Results - Sun, Mar 03, 2014

Columbus @ Toronto 2-1 - The Blue Jackets simply have the Toronto Maple Leafs number this season. Artem Anisimov's goal at 12:38 of the second period proved to be the game-winner in the Blue Jackets' 2-1 victory against the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre on Monday night. Anisimov shook off a hit from Maple Leafs defenseman Cody Franson, got up and received a pass from defenseman Nikita Nikitin to snap a wrist shot past Toronto goalie James Reimer for his 16th goal of the season. The Blue Jackets won all three games against the Maple Leafs this season and snapped Toronto's seven-game home win streak and extended their winless streak to three games. The Maple Leafs nearly got on the board first when Phil Kessel fired a shot that got through Blue Jackets Sergei Bobrovsky at 9:15 of the first period. The puck came loose through Bobrovsky (28 saves) and sat on the goal line before it was swept away by Blue Jackets forward Ryan Johansen. The play was reviewed by the NHL and video replay confirmed the puck did not cross the line. Columbus defenseman Dalton Prout put Columbus ahead with his first goal of the season at 9:44 of the second period. Prout let a slap shot loose from just inside the blue line and beat Reimer, who was screened by forward Mark Letestu. The goal was Prout's second of his career and first since April 18, 2013 against the Los Angeles Kings. Anisimov's goal made it 2-0 and the Blue Jackets outshot the Maple Leafs 12-5 in the second. The fans at Air Canada Centre booed the home team off the ice at the end of the period. Mason Raymond got the Maple Leafs within one at 15:45 of the third period. Joffrey Lupul dropped a pass to Raymond, who let a slap shot fly from the faceoff circle that beat Bobrovsky up high for his 17th goal of the season. Despite a flurry of chances at the end of the game, the Maple Leafs couldn't come up with the tying goal. Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray left the game after the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return.
Calgary @ Minnesota 2-3 - At times Monday against the Flames, it wasn't pretty for the Wild. But in the end, it was enough. The Wild scored twice in the third period and defeated the Flames 3-2 at Xcel Energy Center, running their season-long winning streak to five games. The win was Minnesota's third straight out of the Olympic break and gives the Wild 75 points and a nine-point cushion on a wild-card spot on both the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks. Minnesota, which currently holds the top wild-card position in the Western Conference, is seven points clear the Dallas Stars, the conference's second wild-card team. Yeo said he expected the game Monday to be a grind-it-out affair, and he was right. Each team was sluggish in a scoreless first period and after trading goals in the second, the Wild scored the first two goals of the third period to claim a 3-1 lead. Zach Parise was credited with what proved to be the game-winner on a tip-in from the doorstep with 5:16 remaining in regulation. At the time, it looked like nothing more than an insurance goal and put the Wild ahead by two. But Calgary's Mark Giordano took a pretty pass from Markus Granlund in the left circle and blasted a one-timer past Darcy Kuemper at 16:01. The Flames pulled goaltender Reto Berra with over a minute remaining and had quality zone time, but could not find the tying goal. Minnesota got on the board first when Matt Cooke stole the puck away from Berra behind the net and chipped it to Kyle Brodziak on the goal line. Brodziak dragged the puck to the crease and fired into an open net for his fifth of the season at 9:02 of the second. Calgary tied the score later in the period when a soft shot from the right half-wall by Dennis Wideman deflected off Wild captain Mikko Koivu in the slot and right to Mike Cammalleri in the left circle, where Cammalleri rocketed a shot past a sprawling Kuemper for his 14th of the season and first in 10 games. Minnesota took a 2-1 lead early in the third on a power-play goal by Jared Spurgeon. The goal was his second of the season and first since Oct. 8. In the first-ever NHL game between the brothers Granlund, older brother Mikael netted two assists for the Wild. Markus assisted on Giordano's goal, which was his first NHL point in his third career game. Koivu returned Monday after missing 17 games with a fractured ankle. He was held scoreless and was a minus-1 in 19:21 of ice time.
Montreal @ Los Angeles 1-2 - It became clear early on that not much was going to be yielded by the Kings and Canadiens. They combined for 13 shots through 30 minutes and things didn't loosen up until the third period. That's why it seemed like the seas parted when Anze Kopitar tossed a pretty backhand pass to Jeff Carter, whose 250th career goal allowed the Kings to beat Montreal 2-1 at Staples Center on Monday night. Carter one-timed it into an open net 4:14 into the second period for a power-play goal and L.A. scratched out its fifth straight win. The Kings continued to taper for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and again they were anchored by goalie Jonathan Quick, who improved to 4-0-0 with 90 saves on 93 shots in his past four games. He recorded his first career win against Montreal in three tries. The Canadiens began a four-game stretch away from home with a poor performance on special teams. Their fourth-ranked penalty-killing unit allowed Carter's goal, which came with Ryan White serving one of two penalties taken 200 feet from Montreal's net. The Canadiens had one shot on goal on three power plays and didn't get into a rhythm until the third period against a Kings team that specializes in third-period closeouts. L.A. is 123-11-1 in the past 135 regular-season games in which it led after two periods. Montreal doesn't play L.A. often, but Therrien called the Kings the "best defensive team in the League," and that was the sentiment in the Canadiens' dressing room after they got a taste of L.A.'s grind-it-out style. The Kings held the Canadiens to 18 shots, their second fewest this season and lowest since Dec.15. Montreal's goal came on a fluke bounce, but it was the result of a good shift by P.K. Subban, who started the possession in L.A.'s end and sent a shot from the right wall that Quick redirected to the skate of Jarret Stoll and into the goal at 14:45 of the first. The Kings enjoyed a dominant start and scored on a rush when trailer Jake Muzzin beat Budaj with a wrist shot 1:54 into the game. It was a rather soft goal by Budaj, who otherwise got Montreal through a third-period push. Los Angeles came inches from taking a 3-1 lead at the end of the second when Drew Doughty hit the post and Kopitar missed an open net on a power play. But a one-goal lead is all Quick needs. He has a 1.79 goals-against average and three shutouts in 19 games since he came back from a groin injury. It was L.A.'s first home win against Montreal since March 8, 2003. Stoll played in his 700th game and Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty played in his 300th.