National Hockey League Game Capsules

Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – The Penguins may be missing four regulars, but they’re still leading the Metropolitan Division by a healthy margin. Nonetheless, Philadelphia nipped Pittsburgh by a 4-3 margin to sweep the home-and-home set which concluded on Sunday afternoon at CONSOL Energy Center. Wayne Simmonds pumped home a pair of first-period power-play goals and added an assist for the Flyers, who chased Marc-Andre Fleury with three goals in the game’s first 14 minutes. Brayden Schenn tallied at even strength, Matt Read added a short-handed marker and Claude Giroux contributed a pair of assists in his 400th NHL game. Steve Mason came up with 20 saves to earn his 28th win of the season. Brooks Orpik, Matt Niskanen and Jayson Megna scored for the Penguins, who were outscored by an 8-3 count over the weekend thanks to missing defensemen Kris Letang and Paul Martin, along with forwards Chris Kunitz and James Neal. Jeff Zatkoff took the loss, after allowing Read’s goal on 20 shots faced. Fleury had surrendered three scores on 15 shots before departing.

Final Score: Vancouver 4, Florida 3 (SO)

Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Roberto Luongo made 31 total saves against his former team. He needed at least 32. Nicklas Jensen beat Luongo once in regulation and again in a shootout as the Vancouver Canucks edged Luongo’s Florida Panthers 4-3 Sunday in the goalie’s first game against his former mates since he was dealt on March 4. Dan Hamhuis and Alexandre Burrows also scored in regulation for the Canucks, who got just their third win in nine games (3-5-1). Jensen had the only goal of the shootout after Jimmy Hayes scored his second goal to tie the game for Florida with 1:35 left in regulation. Jensen’s shot hit the post, then trickled in after going off Luongo’s back. Eddie Lack made three stops in the shootout and had 26 saves in the game as Vancouver improved to 3-12-1 in its last 16 road games. Luongo was acquired by the Panthers along with forward Steven Anthony on March 4 in exchange for goalie Jacob Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthias. He became the all-time wins leader in Panthers history in his first five-season stint with the team before he was traded to Vancouver in 2006. He had 29 saves in regulation and Vincent Trocheck had the other Canucks goal.

Final Score: Washington 4, Toronto 2

Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) – Troy Brouwer picked up a pair of goals to lead Washington past Toronto, 4-2, at Verizon Center. Joel Ward contributed a goal and assist, with Jason Chimera tallying and Karl Alzner adding two assists for the Capitals, winners of two in a row after dropping five of six. Jaroslav Halak was solid in net, making 27 saves. Dion Phaneuf and Troy Bodie lit the lamp for the Maple Leafs, who lost for the second time in their last six. James Reimer stopped 29 shots in defeat.

Final Score: Edmonton 2, Carolina 1

Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Justin Schultz scored a tiebreaking power- play goal in the third period and the Edmonton Oilers edged the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1. The Oilers ended a four-game road trip on a positive note while dealing another blow to the Hurricanes’ fading playoff hopes. Ben Scrivens made 29 saves for Edmonton, which went 2-1-1 on its trek. Anton Khudobin turned aside 31 shots for the Hurricanes, who have lost nine of 12 to slide down the Eastern Conference standings.

Final Score: San Jose 1, NY Rangers 0

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Antti Niemi turned aside 41 shots for his fourth shutout of the season, and San Jose edged the Rangers, 1-0, at Madison Square Garden. Logan Couture recorded the lone score of the contest for the Sharks, who swept their three-game eastern road swing and have won six straight overall. Niemi’s whitewash marked the first time San Jose blanked New York in Manhattan since entering the NHL in 1991. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 28 pucks for the Rangers, who skidded to their sixth loss in their last nine outings. The 32-year-old Swede was denied the club’s all-time wins lead by the slimmest of margins. He remains tied with Mike Richter at 301 victories.

Final Score: Colorado 3, Ottawa 1

Ottawa, ON (SportsNetwork.com) – The Colorado Avalanche continued their dominance against the Ottawa Senators, getting 38 saves from Semyon Varlamov in a 3-1 victory at Canadian Tire Centre. Varlamov was six seconds away from his second shutout of the season. Former Senator Andre Benoit, Nick Holden and John Mitchell supplied the goals for Colorado, which remained second in the Central Division after extending its winning streak versus Ottawa to seven games. Robin Lehner stopped 19 shots in the Senators’ third straight loss and seventh in nine games, a slump that is crippling their playoff chances.

Final Score: Montreal 2, Buffalo 0

Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Dustin Tokarski made 29 saves for his first NHL shutout and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 on Sunday. Tokarski, playing in his 10th NHL game, stopped nine shots each in the first two periods and had 11 saves in the third as Montreal won its second straight game on the heels of a three-game losing streak. Dale Weise and Brendan Gallagher scored against Sabres starter Jhonas Enroth, who left the game after 36 minutes with what the team said was a lower-body injury. Nathan Lieuwen, recalled on Sunday from Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester, made his NHL debut in relief of Enroth and stopped 10 shots despite playing for the third straight day.

Final Score: Chicago 4, Detroit 1

Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Marian Hossa scored a goal and assisted on two others in his return to Chicago’s lineup, helping the Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1, at United Center. Hossa missed five consecutive games with an upper-body injury he suffered against Pittsburgh at Soldier Field on March 1. The Blackhawks went 2-3-0 in his absence and snapped a two- game losing streak on Sunday. Ben Smith had a goal and one assist for Chicago, which continues to trail second-place Colorado by one point in the Central Division. Duncan Keith collected two assists, giving him 300 for his career, and Corey Crawford earned the win with 19 saves. Jimmy Howard stopped 26 shots for the reeling Red Wings, who have lost five of their last seven games but are still positioned just outside the Eastern Conference’s playoff picture.

Final Score: Winnipeg 7, Dallas 2

Winnipeg, MB (SportsNetwork.com) – Dustin Byfuglien had two goals and one assist and was one of four Winnipeg Jets with at least three points in a 7-2 rout of the Dallas Stars on Sunday. Jacob Trouba, Michael Frolik, Tobias Enstrom, Olli Jokinen and Evander Kane also scored as Winnipeg snapped a six-game losing streak (0-3-3) with a big showing to end a three-game homestand. The Jets scored six unanswered goals after falling behind 2-1 in the first period when Alex Chiasson and Tyler Seguin scored in a 37- second span for Dallas. Jokinen and Enstrom added two assists each and Blake Wheeler had four helpers. Al Montoya, who came in when Ondrej Pavelec was hurt Friday against the Rangers, made 25 saves and didn’t need nearly that many behind Winnipeg’s offensive barrage. The Jets scored their first four goals on 17 shots against Tim Thomas, who was pulled after 20 1/2 minutes. Cristopher Nilstorp gave up three goals on 17 shots after that for the Stars, who had a four-game point streak snapped (3-0-1).

Categorized in: NHL