National Hockey League Game Capsules

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Steve Mason stopped 32 shots and the Philadelphia Flyers outdueled the Western Conference’s best team, taking a 4-1 decision over the St. Louis Blues in a contentious inter-conference battle on Saturday afternoon. Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Scott Hartnell and Jakub Voracek each posted a goal and one assist for the Flyers, who have won five in a row and eight of their last 10 to solidify their second-place standing in the Metropolitan Division. Claude Giroux added a pair of helpers as Philly went 3-for-3 this week against top-level Central Division teams. Jaden Schwartz provided the lone offense for the Blues, who could have clinched a playoff berth outright with at least one point, but instead lost two in a row for the first time since Feb. 26-28. Ryan Miller came up with just 15 saves in his second regulation defeat as starter for St. Louis.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 4, Tampa Bay 3 (OT)

Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – James Neal kept Pittsburgh’s winning streak over Tampa Bay intact with the game-winning goal 1:27 into overtime as the Penguins edged the Lightning, 4-3, on Saturday. Evgeni Malkin scored twice in the final 8:53 of regulation and added two assists, including one on the deciding goal. With the Penguins on a 4-on-3 advantage in the extra frame thanks to a too many men on the ice penalty, Malkin sent a pass down to Neal in the right circle, and Neal beat Anders Lindback with a one-timer to the far side. The Penguins converted on 3-of-6 power-play chances and have now beaten the Lightning nine straight times. Jeff Zatkoff made 21 saves, and Sidney Crosby recorded a goal and two assists for the Metropolitan Division leaders. Tampa Bay’s Ondrej Palat scored with 1:22 left in regulation to force overtime, while Steven Stamkos had a goal and assisted on Valtteri Filppula’s second-period tally. Lindback gave up four goals on 29 shots.

Final Score: Detroit 3, Minnesota 2

St. Paul, MN (SportsNetwork.com) – Gustav Nyquist notched the game winner early in the third period, as Detroit topped Minnesota by a 3-2 count to open a home-and-home series at Xcel Energy Center. Brendan Smith and David Legwand also tallied, while Jimmy Howard stopped 28 shots for the Red Wings, who have won three in a row and look for a sweep on Sunday back in Detroit. Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle supplied the offense for the Wild, who have dropped four of their last five. Darcy Kuemper took the loss despite making 27 saves.

Final Score: Dallas 3, Ottawa 1

Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Trevor Daley and Jamie Benn found the net in the third period as the Dallas Stars scored three unanswered goals to snap a four-game losing streak, beating the Ottawa Senators 3-1 on Saturday. Daley’s go-ahead goal came 4:52 into the period and Benn scored just over two minutes later, lifting Dallas to its first win in 11 days. The Stars, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2008, returned home from an 0-3 road trip and entered play Saturday four points behind Phoenix for the last wild card spot in the Western Conference. Kari Lehtonen made 26 saves for Dallas and was perfect after letting in Erik Karlsson’s one-timer from the slot 3:27 into the game on an Ottawa rush. The Senators have lost a season-high six games in a row and are 4-9-3 in their last 16.

Final Score: Los Angeles 4, Florida 0

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Jonathan Quick made 24 saves to set a new franchise record for victories, as the Los Angeles Kings cruised to a 4-0 shutout over the Florida Panthers on Saturday. Quick emerged with his 172nd career win, one better than Rogie Vachon, who was in attendance to watch his milestone which lasted almost four decades fall. The 68-year-old Quebec native earned 171 wins while backstopping the club from 1971-78. Trevor Lewis contributed a goal and an assist for the Kings, who have taken two in a row and 10 of their last 13 overall. Mike Richards, Dustin Brown, and Alec Martinez also scored. Roberto Luongo allowed all four goals on 25 shots in the loss, as the Panthers suffered their sixth defeat in eight outings.

Final Score: Montreal 4, Toronto 3

Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) – Tomas Plekanec scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and the Montreal Canadiens held on for a 4-3 win over the scuffling Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Max Pacioretty, Rene Bourque and Brian Gionta also scored for the Canadiens, who won for the fourth time in five games and remained No. 4 in the Eastern Conference. Carey Price made 33 saves for Montreal and James Reimer made 32 for the Maple Leafs. Toronto — clinging to a playoff position — is 0-4 with Reimer in net since starting goalie Jonathan Bernier went down with a groin injury on March 13 in Los Angeles. Some good news for the Maple Leafs? Center Dave Bolland played his first game since suffering a severed tendon in his ankle during a game on Nov. 2. Bolland had one shot in nine minutes and Joffrey Lupul, Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri scored Toronto’s goals.

Final Score: NY Rangers 2, New Jersey 0

Newark, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) – Henrik Lundqvist recorded his 50th career shutout, a new franchise record, and helped the New York Rangers escape with a 2-0 win over the New Jersey Devils. Posting a 21-save effort for his fifth shutout of the season, Lundqvist passed Ed Giacomin for the most shutouts in franchise history and helped the Rangers win for a fourth time in the past five games. Rick Nash scored halfway through the second period, and Derek Stepan added an empty-netter in the final moments as New York sits a point back of Philadelphia for the second spot in the division. Martin Brodeur was solid in defeat, stopping 25-of-26 shots for the Devils, who have lost four of their past five games to fall far back in the playoff chase.

Final Score: Carolina 3, Winnipeg 2

Winnipeg, MB (SportsNetwork.com) – Cam Ward made 33 stops, including two spectacular stick saves, and the Carolina Hurricanes held on to defeat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Saturday. Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, and Riley Nash all scored for Carolina, which has won two of its last three. Andrej Sekera supplied two assists in the win. Jim Slater and Bryan Little both had goals for the Jets, who have lost two of their last three and eight of their last 10. Al Montoya allowed three goals on 32 shots in defeat.

Final Score: Boston 4, Phoenix 2

Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – The Boston Bruins had clinched a playoff spot on Friday, but that didn’t slow them down on Saturday. Shawn Thornton scored the game-winner late in the third period and Boston won its 12th straight game with a 4-2 victory over Phoenix. The Bruins became the first team to clinch a playoff spot with Friday’s 2-0 blanking of Colorado, and the team has now ripped off its longest winning streak since a 13-game run from Feb. 23-March 20, 1971. The team has twice won 13 games in a row, with the other occurring from Dec. 3, 1929-Jan. 9, 1930, under head coach Art Ross. Also, the victory pushed the team two points ahead of St. Louis for the best record in the NHL. Jarome Iginla scored twice and Patrice Bergeron had the other marker for the Bruins, who got 30 saves from Tuukka Rask. Shane Doan and Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored for the Coyotes, who had a three-game winning streak stopped. Mike Smith stopped 24-of-27 shots.

Final Score: Calgary 8, Edmonton 1

Edmonton, AB (SportsNetwork.com) – Curtis Glencross notched his third career hat trick as the Calgary Flames dominated the Edmonton Oilers, 8-1, on Saturday. Matt Stajan had a goal and three assists while Mike Cammalleri gave a goal and two assists for the Flames, who set a season-high in goals and won for a fourth time in the past six games. Karri Ramo stopped 24 shots in the win. Ramo had missed the past 15 games as he had been out since early February with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee Jeff Petry scored the only goal of the game for the Oilers, who have dropped their past two. Viktor Fasth was pulled from the start after giving up five goals on 16 shots, with Ben Scrivens allowing three goals on 15 shots.

Final Score: Washington 3, San Jose 2 (SO)

San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Nicklas Backstrom buried the game-winner in the third round of the shootout to send the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday at SAP Center. After San Jose’s Logan Couture came up empty to open the shootout, Evgeny Kuznetsov beat Antti Niemi blocker side to put the Caps on top. The next two shooters then missed, but Patrick Marleau extended the skills competition by slipping a wrister under Braden Holtby’s pads. However, Backstrom lifted a backhander over Niemi’s glove at the other end, as Washington snapped an 0-11-1 skid at San Jose. Eric Fehr and Chris Brown scored in regulation, while Holtby stopped 34 shots for the Capitals, who kept pace with the Red Wings for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Both teams have 79 points, one better than the Columbus Blue Jackets. Marleau and James Sheppard scored for the Sharks, who saw Niemi make 23 saves in the loss, their second in the last three games.

Categorized in: NHL