Pittsburgh Penguins @ Florida Panthers 3-4 SO - 12/22

Jimmy Hayes had two goals in regulation and Aleksander Barkov scored in the seventh round of the shootout to lead the Florida Panthers to a 4-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at BB&T Center on Monday. It was a huge lift for the two forwards; Hayes was scratched for a 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh on Saturday; Barkov hasn't scored since Nov. 11, a span of 12 games. Jussi Jokinen also scored and Roberto Luongo made 24 saves for the Panthers (15-9-8), who managed a split of this home-and-home series. Luongo recorded his 386th career win, passing Mike Vernon for sole possession of 12th place on the all-time list. Pittsburgh (22-6-5), which was without 12 players (nine from its opening-night roster) because of a variety of maladies, erased a two-goal deficit in the final five minutes of regulation, but Marc-Andre Fleury couldn't stop Barkov's nifty one-handed move that got past his stick side. The Penguins took the early lead when center Sidney Crosby brought the puck off the boards and passed to defenseman Simon Despres at the blue line. Despres shot it toward the net and right wing Patric Hornqvist tipped the puck past Luongo for his 12th goal of the season at 4:39 of the first period. Jokinen tied the game with 36.4 seconds left in the second period. The Penguins had just killed off a penalty when Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov passed the puck down to center Dave Bolland in the left corner. Bolland fed the puck to Jokinen through three Penguins in front of the net and Jokinen shot it over Fleury's right shoulder for his fourth goal of the season. The Panthers took a 2-1 lead 22 seconds into the third period on Hayes' eighth goal of the season. Sean Bergenheim was in a battle with Penguins center Nick Spaling along the right boards, but Bergenheim came out with the puck and fed Hayes, whose quick wrist shot slipped by Fleury's right side between his blocker and pad. Hayes scored his second goal of the game at 15:03 to give Florida the 3-1 lead. Bergenheim brought the puck out from behind the net in traffic and had a shot that went off Fleury's left shoulder and rolled behind him. Hayes was there to poke it in. Pittsburgh came into the game in a 3-for-37 scoring slump on the power play, but Spaling scored with 4:52 left in the third period to cut Florida's lead to 3-2. From the top of the zone, Despres passed the puck over to defensemen Derrick Pouliot, and his shot was redirected by Spaling past Luongo for his sixth goal of the season just before the power play expired. Penguins center Evgeni Malkin tied the game with 2:10 left in the game when he put a wrist shot past Luongo in heavy traffic. In the shootout, Barkov was the only player to score, using a one-handed move that was inspired by retired Finnish player Jarkko Ruutu. The Penguins were without defensemen Christian Ehrhoff, Robert Bortuzzo and Olli Maatta, right wings Pascal Dupuis and Beau Bennett, and centers Scott Wilson and Zach Sill because of a variety of injuries. Right wing Steve Downie, center Brandon Sutter and goaltender Thomas Greiss were sent back to Pittsburgh to get tested for the mumps before the game. Pittsburgh recalled goaltender Jeff Zatkoff from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Left wing Blake Comeau left the bench midway through the third period and did not return. Penguins coach Mike Johnston said he didn't know the extent of the injury, but Pittsburgh may need to call up another forward if it is serious. Johnston said the Penguins will have to keep adjusting until they are back at full strength. Pittsburgh will play at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

Pens Quotes

Marc-Andre Fleury: "It's good to [get] a point. But when it’s so close and especially when it comes to a shootout we feel like we can win every time. It's disappointing to lose like that."
Mike Johnston: "You're playing a shorter bench up front and it's challenging for our forwards. They have to keep their shifts short, we have to manage our shifts, make sure our guys aren't out there very long, change faster. We're going to have to do that again tomorrow night before we head into the break."

NHL Results - Mon, Dec 22, 2014

Ottawa @ Washington 1-2 - Holtby stretched to his left to snare Clarke MacArthur's one-timer with his glove, set up by a pass from Erik Karlsson parallel to the goal line at 4:32. Officials reviewed the play to see if the puck crossed the line when it entered Holtby's glove, and the original ruling of no goal was upheld. Beagle gave Washington a 1-0 lead 13:59 into the second period, outracing defenseman Jared Cowen to receive center Evgeny Kuznetsov's long breakout pass. Beagle was able to sneak a shot past Anderson for his career-high fifth goal with Cowen hounding him. Condra tied the game at 15:56 when he pickpocketed defenseman Mike Green as he attempted to leave the defensive zone, charging toward Holtby and beating him with a wrist shot. With 35 seconds remaining in the second period and the Capitals on a power play, Backstrom scored from near the right half-wall. It was his sixth goal in his past five games.
Nashville @ Columbus 5-1 - The Predators chased Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky after the second of three goals in a 2:14 span of the third period made the score 4-0. Colin Wilson and Smith scored 1:38 apart in the second period for a 2-0 lead. Seth Jones, Smith and Mike Fisher had goals in the third. Rinne lost a chance for his fourth shutout with 4:22 to play when rookie center Alexander Wennberg scored a power-play goal to make it 5-1. It was the first career goal for Wennberg, the 14th pick at the 2013 NHL Draft, in his 23rd game. The Blue Jackets felt they had scored a goal on Rinne early in the first period when left wing Nick Foligno took a rebound and skated in front of the net before putting the puck into the net. But it was taken off the board after the Situation Room ruled that Rinne knocked the goal off the right peg before Foligno shot the puck. Wilson opened the scoring with 12:13 remaining in the second by taking a pass from defenseman Victor Bartley in full stride. He was in alone when he beat Bobrovsky for his sixth goal. Smith completed a two-man rush off a feed by Mike Ribeiro to make it 2-0 at 9:25. The third period belonged to the Predators after Rinne made consecutive saves on a Brandon Dubinsky shot and Cam Atkinson's attempt on the rebound from the slot to preserve the Predators' 2-0 lead. Less than a minute later, with 12:47 remaining, Jones scored his first of the season. Smith scored his second of the game 44 seconds later from the right dot off a pass from rookie Filip Forsberg. Smith has 10 goals. Richards pulled Bobrovsky, who made 26 saves, after the goal to show his displeasure with the other players. Columbus backup Curtis McElhinney allowed the goal by Fisher on the first shot he saw. It was Fisher's third.
Phoenix @ Vancouver 1-7 - After scoring five goals in the previous four games and spending a week of practice focusing on getting more pucks and traffic to the net, several Canucks ended slumps against the hapless Coyotes at Rogers Arena. Alexandre Burrows scored twice to end a nine-game goal drought, Chris Higgins scored for the first time in 10 games, and Daniel Sedin scored his first in six games to help Vancouver avenge a lopsided loss against Phoenix earlier this season. Burrows, Kevin Bieksa and Sedin scored in the first period. Brad Richardson scored to make it 4-0 at 1:41 of the second period to chase Mike Smith after 11 shots. Burrows scored his second goal on a Canucks power play midway through the second period, and Chris Higgins and Shawn Matthias rounded out the scoring with power-play goals 2:24 apart in the third period against the Coyotes' 29th-ranked penalty kill. Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored a power-play goal for the Coyotes, who have one win in their past eight games. Devan Dubnyk made 26 saves on 29 shots after replacing Smith. The Coyotes won 5-0 in Vancouver in mid-November and had shut out the Canucks in three of their past four games. But everything that went right in those games went wrong in this one. Burrows, who played on the fourth line for a second straight game, scored his first of the game at 6:34 of the first period. His shot from below the goal line went in off the glove of Coyotes defenseman Michael Stone, who was battling Canucks forward Derek Dorsett at the side of the net.
Phoenix had a chance to tie it on consecutive power plays midway through the period, but couldn't solve Vancouver's fifth-ranked penalty kill before Bieksa stepped out of the box into a 3-on-2 rush and beat Smith between the legs.
Daniel Sedin banged in a rebound with 42 seconds left in the first period for his eighth goal, and Richardson beat Smith cleanly over the glove off a rush early in the second to end the Coyotes goalie's night. Smith, who watched Dubnyk start the previous three games, came into the game with an .889 save percentage, last in the NHL among goalies with more than 10 appearances. He has lost four straight starts, giving up 16 goals on 92 shots over that span, but Tippett liked how Smith looked in practice during his week between starts. Dubnyk made three saves before Burrows scored his second goal of the game, eighth of the season, as the net-front presence on a power play. Burrows banked a rebound in off Coyotes defenseman Zbynek Michalek's glove after Dubnyk had robbed him on his initial shot. Ekman-Larsson scored his third goal in four games, beating Miller with a glove-side wrist shot. Matthias converted a backdoor pass from Richardson on another power play 9:33 into the third period. About the only bad news for the Canucks on Monday was the pregame announcement that forward Jannik Hansen, who collapsed on the bench after taking a hit Saturday, would not play for precautionary reasons.
Calgary @ Los Angeles 4-3 OT - Mark Giordano scored with 53 seconds left in overtime to give the Flames a 4-3 win. Calgary rookie forward Johnny Gaudreau scored twice with the Flames net empty in the final 2:12 of the third period to complete his first NHL hat trick and tie the game 3-3. Giordano took the puck at center ice, bulled through the defense of Kings forward Jeff Carter, headed toward the net and pushed a backhand past goalie Jonathan Quick. Gaudreau's second of the game came after he skated around the net in front before sliding a shot past Quick at 17:48, and he scored the tying goal when his centering-pass attempt went off the skate of Kings defenseman Drew Doughty into the net with 59 seconds remaining. Trevor Lewis gave the Kings a 1-0 lead by going almost end-to-end. Lewis gathered the puck just outside the icing line in the defensive zone and skated all the way up the right-wing boards into the Flames end. He flicked a shot from between the wall and the faceoff circle that eluded goalie Jonas Hiller at 2:26 of the first period. Gaborik made it 2-0 with 2:10 left in the period when he scored on his rebound late in a power play. After a cycle, Kopitar skated in close to Hiller before passing to Gaborik, whose first shot was kicked back to him by Hiller for a second chance with 24 seconds left in the advantage. McBain's second goal of the season, also late in a power play, made it 3-0 4:32 into the second period. Justin Williams passed from the left point to Dustin Brown down low, where he sent a cross-ice pass to a crashing McBain for a one-timer with 18 seconds to go in the expiring penalty. Gaudreau scored a power-play goal with 1:58 left in the second. Dennis Wideman took a slap shot from near the center of the blue line that was blocked by Kings forward Jarret Stoll, who was playing without a stick. The puck caromed right to Gaudreau, who shot quickly from the right faceoff circle.

Dallas Stars @ Edmonton Oilers 6-5 SO - 12/21

Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin took matters into his own hands down by three goals against the Oilers at Rexall Place on Sunday. Seguin scored two goals and helped set up another, leading Dallas to a 6-5 shootout victory and extending their winning streak to four games. Dallas forward Shawn Horcoff scored the shootout winner for the Stars, who were down 5-2 late in the second period. Seguin and Vernon Fiddler also scored in the shootout for Dallas. Jamie Benn scored on the power play at 19:39 of the second period to start the comeback, taking a cross-crease pass from center Jason Spezza and scoring from a sharp angle. Seguin scored 52 seconds into the third, then again at 9:13 to tie the game. Horcoff and Erik Cole also scored in regulation for the Stars, who out-shot the Oilers 16-3 in the third period. Forwards Taylor Hall and Mark Arcobello each had two goals for Edmonton. Teddy Purcell also scored for the Oilers, who have lost seven games in a row and 18 of their past 19. Hall scored a power-play goal on a rebound to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 2:58 of the first period. Horcoff tied the game at 6:36 gaining position in front of the net and lifting a rebound over Oilers goaltender Ben Scrivens, who made 40 saves. Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen gave up four goals on 19 shots before being pulled in the second period. Anders Lindback made nine saves in relief for the Stars to earn the win. Cole gave the Stars a 2-1 lead at 10:20 of the first, beating a diving Scrivens from the face-off circle. Purcell tied the game 11 seconds into the second period, getting fortunate bounce off Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski and beating Lehtonen. Arcobello scored his first at 2:44 to give the Oilers a 3-2 lead, burying a shot after Lehtonen kicked the puck to him. His second goal was scored in a similar fashion at 9:19 to give Edmonton a 4-2 lead. Lehtonen was pulled following the goal and replaced by Lindback. Hall scored on a breakaway at 13:17, beating Lindback to give Edmonton a 5-2 lead. Oilers forward Jordan Eberle and Purcell countered Seguin and Fiddler’s shootout goals before Horcoff, a former Oilers captain, won the game. The Stars improved to 2-1 in the shootout this season. They finished with a perfect 3-0-0 record on their road trip.

Stars Quotes

Tyler Seguin: "It's been a great road trip so far and it was gut-check time when it was 5-2 in the second period. That was unacceptable, but we got that late power-play goal in the second period. We all tested ourselves in the third and I think [head coach] Lindy [Ruff] tested us. We've had a few games in the past where we've been down a goal or two in the third and we haven't had much of a push. But I thought we dominated the game in the third period."
Shawn Horcoff: "It's funny, [Seguin] is the best shooter I've ever seen and when he gets chances, he doesn't miss too often. I thought him and [Jamie] Benn took the team on their shoulders and led the way. Once those guys are going, they're impossible to stop. Yeah it did [feel good], I'd be lying if I said it didn't. We needed that win and just coming back in the third the way we did. We played super aggressive got in on them real hard, I thought we could have won the game in regulation or in overtime."
Jamie Benn: "It was a gutsy effort. We laid an egg in the second period and we found a way to grind it out for 20 minutes and found a way to win the shootout. We have a lot of character guys in here and we really wanted finish this road trip off with two points."

NHL Results - Sun, Dec 21, 2014

Colorado @ Detroit 2-1 SO - Jarome Iginla scored the shootout winner. He skated in and scored after Detroit goalie Petr Mrazek had stopped six in a row.
Johnson's power-play goal tied it with 4:15 left in the third period on a one-timer from the top of the left circle. It came 10 seconds after Tomas Jurco went off for interference in the offensive zone. Datsyuk scored the game's first goal 4:52 into the third period. On a power play, Datsyuk beat Pickard with a wrist shot from the high inside area of the right circle, after taking a cross slot pass from center Riley Sheahan. It was Datsyuk's 13th goal and the Red Wings' first in 95:03. The goal came 42 seconds after Avalanche defenseman Nate Guenin went off for tripping. Pickard stopped defenseman Niklas Kronwall's tip attempt from the bottom of the left circle 1:33 into the third period. It came off a spinning blind pass from Datsyuk from inside the blue line. Pickard stopped Tatar from the slot after the latter pulled up on the rush with 5:25 remaining in the second period. Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith was cut on his lip after a puck deflected up off his stick and Iginla's stick midway through the second.
The Avalanche killed off a four-minute shorthanded situation that began in the first period and ended 34 seconds into the second. It was the result of Maxime Talbot's high stick to Kronwall's face. Pickard made an outstanding glove save on Datsyuk's wrist shot from the upper inside edge of the right circle late in the first period during a power play. The shot appeared headed for the short-side corner up high.
Buffalo @ Boston 3-4 OT - Dougie Hamilton scored his second goal of the game with 1:31 remaining in regulation to force overtime, Eriksson scored with 2:14 elapsed in the extra session. Eriksson had just gone over the boards during a line change when he received a pass from Milan Lucic at the Sabres blue line. Eriksson took the puck to the net and beat goaltender Jhonas Enroth. Hamilton took advantage of the Bruins' 6-on-5 advantage with his second goal of the game. Hamilton scored on a wide-open wrist shot from the right circle with 1:31 remaining to tie the score 3-3. Brian Gionta was injured on a hit by Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski and forward Marcus Foligno was injured in the ensuing fight with Bartkowski. Gionta and Foligno did not return to the game because of upper-body injuries. Bartkowski received a game misconduct. Schaller, a rookie from Merrimack, N.H., put the Sabres ahead 3-2 with 1:27 gone in the third period with his first NHL goal on a wraparound. He was called up Sunday from the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League because of the injuries and illness afflicting the Sabres. Schaller's parents made it to the game. The Bruins took advantage of their first power play twice, but only one of their goals counted in the first period. At 5:32 of the first period, Reilly Smith seemed to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead with a slap shot from the high slot, but the goal was waved off because of goaltender interference by Eriksson. Twenty seconds later, Hamilton scored on a one-timer from the left hash mark off a feed from Carl Soderberg to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Boston had been 0-for-11 on the power play over its past five games.
The Sabres wound up with a three-minute power play late in the period because of a major for interference against Bartkowski for the hit on Gionta, but the Bruins killed the man advantage. Enroth kept the Sabres in the game during the power play when he stopped Boston center Patrice Bergeron on a breakaway with less than three minutes to play in the first period. Buffalo tied the game 1-1 on an Andrej Meszaros goal at 6:06 of the second period when he drove to the net and buried a feed from Chris Stewart. Buffalo then took the lead 2-1 on a power-play goal by defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen on a shot that went off Boston defenseman Torey Krug's skate at 14:36. The Bruins evened the score 2-2 one minute later on Chris Kelly's tip-in from between the hash marks. The goal was Kelly's first in 23 games.
Carolina @ NY Rangers 0-1 - McDonagh gave the Rangers the only goal they needed Sunday at 4:10 of the first period. He scored on a one-timer from below the left hash marks off a behind-the-net pass from center Derek Stepan, who has 15 assists this season and points in three straight games. Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello led the breakout and dumped the puck in off the end boards. Stepan won the race to it against Carolina center Victor Rask, and got free behind the net after Rask tried to lift Stepan's stick instead of take the body. Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk didn't step up to defend Stepan after he got away from Rask and Carolina forward Elias Lindholm was late recovering on McDonagh. Khudobin's best save might have come at 13:13 of the third period, when he reached out his blocker to knock away forward Derick Brassard's shot from the front of the left post. He made several pad saves on point-blank opportunities to keep the score at 1-0 in the first period at a time when the Rangers were all over the Hurricanes and forcing them to play sloppy through the neutral zone.
Toronto @ Chicago 0-4 - Chicago played without center Brad Richards, who is day-to-day because of an upper-body injury. Versteeg shifted from left wing on the second line to fill Richards' spot at center; Sharp moved up from the third line to play left wing opposite Kane. The unit, which helped produce the first two goals, didn't take long to click. Rundblad got the scoring started at 15:30 of the first with a point shot that turned into his first goal with the Blackhawks, second of his career. It was assisted by Kane and Sharp, who screened Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer (30 saves). Versteeg made it 2-0 at 19:59. After a pass from Kane, Versteeg kicked the puck to his forehand and used a wrist shot to beat Reimer over the glove for his ninth goal. Kane and Toews sealed it with their goals in the third to assure the Blackhawks of a split in the two-game season series. In the first game against Toronto, Reimer made 45 saves and denied the Blackhawks on 26 shots in the third period. Chicago beat him twice in its first 12 shots Sunday and didn't let up until the final horn. The Maple Leafs applied the most pressure in the second, with a couple of close calls, they just couldn't get the puck past Raanta or the post. The nearest they came to scoring was at 11:55, when forward Daniel Winnik tipped a shot from in front of the crease that hit the right post. The puck caromed into the blue paint and Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook cleared it to end the scoring chance.
Philadelphia @ Winnipeg 4-3 OT - Two third-period goals from Lecavalier helped the Flyers to overcome a 3-1 third-period deficit and force overtime. After Lecavalier's second goal with 3:14 left in regulation made it 3-3, Voracek stripped Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien of the puck near the Winnipeg net and scored his second goal of the game 10 seconds into overtime for the Flyers, who have won back-to-back games. Lecavalier scored his second goal of the game. Lecavalier intercepted Winnipeg defenseman Jay Harrison's clearing attempt and put a shot under the crossbar for his fourth goal of the season.  Voracek finished a 2-on-1 rush 46 seconds into the game, taking a pass from Giroux and sweeping it past Pavelec for his 13th goal. Zepp faced eight shots in the first four minutes, but Halischuk made it 1-1 on the Jets' ninth shot. Halischuk scored his first goal since March 31 when he slipped past two Philadelphia defenders and beat Zepp with a slap shot at 6:38. Fifty-five seconds later, Byfuglien moved off his right point and around the Philadelphia defense before putting a backhand shot from in close past Zepp for his eighth goal of the season. Perreault sent the Jets ahead by two goals when Zepp could not control Mark Scheifele's shot, allowing Perreault to stuff it into the net from a tight angle at 11:21. Perreault's sixth goal extended his point streak to seven games (three goals, four assists). Lecavalier moved the Flyers back to within one goal when he tipped Mark Streit's screen shot past Pavelec 6:06 into the third period. The Flyers outshot Winnipeg 9-2 in the third period.

St Louis Blues @ San Jose Sharks 2-3 OT - 12/20

The San Jose Sharks had a feeling their game Saturday against the St. Louis Blues would come down to special teams. They were right. Brent Burns scored a power-play goal with 37.5 seconds left in overtime, lifting the Sharks to a 3-2 win against St. Louis at SAP Center and extending their home winning streak to eight games. The Sharks didn't spend a single minute in the penalty box. The Blues, who had allowed five power-play goals on 18 attempts in their previous three games, were penalized three times. St. Louis killed their first two penalties, but not the third. The Sharks went on a power play at 3:57 of overtime when Blues forward Alexander Steen tripped Joe Pavelski. Burns capitalized when he took a pass from Pavelski and hammered a slap shot from the point past goalie Jake Allen to the stick side for his 10th goal of the season.
Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored with 20.6 seconds left in regulation, tying the game 2-2. With Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi out of the net, Vlasic took a cross-ice pass from Joe Thornton and beat Allen with a shot from above the left circle that bounced off St. Louis defenseman Alex Pietrangelo's skate. Andrew Desjardins also scored for the Sharks, and Antti Niemi made 18 saves. The Sharks (19-11-4) won their fifth in a row overall.
Patrik Berglund and Steve Ott scored for St. Louis. Allen made 27 saves.
St. Louis (21-9-3) fell for the second straight game. The Blues blew a 3-0 lead in a 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. After a scoreless first period, San Jose took a 1-0 lead on Desjardins' goal at 10:47 of a wide-open second. Sharks defenseman Justin Braun banked a long pass off the left boards to a streaking Desjardins, who beat Allen with a sharp-angled shot from the left circle that snuck inside the left post. St. Louis answered with goals by Berglund and Ott to take a 2-1 lead. Berglund scored at 14:29, knocking in a rebound with a sweeping backhand after Niemi made a pad save of Pietrangelo's slap shot from the blue line. Ott put St. Louis ahead 2-1 at 17:21 with his first goal since being traded to the Blues from the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 28. He snapped a 58-game goal-less streak, 54 with St. Louis. Ott took a long pass from Maxim Lapierre and scored on a breakaway, beating Niemi to the glove side. He hadn't scored since Feb. 3. Until Vlasic scored, it looked as though Ott had a game-winner. After being outshot 8-2 in the first period, the Sharks outshot St. Louis 17-9 in the second. Coming off a rough start against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, Niemi made a handful of clutch saves in the first period. Blues captain David Backes, playing in his 600th career game, had two shots in the first period, including a dangerous chance from the left circle roughly five minutes into the game. The Sharks entered the game averaging 10.5 first-period shots, but they didn't record a shot Saturday until 16:22 when Barclay Goodrow was denied from 46 feet. Patrick Marleau had the Sharks' best scoring chance of the period, but Allen stopped his shot from the right circle. After the first period, the Sharks outshot St. Louis 28-12 the rest of the way, capping a 5-0-0 homestand.

Sharks Quotes

Brent Burns: "I think it was kind of the game we expected from them. We knew it was going to be physical. We call it a man's game. I think you play these big teams, the heavy teams, you expect that. It was hard in front of the net. Forwards did a great job on the boards. It usually comes down to special teams. That's kind of what we expected."
Todd McLellan: "He's got a shot, doesn't he? He put himself in a good position, created a shooting lane. The pass was in his wheelhouse. He just pounded away at it. It's hard to stop a shot that fast and that quick. We have to be happy with it, the point production and the game, the way we're playing. We played a good team tonight. Gave up 12 shots in the last two periods and overtime, which is a good thing for our club now."
Marc-Edouard Vlasic: "We found a way to get a late goal, but we had a lot of opportunities before that, and it was nice to get the win the way we did."
Andrew Desjardins: "I was just kind of getting it there. I was kind of more looking five-hole and I think it went under his blocker. It's just one of those things, try to keep your feet moving and shoot it quick and good things happen."

Blues Quotes

Ken Hitchcock: "That's a bad penalty [Steen's trip of Pavelski]. But the goal against to tie the game is heartbreaking. We got beat on the boards earlier in the game. The last two games have been disappointing from the checking standpoint. We had both teams on the ropes, and our inability to check at the right time, our body position and everything has hurt us. It's not closing games. It's checking. When we're checking properly, with the offense we have, we're going to beat teams."
Steve Ott: "The most disappointing part of it is team-wise we played extremely well and we didn't get the job done. Collectively we made some mistakes and, unfortunately, those mistakes happened late in the game and in overtime. We have to clean ourselves up and we have to play better and find ways to close games out."

Florida Panthers @ Pittsburgh Penguins 1-3 - 12/20

Sidney Crosby scored his first goal since missing three games with the mumps, and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Florida Panthers 3-1 at Consol Energy Center on Saturday. Crosby, standing to the left of the Florida net, tipped a pass from Kris Letang past goalie Roberto Luongo to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead 7:01 into the third period. Marc-Andre Fleury won his 19th game of the season, two behind Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne for the NHL lead, by making 45 saves, 12 in the third period. With Pittsburgh leading 2-1, Fleury stopped Florida's best chance at tying the game 2:05 into the third. Panthers forward Dave Bolland fanned on a shot in front of the Penguins crease, which caused Fleury to slide out of position to the right. Bolland collected the puck and backhanded it on net, but Fleury made a right-pad save to preserve a one-goal lead. Fleury made another set of impressive saves 2:58 later when he stopped a wrist shot from Tomas Fleischmann, then bit on a rebound attempt from Bolland and sprawled to make a save on Jussi Jokinen before the puck was cleared from the crease. The Panthers outshot the Penguins 46-34. Florida and Pittsburgh meet again Monday at BB&T Center. Pittsburgh (22-6-4) held a 2-1 lead after a contentious first period that was highlighted by defenseman Derrick Pouliot's goal in his NHL debut. Steve Downie sent a cross-ice pass to Pouliot waiting alone in the right faceoff circle. Pouliot placed a wrist shot over Luongo's glove and into the upper-right corner of the net to give Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead 6:56 into the period. Pouliot, who was recalled from the American Hockey League on Saturday because defensemen Christian Ehrhoff and Paul Martin are out with undisclosed injuries, leads Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with 20 points in 23 games. Pouliot scored five goals in his past seven AHL games. The Panthers responded with a goal from Pittsburgh native Vincent Trocheck 25 seconds later. Trocheck tipped a wrist shot from Jonathan Huberdeau for a power-play goal that cut Pittsburgh's lead to 2-1, 7:31 into the first. Trocheck was a healthy scratch in Florida's past two games. Chris Kunitz and Evgeni Malkin each had an opportunity to score the third Penguins goal with about 7:09 remaining in the period, but after Kunitz backhanded a shot off of the left post, Malkin hit a rebound off the same post. Nick Spaling started the scoring when he fluttered a wrist shot over Luongo's blocker 1:48 into the game. Luongo attempted to reach across his body, but the puck glided past the tip of his glove and into the back of the net. Crosby temporarily left the game after being slashed by Bolland behind the Penguins net about 14:00 into the first period. Crosby immediately removed his left glove and skated toward the bench. He returned a few minutes later and drove in on Luongo for a backhand attempt in his first shift back. The teams combined for 15 penalties and 38 penalty minutes during the period. The tension didn't die at the start of the second, with an additional 32 penalty minutes, but Florida was the only team to score a power-play goal. The Penguins, who once led the NHL on the man-advantage while converting at a rate above 40 percent, failed to score on five chances through the first two periods, six in all. Pittsburgh's power play is ranked third in the League at 24.3 percent. The Penguins played four defensemen who are 23 years old or younger, and Pittsburgh coach Mike Johnston complimented their effort given the added emphasis on special teams.

Pens Quotes

Sidney Crosby: "It's nice to finally put one in. It was a nice play by [Letang] and he made that whole play happen. Bringing guys to him and then a great pass. So, it's nice to see one go in."
Marc-Andre Fleury: "I think there were a few chances [for the Panthers to score]. Especially in the third, I think they came close a few times, but other than that, I thought it was just throwing pucks in and having people in front. I think that's what makes it tough, when you have to find the pucks through people."
Derrick Pouliot: "It's incredible. You dream about that moment happening. So it was very exciting. Good to get the win and to get the first goal too."
Mike Johnston: "I thought Florida pushed us really hard and I thought those guys responded well. Pouliot was in that group, but you look at [Scott] Harrington's job defensively and [Brian] Dumoulin's job, it was a hard game to play for them, because there was a lot of special-teams work."
Penalties

1st Period
07:15 PIT	Scott Harrington  Hi-sticking against  Aleksander Barkov
08:24 FLA	Scottie Upshall  Tripping against  Evgeni Malkin
08:24 PIT	Evgeni Malkin  Embellishment against  Scottie Upshall
12:15 FLA	Brian Campbell  Interference against  Bobby Farnham
16:09 PIT	Blake Comeau  Holding against  Willie Mitchell
18:42 PIT	Patric Hornqvist  Interference against  Roberto Luongo
18:42 FLA	Dylan Olsen  Roughing against  Chris Kunitz
18:42 PIT	Chris Kunitz  Roughing against  Dylan Olsen
18:42 FLA	Dave Bolland  Roughing against  Sidney Crosby
18:42 FLA	Willie Mitchell  Fighting (maj) against  Kris Letang
18:42 PIT	Kris Letang  Fighting (maj) against  Willie Mitchell
19:22 FLA	Erik Gudbranson  Hi stick - double minor against  Sidney Crosby
19:33 PIT	Steve Downie  Roughing against  Jussi Jokinen
19:33 FLA	Jussi Jokinen  Roughing against  Steve Downie
19:33 PIT	Evgeni Malkin  Roughing against  Aaron Ekblad
2nd Period
03:15 PIT	Patric Hornqvist  Interference on goalkeeper against  Roberto Luongo
06:21 FLA	Erik Gudbranson  Fighting (maj) against  Steve Downie
06:21 PIT	Steve Downie  Fighting (maj) against  Erik Gudbranson
06:21 PIT	Steve Downie  Misconduct (10 min)
09:16 FLA	Vincent Trocheck  Kneeing against  Evgeni Malkin
10:05 PIT	Evgeni Malkin  Embellishment
10:05 FLA	Dave Bolland  Tripping against  Evgeni Malkin
13:43 FLA	Dave Bolland  Cross checking against  Bobby Farnham
19:10 PIT	Simon Despres  Interference against  Aleksander Barkov
3rd Period
14:37 PIT	Rob Scuderi  Delaying Game-Puck over glass
16:52 PIT	Marcel Goc  Slashing against  Dave Bolland
18:09 FLA	Tomas Fleischmann  Slashing against  Rob Scuderi

NHL Results - Sat, Dec 20, 2014

Phoenix @ Los Angeles 2-4 - Martinez scored on a slap shot at 1:34 of the third period to make it 3-2 with Martin Hanzal serving a delay of game penalty for closing his hand on the puck. Gaborik took a backhand pass from Kopitar in the high slot and scored on a wrist shot at 17:40 of the second for his sixth goal in four games. Phoenix took a 2-1 lead on goals in the second period by Hanzal and Kyle Chipchura. Hanzal outworked Drew Doughty on a drive to the net before Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin inadvertently hit the puck into the net at 44 seconds. Chipchura had a pass go off Mike Richards’ skate, Brayden McNabb’s stick and over Kings goalie Jonathan Quick’s glove at 5:42. If the Kings needed more proof that the bounces were not going their way, Carter shot what might have been a rolling puck over a wide-open net late in the second period. Carter’s second goal in as many games gave the Kings a 1-0 lead. Keith Yandle’s clear attempt in the corner turned over to Kopitar, who fed Carter on the right side at 17:22 of the first period.
Colorado @ Buffalo 5-1 - Johnson and Cody McLeod gave the Avalanche a 2-0 first-period lead. Tanguay extended the Avalanche lead to 3-0 with his 10th goal of the season 1:51 into the third period. He received a pass from forward Jarome Iginla on a 3-on-2 and took a wrist shot that beat Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth (18 saves) high to the glove side. Center John Mitchell, who missed the past seven games with a lower-body injury, made it 4-0 with a power play goal at 5:09 of the third period. Mitchell was alone in the slot when he scored his fourth goal on a pass from Tanguay. Sabres forward Johan Larsson scored his first NHL goal with 6:33 left in the third period to end Pickard’s shutout. Larsson converted a pass from Chris Stewart that cut the Colorado lead to 4-1. Pickard made 28 saves. Tanguay scored an empty-net goal with 26 seconds left.
Philadelphia @ Toronto 7-4 - The Maple Leafs employed some precise passing to take a 1-0 lead at 4:51 of the first period. Phil Kessel skated out of the Toronto zone along the left-wing boards and passed cross-ice to defenseman Morgan Rielly, who joined the rush. Rielly then spotted left wing Joffrey Lupul, playing his 200th game with the Maple Leafs, in front of the net and made a perfect backhand pass. Lupul put a shot in under the crossbar.
The Maple Leafs went up 2-0 at 5:40 with a power-play goal 28 seconds after Flyers center Scott Laughton was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. Left wing James van Riemsdyk tipped home a low Cody Franson shot for his 14th goal of the season. R.J. Umberger got the Flyers back in the game with his third goal of the season at 8:14. Toronto goalie Jonathan Bernier made the initial save on Sean Couturier, but the rebound went directly to Umberger in the slot, where he scored with a wrist shot. Couturier tied it 2-2 at 11:18 with his eighth of the season when he was set up alone in the slot, but the Maple Leafs restored the lead on the next shift when David Clarkson's 30-foot wrist shot found its way through a crowd and into the net on Emery's glove side at 11:33. Giroux tied it 3-3 11 seconds later with his ninth goal of the season when he charged to the net with Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri covering him and tipped a Voracek shot past Bernier. The three goals in 26 seconds established a Maple Leafs record for the fastest three goals scored in a game. The six goals were scored in 6:53. The Flyers took their first lead at 3:52 on a wonderful play by defenseman Nicklas Grossmann. Standing at the left point with the puck and no direct path to the net, Grossmann purposely shot wide at the backboards to create a rebound. The puck hit the boards, bounced off the back of Bernier's legs and trickled into the net. It was Grossmann's third goal of the season. Giroux made it 5-3 at 16:03 when he took a pass at the side of the net and from a sharp angle managed to beat Bernier with a shot to the short side. The Flyers went up 6-3 during a 4-on-4 situation when Scott Laughton scored his second of the season at 5:47 on a pass from Voracek, who collected his fourth point of the game. Then, at 9:32, Michael Raffl scored his ninth of the season from the slot.
The Maple Leafs replaced Bernier with James Reimer after Philadelphia's seventh goal. Toronto's Peter Holland slipped past defenseman Mark Streit and scored his eighth goal of the season to make it 7-4 at 13:49.
Ottawa @ Montreal 1-4 - Alex Galchenyuk, who set up Brendan Gallagher's go-ahead goal in the second period, finished defenseman Alexei Emelin's pass to put Montreal ahead by three at 17:34 of the third, 44 seconds after Tomas Plekanec's power-play goal made it 3-1. Pacioretty was in Montreal's lineup after leaving early in the third period of the Canadiens' 2-1 loss to the Anaheim Sucks on Thursday with an upper-body injury after he fell headfirst into the boards on a hit by Clayton Stoner. Gallagher put Montreal ahead 2-1 with his ninth goal at 7:30 of the second period, finishing a passing play with Pacioretty and Galchenyuk. Plekanec made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 16:50 of the third, and Galchenyuk scored his 10th within a minute. Condra scored his second goal to put Ottawa up 1-0 at 2:50 of the first period. The forward took a wrist shot from outside the blue line that Price stopped, but he lost sight of the puck when it dropped between his pads and it was behind him. With Montreal defenseman Andrei Markov covering him, Condra drove to the net and lunged with his stick to put the loose puck into the net. Prust drew the Canadiens even at 1-1 with his third goal at 6:38 of the first on a shot from the right corner for his 100th point. Lehner moved to cover his angle when Prust took a pass from Montreal defenseman Tom Gilbert. Prust held the puck before taking a wrist shot that found its way across the goal line between Lehner and the right post. A video review confirmed the on-ice ruling that the puck had entered the net.
Washington @ New Jersey 4-0 - Green and Backstrom scored in the second period to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead. Ovechkin made it 3-0 with one of his vintage highlight-reel goals at 7:16 of the third, and Backstrom capped it with his 10th of the season, an empty-net goal at 17:49. Ovechkin carried the puck in from the far blue line, put it through his legs and got around Devils defenseman Jon Merrill, eluding a hip check before roofing a backhand over goalie Cory Schneider's blocker. Ovechkin, who hadn't scored in eight of the previous nine games, had a chance to score again when he was awarded a penalty shot at 10:48, but Schneider stopped it with his left pad. Ovechkin also was inches away from scoring two goals earlier in the game, but he had two shots ring off the left post, one in each of the first two periods. Green gave Washington a 1-0 lead at 3:08 of the second period with a slap shot from the top of the right circle into the top left corner of the net. Troy Brouwer stood in front of Schneider to shield the goalie, who never reacted to the shot, an indicator that he never saw it. Backstrom extended the lead to 2-0 with a glove-side wrist shot from the left circle at 16:38 off a drop pass from Jay Beagle.

Holtby made 17 saves through two periods, including a quick left-pad save on Martin Havlat's backhand from the slot at 5:43 of the first period and a right-pad save on Sislo, who had a breakaway with three minutes remaining in the second period.
Tampa Bay @ NY Islanders 1-3 - With time running out, the Islanders trailed 1-0 despite badly outplaying the Lightning. But after New York controlled the puck in the Tampa Bay zone for the better part of a minute, Tavares snapped a high shot from the slot past Vasilevskiy at 16:51 to tie the game. Before Tavares' 13th goal of the season could be announced on the public address system, the Islanders took the lead when Lee deflected Travis Hamonic's right-point wrist shot into the net at 17:03. Nikolay Kulemin, who had been robbed multiple times by Vasilevskiy, scored an empty-net goal with 1:11 remaining, capping the type of game the Islanders of recent seasons often found a way to let slip away. The crowd quieted briefly when Brett Connolly gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead 9:16 into the third period. But the Lightning couldn't hold on and finished 1-3-1 on a five-game, eight-day road trip. The Lightning were on their heels for the first few minutes, but appeared to open the scoring 4:20 into the game off a scramble in the crease. However, the goal was disallowed after a video review showed Boyle kicked the puck into the net. Vasilevskiy was tested several times in the final stages of the period. He stopped Frans Nielsen's shorthanded slap shot on a 2-on-1 break, got his leg out to foil Tavares, who was alone in front after taking a pass by Okposo, and survived a barrage of shots in the final 30 seconds after Lightning forward Brenden Morrow was called for interference with 57.4 seconds left.
NY Rangers @ Carolina 3-2 SO - Carolina emerged with a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes thanks to a Rangers miscue. From the low right circle, Kevin Hayes sent a diagonal pass to a vacated right point and out of the offensive zone. Nathan Gerbe gathered the loose puck and fed Chris Terry on a 2-on-1 for a goal at 7:20. The Rangers' persistence paid off when they tied the game at 4:01 of the third period. On the power play, Zuccarello threaded a pass to J.T. Miller in the neutral zone before Miller scored via the forehand on a short breakaway at 4:01. Carolina needed 26 seconds to regain the lead on Jeff Skinner's eighth goal of the season. Elias Lindholm moved the puck ahead to Skinner, who beat Ryan McDonagh down the right wing and scored on a backhand shot that slipped under Henrik Lundqvist. Klein sent the game to overtime when he scored on a wrist shot from the left point with 2:23 remaining in regulation. After Zuccarello scored on Ward to start the shootout, Lundqvist was perfect, stopping Skinner, Gerbe and Terry to earn his 50th career shootout win. He picked off Terry's backhand with a glove save to finish it.
Chicago @ Columbus 2-3 SO - Jack Skille gave Columbus a 1-0 lead in the first. Patrick Sharp tied it in the second. Kevin Connauton put the Blue Jackets ahead early in the third before Ben Smith's controversial goal made it 2-2. Chicago had two power plays in the final 7:49 of regulation but could not break the tie. Columbus won the shootout by a 2-1 score. The Blue Jackets almost ended it in the fifth round when Jeremy Morin, acquired in a trade from the Blackhawks for Tim Erixon on Sunday, scored in the top of the round but Andrew Shaw's shot went off the right post and crossbar before going in. Two rounds later, Brandon Saad missed getting the deciding goal when his shot went off the left post. Johnson then deked Crawford and finished a forehand shot and Bobrovsky made a save on Bryan Bickell to end the game. His goal came after a lengthy review and overturned a no-goal call on the ice with 11:11 left in the third period. The puck was in the crease when Blackhawks center Marcus Kruger, who was without a stick, slid skate first into Bobrovsky's right pad while the puck skimmed to the goal line. Smith was able to reach around Connauton and swipe the puck across the line for fifth goal. Columbus gained the 2-1 lead when Connauton scored with one second left on a power play three minutes into the third. It was his third goal of the season.
Nashville @ Minnesota 6-5 OT - Mattias Ekholm's goal clinched the game with 3:15 remaining. Ekholm gained control of the puck behind the net to Niklas Backstrom's right, skated all the way around into the slot and put a wrist shot over Backstrom's blocker. It was Ekholm's first goal this season and second in 96 games. With the game tied after two periods, Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi scored in the third to give Nashville a 5-3 lead. Less than two minutes after Josi's goal, Wild forward Zach Parise scored his second of the game and 13th of the season on a tip-in of a shot by Jason Pominville. The Wild pulled Backstrom with 1:20 to play and tied the score with the extra attacker and 47.8 seconds remaining in regulation when Thomas Vanek scored his fifth of the season. After Jason Zucker gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead 1:10 into the game, Predators forward Calle Jarnkrok scored his third, deking Kuemper and getting the goaltender to commit. Jarnkrok pulled the puck around Kuemper and slid it into an open net at 4:37. Parise scored his first of the game two minutes later, crashing the net on a rebound and deflecting the puck into the net off his skate. Nashville scored the final two goals of the first, one by Matt Cullen when he tipped a centering pass from behind the net by Victor Bartley between Kuemper and the right post at 13:58, and the other on a backhand off a faceoff to Kuemper's right with 1:46 left in the period. Wild defenseman Marco Scandella was credited with a goal at 7:18 of the second period, scoring off a scramble in front of Pekka Rinne (22 saves). No goal was signaled on the ice, but after a lengthy video review, the Situation Room in Toronto determined Scandella's rebound shot completely crossed the goal line. It was his seventh of the season. The Wild played without center Mikael Granlund, who was a late scratch due to illness. Nashville forward James Neal did not play and did not make the trip because of illness.
Calgary @ Vancouver 2-3 OT - After opening the scoring early on a puck Calgary shot into their own empty net, Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev finished it on a 3-on-2 rush with Henrik and Daniel Sedin 18 seconds into overtime to lead the Canucks to a 3-2 win against the Flames. Vancouver blew a two-goal lead before Henrik Sedin carried the puck over the blue line in overtime as Daniel drove to the net, then spotted Tanev alone trailing on the play. Tanev, celebrating his 25th birthday, beat Jonas Hiller over the blocker. Hansen left early in the second period after a hit from Wideman. Hansen was hunched over and skated off the ice, and remained hunched over as he sat on the bench while play continued. Hansen slumped forward, his body appearing to go limp as teammates caught him and banged their sticks on the boards to get the attention of referees, who stopped play while medical staff rushed out from behind the Canucks net. Hansen was conscious and on his feet moments later, walking with assistance to the locker room, but did not return to the game as a precautionary measure and was taken to hospital. Calgary forward David Jones scored midway through the second period and forward Johnny Gaudreau tied it seven minutes in the third period for the Flames, who have lost their past eight games. Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman scored into his own net. With Hiller on the bench for an extra attacker on a delayed penalty in the first period, Wideman tried to pass to the point from behind the Vancouver goal line. The pass missed forward Mason Raymond at the right faceoff circle and bounced off the boards all the way down into the empty net 4:40 in. Weber got his stick on the puck as Wideman passed it behind the net, and the referee initiated a review. The NHL Situation Room informed the referee it was not a reviewable play, so the call on the ice stood. The Canucks put a puck in on their own less than five minutes later. Forward Alexandre Burrows crashed the net and got several whacks at a rebound in front of Hiller's left pad before it squirted out on the other side for a Vrbata tap-in. It was Vancouver's first power play goal in seven games, ending a 0-for-18 drought with the man advantage. Jones, a Vancouver native, started the Flames' comeback with 8:31 left in the second period. Defenseman Kris Russell's shot through a screen off the left wall bounced in and out of the glove of Miller and Jones quickly shot the loose puck up past Miller's blocker on the short side to make it 2-1. Gaudreau tied it 7:05 into the third period after a good shift cycling in the Vancouver end. After working a give-and-go with forward Jiri Hudler, Gaudreau took the return pass just inside the top of the right faceoff circle and quickly shot the puck through the legs of Miller.