Gameday 81 (Tue, 09 Apr) - Results

Philadelphia v NY Islanders 1-4 - The New York Islanders moved a step closer to their first Stanley Cup Playoff berth since 2007 and pushed the Philadelphia Flyers closer to their first playoff-free season in six years. Michael Grabner scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period, and Evgeni Nabokov made 26 saves as the Islanders defeated the Flyers 4-1 on Tuesday night at Nassau Coliseum to move into seventh place in the Eastern Conference. John Tavares added an insurance goal with 1:37 left, and Casey Cizikas hit the empty net 28 seconds later for the Islanders (20-16-4), who have 44 points. That's two more than the eighth-place New York Rangers, who have a game in hand, and the Winnipeg Jets, and four ahead of the New Jersey Devils. Matt Moulson also scored for the Islanders, who've won four in a row at home. The Islanders' late run toward a playoff berth has led to an unaccustomed dose of scoreboard-watching on Long Island. The Islanders have gotten a boost from the play of Nabokov. Since March 24, he has stopped 146 of 158 shots, a .924 save percentage, going 6-1-1 with one shutout. The Islanders snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Flyers at the Coliseum and improved to 7-1-1 in their past nine games overall. Jakub Voracek scored the goal for the Flyers (17-19-3), who remained 13th in the East, five points out of eighth place. Goaltender Steve Mason, acquired at the NHL Trade Deadline from the Columbus Blue Jackets, made 28 saves. After a cautious first few minutes by both teams, the Flyers capitalized on a defensive breakdown to grab a 1-0 lead. Voracek got behind the New York defense, took a 120-foot pass from Giroux and went in alone on Nabokov. His backhander sat under Nabokov's pads, but Islanders defenseman Andrew MacDonald slid into his goaltender, carrying the puck over the goal line at 6:28. It was Voracek's team-high 17th of the season and came on the Flyers' second shot on goal. Moulson tied it just over nine minutes later on a nice three-way passing play by the Islanders' first line. Tavares took a hit in his own zone to get the puck to Brad Boyes, who carried into the Philadelphia zone on a 2-on-2 rush. Flyers defenseman Bruno Gervais cheated slightly toward Boyes, who slipped a pass to a briefly unguarded Moulson for a quick wrister past Mason at 15:36. It was Moulson's 13th of the season. Chances were few through the first 15 minutes of the second period before Mason made his best save of the night, stopping Kyle Okposo's breakaway backhander. But that seemed to inspire the Islanders, who picked up their play and were rewarded at 17:42 when Colin McDonald's pass from the right boards found Grabner in the slot. He used defenseman Luke Schenn as a screen and rifled a 20-footer past Mason for his 13th of the season to give New York its first lead. The Islanders stayed aggressive in the third period, outshooting the Flyers 11-8, and put the game away when Tavares and Moulson went in 2-on-1. Mason stopped Tavares' shot, but defenseman Eric Gustafsson's desperate slide to keep Moulson away from the rebound put the puck into the net instead, giving Tavares his 24th goal of the season. The crowd of 13,888 made itself felt as the third period went on, chanting "We want the playoffs!" and "Last-place Flyers!"

Pittsburgh v Carolina 5-3 - On the night the Pittsburgh Penguins clinched the Atlantic Division championship, three newcomers grew a little more comfortable in their roles. Forwards Jussi Jokinen, Brenden Morrow and Jarome Iginla all chipped in on the score sheet in a 5-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes, and all expressed their gratitude for being part of this front-running team. In a League where late-season trades are an annual reality, it was endearing to hear the newest Penguins still dealing with the quirkiness of joining a new team. Iginla shares those traits, and they were on display on the game-winning goal. After knocking down a puck in the neutral zone, he played pitch-and-catch with Evgeni Malkin, who finished by knocking in Iginla's rebound at 10:02 of the third period. It was the second of two goals in 13 seconds, as Pittsburgh rallied from a 3-2 deficit. Beau Bennett had scored on a backhander moments earlier. Carolina started the scoring early in the first period on a goal from defenseman Joe Corvo, but two more Pittsburgh newbies combined to tie the score just 1:32 later. Jussi Jokinen, playing his second game since being dealt from the Hurricanes, collected a loose puck and sent a backhand to Morrow for his first as a Penguin. The two previously played parts of three seasons together with the Dallas Stars. For Jokinen's part, the game held extra meaning. He was well-regarded by his teammates, and he still feels very strongly about his their current plight. The Hurricanes had lost nine of 10 when Jokinen left the team. The tailspin has now grown to 13 of 14, including a franchise-record, seven-game losing streak at home. Despite the rash of losses, Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller has rarely changed his tone in recent weeks, instead pointing out that his team continues to play hard. In the visitor's dressing room the outlook is far brighter. Not only are the Penguins locked into the playoffs, but the newcomers are feeling at home. That's important for guys like Iginla and Morrow, veterans who know the dynamics of just one other franchise, having played in one city their entire careers. If the little things are important, Jokinen, Iginla and Morrow should all fit the mold in Pittsburgh. Each has built a reputation in the League as a two-way player who doesn't cheat on the details of the game. Now that each has earned his second scoring point in Pittsburgh, the blending of the old guard and the new faces moves a step closer to completion, even for someone like Iginla, who was the face of Calgary's franchise for 17 years.

San Jose v Columbus 0-4 - The Columbus Blue Jackets aren't going away in the race for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots for his fourth career shutout, all in his past 15 games, and newcomer Marian Gaborik had a goal and an assist Tuesday, leading the Blue Jackets to a 4-0 win against the San Jose Sharks at Nationwide Arena. Matt Calvert, James Wisniewski and Ryan Johansen also scored for the Blue Jackets, who had lost their previous two games. The Blue Jackets moved within two points of the eighth-place Detroit Red Wings, who have a game in hand, as they try to make the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. The Blue Jackets have gotten points in 17 of their past 21 games (12-4-5). They had a four-game home winning streak ended when they lost 3-0 to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. That defeat also snapped a club-record 12-game points streak at home (9-0-3). Bobrovsky's best saves came on Patrick Marleau's point-blank wrister in the third period and Dan Boyle's power-play slap shot in the second. San Jose remained fifth in the Western Conference with 47 points, but is just four points above eighth place. The Sharks were coming off a seven-game homestand on which they picked up 13 of 14 possible points, losing in overtime to the Dallas Stars on Sunday before hitting the road. This was the opener of a four-game trip. Columbus had been manhandled in the second period 48 hours earlier by Minnesota, but this time it was the Blue Jackets who took charge. Up 1-0, they had 11 of the first 12 shots while scoring twice. Wisniewski made it 2-0 at 3:09 when he took a pass from defense partner Adrian Aucoin and fired a straightaway one-timer past Antti Niemi from just inside the blue line. Less than two minutes later, Gaborik, playing his second home game for the Blue Jackets, set up Johansen to make it 3-0. Gaborik evaded two Sharks in the right circle and slid a backhand pass to Johansen in the slot. He went down to one knee on the one-timer and put it high into the net. Gaborik benefited from a perfect setup from Artem Anisimov, a former teammate with the Rangers, to complete the scoring at 7:16 of the third period. Gaborik got behind the defense, took Anisimov's pass, faked Niemi to the ice with a forehand and then tapped in the puck with a backhand. Matt Calvert opened the scoring 8:39 into the game by jamming home the rebound of Cam Atkinson's wraparound for his eighth of the season. San Jose's Adam Burish beat Bobrovsky with 5:21 left in the third, but the goal was waved off because he was in the crease.

Washington v Montreal 3-2 - If there was one thing that was tempering the Washington Capitals' hot streak of late, it was that they had done it largely by facing teams that are in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference. No one can say that about them anymore. Alex Ovechkin scored his sixth goal in three games to spark the Capitals and Michal Neuvirth made 27 saves to hold off a late Montreal Canadiens' rally in a 3-2 win at Bell Centre on Tuesday. The victory was Washington's fifth in a row and sixth in seven games, but all of those were played against teams that are currently out of the playoffs in the conference. Eric Fehr and Jack Hillen also scored for the Capitals (21-17-2), who maintained their two-point lead on the Winnipeg Jets, 4-1 winners Tuesday, atop the Southeast Division. Lars Eller scored twice and Alex Galchenyuk had two assists for the Canadiens (25-9-5), who lost for just the second time in seven games. Ovechkin's goal gave him 17 in his past 15 games and his linemate Nicklas Backstrom had two assists to extend his point streak to seven games. Galchenyuk's two assists extended the rookie's point streak to a season-high four games, with two goals and three assists over that span. With the Canadiens leading 1-0 in the second period and the Capitals failing to beat Carey Price on their first 14 shots on goal, Washington scored twice on four shots over a span of 1:46 to take control of the game. Ovechkin started things off with a masterful move to get around Michael Ryder while cutting across the high slot, then letting go of a wobbler of a wrist shot that appeared to dip severely just as it was reaching Price, flying under his glove at 7:50 of the second. A Hillen shot from the side boards was then tipped by Fehr on its way toward Price, hitting the Montreal goaltender in the chest and flipping over his head behind him, where it was tipped in by teammate Andrei Markov at 9:36. Hillen put the Capitals ahead 3-1 at 5:33 of the third when his shot from the point went past an Ovechkin screen in front and beat Price high to the glove side for the defenseman's first goal of the season. The Canadiens charged back at the Capitals and it paid off at 16:38 when Eller scored his second of the game, tipping home a Nathan Beaulieu point shot to bring the Canadiens within one. The Capitals came roaring out of the gates in the first, registering the first nine shots on goal of the game and testing Price on repeated occasions with high quality scoring chances. Backstrom was turned aside by two Price pad saves 80 seconds into the game, Mathieu Perreault suffered the same fate about a minute later and Jay Beagle had another great chance off a Nathan Beaulieu turnover just prior to the three-minute mark. The Canadiens got their first shot at 6:22 off the stick of Rene Bourque, who made his return to the lineup after a 21-game absence due to a concussion, and took over for the remainder of the period, outshooting Washington 7-2 from that point onward. The pressure paid off at 15:44 when Galchenyuk entered the zone with speed, deked around Capitals defenseman John Carlson and set up Brandon Prust for a shot from the slot. Prust's shot missed the mark, but he gathered the puck behind the net and sent it out front to Eller for his fifth of the season. The Canadiens continued their territorial advantage to open the second, going from a 9-0 shot deficit to a 15-12 edge before the period was four minutes old. But it didn't last, with Ovechkin sparking his team to a quick turnaround and ultimately holding on for its fifth straight victory.

Ottawa v Tampa Bay 2-3 - They may be slim, but the Tampa Bay Lightning's postseason hopes are still alive. Steven Stamkos' power-play goal with 5:04 left in regulation gave the Lightning a 3-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Tuesday. Stamkos finished off a cross-ice pass by Vincent Lecavalier by beating Craig Anderson for his 26th goal of the season, tying him with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals for the League lead as the Bolts (17-20-2) pulled within six points of the New York Rangers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Ben Bishop, acquired by Tampa Bay from Ottawa at the April 3 trade deadline, made 31 saves to defeat his former team. Ottawa and the New York Islanders have 44 points; the Senators are sixth in the Eastern Conference and the Islanders are seventh because Ottawa has a game in hand. Ottawa tied the game 21 seconds into the final period on an unusual power-play goal. As the puck softly floated toward the Lightning net, Tampa Bay defenseman Matt Carle reached up with his stick and accidentally tipped it over Bishop's waiting glove. Guillaume Latendresse took advantage of the gift lying at his feet to score his sixth goal of the season. But ultimately, the Senators gave the Lightning one too many power plays. With Sergei Gonchar in the box for hooking, Martin St. Louis got the puck to Lecavalier, whose cross-ice pass found Stamkos for the game-winner. Anderson finished with 21 saves for the Senators, who have three games remaining on a seven-game road trip. The Lightning trailed 1-0 after one period but needed less than five minutes of the second to take the lead. Pierre-Cedric Labrie scored his first NHL goal in his 26th career game at 2:35 when he sent a rebound from just outside the crease into the Ottawa net while Anderson was screened by Nate Thompson. Labrie was playing in his first game after missing five with a lower-body injury. B.J. Crombeen also assisted. Less than two minutes later, with Ottawa's Kyle Turris and Peter Regin both in the penalty box, Lecavalier converted the 5-on-3 opportunity when he buried a rebound of Teddy Purcell's hard shot from the just above the crease to give the Lightning the lead. Lecavalier's goal was his ninth of the season and was also assisted by St. Louis, who picked up his 900th NHL point. Ottawa took the lead at 14:29 of the opening period when a shot by Turris bounded off Bishop and into the air. Daniel Alfredsson, alone in the crease, waited patiently for the puck to fall below the crossbar before he legally batted it into the empty net for his ninth of the season. Ryan Malone returned to the lineup for Tampa Bay after missing nine games with a shoulder injury. Malone had 15:43 of ice time, one shot on goal and two blocked shots.

Buffalo v Winnipeg 1-4 - The Buffalo Sabres and Winnipeg Jets entered Tuesday's action looking up the Eastern Conference standings, and feeling the heat of nearby Stanley Cup Playoff contenders lurking behind. The Jets made some breathing room for themselves, scoring three second-period goals to fuel a 4-1 win at MTS Centre and dealing Buffalo's playoff aspirations a setback. The Jets started the game sitting 10th in the East, two points behind the Southeast Division-leading Washington Capitals. The Sabres trailed the Jets by two points, owning a game in hand. The Jets' win helped them keep pace with the Capitals, who took a 3-2 road decision from the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. The Capitals own a game in hand on the Jets. Winnipeg also slipped past the New Jersey Devils into ninth place and matched the eighth-place New York Rangers at 42 points. The Jets survived the loss of defenseman Tobias Enstrom after he departed the game in the first period and did not return. Jets coach Claude Noel said afterward that Enstrom, who missed 19 games with a shoulder injury earlier in the season, is "day-to-day." Buffalo, meanwhile, remains four points out of a playoff spot and drifting in 11th place. Winnipeg, in the midst of a six-game homestand, won its second consecutive game after a five-game losing streak had knocked the Jets out of the Southeast lead and nearly crushed their playoff chances. Buffalo's three-game winning streak ended. The Sabres' home date with Montreal on Thursday begins a stretch of six home games over their final eight in their bid to make one last push for a postseason berth. Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec made his League-leading 37th appearance and stopped 29 shots. Kevin Porter's third-period goal ended Pavelec's shutout bid. The Jets have limited the Sabres to one goal in each of the teams' past five meetings. Buffalo's Ryan Miller finished with 26 saves and held the game Sabres in the game early. Rolston and his club expected a fast start from the Jets, who dominated early. Winnipeg took the game's first six shots and pinned down Buffalo through the opening 10 minutes. But the Sabres recovered and carried the play for much of the rest of the first period. The evening began with promise after the Sabres had regained leading scorer Thomas Vanek, who returned to the Sabres' lineup after missing four games because of an upper-body injury, But the trio of Vanek, Tyler Ennis and Drew Stafford all went minus-four, as the Sabres' hold on the game loosened early in the second period. Wellwood's fourth goal gave the Jets a 1-0 second-period lead. Gagnon followed with his first NHL goal five minutes later to put the Jets up 2-0. Noel liked his club's first period, and Winnipeg's work finally paid off. Wellwood opened the scoring 4:54 into the second period with his second goal in two games after managing two in his first 31. Ehrhoff blocked Evander Kane's right-side shot, sending the puck skidding into the slot, where Wellwood converted before Miller could scramble into position. Gagnon's goal made it 2-0 when he snuck into the slot and one-timed Dustin Byfuglien's right-side pass low past Miller at 10:04. Ladd and Bryan Little combined on the Jets' third goal. Little slipped a pass through the Buffalo defense, and Ladd finished the play with a backhand-forehand move. Gagnon impressed Noel in his third game since a recall from the St. John's IceCaps of the American Hockey League, where he had earned monthly league honors in March after registering nine goals and nine assists in 11 games. With 22 seconds to play in the period, Ladd put the Sabres in a three-goal hole with his first since March 14, ending a 13-game run. After the Jets killed off a Sabres' power play late in the third period, Blake Wheeler put it away with an empty-netter. The Ladd-Little-Wheeler trio have combined for 10 points over the past two games for the Jets, who have scored all seven of their goals in the second period in those games.

St Louis v Nashville 1-0 - The St. Louis Blues' road show continues to rack up points at a critical time of the season. The surging Blues made it five in a row Tuesday, giving them a more secure spot among the Western Conference's top eight teams in a 1-0 win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. Alexander Steen scored the lone goal for the Blues and Brian Elliott, on his 28th birthday, earned his second straight shutout, his 11th as a Blue and the 20th of his career. The Blues, who beat the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 on the road Sunday, own a shutout streak of 141:24, dating back to the second period of a home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. The Blues (22-14-2) are on a season-high five-game winning streak, their first since March 3-11, 2012, with three of those wins coming on the road. The Blues jumped into sixth place in the Western Conference race; St. Louis and the Minnesota Wild, who lost 1-0 to the Chicago Blackhawks, both have 44 points, but the Blues have a game in hand. The Blues, who have not lost since they acquired defensemen Jordan Leopold from Buffalo and Jay Bouwmeester from Calgary last week, smothered the Predators, limiting Nashville to 15 shots. Elliott was certainly grateful for the light workload. The Predators (15-18-8) have dropped four in a row and saw their fading playoff hopes take another hit. Nashville is in 13th place, has seven games remaining and trails the eighth-place Red Wings by five points. It was Predators' second straight 1-0 loss at home, they lost by the same score to the Blackhawks on Saturday. The Predators played the game without five regular forwards, Mike Fisher, Paul Gaustad, Brandon Yip, Colin Wilson and Gabriel Bourque, because of injury. The Blues came in waves at the depleted Predators, but Pekka Rinne kept the game scoreless until Steen broke the stalemate with his first goal in seven games. Steen took Vladimir Sobotka's pass and ripped a slap shot from the left circle through Rinne's pads with 3:23 left in the second period for a 1-0 lead. Once the Blues got the lead, they went into lockdown mode. On Sunday in Detroit, Elliott came up with timely saves. This time, the defense did a good job limiting Nashville's offensive chances, the Predators were limited to five shots in the third period. The Blues smothered the Predators' offense, limiting the home team's zone time, thus the low shot number and easy workload for Elliott, whose shutout streak dates back to the third period Thursday at Chicago.

Chicago v Minnesota 1-0 - Tuesday's game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild came down to two things: Who would make the first mistake, and would the team benefitting from it take advantage? The teams battled to a 0-0 standstill late into the second period until Chicago got the bounce it needed. Marian Hossa took advantage of a Wild turnover and scored his 14th goal of the season 15:14 into the second period, supplying all the offense the Blackhawks would need in a 1-0 victory at Xcel Energy Center. Chicago goaltender Ray Emery, starting his third straight game, stopped 20 shots to record his third shutout in his past five starts and improve to 15-1-0. His best period was the second, when he made 10 saves. He stopped six to close out the win in the third. Chicago had the better first-period chances but ran into stingy Minnesota goaltender Niklas Backstrom. He stopped 11 shots then gloved a sure goal at the left post for Patrick Sharp five minutes into the second to keep the game scoreless. Finally, late in the second, Hossa was in the right place at the right time. Wild defenseman Clayton Stoner attempted a breakout pass from the right half wall but Hossa intercepted it in the slot. He came in alone and beat Backstrom with a wrist shot through the five-hole. The goal was vintage Hossa. Long known as one of the NHL's best two-way wings, the play illustrated his ability to turn a nice defensive play into instant offense. Backstrom stopped 30 shots; he's lost four of his past six starts and is 20-11-2 this season. Chicago, which already clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, returns home Friday to play the Detroit Red Wings. The Blackhawks will play four of their next five games at the United Center. Minnesota could help Chicago wrap up the Central Division championship by winning against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. Chicago would need to get one game to overtime the rest of the way to win the division. With regulation losses by the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, the Wild missed an opportunity to gain ground on both. A 1-0 win by the Blues at the Nashville Predators pulled St. Louis into a tie for sixth place in the west with Minnesota, setting up a crucial game here Thursday night. The teams are one point back of the Sharks and two behind the Kings. Minnesota trails the Vancouver Canucks by four points in the Northwest Division. Each team has nine games remaining.

Los Angeles v Dallas 1-5 - The Dallas Stars knew they needed a big third period to keep their playoff hopes alive. That's exactly what they produced against the defending Stanley Cup champions. Vernon Fiddler and Ray Whitney each scored twice in the third period and backup goaltender Richard Bachman stopped all 22 shots he faced as the Stars beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 on Tuesday night. Whitney broke a 1-1 tie when he beat Jonathan Quick 52 seconds into the third period. Fiddler sandwiched a pair of goals around one by Whitney in a span of 5:58 midway through the period to blow the game open. The loss kept the Kings in fourth place in the Western Conference playoff race, one point ahead of the San Jose Sharks. Dallas and the Columbus Blue Jackets are even with 41 points, two behind the eighth-place Detroit Red Wings. The game didn't start well for the Stars. Thirty-four seconds after the opening faceoff, Dallas forward Loui Eriksson earned a double minor by high-sticking Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr, producing a small cut below Regehr's right eye. And much as the Kings did in their most recent visit to Dallas, a 3-2 win on March 31, they scored early. This time it was Drew Doughty delivering on the power play, sending a 25-foot wrister top shelf over the glove of Lehtonen at 1:13 of the opening period. Doughty's shot from the left circle came after a stellar pass from Anze Kopitar from the opposite circle. Doughty now has goals in three straight games. Dallas failed to convert on its first power play, but the Stars tied the game six seconds after L.A.'s Jordan Nolan returned to the ice when defenseman Alex Goligoski scored his second of the year by beating Quick with a slapper from well inside the left circle. Goligoski picked up a rebound after Quick stopped Aaron Rome's long slap shot but couldn't control the puck. The Stars preserved the tie by killing off three L.A. power plays in the second period, including a four-minute advantage when Rome earned a double minor for high-sticking Mike Richards at 9:40. Dallas, which won its third straight, came out firing in the third period and needed less than a minute to go ahead to stay. Whitney put the Stars ahead when his wrister from the high slot sailed over Quick's glove for his eighth of the season. Stars rookie Alex Chiasson, playing in just his fourth career game, picked up his first NHL assist on the play. Fiddler scored his second of the season when he redirected a blast by Stephane Robidas into the left side of the Kings net at 7:58. Whitney added his second of the night at 11:06 on a short wrist shot following a turnover by Kings' captain Dustin Brown near his own blue line. Fiddler added his second of the game at 13:56 when his shot deflected off a Kings player and into the back of the net. Quick stopped 26 shots in the loss.

Tue, 16 Apr - Fixtures

Florida V NY Islanders 7pm ET
Toronto v Washington 7pm ET
Carolina v Ottawa 7.30pm ET
NY Rangers v Philadelphia 7.0pm ET
Tampa Bay v Winnipeg 8pm ET
Vancouver v St Louis 8pm ET
Minnesota v Edmonton 9.30 ET
Los Angeles v San Jose 10.30 ET

Tue, 09 Apr - Fixtures

Philadelphia v NY Islanders 7pm ET
Pittsburgh v Carolina 7pm ET
San Jose v Columbus 7pm ET
Washington v Montreal 7.30pm ET
Ottawa v Tampa Bay 7.30pm ET
Buffalo v Winnipeg 8pm ET
St Louis v Nashville 8pm ET
Chicago v Minnesota 8pm ET
Los Angeles v Dallas 8.30pm ET

Gameday 80 (Mon, 08 Apr) - Results

Carolina v Boston 2-6 - In a discussion of Boston Bruins players who are candidates to center Brad Marchand and Jaromir Jagr, Gregory Campbell's name probably wouldn't come to many people's lips. However, that was the trio which powered the Bruins to a slump-busting rout of the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. Marchand scored two goals, Campbell and Jagr chipped in with a pair of assists each and Dennis Seidenberg produced a career-high three assists as the Bruins bested the Hurricanes, 6-2, at TD Garden. The combination of Campbell with Jagr and Marchand was part of a three-line shakeup during practice Sunday by coach Claude Julien. Tuukka Rask stopped 40 shots to earn the win for the Bruins. He has stopped 107 of 111 shots in the Bruins' past three games (two wins and a loss). Carolina, meanwhile, has now lost five in a row. The Hurricanes outshot Boston, 18-9, in the first period, but had little to show for it. Rask robbed Zac Dalpe with a skate save on a 2-on-none when the game was still 0-0. By the end of the first period, the Bruins led 3-0. The Bruins had scored more than two goals in just three of their past 11 games and their six goals set a new season high. It was just the third time this season they scored five or more goals. The least-heralded of the Bruins' new lines broke put Boston the board first, as Rich Peverley, centering Jordan Caron and Shawn Thornton for the first time this season, stuffed a puck in the net 3:51 into the game. Peverley's shot had deflected off Peters and came out on the other side of the net off the rear glass. Peverley's shots were the first two by the Bruins in the game. Marchand doubled the Bruins' lead 7:58 into period, as the winger cleaned up a rebound of a Campbell wrap-around attempt. The goal was Boston's fourth shot on net and chased Justin Peters, who was replaced by Dan Ellis. The Bruins beat Ellis once on five shots through the rest of the period. After Jagr circled the net and attempted a wraparound, the rebound deflected to Marchand for a backhand goal from just below the left hash mark. Andrew Ference made sure the Bruins' offensive outbursts continued in the second period. After he kept the puck in with a solid pinch down the wall during a line change, Ference went to the net and deflected Seidenberg's shot past Ellis at 3:57. The Bruins extended to a 5-0 lead at 10:29, when Caron cleaned up a loose puck in front after a Thornton drive at 10:29. Patrick Dwyer put the Hurricanes on the board with 9:57 remaining, when he beat Rask through the five-hole with a backhand shot in front of the net. Just 45 seconds later, Drayson Bowman scored the Hurricanes' second goal on a tap-in from behind Rask after the Bruins' goaltender saved Bowman's initial shot on the rush. Nathan Horton put the Bruins back ahead by four with a tip-in with 3:04 remaining.

NY Rangers v Toronto 3-4 - The Toronto Maple Leafs have gotten a lot of mileage this season out of improved defensive play, more team toughness and significantly better penalty-killing. But if they hope to first make the playoffs and then go deep into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they need their big guns to start firing. That is exactly what happened Monday at Air Canada Centre as Phil Kessel snapped a 10-game goalless drought with two markers and James van Riemsdyk tallied his second in three games after going 10 in a row without a goal as the Maple Leafs beat the New York Rangers 4-3 at Air Canada Centre. The Kessel-van Riemsdyk-Tyler Bozak trio led the way with six points. Kessel had two goals and an assist; van Riemsdyk tallied a goal and an assist and Bozak had one helper. Rick Nash scored two vintage Rick Nash goals by driving hard to the net, while center Derek Stepan had the other Rangers' goal. The teams meet again at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. For van Riemsdyk, who is playing his first season with Toronto, having the opportunity to play on a line with Kessel is a thrill. Kessel opened the season without a goal in Toronto's first 10 games. When he is not scoring, his detractors suggest he doesn't bring enough else to the table. Van Riemsdyk doesn't agree. The Leafs took a 2-0 lead early in the second period on Ryan O'Byrne's first goal with his new club, but Nash would not let the Rangers fold. He scored his 16th of the season at 14:55 of the second period, blowing past Toronto defenseman Cody Franson. Then, with the Maple Leafs leading 3-1 in the third, Nash zipped past defender Mark Fraser en route to his 17th. Stepan tied it 3-3 nine minutes into the third, but the Leafs roared back with the game-winner 39 seconds later on Kessel's 12th of the season. Once again, Toronto's penalty killers played a huge role. They shut down New York's power play on two attempts and have not allowed a power-play goal in four straight games.

Calgary v Colorado 3-1 - The Calgary Flames haven't had much reason to smile this season while posting the second-worst record in the NHL. The same can be said for the Colorado Avalanche, who have the League's worst record. The Flames were able to celebrate a rare win Monday at the Pepsi Center, where they defeated the Avalanche 3-1 to snap a 13-game road losing streak. Former Avalanche left wing Alex Tanguay sealed the victory by scoring a shorthanded goal with 3:19 remaining in the third period. Tanguay took a pass from Lee Stempniak after a faceoff, skated in alone on goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere and cut to the left before scoring inside the near post. The Flames previously won on the road Feb. 1, a 4-3 victory at Dallas. They had lost five games in a row overall and six of their previous seven games, the only win in that stretch a 4-3 home decision against the Avalanche on March 27. The Flames own a 14-20-4 record for 32 points and have 10 games remaining. It's been an equally difficult season for the Avalanche, and Giguere was critical of the team's attitude after it ran its losing streak to five games (0-4-1). The Avalanche has lost eight of their past 10 games (1-8-1), 13 of their past 15 (2-12-1) and have fallen to 12-22-5 for the season. The Flames got goals from Roman Cervenka and Mike Cammalleri 6:17 apart in the second period to grab a 2-1 lead before leaning on goalie Joey MacDonald, who finished with a season-best 39 saves. Cervenka scored through a screen at 10:36 after skating to the top of the slot to tie the game 1-1. The goal came 10 seconds after the Flames failed to convert on a power play. They went 0-for-6 with the man advantage, including a 5-on-3 in the first period that lasted 1:36. Cammalleri put the Flames ahead at 16:53 off a pass from Roman Horak, who picked up his second assist of the game. Horak was along the end boards when he slid the puck by Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson as Cammalleri skated unimpeded to the net. Rookie Brad Malone opened the scoring for the Avalanche at 1:45 of the second period for his first NHL goal in 15 career games. Defenseman Tyson Barrie fired a shot from the point and Malone deflected it by MacDonald. It was just the 12th time in 39 games this season that the Avalanche scored first, not that it mattered in the end.

Phoenix v Vancouver 0-2 - Ryan Kesler said Monday morning that he wasn't coming back from injury to be a savior or a hero for the Vancouver Canucks. He'll have to settle for the game-winning goal. Playing his eighth game of the season after missing 19 with a broken foot, Kesler scored 7:26 into the first period and Cory Schneider made 19 saves to lead the Canucks to a 2-0 win against the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday at Rogers Arena. Schneider has been the biggest piece of late, but he was just as quick to pass on the hero label, sharing the credit with his team after one of the easiest of his eight career shutouts. Five have come this season, tying him with Coyotes goalie Mike Smith and Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators, including four while starting the last 11 straight. If this truly was a team win, no one was questioning the Canucks are a better one with Kesler, who missed the start of the season recovering from shoulder and wrist surgeries, only to break a bone blocking a shot in his return. The Selke Trophy winning (2011) center banged in a rebound after Mason Raymond hit the post from a sharp angle at the tail end of a failed 3-on-1 rush. The Canucks are better than that when Kesler scores. Since the start of the 2010-11 season, Vancouver is 43-4-5 when he scores a goal. They only managed two against the Coyotes, and the second one, credited to defenseman Dan Hamhuis, was actually scored by Phoenix center Antoine Vermette when he tried to feed back to the point on a late power play and instead sent it the length of the ice and into the empty net vacated by Smith for an extra attacker. Kesler's impact was more evident in the shot total than the score: 42-19 for the Canucks. It was almost as good at the other end. Schneider wasn't busy, but made his three best saves on Martin Hanzal from close range to win for the ninth time in 11 straight starts, moving the Canucks four points ahead of the idle Minnesota Wild atop the Northwest Division. If not for Smith at the other end it could have been a romp. He kept the Coyotes in it with 40 saves, but it wasn't enough to extend a three-game win streak that had put Phoenix back into the Western Conference playoff race. The Coyotes remain three points behind the eighth-place Detroit Red Wings, but fell to 4-9-5 on the road this season, and are away for six of their remaining nine games. The Coyotes' best push back came after Smith was run over twice. Playing his second game back after missing six with whiplash symptoms after getting hit by Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler back on March 21, Smith gave the Coyotes a chance and was in the middle of everything, including great saves off Daniel Sedin and Jannik Hansen in tight, a pair of disallowed power-play goals late in the second period, and the scrums that followed. Alexandre Burrows was the first to push a puck, and Smith, into the net with 58 seconds left in the second, and Smith responded by giving the Canucks' forward a face wash with his blocker before the goal was waved off after a short review. The puck ended up behind Smith again with 1.4 second left in the period, but this time it was waved off because of a distinct kicking motion by Canucks' captain Henrik Sedin. Replays showed Sedin didn't kick the puck, but did get the top of Smith's pad with his kick, and the puck, which had fallen behind it as Smith tried to corral a high point shot, was knocked. It was called off after another review, and another big scrum in Smith's crease after he was again knocked down.

Edmonton v Anaheim 1-2 - For most of the game, the only sounds louder than the boos for Justin Schultz were pucks bouncing off Devan Dubnyk. The Anaheim Ducks peppered the Edmonton Oilers’ goalie for a good 30 minutes, yet could not build on a one-goal lead. Then, 36-year-old Radek Dvorak restored order with his second goal to lead the Ducks to a 2-1 win Monday at Honda Center. Dvorak topped a terrific night when he chipped in a rebound, end over end, at 7:48. He also scored an easy goal in the first as the Ducks moved to three points behind the Chicago Blackhawks for the top seed in the Western Conference in their third game without captain Ryan Getzlaf, who is day-to-day with a leg injury. That could be said in general about Dvorak, a surprise waiver-wire pickup on March 26. He has three goals in his past three games, put six shots on goal and, at one point, outraced 19-year-old Ryan Nugent-Hopkins down the ice on an icing play. Boudreau expects Getzlaf to play Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche. Edmonton’s outlook isn’t so sunny. It finished 1-3 on its road trip and continued to lose a grip on its Stanley Cup Playoffs aspirations as it sits four points out of eighth place in the Western Conference with nine games remaining, although it plays a majority of those at home. The Oilers have been outscored 10-2 in their past three games after it scored 25 goals in its previous six contests. Schultz, who was selected by the Ducks in the second round (No. 43) at the 2008 NHL Draft, played his first game in Anaheim since he declined to sign with the Ducks last spring before signing a free-agent deal with the Oilers this past summer. He was booed every time he touched the puck and fans held signs that read “Judas Schultz” and “We’re Better Off Without You.” Schultz had a golden chance to tie it with fewer than two minutes remaining, when he was stopped in the slot by Jonas Hiller. Fans mistakenly booed Nick Schultz, too, and it was Nick Schultz who ironically gave them good reason to boo when his innocent shot from nearly the left wall floated over Hiller’s right shoulder to force a 1-1 tie 1:12 into the third. Dvorak provided the first score with a backhand into an open net at 17:21 of the first. Ben Lovejoy’s shot hit traffic and the loose puck found Dvorak, who recorded his 20th multi-goal game and first since Oct.14, 2010. Anaheim outshot Edmonton, 26-3, from late in the first period through the second period, but got nothing out of it. It outshot Edmonton 20-0 at one point and got three power plays in the second period alone. Dubnyk held ground, particularly during Ladislav Smid’s roughing penalty, with stops on Corey Perry, Luca Sbisa and Teemu Selanne on quality chances. Boudreau had said he addressed a letdown with his team because the Ducks were coming off an intense win against the rival Los Angeles Kings. But the Ducks didn’t look engaged at the start. Edmonton outshot them, 11-2, through the first 13 minutes before Anaheim woke up and outshot the Oilers, 13-0, the rest of the period. Ducks defenseman Sheldon Souray sat out with soreness from Sunday. Oilers forward Ales Hemsky missed the game because of a foot injury and was replaced by Ryan Jones.

Mon, 08 Apr - Fixtures

Carolina v Boston 7pm ET
NY Rangers v Toronto 7pm ET
Calgary v Colorado 9pm ET
Phoenix v Vancouver 10pm ET
Edmonton v Anaheim 10pm ET

Gameday 79 (Sun, 07 Apr) - Results

St Louis v Detroit 1-0 - St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott hit the restart button late last month with a conditioning stint in the American Hockey League. In hindsight, the Blues may have wished they sent him back to Peoria much earlier in the season, because Elliott has been splendid since returning to the big club. Chris Porter scored his second goal of the season in the second period and Elliott made 28 saves for his first shutout of the season in a 1-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena on Sunday. Elliott, who had nine shutouts last season and shared the William M. Jennings Trophy with Jaroslav Halak, is 3-0 with only four goals allowed since returning from Peoria. He has gotten a chance to reconnect with the Blues because Halak is out with a groin injury. With Elliott's hot hand and rookie goalie Jake Allen contributing with a 26-save win Friday over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Blues have won four in a row since a three-game losing streak. The two points they earned Sunday moved them ahead of the Red Wings in the Western Conference standings. Depending on the outcome of the game between the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets later Sunday, St. Louis could finish the day in sixth-place after starting it in eighth. The Red Wings have lost four of their past six games and are now in eighth place, three points ahead of the Phoenix Coyotes. Their NHL record streak of 21 straight appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is on the line with just nine games left in the regular season. Detroit doesn't play again until Thursday. Elliott, though, was a big reason why the Red Wings came up with nothing on the scoreboard or in the points column. That's a big change from what the Blues were getting from him earlier in the season. Elliott was 3-5-1 with a bloated 3.57 goals-against average and paltry .849 save percentage in his first nine appearances of the season. St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock simply couldn't use him regularly anymore, and over the following 20 games, from Feb. 13-March 26, Elliott played just 72 minutes and got one start. Late last month, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong decided it would be best to send Elliott back to Peoria for a conditioning stint so he could get some games in. He played in two games and allowed only three goals on 56 shots for a 1.51 goals-against average and .946 save percentage. With Elliott returning to his 2011-12 form and Allen serving as a capable backup, the Blues have started to resemble the team that put up 109 points last season. They've allowed only five goals during their current four-game winning streak and their penalty kill is perfect on 18 chances dating back to seven games ago. They've outscored the Wild, Chicago Blackhawks, Blue Jackets and Red Wings by a combined 12-5. But it's not as if the Red Wings are feeling terrible about the way they played Sunday. In fact, coach Mike Babcock said he enjoyed coaching the game and enjoyed watching his team compete because he felt the effort was there and the difference between the streaking Blues and the Red Wings was marginal at best. Babcock, though, didn't necessarily like the Red Wings' power play. They were 0-for-3 with just two shots on goal. The Wings were 4-for-12 on the power play in the three previous games. Porter did at even strength with 3:32 left in the second period, and it was all the Blues needed to leap the Red Wings in the standings and pick up their first shutout win at Joe Louis Arena since Dec. 9, 2009.

Dallas v San Jose 5-4 - Two days after scoring his first NHL goal, Dallas Stars rookie Alex Chiasson did himself one better Sunday against the San Jose Sharks. Chiasson scored two goals, lifting the Dallas Stars to a 5-4 shootout victory against the San Jose Sharks, ruining their quest to make NHL history with a perfect seven-game homestand. Chiasson, who was called up from the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, scored his first goal Friday night against the Anaheim Ducks and now has three goals in three NHL games. Dallas snapped San Jose's seven-game overall winning streak and seven-game home streak. The Sharks finished 6-0-1 on the homestand and will begin a four-game road trip Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. According to STATS LLC, the Sharks would have become the first NHL team to have a perfect homestand of at least seven games if they had won Sunday. The Stars improved to 2-0-0 against the Sharks this season, also defeating them 3-1 Feb. 23 at Dallas. That Stars team included Brenden Morrow, Jaromir Jagr, Derek Roy and Michael Ryder. All four have since been traded, but the Stars haven't abandoned their Stanley Cup Playoff hopes. Benn scored the only goal in the shootout, beating Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi in the second round. Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen stopped all three shootout attempts he faced, from Logan Couture, Dan Boyle and Brent Burns. Eric Nystrom and Loui Eriksson also scored in regulation for Dallas, which overcame two two-goal deficits and won its second straight game. Tommy Wingels, Brent Burns, TJ Galiardi and Marc-Edouard Vlasic each scored a goal for San Jose, and Raffi Torres had a pair of assists and seven hits in his Sharks debut. The Sharks took a 4-2 lead into the third period, but the Stars fought back and pulled even. Chiasson took a cross-ice pass from Ray Whitney and beat Niemi at 6:07, cutting San Jose's lead to 4-3. At 9:14 of the third, Eriksson knocked a rebound past Niemi, who had stopped a Matt Fraser blast but couldn't control the puck. The Sharks gave up more than three goals in a game for the first time since a 5-3 road loss to Anaheim on March 18. The Sharks took a 1-0 lead in the first period on Wingels' goal and made it 2-0 at 3:06 of the second when Burns' laser from the right circle banked off Lehtonen's glove and into the net, just inside the right post. The Stars answered later in the second with a pair of goals in the span of 26 seconds, pulling even. First, Nystrom took a pass from Vernon Fiddler and scored from close range at 3:41, capitalizing on a turnover by Vlasic behind the Sharks' net. Then Chiasson scored his second goal of the game, beating Niemi after a loose puck came his way, just right of the crease. Galiardi gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead with a highlight-reel goal, spinning counterclockwise in the right circle and whipping a backhand shot past Lehtonen at 7:48 of the second. Torres earned his first assist with the Sharks after separating Nystrom from the puck with a check in Dallas' zone and getting the puck to Galiardi. Vlasic increased San Jose's lead to 4-2 with 4:29 left in the second, scoring a wraparound that wasn't credited until after a long video review. The puck snuck under Lehtonen's stick and pad, just inside the right post. Torres made his Sharks debut, four days after being traded by the Phoenix Coyotes for a third-round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. He wasted little time making an impact, finishing checks, throwing well-placed elbows and being a major irritant. Midway through the first period, Torres sent a Stars defenseman to the ice on his backside with a hard check behind the Dallas net. Moments later, Stars defenseman Brendon Dillon drew a two-minute penalty for cross-checking Torres at 11:49. Torres skated on the third line with center Joe Pavelski and Galiardi, replacing James Sheppard in the lineup. The Sharks took a 1-0 lead at 8:39 on Wingels' fourth goal of the season. Couture set the scoring play in motion when he battled defenseman Aaron Rome for the puck behind Dallas' net. Couture sent a pass to Patrick Marleau in the low slot. Marleau whiffed, but the puck went a few feet farther out to Wingels, who ripped it past Lehtonen. The Sharks scored first in five of their six wins at home. Sharks defenseman Jason Demers returned to the lineup after missing four games after taking a shoulder-to-head hit from the Detroit Red Wings' Cory Emmerton on March 28. Demers replaced rookie Matt Tennyson in the lineup. Stars wing Lane MacDermid, who scored a goal in each of his first two games with the Stars, was out with an upper-body injury he suffered Friday against Anaheim. Gulutzan said MacDermid didn't suffer a head injury and shouldn't be out long term. Tom Wandell played his first NHL game since Jan. 29.

Ottawa v Florida 1-2 - Craig Anderson made his long-awaited return to the Ottawa Senators lineup Sunday night, but it was the Florida Panthers' backup goalie who ended up with the starring role. Scott Clemmensen made 40 saves, and Dmitry Kulikov broke a tie with a power-play goal at 10:46 of the third period as the Panthers defeated the Senators 2-1 at BB&T Center. Clemmensen helped the Panthers win despite being outshot 41-17. Clemmensen, who watched top prospect Jacob Markstrom start Florida's previous six games, got his first victory in more than a month. He had lost his past five decisions since a 6-4 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 26. Clemmensen came into the game with the worst GAA (3.96) and save percentage (.862) among NHL goalies with at least 10 appearances this season, but he was brilliant from the start against Ottawa. The Senators have lost four straight to match their longest streak of the season. Ottawa missed a chance to tie the Toronto Maple Leafs for fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings and are two points ahead of the New York Rangers and New York Islanders. Clemmensen's most spectacular save came in the last five minutes of the second period when he stuck out his pad as he was falling and kicked out Turris' point-blank shot as the puck was reaching the goal line. It was a close enough call that the play was reviewed. Anderson, who came in with the best goals-against average and save percentage in the NHL, made 15 saves in his first appearance after missing 19 games with an ankle injury. When MacLean gave his players the day off on Saturday, Anderson spent it at his home in Coral Springs, Fla. Anderson spent three years as the backup to Tomas Vokoun with the Panthers from 2007-09 and came into the game Sunday with a 9-0-1 record in 11 career appearances against his former team. The victory was the Panthers' first this season against the Senators in three tries, and their second in the past 12 meetings. Marcel Goc also scored for the Panthers, who have the worst record in the Eastern Conference but have won four of five. Cory Conacher scored his first for the Senators after he was acquired at the NHL Trade Deadline in the deal that sent goalie Ben Bishop to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Conacher is second among NHL rookie scorers, two points behind Florida's Jonathan Huberdeau, who had an assist on the game-winning goal. Kulikov scored on Florida's only power play of the game. With Sergei Gonchar in the box for holding, Kulikov fired a wrist shot from the high slot that went through Ottawa forward Zack Smith and beat Anderson on the blocker side. Kulikov's goal was his second of the season, each a game-winner, the other coming March 30 in overtime against the New Jersey Devils. It was the fifth consecutive game with a power-play goal for the Panthers. They are 12-3-1 this season when they score at least one power-play goal, 1-17-5 when they don't. Ottawa was 0-for-5 on the power play, making the Senators 0-for-17 in their past four games. Conacher opened the scoring at 12:26 of the first period after Mika Zibanejad fed Jakob Silfverberg in the slot. Instead of shooting, Silfverberg slipped a pass across the crease to Conacher for the easy tap-in. Goc tied the game 1:08 into the second period when he tipped Tomas Fleischmann's wrist shot from the top of the left circle.

Minnesota v Columbus 3-0 - It took Jason Pominville two games to get his first two points for the Minnesota Wild. Pominville assisted on the first goal and scored the last one in Minnesota's 3-0 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday at Nationwide Arena. Pominville has been placed on the Wild's top line with Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise. Nicklas Backstrom made 24 saves for the Wild; he won his League-Leading 20th game of the season, his second by shutout. Backstrom was pulled after allowing two goals on two shots against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, and is now 17-0-2 after being removed from the previous game. Minnesota ended a three-game losing streak before starting a three-game homestand against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, followed by the St. Louis Blues and Columbus. Columbus, which had gotten at least a point in its previous 12 home games, lost after playing six of seven on the road. Minnesota scored two power-play goals 12 minutes apart in the second period. Suter got the first when he took a drop pass from Jared Spurgeon and fired a slap shot past Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky at 3:13. Pominville got his first point for Minnesota with an assist on a pass to Spurgeon. Charlie Coyle tapped in a pass from Mikael Granlund at 15:03 for the 2-0 lead. The Blue Jackets also were 0-for-4 on the power play, including two in the third period. Pominville tipped in a pass from Parise with 1:25 left in the game. He had 10 goals for Buffalo, but one in the 15 games prior to him being traded.

Tampa Bay v Washington 2-4 - Neither seemed possible in early February, but the Washington Capitals are atop their division and Alex Ovechkin is tied for the NHL lead in goals. Washington got two goals from their star wing in a 4-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday at Verizon Center. It was the Capitals' sixth straight victory against a Southeast Division opponent and broke a tie with the Winnipeg Jets for first place. Washington started 2-8-1 under new coach Adam Oates, and Ovechkin had three goals in those 11 games. He has 16 goals in his past 14 games. The Capitals scored the final three goals, two in the second period and an empty-netter by Ovechkin. It gave him 25 this season to tie Tampa Bay's Steve Stamkos for the League lead. Washington is 12-3-0 against its division this season, and 13-1-1 in its past 14 home games against Tampa Bay, which visits again Saturday. The Capitals are 18-9-1 since Feb. 7. Washington forward Joel Ward made the score 3-2 late in the second period with a strong move toward the net. He received the puck in a rush up ice at the offensive blue line along the left-wing boards. He curled around a defender and lifted a forehand from in close past Ben Bishop's glove with 3:39 left. Defenseman John Karlson earlier finished a rush to tie the game 2-2. Receiving a pass in the center faceoff circle, Karlson sped into the zone and blasted a slap shot to the top right corner at 12:54. Tampa Bay opened the scoring at 1:52 of the first period, seven seconds into a power play. Vincent Lecavalier won the faceoff back to Sami Salo, who passed to Martin St. Louis on the right wing. His cross-ice pass found Lecavalier at the far post for a tap-in past Michael Neuvirth. The Lightning were 13-0-1 when leading after one period this season. Tampa Bay led the Southeast at 6-1-0 but now sit fourth at 16-20-2. Ovechkin tied the game 1-1 at 3:14 of the second period when he deflected Jack Hillen's wrist shot from the point into the net. Ovechkin had five goals this weekend in back-to-back games against the Lightning and Florida Panthers. The Lightning took a 2-1 lead 3:23 later when Alex Killorn gathered a long, bouncing pass, eluded Hillen and slid the partial breakaway through Neuvirth's five-hole. Neuvirth made 28 saves, 11 in the third period, playing his first game since March 16. Ward left the game in the third period after injuring his leg blocking a shot.

Nashville v Chicago 3-5 - It's been considered a formality for a while, but the Chicago Blackhawks can officially say they've reserved a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After defeating the Nashville Predators 5-3 at United Center on Sunday night, the Blackhawks became the first team in the NHL to clinch a 2013 postseason berth. It's not the ultimate goal, of course, but it is the first step on the path to the Stanley Cup. Chicago can't finish any lower than seventh in the Western Conference but would like to be the top seed. Also scoring for Chicago (29-5-4) were Andrew Shaw, Bryan Bickell, Brandon Saad and Patrick Kane, who sealed it by potting his 20th into an empty net with 32 seconds left to play. Saad, Kane and Shaw added assists to join Toews with two-point nights. Ray Emery made 19 saves and defeated the Predators (15-17-8) for the second time in as many days, also winning 1-0 on Saturday at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. The Predators took a 3-2 lead 6:54 into the third period on David Legwand's goal, his 11th of the year, but Saad and Toews scored 55 seconds apart to put the Blackhawks up for good. Chances for the Predators are starting to run out. Nashville has eight games remaining and dropped a spot to 13th in the West with 38 points. There are four teams and five points separating the Predators from the West's eighth playoff spot. Nick Spaling and Shea Weber also scored for the Predators, who are 0-3-1 against Chicago with one meeting left, April 19 at United Center. Like the other three head-to-head matchups, the Blackhawks controlled most of the play but still went to the third period deadlocked 2-2 thanks to Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne (35 saves). Shaw put the Blackhawks up 1-0 at 6:34 of the first by standing in front of Rinne and tipping Michael Frolik's long wrister from the top of the left circle into the upper left corner of the net. It was Shaw's eight goal, first since March 18, and capped a great shift by Chicago's fourth line, which Shaw is centering mainly because the Blackhawks are playing without injured forwards Patrick Sharp and Dave Bolland. Chicago outshot Nashville 17-7 in the first period and 40-22 for the game, but the Predators scored some timely goals to stay in it. First it was Spaling, who tied it 1-1 with 2:44 left before the first intermission by burying a second chance into the net from the low slot. Then, after Bickell scored his second goal in as many days to put Chicago up 2-1 at 2:09 of the second, Weber knotted it again at 2-2 with his eighth goal of 2012-13. The Predators captain had the puck come right to him after a faceoff win by Spaling in the offensive zone. The defenseman fired a half-slapper from just above the right circle that sailed over Emery's shoulder, clanked off the crossbar and hit the back of the net. It was Weber's 107th career goal, which tied him with Jason Arnott for third in Predators history. The Blackhawks went into the third period with a 29-16 advantage in shots. They just didn't have the lead and knew that a mere point separated them from automatic playoff qualification, something that's been assumed since their 24-game point streak to start the season. The Predators didn't make it easy. Legwand put Nashville up 3-2 when he took a pass from behind the net by Matt Halischuk and zipped it through Emery's pads from the low slot. That set the stage for the goals by Saad and Toews, who've been red hot as two-thirds of a dynamic top line. Saad smacked a rebound of Keith's shot between Rinne's pads at 9:37 to make it 3-3, and Toews made it 4-3 after taking a great pass from Kane and launching a high, hard rocket from the top of the right circle that sailed through traffic and ripped into the top right corner of the net. Just like that, the Blackhawks knew for sure they'd be battling for the Stanley Cup for a fifth straight postseason. Now the overriding goal is to gear up for a deep playoff run.

New Jersey v Buffalo 2-3 - As the NHL regular season winds down, the Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils are clawing for a chance to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nathan Gerbe scored and Ryan Miller made three saves in the shootout to give Buffalo a 3-2 victory against New Jersey at First Niagara Center on Sunday. Buffalo had a 2-1 lead but gave up a shorthanded goal early in the third period that cost them a better opportunity to jump New Jersey in the Eastern Conference standings. With the win, Buffalo sits in 11th place with 38 points, four points behind the seventh-place New York Rangers. New Jersey is in ninth place with 40 points. The Sabres are winners of their past three games; the Devils are headed in the other direction. Buffalo also is no stranger to tight games. The Sabres have had 15 of their past 20 decided by one goal and are 7-3-5, overall 10-8-6 in 24 one-goal games this season. Buffalo improved its record in the shootout to 5-4. Miller made 37 saves for Buffalo through 65 minutes. Brodeur turned aside 23 shots. Patrick Kaleta and Ott scored for Buffalo. Mark Fayne and Steve Sullivan scored for New Jersey. The Devils, having lost their three previous games in regulation, are 2-5-5 in their past 12, 0-3-4 without injured forward Ilya Kovalchuk (shoulder). Forward Dainius Zubrus had an assist against the Sabres and knows time is winding down to collect points. New Jersey has nine games remaining. The Devils tied it 2-2, 6:46 into the third period while shorthanded. Zubrus carried the puck around the Buffalo net without much heat on him and sent it to Fayne at the top of the zone. The defenseman wristed a shot that beat Miller stick-side. The goal was Fayne's first of the season. Buffalo has allowed a League-worst seven shorthanded goals this season. The Sabres took a 2-1 lead on a perfect tic-tac-toe play in the Devils zone with 6:16 left in the second period. At the right point, Gerbe fired a pass across ice to Cody Hodgson in the left corner. Hodgson then knocked the puck to Ott in the slot, who settled it and roofed a shot over a diving Brodeur. Ott has scored in three straight games. He also has five points (four assists) in his past five games against New Jersey. New Jersey took advantage of a young Buffalo team with a solid forecheck. For long stretches of the game, the Devils were able to pin the Sabres in their zone, outshooting the home team 18-8 at one point. The Devils have had trouble scoring goals of late. They had four in their four games coming into Sunday, and Sullivan's power-play goal was the team's first in five games. Jochen Hecht turned an Andy Greene giveaway in the Devils' zone into the Sabres' first goal. On a Buffalo dump in, Brodeur played the puck to Greene in the corner. Greene sent the puck up ice, but Hecht intercepted it above the faceoff dots. Hecht then turned toward the net and threw a pass on goal. Kaleta, moving to the crease, tipped it in for his first of the season. It was Kaleta's first point since March 7, 2012 and his first goal since Feb. 8, 2012. Miller made a highlight reel-save with 2:06 to go in the first period when he stopped Sullivan with his paddle to prolong a shift in which the Devils brought about considerable pressure. That 2:20 shift for Buffalo's Luke Adam, Kevin Porter, Brian Flynn, Mark Pysyk and Adam Pardy finally ended when Porter was sent to the box for cross-checking Patrik Elias in the corner. Sullivan would not be denied in his next opportunity. On the faceoff, Ott won the draw, but Devils forward Steve Bernier picked off defenseman Tyler Myers' soft pass around the end boards. Bernier skated to the front, passed the puck into the crease, and Sullivan redirected it out of the reach of Miller's glove. Sullivan's goal was his first since being reacquired by the Devils via trade from the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday. He played in a New Jersey uniform for the first time Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs since his last stint with the Devils ended Feb. 20, 1997. Sullivan's prior goal with the Devils came on Feb. 15, 1997 against the Montreal Canadiens. Brodeur and Saku Koivu (Anaheim Ducks) are the other players from that game still playing in the NHL. Sullivan was New Jersey's first shooter in the shootout and his backhand opportunity was stopped by Miller.

Los Angeles v Anaheim 3-4 - Judging by the entertainment value of the series this season, this is as good a time as ever for the first Stanley Cup Playoff series between the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings. Bobby Ryan, Saku Koivu and Corey Perry each scored in the shootout as Anaheim prevailed, 4-3, Sunday in front of a raucous standing-room crowd of 17,494 at Honda Center. Perry clinched it with a wrist shot past Jonathan Bernier after Jeff Carter kept the Kings alive with a wicked backhand past Viktor Fasth. The Ducks won despite an impressive push by Los Angeles in the third period in a close, hard-fought local game that has typified the series now framed as the defending Stanley Cup champions against the Western Conference's No.2 team. Los Angeles came back from deficits of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2. The Ducks, playing their second straight game without their captain Getzlaf, got a power-play goal from Matt Beleskey at 4:54 of the third period and appeared headed for a regulation win until the Kings' top line forged a 3-3 tie. Dustin Brown drove to the net and batted in Anze Kopitar's rebound with 3:45 remaining. It was indicative of great desperation shown by Los Angeles, which outshot Anaheim 16-5 in the third period and 19-7 over the final 45 minutes. Brown, Kopitar and Justin Williams combined for 13 shots on goal. Getzlaf was ruled out before the game with a lower-body injury. Anaheim ended an 0-for-7 slump on the power play since Getzlaf went down Wednesday when Beleskey fished out the puck from a frozen Bernier for his first career power-play goal. The third period was set up by two swings of momentum at the end of the second. A wide-open Carter tied it 2-2 with a swipe of Brad Richardson's pass from the corner with 30 seconds left. It was a huge response goal 1:18 after Perry slipped behind the Kings defense to take an Andrew Cogliano stretch pass and break in to fire a wrist shot lower-left-corner on Bernier for his 23rd goal. Los Angeles had just hemmed in Anaheim for a long sequence and seemed to win most of the period, starting from Doughty's third goal this season, a power-play slap shot with Carter partially screening Fasth at 5:59. Anaheim's Kyle Palmieri opened the scoring with a drive to the net in which Bernier poke-checked the puck, only to have it bounce off Palmieri's skate into the goal at 2:54 of the first. Neither side allowed themselves to opine on what a postseason series would be like, but it was agreed this was a playoff-type game. They combined for 71 hits. The Ducks had 23 blocked shots.

Sun, 07 Apr - Fixtures

St Louis v Detroit 12pm ET
Dallas v San Jose 4pm ET
Ottawa v Florida 6pm ET
Minnesota v Columbus 6pm ET
Tampa Bay v Washington 7pm ET
Nashville v Chicago 7pm ET
New Jersey v Buffalo 7.30pm ET
Los Angeles v Anaheim 9pm ET