NHL - Central - October 23-24 2015

Friday, October 23

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Winnipeg 4-3 OT
Ondrej Palat scored 36 seconds into overtime to give the Lightning a 4-3 win against the Jets at MTS Centre. On a 3-on-1, Palat took a pass from Steven Stamkos and scored on Ondrej Pavelec. The Lightning led three times before winning. Braydon Coburn, Cedric Paquette and Vladislav Namestnikov scored for Tampa Bay, who play at the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday in a rematch of last season's Stanley Cup Final. Victor Hedman had three assists for the Lightning, and Erik Condra had two. Nikolaj Ehlers, Drew Stafford and Blake Wheeler scored for Winnipeg. Ehlers had a breakaway with less than 10 seconds left in the third period but his shot hit the post. Ben Bishop, who has started each of Tampa Bay's eight games, made 33 saves. Pavelec made 27. Aided by a Jets penalty 44 seconds into the game, the Lightning pressured Pavelec early before Winnipeg went on an 8-2 run in shots. Tampa Bay took a 1-0 lead on Coburn's first goal, a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle at 12:17. Ehlers tied the game at 16:28, finishing a 3-on-2 with a pass from Mark Scheifele. Ehlers, the ninth pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, has two goals and three assists in seven games. Brian Boyle (undisclosed) was scratched, forcing Cooper to alter his lineup. A fourth line of Paquette, Namestnikov and Condra went to work after Tampa Bay's sluggish first period. The Lightning took a 2-1 lead 7:23 into the second period after Condra's pass set Paquette loose inside the zone for a snap shot over Pavelec's glove. The Jets tied it 2-2 at 10:58 on Stafford's third goal, which he slipped past Coburn and Anton Stralman and between Bishop's pads. Twenty-one seconds later, the Lightning took their third lead on Namestnikov's third goal. Wheeler's shorthanded goal 1:17 into the third period made it 3-3. Bishop mishandled a dump-in behind the net, allowing Wheeler to steal the puck and score on a backhand. Wheeler has an NHL career-high seven-game point streak (four goals, five assists) and tied the franchise record set by Donald Audette with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2000-01.
Paul Maurice: "It was a fast game, some really well executed plays for both teams. I think both teams were good for a reason. I don't think through the game one team got worse. One team was good in the first and the third, [and] that was us. They were really good in the second period.""We can go back to last year, for long stretches of it, [Wheeler] hit that maturity level where he can come to the rink and have a really strong night," Maurice said. "I think he's just a real, mature, high-end pro now. He takes care of his body [and] he just plays that way every single night."
Blake Wheeler: "It's tough to pat yourself on the back after losses, especially in our division. It's going to be a tough grind all year. [Every Central Division team] seems to win every night."
Saturday, October 24
Anaheim Sucks @ Minnesota
The Anaheim Sucks are running out of ways to explain the baffling start to their season, one that continued with a 3-0 loss to the Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Ducks were shut out for the fourth time in seven games; they were shut out four times all of last season. Devan Dubnyk had to make 15 saves for his first shutout this season. Anaheim had a goal disallowed 2:09 into the game, was outshot 15-3 in the first period, and 26-9 through the second. Minnesota scored twice in the second period against Anaheim. Anaheim had won six in a row here. Shawn Horcoff appeared to score a goal from in tight, but after review it was ruled he used a distinct kicking motion to put the puck past Dubnyk. Minnesota used the opportunity to slowly build momentum, eventually taking a 1-0 lead. Fresh off the bench on a line change, defenseman Matt Dumba gathered a pass from Jason Zucker in the slot, skated in, and roofed a backhand at 16:32 of the first period. The Ducks committed four straight penalties in the second period. The final one led to Thomas Vanek's fourth goal at 13:01, three seconds after Patrick Maroon's interference penalty expired. Five minutes later, with Anaheim on its first power power play, a missed assignment allowed Minnesota's Justin Fontaine and Ryan Carter to get loose on a 2-on-1. Fontaine slid a pass to Carter near the left hash, and he shot high to beat goalie Frederik Andersen at 18:25. Jared Spurgeon assisted on the final two goals, and forward Mikko Koivu extended his point streak to five games with an assist on Dumba's goal.
Minnesota has won consecutive games and plays at the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday. The Wild are in a stretch of four games in six days after playing five games in 14 days to start the season.
Ryan Carter: "That was them pressing a little bit, but it was nice to capitalize on it."
Mike Yeo: "It helps when you're getting the game reps. We've been talking about, 'Let's continue to build our game.' You have an opportunity to look at the video and look at the things you're doing properly and the things you have to correct."
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Chicago 0-1 OT
Much has changed with the Blackhawks since they clinched a championship against the Lightning at United Center in Game 6 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final.
One thing remains the same: The Blackhawks make it tough for the Lightning to create offense, as shown Saturday in a 1-0 overtime victory in Tampa Bay's first visit to Chicago since the Cup Final concluded June 15. Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews scored his first goal 17 seconds into overtime to end it. The style of play throughout the game resembled the championship series, when the Blackhawks limited the Lightning to a total of two goals in the final three games. This time, Chicago outshot Tampa Bay 32-21, had a 66-51 advantage in shot attempts, and got 21 saves from goalie Corey Crawford, who also shut out Tampa Bay in the 2-0 victory that clinched the Cup. Tampa Bay has played the first three games in a stretch of five against teams from the Central Division, with the first four on the road. The Lightning are 1-0-2 in those games and will conclude their road trip at the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. Rookie goalie Kristers Gudlevskis, in his second NHL regular-season start, made 31 saves for Tampa Bay. Gudlevskis' only prior NHL regular-season experience was when he started and got the win in a 3-2 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 11, 2014. He made two appearances (one start) against the Montreal Canadiens in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He was recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League, where he was 2-0-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .930 save percentage, on Saturday Toews scored off his rebound after getting a pass in the neutral zone and splitting two Tampa Bay defenders in the right faceoff circle for the initial shot. It rewarded the Blackhawks for another strong defensive game without top defenseman Duncan Keith, who had surgery Tuesday to repair a meniscal tear in his right knee. Chicago has won its first two games without Keith and killed four power plays against the Lightning. Gudlevskis led the defensive effort for the Lightning, who were outshot 23-12 through the final two periods and overtime. Two of his best saves happened in the first period; he made a pad save off a hard wrist shot by Toews at 8:39 and quickly sealed off the left post to stop a rebound attempt by defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk at 8:43. Gudlevskis stopped Patrick Kane on a breakaway in the second. Crawford countered with a save on a one-timer by Steven Stamkos at 17:35 of the first during the second Tampa Bay power play. HE also made a diving glove save off a rebound attempt by Erik Condra with 2:34 left in the third period. He wasn't as busy as Gudlevskis, but Crawford's play was reminiscent of what he showed in that Game 6 victory.
Jonathan Toews: "I don't think the pace was quite Stanley Cup Final worthy, but we knew what we had to do against that team. They played [Friday] night. We wanted to wear them down and find our chances late in the game. We showed the type of game we're looking for, given our new look, new group this year. If it takes one goal, we'll win that way, but I think we worked hard on the offensive side of the puck and finally got one that made the difference. It was nice to continue the shutout streak, I guess. We knew they were going to come out hard. Regardless of what happened last year, I think both teams are eager to prove to each other that they still think they're the best team, and we found a way to get on top tonight."
Corey Crawford: "We're playing strong defense, but we're getting the puck back pretty quick, and then we're going on offense. I think that's a key part of it too. Our [defensemen] are getting it back, skating and moving it quick to our forwards. When you have the puck, that's going to be good defense."
Columbus Blue Jackets @ Colorado 4-3
The wait is finally over for the Blue Jackets. Boone Jenner scored two goals, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves and the Blue Jackets, playing their second game under new coach John Tortorella, rallied for a 4-3 win against the Avalanche at Pepsi Center on Saturday for their first win in nine games this season. The Blue Jackets got goals from Ryan Murray and Brandon Dubinsky 2:47 apart early in the third period to take the lead for good. Murray tied the game at 3:56 during a scramble play in front and Dubinsky knocked in the rebound of David Savard's shot to complete a 3-on-2 rush for the winning goal at 6:43. The Blue Jackets were outscored 37-15 in the first eight games, and their four goals were a season high. They fired coach Todd Richards and replaced him with Tortorella on Wednesday. The Avalanche got goals by Jarome Iginla and Nathan MacKinnon in the second period to take a 3-2 lead. Iginla finished off a rush with linemates Matt Duchene and Blake Comeau into the Columbus end and shot the puck from the right circle between Bobrovsky's pads at 1:43 of the second period to tie the game 2-2 with his third goal and first in five games. The Avalanche went ahead on a 4-on-3 power play at 17:12. Iginla was in the slot when he passed to MacKinnon in the lower left circle for a shot into a half-open net for his third goal. The Avalanche had gone 1-for-16 on power plays spanning four games. The Blue Jackets spotted the Avalanche an early lead on a goal by Jack Skille and responded with two goals by Jenner 5:51 apart to grab a 2-1 lead in the first period. Skille opened the scoring at 2:21 on the Avalanche's first shot. He skated into the left circle and beat Bobrovsky to the glove side for his second goal of the season. Jenner tied the game at 10:04 after a turnover by Avalanche defenseman Nick Holden. Jenner skated down left wing on a 2-on-1 rush and shot the puck between Varlamov's pads. Jenner put Columbus in front with a power-play goal at 15:56, 15 seconds after Mikhail Grigorenko was penalized for hooking. Savard shot from the right circle and Jenner deflected it past Varlamov for his fifth goal. The Avalanche had killed 16 consecutive power plays in the previous four games. Bobrovsky made nine saves in the period, including a big stop against Iginla in the slot with 12 seconds remaining. The Blue Jackets were 29th in the NHL in penalty killing before the game, but they limited the Avalanche to one shot on two power plays in the first period after Skille's goal.
Nathan MacKinnon: "That should have been the game, probably should have been the game winner for us. Closing out games ... we have to be better in our thirds, especially up 3-2 and knowing these guys haven't won a game in the season and they're going to be hungry."
Patrick Roy: "We prepared to play against a very good team. We had the start that we wanted. We scored an early goal. Maybe our power play could have generated a little more momentum and maybe hurt them a little bit more if we would have scored."
Brandon Dubinsky: "We're not going to do it overnight. We played some good hockey tonight. We took some penalties and put ourselves in a little bit of trouble, but we didn't quit. It's an effort we were accustomed to before this year started and it was nice to get back to that. You celebrate it. It's been a while since we've had this type of feeling in the dressing room, so we'll celebrate it."
Boone Jenner: "It feels really good. It's a character win, going down one in the third and battling back. It's a huge period for us. We had to dig down and came out right away in the third and it started to go our way. It's a huge win, we just worked for it. They had a good push at the end, but there were a couple of big blocks. It was a good win."
John Tortorella: "No sense in feeling sorry for yourself. You’re down again, you lose the lead and you're down going into the third period. We felt this was the type of game to get you out of these slumps, you find a way to gut one out. They did, they deserve it. They've worked hard and they've been empty. I've only been here a couple of days doing this and they've been doing this for quite a while, since camp. So I'm happy for them."