Results - Thu, Mar 06, 2014

Washington @ Boston 0-3 - Even without their newest defensive acquisition, the Boston Bruins had no trouble stifling the Washington Capitals' high-octane offense. The Bruins outshot the Capitals 43-16 and earned their third straight win with a 3-0 victory, ending a four-game losing streak against Washington at TD Garden. The Bruins acquired defenseman Andrej Meszaros from the Philadelphia Flyers before the NHL Trade Deadline on Wednesday. But they scratched Meszaros and went with their incumbent sextet on defense. That group allowed the fewest shots against by a Boston opponent since the Columbus Blue Jackets had 14 in the Bruins' 3-1 win Nov. 30, 2013. Tuukka Rask earned his League-leading sixth shutout. Gregory Campbell, Loui Eriksson and Brad Marchand (into an empty net) provided the offense for the Bruins (40-17-5), who've won six of their past nine games. Neither team took a penalty, the second time that's happened in the NHL this season. The Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild played a penalty-free game on Nov. 30. Although the first period was scoreless, the Bruins outhit the Capitals 14-6. Boston was motivated by both their 4-2 loss to the Capitals last Saturday and the game plan the Philadelphia Flyers used to beat Washington 6-4 on Wednesday. The Bruins showed more offensive urgency in the second; they outshot Washington 17-4 and scored twice. Campbell opened the scoring on a tip-in from in front at 3:05. The Bruins had Rask off the ice for an extra attacker during a delayed penalty, and Campbell got a piece of Patrice Bergeron's one-timer from the top of the left circle. Carl Soderberg's work down low resulted in the Bruins' second goal at 8:20. Kevan Miller fired a shot from the right point that goaltender Braden Holtby stopped, but Soderberg picked up the rebound, circled the net and found Eriksson with a backhand pass. The Bruins outshot Washington 27-8 through two periods. The Capitals had their best chance to get on the board in the first minute of the third period. Nicklas Backstrom found Alex Ovechkin with a back-door pass and the League's leading goal-scorer actually had put puck behind Rask. But Ovechkin's shot hit the outside of the net as he pumped his fist because he thought he had scored. Marchand hit the empty net with 1:34 remaining after the Capitals pulled Holtby, who finished with 40 saves. Holtby was pulled in the second period at Philadelphia on Wednesday after allowing four goals. This time around, he didn't receive any offensive support in front of his bounce-back performance.


http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/03/07/injured-falling-net-bruins-game/RGbVRHFzUkn9z7kYtkoo5O/pictures.html
Los Angeles @ Winnipeg 3-1 - The Kings began their post-NHL Trade Deadline push toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 3-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. After falling behind 1-0 in the second period, the Kings used goals from captain Dustin Brown and Mike Richards 3:30 apart to build a 2-1 lead. From there, the NHL's top-ranked defensive team shut down the Winnipeg attack and held the Jets to four third-period shots. Alec Martinez scored a third-period power-play goal for the Kings, who outshot the Jets 41-17 in winning their sixth straight. Comfortably positioned third in the Pacific Division, the Kings began a three-game trip with the addition of Marian Gaborik. The Kings acquired the wing Wednesday from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a trade for forward Matt Frattin and two draft picks. Kings coach Darryl Sutter placed Gaborik on the left side of the top line with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams. Winnipeg arre fighting to stay in Stanley Cup Playoff contention. The Dallas Stars' 6-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks pushed the Jets three points behind the Stars for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Dallas also has a game in hand. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick started his fourth consecutive game and stopped 16 shots. Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec made his fourth start in a row and made 38 saves. Brown scored his 12th goal of the season, and Richards picked up his ninth, his second in three games. Richards had one goal in a 36-game span before ending his drought last week. Olli Jokinen, who has been moved to the Jets' second line with Evander Kane and Dustin Byfuglien to replace rookie center Mark Scheifele (knee injury), scored his 15th goal. Los Angeles held Winnipeg without a shot for a 17:48 span that spanned the first and second periods. In the final two periods, Winnipeg managed 10 shots against a defense that began the game first in the NHL at 2.06 goals-against per game and third at 26.6 shots against per game. The Jets did crack the Kings' defense for a 1-0 lead 12:03 into the second period. Kane won a race with L.A. defenseman Drew Doughty to a loose puck in the corner and directed a pass into the slot, where Jokinen lifted it over Quick. Brown tied the game 42 seconds later when he took Jarret Stoll's cross-slot feed and tipped it under Pavelec. Richards made it 2-1 when he jumped on a turnover by Winnipeg defenseman Tobias Enstrom before skating into the offensive zone and sending a high shot over Pavelec's glove with 3:45 to go. Martinez sealed the win with his sixth goal, a shot short-side past Pavelec with 4:09 remaining in the game. Gaborik, who has six goals in 23 games this season, has reached 30 goals seven times and topped 40 three times. The 32-year-old can add offensive firepower to a team that is 27th in the League in goals per game. Brown compared Gaborik's arrival to the February 2012 acquisition of forward Jeff Carter that helped push the Kings to their first Stanley Cup.
Buffalo @ Tampa Bay 3-1 - Emotions were high when the Tampa Bay Lightning took the ice against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. It was the first game for the Lightning without captain Martin St. Louis, who was traded Wednesday to the New York Rangers. Forward Ryan Callahan, obtained in the trade, made his Lightning debut, and center Steven Stamkos returned after missing 45 games with a broken right tibia. Stamkos, appointed captain earlier in the day, will have to wait a bit longer for his first "W" wearing the "C." Buffalo Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth stopped 43 shots for his fourth win of the season, a 3-1 decision at Tampa Bay Times Forum. Stamkos played 21:03; he finished with four shots on goal, was credited with two hits and engaged in a prolonged shoving match with Buffalo's Mike Weber in front of the net. Stamkos showed some rust; he was alone with the puck in front of Enroth with 20 seconds remaining in the second period, deked twice, but couldn't get the puck past him. Tyler Myers, Cody Hodgson and Marcus Foligno each contributed a goal and an assist for the Sabres, who are 4-1-0 since the Olympic break. Enroth won for the third time in four consecutive starts taking over for Ryan Miller, who was traded to the St. Louis Blues last Friday. Myers opened the scoring when he skated the puck into the Lightning end, faked a pass and sent a shot past Lightning goalie Anders Lindback from the left circle. The unassisted goal came at 15:56 of the first period. Buffalo (19-35-8) upped its advantage to 2-0 on Foligno's seventh goal of the season at 9:25 of the second period. As a loose puck slid across the goal crease, Foligno came from behind the net to score. Hodgson made it 3-0 with 6:16 left in regulation when Foligno set him up alone in front of the net with a cross-ice pass for his 16th goal of the season Tyler Johnson scored shorthanded for Tampa Bay, his 19th goal of the season, with 2:29 left to spoil Enroth's shutout. Tampa Bay outshot the Sabres 44-21, but Enroth was on his game, stopping Ondrej Palat from in front of the net in the first period and poke-checking the puck off Nikita Kucherov's stick as he broke in alone early in the third.
Colorado @ Detroit 3-2 OT - The rivalry has fizzled since it peaked in the late 1990s, but it seemed oddly fitting to watch the Colorado Avalanche spoil the Detroit Red Wings' party on the night Nicklas Lidstrom's No. 5 was lifted to the rafters at Joe Louis Arena. The Avalanche beat the Red Wings 3-2 in overtime Thursday following a 70-minute pregame ceremony honoring the seven-time Norris Trophy winner. Andre Benoit ended it 4:28 into overtime with his fourth goal, which he roofed over Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard from the bottom of the left circle to send Red Wings fans home a little sour. The Avalanche did just enough good things as it turned out, including a perfect passout by rookie Nathan MacKinnon that set up Benoit for the game-winner. After getting the puck from Erik Johnson behind the net, MacKinnon threaded a tape-to-tape pass between a defender and Howard's left pad to Benoit for the open shot. It was MacKinnon's 13th straight game with at least one point, breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record for consecutive games with a point by an 18-year-old. PA Parenteau scored to tie it 2-2 early in the third period with his 13th goal, and Matt Duchene had a goal and assist for the Avalanche (41-17-5), who have won four straight games. Niklas Kronwall and Tomas Jurco scored for Detroit (28-21-12), which picked up an important point despite the disappointing defeat. Detroit is locked in a logjam of Eastern Conference teams vying for two wild-card spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs; the single point kept the Red Wings in the second spot with 69 points. The game was the Red Wings debut for veteran center David Legwand, who's from the Detroit area and was brought back to his hometown Wednesday in a trade with the Nashville Predators. Legwand had no points, was minus-2 and won 37 percent of the 19 draws he took. Much of the game held a Lidstrom backdrop, as No. 5 was painted in red behind each net and occupied each of the rink's four corners, not to mention the newest banner hanging high above the ice. Fittingly, on Lidstrom's big night, the game's first goal was generated by three fellow Swedes, including two members of the defense corps Lidstrom anchored for 20 seasons. Defenseman Jonathan Ericsson and center Joakim Andersson assisted on Kronwall's seventh goal at 12:33 of the first period to put Detroit ahead 1-0. It felt like it was destiny for it to happen that way, and the goal highlighted a strong first period for Detroit, which came out looking a lot like the teams Lidstrom captained. The Red Wings outshot the Avalanche 13-8 and kept the puck in the offensive zone for extended stretches, making Jean-Sebastien Giguere work to keep it a 1-0 game at the first intermission. Oddly enough, the game's second goal also brought back memories of Lidstrom, even though it was Duchene scoring for Colorado to knot the game at 1-1. The scoring chance was keyed by the lively boards at the tunnel end of the rink. Lidstrom often utilized those boards for set-up passes to teammates around the net. The only difference Thursday was that Johnson didn't do it intentionally in setting up Duchene’s 20th goal. Johnson’s shot deflected off Kronwall's skate, hit the boards and bounced right out front to Duchene, who caught just enough of the puck to send the puck into the net off Johan Franzen's skate at 10:11 of the second period. The game's Lidstrom theme didn't end there. Detroit moved back ahead 2-1 on Jurco's power-play goal 1:59 after Duchene had tied it. Fellow rookie Riley Sheahan, who centers Detroit's "Kid" line between Jurco and Tomas Tatar, hustled to collect a loose puck and fed his linemate a perfect pass. Jurco buried it for the fifth goal of his NHL career, a day after Lidstrom told reporters the "Kid" line had become one of his favorite groups to watch back home in Sweden. Credited with the secondary assist on the goal was defenseman Danny DeKeyser, who grew up near Detroit with Lidstrom as his favorite player and who was recruited by Lidstrom to sign with Detroit as a coveted collegiate free agent from Western Michigan University. DeKeyser, however, was beaten on the next goal. Parenteau boxed him out in front of the crease and tied it 2-2 by backhanding a shot over Howard's right pad 5:49 into the third. Each side had its chances in OT, including power plays for each team. The game appeared headed for a shootout until MacKinnon got the puck behind the net off a pass from Johnson, who finished with two assists. The rest is now history, just like Lidstrom's number.
St Louis @ Nashville 2-1 - In the three games Ryan Miller has been a member of the St. Louis Blues, coach Ken Hitchcock has noticed something about his new goalie. Miller has won all three of those games, the latest a 2-1 victory against the Nashville Predators on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena. Since joining the Blues in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres, Miller has stopped 57 of 62 shots for a .919 save percentage and 1.67 goals-against average. Miller, who spent his first 11 NHL seasons with Buffalo, said he is adjusting to the Western Conference. He also has to adjust to playing with the Blues, who allow the second-fewest shots in the NHL per game (26.4). The Sabres allow the second-most (34.5). The Blues (42-14-6) are 3-2-0 in their past five and have reached 90 points, moving within two of the NHL-leading Anaheim Ducks. The Blues hold a game in hand. The Colorado Avalanche and the Chicago Blackhawks also won Thursday. Those two Central Division teams and the first-place Blues have three of the League's top five records. The Blackhawks trail the Blues by two points; the Avalanche are another point back. St. Louis scored on its eighth shot to make it 2-1 at 8:18 of the second period, in part with help from a defensive mistake by usually dependable Nashville center Mike Fisher. Blues forward Magnus Paajarvi carried the puck down the right wing, and as Fisher gave chase, he attempted a stick check to the outside. That left an open route to the net, which Paajarvi took to beat goalie Pekka Rinne with a wrist shot. St. Louis struck quickly off a faceoff for its first goal. Center Steve Ott, also part of the Miller trade, won the draw back to defenseman Ian Cole, who took a wrist shot from the left boards that eluded Rinne high to the glove side at 4:03 of the first period. The goal was Cole's third of the season. Nashville answered at 10:28 of the first period with Nick Spaling's 11th goal of the season. Fisher dug a puck out of the corner and left it for Patric Hornqvist, who rifled a pass into the slot. Spaling, in his second game back after missing more than a month with a lower-body injury, redirected it high past Miller from close range. In the second period, Rinne stopped a penalty shot by Alex Steen, who is tied for sixth in the NHL with 29 goals. Nashville defenseman Roman Josi hooked Steen from behind, leading to the call. Rinne came out aggressively, cut down Steen's angle and gloved a wrist shot with 4:33 left. Rinne, playing his second game in a row since Oct. 22 after returning from a hip infection, made 20 saves. The Predators, 1-4-2 in their past seven, have scored one goal in each of their past three games, all losses. Nashville is 0-for-14 on the power play in those games, including 0-for-4 on Thursday. With a win by the Dallas Stars on Thursday, Nashville fell eight points out of the final wild-card spot. Predators coach Barry Trotz said the Blues are an extremely difficult team against which to mount a third-period comeback. He cited the Blues' record of 27-0-4 when leading at the second intermission. St. Louis allowed five shots in the third period, one through the first half of the period. Miller finished with 20 saves.
NY Islanders @ Edmonton 2-3 OT - The Oilers became the latest team to overcome a two-goal deficit and beat the Islanders. Taylor Hall's goal 2:29 into overtime capped Edmonton's comeback and gave the Oilers a 3-2 victory Thursday night at Rexall Place, handing the Islanders their 11th loss this season in a game they led by two goals. Hall tipped in Sam Gagner's shot after the Oilers center came in on an odd-man rush, waited out defenseman Brian Strait and fired toward the net. Ryan Smyth and Philip Larsen scored in the third period for the Oilers, and Ben Scrivens made 32 saves. Frans Nielsen and rookie Anders Lee scored in the first period for New York. It was the fourth goal in five games for Lee, who was recalled after the break for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Evgeni Nabokov made 26 saves for the Islanders, who have blown a third-period lead 10 times this season. Nielsen opened the scoring at 9:58 of the first period, snapping a shot over Scrivens' shoulder on a 2-on-1 rush for a shorthanded goal. It was the League-high 11th shorthanded goal allowed by the Oilers this season. Lee increased the lead at 18:21 by parking himself in front of Scrivens and tipping Strait's point shot through the goaltender's pads. The rookie is taking advantage of his time with the Islanders. Lee scored a pair of goals in his season debut on Feb. 27 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He added a goal and an assist Tuesday in a 3-2 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets. Smyth got the Oilers on the board with a power-play goal at 8:28 of the third period. It was Smyth's 126th power-play goal, tying him for the franchise lead with Glenn Anderson. Smyth took a pass from Jordan Eberle in front of the net and was able to get enough on his shot to muscle it past Nabokov. Smyth had been tied for power-play goals with Wayne Gretzky, who was in attendance Thursday, brought in by the club for a franchise function Friday. Larsen tied the game with 3:07 remaining when he picked up a loose puck at the blue line, raced in and beat Nabokov to the far side. Larsen was playing just his second game since Dec. 17; he's been battling a mysterious virus. Grabner had a chance to win the game with 40 seconds left in regulation, but Scrivens stopped his breakaway. He had another great opportunity in overtime, but had the puck slide off his stick while looking at an open net. The Oilers played with five defensemen after Jeff Petry was forced to leave after the first period with a back injury.