NHL Results - Thu, Mar 02, 2015

NY Islanders @ Columbus 3-4 SO - Columbus got goals from Jack Johnson and Ryan Johansen to tie the score 3-3 before Mark Letestu and Johansen scored in the shootout. Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped four Islanders in the shootout after making 25 saves. Columbus tied a Blue Jackets record with an eighth straight win, set Jan. 6-23, 2014. The Islanders went ahead 3-1 on a Ryan Strome goal 55 seconds into the third. Two minutes later, Strome had a redirect that hit the right post then skimmed the crossbar. Strome was the beneficiary of a rebound off a shot from the blue line by defenseman Travis Hamonic for his 17th goal. Johnson made it 3-2 with 8:57 left in the third period by pushing in a loose puck after a scramble in front of Halak. It was the defenseman's second goal in two games and eighth of the season. Johansen tied it with 3:43 left by extending his point streak to nine games (four goals, eight assists) with a sweep of the puck, which was in the crease after a save by Halak. Eric Boulton scored in the first period for the Islanders and Brandon Dubinsky tied it for the Blue Jackets before the period was over. Tavares scored his 35th in the second but the Islanders could not hold the lead.


Washington @ Montreal 5-4 SO - Ovechkin became Washington's all-time leading goal-scorer with the first of his two power-play goals, and Troy Brouwer scored the only shootout goal to give the Capitals a 5-4 win. Ovechkin passed Peter Bondra with his 473rd goal at 14:08 of the second period. Trotz said before the game that Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 52 goals, was closing in on Price as the top contender for the NHL's Most Valuable Player award. Ovechkin, who played his 756th NHL game, moved ahead of Bondra, who scored 472 goals in 961 games with Washington from 1990 to 2004. Braden Holtby stopped all four Montreal shots in the shootout after making 23 saves in regulation and overtime for the Capitals, who extended their winning streak to three games. Joel Ward scored twice, including Washington's third straight power-play goal to give the Capitals a 4-3 lead at 12:19 of the third. John Carlson had the primary assist on each of Washington's three power-play goals.
P.K. Subban scored his career-high 15th goal on a power play with 4:59 remaining in the third to tie the game 4-4. The Capitals took a 2-1 lead on Ovechkin's 51st goal with Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty in the penalty box for hooking. Gilbert drew Montreal even at 2-2 with his fourth goal at 14:47 of the second period. Eller gave the Canadiens a 3-2 lead at 18:39 with his 13th goal. Ovechkin's second power-play goal tied it 3-3 at 11:06 of the third period. It was his League-leading 24th power-play goal, which tied his career high set last season. Ward, who scored at 10:36 of the second to tie it at 1-1, got his second when he tipped Carlson's point shot past Price. Petry scored 58 seconds into the second period, one second after Brooks Orpik's holding penalty expired.
Linesman Jean Morin was given a warm ovation in the first period when it was announced that he was working his 1,427th and final NHL regular-season game.


Tampa Bay @ Ottawa 1-2 OT - Patrick Wiercioch scored with 16.9 seconds left in overtime to give the Senators a 2-1 win. Wiercioch scored on a shot from the right circle off a pass from Mark Stone that beat Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop. The regulation goals in this game were scored in the first period by rookies. Stone was first with his 20th of the season, and Jonathan Drouin scored his fourth for the Lightning. Stone got the puck in the Senators zone and found Clarke MacArthur with a stretch pass. MacArthur curled in the Tampa Bay zone and made a short pass to Kyle Turris. He shot on net, and Stone scored on the rebound at 5:03. Drouin scored his second goal in three games at 16:53 with Erik Karlsson off for holding. Ottawa's Jean-Gabriel Pageau had the best chance to clear the puck at the left point in a scrum, but the Lightning kept it in. Valtteri Filppula found Drouin in the right circle, and his shot went over the right shoulder of Andrew Hammond. The Lightning played the game without four of their top six defensemen; Victor Hedman, Braydon Coburn, Jason Garrison and Andrej Sustr are injured. The Lightning also played without second-leading scorer Tyler Johnson. Coach Jon Cooper said it was doubtful any of the injured players would be available against the Panthers.


Boston @ Detroit 3-2 - Trotman's harmless-looking shot from deep in the right faceoff circle went off Detroit goalie Petr Mrazek and squirted in on the short side. The Red Wings were without center Pavel Datsyuk, who missed his second game in a row and seventh in the past nine because of a lower-body injury, right wing Erik Cole, who missed his fifth because of an upper-body injury, and right wing Tomas Jurco, who sat because of an upper-body injury.
Detroit center Riley Sheahan returned to the lineup after missing three games because of an upper-body injury. The Bruins acquired Connolly in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning at the NHL Trade Deadline, but he broke his finger in practice right after the trade. Boston center Patrice Bergeron played one shift in the second period but returned for the start of the third period. He was wearing a full face shield after he required 20 stitches for a cut to his face. Glendening gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead 9:19 into the second period when he backhanded a loose puck that was lying just outside the crease past Rask and under the crossbar. It was Glendening's 12th goal. Weiss made it 2-0 with a power-play goal 2:52 into the third period. He put in a loose puck off a goal-mouth scramble for his ninth goal. But Boston scored two goals 2:14 apart to tie it. Soderberg put the Bruins on the board with a power-play goal 5:05 into the third, snapping in a rebound for his 13th goal. Eriksson got his 21st goal at 7:19 when he put Smith's pass from below the goal line into an empty net after Mrazek overplayed Smith.


Carolina @ Florida 1-6 - Jagr's two points moved into a tie for fourth with Ron Francis on the NHL's all-time point list with 1,798. Brandon Pirri continued his scoring surge with his fifth goal in six games; it was his 19th in his past 26 games. Chris Terry scored for Carolina with 1:19 left in regulation, allowing the Hurricanes to avoid their third consecutive shutout loss to the Panthers. Florida has never shut out an opponent three consecutive times. Terry's power-play goal extended his point streak to four games (2-2-4). Anton Khudobin, who stopped 106 of 109 shots while going 3-0 against Florida last season, made 29 saves. Despite Carolina having an 11-2 shot advantage in the first 10:36, the first period was evenly played and scoreless until Mitchell gave Florida a 1-0 lead with 49.4 seconds left by scoring his third goal of the season. Mitchell scored off a faceoff when his shot changed direction after hitting Terry's skate.
The Panthers blew the game open with three second-period goals, continuing a season-long trend. Florida began the night with 84 goals in the second period, 25 more than in the first or third. Pirri scored first at 5:01 after Jagr carried the puck down the right wing. When Jagr lost control and the puck slid between two Carolina payers, Pirri came over from the middle of the ice, shot while spinning around and beat Khudobin between the legs. Jagr scored his fifth goal in 16 games with the Panthers since coming over in a trade with the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 26 at 13:01 when he one-timed Barkov's beautiful pass from behind the net. Barkov made it 4-0 at 16:27 off a 2-on-1 with a backhand rebound after Khudobin had stopped his wrist shot. Trocheck's two goals came 38 seconds apart in the third period. He scored at 6:07 with a wrist shot from the high slot and at 6:45 on a rebound in front of the net.


NY Rangers @ Minnesota 3-2 - J.T. Miller scored the game-winner 6:48 into the third period, deflecting a shot from the point by Ryan McDonagh past Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk less than a minute after Thomas Vanek tied the score 2-2. The Rangers took advantage of the Wild, who hadn't played since Saturday, by scoring 2:09 into the game and twice in the first period. The Rangers took advantage of a Wild turnover for a 1-0 lead. A pass by Vanek was intercepted by Carl Hagelin at the blue line. He took a quick shot toward the net that was deflected by Dominic Moore past Dubnyk. New York scored on its first power play for a 2-0 lead. Rick Nash's shot from a bad angle deflected in off Dubnyk's blocker at 14:37. Nash's 41st goal tied his NHL high, established in 2003-04, his second season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Minnesota made it 2-1 at 5:24 of the second period when a backhand flip by Matt Dumba deflected past Lundqvist off Jason Pominville's skate. The goal ended a nine-game drought for Pominville, whose 17th goal gave him 50 points for the eighth time in his NHL career. Vanek tied the game after Dumba's shot wide of the net caromed to him in front at 5:53. Vanek has eight goals and 12 points in his past 12 games.


Vancouver @ Chicago 1-3 - Corey Crawford and the Chicago Blackhawks' fourth line made sure a chance to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center wasn't squandered. Led by Crawford's 35 saves and two goals from its fourth line, Chicago defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 to clinch its seventh straight trip to the playoffs. Jonathan Toews and fourth-line center Marcus Kruger each scored in the third period, minutes after Crawford made several outstanding saves to keep the game tied. Canucks goalie Eddie Lack also made 35 saves, and Derek Dorsett scored his seventh goal, tying the game 1-1 at 18:46 of the first off a Chicago turnover. Blackhawks rookie Teuvo Teravainen opened the scoring at 6:51 of the first period with his fourth goal, rewarding the Blackhawks' fourth line for a strong shift when he scored with a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle. After feeding Marcus Kruger a pass to the front of the net, the Finnish rookie drifted into the right circle and got a return pass from Kruger off a rebound of the initial shot. Teravainen forced a turnover midway through the third, then returned the favor and sprung Kruger for a breakaway. Kruger scored at 10:31 for the game's final goal, 2:27 after Toews made it 2-1 off a rebound of a point shot by Johnny Oduya. Crawford made 10 saves in the second to keep the Canucks from taking a lead on good scoring chances by Linden Vey and Yannick Weber. He made 15 in the third, including another good one against Weber at 6:22 during a 3-on-2 rush.
Minutes later, after Toews' goal, the Blackhawks goalie made an outstanding save against Nick Bonino to preserve the one-goal lead. The Blackhawks are in the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season for the first time since 1991 to 1997, but the goal now is to chase down the Blues, and possibly the Nashville Predators, who lead the Central with 103 points, for some sort of home-ice advantage.


Edmonton @ Los Angeles 2-8 - Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty and Jordan Nolan ended goal-scoring droughts of at least 19 games in a 8-2 win against the Oilers at Staples Center. The Kings (38-25-14) tied the Winnipeg Jets with 90 points and own the first tiebreaker with more regulation/overtime wins. Los Angeles also got help in the Western standings because three teams ahead of them, the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild, all lost.
Brown ended a 19-game scoring drought and Doughty a 24-game drought in a first-period blitz for the Kings, whose three goals in the first 9:13 of the game equaled their total from their previous four home games. Doughty capped the outburst with a wrist shot through traffic for his first goal since Feb. 7. It gave the Kings three goals on six shots. Brown threaded a wrist shot from a steep angle on the left side 2:23 into the game for his first goal since Feb. 18. Gaborik scored off Anze Kopitar's saucer pass on a 3-on-3 rush at 7:07. Nolan ended a 20-game scoring drought when he drove to the net and stuffed the puck past Oilers goalie Ben Scrivens to give the Kings a 4-1 lead at 12:14 of the second.
Jeff Carter scored his team-leading 27th and 28th goals, on the power play at 18:38 of the second and on a breakaway at 9:21 of the third, and the Kings got their first eight-goal game since April 1, 2010. Fifteen players made the scoresheet for Los Angeles. Edmonton goalie Tyler Bunz made his NHL debut when he was inserted for the third period and allowed two goals on his first four shots, which prompted Oilers coach Todd Nelson to call timeout while Scrivens gave Bunz a pep talk. Kings center Jarret Stoll returned after a nine-game absence because of a head injury.

NHL Results - Wed, Apr 01, 2015

Toronto @ Buffalo 3-4 - Matt Ellis' first goal of the season 3:14 into the third period helped give the Sabres a 4-3 win. Ellis received a pass from Nikita Zadorov and broke in against Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier. Ellis deked and slid the puck past Bernier after he attempted a desperation poke check. It was Ellis’ first goal since April 13, 2014 and ended a 33-game goal drought. Matt Moulson and Cody Hodgson helped the Sabres overcome a 3-1 deficit. Moulson received a pass from Johan Larsson in front of the net and took a one-timer that got past Bernier for his 13th goal 1:33 into the third period on a power play. Hodgson’s sixth goal came 30 seconds after Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri scored his 18th goal that made it 3-1 at 13:24. Hodgson picked up a rebound of a shot by Sabres defenseman Andre Benoit and put a backhand wraparound shot past Bernier that made it 3-2. The Maple Leafs took a 3-1 lead in the second period on goals from James van Riemsdyk and Kadri. Van Riemsdyk’s 25th goal came 47 seconds into the second when he received a pass from Phil Kessel and took a backhand shot that went past Sabres goalie Anders Lindback through his five-hole. Dalpe’s goal gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead 6:48 into the first period, but Maple Leafs defenseman Eric Brewer tied the game 1-1 with 3:19 left in the first when he took a slap shot from just inside the blue line that got through traffic and past Lindback for his third goal.

Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh 4-1 - Brayden Schenn scored twice to help the Flyers to a 4-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Philadelphia is 13-2-1, including 11-1-1 in the regular season, at Consol Energy Center since it opened in 2010-11. Pittsburgh (42-24-11) is tied with the New York Islanders for second in the Metropolitan Division and is seven points ahead of the Ottawa Senators, who trail the Boston Bruins by three points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Penguins have one game in hand on the Senators. Sidney Crosby’s 300th NHL goal opened the scoring. After winning a faceoff back to defenseman Ian Cole at the point, Crosby positioned himself below the goal line as Cole sent a slap shot into traffic in front of Steve Mason. Forward Patric Hornqvist gathered Cole's attempt and backhanded a pass to Crosby to the right of the net. Crosby's wrist shot gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead 3:29 into the first period. It was his 26th goal. He has scored 31 of his 300 goals against Philadelphia, his most against any team. The Flyers (31-29-17) have won their three games against the Penguins this season after winning four of five last season. Philadelphia had 13 of the first period's final 17 shots, and Vincent Lecavalier took advantage by tying the game with his eighth goal of the season. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare whipped a shot off of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's pad that bounced to Lecavalier crossing in front of the crease with Penguins forward Nick Spaling. Lecavalier turned toward the net and as he drifted away from it sent a wrist shot past an outstretched Fleury with 2:46 remaining in the first. Schenn scored on a wrist shot from the slot with 7:17 left in the second to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. With Penguins forward Steve Downie in the penalty box, Jakub Voracek sent a pass past goalie Fleury's right pad and to Schenn outside of the crease. He redirected Voracek's pass behind Fleury 49 seconds into the third period for a 3-1 lead. Pittsburgh went to the penalty box five times, and Philadelphia went to the penalty kill twice. Flyers defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo, who returned after missing one game with the flu, extended the lead to 4-1, 5:34 into the third. Colaicacovo didn't see his first goal of the season go in after taking a stick to the face. The Penguins played without forward Evgeni Malkin, who was out with an undisclosed injury. Malkin returned against the Coyotes after missing six games because of a lower-body injury; he had two assists in a 3-2 victory and played against the San Jose Sharks. Penguins coach Mike Johnston said an injury was found when Malkin was being evaluated during a maintenance day Tuesday. Malkin is day-to-day.
Without Malkin and down to five defensemen, Johnston said he was impressed with how Pittsburgh's defense performed. He could not say the same about its forwards.


Edmonton @ Anaheim 1-5 - Silfverberg set up two goals to give Anaheim a 2-0 lead before the first intermission. He fed Nate Thompson in the slot after Justin Schultz lost the puck behind the net at 9:59 of the opening period. Earlier in the game, Silfverberg grabbed the puck along the wall and passed to Francois Beauchemin, who skated in and beat Oilers goalie Ben Scrivens with a wrist shot at 3:43 of the first for his career-high 11th goal. Boudreau liked how the Cogliano-Thompson-Silfverberg line set the tone early. Silfverberg, whose three assists came in 11:36 minutes of ice time, said he didn't think he had three assists in a game before at any level. He agreed it was one of his better games this season. Perry made it 3-0 at 8:33 of the second. He batted in his own rebound in mid-air after his initial shot was blocked by Oilers defenseman Keith Aulie. Simon Despres scored his first goal with the Ducks on a quick shot from the left perimeter at 12:06 of the second. Cogliano scored his first NHL penalty-shot goal at 5:14 of the third after Oscar Klefbom slashed him on a breakaway. Cogliano made a quick stickhandle move and beat Scrivens high on a snap shot.
It was redemptive on multiple levels for Cogliano, who has been foiled on numerous breakaways this season. Nugent-Hopkins ended Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen's shutout bid at 17:05 of the second when he converted Jordan Eberle's pass in transition. Nugent-Hopkins has five goals in seven games.
Edmonton looked overmatched at the start and played much of the first half of the game in its own end. Ryan Kesler was scratched to rest a reported arm injury. He had played in every game this season. Left wing Matt Beleskey (lower body) also did not play. Beauchemin passed Oleg Tverdovsky for the second-most assists (126) among defensemen in Ducks history.


Colorado @ San Jose 1-5 - The San Jose Sharks gave their Stanley Cup Playoff hopes a boost with a 5-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche at SAP Center. The Sharks (38-30-9) moved within five points of the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Sharks, who have five games remaining, moved past the Dallas Stars but are still chasing the Los Angeles Kings. Scott Hannan, Chris Tierney, Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture and John Scott scored for San Jose. Alex Stalock made 19 saves in his third straight start. San Jose trails the Calgary Flames by six points for third place in the Pacific Division. The Sharks won for the third time in their past four games. The Sharks delivered a blow to Colorado's fading playoff chances. The Avalanche (35-29-12) have 82 points and remained eight behind Winnipeg with five games remaining. The Sharks took a 1-0 lead at 16:35 of the second period on Hannan's second goal of the season. He redirected Brent Burns' slap shot past Avalanche goalie Reto Berra from the low slot. The goal was Hannan's first since Feb. 2 against the Edmonton Oilers.
Burns extended his assist streak to five games. Tierney increased San Jose's lead to 2-0 at 8:01, knocking a rebound past Berra from close range. Berra made back-to-back saves against Matt Nieto and Taylor Fedun, but he couldn't control the rebounds and Tierney was able to convert. Duchene cut San Jose's lead to 2-1 via the power play at 8:54, his 20th goal of the season. But Marleau answered at 10:12, scoring his 18th and 455th in the NHL, moving him into a tie for 55th on the all-time list. Logan Couture sent a pass from behind the goal line to Marleau, who scored from the slot on a wrist shot. Marleau's goal quickly stopped the momentum that Colorado built when Duchene scored. Couture and Scott scored empty-net goals with 4:05 and 3:22 left, respectively. Hannan left the game with 11:34 remaining after being hit in the face with the puck when Burns tried to clear it from behind San Jose's net. Hannan did not return to the game.

#7 New Jersey Devils @ Columbus Blue Jackets 2-3 OT - Tue, Mar 31, 2015

There is something I Love about Columbus, Ohio. My first ever trip to 'Merica in 2011 involved a couple of days here to watch Newcastle United beat the Columbus Crew and I have been looking for a good enough excuse to come back ever since.
It's the Buckeye state with the huge college, Home of the 'Shoe' & Jeni's Ice Cream. How I love Jeni's Ice Cream.
This wasn't originally part of my itinerary but when my ride (Dan) taking me from Indy to St Louis was delayed 24 hours I seized my chance to return.
I had met Dan along with his son and a couple of his friends back in 2011 on my first visit here. The morning before the 'Soccer' game I dragged my friend Alan to the Nationwide Arena just so I could say I had been to my first ever NHL facility. Even though it was mid-July and there was no hockey to be seen, the staff there were so friendly they gave me a mini tour of the place and I actually was able to walk out onto center ice as they were preparing the venue for a music concert. Alan sporting an impressive black eye from collapsing drunk in Orlando two days earlier was on hand to take photos for me. I made a promise that day to the ladies on the front desk that I would return one-day to watch a game of hockey there. At the time I never thought more of it until a week before this game with New Jersey. I knew I had a spare day now and there was a game of hockey going on just a short Greyhound ride away. That pretty much made my mind up, right there and then.
The tickets for this game were a ridiculously cheap $10, that's about £6.20 in my money. To watch the Whitley Warriors in the English National League it is £8! yes that's right its cheaper to watch a game of NHL hockey than it is to watch a game in England now!
After the game I found myself a hockey bar that even served Labbatt Blue. The UK stopped selling Labbatts about 20 years ago so it capped of a good day.


Jack Johnson scored the OT game winner only 56 seconds into the extra period. Then he plowed over Ryan Johansen in his celebration, causing quite the giggle. The game was no beauty, the Devils' clutch and grab style does not allow style points, but it marked the first time since March 7 that the Blue Jackets have outshot an opponent. Brandon Dubinsky and Nick Foligno also scored for the Jackets. Dubinsky's goal came on a penalty shot, the first successful PK of his career. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves for his 26th win of the season. And yes I did jump out of my seat the first time the canon went off. It was also good to get to see Patrik Elias, a great player of the modern era.

Of course Scott Hartnell was playing too and once again I managed to capture a great picture of him with my camera.

Blue Jackets Quotes

Jack Johnson: "What’s done is done. We realize the reality of the situation, but you never strap on the gear trying to lose. We’ve been winning. We want to keep on winning and win every game we play. We want to go 6-0. When [Johansen] started going behind the net, I was looking to take someone with me and kind of get lost and hopefully free him up for something. Getting around the net, the next thing I knew was all by myself and David found me fast."
Johnson said the Blue Jackets were fueled by the disappointment of allowing a late goal. "We didn’t get down at all. If anything we got mad giving up the shorthanded goal that late in the game. Our team reacted the right way. We want to show people what we’re all about. There’s a lot of pride in here. And even though we can’t change what’s already happened, we can control what’s next. So let’s win games. Let’s end this season in a good mood."Todd Richards: "You should be angry giving up a goal at that stage."
Brandon Dubinsky: "I really didn’t get a shot on the first opportunity because I was slashed. I was glad the ref called it. I beat [Schneider] blocker side the last time we played him and I had one there in the first period. He might be thinking I would go there again."

New Jersey Quotes

Cory Schneider: "It’s frustrating not to have the team rewarded with two points in these games. We’ve been right in it or had a chance or gone to overtime but we just haven’t gotten it done. He came in at a good angle, I just misread what he was going to do a little bit. I thought he might go blocker high glove. He put it in a tough spot there over the pad and under the glove. I was anticipating him putting it up high and he put it halfway. I’m disappointed in myself in not making the save. I’ve had a pretty good career penalty-shot-wise."
Mike Cammalleri: "I followed the play up and tried to stay with the puck,"
He knocked the puck out of the air and it settled in front of him. I gave it a whack with the backhand out of desperation."

Stars of the Game
1 Jack Johnson
2 Sergei Bobrovsky
3 Mike Cammalleri


Goals
1-0 - 19:04 - PPG Mike Cammalleri Asst: Eric Gelinas, Adam Henrique - Cammalleri’s power-play goal opened the scoring in the first.
1-1 - 21:49 - PPG Nick Foligno Asst: Alexander Wennberg, Ryan Johansen - Foligno scored his 27th goal when a New Jersey penalty was about to expire. He was parked in front and was able to get his stick on a shot by Alexander Wennberg to tie the score 1-1.
2-1 - 24:44 - PS Brandon Dunbinsky Asst: None - Dubinsky drew a penalty shot when a long rebound left by Bobrovsky came to him to start a breakaway. Stefan Matteau slashed Dubinsky twice on the left arm to try to prevent a scoring attempt. Moving slowly toward the goal, Dubinsky beat Schneider glove-side with a wrist shot for his 10th goal.
2-2 - 57:31 - SHG Mike Cammalleri Asst: Dainius Zubrus, Adam Larsson - Cammalleri squeezed the puck between the left post and Sergei Bobrovsky after the goalie denied a Dainius Zubrus breakaway.
3-2 - 00:56 OT - Jack Johnson Asst: David Savard, Ryan Johansen - Johnson scored his seventh goal, a backhand that went through a screen. Ryan Johansen got the secondary assist by going deep then passing the puck out to David Savard.

Stats
- Even after a win, the Blue Jackets lost. They were eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention despite a 3-2 overtime win against the New Jersey Devils at Nationwide Arena after the Boston Bruins defeated the Florida Panthers.
- New Jersey (31-33-13), were eliminated from playoff contention Sunday, have lost six straight games (0-4-2). They had not lost six straight since they went 0-4-3 to open last season.
- Nick Foligno's father Mike Foligno is a New Jersey assistant coach,
- Schneider has stopped eight of 10 attempts, including two of three this season.
- The Blue Jackets (37-35-4) recorded their seventh straight win.
- The Blue Jackets have won seven straight and 10 of 11, and they went 11-4-0 in March.
- Dubinsky’s penalty shot was the first of his 539-game NHL career and only the 12^th awarded to a Blue Jacket during a home game in Nationwide Arena. Three of those have come this season, and Dubinsky joined Boone Jenner (Dec. 13 vs. Pittsburgh) in converting a penalty try in front of a home crowd. Dubinsky was slashed in the left hand by Stefan Matteau during a breakaway and beat Cory Schneider on the glove side to give the Jackets a 2-1 lead in the second period.
- The Blue Jackets have converted 10 of the 29 penalty shots in franchise history and five of 12 in Nationwide.
- The Blue Jackets won more games in March (11-4) than in any other month in franchise history. They won 10 games in a moth three times previously (10-2-4 in March 2013, 10-4 in March 2014 and 10-1-1 in Dec. 2014).
- Blue Jackets left wing Matt Calvert returned to the lineup after missing 15 games because of a concussion and a lingering neck injury. He clarified his use of a darkened helmet visor after the game. He said he began using at tinted visor when he experienced problems with light sensitivity during his recovery and developed an affinity for it. “Like a guy with a knee (injury) who still wears the brace, I got comfortable with it and decided I would keep wearing it,”
- Center Alexander Wennberg also returned to the lineup and had an assist on a Nick Foligno power-play goal that tied the score at 1 in the second period. Wennberg missed four games because of an infected right hand. Foligno is tied for 10^th in the NHL with 11 power-play goals.
- The Blue jackets outshot the Devils 31-26 after being outshot by their opponent in each of their previous 10 games. The Blue Jackets went 9-1 during that stretch and have won 10 of their past 11.
- Blue Jackets center Ryan Johansen had two assists to extend his point streak to eight games (three goals, eight assists). Johansen had point streaks the 10 and 13 games earlier this season. His 13-game streak is the longest in the NHL this season.

Penalties

1st Period
08:09 CBJ	Cody Goloubef  Hooking against  Adam Henrique
17:49 CBJ	Jeremy Morin  Roughing against  Steve Bernier
19:51 NJD	Patrik Elias  Tripping against  Dalton Prout
2nd Period
15:47 NJD	Travis Zajac  Roughing against  Marko Dano
3rd Period
05:28 NJD	Scott Gomez  Hi-sticking against  Marko Dano
16:42 NJD	Patrik Elias  Tripping against  Kevin Connauton

NHL Results - Tue, Mar 31, 2015

Florida @ Boston 2-3 - Milan Lucic scored with 1:09 left in regulation after linemate David Pastrnak tied the game earlier in the third period. Lucic beat Florida goaltender Roberto Luongo with a wrist shot from the high slot after gaining the zone after a neutral-zone battle. Spooner tied it 2-2 at 9:47 of the third period. Lucic won a race to a Pastrnak chip-in to wipe out a potential icing. Lucic passed to a trailing Spooner, who shot from the left hash mark. Eriksson scored in the first period. After he helped force a Jaromir Jagr giveaway near the corner of the Florida zone, Eriksson received a pass from linemate Carl Soderberg and skated across the slot with the puck on his backhand. Eriksson waited until Luongo went down and shot the puck into the top of the net from near the bottom of the right circle at 16:57 for a 1-0 lead. The Panthers tied it 1-1 on Brandon Pirri's power-play goal 55 seconds into the second period. Pirri's one-timer from the top of the right circle eluded a Jimmy Hayes screen and Rask. Brad Boyes scored on a breakaway, his first goal in nine games, to tie the game 2-2. Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski fanned on a shot up high in the Panthers zone, and Boyes stole the puck and skated end to end to beat Rask at 12:37.
Carolina @ Washington 2-4 - Ovechkin became the sixth player in NHL history to have six 50-goal seasons, joining Mike Bossy, Wayne Gretzky, Marcel Dionne, Guy Lafleur and Mario Lemieux. Green scored on the rush at 2:46 of the first period to give Washington a 1-0 lead. His cross-ice pass was deflected past Cam Ward by Justin Faulk. The goal was Green’s eighth. Ovechkin took a pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov and sent a shot past Ward for his 50th to give Washington a 2-0 lead at 11:12 of the first. The Hurricanes scored two goals in less than six minutes in the second period. Gerbe made it 2-1 with his ninth goal at 5:00. Holtby, pinned at the far post after stopping an Alexander Semin stuff attempt, left the crease wide open. The rebound trickled toward the slot, and Gerbe scored past two Capitals players in the crease, Eric Fehr and Karl Alzner. Eric Staal scored his 22nd goal at 10:33 of the second, tying the game 2-2. With Washington defenseman Brooks Orpik tied up by Andrej Nestrasil, Staal received a cross-ice pass from Chris Terry and beat Holtby with a glove-side wrist shot. Laich gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead with his seventh goal at 17:06 of the second. Jason Chimera led the odd-man rush, beating three Carolina players, and sent a cross-ice pass to Laich, who sent a backhand past Cam Ward. Ovechkin picked up his second point of the game when Joel Ward tipped his pass on the rush past Cam Ward to make it 4-2. Ovechkin has 77 points, two behind Pittsburgh forward Sidney Crosby for the League lead.
Tampa Bay @ Toronto 1-3 - Toronto took a 1-0 lead with Tampa Bay's Brendan Morrow in the penalty box for tripping. Nazem Kadri tipped Joakim Lindstrom's one-timer past goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy at 8:53 of the first period. David Booth made it 2-0 at 12:03 when his sharp-angle shot from the right side beat Vasilevskiy to the far side. It was Booth's seventh goal of the season, first in eight games. The Lightning made it 2-1 at 18:04 when Ryan Callahan tapped home a rebound in front after goalie James Reimer made a splits save on Ondrej Palat with Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly off for holding. Rielly scored 24 seconds into the third period, his eighth goal of the season, to make it 3-1. The left-shooting defenseman broke to the Tampa Bay net on the right side, took a pass from Kadri and put a high wrist shot past Vasilevskiy on the short side.
Ottawa @ Detroit 2-1 SO - Clarke MacArthur scored his 14th goal late in the third period to send the game to overtime, and Senators goalie Andrew Hammond made 16 saves through overtime before stopping two of four Red Wings shooters in the tiebreaker. Nyquist and Tomas Tatar scored in the shootout for Detroit, who are in third place in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of Boston. Red Wings forwards Pavel Datsyuk and Riley Sheahan were late scratches. Datsyuk played the past two games after missing the previous five because of a lower-body injury. Sheahan, who missed his third consecutive game, appeared ready to return to the lineup Tuesday after he participated in the morning skate. Detroit was also without right wing Erik Cole because of an upper-body injury, and it lost forward Drew Miller when he was accidentally kicked in the face by Stone 1:10 into the game and sustained two deep lacerations around his right eye. Miller did not return. MacArthur tied the game 1-1 with 4:02 left in the third period. His shot from the high slot area found its way past a crowd before going off a Red Wings player's skate and past Mrazek.
Nyquist opened the scoring 5:43 into the second period on the Red Wings' sixth shot on goal. After taking a drop pass from Justin Abdelkader on the rush, Nyquist's wrist shot from the top of the right circle beat Hammond high on the long side. Mrazek stopped Senators forward Mike Hoffman on a breakaway with about 9:40 remaining in the first period, and Stone sent a backhand wide of the Red Wings net on a breakaway with about nine minutes left.
Vancouver @ Nashville 5-4 SO - The Canucks had to kill a five-minute penalty with 3:54 remaining and 1:06 into overtime after Alexandre Burrows was given a major penalty and game misconduct for a hit on Predators forward Paul Gaustad. Kevin Bieksa, one of their best penalty killers, was given a 10-minute misconduct at the same time Burrows was ejected. Gaustad left the game after the hit from and did not return. Mike Fisher tied the game 4-4 at 14:57 of the third period on a power play. Bonino tried to clear the puck out of the defensive zone, but it bounced off of Fisher and past Canucks goaltender Eddie Lack for Fisher's 19th goal. Chris Higgins gave the Canucks a 4-3 lead at 5:48 of the third period on a one-timer off of a pass from Burrows. Higgins drove through the middle of the ice and redirected a feed past Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne for a power-play goal. It was Higgins' 12th goal of the season. Burrows tied the game 3-3 at 1:23 of the third period on a shorthanded breakaway. Burrows hesitated, then put it past Rinne for his 16th goal. Cody Franson opened the scoring on a power play 4:30 into the game on a wrist shot from the point. Colin Wilson drove to the net and Franson shot the puck past Lack for his seventh goal of the season and first since being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Taylor Beck doubled Nashville's lead at 8:15 of the first period on a breakaway. Beck took a pass from Gaustad and sent a wrist shot that trickled through Lack's pads for his eighth goal. Lindey Vey scored to make it 2-1 at 4:04 of the second period on a wrist shot that beat Rinne through the five-hole. Vey skated into the Predators zone and his shot got around two defensemen for his 10th goal. Jannik Hansen tied the game at 6:04 of the second on a slap shot that beat Rinne on the blocker side. Hansen used Roman Josi as a screen and scored his 15th goal to make it 2-2. Viktor Stalberg gave the Predators a one-goal lead with 29.4 seconds remaining in the second period on a wrist shot that beat Lack. Stalberg took a pass from Anton Volchenkov and shot from the right faceoff circle for his second goal.
NY Rangers @ Winnipeg 3-2 - New York erased two one-goal deficits to set up a 2-2 game before Chris Kreider slipped by Dustin Byfuglien on a rush and sent a backhand shot past goaltender Ondrej Pavelec with 3:46 left in the third period. Jim Slater scored on Winnipeg's fourth shot of the game for a 1-0 lead at 3:16 of the first period, but Mats Zuccarello tied it at 9:42 with his 15th goal. Lee Stempniak, who the Jets acquired from the Rangers in a trade March 1, put Winnipeg back on top 1:25 into the second period. Derick Brassard's power-play goal at 10:13 of the second erased another one-goal lead for the Jets. Winnipeg took a 1-0 lead when Slater squeezed his bouncing rebound past Lundqvist. Two of Slater's four goals have come in the past three games. Down 1-0, Zuccarello broke loose from Mark Stuart in front of the net before he followed up the rebound of Rick Nash's point shot and stuffed it past Pavelec. The Jets went ahead 2-1 when Stempniak took Mathieu Perreault's drop pass and snapped a shot under the crossbar for his 12th goal. Stempniak has three goals and three assists in 13 games with Winnipeg. After Perreault was called for interference against Rangers center Dominic Moore, Brassard stepped into a left-side shot and sent it through Nash's screen for his 17th goal.

NHL Results - Mon, Mar 30, 2015

Tampa Bay @ Montreal 5-3 - Lightning rookie Jonathan Drouin scored for the first time since Dec. 15 to end a 42-game goal drought. Nikita Kucherov scored the Lightning's third goal of the second period to make it 3-1. Anton Stralman scored into an empty net with 57 seconds left in the third. Jeff Reese of the Calgary Flames holds the record for assists in a game by a goalie with three, one in each period of a 13-1 win against the San Jose Sharks on Feb. 10, 1993. P.K. Subban scored his 14th goal on a power play with 3:50 remaining in the third period to pull Montreal within one. Max Pacioretty scored his team-leading 37th goal, and defenseman Jeff Petry scored his first goal in 14 games since he was acquired by Montreal in a March 2 trade with the Edmonton Oilers. Victor Hedman left the game after one 29-second shift in the first minute of the third period and did not return. The Lightning lost defensemen Jason Garrison and Andrej Sustr, and center Tyler Johnson, each to an upper-body injury in Tampa Bay's 4-0 loss at the Detroit Red Wings. Garrison is expected to miss 3-4 weeks, Sustr is out 1-2 weeks, and Johnson is day-to-day. Lightning center Brian Boyle played most of the game Saturday as a defenseman, and did so again in the third period against Montreal. Bishop got his first assist with a long pass to Lightning captain Steven Stamkos to set up Namestnikov's first goal at 1:24 of the second. Pacioretty scored his third shorthanded goal at 4:24 to tie the game 1-1, but his goal was still being announced when Drouin gave the Lightning a 2-1 lead with his third goal 33 seconds later at 4:57. Ondrej Palat cut off a Montreal clearing attempt to set up Tampa Bay's third goal at 18:07. He passed to Namestnikov, who set up Kucherov's one-timer for his 28th goal. Petry scored 23 seconds into the third period to draw Montreal within 3-2. Palat got his second assist of the game on Namestnikov's second goal, his ninth, at 6:21.

Vancouver @ St Louis 4-1 - The Vancouver Canucks are doing all they can to keep pace in the race to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Playing the St. Louis Blues seems to bring out the best in the Canucks. Radim Vrbata had a goal and an assist and Eddie Lack defeated the Blues for the fifth time in as many tries in a 4-1 victory at Scottrade Center on Tuesday. Vancouver (44-27-5) remained two points ahead of the Calgary Flames, who defeated the Dallas Stars 5-3 on Monday, for second place in the Pacific Division. The Canucks lead the Los Angeles Kings, who lost 4-1 at the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, by five points. Lack, who was 4-0-0 with a 1.92 goals-against average, a .930 save percentage and one shutout against the Blues, made 23 saves. Shawn Matthias and Alexandre Burrows each had a goal for the Canucks, who are 23-12-3 on the road. Christopher Tanev had two assists. Vancouver has defeated the Blues six straight times and is 11-0-2 against them since Nov. 4, 2011. The slumping Blues (46-23-7, 99 points) remain three points behind the Nashville Predators for first in the Central Division. Their hold on second place is down to one point on the Blackhawks and four ahead of the Minnesota Wild. St. Louis, which missed out on a chance to clinch a playoff spot, lost for the sixth time in nine home games. The Blues, who are left scrambling to try and find what ails them so late in the season, got a goal from Zbynek Michalek. Brian Elliott made 18 saves. Making matters worse for the Blues, they lost leading scorer Vladimir Tarasenko, who was tripped 8:08 into the third period by Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa. Tarasenko skated to the dressing room and did not return. Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, who had nothing new to report on Tarasenko other than to say he'll be evaluated on Tuesday, said there are many issues troubling the Blues. The Canucks grabbed a 1-0 lead when Matthias converted Vancouver's third breakaway of the game after the Blues were making a line change and got caught. Matthias took a long pass from Tanev and beat Elliott on the forehand 3:54 into the second. Michalek's first goal with the Blues tied the game 1-1 after he took an Olli Jokinen pass from the point and beat Lack with a long-range slap shot at 12:44 of the second. But Bonino restored Vancouver's one-goal lead 31 seconds later after Kevin Bieksa's point shot caromed off the back boards around the other side of the goal and Bonino put in the rebound from a sharp angle. Vrbata's 31st of the season gave Vancouver a 3-1 lead when he raced off with the puck on a 3-on-1 and sent a shot past Elliott from the right circle at 7:06 of the third. Burrows scored into an empty net with 1:31 remaining. Another scoreless first period for the Blues was their 10th in a row. They've gone 205:40 without a goal in the first dating to March 10 against the Winnipeg Jets. The save of the period did not come from either Elliott or Lack. Michalek laid out on the ice and was able to prevent Henrik Sedin from capitalizing on an Elliott turnover near the net 6:15 into the game. Vancouver's four-game road trip continues against the Nashville Predators. The Blues won't play again until Thursday when they host the Flames along with myself and my good friend Dan.

Los Angeles @ Chicago 1-4 - It took a visit from the defending Stanley Cup champions to bring it out of them, but the Chicago Blackhawks looked like one of the NHL's elite teams again in a 4-1 victory against the Los Angeles Kings at United Center. The Blackhawks (46-24-6) flew home after winning 4-3 at the Winnipeg Jets, but even in the second half of back-to-back games they still outplayed the Kings (37-25-14), who've become one of their biggest rivals in the Western Conference. Goalie Scott Darling gave Corey Crawford a night off and made 31 saves, improving his record to 8-3-0 in 12 appearances. Duncan Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson each scored in the first 2:41 of the second period to break a 1-1 tie and wrestle momentum away from the Kings after Los Angeles tied the game on a goal by defenseman Jake Muzzin at 19:28 of the first. Los Angeles also lost defenseman Andrej Sekera near the end of the second period with a lower-body injury. Sekera, acquired Feb. 25 in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes, said somebody fell on him and he didn't feel right afterward. He didn't play in the third and will see a doctor Tuesday for further analysis. In the second period, there were a lot of players falling to the ice after big hits. The Kings finished with more hits, but the Blackhawks matched their intensity and moved three points ahead of the Minnesota Wild for third place in the Central Division. The Blackhawks are one point behind the second-place St. Louis Blues, who lost 4-1 to the visiting Vancouver Canucks. Chicago, Minnesota and St. Louis each has six games remaining. The Kings made their first appearance in Chicago since winning Game 7 of the 2014 Western Conference Final in overtime. This time they left with a second straight loss. They also lost ground in the playoff race. In the Pacific Division, the Kings fell three points behind the third-place Calgary Flames, 5-3 winners on the road against the Dallas Stars. Los Angeles remained two points behind Winnipeg for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Kings have six games remaining, one more than the Flames and the same number as the Jets. Los Angeles returns home after going 3-2-0 on a five-game road trip and will face two teams outside the playoff picture in the West, the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche. It was there, but the Blackhawks were the ones who capitalized on it. Unlike their past few games, they came out strong against the Kings and controlled play through much of the first period. The early momentum turned into a quick 1-0 lead on Bryan Bickell's 13th goal; he scored 5:31 into the game by deflecting a shot from Brandon Saad past Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (36 saves). Chicago outshot Los Angeles 16-10 in the first, had 12 more unblocked shot attempts and kept faceoffs at 50-50. Still, the Kings tied it at 19:28 on a seemingly harmless shot by Muzzin from the side boards. Darling lost the puck in traffic and it slid past him. The goal completed a good sequence for the Kings, who had turned up the physical play in the previous five minutes. The Blackhawks, however, stole the momentum right back to start the second. A roughing minor on Sekera 39 seconds into the period lit the fuse, and the Blackhawks' defense turned it into two quick goals. Keith scored at 1:37 on the ensuing power play to make it 2-1; his ninth goal of the season came on a slap shot from just inside the blue line. Hjalmarsson made it 3-1 at 2:41 with his first goal since Feb. 15 and third of the season, scoring 17 seconds after Patrick Sharp rung a hard wrist shot off the crossbar. Hossa made it 4-1 with 6:54 left in the third to make sure Los Angeles' task of getting into the postseason is even more daunting.

Calgary @ Dallas 5-3 - The Flames greatly helped their own chances of advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and dealt a serious blow to the postseason hopes of the Dallas Stars with a 5-3 victory at American Airlines Center. Calgary (42-28-7), third in the Pacific Division, scored three unanswered goals in a span of 6:49 in the second period to overcome a 2-1 deficit. The Flames got a goal and an assist each from Johnny Gaudreau, Jiri Hudler and Dennis Wideman. Jonas Hiller made 33 saves; his teammates helped by blocking 32 shots, and the Stars missed the net on 32 others. Hudler, Raphael Diaz and Gaudreau had the goals for Calgary in the second period, chasing Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen. Mikael Backlund scored an empty-net goal with 6.3 seconds remaining. The Flames are 7-2-1 in the second game of back-to-backs.
Calgary leads the Los Angeles Kings by three points in the race for the final guaranteed playoff berth in the Pacific Division. The Flames trail the second-place Vancouver Canucks by two points. The Canucks and Kings each have a game in hand on the Flames. Jamie Benn had two assists and Jason Spezza a goal and an assist for Dallas (37-30-10), which remained six points behind points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card from the Western Conference. Jason Demers and Tyler Seguin also scored for the Stars, who have five games remaining. Dallas started strong and took the lead when Spezza scored his 17th goal of the season on a shot from the right point 40 seconds into the game. Patrick Eaves fed Spezza with a backhand pass near the Dallas blue line, Spezza then raced up the ice and finished with a wrist shot that beat Hiller high to his glove side. Calgary answered at 9:34 when Wideman tied the game with a power-play goal. After receiving a pass from Gaudreau, Wideman was left open in the slot and he beat Lehtonen with a wrist shot over his glove for his 14th goal of the season. Dallas regained the lead with 34 seconds remaining in the period on Seguin's power-play goal. Seguin beat Hiller with a low wrist shot from the left circle that was just inside the far post. It was his 35th goal of the season. Calgary tied it again at 9:25 of the second period when Hudler, appearing in his 600th NHL game, scored his 29th goal of the season with a shot that deflected into the net off Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski. The goal came during a delayed penalty with Hiller on the bench for an extra attacker. Lehtonen stopped Kris Russell's wrist shot from the left point, but Hudler collected the rebound and took a wrist shot that hit Goligoski's right arm and went through Lehtonen's five-hole. The Flames went ahead to stay at 12:28 when Diaz, a defenseman, scored on a wraparound. Diaz gained possession in the right side of the Dallas zone and skated toward the far post, where Lehtonen came out and failed in his attempt to steal the puck. With Lehtonen out of position, Diaz skated behind the net and finished from the near post for his second goal of the season and first since Feb. 2. Calgary made it 4-2 at 16:14 when Gaudreau scored his 22nd goal of the season. Sean Monahan set up Gaudreau beautifully with a pass from behind the net, and Gaudreau's wrist shot from the slot sailed over Lehtonen's glove. That goal ended Lehtonen's evening; he was replaced by Jhonas Enroth after allowing four goals on 21 shots. Late in the second, Monahan took a high stick from Dallas rookie forward Brett Ritchie, a play that didn't sit well with Hartley. Dallas made it 4-3 when Demers scored his fifth of the season 3:44 into the third period. Demers beat Hiller low on his blocker side with a one-timer from the right point that appeared to be deflected. Hiller made a huge save on Eaves with 7:15 remaining, denying his backhand at close range. The Stars outshot the Flames 15-4 in the final period but couldn't get the tying goal, and Backlund hit the empty net to put the game away.

Edmonton @ Colorado 4-1 - Brandon Davidson, with his first NHL goal, and defenseman Justin Schultz scored to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead heading to the third period before Nikita Nikitin and Taylor Hall scored empty-net goals. Goalie Richard Bachman, who grew up in suburban Highlands Ranch, Colo., and played two years at Colorado College, made 29 saves for his second consecutive win. The Oilers went ahead 2-1 at 15:28 of the second period on Schultz's goal. Teddy Purcell shot the puck into the Avalanche end with Schultz and Colorado defenseman Nate Guenin in pursuit. Schultz overtook Guenin, corralled the puck and cut to the net. He flipped the puck over goalie Semyon Varlamov's right pad for his sixth goal of the season. Varlamov went to the bench for a sixth skater with 2:20 to play in regulation. Nikitin scored his empty-net goal with 2:07 remaining and Hall followed 32 seconds later. Davidson, a rookie playing in his sixth NHL game, gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead with his first goal at 4:49 of the opening period. Anton Lander had the puck along the goal line to the left of Varlamov when he passed to Davidson driving down left wing for a shot into a half-open net. The Avalanche tied the game at 13:18 on Ryan O'Reilly's 15th goal of the season. Alex Tanguay took a shot from near the top of the right circle; O'Reilly drove to the net and put in the rebound. He has five goals and 12 assists in an eight-game scoring streak, the longest of his NHL career. But the Avalanche didn't apply much pressure against Bachman after that, and Roy juggled line combinations in the third period to no avail.


Buffalo @ Phoenix 4-1 - Andrej Meszaros turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead in the second period for the Sabres, who avenged a 4-3 overtime loss to the Coyotes at home last Thursday with their fifth regulation road win of the season. Connor Murphy scored 1:17 into the game for the Coyotes, but Sabres goalie Anders Lindback shut Phoenix out from there and finished with 28 saves. With Buffalo clinging to a 2-1 lead, Lindback got the toe of his skate on Oliver Ekman-Larsson's power-play shot with four minutes left. Brian Gionta scored a shorthanded, empty-net goal with 1:49 left to give Buffalo some breathing room, and Rasmus Ristolainen scored a second empty-net goal with 43 seconds remaining. With David Moss camped in the Sabres crease, Sam Gagner fed Murphy for a shot from the point. Moss lifted his skate and the puck went between his legs and deflected off a screened Lindback and into the net at 1:17. Murphy's fourth goal of the season was his first in 26 games. Buffalo dominated the rest of the first period, putting 12 shots on goal. But Smith saved them all, robbing center Cody Hodgson twice, once on a rebound of a Zach Bogosian shot and again with the pad while Hodgson was all alone in front of the crease with 1:35 left. Buffalo used a high-sticking penalty to Jordan Szwarz early in the second period to even the game. With Mikhail Grigorenko battling Craig Cunningham in front of the Coyotes net, Meszaros put a shot through traffic and over Smith's shoulder at 4:27. Smith made strong saves on Nicolas Deslauriers and Nikita Zadorov to keep the game even before Meszaros struck again at 13:36. Deslauriers dug the puck out of the corner and slid it to Meszaros. With Zac Delpe screening in front, Meszaros put a low shot into the far corner for his second straight two-goal game to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead. Buffalo had the lead, but had to kill two third-period penalties and get several good saves from Lindback to become the last NHL team to reach 50 points this season.

NHL Results - Sun, Mar 29, 2015

Washington @ NY Rangers 5-2 - Alex Ovechkin scored his 48th and 49th goals, which leads the League, and Marcus Johansson had a empty-net goal. Jason Chimera ended a 20-game goal drought by scoring twice in a span of 2:59 in a third period dominated by the Capitals. More important to the Capitals than the stats and the standings is how they responded after giving up goals to Rangers forwards Kevin Hayes and Derick Brassard in a span of 61 seconds late in the first period. Washington locked the game down, got a game-tying, power-play goal from Ovechkin at 11:17 of the second period, and dominated the Rangers in the third. Not only did they outscore the Rangers 3-0 in the period, the Capitals outshot New York 14-7 and had a 20-13 edge in shot attempts. Chimera scored his first goal since Feb. 6 off a defensive-zone turnover by Keith Yandle at 4:41. He scored again off a defensive-zone turnover by Chris Summers at 7:40. John Carlson lost the puck in the defensive zone with no even near him; it led to Hayes' goal at 18:10 of the first period. Matt Niskanen's pinch into the offensive zone a minute later wound up with him wiping out Joel Ward and allowing the Rangers to go in on a 3-on-2. Mats Zuccarello found Brassard for a one-timer from the left circle that sailed over Holtby's glove and into the top right corner of the net.

Florida @ Ottawa 4-2 - Jagr’s two goals give the 43-year-old 720 for his career. He is 11 behind Marcel Dionne for fourth place on the all-time goal scoring list. His first of the night, on power play, came on a cutback move on Marc Methot followed by a shot that beat Anderson low to the glove side at 15:49 of the second period. His second, at 13:57 of the third, came after he faked a shot, skated around the net and scored on a wraparound to give the Panthers at 3-1 lead. Jagr, who joined the Panthers at the NHL Trade Deadline, has been playing on a line with 21-year-old Jonathan Huberdeau and 19-year-old Aleksander Barkov. Karlsson scored a power-play goal at 4:43 of the third period to cut the Panthers' lead to 2-1. After Jagr’s second of the night, Pageau scored on a pass by Mike Hoffman at 17:39 to make it a one-goal game again. Ottawa got a power play with 1:23 remaining in regulation when Tomas Kopecky was called for high sticking, and Ottawa pulled Anderson to make it a 6-on-4 advantage. But Bolland sealed the win when he scaled the puck from his own zone into the empty net for Florida's first shorthanded goal of the season.

Detroit @ NY Islanders 4-5 - Detroit scored twice on its first two shots in the opening 1:46. Tomas Tatar scored 39 seconds in, swatting home a rebound of a shot by defenseman Danny DeKeyser. His shot from the right side hit Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak in the chest and bounced to Tatar at the right side of the net. It was his team-leading 28th goal. The Red Wings doubled their lead when Tomas Jurco sent a pass from the side of the net in front to Drew Miller, who scored his fifth. But in a wild first period that saw six goals, the Islanders scored the next three in a span of 5:01. Brock Nelson scored his 19th at 4:01 with the Islanders on a power play. He took a cross-ice pass from Lubomir Visnovsky and his slap shot eluded Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek. The Islanders tied it 2-2 on a pretty passing set up by Tavares. He faked a shot and passed back to Ryan Strome, whose shot from the slot his Mrazek, but Strome scored on the rebound from the left of the net at 5:38 for his 16th. It was the Islanders' second power-play goal of the period. New York took a 3-2 lead when Tavares' shot hit Okposo's skate in the crease and went in at 9:02. The goal was reviewed and upheld because Okposo did not kick the puck in. It was his 16th goal of the season. Niklas Kronwall tied it 3-3 at 9:54 when he skated in from the blue line after the Islanders failed to clear the puck from their zone. His wrist shot went past Halak for his ninth goal. The Islanders scored again on the power play 16 seconds into the second period. Frans Nielsen skated into the Red Wings' zone and took a wrist shot from near the side of the net that Mrazek was unable to stop. Nielsen's 14th goal of the season was the end of the night for Mrazek, who was replaced by Jimmy Howard after he allowed four goals on 11 shots. Cal Clutterbuck scored on a shorthanded breakaway goal at 3:57 of the second period. Tatar was unable to hold the puck in the offensive zone; Clutterbuck picked it up, skated in on Howard and deked before sliding the puck under his left pad. It was his seventh goal of the season and first in 14 games. Pavel Datsyuk scored his 24th, on the power play, when Nielsen was unable to clear the puck from in front of Halak at 10:20 of the second period to make it 5-4. The Islanders penalty kill hadn't allowed a goal in their previous 12 games (25-for-25).

Boston @ Carolina 2-1 OT - David Pastrnak's took a pass from Carl Soderberg and launched a low shot from the left circle that went perfectly between the legs of Hurricanes goaltender Anton Khudobin, giving Boston a 2-1 overtime victory.
The Bruins scored on their second shot of the game, with Pastrnak playing a key role. He carried the puck through the right circle and hit trailing forward Ryan Spooner in the slot for his seventh goal. Spooner has 15 points in 18 games since being recalled from the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League on Feb. 21. There were few quality chances in the second period, but the Hurricanes tied the game in the final minute. During a delayed penalty to Torey Krug in the neutral zone, Chris Terry fed Nathan Gerbe on a 2-on-1, and Gerbe finished high to the short side for his eighth of the season. It was his first goal since Feb. 27. In overtime, Soderberg rushed the puck up the right side before beating two defenders and slipping a backhand from beyond the goal line to Pastrnak in the right circle for the game-winning goal. Rask performed well one day after leaving 10 seconds into the second period of a 4-2 win against the New York Rangers. Originally the Bruins believed he was dehydrated, but he quickly was diagnosed with a migraine. The symptoms lasted for 25 minutes, during which time Rask had his eyes checked by doctors. The experience wasn't entirely unfamiliar. He has had a couple previous episodes, but the headache on Saturday was the worst of the experiences. Hurricanes forward Riley Nash was injured during the pregame warmup when a rebound hit him near the ear. He was replaced by Brad Malone.


Calgary @ Nashville 5-2 - Roman Josi gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 6:17 of the first period on a slap shot from the point that went past Flames goaltender Jonas Hiller. Josi took the pass from forward Mike Santorelli and shot it through traffic for his 15th goal. Bouma tied the game 1-1 at 9:13 on a wrist shot from the slot that got past Nashville goaltender Carter Hutton. Bouma drove to the middle of the ice and took a shot through the legs of Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm for his 15th goal. Kris Russell gave the Flames a 2-1 lead at 17:46 on a shot from the point that went through traffic and past Hutton. Russell took a pass from forward Sean Monahan and took the shot for his fourth goal. Michael Ferland gave the Flames a 3-1 lead at 6:57 of the second period on a one-timer from the crease. Ferland took the pass from Drew Shore and shot the puck past Hutton for his first NHL goal. Jiri Hudler gave the Flames a 4-1 lead at 11:53 on a breakaway. Hudler retrieved the puck in the Nashville zone and took a wrist shot that beat Hutton through the five-hole for his 28th goal. Seth Jones made it 4-2 at 9:55 of the third period on a wrist shot that went off of the crossbar and into the net. The goal came while Nashville had an extra attacker during a delayed penalty. Jones took the pass from Mike Ribeiro and set a career-high with his seventh goal. Bouma added an empty-net goal with 30 seconds remaining. Paul Byron missed the game because of a lower-body injury after returning to the lineup in a 4-2 loss at the Minnesota Wild. Byron had missed 17 consecutive games with an undisclosed injury. He is listed as day-to-day.


Anaheim @ New Jersey 2-1 - The Devils hadn't missed the playoffs three straight years since their five-year drought from the 1982-83 season to 1986-87, but they have missed the postseason in four of the past five seasons. In 2012, they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final before falling to the Los Angeles Kings in six games. This season, it was the Devils offense that deserted them for the most part. Sunday was further illustration of the offensive woes that have plagued them. Dainius Zubrus scored late in the third period to make things interesting, but it was the only shot of 27 that got past Gibson. New Jersey goalie Cory Schneider made 23 saves. Anaheim gutted out a 2-1 victory on the strength of goals from Ryan Kesler and defenseman Francois Beauchemin and the brilliant goaltending of John Gibson, who made 26 saves. Kesler reached the 20-goal plateau for the seventh time when he deflected a James Wisniewski slap shot with 2:53 remaining in the first period.
San Jose @ Pittsburgh 2-3 SO - The Pittsburgh Penguins faced a penalty kill for the final 3:49 of overtime against the San Jose Sharks. They successfully killed the long power play, in what might have been one of the signature moments of their season. After the penalty-killers got the game to the shootout, Sidney Crosby and David Perron scored to give Pittsburgh a 3-2 win at Consol Energy Center. Each team failed to convert on a late power play in the third period. But the Sharks were given a 4-on-3 advantage 1:11 into overtime when Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist was assessed a double minor for high-sticking San Jose defenseman Brent Burns. The Sharks had several chances during the long power play but couldn't get anything past Fleury. Perron, who returned after missing one game with an illness, beat goalie Alex Stalock with a backhand shot to start the tiebreaker. Crosby sent a wrist shot past Stalock to start the second round, and Sharks forward Logan Couture's attempt hit the post, ending the game. Pittsburgh (42-23-11) is second in the Metropolitan Division; the Penguins and New York Islanders each have 95 points but Pittsburgh has a game in hand. The Penguins won two games in two days and are nine points ahead of the Ottawa Senators, who are three points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Sharks (37-30-9) got one point in the finale of a seven-game road trip. They are six points behind the Calgary Flames, who are in third place in the Pacific Division, and seven points behind the Winnipeg Jets, who hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Penguins scored two goals 56 seconds apart and carried a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Daniel Winnik collected the puck behind the San Jose net and sent it in front of the crease for Hornqvist, whose soft wrist shot bounced off Stalock's pads. But the rebound came back to Hornqvist, who backhanded it past a prone Stalock at 7:08. Hornqvist, who returned after missing five games because of an undisclosed injury, is third on the Penguins with 24 goals, four behind Evgeni Malkin and one behind Crosby. Chris Kunitz quickly made it 2-0. With Sharks defenseman Taylor Fedun in the penalty box for hooking, defenseman Derrick Pouliot sent a cross-ice pass to Crosby at the top of the right circle while falling. Crosby fed a pass to the left of the net, where Kunitz tipped the puck Stalock at 8:04 for his first goal since Feb. 25. The Sharks answered with two goals in the second period. Shortly after Stalock robbed Malkin, Ben Smith scored at 6:44 to cut Pittsburgh's lead in half. Defenseman Justin Braun fired a slap shot into traffic in front of Fleury; Smith outbattled defenseman Ian Cole for position and deflected Braun's shot under Fleury's glove. Couture tied the game at 15:38 with a power-play goal. Patrick Marleau carried the puck into the offensive zone and slipped it to Couture directly ahead, sending him in alone on Fleury. His wrist shot hit the top of Fleury's right pad and trickled into the net. It was Couture's 25th goal; he's second on the Sharks, 11 behind Joe Pavelski. Getting a point in a game they trailed 2-0 was an achievement for the Sharks. But they were more concerned about the point that slipped away.

Chicago @ Winnipeg 4-3 - Jonathan Toews scored with 30.8 seconds left to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre. After Patrick Sharp helped Chicago rally from a 3-2 early in the third period, Toews tipped Niklas Hjalmarsson's right-point shot past Winnipeg goaltender Ondrej Pavelec. The Blackhawks reclaimed third place in the Central Division from the Minnesota Wild and ended a two-game losing streak. They have a one-point lead on Minnesota. Andrew Shaw's 13th goal with 1:30 left in the first period provided Chicago its first lead since a 3-1 win at the Hurricanes on March 23. Two goals 3:06 apart early in the second period put Chicago behind 2-1. Dustin Byfuglien tied the game for the Jets 4:34 into the second period. Blake Wheeler followed with a shorthanded goal at 7:40. Chicago center Brad Richards made it 2-2 with 3:41 remaining in the second period, but Byfuglien's second power-play goal of the game gave Winnipeg a 3-2 lead with 26 seconds left in the second. The Blackhawks erased another deficit at 6:27 of the third period on Sharp's breakaway goal. Byfuglien has three goals in his two games since returning from a nine-game absence because of an upper-body injury. Jets captain Andrew Ladd had two assists to set a new season high with 61 points, and Drew Stafford's second-period assist moved his point streak to nine games (four goals, seven assists), the longest active streak in the NHL. The Blackhawks did not record their first shot until 9:41 of the first period. After the Jets controlled most of the period, the Blackhawks began to push. Chicago's power play was 1-for-12 in its previous games, but it converted its first opportunity of the game with Byfuglien off for elbowing. Duncan Keith's diving play to keep a puck inside the Winnipeg zone set up the first goal. Keith moved the puck to Brandon Saad, whose shot from the left side produced a rebound that Shaw swept past Pavelec. Moments after the Blackhawks failed to finish a 2-on-0 shorthanded breakaway, Byfuglien's 17th goal tied the game. His snap shot from the slot bounced through traffic and dribbled past Crawford. With Toby Enstrom penalized for tripping, the Jets' NHL-leading 10th shorthanded goal gave them their first lead of the game. Wheeler took a pass from defenseman Tyler Myers and beat Crawford for his team-leading 25th goal. Wheeler's four shorthanded goals lead Winnipeg, and he has nine goals in his past 13 games.
Richards scored his 12th goal when he tipped Johnny Oduya's left-point shot high over Pavelec. Marian Hossa's hooking penalty set up Winnipeg's second power play. With seven seconds remaining on the minor penalty, Byfuglien's long shot from inside the blue line beat Crawford's left glove. Minnesota had passed Chicago on Saturday and taken over third place in the Central Division. Sharp admitted that falling back into a wild-card position grabbed the players' attention.

NHL Results - Sat, Mar 28, 2015

Nashville @ Washington 4-3 - Ekholm scored at 9:02 of the first period to give the Predators a 1-0 lead. After his hooking penalty expired, Ekholm exited the penalty box and beat Green one-on-one before scoring past Holtby for his seventh goal. Fisher scored his 18th goal at 11:29. He capitalized on a Forsberg rebound at the hash marks and sent a wrist shot behind Holtby. Forsberg scored his 23rd goal of the season with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle at 14:47 of the first period, giving the Predators a 3-0 lead and chasing Holtby. Brouwer scored twice in a span of 7:13 in the second period. He snapped a 12-game goal drought dating back to Feb. 25 with a goal 19 seconds in, then scored shorthanded at 7:32 to make it 3-2. The goals gave Brouwer 20 this season, marking his third 20-goal season in the NHL. Ribeiro tipped a Forsberg shot for his 15th goal to give the Predators a 4-2 lead at 11:56 of the second. Ribeiro, who played the 2012-13 season for Washington, leads Nashville in scoring with 59 points this season. Green buried a cross-ice pass from defense partner Matt Niskanen 20 seconds into the third period for his seventh goal to bring the Capitals back within one.


NY Rangers @ Boston 2-4 - It was Lundqvist's first game since Feb. 2. Rask left the game 10 seconds into the second period after stoppage of play. Rask, who later was said to have been dehydrated, made his way directly to the dressing room and was replaced by Niklas Svedberg. Lucic ended a six-game goal drought at 1:41 of the first period with a little help from video review. The rebound of a Patrice Bergeron shot went off Lucic's skate and past Lundqvist. The goal was disallowed on the ice but the NHL Situation Room overturned the call because in accordance with Rule 49.2: "A puck that deflects into the net off an attacking player's skate who does not use a distinct kicking motion is a legitimate goal." Lucic gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead at 9:26 when he beat Lundqvist with a wrist shot from the left circle after Torey Krug gained the zone and dished off during a drive to the net. Soderberg extended the lead to 3-0 at 14:27. Soderberg stole the puck from Matt Hunwick outside the New York blue line and then beat Lundqvist with a forehand from in tight. Smith's first goal in 15 games put the Bruins ahead 4-0 at 5:53 of the second period. He tracked down a rebound of a Loui Eriksson stuff attempt and scored into the open net.
It took the Rangers 4:37 to get their first shot on Svedberg, who stopped a Rick Nash attempt from the top of the right circle for his first save. Nash beat Svedberg with a backhand with 3:11 left in the second period that cut the Bruins' lead to 4-1. It was Nash's 40th goal of the season, the third time he has scored that many in the NHL. Matt Hunwick scored for the Rangers with 23 seconds remaining in the third period.


Anaheim @ NY Islanders 3-2 - The Ducks took a 1-0 lead at 8:23 of the first period after the Islanders failed to clear their zone. Patrick Maroon stretched to keep an attempted pass in the zone and set up Rakell for a shot from the slot that Neuvirth stopped. Rakell got to the rebound in the right corner and threw a pass into the crease, where Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy poked the puck into his net. Rakell was credited with his eighth goal of the season. Anaheim dominated play for the next few minutes before New York began to generate some offensive-zone time. After a good forechecking sequence, the Islanders tied the game 1-1 at 17:08 when Visnovsky stepped into a slap shot from the left point that hit Anaheim defenseman Simon Despres and deflected into the net. It was the fifth goal of the season for Visnovsky, who missed the previous four games with a lower-body injury. The Ducks took a 2-1 lead 1:46 into the second period on another fortunate bounce. Tavares failed to clear his zone, and James Wisniewski's slap shot from the right point was deflected by Leddy's stick right onto the stick of Palmieri, who spun free in front of the net and slid a backhand past Neuvirth for his 14th goal of the season. Rakell made a superb defensive play seven minutes later when he raced back to keep Cizikas from getting off a good shot on a breakaway. Andersen preserved the lead two minutes after that by robbing Tavares and Ryan Strome on back-to-back shots during a long 5-on-3 power play for the Islanders, who went 0-for-4 in the period. Cogliano made it 3-1 at 15:11 of the second when a pass by Cam Fowler sprung him past the defense, and he beat Neuvirth with a backhand deke for his 14th goal of the season. Cizikas made it 3-2 with 5:36 remaining in the third period when Ducks defenseman Clayton Stoner gave away the puck off the left post and Cizikas stuffed it past a surprised Andersen for his eighth of the season.


San Jose @ Philadelphia 3-2 SO - The San Jose Sharks were running out of defensemen Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers but managed to put together one of their better defensive performances of the season. Playing most of the game with five defensemen, and then the latter parts of the game with four, the Sharks allowed 18 shots on goal and defeated the Flyers 3-2 in a shootout. Brent Burns, one of four remaining defensemen, scored the game-deciding goal in the fifth round of the tiebreaker. He carried the puck down the middle of the ice, deked the puck from his forehand to his backhand and flipped it over the glove of Flyers goalie Steve Mason. Melker Karlsson also scored in the shootout for the Sharks, who improved to 4-5 in the tiebreaker. Matt Irwin and Joe Pavelski scored in regulation for the Sharks, and goaltender Alex Stalock made 16 saves. The 18 shots were the third fewest the Sharks have allowed in a game this season. The Sharks (37-30-8) won their second straight and moved within six points of the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division with seven games remaining, starting with a game Sunday at the Pittsburgh Penguins. San Jose won't have defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic against Pittsburgh. Vlasic left Saturday with 4:15 left in the first period because of a lower-body injury. Sharks coach Todd McLellan said Vlasic would be re-evaluated when they return to San Jose after the game Sunday. San Jose also played the final 7:23 of the third period and all of overtime without Scott Hannan, who was cut under his eye when he was hit into the boards by the Flyers' Nick Cousins. McLellan said Hannan was questionable for Sunday. It's the second straight game the Sharks have lost a defenseman during a game; rookie Mirco Mueller sustained an injury to his left hand Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings. He already had been ruled out of the weekend games on Friday. The remaining defensemen weren't complaining. Burns led the way with 27:33 of ice time, with Justin Braun playing 27:09, Brendan Dillon 23:57, and Irwin 22:11. The Flyers also were playing shorthanded on defense. With Mark Streit and Carlo Colaiacovo missing the game because of the flu, defensemen Mark Alt and Oliver Lauridsen were recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League. Alt was minus-1 in 9:25 in his first NHL game, and Lauridsen was minus-1 in 10:26 in his first NHL game since the 2012-13 season. After the game, Alt, Lauridsen and forward Jason Akeson, who also was called up Saturday morning, were returned to the AHL. With the Flyers playing two rookie defensemen and another, Brandon Manning, who spent most of the season in the AHL, Michael Del Zotto played a career-high 30:18. Michael Raffl and Claude Giroux scored for the Flyers (30-29-17), and goaltender Steve Mason made 41 saves. Jakub Voracek had two assists and scored Philadelphia's only goal in the shootout. The Flyers dropped to 3-10 in the tiebreaker this season. Voracek has 76 points, two behind League-leader Sidney Crosby of the Penguins. The point Philadelphia received for reaching overtime, combined with the Boston Bruins' defeat of the New York Rangers, leaves the Flyers 10 points out of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with six games remaining. The Flyers trailed 2-1 after two periods but Giroux's power-play goal at 8:37 of the third tied the game. The Sharks had chances to win the game later in the third and in overtime, including a power play when the Flyers' Brayden Schenn was called for boarding for a hit on Irwin. Despite outshooting the Flyers 44-18 and out-attempting them 83-47, the Sharks said they never got frustrated. Pavelski gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 16:43 of the first period on a goal that he banked off Manning's skate and under Mason. Referees had blown the play dead but video review determined that the puck crossed the goal line as the culmination of a continuous play that was unaffected by the whistle, and the goal was allowed to stand. The Sharks and Flyers each scored a goal early in the first period. Irwin opened the scoring at 4:38 when he intercepted a clearing attempt by Voracek and scored on a shot from above the right circle. Then at 6:44 the Flyers responded with Raffl's 20th goal. A shot from the point by Nicklas Grossmann hit off two Sharks and bounced to Stalock, who knocked it off the post and to Raffl, who was in front to knock it in.



Phoenix @ Pittsburgh 2-3 - When the Pittsburgh Penguins looked to their captain, Sidney Crosby answered. Pittsburgh scored three straight third-period goals, with Crosby factoring on each, to defeat the Coyotes 3-2 at Consol Energy Center. Daniel Winnik, Steve Downie and Crosby scored in a span of 4:08 for the Penguins after forward Tye McGinn opened the scoring for the Coyotes early in the third. Crosby's goal turned out to be the game-winner as Tobias Rieder scored late for Phoenix. Thomas Greiss made 22 saves for the Penguins (41-23-11). Mike Smith made 43 saves for the Coyotes (23-45-8).

Each goalie was working on a shutout headed into the third. After the puck was cycled to Coyotes defenseman Klas Dahlbeck at the point, he sent a slap shot through traffic that was deflected by McGinn and through a screen by former Penguins forward Joe Vitale and past Greiss at 4:52. Pittsburgh's rally began 2:24 later with Winnik's first goal as a Penguin. Crosby won a faceoff cleanly to defenseman Paul Martin, whose slap shot hit off Smith's pads before bouncing out directly in front of the crease. Winnik scored on the rebound with a snap shot past Smith's blocker to tie the game 1-1. Downie received a pass from Crosby and put a slap shot behind Smith 9:19 into the third. Crosby scored with 8:36 remaining to extend the Penguins' lead to two goals. Crosby's goal was reviewed and upheld. He leads the NHL with 78 points, two ahead of Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakub Voracek. Rieder scored with 1:51 remaining and Smith pulled for an extra skater. Pittsburgh moved into a tie with the New York Islanders for second in the Metropolitan Division and is six points ahead of the Boston Bruins, who hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Penguins had lost six of their past seven games entering Saturday.

Penguins defenseman Kris Letang left the game after sustaining an apparent upper-body injury with 4:45 remaining in the second period. Coyotes forward Shane Doan shoved Letang to the ice with a cheap late hit, after the defenseman chipped the puck into the neutral zone. Letang fell onto his back, causing the back of his head to hit into the end boards. Letang remained seated on the ice with his back against the end boards for several minutes while being treated. Downie and Rob Scuderi helped him to the runway.

Penguins coach Mike Johnston said Letang was taken to the hospital and Pittsburgh will receive an evaluation on his health Sunday morning. In what has been considered a rebound season, Letang is third on Pittsburgh with 54 points in 68 games, trailing Crosby and forward Evgeni Malkin. Letang played 37 games last season because of various injuries, including a stroke in January 2014. It is surely time for Shane Doan to call it a day, if all he has left are late hits that injure opponents. To say Doan is a 'has been' would be unfair, he would have had to have been a player of note for him to be classed as that.
Doan never quite made it at the top level, he was just happy to see out a 'career' at a joke of a franchise. While all the top players like Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick and Teppo Numminen moved onto bigger and better stages, Doan was left behind as the 'franchise' player for the Coyotes, as they lurched from one losing season to the next. Never able to lead his team with a serious amount of goals to ever be taken seriously even when he was in his prime, he has spent the latter part of his career delivering dirty hits. At 38, its time for this old man to give up before he seriously injures a player with actual talent. Losing Letang is going to be costly for the Pens who have a growing injury list, particularly amongst their defensemen. Steve Downie fought Doan following the hit, earning both roughing calls.

Pittsburgh had the better scoring chances in a scoreless first period. The best opportunity came midway through the first, when Crosby fed a pass from behind the net to Patric Hornqvist, who held onto the puck instead of one-timing a shot from in front of the crease. The hesitation allowed Smith to adjust and make a pad save with 8:54 remaining in the period. The Penguins went down a man after forward Blake Comeau received a five-minute major and game misconduct for boarding Coyotes forward Andrew Campbell with 6:47 left in the first. Campbell stayed down on the ice for about a minute before heading to the locker room. He returned in the second period. Pittsburgh allowed five shots during a successful kill. Malkin missed six games after sustaining the injury during his first shift in the Penguins' 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on March 14.
Hornqvist, who last played against the Detroit Red Wings on March 15, also returned, but forward David Perron was unavailable because of an undisclosed illness.

Penalties

1st Period
02:47 PIT	Maxim Lapierre  Roughing against  B.J. Crombeen
02:47 ARI	B.J. Crombeen  Roughing against  Maxim Lapierre
11:45 ARI	Shane Doan  Roughing against  Patric Hornqvist
11:45 PIT	Patric Hornqvist  Hooking against  Mark Arcobello
13:13 PIT	Blake Comeau  Boarding (maj) against  Andrew Campbell
13:13 PIT	Blake Comeau  Game misconduct
2nd Period
03:15 ARI	John Moore  Tripping against  Maxim Lapierre
12:50 ARI	Michael Stone  Delaying Game-Puck over glass
13:08 PIT	Chris Kunitz  Hooking against  Joe Vitale
15:22 ARI	Tye McGinn  Slashing against  Patric Hornqvist
16:29 ARI	Shane Doan  Fighting (maj) against  Steve Downie
16:29 PIT	Steve Downie  Fighting (maj) against  Shane Doan
3rd Period
08:18 ARI	Andrew Campbell  Hi-sticking against  Brandon Sutter
10:34 ARI	Michael Stone  Hi stick - double minor against  Brandon Sutter

Tampa Bay @ Detroit 0-4 - The Lightning lost defenseman Jason Garrison early in the game because of an upper-body injury, and center Cedric Paquette was helped off the ice late in the game after sliding awkwardly into the goal post with his left leg. Garrison was injured on a check from behind, behind the Lightning net by Abdelkader, 3:43 into the game. Abdelkader got a minor penalty for boarding. Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk returned after missing five games with a lower-body injury. Detroit was without center Riley Sheahan because of an upper-body injury, and right wing Erik Cole missed his second game with an upper-body injury. Detroit scored three goals in the second period. Andersson's was first at 5:25; he batted a puck out of midair from in front of the net down and off the ice between Bishop's pads for his second goal, first in 28 games. Abdelkader made it 2-0 with a breakaway at 7:19. He picked up a puck that bounced off the stick of Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman inside the Lightning blue line, skated in and beat Bishop high on the stick side. It was Abdelkader's 23rd goal, 10th in his past 13 games. Nyquist beat Tampa Bay Matthew Carle to the puck on a non-icing call and chipped the carom off the end boards over Bishop's shoulder for his 24th goal at 9:19. Glendening scored into an empty net with 1:39 left in the third period, his 11th goal. Mrazek, playing instead of Jimmy Howard, stopped center Brian Boyle's one-time shot from the bottom of the right circle 6:15 into the game. Callahan hit the crossbar during a power play late in the second period.


Ottawa @ Toronto 3-4 OT - Tyler Bozak had the hat trick and assisted on the overtime winner by Eric Brewer. The defenseman scored with 1:43 remaining after Bozak hit the post. Ottawa led 3-1 with 11:29 remaining. Bozak tied the game with 1:24 to go in the third period, tipping in a James van Riemsdyk pass.
Brewer's game-winner came on a scramble in front of the net. It was his first goal in 12 games with the Maple Leafs after being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. Anderson made his mark stopping Toronto's Joakim Lindstrom on a penalty shot at 11:14 of the first period. After Lindstrom was cut down driving to the net, he tried to deke to his forehand, but Anderson made the save look easy. The Senators took the lead with two goals in 1:34 of the second period. Mark Stone scored his 19th of the season at 4:25, beating Toronto goalie James Reimer with a wrist shot to the stick side after taking a drop pass in the slot from former Maple Leafs forward Clarke MacArthur. Curtis Lazar made it 2-0 at 5:59 with a shot to Reimer's stick side from the slot. Bozak scored his 20th of the season at 4:13 of the third period. Van Riemsdyk drove hard to the net and spotted Bozak in front of the net. Bozak escaped the checking of Mark Borowiecki and tapped the puck past Anderson. Nine seconds after Toronto's Trevor Smith was sent off for boarding Ottawa's Eric Gryba, the Senators took a 3-1 lead with Kyle Turris beating Reimer with a wrist shot through a screen at 9:30. With MacArthur off for boarding, Bozak scored his second from the side of the net to make it 3-2 at 11:29.

Florida @ Montreal 2-3 OT - Pacioretty scored his team-leading 36th goal with 2:01 remaining in overtime when he sent a pass from David Desharnais past Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo seven seconds after Florida center Vincent Trocheck was called for high-sticking Montreal's Lars Eller. Price, whose nine shutouts are tied with Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the League lead, was shaken up when Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban upended him in a collision behind the net late in the third period. Price did not speak to reporters after the game, but Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said he had no concerns about the collision. Luongo made 22 saves, none more sensational than the one he made on Tomas Plekanec with 2:46 remaining in the third period to allow the Panthers to gain a crucial point. Luongo reached behind himself with his glove and swatted the puck out of the air and clear of the goal line after Plekanec's shot from the right side on a pass from Alex Galchenyuk hit him on the left side above his hip and fell back toward the net. Florida center Aleksander Barkov scored twice in the second period for his first multi-goal game in the NHL. Huberdeau assisted on both goals, which gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead. Galchenyuk scored his 20th goal on a power play at 14:35 of the second to tie the game 2-2. Galchenyuk stepped up at the right side of the net and sent a wrist shot over Luongo inside the right post for his first goal in 13 games. Eller gave Montreal a 1-0 lead with his 12th goal at 17:37 of the first, one second after Panthers forward Jimmy Hayes' unsportsmanlike conduct penalty expired. Barkov was left unmarked to take a pass from Huberdeau and drive the slot before putting a backhand shot over Price's glove for his 13th goal to tie the game 1-1 at 6:09 of the first. Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr got his 1,076th NHL assist and 1,794th point on Barkov's first goal of the game at 6:09 of the second. Jagr, who was acquired in a trade with the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 26, is three assists behind Adam Oates (1,079) for sixth place in League history. He is four points behind Ron Francis (1,798) for fourth place. Barkov made it 2-1 at 13:11 of the second when he scored on Florida's first power-play opportunity. He deflected Huberdeau's low shot up and past Price for his 14th goal and second in a span of 7:02.

New Jersey @ Carolina 1-3 - The Devils connected on their first power-play shot to open a 1-0 lead in the first period. Mike Cammalleri held in Hurricanes defenseman Ron Hainsey's clearing attempt and sent a wrist shot toward the net, where Patrik Elias re-directed it past Ward at 11:12 for his 11th of the season.  The Hurricanes found that play late in the second, tying the game 1-1 on Jeff Skinner's cross-ice pass to Chris Terry at 18:33. Terry kicked the puck to his stick and shot high to the far post as Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid overplayed the shot to the near side. Carolina took a 2-1 lead nine seconds after the opening faceoff of the third period. Kinkaid mishandled Ryan Murphy's long shot from the boards with his blocker, leaving a rebound at the top of the crease for Staal to tap in. It was his 21st goal. Carolina's second-period goal, followed by the quick strike early in the third proved to be the Devils' undoing. Faulk then gave the Hurricanes some breathing room with a shot from inside the blue line at 4:58.


Columbus @ St Louis 4-2 - The Blue Jackets continue to make life miserable for Western Conference opponents. Cam Atkinson and Boone Jenner each had a goal and an assist, and the Blue Jackets won a franchise-best eighth straight road game. Columbus (35-34-4) won its sixth game in a row, all against Western teams, and for the ninth time in 10 games. The win was their 22nd on the road, a Blue Jackets record. The Blues (46-22-7) remained three points behind the Nashville Predators for first place in the Central Division. Patrik Berglund had a goal and an assist, his first multi-point game since Jan. 6, and Vladimir Tarasenko scored his team-leading 36th goal. The second-place Blues, who were without right wing T.J. Oshie because of an illness and lost left wing Alexander Steen to a lower-body injury in the first period, lead the Minnesota Wild by four points and the Blackhawks by five in the Central Division. The Blues were aided by the return of all-star defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who missed 25 games following abdominal surgery. Shattenkirk finished with 21:34 ice time.
The Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead on Karlsson's first goal in 19 games. Columbus broke out with a rush, and Karlsson took a cross-ice pass from Scott Hartnell and beat Blues goalie Brian Elliott 7:06 into the first period. Ryan Johansen nearly gave Columbus a two-goal lead near the end of the first period when he went in on a breakaway from the left after Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo fell down and lost the puck. But Johansen's backhand was wide of the goal.
St. Louis went scoreless in the first period for the ninth straight game. The Blues have gone 185:40 without a first-period goal. The most-recent one came March 10 against the Winnipeg Jets. The Blue Jackets and Blues traded goals in the second period. St. Louis tied the game twice, but Columbus retook the lead each time. Berglund's first goal in 13 games tied the game 52 seconds into the second period after Jay Bouwmeester poke-checked the puck away from Columbus' Nick Foligno and Jori Lehtera sprung Jaden Schwartz and Berglund on a 2-on-0. Berglund finished Schwartz's pass to make it 1-1. Johnson's power-play goal gave Columbus a 2-1 lead when his slap shot from the blue line beat a screened Elliott at 11:39. It was Johnson's first goal in 28 games. The Blues had been 44-for-47 killing penalties before the goal. Tarasenko scored a power-play goal for the Blues to tie the game 2-2. He took a Berglund pass into the left circle and his wrist shot beat a screened Bobrovsky, who had David Backes in front of him at 14:44. But for the third time in the game, Columbus restored the lead when Jenner was all alone in front after taking a Johansen pass with 20.1 seconds remaining. The puck deflected off Pietrangelo right to Johansen, who fed Jenner and he finished the shot on Columbus' 14th shot of the game. It was the kind of goal that can deflate a team at the end of the period, especially after allowing the go-ahead goal at that time. Atkinson, who had a hat trick Friday, secured the win with an empty-net goal with 1:18 remaining. It was his seventh point in three games. Columbus won for the fourth time in the past 20 games in St. Louis.


Los Angeles @ Minnesota 1-4 - Minnesota's second line scored twice in the first period for a 2-0 lead. A pretty passing play set up Niederreiter alone in front of the net, and he put the puck on his backhand and waited out Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick at 3:15. Koivu and Chris Stewart worked a perfect give-and-go for Minnesota's second goal. Koivu got the puck back from Stewart and roofed a backhand at 13:39. For Koivu, who assisted on Niederreiter's first goal, it was his 115th multipoint game, a new Wild record. Los Angeles scored on Dwight King's 11th goal at 3:20 and put 17 shots on goal in the period.

But Dubnyk was steady. He also got some help from Jonas Brodin on one close call late in the period. With the Kings on a power play after Ryan Suter was called for slashing, Drew Doughty blasted a one-timer that was kicked away by Dubnyk right to Tyler Toffoli alone near the left post. With a wide-open net in front of him, Brodin reached his stick out just in time to deflect Toffoli's shot wide and keep the Wild in front. Each team slogged through the third period until Niederreiter scored his second of the night, 24th of the season, on the power play at 16:57 to give the Wild some breathing room. Koivu scored an empty-net goal with 1:22 left.


Buffalo @ Colorado 3-5 - Duchene was upset at himself for taking a shot at the empty net with 2:03 remaining in regulation, he hit the right goal post, rather than passing to Jarome Iginla, who had three assists to pass Jean Beliveau into 40th place on the NHL's all-time points list with 1,222 but needs four goals for 30 this season. The Mitchell-Duchene-Iginla line accounted for two goals, five assists and six shots. Each player was plus-3. The Avalanche killed two first-period penalties and grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals by Cliche and Mitchell, who scored on consecutive shots 32 seconds apart. Barrie drove to the net and beat Hackett to the glove side at 3:29 for his 12th goal, one short of his NHL high set last season, and his 100th NHL point. Ryan O'Reilly was between the faceoff circles when he spun around to feed Barrie and stretch his point streak to seven games (four goals, eight assists). Duchene increased the lead to 4-0 when he took a pass from Iginla, accelerated into the Sabres end and overpowered Hackett with a shot. Meszaros scored his first goal of the night at 3:09 when he came from behind the net and poked the puck behind Varlamov.
Stuart got that one back for Colorado at 4:48 with a shot from the right point, but Meszaros scored his fifth goal at 5:29 with a long shot from near the left-wing boards after an Avalanche turnover. Rasmus Ristolainen cut the deficit to 5-3 by scoring into an open net at 8:43 after Varlamov and defenseman Nate Guenin collided outside the crease.


Dallas @ Vancouver 4-3 OT - Jamie Benn and the Dallas Stars kept their slim Stanley Cup Playoff hopes alive, but not before the Vancouver Canucks helped their own postseason odds at Rogers Arena. After Vancouver tied it on a power play with 1:12 left in regulation, Stars defenseman John Klingberg scored the winning goal on a 3-on-2 rush with 46.2 seconds left in overtime, beating Canucks goalie Eddie Lack with a shot over the blocker to help the Stars to a 4-3 win. Benn was obviously not pleased following the Stars' 4-0 loss against the Edmonton Oilers, but was happy they had a chance to respond quickly. The Stars stayed alive in the playoff race, moving six points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. Dallas (37-29-10) has six games remaining; Winnipeg has seven games left. The single point was good enough for the Canucks after tying the game with Lack pulled for an extra attacker to create a 6-on-4 power play. That outweighed surrendering a 2-1 lead of their own in the third. Radim Vrbata tied the game after Tyler Seguin, who put the Stars ahead on a breakaway with 5:35 left, was penalized for knocking the stick out of defenseman Alexander Edler's hands with 1:32 left. Vrbata jumped on a loose puck in the slot, spun and fired a perfect shot over Lehtonen's blocker to tie the game. Christopher Tanev had two assists and Lack made 36 saves for the Canucks (43-27-5), who lost two straight for the second time in two months. Despite the loss, Vancouver moved three points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for second place in the Pacific Division and four up on the fourth-place Calgary Flames. All three teams have seven games remaining. Stars coach Lindy Ruff first appeared upset with the call against Seguin that led to the late tying goal, but said his forward had to take some blame too. Seguin was just happy it ended well in overtime. They can thank Klingberg, a 22-year-old rookie who was going to get off the ice in overtime until he saw the Canucks changing, which created a 3-on-2 rush. So Klingberg stayed on and scored his 11th goal, his first since Feb. 5, over Lack's blocker. Nick Bonino and Chris Higgins scored in the second period to put the Canucks ahead 2-1, but Lehtonen made a spectacular save on Vrbata early in the third to keep it close and Patrick Eaves jammed in the tying goal after a questionable icing 7:55 into the third period. Dallas dominated the opening minutes, with Benn forcing Lack to make a great right pad save 30 seconds into the game and scoring on his next shift, deflecting Seguin's high shot down off Lack and knocking in his rebound. After a couple great saves by Lehtonen, Bonino tied it on a 2-on-1 rush with 8:42 left in the first period. Higgins put the Canucks ahead midway through the second period with Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski in the penalty box for slashing Horvat on a breakaway that he shot wide. Lehtonen lost his goal stick in a collision with Daley, and the Canucks worked the puck up to Dan Hamhuis for a point shot that Higgins tipped past the goalie's glove. Lehtonen made the spectacular right pad save off Vrbata on a perfect backdoor pass from Tanev early in the third period. The Stars tied it after a debated icing call three minutes later. Klingberg appeared to touch the puck as it reached the goal line, but icing was called. After Vancouver missed two chances to clear its zone on the ensuing faceoff, Jason Spezza's failed wraparound was jammed between Lack's skate and the post by Patrick Eaves.
That disappointment will linger if the Canucks struggle on a four-game road trip that starts against the St. Louis Blues. It continues against the Nashville Predators, Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets, teams that are currently in the playoffs.