Results - Sun, Mar 09, 2014

Detroit @ NY Rangers 0-3 - New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist started his Sunday afternoon looking to secure two big points against an Eastern Conference rival. He ended it by adding another page to the team's illustrious history. Lundqvist made 30 saves to earn his 300th career win and the Rangers defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 in a Sunday matinee at Madison Square Garden, that would have no doubt had HFATP contributor and blue shirts fan JL Kangas smiling. Lundqvist is one win shy of tying Mike Richter for the Rangers franchise win record and his 49th career shutout tied him with Ed Giacomin on the team's all-time list. Chris Kreider did his part to "take care of the rest" with two goals and Brian Boyle opened the scoring for New York; Jimmy Howard stopped 28 of 31 shots for Detroit. Lundqvist extended his shutout streak against Detroit to 176:24, a run that consists of 91 shots dating back to March 21, 2012. The win moved New York one point ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Boyle opened the scoring on what appeared at first to be a spoiled odd-man rush. John Moore took a drop pass and had a shooting lane in the slot, but was stopped by the oncoming Daniel Alfredsson, who broke Moore's stick in the process. The loose puck slid right to Boyle, who spun around and fired a wrist shot that trickled past Howard 5:14 into the game for his fifth goal. The first half of the opening period belonged to New York, which outshot Detroit 9-4 in the first 10 minutes. The Rangers almost scored again when Marc Staal flipped a football-style pass the length of the ice that found Derick Brassard streaking toward the Detroit net. Brassard went in alone on Howard and went to his backhand, but the shot grazed off Howard's right pad and glided wide of the left post with 11:21 left in the period. With three shots in the opening 86 seconds, the Rangers stormed out of the gate and the Red Wings had trouble generating offensive-zone pressure in the first as their counter-attack was frustrated by a disciplined Rangers defense. After the teams traded chances in the second period, Kreider gave New York a 2-0 lead 14 seconds into the third. Nyquist's failed clearing attempt skipped to Derek Stepan, who fed Ryan McDonagh at the point. The Rangers defenseman fired a low, hard slap shot from the point that Kreider tipped over Howard's left shoulder. The picture-perfect tip gave Kreider his 15th goal of the season and New York a comfortable third-period lead they wouldn't relinquish. Kreider's second goal put the game away with 7:49 remaining. Stepan started the play by beating Niklas Kronwall to a loose puck and creating a 2-on-1 rush as he sped out of the defensive zone. He fed Kreider with a long cross-ice pass just as he entered the Detroit zone and made no mistake, putting a hard, rising shot that beat Howard inside the left post. Stepan and McDonagh each earned their second assist of the game. That hustle play from the Rangers' top line ended the day for the Red Wings. New York failed to generate chances at the start of the second period, firing one shot in the first eight minutes. The Red Wings sustained pressure in the Rangers' zone during that time but failed to beat Lundqvist, who got help from a defense that blocked five shots in the first 5:28 of the second. The Rangers' leading shot-blocker, Dan Girardi, blocked two shots six seconds apart while Detroit maintained offensive-zone pressure. The teams traded opportunities with the man advantage and Detroit's best chance came with 8:20 remaining in the second after Daniel Carcillo was called for tripping. Johan Franzen weaved behind the New York net and found Todd Bertuzzi open at the lip of the crease. Bertuzzi snapped a quick one-timer from point-blank range but Lundqvist cut down the angle to make his finest save of the afternoon on his way to another landmark achievement in an impressive career.
Boston @ Florida 5-2 - Nothing these days can stop the Boston Bruins' dominance against the Florida Panthers. Having to play a second game in less than 24 hours didn't do it, nor did another strong performance by Roberto Luongo. Torey Krug broke a 1-1 tie at 7:38 of the third period and Patrice Bergeron had a goal and an assist to help the Bruins beat the Panthers for an eighth consecutive time in a 5-2 win Sunday at BB&T Center. The victory completed a two-game Sunshine State sweep for the Bruins, who beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in a shootout Saturday. The end result, though, was the same for a Boston-Florida matchup as it has been for the past two seasons. Florida hasn't beaten Boston since a 6-2 victory on March 15, 2012, getting outscored 33-10 during the streak. Boston swept the season series 5-0, including a 4-1 victory at TD Garden on Tuesday. The win was Boston's fifth in a row, its longest winning streak of the season. The Bruins earlier had four four-game winning streaks. Andrej Meszaros and Jarome Iginla also scored for the Bruins, who moved ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins into first place in the Eastern Conference standings. Boston has 89 points to Pittsburgh's 88, although the Penguins have played one fewer game. Chris Kelly scored an empty-net goal with 1:08 left. Meszaros, acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, made his Bruins debut and played 20:36, the second-highest figure on the team behind only Zdeno Chara's 22:54. Chad Johnson made a second consecutive start against the Panthers and stopped 20 shots. He made 23 saves in the game Tuesday. Jimmy Hayes, a Boston native who grew up about 10 minutes from TD Garden, scored twice for Florida. It was his first two-goal performance in 78 career games. The 6-foot-6 Hayes used his size to score from close range each time. After stopping 25 shots for the Panthers' first shutout in almost two years in a 2-0 victory against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, Luongo made 37 saves against the Bruins. Luongo preserved a 1-1 tie early in the third period when he made a blocker save on Gregory Campbell on a shorthanded breakaway. Krug beat Luongo for his 13th goal of the season with a backhand deke after taking a pass from Brad Marchand in the slot. Krug is fourth among NHL defensemen in goals behind only Erik Karlsson (17), Shea Weber (15) and Dustin Byfuglien (14). The teams then combined for three goals in 52 seconds. Bergeron made it 3-1 at 11:21 with a second power-play goal for Boston when he one-timed Loui Eriksson's pass near the right faceoff dot. Hayes cut the lead back to one at 11:50 when he poked home a loose puck lying on the goal line between Johnson's legs. Iginla restored the two-goal cushion at 12:13 with a wrist shot from the slot that beat Luongo high to the blocker side. It was the 550th goal of Iginla' career. Iginla moved into sole possession of 26th place on the NHL's all-time list, breaking a tie with Ron Francis. Next on the list with 556 goals is longtime Bruins forward Johnny Bucyk. Boston dominated play in the first period, which ended in a scoreless tie mostly because of the strong play of Luongo. Eriksson also hit the post with a slap shot with 4:10 left in the period. Hayes opened the scoring at 7:00 in the second period with a goal on a rebound. Hayes stood alone to the right of Johnson after the goalie stopped Nick Bjugstad's quick shot from the slot. Meszaros tied the game at 9:58 with a power-play goal that was confirmed after being reviewed. With Florida killing a penalty for too many men on the ice, Meszaros' shot from the point found its way through a crowd and past Luongo. Meszaros became the first defenseman to score in his Bruins debut since Sergei Gonchar in March of 2004. The Bruins then took over in the third period. Panthers defenseman Erik Gudbranson left the game midway through the third period with an apparent injury to his left leg after getting tangled with Marchand near the Florida blue line. Gudbranson was seen using crutches after the game. Boston forward Daniel Paille left the game in the first period after taking a big hit from defenseman Ed Jovanovski along the boards. Paille was able to skate to the Boston bench before leaving for the dressing room.
Los Angeles @ Edmonton 4-2 - Kings center Jeff Carter proved Sunday night that scoring goals is not always about shooting the puck. Carter scored two goals without taking a shot at Rexall Place, pacing the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-2 win against the Oilers. The Kings' forward was awarded a goal directed into the net by an Oilers defenseman in the first period and had another bounce in off the back of his leg in the second. Alec Martinez and Trevor Lewis also scored for the Kings, who extended their win streak to seven games. Jonathan Quick made 25 saves for Los Angeles. Ben Scrivens, facing the Kings for the first time since being traded by Los Angeles to Edmonton on Jan. 15, made 46 saves for the Oilers. Scrivens stopped 59 shots in a record-breaking shutout performance against the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 29. Taylor Hall and Sam Gagner scored for the Oilers. It was the second time they have conceded at least 50 shots in a game this season. The Kings opened the scoring at 1:36 of the first period when Oilers defenseman Philip Larsen inadvertently kicked the puck into his own net. The goal was awarded to Carter, who had centered the puck. Edmonton tied the game at 7:24 on a three-way passing play inside the Kings' zone. Gagner slid the puck up to David Perron just inside the blue line, where he spun and found a streaking Hall with a behind-the-back pass. Hall took the pass and slipped the puck underneath Quick. Martinez restored the Kings' lead at 8:49 of the second period on a point shot that found its way through traffic and past Scrivens. Prior to the goal, Scrivens made a handful of good saves while the Kings increased the pressure in the second period. They went on to outshoot the Oilers 21-14 in the second. Carter increased the Kings' lead to 3-1 at 10:16, after a rebound bounced off the back of his leg past Scrivens. Carter then set up Lewis at 15:49, increasing The Kings lead to 4-1. In the third, the Gagner cut the deficit to 4-2 with his seventh goal of the season at 2:05. While playing 4-on-4, Gagner took a cross-crease pass from Hall at the side of the net and sent a pass across the crease intended for Ryan Smyth. The puck bounced off Kings defenseman Drew Doughty in front and past Quick. The loss snapped the Oilers' two-game win streak. They'll play the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night in the first of a four-game road trip.