Pittsburgh Penguins @ New Jersey 0-2 - Cory Schneider made 35 saves for his fifth shutout to give the New Jersey Devils a 2-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Prudential Center on. Jacob Josefson scored in the second period and Adam Henrique scored into an empty net for the Devils. Schneider, who was making his fourth straight start and 60th of the season, is 26-25-7.
Penguins goaltender Thomas Greiss made 17 saves. The put the Devils (30-29-11) above .500 for the first time since Nov. 14 (8-7-2). Pittsburgh (39-21-10), which has 12 games remaining, is in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 88 points, two points ahead of the Washington Capitals and two points behind the New York Islanders. The Penguins, who have lost three straight games, have two games in hand on the Islanders and one on the Capitals. Pittsburgh, which entered with 283 man games lost to injury, was without center Evgeni Malkin (lower body) for a second straight game and right wing Patric Hornqvist (undisclosed). Malkin could miss another 1-2 weeks and Hornqvist is expected to be out one week. Penguins coach Mike Johnston said Malkin could join the team at some point during its three-game road trip, which continues against the Dallas Stars on Thursday and the Coyotes on Saturday. Schneider, who made 41 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss against the Penguins on Jan. 30, made 13 saves in the third period, including a right-pad stop on Nick Spaling off a quick one-timer from in the crease at 7:42. Schneider also denied a point-blank slap shot from the right hash by Blake Comeau at 13:09. It was Schneider's first shutout since a 33-save, 2-0 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Feb. 28.
Josefson scored his fifth goal after gathering a pass from Michael Ryder at the blue line and skating to the right hash before firing a shot that ricocheted off the left post into the right corner of the net at 16:25. The assist by Ryder was his first point since Jan. 14. Johnston pulled Greiss with 1:45 left in the third, and Henrique scored his 16th goal into the empty net with 48 seconds left. Devils co-coach Lou Lamoriello used the final line change to match his third line of Dainius Zubrus, Stephen Gionta and Peter Harrold throughout the game against Sidney Crosby's line with Chris Kunitz and David Perron. The defense pairing of Adam Larsson and Andy Greene also was on the ice against the Penguins top line, which generated eight shots, four by Crosby. Schneider, who turns 29 Wednesday, made 14 saves in the first period. He stopped Crosby with his glove off a 1-on-1 attempt on a quick rush down the middle at 11:19. Schneider later denied a slap shot by Ben Lovejoy before turning away the rebound by Daniel Winnik while stretching his pad at 18:57. The Penguins, who did not have a power play, have been shut out in two of the past three games and have been outscored 9-1. The Devils were without forward Patrik Elias (back spasms) for a second straight game. He is listed as day-to-day. New Jersey trails the Boston Bruins by 12 points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with 12 games remaining.
Ottawa @ Carolina 2-1 OT - Andrew Hammond made 35 saves to push his record to 11-0-1, tying Hall of Fame member Frank Brimsek as the only NHL goaltenders to start his career with 12 straight games allowing fewer than three goals. Brimsek accomplished the feat with the Boston Bruins in 1938-39. Hammond was spectacular, keeping the Senators in the game. After each team had quality chances in overtime, Kyle Turris set up Mark Stone for the game-winner with 13.4 seconds remaining. The Senators are four points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. After a third period when the teams traded scoring chances, Turris made a dazzling move to set up the overtime goal. He brought the puck between his legs and skated around Hurricanes defenseman Ryan Murphy before leaving a drop pass for Stone in the slot with 13.4 seconds remaining. Hammond played 25 games with the Binghamton Senators in the American Hockey League before leading Ottawa on its late-season run. Carolina put pressure on Hammond by scoring first. Elias Lindholm drove the right faceoff circle and corralled a long cross-ice pass from Jeff Skinner to score at 12:59 of the first period. It was Skinner's 100th NHL assist. The Senators controlled play in the second period, quickly running up an 8-1 advantage in shots, but Khudobin made a series of saves to preserve Carolina's 1-0 lead. Ottawa tied the game at 13:22 when Karlsson set up Wiercioch for a one-timer in the right circle. Hammond saved his best for the third period. In the opening minutes, he came across the crease to glove a one-timer from Jordan Staal that left the Carolina center with slumped shoulders, staring at the ice in disbelief. Then with less than four minutes left, Hammond stopped a bad-angle shot by Lindholm before denying rebound chances by Victor Rask and Skinner on the back door. Much of the focus has been on Hammond during his unbeaten streak to start his career, but he has not been fazed by any of it. He engaged the media after the morning skate and fielded questions graciously after the win. He said he doesn't feel much pressure because the Senators have a pretty big hill to climb.
Buffalo @ Boston 2-1 SO - One night after he lost in a shootout to the Capitals, Lindback made a career-high 44 saves on 45 shots and stopped three Bruins in the shootout for a 2-1 win. Buffalo forward Tyler Ennis scored the only goal of the shootout, and the Sabres got their first win in five games this season against the Bruins. Boston had 95 shot attempts to 47 for Buffalo. Eriksson gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 9:55 of the first period when he retrieved a loose puck near the right post and flipped it past Lindback. Center Carl Soderberg won a faceoff back to defenseman Adam McQuaid, whose shot was blocked, hit the end wall and then the side of the net before landing on Eriksson’s stick. The Bruins outshot the Sabres 14-3 in the first. Boston outshot Buffalo 12-7 in the second period but wasn’t able to extend its lead. The Sabres missed two chances to tie the game early in the second when Nicolas Deslauriers and Matt Moulson each hit the post less than a minute apart. But the Sabres had a power play that carried over to the third period and they scored. Ristolainen beat Svedberg with a wrist shot from the blue line that deflected twice and entered the net at 1:23 to tie the game 1-1.
Montreal @ Florida 3-2 - All the scoring took place in the second period, with Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban breaking a 2-2 tie at 15:26 when he took a pass from Brandon Prust inside the top of the right circle and beat goalie Dan Ellis with a low wrist shot to the stick side. The Panthers had the first 15 shots on goal in the third period and a 21-4 advantage in the period but could not solve Tokarski. Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers, who have lost consecutive games since matching their season high three-game winning streak. Ellis, making his sixth consecutive start for the Panthers with Roberto Luongo and Al Montoya injured, made 22 saves. Montreal received offense from its third and fourth lines. Barkov opened the scoring at 4:20 of the second period. After Jonathan Huberdeau's pass across the front of the net was deflected, Barkov lifted the stick of defenseman Jeff Petry before spinning around and putting a shot between the legs of Tokarski. Emelin, who returned Monday after missing 12 games with an upper-body injury, tied the score 1:24 later with a wrist shot from the point through traffic. De La Rose gave the Canadiens the lead at 8:23 of the second period with their sixth shorthanded goal of the season. Prust chased down a clear from the defensive zone and came in alone with De La Rose, who one-timed a pass across the ice into an open net. Pirri tied it 2-2 at 13:25 when his wrist shot from inside the right circle bounced in off the far post.
The Panthers took 24 more shots on goal, including three in the final 6:35 of the second period, without getting a puck past Tokarski.
Minnesota @ Nashville 3-2 OT - Matt Dumba scored 22 into overtime to give the Minnesota Wild a 3-2 win. Ryan Suter fought off two Predators to spring the lead pass to forward Zach Parise, who drop passed to Dumba for the goal. Dumba’s goal was his seventh. He was paired with Jonas Brodin, played 21:08, and led the Wild with three shots on goal. Coyle tied the game 2-2 with 6:41 remaining in the third period on a slap shot from the right faceoff circle that got past Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne. Chris Stewart passed the puck to Coyle, who was trailing the play, and Coyle scored his second goal of the game, 10th of the season. Coyle gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead with 57.4 seconds remaining in the first period. He drove to the net and tipped the rebound of a shot by forward Kyle Brodziak past Rinne for his ninth goal. Roman Josi tied the game 1-1 at 13:41 of the second on a one-timer from the slot. Josi took the pass from rookie forward Filip Forsberg and shot it past Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk for his 13th goal. Josi scored again 45 seconds later to give the Predators a 2-1 lead on a wrist shot from the point that went through traffic and past Dubnyk. Josi took the pass from forward Viktor Stalberg and his shot got under Dubnyk’s glove. Nashville had 53 seconds of a two-man advantage in the second period but was unable to score. Forsberg’s assist was his 55th point, which leads NHL rookies. It was his fifth point in his past 16 games.
NY Islanders @ Chicago 1-4 - Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville hadn't played left wing Patrick Sharp with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa since the sixth game of the season, but they showed why it can be a dangerous combination. The line scored the four goals for the Blackhawks, with Toews and Hossa each scoring twice and Sharp getting two assists. Toews had two assists for a four-point game. They were as effective on the defensive end against New York's top line of Josh Bailey, John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. Tavares and Bailey each finished minus-4, and Okposo was minus-2. The Islanders didn't until midway through the second period, when the Blackhawks were ahead 2-0. Hossa made it 3-0 with his first goal 13:55 into the second. Nikolay Kulemin had a blocked shot come right to him in the low slot and he redirected it into the net at 5:29 of the third for New York's goal. The Islanders are dealing with some injuries, including the most recent that kept goalie Jaroslav Halak from making the trip. They've also been without defenseman Nick Leddy the past four games and didn't have defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky or forward Mikhail Grabovski. Michal Neuvirth started in Halak's place and made 26 saves. Toews gave the Blackhawks an early lead with his two goals in the first, something they've lacked in recent home games. His 22nd and 23rd goals, each scored with a backhand, made it 2-0 16:04 into the first period. Hossa scored 57 seconds into the third to make it 4-0. Sharp's pass went off Hossa's left skate into the net for that one, which was the eighth combined point of the game for Chicago's top line.
St Louis @ Calgary 4-0 - The St. Louis Blues' latest hot streak has carried them to the top of the Western Conference. Alexander Steen scored twice and Brian Elliott made 25 saves to lift the Blues to a 4-0 victory against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. Jori Lehtera and David Backes also scored for the Blues (45-20-5), who have won five of their past six games, including two straight and three of the past four via shutout, to jump into first place in the West. The Blues and Anaheim Ducks each have 95 points, but the Blues have played one fewer game. One year ago, St. Louis limped into the Stanley Cup Playoffs having lost six straight games to close out the regular season, then lost in the conference quarterfinals to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. They want to make sure there's no repeat. The shutout was Elliott's 21st with the Blues, breaking a tie with Jaroslav Halak for the franchise record. The Blues haven't allowed a goal in 126 minutes, 16 seconds. The second straight regulation loss for the Flames (38-27-5), coupled with a win by the Winnipeg Jets, knocked Calgary from the third place in the Pacific Division to the outside looking in. They are one point behind the Jets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the West. The Flames and Los Angeles Kings each have 81 points, but the Kings own third place in the division because they've played one fewer game. After a tight-checking first period that featured a combined 14 shots, including six in the final 11 minutes, Steen put the Blues on the board midway through the second. After taking a pass from T.J. Oshie in the neutral zone, Steen weaved his way over the Calgary blue line before firing a shot from the top of the faceoff circle that went past the glove of Hiller at 11:32 to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead. Elliott ensured that lead would make it to the third period thanks in part to some luck. On a scramble in the crease one shift after Steen's goal, TJ Brodie couldn't poke a loose puck in the slot by the downed Blues goalie and, with 5:39 remaining, Elliott stopped David Jones' initial slap shot and a trio of attempts from Mikael Backlund on the doorstep. The Blues, now 28-2-2 when leading after 40 minutes, went up by two early in the third when Brodie's behind-the-net pass was picked off by Jaden Schwartz to start a tic-tac-toe play that featured Vladimir Tarasenko before Lehtera beat a surprised Hiller at 1:18. Steen made it 3-0 at 9:38. Oshie tapped a faceoff win by Backes back to Steen, who stepped into a shot that beat Hiller to the stick side for his second of the night and 22nd of the season. Steen had a shot to complete the hat trick with 7:35 remaining in regulation with Calgary on the power play and Hiller on the bench for the extra attacker, but he couldn't get his shot past Kris Russell, who leads the NHL with 241 blocked shots. But with Hiller on the bench a second time, Backes found the back of the empty net from his own zone at 14:25 to complete the scoring.
Philadelphia @ Vancouver 1-4 - Alexandre Burrows took advantage of some time off and a reunion with Daniel and Henrik Sedin on the Canucks' top line. Burrows missed Vancouver's previous game with a groin injury, but scored two goals 17 seconds apart in the third period to lead the Canucks to a 4-1 win. Burrows was healthy enough to play Saturday, but with extra forwards available, Canucks coach Willie Desjardins decided to give the 33-year-old a couple of extra days off. Burrows took the place of Zack Kassian, who was injured during the morning skate, and put the Canucks ahead to stay on a wrist shot through goaltender Steve Mason's legs off the rush 6:44 into the third period. It was Burrows' first goal in 11 games, covering more than a month; he didn't need long to add another one. On the next shift, Mason stopped Daniel Sedin on another rush, but the rebound bounced right to Burrows on the far side and he slid his 14th goal of the season into a wide-open net. Alexander Edler scored in the second period to get Vancouver even at 1-1, and Radim Vrbata scored into an empty net with 10 seconds left for the Canucks, who have won four of their past five. Eddie Lack made 27 saves for Vancouver, which moved three points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames for second place in the Pacific Division. Michael Raffl opened the scoring midway through the second period and Mason made 32 saves for the Flyers , who have one win in their past seven games and nine on the road all season, the fourth-fewest in the NHL. The game was preceded by a ceremony to honor the late Pat Quinn, who coached the Flyers and was coach, general manager and president of the Canucks. Philadelphia opened the scoring just after the midway point of the second period. With top-line right wing Jakub Voracek in the penalty box after a rare but spirited fight with Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis, Wayne Simmonds took his spot alongside Claude Giroux and Raffl and set up the first goal. Simmonds shook a check in the corner before passing cross-ice to Giroux inside the left circle; Giroux held the puck briefly before sending the puck back the other way for Raffl to tip past Lack from the top of the crease. Voracek, who is fifth in NHL scoring with 69 points, downplayed sparking the team with his fight. "I got hooked, I cross-checked him, emotional game, it happens."
Edler tied it a little less than four minutes later after a nice play by center Brad Richardson at the side of the net. Richardson used the heel of his skate to redirect Derek Dorsett's centering pass through the crease to Edler, who waited patiently before lifting a backhand shot up and over a prone Mason from a sharp angle. Carlo Colaiacovo hit the crossbar from the point six minutes into the game, and Jannik Hansen did the same on a hard one-timer 4:40 into the second period. Lack made his best save with his glove when he stopped Nick Cousins, who was making his NHL debut, alone in the low slot with six minutes left in the second period. Vancouver tied the game 30 seconds later. Mason made a great stop off Bo Horvat late in the second period and stopped Shawn Matthias two minutes into the third. His best save was a gloved robbery of Vrbata from in close 5:30 into the third; however, Burrows, who also missed six games through early March, put Vancouver ahead to stay just over a minute later.
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