Results - Thu, Mar 20, 2014

Minnesota @ New Jersey 3-4 OT - Defenseman Andy Greene skated low into the left circle to slam home a loose puck inside the left post with three minutes remaining to help the Devils snap a three-game losing streak with 12 regular-season games remaining. The game marked the return of Wild left wing Zach Parise, who was playing against his former team in New Jersey for the first time since signing with Minnesota in July 2012. He scored a second-period goal that made the score 2-1, Devils. Michael Ryder, Mark Fayne and Jagr scored, and Adam Henrique and Patrik Elias had three assists each for the Devils. Cory Schneider made 20 saves in his first victory since Feb. 27, which was a 17-save, 5-2 decision against the Blue Jackets. Schneider, who has allowed 18 goals in his past four starts, snapped a personal three-game losing streak. It didn't come easily for the Devils, who allowed the Wild to score two goals in a span of 4:42 in the third period to pull into a 3-3 tie. Mikael Granlund scored his eighth of the season off a harmless looking wrist shot from along the goal line below the left circle to put the Wild within 3-2. The puck snuck through Schneider's pads and trickled over the goal line at 10:36. Matt Cooke tied the game from the slot when he tipped a Marco Scandella right-point shot that beat Schneider to the long side at 15:28. The Wild (36-23-11, 83 points), who hold the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, are 1-2-1 in their past four games. They return home to play Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings. Wild goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, who was making his second straight start following a 6-0 victory against the New York Islanders on Tuesday, made 24 saves. Parise scored a power-play goal 21 seconds into the third period. Ryan Suter took a shot from the left point, and Parise skated in front of defenseman Bryce Salvador and deflected the shot over Schneider's glove for his 24th of the season. The Devils regained their two-goal lead 3:13 later when Jagr collected a backhand pass from Ryane Clowe for a one-timer in the left circle. The goal was Jagr's 23rd of the season, 704th of his NHL career. Parise, who spent seven seasons with the Devils, admitted earlier in the day he wasn't anticipating a standing ovation in his return. As it turned out, he would have been hard pressed to get a hardy pat on the back. Devils fans booed their former captain from start to finish, including during the lineup announcement prior to puck drop. Parise was cheered when he was sent to the penalty box for hooking at 12:27 of the first period. He finished with six shots, one goal, a plus-1 rating, one blocked shot and one minor penalty. The Devils opened a 2-0 lead in the second period when defenseman Fayne scored a shorthanded goal, his first goal in nine games, off a rising wrist shot from the right circle that beat Bryzgalov on the long side at 9:35. The play was set up by Henrique, who skated into the left circle before making a no-look backhand pass to Fayne at the right point. The Devils opened ready to play physical and fast against the Wild, something that was missing in a 4-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. Ryder scored his first goal in 24 games when he collected a pass from Elias and ripped a slap shot from the high slot that beat Bryzgalov inside the left post with 3:02 left in the first. Wild defenseman Nate Prosser was given a five-minute major and game misconduct 1:01 later for elbowing Devils forward Tim Sestito behind Bryzgalov. Parise would get his first big chance of the game shorthanded moments later when he stole the puck and broke in 1-on-1 against Schneider, who made the save at 18:21. Sestito did not return to the game, leaving DeBoer with 10 forwards. DeBoer said after the game Sestito was coherent and feeling all right but was unable to play.
Columbus @ Montreal 3-2 - Ryan Johansen scored the game-winning goal off a Jarred Tinordi turnover with 3:01 remaining in the Blue Jackets' 3-2 victory. Johansen picked off Tinordi's pass attempt in the neutral zone to go in on goal and beat Carey Price through the legs for his 27th of the season on Columbus' 39th shot of the game, taking advantage of an error. Derek MacKenzie and Brandon Dubinsky scored for Columbus (36-27-6), which has won seven of its past 10 games (7-2-1) to solidify its footing in the Stanley Cup Playoff race in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets jumped into third place in the Atlantic Division, passing the New York Rangers in the standings even though they each have 78 points because Columbus has played one fewer game. Brendan Gallagher and Thomas Vanek scored for Montreal (38-26-7), which had its three-game winning streak end. The primary reason the game was so close was Price, who stopped 37 shots compared to 25 by counterpart Sergei Bobrovsky. After allowing seven goals on 62 shots in winning two starts following an eight-game absence with a lower-body injury, Price had his best game since his return. Columbus entered 0-for-18 on the power play over their previous six games and went 0-for-8. Over those seven games when they were 0-for-26, the Blue Jackets have scored twice shorthanded, including McKenzie's goal that tied the game 1-1 in the first period Thursday. The Blue Jackets got a breakaway off the opening faceoff when Wisniewski sprung Cam Atkinson only to be foiled by a Price pad save. The Blue Jackets buzzed around the Canadiens zone for much of the period, but allowed Montreal to score first when Johansen took the first of his three first-period penalties (including a fighting major with Max Pacioretty). Tomas Plekanec set up Alex Galchenyuk for a one-timer that was stopped by Bobrovsky, but the rebound popped in the air and was batted by Gallagher. The puck bounced off Bobrovsky as he dove to get back in position and rolled into the net for Gallagher's 18th of the season at 14:53. After Johansen was called for cross-checking 41 seconds after the goal, the Canadiens were called for icing, leading to a faceoff in their zone. Mark Letestu took the draw for Columbus and got a shot high on Price as soon as the puck was dropped. McKenzie drove the net from his position at right wing and put in the rebound that sat in the crease for his eighth of the season at 15:53. The Blue Jackets dominated the second period by outshooting Montreal 13-7 and came out of it with a one-goal lead. Dubinsky scored his 14th of the season at 6:53 when he cashed in a rebound of a Jack Johnson shot to make it 2-1. The Blue Jackets had five power plays between the time that goal was scored and Vanek tied the game 2-2 at 7:46 of the third, his 25th of the season, fourth in two games, on a one-timer from the faceoff circle off a Pacioretty feed.
Tampa Bay @ Ottawa 5-4 - The Lightning keep scoring clutch goals and climbing up the Atlantic Division standings. Ryan Callahan's power-play goal in the third period proved to be the game-winner as Tampa Bay held on to extend its winning streak to five games with a 5-4 victory against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. Tampa Bay moved into sole possession of second place in the Atlantic Division with its win in Ottawa and the Montreal Canadiens' 3-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Lightning and Canadiens entered Thursday tied for second. Eric Brewer beat Senators goalie Robin Lehner with a backhand under the crossbar at 3:48 of the third to put the Lightning ahead 4-3. The goal was Brewer's first in 95 games, dating to Feb. 24, 2013, and it gave Tampa Bay its fourth lead in a seesaw game. Callahan put the Lightning up 5-3 at 11:58 before Milan Michalek scored at 17:08 to draw the Senators within one. Tampa Bay's Teddy Purcell scored twice in the first, including his first goal in 20 games 23 seconds after the opening faceoff. Lightning center Valtteri Filppula tied a career high for goals with his 23rd on a power play in the second. Ben Bishop made 27 saves in his seventh start in a row for the Lightning, who matched their longest winning streak of the season, set from Dec. 15-23, despite surrendering 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 leads to the Senators. Ales Hemsky scored a dazzling goal at 17:32 of the second to draw Ottawa even for the third time at 3-3. The Senators' right wing dragged the puck between his legs from behind with the toe of his blade as he danced past Lightning defenseman Radko Gudas. He then cut around defenseman Matthew Carle as he moved to his forehand to beat Bishop for his 11th goal. Clarke MacArthur scored a shorthanded goal and Erik Karlsson scored on a power play as Ottawa tied the game twice in the first period. Robin Lehner stopped 19 of 24 shots in his fourth straight start since Craig Anderson was sidelined by an upper-body injury. Lehner has allowed 18 goals in his past four games. The Senators lost their third in a row and are 0-3-2 in their past five games. They are falling out of the race for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference, the result of a 2-7-2 skid. Ottawa is in 12th place with 69 points. Victor Hedman and Tyler Johnson each assisted on both goals by Purcell, who remained on center Steven Stamkos' line. Purcell moved there in the Lightning's 5-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday after Alex Killorn was given a boarding major and a game misconduct for his hit from behind on Maple Leafs defenseman Paul Ranger. Filppula, who turned 30 on Thursday, extended his point streak to seven games when he pounced on a rebound in the goalmouth to make it 3-2 at 5:43 of the second after Lehner got his glove on Ondrej Palat's shot. Filppula has three goals and eight assists during his streak. He scored 23 goals for the Detroit Red Wings in 2011-12. MacArthur drew Ottawa even at 1-1 with a shorthanded goal on a breakaway at 10:45. Senators center Kyle Turris stripped the puck off Lightning defenseman Sami Salo along the boards in the neutral zone and fed the puck to MacArthur, who drove in and beat Bishop with a shot between the legs for his 21st goal, tying his career high. Karlsson tied it at 2-2 with his 18th goal at 13:07, three seconds after Nate Thompson was called for tripping. Ottawa captain Jason Spezza won a faceoff in the right circle and drew the puck back to Mike Hoffman, who set up Karlsson. The goal extended Karlsson's point streak to five games.
Buffalo @ Edmonton 3-1 - The Buffalo Sabres were looking for goals from someone other than Drew Stafford or Tyler Ennis to help them snap a season-long losing skid. Center Cory Conacher stepped up and scored twice to lead the Sabres to a 3-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night at Rexall Place. The victory snapped a seven-game skid, keeping the Sabres from setting a franchise record for consecutive regulation losses. Stafford, a right wing, scored the other for the Sabres (20-42-8). Left wing Taylor Hall had the lone goal for the Oilers (25-37-9). Conacher, claimed off waivers by Buffalo from the Ottawa Senators on March 5, had four goals all season going into the game. He had not scored since Dec. 28. Goaltender Matt Hackett, making his first NHL start of the season after being called up Monday on an emergency basis due to injuries, stopped 35 shots for the Sabres. Ben Scrivens made 33 saves for the Oilers, who had their two-game winning streak snapped. The Oilers, missing left wing Nail Yakupov and right wing Jordan Eberle because of injuries, finished 1-for-6 on the power play. The Sabres were 1-for-2. Hall opened the scoring on the power play at 17:48 of the first period when he fired a one-timer through Hackett off defenseman Justin Schultz's setup. Before Hall's goal, the Oilers had hit the post twice on separate power-play opportunities. Conacher tied the game 9:16 into the second period, also on the power play, when he tipped defenseman Jamie McBain's point shot past Scrivens. The goal was Buffalo's first not scored by Stafford or Ennis, his regular center, in its past six games. The two had combined to score the Sabres' previous six goals. Conacher put the Sabres ahead to stay when he scored his second of the game at 1:09 of the third period. Conacher redirected a Torrey Mitchell shot over Scrivens' shoulder after an Edmonton turnover along the boards. Stafford made it 3-1 at 4:44 when he took a pass from Ennis in front and lifted a shot over a fallen Scrivens.
Washington @ Los Angeles 1-2 SO - It took more than 65 minutes and a white-knuckle finish for Jonathan Quick and the Kings to end their slump and trigger some milestones. Marian Gaborik scored the deciding goal in the third round of the shootout to give the Kings a 2-1 win against the Capitals at Staples Center on Thursday night. Quick, who stopped two of three Washington attempts in the shootout, tied Rogie Vachon for the Los Angeles franchise record with his 171st win. Kings coach Darryl Sutter earned his 500th career victory to tie Toe Blake for 17th in NHL history. Washington saw its three-game winning streak end despite a late rally. The Capitals tied it 1-1 with 7:36 left in regulation when Joel Ward chipped in the puck from the slot to reward great stickhandling in the corner by rookie Evgeny Kuznetsov. It was Ward's 22nd goal. The Capitals nearly pulled off a rare feat by getting a win after erasing a third-period lead for the Kings, who were coming off three straight one-goal losses; the most-recent defeat, a 4-3 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes, marked the first time this season they lost when leading after two periods. Washington's top-ranked power play went 0-for-3, including a 4-on-3 opportunity in overtime in which the NHL's leading goal-scorer, Alex Ovechkin, flubbed a shot from the left side. Quick allowed some soft goals Monday in the loss to the Coyotes, but looked particularly sharp in the second period with consecutive point-blank saves on former Kings forward Dustin Penner, the second with the cuff of his glove. He also stopped a between-the-legs shot by Troy Brouwer and poke-checked Ovechkin on a backhand try to preserve a 1-0 lead. In overtime, Quick got a leg on Brouwer's attempt on the doorstop during a Capitals power play. Quick stopped Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom in the shootout after Kuznetsov had scored on the Capitals' first attempt. Quick has allowed four or more goals five times this season, and in his subsequent games he has allowed three, one, zero, one and one goals. The Capitals, who have struggled to put the puck on net early in games, had eight shots halfway through the game before a late second-period push got them up to 13 shots at the second intermission. Washington never trailed during its winning streak, but Gaborik showed some chemistry with Anze Kopitar on a late first-period goal that gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead. Gaborik beat John Carlson to negate an icing call and fed Kopitar for a shot that went under Capitals goalie Jaroslav Halak from the left side at 14:09. It was Kopitar's 22nd goal. Gaborik has at least one point in three of his past four games. Halak finished with 27 saves in regulation and overtime before allowing two goals in the shootout. Jeff Carter scored the other Los Angeles goal in the tiebreaker. Kings captain Dustin Brown returned from a lower-body injury and played with considerable energy on the third and fourth lines. He also saw time on both special-teams units. The Capitals haven't won at Staples Center since Dec. 14, 2005, and have lost six straight to the Kings.