Calgary Flames @ San Jose Sharks 2-0 - 11/26

Karri Ramo made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season in his ninth game. He is 5-2-1 after his third NHL shutout. Jiri Hudler provided Ramo with all the offensive support he needed, scoring two goals, giving him a team-high 10 for the season. The Flames, coming off a 3-2 loss against the Anaheim Sucks, won the second of back-to-back games for the third time in three tries. They are 8-0-1 in the game following a loss. The Flames trailed 2-0 in each of their previous four games, but they took a 1-0 lead at 17:16 of the second period when Hudler scored a 4-on-4 goal on a slick give-and-go with TJ Brodie. Hudler dropped a pass to Brodie in the right circle and darted to the slot, ahead of Sharks center Logan Couture. Brodie hit Hudler with a pass, and his wrist shot snuck inside the left post, extending his goal streak to three games. The Sharks, known in past seasons for their fast starts, especially at home, allowed the first goal for the fourth straight game. San Jose have lost four in a row and five of six. The Sharks turned up the heat on Ramo with less than eight minutes left. Brent Burns fired a long shot toward the net, with Patrick Marleau planted left of the crease in prime position to tie the game. But Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman got his stick on the puck, making what Ramo called the save of the game. The puck went off the boards to Joe Thornton in the left circle, but Ramo made the save on Thornton’s wrist shot. Ramo stopped Tomas Hertl's shot from the right circle with less than three minutes left. With 1:44 left, Sharks defenseman Justin Braun went to the penalty box for hooking center Markus Granlund. Hudler scored an empty-net power-play goal with 49.2 seconds remaining. The Sharks outshot the Flames 11-9 in a scoreless first period, but Calgary had the best scoring chances during a flurry in the opening minute. Forward Johnny Gaudreau had a great chance from close range, but Antti Niemi rejected his shot. Niemi, who made 17 saves, started his 17th game for the Sharks. His two backups, Alex Stalock and Troy Grosenick, are injured, and the Sharks made an emergency move, signing Ryan Lowe to a goaltender professional tryout agreement. Lowe was in the lineup as Niemi's backup. Lowe, 31, last played professionally for the Sydney Bears of the Australian Ice Hockey League. He played for San Jose State and lives here. Stalock is on injured reserve, recovering from surgery to his left knee, and Grosenick is sidelined by an upper-body injury he sustained Tuesday at practice. The Flames assigned forward Corban Knight to Adirondack of the American Hockey League to make room on the roster for David Jones, who was activated from injured reserve after missing four games with an upper-body injury. The Flames announced that injured forward Mikael Backlund had an abdominal procedure Wednesday and is week-to-week. According to general manager Brad Treliving, Backlund has a weakening of the abdominal wall that was strengthened with a mesh plate. Treliving said Backlund might resume skating in two weeks.

Stars Quotes

Todd McLellan: "Every game is critical. We can't put anything on cruise control and let a game slip here or there. We're in the thick of it right now. The rest of this homestand is critical but so are the next two road games and the home games after that. We're an everyday team right now just scrambling to get back to the point where we can get our heads above water."
Joe Pavelski: "They're all tough [losses], obviously, when you're chasing teams. We've got to start climbing at some point. It's got to start somewhere."

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3-4 OT - 11/26

Blake Comeau's hat trick lifted the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-3 overtime win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. After a scoreless third period with a combined eight shots, Comeau scored 2:53 into overtime by slapping a shot past a screen by Sidney Crosby, who had an assist on the goal to become the sixth-fastest player in NHL history to reach 800 points, and through Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier. It was Comeau’s second hat trick, first since March 2, 2010, when he played for the New York Islanders. He has scored eight goals in 20 games after scoring five with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season.
 Marc-Andre Fleury won the 301st of his career by stopping 24 of 27 shots. Pittsburgh swept their season series with Toronto and kept pace atop the Metropolitan Division with the Islanders. The Maple Leafs used a three-goal second period to recover from a two-goal deficit after one period. Mike Santorelli slipped a pass by Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta to Leo Komarov, who tipped the puck over Fleury's glove 8:11 into the second for his first of two goals, cutting the Penguins lead to 2-1. Komarov scored 2:37 later by deflecting Dion Phaneuf's shot down onto the ice. The puck ricocheted over a falling Fleury's glove to tie the game 2-2 with 9:12 remaining. Komarov had two goals entering the game. Pittsburgh regained the lead when Chris Kunitz whipped a shot toward the net from the blue line near the left boards that Comeau tipped through Toronto defenseman Cody Franson and Bernier to put the Penguins up 3-2 with 6:41 left in the second. With Stephane Robidas in the penalty box for hooking, Pittsburgh's top-ranked power play had a chance to re-establish a two-goal lead. Tyler Bozak made sure that didn't happen. Bozak scored a shorthanded goal after poking a pass from Crosby past Kris Letang and beating Letang to the puck down the ice. Bozak put a wrist shot under Fleury's left pad to tie the game 3-3 with 3:39 left in the period. Comeau scored his sixth goal 26 seconds into the game. Evgeni Malkin collected a rebound off of a Christian Ehrhoff shot behind the goal and slid a pass through Bernier and into the crease. Comeau, who has been moved to the second line to play with Malkin and Kunitz, battled Morgan Rielly and backhanded a shot into the Toronto net. Pittsburgh finished the first period at a 14-7 shot disadvantage, which was due in large part to two Toronto power plays. The Penguins successfully killed each chance, with Fleury the key to the second kill, when he stopped seven shots before David Clarkson was called for holding with four seconds remaining on the man-advantage. Crosby said reaching 800 points is satisfying mostly because it’s another milestone he can put behind him.

Pens Quotes

Blake Comeau: “I’m getting a good opportunity to play with some really good players. And it feels good to contribute offensively. Sid’s 800th point tonight, so it’s pretty cool I could be a part of that one as well.”
Sidney Crosby: It’s a nice number. It’s nicer when you win, for sure. And when you get around those, you’re told and it’s talked about. Hopefully you get it and you can move on. So it’s nice to get it in a win and can just keep going.”
Mike Johnston: “I believe we were inconsistent tonight. We had a pretty good start, even thought the shots weren’t in our favor. We had some great chances that we missed the net. We missed some touches around the net. I thought we had the better scoring chances through two periods, but I didn’t think we had the energy. I didn’t think we had the speed. We made some mistakes with the puck on puck management; we have to be better in that area. So, in some way, we weren’t sharp, and I’m hoping we’re going to get better as we move along.”

NHL Results - Wed, Nov 26, 2014

Winnipeg @ Buffalo 2-1 - Michael Frolik's shorthanded goal with 5:40 left in the second period helped the Jets to a 2-1 win. Frolik beat goalie Jhonas Enroth with a backhand wraparound after Sabres defenseman Andre Benoit turned over the puck. The goal, Frokik's fifth, came after the Jets' Adam Lowry was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta with 5:54 left in the second. Little gave the Jets a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 3:41 into the game. With Kaleta serving a minor penalty for roughing, Little took a pass from Jacob Trouba and snapped a wrist shot past Enroth up high for his eighth goal. Little has scored in three consecutive games. Chris Stewart cut the Jets lead to 2-1 with a breakaway goal 5:30 into the third period. Marcus Foligno's block on a Paul Postma shot sprung Stewart. He deked and beat Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec with a backhand for his second goal of the season. Enroth made 24 saves; Pavelec stopped 19 shots.
Washington @ NY Islanders 2-3 OT - John Tavares scored a power-play goal with 24 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Islanders a 3-2 win. Tavares took a cross-ice pass from Ryan Strome in the right-wing circle, deked Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner to the ground, skated into the slot and shot past goalie Braden Holtby, who was screened by Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk. The goal came with two seconds remaining on a holding the stick penalty on Washington forward Nicklas Backstrom. Ovechkin scored with 1:13 left in the second period to tie it 2-2. Backstrom sent a diagonal pass from below the goal line to Ovechkin just inside the left circle, where he one-timed it past Halak. Lee was serving a roughing penalty along with a fighting major levied against him and Tom Wilson. Ovechkin has 24 goals in 34 games against the Islanders. The Islanders took a 1-0 lead 5:11 into the game when Strome gathered a forehand clearing attempt by Holtby. Strome passed to Brock Nelson along the right-wing boards, and Nelson sent a give-and-go pass back to Strome. He flubbed the shot, but it acted as a pass to Anders Lee, who tapped it in. Ovechkin tied it 1-1 at 13:46. After an Islanders icing, New York’s Matt Martin was called for holding in the defensive zone. Washington’s Troy Brouwer won the faceoff, and a triangular passing play from Backstrom to Matt Niskanen wound up with Ovechkin scoring on a one-timer from the left faceoff dot. Travis Hamonic gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 17:38 of the first. Late in a power play, Casey Cizikas won the faceoff back to Cal Clutterbuck, who passed to Hamonic. He moved to his right and scored on a wrist shot. It was the 12th goal by an Islanders defenseman this season; they had 23 all of last season.
Philadelphia @ Detroit 2-5 - Pavel Datsyuk scored twice in his first game after missing four straight with a groin injury, leading Detroit to a 5-2 win. Stephen Weiss, who played on Datsyuk's line with Darren Helm on Wednesday in a unit made up of three natural centers, had a goal and an assist. Helm had two assists. Giroux tied the game 1-1 at 2:31 of the second period with a wrist shot from above the left circle off Red Wings defenseman Kyle Quincey's skate.
Detroit scored three unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead. Jurco broke the tie with 9:42 left in the second when he put in a rebound for his second goal of the season. He took a high shot from the bottom of the left circle through the legs of Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto past Mason. Datsyuk's first goal of the game, on the power play, came 1:29 later on a wrist shot from the top of the left circle. Berube then pulled Mason. Datsyuk scored his second of the game, seventh of the season, with 1:21 remaining in the second. After Helm's shot hit the right post, the puck bounced off the ice and Datsyuk knocked it out of midair. Voracek scored his eighth goal, on the power play, with 7:35 left in the third period to make it 4-2. Zetterberg scored into an empty net with 1:22 remaining. Weiss opened the scoring with 9:48 left in the first period when he tipped Helm's shot past Mason. It was Weiss' third goal of the season, the 150th of his NHL career. Howard made an outstanding save on Giroux about nine minutes into the game. Giroux cut in front of the crease from Howard's left and tried to slide a backhand shot behind the goaltender. But Howard made the save by dragging his left pad along the ice behind him as he moved the other way with Giroux.
NY Rangers @ Tampa Bay 3-4 - Ryan Callahan, who was traded to the Lightning for St. Louis last season, had two goals and an assist in a 4-3 win. St. Louis was booed whenever he touched the puck but the crowd did applaud when a video tribute was played during a break in the first period. St. Louis didn’t provide much to the Rangers offense and failed to get a clean shot against goalie Ben Bishop on his best scoring chance early in the third period. St. Louis remains two points shy of 1,000 for his NHL career. Callahan’s second goal came at 10:17 of the second period and broke a 2-2 tie. Steven Stamkos took possession of the puck and skated behind the net to draw in the Rangers defense before sending a crisp centering pass between forwards Jesper Fast and Tanner Glass to Callahan, who scored off a one-timer. Nikita Kucherov gave the Lightning a 4-2 lead at 9:38 of the third period when Tyler Johnson’s shot deflected off his skate past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers made it 4-3 at 12:49 of the third period when Rick Nash skated through the Lightning defense to the slot and pushed a wrist shot past Bishop. Stamkos gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 5:25 in the first period on his 15th goal of the season when he sent a wrist shot high above Lundqvist glove on a power play. Mats Zuccarello tied the game at 9:00 in the first when took a pass from Nash and sent a snap shot between Bishop’s pads. Dan Boyle scored his first goal with the Rangers a 2-1 lead at 11:04 in the first period, but the Lightning tied the game 2-2 on a power-play goal from Callahan at 17:34.
Carolina @ Florida 0-1 - Roberto Luongo left the game 10:22 into the second period with an upper-body injury. He did not appear to be injured on a specific play but skated to the Panthers bench during a timeout and spoke with coaches before going into the locker room. Luongo made 11 saves. At 13:53 of the second period, he stretched to make a glove save on Hurricanes center Victor Rask. Gallant said Luongo sustained the injury on a poke check before that play.
Montoya entered the game with the Hurricanes about to start a power play after a slashing call on Panthers left wing Shawn Thornton. Bjugstad started the play battling for the puck with Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk to Ward’s right. Faulk shot the puck behind the net, but Panthers left wing Jonathan Huberdeau put it back in front of Ward, where center Brandon Pirri redirected the puck to Bjugstad.
Los Angeles @ Minnesota 4-0 - Dwight King’s snap shot from the right faceoff circle was tipped on its way to the net by Richards at 4:21. The goal was Richards’ fourth. Less than nine minutes later, Brown capped a 2-on-1 break with a shot that snuck through Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper’s five-hole for his fourth goal. Minnesota offered up a number of turnovers that Los Angeles was able to exploit in the first period. The Kings lauded their play along their blue line, quickly transitioning from defense to offense and taking advantage of their rush opportunities. Toffoli’s goal also capped a 2-on-1 when the forward worked around an aggressive Kuemper. With the goaltender 3 feet out of his crease to take away the angle, Toffoli used a forehand-backhand move to sneak the puck inside the left post for his ninth of the season. Williams' goal came on a shot from the slot with 10 seconds remaining in the period and was the final shot Kuemper faced; Niklas Backstrom replaced him for the final two periods.
Chicago @ Colorado 3-2 - The Blackhawks, who outshot the Avalanche 45-29, broke a 2-2 tie on a goal by Bryan Bickell with 5:17 remaining in the third period. Bickell knocked the puck behind rookie goalie Calvin Pickard after Kane muscled his way through traffic. Colorado's Ryan O'Reilly tied the game 2-2 at 3:36 of the third period with his first goal in 11 games during a goal-mouth scramble. Alex Tanguay and Nick Holden took whacks at the puck before O'Reilly managed to chip it under the crossbar. Pickard made 42 saves, nine against Marian Hossa. The Blackhawks used power-play goals from Jonathan Toews and Andrew Shaw that came 2:31 apart in the second period to take a 2-1 lead after the Avalanche opened the scoring on Maxime Talbot's goal at 7:35 of the period. The Blackhawks tied the game at 11:50 on Toews' goal with Tomas Vincour in the penalty box for high sticking Kane. Brent Seabrook's shot got through Pickard, and Toews skated behind him to tap the puck inside the left post. Shaw, who missed the three previous games with an upper-body injury, put the Blackhawks in front 2-1 at 14:21 after he drew a holding penalty from Nick Holden. Kane passed to Shaw for a one-timer in the left circle that skimmed inside the left post. Pickard made 13 saves and Crawford nine in a fast-paced, scoreless first period. Crawford, in his 12th consecutive start, made a sliding save against Tanguay on a clean shorthanded breakaway at 15:30.

Edmonton Oilers @ Dallas Stars 2-3 - 11/25

Cody Eakin might not have had a goal or an assist for the Dallas Stars in a 3-2 win Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers at American Airlines Center, but he may have made the play of the game late in regulation. With Dallas up a goal, a shot by Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with 4:14 remaining in regulation had gotten behind Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen and the puck appeared poised to cross the line, but Eakin alertly cleared it from the paint. Dallas got two goals from Tyler Seguin and a goal and an assist from John Klingberg. Seguin, who increased his League-leading goal total to 18, scored each of his goals in the second period. Boyd Gordon scored shorthanded in the first period for Edmonton, which has lost seven games in a row. Taylor Hall also scored early in the third. Seguin scored his first 5:59 into the second when he beat Oilers goaltender Viktor Fasth top-shelf with a backhand shot after Dallas caught Edmonton on a line change. Seguin's second came with 2:18 remaining in the period when he roofed a wrist shot from the high slot. The circumstances surrounding Seguin's first goal was definitely a sore spot for Edmonton coach Dallas Eakins. The Stars scored first when Klingberg scored his third of the season with a slap shot from the neutral zone 12:49 into the game. After Jason Spezza won a faceoff in the left circle, Klingberg gained possession and after taking a few strides launched a 74-foot blast that managed to beat Fasth low on the glove side. Klingberg has a five-game point streak. Kari Lehtonen stopped 35 shots for Dallas, who have won three straight. Seguin had another quality scoring chance with two minutes remaining in the first. The Stars were on the power play after Edmonton defenseman Andrew Ference was called for holding at 17:53. Seguin nearly connected on a slap shot from the left circle, but his blast instead found the right post. The Oilers tied it when Gordon collected his own rebound for a shorthanded goal with 30 seconds left in the first period. Jeff Petry assisted by clearing the puck from the Edmonton zone and after Stars defenseman Trevor Daley was unable to intercept near the Oilers blue line, Gordon had a breakaway. Lehtonen denied Gordon's primary wrist shot, but he was there to knock in the rebound for his fourth goal of the season. It was Edmonton's third shorthanded goal. Each of Gordon's goals have come over the Oilers' past 10 games. Dallas had an apparent goal by Eakin at 9:02 of the second disallowed after Stars center Ryan Garbutt had pushed Petry into Fasth, which prevented him from making a play on the puck. Hall cut the Dallas lead to 3-2 5:59 into the second with a snap from the right circle. Hall knocked in a pass from Eberle, who assisted with a nice backhand from behind the net after receiving the puck from Nugent-Hopkins. It was Hall's 100th career goal. Fasth, who stopped 30 shots, denied Seguin's bid for the hat trick with a glove save with 1:45 remaining. The Oilers nearly forced overtime with nine seconds left, but David Perron's shot off a wraparound hit the crossbar.

Stars Quotes

Cody Eakin: "I kind of lost sight of it and then it was right in front of me, so I whacked it back through Kari's legs. I probably could have pulled it out, but at that point you get as far away from the goal line as you can."
Tyler Seguin: "We're getting closer to our game and putting together a full game. We are still showing glimpses of not playing our game, but we were happy to walk away with a win."
Lindy Ruff: "He's shooting the eyes out of a rattlesnake right now. He's got one heck of a shot. When he shoots the puck he's got one of the best shots I've ever seen. I thought Kari was good. For the most part, Kari was there when we needed him and we needed a few big saves."
John Klingberg: "Yeah that was a lucky goal there. I was going to dump the puck first, but I kind of wanted to surprise the goalie there so yeah it was lucky."

Ottawa Senators @ St Louis Blues 3-2 SO - 11/25

One night after the Ottawa Senators fell short in their bid for a comeback victory, they rallied to defeat the St. Louis Blues The Senators got third-period goals from Erik Condra and Alex Chiasson, and Bobby Ryan scored in the third round of the shootout to give the Senators a come-from-behind 3-2 victory Tuesday against the Blues at Scottrade Center. Ryan's was the only goal in the shootout. Robin Lehner stopped all three St. Louis shooters and made 27 saves in regulation and overtime to allow Ottawa to cap a comeback from a 2-0 third-period deficit with a win. The Senators, in the second of a five-game trip, got a goal from Chiasson with 40.4 seconds remaining to tie the game after pulling Lehner for an extra attacker. Condra got the rally started with a redirection goal 7:55 into the period. Ian Cole and Alexander Steen scored for the Blues, who lost starting goalie Brian Elliott to a lower-body injury in the second period. With the Blues leading 2-0, Condra tumbled over Elliott, whose right leg appeared to buckle under him during a scramble for the puck in the Blues crease. After trying to skate it off under head athletic trainer Ray Barile's watchful eye, Elliott left the ice and threw his goalie stick while he was going down the tunnel. Elliott, who stopped 16 shots, was replaced by Jake Allen with 6:02 left in the second. Allen and Elliott combined for 31 saves. Blues coach Ken Hitchcock didn't seem optimistic when asked about Elliott. Ryan scored after Allen stopped Kyle Turris and Mike Hoffman in the shootout. Ottawa's Chris Neil appeared to score during the battle in the crease that left Elliott injured, but after video review, it was deemed no goal because Condra made incidental contact with Elliott prior to the puck going into the net. Condra redirected Eric Gryba's wrist shot from the blue line top shelf past Allen to cut the Blues' lead in half at 2-1. Chiasson poked the puck past Allen to tie the game after Hoffman's shot from the blue line squirted through the Blues goalie's legs. It took three pucks in the net for one to count Tuesday; two goals were waved off in the first period. Cole gave the Blues a 1-0 lead with 5:37 remaining in the first period on his first goal since March 6 (30 games). His shot from the point got past Lehner after it hit off defenseman Erik Karlsson. Jaden Schwartz's power-play bid went in with 12:16 remaining in the first period, but it was waved off after officials ruled Blues center Jori Lehtera had made contact with Lehner. Moments later, Condra thought he scored a shorthanded goal with 10:34 left in the first, but officials whistled the play dead because they felt Elliott had the puck covered. Replays showed the puck had squirted behind Elliott, but it was out of sight for the referees. The Blues added to their lead on Steen's power-play goal with 7:55 remaining in the second period. Paul Stastny's cross-ice feed enabled Steen to step into a wrist shot from the edge of the right circle that beat Lehner short side for his fifth goal. The Blues were 1-for-6 on the power play, including two chances in the third period to ice the game. Ryan had a chance to win it in overtime, but his shot hit the far post on a one-timer from the left circle. Lehner stopped Lehtera's attempt on a wraparound moments after Ryan's shot.

Stars Quotes

Ken Hitchcock: "We'll let you know tomorrow. Injuries are part of it. We'll see how long he's out for. Tonight's really disappointing. The loss is one thing, but the way we played at times is disappointing. Attention to detail and focus. Coming back, we took a day off, get re-energized. I thought our focus was really inconsistent. Poor at times execution, not close to what we played on the road. We played really poor. We didn't play well at all. ... Our attention to detail has to change. You come back off the road, that's the risk you play with, but we really lacked detail in our game today, and that's what losing hockey is. When you don't have detail in your game, eventually you crack. Both goals, we didn't block shots, we didn't get in lanes. Both goals, we gave up easy entries ... you don't do that stuff if you're paying attention to detail. We had a chance to clear it in the last minute and we're fishing for it. You don't do that stuff."
Alexander Steen: "They picked up the pace and we went back and stopped playing."
Ian Cole: "Yeah, it is nice [First Goal]. I tried shooting hard in the first part of the year, and it didn't go in, so I figured I'd try the change-up and it went in."
Martin Brodeur is currently training with the Blues

NHL Results - Tue, Nov 25, 2014

Winnipeg @ Columbus 4-2 - The Jets scored nine seconds into the game on a goal by Bryan Little, then decided the outcome with goals 31 seconds apart by Evander Kane and Andrew Ladd for a 3-1 lead in the second period. Evander Kane scored his fourth goal of the season, into an empty net, on the power play with 18 seconds for the Jets, who ended a two-game losing streak. Columbus got a goal each from Jordan Leopold and Johansen, whose score with 10:13 remaining drew the Blue Jackets within 3-2. The Blue Jackets nearly tied the score two minutes later when a carom off the end boards came out front to Artem Anisimov at the right post, but he was unable to push the puck across the goal line. Blue Jackets right wing Cam Atkinson hit the crossbar with 2:08 left, the third time Columbus hit the post. Columbus kept pressing for the tying goal but a too many men on the ice penalty when the Blue Jackets pulled goalie Sergei Bobrovsky led to Kane's goal. Jacob Trouba got his second assist. The game changed in its favor during a two-man advantage for Columbus when Blue Jackets forward Scott Hartnell was called for goalie interference. Winnipeg killed the remainder of the 5-on-4, the play went to 4-on-4 briefly, and shortly thereafter, while the Jets had the man-advantage, Dustin Byfuglien put a perfect centering pass at the goal mouth for the easy redirect by Kane at 16:25. Winnipeg went ahead 3-1 at 16:56 during a delayed penalty with a shot by Ladd from the left circle that Bobrovsky could not see because of the bodies in front of him. Blake Wheeler got his second assist of the game on the eighth goal for Ladd. Little's goal was one second slower than the Jets' record. Columbus tied it at 3:42 on Leopold's power play-goal.
Los Angeles @ Nashville 3-4 SO - Craig Smith gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 6:24 of the first period when he converted on a breakaway attempt. Smith got behind the defense and took a pass from Colin Wilson to enter the zone and beat Jones for his seventh goal of the season. Los Angeles tied the game 1-1 at 11:32 of the first period. Justin Williams' shot deflected off the skate of Jamie McBain and past Rinne. The goal was McBain's first of the season; Williams picked up his sixth point in five games with an assist. Marian Gaborik gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead 1:01 into the second period. Jeff Carter flipped a puck into the zone ahead of Gaborik on a lead pass and he was able to catch up to it and shoot it past Rinne for his fourth goal. Nystrom laid a big hit on Los Angeles defenseman Brayden McNabb in the second period that seemed to turn the momentum in Nashville's favor. Nashville defenseman Ryan Ellis tied the game 2-2 at 17:36 of the second period on a one-timer from the point. Nystrom gave the Predators a 3-2 lead 52 seconds later when he deflected a shot by Taylor Beck. It capped an effective period by Nystrom. Drew Doughty tied the game for Los Angeles 38 seconds into the third period when he went coast-to-coast and fired a quick wrist shot past Rinne. Doughty was able to maneuver around Nashville defenseman Anton Volchenkov and use him as a screen.
Colorado @ Phoenix 4-3 OT - Colorado rebounded from a rough first period to win, when Daniel Briere scored 3:16 into overtime. Colorado trailed 3-0 at 10:53 of the first period after rookie forward Tobias Rieder beat goalie Reto Berra with a knuckling slap shot. But backup goalie Calvin Pickard stopped all 25 Coyotes shots he faced after relieving Berra, and the Avalanche used two goals from Gabriel Landeskog and one from Matt Duchene 4:05 into the third period to force overtime. Then Martin Hanzal deflected Briere's pass across the slot for Zach Redmond past goalie Mike Smith for the game-winner. Rieder and Antoine Vermette also scored in the first period, when the Coyotes beat Berra three times on eight shots. Landeskog got the rally started for Colorado, scoring for the first time in 12 games. He scored again early in the third period to kick the comeback into gear. The Coyotes scored 3:36 into the first period when Vermette won a spot in the Colorado crease and deflected Stone's shot from inside the point down and past Berra. Vermette's sixth goal put him one behind Coyotes leaders Mikkel Boedker and Shane Doan. Stone scored from long distance at 10:20. Colorado defenseman Nick Holden tried to glove Stone's shot out of the air, but the puck instead deflected off his glove and past a helpless Berra. It took 33 seconds for Phoenix to strike again. Rieder raced into the Colorado zone with a turnover and put a fluttering puck by Berra, who was pulled immediately after the goal. Pickard shut down the Coyotes the rest of the way, and the Avalanche kept coming. Smith stopped Erik Johnson's shot in the slot, but Landeskog settled the rebound at his feet, moved the puck to the backhand and roofed a shot past Smith and under the crossbar at 5:49. Smith made a huge save late in the second when a Keith Yandle turnover sent Colorado's Marc-Andre Cliché in alone shorthanded, making a pad stop on the Avalanche forward to preserve the Coyotes' two-goal cushion. But that lead didn't survive the third period. Colorado cut the lead in half at 1:36. From behind the net, Jarome Iginla set up Nathan MacKinnon for a shot from the left circle. Smith stopped it, but Landeskog pounced on the rebound and put it between Smith's pads for his second goal of the game. Colorado got a fortunate bounce that allowed them to tie the game 2:29 after Landeskog's goal. Lauri Korpikoski deflected Duchene's attempted centering pass from behind the net, but the puck fluttered up in the air and over Smith's glove at 4:05, and the Avalanche had come all the way back.
New Jersey @ Vancouver 0-2 - The Canucks didn't get down after an emotional pregame ceremony to honor former coach, general manager and president Pat Quinn, who died Sunday at 71. The tribute had the opposite effect. After a moment of silence and stirring rendition of "Danny Boy" over a video celebrating Quinn's life, Vancouver came out flying on the way to a 2-0 win. The Canucks fired the first 10 shots, took the lead early in the second period on a backdoor tap-in by Alexandre Burrows and finally put the game away when Shawn Matthias got a lucky breakaway bounce with 5:23 left to play. If not for the early play of former Canucks goaltender Cory Schneider, who finished with 34 saves for the Devils, it could have been over a lot sooner. It was Schneider's second visit to Rogers Arena since being traded to the Devils at the 2013 NHL Draft, and the Canucks welcomed him back with a flurry of activity. He was forced to make a couple point-blank stops off Nick Bonino during a scramble 1:20 into the game that set the tone for a first period that saw Vancouver outshoot New Jersey 17-6. The Devils didn't get their first shot on goal until 8:34, but Schneider kept it scoreless until early in the second period. Bieksa corralled a clearing attempt by Devils defenseman Marek Zidlicky at the right point and fired a slap pass backdoor to Burrows, who beat Zidlicky to the edge of the crease for an easy tap-in. Burrows rang another shot off the post on a 2-on-1 in the third period. Miller wasn't busy but made a couple good saves late to preserve his shutout. His best save came after New Jersey appeared to get life when Vancouver defenseman Luca Sbisa landed a big hit on 42-year-old forward Jaromir Jagr, who had been the Devils' best skater, with about eight minutes left in the game. Former Canucks forward Steve Bernier had a great chance to tie the game alone in the slot with seven minutes left, but he fired the puck off Miller's left pad. Matthias added the insurance goal 90 seconds later. Sent in alone after a Zidlicky turnover, Schneider stopped his backhand deke, but the rebound went in off Zidlicky's skate as he tried to stop. Bieksa blasted one off Schneider's mask early.
Calgary @ Anaheim 2-3 - Calgary erased 2-0 deficits in two of their previous three games, but fell short against the Sucks, who were down to five defensemen in the third period because Francois Beauchemin left the game with an upper-body injury. Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau did not have an update. TJ Brodie almost singlehandedly got Calgary back in it when he scored at 11:02 of third and hit a post with four minutes left, and Jiri Hudler made it 3-2 with 25.4 seconds to go. Anaheim might have deflated Calgary in the second period when they killed three penalties and took a 3-0 lead on goals by Perry and Palmieri. Palmieri went into the corner with Flames defenseman Deryk Engelland, spun toward the net and slipped a backhand through Hiller at 19:44. Perry got his stick on kick pass by Matt Beleskey in the slot, shortly after Anaheim killed Mat Clark's tripping penalty. Perry's team-leading 12th goal at 5:04 of the second was his first since a case of mumps. Anaheim otherwise took it to Calgary physically, highlighted by Beauchemin's hip check on Markus Granlund. The scoring started on a fluky bounce when Beleskey's centering pass to Perry hit defenseman Kris Russell's skate and went into the net at 4:37 of the first. It was Beleskey's 10th goal, one shy of his career high from 2009-10.

Soviet Legend Viktor Tikhonov Dies

Viktor Tikhonov, the legendary coach of the Soviet Union national team powerhouses, died Monday after a long illness. He was 84.

Tikhonov won three Olympic gold medals and eight World Championships as the coach of the Soviet national team, later the Russian national team, between 1979 and 1992. He also led his team to the title at the 1981 Canada Cup, a competition which pitted the best players from the top hockey-playing countries.
He also won an Olympic silver medal as well as a silver medal and two bronze medals at the World Championships. In many circles, Tikhonov gained the most notice for the Olympic silver medal, which came in 1980 at Lake Placid when his powerhouse team was upset by the United States in the medal round in a contest that became known as the "Miracle on Ice." In that game, Tikhonov replaced Viacheslav Tretiak, considered by many to be the best goalie in the world, with Vladimir Mishkyn after Tretiak allowed two first-period goals. The Americans shocked the hockey world by winning the game 4-3. It was a loss that would haunt Tikhonov for the rest of an otherwise amazing coaching career.

Domestically, Tikhonov led CSKA Moscow, the country's biggest and most popular club, to 13 league titles from 1977 to 1989 and 13 straight European Cup titles from 1978-90. Tikhonov was born in Moscow in 1930 and played defense in Russia's top professional league, winning four championships. He also coached Dinamo Riga before landing the job with CSKA Moscow. The honors for the impact he had on both Russian hockey and the international game are legendary. He is in the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame as a builder and is also a member of the Russian Hall of Fame. He is also an Hounoured Master of Sport.

Tikhonov is survived by his wife, Tatyana, and his grandchildren. His son, Vasili, died in 2013. His grandson, Viktor, plays for SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League and was a member of the Russian Olympic Team at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He also played in the NHL, dressing for 61 games for the Phoenix Coyotes in 2008-09.

Pittsburgh Penguins @ Boston Brawlers 3-2 OT - 11/24

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury not only helped the Pittsburgh Penguins snap a two-game losing streak, he also personally joined some elite company. Fleury made 27 saves and Evgeni Malkin scored his second goal of the game 32 seconds into overtime in the Penguins' 3-2 victory against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Monday. With the win, Fleury became the third-fastest (547 games) and third-youngest (29 years, 361 days) goaltender to earn 300 NHL victories. Jacques Plante and Andy Moog are the only goaltenders to reach that milestone in fewer games, and Martin Brodeur and Terry Sawchuk are the only ones to do it a younger age. Malkin's second goal finished off a 2-on-1 with Sidney Crosby. Malkin also scored the game-tying goal on a power play 9:42 into the second period for the Penguins. Malkin and Crosby don't usually play together at 5-on-5, but coach Mike Johnston decided to put the two centers on the ice together during the 4-on-4 overtime. The Bruins have lost two in a row after winning three straight games. Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask made 30 saves on 33 shots. But the Bruins felt like they deserved a better fate. The Bruins had two goals waved off on the ice and by the situation room. The first one came at 10:00 of the first period with the Bruins behind 1-0. Defenseman Kevan Miller took a wrist shot from the left point that Patrice Bergeron tipped on Fleury and then batted the rebound out of the air with a backhand swipe. The goal was waved off on the ice after a "group huddle" by the officials, and the situation room upheld the ruling that Bergeron's contact with the puck was above the crossbar. The Bruins increased their total of waved-off goals in the past five games to four at 10:43 of the third period, when officials ruled that Carl Soderberg directed the puck into the net with his glove. The situation room confirmed the ruling and the game remained tied 2-2. Crosby got the Penguins on the scoreboard first after a strong shift down low by his line, including Patric Hornqvist and Craig Adams. Crosby backhanded a rebound of Adams' shot past Rask 3:33 into the game for a 1-0 lead. The Bruins, who were shut out 2-0 by the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, got a goal that did count at 1:43 into the second period when Milan Lucic flipped the puck into an open net after a nice setup by Loui Eriksson. Boston grabbed the lead 28 seconds later on defenseman Joe Morrow's first NHL goal. Morrow's wrist shot went through a screen and past Fleury at 2:11 to give Boston a 2-1 lead. The Penguins evened the score 2-2 on Malkin's power-play goal and then closed it out in the extra period. It was a solid bounce-back performance for Pittsburgh after they were swept by the New York Islanders in a home-and-home series. Fleury was covered in shaving cream after he was pied by his teammates. Morrow was drafted in the first round by Pittsburgh in 2011.

Pens Quotes

Marc-Andre Fleury: "It's tough to realize, maybe, but it's something I'm happy and proud. I've been fortunate to play with good teams too."
Mike Johnston: "We tried it a couple games ago and I really liked them together. I was hesitant earlier in the year, I wanted to get a little bit of balance, but I thought, 'Geez, they had some great chemistry when they are out there with 4-on-4.' And they're dangerous on the rushes you saw. It was a great play from Sid to [Malkin]. They're [the Bruins] a good team, a solid team. It's always a nice place to win, here in Boston. Those two losses were tough to take, but I think everybody stepped it up tonight, and we got a big two points."

Opposition's Excuses

The Odious Brad Marchand: "I thought we had a pretty good game overall. That's how it goes sometimes. Sometimes you have bad games and you win and have good games and lose. We did get one point. We want to continue to build."
Claude Julien Whined and Opined: "On that first goal, the closest referee calls it a goal. And then it's no goal because the three furthest ones think it's a high stick, so I guess that's what's frustrating in my mind. I don't know what the League looked at. When I looked at the replay myself it looked more inconclusive. Now, they may contradict me and say they had a better angle from where they were, but that's how it looked to me. I think that's a little frustrating, especially the number of goals that we've had turned back on us this year."
Joe Morrow: "At first I thought [Gregory] Campbell touched it. But I guess it didn't and it was a good feeling, a good thing to get that out of the way. First point too, so hopefully I can kind of do something offensively out there for once and contribute that way too."

St Louis Blues v Winnipeg Jets 4-2 - 11/23

Much is made of the defensive prowess that is a trademark of the St. Louis Blues, but they showed off their power play in a 4-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday. The Blues took advantage of an opponent that began the game having allowed the third-most power plays in the NHL and scored twice on the man advantage in the second period. The power-play goals from Jaden Schwartz and David Backes erased two Winnipeg leads and set up a goal from Blues forward Ryan Reaves that broke a 2-2 tie 2:25 into the third period. Reaves grabbed a loose puck and spun around before snapping a shot past Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec for his third goal of the season. Paul Stastny's empty-net goal finished the scoring with 39.3 seconds remaining. Reaves grew up in Winnipeg and had family and friends watching at MTS Centre. The win wrapped up a four-game road trip for St. Louis that finished 2-2-0. The Blues rank third in the League on the power play and first in goals-against per game (2.00). Alexander Steen had two assists. The Blues played without defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who sustained a lower-body injury in the third period of a 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Bouwmeester's absence ended his streak of 737 consecutive games played that dated to back to the 2003-04 season, when he was with the Florida Panthers. The streak was the fifth longest in League history. Chris Butler made his season debut in place of Bouwmeester. Defenseman Barret Jackman played his 744th game with St. Louis, tying Brett Hull for third in Blues history. Bryan Little and Jim Slater scored for the Jets, who finished their three-game homestand 1-2-0. Jets coach Paul Maurice disputed that discipline was not an issue for the Jets. The Winnipeg penalty kill has allowed goals in the past four games, and St. Louis had five power-play opportunities. Hitchcock has been rotating starts among goaltenders Jake Allen and Brian Elliott. Allen started Sunday and made 28 saves and had his first NHL assist. Pavelec stopped 25 shots and moved into second in the League in playing his 19th game of the season. The Jets challenged the Blues, who were playing their third game in the past four days. Winnipeg had the first seven shots of the game. Little gave the Jets a 1-0 lead 9:04 into the game, pushing a rebound past Allen for his sixth goal of the season. The goal broke a 13-game goalless streak for Little that dated back to Oct. 26. Before the scoring slump, Little had scored five goals in his first eight games of the season. The St. Louis power play tied the game 5:14 into the second period on its second opportunity of the game. Steen unleashed a long left-point shot through traffic in front of Pavelec that Schwartz tipped through the goaltender's pads for his eighth of the season. Center Jori Lehtera assisted on the goal and has nine assists in his past 11 games. Winnipeg's fourth line reclaimed the lead when Slater scored his first goal of the season at 9:53 of the second period. Slater lifted a shot off a rebound high off Allen's right shoulder. Before the goal, the line of Slater, Matt Halischuk and Chris Thorburn had combined for one assist this season. Steen helped set up another tying goal with the Blues back on the power play. Steen's outlet pass from deep within the St. Louis defensive zone reached Backes, who beat Pavelec with a high shot with 2:03 left in the second period. Five of the six goals that Backes has scored this season have been on the power play, good for second in the League.

Blues Quotes

Ryan Reaves: "I'm sure he was going crazy up there," Reaves said of his father, who attended the game. "I hope all of my friends were celebrating in the crowd. Coming back here and all of my friends and family are here, getting a goal in front of them is special."
Ken Hitchcock: "We needed it [power play] today. We told the players that. We were going to get our chances. We needed it, and it came through both times. [Bouwmeester] felt terrible. We all felt terrible that he couldn't go today. That's really emotionally tough for him to break that streak. This is a very tough schedule. To come out with wins [in back-to-back games] and at the end of the [road trip], I'm really impressed with the way we competed [Saturday] and today."
Jake Allen: "Two huge wins after two tough losses at the start of the trip. To be able to be back winning and head home was crucial for us."
Alexander Steen: "We're just playing a really good team game, a sound team game. A lot of us benefit from other lines pushing teams back and getting matchups."

Opposition View

Adam Lowry: "They have a tremendous amount of depth. Their top three lines are as good as any in the League, and they play a pretty structured game. They don't give a lot, and they're able to capitalize on our mistakes."

NHL Results - Sun, 23 & Mon, 24 Nov, 2014

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Montreal @ NY Rangers 0-5 - New York carried the play during the first period but managed only a one-goal advantage. St. Louis gave the Rangers some breathing room with a pair of great plays in the middle period, including one in the first minute. He took a pass from Chris Kreider as the Rangers entered the zone, and skated toward the right circle before backhanding a pass through two Canadiens defenders to Derek Stepan near the top of the left circle. Stepan snapped a shot past goaltender Dustin Tokarski for his second goal of the season and a 2-0 New York lead 35 seconds into the period. Later in the period St. Louis lifted Montreal defenseman Alexei Emelin's stick and stole the puck, giving him a clear path to the net. He scored while moving to his right but lofting a shot into the top-left corner after Tokarski committed to sliding across his crease. Dominic Moore scored the lone goal of the first period. Montreal forward Alex Galchenyuk made an unwise decision, trying to send the puck back through the slot instead of toward the boards as he skated back toward his net. The puck deflected off Rangers forward Tanner Glass and landed near the top of the crease for Moore to punch it past Tokarski at 9:44 for his first goal of the season. Rookie Anthony Duclair made another fantastic individual play to make it 4-0. A pass from Kevin Hayes was behind Duclair, but he snared it with his right foot and slid it to his stick before finding Carl Hagelin at the far post for a tap-in goal. It was Hagelin's fifth. Rick Nash scored on a breakaway to complete the scoring. He slipped behind the defense, and although it took Derick Brassard a couple of seconds to realize it, he still got the puck to Nash, who scored his 14th goal, tying him for second in the NHL with Steven Stamkos behind Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin's 15. All 12 forwards had at least one point for the Rangers. It was the first time since Dec. 17, 1980, against the Winnipeg Jets that all New York forwards had at least a point, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Phoenix @ Anaheim 1-2 - It took a fluky gaffe and a fat rebound for the Anaheim Sucks to get a 2-1. Kyle Palmieri capitalized on a Smith misstep and Patrick Maroon scored his first goal of the season. The Sucks got a strong game from the line of Palmieri, Maroon and Ryan Kesler, who had two assists. The Coyotes had 10 shots through 40 minutes, but pulled to within a goal on Keith Yandle's one-timer from the slot at 8:56 of the third period. They got a 6-on-4 advantage with 40.2 seconds left when Anaheim defenseman Francois Beauchemin was called for cross-checking, but the Sucks cleared the puck twice. Maroon slammed home a rebound of Sami Vatanen's shot from the slot at 17:20 of the second for a 2-0 Sucks lead. It was his first goal since April 13. Palmieri scored after Smith fell behind the net trying to stop Palmieri's dump-in. Kesler grabbed the loose puck and sent a blind pass to the slot that went off Coyotes forward Joe Vitale's stick to Palmieri, who easily scored into the empty net at 14:08. Left wing Rene Bourque made his Ducks debut and played on a line with Rickard Rakell and Devante Smith-Pelly. He had three shots and three hits. Anaheim played without defenseman Clayton Stoner, who was held out because of "mild mumps-like symptoms." Defenseman Mat Clark played his first game since Nov. 9.
Chicago @ Vancouver 1-4 - After honoring Daniel Sedin's 1,000th game in a pre-game ceremony, right wing Jannik Hansen completed his first career hat trick into an empty net with 42.1 seconds left to lead the Canucks to a 4-1 win. Hansen opened the scoring with 7:47 left in the first period and put the Canucks ahead again 6:24 into the third with his fourth goal in the past three games. Linemates Derek Dorsett had two assists and 19-year-old rookie Bo Horvat had three. Horvat, playing his eighth NHL game, started the play on the winning goal by winning a faceoff in his own zone against Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. Dorsett then won a race to his dump-in into the corner and threw the puck into the slot, where a streaking Hansen tipped it past Corey Crawford's glove. Radim Vrbata ended any comeback thoughts by making it 3-1 on a rebound with 2:24 left in the period, setting the stage for the speedy Hansen to finish off his hat trick after winning a race for a loose puck. Canucks goalie Ryan Miller, who was eliminated by Chicago in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season while playing for the St. Louis Blues, made 24 saves for his 13th win of the season. But the focus after the game wasn't on Miller's revenge or Daniel Sedin's milestone. It was all about the Canucks' fourth line, which is benefitting from the approach of new coach Willie Desjardins. Crawford denied Nick Bonino twice early, getting his right pad on a rebound in the slot 4:35 into the game and then with the glove another good chance four minutes later.

Hansen finally beat him as a power play expired with 7:47 left in the period. With Versteeg about to step out of the penalty box for roughing defenseman Luca Sbisa in response to a hard hit on Patrick Kane, the Canucks' fourth line broke out on a 3-on-2 rush. Dorsett's pass to Horvat in the middle deflected to an open Hansen cutting into the slot and he beat Crawford over the blocker.

It was the third straight game Hansen has scored a goal. Crawford threw out his blocker to rob Hansen on a one-timer from the slot early in the second period and the Blackhawks tied it early into their third power play of the game 7:55 into the period. Duncan Keith took a crisp cross-ice pass from Brent Seabrook and quickly threw a wobbling point shot at the net for Versteeg to knock out of the air past Miller for his seventh point in four games. The Canucks had a great chance to restore the lead on a power play five minutes later, when a nice backdoor passing play left Henrik Sedin with an open net. But Crawford pushed across and splayed out and Sedin's low shot wedged under the heel of his left skate.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Philadelphia @ NY Islanders 0-1 SO - Frans Nielsen and John Tavares converted in the shootout and the Islanders overcame Steve Mason's phenomenal 46-save performance in a 1-0 victory. It was the fourth straight win for the Islanders, who outshot the Flyers 46-21 through a scoreless 65 minutes. Jaroslav Halak, who denied Scott Laughton and Claude Giroux in the shootout, recorded his third shutout of the season and has won his past seven starts. Mason kept the game scoreless with 12:35 remaining in the first period when he managed to glove Nielsen's rebound attempt from between the circles. Halak responded a few minutes later when he got his right pad on Sean Couturier's shorthanded breakaway chance. Mason's strong play continued into the third, when he denied Tavares on a wraparound and then quickly turned aside Kyle Okposo on the rebound. Okposo was robbed again with 1:40 left when he took a drop pass from Nikolay Kulemin and ripped a wrist shot from the right circle that Mason snared out of the air with his glove. It was the Islanders' 42nd shot of the game. They held a 43-20 advantage after 60 minutes. Mason's dazzling performance carried on into overtime when he gobbled up Johnny Boychuk's redirection from right in front of the net off a feed from Nick Leddy 1:03 into the extra period. Mason denied Okposo in the opening round of the shootout before Nielsen and Tavares solved him in the following rounds.
Ottawa @ Detroit 3-4 - Kyle Turris opened the scoring with a 5-on-3 power-play goal 5:19 into the first period. He beat Howard with a one-time slap shot from the top of the left circle, converting a cross-ice pass from Karlsson. It was Turris' fourth goal of the season. Nyquist's power-play goal with 3:15 left in the first period tied the game 1-1. He scored off Red Wings’ captain Henrik Zetterberg's rebound, for his team-leading 10th goal. Detroit scored three times in the second period to take a 4-1 lead. Sheahan's power-play goal 2:23 into the second broke a 1-1 tie. He put in a long rebound off a shot from Tomas Tatar from the right faceoff circle on the rush. It was Sheahan's fourth goal of the season. Weiss scored the next two goals. His first goal since Oct. 14, 2013, made it 3-1 with 6:26 left in the second. He put in a loose puck from in front. His second goal came with 2:08 left in the second, 4:18 later, when he backhanded a shot past Anderson from the bottom of the left circle for his 400th career point. Karlsson cut the Red Wings lead to 4-2, 2:43 into the third period with his sixth goal. He beat Howard with a wrist shot from the high slot.
Hoffman got his eighth goal, with 35 seconds remaining. Howard made a glove save on defenseman Patrick Wiercioch's knuckling shot from the left point just before the final buzzer.
Minnesota @ Florida 4-1 - Zucker spent last season bouncing between the minors and Minnesota. He started this season on the Wild's fourth line, but has played his way onto the second line with center Mikko Koivu and left wing Thomas Vanek. Koivu set up both of Zucker's goals. Nino Niederreiter scored an unassisted goal in the first period and Zach Parise had an empty-net goal with 1:29 remaining. Goaltender Niklas Backstrom made 29 saves for the Wild. Zucker gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 5:58 of the first period when he took a cross-ice pass from Koivu and slipped it through Luongo's five-hole for his seventh goal of the season. Niederreiter doubled the Minnesota's lead at 17:43 with his 10th goal of the season. Panthers defenseman Willie Mitchell failed to control the puck in front of Florida's bench and Niederreiter came streaking between Mitchell and defense partner Colby Robak, grabbed the puck for a breakaway and roofed a shot over Luongo's blocker. Thornton made it 2-1 with a goal that needed a video review. At 5:34 of the second period, Thornton deflected Dmitry Kulikov's shot and the puck dropped behind Backstrom's left shoulder. The play was originally ruled no goal due to a high stick. However, the officials determined after a group huddle that Thornton's stick was not above the height of the crossbar and a video review confirmed the decision to allow the goal. Zucker and Koivu combined to make it 3-1 at 17:19. Zucker's check on Panthers defenseman Erik Gudbranson in the left corner allowed Koivu to get control of the puck. He fed Zucker, who took the pass in front of Luongo and fired a shot toward the top right corner. The puck bounced off the post and went behind Luongo for Zucker's eighth goal of the season. The Panthers didn't have many scoring opportunities in the first two periods, Florida was outshot 14-5 after one period and 30-14 after two. But they managed 16 shots on goal in the third period, only to have Backstrom stop them all.

Phoenix Coyotes @ San Jose Sharks 4-3 SO - 11/22

The Coyotes got the fast start they were looking for Saturday night against the San Jose Sharks, jumping to a 2-0 first-period lead at SAP Center. As it turned out, the Coyotes needed an even stronger finish to escape with a 4-3 shootout victory. Antoine Vermette scored a power-play goal early in the first period and scored the only goal in the shootout, beating Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi in the third round. But it was a spectacular penalty kill in overtime that gave Vermette a chance for his game-ending goal in the tiebreaker. The Sharks went on a power play at 1:05 of overtime when Shane Doan went to the penalty box for high sticking against Matt Nieto. San Jose turned up the pressure on Phoenix goaltender Devan Dubnyk, but he survived a flurry of shots, including two by Joe Pavelski, and Phoenix killed the penalty. The Sharks came within inches of ending the game in overtime during their power play. David Schlemko and Doan also scored for Phoenix who improved to 6-1-0 against Pacific Division opponents. The Coyotes are 1-1-0 with one left on their three-game road trip. Dubnyk, making his sixth start of the season, improved to 5-0-1. Tommy Wingels, Andrew Desjardins and Pavelski each scored a goal for San Jose, who saw its losing streak grow to three games, including back-to-back shootout losses. Niemi made 22 saves. Dubnyk stopped all three shots in the shootout, when he faced Couture, Pavelski and Barclay Goodrow. After Goodrow was rejected, Vermette beat Niemi to the stick side to end the game. The Coyotes built a 2-0 lead in the first period, gave it all back in the second, and then moved ahead 3-2 at 52 seconds of the third period on Doan's seventh goal, all of which have come on the road. Sharks forward Tomas Hertl mishandled a puck in San Jose's end, and Phoenix capitalized. Sam Gagner fired a shot that Niemi saved but couldn't control, and Doan put the rebound past the Sharks goalie from close range. San Jose answered with Pavelski's power-play goal at 7:47 of the third. Brent Burns unleashed a rocket from just inside the blue line, and Pavelski redirected the puck past Dubnyk for his ninth goal, which leads the Sharks, and 200th of his career. Pavelski had another prime scoring chance in the final minute of regulation, but Dubnyk made the save on his shot from the right circle. The Coyotes grabbed a 1-0 lead at 4:58 of the first period when Vermette scored from the low slot on the power play with Hertl in the penalty box for interference. Mikkel Boedker sent the puck toward the net from the right circle, and Doan got it to a wide-open Vermette, who slid a shot under Niemi's left pad. It was the fifth goal for Vermette, and the Coyotes had a power-play goal for the fifth time in their past six games. Phoenix made it 2-0 at 12:05 of the first period when Schlemko scored his first goal since Oct. 26, 2013, snapping a goal drought of 46 games. Trailing on a Coyotes rush, Schlemko took a pass from Boedker in the slot and wristed a shot over Niemi's left shoulder with Vermette providing a screen. Boedker earned his second assist of the game, the 100th of his career. The Sharks scored two unanswered goals in the second period to pull even. Wingels scored San Jose's first shorthanded goal of the season at 4:11 of the second, cutting Phoenix's lead to 2-1 and energizing the Sharks. Goodrow won a battle for the puck along the boards with Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, igniting a 3-on-1 rush. Goodrow zipped a cross-ice pass to Wingels, who ripped the puck past Dubnyk, snapping his 10-game goal drought. Desjardins made it 2-2 at 17:53 of the second period with his first goal of the season. Tyler Kennedy unleashed a shot from above the right circle that Dubnyk saved. But the rebound went off Dubnyk's right pad to a hard-charging Desjardins in the left circle, and Desjardins buried his shot. The Sharks scored one more goal but never took a lead. Defenseman Brenden Dillon made his debut for San Jose, one day after being acquired from the Dallas Stars for defenseman Jason Demers and a third-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. Dillon, who was paired with Burns, had four hits, one shot and blocked four shots.

Sharks Quotes

Joe Pavelski: "It looked like it was going in. [Logan Couture] mentioned it might have hit his stick on the way out too. It's the way it's been going. Not good enough. We'll keep working through it. Slow starts, they always hurt. We worked, we kept going as the game went on. We had chances there at the end. We just have to find a way to win. We had the puck a lot, especially the second half. It's still about managing the game when the game is tied, making that simple play. We've got to learn that lesson over and over. But it's got to stay with us one of these times."
Todd McLellan: "Too many mistakes. Defensively, lapses that cost us. At the other end, when you get three, you should win the game. A lot of shots on goal, a lot of shot attempts, a lot of possession, faceoffs were good, but at the end of it, we weren't detailed enough with the puck during certain moments of the game, and they got enough to win."
Brenden Dillon: "Coaches did a great job preparing me for the game. Guys are great in the room. [Burns is] easy to play with and great communicating on the bench between every shift. We had a bunch of chances on that power play in OT. It's just something the puck doesn't get over the line."

Los Angeles Kings @ Dallas Stars 4-5 - 11/22

It was fitting that Jamie Benn was the hero for the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. The current face of the Stars, Benn had two goals and an assist in a 5-4 win against the Kings on a night when Dallas icon Mike Modano was honored for his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame earlier in the week. Benn was one of four Stars with multiple points in the victory, Dallas' second in a row at American Airlines Center after snapping a seven-game home losing streak Thursday. Benn scored both his goals in the first period. He also assisted on the Stars' other goal in the first, when Dallas built a 3-0 lead. Tyler Seguin (goal, assist), John Klingberg (goal, assist) and Cody Eakin (two assists) each also had two points for the Stars, who got 37 saves from goaltender Kari Lehtonen. Defenseman Jason Demers scored a power-play goal in his Dallas debut. Justin Williams scored twice for the Kings, who got two assists each from Kyle Clifford and Jarret Stoll. Benn scored his first goal 14:35 into the first period when he flicked in a wrist shot from the low slot. Seguin started the play by intercepting the puck when Kings center Tyler Toffoli tried to clear it with a carom off the boards near the Stars blue line. Eakin gained possession and passed to Seguin, who fed a streaking Benn by curling his stick around Greene. Klingberg scored his second goal in as many games at 17:16 of the first when he beat Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick top shelf from the slot. Klingberg gained possession in the Dallas zone and laid the puck off to Eakin near center ice. Eakin passed to Benn, and the Stars captain passed it back to Klingberg, who finished with a well-placed wrist shot over Quick's glove. Benn scored his second with two seconds left in the first when he flipped a Klingberg backhand pass in for a power-play goal. Dallas put Los Angeles on the power play three times in the first, but the Kings couldn't convert. Dallas appeared to score its fourth goal less than a minute into the second period, but the referees ruled Benn had interfered with Quick as Alex Goligoski put the puck in the Los Angeles net. The Stars did go ahead 4-0 at 3:57 when Seguin beat Quick through the five-hole for his NHL-leading 15th goal. Lehtonen got the assist with a pass up the middle of the ice. Seguin received the puck near the Kings blue line and went in alone on Quick. Los Angeles scored the next two, first at 9:32 of the second when Tanner Pearson scored off a rebound. Muzzin took a hard slap shot from the left point, but Lehtonen turned it away. The carom fell to Pearson, and he converted from the right circle. The Kings cut it to 4-2 at 12:16 of the second when Williams scored in similar fashion with the Kings on the power play. Lehtonen denied Brayden McNabb's shot from the slot with a pad save, but Williams tapped in the rebound. The Stars answered with 2:07 remaining in the second when Demers ripped a slap shot over Quick's blocker from the blue line with Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr off for hooking. Demers' first goal of the season came one day after he was acquired in a trade with the San Jose Sharks for defenseman Brenden Dillon. Los Angeles quickly cut the Dallas lead to 5-3 when a Mike Richards shot from the left circle deflected in off the stick of Stars rookie defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka at 18:29. The Kings cut it to 5-4 at 10:44 of the third when Williams scored his second of the game, again off a rebound. Dallas finished the game on a power play after Jeff Carter was called for slashing Patrick Eaves with 1:29 remaining. Quick, who made 18 saves, left the net with 54 seconds remaining. Los Angeles fell to 1-4-3 on the road.

Stars Quotes

Jamie Benn: "Obviously, we haven't been doing the greatest at home here, but we can turn it around here these next couple games and turn this home-game streak, or whatever we've got here, into a plus. It was a pretty nice pass there. I didn't expect it coming back to me. I was kind of just wandering around there, and he put it on my tape."
Lindy Ruff: "Kari was good. I think the third period wasn't the toughest quality, but he still had to make some good saves for us. I thought good first game, I think [Demers] lost his guy on the fourth goal in front of the net, but his energy was good. He did some good things. I liked his game."
Tyler Seguin: "I hopped on the ice and kind of cheated. I don't know if [Lehtonen] looked up and knew I was there. I think he was kind of just throwing it up the ice because no one was there. It was good timing. I said to myself before the game that if I got a breakaway I wanted to shoot five-hole."

Opposition View

Matt Greene: "Yeah, it was a bad start by us. We came out of the gate slow. They capitalized on some chances, and we got behind the eight ball."
Darryl Sutter: "Our power play's not going to win or lose this game. Power play gave us a chance in the third. I thought our penalty-killing was not as good as our power play. Yes, it does (bother me). I think tonight what bothers me more is (losing) the season series."
Justin Williams: "Once we decided to go there and shoot the puck, yeah, there was plenty (of pucks) there kicking around waiting for us."

Pittsburgh Penguins @ New York Fish Sticks 1-4 - 11/22

The New York Islanders started their evening by honoring one of the four cornerstones of their 1980s dynasty. They ended it amid cheers of "first place" from the packed house at Nassau Coliseum. Third-period goals by Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and John Tavares gave the Islanders a 4-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday and a sweep of their home-and-home series.

Before the game, the Islanders honored Hall of Fame goaltender and all-round dirty dog Billy Smith, who led them to four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980-83. After that, they went out and played the kind of game the Islanders teams of that era would have been proud of. The win moved the Islanders, who have won three consecutive games and are 8-1-0 in their past nine, into a tie with Pittsburgh for first place in the Metropolitan Division at 28 points apiece. The Penguins have a game in hand on New York. But technicalities like games in hand didn't matter to the 16,170 fans who serenaded the Islanders after they dominated the Penguins in the final 20 minutes. Lee put the Islanders ahead for the first time at 2:38 when he got his stick on a put-it-on-the-net slap shot by Lubomir Visnovsky and deflected it past Penguins goalie Thomas Greiss for his third goal of the season. Penguins got their first power play in the back-to-back games when Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey was called for holding at 5:17. But New York's penalty killers kept Pittsburgh to the outside and limited the NHL's top power-play unit to two shots on goal. The Penguins did not have a power play in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Islanders on Friday at Consol Energy Center. Nelson gave the Islanders a two-goal lead at 9:47, tapping in a feed from Kyle Okposo to complete a tic-tac-toe passing play that was started by Tavares. It was Nelson's team-high 10th goal of the season and New York's first in 10 power plays against the Penguins in three games this season. Tavares completed the scoring with 4:14 remaining when he dunked the rebound of Johnny Boychuk's shot from the right point for his eighth goal of the season. Evgeni Malkin had a first-period goal for the Penguins. Matt Martin got the Islanders even late in the second period. Greiss made 31 saves in his fourth start of the season. New York's Jaroslav Halak stopped 27 shots to win his sixth consecutive decision. One key factor in the Islanders' weekend sweep was their ability to shut down Crosby. He entered the weekend with 85 points in 46 career games against the Islanders but was held off the scoresheet in both games. Crosby disagreed with the idea that the Penguins passed up shots instead of putting the puck on the net and going after the rebound. Greiss made the best save of the first period after the 15-minute mark when he denied Tavares after a coast-to-coast rush. Malkin put the Penguins ahead at 16:49 when his wrist shot from the lower left circle leaked through Halak with Pittsburgh forward Nick Spaling crashing the net. Neither team generated consistent pressure through most of the second period before the Islanders' fourth line tied the game at 18:01. Nick Leddy's shot from the left point hit traffic in front of Greiss; players from both teams flailed away at the puck until it popped out to an unchecked Martin, who backhanded it into the open right side with Greiss down and out of the play. Martin, who didn't have a goal in the Islanders' first 18 games, scored for the second time in as many nights. Halak kept the game tied with 53 seconds left in the period when he read a play correctly and moved to the top of the blue paint to get in front of Blake Comeau's deflection.

Pens Quotes

Sidney Crosby: "It was a tie game going into the third [period], so we can't say we didn't give ourselves a chance. That being said, we didn't give a very big push in the third period to give ourselves a chance to win. They raised their level and we didn't. I feel we didn't pass up many chances to shoot. We just couldn't get control of the puck. They carried the play in the offensive zone, and by the time we ended up having to make plays, we didn't have enough energy."

Penalties

1st Period
15:24 NYI	Travis Hamonic  Fighting (maj) against  Steve Downie
15:24 PIT	Steve Downie  Fighting (maj) against  Travis Hamonic
18:50 PIT	Olli Maatta  Hooking against  Kyle Okposo
2nd Period
05:59 PIT	Beau Bennett  Roughing against  Ryan Strome
05:59 NYI	Ryan Strome  Roughing against  Beau Bennett
3rd Period
05:17 NYI	Thomas Hickey  Holding against  Evgeni Malkin
09:01 PIT	Steve Downie  Interference against  Thomas Hickey
09:01 PIT	Steve Downie  Misconduct (10 min)
19:30 NYI	Travis Hamonic  Misconduct (10 min) against  Zach Sill
19:30 PIT	Zach Sill  Misconduct (10 min) against  Travis Hamonic

St Louis Blues @ Ottawa Senators 3-2 - 11/22

The St. Louis Blues ended a two-game losing streak and did it with an almost flawless third period in a 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday. The Blues allowed five shots in the third period on goaltender Brian Elliott. With the game on the line, the Blues held the Senators without a shot for a stretch of 6:20, ending with a shot by Mika Zibanejad with 3:04 left in the third period. Elliott, who played four seasons with the Senators, made 24 saves. He was backed by goals from Maxim Lapierre (his first), Vladimir Tarasenko, with his team-leading 12th, and Alexander Steen (his fourth). Zibanejad and Erik Karlsson scored for the Senators, each on the power play. Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said he was impressed with the way they pushed the play in the Senators zone in the third. The Blues outshot the Senators 15-5 in the period. The Senators' struggles in the afternoon continued. They were 4-12-2 in afternoon starts last season and lost their first matinee this season. The loss for the Senators was their second in regulation on home ice. Ottawa goaltender Robin Lehner, who started for the second game in a row, made 30 saves. The Blues opened the scoring at 4:16 of the first period on a good job of forechecking by Steve Ott. He checked an Ottawa defenseman off the puck along the right-wing boards and Blues forward Maxim Lapierre snapped up the loose puck. He skated along the blue line and made a smooth deke on Senators defenseman Cody Ceci, giving himself a path to the net. Lapierre’s shot from close in found its way through Lehner and trickled over the goal line. After Zibanejad scored on the power play to tie the game 1-1 at 16:23 of the first period, the Blues went back in front 12 seconds later when Tarasenko took a pass from Jori Lehtera and snapped a rising shot by Lehner. Some energetic work by Steen put the Blues ahead 3-1 at 12:45 of the second period. He carried the puck into the Ottawa zone down the right wing where he fought off a check from Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki in the corner. Momentarily off balance, Steen righted himself and kept control of the puck. After working it back to the point, he headed for the front of the net where he tipped a shot by defenseman Jay Bouwmeester that found the corner behind Lehner. Hitchcock said he liked what he saw from Steen, who had 33 goals in 68 games last season. Karlsson cut the Blues lead to 3-2 at 15:21 of the second period with Ottawa’s second power-play goal of the game and the Senators' 11th goal with the man-advantage on home ice this season. They had 16 last season. Karlsson, who missed the net with a high shot seconds earlier, walked the blue line and snapped a knee-high shot through a crowd that beat Elliott to the glove-hand side. Karlsson has a knack for getting his shot through traffic. Bouwmeester left the game in the third period. Senators defenseman Chris Phillips, who missed two games earlier this month with a lower-body injury, was scratched and replaced in the lineup by Patrick Wiercioch.


David Backes: “We’ve had that habit in the past where we’ve sat back on our heels and teams just come at us in waves and waves and waves. I think we did a better job of getting it in there, not sitting on our heels, getting on our toes and making sure they had to come through 200 feet to score goals. They had a few chances. [Elliott] stood tall and made a few big saves, but for the most part, we took pretty good care of the puck in the third.”
Ken Hitchcock: “We don’t play well in a three-quarter-ice game when we’re defending. We don’t play that well. We’re better off playing on our toes and we were able to do that for most of the third period. It’s a good feeling for all of us. I was really happy with [Steen’s] game today. That was the Steen we saw play last year. He was really determined. He made a huge impact in the game. That was a really good sign. He did a lot of that work on his own and got to the net there. He was a major force in the game today. I think he stepped on a crack in the ice, so he’s got a lower-body ailment right now. We’ll see how he is in the morning.”
Brian Elliott: “It’s kind of known around the League that he’s able to do that from the point. We were aware of it and we talked about it and it still happened and that’s why it stings a little more.”

Pat Quinn - A Hockey Coaching Legend

Pat Quinn, a former NHL coach, player and executive, died Sunday in Vancouver after a lengthy illness. He was 71. Quinn coached for five NHL teams from 1979 to 2010, reaching the Stanley Cup Final twice and becoming one of four men to win the Jack Adams Award as the League's best coach with at least two different franchises. Internationally, Quinn had an even bigger impact as a coach, leading Canada to several gold medals. None, however, was as important or celebrated as the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics gold medal, which ended Canada's 50-year drought. Quinn also won a gold medal at the 2009 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. Quinn, born in Hamilton, Ontario, played 606 NHL games as a defenseman, starting his playing career during the 1968-69 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Two years later, he joined the Vancouver Canucks and spent two seasons there before finishing his career with a five-year stint with the Atlanta Flames. He scored 18 goals and 113 assists, and had 950 penalty minutes in his career. Quinn moved into coaching almost immediately, joining the Philadelphia Flyers as an assistant in 1977. The next season, he was a midseason replacement and took the Flyers to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 1979-80, the Flyers amassed 116 points to win the Patrick Division and reached the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the New York Islanders. Quinn won his first Jack Adams Award for his performance that season. After the 1981-82 season, Quinn was fired by the Flyers and joined the Los Angeles Kings two years later. He resigned after two-plus seasons, only managing to get the Kings into the playoffs during his first season there. Three years later, Quinn joined the Canucks as president and general manager; he added the job of coach in 1991. In four seasons, he took a team that struggled to get out of the cellar in the Smythe Division to the Stanley Cup Final in 1994. In an unforgettable series, the Canucks dropped Game 7 to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden; it was the Rangers' first championship in 54 years. In 1998-99, Quinn took over the Maple Leafs, serving as coach and general manager. His team finished second in the Northeast Division and reached the Eastern Conference Final. He earned his second Jack Adams Award that season. He led Toronto to the postseason in each of his first six seasons with the Maple Leafs. Toronto missed the playoffs in 2005-06 and Quinn was fired. In 2009-10, Quinn served as coach of the Edmonton Oilers, but the team struggled and finished in last place. He was replaced at the end of the season.
He coached 1,400 NHL games in his career, winning 684 and finishing with a .556 points percentage. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he was 94-89 in 15 appearances. Quinn was also active in junior hockey. As a player, he won the Memorial Cup with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 1963. Forty-four years later, he won it as a part-owner of the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League. Most recently, Quinn was very active with the Hockey Hall of Fame, playing a key role on the Selection Committee. In 2013, he became Chairman of the Board. Quinn was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2012.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman: "Whether he was playing for a team, coaching a team or building one, Pat Quinn was thoughtful, passionate and committed to success. Pat’s contributions to hockey, at every level, reflected the skills he possessed and the great respect with which he treated the sport. The National Hockey League, one of the many organizations to benefit from his devoted service, sends heartfelt condolences to Pat’s loved ones and his many friends around the hockey world."
Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock: "Pat Quinn, when I was Olympic coach in 2010, was great assistance to me, great man, unbelievable presence. Intelligent, intelligent guy. Great at handling the media in Toronto, maybe the last guy who was able to do that. Spent his whole life in the game."
Brendan Shanahan: "This is a tremendous loss for the hockey community. Pat will be revered not only for his great accomplishments in sport but also for his courage and strength in face of his illness, and his dedication to family."
Ron Hextall: "His whole life was his family and hockey. I can tell you in the hockey circles he was one of the most respected guys around. I don't think anybody disliked him and I don't think anybody didn't respect the fact that he was kind of all-in with the game."
Giants majority owner Ron Toigo: "Words cannot express the pain we all feel today for the Quinn family. Pat was an inspiration to all of us. He always said that respect was something that should be earned, not given, and the respect that he garnered throughout the hockey world speaks for itself. He will be sorely missed."
Jim Gregory, vice chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame: "We are deeply saddened by the passing of Pat Quinn. Pat is one of hockey's most respected individuals whose lifetime involvement as a player, coach and executive has made an indelible mark on the game, and our thoughts and prayers are with [his wife] Sandra and all of Pat's family and friends at this extremely difficult time."