Results - Sun, Mar 02, 2014

Philadelphia @ Washington 5-4 OT - The home-and-home series between the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers that began on Sunday afternoon at Verizon Center provided each team with an appropriate taste of what a potential Stanley Cup Playoff matchup could feel like. In front of an energetic crowd with each teams' fan bases making their voices heard, two Metropolitan Division rivals with a rich, shared history battled through a contentious 60-plus minute game, neither shying away from any sort of contact in between or after whistles. By game's end, it was Philadelphia that scored the decisive blow, erasing a two-goal third-period deficit to defeat Washington 5-4 in overtime. Vincent Lecavalier scored the game-winner at 2:45 when his wrist shot changed direction and found its way past goaltender Braden Holtby (31 saves). It was the veteran forward's 900th career NHL point. Dmitry Orlov, Marcus Johansson and Jay Beagle scored for the Capitals, who saw their four-game winning streak snapped and an opportunity to attain a playoff position for the first time since Jan. 18 slip away. The teams will meet again Wednesday at Wells Fargo Center. With the Capitals and Flyers each having played matinees the day before, the game got off to an expectedly sleepy start, but the intensity ramped up considerably after the first five minutes. Washington took advantage first at 6:06 when Orlov capped off a dominant shift by the team's second line. With the Flyers' defense scrambling in an attempt to gain control of the puck, Orlov called his own shot, motioning to Troy Brouwer, who was behind the net. The defenseman wound up from the left circle and fired a booming shot past goaltender Steve Mason (25 saves). The Flyers tied the game on the power play at 11:22, though more than 90 seconds of game time had elapsed before it could be confirmed. Claude Giroux ripped a one-timer past Holtby from the left circle that clipped the back bar and caromed right out. The official behind the net, however, quickly waved it off, so play continued as the Flyers huddled to celebrate. Once play halted, the initial ruling was overturned by video review, officially confirming Giroux's 20th goal of the season. Johansson restored the Capitals' one-goal lead at 13:56 when he tipped in Jason Chimera's centering pass for his eighth of the season and his second at even strength. Another potential goal required video review with about five minutes remaining in the period. Nicklas Backstrom's shot trickled behind Mason, but Streit swiped it off the goal line just as it was about to cross over. The referee signaled no goal, and the subsequent review proved inconclusive to keep the score 2-1. It was a much-needed break for the Flyers, who were outplayed and outshot 17-6 in the first period. Philadelphia began the second with renewed energy, testing Holtby early. The Capitals goaltender thwarted the Flyers' chances, most impressively extending his left leg to prevent Wayne Simmonds' wide-open opportunity on a mini-breakaway. The Flyers, though, seized momentum and cashed in at 12:50 on a shorthanded goal by Adam Hall. Alex Ovechkin turned the puck over behind the Washington net, leaving an ill-advised drop pass for John Carlson that Sean Couturier retrieved and fed to Hall in the slot. Yet the Flyers' grasp on momentum loosened rather quickly when the Capitals scored twice in less than three minutes to grab a 4-2 lead. Beagle slammed a backhanded pass from Ward in the crease at 13:44 before Orlov scored on another long-range slap shot for his second of the game and third of the season, all of which have come against Philadelphia. It was Orlov, however, that shifted momentum back to Philadelphia when he boarded Brayden Schenn at 9:33 of the third period, giving the Flyers a five-minute power play. Jakub Voracek scored on the man advantage at 11:58, and the Flyers felt in control from that point forward. Giroux sent the game into overtime with a tip-in goal with 1:05 remaining in regulation and Mason pulled in favor of an extra attacker. From the second period on, Philadelphia outshot Washington 30-12. It was the third two-goal lead that the Capitals have blown in three games since returning from the NHL's two-week break for the 2014 Sochi Olympics and 14th this season.
Florida @ NY Islanders 5-3 - Scottie Upshall and Shawn Matthias each scored twice to complete a Florida Panthers rally in a 5-3 victory against the New York Islanders on Sunday at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Matthias and Upshall each added an assist for the Panthers, who won on the road for the first time since Jan. 26 and snapped a four-game losing streak. The Panthers and Buffalo Sabres are the only teams behind the Islanders in the Eastern Conference. For the Islanders, who allowed four goals in the third period, it spoiled a two-goal effort from Thomas Vanek in what may have been his final game at the Coliseum wearing an Islanders sweater. The Islanders play again Tuesday night at the Winnipeg Jets to open a four-game road trip that also includes visits to the three Western Canada teams, but there's no assurance Vanek or defenseman Andrew MacDonald will be in a road uniform. The 2014 NHL Trade Deadline is Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET, and Vanek is one of the hot commodities rumored to be on the market after he declared his intention of becoming a free agent after the regular season. He has 21 goals and 53 points in 60 games with the Islanders and Buffalo Sabres. Vanek ended an eight-game streak without a goal at 6:41 of the first after receiving a feed from Cal Clutterbuck and shooting it past Panthers goalie Tim Thomas for his 20th of the season. Goal No. 21 came 58 seconds later on an Islanders power play when he used a screen to beat Thomas up high. Matthias got the Panthers, who had lost five straight road games, on the board at 18:15 of the second. Islanders defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky failed to clear the puck, resulting in a turnover at the blue line, and Matthias sent home a rebound past goalie Anders Nilsson, who got the start in the second of a back-to-back set for the Islanders. New York responded a minute later with Ryan Strome's second goal of the season. Kyle Okposo powered past his defender and moved the puck to the net. Parked in front, Vanek swept the puck to an open Strome, who put it past Thomas to allow the Islanders to take a two-goal lead into the locker room. The Panthers' rally began at 3:16 of the third when Marcel Goc's shot from the point deflected off the stick of defenseman Matt Carkner. A minute and two seconds later, Matthias' second goal tied the game after he powered past MacDonald to beat Nilsson. It marked the 12th time in 63 games the Islanders allowed a two-goal lead to slip away. Frans Nielsen, who returned to the lineup Sunday after sustaining a broken hand Feb. 8, assisted on Vanek's second goal. Nielsen centered Anders Lee and Josh Bailey as part of Capuano's line adjustments before the game. Strome was moved to the second line between Michael Grabner and Okposo, and Vanek played with Clutterbuck and Brock Nelson. The loss dropped the Islanders to 4-12-5 in their past 20 games at the Coliseum. It's only the third time in franchise history they've won as few as nine of their first 32 home games.
Boston @ NY Rangers 6-3 - Tuukka Rask was ready to play shortly after 7:00 p.m. Sunday. It's a good thing too, because his Boston Bruins teammates needed some extra time to get their game in order at Madison Square Garden. Despite being sluggish and sloppy at the start of the game, the Bruins found their legs and got their heads together to rally behind Rask in a 6-3 victory against the New York Rangers for their first win since returning from the NHL break for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Rask made 39 saves, including 19 in the first period, and Boston got goals from Jarome Iginla, Dougie Hamilton, Carl Soderberg, Milan Lucic and Gregory Campbell, who scored twice in the third period, to complete its sweep of the season series against the Rangers (3-0-0) and increase its lead over the Montreal Canadiens in the Atlantic Division to six points. The Bruins also have two games in hand. J.T. Miller, Brad Richards and Ryan McDonagh scored for the Rangers, who lost in regulation for the second time in as many days and dropped to third in the Metropolitan Division. It's not clear if this was New York captain Ryan Callahan's last game with the Rangers. Callahan is reportedly on the trading block and could be dealt before the NHL Trade Deadline at 3 p.m. ET Wednesday. Campbell's first goal was the backbreaker because it came during a New York power play midway through the third period of what was a one-goal game. Loui Eriksson broke out of the zone and carried the puck down the right side. He patiently waited for Campbell, who had just come onto the ice for Chris Kelly, to streak down the middle as the trailer. Richards lost sight of Campbell, who got the pass from Eriksson in between the hash marks, deked to his backhand and beat Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist to give Boston the 4-2 lead with 10:56 to play in the third period. Campbell's second goal came 4:22 later when Daniel Paille's shot from the left side hit off his skate and went into the net to give Boston a 5-2 lead. The goal was upheld after a video review to determine if Campbell made a distinct kicking motion. McDonagh scored his ninth of the season less than two minutes after Campbell's second goal. It came on New York's 40th shot of the game. Boston scored its six goals on 33 shots. Lundqvist was further crushed by how the Bruins scored their goals. Iginla scored on a redirection in the slot with 1:53 to play in the first period after Lucic forced the puck free with a hard forecheck. Hamilton scored 4:04 into the second period from between the hash marks after Lucic's pass attempt to David Krejci hit off of Dan Girardi's stick and went right to the Bruins' 20-year-old defenseman. Soderberg made it 3-1 five-and-a-half minutes after Hamilton's goal with a pretty move from the slot after Eriksson tapped the puck over to him. Lucic made it 6-3 with a deft deflection of Matt Bartkowski's shot from the left side. The Rangers seemed to have it all going at the start of the game, and they jumped on Boston early with Miller's breakaway goal and kept coming at Rask with odd-man rush after odd-man rush. New York couldn't put the game away early despite holding a 14-1 edge in shots on goal 10 minutes in. It took a hard forecheck from Lucic to give the Bruins' the emotional lift they needed to snap out of their funk, which had been going on since Wednesday, when they lost to the last-place Buffalo Sabres in their first game back from the Olympics. Krejci dumped the puck into the corner, and Lucic chased after it, taking out Miller and Girardi as he barreled hard toward the end boards. The puck sprung free and Krejci, who followed his dump-in, picked it up in the lower part of the left circle. He then slotted a pass to Iginla, who got his stick down to redirect the puck into the net. Richards' 16th goal of the season made it 3-2 with 3:07 left before the second intermission. At that point the Rangers were feeling better going into the second intermission and came out playing better in the third to the point where their pressure resulted in Hamilton shooting the puck over the glass for a minor penalty with 11:58 to play. However, instead of taking advantage of the power play, Eriksson made a patient play, Richards lost Campbell, and the Bruins scored a shorthanded goal that turned into the game-winner.
Tampa Bay @ Colorado 3-6 - Avalanche coach Patrick Roy has asked his defensemen all season to get involved in the offense when given the chance, and it paid off again Sunday in a 6-3 come-from-behind win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Pepsi Center. Three of the Avalanche's four third-period goals came from defensemen, who scored four in the game. Nick Holden matched a career-high with two goals, and Tyson Barrie and Erik Johnson each had one. Forwards Ryan O'Reilly and Paul Stastny also scored for Colorado. Johnson stole the puck from Ryan Malone and beat 6-foot-7 Lightning goalie Ben Bishop with a low shot from near the right-wing boards for his first goal in 18 games. Holden scored an empty-net goal with 53.1 seconds to play after the Avalanche killed off a tripping penalty to Jan Hejda, and Stastny added an empty-net goal with 6.3 seconds to go. The win was the Avalanche's fourth in 20 games in which they trailed after two periods. The loss was the Lightning's third in 25 games in regulation when they were ahead after two. The Avalanche were awarded four consecutive power plays, three in the third period, and scored on one to tie the game 3-3. O'Reilly slid the puck from the right circle through the slot to Holden, who moved near the left post and redirected the pass over Bishop's right pad at 5:12. It was the Avalanche's sixth power-play goal in the past three games. Lightning right wing Martin St. Louis, who had two goals in each of the previous two games, didn't have a point and was held to one third-period shot. Center Nate Thompson scored twice in the second period to give the Lightning a 3-2 lead. He has eight goals in 60 games, five goals in the past seven games. Thompson tied the game at 6:40 when he skated into the left circle and took a shot from a sharp angle that went under goalie Semyon Varlamov's right pad. The Avalanche killed off a hooking penalty to Matt Duchene, the first penalty of the game, that began at 13:47, but Thompson scored again at 17:37. He took a shot from the left circle that Varlamov stopped with his pad, but Thompson continued to the net and chipped in the rebound. Barrie and O'Reilly scored goals 1:42 apart on consecutive shots late in the first period to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead. Lightning center Tom Pyatt opened the scoring at 16:49. He skated into the lower end of the left circle and beat Varlamov to the short side for his second goal in 13 games this season. Barrie collected his career-high eighth goal 30 seconds later. He maneuvered around Pyatt in the right circle, cut to the net and slipped the puck between Bishop's pads. Rookie Nathan MacKinnon had an assist on the play to stretch his point streak to 11 games. O'Reilly broke the tie with 58.6 seconds left in the period. PA Parenteau slid a cross-ice pass to O'Reilly in the right circle for a shot that seemed to surprise Bishop. The goal was O'Reilly's team-leading and career-high 23rd.
Carolina @ Anaheim 3-5 - There is some debate that the Ducks should add a small piece before the NHL Trade Deadline on Wednesday, perhaps a veteran defenseman or a center with size. But judging from their two games since the 2014 Sochi Olympics, what they have is fine. After grinding out a win against the St. Louis Blues on Friday, Anaheim received two first-period goals from Corey Perry to springboard to a 5-3 win Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes at Honda Center. Perry concurred that he likes what is in Anaheim's room, and it doesn't hurt to have a five-game homestand out of the break. Andrew Cogliano scored shorthanded (his career-high 19th goal) and Jakob Silfverberg and Francois Beauchemin also scored in Anaheim's final game before the deadline. Goalie Frederik Andersen made 49 saves and improved to 15-3-0, yet could get sent back to the minors because Viktor Fasth completed his conditioning assignment in the American Hockey League and is due to return to the club shortly. That is the embarrassing depth of Anaheim, which was contrasted by a Carolina road trip that gets worse. The Hurricanes have been outscored 15-7 in the past three games and are on a five-game losing streak dating to before the Olympic break. The Hurricanes got right wing Alexander Semin back from injury, but lost defenseman Justin Faulk to an upper-body injury. Goalie Cam Ward allowed three goals on Anaheim's first 12 shots and is 0-2 since he came back from injury. Carolina's main highlight came when Andrej Sekera finished an amazing display of puck possession to break the shutout at 15:20 of the second. Carolina coach Kirk Muller didn't have an update on Faulk, other than saying they'll assess it Monday. The Hurricanes put a season-high 52 shots on goal, 26 in the third, and will continue to try to use those positives. Cogliano and Silfverberg opened a 5-0 lead in a second period that showed the enormous gap between the teams. Cogliano slipped a wrist shot five-hole on Ward at 3:31 for his eighth career shorthanded goal. Silfverberg, a healthy scratch Friday despite his silver-medal pedigree, chopped the puck off the back of the net and swiped it in the goal at 8:47, during 4-on-4 play. Perry's second goal was a wrist shot that beat Ward cleanly on the glove side at 16:26 of the first to help the Ducks take a 3-0 lead into first intermission. Anaheim just finished a long possession in Carolina's end and Perry streaked down the left side. Perry got Anaheim started with a tap-in goal off Dustin Penner's deflected shot-pass at 6:39 of the first. Francois Beauchemin felled Carolina defenseman Brett Bellemore with a slap shot to begin the sequence. Beauchemin's booming shot hasn't connected much this season, but he scored his second goal at 13:38 of the first on a shot that hit Jiri Tlusty's stick and went under Ward's glove. Beauchemin's other goal came Dec. 31. Carolina's special teams problems continued when it committed a too-many-men penalty on a power play in the second period. The Hurricanes are scoreless on the power play in nine straight road games (0-for-31). Cogliano's goal was the third shorthanded goal allowed by the Hurricanes in the past three games. Anaheim center Mathieu Perreault was scratched after he sustained an upper-body injury Friday.