Results - Fri, Mar 07, 2014

NY Rangers @ Carolina 4-2 - With the game tied in the final minutes, the New York Rangers learned exactly what Martin St. Louis brings to the team. The wing patiently worked the puck through his teammates during a 1:29 stretch of a two-man advantage. Then, in the final seconds of the 5-on-3, St. Louis slipped a pass across the crease to Derek Stepan for the go-ahead goal in a 4-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes. St. Louis was acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday in a trade for Ryan Callahan. Rangers linemate Brad Richards, who played with St. Louis in Tampa Bay, said his first point with New York is just scratching the surface. It capped a wild finish to a game the Hurricanes led 1-0 in the third period on Jordan Staal's first-period goal. New York made it 1-1 on Ryan McDonagh's shorthanded goal at 7:25. Rick Nash skated the puck up the left wing before leaving a drop pass for McDonagh, who beat Anton Khudobin between the pads for his 11th of the season. Khudobin was strong throughout the game, stopping 40 shots. Less than five minutes later, Jeff Skinner gave Carolina a 2-1 lead on his first penalty-shot goal. He earned the chance when he was tied up by Anton Stralman on a breakaway. Skinner beat Henrik Lundqvist with a wrist shot over the glove at 12:07. New York tied the game 2-2 when Nash's centering pass deflected into the net at 13:24 for his 20th goal of the season. The Rangers ended up with the late 5-on-3 after an unusual set of penalties. Carolina defensemen Ron Hainsey and Brett Bellemore each took a delay of game for clearing the puck over the glass. New York worked the puck around the offensive zone but managed two shots in the first 1:12 of the advantage before scoring. New York's Carl Hagelin scored into the empty net with 41 seconds left to complete New York's four-goal third period. The loss was costly for Carolina, who have lost eight of 11 and sits in 13th place in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes have lost 10 straight to the Rangers. Carolina's 29th-ranked power play squandered a 43-second 5-on-3 in the second period and 7:17 of power-play time overall. Lundqvist kept the Rangers close and Stepan deserved credit for the game-winner, but it was St. Louis' night, if only because the Rangers got their first real glimpse of what their new 38-year-old forward can do when the game is on the line.
New Jersey @ Detroit 4-7 - Johan Franzen and his linemates were too much for the New Jersey Devils on Friday. Franzen scored two goals and set up two others to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 7-4 victory against the New Jersey Devils, avenging a one-goal road loss from three nights earlier. The line of Franzen, Gustav Nyquist and newcomer David Legwand, acquired from the Nashville Predators prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on Wednesday, combined for four goals and 11 points. Nyquist broke a 3-3 tie at 15:05 of the second period, Kyle Quincey made it a two-goal game 1:56 later, and Legwand converted the rebound of Franzen's shot for his first goal with the Red Wings 4:48 into the third period. Franzen set up Brendan Smith's first-period goal, then scored twice during Detroit's four-goal second period. Drew Miller added a third-period goal. Franzen has four goals and seven points in three games against the Devils this season. New Jersey goaltender Cory Schneider allowed his career-high in goals after Martin Brodeur defeated Detroit 4-3 Tuesday in Newark, N.J. Jonas Gustavsson made 21 saves and is 15-4-3 for the Red Wings (29-21-13), who snapped a two-game losing streak and solidified their hold on the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference. The Devils got two goals from Adam Henrique and one each from Patrik Elias and Jaromir Jagr but fell four points behind the Red Wings and matched the most goals they've allowed this season. The New York Rangers defeated New Jersey 7-3 at Yankee Stadium on Jan. 26. Some smart puck-handling by Franzen led to Smith's game-opening goal at 13:43. Franzen picked up a feed from Nyquist and controlled the puck in the New Jersey zone while his team changed. Smith, the last of the Red Wings coming off the bench, raced to the blue line and one-timed Franzen's pass from the right circle through a screen past Schneider for his third goal of the season and second this week against the Devils. New Jersey had two good chances early in the second period, but Gustavsson denied Andy Greene's left-point slap shot through a screen and Jagr whipped a backhander wide of the net on the next shift. That miss came back to bite the Devils; on the return rush, Franzen deflected Nyquist's wrister from beyond the top of the right circle past Schneider at 5:34. Legwand had the second assist for his first point with the Red Wings. Detroit had a chance to take a commanding lead when New Jersey defenseman Mark Fayne was called for interference at 7:47. Instead, the Devils got back into it when Elias scored a shorthanded goal at 9:23. After Detroit rookie forward Tomas Jurco flubbed a one-timer, Elias led a 2-on-1 rush and blasted a slap shot from above the top of the right circle past Gustavsson for his 14th of the season. The Devils tied it 57 seconds later on a great individual effort by Jagr, who bulled his way through two Red Wings in the slot before zipping a wrister past Gustavsson. It was Jagr's 20th goal of the season, the 18th time he's reached that milestone in the NHL but the first since he had 25 for the New York Rangers in 2007-08. With the Red Wings reeling, Henrique put the Devils ahead for the first time at 11:44. Fayne threw the puck from the right half-wall toward the slot, where Henrique slipped the check of Quincey, deflected the puck through Gustavsson's pads, and banged it into the net for his career-best 20th of the season. That 3-2 lead lasted only until Franzen's power-play goal at 13:47. With defenseman Jon Merrill off for delay of game after shooting the puck into the seats, Franzen came down the slot and one-timed Todd Bertuzzi's pass from the lower left circle past Schneider for his 15th of the season. Nyquist, who had three assists, put Detroit ahead when he carried from his own zone into the slot and whipped a high shot past Schneider for his 16th goal of the season to break the tie. Quincey scored his fourth of the season at 17:01 when he came late and rifled a pass from Riley Sheahan past Schneider from inside the left circle. Legwand, who had the primary assist on Nyquist's goal, fired home a rebound for a three-point night after Schneider stopped Franzen's shot from the slot following a turnover.
Buffalo @ Florida 0-2 - From the warm reception to the periodic chants of "Loooouuu" throughout the game to the outcome, Roberto Luongo couldn't have scripted his return to the Florida Panthers any better. In his first start since being traded from the Vancouver Canucks back to the Panthers, Luongo made 25 saves to extend his franchise record for shutouts and Florida beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 at BB&T Center on Friday night. The shutout was the fourth of the season for Luongo, but the first for the Panthers in almost two years. The last one came on April 21, 2012, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals when Jose Theodore made 30 saves in a 3-0 victory against the New Jersey Devils. Florida's last regular-season shutout was March 11, 2012, when Theodore made 34 saves in a 2-0 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes. The shutout was the 66th of Luongo's career, his 27th with the Panthers and his first with Florida since Feb. 7, 2006, when he made 44 saves in a 5-0 victory against the Washington Capitals. Luongo's teammates did their best to make things as easy as possible on him, outshooting Buffalo 44-25. It was the first time in seven games the Panthers allowed fewer than 32 shots. Luongo did have to make a couple of big saves, most notably on a rebound against Tyler Ennis late in the second period when he was sprawled and appeared to stop the puck with the shaft of his goalie stick. Luongo also came up with a nice pad save on Cody Hodgson with just over a minute left in regulation. Luongo outdueled Michal Neuvirth, making his first start for Buffalo since being acquired in a trade with the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. Neuvirth made 42 saves, including one against Sean Bergenheim on a penalty shot in the second period. Neuvirth had last played on Feb. 4 when he stopped 27 of 28 saves for Washington in a 1-0 loss against the New York Islanders. He certainly didn't show any rust, coming up with big save after big save. He was particularly tough on Bergenheim, who finished with 12 shots on goals, two shy of the Panthers' single-game record. Jesse Winchester and Dmitry Kulikov scored power-play goals for the Panthers, who won for the third time in 11 games. It marked the first time since Dec. 3 and the third time this season that the Panthers scored two power-play goals in the same game. Buffalo came into the game with the worst record in the NHL but was 4-1-0 since play resumed after the break for the Sochi Olympics. However, the Sabres were playing for the second consecutive night and were shorthanded after losing forwards Torrey Mitchell, Zemgus Girgensons and Chris Stewart to injuries in a 3-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night. Buffalo was also without center Cory Conacher, who was claimed off waivers from the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday but couldn't join the Sabres in time because of immigration issues. Against the Panthers, the Sabres lost forward Marcus Foligno only 6:16 into the game when he was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for boarding Panthers center Brandon Pirri. Defenseman Alexander Sulzer didn't play in the last two periods because of a lower-body injury that Nolan said likely will keep him out of the lineup one to two weeks. Winchester opened the scoring at 11:11 of the first period with five seconds left in Foligno's major penalty. Winchester scored with a quick shot from the slot after a spectacular no-look, cross-ice pass by Scottie Upshall. Kulikov made it 2-0 at 4:04 of the third period, seconds after Brad Boyes hit the post from the front of the net. The puck found its way back to the point, and Kulikov beat Neuvirth with a slap shot from beyond the left circle. Emergency call-ups Luke Adam and Nicolas Deslauriers both suited up for the Sabres. Deslauriers, acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, made his NHL debut. Also making his NHL debut was Panthers center Vincent Trocheck, who was named the Ontario Hockey League's most outstanding player last season after leading the OHL in scoring and was leading the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League in scoring before he was called up on Wednesday. Deslauriers played 15:08 and had four shots on goals, while Trocheck played 17:35 and finished with three shots. This night, though, was mostly about Luongo.
NY Islanders @ Calgary 3-4 - The Flames made Joe Nieuwendyk Night one to remember, and in doing so continued the Islanders' inability to handle two-goal leads. Joe Colborne's second goal of the game with 4:19 remaining in regulation Friday night capped Calgary's comeback and gave the Flames a 4-3 win at Scotiabank Saddledome, handing the Islanders their 12th loss of the season in a game they've led by two goals. The Islanders had blown a two-goal lead in the third period 24 hours prior in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers. New York has allowed two-goal leads to get away 14 times this season, losing 12 of those games. Prior to the game, the Flames honored Nieuwendyk by inducting him in a pregame "Forever a Flame" ceremony, with his banner joining Al MacInnis, the first to receive the distinction, and the retired numbers of Lanny McDonald (No. 9) and Mike Vernon (No. 30). New York led 3-1 midway through the third period before the Flames rallied for three goals in a 4:12 span. Colborne took Mark Giordano's shot off the end boards and beat Anders Nilsson at 11:29 for his sixth goal of the season to pull the Flames within one. Sean Monahan tied it at 14:22. From below the goal line, Monahan worked a give-and-go with TJ Galiardi before driving out from behind the net and wrapping the puck between Nilsson's legs to tie the game. Colborne's second of the night, a redirection of Giordano's point shot, handed the Islanders their seventh regulation loss in a game they led by two goals. They've also lost five such games in overtime or a shootout. After Nieuwendyk's lengthy ceremony kicked off the night, Markus Granlund started the scoring. With Monahan in the penalty box for tripping, goaltender Joni Ortio's clearing attempt landed on the stick of fellow rookie Granlund, who charged into the Islanders' zone but had his shot blocked. The 20-year-old corralled the rebound and fed Paul Byron, took a return pass and beat Nilsson to put Calgary up 1-0 just 2:01 into the game. The assist was Ortio's first career point and came two days after he earned his first NHL victory. Josh Bailey tried to even the game on the same power play, beating Ortio but ringing his shot off the crossbar. McDonald fared better. From behind the net, Ryan Strome spotted McDonald at the bottom of the right circle, and he one-timed the pass over Ortio's shoulder from the sharp angle to tie the game at 15:26. Second-period goals by Kyle Okposo and Brock Nelson gave the Islanders a 3-1 lead through 40 minutes. After an errant pass by a pinching Giordano, Michael Grabner broke down the ice on a 2-on-1 and dished a pass to Okposo, who buried his team-leading 26th of the season over Ortio at 6:31. Nelson capitalized on Calgary's second major turnover of the second. Near the end of a lengthy shift, Ben Hanowski's cross-ice pass was picked off by Matt Donovan. He quickly regained the Flames zone before dropping a pass to Bailey, who fed Nelson for his 11th of the season at 12:08 to give the Islanders a two-goal lead. New York had a chance to take a three-goal lead early in the third period when back-to-back penalties gave the Islanders a 5-on-3 power play for 65 seconds. But Okposo's rocket from the slot hit the crossbar and stayed out, and the Flames killed off the rest of the power play to keep the deficit at two goals.