Chicago @ New Jersey 2-4
Travis Zajac believes working hard and having fun can go hand-in-hand, even against the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks. The proof came when Zajac, Lee Stempniak, Kyle Palmieri and Mike Cammalleri scored, and Cory Schneider made 27 saves in a 4-2 victory at Prudential Center. Zajac and his teammates wouldn't go as far as to say it was the biggest win of the season, but there's certainly a positive vibe emanating from the Devils locker room these days. Patrick Kane and Tanner Kero scored for the Blackhawks, who have lost five straight road games in which they've been outscored 19-8.
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville pulled goalie Scott Darling with 6:42 remaining in the third period trailing 4-1. Kero scored on the Blackhawks' sixth shot with Darling on the bench with 1:26 left. Kane extended his point-scoring streak to nine games with his ninth goal of the season with 1:18 remaining in the second, but by that time the Devils had already built a four-goal lead.
Cammalleri gave them the 4-0 lead with his first goal in five games off a snap shot from the left circle 7:28 into the second. The Devils opened a 3-0 lead on goals by Stempniak, Palmieri and Zajac in the first period to chase starting goalie Corey Crawford (10 saves). Darling made 12 saves. Stempniak scored an unassisted goal at 3:48 for a 1-0 lead. Niklas Hjalmarsson mishandled a return pass from Marcus Kruger in his circle and Stempniak stole the puck and scored his third of the season. Palmieri scored his fourth of the season off a quick snap shot from the left circle at 17:48. Zajac won an offensive-zone draw against Andrew Shaw and Palmieri was there to pick up the loose puck and drive it past Crawford. Toews then engaged in the fourth fight of his NHL career, against Adam Henrique (third fight) at 17:54. Zajac scored 20 seconds later, his sixth goal of the season, first at even strength. Devils defenseman Damon Severson skated into the right circle leaving the puck for Zajac, who took a shot while skating down the slot before knocking in his rebound at 18:14.
The Blackhawks have struggled to find consistency with defenseman Duncan Keith (knee) out with an injury the past eight games. Chicago has allowed 20 goals in the past five games after winning the first three games without Keith and allowing two goals. Chicago, who played without injured forward Marian Hossa and Keith, lost forward Artem Anisimov to a lower-body injury in the second period. Quenneville said Anisimov is day-to-day. The Blackhawks could have Hossa (lower body, three games missed) back in the lineup at home against the Edmonton Oilers.
Jonathan Toews: "I think when we have four lines clicking, everyone is working and doing the right things and our defense is better and offensive numbers will go up. There's a correlation there. We know what we have to do to be better and we'll have to address it. [The fight with Henrique] wasn't necessarily (to spark the team). It was just a play that developed where both players got a little caught up there, so it was kind of a reaction thing. That's not necessarily my thing, as you all know. If you're trying to spark the team, I'd rather be on the ice making things happen in the offensive zone. The Devils skate fast, they check, and don't give you a lot of room, so we had our work cut out as it was, let alone the fact that we were down 4-0 in the game. It's not the game plan we wrote up and we played hard in second half but that wasn't enough."
Niklas Hjalmarsson: "I started it off with a real bad play in the first period there and we had an uphill battle. We have to find a way to play better on the road. We gave up too many odd-man rushes and we have to keep it simple. With the injuries we have, we've got to get the puck deep and play better in our own end as well to help our goalies. It starts with me."
NY Rangers @ Colorado 2-1
Derek Stepan and Oscar Lindberg scored goals 21 seconds apart in the second period to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead they were able to protect with efficient penalty killing and solid work from Lundqvist, who made 14 saves in the third period. The Avalanche have lost two games in a row, are 2-7-1 in their past 10 games and 1-6-1 in games decided by one goal. Stepan scored a power-play goal at 12:42 of the second period from the left slot to tie the game 1-1. Ryan McDonagh started the play when he launched a shot off the end boards that caromed back over the net to Mats Zuccarello, who made a quick pass to Stepan. The Rangers went ahead when McDonagh passed from the left corner behind the net to Lindberg, who was along the goal line on the right side. He flipped the puck toward the net and it went in off goalie Reto Berra's blocker at 13:03. Berra played well in his first home start of the season and finished with 31 saves, but he wasn't happy about allowing what turned out to be the winning goal. New York killed off two Colorado power plays late in the period to retain the lead, another in the third and four of five overall while permitting six total shots. Nathan MacKinnon gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 7:13 of the first period. He maneuvered around Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi in the left corner, moved to the net and used McDonagh as a partial screen before shooting the puck under Lundqvist's outstretched glove. The Rangers had killed 19 consecutive penalties in their past eight games.
MacKinnon was hit on the right hand with under a minute to play in the Avalanche's 4-2 loss to the Coyotes and it was unclear if he would be in the lineup. The Avalanche lost left wing Alex Tanguay to a knee injury when he drew a tripping penalty from Lindberg with 1:36 left in the second period. He took one shift in the third and didn't return. The Rangers played without left wing Rick Nash, who is listed as day-to-day after he sustained a back injury in practice.
Reto Berra: "I want the second goal back. I have to close the short side and I closed it. It hit the top of my blocker. I think it would go wide if my blocker was not there. Yeah, maybe they had some lucky bounces sometimes and we are working so hard trying to get them, (but) we don't get them."
Matt Duchene: "We had some decent chances, but they did a good job. They checked us up ice and we weren't able to get as organized as we probably would have liked to coming into the zone. They pressured really hard. It was disappointing not to get another [goal]. They played really aggressive, that's what they do and we knew it was coming."
Nathan MacKinnon: "It's a little sore, but I'm all right. It was pretty painful (Thursday night), more of a stinger. It's all right, I'll be OK."
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