Phoenix @ Buffalo 2-5
Evander Kane made it 3-1 with a shorthanded goal 2:40 into the third period. Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons knocked a loose puck in the neutral zone away from Coyotes forward Tobias Rieder and toward Kane, who skated in against goaltender Mike Smith on a breakaway. Kane took a wrist shot that beat Smith on the blocker side. After scoring 45 goals in their first 22 games, the Sabres have 17 goals in their past four. It's the first time the Sabres have scored four or more goals in four consecutive games since they did it in five straight games from Feb. 20 to March 2, 2007. The offense broke out after coach Dan Bylsma put together a new first line of Kane, Ryan O'Reilly, and Sam Reinhart. Kane has led the way with six points (four goals, two assists) in his past three games. O'Reilly has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past five games, and Reinhart has three goals in his past three games. Coyotes rookie Max Domi cut the Sabres' lead to 3-2 with his second goal of the game and 10th of the season 6:42 into the third period, but Marcus Foligno restored Buffalo's two-goal lead at 11:44 with his second goal of the season. Foligno took a pass from behind the net by Nicolas Deslauriers and took a wrist shot that got past Smith at the near post. The Coyotes nearly got back within a goal 19 seconds later when defenseman Nicklas Grossmann put a backhand shot past goalie Chad Johnson. But Bylsma challenged the goal and, after review, the referees ruled that Martin Hanzal's stick had interfered with Johnson's glove as the shot came in and nullified the goal. Kane completed the scoring when he put his sixth goal of the season into an empty net. Domi gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 14:28 of the first period. He received a pass from Hanzal and broke in on a partial breakaway, deked, and put a backhanded shot past against Johnson.
Reinhart tied it with his seventh goal of the season 7:17 into the second period, and McGinn gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead at 13:13. McGinn has two goals and three assists in his past four games.
Philadelphia @ New Jersey 4-3 OT
Matt Read scored the first overtime goal of his NHL career with 1:36 remaining to give the Flyers a 4-3 win. Read skated into the Devils end on a 2-on-1 with Sean Couturier and slowed down in the left circle before taking a shot that deflected off the shoulder of goaltender Cory Schneider into the net. Cammalleri scored with Schneider pulled for a 6-on-4 advantage with 1:00 remaining in the third period to pull the Devils into a 3-3 tie. Bellemare was called for tripping Jacob Josefson with 2:21 left. Bellemare gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead off a rebound 9:30 into the third. Chris VandeVelde took the initial shot that was stopped by Schneider, but Bellemare was able to track the puck with John Moore checking from behind and score his second of the season. Palmieri scored his 10th goal just as a Flyers penalty expired to tie it 2-2 1:55 into the third. He took a pass in the left circle from Patrik Elias and scored with Neuvirth unable to get into position. The Flyers took a 2-1 lead when Giroux scored on a 5-on-3 advantage 7:12 into the second period with Palmieri in the penalty box for hooking and Andy Greene for delay of game. Jakub Voracek controlled a puck in the right circle and fed Giroux in the left circle. The Flyers captain waited for Schneider to go down before scoring his ninth of the season. Simmonds, who has at least one goal in three straight games, scored on a power play 9:56 into the first period to tie the game 1-1. A cross-ice pass from Voracek deflected off the left skate of Simmonds at the left post, and deflected off the pad of Schneider and over the line. Matteau gave the Devils a 1-0 lead on his first goal of the season at 6:36. After skating by Michael Del Zotto down right wing, Matteau released a backhand from low in the circle that beat Neuvirth between the pads.
Florida @ Columbus 2-1 SO
The Panthers cut it close but won their fifth game in a row, 2-1 in a shootout against the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. Though Aleksander Barkov scored the deciding goal in the bottom of the fourth round with a backhand, the Panthers wouldn't have been there without the patience of Jonathan Huberdeau. After Cam Atkinson scored for Columbus in the second round, Florida was down to its final attempt in the third when Huberdeau patiently waited for goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to flinch and then shot the puck over him and underneath the crossbar. The Panthers couldn't score on 15 shots in the first period but one they didn't mean to take gave them a 1-0 lead at 1:16 of the second. Trocheck scored his eighth as a Florida power play ended when his centering pass banked off the right knee of Justin Falk into the net. Falk went to the ice to block the passing lane at the crease. The Blue Jackets made it 1-1 with unlikely sources contributing at 12:49. Andrew Bodnarchuk got his first NHL assist in 11 games with a pass in front to Chaput. He settled the pass with his stick before getting his second NHL goal in 51 games. Chaput was in the lineup because more cow bell, Scott Hartnell was a healthy scratch. Hartnell was out in part because he took a late penalty Tuesday that led to the winning third-period goal on the power play for the Montreal Canadiens in a 2-1 loss.
Since accusing the Pittsburgh Penguins of being the biggest whiners in the league, John Tortorella has done nothing but whine himself. Today's offering was of the Rioja vintage.
"It's very disappointing, not just the start, but how we played it. To me, it was a little lack of respect for the opponent. I don't understand how we can disrespect an opponent when we're looking up at all 29 teams. I didn't expect this one. I thought we were finding our way as far as mental preparation. It's an accumulation of others' play and his lack of discipline. That was a tough penalty to take in Montreal, but it was not a reaction to that. Hartnell's struggled a little bit. He was my best player when I first came here. He was the most effective player we had. I haven't even thought about the lineup tomorrow."
Boston @ Calgary 4-5 OT
Johnny Gaudreau scored with 1:40 remaining in overtime to complete his second NHL hat trick and give the Calgary Flames a 5-4 win. Gaudreau was set up by former Bruins defenseman Dougie Hamilton on the game-winner. Hamilton spotted Gaudreau, who trailed the play, in the high slot; Gaudreau skated in and beat Tuukka Rask with a deke. Hudler tied the game with 1.2 seconds remaining in the third period when he put a loose puck in the crease over the goal line. Boston coach Claude Julien used his challenge, contending that Rask had been interfered with, but the goal stood. Hamilton's setup on Gaudreau's game-winner atoned for an error that allowed the Bruins to go ahead 4-3 with 1:06 left in the third. On a power play, the puck skipped over Hamilton's stick at the Boston blue line, forcing him to knock Marchand's stick out of his hands on the breakaway. Marchand scored on the shorthanded penalty shot. Gaudreau scored on Calgary's first shot 33 seconds into the game. David Jones picked up a turnover from Chara at the blue line and passed to Gaudreau, who beat starting goalie Jonas Gustavsson through the five-hole. Giordano put the Flames up 2-0 at 15:55, taking a pass from TJ Brodie before beating Gustavsson short side with a wrist shot from the faceoff circle. Beleskey tipped Chara's point shot past Ramo with 2:41 remaining in the first to cut Calgary's lead to 2-1. The Flames and Bruins traded three quick goals to start the second period. Marchand tied the game 2-2 by snapping a shot over the glove of Ramo at 1:36 for his team-leading 11th goal of the season. Gaudreau scored his second of the game 20 seconds later, taking a pass from Hudler from below the goal line and tucking the puck past Gustavsson's outstretched pad and over the goal line. Chara's slap shot through traffic beat Ramo at 2:22 to tie the game 3-3.
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