National Hockey League Game Capsules

Uniondale, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – John Tavares notched a power-play goal with 24 seconds remaining in overtime as the New York Islanders stayed hot thanks to a 3-2 decision over Washington at Nassau Coliseum. Anders Lee and Travis Hamonic supplied additional offense, with Ryan Strome adding two assists for the Islanders, who have taken five in a row and nine of their last 10 to challenge Pittsburgh for the Metropolitan Division lead. Jaroslav Halak came up with 25 saves for the win. Alex Ovechkin picked up both scores for the Capitals, who can avenge the loss in the latter portion of this home-and-home series on Friday. Braden Holtby played well in defeat, making 32 stops.

Final Score: Winnipeg 2, Buffalo 1

Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Bryan Little scored in a third straight game, Ondrej Pavelec made 19 saves and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on Wednesday. Michael Frolik added a short-handed goal for the Jets, who have won the first two stops on their three-game road trip and three of five overall. Chris Stewart scored in the third period and Jhonas Enroth stopped 24 shots for Buffalo, which had its win streak snapped at three games.

Final Score: Detroit 5, Philadelphia 2

Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork.com) – Pavel Datsyuk celebrated his return to the lineup with two goals, and the Detroit Red Wings continued their home dominance over the Philadelphia Flyers thanks to a 5-2 decision at Joe Louis Arena. Stephen Weiss added a goal and assist for the Red Wings, winners in five of their last seven. Tomas Jurco and Henrik Zetterberg also lit the lamp. Darren Helm picked up a pair of assists to back a 22-save effort by Jimmy Howard. Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek tallied for the Flyers, who have lost six of seven since a three-game win streak. Steve Mason took the loss, charged with three goals on 14 shots over 31-plus minutes. Ray Emery subbed for the remainder of the game and made nine stops.

Final Score: Tampa Bay 4, NY Rangers 3

Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Former Ranger Ryan Callahan had two goals and an assist against his ex-team to spoil Martin St. Louis’ return to Tampa and help the Lightning to a 4-3 victory over New York. The pregame buildup was solely centered on St. Louis’ first game in Amalie Arena since the Lightning’s all-time leading scorer requested and was granted a trade to the Rangers on March 5. However, it was Callahan — the key player Tampa Bay received in the blockbuster swap — who earned the night’s First Star as St. Louis was held off the scoresheet. Steven Stamkos made quite an impact as well, notching a goal and two assists in the Lightning’s fourth win in their last six outings, including two in a row by one goal. Ben Bishop finished with 16 saves in the triumph. New York entered the anticipated matchup off shutout wins over Philadelphia and Montreal, but Henrik Lundqvist stopped just 25-of-29 shots and St. Louis was mostly a non-factor. Rick Nash did record a goal and an assist for the Rangers, with Mats Zuccarello and Dan Boyle also scoring in defeat.

Final Score: Florida 1, Carolina 0

Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Nick Bjugstad scored 21 seconds into the game and a pair of Florida goaltenders combined to shut out the Carolina Hurricanes in the Panthers’ 1-0 win. About halfway through the game, Roberto Luongo was forced to exit with an upper-body injury after making 11 saves. Al Montoya came in to relieve him, and he stopped all 22 shots sent his way. Cam Ward made 27 saves on 28 shots for Carolina. Brandon Pirri and Jonathan Huberdeau were credited with assists on the lone goal.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 4, Toronto 3 (OT)

Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Blake Comeau scored 2:53 into overtime to complete a hat trick and lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists and Sidney Crosby collected two helpers, giving the Pittsburgh captain 800 career points. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24 shots for the Penguins, who won their second straight overtime game. Leo Komarov scored two goals and Tyler Bozak added a short-handed tally for Toronto, which had won its previous two games following an embarrassing 9-2 loss to Nashville on Nov. 18.

Final Score: Los Angeles 4, Minnesota 0

St. Paul, MN (SportsNetwork.com) – The Los Angeles Kings scored four goals against Darcy Kuemper in the first period to beat the Minnesota Wild 4-0 on Wednesday night. The goals by Mike Richards, Dustin Brown, Tyler Toffoli and Justin Williams helped the Kings salvage a three-game road trip after two losses. It was just their second road win of the season (2-4-4) and marked only the second home loss for the Wild (7-2-0). Martin Jones made 28 saves for his fifth career shutout and first of the season. Kuemper was pulled after giving up the four goals on just 10 shots before Niklas Backstrom stopped all 12 he faced over the last two periods.

Final Score: Chicago 3, Colorado 2

Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) – Bryan Bickell broke a tie with 5:17 remaining in the third period as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Wednesday. Jonathan Toews and Andrew Shaw scored power-play goals in the second period for the Blackhawks, who improved to 3-1-0 on their six-game road trip. Patrick Kane collected three assists, while Corey Crawford made 27 saves for the win. Ryan O’Reilly and Maxime Talbot had the goals for Colorado, which was seeking a third straight win. Calvin Pickard stopped 42 shots in his second career NHL start.

Final Score: Calgary 2, San Jose 0

San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Karri Ramo made 32 saves for his third career shutout, leading the Calgary Flames to a 2-0 win over the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night. Jiri Hudler scored both goals in the Flames’ fifth win in seven games. The only one they needed came with 2:44 left in the second period, when he beat Antti Niemi stick-side with a wrister in the slot to make it 1-0. Hudler added an empty-netter in the final minute of the third period, his 10th goal of the season. Ramo had 11 saves in both the first and second period and made 10 in the third for the shutout in his ninth appearance this season. The Sharks, coming off back-to-back shootout losses to Florida and Arizona, dropped their fourth game in a row. They are 0-1-2 on a six-game homestand with just five total goals in the three outings.

Categorized in: NHL