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The NHL was hopping on Tuesday night, with 11 games on the slate. Highlights included the Phoenix Coyotes riding a hot streak all the way into first place and a Red Wings win streak coming to a close.
Tuesday was another loaded night of NHL action, with nearly a dozen games taking place all over the country. Let's take a look at some of the final scores from around the league.
The Buffalo Sabres hosted the New York Islanders in a battle of last-place teams, but the Sabres eked out a victory and vaulted themselves out of the cellar in the Northeast Division. Bravo, Buffalo! Dominik at Lighthouse Hockey comments on the loss:
At this point it's bigger news when the Islanders don't allow an early goal or don't get shutout, so tonight they managed the former and came five minutes short of pulling off the latter.
The Islanders were flopping all over the zone early, allowing Tyler Meyers to poke in the final rebound just 1:21 into the game. A few hours or 53 minutes of game time later, Frans Nielsen ripped a short-side slapshot past Ryan Miller to halve a 2-0 Sabres lead that was rarely contested through a very sleepy contest that finished 2-1.
The New Jersey Devils just refuse to cool off. They're 8-1-1 over their last 10 games and now riding a four-game winning streak that puts them in second place in the Atlantic Division. An overtime win against the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs puts a smile on the faces of Devils fans. John Fischer at In Lou We Trust celebrates the win.
The New Jersey Devils edged the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime for the second time in Toronto this season with a final score of 4-3. I don't know about you, but I feel the player who contributed the most to the Devils win was the Monster, Jonas Gustavsson -- also known as Toronto's starting goaltender for this game.
As long-time readers may have figured out by now, I don't like to blame a lot of goals or games on goaltenders. Generally, a goaltender will get beat because a skater made a mistake, a bounce just didn't go their way, or the opposing attacker just made a better play. I only fault goaltenders when I feel they truly should have done better than they did. Tonight, Gustavsson made three errors that were just shameful.
The Philadelphia Flyers were able to keep pace in the Atlantic Division, still just one point behind the second-place Devils. They matched the hometown Winnipeg Jets goal for goal, but managed the win in overtime. Travis Hughes at Broad Street Hockey offers his take:
The Flyers absolutely dominated at five-on-five play all game long. Every line. Guys from Claude Giroux to Simmonds to Max Talbot to Reemer to ... well, basically every forward had phenomenal games, and this was going to be a cruel, cruel Tuesday night if the Flyers wound up losing. We've faced a lot of those lately, and thank Orange Jesus, this one was different.
With less than a minute left in overtime, Danny Briere and Jaromir Jagr connected for another similar goal -- Briere behind the net, Jags in front, beating the defense and Pavelec with a shot from the slot. The Flyers really owned that area of the ice tonight, and three of their five goals came from winning battles and beating the Jets defense near the crease.
The woes of Antti Niemi and the San Jose Sharks continue their undignified slide in the Pacific Division and are now owners of a four-game losing streak. Getting blown out like this by the Columbus Blue Jackets, one of the worst teams in the NHL this season, is an easy low point for San Jose's year. Mike MacLean at The Cannon is thrilled about the win.
Amid all the trade speculation, fans of the Jackets were treated to a big victory of the visiting San Jose Sharks. The team's top players were at their best on this night, with Carter putting up a hattie on his milestone night, and six players having multi-point games. Steve Mason had the chance to set a record tonight (of a positive nature) and came through.
Steve Mason took over the franchise record for wins with tonight's victory. Two of the three goals were redirects, where he had little to no chance of making the save. He faced 40+ shots, but stood tall. Good job, Mase.
The Dallas Stars visited the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night and blanked the home team. Montreal is now dead last in the Northeast Division. Brandon Worley at Defending Big D chimed in on the win:
The Dallas Stars traveled to Montreal with the goal of keeping their slim playoff hopes alive. With just three wins in their past 10 games, the Stars have failed to take advantage of a muddled playoff race and the eyes of the fans had already started to look toward the future. What had been most frustrating was the lack of success despite some admirable efforts by the Stars, who have seen their offense completely dry up -- especially with Jamie Benn injured and out.
The Tampa Bay Lightning may be in fourth place in the Southeast Division, but they've now put together a nifty little three-game winning streak. On Tuesday, they scratched out a win over the visiting Anaheim Ducks. Clark J Brooks at Raw Charge commented on the win:
This concludes a four-game homestand, during which the Lightning earned six of a possible eight points and find themselves five points behind both the Toronto Maple Leafs for the eight spot in the Eastern Conference and the Florida Panthers for first place in the Southeast Division. They begin a three-game road trip Friday with stops in Winnipeg, Pittsburgh and New Jersey.
The Phoenix Coyotes just keep on streaking. They're 8-1-1 over their last 10 games and have flown right past the rest of the Pacific Division and into a tie for first place with the plummeting Sharks. The Los Angeles Kings were once threatening to wrestle the top slot away from the Sharks and are now 3-5-2 over their last 10 and in danger of falling to fourth place. The Dude at Five For Howling had this to say:
The Phoenix Coyotes have been called many things this season, some positive some negative, but one thing that they were rarely, if ever, called was a comeback team. Tonight the Yotes were down three goals after the first period against the LA Kings, but they somehow managed to find a way to come back from behind and get the victory over the Kings in the shoot out in a game that featured THREE Phoenix power play goals. I'm not sure which I would have considered more unlikely before this game, crawling back from a three goal deficit or scoring three power play goals.
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The Detroit Red Wings may not be average at Joe Louis Arena, but they are nothing more than Average Joes on the road.
In their first road game after a six-game homestand, the Red Wings fell to the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center Tuesday, dropping their road record to a pedestrian 15-16-1.
Both teams were without their star centers; Jonathan Toews missed the game for Chicago and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, while Pavel Datsyuk underwent minor knee surgery Tuesday and will miss two to three weeks. Without them, both teams' role players stepped up as Valtteri Filppula, Jimmy Hayes and Marcus Kruger scored in a tightly-contested game.
The Blackhawks' home record is nothing to scoff at at 21-6-4, and they need all the help they can get after a nine-game losing skid. Chicago is fourth in an ultra-competitive Central Division and with Detroit and its 23-game home winning streak running away, the Blackhawks need to muster some momentum.
With Pekka Rinne and Roberto Luongo facing off at Bridgestone Arena, a goaltending duel was to be expected. Given that Vancouver had not lost a game in regulation since Jan. 15, a game that went beyond the 60-minute mark seemed almost as likely.
Through the first period, the game seemed to go according to script, with both netminders turning aside quality chances from each team. With the Predators working to break through the Vancouver defense, Henrik Sedin found himself in the penalty box on a tripping call just before the five-minute mark of the second period.
Moving the puck through the Canucks penalty kill, the Predators set up a play from Shea Weber at the blue line across to Martin Erat, then a quick pass down to Ryan Suter around the net. Suter found a passing lane through the crease to Mike Fisher at the goal mouth, and Mr. Underwood tapped the puck into an open net to put the Predators ahead.
With Francis Bouillon in the penalty box for tripping, the Canucks looked to even the score with one of the league's best power plays, but Fisher took advantage again, taking a loose puck from a broken play at the top of the Nashville zone and racing up ice on an odd man rush with Segei Kostitsyn. Forcing Luongo to commit to the shot, Fisher sent a pass to the young Belarusian, setting him up for his first shorthanded goal of the season.
Dale Weise finally solved Rinne with a backhander late in the second period, giving Vancouver a chance to get back into the game, but the Finnish netminder frustrated their rally attempts, finally forcing Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault to call Luongo to the bench for an extra attacker with just over three minutes left.
With the net empty, the Predators missed on several long distance attempts to secure their win, but Fisher would play in one more time, moving the puck out of his own zone to Erat before the veteran passed off to David Legwand to keep the play onsides. Winding up, Legwand fired a hard blast from just inside the blue line, giving Nashville the insurance to secure the 3-1 victory.
Evgeni Malkin netted a goal and added an assist and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 27 shots he faced to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 2-0 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers Tuesday night in a battle of conference heavyweights at CONSOL Energy Center.
After a scoreless first period, Malkin scored what would eventually become the game-winning goal early in the middle frame. The NHL's leading scorer skated in on a breakaway on Henrik Lundqvist and beat the sprawling Rangers' goaltender with a backhander high to the glove side for his 33rd goal of the season at the 1:05 mark.
Malkin, who has recorded points in eight of his last nine games (six goals, 14 points during that stretch), now had 73 points in 53 games, and leads Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers, who also had a goal and an assist tonight. by three points in the League's scoring race.
Pittsburgh would add another goal midway through the second for some insurance. With New York's Marc Staal in the sin bin for tripping, Malkin dished to Steve Sullivan straight away at the point. The 37-year-old diminutive winger's one-time power play blast found its way through traffic and Lundqvist for his 11th goal of the year, and his first in the last 10 games, to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead at 11:14.
By picking up an assist on the Sullivan goal, Malkin's 40th helper of the season was also the 300th in 405 career games.
But the big story of the night was Fleury, who registered his third shutout of the year to improve his season record to 31-14-3. Two of his best saves were big glove stops on New York's Artem Anisimov after the Ranger split Pittsburgh defenders Kris Letang and Deryk Engelland before being thwarted by Fleury, and Derek Stepan, whose snap shot from the right hash mark that was ticketed for the top corner before the Pens' netminder flashed leather to rob him.
It was also the 22nd shutout of Fleury's career, tying the all-time Pittsburgh record held by Tom Barrasso.
The Pens are 13-4-1 in their last 18 games to get themselves right in the thick of the Atlantic Division and conference races, and kept pace with Philadelphia to remain tied in the standings with the Flyers at 73 points.
The loss snapped a personal four-game winning streak for Lundqvist, who saw his record fall to 28-12-4. "King Henrik" has won eight of his last 10 decisions.
Even though the Rangers are just 1-2-0 in their last three games, they are still 9-3-1 in their last 13 contests. New York continues to lead the East, holding a seven point cushion over the New Jersey Devils.
Oilers Vs. Flames: Edmonton Chases Miikka Kiprusoff In 6-1 Win Over Calgary
Coming into Tuesday night's game versus the Flames, the Edmonton Oilers lost nine straight games in Calgary. The Oilers finally exorcised those demons by a clear margin, drubbing the Flames, 6-1. Calgary now drops to ninth place after the Los Angeles Kings earned a point against the Phoenix Coyotes the same night.
The Flames started hot, and opened the night's scoring, with a slap shot from Scott Hannan from the point that found its way past Devan Dubnyk thanks to a solid screen by Krys Kolanos. However, after killing its first penalty of the game, Edmonton had all the momentum and used it to get Jordan Eberle to knot the score late in the first. The goal was Eberle's 100th career point.
An amazing pass by the speedy Taylor Hall to catch up to Ales Hemsky gave the Oilers the lead to start the outpouring of Edmonton goals in the middle frame. Four minutes later, Eric Belanger banked in on a rebound from Ben Eager's shot on a 2-on-1, while just 30 seconds after Belanger scores, Sam Gagner shot a laser past Miikka Kiprusoff after Eberle's solid pass from behind the net.
Edmonton closed the period out in style after Jeff Petry started the play along the boards, made a backhand pass to Gagner, who danced his way to the front of the net for a feed to Ryan Smyth for the veteran's 799th career point and a 5-1 lead for the visitors:
Kiprusoff's last game was a shutout against the Kings, but after allowing five goals through two periods to the Oilers, Henrik Karlsson took over the reins in net in the third period. Karlsson held his own until there was 2:31 left in the game where Taylor Hall scored his 21st goal of the season using Edmonton's fourth-ranked power play for the 6-1 final.
Feb 22 8:45a by Angie Lewis - 0 comments