NHL - Wild - Round Up - April 01-08, 2017

Wild @ Nashville Predators 0-3 - Saturday, April 01, 2017
The Nashville Predators are tied for third place in the Central Division after a 3-0 win against the Minnesota Wild at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators (40-27-11) are tied with the St. Louis Blues and play them Sunday. If Nashville wins or reaches overtime, it would become the final Western team to clinch a berth into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Predators lead the Los Angeles Kings by 10 points for the Western second wild card; the Kings have five games remaining. The Wild (45-25-8) are 1-3-2 in their past six games and this loss allowed the Chicago Blackhawks to clinch the Central Division and top seed in the West. The Predators could play the Wild in the Western Conference First Round. Rinne made 31 saves for his third shutout of the season. He ended a two-game losing streak and is 6-2-0 in his past eight games. Filip Forsberg gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 17:21 of the second period on a redirection. Roman Josi took the shot from the point, and Forsberg tipped it past Wild goaltender Alex Stalock for his 31st goal. Kevin Fiala made it 2-0 10 seconds later with a backhand-to-forehand move on the rush for his 10th goal. P.K. Subban scored his 10th, an empty-net goal at 17:37 of the third period that made it 3-0.

* Fiala got a loose puck along the wall in the offensive zone and cut to the middle of the ice, got around Christian Folin and beat Stalock around the right pad.

* Rinne made a save on Zach Parise in the second period that knocked the mask off of his head and kept the game 0-0.

* Johansen won the faceoff back to Josi on Forsberg's goal.

* Rinne got just enough of his glove on a one-timer from Mikael Granlund in the third period to change the trajectory of the puck. It hit the post and preserved the shutout.

* Stalock played for the second time in three days. He defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-1 on Thursday, which was his first NHL game since Feb. 11, 2016. … Wild center Martin Hanzal won 14 of 20 faceoffs. … The Predators have 12 players with at least 10 goals, most in their history. … Wild forward Jason Zucker (lower body) and Predators forward James Neal (upper body) were scratched. Neal was hit in the head by a puck in a 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Colorado Avalanche @ Wild 2-5 - Sunday, April 02, 2017


The Minnesota Wild maintained their seven-point lead for second place in the Central Division with a 5-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild (46-25-8) are ahead of the St. Louis Blues, who are two points up on the Nashville Predators for third place in the division after a 4-1 victory against Nashville on Sunday. Devan Dubnyk made 30 saves for Minnesota, which is 3-8-2 in its past 13 games but needs two points to secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Wild scored twice in 23 seconds during the first period. Martin Hanzal scored his third goal since joining the Wild at 5:04 and Jared Spurgeon made it 2-0 at 5:27. Spurgeon has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past six games.
Gabriel Landeskog finished a 2-on-1 breakaway to make it 2-1 at 17:03, but Erik Haula scored with 20 seconds remaining in the period to make it 3-1. Zach Parise scored six seconds into a power play at 3:35 of the second period, and Jordan Schroeder scored top-shelf at 16:16 to give the Wild a 5-1 lead.Mikko Rantanen scored on a breakaway at 17:09 to make it 5-2. The Avalanche (21-54-3) are 1-8-0 in their past nine games and 4-14-0 in their past 18. Jeremy Smith made 13 saves after replacing Calvin Pickard at 3:35 of the second period.* Haula took a no-look feed from Mikael Granlund for his first goal in 18 games (since Feb. 28).

* Dubnyk robbed Matt Duchene, getting the tip of his glove on a high shot at 8:06 of the third period. "It was one of those plays; they hit the guy going across, and I maybe left my feet a little bit earlier than I would like," Dubnyk said. "That's the street hockey, what you do as a kid. You just break out of the shell and throw a piece of equipment over there, and I was fortunate to get a piece of it."

* Charlie Coyle centered the puck for Hanzal, who beat Pickard stick-side to give the Wild a 1-0 lead.

* Jason Pominville won all three of his faceoffs and got his 400th NHL career assist.

* The Wild reached 100 points for the third time in franchise history. … Wild forward Jason Zucker missed his second game because of a lower-body injury.

Carolina Hurricanes @ Wild 3-5 - Tuesday, April 04, 2017

The Minnesota Wild clinched second place in the Central Division with a 5-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at Xcel Energy Center. Devan Dubnyk made 27 saves for the Wild (47-25-8), who have won two in a row and will open their Western Conference First Round series at home against either the St. Louis Blues or Nashville Predators. Hurricanes forward Bryan Bickell had three hits playing 11:49 in his first NHL game since Oct. 30. Bickell was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis on Nov. 11 and returned to hockey with Charlotte of the American Hockey League on Feb. 25. Cam Ward made 31 saves for Carolina (38-29-12). Zach Parise scored at 5:39 of the first period to give the Wild a 1-0 lead. Lee Stempniak tied it 1-1 1:17 later with his 200th NHL goal, 16th of the season. Jordan Schroeder gave Minnesota a 2-1 lead at 11:05. Jeff Skinner tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal at 16:19. Nino Niederreiter gave the Wild a 3-2 lead with a rebound goal at 18:16, and Skinner scored his 35th of the season at 19:48 for a 3-3 tie. Skinner has 18 points (14 goals, four assists) in his past 14 games. Charlie Coyle gave Minnesota a 4-3 lead at 7:25 of the second period, and Niederreiter scored at 14:18 of the third for a 5-3 edge.

* Eric Staal passed up to Parise, who one-timed a shot past Ward for his 19th goal of the season.

* Ward denied Jason Pominville with a glove save at 16:15 of the second period.

* Martin Hanzal blocked a shot by Teuvo Teravainen at 3:59 of the third period to keep the game tied. Hanzal won 12 faceoffs and had four shots on goal.

* Skinner split the defense and passed up to Stempniak for the tying goal.

* Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon left the game with a lower-body injury near the end of the second period. … Staal had two assists to give him 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in his past 15 games.

Wild @ Colorado Avalanche 4-3 - Thursday, April 06, 2017

The Minnesota Wild defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 at Pepsi Center to match their records for wins (48) and points (104) in a season set in 2006-07.
Mikael Granlund, Nino Niederreiter, Jason Zucker and Nate Prosser scored for the Wild (48-25-8), who have clinched second place in the Central Division and close out the regular season Saturday against the Coyotes. Devan Dubnyk had 30 saves for his 40th win, an NHL career high and Wild record. The Avalanche thought they tied it 4-4 with 1:14 left in regulation when Sven Andrighetto poked a loose puck into the net on a power play. After a video review said it was a good goal, it was disallowed for goalie interference following a challenge by Wild coach Bruce Boudreau. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said he was told that Nathan MacKinnon pushed Brodin into Dubnyk, impeding his ability to make a save. Niederreiter went back door to convert Eric Staal's pass for his 25th goal at 6:43 of the third period to give the Wild a 3-2 lead and Granlund scored from a sharp angle for his 26th goal at 10:00 to make it 4-2. The Avalanche got within 4-3 at 14:20 on Matt Nieto's seventh goal. Francois Beauchemin and Tyson Jost also scored for the Avalanche (22-55-3), who finished 13-26-2 at home. The Avalanche closed to 2-1 at 5:44 of the second period when Jost, playing his fourth NHL game, scored his first NHL goal. Beauchemin tied it 2-2 with his fourth of the season at 14:55. The Wild took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Zucker and Prosser. Zucker scored his 22nd 10 seconds into the game and Prosser made it 2-0 at 14:09 with his second.

* Jost scored after Gabriel Landeskog's pass went to him after it went off Rocco Grimaldi's stick in the slot. Jost maneuvered in the right circle to avoid a stick on the ice and shot over Dubnyk's left shoulder.

* Pickard snared Staal's shot with his glove at 18:48 of the second period after Niederreiter set him up in the slot.

* Pickard left the net to play the puck after Wild forward Charlie Coyle dumped it in off the end boards. Zucker knocked it off the goalie's stick and scored on a wraparound.

* Avalanche defenseman Duncan Siemens had six hits in 11:05 and helped kill two Wild power plays.

* Linesman Ryan Galloway fell to the ice after he was hit in the face with a deflected puck at 3:15 of the first period. He needed assistance to the trainer's room and didn't return ... Avalanche rookie forward Mikko Rantanan (lower body) missed his second consecutive game ... Wild forwards Mikko Koivu (rest) and Jared Spurgeon (lower body) were scratched.

Wild @ Phoenix Coyotes 3-1 - Saturday, April 08, 2017
The Minnesota Wild set their records for wins and points in a season with a 3-1 victory against the Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Minnesota (49-25-8), which has won four in a row, finished with 106 points, two more than its previous record set in 2006-07. The Wild will face the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said the matchup against the Blues will be a challenge. Martin Hanzal scored his 20th goal in his return to Phoenix and Darcy Kuemper made 20 saves for his first win since Feb. 16. Hanzal was traded by the Coyotes to the Wild on Feb. 26. It was an emotional night for Hanzal; former teammate Craig Cunningham was honored before the game, and Hanzal took part in the ceremonial faceoff. There was a video tribute to Hanzal played during the first period. His close friend, Zbynek Michalek, was playing his final game with the Coyotes. Hanzal told the parking attendant on his way into the arena to tell Mike Smith to please let him score No. 20. Brendan Perlini scored his 14th goal and Smith made 42 saves for the Coyotes (30-42-10). Minnesota scored on its first shot when Jordan Martinook mishandled Smith's pass from behind the net and Erik Haula put the puck into an empty net at 4:13 to make it 1-0. Staal made it 2-0 when he one-timed a pass from Charlie Coyle up and over Smith's shoulder at 10:47 for a power-play goal. Perlini scored on Doan's rebound at 2:59 of the third period to make it 2-1. But Hanzal scored a power-play goal at 13:35 to give the Wild a 3-1 lead.

* In his 10th NHL season, Hanzal reached the 20-goal mark just under the wire with a power-play goal against his former team in his return to Phoenix. The Coyotes traded Hanzal to the Wild on Feb. 26.

* Smith showed off his athleticism when he made back-to-back saves on Jason Zucker and Hanzal with just over two minutes left.

* Koivu won 13 of 17 faceoffs and picked up his 40th assist of the season on Hanzal's goal.
* The Wild are 11-2-1 in their past 14 games against the Coyotes and have points in 11 straight, the longest point streak against one opponent in their history.

NHL - Wild - Round Up - March 26-30, 2017

Wild @ Detroit Red Wings 2-3 OT - Sunday, March 26, 2017

The Minnesota Wild focused on the positive after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. The Wild (44-24-7), who clinched a berth into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference on Saturday and are second in the Central Division, fell to 1-7-1 in their past nine games and 3-10-1 in their past 14. Minnesota gave up leads of 1-0 and 2-1 before Andreas Athanasiou scored 1:52 into overtime. But the Wild played from ahead and allowed 19 shots, three in the third period. The Wild have seven games left before the playoffs. They once led the Western Conference but are seven points behind the Chicago Blackhawks and eight ahead of the Nashville Predators in the division. Mike Green and Tomas Tatar also scored for the Red Wings (30-32-12), who are 15th in the Eastern Conference and on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time since 1990. Eric Staal and Nate Prosser scored for the Wild. Staal put the Wild ahead 1-0 at 9:43 of the first period. Zach Parise chipped the puck past Danny DeKeyser in the neutral zone ahead for Staal, who outskated Frans Nielsen on the rush and beat Jimmy Howard stick side.

Green tied it 1-1 at 19:41 with a shot from the left point that flew through traffic cleanly and eluded Devan Dubnyk. Prosser put the Wild ahead 2-1 at 16:14 of the second period. He took a wrist shot from the right point. Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin stretched out his stick to knock down the puck but deflected it in off the inside of the right post instead. The goal was Prosser's first in his past 107 games. Tatar tied it 2-2 on the power play 55 seconds into the third period with a one-timer from the right circle into the top right corner of the net. Athanasiou took a lead pass from Gustav Nyquist, broke away and deked. As Dubnyk tried a diving poke check, Athanasiou stickhandled around his pads and slid the puck into the net.

* Howard stopped Erik Haula seconds before Athanasiou scored. Nyquist collected the rebound and made the pass to Athanasiou.

* Howard stopped Staal in the final minute the third period when Staal was streaking in ahead of Green and Niklas Kronwall.

* Prosser broke up a potential breakaway in the second period with the score tied 1-1, muscling Athanasiou off the puck and preventing a shot.

* Wild forward Chris Stewart was scratched for the first time this season. He has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past 25 games. … Red Wings center Darren Helm (lower body) did not play for the fourth straight game. This was the first of three games in three days for the Red Wings, who will visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday and Tuesday. Their game at Carolina on Dec. 19 was rescheduled because of problems with the ice.

Washington Capitals @ Wild 5-4 OT - Tuesday, March 28, 2017

The Washington Capitals maintained their lead in the Metropolitan Division when T.J. Oshie scored his second goal of the game 1:52 into overtime for a 5-4 win against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Alex Ovechkin had a hat trick and Marcus Johansson had four assists for Washington (50-17-8), which has won five consecutive games and remained three points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 on Tuesday. Ovechkin passed Johnny Bucyk for 26th place on the NHL's all-time scoring list with 558 career goals. He scored all three of his goals on the power play and has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in his past eight games. Eric Staal tied the game with 26.6 seconds left in the third period, but the Wild (44-23-8) lost their fourth straight and are 1-7-2 in their past 10 games. They are seven points behind the Blackhawks for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference. Oshie gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 11:36 of the first period. He has eight points (six goals, two assists) in his past four games. Jason Pominville made it 1-1 at 2:17 of the second period. Ovechkin gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 7:31 with a power-play goal. He scored another power-play goal at 12:28. Martin Hanzal made it 3-2 at 15:43 when he put a rebound past Braden Holtby. Hanzal has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 14 games. Ovechkin scored his third of the game at 12:29 of the third period, but Jared Spurgeon made it 4-3 at 15:03. Holtby made 26 saves for his 40th win of the season. He has won at least 40 games in three consecutive seasons, joining Martin Brodeur and Evgeni Nabokov as the only goaltenders in NHL history to have three straight 40-win seasons. Devan Dubnyk made 15 saves. He is 1-6-1 in his past nine games.

* Ovechkin took a cross-ice feed from along the right wall from Nicklas Backstrom and sent a low wrist shot past Dubnyk to give the Capitals a 4-2 lead.

* Dubnyk robbed Ovechkin of his fourth goal on a breakaway one minute into overtime.  

* Staal found himself open in the slot to tie the game at 4-4 and force overtime.

* Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner blocked three shots in 21:46 of ice time.

* Wild forward Zach Parise left 12:10 into the game and did not return after Capitals forward Tom Wilson caught him in the face with a high-stick. Boudreau said Parise is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. … Backstrom had three assists, giving him 60 this season. … Staal has 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in his past 10 games.

Ottawa Senators @ Wild 1-5 - Thursday, March 30, 2017
The Ottawa Senators gave up ground in the Atlantic Division by losing to the Minnesota Wild 5-1 at Xcel Energy Center. Ottawa's lead for second place in the division is down to two points over the Toronto Maple Leafs and three points over the Boston Bruins with each of those teams winning. The Senators (41-26-9) are six points behind the Montreal Canadiens for first place with one game in hand; Montreal also won. Ottawa has two wins in its past nine games (2-4-3). Alex Stalock made 18 saves in his first NHL game since Feb. 11, 2016, and Minnesota (45-24-9) ended a four-game losing streak. The Wild, 2-7-2 in their past 11 games, moved within seven points of the Chicago Blackhawks for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference. Mike Hoffman gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 16:20 of the first period. Nino Niederreiter scored 47 seconds later for a 1-1 game.

Niederreiter scored his second at 7:08 of the second period for a 2-1 lead, and Joel Eriksson Ek made it 3-1 at 17:32 with his third NHL goal. Matt Dumba scored a power-play goal at 4:46 of the third period to increase the Wild lead to 4-1, and Jason Pominville made it 5-1 with a goal at 11:53. Ottawa was without defenseman Erik Karlsson, who had played 324 consecutive games. The Senators captain is day to day with an upper-body injury sustained in a 3-2 shootout loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. He leads the Senators with 15 goals and 68 points. Montreal defeated the Florida Panthers 6-2, Toronto defeated the Nashville Predators 3-1, and Boston shut out the Dallas Stars 2-0.

* Niederreiter scored his second on his backhand for his first multigoal game since Feb. 7. 

"When you don't score as a potentially top goal-scorer, you get frustrated and it creeps in your game and it's tough on you mentally," said Niederreiter, who ended a 16-game drought. "When the first one gets in, you start feeling loose again, and then it's just a matter of time to get the next one."

* Stalock stopped a shot from Senators defenseman Cody Ceci to keep the game 0-0 at 15:45 of the first period.

* Wild forward Martin Hanzal picked off an errant Senators pass to start the play that led to Pominville's goal.

* Eriksson Ek scored off the post for his first goal in his first game since returning from playing in Sweden. He has six points (three goals, three assists) in 10 NHL games.

* Senators forward Zack Smith (upper body) did not play after leaving the game with 6:50 remaining in the first period. Boucher said he is day to day. … Hoffman has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in his past 13 games. … Wild forward Eric Staal has 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in his past 12 games and six points (three goals, three assists) during a six-game point streak. … Pominville played his 900th NHL game. ... Karlsson had not missed a game since Feb. 16, 2013, the first game after injuring his Achilles tendon Feb. 13. His streak began April 25, 2013, when he returned from that injury.

NHL - Wild - Round Up - March 15-25, 2017

Wild @ Carolina Hurricanes 1-3 - Thursday, March 16, 2017

Victor Rask and Teuvo Teravainen scored late in the third period to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-1 win against the Minnesota Wild at PNC Arena. The Hurricanes cycled the puck in the corner before Rask cut to the net and slipped the puck through the legs of goalie Devan Dubnyk with 3:24 left for a 2-1 lead. Teravainen scored into an empty net with 1:26 remaining to make it 3-1.
Eddie Lack made 31 saves for the Hurricanes (29-27-12), who have a point in five straight games (3-0-2). The Wild (43-20-6) lost a third straight game to end their road trip 1-4-0. Minnesota trails the Chicago Blackhawks by three points for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference. Chicago defeated the Ottawa Senators 2-1. Carolina took a 1-0 lead on Derek Ryan's power-play goal at 4:37 of the first period. When Dubnyk bobbled Noah Hanifin's shot, Ryan got to the net for his 11th of the season. Minnesota tied the game 1-1 with a shorthanded goal at 12:35 of the first. Mikko Koivu cut to the slot and passed ahead to Mikael Granlund, who scored his third shorthanded goal of the season. Lack, who made his first start since March 7, stopped Charlie Coyle's open-net bid with a glove save 30 seconds into the third period.

* Lindholm's hard work along the boards set up Rask, who powered past Wild forward Jason Zucker for the go-ahead goal.

* Lack saved consecutive shots on the doorstep from Eric Staal, Coyle and Matt Dumba with 4:53 remaining in the third period.

* Koivu split two defenders with a backhand touch on his pass to Granlund, who lifted the puck for his Wild-leading 24th goal.

* Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin blocked four shots in 21:48 of ice time.

* Carolina trails the Toronto Maple Leafs by eight points for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. … Boudreau coached his 750th NHL game. His .660 points percentage is best among active coaches (452-212-86). ... Hurricanes center Jordan Staal played his 750th NHL game. ... Hurricanes center Lukas Wallmark, in his third NHL game, won eight of 12 faceoffs. ... Lack is 3-0-1 against the Wild.

NY Rangers @ Wild 3-2 - Saturday, March 18, 2017

Antti Raanta made 25 saves for the New York Rangers in a 3-2 win against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild (43-21-6) lost their fourth straight game and are 1-6-0 in their past seven. Minnesota is five points behind the Chicago Blackhawks for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference with one game in hand. Chicago defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime. The Rangers (45-24-3), who played the first of a six-game road trip, have an NHL-best 26-9-0 record away from home. New York holds the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference and is four points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Staal, who played his 999th NHL game, scored at 12:54 of the first period to give the Wild a 1-0 lead. Brady Skjei tied it 1-1 at 16:01 with a shot from inside the blue line. Oscar Lindberg gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead at 7:46 of the second period, and Jimmy Vesey scored his 15th goal to make it 3-1 at 17:34. Matt Dumba scored on a rebound of a Zach Parise shot for a power-play goal to make it 3-2 at 4:51 of the third period. The Wild lead the NHL in home power-play percentage (.294) and have 17 power-play goals in their past 18 home games. Raanta started his second game of a back-to-back. He made 34 saves in a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Friday. Devan Dubnyk made 27 saves for Minnesota.

* Vesey got to a loose rebound and shot top shelf past Dubnyk.

* Dubnyk made a glove save at 14:00 of the first period on a shorthand breakaway by Jesper Fast.

* Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith dropped to the ice to break up a 2-on-1 by the Wild and took the puck up ice at 10:26 of the second period. 

* Skjei one-timed a pass from Mats Zuccarello for the tying goal. Skjei leads Rangers defensemen in even-strength points (29) and is second in points (33; Ryan McDonagh has 38).

* Staal has six points (five goals, one assist) in his past five games. … Zuccarello has five points (two goals, three assists) in a four-game point streak. ... Wild center Martin Hanzal had an assist in his first game back after missing three with an illness.

Philadelphia Flyers @ Wild 3-1 - Thursday, March 23, 2017

The Minnesota Wild missed a chance to clinch a Stanley Cup Playoff berth Thursday when they lost 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers at Xcel Energy Center.
The Wild (44-23-6) would have become the second Western Conference team to qualify for the postseason if the Los Angeles Kings lost in regulation, but the Kings defeated the Jets 5-2. Minnesota trails the Chicago Blackhawks by eight points for first place in the Central Division and conference. Sean Couturier, Matt Read and Jakub Voracek scored, and Steve Mason made 24 saves for the Flyers (34-31-8), who trail the Boston Bruins by six points for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Flyers ended a four-game road losing streak. They have won five of their past 22 games away from Wells Fargo Center. Zach Parise scored on the rebound off an Eric Staal shot 2:07 into the game to give the Wild a 1-0 lead. Couturier tied it 1-1 with 2:01 left in the first, and Read scored 21 seconds into the second period to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. Voracek scored into an empty net with 45 seconds remaining to make it 3-1. Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk made 24 saves in his 16th straight game. Minnesota, which ended a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, has not won two games in a row since Feb. 27-28.

* Read capitalized when Wild defenseman Matt Dumba was unable to control the puck on his backhand in front of the Minnesota net, knocking it past Dubnyk to put the Flyers ahead to stay.

* Dubnyk pinned Couturier's backhand try against his chest at 10:13 of the second period after stopping a Wayne Simmonds shot on a 2-on-1 rush.

* Flyers rookie defenseman Ivan Provorov had one shot on goal, three blocked shots and a plus-1 rating in 22:27. "We were doing all the right things tonight as a team, as a group, and that's why we got the win," he said.
* Couturier swept the puck between his legs and switched to his backhand to beat Dubnyk and tie the game.

* Defenseman Brandon Manning returned to the Flyers lineup after missing five games with a shoulder injury. He had a minus-1 rating, two shots on goal, two hits and two blocked shots in 20:00. ... Couturier has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past six games. ... Parise has one goal and four assists during a four-game point streak. ... Staal has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his past eight games.

Vancouver Canucks @ Wild 4-2 - Saturday, March 25, 2017
The Minnesota Wild lost 4-2 to the Vancouver Canucks at Xcel Energy Center  but clinched a Stanley Cup Playoff berth from the Western Conference. Despite the loss, Minnesota's ninth in its past 11 games, the Wild (44-24-6) qualified for the postseason when the Los Angeles Kings lost 3-0 to the New York Rangers later Saturday. Minnesota trails the Chicago Blackhawks by eight points for first place in the Central Division and conference with one game in hand. After a 4-1 loss at the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, the Canucks (30-35-9), who have two wins in nine games (2-5-2), were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Vancouver's two wins in those games were against the Central Division's top two teams, Chicago and Minnesota. Vancouver scored all of its goals in the second period. Reid Boucher scored on the power play 19 seconds in to make it 1-0. Boucher scored his second of the game and sixth of the season at 5:40 to make it 2-0 with a shot that hit the camera in the back of the net and bounced out. A video review determined it was a good goal. Brock Boeser scored in his NHL debut at 11:51 to make it 3-0. Boeser, a Burnsville, Minnesota, native, signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Canucks on Saturday after he and the University of North Dakota were eliminated from the NCAA tournament on Friday. Jack Skille scored at 13:37 to increase the lead 4-0. Ryan Suter scored at 17:19 of the third period to ruin the shutout for Richard Bachman. Eric Staal scored at 18:45. Staal has nine points (six goals, three assists) in his past nine games. Bachman made 25 saves for the Canucks in his third start of the season. Darcy Kuemper made 17 saves for MInnesota in his first start since March 10.

* Boucher settled a bouncing puck and slid it past an outstretched Kuemper for the first goal of the game.

* Bachman stopped Zach Parise from scoring with a pad save at 15:42 of the first period.

* Bo Horvat skated toward Kuemper on a breakaway setting up the rebound goal for Boeser's second goal. Horvat also assisted on Boucher's first goal for a two-point game.

* Boeser picked up the loose puck after an initial save by Kuemper and tapped it to the back of the net for the eventual game-winning goal.

* Skille left the game at 16:27 of the second period with an ankle injury. Desjardins said he doesn't expect him to return to the lineup for a while. …Wild defenseman Christian Folin returned after missing 10 games with an upper-body injury. … Minnesota forward Ryan White returned after missing two games with the flu.

NHL - Wild - Round Up - March 2-14, 2017

Wild @ Columbus Blue Jackets 0-1 - Thursday, March 02, 2017

Sergei Bobrovsky made 38 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, and Brandon Saad scored for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 1-0 win against the Minnesota Wild at Nationwide Arena. On Tuesday, Bobrovsky made 29 saves but lost by the same score in overtime at the Montreal Canadiens. Saad scored at 4:32 of the third period for the Blue Jackets (40-16-6), who are 3-0-1 since returning from their five-day break. Devan Dubnyk made 39 saves for the Wild (41-15-6). Saad's 19th goal gave Columbus the lead on its 32nd shot after he took a stretch down the right wing by Nick Foligno. Dubnyk made the initial save off his chest but could not gather the rebound and Saad followed to poke it in. Minnesota had a 1-0 lead taken off the board at 7:23 of the second period after a video review ruled that Wild forward Erik Haula kicked the puck toward the net. It went off the skate of Blue Jackets forward William Karlsson into the goal.

* Saad scored after coming down his off wing and finding the loose puck for the rebound.

* Bobrovsky stopped an Eric Staal breakaway at 14:13 of the second period. "I was looking to go low blocker and he didn't even go down so I should have went through his legs," Staal said. "It would have been an easy one."

* Blue Jackets defenseman David Savard played 22:19, including 4:09 on the penalty kill, had two takeaways, three blocked shots and was plus-1.

* Bobrovsky came up big during the Wild's second power play in the first period when he slid across the crease to save a Martin Hanzal shot after a cross-ice pass by Charlie Coyle.

* Minnesota's Zach Parise and Jason Pominville missed their third straight game because of mumps. … Defenseman Kyle Quincey and forward Lauri Korpikoski made their Blue Jackets debuts after being acquired in trades on Wednesday. … In their last meeting on Dec. 31, Columbus won 4-2 to extend its winning streak to 15 games and stop the Wild's at 12. Since then, Minnesota is 18-6-2 and the Blue Jackets are 14-11-2. … Bobrovsky made 18 saves in the third period. … Each team was 0 for 4 on the power play. … The Blue Jackets played in two straight 1-0 games for the first time in their history. .. The Blue Jackets have consecutive home shutouts. Joonas Korpisalo defeated the New York Islanders 7-0 on Saturday. The last time the Blue Jackets got two straight shutouts at home was Dec. 3, 2013, against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Dec. 6, 2013, against Minnesota.

Wild @ Tampa Bay Lightning 1-4 - Thursday, March 09, 2017

Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist to help the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-1 win against the Minnesota Wild at Amalie Arena. Victor Hedman and Andrej Sustr also scored for the Lightning (31-26-9), who lost forwards Tyler Johnson, Vladislav Namestnikov and Cedric Paquette, each to a lower-body injury. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves to improve to 4-0-1 in his past five starts. Marco Scandella scored, and Devan Dubnyk made 25 saves for the Wild (42-17-6). Minnesota lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time since Nov. 1 and 5. Kucherov made it 1-0 with a power-play goal at 6:53 of the first period when he beat Dubnyk with a wrist shot from the left circle to the short side. Hedman gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead at 11:01. Jonathan Drouin found Hedman open with a cross-ice pass and he beat Dubnyk on the short side with a wrist shot. Sustr scored his 2nd goal of the season at 4:37 of the second period to make it 3-0. Kucherov left a drop pass for Sustr, who sent a wrist shot that got past Dubnyk through the five-hole. Scandella scored at 16:02 of the third period to make it 3-1. Jonas Brodin put a shot on goal and Scandella jammed the puck into the net on the follow up. Kucherov scored his 30th goal of the season into an empty net with 1:09 remaining. Namestnikov was injured at 3:18 of the second period when his skate got caught under Parise and he needed to be helped off the ice. Johnson was injured at 8:04 of the second when he was checked by Nino Niederreiter and the two players appeared to bang knees on the boards. Johnson also needed to be helped off the ice.

Paquette went down midway through the third period when he got tangled with Niederreiter and was injured when both players went down to the ice.
* Hedman's goal proved to be the game-winner and was set up perfectly by Drouin's accurate pass that gave the defenseman a clean look at his target.

* Vasilevskiy turned away Erik Haula on a point-blank opportunity at the hash mark at 6:19 of the third period.

"I think he might have been a little unlucky for a stretch but he's definitely stepping up right now," Stralman said.
* Lightning defenseman Luke Witkowski took shifts at forward for the second consecutive game and had four hits in 9:11 of ice time.
* Kucherov's power-play goal came six seconds into the man-advantage when he put a shot over Dubnyk's shoulder from the left faceoff circle.

* Hedman tied his NHL season high in goals with 13. … Wild captain Mikko Koivu had an assist and has 10 points in his past 10 games.

Wild @ Florida Panthers 7-4 - Friday, March 10, 2017

Zach Parise scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:07 remaining in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild defeated the Florida Panthers 7-4 at BB&T Center. Eric Staal had two goals and an assist, and Jason Zucker and Jason Pominville scored for the Wild (43-17-6), who haven't lost three straight in regulation this season. Mikael Granlund and Charlie Coyle scored empty-net goals, and Jonas Brodin had two assists for Minnesota. Darcy Kuemper made his first start since Feb. 28 but was pulled for Devan Dubnyk to start the third period after allowing three goals on 28 shots. Minnesota lost 2-1 to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday and 4-1 at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. Jonathan Marchessault, Mark Pysyk, Jaromir Jagr and Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers (29-26-11), who have lost four straight and seven of their past eight (1-6-1). James Reimer, making his third consecutive start with Roberto Luongo out because of a hip injury, made 39 saves. Barkov gave Florida a 4-3 lead at 2:57 of the third period when he scored into an open net after Pysyk's dump-in bounced off Dubnyk's stick and in front of the net. Staal made it 4-4 at 5:24 with a rebound after Reimer stopped Marco Scandella's backhand. Zucker made it 1-0 at 7:50 of the first period when he tipped Brodin's shot from the point before Marchessault tied it 1-1 at 14:22, seven seconds into a Florida power play. Pysyk gave Florida a 2-1 lead at 18:11 with a wrist shot from the slot before Staal tied it 2-2 at 8:07 of the second period when he one-timed Nino Niederreiter's pass in front of the net. The Wild took a 3-2 lead at 10:08 when Pominville got to a loose puck in front of the net with Reimer on his back after making a save. Jagr tied it 3-3 when he skated behind the Minnesota net and his turnaround shot went in off Kuemper's stick.

* Parise scored after Reimer couldn't handle Brodin's shot from the point after it was deflected by Pominville.

* Florida had some pressure leading 2-1 early in the second period when Trocheck made a cross-ice pass to Aaron Ekblad for a one-timer from the left circle, but Kuemper slid over to make the save.

* Pominville's goal came off a wild sequence that began with an innocent-looking shot on Reimer, who went down after making the save while players from both teams unsuccessfully tried to get at the puck. Pominville eventually skated in and shot over Reimer, and the goal was allowed after the Panthers challenged for goalie interference.

* Wild center Martin Hanzal had a game-high five hits and led Minnesota with three blocked shots in 16:40 of ice time.

* The Panthers killed three Wild power plays and are 29-for-29 in their past 12 games. Florida leads the NHL in penalty kill percentage (.866). ... Panthers coach Tom Rowe split the first line of Jagr, Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau when he put Reilly Smith with Jagr and Barkov. Huberdeau skated on a line with Trocheck and Colton Sceviour.

Wild @ Washington Capitals 2-4 - Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Alex Ovechkin scored to end his NHL career-long 10-game goal drought, and the Washington Capitals ended a four-game losing streak with a 4-2 win against the Minnesota Wild at Verizon Center. Washington (45-17-7) leads the NHL, Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division. Ovechkin scored at 14:52 of the second period to give Washington a 2-0 lead; it was his 28th goal of the season and first since Feb. 19. Nate Schmidt, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jay Beagle scored, and Braden Holtby made 30 saves for the Capitals. Matt Dumba and Eric Staal scored, and Devan Dubnyk made 36 saves for Minnesota (43-19-6), which has lost five of its past seven and fell one point behind the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference and Central Division when Chicago defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. Dumba scored his eighth 37 seconds into the third period to make it 3-1. Staal made it 3-2 on the power play at 4:37 with his 23rd. Beagle's goal with 5:41 remaining in the third period gave Washington a 4-2 lead. It was his 12th of the season, first in 16 games dating to Feb. 4. Schmidt scored with 12 seconds left in the first period for a 1-0 lead, his second goal of the season. Kuznetsov made it 3-0 at 17:08 of the second period on the power play, his 16th.

* Ovechkin's one-timer went in stick side between Dubnyk's arm and body.

* Dubnyk stopped Justin Williams with a pad save on the penalty kill in the second period.

* Kuznetsov finished a feed from Nicklas Backstrom past Dubnyk's blocker far-side.

* Capitals defenseman John Carlson cleaned up a defensive-zone turnover while on the power play in the second period to help prevent a shorthanded chance for the Wild.

* Backstrom had three assists to reach 50 this season. He is the 35th player in NHL history to have at least seven 50-assist seasons.

NHL - Chicago Blackhawks @ Toronto Maple Leafs - Saturday, March 18, 2017

Ryan Hartman scored with 17 seconds left in overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 2-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre in a game I was at. The goal was upheld after it was reviewed to ensure the Blackhawks were onside. Panarin entered the zone before the puck but had control of it as he made the pass. Corey Crawford made 25 saves for the Blackhawks (46-20-5), who have won four in a row. He stopped Maple Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk on a breakaway 2:40 into overtime. Chicago has a five-point lead over the Minnesota Wild for first place in the Central Division. Minnesota lost 3-2 to the New York Rangers. Frederik Andersen made 37 saves for the Maple Leafs (32-23-15), who lead the New York Islanders by one point for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. New York lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in overtime. The Blackhawks outshot the Maple Leafs 13-8 in the first period but the Maple Leafs took a 1-0 lead when Auston Matthews scored at 8:25. The goal, his 32nd, ended the rookie's seven-game point drought. The Maple Leafs nearly took a two-goal lead at 10:01 of the second period when William Nylander hit the crossbar with a wrist shot from the left faceoff dot. The Blackhawks tied it 1-1 less than a minute later when John Hayden put a shot past Andersen's glove from the slot at 10:51. It was Hayden's first NHL goal in his second game.

* Matthews and Nylander ran a give-and-go that resulted in Toronto's goal. Matthews passed to Nylander on the right wing and went to the net to tip the return pass by Crawford.

* Crawford kicked out his right pad to stop Matthews at the top of the goal crease at 1:50 of the third period after a centering pass from Zach Hyman behind the net. It kept the score 1-1.

* Brent Seabrook made a lead pass from inside the Blackhawks zone to Jonathan Toews at the red line. Toews carried the puck into the Maple Leafs zone and passed to Hayden, who was trailing the play and kicked the puck to his stick before shooting.

* Toews looked to have an easy tap-in at the top of the crease with Andersen out of position, but Maple Leafs defenseman Matt Hunwick got his stick in the way and cleared the puck.

* Nylander's assist extended his NHL career-high point streak to seven games (one goal, six assists). … Matthews trails Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine by one goal for the NHL rookie lead. … Kadri won 14 of 16 faceoffs (87.5 percent).
* Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa did not play because of a lower-body injury, but Quenneville did not rule him out for the game Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche.
* Chicago won at least one game in each of the seven NHL arenas in Canada this season.
* Toronto wore green-and-white uniforms to honor the Toronto St. Pats, their name from 1919-27 as part of their St Patrick's Day celebrations.

Hawks Quotes

"It was great, I was out there for a while, I was pretty tired, but I saw a break for a 2-on-1. [Artemi] Panarin made a good pass and I'm glad I wasn't offside." 
"He's always standing on his head, he keeps us in a lot of games and he always gives us a chance to win each night. We're lucky to have him back there. Once again, he stood on his head and made some big saves in overtime." Hartman said.

"We want to keep playing well. We didn't give up much tonight, the pace was pretty even in the game. Both teams had their turns but not a lot of turns. But hey, we'll see what plays out, we'll keep trying to push ahead and see how it goes."
"I liked him a lot [John Hayden, who played his last game for Yale University on March 11]; I thought he was really good in the first game and even better tonight. It was a good start to his career. I thought he had a lot of purpose; he made some decisions without the puck that were really good and effective. He made a great play on the goal. He's at the net, he finishes checks, and he has some pace to his game." Joel Quenneville said.

Leafs/St. Pats Quotes

"I thought it was a good game, it was tight, tight, tight. They had the puck lots, but in saying that, I didn't think we gave up quality chances at all. They're a good team, a veteran team. You're disappointed to lose; you'd like to win that game obviously." Mike Babcock said.
"It was awesome. It was pretty surreal, especially in this building with this environment." Hayden said.
"You always take the points you can get and run with them, especially with the race that we're in. Obviously we know what's going on in the games around us. That was a huge point for us. We needed that one. We'll regroup and get back after it Monday." James van Riemsdyk said.

NHL - Hawks - Update - April 02-08, 2017

Boston Bruins @ Hawks 3-2 - Sunday, April 02, 2017
The Boston Bruins moved into second place in the Atlantic Division and got closer to qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in three seasons with a 3-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center. The Bruins (43-30-6) are one point ahead of the idle Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators in the Atlantic; the Maple Leafs and Senators each have two games in hand. Boston is also six points ahead of the fifth-place Tampa Bay Lightning, who have two games in hand and host the Dallas Stars on Sunday.

Goaltender Anton Khudobin extended his winning streak to six games with 41 saves for the Bruins, who won their season-high fifth in a row following a four-game losing streak. Ryan Spooner, Patrice Bergeron and Kevan Miller scored for Boston. The Blackhawks (50-22-7) failed to gain ground on the Washington Capitals in the race for the Presidents' Trophy one day after Chicago clinched the Central Division title and the top seed in the Western Conference. Chicago trails Washington, who has two games in hand, by three points. Washington plays at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. Artemi Panarin and Jordin Tootoo scored, and Corey Crawford made 26 saves for the Blackhawks, who had won their past two games. Spooner scored on a tip-in at 6:34 of the first period to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Bergeron scored a power-play goal at 18:47 to make it 2-0. Panarin beat Khudobin with 1:28 remaining in the second period to get the Blackhawks within 2-1. The Bruins regained their two-goal lead on Miller's goal at 9:15 of the third period to make it 3-1. Chicago got back within one 25 seconds later when Tootoo scored at 9:40 to make it 3-2.

* Miller gained the Chicago zone after a neutral-zone turnover and skated to the top of the left circle before beating Crawford with a wrist shot high to the glove side.

* After a deflected shot got past Bruins center David Krejci in front of Boston's net, Richard Panik tried to slam the puck past Khudobin from the left side of the slot but Khudobin kept it out 3:19 into the third period to keep the Bruins ahead 2-1.

* Chicago forward Patrick Kane's slap shot from the right dot changed direction when it hit Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara's stick in front, but Khudobin gloved the puck and held on with 1:10 remaining in the third to keep the Bruins ahead.
* Chara had one assist and led the Bruins with 23:44 of ice time. His last shift lasted the final 1:41 of the third period, 1:33 of which came with Crawford out of the Chicago net for an extra attacker. Chara blocked two shots in the closing minutes to preserve Boston's lead.
* Kane played despite getting hit in the face with a puck during warmups. He had a cut on his upper lip stitched up. ... Panarin extended his goal streak to four games. He has five goals during that span. ... Bruins forward Brad Marchand has a four-game point streak (two goals, three assists). ... Blackhawks forward Artem Anisimov missed his 10th straight game with a lower-body injury. Quenneville said Anisimov, who has 45 points (22 goals, 23 assists) in 64 games, will start skating Monday.

Hawks Quotes

"They scored early and then got one at of the first late in the period. You're down 2-0 and you've got to claw your way back and they got the two-goal lead again. We got ourselves a couple decent looks; I don't think we gave up much today. But it's certainly tough coming back from chasing the game all day."
"That [Richard Panik's assist on Artemi Panarin's goal, which came after Panarin's initial shot rebounded off Panik who was down in the crease] was one of the all-time great passes by [Panik]."  Joel Quenneville said.

Hawks @ Colorado Avalanche 3-4 OT - Tuesday, April 04, 2017
Erik Johnson scored at 1:57 of overtime to give the Colorado Avalanche a 4-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Pepsi Center. The loss prevented the Blackhawks (50-22-8) from breaking the franchise record for road wins; they are 24-12-3 on the road this season. Chicago has already clinched the Central Division and No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Johnson, who earlier missed 36 games because of a broken fibula, went end-to-end to score his second goal of the season. He eluded Marian Hossa behind the Avalanche net, raced down left wing into the offensive zone and cut to the net to score against Scott Darling, who had an NHL career-high 47 saves. Mikhail Grigorenko, Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog also scored for the Avalanche (22-54-3), who had a season-high 51 shots and are 13-25-2 at home. Marcus Kruger, Artemi Panarin and Ryan Hartman scored in the second period to give the Blackhawks a 3-0 lead. Kruger scored the third one on a breakaway against Calvin Pickard at 10:57 for his fifth of the season. The Avalanche answered with shorthanded goals by Duchene and Landeskog 4:15 apart to make it 3-2. Grigorenko tied the game 3-3 with his 10th goal at 5:46 of the third period off a pass from Duchene. Duchene, who had gone nine games without a point, converted Matt Nieto's pass on a 2-on-1 at 12:16 for his 18th goal. Landeskog banked his own rebound off Darling at 16:31 for his 17th. Panarin gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 28 seconds into the second period. Patrick Kane passed to Panarin, who was wide open at the left circle for a one-timer and his 30th goal. Hartman made it 2-0 at 4:15. Kruger skated down right wing and fed Hartman, who slipped the puck between Pickard's pads for his 19th goal.

* Landeskog skated down left wing and took a shot that Darling stopped. He scooped up the rebound, moved behind the net and banked in a shot off the goalie's back for a shorthanded goal.

* After stopping Avalanche forward Rocco Grimaldi on a breakaway, Darling stuck out his left pad to deny Grimaldi's stab at the rebound. The puck trickled off the right post and settled on the goal line. Darling pulled it back and covered at 7:38 of the second period.

* Avalanche defenseman Mark Barberio's extra effort kept the puck from exiting the Blackhawks zone. He got it to Duchene along the goal line, and Duchene spun around Blackhawks forward Andrew Desjardins and in one motion passed to Grigorenko for the tying goal.

* Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon won 14 of 18 faceoffs, had two shots on goal, two hits and two blocked shots in 19:45 of ice time.

* Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen was a late scratch because of a lower-body injury. ... Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith was given the night off after playing in the first 79 games. ... Panarin is the first player in Blackhawks history to begin a career with consecutive 30-goal seasons.

"We didn't play the way we'd like to. We'll move forward. There were some good things and we'll try to get a little bit tighter in our responsibilities without the puck. That's probably the focus."
"A number of guys have had some nice years offensively, but at the same time we're only going to be as good as we are without the puck and tonight was an example of how we can be better." Joel Quenneville said.
"You want to get up for every game. Playoffs are two games away and you want to play every game like it's a playoff game just to get our bodies, ourselves amped up for the playoffs. We've got two games left to amp it up." Hartman said.

Hawks @ Anaheim Sucks 0-4 - Thursday, April 06, 2017

The Anaheim Ducks moved closer to their fifth consecutive Pacific Division title with a 4-0 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at Honda Center. The Ducks lead the Edmonton Oilers by four points and San Jose Sharks by six points for first in the division. The Oilers defeated the Sharks 4-2. Anaheim would have clinched had Edmonton lost, but it did secure home-ice advantage in the Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Ducks play the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday in Anaheim's season finale. The Oilers play the Vancouver Canucks in a home-and-home Saturday and Sunday. John Gibson made 37 saves for his sixth shutout of the season, first since Feb. 19. Corey Perry, Chris Wagner, Ryan Kesler and Rickard Rakell scored for the Ducks (45-23-13), who began an 8-0-2 run and pulled within four points of the Sharks for first place with a 2-1 victory in San Jose on March 18. Anaheim was nine points back on March 15. The Blackhawks (50-23-8), who clinched the top seed in the Western Conference on Saturday, rested veterans Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa and Brent Seabrook. It was their third straight loss (0-2-1).

The Blackhawks went on the power play five seconds into the game when Ducks defensemen Josh Manson played the puck over the glass in his own end. Anaheim then had back-to-back power plays early in the first and scored on the second when Perry beat Chicago defenseman Johnny Oduya to the right post and redirected a diagonal pass from Rakell for a 1-0 lead at 6:53. Wagner made it 2-0 at 17:08 of the second period with his sixth goal. He was checked into the boards by Blackhawks forward Andrew Desjardins and fell to the ice near the red line. Wagner got up as the puck went behind the Chicago net and skated into the zone unnoticed. He tapped his stick, and Ondrej Kase passed to him for his second goal in as many games. Kesler scored at 4:42 of the third period to put Anaheim up 3-0, and Rakell made it 4-0 with his 33rd goal at 14:43.

* Jakob Silfverberg created a turnover in the Chicago zone, and after getting the puck back from Andrew Cogliano, he sent it to Cogliano behind the net. Cogliano made a spinning, backhand feed to Kesler in front for his 22nd goal.

* Gibson moved the puck behind his own net after playing a dump-in by Patrick Kane from the blue line, but Kane got to it first and passed to Nick Schmaltz cutting through the slot all alone. Gibson got down to make the save at 13:37 of the third period before denying Schmaltz on the rebound of his initial shot.

* Ryan Getzlaf sent a wrist shot into traffic from the high slot, and Rakell stuck out his stick with his right hand while he spun to face the net. His no-look, one-handed deflection went in between goalie Corey Crawford's pads.

* Jaycob Megna was one of three defensemen who spent the majority of the season with San Diego of the American Hockey League to step up for the Ducks, who announced before the game that defenseman Cam Fowler will be out 2-6 weeks with a lower-body injury sustained against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. Anaheim also was without defensemen Hampus Lindholm (upper body) and Korbinian Holzer (personal). Megna, called up earlier in the day to make his NHL debut, was plus-1 in 15:20, Brandon Montour was plus-1 with one shot on goal, one hit and two blocked shots in 18:53, and Shea Theodore was plus-2 with three shots, one hit and one block in 20:57.

* Desjardins (lower body) and defenseman Michal Rozsival (upper body) left the game in the third period because of injury. Each is day to day, Quenneville said. … Rakell has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in the past 14 games. ... Getzlaf has 24 points (four goals, 20 assists) in his past 17 games. ... Anaheim forward Patrick Eaves had an assist on Rakell's goal and has nine points (eight goals, one assist) in the past 10 games. ... Perry has seven points (five goals, two assists) in the past eight games. ... Kesler has eight points (two goals, six assists) in the past eight games. ... Anaheim forward Nate Thompson (upper body) is day to day.

"We had a few tough breaks where pucks are lying there and [Gibson] made some good saves, and we hit a couple posts too." Patrick Kane
"We're coming back Saturday with one more game. We'll try to do the right things and get ready." Joel Quenneville said.

Hawks @ Los Angeles Kings 2-3 OT - Saturday, April 08, 2017
Drew Doughty scored 27 seconds into overtime to give the Los Angeles Kings a 3-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Staples Center. Chicago (50-23-9), the Central Division champion which lost its season-high fourth straight game to end its regular season, will play the wild-card Nashville Predators in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begin Wednesday. The schedule will be announced Sunday. Dustin Brown and Tyler Toffoli scored for the Kings, Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter each had three assists, and Jonathan Quick made 25 saves for Los Angeles, which ends its season Sunday at the Anaheim Ducks. The Kings (39-35-7) were eliminated from playoff contention Sunday, but coach Darryl Sutter credited veterans Brown, Doughty, Kopitar, Carter and Quick for their performance. Brown, the longest tenured member of the Kings in his 13th season, tied the game at 2-2 with 55 seconds left in the third period after taking a pass from Kopitar when he charged toward the left post. Doughty then scored the game-winner off a pass from Carter on a 2-on-1. Jonathan Toews and Artemi Panarin scored for the Blackhawks, Duncan Keith had two assists, and Corey Crawford made 23 saves. The Kings tied the game at 1-1 on their second power play of the game in the third period on a goal by Toffoli. After a flurry of shots in the Chicago zone, Kopitar slid a pass to Toffoli inside the blue line. He scored his 16th goal of the season on a slap shot at 4:52. Panarin scored his 31st goal of the season from the bottom of the left faceoff circle at 13:53 of the third for a 2-1 lead. The Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Toews at 6:25 of the first period. It was his 21st of the season.

* The first scoring play started with a giveaway by Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin in his zone. Toews gave up the puck to Nick Schmaltz and quickly got it back, taking it behind the Los Angeles net before coming out the other side and spinning and shooting near the right faceoff circle. The puck hit Quick in the chest before going across the goal line.

* The Kings were trailing 2-1 when Schmaltz shot from the slot at Quick, who lifted his left arm to make the save but lost track of the puck when it dropped in the crease. Doughty pushed the puck into Quick with the side of his glove at 12:49 of the third.

* Broadcaster Bob Miller called his last home game after 44 seasons with the Kings. The crowd gave Miller a standing ovation and held "Thank You Bob" signs. Brown tied the game in the final minute, giving Miller the chance to announce one final win at Staples Center when Doughty scored.

* Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook matched his season high with seven blocked shots and a Blackhawks-high 22:10 of ice time.

* Joel Quenneville coached his 700th game with the Blackhawks (413-204-83).
... The 109 points by Chicago are second-most in its history (2009-10; 112). … Toews has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his past 13 games. ... Panarin has eight points (seven goals, one assist) in his past seven games. ... The three assists matched an NHL career high for Carter. ... Kopitar has four assists in his past five games. ... The Blackhawks came in with three goals on their past 27 power plays (11.1 percent) and finished 0-for-3 with the man-advantage.


"That energy, that ambition, that motivation is back. We have that feeling again that every single moment, every single game matters."
"The real season begins," Toews said. "Obviously, we want to see what we're made of, and I think we're all pretty confident what we're able to do.