National Hockey League Game Capsules

Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) – Brad Marchand tied the game late in regulation and scored the winner with 68 seconds left in overtime as the Boston Bruins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2, in a crucial Eastern Conference clash on Saturday afternoon. Thanks to a Sean Couturier turnover in the neutral zone, former Flyer Max Talbot gained possession. Marchand skated in down the left side, took a pass from Talbot and cut to the middle, then sent a backhand on net that hit off defenseman Michael Del Zotto’s skate and changed direction before fluttering past Steve Mason for the win. Boston, which has beaten Philadelphia in six straight meetings, moved five points ahead of the Flyers for the final playoff spot in the East. Zdeno Chara also scored for the Bruins, Dougie Hamilton had two assists and Tukka Rask made 29 saves in the win. Jakub Voracek and Chris VandeVelde each tallied a goal for the Flyers, who have recorded at least one point (2-0-2) in four straight games. Mason stopped 34 shots for Philadelphia.

Final Score: St. Louis 6, Toronto 1

Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) – T.J. Oshie, Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz each had a goal and an assist as the St. Louis Blues routed the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 on Saturday night. St. Louis, which outshot Toronto 44-24, raced out to a 3-0 lead with a trio of goals in the opening period and were up 5-0 heading into the third, where it coasted to the easy win. David Backes, Paul Stastny and Chris Butler also found the back of the net, while Alexander Steen and Jori Lehtera each posted three assists apiece for the Blues, who had dropped four of their last six games coming in. Brian Elliott made 23 saves in the triumph. David Booth netted the lone goal for Toronto, which has lost four of its last five contests. Jonathan Bernier stopped 14-of-17 shots before being pulled after a period of play. James Reimer finished the game and made 24 saves over the final two stanzas.

Final Score: Tampa Bay 5, Dallas 4

Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Alex Killorn and Victor Hedman scored in a two-minute span early in the third period and the Tampa Bay Lightning set a franchise record for home wins in a 5-4 victory over Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. Anton Stralman, Nikita Kucherov and Brian Boyle also scored for Tampa Bay and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves. The Lightning finished a 3-0 homestand with their 26th victory at Amalie Arena (26-6-1), breaking the previous team record of 25 home wins set four times, including last season. Seguin scored two goals for Dallas in his return from a 10-game absence due to a knee injury. Vernon Fiddler also had two goals for the Stars, who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Jhonas Enroth allowed five goals on 28 shots.

Final Score: Florida 4, NY Islanders 3 (SO)

Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Dan Ellis followed up a 25-save effort through regulation and overtime by stopping all three New York Islanders skaters in the shootout, helping lift the Florida Panthers to a much-needed 4-3 win. Ellis came up big in the veteran’s second start since being summoned from the minors due to recent injuries to goaltenders Roberto Luongo and Al Montoya, as did Jonathan Huberdeau in an important game for the Panthers. Huberdeau scored once in regulation and again during the shootout for Florida, which trails Boston by two points for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers also received goals from Erik Gudbranson and Nick Bjugstad. New York managed just one point despite receiving a goal and two assists from captain John Tavares, who set up Josh Bailey’s one-timer that tied the game at 3-3 with 7:12 left in the third period. Michal Neuvirth, acquired from Buffalo at Monday’s trade deadline, turned aside just 15- of-18 chances in his Islanders debut.

Final Score: Washington 6, Buffalo 1

Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) – Braden Holtby needed to make just 16 saves, while six different players lit the lamp as Washington trounced Buffalo, 6-1, at Verizon Center. Curtis Glencross led the way with a goal and two assists for the Capitals, who have won three of their last four. Alex Ovechkin and Jay Beagle added a score and helper each, while Brooks Laich, Joel Ward and Marcus Johansson also tallied. Johan Larsson provided the lone offense for the Sabres, losers of four straight. Matt Hackett took the loss, pulled after allowing four goals on 23 shots in almost 34 minutes. Anders Lindback finished up yielding two scores on 22 shots.

Final Score: Colorado 4, Columbus 0

Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) – Semyon Varlamov earned his career-high fifth shutout of the season with a glittering 44-save performance as the visiting Colorado Avalanche beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 on Saturday. Tyson Barrie collected three assists for the Avalanche, who scored three times before the game was 10 minutes old and rode Varlamov’s play to their seventh win in 10 tries. Curtis McElhinney gave up three goals on 12 shots in the first period. Sergei Bobrovsky was in net to start the second period and finished with 20 saves for Columbus, which had a seven-game losing streak end with Friday’s win at New Jersey.

Final Score: Winnipeg 3, Nashville 1

Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Michael Hutchinson stopped 20 shots as the Winnipeg Jets posted a 3-1 victory over the faltering Nashville Predators on Saturday. Drew Stafford and Blake Wheeler posted a goal and an assist, while Michael Frolik also scored for the Jets, who have won two of their last three. Ryan Ellis had the only goal of the game for the Predators, who have now dropped six straight and eight of their last 10. Pekka Rinne allowed two goals on 25 shots in the loss.

Final Score: Montreal 2, Arizona 0

Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – Carey Price turned aside all 29 shots fired his way for his seventh shutout of the season in the Montreal Canadiens’ 2-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. Price stopped five shots in the first period, eight during the middle stanza and 16 in the third for his 32nd career shutout. Lars Eller and Brendan Gallagher each scored for the Canadiens, who ended a three-game skid and their four-game Western Conference road trip. Mike Smith made 33 saves in his eight straight start for the Coyotes, who have lost 11 of their last 12 games.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 1, Los Angeles 0 (OT)

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Patric Hornqvist scored 1:44 into overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. After neither goaltender blinked through regulation, an ill-advised pass by Los Angeles led to the goal. Jeff Carter had the puck along the left corner and sent a pass to the front of his own net for Dwight King, who was unable to handle the puck as Paul Martin came up to cause a turnover. Hornqvist quickly grabbed the puck in the slot and snapped it in for his 22nd goal of the season and the victory. Marc-Andre Fleury turned away all 31 shots for his ninth shutout of the season for the Penguins, who have won six of their last seven. Jonathan Quick stopped 17 shots for the Kings, who had a two-game winning streak snapped.

Final Score: Vancouver 3, San Jose 2

San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Radim Vrbata scored two goals, Eddie Lack made 38 saves and the visiting Vancouver Canucks rallied for a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. Bo Horvat had the other tally for the Canucks, who climbed out of a two-goal hole to snap a two-game losing streak and move into sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division. Joe Thornton had a goal and an assist, and Antti Niemi stopped 31 shots for San Jose, which had won its last two games, including a 6-2 triumph at Vancouver on Tuesday.

Categorized in: NHL