Results - Tue, Feb 04, 2014

Vancouver @ Boston 1-3 - The last time the Boston Bruins visited Milan Lucic's hometown, the Vancouver Canucks defended their turf with a 6-2 victory. The Bruins' left wing made sure his team got a measure of revenge back in Boston on Tuesday, when he opened the scoring 5:12 into the game, and the Bruins went on to win for the sixth time in their past seven games by defeating the Canucks 3-1 at TD Garden. The Canucks, who were shut out by the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, snapped a scoring drought of 99:38 in the second period on a goal by defenseman Raphael Diaz, who was acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens for forward Dale Weise on Monday. Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo played in Boston for the first time since the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. In that series, he allowed 15 goals on 66 shots and was pulled twice in three games at the Garden. He fared better Tuesday, making 29 saves on 32 shots. The Canucks won the territorial battle in the first period and held a 9-5 edge in shots on goal through the first 20 minutes. But the Bruins scored the only goal of the period. Iginla dished the puck to David Krejci in stride at the red line, the Bruins gained the zone and Krejci waited for Lucic to join the play. Lucic took Krejci's pass at the high slot and beat Luongo from between the hash marks high to the blocker side at 5:12 for a 1-0 lead. The Bruins outshot the Canucks 13-10 in the second period, when they extended their lead to two goals. Moments after Rask denied Daniel Sedin on a shorthanded breakaway, Iginla connected off a centering pass by Zdeno Chara at 7:59 for a 2-0 lead. It was Iginla's fourth goal on the power play and 16th overall. Daniel Sedin nearly tied the game after he made a steal when Lucic and Torey Krug collided at the Boston blue line. Sedin skated in all alone on Rask, who made the big save to allow Iginla to double Boston's lead moments later. The Canucks ended their goal-scoring drought when Diaz, who was making his debut with Vancouver, ripped a slap shot past Rask high to the glove side at 11:28 to cut the Bruins' lead in half. Brad Marchand thought he gave the Bruins a 3-1 lead at 13:49, but the goal was disallowed because of contact between Krug and Luongo. Paille made sure Boston was ahead 3-1 after 40 minutes; he beat Luongo on a breakaway at 17:06 after a long pass by Boston defenseman Johnny Boychuk.
Colorado @ NY Rangers 1-5 - Following several days with rumors circulating regarding Ryan Callahan's future with the New York Rangers, their captain responded with his best performance of the season. Callahan scored twice and had an assist for his first three-point game of the season, and the Rangers defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-1 Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. Talk circulated last week of a potential trade involving Callahan after the Rangers reportedly gave at least one team permission to speak to his agent. The impending unrestricted free agent led a dominant first period in which New York outshot Colorado 20-4 and scored twice. The Rangers were outshooting Colorado 14-2 less than nine minutes into the game before they opened the scoring after Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson carried the puck deep into the offensive zone before falling along the half-wall. The turnover led to a 2-on-1 rush with Rangers forward Carl Hagelin carrying the puck alongside Callahan. With Avalanche forward Matt Duchene forced to play defense, Hagelin made a cross-ice pass to send Callahan in alone on Varlamov. Callahan beat the Russian goaltender on the backhand for his 10th of the season with 5:44 remaining in the period; he entered with three goals in his previous 28 games. Callahan benefited from another careless play by a Colorado defenseman later in the period. Nate Guenin's cross-ice pass in his zone was intercepted by Richards, who carried toward the net before finding Callahan alone in the slot. Callahan beat Varlamov to the blocker side with a wrist shot that gave New York a 2-0 lead with 2:25 left. Lundqvist made one of his finest stops of the night 6:30 into the second period while Dan Girardi served two minutes for holding. The goalie snared Nathan MacKinnon's wrist shot from the left circle with his glove. But Landeskog scored seven seconds later, taking MacKinnon's pass in the slot and beating Lundqvist for his 17th of the season at 6:37 to cut the lead to 2-1. But any spark the Avalanche may have felt was extinguished 53 seconds later when Stralman gave New York a 3-1 lead. The defenseman's wrist shot from the point deflected off Duchene and beat Varlamov high to the blocker side. It was Stralman's first goal since April 19. Lundqvist's best stretch came late in the period when Colorado had a 5-on-3 power play for 1:50 after Girardi was called for high-sticking shortly after Chris Kreider was whistled for holding. He made two quick stops on MacKinnon from the left side before stoning Landeskog at the lip of the crease. Lundqvist then stopped Duchene in close shortly after Girardi finished serving his minor to keep the Rangers up by two. Brassard scored at 1:58 following a blind pass from behind the Colorado net by Mats Zuccarello. Brassard partially fanned on the shot, but the puck bounced off Ryan O'Reilly's skate past Varlamov for his 10th on a play that typified Colorado's struggles. Richards finished the scoring by taking a feed from Callahan in the slot and beating Varlamov blocker side for his 15th with 1:36 remaining.
Winnipeg @ Carolina 2-1 - The Winnipeg Jets are finding more reasons to believe with each passing game. Chris Thorburn knocked home a loose puck in front of the net with 1:03 remaining in regulation to lift the Jets to a 2-1 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. With the victory, the Jets (28-25-5) pulled within two points of the Vancouver Canucks in the race for the final wild-card playoff berth in the Western Conference. They are 9-2-0 under interim coach Paul Maurice, who replaced Claude Noel on Jan. 12. The Jets had no shortage of feel-good scripts against Carolina. The game marked Maurice's first trip to Carolina since being dismissed by the Hurricanes Nov. 28, 2011. Andrew Ladd, chosen by the Hurricanes with the fourth pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, continued to haunt his old team with a critical goal. Then there was Thorburn, who scored his first game-winning goal since 2008-09. After rookie defenseman Jacob Trouba boldly pinched in and circled the net, Thorburn was on the back door ready to knock in the deciding goal. Thorburn was quick to point out his humble NHL roots, having been a healthy scratch for most of his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2006-07. Throughout his career, he has been called on for duties far less glamorous that scoring game-winners. The teams were scoreless through the midway point in the game until Ladd finished off a 2-on-1 at 12:57 of the second period. Michael Frolik beat Carolina defenseman Justin Faulk through the neutral zone and put a shot on goal, leaving Ladd to backhand the rebound past Anton Khudobin. It was Ladd's eighth goal and 16th point in 20 career games against the team that drafted him in 2004. Moments later, the Hurricanes had a prime opportunity to draw even. With Zach Bogosian already serving a hooking minor, the Jets were whistled for too many men on the ice, giving Carolina 52 seconds of a 5-on-3 power play. But the Jets held the Hurricanes to one shot before both penalties expired. John-Michael Liles had the best chance for Carolina, blasting a shot off the left post. For the game, the Hurricanes managed one shot in 5:09 of power-play time. The Jets did not skate with the man advantage. Carolina forward Riley Nash pulled the Hurricanes even at 2:42 of the third. The Jets tied up Drayson Bowman's shot attempt from the slot, but the puck squirted free to Nash, who buried a quick shot past Pavelec for his seventh of the season. As the game wound down, it was Trouba who pinched for a chance at the winner.
Calgary @ Montreal 0-2 - Rene Bourque scored at 16:15 of the second period to give Price all the cushion he would need in the Montreal Canadiens' 2-0 win against the Calgary Flames at Bell Centre on Tuesday. Price made 27 saves for his second shutout in four starts and has stopped 130 of the 134 shots he has faced in that span, a save percentage of .970. Price, one of three goalies named to the Canadian Olympic team, had allowed 24 goals on 164 shots in the six starts immediately prior to this hot stretch, a save percentage of .853. But just as Price credited his teammates with helping him earn his fourth shutout of the season Tuesday, it was his team that let him down during that time as well by allowing a high volume of quality scoring chances. Still, those statistics were leading some to wonder if Canada should be worried about its goaltending heading into the Olympics with none of Price, Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo or Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes putting up numbers that inspired much confidence. The game was Flames forward Michael Cammalleri's first against the Canadiens since they traded him to Calgary between periods of a game, and it was the player he was traded for who turned that first encounter into a loss. Bourque was acquired from the Flames on Jan. 12, 2012, for Cammalleri in a trade consummated during the second intermission of a Canadiens road game against the Boston Bruins. His second goal in 21 games gave Montreal the victory. Brandon Prust did most of the heavy lifting on the goal by entering the Flames zone, stopping next to the Calgary net to wait for defenseman Dennis Wideman to slide by and then banking a shot off Bourque's leg and behind Reto Berra at 16:15 of the second period. To make matters worse for Cammalleri he was called for hooking with 31 seconds remaining in regulation, which helped the Canadiens ice the win when David Desharnais scored into an empty net with 10.1 seconds to play. Berra made 26 saves to keep the Flames in the game in the absence of injured starter Karri Ramo, who was acquired in the same trade that sent Cammalleri to Calgary. The Flames became an offensive machine in winning every game of a five-game homestand with 20 goals, but that firepower did not travel East with them. That was most evident at 4:36 of the second period when Tomas Plekanec and Lars Eller, Montreal's top two penalty-killing centers, were called for simultaneous penalties to give Calgary two minutes of a 5-on-3 power play. The Flames were credited with three shots on goal during the advantage, none of them particularly dangerous, and rarely threatened after that. The closest the Flames came to scoring came when Lee Stempniak's rather innocuous shot at 1:44 of the second squeezed through Price and landed on the goal line, slowly creeping forward but not quite crossing it. The play went to video review, which confirmed that the puck stayed out. The game marked the Canadiens debut of forward Dale Weise, acquired from the Vancouver Canucks on Monday in exchange for defenseman Raphael Diaz. Weise played well on a fourth line with Ryan White and Michael Bournival, with the three combining for nine of Montreal's 27 shots on goal and consistently pressuring the Flames in the offensive zone.
Toronto @ Florida 1-4 - After a disappointing road trip that damaged the Florida Panthers' hopes of getting into Stanley Cup Playoff contention, they bounced back with perhaps their most impressive performance of the season Tuesday at BB&T Center. The Panthers recorded a season-high 48 shots on goal when they beat the streaking Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1. Tom Gilbert, Jesse Winchester, Shawn Matthias and Marcel Goc scored for the Panthers, who were coming off a four-game road trip that ended with three losses, including 6-3 at Toronto on Thursday. Florida was outscored 16-6 during its three-game slide, which also included losses against the Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets. Tim Thomas finished with 20 saves and was within 10:29 of Florida's first shutout of the season. Brian Campbell had two assists. Thomas, who didn't play in either of the Panthers' first two games against Toronto, was 2-5-0 with a 3.70 goals-against average during his past seven starts, having allowed at least three goals in each. Every skater had at least one shot on goal for Florida, which ended up outshooting Toronto by 27. It was the Maple Leafs' worst shot differential of the season. David Clarkson, back in the Toronto lineup after missing eight games with an elbow injury, scored his fourth goal of the season. Nazem Kadri extended his point streak to six games (three goals, seven assists) with an assist. Thomas and the Panthers were able to shut out Phil Kessel, who came in with nine points in his previous four games and on Monday was named the NHL's Second Star for January and for the games of last week. Jonathan Bernier made 44 saves and was the reason the Maple Leafs trailed only 1-0 getting outshot 37-12 in the first two periods. It was a rather uninspiring showing by the Maple Leafs, who are having their annual trip with the players' fathers. The Panthers, who came in 14th in the Eastern Conference standings, dominated from the start. Florida held Toronto without a shot for the first 7:19 and ended with a 19-4 advantage in the first period, the Maple Leafs' worst single-period differential this season. Gilbert opened the scoring at 1:14 of the second period with Florida's second goal in 53 power-play opportunities. He scored his third goal of the season with a slap shot from the point that barely missed Upshall, who was standing in front of Bernier. The Panthers had two breakaways in the second period, but Bernier stopped Jonathan Huberdeau's deke attempt and Upshall's wrist shot. Winchester made it 2-0 at 5:21 of the third period when Campbell's wrist shot bounced off him in front of the net. Clarkson scored after Kadri stole the puck from Tomas Kopecky at the Florida blue line. Kadri skated in deep before dropping a pass to Clarkson, who beat Thomas with a low shot to the stick side at 9:31. Matthias restored Florida's two-goal lead at 13:22 after stealing the puck from defenseman Cody Franson at center ice. Matthias beat Bernier with a wrist shot low to the stick side. Goc scored an empty-net goal with 2:30 left.
NY Islanders @ Washington 1-0 - The Islanders gave their flickering hopes of qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs a boost on Tuesday night. Andrew MacDonald scored the game's lone goal 2:16 into the third period and Evgeni Nabokov made 22 saves for his 57th career shutout to lead the Islanders to a 1-0 victory against the Capitals at Verizon Center. The win snapped New York's 0-4-1 slide. The Islanders are 10 points out of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 24 games remaining. Washington lost their sixth straight game within the Metropolitan Division and is 0-6-1 in intradivisional games since a 3-2 victory against the New York Rangers on Dec. 27. The Capitals are three points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild-card playoff berth in the East. One game after defeating the Red Wings 6-5 in overtime on Sunday, the Capitals were shut out for the fourth time this season. All four shutouts have come at home. With time and space to wind up, MacDonald's blast from the right point eluded a screened Michal Neuvirth (24 saves) 16 seconds after New York failed to score on a power play. The first period was physical but featured little in the way of offense. Each team had eight shots on goal, though Washington generated more sustained offensive-zone pressure. The best scoring chance for either team came with under eight minutes left after Eric Fehr poked an intended Islander pass up ice, fueling a 2-on-2 rush with Jason Chimera. Chimera sped up the left side of ice, firing a wrist shot that Nabokov stopped but could not control. Fehr pounced on the rebound, but his shot glanced off the right post. Washington, which entered the game with the third-best power play in the NHL, had more than four minutes with which to work against New York's League-worst penalty-killing unit in the second period. But the Capitals did nothing with their 5-on-4 time, whiffing on several shots and negating a late opportunity after 31 seconds when Troy Brouwer, who missed two power-play shots from his customary position in the slot, interfered with Brock Nelson. In all, New York killed off six Washington power plays totaling 10:27. It was a big turnaround for the NHL's bottom-ranked penalty-killing unit, which was torched for four power-play goals in the Islanders' last visit to Washington on Nov. 5. Thomas Vanek, whose hooking penalties gave the Capitals two power-play chances early in the second period, drew a holding call on Connor Carrick as time expired to provide New York with one of its own to open the third period. About 90 seconds into the period, Vanek set up Frans Nielsen with a backhanded pass for a wide-open chance in the crease, but Neuvirth slid across to rob him with a glove save. However, Neuvirth could not stop MacDonald's goal 49 seconds later. He did stop Michael Grabner's penalty shot at 8:26 after John Carlson hooked the speedy New York forward on a shorthanded breakaway to keep the game at 1-0, but the Capitals could not tie the game on their final power play after Lubomir Visnovsky was sent off for holding Alex Ovechkin with 3:05 left in regulation.
Ottawa @ St Louis 5-4 SO - The St. Louis Blues provided those who braved the elements on a snowy night Tuesday with plenty of offense. But in the end, Kyle Turris scored in the fifth round of the shootout to give the Ottawa Senators a come-from-behind 5-4 victory at Scottrade Center. Turris beat Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak with a wrist shot after Maxim Lapierre fired wide against Senators goalie Robin Lehner. Mika Zibanejad and Stephane Da Costa also scored shootout goals for Ottawa, which won for only the fifth time in 24 games after trailing after two periods Jason Spezza had a goal and two assists for the Senators, who played their third game in four nights. Erik Karlsson had a goal and an assist, Zibanejad had two assists and Milan Michalek and Turris each scored. The Blues received shootout goals from T.J. Oshie and Alexander Steen, but could not score on their final three opportunities. Oshie finished with a goal and an assist, Jaden Schwartz had two assists and Halak stopped 27 shots for St. Louis. Brenden Morrow, David Backes and Jordan Leopold also scored for the Blues (37-12-6). It was their first loss to an Eastern Conference foe on home ice this season (9-0-1). Down 3-1, the Senators scored three times in a 2:35 span in the third period to grab a 4-3 lead. Michalek scored at 5:52, Turris at 7:02 and Spezza at 8:27 off a lot of loose coverage by the Blues, who entered Tuesday with a 25-0-3 record when leading after two periods. The Senators scored their three goals on four shots. Michalek scored off a 3-on-2 rush that got the Senators Then Turris banked a shot in off a Blues player's skate to tie it, and a failed clearing attempt resulted in Spezza's shot from the top of the left circle deflecting off Jay Bouwmeester's stick to put Ottawa ahead and shock not only the Blues, but the 14,758 that braved a snowstorm to see the game. Leopold scored his first goal as a member of the Blues and first in 38 games when his shot from below the goal line caromed in off Lehner at 11:08 of the third to tie the game 4-4. Leopold's last goal came March 26, 2013, against the Tampa Bay Lightning as a member of the Buffalo Sabres. After Karlsson tied the game 1-1 off a Spezza feed with 5:10 left in the second period, Magnus Paajarvi's backhand feed was stopped by Lehner, but Oshie popped in from the opposite side and blasted a one-timer that got lodged into the top half of the netting on top of the crossbar 19 seconds later. During a television timeout, Oshie went straight to the goal and pointed to the top half of the goal for referees Mike Hasenfratz and Marc Joannette to see. Initially, it was thought the puck went into the crowd. What was supposed to be a faceoff in the Senators zone turned into a video review, confirming Oshie's shot a goal. Backes would give the Blues a 3-1 lead with 4.7 seconds remaining in the period on the Blues' 23rd shot of the period, which was a season high for shots in a period. The Senators gained momentum when they got the Karlsson goal after killing off a set of penalties that led to them being down two men a total of 2:10. The Blues fired nine shots during the man advantage, but could not beat Lehner. Morrow extended his point-streak against the Senators to seven games (three goals, seven assists) and deposited the puck into the net for a 1-0 Blues lead with 5:52 left in the first period. Halak stood tall and stopped all 13 shots he faced in the first, including a one-timer from Michalek in the slot with 43 seconds left. The Blues had 55.8 seconds of power play time to end overtime when Clarke MacArthur hooked Oshie after he intercepted a Karlsson pass and headed off on a breakaway. They finished 0-for-7 with the man advantage despite finishing with a season-high 50 shots on goal. Vladimir Tarasenko had a chance in the third round to end it for the Blues, but Lehner kept it alive. Da Costa beat Halak with a backhander that prolonged the game, and Turris won it two rounds later.

Tampa Bay @ Minnesota 1-2 - The Minnesota Wild never trailed the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center, but it still was a night for comebacks. The Wild scored in the first and third periods on their way to a 2-1 win, but the game wasn't so much about the how or the why as it was the who for Minnesota. Defenseman Jared Spurgeon, who missed the past 14 games with a foot injury, returned to the lineup and had the primary assist on both Wild goals. Goalie Darcy Kuemper, who surrendered four goals in each of his past two starts, stopped 34 shots to improve to 7-3-2. Spurgeon's return took on added importance two minutes into the game when Wild defenseman Marco Scandella left with a lower-body injury. After clipping knees with Lightning forward Tyler Johnson at the Tampa Bay blue line, Scandella fell backward slowly, awkwardly twisting his right knee, ankle and foot. He was helped to the bench by teammates and did not put any weight on the leg as he exited. The 23-year-old defenseman, who has three goals and 13 assists in 55 games, is doubtful for the game Thursday against the Nashville Predators, Minnesota's last before the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Yeo said. It didn't take Spurgeon long to crack the scoresheet in his return from injury. Nine seconds into the Wild's first power play, Nino Niederreiter cleaned up the rebound of a Spurgeon's one-timer for his 10th goal of the season at 16:04 of the first period. Then, 34 seconds into the third period, Spurgeon set up the Wild's second goal by outworking two Lightning players for a turnover in the Tampa Bay zone and sliding a pass to Dany Heatley in the slot for a tip-in goal, his 11th. Tampa Bay climbed back within one goal when Valtteri Filppula tipped an off-speed shot along the ice by Martin St. Louis under Kuemper's left arm with 6:07 remaining in regulation. It was Filppula's 20th goal. Kuemper got some help midway through the third period from defenseman Ryan Suter. When a puck snuck through his five-hole and crept close to the goal line, Suter swiped it out and iced the puck to keep the Wild ahead 2-0. Kuemper also got an assist from the left post on a Johnson shot with 39 seconds left and the Lightning net empty. He stopped 11 shots in the first and second periods and 12 more in the third. With Scandella out virtually all night and the team playing with five defensemen, Suter played a game-high 34:31 and was a plus-1. An alternate captain for the U.S. in Sochi, it was the 28th time in 58 games Suter has played more than 30 minutes.