Colorado Avalanche @ Columbus Blue Jackets 1-2
The Blue Jackets have seen enough innocent-looking shots turn into goals against them this season, so they figured it was time for their luck to turn.
It did with 67 seconds left in the third period, when Jack Johnson's deflected shot gave them a 2-1 win against the Avalanche. The defenseman's wrist shot from left point went off the skate of Colorado left wing Cody McLeod past goalie Calvin Pickard seconds after Pickard made a point-blank save on Brandon Saad.
The Blue Jackets, last in points in the NHL, needed a result like that. It was a harsh defeat for the Avalanche after playing well defensively. Dubinsky scored for Columbus 58 seconds into the first period, and Wagner scored for Colorado to make it 1-1 at 4:02 of the second. In between the Columbus goals, Colorado dominated. The Blue Jackets won consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 17 and 19. They will try to match their longest win streak of the season Tuesday at home against the Washington Capitals. Rookie goaltender Joonas Korpisalo saved 70 of 72 shots in the past two games, including 29 Saturday.
Pickard, who made 27 saves against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday for his first NHL shutout, allowed a goal on his first shot faced Saturday. Ryan Murray carried the puck below the goal line, stopped short of the net, and fed Dubinsky in front for the shot that went stick-side for his ninth goal. The Blue Jackets got four points from defensemen, with Seth Jones assisting on the first goal and Cody Goloubef assisting Johnson's winner. Pickard made 19 saves. Wagner tied the score with his fourth goal when got the back of his stick on a feed from Jarome Iginla for the redirect. Chris Bigras had an assist for his first NHL point in his second game. Korpisalo stopped the next 17 shots for his third NHL win in eight games.
Chris Wagner: "I thought we dominated them in the third period. We outshot them by a pretty wide margin (30-21). They got the bounce at the end. [McLeod] was just trying to block the shot. It's unfortunate, but things happen, I guess. He was real good, especially late. They had a few chances with two minutes left. You can't give those up, but he made some really big saves for us."
Patrick Roy: "We were sharp tonight, except for maybe that first shift when they scored that first goal. Other than that, we were impeccable in our own end and certainly deserved better than that. That's the way this game is. You're going to win some that you don't deserve to win and sometimes you lose some you deserve to win. Tonight is an example."
Joonas Korpisalo: "The night was pretty easy for me. The [defense] helped me a lot. They blocked shots and kept the guys away from the scoring areas in front of the net. I felt really good. I went out there and had fun and enjoyed the game. That's the game plan."
Serial Whiner John Tortorella: "Both teams played fast the first period. We struggled going east-west the second period. It was a little sketchy. It wasn't a good period for us. The third period we found a way to stay with it."
Minnesota Wild @ Nashville Predators 0-3
Carter Hutton made 29 saves for the Predators in a 3-0 win against the Wild at Bridgestone Arena. Hutton made his first start at home this season and got his first shutout of the season, the third of his NHL career. Hutton was tested by the Wild in the first period, making 12 saves. The Predators had lost five games in a row. The win was their first against a Central Division opponent since they defeated the Wild on Dec. 19. The Wild have lost four games in a row and have three games remaining on their road trip. They have been shut out in two consecutive games, losing 1-0 to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday. Eric Nystrom gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 1:24 of the first period on a redirection from the faceoff circle. Shea Weber took the shot, and Nystrom was able to tip the puck past Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk for his seventh goal. Josi gave the Predators a 2-0 lead at 6:14 of the third period on the power play. Ryan Johansen shot, and Josi was able to get two chances at the net on the rebound and beat Dubnyk for his 10th goal. Johansen made his home debut after being traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 6. He finished with one assist and has seven points in five games with the Predators. Filip Forsberg scored an empty-net goal at 18:34 of the third period; it was his 13th goal. Paul Gaustad appeared in his 700th NHL game. Nashville hosts the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday; Minnesota plays at the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.
Carter Hutton: "I've said many times, I just try to go out there and help my team win. It's obviously nice. It's almost like a road game for me, I'm not used to it. It's a treat. Our fans are amazing. You come home to a Saturday night after a tough road trip, and they were electric all night and they gave us energy. It was a huge win for us."
Peter Laviolette: "He was really good. If I'm being honest, we came out a little bit slow in the first 10 minutes, and he had a lot of activity. If he wasn't sharp early on, then the game could have swung a different way. Even parts of the second period, they had us on our heels a little bit. They're a good team with plenty of offensive power, and he shut the door.
"I thought as the game moved on, we got our feet going and really battled hard. It was tough for them, they played last night. It was tough for us too, we went on that [11-day road trip] and traveling all day [Friday], so it was not an easy situation for us either."
"That's where I think [Hutton] was at his best, because in those first 10 minutes we were just a little bit too back on our heels and not enough aggressiveness in our game. They were taking it to us. That goal was a big point. I think the saves that [Hutton] made and that goal was probably the best part of the first 10 minutes."
Roman Josi: "Those games are huge, and we don't have a great record against the Central Division right now (5-9-2). We need to win those games. It's a tough division, and that's what at the end it's going to come down to, division games, if you make the playoffs or not, so we have to take care of those.[Johansen] is great. He's good on the half wall. I mean, he's making plays, he's shooting the puck. We knew he was going to be a skilled player, and he's really good on the half wall. He definitely makes it more dangerous."
Ryan Johansen: "It was a big goal. I just tried to create a rebound there. There was a lot of traffic, and [Josi] found the back of the net, which was a huge goal for us at the time in being able to have a little bit of a cushion there the rest of the game."
Mike Yeo: "It's a different kind of frustration tonight, for sure. We were generating chances, and [it] was certainly a little bit deflating after that second period with the chances we generated and nothing goes in for us. That's what we have to deal with. I think what's really important right now is we really examine and look at the way we were generating those opportunities and find a way to create more of that."
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