Sat, 13 Apr - Fixtures

Philadelphia v Buffalo 3pm ET
Vancouver v Colorado 3pm ET
Montreal v Toronto 7pm ET
NY Rangers v NY Islanders 7pm ET
Tampa Bay v Washington 7pm ET
Boston v Carolina 7pm ET
Pittsburgh v Florida 7.30pm ET
Columbus v Minnesota 8pm ET
San Jose v Dallas 8pm ET
Calgary v Edmonton 10pm ET
Anaheim v Los Angeles 11pm ET

Gameday 84 (Fri, 12 Apr) - Results

Ottawa v New Jersey 2-0 - Don't look now, but Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson is heating up again. He notched his first victory in almost two months Friday with a workmanlike 33-save performance to lead Ottawa to a 2-0 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center. The Senators got second-period goals from rookie Jean-Gabriel Pageau and veteran Milan Michalek. Anderson, who entered with the highest save percentage and lowest goals-against average in the NHL, recorded his first shutout in nine career appearances against the Devils. The 31-year-old missed 18 games with an ankle injury before losing back-to-back against the Florida Panthers on April 7 and Tampa Bay Lightning two days later. The fact his shutout came opposite Devils goalie Martin Brodeur made the triumph that much more special. The victory gives the Senators a two-point lead over the New York Islanders for sixth place in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining. After a visit to TD Garden to face the Boston Bruins on Monday, Ottawa will play five of its last six regular-season games at Scotiabank Place. The Devils lost for the ninth straight time, the same number of games the team has been without injured right wing Ilya Kovalchuk (shoulder). New Jersey, which will visit Air Canada Centre to play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, could equal the team record of 10 straight losses set Oct. 14 to Nov. 4, 1983. With seven games remaining, the defending Eastern Conference champion Devils are in 10th place with 15 wins and 40 points. DeBoer pulled Brodeur with 2:12 left in the third period, but Ottawa bottled up the middle of the ice to secure Anderson's third shutout of the season. New Jersey finished with a 33-11 advantage in shots, but went 0-for-4 on the power play and has been held without a goal in its past 15 chances with the man advantage, including three 5-on-3 opportunities. The Devils have outshot their opponent in 20 of the past 22 games. The 11 shots given up Friday, including two in the third period, were the fewest allowed this season. But New Jersey fell to 3-15-6 when giving up the first goal of game. It was Anderson's first win since a 38-save, 3-1 victory against the Islanders on Feb. 19. Anderson, the game's first star, improved to 6-2-1 against New Jersey. The Senators opened a 2-0 lead early in the second on the goals by Pageau and Michalek in a span of 3:44. Pageau, who was called up from the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton on Wednesday, scored his first NHL goal on a perfectly timed tip in front of Brodeur at the 3:08 mark. Colin Greening took a feed from Erik Condra in the right circle and drove a high backhand attempt Pageau deflected with his stick from waist high. Michalek, who had missed the previous 15 games with a knee injury, made it 2-0 when he broke in 2-on-0 with Alfredsson and started a give-and-go before depositing his third of the season past a sliding Brodeur from the left circle at 6:52. Devils defensemen Henrik Tallinder and Marek Zidlicky bumped into one another at the Senators blue line following an offensive-zone faceoff win by Travis Zajac. Anderson would keep his team ahead by two when he denied Ryan Carter off a 2-on-1 with Stephen Gionta on a quick right-pad save with less than 10 minutes remaining in the second period. The Devils missed a golden opportunity to grab the lead in the first but failed on three power-play opportunities, including a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:24. New Jersey misfired on another power-play attempt at 13:20.

St Louis v Columbus 1-4 - A desperate Columbus Blue Jackets team trying to stay in the playoff hunt was able to cool off the red-hot St. Louis Blues. It's playoff hockey for a franchise reconnecting with its fan base. Cam Atkinson had a goal and an assist, and the Blue Jackets made it 11 wins in their past 15 home games [11-1-3] as they pulled within two points of the Detroit Red Wings for the eighth spot in the Western Conference by beating the Blues 4-1 on Friday night at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets (18-16-7) also got goals from Artem Anisimov, Ryan Johansen and Marian Gaborik, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 31 shots. Columbus now has 43 points, two behind the Red Wings, who lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blue Jackets embark on a six-game trip beginning against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday before ending the season here on the final day of the regular season. The Blues (23-15-2), who had a chance to jump into fourth place in the Western Conference with a win, saw their season-high six-game winning streak snapped. Kevin Shattenkirk scored St. Louis' lone goal and rookie Jake Allen, giving red-hot Brian Elliott a breather after three consecutive shutouts, stopped 15 shots. The Blues had allowed only five goals in their six-game winning streak and had won 10 of the past 12 against the Blue Jackets, including 3-1 at Scottrade Center a week ago. But St. Louis, despite its winning streak, had scored only five goals in its past four games. The Blues, who beat the Wild 2-0 in St. Paul on Thursday night, had good jump early and got the scoring started 1:26 into the game when Shattenkirk's seeing-eye shot from the blue line and found its way past a screened Bobrovsky. Vladimir Tarasenko was in the slot obstructing the view of the Columbus goalie and may have prevented him from seeing the puck, which caromed off the far post and into the net. Bobrovsky made some key stops in the early going to keep it 1-0 before the Blue Jackets got the equalizer when a failed clearing attempt came to defenseman Adrian Aucoin at the right point. Aucoin's shot was double-deflected past Allen by Atkinson with 5:28 left in the opening period. The Blues were able to establish a franchise record for consecutive shutout minutes at 215:56. The previous record was 201:32 set from March 21-29, 2012. The Blues also needed 6:47 into the game to break the all-time road shutout mark of 196:15 set Dec. 14-Jan. 3, 1968-69. Atkinson's goal ended that mark at 204:01. The Blue Jackets took control of the game in the middle period, with Anisimov and Johansen scoring in a 4:26 span late in the period. Anisimov knocked Brandon Dubinsky's backhand centering feed past Allen with 5:40 left in the period. It marked the first time the Blues trailed in a game since Chicago's Brandon Saad gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead in the second period of a game April 4. Johansen banged a deflected puck into an empty right side of the net with 84 seconds left in the period after James Wisniewski, playing in his 400th career game, fired a shot from the left point that was tipped by Nick Foligno. Gaborik netted his third goal and sixth point in five games since the Blue Jackets acquired him from the New York Rangers on April 3 when he redirected a Mark Letestu feed in the low slot over a sprawled Allen 1:21 into the third period to give Columbus a three-goal lead. It marked the third goal of the game that the Blue Jackets scored from around the net, and Hitchcock said was the difference in the game.

Dallas v Nashville 5-2 - It might have seemed like the Dallas Stars were giving up on the season when they made a series of trades before the NHL's April 3 trading deadline. Captain Brenden Morrow went to the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 24. On April 2, Jaromir Jagr went to the Boston Bruins and Derek Roy went to the Vancouver Canucks. By jettisoning one of the League's all-time great scorers in Jagr, the Stars were forced created an opening for their newest offensive weapon: rookie Alex Chiasson. The former Boston University star scored twice on Friday, giving him five goals in his first five NHL games, helping the Stars to a 5-2 victory against Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena, and furthering the Stars' improbable chase to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With the win, the Stars moved within two points of the eighth-place Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference. The Red Wings lost a shootout 3-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. The Stars, who have eight games remaining, hold a game in hand on the Red Wings as well as on the Phoenix Coyotes and Columbus Blue Jackets, who are even with Dallas at 43 points. Backup goalie Richard Bachman made 26 saves for the Stars, who won despite being outshot 28-18. With No. 1 goalie Kari Lehtonen out with a groin injury, Bachman has risen to the occasion, he has allowed two goals in 105:42 over the last two games since Lehtonen went down in the first period of Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Kings. Friday marked Bachman's first start since Feb. 26. With Lehtonen still nursing his injury, Bachman might have to start again on Saturday in Dallas against the San Jose Sharks. Meanwhile, Nashville's late-season collapse continued. The Predators have scored six goals in five games since the trading deadline and lost for the eighth time in nine games (1-6-2). Nashville coach Barry Trotz elected to rest No. 1 goalie Pekka Rinne, who leads the League with 39 games played. In his place, Chris Mason started for only the fourth time this season. Dallas struck first, 6:04 into the game. Low-scoring forward Vernon Fiddler continued his hot streak by a digging a puck out of the boards behind the net and setting up a wide-open Erik Cole in the high slot. Cole ripped a slap shot through a slew of bodies that beat Chris Mason high to the glove side. Fiddler's two assists gave him five points in two games; before that, he had 176 points in 10 NHL seasons. Dallas expanded its lead to 2-0 at 8:40 by taking advantage of a tripping call to Nashville's Craig Smith. Whitney, stationed at the left circle, one-timed a cross-ice pass from Alex Goligoski and beat Mason high to the blocker side. The goal was the 40-year-old's 10th in 24 games. Nashville pulled within 2-1 with 1:18 left in the first period on Taylor Beck's power-play goal. Patric Hornqvist kicked a puck down low through the goalmouth and defenseman Roman Josi touched it glancingly as it arrived on Beck's stick and the rookie wristed it into the net for his third goal in 13 games. The goal ended Bachman's shutout streak at 64:24. Dallas' Tom Wandell earned his first goal in more than a calendar year as both he and Ryan Garbutt skated past the Nashville defense. Garbutt did it took a stretch pass at the blue line from Antoine Roussel and streaked down the right wing. He flipped a pass to Wandell, who easily converted it at 2:28 of the second period to make it 3-1. Chiasson made it 4-1 at 11:12, again getting past a Nashville defender and tapping a pass from Whitney through Mason's pads. He scored an unassisted goal at 7:03 of the third period on a wrist shot from the right wing to finish off a 3-on-2 rush. Bobby Butler made it 5-2 with a rising wrist shot off the rush with 7:48 left in regulation. With 3:29 left in regulation, Nashville's Sergei Kostitsyn received a major for boarding for a hit on Matt Fraser. The play punctuated yet another frustrating night for the Predators. In contrast to Nashville, Dallas is riding a completely different wave. In what could shape up as a huge game, the Stars will host Detroit in the regular-season finale for both teams on April 27.

Detroit v Chicago 2-3 - It wasn't too long ago the Chicago Blackhawks found themselves just a step behind the rival Detroit Red Wings in their quest for sustained excellence. Now, it's safe to say the scenario has flipped, and not just because of Friday night's latest gut punch delivered by the Blackhawks to their longtime rival. Chicago (31-5-4) completed a sweep of the four-game season series against the Red Wings with a 3-2 come-from-behind shootout win at United Center, the first Chicago series sweep since 1976-77, and also clinched the Central Division title in the process. The Hawks are 8-0-2 against Detroit during the past two seasons, with all but a 7-1 Chicago rout on March 31 at Joe Louis Arena being decided by one goal. Six of the games went to overtime or a shootout. Having to fight for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is an oddity for the Red Wings (19-15-7), who are usually a given for the postseason after qualifying for 21 consecutive seasons. Yet again, another late goal by the Blackhawks sent it to overtime, this time scored by Chicago captain Jonathan Toews to knot it 2-2 with 2:57 left in regulation. After neither team scored in OT despite some great chances, it came down to the second shootout of the season between these teams. Chicago won the first on March 3 in Detroit, after Patrick Kane tied it late in regulation and then scored the winner in the tiebreaker. This time it was Hawks rookie Brandon Saad who decided the game's second point with a pretty backhand over Jimmy Howard's shoulder in the fifth round. Chicago is battling motivation for the remaining eight games of the regular season after clinching a playoff spot on Sunday and now the division title, doing so in the last regular-season game against Detroit as a division rival. The Red Wings are headed to the Eastern Conference next season as part of the National Hockey League's realignment plan and it might be a good thing for them just to lessen their games against the Hawks. Johan Franzen and Cory Emmerton scored regulation goals for Detroit, while Howard made 26 saves through 65 minutes. Viktor Stalberg scored Chicago's other regulation goal, while Corey Crawford made 27 saves in regulation and overtime, then ended the game by denying Franzen after Saad's goal. It was a tight game the whole way, once again, but mainly because of Howard in the first 10 minutes of the game. Just as they did in that 7-1 shellacking of the Red Wings in Detroit, the Blackhawks came out flying. The only difference is that Howard was up for the challenge, making eight saves in the game's first 5:35, including shots by Stalberg, Kane, Andrew Shaw and Michael Frolik within a 38-second span. After Henrik Zetterberg recorded the game's first shot on goal 25 seconds after the opening faceoff, the Red Wings didn't get another until Franzen forced Crawford to make a save at 4:59, which made the shot count at that point 8-2 in the Hawks' favor. Thanks to a pair of power plays, Detroit tilted the shots count and scoring chances in its favor over the last half of the period, but the game remained scoreless at intermission. Stalberg opened the scoring with his eighth goal of the season 6:11 into the second by scooping a rebound of Duncan Keith's shot behind the net and wrapping the puck around and over the goal line before Howard could react. It took nearly 10 minutes for the Red Wings to respond with the goals by Franzen and Emmerton, who gave the Wings the lead at 17:39 when he chipped his own rebound over Crawford's shoulder for his fourth goal of the season. That set up a frenetic, fast-paced third period in which both goaltenders came up big. Toews, however, found a way to beat Howard and set up the shootout. Detroit went ahead on Zetterberg's goal in the second round, but former Red Wings star forward Marian Hossa extended it with a goal to lead off the third round. It's been that kind of season series for the Red Wings.

Phoenix v Calgary 2-3 - The Phoenix Coyotes came to Scotiabank Saddledome desperate for two points. The Calgary Flames let them leave with only one. A late goal by Keith Yandle forced overtime, but Mark Giordano's goal with 23.1 seconds remaining in the extra period lifted the Flames to a 3-2 victory and cost the Coyotes a much-needed point. For Phoenix, scrambling for a playoff berth, one point was better than going home empty-handed. They had several chances to get the second point in OT before Giordano drifted into the high slot and snapped a quick shot through a screen that beat goaltender Mike Smith to the blocker side and rang off the post before settling across the goal line. After Phoenix mustered just five shots through the first 14 minutes of the third period, Yandle's one-timer from just below the faceoff dot with 5:04 remaining in the third period tied the game 2-2, potentially saving Phoenix's season by forcing extra time and earning them a point. Calgary goaltender Joey MacDonald weathered the storm after Yandle's goal, making five more saves in regulation and another three in overtime to set the stage for Giordano's fourth of the season. The single point gave the Coyotes 43, the same as the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets, and two fewer than the Detroit Red Wings, who hold eighth place in the Western Conference. Dallas has eight games remaining; the Red Wings, Coyotes and Blue Jackets have seven. The Coyotes came out playing like a desperate team and wasted little time taking the lead. Just 1:29 into the game, Chris Conner fed Antoine Vermette on the edge of the crease. MacDonald made the initial save, but Vermette grabbed his own rebound and lifted a backhand over the glove of the Flames goaltender and into the back of the net to give Phoenix the lead. David Schlemko almost extended that lead to two with 7:11 remaining in the period when he fired a blast from just inside the faceoff circle that was met by a flashy glove save from MacDonald. That save sparked Jiri Hudler. After having one chance denied by Smith, Hudler parked himself in front of the Phoenix net on the same shift and had Mikael Backlund's centering feed bounce off his skate and behind Smith with 55.2 seconds remaining to get the Flames even. Lee Stempniak broke the tie late in the second period on another second effort from the Flames. He got behind the Coyotes' defense and in alone on Smith, who made a pad save off. The rebound worked its way back to TJ Brodie at the point, whose shot squeezed through Smith and sat just shy of the goal line until Stempniak poked it across, snapping his 11-game drought and giving Calgary a 2-1 lead with 1:08 remaining. Mikkel Boedker was a post away from drawing Phoenix even just 45 seconds later, ringing a late period shot off the iron before watching the rebound slowly slide past the far post. It was Phoenix's best scoring opportunity until Yandle's game-tying goal late in the third gave Phoenix a point.

Gameday 83 (Thu, 11 Apr) - Results

NY Islanders v Boston 2-1 - The New York Islanders' late-season push toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs has included several impressive wins against top-quality opponents. You can add their latest victory to that list. The second of Josh Bailey's two goals broke a second-period tie, and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 30 shots as the Islanders defeated the Boston Bruins 2-1 Thursday night, handing the Bruins their third regulation home loss at TD Garden this season. Tuukka Rask stopped 34 shots for the Bruins, who were playing the second half of a back-to-back and their third game in four nights. After a fast start and a 16-9 shots edge in the first period, Boston's game fizzled and it managed 13 shots the rest of the night. The Bruins lost in regulation at home for the first time since March 3. Boston had been 8-0-1 in its past nine home games. The Islanders are 8-1-1 in their past 10 overall and remained in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the New York Rangers, who come to the Nassau Coliseum on Saturday night. Bailey, who has at least one point in five of his past six games, nearly had a hat trick. Rask's blocker save with 5:37 remaining in the third period stopped Bailey's wide-open shot at the end of a 2-on-1. The Bruins tied the game 1-1 at 3:41 of the second period on Tyler Seguin's power-play goal. The wing roofed a shot from the left side of the slot after a cross-ice feed from Gregory Campbell. Rask faced 19 shots to the Bruins' eight on Nabokov in the second period, and the Boston netminder made several excellent saves. However, Bailey beat Rask for his second goal of the game at 13:12 after a steal from Adam McQuaid in the neutral zone. Bailey's wrist shot from the left dot trickled under Rask's arm and over the goal line to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead. The Bruins, playing without center Patrice Bergeron and wing Brad Marchand because of concussion issues, continued to juggle lines, a task Julien has been forced to do several times in the past month because of injuries and ineffectiveness. Boston came out strong and nearly scored on its best chance of the first half of the first period. Seguin danced round Keith Aucoin at the New York blue line, circled the net and set up Chris Kelly in front. Nabokov made the initial stop then denied Jordan Caron's attempt to jam the puck with 9:36 elapsed. New York failed on the lone power play of the period but scored a late goal at even strength. Mark Streit led the rush and fed the puck back to Bailey at the blue line. The Islanders forward slapped a rocket through a Casey Cizikas screen and into the top corner with 21 seconds remaining for a 1-0 lead. By outplaying the Bruins on Boston's home ice, the Islanders showed they can win in one of the League's most hostile environments and that they were able to not look ahead to Saturday's showdown with the Rangers.

Ottawa v Philadelphia 3-1 - Third periods haven't been kind recently to the Ottawa Senators. They played a solid one Thursday and were rewarded with a victory. Colin Greening's power-play goal with 5:26 left in regulation snapped a 1-1 tie and helped the Senators snap their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers. Zack Smith and Daniel Alfredsson also scored for the Senators, and Robin Lehner stopped 24 shots. Claude Giroux scored the Flyers' lone goal, and goalie Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 31 shots. During their skid the Senators had been outscored 8-3 in the final 20 minutes, and in four of the five games they either entered the third tied or ahead before losing each time. The goal came 41 seconds after Giroux was assessed a double-minor for high sticking the Senators' Mika Zibanejad. The Senators had been 3-for-27 in their previous 10 games with the man advantage. Greening created the winning goal when he changed the Senators' breakout pattern. Rather than start with all five players regrouping and flowing out of the defensive zone together, Greening stayed near the Philadelphia blue line. It worked exactly as planned when Patrick Wiercioch split Philadelphia's Matt Read and Kimmo Timonen with a pass out of his zone to Greening, who had a clear path to the net and snapped a shot from the right circle that beat Bryzgalov over the glove. It was a break the Senators have been hoping for. They weren't in danger of slipping out of a playoff spot, but the win enabled them to stay in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, ahead of the New York Islanders by a tiebreaker. That's the same situation facing the Flyers, who lost their third straight game. And while the same seven-point deficit they were faced entering the game remains, they only have eight games to make it up if they want to extend their season into May. Gagne set up the Flyers' lone goal, a shorthanded score by Claude Giroux. Off a faceoff in the Philadelphia end, Gagne tipped a loose puck past the Senators' Andre Benoit and broke out through the neutral zone. He tried centering the puck to Giroux, but Chris Phillips blocked the pass. The puck came back to Gagne in the high slot, and he spun and threw a shot on net. Giroux, camped in the crease, tipped it past Lehner at 11:44. It was the first shorthanded goal allowed by the Senators this season. But for the third straight game, the Flyers could only manage a single goal, and their power play went 0-for-2, extending its slump to 0-for-13 in five games. The Senators figured things out early, taking a 1-0 lead on Smith's fourth goal of the season. Taking advantage of a poor Flyers line change, Marc Methot found Smith alone at the Philadelphia blue line, and he had a clear path to the net. Smith pulled the puck from his forehand to his backhand and back to his forehand to beat Bryzgalov 3:20 into the game. Now the Senators can make the short trip to New Jersey for a game Friday at the Devils feeling better about themselves.

Carolina v Washington 1-3 - One month ago, the Carolina Hurricanes left Verizon Center in command of the Southeast Division after blowing out the Washington Capitals, who appeared to be on the way to missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Hurricanes left the same building Thursday night with their playoff hopes in tatters while the Capitals moved closer to a division title. Troy Brouwer scored twice and Braden Holtby made 43 saves as the Capitals won their sixth in a row by beating the Hurricanes 3-1, handing Carolina its seventh consecutive loss. The victory kept the Capitals (22-17-2) two points ahead of the Winnipeg Jets in the race for the division. The Jets kept pace by routing the Florida Panthers 7-2 in Winnipeg. Brouwer and Mike Green scored 2:38 apart midway through the second period to overcome Jeff Skinner's first-period goal for Carolina. Holtby made the lead stand up, and Brouwer hit the empty net in the final seconds. Carolina, which led the division a month ago, fell to 1-13-1 in its past 15 games, a stretch that began with a loss to the Capitals in the rematch March 14, and has fallen to 14th in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes came out flying, taking the first 14 shots and opening the scoring at 5:01 of the first period when Skinner banged home the rebound of Eric Staal's shot from the right circle for a power-play goal. But with Jordan Staal off for slashing, Brouwer tied the game at 8:08 of the second period when he set up in the slot and one-timed Mike Ribeiro's pass behind Justin Peters. Green put the Capitals ahead at 10:46 with an excellent individual effort, moving into the right circle before picking the far corner just under the crossbar for his ninth of the season.

Montreal v Buffalo 5-1 - The Montreal Canadiens finished the 2011-12 season with the worst record in the Eastern Conference and found themselves picking third in the 2012 NHL Draft. Less than a year later, Alex Galchenyuk, Montreal's first-round selection, helped them clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Galchenyuk, Rene Bourque, Brendan Gallagher, Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban each had a goal Thursday when the Canadiens defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-1 at First Niagara Center to secure a spot in the playoffs. Montreal goalie Peter Budaj improved to 7-1-1, making 14 saves. The victory by the Canadiens (26-9-5), combined with the Boston Bruins' loss to the New York Islanders, moved Montreal back into first place in the Northeast Division. The Canadiens have 57 points to the Bruins' 56. Montreal missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2006-07, and getting back has been one of coach Michel Therrien's goals since he took over prior to this season. Ten players for Montreal ended up on the scoresheet. Max Pacioretty and Michael Ryder recorded two assists each. Subban and Markov also had multipoint games with a goal and an assist apiece. Thursday marked the final meeting of the season between the clubs. Buffalo was 3-1-0 against Montreal this season. When the teams met March 23 in Montreal, goaltender Ryan Miller kept the Sabres in the game; they were outshot 39-18 but won 2-1. Montreal poured it on against Buffalo again Thursday. The Canadiens outshot the Sabres 15-7 in the first period and held a 2-0 lead on goals by Bourque and Galchenyuk. Seven minutes into the second period, the Canadiens were outshooting Buffalo 11-1 and held a 32-11 edge by the time the horn sounded. Gallagher and Markov scored in the second to give Montreal a four-goal lead. Miller stopped 28 shots through two periods before being relieved by Jhonas Enroth to start of the third. Enroth made nine saves on 10 shots. Montreal finished the game outshooting the Sabres 42-15; the Canadiens had 14 shots blocked and 13 that missed the net. The Sabres sit at 38 points, six points out of a playoff spot with seven games remaining. Five of those last seven games are on home ice, but Buffalo is 8-8-3 at First Niagara Center this season. Brian Flynn scored shorthanded for the Sabres 6:45 into the third period to spoil Budaj's shutout. Canadiens forward Jeff Halpern reached a milestone, playing in his 900th NHL game. Budaj got the start after the team announced Wednesday he had signed a two-year contract extension. He was rewarded again with a win. The Montreal defense did its part, blocking 13 shots. Bourque opened the scoring 6:43 into the game. Sabres forward Thomas Vanek lost the puck in his skates at the Canadiens blue line and Bourque started back on a 2-on-1 with Tomas Plekanec. Bourque sent the puck to Plekanec on the right wing, where he fed a backhand pass back into the slot to Brian Gionta, coming late. Gionta's shot deflected off Bourque's heel as he crossed in front of the net and went past Miller. Sabres wing Patrick Kaleta and Canadiens forward Brandon Prust dropped the gloves right after the faceoff at center ice. Montreal struck again at 10:27 after some hard work behind the net. Ryder beat defenseman Mike Weber and curled his way around in front to Miller's left. Ryder sent a pass across the crease that Galchenyuk buried on his second attempt after his first went off the side of the net and came right back to him. Galchenyuk, who turned 19 in February, has six goals in his first professional season. Gallagher, a fellow rookie who was drafted in 2010 (No. 147) by Montreal, put the Canadiens ahead 3-0 at 4:36 of the second period. A slap shot by David Desharnais was turned aside by Miller, but the rebound went to Gallagher, who was standing unchecked to Miller's right. Gallagher pulled the puck back into the slot and reached past the outstretched goalie to put it in around his left pad for his 12th of the season. Montreal made it 4-0 at 17:54 during a 5-on-3 power play. Flynn attempted to block Andrei Markov's slap shot from the point, but the puck deflected off his stick, floated up and skipped into the net behind Miller. Subban scored a power-play goal with 2:41 remaining in regulation to make it 5-1. His shot from the point was deflected before finding its way past Enroth. The goal was Subban's 11th of the season, the most by any NHL defenseman.

Pittsburgh v Tampa Bay 6-3 - Jussi Jokinen has fit right in with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jokinen, acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes at the NHL Trade Deadline last week, scored twice and added an assist Thursday night as the Penguins overwhelmed the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3. Jokinen opened the scoring with his eighth goal of the season and second as a Penguin at 4:07 of the opening period when he charged the net and finished off a cross-ice pass from Brenden Morrow. He added a third-period goal and has points in all three games he's played since being acquired from Carolina, giving the Penguins an offensive boost while Sidney Crosby is sidelined with a broken jaw. The Penguins led 3-2 as the third period began, but Evgeni Malkin's unassisted tally triggered a three-goal third period as the Penguins won their third in a row and 18th in 20 games. Malkin gave the Penguins a 4-2 lead when he picked off a pass by Lightning forward Alex Killorn and beat goaltender Ben Bishop under the glove at 1:24 of the final period. Jokinen scored his second of the night at 4:45 and Glass backhanded home a power-play goal at 16:40 for his first point in 40 games with the Penguins. Pittsburgh converted on three of six extra-man opportunities, including a goal by Chris Kunitz to open the second period. Tampa Bay went 3-for-4 with the extra man; Teddy Purcell scored twice, one in the final seconds, and Brett Connolly also connected for the Lightning. But the closest that Tampa Bay could get was to close the gap to one goal twice, at 2-1 and 3-2. Tampa Bay was whistled for 37 minutes of penalties, tying a season-high set against Ottawa on Jan. 25. Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang returned after missing six games; he played 23:32 and assisted on Kunitz's goal. The Penguins (31-10-0) lead the Eastern Conference with 62 points, five more than Montreal, and have won three in a row. Tampa Bay (17-21-2) remained eight points behind the eighth-place New York Rangers with eight games remaining. Tomas Vokoun faced only 19 shots, and Cooper thought his team made it much too easy on the veteran goaltender.

San Jose v Detroit 3-2 - The San Jose Sharks were able to win a crucial road game because the Detroit Red Wings can't seem to win at home. Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture scored in regulation and again in the shootout to give the Sharks a 3-2 win against the Red Wings on Thursday at Joe Louis Arena. Marleau's goal in the third round followed a successful shootout attempt by Couture against Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard. San Jose goalie Antti Niemi allowed a goal by Pavel Datsyuk in the first round of the tiebreaker but stopped Damien Brunner and Gustav Nyquist, making his first NHL attempt in the tiebreaker. The Sharks, 8-1-1 in their past 10, have 49 points; they remained one point behind the Los Angeles Kings for fourth place in the Western Conference. The Kings beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in a shootout Thursday night. San Jose is 7-11-2 on the road this season but was motivated by its poor showing in the loss to the Blue Jackets. The Red Wings have 44 points, good for eighth place in the Western Conference as they attempt to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a 22nd consecutive season. They are two points ahead of Phoenix and three in front of Dallas and Columbus. Detroit has lost five of its past six at home (1-3-2) and plays Friday night on the road against the League-leading Chicago Blackhawks. The teams traded power-play goals 1:31 apart in the third period. Detroit's Jakub Kindl got the first, giving the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. Henrik Zetterberg grabbed a loose puck near the left faceoff dot and fed the charging wide-open defenseman for a shot inside the far post at 2:29. It was Zetterberg's 400th career assist. Couture tied it 2-2 at 4:00, backhanding the rebound of a Joe Thornton shot over Howard into the net. The Sharks started the scoring 2:35 into the game with a shorthanded goal. Joe Pavelski stole the puck in the left circle in the Sharks' zone. He and Marleau criss-crossed at center ice to create a 2-on-1. With Zetterberg chasing Marleau, Pavelski hit his teammate with a pass, and Marleau beat Howard to the short side. After sustained pressure midway through the second period, the Red Wings, shut out by the St. Louis Blues 1-0 at home on Sunday, broke through with a goal at 9:51. Defenseman Brendan Smith shot wide of the net and Johan Franzen gathered the puck along the right-wing boards. He outdueled Sharks defenseman Justin Braun and skated behind the net, from where he fed Justin Abdelkader at the near post. Abdelkader slid a shot along the ice through Niemi's five-hole.

Florida v Winnipeg 2-7 - Back-to-back victories by the Winnipeg Jets had begun to undo some of the damage five consecutive losses had done to their Stanley Cup Playoff chances. But the Jets still owned minimal margin for error when they reached the halfway point of their six-game homestand Thursday. Tearing apart the Florida Panthers 7-2 at MTS Centre will help Winnipeg keep pace in the Eastern Conference race going into a four-day break. The ninth-place Jets (21-19-2) began the evening two points behind the Southeast Division-leading Washington Capitals, who held a game in hand. A trio of teams, the Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders and New York Rangers, owned a two-point lead on the Jets as well. The Senators, Capitals and Islanders each won Thursday to maintain that lead on the Jets. The idle Rangers and Jets are tied at 44 points, but the Rangers own two games in hand, leaving the Jets in ninth place. Winnipeg’s three-game winning streak ties a season high, but the Jets will not play again until the Tampa Bay Lightning visit on Tuesday. Evander Kane scored pair of goals, his 15th and 16th, to tie Andrew Ladd for the team lead. Winnipeg used three second-period goals to turn the game into a rout. The Jets have scored 10 second-period goals in their past three games, and their 47 goals in the middle period lead the League. Along with the production from Kane and Ladd, it was secondary scoring, a major issue for much of the season, that helped to carry Winnipeg to a season-high seven goals. The Jets received goals from recent American Hockey League recall Aaron Gagnon and defenseman Grant Clitsome, who both scored their second goal in as many games. Florida (13-21-6) had won four of its previous five games, but the Panthers had no answer for Winnipeg. With a visit from the Eastern Conference-leading Pittsburgh Penguins looming Saturday, Panthers coach Kevin Dineen vowed not to brush aside the loss. Florida goaltender Jacob Markstrom and Winnipeg counterpart Ondrej Pavelec faced an early offensive outburst that had the clubs tied 2-2 by the 6:31 mark thanks to four goals in a 2:37 span. Gagnon and Kane provided the Jets with two in the opening 5:04 that sandwiched a tally from Florida defenseman TJ Brennan. After Kane made it 2-1, Fleischmann erased the lead 1:27 later to extend his point streak to seven games. Noel called his timeout and settled down his club. Ladd then put the Jets ahead to stay with 7:18 left in the first period, converting Bryan Little's centering feed. Winnipeg fired 17 first-period shots at Markstrom. The Jets blew the game open with a pair of goals 28 seconds apart halfway through the second period. Little and Clitsome teamed to make it 4-2 on Winnipeg's second power play. Clitsome's goal at 10:05, his second in as many games, ended Winnipeg's 0-for-21 drought on the power play. Dustin Byfuglien followed with a long blast from the right point that beat Markstrom over the left shoulder to make it 5-2. It became 6-2 on the Jets' third goal in 1:57 when Kane ended Markstrom's night, outracing Florida's Erik Gudbranson to a puck off the left boards and sweeping it past the goaltender. Markstrom stopped 17 of 23 shots before he gave way to Scott Clemmensen, who made 11 saves in relief. Pavelec, who made his 38th appearance of the season, second only to Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators, finished with 25 saves. Gagnon opened the scoring at 3:54, tipping a long shot from Blake Wheeler. Brennan's right-side shot fooled Pavelec 52 seconds later. Kane trickled a shot past Markstrom 18 seconds after Brennan's goal, and Fleischmann tied the game at 2-2 with a left-side shot into a nearly empty net amid a scramble of players near Pavelec. Nine seconds into a minor penalty to George Parros, Little's right-circle pass into the slot reached Clitsome, who pounded a low shot under Markstrom at 10:05. Chris Thorburn added a goal with eight minutes left in the third period, his first in 33 games. The Jets head into their first extended rest period of the season. Winnipeg wraps up its homestand next week before facing a potentially crucial meeting with the Capitals in their second-to-last game of the season.

St Louis v Minnesota 2-0 - When Andy McDonald scored with 10:30 remaining in regulation, it seemed the only question remaining was whether St. Louis Blues goaltender Brian Elliott would post his third straight shutout. He did., stopping 23 shots that stretched his shutout streak to 189:31 as the Blues defeated the Minnesota Wild 2-0 on Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center. Just 10 days ago, the Blues and Wild met in this building. The teams were heading in different directions, Minnesota had won seven of eight and was comfortably above water in the Western Conference playoff race. St. Louis was desperate; out of the playoffs and badly in need of a win. Perhaps in a bit of irony, both teams suffered injuries in that game that have seemingly changed the direction of their seasons. The Blues lost goaltender Jaroslav Halak to a groin injury and were forced to play Elliott, who hadn't seen game action in two months. The Wild lost Matt Cullen, the straw that stirred Minnesota's secondary scoring mix. Since that time, Elliott has become the hottest goalie in the NHL and Minnesota's offense has gone into the deep freeze. The Wild have been shut out in back-to-back games and in three of four since acquiring forward Jason Pominville at the trade deadline. Since that game against the Blues on April 1, Minnesota is 1-5-0; St. Louis is 6-0-0. Roman Polak's first goal of the season 10:37 into the first period was all the offense Elliott needed. McDonald's goal kept the Blues from being the first team in NHL history to win three consecutive 1-0 games on the road. What should be a rare feat, shutting out teams in three straight games, actually isn't for the Blues: They did it just 13 months ago. The Wild, almost a shoe-in to make the playoffs at the start of the month, now finds themselves just four points up on the surging ninth-place Phoenix Coyotes ( winners of four of five) and five up on the 10th-place Dallas Stars (winners of three straight) and Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blues visit Columbus on Friday before the Wild host the Blue Jackets on Saturday night. The Wild nearly did just that, getting their best scoring chance just one minute into the game when Pominville led a 3-on-1 break into the Blues zone. But his heavy snap shot rang off the right post. Perhaps of more immediate concern is the status of defenseman Ryan Suter, who was injured late in the first period. He was late to the bench to start the second, played a few shifts then missed the entire third period. Yeo refused to discuss the issue but said he doesn't believe the injury is serious, he did indicate, however, is that changes are likely coming to the lineup. The Wild have allowed just three goals in their past three games but are only 1-2-0 in that span.

Colorado v Los Angeles 2-3 - The cure for the Los Angeles Kings' two-game slide was practically presented to them on a silver platter in the form of baby-faced rookie goaltender Sami Aittokallio, who was thrust into goal against the defending Stanley Cup Champions in his first NHL game. The first few minutes were predictable: two goals allowed on the first six shots. But Aittokallio held his ground with 23 saves before leaving midway through the third period with cramps in both legs. It wasn't until Anze Kopitar slipped a backhand past Jean-Sebastien Giguere in the third round of a shootout that Kings finally beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Thursday night. The hard-earned two points allowed L.A. to jump ahead of the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues for fourth in the Western Conference with 50 points. They were happy to get the two points, though not with the way they did it. That's been an issue the past three games for L.A, which next hosts the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. Anaheim beat the Kings 4-3 in a shootout last Sunday. Aittokallio, 20, was the second-youngest goalie to start for Colorado, behind only 19-year-old Marc Denis in 1996. He was recalled this week because Semyon Varlamov was injured and coach Joe Sacco decided to give him a look. But Aittokallio went prone after a leg appeared to buckle under him while the Kings were attacking shorthanded. The Avalanche, playing the second half of a back-to-back after winning 4-1 at Anaheim on Wednesday, also lost defenseman Erik Johnson to a wrist injury, so all things considered, it was an impressive effort for a Colorado team headed for an early summer. Giguere replaced Aittokallio and made 12 saves in 15:36 of regulation and overtime, but was beaten by Kopitar, a signature Carter backhand and Dustin Brown's wrist shot in the shootout. Colorado got even at 5:15 of the third period when Stefan Elliott's point shot was deflected through traffic and into the net with Jonathan Quick sliding to his left. Patrick Bordeleau was credited with his first NHL goal. The Avalanche carried their momentum from the second period and outshot the Kings 9-0 to start the third. They gained a power play on Drew Doughty's high sticking penalty but couldn't convert as Aittokallio went down during an awkward move in the net with the Kings attacking shorthanded. After the quick start, Los Angeles had a big letdown second period and didn't put a shot on goal until Kopitar's easy wrister with 7:05 remaining. L.A. was outshot 11-6 in the middle period and saw half of its lead vanish after Colorado's hard work finally paid off. David Jones freed the puck from Carter behind the net and Stastny quickly stuffed it past Quick at 16:19. Stastny scored his first goal since he came back from a foot injury Tuesday Aittokallio's early nerves didn't get any help from his teammates, who took two penalties in the first five minutes, including a high-sticking penalty by Jones three seconds after the puck drop. Carter ripped a wrist shot high from the left circle that banked in off the post at 5:27 with Brad Malone serving a holding penalty. Carter's 24th goal tied him with John Tavares of the New York Islanders for third in the NHL. At 7:14, Mike Richards grabbed Jake Muzzin's fanned shot and wristed it past Aittokallio from the high slot for a 2-0 lead. Milan Hejduk missed a seventh straight game with a shoulder injury.

Fri, 12 Apr - Fixtures

Ottawa v New Jersey 7pm ET
St Louis v Columbus 7pm ET
Dallas v Nashville 8pm ET
Detroit v Chicago 8.30pm ET
Phoenix v Calgary 9pm ET

Thu, 11 Apr - Fixtures

NY Islanders v Boston 7pm ET
Ottawa v Philadelphia 7pm ET
Carolina v Washington 7pm ET
Montreal v Buffalo 7.30pm ET
Pittsburgh v Tampa Bay 7.30pm ET
San Jose v Detroit 7.30pm ET
Florida v Winnipeg 8pm ET
St Louis v Minnesota 8pm ET
Colorado v Los Angeles 10.30pm ET

Gameday 82 (Wed, 10 Apr) - Results

Toronto v NY Rangers 2-3 - Coming into Wednesday's crucial game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers coach John Tortorella said he was pleased with the play of Mats Zuccarello. He just wanted to see the team's recent acquisition do one thing: score. Playing his seventh game with the Rangers this season after starting the year with Magnitogorsk Metallurg of the Kontinental Hockey League, Zuccarello didn't record any shots during regulation or overtime. But he scored when it mattered most, notching the lone goal in the shootout to give the Rangers a 3-2 win Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The shootout winner, scored in the second round of the tiebreaker, beat Toronto goaltender James Reimer between the legs and gave the Rangers 44 points, good for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The sixth-place Ottawa Senators and seventh-place New York Islanders have the same number of points, with Ottawa owning a game in hand and the Islanders having one more non-shootout victory. Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves through overtime and stopped all three Toronto shooters in the tiebreaker, ending the game with a pad save on Mikhail Grabovski, who started the game centering Toronto's fourth line before earning a chance to prolong the shootout. Carl Hagelin and Ryan McDonagh scored in regulation for the Rangers while Phil Kessel scored both Toronto goals. Reimer made 26 saves in a losing effort, but the single point earned in the shootout moved Toronto closer to clinching its first playoff berth since 2004. The Maple Leafs sit fifth in the East with 49 points, seven ahead of the ninth-place Winnipeg Jets. With a playoff atmosphere in the building, the Maple Leafs' aggressive forecheck gave New York trouble early on. Lundqvist made several big saves, including one off a quick shot from Kessel following a perfect behind-the-net feed by Tyler Bozak. The Rangers goaltender continued to make big stops in the second period, stopping Clarke MacArthur and Nazem Kadri in quick succession early in the middle frame. But Kessel struck 1:42 into the second, swiping the puck off Ryan Callahan's stick and swatting it past Lundqvist all in one motion. When another recent Rangers acquisition, wing Ryane Clowe, dropped gloves with Mark Fraser just 24 seconds later, the pace of the game suddenly changed. Playing their fourth game in six days, Toronto quickly lost a step, going more than 24 minutes without registering a shot on net. While the Maple Leafs waded through a second-period lull, the Rangers pounced. New York tied it at 10:55 when Derek Stepan's blocked shot trickled over to Hagelin at the left side of the crease. Hagelin then fired the puck into the gaping net for his ninth goal of the season and first in 11 games. Almost six minutes later, McDonagh made a play that brought the Rangers faithful to their feet. Handling the puck at the blue line, the defenseman made a slick move to lose Kadri before firing a long wrist shot through traffic that beat Reimer at 16:43 to give New York a 2-1 lead. After being dormant for more than a full period, the Maple Leafs evened the score when Kessel took a perfect cross-ice pass from James van Riemsdyk on a 2-on-1 rush and beat Lundqvist at 8:05 of the third period. The goal came on the Leafs' first shot in 24:33 of game action, during which Toronto was outshot 12-0. Both teams had chances in regulation and overtime. Callahan had a prime opportunity with seven minutes left in regulation and Clowe off for hooking. Following a scrum in front of the Toronto net, the Rangers' captain found himself with the puck and a wide-open cage in front of him. But Carl Gunnarsson managed to get a piece of the shot and send it wide. The best chance in overtime came when a wide-open Kadri found the puck in the slot following Dion Phaneuf's rush to the net with 1:39 remaining, only to be foiled by Lundqvist's blocker. With the shootout win, Lundqvist has allowed two or fewer goals in 11 of his past 12 contests; he has a 7-3-2 record and .936 save percentage over that span. His clutch goaltending couldn't have come at a better time for the Rangers, who have only eight games remaining, beginning with a visit to the Islanders on Saturday night.

Boston v New Jersey 5-4 - The Boston Bruins had one goal in mind prior to faceoff on Wednesday against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center, stake claim to first place in the Northeast Division. Mission accomplished. The Bruins (26-9-4, 56 points) received a pair of goals from Gregory Campbell, 24 saves from backup goalie Anton Khudobin, and withstood a furious late rally, on the way to a 5-4 victory that moved them one point ahead of the Montreal Canadiens and into sole possession of first place in the Northeast for the first time since March 26. Boston has won 11 of the past 12 games against New Jersey, including all three matches this season to extend their winning streak to seven over the past two seasons. The Devils last defeated the Bruins on April 10, 2011. New Jersey's Matt D'Agostini scored his first goal for the Devils with 37 seconds remaining in the third period and goalie Martin Brodeur pulled for the extra attacker to pull his team within 5-4, but the Bruins hung on in the end. The Bruins also received goals from Daniel Paille, Zdeno Chara and Tyler Seguin. Brodeur, who last celebrated a victory against Boston on March 15, 2010, finished with 13 saves. The Devils suffered their eighth straight defeat (0-4-4) to equal the second longest losing skid in team history, which was done five times. New Jersey's longest losing streak is 10 games, from Oct. 14 to Nov. 4, 1983, which was in its second season in the Garden State. Boston denied the Devils on eight power-play opportunities, including a pair of two-man advantages in the first period when the visitors built a 3-0 lead on a pair of goals by Campbell and one by Paille in the opening 8:12 of the first. Boston broke a string of three unanswered goals by New Jersey 7:33 into the third to open a 5-3 edge when Seguin took a pass from a hustling Paille in front of Brodeur and knocked home his 13th of the season with a tip in front. Paille sped past Devils defenseman Mark Fayne behind the cage before dishing to Seguin. The Devils scored their third straight goal when defenseman Andy Greene wristed a shot from the left circle that beat Khudobin 5:58 into the third and sent the hometown faithful among the crowd of 17,625 into a frenzy. Adam Henrique made the play possible when he kicked the puck onto his stick in the right circle before sending a pass to Greene, who found open space on the ice to score his fourth of the season. After spotting Boston a 4-0 lead, New Jersey pulled to within two in the second period. Patrik Elias put the Devils on the board at 12:07 when he deflected a shot off the stick of Steve Sullivan that beat Khudobin high to the long side. The goal by Elias was his first in eight games. New Jersey pared the deficit to 4-2 on a shorthanded goal. Travis Zajac broke in on a semi-breakaway with Milan Lucic shoving from behind before lining a shot between Khudobin's pads at 18:12. Lucic and Johnny Boychuk appeared to be crossed on the play, allowing Zajac to split the two and break in on Khudobin, who was making his first career start against the Devils. The goal came 3:01 after Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for an elbow to the head of Boston's Brad Marchand along the boards in the New Jersey end. Marchand did not return to the game, and Volchenkov's absence left the Devils with four defensemen. The Bruins opened a four-goal lead 3:06 into the second when Chara lumbered into to slot to poke in a rebound with his team on the power play. Jaromir Jagr skated into the left circle before dishing to David Krejci in the slot. Krejci jammed an attempt that Brodeur appeared to initially smother, but Chara extended his stick to loosen the puck over the goal line. Prior to the Boston goal, Chara took a big slap shot that New Jersey captain Bryce Salvador blocked with this right hand at 2:59 of the second. Salvador suffered a wrist injury and did not return. The Devils certainly didn't get off to the start they needed with their Stanley Cup Playoff hopes in jeopardy. Not only did they fail to capitalize on four power-play opportunities, including the pair of 5-on-3s, but the Bruins connected for two shorthanded goals and barely missed on a third when Boychuk's penalty shot with his team down a man was denied by Brodeur 3:58 into the game. Campbell gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead 1:10 into the game when he gained inside position in the slot before taking a pass from Jagr and backhanded an attempt past Brodeur. The Devils had a golden opportunity to at least pull even when Boychuk was sent to the box for tripping at 1:48 and Chara for delay of game at 2:21, giving the home team a two-man advantage for 1:27. Though the Devils had plenty of zone time, they couldn't generate a quality chance on Khudobin, and as Boychuk was exiting the box, he picked up the puck and skated in before getting hooked from behind by Marek Zidlicky to earn the penalty shot. Seconds after Brodeur's big save, Seidenberg was whistled for an illegal check to the head at 4:14, giving New Jersey another two-man advantage for seven seconds. Thirty seconds after Chara's penalty expired and the Bruins still one man down, Paille took a feed from Krejci in the left circle and curled in on Brodeur before knocking his own rebound past the fallen goalie at 4:51. The Bruins extended the lead to 3-0 on Campbell's second of the game off a deflection of a point blast by Ference at 8:12. Peverley made the play possible when he forced one of seven Devils' turnovers in the first despite the fact Boston was shorthanded with Nathan Horton in the box for holding.

Vancouver v Calgary 4-1 - Roberto Luongo wasn't supposed to get the start. The Calgary Flames may have preferred it that way. A late replacement after Cory Schneider fell ill, Luongo kicked out 40 shots while the Vancouver Canucks erupted for three goals in a 4:50 span late in the third to beat the Flames 4-1 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday. Luongo was announced as the surprise starter in the afternoon after Schneider wasn't available to play. The Canucks signed University of Calgary goaltender Dustin Butler to serve as backup to Luongo, who made his first start in 12 games. Calgary's loss combined with a Colorado Avalanche win puts the Flames just one point up on 30th place in the NHL standings. Maxim Lapierre ensured the Canucks would leave with the pair of points, the club’s fourth straight victory. After a Chris Butler turnover behind the net, Andrew Ebbett fed Lapierre in the slot, who chipped the puck behind Flames starter Miikka Kiprusoff to give the Vancouver a 2-1 lead at 12:37. Mason Raymond added an insurance marker 3:03 later, batting a Dan Hamhuis rebound out of mid-air and behind Kiprusoff to extend the lead to two. Daniel Sedin put the finishing touches on the game, taking a pass from Henrik Sedin in the slot and beating Kiprusoff via the power play to make it 4-1 at 17:27. It was Daniel’s first power-play goal since Jan. 25. The flurry came after Luongo shined earlier in the third, making 17 saves in the final 20 minutes. Luongo denied both Mikael Backlund and Curtis Glencross in succession. Gaining the blue line with a head of steam, Backlund fired a snapshot Luongo handled. Flying by the net, Glencross knocked the rebound out of mid-air, but right into the glove of the Canucks’ keeper to preserve the 1-1 tie. After passing the midway mark of the period, Luongo's acrobatics were on display again. After kicking our a rebound on Lee Stempniak's initial shot, he dived fully outstretched to keep the ensuing crease scramble at bay. Trading chances through the opening 20 minutes of the game, Glencross was first to capitalize. Taking a pass from Maxwell Reinhart and working the puck into the slot, Glencross had his initial shot blocked by Kesler. But he seized control of the puck again and beat Luongo to the blocker at 16:17. With an assist on the play, Reinhart recorded his first career NHL point. It took the Canucks just 64 seconds to respond to Glencross' tally. Scrambling around the crease with Kiprusoff down, Alexandre Burrows tried to nudge the puck over the line and got help after Dennis Wideman inadvertently poked the puck into the Flames net with 2:39 remaining in the frame. Daniel Sedin did his best to break the tie 4:05 into the second period, but his booming shot from the high slot was met by Kiprusoff's left pad. Kiprusoff was equally as good just a dozen seconds into Kesler's hooking minor, making a sprawling shorthanded stop off Burrows after a nice set-up from Lapierre at 11:50. Killing Sven Baertschi's tripping minor with six minutes left in the second, Kiprusoff was equally as impressive. First, Kiprusoff blockered away Kesler's attempt in the slot after a stationary give-and-go feed with Burrows parked to the left of the goal. The Flames' goaltender got lucky on the same power play after Kesler, playing just his second game after missing 19 with a broken ankle, deflected a Daniel Sedin blast from the point. Equal to the task, Luongo denied Reinhart his first career goal with just 10.3 seconds remaining, trapping a blast off the stick of the 21-year-old after he took a soft drop pass from Wideman.

Phoenix v Edmonton 3-1 - In a game between teams desperate for points, the Phoenix Coyotes showed more urgency. Mike Smith stopped 29 shots Wednesday as the Coyotes beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 at Rexall Place to pull within one point of the eighth-place Detroit Red Wings for the final Western Conference playoff berth. The Coyotes have 42 points, one fewer than the Red Wings, who also have a game in hand. Boyd Gordon and Antoine Vermette had second-period goals for the Coyotes, who started a three-game trip through Western Canada with a 2-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, the beginning of a stretch that will see them play six of seven games on the road. David Moss added a power-play goal in the final seconds. The Oilers got a third-period goal by rookie Nail Yakupov, but lost their fourth game in a row and remained at 39 points, four out of a playoff berth. They lost to the Coyotes for the first time in three tries this season. Phoenix outshot Edmonton 10-8 in a scoreless first period, then needed 37 seconds of the second period to take the lead for good. Gordon scored his fourth goal of the season when his bad-angled shot from along the goal line went into the net off goaltender Devan Dubnyk. Dubnyk was his own worst enemy on the Coyotes' second goal. He took his time playing the puck behind the net, and as Phoenix forward Chris Conner pressured him, the goaltender slid a blind pass toward the right circle, where Vermette jumped on the puck and snapped it into the half-empty net at the 9:00 mark for his ninth of the season. The Coyotes came close to breaking the game open late in the period when Moss stole the puck and raced in on a shorthanded breakaway. Moss beat Dubnyk but not the post, leaving the lead at 2-0 after 40 minutes. Edmonton, outshot 22-15 through two periods, came out with a much more spirited effort in the third. Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff was all alone in front just over two minutes into the period but couldn't beat Smith; seconds later, Martin Hanzal got a stick on a shot by Jordan Eberle with Smith down on the ice. The Oilers broke through at 7:49 when Phoenix defenseman David Schlemko couldn’t control the puck in his own zone. Ryan Smyth whacked the puck toward the net and off Smith's pads, and Yakupov batted the rebound into the net for his 10th of the season. Smith held off the Oilers, making the best of his 14 third-period saves when he denied Sam Gagner's stuff shot and with 18 seconds remaining. Horcoff took a cross-checking penalty during the ensuing scramble. Moss' power-play goal iced the win, and may have ended the Oilers' slim playoff hopes.

Colorado v Anaheim 4-1 - Jean-Sebastien Giguere had a little something to say about the Anaheim Ducks clinching a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In their first game since Giguere heavily criticized his teammates and questioned their commitment, the Colorado Avalanche jumped all over a heavy-legged Ducks team for a 4-1 victory Wednesday night. Giguere, who led the Ducks to the Cup in 2007, made 21 saves and the Avalanche got a shorthanded goal from captain Gabriel Landeskog in a morale-boosting triumph, their third road win and first since Feb.14. Colorado was 1-8-1 with 15 goals scored in its previous 10 games. Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf returned from a leg injury and looked quite rusty. Defenseman Cam Fowler left the game with an upper body and coach Bruce Boudreau did not have an update. The only positive note for the Ducks, who needed one point to clinch, was Teemu Selanne's 674th career goal, which capped a beautiful end-to-end passing sequence in the second period. Giguere called out his team after a loss Monday, saying "It's embarrassing. I'm embarrassed to be here right now." Apparently they listened. Giguere did his part, particularly with some early stops and a glove grab off Bobby Ryan in the second period. After the buzzer Patrick Bordeleau was the first to hug Giguere, who got his first win in eight starts (0-4-2). Colorado had lost 10 of its previous 12 visits to Anaheim. Colorado took a 4-1 lead into the third, partly because of a rough stretch by Getzlaf and Luca Sbisa. Sbisa took a bad interference penalty and Matt Duchene finished off some nice puck movement with a one-timer at 7:54, just before the penalty expired, to make it 3-0. Sbisa later tried to clear the puck to the boards but it deflected off a defender's stick and Jamie McGinn rifled a water-bottle wrist shot high past Jonas Hiller at 17:30. Getzlaf went 0-for-5 in the faceoff circle in the first period and was beaten shorthanded in the second by Landeskog when Landeskog drove down the left wing and cut across for a backhand to make it 2-0. Landeskog's eighth goal ended a seven-game scoring drought. Getzlaf admitted some pucks got away from him and he needed to move his feet more. Anaheim played its 26th game in 46 days, but no one pointed to a lack of rest as a reason for the loss. The return of Getzlaf allowed the Ducks to have Matthew Lombardi center the second line and reunite the shutdown line of Daniel Winnik, Saku Koivu and Andrew Cogliano. But the Koivu line was on the ice for Colorado's first goal as Anaheim was asleep at the start. John Mitchell was all by himself on the left side of the net to whack in Duchene's rebound 64 seconds into the game. Mitchell's 10th goal was his first in 12 games.

Wed, 10 Apr - Fixtures

Toronto v NY Rangers 7pm ET
Boston v New Jersey 7.30pm ET
Vancouver v Calgary 9.30pm ET
Phoenix v Edmonton 9.30pm ET
Colorado v Anaheim 10pm ET