Results - Sun, Mar 16, 2013

Vancouver @ Florida 4-3 SO - Roberto Luongo saw a lot of familiar faces Sunday when he played the Vancouver Canucks for the first time since they traded him. But it was one of the few players with whom he had never been teammates who helped the Canucks defeat Luongo and the Florida Panthers. Nicklas Jensen, recalled from Utica of the American Hockey League three days after Luongo was traded to the Panthers, scored the only goal in the shootout to give Vancouver a 4-3 victory at BB&T Center. Eddie Lack, whose ascent to No. 1 goalie status in Vancouver led to Luongo being traded, stopped all three Panthers attempts in the shootout, clinching the victory when he turned away Brandon Pirri in the second half of the third round. Luongo, who was dealt to Florida the day before the NHL Trade Deadline, made 29 saves two nights after stopping 28 shots to defeat his former goalie partner in Vancouver, Cory Schneider, who is playing for the New Jersey Devils. Though there no doubt had to be some satisfaction in beating Luongo, the Canucks more importantly got a much-needed victory Sunday in their quest to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Vancouver (31-29-10) came into the game five points behind the Dallas Stars and the Phoenix Coyotes for the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Dallas faced the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night; Phoenix was idle. Alexandre Burrows had a goal and two assists, and Dan Hamhuis and Jensen scored for the Canucks. Henrik Sedin had two assists. Burrows, who missed 32 games this season because of injuries, scored his first two goals of the season in a 3-2 shootout victory against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday, Jimmy Hayes had two power-play goals and Vincent Trocheck scored for Florida (25-36-7), which lost for the ninth time in 12 games and will embark on a four-game West Coast trip starting against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. Hayes (6-foot-6) has five goals in nine games since being put on the power play upon the return from the Olympic break. After Florida killed off a double-minor penalty, Hayes tied the game 3-3 with his second goal with 1:35 left in the third period. Hayes scored on a rebound after Lack stopped his deflection of a Brian Campbell slap shot. Burrows gave Vancouver a 3-2 lead at 5:34 of the third with a power-play goal. With Scottie Upshall in the box for tripping. Burrows scored on his second rebound after Luongo stopped Alexander Edler's slap shot from the point. Bieksa preserved the Vancouver lead midway through the third period when he made a kick save of a midair deflection by Florida's Colby Robak while standing in the crease. Vancouver led 2-1 after two periods before Trocheck tied it at 4:19 with his second goal in two games. Trocheck, whose first NHL goal was an empty-netter in the 5-3 victory against New Jersey, scored on a wraparound. In an otherwise uneventful first two periods, the teams combined for three goals in a span of 2:07 late in the first. Hayes opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 16:28 when he tipped Tom Gilbert's wrist shot from the high slot. Hamhuis tied the game at 17:42 off a faceoff when his slap shot from the point hit Robak's skate, bounced off the ice and up over the right shoulder of Luongo. Vancouver took the lead 53 seconds later when Burrows fed Jensen for a one-timer from the left circle. It was the second goal in two games for Jensen, who scored his first NHL goal in a 4-3 loss against the Washington Capitals on Friday. After a scoreless second period, the action picked up considerably in the third period, and that set the stage for the drama that ended the Luongo-Canucks reunion. Panthers left wing Jonathan Huberdeau, the 2013 Calder Trophy winner, didn't play in the final two periods after sustaining an upper-body injury. He joined a long list of injured Panthers players that includes Aleksander Barkov, Tomas Kopecky, Sean Bergenheim, Erik Gudbranson and Jesse Winchester. Horachek said after the game he had no update on Huberdeau's status and didn't know whether he would be on the trip. Horachek said Bergenheim, who has missed the past three games with a lower-body injury, would join his teammates on the West Coast.
Toronto @ Washington 2-4 - The Washington Crapitals have been plagued by slow starts to games at various points throughout the season. That was not the case Sunday against the Maple Leafs at Verizon Center. The Capitals overwhelmed the Maple Leafs early, scoring three unanswered first-period goals in the first nine minutes before holding on for a 4-2 victory. Troy Brouwer and Joel Ward scored for the Capitals (32-27-10), who embark on a weeklong West Coast road trip. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak, making his fifth straight start, made 27 saves. Troy Bodie and Dion Phaneuf scored for the Maple Leafs (36-25-8), and goaltender James Reimer overcame a shaky start to stop 29 shots. Brouwer gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 3:34. With Jay McClement in the penalty box for hooking Mike Green, Washington worked its 1-3-1 power play to perfection, and Brouwer finished a tic-tac-toe passing sequence by beating Reimer in the slot for his 19th goal of the season. Less than four minutes later, Washington extended its lead to 2-0. Chimera worked the puck from below the goal line to Karl Alzner at the point, and Reimer knocked down the defenseman's shot. Ward corralled the rebound and threw it through Reimer's legs, where it ricocheted off Chimera's skate and over the goal line at 6:57. Ward scored his 20th goal of the season at 8:44, converting a slick backhand pass from Dustin Penner. Ward, 33, became the eighth-oldest player in NHL history to have his first 20-goal season, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Toronto, which took the game's first shot on goal, went nearly 16 minutes without another before Bodie made it 3-1 late in the first period. He was able to settle a bouncing puck in the slot and fire a wrist shot past Halak with 2:45 remaining. The Maple Leafs returned from the first intermission with renewed energy and took control of the second period. Phaneuf brought Toronto within 3-2 at 8:05. The defenseman carried the puck along the blue line and scored on a seeing-eye shot from the left point that found its way through a heavy screen in front of Halak. Toronto received three consecutive power-play opportunities within a 5:02 span following Phaneuf's goal, but the League's third-ranked power play could not tie the game against the 24th-ranked penalty kill. After being outshot 14-2 in the first period, the Maple Leafs outshot the Capitals 20-6 in the second. The teams played a more evenly matched third period with Halak and Reimer stopping every shot that came their way. With Reimer pulled for an extra attacker, Brouwer scored an empty-net goal with 3.9 seconds left. His clearing attempt caromed off the boards near the Capitals bench. Nicklas Backstrom trailed the puck as it slid toward the goal, electing not to touch it to give Brouwer his second of the game. The Maple Leafs complete their five-game road trip Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings. The Capitals begin their three-game California road trip Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks. Two points behind the New York Rangers for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Washington has put an emphasis on the week ahead.
Edmonton @ Carolina 2-1 - It's difficult to make much noise from the bottom of the standings, but the Oilers are doing their part to be heard. Justin Schultz broke a tie with a power-play goal in the third period and Ben Scrivens made 29 saves to give the Oilers a 2-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Sunday. Edmonton is 9-4-2 in its past 15 games. The Oilers (24-36-9) finished their four-game road trip 2-1-1. The Hurricanes (29-30-9) have lost nine of 12. In a game that was tied 1-1 for nearly 30 minutes, the Oilers turned in a solid defensive performance, blocking 20 shots and clearing second-chance opportunities in front of Scrivens, who won his 13th game of the season (sixth with Edmonton). Edmonton forward Matt Hendricks scored his fifth goal of the season at 6:43 of the first period. After Boyd Gordon lifted a pass from the defensive zone to the offensive blue line, Hendricks lugged the puck behind the Carolina net, fought off defenseman Ryan Murphy and centered the puck. Instead of connecting with teammate Anton Lander, it bounced off Hurricanes forward Patrick Dwyer, then off defenseman Jay Harrison before finding the back of the net. Carolina countered with Jordan Staal's 14th goal of the season. Staal batted in the rebound of his shot from the slot after taking a drop pass from Eric Staal. With the goal, Jordan Staal extended his scoring streak to six games (three goals, nine points). The game remained tied 1-1 into the third period when Schultz took a pass from David Perron, crept in from the right point and used a couple of screens to beat Hurricanes goalie Anton Khudobin to the far post at 9:01. Scrivens had to be sharp throughout. He squared up on Jordan Staal on the opening shift of the game, then stopped his close-range bid with 49 seconds remaining to provide bookend saves in a game when defensemen Martin Marincin and Andrew Ference each made four blocks. Scrivens, who signed a two-year contract extension March 14, earned his sixth win with Edmonton after being acquired in a trade from the Los Angeles Kings. The Hurricanes are struggling to find any confidence at all. They have scored 16 goals in their past nine losses. The Hurricanes' 29th-ranked power play continued to struggle, going 0-for-3 with four shots.
Colorado @ Ottawa 3-1 - With a victory all sewn up, the Colorado Avalanche were frustrated about letting a shutout slip out of Semyon Varlamov's grasp. The goalie came within 6 seconds of his second shutout, and Andre Benoit, Nick Holden and John Mitchell scored to give the Avalanche a 3-1 win against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.Varlamov, who stopped 20 shots in the second period, lost his shutout when Mika Zibanejad scored with Ottawa goalie Robin Lehner pulled for an extra attacker. Colorado won for the seventh time in nine games to maintain its hold on second place in the Central Division ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks. Lehner made 19 saves in his second straight start for Ottawa, which is on a 2-5-2 skid that has put a serious dent in its Stanley Cup Playoff hopes. The Senators blew a three-goal lead with 3:22 remaining in regulation in a 5-4 overtime loss against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at Bell Centre. Ottawa (28-26-13) is 12th in the Eastern Conference with 69 points, seven behind the eighth playoff spot. Senators No. 1 goalie Craig Anderson remains sidelined by an upper-body injury that caused him to leave in the third period of Ottawa's 4-3 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators on Monday. Avalanche center Paul Stastny missed his fourth game in a row because of a back injury. Varlamov made a big glove save on Senators rookie defenseman Cody Ceci at 7:12 of the second on a shot from the right side that gave Ottawa a 13-1 edge to that point in the period. Benoit scored his sixth goal at 15:49 to finish a 3-on-2 break. Patrick Bordeleau took a cross-ice pass from Benoit and put a return feed around sprawled Senators left wing Milan Michalek to the former Ottawa defenseman, who beat Lehner with a shot from the slot to put the Avalanche up 1-0. Duchene, whose pass sent Benoit away on the rush, got his second assist on Holden's power-play goal at 3:10 of the third period. Nathan MacKinnon got his 30th assist of the season on Mitchell's goal at 17:02 of the third. Colorado plays the second of its three-game Canada trip Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens. That will be Roy's first game at Bell Centre as coach of the Avalanche. Erik Karlsson played his 300th game for Ottawa, which continues its three-game homestand Tuesday against the New York Rangers.
Montreal @ Buffalo 2-0 - Dustin Tokarski made the most of a rare start Sunday night. Appearing in his 10th NHL game, Tokarski made 29 saves and earned his first shutout in the Montreal Canadiens' 2-0 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center. Tokarski got the start after No. 1 goalie Carey Price stayed back in Montreal following a 5-4 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. The win was Tokarski's second of the season; his first came in a 4-3 shootout win against the Anaheim Ducks on March 5. He made 39 saves and stopped four shots in the six-round shootout. Dale Weise got the Canadiens on the board at 14:41 of the first period with his fourth goal of the season. David Desharnais batted the puck towards the Buffalo goal, where it deflected off Weise's skate and past Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth. The play was reviewed to see if Weise kicked the puck in intentionally, but video review deemed he did not. Brendan Gallagher made it 2-0 with his 17th goal of the season at 16:07 of the first. Gallagher fired a snap shot from the faceoff circle to the left of Enroth that caromed off Sabres defenseman Chad Ruhwedel and into the net. Enroth's night came to an end in the second period when he sustained a lower-body injury. Enroth was hurt when Gallagher and Sabres defenseman Jamie McBain crashed into him. He was helped off the ice by the Sabres' trainer and was replaced by rookie goalie Nathan Lieuwen. Sabres interim coach Ted Nolan said Enroth wasn't cut by Gallagher’s skate in the collision, but the injury could keep him out a while. Lieuwen was recalled by the Sabres on an emergency basis on Sunday afternoon to replace Michal Neuvirth, who sustained a lower-body injury during a 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. It was Lieuwen's first appearance in the NHL. Lieuwen finished the game with 10 saves and made a big blocker save against Canadiens forward Thomas Vanek in the third period. For Vanek, it was his first game in Buffalo since being traded by the Sabres to the New York Islanders on Oct. 27. Vanek, who was traded to Montreal at the NHL Trade Deadline, was honored by the Sabres with a tribute video during a stoppage in the first period.