, and Bobby Ryan's team-leading 20th goal at 6:55 of the third that put the Senators up 5-1. Lightning forward Valtteri Filppula left the game with an apparent lower-body injury in the second period. He went down the tunnel 29 seconds into the middle period after a hit by Senators defenseman Eric Gryba. Filppula, who was selected to play for Finland at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, returned for one shift 6 1/2 minutes later, but skated off shaking his head and in apparent discomfort. Alex Killorn scored his 13th goal at 3:10 of the second period on a pass from Kucherov to draw Tampa Bay to within 2-1. Smith restored the Senators' two-goal advantage at 3-1 with his 10th goal, an unassisted effort at 6:25. Turris made it 4-1 with his 18th goal, his eighth in 10 games, at 18:40 before Ryan completed the Ottawa scoring nearly seven minutes into the third. Tyler Johnson made it 5-2 when he scored the Lightning's fifth shorthanded goal of the season on a breakaway at 12:54 of the third. Tampa Bay captain Martin St. Louis got his 600th assist on defenseman Victor Hedman's goal, his 11th, with 2:52 remaining in the third and Lindback pulled for an extra attacker. Methot, who finished the game plus-4, scored his fifth goal into a wide open net immediately after Bishop was injured to give Ottawa an early 1-0 lead. Bishop, who is 26-7-4 in 40 games, was making his first appearance in Ottawa since he was traded to Tampa Bay by the Senators on April 3, 2013, for Cory Conacher and a fourth-round draft pick. Spezza got his second straight assist when Karlsson scored from a sharp angle late in the first to make it 2-0.
Philadelphia @ Anaheim 3-5 - The Ducks' depth is a big reason they're on top of the NHL standings. They showed off that depth Thursday night in a 5-3 victory against the Flyers. The Ducks got goals from their stars, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. But fourth-liner Patrick Maroon also scored at even strength, Daniel Winnik had a shorthanded goal and Saku Koivu hit the empty net. In all, Anaheim's 13 points were shared by 11 players. That was enough support for rookie goaltender Frederik Andersen, who made 27 saves and won for the 14th time in 16 NHL decisions. The Flyers outshot Anaheim 10-5 in the first period and had all three power plays, but two deflections and a sensational save by Andersen sent the Ducks off the ice at intermission with a 2-1 lead. Maroon put the Ducks ahead at 10:38 with his fifth of the season when he got a piece of Francois Beauchemin's straightaway wrister and tipped it over Mason's shoulder. The Flyers tied it at 14:35 during the first of two penalties drawn by Philadelphia forward Zac Rinaldo. Eric Gustafsson carried the puck down the left side and found Lecavalier alone in the right circle, and Lecavalier zipped a shot through Andersen's pads for his 12th goal and a 1-1 tie. Andersen got even about three minutes later. After Rinaldo drew another power play, Lecavalier picked up the rebound of Braydon Coburn's slapper and appeared to have an open net. But Andersen got his glove up and snagged Lecavalier's shot a few inches above the ice to keep the game tied. Instead, the Ducks skated off with a 2-1 edge after Getzlaf tipped Hampus Lindholm's point shot through Mason's pads with 35.1 seconds remaining for his career-high 26th goal. Getzlaf and Philadelphia's Steve Downie were sent off for five minutes apiece after a fight early in the second period. Anaheim's captain completed a Gordie Howe Hat Trick midway through the period with a brilliant setup on Perry's goal. Getzlaf controlled a pass from Cam Fowler in his own zone and carried the puck over the Flyers blue line and into the right circle. He found Perry coming late and hit him with a perfect feed in the slot for a one-timer at 10:29 that Mason had no chance on. It was the 29th of the season for Perry and the 63rd point of the season for Getzlaf, who's third in the NHL scoring race. The Ducks' size, depth and willingness to go to the net made life difficult for Mason. Read got the Flyers within a goal 5:48 into the third period thanks to some superb hand-eye coordination. Defenseman Mark Streit carried deep into the left circle before firing a shot that hit Andersen's pads. Read crashed the net and deflected the puck out of the air and into the net for his 14th of the season. Philadelphia got a chance to tie the game when Lindholm was sent off for high-sticking Flyers captain Claude Giroux. Instead, the Ducks got the insurance goal they were looking for when Koivu broke up a pass by Kimmo Timonen inside the Anaheim blue line, raced in on a 2-on-1 break and saucered a pass to Winnik. His high wrister beat Mason for the ninth shorthanded goal allowed by the Flyers this season. The goal was Winnik's second of the season and first since Oct. 13. Koivu hit the empty net with 24 seconds remaining. Raffl scored with less than 10 seconds left. Ducks forward Nick Bonino left in the first period with an upper-body injury after a hard-but-legal hit by Rinaldo. He returned to start the second period, but left the game for good later in the period.