Results - Sun, Mar 02, 2014

Philadelphia @ Washington 5-4 OT - The home-and-home series between the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers that began on Sunday afternoon at Verizon Center provided each team with an appropriate taste of what a potential Stanley Cup Playoff matchup could feel like. In front of an energetic crowd with each teams' fan bases making their voices heard, two Metropolitan Division rivals with a rich, shared history battled through a contentious 60-plus minute game, neither shying away from any sort of contact in between or after whistles. By game's end, it was Philadelphia that scored the decisive blow, erasing a two-goal third-period deficit to defeat Washington 5-4 in overtime. Vincent Lecavalier scored the game-winner at 2:45 when his wrist shot changed direction and found its way past goaltender Braden Holtby (31 saves). It was the veteran forward's 900th career NHL point. Dmitry Orlov, Marcus Johansson and Jay Beagle scored for the Capitals, who saw their four-game winning streak snapped and an opportunity to attain a playoff position for the first time since Jan. 18 slip away. The teams will meet again Wednesday at Wells Fargo Center. With the Capitals and Flyers each having played matinees the day before, the game got off to an expectedly sleepy start, but the intensity ramped up considerably after the first five minutes. Washington took advantage first at 6:06 when Orlov capped off a dominant shift by the team's second line. With the Flyers' defense scrambling in an attempt to gain control of the puck, Orlov called his own shot, motioning to Troy Brouwer, who was behind the net. The defenseman wound up from the left circle and fired a booming shot past goaltender Steve Mason (25 saves). The Flyers tied the game on the power play at 11:22, though more than 90 seconds of game time had elapsed before it could be confirmed. Claude Giroux ripped a one-timer past Holtby from the left circle that clipped the back bar and caromed right out. The official behind the net, however, quickly waved it off, so play continued as the Flyers huddled to celebrate. Once play halted, the initial ruling was overturned by video review, officially confirming Giroux's 20th goal of the season. Johansson restored the Capitals' one-goal lead at 13:56 when he tipped in Jason Chimera's centering pass for his eighth of the season and his second at even strength. Another potential goal required video review with about five minutes remaining in the period. Nicklas Backstrom's shot trickled behind Mason, but Streit swiped it off the goal line just as it was about to cross over. The referee signaled no goal, and the subsequent review proved inconclusive to keep the score 2-1. It was a much-needed break for the Flyers, who were outplayed and outshot 17-6 in the first period. Philadelphia began the second with renewed energy, testing Holtby early. The Capitals goaltender thwarted the Flyers' chances, most impressively extending his left leg to prevent Wayne Simmonds' wide-open opportunity on a mini-breakaway. The Flyers, though, seized momentum and cashed in at 12:50 on a shorthanded goal by Adam Hall. Alex Ovechkin turned the puck over behind the Washington net, leaving an ill-advised drop pass for John Carlson that Sean Couturier retrieved and fed to Hall in the slot. Yet the Flyers' grasp on momentum loosened rather quickly when the Capitals scored twice in less than three minutes to grab a 4-2 lead. Beagle slammed a backhanded pass from Ward in the crease at 13:44 before Orlov scored on another long-range slap shot for his second of the game and third of the season, all of which have come against Philadelphia. It was Orlov, however, that shifted momentum back to Philadelphia when he boarded Brayden Schenn at 9:33 of the third period, giving the Flyers a five-minute power play. Jakub Voracek scored on the man advantage at 11:58, and the Flyers felt in control from that point forward. Giroux sent the game into overtime with a tip-in goal with 1:05 remaining in regulation and Mason pulled in favor of an extra attacker. From the second period on, Philadelphia outshot Washington 30-12. It was the third two-goal lead that the Capitals have blown in three games since returning from the NHL's two-week break for the 2014 Sochi Olympics and 14th this season.
Florida @ NY Islanders 5-3 - Scottie Upshall and Shawn Matthias each scored twice to complete a Florida Panthers rally in a 5-3 victory against the New York Islanders on Sunday at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Matthias and Upshall each added an assist for the Panthers, who won on the road for the first time since Jan. 26 and snapped a four-game losing streak. The Panthers and Buffalo Sabres are the only teams behind the Islanders in the Eastern Conference. For the Islanders, who allowed four goals in the third period, it spoiled a two-goal effort from Thomas Vanek in what may have been his final game at the Coliseum wearing an Islanders sweater. The Islanders play again Tuesday night at the Winnipeg Jets to open a four-game road trip that also includes visits to the three Western Canada teams, but there's no assurance Vanek or defenseman Andrew MacDonald will be in a road uniform. The 2014 NHL Trade Deadline is Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET, and Vanek is one of the hot commodities rumored to be on the market after he declared his intention of becoming a free agent after the regular season. He has 21 goals and 53 points in 60 games with the Islanders and Buffalo Sabres. Vanek ended an eight-game streak without a goal at 6:41 of the first after receiving a feed from Cal Clutterbuck and shooting it past Panthers goalie Tim Thomas for his 20th of the season. Goal No. 21 came 58 seconds later on an Islanders power play when he used a screen to beat Thomas up high. Matthias got the Panthers, who had lost five straight road games, on the board at 18:15 of the second. Islanders defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky failed to clear the puck, resulting in a turnover at the blue line, and Matthias sent home a rebound past goalie Anders Nilsson, who got the start in the second of a back-to-back set for the Islanders. New York responded a minute later with Ryan Strome's second goal of the season. Kyle Okposo powered past his defender and moved the puck to the net. Parked in front, Vanek swept the puck to an open Strome, who put it past Thomas to allow the Islanders to take a two-goal lead into the locker room. The Panthers' rally began at 3:16 of the third when Marcel Goc's shot from the point deflected off the stick of defenseman Matt Carkner. A minute and two seconds later, Matthias' second goal tied the game after he powered past MacDonald to beat Nilsson. It marked the 12th time in 63 games the Islanders allowed a two-goal lead to slip away. Frans Nielsen, who returned to the lineup Sunday after sustaining a broken hand Feb. 8, assisted on Vanek's second goal. Nielsen centered Anders Lee and Josh Bailey as part of Capuano's line adjustments before the game. Strome was moved to the second line between Michael Grabner and Okposo, and Vanek played with Clutterbuck and Brock Nelson. The loss dropped the Islanders to 4-12-5 in their past 20 games at the Coliseum. It's only the third time in franchise history they've won as few as nine of their first 32 home games.
Boston @ NY Rangers 6-3 - Tuukka Rask was ready to play shortly after 7:00 p.m. Sunday. It's a good thing too, because his Boston Bruins teammates needed some extra time to get their game in order at Madison Square Garden. Despite being sluggish and sloppy at the start of the game, the Bruins found their legs and got their heads together to rally behind Rask in a 6-3 victory against the New York Rangers for their first win since returning from the NHL break for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Rask made 39 saves, including 19 in the first period, and Boston got goals from Jarome Iginla, Dougie Hamilton, Carl Soderberg, Milan Lucic and Gregory Campbell, who scored twice in the third period, to complete its sweep of the season series against the Rangers (3-0-0) and increase its lead over the Montreal Canadiens in the Atlantic Division to six points. The Bruins also have two games in hand. J.T. Miller, Brad Richards and Ryan McDonagh scored for the Rangers, who lost in regulation for the second time in as many days and dropped to third in the Metropolitan Division. It's not clear if this was New York captain Ryan Callahan's last game with the Rangers. Callahan is reportedly on the trading block and could be dealt before the NHL Trade Deadline at 3 p.m. ET Wednesday. Campbell's first goal was the backbreaker because it came during a New York power play midway through the third period of what was a one-goal game. Loui Eriksson broke out of the zone and carried the puck down the right side. He patiently waited for Campbell, who had just come onto the ice for Chris Kelly, to streak down the middle as the trailer. Richards lost sight of Campbell, who got the pass from Eriksson in between the hash marks, deked to his backhand and beat Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist to give Boston the 4-2 lead with 10:56 to play in the third period. Campbell's second goal came 4:22 later when Daniel Paille's shot from the left side hit off his skate and went into the net to give Boston a 5-2 lead. The goal was upheld after a video review to determine if Campbell made a distinct kicking motion. McDonagh scored his ninth of the season less than two minutes after Campbell's second goal. It came on New York's 40th shot of the game. Boston scored its six goals on 33 shots. Lundqvist was further crushed by how the Bruins scored their goals. Iginla scored on a redirection in the slot with 1:53 to play in the first period after Lucic forced the puck free with a hard forecheck. Hamilton scored 4:04 into the second period from between the hash marks after Lucic's pass attempt to David Krejci hit off of Dan Girardi's stick and went right to the Bruins' 20-year-old defenseman. Soderberg made it 3-1 five-and-a-half minutes after Hamilton's goal with a pretty move from the slot after Eriksson tapped the puck over to him. Lucic made it 6-3 with a deft deflection of Matt Bartkowski's shot from the left side. The Rangers seemed to have it all going at the start of the game, and they jumped on Boston early with Miller's breakaway goal and kept coming at Rask with odd-man rush after odd-man rush. New York couldn't put the game away early despite holding a 14-1 edge in shots on goal 10 minutes in. It took a hard forecheck from Lucic to give the Bruins' the emotional lift they needed to snap out of their funk, which had been going on since Wednesday, when they lost to the last-place Buffalo Sabres in their first game back from the Olympics. Krejci dumped the puck into the corner, and Lucic chased after it, taking out Miller and Girardi as he barreled hard toward the end boards. The puck sprung free and Krejci, who followed his dump-in, picked it up in the lower part of the left circle. He then slotted a pass to Iginla, who got his stick down to redirect the puck into the net. Richards' 16th goal of the season made it 3-2 with 3:07 left before the second intermission. At that point the Rangers were feeling better going into the second intermission and came out playing better in the third to the point where their pressure resulted in Hamilton shooting the puck over the glass for a minor penalty with 11:58 to play. However, instead of taking advantage of the power play, Eriksson made a patient play, Richards lost Campbell, and the Bruins scored a shorthanded goal that turned into the game-winner.
Tampa Bay @ Colorado 3-6 - Avalanche coach Patrick Roy has asked his defensemen all season to get involved in the offense when given the chance, and it paid off again Sunday in a 6-3 come-from-behind win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Pepsi Center. Three of the Avalanche's four third-period goals came from defensemen, who scored four in the game. Nick Holden matched a career-high with two goals, and Tyson Barrie and Erik Johnson each had one. Forwards Ryan O'Reilly and Paul Stastny also scored for Colorado. Johnson stole the puck from Ryan Malone and beat 6-foot-7 Lightning goalie Ben Bishop with a low shot from near the right-wing boards for his first goal in 18 games. Holden scored an empty-net goal with 53.1 seconds to play after the Avalanche killed off a tripping penalty to Jan Hejda, and Stastny added an empty-net goal with 6.3 seconds to go. The win was the Avalanche's fourth in 20 games in which they trailed after two periods. The loss was the Lightning's third in 25 games in regulation when they were ahead after two. The Avalanche were awarded four consecutive power plays, three in the third period, and scored on one to tie the game 3-3. O'Reilly slid the puck from the right circle through the slot to Holden, who moved near the left post and redirected the pass over Bishop's right pad at 5:12. It was the Avalanche's sixth power-play goal in the past three games. Lightning right wing Martin St. Louis, who had two goals in each of the previous two games, didn't have a point and was held to one third-period shot. Center Nate Thompson scored twice in the second period to give the Lightning a 3-2 lead. He has eight goals in 60 games, five goals in the past seven games. Thompson tied the game at 6:40 when he skated into the left circle and took a shot from a sharp angle that went under goalie Semyon Varlamov's right pad. The Avalanche killed off a hooking penalty to Matt Duchene, the first penalty of the game, that began at 13:47, but Thompson scored again at 17:37. He took a shot from the left circle that Varlamov stopped with his pad, but Thompson continued to the net and chipped in the rebound. Barrie and O'Reilly scored goals 1:42 apart on consecutive shots late in the first period to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead. Lightning center Tom Pyatt opened the scoring at 16:49. He skated into the lower end of the left circle and beat Varlamov to the short side for his second goal in 13 games this season. Barrie collected his career-high eighth goal 30 seconds later. He maneuvered around Pyatt in the right circle, cut to the net and slipped the puck between Bishop's pads. Rookie Nathan MacKinnon had an assist on the play to stretch his point streak to 11 games. O'Reilly broke the tie with 58.6 seconds left in the period. PA Parenteau slid a cross-ice pass to O'Reilly in the right circle for a shot that seemed to surprise Bishop. The goal was O'Reilly's team-leading and career-high 23rd.
Carolina @ Anaheim 3-5 - There is some debate that the Ducks should add a small piece before the NHL Trade Deadline on Wednesday, perhaps a veteran defenseman or a center with size. But judging from their two games since the 2014 Sochi Olympics, what they have is fine. After grinding out a win against the St. Louis Blues on Friday, Anaheim received two first-period goals from Corey Perry to springboard to a 5-3 win Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes at Honda Center. Perry concurred that he likes what is in Anaheim's room, and it doesn't hurt to have a five-game homestand out of the break. Andrew Cogliano scored shorthanded (his career-high 19th goal) and Jakob Silfverberg and Francois Beauchemin also scored in Anaheim's final game before the deadline. Goalie Frederik Andersen made 49 saves and improved to 15-3-0, yet could get sent back to the minors because Viktor Fasth completed his conditioning assignment in the American Hockey League and is due to return to the club shortly. That is the embarrassing depth of Anaheim, which was contrasted by a Carolina road trip that gets worse. The Hurricanes have been outscored 15-7 in the past three games and are on a five-game losing streak dating to before the Olympic break. The Hurricanes got right wing Alexander Semin back from injury, but lost defenseman Justin Faulk to an upper-body injury. Goalie Cam Ward allowed three goals on Anaheim's first 12 shots and is 0-2 since he came back from injury. Carolina's main highlight came when Andrej Sekera finished an amazing display of puck possession to break the shutout at 15:20 of the second. Carolina coach Kirk Muller didn't have an update on Faulk, other than saying they'll assess it Monday. The Hurricanes put a season-high 52 shots on goal, 26 in the third, and will continue to try to use those positives. Cogliano and Silfverberg opened a 5-0 lead in a second period that showed the enormous gap between the teams. Cogliano slipped a wrist shot five-hole on Ward at 3:31 for his eighth career shorthanded goal. Silfverberg, a healthy scratch Friday despite his silver-medal pedigree, chopped the puck off the back of the net and swiped it in the goal at 8:47, during 4-on-4 play. Perry's second goal was a wrist shot that beat Ward cleanly on the glove side at 16:26 of the first to help the Ducks take a 3-0 lead into first intermission. Anaheim just finished a long possession in Carolina's end and Perry streaked down the left side. Perry got Anaheim started with a tap-in goal off Dustin Penner's deflected shot-pass at 6:39 of the first. Francois Beauchemin felled Carolina defenseman Brett Bellemore with a slap shot to begin the sequence. Beauchemin's booming shot hasn't connected much this season, but he scored his second goal at 13:38 of the first on a shot that hit Jiri Tlusty's stick and went under Ward's glove. Beauchemin's other goal came Dec. 31. Carolina's special teams problems continued when it committed a too-many-men penalty on a power play in the second period. The Hurricanes are scoreless on the power play in nine straight road games (0-for-31). Cogliano's goal was the third shorthanded goal allowed by the Hurricanes in the past three games. Anaheim center Mathieu Perreault was scratched after he sustained an upper-body injury Friday.

Pittsburgh Penguins @ Chicago Blackhawks 1-5 - 03/01 Stadium Series Chicago Soldier Field

Its not everyday you can accept your team taking a 5-1 loss but Saturday was one of them. I had wanted the Pens and Hawks to match up in the Stanley Cup finals last season, after all they were the best two teams during that regular season but they never met due to the lock-out enforced shortened season (or because Gary Bettman is an ass). Since then both teams have struggled at times this season and haven't been able to dominate like they did in 2013. Pittsburgh's crippling injury crisis has threatened to de-rail their search for a fourth Stanley Cup and at times Chicago have lost games they really should have won. That being said, having watched Chicago first-hand this season in Arizona, they put on a dominant display that evening that showed the Hawks are still the team to beat, as they look to retain Lord Stanley's Cup. While in Houston I met a Hawks fan called Kyle, who has become a very good friend of mine, and he was one of the lucky fans in attendance at Soldier Field.

The stars of the Chicago Blackhawks didn't let a little snow stop them from putting on a show. Captain Jonathan Toews had a highlight-reel goal among his three points, Patrick Kane set up another picture-perfect goal and the Blackhawks defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 in their Coors Light 2014 NHL Stadium Series game Saturday night in front of 62,921 at the home of the NFL's Chicago Bears.

"We felt like we could find a way to score every time we got the puck," Toews said. "It honestly did feel like we were playing shinny hockey in the backyard. We were playing smart in our end like we normally would, but we were making plays and just throwing everything on net and hoping for the best."

The snow began falling a couple of hours before puck drop at the stadium a few hundred feet from the Lake Michigan shore and did not stop. It fell heavily early in the game and for a stretch during the second period. Large quantities of snow were shoveled off the playing surface during stoppages of play, and long passes along the ice left trails in their wake, but the Blackhawks did not appear troubled by the conditions. Chicago asserted its dominance early in this contest and did not relent.

"It was a lot of fun," said forward Kris Versteeg, whose goal came off Kane's pretty pass and became the first player to score at United Center, Wrigley Field (in the 2009 NHL Winter Classic) and Soldier Field. "Handling the puck was a little bit difficult, but I think if you asked all of the guys I don't think they'd have wanted it any other way. This was just the whole aura of the stadium and the snow coming down and seeing two of the best teams and some of the best players in the entire world playing; it was just really exciting to be a part of."

Patrick Sharp gave the Blackhawks the lead at 15:35 of the opening period. Toews sent a pass from behind the net to Sharp in the right circle, and he snapped a shot into the top left corner of the net for his 29th goal of the season.

"It felt like a real outdoor game. There was no systems or structure to our game," Sharp said. "We were just kind of hoisting the puck around, slapping the puck around and having fun doing it. It was a fun experience and I'm glad I got to be part of it."

Toews made it 2-0 midway through the second period with possibly the prettiest goal scored in an NHL outdoor game. The Blackhawks' captain collected the puck at center ice and blew past Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik with a backhand-forehand deke before slipping a backhanded shot through goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's legs for his 20th goal. Sharp leapt into Toews' arms after the first goal. There was a bit of a delayed reaction from everyone else on the second, but Toews knew his goal had crossed the line. After going to one knee for a fist pump, the guy known as "Captain Serious" jumped into his teammates' arms at the Blackhawks' bench.

"I've been trying to lose that for a while," Toews said of the nickname. "The celebration on the first goal, I already saw a pretty funny picture where I knew [Sharp] was going to jump into me and I think Nick Leddy got caught right in the middle. We were just excited to score goals."

Shortly after the Penguins' best shift of the first two periods, the Blackhawks scored a counter-punch goal to make it 3-0. Pittsburgh had an extended shift in the offensive zone, and seconds later was pushing again but got caught with too many players in deep. The Blackhawks collected the puck and went the other way on a 3-on-1 break. Kane carried it into the offensive zone and waited for Versteeg to reach the far post before feathering a pass to the blade of his stick for a lay-up at 16:43 of the second. James Neal was credited with Pittsburgh's lone goal when Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook put the puck in his own net early in the third period, but a goal from Bryan Bickell and a second from Toews made the score line reflect the dominance the Blackhawks displayed.

"It wouldn't have mattered if we played this game inside or outside or if there was snow or no snow," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "They were better and more prepared to play, whatever the conditions were. Our team wasn't good enough. Our team wasn't at the level we needed to be, and they were. And you saw that pretty much right from the get-go in this game."

The victory pushed the Blackhawks two points in front of the St. Louis Blues in the race for first place in the Central Division, though the team that just acquired goaltender Ryan Miller and forward Steve Ott has three games in hand. Miller will make his debut for the Blues on Sunday on the road against the Phoenix Coyotes. While the Blues face off in the desert, the Blackhawks can kick back and relax after a dominant performance.

"It will be nice to go home, relax and see the family, check in with my kids," said Sharp, who was one of 10 Blackhawks who just returned from Russia after participating in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. "I think they've got their drivers licenses by now, I haven't seen them in so long. There were some pretty special games in a short amount of time, but we're definitely excited about our final 20 games here. It is going to be a battle for position in the Western Conference. You see some of the moves teams are making. They're loading up, so we are excited to get back to normal, sleep in our own beds and play some hockey at the United Center."

Pittsburgh has lost back-to-back games since the NHL returned from the Olympic break and is 0-2-1 in its past three. Still, the Penguins are comfortably in front of the Metropolitan Division and tops in the Eastern Conference. Missing several key players because of injury has been a theme for much of this season, but the Penguins looked like a team that was missing its top two defensemen and a first-line forward against the deep and talented Blackhawks.

"The setting coming out was amazing," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "Regardless of the puck being slow when we were passing it, it was an awesome setting but it always better when you win. I had much more fun in Buffalo winning [at the 2008 NHL Winter Classic] than losing in Pittsburgh [at the 2011 Winter Classic] and here. I thought everyone did a great job organizing this event. It looked good from everyone else's vantage point, but it is always more fun when you win."

A huge thank you goes to Kyle Jackolin for providing the excellent photos.

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Dallas Stars 4-2 - 03/01

The Tampa Bay Lightning nearly blew a three-goal lead but held on for a 4-2 victory against the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon at American Airlines Center.

"Clearly, we were under siege for the second half of that second period, but I thought our goalie stood tall. Guys committed to blocking shots and kept pucks out," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "I think that third goal was big for us. We found a way to hold onto that and then I think we kind of burst their bubble when we got that fourth one."

Tampa Bay captain Martin St. Louis scored early in the game off a deflection and a second goal, his 29th of the season, on a breakaway in the second period. Victor Hedman and Ondrej Palat contributed two assists each, and Ben Bishop made 39 saves.

"[Bishop] has been the MVP of this team from the beginning," St. Louis said. "Without [Bishop], I don't know where we are right now."

Tampa Bay took the lead on St. Louis' first goal 1:25 into the game. Eric Brewer passed the puck to St. Louis from the slot and it glanced off the outside of his left thigh over the glove of Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen. The Lightning went up 2-0 at 12:09 of the first when Nate Thompson scored his sixth of the season, also off a deflection. Thompson tipped in Hedman's wrist shot from near the Dallas blue line.

"They got a break on the first two," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "One was off the side of St. Louis, and the next shot was about 4 or 5 feet high and probably going wide, but they got a stick on it and deflected it."

St. Louis made it 3-0 at 14:31 of the second period, and Tampa Bay got an insurance goal from defenseman Sami Salo in the third.

"Well, it's a set play we've run for six years and I've never seen it work until tonight and that's the honest truth," Cooper said of Salo's goal, his second of the season. "It's good when some of those go in. That was obviously huge for us because I think it took a little bit of the air out of their balloon."

The Stars outshot the Lightning 18-7 in the second period, but the goal by St. Louis gave the visitors a three-goal lead. Palat intercepted a pass from Ray Whitney in the middle of the slot and quickly flipped the puck to St. Louis, who raced up the right side and beat Lehtonen with a wrist shot from the left circle that went under the goalie's right shoulder.

"I'm just being opportunistic on my chances, getting a few good bounces," St. Louis said of his second straight two-goal game. "I have to play with a lot of energy and I feel like I'm getting some good early bounces and I'm able to capitalize on my opportunities."

Dallas' Antoine Roussel scored at 15:50 of the second period when his tip-in deflected in off the left skate of Tampa Bay's Michael Kostka. The Stars cut the Lightning lead to 3-2 at with 1:49 left when Vernon Fiddler slipped a puck past Bishop on the short side on a wraparound. Bishop delivered a big save on Fiddler at close range and on Ryan Garbutt from distance early in the third period.

"We needed to fight back, and we did," Ruff said. "We hunkered down, and went to work. When it was 3-2, we had two or three unbelievable opportunities to tie it up. If Fiddler takes another look and just gets it up, it's in the net."

The Lightning gained some breathing room when Salo beat Lehtonen top shelf from the high slot at 7:12 of the third. After Tampa Bay's Tom Pyatt won a faceoff with Cody Eakin near the Dallas blue line, Alex Killorn tapped the puck back to Hedman, who passed it to Salo, who was streaking past the blue line. Salo beat Lehtonen high for his first goals since Oct. 17, a span of 44 games.

"Yeah, it's been a while, but I've had a good feeling the last few weeks, especially in the Olympics I had a lot of chances," Salo said. "It was obviously nice to get one."

Dallas had chances to pull closer with two power plays after the goal but did not. Lehtonen finished with 17 saves.

"For 40 minutes, we were good," Stars defenseman Trevor Daley said. "It was the 20 we weren't good that made the difference. I just think we were flat. Their push was a lot more than ours, and that was the difference in the game."

The Stars played without defenseman Brenden Dillon, who remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Dillon did not practice Friday and missed his first game of the season.

"Guys are going to get hurt," Daley said of Dillon's absence. "We play a contact sport, so we try to minimize that as much as possible."

Results - Sat, Mar 01, 2014

Washington @ Boston 4-2 - Once you've played against him, it's impossible to forget how dynamic Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin is. The Boston Bruins were reminded about Ovechkin's lethality in their first meeting of the season with the Capitals. The NHL leader in goals added to his League-leading power-play goal total with two scores on the man-advantage, including his 800th NHL point, and Joel Ward scored the game-winning goal on a breakaway in the Capitals' 4-2 victory at TD Garden on Saturday. Washington let the Bruins creep back within 3-2 before holding on for the win. The Bruins and Capitals will meet twice more in March, including a rematch at TD Garden on Thursday. Ovechkin now has 43 goals overall and 17 power-play goals. The Capitals have matched a season high with four wins in a row and are 5-1-1 in their past seven dating back to before the Olympic break. Eric Fehr also scored for Washington and Holtby stopped 36 shots. The Capitals (29-23-9) have won five of their past six against the Bruins. The Bruins (37-18-5) lost in regulation for the first time in six games (3-1-2). They're 0-1-1 since the Olympic break and have allowed nine goals in those two games. Ovechkin cashed in on the Capitals' second power-play opportunity of the game with his first career goal against Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask. With Boston forward Chris Kelly off for interference, Ovechkin set up in his favorite spot near the top of the left circle and beat Rask with a one-timer at 18:39 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. The Bruins earlier had squandered a chance to score first. Jay Beagle was called for holding and during the delayed penalty Tom Wilson was whistled for high-sticking. But the Bruins failed to score during the two-minute 5-on-3 and had only one shot on Holtby. Another Washington power play early in the second period led to another Ovechkin goal and a 2-0 lead at 2:24. This time, he one-timed a shot from the top of the left circle on the rush for his 800th point in his 658th game. Ward put the Capitals ahead 3-0 at 10:14. He stole the puck from Boston defenseman Johnny Boychuk at the Bruins' blue line, split the defense and beat Rask with a backhander. Boston started its comeback on the power play. Dougie Hamilton drove the puck to the right dot and passed back to Patrice Bergeron for a one-timer from the right hash mark that beat Holtby high at 10:54. The Bruins' fourth line then trimmed the Capitals' lead to 3-2. Shawn Thornton's centering pass intended for Campbell deflected off Capitals defenseman Mike Green and went past Holtby for a goal at 17:32. The Bruins outshot the Capitals 15-8 in the second period and went to the intermission behind 3-2.

New Jersey @ NY Islanders 6-1 - The elder statesmen on the New Jersey Devils were the story Saturday afternoon against the New York Islanders. Jaromir Jagr scored his 700th NHL goal and moved into a tie with Marcel Dionne on the all-time assist list, Martin Brodeur made 18 saves in his return to the lineup, and the Devils defeated the Islanders 6-1 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Adam Henrique, Ryane Clowe, Marek Zidlicky and Eric Gelinas each had a power-play goal for the Devils, who scored multiple times with the man-advantage for the second straight game out of the Olympic break. Brodeur was the storyline coming into the game, with the NHL Trade Deadline set for 3 p.m. ET Wednesday and rumors swirling that his 1,249th career start could be his final one for the Devils. Cory Schneider had started seven straight games since relieving Brodeur for the third period of their 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game against the New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium on Jan. 26. Brodeur allowed six goals on 21 shots that afternoon, but rebounded with his 51st career win against the Islanders (his most against any NHL team) and the 683rd of his career. He faced 10 shots in the first period and nine after that. Brodeur has a no-trade clause and said the destination would play a big part in whether he accepted a trade. Jagr's milestone goal started a scoring burst in the second period. After controlling the puck along the right wall, he skated in from the circle and took a shot through traffic that deflected off the skate of Islanders defenseman Andrew MacDonald and went past goalie Evgeni Nabokov at 3:31, giving the Devils a 2-0 lead. Jagr, who has 19 goals this season, is eight behind Mike Gartner for sixth on the all-time list. Clowe extended the lead to 3-0 with his fifth of the season 1:09 later. The Devils needed 10 seconds to score after Colin McDonald was sent off for roughing, with Clowe snapping a shot past Nabokov for his second goal in as many games. Kyle Okposo got the Islanders on the board at 6:14 with his team-leading 25th of the season, deflecting a Thomas Vanek shot past Brodeur. The Devils quickly regained the three-goal advantage, striking again on the power play at 8:07. Jagr reached 1,040 career assists (ninth all-time) when he set up Zidlicky's ninth of the season, 14 seconds after an interference penalty on Mike Halmo. Defenseman Mark Fayne made it 5-1 when he took a feed from Andrei Loktionov and blasted a point shot past Nabokov with 5:06 left in the second. Anders Nilsson started the third period in place of Nabokov, who stopped 14 of 19 shots. Gelinas closed the scoring with 38.1 seconds left, on a two-man advantage. The Devils played the final 4:37 on the power play after Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic was given two minutes for instigating, five minutes for fighting and a game misconduct for an altercation with forward Ryan Carter. Hamonic and the Devils' Steve Bernier had fighting majors earlier in the period. The Devils got the early jump Saturday thanks to Henrique's second power-play goal in as many games. Islanders forward Casey Cizikas went off for tripping Jacob Josefson at 3:32 and Henrique scored his 17th of the season at 5:00 off a scramble in front, chipping the puck past Nabokov from his knees. Brodeur made 10 stops in the first, including a pair of strong right-pad saves on Vanek with the Devils killing a holding penalty to Carter. With the teams playing 4-on-4 after Vanek went off for slashing, Nabokov denied Travis Zajac on a breakaway with 4:40 left, and Brodeur made a point-blank stop on Okposo in the slot at the other end.

NY Rangers @ Philadelphia 2-4 - The Philadelphia Flyers tightened the race for second place in the Metropolitan Division with a 4-2 win against the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers (31-24-6) now trail the Rangers (33-25-3) by one point; each team has 21 games remaining. Wayne Simmonds gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead in the second period less than two minutes after the Rangers tied the score. On a power play, Simmonds' attempted pass deflected back to him and he turned around at the left faceoff dot to send a wrist shot far-side past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist at 13:23. Lundqvist, playing his first NHL game since winning a silver medal with Sweden at the Olympics, made 27 saves. He had won five in a row and seven of eight, and was 12-2-0 in his past 14 games against the Flyers. Philadelphia scored twice in a 1:06 span in the first period after killing off two power plays in the first six minutes. A shot by Simmonds was deflected by Vincent Lecavalier and it trickled away from Lundqvist toward the goal. While Brayden Schenn was swiping at the puck, it went in off the stick of Rangers defenseman Anton Stralman at 7:04. Sean Couturier followed at 8:10 off a partial breakaway after two long passes. Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen sent the puck from behind his net through two Rangers forecheckers to Matt Read on the left-wing boards in the neutral zone. Read sent a cross-ice pass to Couturier entering the offensive zone. He skated around Chris Kreider across the goal mouth and put a forehand over Lundqvist, who was on his stomach after missing a poke check. The Rangers rallied to tie it 2-2 on second-period goals by Kreider and Derick Brassard. Kreider finished a fast-moving play at 4:59. Derek Stepan sent a cross-ice pass off the right-wing boards, where it bounded to Rick Nash, who in one motion pushed it toward the goal, where Kreider tapped it past Mason. It was Kreider's first goal since Jan. 21, a span of nine games. Brassard scored on a power play at 11:42. He took a pass from Brad Richards against a backpedaling Flyers defense and fired a slap shot from just above the left circle through Mason's legs. The goal extended Brassard's point streak to eight games (five goals, five assists). Luke Schenn made it 4-2 with 3:45 left in the game. Claude Giroux battled for the puck on a cycle and passed to Scott Hartnell, whose shot was kicked out by Lundqvist right to Schenn, who pushed it into an empty side. Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi, who agreed to a six-year contract extension Friday, was minus-1 in 24:40 of ice time. Callahan, the subject of speculation with the NHL Trade Deadline on Wednesday, had five shots in 20:58. The Pittsburgh Penguins lead the division.

Florida @ Columbus 3-6 - The Columbus Blue Jackets know all too well how a well-timed shorthanded goal can change the complexion of a game. In their first game out of the Olympic break, a loss Thursday at the New Jersey Devils, the Blue Jackets cut a three-goal deficit to one only to give up a shorthanded goal with 19 seconds left in the second period. Columbus never recovered and lost its third straight. Saturday afternoon, the Blue Jackets destroyed the momentum of an opponent and defeated the Florida Panthers 6-3 at Nationwide Arena. The Panthers had allowed three power-play goals and had been badly outshot, yet had a chance to take a 4-3 lead late in the second period when Columbus center Derek MacKenzie was called for high-sticking. Instead, Blue Jackets center Artem Anisimov's unassisted shorthanded goal with 10 seconds left in the period put Columbus ahead to stay. Foligno earned his 200th career point by hitting the empty net with 61 seconds left in regulation, and Matt Calvert added another empty-netter 36 seconds later, but Florida (22-31-7) lost a fourth straight game in large part because Columbus (30-25-5) scored on its first three power plays. RJ Umberger, Cam Atkinson and David Savard helped the Blue Jackets build leads of 2-0 and 3-1. The Panthers got goals from Shawn Matthias, Nick Bjugstad and Sean Bergenheim only to see Anisimov score the go-ahead goal. He pestered the Panthers while MacKenzie served a high-sticking penalty and stole the puck from Florida center Jonathan Huberdeau along the right wall. Anisimov, one of four Blue Jackets to play for Russia in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, carried the puck to the slot, deked Panthers defenseman Tom Gilbert, then roofed a backhander past Scott Clemmensen for his 15th goal, second shorthanded, this season. Clemmensen made 31 saves. Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 17 shots and improved to 13-4-1 in his past 18 starts. He lost 5-2 to the Devils on Thursday. Florida has come off its long layoff with problems on the penalty kill. They allowed goals in five straight opportunities over two games before denying the Blue Jackets' final man-up attempt in the third period. The Columbus power play had been spotty. In the previous nine games it had scored five times but given up four shorthanded goals. That changed against the Panthers when the Blue Jackets got goals from Umberger at 7:42 and Atkinson at 11:04 before Matthias got one back at even strength at 13:50. Columbus dominated early in the second period but could not increase a 2-1 lead before Bjugstad took the puck off the stick of Columbus defenseman Ryan Murray and beat Bobrovsky with a backhand for his 14th goal at 6:54 to make the score 2-2. Savard put the Blue Jackets back in front four minutes later with his own backhand move for the defenseman's fourth goal as Erik Gudbranson sat in the box for cross-checking Foligno. Falling behind is nothing new for the Panthers, who trailed the Washington Capitals 4-2 Thursday but tied the score in the third period before losing 5-4. The Blue Jackets' lead lasted all of 40 seconds before Bergenheim got his stick on a drive by Gilbert and redirected into the goal for his 14th. The shots at that point favored Columbus 23-8.

Winnipeg @ Nashville 3-1 - Coming off the 2014 Sochi Olympics, it might have been hard to know what to expect from Winnipeg Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec when the NHL season resumed. Playing for the Czech Republic, he allowed four goals and was pulled in a quarterfinal loss to the United States. Pavelec did not dress for the Czechs' first game against Sweden. If those events bothered him, it's not apparent. Despite his team being significantly outshot, Pavelec stopped 39 shots Saturday in a 3-1 win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. The surging Jets (29-26-6) are 11-3-1 since Maurice replaced Claude Noel as coach on Jan. 12. The Jets, who began the day two points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, pushed their lead over the Predators to four points in the Central Division. Predators coach Barry Trotz said a bad read by the right-side defenseman, he didn't name him, but it was rookie Seth Jones, cost Nashville the first goal. Jets center Olli Jokinen broke in alone and his wrist shot beat goalie Carter Hutton high to the glove side at 5:02 of the second period. The goal was Jokinen's 14th of the season. Nashville (26-25-10) is 1-2-2 in its past five games. The Predators had won three of four against the Jets in the season series entering Saturday. One game after going 3-for-4 on the power play in a 3-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, the Predators failed to score on all six power-play chances. Nashville entered the game with the NHL's fifth-ranked power play, but Winnipeg owns the League's top-ranked penalty-killing unit on the road. The Jets entered killing 87.5 percent of opponent's chances away from home. Pavelec was Winnipeg's best penalty-killer Saturday. In the first period, he came across the crease to rob David Legwand's try on a rebound when the game was still scoreless. Legwand fell to the ice, clutching his helmet in disbelief. Trotz cited that as an important save early. Pavelec stopped Viktor Stalberg on a breakaway with 5:08 left in the second period, flashing his left pad to turn aside a wrist shot along the ice. Jets captain Andrew Ladd deflected Zach Bogosian's slap shot from the right side past Hutton to give the Jets a 2-0 lead with 1:41 left in the second. Predators forward Simon Moser scored his first NHL goal in his fifth career game with 10:49 left in regulation to pull Nashville within 2-1. Moser deflected a shot by defenseman Michael Del Zotto past Pavelec. But Pavelec preserved the lead with about five minutes left in regulation, stopping Mike Fisher on a 2-on-1. Jets forward Devin Setoguchi then pushed the margin to 3-1 with 3:52 left in regulation. Blake Wheeler used his speed to outflank Predators defenseman Shea Weber and put a shot on goal that Hutton stopped, but Setoguchi converted the rebound from close range. The Jets, Dallas Stars and Vancouver Canucks each have 66 points, though the Stars own the final wild-card berth in the Western Conference because they have two games in hand on the other two. Ladd said the Jets won't begin scoreboard-watching so early and he wants his team to find ways to continue to improve.
Carolina @ Los Angeles 1-3 - Jonathan Quick doesn't need much of a lead to close the door on the opponent. It's just that giving him that lead doesn't always come easy for the Los Angeles Kings. L.A. looked downright ugly on its first five power plays Saturday, but finally broke through on the sixth when Alec Martinez scored the tie-breaking goal 8:15 into the third period and went on to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1. Dustin Brown's rebound came out to Martinez, who shot it past two Hurricanes screening goalie Anton Khudobin. Justin Williams scored an empty-net goal with 61 seconds left and Quick made 24 saves as the Kings, who lost eight of 10 before the 2014 Sochi Olympics, improved to 3-0-0 coming out of the break. The past two wins have been their type of game; Martinez said the tight Western Conference race facilitates their style of play late in the season, just as it did during the run to the Stanley Cup in 2012. It was the third win in four nights for the Kings. Coach Darryl Sutter is constantly preoccupied with getting his team rest, particularly Quick, and he said it helped that Quick was able to get through the Olympics and come back rested. Quick did not play in their first game back Wednesday. Carolina (26-25-9) is 0-3-0 since the Olympics and has fallen seven points behind the Detroit Red Wings, who own the final wild-card playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes have scored four goals in the three losses and visit the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks before returning home to play the New York Rangers on Friday night. The Hurricanes killed seven penalties in their previous game, a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars, and coach Kirk Muller said his team can't keep filling the penalty box and expect to win. Carolina got a fortunate bounce to get a 1-1 tie after the first period. Andrej Sekera's put-it-on-net shot from the left point glanced off the stick of Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr and went past Quick at 19:45. It came 41 seconds after Mike Richards scored his second goal since before Thanksgiving, on a sharp angle wrist shot from the right circle that hit a Carolina player's stick and went in off the shoulder of Khudobin at 19:04. The Kings won a scrum down low to keep the puck in and it came out to Regehr to feed Richards, who last goal came Jan. 18. L.A. had opportunity for more goals early but its 27th-ranked power-play unit struggled with 8:21 minutes worth of power-play time in the first 40 minutes. Carolina defenseman Mike Komisarek was guilty of three minor penalties, but L.A. failed to put a shot on net during a 69-second 4-on-3 power play and had a total of two shots on three other advantages. The Hurricanes couldn't generate much, either. They got a 3-on-1 in the second but Quick kicked out Staal's shot. Quick also made a point-blank stop on Jeff Skinner in the third. The Hurricanes haven't scored a power-play goal in eight straight road games. Carolina forward Alexander Semin sat out with a lower-body injury sustained in Dallas. Muller said the medical staff will assess it Sunday and "see if we can get him in the lineup."

Toronto @ Montreal 3-4 OT - The one player most people figure the Montreal Canadiens cannot afford to lose to injury is goaltender Carey Price. Peter Budaj is proving that perhaps a Price injury is not as disastrous as most people believe. Budaj started his third straight game with Price out with a lower-body injury and has allowed the Canadiens to pick up five out of a possible six points after a 4-3 overtime win Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Max Pacioretty's second goal of the game, at 3:28 of overtime, gave Montreal the victory. Price has not played since winning the gold medal for Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Budaj lost 2-1 in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings and won 6-5 in a shootout at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday and Thursday. Starting three games in four nights would be difficult on any goaltender, but considering how seldom Budaj plays as the backup to one of the best goalies in the NHL, his performance under those circumstances becomes that much more impressive. Last season, Price was injured at the end of regulation in Game 4 of the Canadiens' first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs loss to the Ottawa Senators. Budaj started overtime of that game and allowed the winning goal 2:32 later before giving up six goals on 29 shots in Game 5. That was Budaj's 11th start of last season, and he said he feels this week may prevent a repeat performance should the situation present itself again. The win was as much about Pacioretty as it was about Budaj. After Toronto goaltender Jonathan Bernier was called for delay of game in overtime for freezing the puck to negate a potential Daniel Briere breakaway, Pacioretty took a no-look pass from Andrei Markov in the slot and beat Bernier high to score his 29th goal of the season. It was Markov's third assist of the game and Pacioretty's eighth shot on goal. And it was a rocket. But what Budaj finds so impressive about his teammate's ability to shoot is how quickly it leaves his stick, not the velocity. James van Riemsdyk scored twice, and Phil Kessel had one for the Maple Leafs, with their goals 2:15 apart early in the third period turning a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. Prior to the game, Toronto coach Randy Carlyle spoke about how important it would be for his team to remain disciplined, but it was something the Maple Leafs were unable to do with the Canadiens scoring the game-tying and game-winning goals on the power play. A penalty for interference by Toronto's Tim Gleason at 10:36 of the third period allowed Montreal to tie it on P.K. Subban's ninth goal of the season. The defenseman ended a 13-game drought with a one-timer from the point that beat Bernier to the blocker side 16 seconds later. The Maple Leafs were down 2-0 in the first period before they registered their first shot on goal. A turnover by Markov on a Canadiens power play opened the door for van Riemsdyk to tie the game on a breakaway at 5:28 of the third, then Kessel was allowed to get to the Montreal net unchecked to give Toronto a 3-2 lead at 7:43.

The tying goal was van Riemsdyk's second of the game, 26th of the season, giving him four goals and three assists in his past four games. Kessel's goal and assist gave him 13 goals and 18 assists in his past 17 games. The win allowed the Canadiens (34-21-7) to widen their gap on the Maple Leafs (32-22-8) to three points in the Atlantic Division. The Maple Leafs' first shot came at 14:38, when Jay McClement took an inoffensive attempt from the top of the faceoff circle, drawing mock cheers from the considerable number of Toronto fans in the Bell Centre crowd. By that point the Canadiens had nine shots on goal, and two of them had gone in. Alex Galchenyuk scored at 12:38 when he stopped a Markov shot in the high slot, spun and fired it toward Bernier. The shot hit the stick of Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly and went in for Galchenyuk's 11th goal of the season. Montreal made it 2-0 1:24 later on a very similar play when Pacioretty got the puck in the high slot, spun, and took a backhand that got past a Brendan Gallagher screen and behind Bernier. Van Riemsdyk made it 2-1 at 17:34 when he tipped Kessel's shot from the side boards through his legs and past Budaj. The second period was mired in sloppy play with little action and fewer scoring chances, but the third period changed that almost immediately after it began. About 35 seconds in, Kessel was given a one-timer at the side of the net, but Budaj got across with a pad save to rob him of a sure goal. It was another example of how Budaj has helped the Canadiens get through a difficult stretch without their franchise goalie, and why they might feel a bit more confident in case it happens again.

Calgary @ Edmonton 2-1 OT - Sean Monahan continues to show that the Calgary Flames made the right choice. Monahan, the sixth player taken in the NHL Draft last June, scored his second goal of the game 1:50 into overtime to lift the Flames to a 2-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place on Saturday night. Calgary's prized 19-year-old took a pass from Paul Byron in front of the net and slipped a shot through Oilers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to snap the Flames' two-game losing skid with his team-high 18th goal. Westgarth was injured in a fight with Edmonton's Luke Gazdic immediately after Monahan's goal at 10:15 of the first period. David Perron scored the lone goal for the Oilers, whose losing streak reached three games. Each team has been shut out eight times this season. The Oilers were less than 11 minutes away from a ninth shutout loss before Perron tied the game at 9:43 of the third by firing a shot over Berra's shoulder. The goal ended Edmonton's shutout streak at 160:47, the Oilers had not scored since Taylor Hall's goal at 11:30 of the first period of a 2-1 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 7, prior to the Olympic break. One reason for Edmonton's offensive struggles is a power play that's 0-for-19 in its past six games. The Oilers were 0-for-2 Saturday. Eberle has been held scoreless in his past six games. Hall, the team's leading scorer, has a goal and an assist in that span. The loss dropped the Oilers five points behind the Flames at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They continue a five-game homestand Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators. The Flames visit the Minnesota Wild on Monday.
 

Phoenix Coyotes @ Colorado Avalanche 2-4 - 02/28

Colorado Avalanche coach Patrick Roy was confident that goalie Semyon Varlamov would recover quickly after he and the Russian team failed to win a medal at the Sochi Olympics. In his first game since returning from Sochi, Varlamov made 40 saves Friday and the Avalanche held on for a 4-2 win against the Phoenix Coyotes at Pepsi Center.

"I wasn't concerned about it," Roy said. "When I saw him after the Olympics, I saw a big smile on his face. I knew he was ready to bounce back. [Goalie coach] Francois [Allaire] had a couple meetings with him and he was well-prepared for this game. The key was giving him the night off [Wednesday], give him the time to feel really comfortable."

Varlamov made 18 saves in the third period, nine on three Coyotes power plays, and Gabriel Landeskog completed a three-point night by scoring a power-play goal with 3:11 remaining in regulation after Shane Doan's second power-play goal of the game with 6:02 to play cut the margin to 3-2.

"They came pretty hard in the third period," Varlamov said. "We sat back a little, but we scored two quick goals, which was really good. I think that was the key to the game. I didn't feel any pressure. I felt pretty good, actually. I think I played pretty solid hockey. The guys did a great job offensively. The goalie always likes it when the guys score lots of goals."

Varlamov practiced for the first time Monday after arriving from Russia and dressed as Jean-Sebastien Giguere's backup Wednesday, when the Avalanche lost 6-4 to the Los Angeles Kings.

"I think those days helped me," he said. "I was tired emotionally and it gave me some rest. So I got back into a normal routine, trained with Francois. I felt pretty good."

Colorado (38-17-5) is in third place in the Central Division with 81 points, three behind the second-place Chicago Blackhawks with one game in hand. Phoenix (27-22-11) is fourth in the Pacific Division with 65 points but very much in the hunt for a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 22 games remaining.

"It comes down to the last [22] games," Doan said. "It always does. We have to figure out a way to get more points."

Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, and Nathan MacKinnon added two assists to stretch his point-scoring streak to 10 games, the longest by an NHL rookie since Chicago's Jonathan Toews had a 10-game streak from Oct. 10-31, 2007.

"It's nice, but I've been playing with some really good players," said MacKinnon, who has five goals and nine assists in the streak. "I feel lucky to be on a winning team like this."

Nate Guenin and Stastny scored goals early in the third period to give the Avalanche a 3-1 lead. Guenin broke a 1-1 tie 48 seconds into the period with a shot from the right circle that beat goalie Thomas Greiss to the far side. It was Guenin's third goal in 80 career NHL games and his first since March 19, 2012, when he scored against the San Jose Sharks while playing for the Anaheim Ducks.

"It's about time," Guenin said. "Just good timing there. The puck slipped through and I kind of saw an opening. I got my new sticks and I got used to them yesterday, so I have to give them some credit. We wanted this one bad. We felt we let one slip away the other night. We really wanted these two points, especially in front of our home fans. We want this to be a tough place to play and the fans were rocking."

Stastny scored at 6:12 after Greiss made a save against MacKinnon, who used his speed to drive down left wing. The rebound came to Landeskog, who passed to Stastny in front for a shot into an open net.

"He was flying," Roy said of MacKinnon. "It was a great play by him going to the net and it was an outstanding play by Landy. It was a super pass to Paulie."

Doan, who had gone eight games without a point, scored his second goal after Avalanche defenseman Cory Sarich dived to knock the puck away from Martin Hanzal but was penalized for tripping. Keith Yandle fired a shot from just inside the blue line and Doan tipped it in. The Avalanche responded with a power-play goal from Landeskog, who scored from the right circle off a pass from MacKinnon. The teams traded first-period power-play goals, with the Coyotes striking first at 12:47 on a goal by Doan. Mikkel Boedker took a shot from the right circle that hit the far post and caromed to Doan in front for a chip shot into a half-open net. PA Parenteau tied the game for the Avalanche at 15:38. Greiss made a big stop against Nick Holden driving to the net before Parenteau launched a long shot that hit the inside of the left post and bounced in. The loss was the first for Greiss in five career games against the Avalanche. He finished with 29 saves.

"We were solid in a lot of areas again, but in the end a couple of mistakes cost us," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "The power play late in the third really hurt us. It came down to a turnover, a penalty and a goal. The margin for error is very slim."

San Jose Sharks @ Buffalo Sabres 2-4 - 02/28

Jhonas Enroth stopped 36 shots in an unexpected start to give the Buffalo Sabres a 4-2 victory against the San Jose Sharks at First Niagara Center on Friday. Before the puck was dropped, the Sabres traded goalie Ryan Miller and captain Steve Ott to the St. Louis Blues for goalie Jaroslav Halak, forward Chris Stewart, forward prospect William Carrier, a first-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, and a conditional pick.

"It's tough for sure," Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers said of losing Miller. "Ever since I came in as a 19-year-old, he was a guy I really looked up to and has helped me through some pretty tough times. He was always a guy to lend a helping hand. Spending five years with him, you can really tell he's the ultimate professional. He was an unbelievable guy to have in the room to just learn from, especially as a younger guy."

Miller spent 12 years in the Sabres organization after he was a fifth-round pick by the team in 1999. He was 15-22-3 with a 2.72 goals-against average and .923 save percentage this season.

"I think no matter what you tell yourself, whether you know if you'll get traded or not, it's always tough leaving friends and teammates," said forward Matt Moulson, who was traded to the Sabres by the New York Islanders in October. "I think when it hits you, it's always an emotional roller coaster."

Ott was in his second season with the Sabres, his first as captain. "I grew up with Stevie; it was a dream come true to play with him for the last year-and-a-half," defenseman Mike Weber said. "In the same breath, as a hockey player and as a brother to him, it's nice that he's going to be getting that chance to compete for the Stanley Cup. That's what we all play for, that's what we want here."

Enroth was scheduled to back up Miller but got the call to start when the trade was made.

"I was a little more nervous than usual," Enroth said. "It was kind of late notice that I got, but I just told myself to relax and go compete."

With Enroth starting, the Sabres signed Ryan Vinz, the director of technology for Buffalo's HarborCenter and former video goaltending coach at Clarkson University, to a professional tryout agreement to dress as the backup.

"I was so nervous at the start, I asked [equipment manager] Dave Williams where to go and what to do," Vinz said. "Luckily they made it fun for me and it was an awesome experience."

Buffalo, last in the NHL standings at 18-34-8, has won three in a row coming out of the break for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Enroth has two of those wins to give him three this season (3-12-5).

"If you don't call this a chance, I don't know what a chance is," Enroth said of possibly of becoming the Sabres' starting goalie. "I'm not going to try to put too much pressure on this moment and just try to be myself and stay professional and play the best I can. … I truly believe I can be a No. 1 guy here."

Cody Hodgson gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 10:59 of the first period. He held the puck in the faceoff circle to the right of Antti Niemi and fired a high snap shot that surprised the Sharks' goalie. The goal was Hodgson's 15th of the season. It was Niemi's first start since returning from the Olympics, where he did not play for Finland. He finished with 16 saves.

"I thought I felt good the whole week, along with everything, I felt good," Niemi said. "I'm not sure why I got beat blocker side tonight."

The Sharks tied the game in the second period when James Sheppard scored his second goal of the season. He was parked in front of Enroth and took advantage of a Marc-Edouard Vlasic shot that bounced off the end boards in front, where he slipped it between Enroth's legs. Brian Flynn's sixth goal of the season gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead 4:33 into the third period. Center Zemgus Girgensons won a faceoff straight back to Flynn, who snapped a wrist shot to the far stick side of Niemi. It's the second consecutive game Flynn has scored. Moulson's 17th goal of the season and 11th for the Sabres made it 3-1 at 7:39. The play started when Myers deked Sharks forward Adam Burish and drew the attention of the defense before finding Moulson alone in front of the net.

"It was a great play by [Myers], I think everybody thought he was going to shoot it," Moulson said. "He ended up making an unbelievable play and put it right on my tape and luckily it found a way in."

It was Myers' second assist of the game. "I was holding the puck to the outside and I got him leaning just enough to pull it in and take a step by him. I thought [Moulson] did a great job of finding that quiet ice and fortunately we connected."

San Jose's Patrick Marleau made it 3-2 with 1:15 left when he beat Enroth on a netmouth scrum. Myers scored an empty-net goal with 20.7 seconds remaining.

"It was tough. Give the guys a lot of credit, they found a way. They battled," Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. "Jhonas made some big saves for us, Flynn got another goal, and Tyler Myers is really starting to come into his own. I thought he was sensational tonight. Matt Moulson and Drew Stafford really took the leadership of this team."

The Sabres swept the two-game season series against the Sharks, the fourth-place team in the Western Conference. San Jose is 1-14-1 all-time in Buffalo.

"They just have our number for whatever reason," Sharks captain Joe Thornton said. "They play well against the Sharks, what can I say?"

Results - Fri, Feb 28, 2014

Minnesota @ Vancouver 2-1 SO - As the shootout kept going and the pressure kept mounting, the Minnesota Wild turned to a couple of rookies to earn a valuable extra point against the Vancouver Canucks. Goaltender Darcy Kuemper stopped all seven shots he faced and fellow rookie Justin Fontaine scored the only goal in the tiebreaker to give the Wild a 2-1 win against the Canucks on Friday at Rogers Arena. Fontaine faked a shot as he cut across the crease and slid the puck back through the legs of goalie Eddie Lack. Kuemper ended the game by stopping David Booth on a spin move to give Minnesota its fourth straight win. Neither player seemed fazed by the pressure as the Wild (33-21-7) increased their wild-card cushion in the Western Conference Stanley Cup Playoff race. They have 73 points, seven more than the Dallas Stars, who hold the second wild-card berth, and the Canucks (28-24-10), who trail the Stars because they've played three more games. Zach Parise scored in the first period for the Wild, which continues to put daylight between themselves and their pursuers. Ryan Kesler scored for the Canucks, who failed to convert a power play in overtime and couldn't build on a 1-0 win against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday that snapped a seven-game losing streak. The Canucks, who play the Ottawa Senators on Sunday in the 2014 NHL Tim Hortons Heritage Classic at BC Place, have played one more game than the Wild, two more than the Coyotes, and three more than the Stars. Kesler, back after missing the first game after the 2014 Sochi Olympics because he injured his hand there, opened the scoring shorthanded 5:19 into the first period. He skated onto a chip pass from Chris Higgins at center ice and into a partial break, snapping a shot from the top of the left circle past Kuemper's blocker. Minnesota appeared to tie it a little more than three minutes later when Keith Ballard's point shot through traffic went in off the post, but referee Brad Meier immediately waved it off for goalie interference. Wild forward Erik Haula was atop the crease, but did not appear to make much, if any contact, with Lack before the puck went in. The Wild got a goal that counted on the power play with 5:48 left in the first period. Lack made a couple of great saves early, gloving Jason Pominville's shot from the left dot and kicking out the left pad to deny Jonas Brodin's one-timer. But he never saw Parise's wrist shot; Parise circled off the left boards above the circle before firing a high shot through Dany Heatley's screen and past Lack's blocker. The game tightened up during a scoreless second period, with Kuemper making a couple of tough saves, including one on Henrik Sedin in tight early, and another on a Booth deflection midway through. Kuemper made a great save early in the third period, sprawling out to get his right pad on Kesler's backhand attempt in tight after he collected a rebound and cut across the top of the crease.
St Louis @ Anaheim 0-1 - The Anaheim Ducks were the last team to resume play following the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and the 20-day break between games showed for much of Friday night. But the Ducks overcame the rust and shut down the St. Louis Blues 1-0 to snap a four-game losing streak at Honda Center and sweep the three-game series between the top two teams in the Western Conference. Andrew Cogliano matched his career-high with his 18th goal at 3:39 of the first period. He lifted a backhander past goalie Brian Elliott after Saku Koivu sent him in on a breakaway. Cam Fowler started the play when he got the puck away from Alexander Steen near Anaheim's bench. Jonas Hiller made the lead stand up with 18 saves for his 21st career shutout. But Hiller had plenty of help; the Ducks blocked 27 shots and St. Louis missed the target on 30 others. Anaheim is known for offense but it also takes pride in grinding out games, and this win included 35 hits. St. Louis made a bold move to solidify its goaltending for the stretch run when it acquired Ryan Miller from the Buffalo Sabres a few hours before puck drop. But the Blues' immediate problem is an offense that has gone cold; they've dropped back-to-back 1-0 decisions in their first two games following the Olympic break after not being shut out in 57 games. The Blues got Miller and forward Steve Ott from the Sabres for goalie Jaroslav Halak, forward Chris Stewart, prospect William Carrier, a 2015 first-round pick and a conditional pick. Halak had been scheduled to start; instead, Elliott got the late nod and kept the Blues in the game with 18 saves. After Cogliano's goal, the Blues controlled most of the rest of the first period and Jaden Schwartz hit the crossbar just before the intermission. Ryan Reaves came agonizingly close to pulling St. Louis even when he nudged a loose puck at the net and had it hit the right post, slide along the goal line and hit the left post with 59 seconds remaining in the second period. It was that kind of game for the Blues, who outplayed the Ducks for stretches but couldn't score. Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said he expected rust coming out of the break, and the Ducks looked out of sync at times, although they did get a couple of great scoring chances. Mathieu Perreault couldn't finish a 2-on-1 with Teemu Selanne, and Nick Bonino shot into Elliott's pads in the second period. Perreault left the game with what the Ducks said was an upper-body injury when he went into the boards awkwardly in the third period. Boudreau also likes the details of the game, and he was most pleased with the three blocked shots and six hits by Ben Lovejoy. Mark Fistric came off injured reserve and had five hits, two penalties and two blocks. Olympic silver medalist Jakob Silfverberg was a scratch for Anaheim.