National Hockey League Game Capsules
Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) – Steven Stamkos netted a natural hat trick, while both Ryan Malone and Valtteri Filppula added two assists in Tampa Bay’s 5-3 victory over Toronto at Air Canada Centre. Radko Gudas and Tyler Johnson contributed scores for the Lightning, winners of four straight following a five-game losing streak. Ben Bishop augmented his offense by stopping 36-of-39 shots. Nikolai Kulemin, Phil Kessel and Jake Gardiner lit the lamp for the Maple Leafs, who fell three points behind their Wednesday foes after dropping their third in a row. Tyler Bozak picked up two helpers, though James Reimer allowed all five goals on 30 shots in defeat.
Final Score: Chicago 4, St. Louis 0
Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Corey Crawford stopped 23 shots to post his second shutout of the season, and four different players lit the lamp as the Chicago Blackhawks shut down the St. Louis Blues by a 4-0 count at United Center. Duncan Keith, Marcus Kruger, Andrew Shaw and Ben Smith tallied for the Blackhawks, who rallied from a late overtime loss in Philadelphia on Tuesday to post their second win in three outings and move into second place in the Central Division, one point up on Colorado. The Avalanche lost, 5-4 in overtime at Winnipeg. Patrick Sharp and Nick Leddy added a pair of assists for Chicago, which lost Patrick Kane to an undisclosed leg injury in the second period. Following the contest, the club announced Kane is expected to miss three weeks. Ryan Miller allowed four scores on 27 shots in almost 48 minutes of action for the Blues, who lost for just the second time in the last 10 and saw their lead in the Central shrink to six points over their bitter rivals. St. Louis picked up its first intra-division loss in 23 games (20-1-2) this season.
Final Score: Winnipeg 5, Colorado 4 (OT)
Winnipeg, MB (SportsNetwork.com) – Blake Wheeler scored 1:42 into overtime to give the Winnipeg Jets a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. Wheeler carried the puck from the left wing into the right circle, waiting until a mass of bodies crowded the crease before firing a shot past Colorado goaltender Reto Berra. Wheeler also had two assists for the Jets, who sit four points out of the second wild card position in the Western Conference. Andrew Ladd scored twice and Eric Tangradi and Evander Kane added one goal apiece. Al Montoya stopped 23-of-27 shots for the victors. Ryan O’Reilly, Gabriel Landeskog, Nick Holden and Cody McLeod lit the lamp for the Avalanche, who sit third in the Central Division, seven points back of the first-place St. Louis Blues. Berra, the third goaltender on Colorado’s roster, turned aside 22-of-27 shots in his first game with the Avalanche since they acquired him from the Calgary Flames.
Final Score: Vancouver 2, Nashville 0
Vancouver, BC (SportsNetwork.com) – Eddie Lack made 30 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as the Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators, 2-0, on Wednesday. Alexander Edler and Nicklas Jensen scored in the third period for the Canucks, who sit three points out of the second wild card position in the Western Conference. Carter Hutton turned aside 20-of-22 shots for the Predators, who have lost three in a row.
Categorized in: NHL