NHL Results - Mon, Mar 16, 2015

Washington @ Buffalo 4-3 SO - Kuznetsov scored a goal in regulation and in the shootout, and Braden Holtby stopped all three shooters to help give the Capitals a 4-3 win. Kuznetsov was the only player to score in the shootout. He skated in slowly against Sabres goalie Anders Lindback and took a low wrist shot to beat him and give the Capitals their second consecutive win. Kuznetsov had eight shots on goal, one fewer than Alexander Ovechkin’s game-high nine, and gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead 5:55 into the third period with his eighth goal. Kuznetsov won the gold medal for Russia at the 2011 World Junior Championships in Buffalo and had three assists in the gold medal game against Canada, a 5-3 come from behind victory. Shooting more is something Kuznetsov has done recently. In his past four games he has 17 shots on goal and has two goals and two assists. Sabres forward Johan Larsson tied the game 3-3 with his fourth goal. Larsson tipped a shot from the faceoff circle by defenseman Chad Ruhwedel past Holtby. Ruhwedel was recalled from Rochester of the American Hockey League on Monday because of injuries to defensemen Zach Bogosian and Andrej Meszaros. Larsson has five points in the past four games. Buffalo outshot Washington 15-11 and held a 2-1 lead after Tyler Ennis and Cody Hodgson scored. Ennis’ goal 5:02 into the first came on a give-and-go with defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen on the power play. It’s the 10th time in the past 12 games the Sabres have scored the first goal. Curtis Glencross tied the game 1-1 with his 13th goal at 9:23 of the first. Glencross’ fourth goal with the Capitals came on the power play when he put a rebound of Niskanen’s shot from the point past Lindback. Hodgson made it 2-1 with his fifth goal 45 seconds later after his backhand shot bounced off Holtby’s upper arm into the air over his head and into the goal. Green tied the game 2-2 with his sixth goal 6:09 into the second period. He received a pass from Marcus Johansson and took a slap shot from the faceoff circle that got past Lindback who was out of position.
Montreal @ Tampa Bay 2-4 - Stamkos' first goal gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead at 15:58 in the first period when he capitalized on a poor play from Max Pacioretty. The Canadiens winger sent a pass back into the Canadiens zone where he thought defenseman Tom Gilbert was trailing the play. However, Gilbert had moved up ice and Pacioretty's pass went directly to Stamkos, who sent a slap shot from the right circle past Canadiens goalie Carey Price high on the stick side. Stamkos scored his second goal into an empty net at 18:55 of the third period. It was his 39th goal of the season. The Lightning went ahead 3-0 at 2:45 of the second period when Hedman scored his 10th goal. Alex Killorn made a pass to Hedman, who streaked past Gilbert and Jeff Petry to get a clear path to Price. Montreal cut the deficit to 3-1 at 11:10 of the second period on a power-play goal from Tomas Plekanec, who appeared to be attempting a centering pass but the puck bounced off of the pad of Lightning goalie Ben Bishop and into the net. The Canadiens made it a 3-2 game 34 seconds into the third period when PA Parenteau scored off a rebound of a shot by Plekanec. Bishop tried to clear the puck around the boards but Plekanec got control of the puck and put on a shot on goal that Parenteau was able to clean up.
Toronto @ Edmonton 1-4 - Jordan Eberle and Anton Lander scored power-play goals to lift the Oilers to a 4-1 win against the Leafs at Rexall Place. Benoit Pouliot scored two first-period goals for Edmonton, which built a 4-0 lead 10:59 into the game. Edmonton scored on the first shot 53 seconds into the game when Pouliot took a drop pass from Eberle at the left circle and sent a shot that hit Maple Leafs defenseman Eric Brewer on its way past Bernier. Eberle scored at 7:18 on the power play to put Edmonton up 2-0. The Oilers right wing took a pass in the slot and lifted a shot over Bernier's shoulder. Pouliot scored his second of the period at 8:08 when he found space down the left wing and stepped into a shot that sailed over Bernier's shoulder. Lander scored another power-play goal at 10:59 of the first to put Edmonton up 4-0. He took a cross-crease pass from Teddy Purcell and lifted a shot over Reimer. Toronto scored a power-play goal at 13:27 when Dion Phaneuf's point shot was tipped in front by van Riemsdyk and got past goalie Scrivens. In the second period, the Maple Leafs had a number of opportunities to cut into the lead, but were unable to beat Scrivens. The best chance was from Nazem Kadri, who nearly caught the Oilers goaltender out of position behind his net, but Scrivens was able to scramble back to make the save. Later in the period, Derek Roy had a solid opportunity to extend the Oilers' lead, but he was stopped by Reimer trying to convert a cross-crease pass. The Maple Leafs ran into penalty trouble in the third period, which hampered their comeback bid. Serial Dirty Dog Kadri hit Oilers forward Matt Fraser behind the net and was assessed an illegal check to the head penalty at 10:58. Fraser had to be helped off the ice and did not return.
Phoenix @ Los Angeles 0-1 - Andy Andreoff scored after he partially fanned on the shot, and he was able to laugh about it after it gave the Los Angeles Kings a 1-0 win. Andreoff, who was placed back in the lineup last week because of an injury to center Jarret Stoll, got his first goal and point in his 15th game. Goalie Jonathan Quick made 25 saves and recorded his sixth shutout and 37th of his career. Andreoff completed a 2-on-1 with Jordan Nolan with 1:05 remaining in the second period. Nolan grabbed the puck on left wing after Coyotes defenseman John Moore fell and fed through it under Klas Dahlbeck to Andreoff, who had trouble collecting it before he was able to get a shot off. The Coyotes lost their seventh straight game on the road. They are 1-14-1 in their past 16 games and have scored three goals in their past five. Goalie Mike Smith made 34 saves to keep the Coyotes in it against the defending Cup champions.  Phoenix twice came close to scoring in the second when Mark Arcobello hit the post and Michael Stone missed the net when he skated in alone in the slot during a power play. The Coyotes did not record a shot until nearly 10 minutes into the game and totaled six for the first period. They haven't won in regulation since Feb. 3.
Having arrived the day before the big showdown between the Winnipeg Jets and San Jose Sharks, I found a very fitting sports bar called 'Shark Club'. The club provided a great opportunity to watch three of the nights games. Both Montreal and Toronto's games were featured and were popular, given that we were in Canada eh? The Kings game was hard work to follow, but rounded off a decent evening of viewing.