National Hockey League Game Capsules
Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Reilly Smith scored the game-winner in the fifth round of the shootout as the Boston Bruins secured their franchise- record ninth straight road win with a 4-3 decision over the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. Patrice Bergeron scored for the seventh straight game midway through the second period to give Boston a 3-2 lead, but the Flyers’ Vincent Lecavalier swatted home a bouncing puck with 24.1 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. After an entertaining extra session failed to produce a winner, Lecavalier came up empty to open the shootout before Bergeron and Claude Giroux exchanged markers. The next six shooters were all turned aside before Smith skated in and used a series of dekes to fool Steve Mason before stuffing the puck into the back of the net for the victory. Zdeno Chara and former Flyer Andrej Meszaros supplied Boston’s other goals, while Tuukka Rask recorded a career-high 49 saves for the Bruins, who have taken at least one point in each of their last 16 road games (13-0-3), also a franchise record. Boston, which leads the NHL with 110 points, also extended its point streak to 16 games, improving to 15-0-1 since their last regulation loss on Mar. 1 against Washington. Lecavalier also lit the lamp in the first period for his 400th career goal, while Kimmo Timonen notched the other goal for Philadelphia, which sits two points behind the New York Rangers for second in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers beat Edmonton later Sunday. Mason made 27 saves in defeat.
Final Score: Ottawa 6, Calgary 3
Ottawa, ON (SportsNetwork.com) – Kyle Turris had two goals and an assist as the Ottawa Senators scored three times in the third period to beat the Calgary Flames, 6-3, on Sunday. Milan Michalek also scored twice for the Senators, who sit six points behind Columbus for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Clarke MacArthur had a goal and an assist. Robin Lehner stopped 37-of-40 shots for Ottawa, which has won two in a row. Matt Stajan, Paul Byron and Sean Monahan scored for the Flames, who started a five-game road trip on Sunday. Karri Ramo turned aside 31-of-36 shots.
Final Score: Detroit 3, Tampa Bay 2
Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork.com) – Jonas Gustavsson stopped 26 shots and the Detroit Red Wings picked up a big victory thanks to a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday. Gustav Nyquist, David Legwand and Joakim Andersson all scored for the Red Wings, who have won their past two games to move two points ahead of Columbus for the top wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Valtteri Filppula and Sami Salo scored for the Lightning, who had won two straight coming in. Ben Bishop stopped 27 shots in the loss.
Final Score: Pittsburgh 4, Chicago 1
Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Sidney Crosby had two goals and Marc- Andre Fleury stopped 25 shots to help the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. James Neal and Lee Stempniak also scored for the Penguins, who have won their past two to eclipse the 100-point mark for a sixth time in the past eight season. Pittsburgh sits comfortably atop the Metropolitan Division, but still trails Boston by nine points for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Sheldon Brookbank scored and Corey Crawford stopped 23-of-26 shots for the Blackhawks, who have dropped four of five and are one point behind Colorado for second place in the Central Division. Chicago also took a blow as center Jonathan Toews left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury, appearing to hurt his left shoulder after being driven into the boards by Brooks Orpik.
Final Score: NY Rangers 5, Edmonton 0
Edmonton, AB (SportsNetwork.com) – Cam Talbot stopped 26 shots for his third shutout of the season as the New York Rangers dominated the Edmonton Oilers, 5-0, on Sunday. New York is now two points ahead of Philadelphia for second place in the Metropolitan Division, as the Flyers dropped a shootout decision to Boston earlier on Sunday. However, Philadelphia does have two games in hand on New York. Mats Zuccarello had two goals and an assist, while Rick Nash scored twice and Derrick Brassard also scored for the Rangers, who have won six of their last seven. Ben Scrivens allowed all five goals for the Oilers, who have lost four of five.
Final Score: Nashville 4, Washington 3 (SO)
Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Craig Smith scored in the second round of the shootout to lift the Nashville Predators over the Washington Capitals, 4-3, on Sunday. Patric Hornqvist scored twice in the first period for the Predators, who sit seven points behind the Phoenix Coyotes for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. Shea Weber had a goal and an assist. Carter Hutton stopped 23-of-26 shots for the victors. Troy Brouwer scored twice for the Capitals, who are one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and two assists. Jaroslav Halak turned aside 26-of-29 shots for Washington, which has lost three in a row.
Categorized in: NHL