National Hockey League Game Capsules

Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Nick Bjugstad’s second period tally proved to be the game-winner as the Florida Panthers edged the Buffalo Sabres, 4-3, on Tuesday at First Niagara Center. Jesse Winchester, Sean Bergenheim and Ed Jovanovski all scored first period goals for Florida, winners in two straight. Tim Thomas made 32 saves to earn the win. Drew Stafford potted a pair of goals and assisted on Steve Ott’s third period marker in Buffalo’s fourth straight defeat. Ryan Miller allowed all four goals on 22 shots.

Final Score: New Jersey 7, St. Louis 1

Newark, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) – Damien Brunner returned from a 14-game absence and registered a goal and two assists, as the New Jersey Devils notched a 7-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday at Prudential Center. Eric Gelinas also collected a goal and two helpers, while Mark Fayne, Ryan Carter, Ryane Clowe, Jaromir Jagr and Adam Henrique each scored once for the Devils, who were coming off a 1-1-2 road trip. Cory Schneider backstopped the victory with 26 saves. Alexander Steen scored St. Louis’ lone goal, while Brian Elliott allowed three goals on nine shots before being removed late in the first period. Jaroslav Halak turned aside just 10-of-14 shots in relief for the Blues, who have lost four of their last six games.

Final Score: NY Islanders 5, NY Rangers 3

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Thomas Vanek’s power-play goal with 4:38 remaining capped a New York Islanders’ comeback that sent the rival New York Rangers to a 5-3 loss Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. The surging Islanders trailed 3-1 deep into the second period before erupting for four answered goals to rally for their seventh win in nine games. Vanek and Frans Nielsen each scored once and assisted on another, while John Tavares registered three helpers in the come-from-behind triumph. Matt Martin, Thomas Hickey and Colin McDonald added goals and Kevin Poulin came up with 30 saves, 13 of which came in the final period, to help the Islanders prevail. The Rangers had a three- game win streak stopped despite a pair of markers from Rick Nash and a one- goal, two-assist night out of Chris Kreider. Cameron Talbot, subbing for an under-the-weather Henrik Lundqvist, halted 32-of-36 shots.

Final Score: Ottawa 2, Washington 0

Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) – Craig Anderson made 34 saves for his third shutout of the season in the Ottawa Senators’ 2-0 victory over the struggling Washington Capitals on Tuesday. Kyle Turris and Jason Spezza scored for the Senators, who have won seven straight against Washington. Braden Holtby stopped 24-of-26 shots for the Capitals, who have lost six straight games (0-4-2) for the first time since an 0-6-2 stretch from Dec. 2-18, 2010. Washington forward Alex Ovechkin, who is the NHL’s leading goal scorer, missed Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury. It was the third contest Ovechkin sat out this season due to injury.

Final Score: Columbus 5, Los Angeles 3

Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) – R.J. Umberger scored twice and the Columbus Blue Jackets pushed their winning streak to a franchise-record seven games with a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. Ryan Johansen, Nathan Horton and Artem Anisimov also scored for the Blue Jackets, who surpassed the previous record of six straight games set between March 24-April 3, 2006. Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves to extend his personal winning streak to eight games. Dwight King, Jeff Carter and Robyn Regehr scored for the Kings, who have lost three in a row. Martin Jones gave up five goals on 34 shots.

Final Score: Dallas 4, Minnesota 0

Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Kari Lehtonen stopped all 18 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season as the Dallas Stars got a much-needed 4-0 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. Ray Whitney, Jordie Benn, Vernon Fiddler and Erik Cole all scored for the Stars, who desperately needed this win as the team had lost nine of their last 10 games entering this game. Darcy Kuemper gave up all four goals on 36 shots for the Wild, who had won seven of nine coming into the contest.

Final Score: Toronto 5, Colorado 2

Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) – Phil Kessel scored twice as the Toronto Maple Leafs took a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday. James van Riemsdyk had a goal and an assist while Jay McClement and Nazem Kadri also scored for the Maple Leafs, who have ripped off six straight wins following a four-game losing streak. James Reimer stopped 35 shots in the win. Nathan MacKinnon scored both goals for the Avalanche, who had a four-game winning streak stopped. Semyon Varlamov was pulled early in the second period after giving up three goals on 20 shots. Jean-Sebastien Giguere allowed one goal on 20 shots the rest of the way.

Final Score: Vancouver 2, Edmonton 1

Edmonton, AB (SportsNetwork.com) – Zack Kassian scored what proved to be the game-winner 7:59 into the second period, as the Vancouver Canucks edged the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1, on Tuesday at Rexall Place. Kellan Lain scored his first NHL goal to open the scoring in the first period, while Roberto Luongo stopped 28 shots for the Canucks, who were playing without head coach John Tortorella and star forward Henrik Sedin. Tortorella received a 15-game suspension on Monday, two days after he was seen attempting to get into the Flames’ locker room during the first intermission of a game against Calgary that featured a line brawl just two seconds into the game. Assistant coach Mike Sullivan was behind the bench in Tortorella’s absence. Meanwhile, Sedin saw his streak of 679 consecutive games played come to an end due to a rib injury that caused him to leave the Calgary contest early. Jordan Eberle netted Edmonton’s lone goal late in the third, while Ben Scrivens supplied 25 saves for the Oilers, who have lost five straight.

Final Score: Winnipeg 3, Anaheim 2

Anaheim, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – The Winnipeg Jets handed the Anaheim Ducks their first regulation loss at home this season. Evander Kane’s goal in the second period proved to be the difference in the Jets’ 3-2 victory over the Ducks. Kane also had an assist in his return to the lineup after missing four games with a lacerated right hand, an injury suffered during a fight versus Tampa Bay on Jan. 7. Blake Wheeler and Andrew Ladd also lit the lamp for Winnipeg, which has won four in a row. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 40-of-42 shots. Cam Fowler and Nick Bonino scored for the Ducks, who fell to 20-1-2 at home this season. Jonas Hiller turned aside 8-of-11 shots before being replaced by Frederik Andersen, who made 10 saves.

Carolina at Philadelphia, postponed

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Tuesday’s game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes at the Wells Fargo Center has been postponed due to a snow storm that has hit the area. The game has been rescheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m. In addition, the NHL announced that the Hurricanes’ scheduled home game against the Ottawa Senators on Friday night has been moved to Saturday, Jan. 25, at noon.

Categorized in: NHL