NHL Results - Wed, Apr 01, 2015

Toronto @ Buffalo 3-4 - Matt Ellis' first goal of the season 3:14 into the third period helped give the Sabres a 4-3 win. Ellis received a pass from Nikita Zadorov and broke in against Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier. Ellis deked and slid the puck past Bernier after he attempted a desperation poke check. It was Ellis’ first goal since April 13, 2014 and ended a 33-game goal drought. Matt Moulson and Cody Hodgson helped the Sabres overcome a 3-1 deficit. Moulson received a pass from Johan Larsson in front of the net and took a one-timer that got past Bernier for his 13th goal 1:33 into the third period on a power play. Hodgson’s sixth goal came 30 seconds after Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri scored his 18th goal that made it 3-1 at 13:24. Hodgson picked up a rebound of a shot by Sabres defenseman Andre Benoit and put a backhand wraparound shot past Bernier that made it 3-2. The Maple Leafs took a 3-1 lead in the second period on goals from James van Riemsdyk and Kadri. Van Riemsdyk’s 25th goal came 47 seconds into the second when he received a pass from Phil Kessel and took a backhand shot that went past Sabres goalie Anders Lindback through his five-hole. Dalpe’s goal gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead 6:48 into the first period, but Maple Leafs defenseman Eric Brewer tied the game 1-1 with 3:19 left in the first when he took a slap shot from just inside the blue line that got through traffic and past Lindback for his third goal.

Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh 4-1 - Brayden Schenn scored twice to help the Flyers to a 4-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Philadelphia is 13-2-1, including 11-1-1 in the regular season, at Consol Energy Center since it opened in 2010-11. Pittsburgh (42-24-11) is tied with the New York Islanders for second in the Metropolitan Division and is seven points ahead of the Ottawa Senators, who trail the Boston Bruins by three points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Penguins have one game in hand on the Senators. Sidney Crosby’s 300th NHL goal opened the scoring. After winning a faceoff back to defenseman Ian Cole at the point, Crosby positioned himself below the goal line as Cole sent a slap shot into traffic in front of Steve Mason. Forward Patric Hornqvist gathered Cole's attempt and backhanded a pass to Crosby to the right of the net. Crosby's wrist shot gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead 3:29 into the first period. It was his 26th goal. He has scored 31 of his 300 goals against Philadelphia, his most against any team. The Flyers (31-29-17) have won their three games against the Penguins this season after winning four of five last season. Philadelphia had 13 of the first period's final 17 shots, and Vincent Lecavalier took advantage by tying the game with his eighth goal of the season. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare whipped a shot off of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's pad that bounced to Lecavalier crossing in front of the crease with Penguins forward Nick Spaling. Lecavalier turned toward the net and as he drifted away from it sent a wrist shot past an outstretched Fleury with 2:46 remaining in the first. Schenn scored on a wrist shot from the slot with 7:17 left in the second to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. With Penguins forward Steve Downie in the penalty box, Jakub Voracek sent a pass past goalie Fleury's right pad and to Schenn outside of the crease. He redirected Voracek's pass behind Fleury 49 seconds into the third period for a 3-1 lead. Pittsburgh went to the penalty box five times, and Philadelphia went to the penalty kill twice. Flyers defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo, who returned after missing one game with the flu, extended the lead to 4-1, 5:34 into the third. Colaicacovo didn't see his first goal of the season go in after taking a stick to the face. The Penguins played without forward Evgeni Malkin, who was out with an undisclosed injury. Malkin returned against the Coyotes after missing six games because of a lower-body injury; he had two assists in a 3-2 victory and played against the San Jose Sharks. Penguins coach Mike Johnston said an injury was found when Malkin was being evaluated during a maintenance day Tuesday. Malkin is day-to-day.
Without Malkin and down to five defensemen, Johnston said he was impressed with how Pittsburgh's defense performed. He could not say the same about its forwards.


Edmonton @ Anaheim 1-5 - Silfverberg set up two goals to give Anaheim a 2-0 lead before the first intermission. He fed Nate Thompson in the slot after Justin Schultz lost the puck behind the net at 9:59 of the opening period. Earlier in the game, Silfverberg grabbed the puck along the wall and passed to Francois Beauchemin, who skated in and beat Oilers goalie Ben Scrivens with a wrist shot at 3:43 of the first for his career-high 11th goal. Boudreau liked how the Cogliano-Thompson-Silfverberg line set the tone early. Silfverberg, whose three assists came in 11:36 minutes of ice time, said he didn't think he had three assists in a game before at any level. He agreed it was one of his better games this season. Perry made it 3-0 at 8:33 of the second. He batted in his own rebound in mid-air after his initial shot was blocked by Oilers defenseman Keith Aulie. Simon Despres scored his first goal with the Ducks on a quick shot from the left perimeter at 12:06 of the second. Cogliano scored his first NHL penalty-shot goal at 5:14 of the third after Oscar Klefbom slashed him on a breakaway. Cogliano made a quick stickhandle move and beat Scrivens high on a snap shot.
It was redemptive on multiple levels for Cogliano, who has been foiled on numerous breakaways this season. Nugent-Hopkins ended Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen's shutout bid at 17:05 of the second when he converted Jordan Eberle's pass in transition. Nugent-Hopkins has five goals in seven games.
Edmonton looked overmatched at the start and played much of the first half of the game in its own end. Ryan Kesler was scratched to rest a reported arm injury. He had played in every game this season. Left wing Matt Beleskey (lower body) also did not play. Beauchemin passed Oleg Tverdovsky for the second-most assists (126) among defensemen in Ducks history.


Colorado @ San Jose 1-5 - The San Jose Sharks gave their Stanley Cup Playoff hopes a boost with a 5-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche at SAP Center. The Sharks (38-30-9) moved within five points of the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Sharks, who have five games remaining, moved past the Dallas Stars but are still chasing the Los Angeles Kings. Scott Hannan, Chris Tierney, Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture and John Scott scored for San Jose. Alex Stalock made 19 saves in his third straight start. San Jose trails the Calgary Flames by six points for third place in the Pacific Division. The Sharks won for the third time in their past four games. The Sharks delivered a blow to Colorado's fading playoff chances. The Avalanche (35-29-12) have 82 points and remained eight behind Winnipeg with five games remaining. The Sharks took a 1-0 lead at 16:35 of the second period on Hannan's second goal of the season. He redirected Brent Burns' slap shot past Avalanche goalie Reto Berra from the low slot. The goal was Hannan's first since Feb. 2 against the Edmonton Oilers.
Burns extended his assist streak to five games. Tierney increased San Jose's lead to 2-0 at 8:01, knocking a rebound past Berra from close range. Berra made back-to-back saves against Matt Nieto and Taylor Fedun, but he couldn't control the rebounds and Tierney was able to convert. Duchene cut San Jose's lead to 2-1 via the power play at 8:54, his 20th goal of the season. But Marleau answered at 10:12, scoring his 18th and 455th in the NHL, moving him into a tie for 55th on the all-time list. Logan Couture sent a pass from behind the goal line to Marleau, who scored from the slot on a wrist shot. Marleau's goal quickly stopped the momentum that Colorado built when Duchene scored. Couture and Scott scored empty-net goals with 4:05 and 3:22 left, respectively. Hannan left the game with 11:34 remaining after being hit in the face with the puck when Burns tried to clear it from behind San Jose's net. Hannan did not return to the game.