Results - Sun, Apr 13, 2014

Detroit @ St Louis 3-0 - The Red Wings had a nice tune-up Sunday in preparation for their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Blues are crawling into the postseason with their worst losing streak in eight years. The Red Wings defeated the Blues 3-0 at Scottrade Center in a game that meant nothing to Detroit (39-28-15) and plenty to St. Louis, which limps into a Western Conference First Round matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks. A Blues win would have forced the Colorado Avalanche to defeat the Anaheim Ducks later Sunday night, but St. Louis' loss, its sixth in a row, gave the Avalanche the Central Division title and a matchup against the Minnesota Wild in the first round. Justin Abdelkader scored twice and Riley Sheahan had a goal for the Red Wings, who got 23 stops from Petr Mrazek in goal for his second career shutout. Detroit rested forwards Johan Franzen and Daniel Aldredsson, defensemen Niklas Kronwall and Danny DeKeyser, and goalie Jimmy Howard. The Blues (52-23-7), who set a franchise record for wins in a season, played the game without eight regulars who are out with injuries. They include forwards David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Tarasenko and Brenden Morrow, and defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Barret Jackman. It's the longest losing streak for the Blues since they dropped seven in a row from Jan. 4-17, 2006. They finished 30th in the NHL that season, the first after of the 2004-05 lockout. The Blues were blanked for the second straight game and seventh time in the final 25 games after not being shut out in the first 57. They ended the season without a goal in the last 143:59 and without an even-strength goal in the last 217:21. The Red Wings got on the board first when Abdelkader, parked in front of Blues goalie Ryan Miller (who stopped 18 shots but sustained his fifth straight defeat) was able to redirect Brian Lashoff's shot over Miller at 13:30 of the first period. The Red Wings thought they had scored moments earlier when Tomas Tatar's one-timer beat Miller, but the goal was waved off when Joakim Andersson was whistled for goaltender interference at 9:48. The Blues had a terrific chance at tying the game in the second period off a 3-on-1 rush with eight minutes left, but Maxim Lapierre couldn't convert and left himself with a bad-angle shot. Sheahan gave the Red Wings a two-goal lead after Blues defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo's shot from the point went awry and turned into a 2-on-2 going the other way. Sheahan used Colaiacovo as a screen and snapped a shot from the left circle over Miller's glove with 3:41 left in the second. Abdelkader's second of the game came off a saucer feed from Pavel Datsyuk in the slot, and he redirected the shot over Miller's right shoulder with 7:17 remaining in the game. Datsyuk has 74 points in 64 career games against St. Louis after his two assists Sunday. Miller will now man the pipes for the Blues in his first trip to the postseason since 2011.
Boston @ New Jersey 2-3 - Martin Brodeur, in what could possibly be the final game of his career as a member of the New Jersey Devils, made 16 saves in a 3-2 victory against the Bruins at Prudential Center on Sunday. Brodeur, who earned his first NHL victory against the Bruins on March 26, 1992, notched win No. 688 before 16,592 appreciative fans. Brodeur (19-14-6), who skated off the ice to a loud ovation, was named the game's first star. Players remained on the ice following the game, clicking their sticks on the ice in appreciation. After leaving for the dressing room, Brodeur returned to the ice to those familiar chants of "Marty! Marty!" Brodeur has made public his desire to continue playing beyond this season; it could be for a team other than the Devils, the only NHL organization he's played for. Brodeur will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He turns 42 on May 6. He acknowledged that his lack of playing time was one thing that frustrated him this season. Travis Zajac and Marek Zidlicky scored goals in the third period to snap a 1-1 tie. Jaromir Jagr assisted on those goals to move past Gordie Howe into eighth place on the NHL's all-time list for career assists at 1,050. He also tied Steve Yzerman for sixth place on the all-time points list at 1,755. Brad Marchand scored a power-play goal with 16 seconds remaining in the third to pull the Bruins within 3-2. Zidlicky scored two goals in the victory and Loui Eriksson scored a power-play late in the first for the Bruins. Backup goalie Chad Johnson made 28 saves. DeBoer would certainly welcome having Brodeur and Cory Schneider back between the pipes in 2014-15. Schneider has one more season remaining on his contract but could be signed to an extension beginning July 1. Since being recalled from Saint-Hyacinthe Laser of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in March 1992 to face the Bruins after Chris Terreri and Craig Billington went down with illnesses, Brodeur has established himself as arguably the best ever to play the position, setting numerous League records. Zajac broke a 1-1 tie when he scored his 18th of the season by tipping home a shot from the slot off a feed from Jagr in the left circle at 3:52 of the third period. Zidlicky scored his second of the game on the power play off a slap shot from the top of the left circle at 6:13. Jagr, 42, has 705 goals, 1,050 assists and 1,755 points in his NHL career that spans 20 seasons. He trails Mike Gartner (708 goals) by goals for sixth on that all-time list. Jagr also becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and left open the possibility of returning. The Devils (35-29-18, 88 points) failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season. That hadn't happened since 1986-87, in the final season of nine straight misses. The Bruins (54-19-9, 117 points), having already clinched the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, decided to rest several key players including forwards Jarome Iginla, Milan Lucic, Daniel Paille, Chris Kelly, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci and defenseman Zdeno Chara. The Bruins will face the Detroit Red Wings in the first round. Zidlicky scored his first goal in 19 games when he took a pass from Zajac and curled behind the net before stuffing a shot inside the left post at 7:12 of the first period. The Bruins got even with 31.9 seconds left in the first on the power play when Eriksson capped a tic-tac-toe pass play from Marchand and Carl Soderberg. Zidlicky's goal officially knocked the Bruins from contention for the William Jennings Trophy, awarded to the goaltenders for the team with the fewest goals allowed. The Los Angeles Kings ended the season with a League-low 174 goals allowed; the Bruins closed the season with 177.
Carolina @ Philadelphia 6-5 SO - Scoring goals and winning games is always nice, but for the Hurricanes it was more than just a bit bittersweet. Eric Staal scored two goals in regulation and had the only goal in the shootout to help the Hurricanes beat the Cryers 6-5 on Sunday at Wells Fargo Center. It was Staal's second two-goal game of the season, and it helped the Hurricanes finish on a two-game win streak. However, there wasn't much celebration in the Carolina dressing room. Jeff Skinner also scored twice in regulation and Manny Malhotra had a goal. Anton Khudobin made 39 saves in regulation and overtime, and then stopped Jason Akeson, Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier in the shootout. Wayne Simmonds scored two goals, and Matt Read, Kimmo Timonen and Couturier had one apiece for the Flyers, who next face the New York Rangers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Rookie goaltender Calvin Heeter stopped 33 shots in his NHL debut. Lindholm set up a power-play goal that put Carolina ahead 5-4 with 4:21 left in the third period. His dump-in took an awkward carom off the end boards, leaving Heeter, who had expected it to roll behind the net, far out of position. He dove into the crease to stop Andre Loktionov's shot but couldn't recover to deny Skinner on the rebound. The Flyers battled back, and with Heeter off the ice for an extra attacker, Simmonds scored his second of the game, off a Mark Streit rebound with 9.5 seconds remaining. It was the second time the Flyers came back from the brink. They trailed 4-1 just 17 seconds into the second period but scored three times in a span of 3:32 midway through the second, including twice in 10 seconds, to tie the game. Timonen started the comeback with a power-play goal at 12:00. With Ron Hainsey in the penalty box for hooking Scott Hartnell, the Flyers worked the puck in the Carolina end. Giroux sent it back to Timonen at the blue line, and he one-timed a shot over Khudobin's glove. After the faceoff Tye McGinn pressured Hainsey into a turnover at the Carolina blue line. Simmonds jumped on the loose puck and beat Khudobin over his glove at 12:10. Couturier tied the game when he blocked a John-Michael Liles pass at the Philadelphia blue line and scored on a breakaway at 15:32. The Flyers needed that big comeback after Carolina scored three times on its first nine shots in the opening 12:32 of the game. Skinner started things 2:07 in on Carolina's first shot. Nash won a puck battle with Jakub Voracek on the left side of the Philadelphia zone and whipped a pass across to Skinner, who fired a shot over Heeter's glove for his 32nd of the season. Staal pushed the lead to 2-0 at 8:31 when he scored his 20th. Jiri Tlusty carried the puck down the left side of the Philadelphia zone and left it for Staal, who sent a low wrist shot that went between Heeter's pads. Read gave the Flyers life when he scored his 22nd of the season, one-timing an Akeson pass from the inside of the left circle to make it 2-1, but Malhotra answered with his first goal in 29 games, beating Heeter with a low wrist shot between his pads at 12:32. The Hurricanes didn't have anything to play for either. While the Flyers talked about turning the page to get ready for the playoffs, the Hurricanes were talking about starting their building efforts for the 2014-15 season. At least they get to do it on a positive note.
Tampa Bay @ Washington 1-0 SO - The Lightning will have home-ice advantage in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Anders Lindback made 18 saves and Matt Carle scored in the shootout to give the Lightning a 1-0 win against the Crapitals at Verizon Center on Sunday. The victory assured Tampa Bay (46-27-9) of second place in the Atlantic Division, guaranteeing it will open its first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. By earning their 46th victory, the Lightning matched their franchise single-season record for wins. They won 46 times during their Stanley Cup-winning season in 2003-04 and matched that total in 2010-11. The Capitals' disappointing season came to an end; they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Washington was mathematically eliminated from postseason contention on Wednesday. Though the loss did not ultimately matter, it was symptomatic of the Capitals' season as a whole: a tightly contested game that they could not find a way to win. Knowing what was at stake, the Lightning dictated the pace throughout the scoreless first period, regularly cutting the Capitals off at the pass on several Washington rushes up ice and quickly reversing the flow of play in their direction. Tampa Bay finished the period with 11 of the game's first 14 shots, including an unfinished breakaway by Stamkos that Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (32 saves) turned aside. The second period featured much of the same; the Lightning peppered Holtby with 12 shots, but he continued to single-handedly keep his team in the game. Meanwhile, the Capitals could not take advantage of the few opportunities that they did have. Through 40 minutes, Washington had seven shots on goal, a two-period season low. Washington's first offensive flurry came at the start of the third period when Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman sent the puck over the glass for a delay-of-game penalty. On their first power play of the game, the Capitals finally tested Lindback, who was forced to make four saves. Three minutes into the third period, the Capitals doubled their shot total and fired as many shots on goal as they had in the first two periods combined. The shootout was Washington's 21st of the season, breaking the NHL single-season record previously held by the 2009-10 Phoenix Coyotes and 2011-12 Minnesota Wild. Carle scored in the first round of the shootout for Tampa Bay. Lindback stopped Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom for the victory. The Lightning now turn their attention to the Canadiens, who they defeated in three of the teams' four meetings this season. One was decided in regulation, one in overtime and two in shootouts.
NY Islanders @ Buffalo 4-3 SO - Brock Nelson scored the tying goal late in regulation, then had the only goal in the shootout to give the Islanders a 4-3 win against the Sabres at First Niagara Center on Sunday night. Nelson beat Sabres rookie goalie Connor Knapp (22 saves) between the pads in the second round for the only goal in the tiebreaker to give the Islanders (34-37-11) their third consecutive victory. The Islanders ended the season by winning three straight road games, the last two coming via shootout. Nelson's goal, a long wrist shot with 3:44 remaining in the third period, sent the game into overtime. Another New York rookie, Anders Nilsson, made 36 stops through 65 minutes and denied all three Buffalo shooters in the tiebreaker, ending the game by foiling Ville Leino. The injury-plagued Sabres finished with 150 non-shootout goals in 82 games, setting a post-expansion era record for fewest goals scored in a season. Buffalo ended the season with a 21-51-10 record and a League-low 52 points. Torrey Mitchell scored 9:51 into the third period to give the Sabres a 3-2 lead. Mitchell tipped a shot from Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen past Nilsson for his second goal of the season and first with the Sabres, bringing the crowd of 18,804 to its feet. Jamie McBain gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 10:27 of the first period. McBain skated with the puck out of his own end through the Islanders' defense and beat Nilsson to the far side with a wrist shot for his sixth goal of the season. Matt Ellis made it 2-0 at 7:23 of the second period when he backhanded a centering pass from forward Marcus Foligno past Nilsson for his fourth goal of the season. Ellis shook off Islanders forward John Persson and got enough of a stick on the puck to get it past Nilsson. Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe got the second assist for his first NHL point. The Islanders cut into the lead with 3:23 left in the second when Anders Lee scored a power-play goal. Lee batted the puck past Knapp after Frans Nielsen's pass from behind the net popped in the air and landed in the crease. Lee tied the game 17 seconds into the third period with his second goal of the game and ninth of the season. The rookie forward skated up the right wing and fired a backhand shot past Knapp. The three season-ending wins couldn't erase a disappointing season for the Islanders, who failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs after doing so last season. However, Capuano was pleased with the way his young players competed to the very end.
Nashville @ Minnesota 7-3 - The Wild entered play Sunday without a regulation loss in their past seven games. That streak came to an ugly end In their final regular-season tune-up before the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Predators scored four second-period goals to overcome a two-goal deficit and finish their season with a 7-3 victory at Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota, the top wild-card team in the Western Conference, will play its first-round series against the Central Division-champion Colorado Avalanche, beginning Thursday night in Denver (9:30 p.m. ET; CNBC, TSN). It will be the third time the Wild and Avalanche have met in the first round. They've split the first two, with the division champion losing each time. For the Predators, despite going 6-0-1 in their final seven games, the season is over. They went out with a bang, getting a goal from Rich Clune in the first period and four unanswered goals in the second to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead. Nashville also became the first team in NHL history to play an entire 82-game season without surrendering a shorthanded goal. After Zach Parise's power-play goal at 2:10 of the second made it 3-1, defensemen Ryan Ellis, Shea Weber and Roman Josi scored on shots from the point in a span of two minutes to give Nashville its first lead. Craig Smith tipped another Josi point shot past Wild goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov at 14:53 to give Nashville a two-goal edge. Smith also scored the final goal of the night late in the third to take the team-lead with 24 goals. Rookie Calle Jarnkrok had the other goal for Nashville, his second of the season. Jason Pominville had a first-period goal for Minnesota, his 30th of the season, joining Marian Gaborik and Brian Rolston as the only players in franchise history to hit the 30-goal plateau. Pominville also had two assists to reach 60 points for the sixth time in his career. Haula had a goal and an assist for his first career multiple-point game. Bryzgalov, who stopped 10 of 11 shots in the first period before a rocky second, made 16 saves before being pulled for John Curry at the start of the third period. The loss was Bryzgalov's first in regulation in 11 games since the Wild acquired him from the Edmonton Oilers in a trade on March 4.
Colorado @ Anaheim 2-3 OT - Teemu Selanne couldn’t help it when he saw Jean-Sebastien Giguere after the postgame handshake. He grabbed his former teammate for a victory lap, the two clutched together as the crowd roared.

“When I saw him, I said, ‘Well this is the time,’” Selanne said. “Obviously we have had a great journey together and we’re good friends. It was an honor to share this night for him too. What a great ending. It was really special. The fans made this unbelievable. It was special for me. All over the years this franchise has treated me great. The fans have treated me great. They see everything. It was a really big honor tonight. It’s almost overwhelming.”

It was the crescendo of Selanne’s final regular-season game Sunday, packed with emotion that highlighted the Sucks’ 3-2 overtime win against the Avalanche. There were video tributes and a rare appearance at Honda Center by former Duck Paul Kariya. Selanne, 43, won’t play the last game of his 21-year career until the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the game was an opportunity for the organization to honor him. He wore the captain’s "C" and played a season-high 18:42 in his 1,451st regular season game. A homemade sign that spelled out “Thank You Teemu” in big block letters was pressed up against the glass to greet Selanne when he came out for warm-ups. More than the usual number of Finnish flags waved. The crowd gave Selanne standing ovations during his third-period shifts, and he had to keep his emotions in check. Colorado goalie Giguere, a longtime Duck, likely played the last regular-season game of his career. Giguere, who won the Stanley Cup with Selanne in 2007, got a loud ovation and waved to the season-high crowd of 17,528 when he was recognized during a first-period timeout. Giguere all but confirmed it was his last game, at least in the regular season. His family was in attendance. Selanne had joked that he would throw former linemate Kariya in the trunk of his car and drive him to the game, and apparently he followed through because Kariya was shown in a suite sitting next to Joe Sakic, Colorado’s executive vice president of hockey operations. Kariya made his second appearance at a Ducks game since he left Anaheim after the 2002-03 season. He still lives in Orange County.

“I talked one hour on the phone with him,” Selanne said. “I said, ‘I don’t take no for an answer.’ He was the only player I really invited. He has meant so much to me, all my best years and the chemistry I’ve had with him.”

Nick Bonino scored the game winning goal at 1:33 of overtime. Patrick Maroon and Saku Koivu erased a 2-0 deficit with goals 3:13 apart in the third period. Brad Malone and Stefan Elliott scored for the Avalanche. Each team was already locked into its first-round playoff matchup before the puck dropped. Anaheim won its first Western Conference title Saturday and will play the Dallas Stars. Colorado won the Central Division, its first division crown since 2002-03, when the St. Louis Blues lost to the Detroit Red Wings earlier Sunday, and will play the Minnesota Wild.

Calgary @ Vancouver 1-5 - The Canucks wanted to end a miserable season on a high note, but no one was in the mood to celebrate a 5-1 win against the Flames after forward Daniel Sedin was taken off the ice on a stretcher. Sedin scored two goals for the first time in more than a year, but he left the game late in the second period after hitting his head on the glass following an awkward hit from behind into the boards. He was taken to a hospital for "further evaluation and imaging," according to a statement from the Canucks. Sedin was said to be in "stable condition" and "exhibited signs of movement to his extremities." Coach John Tortorella sounded optimistic as well. Sedin didn't get up after Calgary forward Paul Byron hit him from behind. He was moving his fingers and nothing else as medical trainer Mike Burnstein came off the bench and quickly called for a stretcher. Byron was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding. Yannick Weber scored on the ensuing power play to round out the scoring. It put a damper on an otherwise good game for the Canucks, something they haven't had a lot while missing the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. Vancouver defenseman Frank Corrado scored his first NHL goal, Ryan Kesler added his 25th of the season, and Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves for his first NHL win since Oct. 11, and first since being acquired from the Florida Panthers as part of the trade for Roberto Luongo on March 4. He watched Eddie Lack play the first 16 games after the trade, but got to start the final three after the Canucks were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs last Monday. Johnny Gaudreau, who signed with the Flames after winning the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA's top player Friday, scored in his first NHL game for Calgary, which finished 27th in the NHL and out of the playoffs for a fifth straight season. After a lengthy pregame ceremony to induct former Canucks player, coach, general manager and president Pat Quinn into their Ring of Honor, Daniel Sedin opened the scoring when David Booth's shot bounced in off him 7:14 into the game. Sedin, who had one goal in 2014 coming into the game, doubled the lead with some nice power play passing with brother Henrik. After moving the puck back and forth between them for close to a minute, aided by a couple of failed clearing attempts, Daniel redirected a slap pass into the slot from Henrik that Ramo stopped with his left pad and then scoped the rebound over the goalie. It was Daniel's 16th goal of the season, his lowest full-season total since 2002-03, and his first two-goal game since Feb. 24, 2013, a gap of 101 games. Gaudreau and Bill Arnold made their NHL debut three days after their college seasons ended, and two days after Gaudreau, who had 80 points in 40 games, won the Hobey Baker. Instead, Corrado celebrated the first milestone. Called up from the American Hockey League late in the season and inserted into the lineup for the final three games, he beat a screened Ramo midway through the second period. Kesler scored from the top of the circle less than five minutes later, chasing Ramo after four goals on 20 shots. Joey MacDonald took over but was beaten by Weber on his first shot with 1:05 left in the period. Gaudreau scored on a deflection at the side of the net with 4:38 left in the second period, a little less than two minutes before Daniel Sedin was hurt. Vancouver won for the second time in its past eight games, but Tortorella didn't want to talk about positives after remaining in 25th place in the NHL standings.