Edmonton Oilers @ Chicago 2-4
The Blackhawks got strong efforts from their second line and goalie Corey Crawford, in a 4-2 victory against the Oilers at United Center. Crawford made 34 saves in a bounce-back performance after a tough start at the New Jersey Devils on Friday, including 22 in a hectic second period. The Blackhawks' reunited second line produced all four goals.
Artemi Panarin, a 23-year old Russian rookie left wing, had two goals and an assist. Center Artem Anisimov scored a power-play goal with six seconds remaining to seal the win. Right wing Patrick Kane had a goal and three assists to extend his NHL-leading point streak to 10 games and tie the Dallas Stars' Tyler Seguin for the League lead with 23 points (10 goals).
Panarin scored his first goal since Oct. 10 just 58 seconds into the game. He made it 2-0 at 17:35 of the first period to give the Blackhawks an early two-goal cushion, helping Chicago improve to 7-1-1 at home after coming into the game with four losses in its previous five games. Crawford played a key role. After allowing nine goals in his past two starts and being pulled after the first period at New Jersey on Friday, he was flawless in the second period against Edmonton, stopping all 22 shots he faced.
Cam Talbot didn't track the puck as well as he did in Chicago on March 8, when he shut out the Blackhawks for the New York Rangers in a 1-0 overtime win. Talbot, acquired by the Oilers in June, made 24 saves but didn't have the same level of help defensively in the first or third. Panarin opened the scoring with a goal off a one-timer from the lower left circle, then scored again with a wrist shot over Talbot's glove. Kane got the primary assist on each goal, then scored his 10th of the season to make it 3-1 at 13:28 of the third, after Jordan Eberle cut Chicago's lead to 2-1. He capped his four-point night by setting up Anisimov's power-play goal.
Down 2-0. the Oilers came out flying in the second period and controlled puck possession. They outshot Chicago 22-6, held the puck in the offensive zone for long stretches and didn't allow a shot to reach Talbot until 10:17. Edmonton was outshooting Chicago 14-0 by that point, but failed to get past Crawford who was superb. He turned away several rapid-fire scoring chances with pad saves; each one helped rebuild his confidence. Crawford wasn't thrilled about allowing goals to Eberle and Andrej Sekera in the third, but overall it was a big victory for him. It was more of a relief for Panarin, who'd gone 11 games without scoring a goal. Quenneville put Panarin on the top line for a couple of games looking for scoring balance.
Joel Quenneville: "That group together has been fun to watch. Tonight, I'm sure they were happy to be back together again, and got it going right off the hop. So, it was a good night for that line, and they continue to be, a lot of nights, the only form of production we're getting."
Corey Crawford: "That one felt pretty good. I kind of struggled in the last couple games. I wanted to come back strong, especially when your coach gives you the net again. You want to prove him right, do well for him. I felt a lot better. I was seeing the puck well."
Artemi Panarin: "The first couple of games I played, I had the same confidence that I have right now. [I] played a couple games not so well and started thinking about things that were outside of my control. I was a little embarrassed about my game. I was talking with the guys. The guys came up and told me I needed to relax a little bit, trust in myself, and remember that I'm a good player." Panarin used team mate Viktor Tikhonov as an interpreter.
Tuesday, November 10
Colorado @ Philadelphia Flyers 4-0
Patrick Roy said he put Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene together for their youthful legs and stellar skating abilities. The Colorado Avalanche players made their coach look wise. Duchene scored two goals, including one early in the second period set up by Landeskog and MacKinnon, to help the Avalanche to a 4-0 win against the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. Reto Berra made 25 saves, Jarome Iginla and Cody McLeod each scored a goal, and Nick Holden and Carl Soderberg each had two assists for Colorado, which ended a two-game losing streak and started its season-long seven-game road trip with a win. Roy went so far as to call it the Avalanche's best effort of the season. Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth made 36 saves in his fourth straight start. Philadelphia lost for the seventh time in its past eight games (1-5-2) and was shut out for the first time this season. Philadelphia returned from a five-game road trip in which it played in all four times zones, including four games in six nights in Western Canada and Winnipeg. But the Flyers refused to use the travel as an excuse for their poor performance. Duchene scored his first goal 25 seconds into the second period, capitalizing on some nifty cycling by his linemates. After taking a pass from Landeskog, MacKinnon circled the net and put a backhand shot on goal that Neuvirth stopped, but Duchene drove to the net mouth and buried the rebound, building Colorado's lead to 2-0. Duchene scored again 3:19 later, this time with the help of a fancy stick play by Holden. The defenseman fumbled Tyson Barrie's pass but tipped it in the air at the blue line to keep it in the zone. He then fired a shot that handcuffed Neuvirth, and Duchene pounced on the rebound and scored his sixth goal, fifth in the past four games, to make it 3-0. McLeod scored a power-play goal 2:04 into the third after Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas was penalized for roughing. It was his third goal. Colorado grabbed the lead early when Iginla scored his 596th career goal 57 seconds into the game. Holden chipped the puck into the corner from the Avalanche half of the ice, but Iginla rushed to corral it and negate the icing. He flubbed his sharp-angled shot on Neuvirth, but it fooled the Flyers goalie and snuck between his arm and body for Iginla's seventh of the season. The goal was the 1,238th point of Iginla's career, leaving him one back of Peter Stastny for 37th on the NHL's all-time list. The Avalanche controlled play after the early goal, and only Neuvirth kept them from adding to their lead in the first. Colorado had 15 first-period shots, including 11 of the final 12 in the period.
Berra has also played well, boosting his save percentage to .943 after the 25-save shutout. Roy said he'll likely keep going with the hot hand as Colorado prepares to play at the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
Patrick Roy: "They were dominant. Every shift they were there. They had a lot of scoring chances. That was the reason we put them together, I like the speed of the three of them together [Landeskog, Duchene, MacKinnon]. I felt it was tough to play against them. I thought we dominated from the start to the end. We managed our game well. We kept our shifts short. We possessed the puck. I was very pleased with our performance."
"He's going to the net right now, and it pays off. Mac made a great play on that wraparound, but if you're around the net, good things happen. Berra's No. 1 because he is playing. If [Semyon] Varalmov plays the next game, he'll be our No. 1 goalie. Right now, we're very lucky to have two very good goaltenders, and they're both building up our confidence right now. Reto is playing well right now and is probably going to play the next game in Boston."
Jarome Iginla: "It was a great bounce, or a tough break for them. It definitely feels good to get rewarded. I thought we were a lot better on the puck possession. It felt good. It was a good road game. Once we got up, we didn't want to open it up or let them get some ice, we just played really strong."
Ottawa Senators @ Nashville 5-7
Barrett Jackman scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and the Predators rallied to defeat the Senators 7-5 at Bridgestone Arena. Jackman broke a 5-5 tie at 10:09 of the third period when his pass from the left-wing boards hit a defenseman's skate in front and went past goaltender Craig Anderson. It was Jackman's first goal with the Predators; he signed with Nashville as a free agent this summer. Gabriel Bourque added an insurance goal at 11:43, firing the rebound of defenseman Mattias Ekholm's shot past Anderson for his first goal of the season. Ekholm had tied the game 5-5 at 2:29 of the third on a slap shot from the left circle. He took a pass from defense partner Ryan Ellis and beat Anderson for his second of the season. The Predators didn't panic despite trailing 2-0 and 3-1 in the first period, as well as 5-4 after the second. Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne made 21 saves. Anderson finished with 31 saves. Milan Michalek gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 4:33 of the first period when he scored on the game's first power play. Bobby Ryan took a shot from the top of the right circle, and Michalek redirected the puck past Rinne for his third goal. Zack Smith gave the Senators a 2-0 lead at 5:54 on another redirection, getting a piece of defenseman Jared Cowen's shot from the top of the left circle and deflecting it past Rinne for his third goal. Colton Sissons, who was recalled from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, made it 2-1 at 6:55 on a redirection that beat Anderson. But Smith restored Nashville's two-goal lead when he scored his second of the game with 36.9 seconds remaining on a shorthanded breakaway. Smith deflected a pass by Mike Fisher, won the race to the puck and beat Rinne on the stick side. Shea Weber scored a power-play goal 6:23 into the second period on a one-timer past Anderson to make it 3-2. It was Weber's fourth goal of the season, the 150th goal of his career and his 400th career point. He is the 39th defenseman in NHL history to score 150 career goals. Roman Josi tied the game 3-3 at 7:57 when he deked his way around Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson and beat Anderson with a wrist shot for his fourth goal. Austin Watson put Nashville ahead for the first time at 8:51 by redirecting a shot from defenseman Seth Jones past Anderson for his second goal. Watson finished the game with three points, and every player on Nashville's fourth line scored a goal. But Karlsson tied the game 4-4 at 9:32 when his wrist shot from the right circle beat Rinne on the glove side. It was the first goal of the season for Karlsson, who has 13 assists. Curtis Lazar gave the Senators a 5-4 lead at 19:08, backhanding the rebound of Mike Hoffman's shot past Rinne for his second goal. Paul Gaustad missed the game with a lower-body injury and is as day-to-day. Sissons replaced Gaustad on the fourth line.
Barrett Jackman: "We were definitely due. I think we had a lot more dirtier second chances today. We were able to get some bounces our way, and the floodgates opened tonight."
Mattias Ekholm: "I think that's basically what we do now. I didn't even feel worried at one point during this game. I felt like we were going to pull it off, we were going to come back. There was never a doubt in my mind that we were not. It's just that feeling that you have with this group that we're never going to quit, we're never going to not battle back."
Shea Weber: "Hopefully I can get more, I don't know. I'm not done playing yet. Very fortunate to be able to play in this League. It's a great League, and the Predators have given me a great opportunity to be here. We've just got to keep winning games and get on a roll here."
Colton Sissons: "If you have the contribution up and down the lineup, that's going to help you win a lot of hockey games. I think you need that down the stretch and in playoffs as well. I'm sure they're happy to see that all lines were contributing, and we're happy that all three of us got one tonight."
Winnipeg @ Minnesota 3-5
Among the 304 career goals he's scored in the NHL, Thomas Vanek has had some that have made highlight reels. He had another in a 5-3 win against the Jets at Xcel Energy Center. With the Wild up 3-1 midway through the second period, Mikael Granlund transitioned a neutral zone turnover into a scoring opportunity the other way, hitting Vanek along the left wall. Alone with defenseman Paul Postma, Vanek threw the puck between his legs, walked around Postma and put a shot past Ondrej Pavelec and under the crossbar for his second goal of the game. The goal, his sixth, ended up being the game-winner and was one of four scored by the Wild in the second period. The game was tied 1-1 after the first period, thanks in large part to seven saves from Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk. Playing without Zach Parise, who missed his second game because of a sprained right MCL, Wild coach Mike Yeo decided move Vanek to a line with Granlund and Jason Pominville. The move paid off; Vanek scored twice in a span of 5:24 in the second, sandwiched around a shorthanded goal by Erik Haula. Nino Niederreiter and Chris Porter had goals for Minnesota and Jared Spurgeon had two assists. Dubnyk, who made his sixth consecutive start, finished with 25 saves. Bryan Little had two goals and an assist for the Jets, who got a goal from Blake Wheeler. They scored 2:35 apart midway through the third period to get Winnipeg within 5-3. Minnesota got on the board first on Niederreiter's fifth at 3:44 of the first when he collected his own rebound in front and shoved it past Pavelec. Little tied the game eight minutes later with a one-handed tip in front of a shot by Dustin Byfuglien from the point at 11:45. Vanek began Minnesota's offensive onslaught at 4:30 of the second, capping a breakaway with a slap shot from the high slot that beat Pavelec over his blocker. Less than two minutes later, Haula went in on a breakaway of his own, putting a wrist shot past Pavelec for a shorthanded goal at 5:59. Vanek's second goal made it 4-1 at 9:54 and chased Pavelec; he allowed four goals on 12 shots, giving way to Michael Hutchinson. Porter's first goal with the Wild came on a deflection in front at 12:44, giving the Wild a 5-1 lead after 40 minutes. Winnipeg rallied for two goals late but could not get any closer. Hutchinson finished with 15 saves. The Wild were without Marco Scandella, who missed the game for personal reasons. His status for Minnesota's upcoming four-game road trip, which begins against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, is unknown.
The Jets continue with the second game of a four-game road trip, all against Central Division foes, against the Dallas Stars on Thursday.
Thomas Vanek: "I just tried something. Obviously it worked out well. Just a 1-on-1 opportunity, I had good speed coming through the neutral zone."
Mike Yeo: "I just didn't feel we were going to win the game with the way we were going. With the depth of their forwards, I felt like we needed to make a switch. I felt that Thomas was giving us an opportunity. He was strong in the first period."
Erik Haula: "It was a good momentum builder. As a team, we were playing good. We were missing some guys, so it's nice to have everyone step up here and there. A good team win."
Paul Maurice: "They got in behind us twice and we got beat 1-on-1. We'll build on our first two periods. That's where we need to get better."
Bryan Little: "We can't rely on our goalies to make those kind of saves like that. We gave up some chances and they scored on them. It was just a let-up by us. I don't know why it took us to get down 5-1 before turning it on like that, but that's the way we have to play, with some desperation. It's early in the season, but these are big points against teams in our division. We have to find a way to come out like we ended it."
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