Results - Wed, Mar 19, 2014

Tampa Bay @ Toronto 5-3 - Steven Stamkos scored a natural hat trick to lead the Lightning to a 5-3 victory against the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday. Stamkos, a native of nearby Markham, Ontario, scored what proved to be the game-winning goal and completed his hat trick at 5:55 of the second period. He put the rebound of a Ryan Malone deflection of Eric Brewer's backhand shot past Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer. The win gave Tampa Bay 83 points, the same as the Montreal Canadiens; the Lightning hold second place in the Atlantic Division because they have a game in hand. Toronto stayed at 80 points and holds the first Eastern Conference wild-card position in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Maple Leafs defenseman Paul Ranger was taken off the ice on a stretcher late in the first period after being boarded by Lightning forward Alex Killorn. Ranger was stable, conscious and alert at a hospital, where he was taken for a precautionary assessment. Ranger remained face down on the ice after the hit, which came with 4.1 seconds left in the period. Killorn was given a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. Stamkos scored a power-play goal at 13:22 of the first period to tie the game 2-2, then put the Lightning ahead to stay at 15:39. His hat-trick goal gave the Lightning a 4-2 lead. Stamkos has 19 goals this season, including five since returning on March 6 after being sidelined by a broken right tibia he sustained Nov. 11. Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner scored his 10th goal of the season at 8:02 of the third period to make it 4-3. Gardiner circled the net after taking a pass from Cody Franson, skated out by the side of the net, and fired a wrist shot past Bishop. Tyler Johnson restored Tampa Bay's two-goal lead with 7:04 left with a power-play goal. His 22nd goal of the season came after Maple Leafs forward Jay McClement was called for high sticking. Defenseman Radko Gudas gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead 59 seconds into the first period. Valtteri Filppula won a faceoff back to Gudas, who sent a low wrist shot through a crowd of players and past Reimer for his third goal of the season. Toronto's Phil Kessel tied the game 1-1 at 3:31 with his 35th goal of the season. He was alone to the right of Bishop when a shot from James van Riemsdyk redirected off defenseman Carl Gunnarsson to Kessel. Nikolai Kulemin gave the Maple Leafs a 2-1 lead at 10:32 when he redirected a pass from Gleason past Bishop. Kulemin was parked in the faceoff circle when Gleason sent a slap pass to Kulemin, whose redirection went between Bishop's legs for his ninth goal of the season.
Nashville @ Vancouver 0-2 - A couple of rookies helped keep the Vancouver Canucks' slim hopes of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs alive a little longer. Recent call-up Nicklas Jensen snapped a scoreless tie 6:06 into the third period and Alexander Edler added a power-play goal 1:13 later to lead the Canucks to a 2-0 win against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night at Rogers Arena. First-year goalie Eddie Lack made 30 saves for his rookie-leading fourth shutout of the season as the Canucks (32-30-10) moved within three points of the Phoenix Coyotes in the race for the second Western Conference wild-card position in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Jensen has played a big role in keeping the Canucks in it as they alternated between wins and losses for a seventh straight game. He opened the scoring after Sedin lost the puck in the slot, only to see it bounce right to the rookie forward inside the right faceoff dot for a quick wrist shot over Carter Hutton's glove. It was Jensen's third goal in four games, and his fifth point in seven games since being called up from the American Hockey League and put on the top line. Jensen's latest goal may have been costly, however, as linemate Alexandre Burrows threw off his left glove after appearing to take a slash from Shea Weber as the puck went into the net. Burrows, who snapped a 35-game goal drought with five goals in the past four games after Jensen was put on his line, went straight to the dressing room. He returned to play four shifts, but will re-evaluated on Thursday. Edler doubled the lead on Vancouver's only power play. Sedin won the ensuing faceoff after defenseman Victor Bartley, who was in the lineup for surprise scratch Michael Del Zotto, was called for interference. Kevin Bieksa fed the puck across to Edler for a one-timer that beat Hutton low on the glove side. Hutton started for the Predators one night after replacing Pekka Rinne midway through the third period of a 5-1 loss against the Edmonton Oilers, and finished with 20 saves. But Nashville was shut out for the ninth time, tying the Buffalo Sabres for the most in the NHL. Nashville's third straight loss dropped the Predators six points behind Vancouver and nine behind the Coyotes for the second wild-card spot. Unlike the loss in Edmonton the night before, however, Trotz was happy with his team's effort against the Canucks. Nashville also lost center Paul Gaustad to an upper-body injury late in the first period. Gaustad appeared to hit his head on the ice after being taken down by Edler on a partial break. Gaustad, who has nine goals and 16 points in 70 games, was slow to get up, then went straight to the dressing room and did not return. There was no update after the game, and he is listed as day to day. The Canucks, coming off a four-game road trip that ended with a 4-3 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday, needed 8:27 to record their first shot and were outshot 14-7 in the first period. Lack, who was making his 12th straight start, was forced to make his best three saves on Patric Hornqvist, including a couple of great point-blank chances late in the first period.