Chicago Blackhawks @ Montreal Canadiens 2-1
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is humbled to have surpassed Al Arbour for second place in victories, and feels that all-time NHL leader Scotty Bowman's record is far too distant to even be discussed right now. Quenneville became the second-winningest coach in NHL history and Chicago extended its winning streak to nine games with a 2-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Jonathan Toews and Ryan Garbutt scored first-period goals and Corey Crawford made 39 saves for the Blackhawks in Quenneville's 783rd regular-season win, which gave him sole possession of second place ahead of Arbour. The Blackhawks, who tied the Dallas Stars for the Western Conference lead with 62 points, are two shy of their team-record 11-game winning streak, set from Feb. 15 to March 6, 2013. Chicago has climbed up the conference and Central Division standings since losing 4-0 at Dallas on Dec. 22 and 2-1 at home to the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 27. Quenneville, who signed a three-year contract extension Tuesday, is 345-168-69 in eight seasons in Chicago. He won 307 games with the St. Louis Blues from 1996-2004, and 131 games in three seasons with the Colorado Avalanche prior to joining the Blackhawks. He spent much of his playing career battling Arbour's New York Islanders, who won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980-83. Quenneville has coached Chicago to three Stanley Cup championships in the past six seasons. Quenneville trails only Bowman, who won 1,244 games with St. Louis, Montreal, the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. Paul Byron scored his career-high eighth goal and Mike Condon made 31 saves for the Canadiens, who lost 3-1 to Pittsburgh on Saturday. Montreal has lost 14 of 18 games since starting 19-4-3.
The Canadiens have scored one goal or less in nine of those losses; they have two goals in four of the other five. Crawford, a native of the Montreal suburb of Chateauguay, Quebec, is 4-0-2 with a 1.32 goals-against-average, a .958 save percentage and one shutout in six games against the team he idolized growing up. He made four straight saves in a nine-second flurry of shots in the second period to protect the Blackhawks' second one-goal lead, including three in a row on Tomas Fleischmann before making a glove save on Byron at 8:30. Toews gave Chicago the lead with his 17th goal of the season at 8:26 of the first period. The Blackhawks' captain extended his point streak to four games with his sixth goal in nine games when he took a pass from Andrew Shaw and beat Condon. Toews has three goals and four points during his streak. Byron, who scored seven goals in 47 games with the Calgary Flames in 2013-14, drew Montreal even 2:10 later. He drove to the net and the puck hit him and bounced into the net on a rebound off Crawford's pads at 10:36 after Brent Seabrook got his stick on David Desharnais' backhand centering pass from the right side.
Garbutt scored 2:20 later to put Chicago ahead to stay. The fourth-line forward scored his second goal at 12:56 when he one-timed a drive over Condon's right shoulder from the outside edge of the left circle. Toews 240th goal moved him past former teammate Patrick Sharp into 11th place on the Blackhawks' all-time list.
Joel Quenneville: "It was a good win for us. Corey was spectacular tonight. He was solid. I still liked the way we played throughout the game. I feel very fortunate and honored to be in some great company over the years. It happened fast and quick but I feel very fortunate. Especially [Thursday]."
"Going into that Christmas game down there, I think it was one of those hopes that if were able to beat them at least they're within our sights. To get on a run like this, I didn't think that was possible for a big stretch. But in a short amount of time things have worked out. We know there's a lot of hockey to be played, but we'll enjoy it [Thursday]."
"Trying to play against [Arbour's] teams over the years, he was one of those guys that was distinguished behind the bench. He had a Scotty-type of an aura back there. His teams were always winning teams and they always played hard and were tough to play against. I think as a player you heard a lot of good things about Al as well. His teams were successful, and catching him, I'm very honored."
"Scotty [Bowman's] safe." said Quenneville, who laughed when he was asked if he has his sights set on Bowman's record.
Jonathan Toews: "It's pretty amazing. There's been a lot of good coaches, but the amount of wins that he has, it's so rare. To be a part of it, to witness it, I think it's something special. To play for him pretty much your entire career, it means a lot to be a part of something like that. The success we've had in the playoffs the last number of years goes with it. It's just nice to see guys in your room, whether it's players or coaches like Joel, achieve some all-time marks and milestones like that."
Corey Crawford: "It'll never get old [Playing in front of some 20-25 family and friends]. It's always fun. I used to come here with my buddies to watch games. Now having family and friends come to watch me play here now is pretty special, and that'll never change."
Nashville Predators @ Winnipeg Jets 4-5 OT
Blake Wheeler scored 51 seconds into overtime to help the Jets overcome a late rally by the Predators in a 5-4 win at MTS Centre. Wheeler took a pass from Bryan Little at the left point, skated to the top of the right faceoff circle and put a wrist shot past Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne for his 12th goal. The Predators rallied from down three in the third period. James Neal's 200th NHL goal tied it 4-4 with 14 seconds left and Nashville skating 6-on-5. The Jets are 2-1 in games ending in overtime; the Predators are 1-7. Ryan Johansen, who had two assists, scored a power-play goal in the third before Eric Nystrom pulled the Predators within one with 8:07 remaining. Dustin Byfuglien collided with Cody Bass along the boards at center ice in the third period and did not return because of an apparent upper-body injury. He had two goals and a plus-3 rating in 20:34 of ice time; the Jets led 4-1 when he left. Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said Byfuglien will travel with the Jets for their game at the Minnesota Wild on Friday. The win ended the Jets' three-game losing streak. The Predators have lost five straight (0-4-1) and seven of their past eight (1-5-2). Down 1-0 in the second period, Byfuglien and Little scored goals 2:30 apart to put the Jets ahead. Byfuglien scored his second goal of the night later in the period.
Winnipeg rookie Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the second consecutive game on a third-period breakaway, and captain Andrew Ladd tied a career high with three assists. One day after being recalled from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League, Nashville rookie Kevin Fiala scored his first NHL goal 59 seconds into the game. Rinne made 19 saves in his 18th start in the past 21 games. He has allowed three or more goals in seven of his past eight starts. Winnipeg rookie Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves in his 14th start in the past 16 games.
Nashville had nine goals in its six previous games, and Fiala's recall was part of a shake-up that also brought Bass into the Predators lineup. Viktor Arvidsson and Cody Hodgson were sent down to Milwaukee. Laviolette put Fiala on the first line with Johansen and Neal, and the move paid off early. Fiala, the 11th pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, followed up Johansen's initial shot and put the puck under the cross bar for a 1-0 lead. The play was not initially ruled a goal on the ice, but it was determined by video review that the puck entered the net. The Jets tied it 1-1 at 6:32 of the second period when Byfuglien slipped into the low slot and put a rebound past Rinne for his 10th goal. Byfuglien has scored 10 or more goals in eight of his nine NHL seasons. Little followed with his 15th goal, taking a cross-slot pass from Wheeler and one-timing it under Rinne at 9:02. It was his first goal since Dec. 27, ending an eight-game drought. Byfuglien made it 3-1 with his second goal of the game 5:05 later when he scored on a wraparound play, and Winnipeg went ahead 4-1 when Ehlers scored at 5:58 of the third period. Two Nashville goals in a 2:52 span in the middle of the third made it 4-3. Johansen got loose in the slot before slipping a shot past Hellebuyck with 10:59 left for his eighth goal. He has two goals and four assists since he was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a trade for Seth Jones on Jan. 6. Nystrom followed with his sixth goal at 11:53. The Fiala-Johansen-Neal line encouraged Laviolette, as did the Predators' four goals, their most since a 5-3 win against the New York Rangers on Dec. 28. With the recent additions of Johansen and Fiala, Neal has two playmakers with him on the first line. Maurice was happy with the mindset of his players after back-to-back losses earlier in the week at the start of a stretch of nine of 10 games at home.
The Predators will host the Wild on Saturday to start a two-game homestand.
Blake Wheeler: "We just had a great feeling in our [dressing] room, a great feeling on our bench. Even 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, I think we still had a good feeling."
Paul Maurice: "We'll see how he is tomorrow. It's possible [he will play]. I liked [the game] until the tide turned there in the third period. I really liked our game. Loved the bench. [We] didn't fold. That was a great sign. The bench was right. The attitude was right even in adversity."
Peter Laviolette: "We played hard, fought back and got a point. Points are important, but in the end we've got to get more than one point. We've got to get two. We played well enough for two, and it didn't happen. [Fiala] played a great game. He played really strong. He was moving his feet. It seemed like he was dangerous all the time. He worked really hard."
Kevin Fiala: "I think [our line] had pretty good chemistry. I really like to play with them."
Ryan Johansen: "Being down 4-1, to come back like that on the road on a losing streak, it's impressive. We could have easily thrown in the towel. It's tough to be upset about this game right now. We wanted two points, but we did a lot of good things."
James Neal: "[Fiala] was great. I had a chance to watch him in Nashville during the summer and train with him. Unbelievably skilled kid. Really fast. Great hockey sense, and I think you saw all of that. This is playoff-type hockey right now with how tight our division is. It's a race right to the end, so we've got to go and get confidence out of that point, go back home and get going again."
New Jersey Devils @ Colorado Avalanche 0-3
Calvin Pickard made 27 saves for his first NHL shutout, and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-0 at Pepsi Center. It was his second start of the season and first at home. He played 16 games for Colorado in 2014-15. The Avalanche ended a two-game losing streak during which they were outscored 10-3. They were coming off a 4-0 home loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. The Avalanche got goals by Matt Duchene in the first period and Tyson Barrie in the second to take a 2-0 lead. Carl Soderberg scored into an empty net with 27.5 seconds remaining in the third. Pickard was recalled from San Antonio of the American Hockey League on Christmas Day, four days after backup goalie Reto Berra sustained an ankle injury playing soccer in a Pepsi Center hallway before Avalanche's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Pickard made 35 saves in his previous start this season, a 6-3 road win against the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 28. His four other appearances came in relief. The Devils have lost five of their past six games and are 1-2-0 in the first three games of a four-game road trip that ends Saturday at the Coyotes. Duchene scored 51 seconds into the game on a 2-on-1 rush with Nick Holden. Duchene skated down right wing, took Holden's cross-ice pass and moved in alone on Schneider. He made a move in the slot below the hash marks, then chipped the puck past Schneider's stick. Duchene has 22 goals, one more than he had last season in 82 games. He has five goals and two assists in the past six games.
Schneider kept the Devils within a goal at 12:26 when he made a glove save against MacKinnon on a breakaway. Barrie scored a shorthanded goal at 7:55 of the second period with one second left on Holden's penalty for holding Kyle Palmieri. MacKinnon carried the puck into the Devils' zone and took a shot that Schneider deflected with his glove. The puck bounced in the crease, Barrie continued to the net on the right side and poked it inside the near post for his eighth goal. He has four goals and four assists in the past six games. The Avalanche have scored four shorthanded goals this season; the Devils have allowed seven. The Devils went 0-for-3 on the power play and are 0-for-15 in their past six games.
Calvin Pickard: "Last year I came close a few times, so to get it at home in front of our fans is pretty special. It was a full team effort."
A teammate retrieved the puck and placed it on a shelf in Pickard's locker.
"It's going to go in my room somewhere. I'm going to put that on the wall for sure. To finally get a shutout, it's exciting. I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. The team has played very well in my two starts and it makes my life a lot easier."
Pickard said he started to think about a shutout in the final two minutes after the Devils pulled goalie Cory Schneider for a sixth skater.
"You're trying not to, but it's definitely hard not to let it creep into your mind. I felt good the last couple minutes and made a couple saves. We really shut it down there and got the empty-netter, which was really nice."
Patrick Roy: "We needed that game. We had to play a good game going on the road for [the next] two games. Our guys were sharp. I really liked the energy at the start of the game. I thought we were quick on those pucks. We defended well at the same time. That was big. Every time you score shorthanded; especially when it made it 2-0, that was a big goal for us."
Matt Duchene: "[The goal] started with Gabe [Landeskog] and then Nick in the neutral zone. It was a great battle they won. (The Devils) were on their heels right away. I just jumped on the ice and got a great pass from Holden."
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