Gameday 16 (Sun, 03 Feb) - Results

Pittsburgh v Washington 6-3 - For the second time Sunday afternoon the Pittsburgh Penguins had let a lead slip away, and the momentum along with it, after John Carlson's wild goal tied the game at 4:03 of the second period. Chris Kunitz and the Penguins wasted little time in responding though, as moments later Kris Letang and Kunitz scored just 37 seconds apart, sending Kunitz on the way to a four-goal game and putting Pittsburgh ahead for good in an eventual 6-3 win against the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center. The win puts Pittsburgh just one point behind the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Carlson's goal had seemingly turned the game on its head early in the second, when his clear from the neutral zone took a sharp bounce off glass and trickled into the net. Penguins goalie Tomas Vokoun had already left the crease to play the puck behind the goal, but instead watched the Capitals celebrate a game-tying score. Carlson, skating to the bench for a change, had his back to the net when the puck went in. The Penguins initially took the lead just 3:37 into the game when Paul Martin took the puck off a clean faceoff win by Sidney Crosby and wristed a shot from the blue line that Kunitz deflected past Washington goalie Braden Holtby. Holtby would make amends 56 seconds later by stoning Zach Boychuk twice on a breakaway. Just over half a minute later, the Capitals' Mike Green tied the game on a rising one-timer from the edge of the right faceoff circle. Pittsburgh took a 2-1 lead into the locker room after the first period courtesy of a one-timer by Deryk Engelland that slipped through a screen put on by Matt Cooke, but the Penguins wouldn't take control of the game until Letang and Kunitz scored in the second period. Kunitz scored again at 13:59 of the second to put the game out of reach and capped the victory with his fourth goal of the afternoon with just eight seconds to go in the third. During the game, the Penguins' first goal had been switched from Kunitz to Martin, leaving Kunitz with a run-of-the-mill hat trick. However, it was later changed back, giving him the first four-goal game on the road by a Penguin since Mario Lemieux did it in Montreal on Jan. 26, 1997. Mike Ribeiro scored his second goal of the season for Washington 3:33 into the final period. Vokoun finished with 21 saves on 24 shots to get the win for Pittsburgh. Holtby made 20 saves on 26 shots for the Capitals, who have lost seven of nine and remain seven points out of first place in the Southeast Division.

Ottawa v Montreal 1-2 - Carey Price was subdued in the Montreal Canadiens dressing room Sunday in spite of just having won his sixth straight start and being the backbone of a team that is arguably the biggest surprise in the NHL through the first two weeks of the season. And perhaps his attitude is a prime example of what this team learned while spiraling down towards a last place finish in the Eastern Conference last season. Goals by David Desharnais and Erik Cole in the first stood up for the Canadiens to give them sweep of their traditional pair of Super Bowl weekend matinees for the first time since 2006. Price's performance allowed him to climb to fourth in the NHL in both goals against average (1.70) and save percentage (.938). Jakob Silfverberg scored the lone goal for the Senators (5-3-1), who lost their third straight road game. The Canadiens (6-2-0) welcomed forward Max Pacioretty back to the lineup just eight days after he underwent an emergency appendectomy, a procedure that was supposed to keep him sidelined a minimum of three weeks. He made an immediate impact, picking up an assist on his first shift of the game when his shot was deflected in by Desharnais to tie the game 1-1. The Senators, already missing top center Jason Spezza, were without defenseman Sergei Gonchar for the second time in three games, with both his absences coming against the Canadiens. He sat out a 5-1 win at home against Montreal on Wednesday with an undisclosed injury, and on Sunday the Senators announced he was out with the flu. Senators goaltender Craig Anderson allowed as many as two goals for just the second time this season, and he still has not allowed a single goal after the first intermission in any of his eight games played. Price, meanwhile, had an outstanding Super Bowl weekend, starting both games and allowing just one goal in both games. But the Senators may argue that Price in fact allowed two goals on Sunday. With the Canadiens ahead 2-1 early in the third period, Senators defenseman Andre Benoit appeared to beat Price with a wrist shot from the point for his first career goal thanks to a screen by Silfverberg. But referee Brian Pochmara immediately waved the goal off, determining Silfverberg's screen was a little too good and sending him to the box for goaltender interference. Replays appeared to suggest, however, that Silfverberg made minimal contact with Price, who was outside his crease at the time. Silfverberg had opened the scoring for the Senators with his second of the season just 98 seconds into the game off a power play breakaway, only the second time in nine games this season Ottawa scored the first goal. But the Canadiens tied it up 35 seconds later on Desharnais' third goal in two games after going without one in his first six games of the season. Montreal took the lead 2-1 at 11:29 of the first period just three seconds after a power play expired. Francis Bouillon found Cole in front of the net, and the Canadiens forward had to time to wait for Anderson to go down before lifting a shot above him for his second of the season. Both teams traded chances in a second period that remained scoreless thanks to the work of the two goaltenders. Anderson's nicest stop came just before the 11-minute mark when he got across to deny Canadiens rookie Alex Galchenyuk off a rebound, and Price matched it about three minutes later when he sprawled out to get a pad on a Daniel Alfredsson chance from in tight. After the apparent Benoit goal was denied early in the third, Anderson made another incredible save on a Galchenyuk one-timer on the ensuing power play, and he got some help when Rene Bourque's slap shot just past the midway point of the third rang off the inside of the far post.

Florida v Buffalo 4-3 - The boos rained down on Brian Campbell as the Florida Panthers defenseman scored a power-play goal to give his team a 4-3 lead against the Buffalo Sabres in the third period Sunday afternoon. The Panthers hung onto the lead and came away with their first road win of the season at First Niagara Center. Florida rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the second period to pick up its first points on the road this season. Panthers forward Peter Mueller scored a goal in his fourth straight game and wing Tomas Kopecky picked up a pair of assists. Campbell spent parts of eight seasons in Buffalo and was well known for quarterbacking the Sabres' power play. He earned his fourth goal of the 2012-13 season when he crept in from the left point to wrist a shot over Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller with 10:33 left in the third period for the game winner. Kopecky slid a pass across the goal crease to Campbell, who then put it past Miller and diving defenseman Alexander Sulzer. Then came the boos. Florida scored four unanswered goals in the third period of their win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said that he'd like to see some more stability from his team moving forward. The Panthers opened up a four-game road trip while Sabres looked to shake off a 6-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Florida straddled Buffalo with its fifth loss in seven games. The Sabres have earned three points during that stretch and sit at the bottom of the Northeast Division standings. Buffalo also played its third game in four days. Forwards Thomas Vanek and Cody Hodgson each scored a goal and recorded two assists for the Sabres. Vanek has eight goals and a League-leading 19 points in eight games played this season. The game was also Vanek's fourth multi-point game of the season. In his 100th NHL game, Hodgson registered his 12th career multi-point game and he matched a career-high with three points. Panthers goaltender Jose Theodore made 17 saves and Miller stopped 29 of 33 shots. Vanek opened the scoring 2:46 into the game. Pominville collected a rebound in front of the net and, with his back to Vanek, fed his linemate a no-look pass from between his legs. Vanek made no mistake as he beat Theodore with a one-timer. Pominville's assist on the goal tied him with Mike Foligno for 10th-most assists (264) in Sabres history (264) and with Alexander Mogilny for 12th-most points (444) in franchise history. The Sabres have relied on the Vanek-Hodgson-Pominville line for virtually all of its scoring this season and Ruff said that other lines need to start contributing. Florida tied the game at the 8:36 mark of the first period. Panthers center Jerred Smithson won a face off against Sabres center Tyler Ennis to the right of Miller. The puck went straight back to forward Shawn Matthias and in the blink of eye, Matthias cashed in on a slap shot from 41 feet away. The goal was the first of the season for Matthias. Heading into the game, the Sabres ranked last in the League in face-off win percentage (42.5 percent). The Panthers were fourth. On Sunday, Florida won 35 of 61 draws (57 percent). Hodgson gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead with 6:19 left in the first period. Vanek stole the puck away from Panthers defenseman Mike Weaver to the right of Theodore. Vanek stickhandled his way to the goal line and threaded a pass to the front of the net. Hodgson beat Kopecky to the pass and tapped the puck in for his fifth goal of the season. The Sabres gained a two-goal edge 3:49 into the second period. Sulzer ripped a one-time shot from the blue line past Theodore. Vanek and Hodgson picked up the assists. Sulzer has two goals in his last three games. Florida came back within one goal midway through the second period on a goal by Parros to begin the rally. Sulzer turned the puck over to forward Tyson Strachan at the blue line and it was gathered up by Florida center Stephen Weiss. Sulzer chased Weiss down the right wing and Weiss carried the puck into the Buffalo zone. Weiss then dropped a pass back to a trailing Parros. From between the face off circles, Parros took the puck to his forehand and put it behind Miller. Parros hadn't scored since Feb. 10, 2012 against the Detroit Red Wings when he was with the Anaheim Ducks. He also hadn't registered a point since that game. He described his feelings after scoring the goal as "elation." Panthers forward Peter Mueller tied the game, 4-4, with 54 seconds left in the second period. On a dump in, the puck came straight in off the end boards and right out to Panthers forward Drew Shore. On the forecheck, Shore put a shot on net that Miller kicked right to Mueller. Sunday marked Panthers defenseman Filip Kuba's 800th career NHL game. Weiss returned to the Florida lineup after missing the team's last four games with a lower-body injury. The Panthers scratched forward Jack Skille. Buffalo defenseman Andrej Sekera (lower body) and forwards Patrick Kaleta (neck) and Matt Ellis (healthy) were scratched for Buffalo.

New Jersey v NY Islanders 3-0 - The real New Jersey Devils, the ones with the tight checking, smothering defense and excellent goaltending, showed up Sunday at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. After surrendering five goals in back-to-back losses to the Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins, the Devils shut down New York in the rematch. Johan Hedberg stopped all 22 shots he faced and Steve Bernier broke a scoreless tie with 3:54 remaining as the Devils beat the Islanders 3-0. The Devils struggled to kill penalties in Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Islanders and were beaten soundly in a 5-1 loss at Pittsburgh on Saturday. Coach Peter DeBoer was happy to see his team play more like itself. The game was scoreless when Islanders defenseman Brian Strait was called for charging with 5:43 left in regulation. The Isles, the NHL's top penalty-killing team, allowed only their second man-advantage goal of the season when Bernier picked up a deflected shot to the right of Evgeni Nabokov and rifled the puck into the net with 3:54 to play. Bernier, who came into the game with one goal this season, made it 2-0 just 70 seconds later when he poked the puck into the net off Nabokov. David Clarkson added an empty-netter. The biggest change from Thursday night's game was the Devils' success on the penalty kill. The Islanders were 3-for-4 and got the overtime winner with the extra man in Newark; on Sunday, the Devils killed all seven Islanders power plays, allowing only five shots. Hedberg made his biggest stop of the game early in the third period when Islanders forward Michael Grabner stole the puck at his own blue line and raced in for a shorthanded breakaway. Grabner deked and went to his forehand, but Hedberg got his pad down to make the save. Hedberg has allowed just one goal on 50 shots in his two starts this season while backing up Martin Brodeur.

Sun, 03 Feb - Fixtures

Pittsburgh v Washington 12.30pm ET
Ottawa v Montreal 2pm ET
Florida v Buffalo 3pm ET
New Jersey v NY Islanders 3pm ET

Gameday 15 (Sat, 02 Feb) - Results

New Jersey v Pittsburgh 1-5 - Considering it'd been almost 10 months since they'd savored a victory at Consol Energy Center, a season-opening two-game home losing streak was feeling much longer for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Chris Kunitz and Sidney Crosby each had a goal and two assists Saturday afternoon as the Penguins put together a complete effort in a 5-1 win against the New Jersey Devils. Brandon Sutter and Robert Bortuzzo each added his first goal as a Penguin, Kris Letang also scored and reigning scoring champion Evgeni Malkin had two assists for Pittsburgh, which limited New Jersey to 16 shots. The Devils were shut out during 5-on-5 play, their only goal coming from Andy Greene while shorthanded. Although New Jersey lost in regulation for the first time this season, its winless streak was extended to four. Facing his childhood idol in Martin Brodeur, Fleury didn't have to work too hard, his best saves probably both came in the first period, when he twice denied New Jersey sniper Ilya Kovalchuk from the left-wing circle. Pittsburgh reversed a season-long trend that had seen it outscored 11-2 in second periods by doubling its season output for second-period tallies in a span of 7:32. Sutter scored for the first time since a draft-day trade from Carolina 2:27 into the second on a fast sequence immediately after Crosby came out of the penalty box. Sutter entered the zone with Crosby and Malkin and took an initial shot from the slot. Brodeur went down to make the pad save, but the rebound lay to the left of Brodeur. Sutter and Crosby both made attempts to flip it over Brodeur's pads. Initially, the goal was awarded to Crosby, but official scorers switched it to Sutter. Sutter almost had his first goal in his new home arena during the first period, but Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov made a "save" on him while sprawled out in the crease. Volchenkov gave that goal right back to the Penguins in the second. Volchenkov whiffed on a pass to defense partner Bryce Salvador in front of his own net, Kunitz picked up the puck and wristed a forehand along the ice that beat Brodeur for his second of the season. Kunitz has been ill in recent days and was questionable for the game as recently as two hours prior to faceoff. At that point, Pittsburgh was rolling, and had a power play and an opportunity to really take control of the game. Instead, the Devils seized the momentum back with the first shorthanded goal of Greene's career. With Malkin at the point of the Penguins' new-look power play, Greene beat him to open ice and accepted a pass from Dainius Zubrus as he skated alone down the slot. Greene went to his backhand and slid the puck under Fleury for his first goal since March 17, 2012. But Letang made it 3-1 two-and-a-half minutes into the third, beating Brodeur after accepting a pass from Kunitz while wide open in the high slot. Crosby added his fourth of the season, but first in four games, with 12:49 left. Less than three minutes later, Crosby set up Bortuzzo's first career goal, a slapper from the point through traffic. Pascal Dupuis earned his second assist of the afternoon on the play. Like the team he plays for, Devils winger David Clarkson was held without a point for the first time this season. The franchise record for a New Jersey player's scoring streak to begin a season remains 10 (Tim Higgins, 1984-85). The 1993-94 Devils remain the only team in franchise history to earn a point in each of their first seven. New Jersey had a game end before overtime for the first time in its past five contests.

Buffalo v Montreal 1-6 - The Montreal Canadiens wanted to make the Bell Centre a feared venue for opposing teams again after finishing last in the NHL in home wins last season. The Canadiens took advantage of a flat Buffalo Sabres club Saturday afternoon to register their fourth straight win on home ice in a 6-1 blowout victory in the front end of their traditional Super Bowl weekend matinees. Coach Michel Therrien made it a priority for the Canadiens from the day he was hired in June to improve on last season's home record of 16-15-10. The early returns look promising with a record of 4-1-0 at Bell Centre. The team did not have had much of a choice, because if the Canadiens continued to struggle at home to start this season, their playoff hopes could have been dashed very quickly. The Canadiens' home game Sunday afternoon against the Ottawa Senators will be their sixth in eight games to start the season, part of a stretch that sees them play 12 of their first 18 games at home through Feb. 23. After that, the Canadiens will play 11 of 15 games on the road between Feb. 25 and March 27, so if they don't bank points at home now, it could make it difficult to make up ground later. A big reason why the Canadiens are succeeding in doing that has been the resurgent play of Rene Bourque, who scored twice Saturday and has been a consistent performer on the team's top line with Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta. Bourque struggled mightily after he was traded to the Canadiens by the Calgary Flames last season, and after undergoing abdominal surgery over the summer he says he was determined to show the team's fans the player they saw last season was not the one who put up back-to-back 27-goal seasons with the Flames in 2009-10 and 2010-11. With three goals and two assists through seven games, a point total he had after his first 17 games with the Canadiens last season, Bourque is convincing people he can return to his form of old. David Desharnais also scored twice, Lars Eller had a goal and two assists and Brendan Gallagher added a goal for the Canadiens (5-2-0), who welcomed defenseman P.K. Subban back into the lineup after he missed training camp and the first six games of the season in a contract dispute. The Sabres were coming off a thrilling 7-4 win in Boston on Thursday, but none of that momentum appeared to make its way past the Canadian border and into Montreal. The scorching-hot Thomas Vanek scored a shorthanded goal on a third-period breakaway to snap Carey Price's shutout bid and make it a 5-1 game, but it was far too late for the Sabres (3-4-1) to muster a comeback. Vanek's goal gave him at least a point in each of the seven games he's played and increased his League-leading total to 16 points. Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller did not make it to the third period, getting pulled by Ruff at the second intermission after allowing four goals on 21 shots. It was the third straight game Miller has allowed four goals, and his save percentage over that span is .862 while his record is 1-3-1 over his last five starts. Still, Ruff commended Miller for keeping the score at 1-0 after a first period in which the Sabres were outshot 15-1. Canadiens rookie Alex Galchenyuk had two assists for a third time in his last four games, giving the No. 3 pick in the 2012 NHL Draft a goal and six assists in seven games. Prior to the games Saturday night, that placed Galchenyuk third in rookie scoring behind Tampa Bay's Cory Conacher and St. Louis' Vladimir Tarasenko. Despite thoroughly dominating the first period, the Canadiens were eight seconds away from entering the first intermission in a scoreless tie. But a perfectly executed set play on the power play allowed Gionta to find Bourque driving the net at 19:52 to give Montreal a 1-0 lead. The Sabres came out with more life in the second, but it was the Canadiens who took over the game in the period. Gallagher scored his third of the season when his attempt to complete a give-and-go play with Galchenyuk wound up bouncing in off the stick of Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and past Miller at 2:03. Desharnais and Eller then scored goals 28 seconds apart at 10:08 and 10:36, with both getting their first goals of the season. Bourque scored his second of the game at 1:22 of the third off a Plekanec feed that was a near-carbon copy of his first goal, beating Sabres backup Jhonas Enroth on the first shot he faced. Marcus Foligno grabbed a Raphael Diaz giveaway to send Vanek away of his shorthanded breakaway at 3:01 of the third, but Desharnais got his second on a power play at 12:43 after Eller corralled a rebound of a Subban shot and set him up with an open net.

Edmonton v Colorado 1-3 - Qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in three years is an obvious goal for the Colorado Avalanche. So is improving last season's mediocre home record. The Avalanche are off to a good start in that department with three wins in as many home games following Saturday's 3-1 victory against the Edmonton Oilers at the Pepsi Center to begin a four-game homestand. The Avalanche remained in the hunt for a postseason berth until the final week last season and might have succeeded except for gaining only 46 points in 41 home games. PA Parenteau and Jamie McGinn scored 3:29 apart late in the second period to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead, and Stastny scored into an empty net with 1:10 to play in the third period shortly after exiting the penalty box. Stastny admitted to sweating a bit while watching his teammates kill off what turned out to be a 6-on-4 Oilers' power play with goalie Devan Dubnyk off the ice for an extra skater. He had momentarily covered the puck in the right circle with his glove to earn a delay of game faceoff violation with 3:20 left in regulation. Parenteau collected his team-leading sixth goal at 12:07 of the second period, three seconds after the Avalanche failed to connect on back-to-back power plays, to tie the game 1-1. He skated to the front of the net to put a deflection behind Dubnyk after Ryan Wilson fired a shot from the blue line that first hit McGinn. McGinn, who has launched a team-leading 24 shots in the Avalanche's first eight games, broke the tie at 15:36 with his first goal. It came 10 seconds after Colorado finished killing off a hooking penalty to David Van Der Gulik. Matt Duchene set up the goal with a pass in front after stealing the puck from Ales Hemsky and fending off the Oiler's check. Duchene enjoyed a big game with six shots and two assists in 25:07 of ice time. He also won 16 of 24 faceoffs and helped kill off all three of the Oilers' power plays, but was happier to see McGinn finally light the lamp. The Avalanche took a season-high 40 shots, 18 of which came during six unsuccessful power plays. Colorado has gone just 2-of-27 with the man advantage this season. The Oilers couldn't build on their quick start after rookie Nail Yakupov scored on the game's initial shot at the 58-second mark of the first period. Spending so much time in the penalty box didn't help. The Avalanche started the game without three injured forwards, Steve Downie (knee), David Jones (knee) and Gabriel Landeskog (head), and lost Wilson to a leg injury late in the second period. Wilson will be re-evaluated Sunday.

Boston v Toronto 1-0 - The Boston Bruins executed a sound technical game and defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 1-0 at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night, avenging late defensive lapses that led to their first regulation loss against the Buffalo Sabres 48 hours earlier. Tuukka Rask stopped 21 saves for his 12th career shutout. However, Boston lost a key cog when gritty forward Brad Marchand left the game with an undisclosed injury in the second period and did not return. With the win, the Bruins improved to 6-1-1 on the season and moved five points ahead of the Maple Leafs. Boston also has a one-point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning atop the Eastern Conference standings. Bruins coach Claude Julien thought highly of his team's rebound after losing 7-4 on Thursday, saying it was "definitely up there," among the best hockey Boston has played all season. The visitors got all the offense they needed early, scoring the only goal nine minutes into the game on Chris Bourque's first NHL goal since Dec. 30, 2008. Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly picked up the assists. Peverley fed a charging Kelly with a beautiful pass, allowing him to beat Colton Orr to the puck. Kelly then slid a pass across the crease to Bourque, who beat James Reimer (33 saves) to give Boston a 1-0 lead. For extended portions of the game, the Bruins stifled the Maple Leafs at every opportunity, preventing them from breaking out and getting their sticks and bodies in the way of passing and shooting lanes. Toronto (4-4-0) turned the puck over too often at the Boston blue line, got bottled up in the neutral ice "and they started to grind us," Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. When the Maple Leafs did manage to put pressure on Rask, he was equal to the task. One of his best stops occurred in the second period, when he robbed Phil Kessel with a great glove save on a chance from the top of the crease. The Bruins had several golden opportunities to increase their lead throughout the game, but Reimer turned away shot after shot including good chances by Andrew Ference, Patrice Bergeron and Nathan Horton from close range. Marchand went down to injury at 6:30 of the second after he collided with Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek and then the goal post as he swooped in on Reimer. The puck ended up bouncing off a Bruin and into the net, but after review it was deemed that the referee was in the process of whistling the play dead following the incidental contact between Marchand and Reimer. Marchand seemed to be favoring his shoulder on the Bruins' bench, he managed to take a couple of more shifts but did not return to the game. It is not the first time the Bruins have made a pre-emptive move with a potential injury. Daniel Paille remained in Boston in a precautionary move after being high-sticked in the face on Thursday. Shawn Thornton is also sidelined with a concussion. After the Bruins scored to open the game, Cody Franson thought he had tied it a few minutes later at 11:32 on a low point shot that beat Rask. But the goal was waved off without review as replays clearly showed Nazem Kadri had interfered with the Bruins' goaltender.

Carolina v Philadelphia 3-5 - The Philadelphia Flyers admitted poor performances on special teams was a big reason for their 2-6-0 start to the season. On Saturday, that trend reversed itself. The Flyers went 3-for-3 on the power play and killed off five of six shorthanded situations, including a pair of back-to-back kills midway through the third period, as they snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. Claude Giroux and Danny Briere each had a goal and an assist, and Kurtis Foster, Braydon Coburn and Mike Knuble also scored for Philadelphia. For four of the five goal-scorers, it was their first goal of the season, while Giroux's goal was his first in six games. Ilya Bryzgalov was strong in goal, stopping a season-high 39 shots. Eric Staal had a goal and an assist, and Joni Pitkanen and Patrick Dwyer also scored for Carolina. Starting goalie Dan Ellis struggled (four goals allowed on 12 shots), and was replaced by Cam Ward early in the second period. Ward stopped 12 of 13 shots. The Flyers scored three times in the first period, with two of the goals coming on the power play. Their performance with the man-advantage Saturday stood in contrast to their first eight games, when they were just 5-for-40 (12.5 percent). Foster gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead 5:08 into the game after an interference penalty on Jussi Jokinen gave Philadelphia the game's first power play. Matt Read faked a shot from the left side and sent the puck across to Foster, who loaded up a one-timer and fired a rocket past Ellis' glove for his first goal since Feb. 4, 2012. Pitkanen scored to tie the game, capitalizing on a Flyers’ defensive-zone breakdown. Staal pulled a puck off the wall on the right side, and all five Flyers got caught on that side. Staal found Pitkanen open in the left circle, and his wrist shot beat Bryzgalov at 8:47. After Coburn crashed the net to bat in the rebound of a Jakub Voracek shot at 15:25 to put the Flyers ahead, Briere made it a 3-1 game 58 seconds later when he scored his first of the season. Another penalty on Jokinen gave the Flyers their second power play, and with Tye McGinn and Briere battling in front, it was Briere who was able to bang the puck under Ellis at 15:25. Just 33 seconds later, however, Carolina stole back the momentum when a pass attempt by Flyers defenseman Luke Schenn from deep in his zone went off the skates of the Hurricanes' Jiri Tlusty and right to Staal, who shoveled the puck under Bryzgalov as he fell to the ice at 15:58. The Flyers were able to restore their two-goal lead 52 seconds into the second period on a defensive-zone gaffe by Carolina. Justin Faulk gave the puck away to Read, who was able to direct it to Knuble, who walked in front and scored. For Knuble, who was playing his fifth game after signing Jan.25 for his second tour with the Flyers, the feeling was one he wasn't sure he was going to enjoy again. Knuble's last regular-season goal as a Flyer came April 11, 2009. After Carolina took a penalty for having too many men on the ice, Giroux made the Hurricanes pay when he took a pass from Timonen at the top of the left circle and fired a low wrist shot through a McGinn screen and past Ward at 12:43 for his third of the season. Not only was it Giroux's first goal since the second game of the season, the two points were his first in three games. Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said he had spoken to Giroux about not trying to do too much, and it appeared the message got through. The Flyers' power play would qualify as great Saturday, thanks in part to all three goals having one similar element. Carolina got an opportunity to get back in the game when Voracek was sent off for tripping at 1:33, and Dwyer cashed in at 3:29. He got a step on Maxime Talbot and tipped a Jordan Staal centering pass past Bryzgalov for his second of the season. Bryzgalov helped make the lead stand up, stopping 14 of 15shots in the third period as the Flyers were out-shot 15-3 in the final 20 minutes, and 42-24 for the game. Carolina had two great chances to further cut into the Philadelphia lead when Coburn was sent off for interference at 9:23, and 13 seconds after he stepped out of the box Talbot was sent off for delay of game when his clearing attempt went over the glass at 11:36. Carolina got just one shot on goal during the two man-advantages and the Flyers blocked four shots.

NY Rangers v Tampa Bay 3-2 - With one power move, Rick Nash demonstrated why the New York Rangers were so eager to get him. Nash broke around defenseman Victor Hedman, cut to the net and scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period as the Rangers beat Tampa Bay 3-2 on Saturday night, ending the Lightning's five-game winning streak. After Nash put New York up by one goal, Carl Hagelin scored what proved to be the game-winner with 5:13 remaining when he went to the net and deflected a pass by Taylor Pyatt through Garon's legs. Tampa Bay cut the deficit to one goal when Steven Stamkos, who had opened the scoring early in the second period, beat Rangers goaltender Martin Biron with 21 seconds remaining and Garon on the bench for an extra attacker. But Stamkos' seventh goal of the season wasn't enough to keep the Lightning (6-2-0) from losing for the first time in six home games, and the first time anywhere since Jan. 21. The win was the first road victory of the season for the Rangers (4-4-0) as they bounced back from a poor effort in a 3-0 home loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday by shutting down a Tampa Bay offense that came into the game averaging 5.3 goals. Stamkos opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 4:22 of the second period, taking a pass from Matt Carle and beating Biron from 10 feet. The goal extended his points streak to eight games. Martin St. Louis earned the other assist, his 11th of the season. The Rangers tied the game at 9:50, eight seconds after a hooking penalty to Stamkos expired. Pyatt got a shot through a crowd in front of the Lightning net and Derek Stepan flipped in the rebound for his first goal of the season. Biron, making his first start of the season after Henrik Lundqvist played the first seven games, stopped 30 shots for to get the win. The Lightning had outscored their opponents 16-5 in the third period before Saturday. But Tampa Bay was playing the second of a back-to-back, the Lightning routed the Winnipeg Jets 8-3 on Friday night, and coach Guy Boucher recognized that his team wore down as the game progressed. In the final seconds, a slap shot from the left point hit Tampa Bay captain Vincent Lecavalier in the foot and after he fell, he left the ice visibly limping. The Lightning said he was being evaluated but had no further word on his condition. The Rangers will try to go over the .500 mark when they visit the New Jersey Devils Tuesday night at the Prudential Center. The Lightning begin a four-game road trip Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Detroit v Columbus 2-4 - Artem Anisimov gave the Columbus Blue Jackets a much-needed offensive boost against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. Anisimov scored twice, breaking a 1-1 tie in a 4-2 win at Nationwide Arena. Acquired in the trade that sent Rick Nash to the New York Rangers, Anisimov has four goals on the season. Nash has two. The Blue Jackets had scored seven goals total in their previous six games (winning once), and Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard was 10-1-1 in his previous 12 decisions against Columbus. Anisimov put the Blue Jackets ahead 2-1 when he capitalized on a turnover by Niklas Kronwall along the boards to Howard's left and flipped a forehand shot past him 2:32 into the second period. He made it 3-1 when he took a sharp, diagonal cross-ice pass from defenseman John Moore in the faceoff circle to Howard's right, skated in front of the crease and slid a backhander into the net at 17:18. It was Anisimov's first multigoal game since Nov. 11, 2010, when he scored twice for the Rangers against the Buffalo Sabres. He had 16 goals in 79 games last season. Columbus defenseman James Wisniewski tied the game at 1-1 with a one-timer from just inside the blue line that beat Howard at 18:17 of the first period. Wisniewski was injured at 1:39 of the second period when he crashed into the end boards back-first. Chasing the puck with teammate Nick Foligno, Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader appeared to make contact with Foligno, who then bumped into Wisniewski, causing him to fall. He skated off with help from two teammates and did not return. Richards said afterward Wisniewski suffered a concussion. With the Jackets down to five defensemen, Johnson played 34:59, the most ice time in regulation for any player this season and the most for any player in franchise history. He had an assist, four shots on goal and was plus-1. The game's opening goal came on a precision passing play by the Red Wings. Henrik Zetterberg won a faceoff back to Jonathan Ericsson, who slid the puck across to Kronwall. His shot was stopped by Steve Mason but Johan Franzen tucked in the rebound 8:36 into the game. Howard played again the night after the Red Wings defeated the St. Louis Blues 5-3 in Detroit. With backups Jonas Gustavsson and Joey MacDonald injured, only one-game veteran Tom McCollum could have played in Howard's place. Zetterberg, who had a hat trick and two assists against the Blues, had a six-game point streak end; he had 12 points over that span. Pavel Datsyuk also went scoreless, ending his six-game streak with nine points. Mark Letestu scored a shorthanded goal for Columbus 13:25 into the third period. Mason made 32 saves for his first win. Damien Brunner had Detroit's second goal with 26.4 seconds remaining. The Red Wings, already ravaged by injuries on defense, lost another blueliner when Brendan Smith left with a shoulder injury after a first-period hit by Blue Jackets forward Derek MacKenzie.

Dallas v Phoenix 0-2 - Raffi Torres is back on the ice. Mike Smith is back in synch. And after a slow start, the Phoenix Coyotes are starting to climb out of their early-season malaise. Smith stopped all 17 shots he saw, and went 17 minutes without seeing one in the second period, while Nick Johnson and Mikkel Boedker scored goals and the Coyotes celebrated Torres' return from suspension with a convincing 2-0 win over the Dallas Stars at Jobing.com Arena on Saturday. The Coyotes are now 2-0-2 in their last four games after a 1-4-0 start and reinforcements continue to join the fold. Smith, who came into the game 0-2-1 with a 4.00 goals-against average and missed a week with a groin injury, recorded his 20th career shutout and his ninth in one-plus seasons with Phoenix. Richard Bachman made 32 saves in his first start of the season for Dallas, but the Stars' offense continues to struggle away from home. The Stars have scored just four goals in the last six road games dating back to last season and have now been shut out in three times. Part of the problem is penalties, Dallas has had to kill 45 power plays in their first nine games and gave Phoenix seven chances, five in the first 30 minutes. The Coyotes needed this win. It was their first in three tries against Dallas, they lost 4-3 in a shootout in Texas on Friday, and their first victory in five tries within the Pacific Division (1-3-1). Playing without leading scorer Ray Whitney, who will miss a month with a broken bone in his foot, Dallas was the more aggressive team early in the first period and Smith had to make big early saves on Brenden Morrow, Trevor Daley and Jamie Benn. But that was about it for the Stars, who had only nine shots in the first two periods and spent much of that time killing penalty after penalty. Torres, who was suspended for 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games last spring and the first eight of this season for his hit on Chicago's Marian Hossa in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals, made his return to a loud roar on the third shift of the game. He delivered a solid hit on Fiddler midway through the period but had an otherwise uneventful evening, playing 12 minutes and being credited with four shots and two hits. The Coyotes had three power plays in the first period and two more in the first five minutes of the second, with frustrating results. Finally at 11:57, on their 20th shot and at even strength, Phoenix broke through. Smith nudged a puck forward and Lauri Korpikoski found Johnson in stride on the rush. Johnson peeled into the slot and caught Bachman drifting off the post on the short side. The goal was Johnson's third in the last four games, and Phoenix fed off the momentum. With injuries to Matthew Lombardi, Steve Sullivan and Martin Hanzal early in the season, Johnson was recalled from Portland of the American Hockey League and has four points in five games. Meanwhile Dallas had just three shots in the period and went more than 17 minutes without a single one. The Stars have been outshot 112-73 in the second period this season. They started the third on a sour note, when Michael Ryder was sent to the box and the Coyotes finally chased in. Bachman was able to stop Derek Morris' blast from the point, but couldn't control the rebound. The puck deflected off Phoenix center Martin Hanzal and dropped at the feet of Boedker, who scored his second goal and seventh point in the first nine games.

Chicago v Calgary 3-2 - Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville didn't hold back when describing the all-world performance his goaltender put forth Saturday night. Marian Hossa erased a 2-1 deficit with 3.1 seconds remaining in regulation and Patrick Kane had a goal, assist and the shootout winner for Chicago, which was coming off back-to-back shootout losses and was playing its second game in as many days and third in four nights. Having to playing that much hockey in a short span, the Blackhawks were in need of a spark. Emery provided it. The loss drops the Flames to 1-3-2 on the season but coach Bob Hartley believes the team is heading in the right direction despite back-to-back losses. After unsuccessful attempts from Alex Tanguay and Jonathan Toews in the shootout, Emery stopped Jiri Hudler on Calgary's second shootout attempt. Kane stepped up and deked Flames starter Miikka Kiprusoff, sliding the puck between his legs for the shootout's only goal. Emery denied Roman Cervenka on Calgary's final chance to secure the victory. Kane was previously 0-2 in Chicago's shootout losses. The shootout was a necessity after Emery was able to hold the Flames at bay in overtime. With a power play in the extra frame, Emery closed the door on both Hudler and Tanguay. He then got an assist from the post on Jarome Iginla's wrist shot. Returning to even strength, the Flames continued to press in the offensive end, but couldn't sneak another puck past Emery. Some late-game heroics from Hossa enabled Chicago to limp into overtime, too. Trailing after Jay Bouwmeeseter broke a 1-1 tie with 34.2 seconds remaining in the third period, Hossa picked up a loose puck in the slot and fired it over the glove of Kiprusoff to tie the game with 3.1 seconds left and force overtime. That goal came after 24-save third period effort from Emery, whose thieving began right from the drop of the puck to start the game. But after a sluggish start with their heavy schedule, it was Chicago who almost opened the scoring on their first shot. After keeping the play onside at the blue line, Kane found Toews at the side of the net. Kiprusoff sprawled in full splits to blocker away Toews' opportunity and kept the game scoreless five minutes in. Opening up early in the second period, both teams traded clear-cut breakaways. Forty-seven seconds into the period, Hossa stripped the puck from Flames defenseman TJ Brodie and broke in untouched on Kiprusoff. Uncorking a slap shot from the hashmarks, Hossa got enough on the shot to get it through the Calgary keeper but not enough to propel it over the line. Five minutes after Hossa's chance, Jarome Iginla had a similar opportunity. Skating in alone from center ice, Iginla tried squeezing his first of the season through the legs of Emery but was denied for one of 10 stops made by the Blackhawks' goaltender in the period. Scoreless entering the third, Calgary pushed the pace against the tired Chicago club. Matt Stajan pulled the puck from the feet of Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook and fired a shot that went off the shoulder of Emery just 33 seconds in. Two minutes later, Curtis Glencross took a stretch pass from Dennis Wideman and broke in on a partial break, ringing the puck of the crossbar. Kane capitalized on Glencross' misfortune, converting on a Patrick Sharp rebound and sliding it under Flames goalie Kiprusoff to make it 1-0 4:08 into the period. Pressing for the equalizer and staring at an open net, Mikael Backlund had the puck roll off his stick after a Glencross feed left him staring at a gaping cage. Emery then flashed his pad on Tanguay cutting through the crease after a Michael Cammalleri feed and denied both Backlund and Glencross one more time. With Duncan Keith in the box for delay of game after knocking the Chicago net off under pressure, the Flames drew even. Wideman's centering feed hit the skate of Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook and directed into the net at 13:23 for his first as a member of the Flames. Tanguay recorded his 500th career assist on the play. On another power play with less than two minutes remaining, Cervenka centered the puck from behind the net onto the stick of Hudler alone in the slot, but Emery denied him on with his pad on the initial attempt and Glencross with the rebound on the doorstep. Bouwmeester and Hossa then exchanged goals in the final minute to force overtime and Kane's eventual shootout winner.

Los Angeles v Anaheim 4-7 - Welcome to the local rivalry, Nick Bonino. The former Boston University star entered Saturday night scoreless in six previous career games against the Los Angeles Kings. He was also demoted to the fourth line after a try centering Teemu Selanne and Bobby Ryan proved ineffective. Bonino introduced himself with his first career hat trick in a 7-4 win as the Anaheim Ducks won a wildly entertaining game in front of a mixed-fan standing-room only crowd at Honda Center in the first meeting of the teams since the Kings won the Stanley Cup last spring. Bonino completed his hat trick when he shoveled in his own rebound from the left side of the net at 8:39 of the third period for a 6-4 lead. Selanne added a late insurance goal, the 666th of his career, to cap a game that finally lived up the expected rivalry as Los Angeles tied it three times, only to have Anaheim pull ahead every time. The win came at the potential cost of defenseman Cam Fowler, who left with an upper body injury after he was driven into the boards by Los Angeles Kings center Jarret Stoll at 16:31 of the second period. Boudreau said Fowler seemed alert when he saw him in the medical room. Bonino said his approach didn't change after the demotion. The Ducks expect big things from the young forward, who was switched from jersey No. 63 to No. 13 in training camp, Anaheim's way of showing that a player is established. This type of defensive lapse didn't happen to Los Angeles much last season. The Kings have allowed five goals in regulation twice in their first seven games after they allowed that many twice all of last season, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Not a good sign in the first of five games away from home. The Ducks took leads of 4-3 and 5-4 on second-period power-play goals by Sheldon Souray and Kyle Palmieri. Souray unloaded his big slap shot with Mike Richards screening Jonathan Bernier, and Palmieri one-timed Saku Koivu's pass from the high slot into the net to put the Ducks ahead to stay. Anaheim went 3 for 4 on the power play against a usually strong Kings penalty kill. It didn't matter that the Kings matched their power-play goal total from the previous six games. Corey Perry capped a five-goal opening period with a gorgeous backhand feed to Ryan Getzlaf in the slot. Anaheim was able to get Getzlaf's line out against L.A.'s fourth line, and Getzlaf won the faceoff to Perry. The opening minutes let everyone know that this was going to be a wild night. Bonino scored twice in the first 5:49 to energize Anaheim. He grabbed the puck away from Colin Fraser and stickhandled past Jake Muzzin and a sprawled Jonathan Quick to score at 2:30. He then skated behind the Kings' goal line with Doughty defending and swiped the puck under Quick's left pad from his knees. That forced Kings coach Darryl Sutter to pull Quick for the first time since Feb. 9, 2012, and Bernier made his first appearance since last March 31. Emerson Etem assisted on both of Bonino's goals for his first NHL points. The 11 goals matched the highest combined total in the 109-game series. Anaheim also matched its highest-scoring game against L.A., matching the seven goals it scored on Nov. 8, 1996.

Nashville v San Jose 2-1 - Thanks to Nashville's Craig Smith and Pekka Rinne, the San Jose Sharks' perfect season is over. Smith scored the only goal in the shootout and Rinne stopped all three San Jose shooters to give the Nashville Predators a 2-1 victory on Saturday night, ending the Sharks' season-opening winning streak at seven games. Smith raced in on Antti Niemi, deked him to the ice and flipped a backhander into the net. Pekka Rinne then stopped Joe Pavelski for the win, Nashville's second shootout victory in as many games, the Predators won 2-1 in an eight-round tiebreaker on Thursday. Five of Nashville's eight games have gone to a shootout. The road-weary Predators improved to 3-2-1 on a seven-game trip that ends Tuesday in St. Louis. Smith had been scoreless in four shootout attempts before this season. He's made two of his four tries after making some adjustments. Rinne, who has played in all five of Nashville's shootout, lost the first three but has won the last two. The last two of San Jose's victories also came in shootouts, they beat Anaheim on Tuesday and Edmonton on Thursday. The Sharks' team-record third straight tiebreaker didn't turn out as well against the defense-minded Predators. Neither team scored until Nashville's Sergei Kostitsyn beat Niemi 59 seconds into the third period. Colin Wilson controlled the puck along the right boards and found Kostitsyn in the slot for a quick shot that caught the corner for his first goal of the season. But the Predators were called for having too many men on the ice with 7:34 remaining, and the Sharks took advantage to tie the game. Scott Gomez freed the puck behind the net and slid it to Martin Havlat, who whipped a backhander past Niemi from the slot for his third of the season. Nashville had a power-play chance in overtime when Havlat was called for hooking with 2:12 remaining, but the Sharks killed off the penalty, extending their streak to 21 straight kills.

Sat, 02 Feb - Fixtures

New Jersey v Pittsburgh 1pm ET
Buffalo v Montreal 2pm ET
Edmonton v Colorado 3pm ET
Boston v Toronto 7pm ET
Carolina v Philadelphia 7pm ET
NY Rangers v Tampa Bay 7pm ET
Detroit v Columbus 7pm ET
Dallas v Phoenix 8pm ET
Chicago v Calgary 10pm ET
Los Angeles v Anaheim 10pm ET
Nashville v San Jose 10.30pm ET

Gameday 14 (Fri, 01 Feb) - Results

Philadelphia v Washington 2-3 - After losing two previous games by blowing third-period leads, the Washington Capitals put together a solid final 20 minutes Friday night to get a much-needed win. Troy Brouwer and Wojtek Wolski scored third-period goals as the Capitals defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 at Verizon Center in a battle of two struggling teams. Washington led 2-1 after two periods at the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday and Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, only to see both games end up as 3-2 losses. Brouwer put the Capitals ahead to stay at 3:57 of the final period when he set up in the lower left circle, took Mike Green's diagonal pass from the right point and snapped a shot high to the short side that went over Ilya Bryzgalov's right shoulder. It was Brouwer's third of the season and his first in eight career games against the Flyers. Wolski gave Washington a two-goal lead at 6:44 when he picked the pocket of defenseman Luke Schenn in the neutral zone after a Philadelphia faceoff win, raced in alone and dribbled a backhander past Bryzgalov for his second of the season. Wolski's goal proved to be the game-winner when Philadelphia's Braydon Schenn banged a loose puck past Braden Holtby at 10:30 after Matt Read's shot from the left circle hit the crossbar. Holtby finished with 29 saves. Bryzgalov stopped 23 shots. The victory was the second of the season for the Capitals (2-5-1). The Flyers lost their third in a row and fell to 2-6-0. They have scored 16 goals in their first eight games. Alex Ovechkin had seven shots on goal but didn't score, Bryzgalov made a nice save on him early in the third period and a diving play by a Flyers defender cost him a chance at an empty-net goal in the final minute. Though Ovi didn't hit the scoresheet, coach Adam Oates was very pleased. It took more than 31 minutes for either team to get on the scoreboard. The Flyers grabbed a 1-0 lead at 11:32 of the second period when defenseman Bruno Gervais sneaked down from the right point and found a loose puck just outside the crease after Danny Briere's wraparound try slithered off his stick and across the goalmouth. Gervais popped it into the open left side for his first goal with the Flyers. Philadelphia continued to carry the play, the Flyers outshot the Capitals 14-6 in the middle period, but Washington got even at 17:42, when a defensive breakdown allowed Backstrom to go in on a breakaway. Backstrom made a deke on Bryzgalov before lifting a backhander under the crossbar for his first of the season. Before Brouwer's goal, Washington missed a golden chance to take the lead when it was unable to capitalize on a 5-on-3 advantage for the first 1:13 of the third period. The Flyers played much of the game without two forwards, Zach Rinaldo was ejected along with the Capitals' Matt Hendricks when both received game misconducts along with fighting majors at 18:14 of the first period. That fight came seconds after a high hit by Washington defenseman John Erskine leveled Philadelphia forward Wayne Simmonds, who did not return. Flyers forward Mike Knuble, who spent the past three seasons with Washington, said the short bench had no real effect.

Ottawa v Carolina 0-1 - Hurricanes goaltender Dan Ellis sat back in his locker stall, as relaxed as he had looked moments before when he finished off a tense 1-0 shutout of the Ottawa Senators Friday night. The 33-save performance was reason enough to feel contentment. But the 32-year-old goaltender felt something more in the afterglow of this win. Like so many goaltenders, Ellis faced a bumpy road to the NHL. But last summer, after six seasons in the NHL, he found himself without a contract and nursing a serious groin tear. Without a job, he accepted a minor-league contract with Carolina's American Hockey League affiliate in Charlotte, N.C. With no guarantee of an NHL job, he caught the eye of Hurricanes management with solid play in 18 games with the Checkers. When the NHL season started in January, he earned a one-way NHL deal. Ellis has been nearly flawless with the Hurricanes. He provided two scoreless periods in relief of Cam Ward in the season opener, then earned a 3-1 victory at Buffalo on Jan. 25. In his first home start Friday night, he recorded his 13th career shutout. He needed every last save, as Eric Staal scored the game's only goal late in the first period, redirecting Alexander Semin's wrister from the high slot. The Hurricanes benefitted from three consecutive days of practice leading up to the game, leaning on the defense to play well in front of the net. Ottawa had a chance to turn the momentum in the game when Carolina defenseman Jamie McBain was whistled for a four-minute high-sticking penalty against Chris Neil. But the Senators struggled to set up in the offensive zone, managing just one shot during the first 3:30 of power-play time. Milan Michalek and Kyle Turris tested Ellis late in the man-advantage, but Ellis was sharp. He faced several quality chances throughout the evening, but his defense gave him a good look at nearly every Ottawa shot. The Senators absorbed just their second loss, falling to 5-2-1. Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson continued his torrid pace, keeping his goals-against average at. 0.99. The NHL's First Star for January, Anderson is 5-1-1 and has not allowed a goal after the first period in any of his seven appearances. Staal provided all the offense the Hurricanes would need, putting the finishing touch on a nice bit of skating by Semin. Staal has five goals in his last four games. The Hurricanes would have liked an insurance goal, particularly against the red-hot Anderson. Instead, they played more than 44 minutes protecting a 1-0 lead. But the night belonged to Ellis. After three appearances, his goals-against average is 0.75 and his save percentage is an eye-popping .977. All of that from a guy who paid four years of minor-league dues. The "long route" he spoke of included humble beginnings, including a championship season in the ECHL with the Idaho Steelheads in 2003-04. After all the injuries, uncertainty and the humble road to the NHL, Ellis is sure of one thing.

Winnipeg v Tampa Bay 3-8 - The Tampa Bay Lightning warmed up for a much-anticipated visit from the New York Rangers by beating up on the Winnipeg Jets. The NHL's highest-scoring offense was in top form Friday night as the Lightning rolled over the road-weary Jets 8-3 in front of a packed house at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Many of the 19,204 fans figure to be back Saturday night when the Rangers come to town. The Lightning entered the night averaging a League-high 4.83 goals per game, and raised that figure with the highest output by any team in the first two weeks of the new season. They led 3-0 after one period and 6-0 after two, allowing coach Guy Boucher to focus on Saturday's game during the third period. Cory Conacher scored twice and tacked on two assists to take the rookie scoring lead with 12 points, and Steven Stamkos had a goal and two assists to extend his scoring streak to seven games as the Lightning improved to 6-1-0, including 5-0-0 at home. Tampa Bay's 37 goals are the most in the NHL, six more than runner-up St. Louis has scored in eight games. The Lightning scored three more power-play goals, all in the first period, on five attempts. They're now 12-for-35 (34.3 percent) for the season and 11-for-26 (42.3 percent) at home. Conacher opened the scoring at 7:57, and the Lightning then scored a pair of 5-on-3 goals following a major penalty to Chris Thorburn at 12:11 for checking Sami Salo from behind. Ron Hainsey and Mark Stuart took minor penalties during the five-minute major, giving Tampa Bay 2:15 of 5-on-3 power-play time, and both Stamkos and Lecavalier beat Ondrej Pavelec to give the Lightning a 3-0 lead after one period. Conacher scored 26 seconds into the second period, tipping in Eric Brewer's shot, and Nate Thompson ended Pavelec's night when he scored his first of the season at 4:43. But his replacement, Al Montoya, fared no better and had a rude reception as Teddy Purcell scored from the slot a minute after the goaltending change to make it 6-0. Winnipeg got third-period goals from Tobias Enstrom, Paul Postma and Andrew Ladd. For Postma, it was his first in the NHL. The late goals made the game appear more competitive than it was. Tampa Bay got third-period goals from Ryan Malone and Benoit Pouliot. Anders Lindback made 26 saves for his fourth consecutive win. The Jets, who left Winnipeg this week with a three-game winning streak, lost for the third time in four nights. They allowed five goals in the third period of a 6-3 loss at Florida on Thursday and surrendered three in each of the first two periods against the Lightning. Winnipeg will have three days to figure it out before Florida comes to the MTS Centre on Tuesday night.

St Louis v Detroit 3-5 - Henrik Zetterberg made sure the Detroit Red Wings didn't let this game with the St. Louis Blues get away from them. The Red Wings avenged an embarrassing opening-night loss by defeating the red-hot Blues 5-3 on Friday night, and Zetterberg, Detroit's new captain, had a hat trick and two assists. Detroit lost 6-0 at St. Louis on Jan. 19 and was in danger of blowing a 2-0 lead before rallying with the see-saw game's final three goals. The Red Wings had 30 shots on goal after managing only 14 in the opener. With the Blues killing off a match penalty to David Backes for a blow to the head of Kent Huskins, Pavel Datsyuk gave the Red Wings a 4-3 lead when his shot from the right-wing side made it through a screen set by Johan Franzen at 11:55 of the third. Jonathan Ericsson's first goal of the season tied it 3-3 at 4:31 of the third. He converted a feed from Zetterberg, his second assist to go along with the game's first two goals. Zetterberg completed the hat trick with an empty-net shorthanded goal scored from his stomach while fighting off two Blues for the puck in the crease. He did not practice Thursday because he was not feeling well. Zetterberg has 12 points during a six-game points streak; Datsyuk has nine over the same period as the Wings learn to adapt without retired former captain Nicklas Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom. The tying and winning goals came against Brian Elliott, who came on in relief of injured Blues starter Jaroslav Halak. Halak was hit in the mask late in the first period, an impact that cut his upper lip. After playing for another four minutes, Halak left the game with 3:37 to go in the period. Jimmy Howard made 23 saves for the Red Wings. St. Louis (6-2-0) had its four-game winning streak snapped. Detroit (4-2-1) won consecutive games for the first time this season. Patrick Berglund gave the Blues a 3-2 lead 4:30 into the second period with a power-play goal on a bouncing puck that he knocked home from about a foot off the ice. Detroit took a 2-0 lead in the first 8:07 on a pair of goals by Zetterberg, the first during a 5-on-3 power play on a feed from Damien Brunner, the second less than two minutes later on a breakaway created by a long outlet pass from Ericsson. But St. Louis tied it 2-2 before the end of the period. Kevin Shattenkirk's power-play goal bounced in off the post at 9:50, and Matt D'Agostini's first of the season on a partial breakaway came at 13:04. The Blues were playing on back-to-back nights after three days off before a 4-1 win at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

Phoenix v Dallas 3-4 - With a three-game road trip coming up, the Dallas Stars desperately needed two points from Friday night's game against Phoenix. Thanks to Jaromir Jagr, they got them Jagr delivered the game-deciding goal in the fourth round of the shootout as the Stars snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 before 18,181 at American Airlines Center. Jagr, who was just 5-for-23 in the tiebreaker before Friday, ripped a wrist shot that hit the bottom of goaltender Mike Smith's glove, rolled over his pad and trickled over the goal line to give the Stars the win. The Stars (3-4-1) begin a three-game trip in Phoenix on Saturday and couldn't afford a home loss. Smith, returning after missing four games with a lower-body injury, stopped 21 of 24 shots. Dallas goaltender Kari Lehtonen made 31 saves. Martin Hanzal had two goals for the Coyotes (2-4-2, 6 points), while Oliver Ekman-Larsson had two assists. Hanzal has been bothered with injuries, but he was the Coyotes' biggest offensive force. The three goals in regulation were a bonanza for the Stars, who had scored just nine times in their last six games. The Stars led 2-0 in the first period thanks to the first NHL goals by Antoine Roussel, who was making his NHL debut, and rookie defenseman Brenden Dillon. Roussel, the eighth player in NHL history to be born in France, was the first Star to score in his league debut since Raymond Sawada did so against Edmonton on Feb. 9, 2009. Phoenix got one back at 14:00 when Radim Vrbata knocked a 12-foot tip-in off the stick of Dallas center Jamie Benn to make it 2-1. It was Vrbata's third of the season and came after he redirected a shot by Ekman-Larsson from the point The Coyotes drew the first power play of the night when Dallas defenseman Jordie Benn was whistled for holding David Moss 1:16 before the first intermission. Phoenix tied the game one second after the power play ended when Hanzal beat Lehtonen with a short backhander 45 seconds into the second period. Lehtonen had denied Ekman-Larsson's initial effort, but Hanzal was waiting to pounce at the far post. At 13:53, things got heated between these Pacific Division rivals. After Dillon delivered a blow to Ekman-Larsson's face near the Stars blue line, he and Phoenix's Kyle Chipchura dropped the gloves behind the Dallas goal, earning 24 total penalty minutes for their confrontation. Just 21 seconds after that scrum, Michael Ryder put Dallas back in front by beating Smith on the short side with a wrister from the top of the left circle. It was the 400th point of Ryder's career. Hanzal tied it again with 1:34 remaining before the intermission, beating Lehtonen to the far side with a long wrist shot. After a scoreless overtime and shootout, Vrbata gave the Coyotes the lead in the shootout by scoring to start the second round. Jamie Benn tied it in the third round before Jagr won it. Stars rookie defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, the 14th player taken in the 2011 NHL Draft, saw 17:31 of ice time in his NHL debut. The teams meet again Saturday in Glendale as Phoenix starts a three-game homestand.

Chicago v Vancouver 1-2 - Jordan Schroeder still doesn't have an NHL goal, but the Vancouver Canucks' rookie does have a game-decider. Schroeder scored the only goal of the shootout in the fourth round, slipping the puck between Corey Crawford's legs to lift the Canucks to a 2-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night. Schroeder, a first-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, was playing just his sixth NHL game, and has already earned enough of that trust to get a chance in the shootout after the Canucks lost two of their first three. Vancouver had only converted two of 13 chances before his five-hole shot trickled towards the line, finally knocked over off the goalie's stick as he spun around and reached back for it. Nothing got through at the other end as Roberto Luongo continued a hot streak that has seen him reclaim his starting job from Cory Schneider. Starting a third straight game and coming off a shutout of Colorado on Wednesday, Luongo made 27 saves through the end of overtime before stopping Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Nick Leddy for his first shootout win in three chances. It's hard to imagine Luongo, whose save percentage is up to .944 after losing his job to Schneider early in last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, won't get another chance to play again Monday in Edmonton. The Blackhawks have been doing the same early this season, winning their first six games before dropping the last two in shootouts. The Hawks may have lost more than the extra point, second-line center David Bolland left the game early in the third period. He appeared to get hit by the stick of a spinning Jannik Hansen, breaking his stick in frustration as he tried to get to the bench and needing help to get to the locker room, hunched over and hobbling the whole way. Quenneville also had no complaints about his slumping power play, though it went 0-for-5 and failed to register a shot on a 4-on-3 opportunity for the final 1:11 of overtime. Neither team surrendered much in this battle of bitter rivals. Alexander Edler opened the scoring with 4:18 left in the first period, starting a rush by outskating two Chicago forecheckers to get out of his own end before finishing it two passes later when he got the puck back in the high slot and fired it over Crawford's shoulder. Vancouver was fortunate to escape the period with the lead. Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith, booed every time he touched the puck because of the high hit that concussed Daniel Sedin late last season, fired a shot off both posts with 3:40 left in the period. Brandon Saad beat Edler wide, drawing a penalty as he cut to the net and slipped the puck between Luongo's legs, but the whistle went before Hamhuis fished it off the goal line with 1:35 left. Luongo had to turn away Saad alone in tight after walking past Edler again early in the second, getting a piece of his shot with the glove. He flashed the leather on a good Bryan Bickell chance from the top of the left circle off a rush with 6:31 left in the period. Things are going so well right now for Luongo, who expected to be traded before the season started, that even old rivals are saluting him.

Minnesota v Anaheim 1-3 - If Kyle Palmieri indulges in some birthday cake, he might want to save an extra plate for Teemu Selanne. Palmieri was bumped up to the second line on his 22nd birthday Friday night and the presents were neatly wrapped by the 42-year-old Selanne, who helped set up both of Palmieri's goals as the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Minnesota Wild, 3-1. The game-winner came at 4:21 of the second after Anaheim kept the puck in Minnesota's end. Selanne got it behind the goal line and fed a beautiful pass to a streaking Palmieri, who banged it into the open net for his second career two-goal game. Selanne assisted on all three goals and moved into a tie with Doug Gilmour for 17th on the all-time points list with 1,414. Ryan added a late power-play goal and had two assists while centering Palmieri and Selanne. It was the latest wrinkle by Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau, who has played Palmieri on every line but the third in seven games. Moving Ryan to center on that line was in part to get him going. In its previous two games, Minnesota received much-needed production from its second and third lines, but against Anaheim it got almost nothing from the top line of Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley, which put no shots on goal through 55 minutes. Matt Cullen played four shifts in the third period but Wild coach Mike Yeo did not have an update on his status. The Wild got five shots on a late power play, but rookie goalie Viktor Fasth backstopped a blue-collar penalty kill by the Ducks. Fasth shook off a shaky beginning in his second NHL start and improved to 2-0-0. He is the first goalie in Anaheim history to win his first two NHL starts. Niklas Backstrom did his part with 28 saves, but the Wild, which dealt Chicago its first loss in seven games Wednesday, couldn't get its first road win of the season (0-2-1). Boudreau made a key tactical move by putting Francois Beauchemin and Sheldon Souray out frequently against the top line. The two worked well against San Jose on Tuesday, and it might the closest thing Anaheim has to a shutdown pairing. The Ducks tied it 1-1 at 6:49 of the second on a rush started by Selanne's breakup of a pass to Parise at center ice. Selanne got it to Ryan, who drew a defender to him and dished to an open Palmieri for a one-timer into a wide-open net. Anaheim had Minnesota on its heels for most of the first period, but the Wild came out with a 1-0 lead on a soft goal allowed by Fasth. Marco Scandella wristed a shot from the left circle that squeezed through five-hole on the unscreened Fasth. It was Scandella's fourth career goal. Anaheim's Corey Perry briefly left the game midway through the second after he was felled by Clayton Stoner's shoulder. Linemate Ryan Getzlaf later crunched Stoner against the half-wall. Sami Vatanen became the fourth player to make his NHL debut this season for the Ducks. The defenseman, 21, was paired with Luca Sbisa and played on the first power-play unit. Toni Lydman was scratched because of "wear and tear" and the back-to-back situation, according to a team spokesman. He is expected to return Saturday.

Fri, 01 Feb - Fixtures

Philadelphia v Washington 7pm ET
Ottawa v Carolina 7pm ET
Winnipeg v Tampa Bay 7.30pm ET
St Louis v Detroit 7.30pm ET
Phoenix v Dallas 8.30pm ET
Chicago v Vancouver 10pm ET
Minnesota v Anaheim 10pm ET

Gameday 13 (Thu, 01 Feb) - Results

Buffalo v Boston 7-4 - One of the hottest players in the NHL lit up TD Garden on Thursday night to snap his team out of a cold spell. Thomas Vanek scored a hat trick and added two assists for his second five-point game of the season to lead the Sabres to a 7-4 win against the Boston Bruins and snap Buffalo's four-game winless streak. Boston lost in regulation for the first time this season. The victory was Buffalo's first in Boston since March 10, 2011. Vanek now has six goals (good for second in the League) and nine assists for 15 points in just six games this season. He has eight career hat tricks overall and 54 points (28 goals) in 46 career games against the Bruins. The Sabres were down 3-1 at one point in the second period and trailed 4-3 early in the third. Considering the Bruins had won their previous 43 games that they held a two-goal lead dating back to April 4, 2011, things looked bleak for the Sabres. However, Buffalo battled back. Cody Hodgson put Buffalo ahead to stay when he scored at 6:54 of the third on a one-timer at the end of a 2-on-1 with Vanek for a 5-4 lead. Vanek then extended the Sabres' lead to 6-4 by scoring his third goal of the night with just 1:31 remaining. Jason Pominville added an empty-net goal. Ryan Miller finished with 38 saves for Buffalo. Tuukka Rask stopped just 25 of 31 shots he faced for the Bruins, who are generally known for their stingy defense. After a scoreless first period, both teams' offense erupted in the second, led by Boston's Brad Marchand and Vanek. The Buffalo forward kicked things off at 1:38 with a one-timer from the left hash mark at the end of a 2-on-1 with Hodgson. The Bruins scored the next three goals, starting with Rich Peverley's first score of the season 5:12 into the second and then goals by Marchand at 7:43 and 10:54. Before the period was over, however, Buffalo had tied the score at 3-3. Vanek cashed in during a 5-on-3 power play and Tyler Ennis tied the game off a feed from Vanek, who was falling down as he made the pass to the front of the net. David Krejci opened the third-period at 1:45 in to give Boston the lead, but Alexander Sulzer scored on a wrist shot from the top of the left circle at 2:28. Then Vanek went to work setting up Hodgson for the game-winner and scoring the insurance goal. While there was no scoring in the first period, the expected physical fireworks went off just 2:53 into the contest when Boston's Shawn Thornton and Buffalo's John Scott dropped the gloves. Scott, playing in his first Boston-Buffalo showdown, landed a couple of blows before Thornton fell to end the brief bout. Thornton left the game and did not return. There was no update on his condition available after the game.

Washington v Toronto 2-3 - Matt Frattin's case for a full-time roster spot with the Toronto Maple Leafs is getting stronger game by game. Nikolai Kulemin and Frattin scored just over two minutes apart as the Leafs won for the first time at home this season by rallying to beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Thursday night. Kulemin shoveled home a loose puck at 7:40 after Matt Kostka's shot trickled past Michal Neuvirth in the crease. Frattin, who got the OT winner with 1.5 seconds left in Buffalo on Tuesday, gave Toronto its first lead of the night at 9:53 when he finished off a give-and-go with Nazem Kadri. Frattin began the season with the Marlies, the Leafs' AHL affiliate, but was called up last week after Joffrey Lupul was sidelined with a fractured forearm. He has four goals and two assists in the four games he's played. Neuvirth kept the Capitals in the game with 37 saves and helped Washington kill off seven of eight Toronto power plays. Prior to Kulemin's tying goal, Neuvirth had stopped 30 of 31 shots and seemed to be in a groove. The Capitals fell to 1-5-1 this season under new coach Adam Oates. They've lost back-to-back games this week in which they've failed to hold a one-goal lead in the third period. Alex Ovechkin gave Washington a 2-1 lead with the only goal of the second period. Ovechkin's low power-play drive from the left circle beat James Reimer at 2:38 for just his second of the season. It was his first goal at the Air Canada Centre since April 5, 2011. Neuvirth made several keys saves in the second, getting his shoulder and blocker on Dion Phaneuf's hard shot less than five minutes into the period and coming up big once again with the Maple Leafs on their third power play of the period by diving across his body to stop James Van Riemsdyk from in close. Tenacious forechecking by the Capitals' third line led to game's first goal just 1:36 after the opening faceoff. Jason Chimera won a battle for the puck behind Reimer and fed Mike Ribeiro, who was covered near the side of the crease, but Ribeiro spun free from Frattin's check and his pass through the crease found Ward, who was unchecked and rifled home his team-high fourth of the season. The Leafs had five power plays in the first 10:27, but managed only one goal, Van Riemsdyk's fourth of the season at 8:19 with Chimera serving a double minor for interference and unsportsmanlike conduct. Tyler Bozak started the play by wheeling the puck from the side of the net into the slot where Phil Kessel was able to send a low shot on net that came out to Van Riemsdyk alone in front for a put-away. It was one of three shots for the goalless Kessel in the first period; he also deflected a shot that rang off the iron earlier in the period. Kessel finished with six shots on goal, and he was robbed late in the third on a tremendous glove save by Neuvirth. When asked in jest as to what he may have done to elicit his current misfortune, Kessel answered jokingly, "I don't know what I did, I must have done something," before adding - "it will be all right, they will eventually go in." The Leafs missed a chance to go ahead when they had 78 seconds of a 5-on-3 power play, the third time in as many home games this season that they've failed to convert a two-man advantage. Overall, Toronto is just 6 for 39 (15.4 %) with the extra man. Neuvirth made 14 first-period stops, none better than a denial of Kulemin on a backdoor setup from Mikhail Grabovski at 12:30. After allowing a quick goal to start the game and being victimized by Ovechkin, Reimer settled down and ended up with 20 saves.

NY Islanders v New Jersey 5-4 - One look at New York Islanders coach Jack Capuano and it's easy to understand why his team refuses to quit when the going gets tough this season. After missing the season opener to undergo surgery to treat kidney stones, Capuano on Thursday took a stray puck just above his left eye that required him to leave the bench for stitches midway through the third period against the New Jersey Devils. The visitors closed out a successful five-game road trip when forward Brad Boyes scored a power-play goal off a scramble with 2:59 remaining in overtime to give the Islanders a 5-4 win over the New Jersey Devils before 17,625 at Prudential Center. The Islanders, who never trailed in the game, also received a pair of goals from John Tavares and single scores from Keith Aucoin and Mark Streit. Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabokov notched his third career victory over the Devils in 10 tries behind a workmanlike 28-save performance. Boyes, who signed a free-agent contract with the Islanders in July, received his chance after Devils goalie Martin Brodeur misplayed the puck behind his net with the Islanders working a 4-on-3 in the extra period. The initial attempt off the stick of Nielsen was blocked by defenseman Bryce Salvador, who was lying flat on the ice in front of the goal line to stop any shot with Brodeur out of position. Salvador even took part of Boyes' stick to the face during the follow-through on the shot, but the Devils captain was fine after the game. Brodeur finished the game with 31 saves. The second goal of the season for Boyes also happened to be the third power-play goal of the game in four opportunities for the Islanders (4-2-1), who finished their five-game trip with a 3-1-1 record. They have a two-day break before the Devils (3-0-3) come to Nassau Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. The Islanders' power play, which entered the game tied for fourth in the League, has struck for six goals on its past eight opportunities. Adam Henrique, who was making his season debut after sitting out the opening five games following left thumb surgery, pulled the Devils into a 4-4 tie at 13:50 of the third off a backhand attempt from in tight on Nabokov. David Clarkson earned the lone assist to extend his point-scoring streak to six games for New Jersey. Streit gave the visitors their third lead of the game 11:32 into the third when his shot from the point deflected off the stick of Devils defenseman Adam Larsson and past Brodeur. DeBoer said Larsson, also making his season debut in place of injured Mark Fayne (arm), was solid. The Devils had two golden opportunities to take their first lead of the game prior to Streit's goal. The first came 5:01 into the period when Travis Zajac outmuscled defenseman Matt Carkner in the left circle before cutting into the slot. Nabokov stood his ground and turned away the attempt with his blocker. The second good chance came midway through the third when Clarkson broke in with his team on the power play but had the puck knocked off his stick from behind by a sliding Casey Cizikas. The teams had five combined goals in the second, with the Devils holding the one-goal edge to pull into a 3-3 tie. Tavares had given the Islanders a 3-2 lead with his second of the game off a splendid individual effort down his left wing 7:31 into the second. That goal was matched a little over 10 minutes later when Devils defenseman Henrik Tallinder took a feed from Zajac at the point, skated into the left circle and ripped a shot that beat Nabokov to the long side for his first goal since April 6, 2011. The Devils rallied from a 2-0 deficit when third-line grinders Steve Bernier and Ryan Carter each connected for their first of the season in a span of 3:08. Matt Anderson assisted on Carter's goal 6:21 into the second, marking his first NHL point. The 30-year-old undrafted free-agent signee was playing in his second NHL game. The Islanders just missed taking their third lead of the contest with 1:06 left in the second when Michael Grabner's shorthanded breakaway attempt rang off the right post. The Islanders took a 2-0 lead 2:41 into the second on a power-play goal by Keith Aucoin off a rebound at the left post. Defenseman Travis Hamonic set up Aucoin's fourth of the season after needling a pass through from the right point. The Islanders opened a 1-0 lead 14:31 into the first period on a power-play goal by Tavares. After collecting a pass from Nielsen in the slot, Boyes faked a shot and dished to Tavares, who was standing uncontested low in the right inner circle. The first period was highlighted by a spirited fight 2:35 into the game between New Jersey enforcer Krystofer Barch and former Devils player Eric Boulton.

Pittsburgh v NY Rangers 3-0 - There was no discrepancy about what happened on the ice Thursday night after the Pittsburgh Penguins spent 60 minutes sucking the life out of the New York Rangers in a 3-0 victory at Madison Square Garden. It wasn't a blowout by any means, but from the time Evgeni Malkin put the Penguins ahead 1-0 less than 90 seconds into the game until Simon Despres scored on a breakaway midway through the third period to put the contest to bed, there wasn't much doubt who was the better team. Goaltender Tomas Vokoun made 28 saves for his first shutout with the Penguins, and only a few chances truly tested him. He turned aside a hard blast from defenseman Dan Girardi and another from Marian Gaborik about a minute apart late in the first period, one in which Rangers forwards accounted for three of the team's six shots. The Rangers struck iron with two shots in the third, a rocket from defenseman Marc Staal hit the post, as did a drive from defenseman Anton Stralman that Vokoun was able to catch a small piece of en route. Vokoun signed a two-year deal with the Penguins this offseason to back up starter Marc-Andre Fleury and give Bylsma a reliable option over the course of a season. With a compressed, shortened schedule, that role is even more important, and Vokoun has been terrific in beating the Rangers twice on the road this season. The Rangers were playing their first game without captain Ryan Callahan, who suffered a shoulder injury Tuesday night that will keep him out of the lineup for 10-14 days. After that lackluster first period, Tortorella broke up his top line of Gaborik, Brad Richards and Rick Nash in an attempt to spark an offense that was already hurting for depth before Callahan's injury. The move helped somewhat, the Rangers generated 13 shots in the second period, but many of them were not dangerous and they had a hard time establishing puck possession. The lack of forward depth resulted in two forwards outside of Gaborik, Richards and Nash generating a shot on goal: Derek Stepan had six and Taylor Pyatt had one. All Tortorella would say on his captain's absence was, "We lose a guy that's really good in front of the net," while players didn't want to use it as an excuse for their poor showing. For all the talk of how one-sided this game felt, it was still a one-goal game heading to the third period. The Penguins began the final frame with a power play after the Rangers were called for too many men on the ice late in the second. It was the fourth time this season the Rangers were called for that infraction, and the third time the opposition made them pay with a goal. James Neal's goal (his fifth of the season) was a work of art. He drove to the front of Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who made 26 saves, and placed his stick along the ice. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby fired a slap pass along the ice that Neal, with his back to the net, deflected through his legs, into the air, over Lundqvist's catching glove, off the crossbar and down into the net to make it 2-0. The puck found an opening no bigger than a fist and drained what minimal hope remained in the Rangers. Despres left the Penguins shorthanded with a hooking penalty later in the period, but he redeemed himself seconds after he stepped out of the penalty box. Stralman's shot rang off the post and was cleared down the ice by Craig Adams. Staal chased down the puck in his own zone but tapped it to Pascal Dupuis, who fed it to a streaking Despres for the backhand, breakaway goal to put the game away.

St Louis v Columbus 4-1 - The St. Louis Blues have found two new goal scorers: Vladimir Tarasenko and Barret Jackman. Each scored Thursday as the Blues defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 at Nationwide Arena. For Tarasenko, a rookie forward, it was his fifth goal in seven NHL games. Veteran defenseman Jackman connected for the second straight game after scoring just once in a span of 181 games. Three days off did not slow down St. Louis. The Blues have won four in a row and are 6-1-0 after playing six games over the first nine days. They visit Detroit on Friday; a win will give St. Louis its best start since going 7-1-0 to begin the 1997-98 season. Patrik Berglund and David Backes added goals for St. Louis. Brian Elliott made 24 saves for his third win in four games this season. Derrick Brassard scored a power-play goal for Columbus, which was playing for the third time in four nights and has lost six of seven. The second period ended with multiple fights at 17:59, totaling 52 minutes in penalties, including 10 minutes each for head-butting to St. Louis' Ryan Reaves and Columbus' Jared Boll. The Blues took a 3-0 lead in the first 13:22 of the first period, causing the Blue Jackets to replace starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with Steve Mason. Tarasenko's goal was a highlight-reel effort, he fought off defenseman James Wisniewski to free himself in the slot and scored before falling to his knees. The 21-year-odl Russian has nine points to tie Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cory Conacher for the rookie lead. Mason stopped all 13 shots he faced in relief, with Backes scoring his first of the season into an empty net. Defenseman Tim Erixon, acquired from the New York Rangers in the offseason trade for Rick Nash, made his Columbus debut. He was a minus-1 with four penalty minutes.

Winnipeg v Florida 3-6 - The Florida Panthers found their offense Thursday night, and made their losing streak disappear. The Panthers scored five goals in the third period as they twice overcame deficits to beat the Winnipeg Jets 6-3 at the BB&T Center and snap their five-game losing streak. Florida had scored a total of five goals during the five-game slide that followed their victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on opening night. Power-play goals 1:17 apart by Peter Mueller and Kovalev erased a 3-2 deficit and gave the Panthers the lead for good before Jonathan Huberdeau and Tomas Kopecky padded the lead. Brian Campbell and Kris Versteeg also scored for the Panthers, while Jose Theodore made 22 saves to improve his career record against Winnipeg to 16-6-2. Tomas Fleischmann had a career-high three assists. With the victory, the Panthers avoided their first six-game losing streak since an 0-7-3 stretch from March 19 to April 8, 2011. Grant Clitsome, Olli Jokinen and Tobias Enstrom scored for the Jets, who lost their second in a row following a three-game winning streak. Ondrej Pavelec, who came into the game with a 7-2-1 career record against Florida, stopped 28 shots. After giving up two power-play goals in Tuesday's 4-3 loss at Montreal, the Jets allowed three against the Panthers. The Panthers were without the services of center Stephen Weiss (groin) for a fourth consecutive game and were also missing captain Ed Jovanovski due to a knee injury. The Jets played without defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. After Winnipeg took a second lead in the third period on Enstrom's goal at 7:38, Mueller tied the game 3-3 at 11:20. Mueller found himself alone in front of the net and put in a rebound of Filip Kuba's wrist shot from the point after Pavelec let the puck slip out of his glove. Mueller, signed as a free agent by the Panthers last summer, has scored in each of the last three games. Kovalev put the Panthers ahead to stay 77 seconds later when he fired a wrist shot from the slot. Pavelec got a piece of the puck but it went between his body and his left arm into the net. Jokinen broke a 1-1 tie at 1:23 of the third period when he one-timed Blake Wheeler's pass from the corner. Jokinen, Florida's captain from 2006-09, has four goals in 10 career games against his former team. Versteeg tied it at 3:35 with his first goal in his second game of the season. Versteeg, who had seven goals in five games against the Jets last season, one-timed Fleischmann's nifty feed into the slot. Enstrom, who came into the game third in the NHL among defensemen with seven assists, made it 3-2 Winnipeg with his first goal of the season. After Evander Kane's cross-ice pass bounced off the boards, Enstrom one-timed a slap shot from just inside the top of the left circle that beat Theodore. The Panthers set a season high for shots in a period in a scoreless first when Pavelec made 16 saves. Florida's previous best was 15 shots in the third period of a 4-1 loss at Ottawa Jan. 21. Campbell opened the scoring at 5:14 of the second with his third of the season, all of them on the power play. With eight seconds left in a 5-on-3 advantage, Campbell fired a slap shot from the top of the right circle past Pavelec with Kopecky providing a screen. Winnipeg, which failed to score during a 45-second 5-of-3 in the first period, tied the game at 16:11 when Clitsome scored his first of the season. After taking a diagonal pass from the boards from Andrew Ladd, Clitsome beat Theodore with a slap shot that went in off the far post. While the Jets come back Friday night with a game at Tampa Bay, the Panthers are set to embark on a four-game road trip that begins Sunday at Buffalo and includes stops in Winnipeg, Philadelphia and Washington. At least now the Panthers can hit the road without the cloud that had been hovering over them since opening night.

Colorado v Calgary 6-3 - On their last stop of a four-game road-trip, the Colorado Avalanche found some gas left in the tank, and a little bit of offense, too. After scoring just one goal in their first three games away from Denver, and playing their second game in as many nights, the Avalanche broke out of their scoring funk and beat the well-rested Calgary Flames 6-3 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday night. It was Colorado's third game in four nights, all on the road, and the Avalanche's first win away from home this season. The loss was Calgary's first action in five days, the longest stretch of time off between games the Flames will see this season. The Flames fell to 1-3-1 and their three points are tied with Washington (1-5-1) for the fewest in the NHL. Stastny's pair in the final three minutes propelled the Avalanche (3-4-0) to their first win in four games. Just eight seconds into a Mark Giordano penalty, Stastny swept the puck under Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff with 2:40 remaining in regulation to put the Avalanche ahead 4-3. Stastny then provided some insurance by bouncing the puck off Kiprusoff's pad and into the net with 1:11 left. PA Parenteau, with his second of the night, iced the game with an empty-netter. Jean-Sebastien Giguere, in his first start of the season, kept the pressuring Flames at bay earlier in the third. Giguere smothered a Dennis Wideman blast from the point earlier, and with three minutes remaining he blockered away a Mikael Backlund break to keep the game tied, paving the way for Stastny's late-game heroics. Fresh off a four-day break, Calgary wasted little time knocking the rust off with Jiri Hudler's first goal in a Flames' jersey. Picking off an errant pass from Matt Hunwick, Hudler fired the puck over to Matt Stajan for a one-timer. A quick pad denied Stajan, but Giguere kicked the puck right back to Hudler, who found the back of the net from a sharp angle to put Calgary up 1-0 at 7:23. Tim Jackman tried to extend the lead to two with just over three minutes in the period. With his linemates on a change, Jackman challenged Colorado by coming in 1-on-4, and split the defense before being denied by Giguere. The puck worked its way back to Chris Butler at the point, and his wide point shot was deflected off the iron, again by Jackman. That post would prove costly before the period let out. With 47 seconds left in the period, John Mitchell picked off Butler's fanned clearing attempt in the Calgary zone, walked off the boards and snapped the puck past Kiprusoff's blocker to tie the game 1-1. Hudler wasted no time restoring that lead, scoring just 1:49 into the second period. Gaining the blue line, Roman Cervenka fired a cross-ice pass to Stajan, who sent the puck back against the grain to a waiting Hudler on the doorstep. Hudler tapped the puck across the line to make it 2-1. With the assist, Cervenka recorded his first NHL point. Parenteau knotted the game 2-2 less than two minutes later before the Avalanche took their first lead of the game. After outbattling Stajan behind the net, Chuck Kobasew centered the puck to Mitchell, who beat Kiprusoff glove side for his second of the game at 16:58. The Flames tied the game in the final minute of the period. With the puck at the blue line, Wideman faked a slap shot and sailed a pass to Hudler on the goal line. Hudler one-timed the puck to Alex Tanguay alone in the slot, and he beat Giguere over the glove with 17.7 seconds remaining to make it 3-3. Though he finished with three points on the night, Hudler wasn't satisfied with how the game unfolded. The Flames will have a day to regroup before welcoming the Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks to Calgary on Saturday. Colorado headed home after the game and will have Friday off before the Edmonton Oilers come to town on Saturday.

Nashville v Los Angeles 2-1 - No overwhelming sense of relief permeated the Nashville Predators locker room. Perhaps the weariness of a monster road trip is draining these games into a blur. But the sublimely succinct coach Barry Trotz nailed it after his team pulled out a 2-1 shootout victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. Sergei Kostitsyn scored in the eighth round of the tiebreaker and the Predators prevailed in a game in which they had only 11 shots on goal in regulation. Kostitsyn wristed a shot past Jonathan Quick to give Pekka Rinne his first victory this season, capping a tiebreaker that saw seven of 16 shooters score against two of last season's Vezina Trophy finalists. Rinne withstood a final-minute barrage in regulation, and Quick held off some prime chances by Nashville in the last 90 seconds of overtime. Rinne's exhausted face said it all after he walked into the locker room with his pads and skates on, his face still gleaming with sweat after his first shootout win in four tries this season. He is 1-2-3. Ranked last in the NHL in shots per game, Nashville put one shot on goal in a span of more than 29 minutes from the first period to the second. The Predators did not record a shot in the final 16 minutes of the opening period and bookended the first and third periods with three shots each. The 11 shots were the second-fewest allowed in regulation in Kings history. The Predators did limit L.A. to 22 shots in 65 minutes and blocked 24 more. But the pattern cannot be ignored for Nashville, which managed only 13 shots in a 4-0 loss at St. Louis a week earlier. Dustin Brown tied it 1-1 on his first goal of the season at 13:08 during a 4-on-3 advantage. Drew Doughty ripped a shot high off the glass and the rebound fell in the slot to an untouched Brown. L.A. was previously 1 for 28 on the power play. That would be all the offense Kings managed in 65 minutes despite an active game by Jeff Carter, who directed 12 shots at goal and put five on net. It's a familiar theme for L.A., which could not give Quick enough goal support last season even after coach Darryl Sutter arrived and finished 29th in scoring. The mid-game lull by Nashville came after it grabbed a 1-0 lead just 58 seconds into the game. Brandon Yip roofed a wrist shot off a faceoff after David Legwand got the draw to Gabriel Bourque and made the pass to Yip at the top of the right circle. Trotz paired Shea Weber with Scott Hannan for the first time this season but Hannan watched much of the early going from the penalty box after two tripping and interference calls, and Weber rejoined usual defense partner Roman Josi. The Kings didn't fully seize the opportunity, though, and let the goal-challenged Predators hang around with a 1-1 score going into the third period. L.A.'s best chance in the second came on Justin Williams' redirection of Slava Voynov's shot that slid just left of the goal, while Nashville's Matt Halischuk had a shot at a wide-open net blocked by a sliding Jake Muzzin in the third.

Edmonton v San Jose 2-3 - The streak goes on for the undefeated San Jose Sharks, who won their seventh straight game and second straight shootout Thursday night at HP Pavilion, a 3-2 decision over the Edmonton Oilers. Michal Handzus and Dan Boyle scored the only goals in the shootout, and Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi stopped both shots he faced, first from Sam Gagner then from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Sharks coach Todd McLellan downplayed the importance of being the NHL's only remaining undefeated team, but not the importance of having 14 quick points. Handzus has been money in the bank in shootouts for San Jose. He's now 18 for 34 for his career and 7 for 12 as a Shark. During a shootout win against Anaheim on Tuesday, Handzus scored the decider in the first round against Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller. Handzus again got the Sharks off to a good start in the shootout, this time beating Devan Dubnyk on a high shot to his stick side. In the third round Boyle wristed a shot past Dubnyk, sealing the victory. Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski scored in regulation for the Sharks. Gagner and Taylor Hall had goals for the Oilers, who fell to 4-2-1 but played much better than they did in a 6-3 loss to San Jose 10 days earlier when the Sharks scored six first-period goals. Hall nearly ended it less than a minute into overtime on a breakaway, but Niemi caught his shot from close range. A minute later Hall nearly redirected a shot into the net, but Niemi stopped that one as well. With 1:15 left in overtime, Gagner was penalized for hooking Marc-Edouard Vlasic and the Sharks went on their fifth power play. Boyle had a good scoring chance from the slot, and Couture ripped a one-timer with time running out. But the Sharks, who entered the game with the NHL's top power play, came up empty again. The Sharks killed all three penalties they faced against an Oilers' power play that ranked was No. 2 entering the game. The Sharks have now killed 16 straight penalties. The Oilers trailed 2-1 entering the third but needed just 51 seconds to pull even on Hall's goal, capping a 2-on-1 break with Jordan Eberle. Hall sent a cross-ice pass to Eberle, took the return feed and sent beat Niemi from just left of the crease. The Sharks appeared to move back ahead when Ryane Clowe got past Mark Fistric and beat Dubnyk with a backhander at 4:24. But Clowe was penalized for interfering with Fistric long before he put the puck in the back of the net. The Sharks turned up the heat late in the third, sending puck after puck at Dubnyk, but they couldn't get one past him. For the period, the Sharks outshot the Oilers 13-6. There were no first-period fireworks, or even goals, this time. But after a scoreless first 20 minutes, the Sharks got goals from Couture and Pavelski in a span of 39 seconds midway through the second period to grab a 2-0 lead. Both goals were unassisted, and both came after Oilers turnovers in the neutral zone by defensemen, the first by Ryan Whitney and the second by Ladislav Smid. While being pressured by Sharks forward Scott Gomez, Whitney lost control of the puck, and Couture jumped on the gift with nothing but open ice between him and Dubnyk. He blasted a shot inside the left post at 7:32, putting the Sharks ahead. Seconds later, Pavelski blocked a pass by Smid, grabbed the puck and headed the other way, again with no Oiler in his path. He ripped a shot from the right circle past Dubnyk's glove at 8:11 to make it 2-0. It was his fourth goal in three games. Oilers coach Ralph Krueger then used his timeout, and his team quickly responded. Fistric fired a hard shot from the blue line, and Gagner redirected the puck past Niemi at 10:56 for his third of the season. After playing solid hockey during their first five wins, the Sharks have struggled the past two games but have found a way to win both in shootouts. The Oilers outshot the Sharks 11-7 in a fast-paced first period, but neither team could capitalize on numerous good scoring chances. Gomez, skating on the second line, was stopped by Dubnyk from close range on a rush just over a minute into the game. With Edmonton on its first power play, Sharks forward Martin Havlat was rejected by Dubnyk on a breakaway. Seconds later, Couture hit the left post. Gagner blasted a shot from the low slot late in the period, but Niemi gloved it. Ten different Oilers fired shots at Niemi, but he stopped every one. The Oilers were without captain Shawn Horcoff, who missed the game with a stiff neck, the result of a hard hit he took Wednesday night from the Phoenix Coyotes' Shane Doan. Edmonton called up forward Anton Lander from Oklahoma City of the American Hockey League, he was in the lineup on the fourth line, and sent down forward Magnus Paajarvi to make room for him on the roster. Boyle returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday night's game against Anaheim. Defenseman Jason Demers, who had been out after fracturing a wrist while playing hockey in Europe during the lockout, was added to the active roster but was a scratch. McLellan shuffled his bottom three lines in the third period and OT on Tuesday against Anaheim, and he opened against Edmonton with most of that new-look lineup. Gomez jumped from the fourth to second line as a wing, skating with Couture and Clowe. Havlat dropped from the second to the third line, replacing TJ Galiardi, who was a scratch. James Sheppard replaced Galiardi in the lineup.