Carolina @ Montreal 0-4 - Price, who has 33 career shutouts, tied his single-season high for shutouts, and set a new single-season high for wins with his 39th in 58 games. In 2010-11, Price had eight shutouts and 38 wins in 72 games, including 70 starts. Price leads the NHL in wins, goals-against-average (1.89) and save percentage (.937). He is tied for second in shutouts with Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals, one behind League leader, Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was Montreal coach Michel Therrien's 197th win in two stints with the Canadiens, which moved him ahead of Cecil Hart into fourth place in team history. Weise scored his 10th goal to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead when he put a rebound of Manny Malhotra's shot past Khudobin. Montreal went ahead 2-0 on Gallagher's career-high 20th goal at 8:42. Khudobin stopped two shots by Plekanec before Gallagher scored on a backhand. Weise got his second point with an assist when Montreal increased its lead to 3-0 at 18:48 of the second period. Gilbert got the primary assist when he set up Desharnais, who drove straight to the net from the bench to score his 12th goal. Pacioretty scored his team-leading 35th goal at 14:46 of the third. He passed the puck out front from behind the goal line and the puck banked into the net off Khudobin. Pacioretty, who scored a career-high 39 goals last season, is the first Canadiens player to have two 35-goal seasons since Vincent Damphousse accomplished the feat three times from 1991-92 to 1995-96.
Boston @ Ottawa 4-6 - Andrew "The Hamburglar" Hammond gave up more goals than usual, but he is still unbeaten in regulation as a starter in the NHL.
Bobby Ryan scored the game-winner at 11:28 of the third period to help the Senators defeat the Bruins 6-4 at Canadian Tire Centre. Hammond is 12-0-1 as a starter, though he was unable to set an NHL record. His streak of consecutive games having allowed two or fewer goals ended Thursday at 12 to start his NHL career. He allowed his third goal of the game to Ryan Spooner at 11:42 of the second period. Hammond tied the record set by Bruins Hall of Fame goaltender Frank Brimsek in 1938-39 in a 2-1 overtime win against the Hurricanes. Hammond, who made 31 saves, missed the national anthems and made a late entry after a skate lace broke during the warm-up. He was greeted on the ice in the postgame celebration by Senators forward Curtis Lazar, who was eating one of the hamburgers thrown on the ice by celebrating Senators fans. Many of those fans were wearing Hamburglar masks distributed at the game as a promotion by radio station TSN 1200. Ryan’s shot from the right wing bounced up in the air after Rask made the first save and bounced in off Zdeno Chara. The Senators took 3-2 and 4-3 leads in the second period, but the Bruins matched them. Legwand scored at 3:11 of the second to give Ottawa a 3-2 lead, but Spooner, on a 5-on-3 power play, scored his second of the game to tie it at 11:42. Pageau gave Ottawa the lead 15 seconds later with a shorthanded goal after a turnover by Reilly Smith in the Bruins zone. Krug tied it 4-4 at 13:17 after Hammond stopped the first couple of shots in a Bruins flurry. The Senators needed 19 seconds of the game to score. Mark Stone passed the puck from the right wing to Turris in the slot. Rask stopped Turris’ first shot, but he followed it up and scored on the rebound for his 18th goal. The lead lasted 40 seconds. Soderberg scored his 11th goal with a shot that looked like it changed direction off the stick of Cody Ceci.
Detroit @ Florida 1-3 - Jaromir Jagr passed Phil Esposito for fifth on the NHL all-time goals list with his 718th when he beat Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle to put the Panthers up 1-0 at 10:55 of the second period. It was Jagr's 13th goal of the season, his second with Florida since being acquired in a trade with the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 26.
Jagr is 13 goals behind Marcel Dionne (731) for fourth most in NHL history. He passed Mike Gartner (708) for sixth when he scored in the Devils' 5-4 shootout loss to the Red Wings on Nov. 28. Jagr had career goal 719 for about 25 minutes after he was credited with the second Panthers goal off a rebound of an Aaron Ekblad slap shot later in the second period. Brandon Pirri eventually was credited with the goal after overhead replays showed him making contact with the puck just before it crossed the goal line. The Red Wings hit the post three times, including twice by captain Henrik Zetterberg. Detroit played without center Pavel Datsyuk, who did not make the Florida trip because of a lower-body injury. The Red Wings did have Darren Helm back after a seven-game absence because of an oblique injury.
Washington @ Minnesota 3-2 - Late in the second period, with the game scoreless and chances at a premium, Tom Wilson and Zach Parise were taken to the penalty box. The Capitals scored twice on the 4-on-4 and took control, winning 3-2 at Xcel Energy Center, Washington's first regulation victory here (1-6-1). Minnesota is one point ahead of the Winnipeg Jets for the first Western Conference wild card, and three points ahead of the Kings. Minnesota has struggled most of the season with four skaters a side, and Washington thought its speed and skill could be game-changers. Near the Wild bench, Wilson tied up Parise's stick and drew a retaliatory punch at 14:45. Forty seconds into the 4-on-4, Alex Ovechkin gained control of the puck in the neutral zone and built up speed into the Wild zone. His shot from the left circle was turned away by goalie Devan Dubnyk, but Ovechkin gathered his rebound in the slot and beat Dubnyk over his glove at 15:25. Seconds later, it was 2-0. Evgeny Kuznetsov pick-pocketed Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin in front of his net and sent a quick shot past Dubnyk at 16:04. Ovechkin's second goal 3:05 into the third period gave the Capitals a 3-1 lead. With a faceoff to Dubnyk's left, Nicklas Backstrom won it back to Ovechkin at the top of the circle. He didn't get all of it, but his low shot eluded Dubnyk for his NHL-leading 47th goal of the season. Minnesota got their goals from defensemen, one from Christian Folin capping a 3-on-2 break, making it 2-1 with 9 seconds left in the second period. Jared Spurgeon pinched toward the goal line and batted in a puck on a power play with 5:56 remaining in the third to make it 3-2. Thomas Vanek had the primary assist to push his season-high point streak to six games. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby made 28 saves in his 35th victory. Dubnyk made 24 saves.
St Louis @ Winnipeg 1-2 SO - A third-period goal from Drew Stafford helped the Winnipeg Jets win for the first time this season when trailing after two periods, a 2-1 shootout victory against the St. Louis Blues at MTS Centre. Jets captain Andrew Ladd had the deciding goal in the shootout, and goaltender Ondrej Pavelec made 32 saves. Winnipeg was 0-19-4 starting the third period behind. Winnipeg has won three games in a row and holds the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Jets are one point behind the Minnesota Wild and two ahead of the Los Angeles Kings. The Jets are 10-2-2 in their past 14 home games. Winnipeg ended an 0-5-2 streak against St. Louis dating to Oct. 18, 2013. St. Louis (45-20-6) is in first place in the Central Division. With 96 points, the Blues are one point behind the NHL-leading Montreal Canadiens. Stafford scored his 15th goal with 6:42 left in the third period. The goal ended the Blues' shutout streak at 179:32 and their road shutout streak at 190:17. St. Louis captain David Backes scored 8:08 into the second period. Three seconds after the Blues' second power play ended, they kept a loose puck inside the Jets blue line and worked it into the left corner. Paul Stastny directed a cross-ice pass to the right circle, where Backes snapped his 25th goal under the crossbar. He has a four-game point streak (three goals, three assists). The Jets hit the post three times over the second and third periods. Stafford beat Elliott with a backhand left-side shot. Stafford extended his point streak to four games (three goals, two assists). Since coming to the Jets in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 11, Stafford has six goals and five assists in 15 games. With center Bryan Little and defenseman Dustin Byfuglien each out of the lineup with an upper-body injury, the Jets have relied on Stafford and another addition from Buffalo, defenseman Tyler Myers, who played a Jets-high 29:02. Pavelec made his third consecutive start, the first time he had done so since Nov. 6-11. After rookie Michael Hutchinson started eight consecutive games, Pavelec has allowed four goals in these three starts.
The Jets and Blues finish their five-game season series April 7 at Scottrade Center. The Blues continue their road trip Saturday against the Minnesota Wild.
Winnipeg is attempting to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2007 when the franchise was known as the Atlanta Thrashers.
Pittsburgh Penguins @ Dallas Stars 1-2 - The Dallas Stars have struggled to win at American Airlines Center for most of the season. But against the Pittsburgh Penguins, captain Jamie Benn delivered a goal and an assist and Kari Lehtonen made 31 saves to help the Stars to a 2-1 win. Benn had the primary assist on rookie Brett Ritchie's goal at 2:14 of the second period, then scored what proved to be the eventual game-winner at 3:37, firing his own rebound past Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Pittsburgh (39-22-10) cut the deficit to one goal at 13:26 of the middle period when Kris Letang scored a power-play goal. The Penguins outshot the Stars 15-4 in the third period but were unable to get another puck past Lehtonen and lost their fourth in a row, all in regulation. They have scored two goals in the four losses. Dallas, now 14-14-8 at home, had the better of play in a scoreless first period, then wasted little time taking the lead in the second. Ritchie was credited with his sixth goal of the season when his attempted pass to Shawn Horcoff deflected off the stick of Penguins forward Beau Bennett and went past Fleury. Dallas (33-28-10) doubled its lead 1:13 later when Benn scored his 24th of the season, ending an 11-game goal drought. Tyler Seguin sent a pass from the right circle to Benn, whose initial wrist shot was denied by Fleury. But Benn gathered the carom off Fleury's right pad and slipped the puck inside the far post. Pittsburgh got one back when Letang ended a 15-game goal drought with his power-play goal, beating Lehtonen through his five-hole with a wrist shot from the left point for his 11th of the season. The goal came eight seconds after Stars center Jason Spezza was sent off for tripping. Letang spoke for everyone in the Penguins room when he said the best way for them to end their offensive woes is to get some secondary scoring. Lehtonen delivered one of his biggest saves at 13:56 of the third period when he denied a snap shot by Christian Ehrhoff from the right point during a 4-on-4 situation, then covered the rebound before Chris Kunitz could get to it. Fleury finished with 25 saves. Withstanding the Penguins' barrage in the final 20 minutes was a big source of pride for the Stars. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby assisted on Letang's goal but finished the game with no shots on goal, a credit to the great job Dallas did on Pittsburgh's top line of Kunitz, Crosby and Blake Comeau. Pittsburgh concludes its three-game road trip on Saturday at the Coyotes. Dallas continues their four-game homestand Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks. My friend Ashleigh was at this game. She apologised after her Sharks let me down against Winnipeg on Tuesday. I feel I should return the favour after my Pens were equally abject in Dallas.
Philadelphia @ Calgary 1-4 - Johnny Gaudreau's three-point night helped move Calgary past the Los Angeles Kings into third place in the Pacific Division. It also put him at 56 points, one ahead of Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg for the rookie scoring lead. Gaudreau, who left Boston College last April to turn pro and join the Flames, is the first Hobey Baker Award winner to score 20 goals in his rookie season in the NHL since Chris Drury accomplished the feat with the Colorado Avalanche in 1998-99. Claude Giroux ended his 10-game goal drought when he scored for the Flyers. The Flames scored twice in a span of 1:42 late in the second period to take a 2-0 lead. Picking off an errant pass from Schenn in the neutral zone, Dennis Wideman stepped over the Flyers blue line and worked a quick give-and-go with Jiri Hudler before scoring his 13th goal between the legs of goaltender Steve Mason at 16:15. TJ Brodie scored Calgary's second goal at 17:57, beating Mason through a screen with a wrist shot from the point. With stops on Gaudreau and Sean Monahan seconds apart, Emery gave the Flyers an immediate boost, and they cut Calgary’s lead in half less than a minute later. After scooping up the puck, Jakub Voracek drew checkers while cutting through Calgary's zone before sending a pass back across his body to Giroux, who quickly snapped a shot by Flames goalie Karri Ramo with 8.8 seconds remaining in the second for his 19th goal, first since Feb. 26. But 3:09 into the third and on the power play, Gaudreau gained the Flyers zone before sending a pass into the slot that Monahan one-timed by Emery's glove for his 28th goal, restoring the Flames' two-goal advantage. Working with a two-man advantage, Hudler fed Gaudreau a cross-crease pass he tapped by Emery for his 20th goal to put the Flames up 4-1 at 7:02.
Columbus @ Vancouver 6-2 - Rookie Marko Dano led the Blue Jackets to a come-from-behind 6-2 win against the Canucks. Dano scored his second goal of the game 5:31 into the third period and set up Scott Hartnell's goal three minutes later as part of a run of six unanswered goals by the Blue Jackets over the final 32:56. The the injury-riddled Blue Jackets have won five of six games, and Dano has three goals and four assists in the past five. Bo Horvat and Daniel Sedin scored 40 seconds apart early in the second period to put Vancouver up 2-0, but Columbus stormed ahead before the period ended. Rene Bourque scored his second goal since being traded to Columbus from the Anaheim Ducks on March 2 at 7:04, Dano tied it less than three minutes later, and Cam Atkinson put the Blue Jackets ahead to stay with a tip-in on the power play with 1:42 left. Dano, a 20-year-old Slovakian, made it 4-2 early in the third period after a high shot over the right side of the net bounced off the end boards to him all alone near the left post. It was the first two-goal game in the NHL for Dano, who got his first three-point game with an assist on a give-and-go off the rush that Hartnell finished off. Richards was just as impressed with the fight in the Blue Jackets after they fell behind while playing their second road game in as many nights; they defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in a shootout Wednesday despite being outshot 47-20. Richards and several Blue Jackets pointed to forward Corey Tropp's fight with former teammate Derek Dorsett at 5:05 of the second period as the spark. Bourque's goal, on a shot just inside the blue line, helped too. And when Hartnell scored 8:32 into the third period to make it 5-2, Vancouver goalie Eddie Lack was pulled one minute later. Alexander Wennberg scored an empty-net goal with 4:22 left. It started well for Vancouver. The Canucks outshot the Blue Jackets 8-1 in the first three-and-a-half minutes and 20-10 in the first period, but they couldn't beat Bobrovsky. The Canucks finally scored three minutes into the second period after a Jack Johnson pass coming out of the Blue Jackets zone bounced off the stick of Columbus center Mark Letestu and right to Horvat in the high slot. The 19-year-old rookie quickly shot his 12th goal past Bobrovsky on the glove side. Sedin doubled the lead on the next shift, knocking his rebound in from a sharp angle after Bobrovsky stopped his wraparound attempt. Bobrovsky made another great save in tight a little more than three minutes later, and Columbus got back into the game when Lack misplayed a long shot by Bourque on the ensuing rush. Bourque crossed the blue line before a slap shot that hit Christopher Tanev's stick before going in off Lack's glove. Lack, who made a couple great saves in the first period, was beaten again midway through the second when Dano was alone in the slot to his left and Artem Anisimov found him with a pass from behind the net to the goalie's right. Dano's one-timer went through Lack. The Blue Jackets took the lead on double deflection with 1:42 left in the second period. Letestu's point shot on the power play was tipped by Atkinson in the high slot before hitting the skate of defenseman Alexander Edler and bouncing between Lack's legs. Instead of coming back in the third period, Vancouver fell further behind. The Blue Jackets were without defenseman Ryan Murray, who was injured against the Oilers, and center Brandon Dubinsky, who was sent back to Columbus with an undisclosed injury.
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