National Hockey League Game Capsules

Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Tuukka Rask stopped 30 shots for his third shutout of the season, as the Boston Bruins took advantage of a Pittsburgh team without superstar Sidney Crosby and claimed a 2-0 victory over the Penguins on Saturday at CONSOL Energy Center. Milan Lucic scored in the first period and Zdeno Chara added an empty-net goal in the final minute for Boston, which has won five straight and improved to 7-0-1 in its last eight. Crosby took part in the pregame warmup, but was a late scratch for an undisclosed reason. Evgeni Malkin also missed most of the contest after taking a first-period hit. Thomas Greiss made 28 saves in defeat, as the Penguins lost in regulation for only the second time in their last 10 games (7-2-1).

Final Score: Philadelphia 7, Detroit 2

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Brayden Schenn posted two goals and an assist to lead the Philadelphia Flyers in a 7-2 rout over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. Wayne Simmonds had a goal and two assists while Matt Read, Zac Rinaldo, Nicklas Grossmann and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare also scored for the Flyers, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Steve Mason turned aside 31 shots in the win. Justin Abdelkader and Erik Cole scored for the Red Wings, who have lost four of their last five. Jimmy Howard allowed all seven goals on 36 shots in the loss.

Final Score: Chicago 6, San Jose 2

San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Brandon Saad, Bryan Bickell, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa scored in the third period as Chicago breezed past San Jose by a 6-2 count on Saturday. Sharp added a second-period marker, Duncan Keith also lit the lamp, while Brent Seabrook and Antoine Vermette added two assists each for the Blackhawks, who have won six of their last eight contests. Corey Crawford picked up the win thanks to 33 saves. Melker Karlsson and Joe Thornton supplied offense for the Sharks, who finished 2-2 on a four- game homestand ahead of a seven-game road trip. Antti Niemi was dented for five goals on 29 shots in defeat.

Final Score: Vancouver 4, Toronto 1

Vancouver, BC (SportsNetwork.com) – Derek Dorsett posted a goal and two assists to power the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Chris Higgins, Jannik Hansen and Shawn Matthias all lit the lamp, while Eddie Lack made 28 saves for the Canucks, who rebounded from Thursday’s 4-0 loss to the Kings to win for the third time in their last four games. Phil Kessel scored on a penalty shot and Jonathan Bernier allowed all three goals on 34 shots for the Maple Leafs, who have dropped five of their last six.

Final Score: Florida 2, Carolina 0

Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Dan Ellis made 27 saves for his first shutout of the season in the Florida Panthers’ 2-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Brandon Pirri and Dave Bolland lit the lamp for the Panthers, who have won three in a row to remain in the playoff race. Cam Ward stopped 20-of-21 shots for the Hurricanes, who went 1-3-1 on their five-game homestand.

Final Score: Montreal 3, NY Islanders 1

Uniondale, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Carey Price stopped 35 shots and the Montreal Canadiens topped the New York Islanders by a 3-1 count at Nassau Coliseum. Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty and Lars Eller lit the lamp for the Canadiens, who had lost five of their last six coming in but maintained their deadlocked position atop the Eastern Conference standings with the Rangers, Josh Bailey netted the lone score for the Islanders, who have lost three in a row and fell three points back of the Rangers for first place in the Metropolitan Division. Michal Neuvirth made 27 saves in defeat.

Final Score: NY Rangers 2, Buffalo 0

Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – MacKenzie Skapski turned in a shutout in his second career NHL start, stopping all 20 shots he faced in the New York Rangers’ 2-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. The 20-year-old rookie turned aside 24-of-25 chances to win his NHL debut in New York’s 3-1 road triumph over the Sabres on Feb. 20, then sat nine straight games as Cam Talbot went 7-1-1 as the main replacement for the injured Henrik Lundqvist. Keith Yandle’s goal — his first with the Rangers since coming over from Arizona in a trade- deadline deal — snapped a scoreless deadlock 7:31 into the third period, and Martin St. Louis tacked on an empty-netter late to help red- hot New York win its fourth straight and improve to 13-1-2 since Feb. 10. Anders Lindback saved 31-of-32 shots in a hard-luck loss, the lowly Sabres’ sixth in a row.

Final Score: Winnipeg 2, Tampa Bay 1

Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Entering the day just one point out of playoff position, the Winnipeg Jets earned two key ones with a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. After going down 1-0 in the third period, Drew Stafford and Blake Wheeler scored goals to help the Jets finish 2-2-0 on their four-game road trip. Ondrej Pavelec only had to make 15 saves in the win. Nikita Kucherov scored Tampa Bay’s only goal, but it was his boarding major that led to Winnipeg’s two scores. The Lightning had their four-game home winning streak snapped despite getting 27 saves from Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Final Score: Minnesota 3, St. Louis 1

St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) – Devan Dubnyk turned in a 41-save performance as Minnesota edged St. Louis, 3-1, at Scottrade Center. Nino Niederreiter and Kyle Brodziak scored in a 17-second span in the latter stages of the third period and Thomas Vanek tallied earlier for the Wild, who have taken seven of their last nine games. David Backes lit the lamp for the Blues, who saw their three-game win streak halted. Brian Elliott, fresh off a 28- save, 1-0 shootout win against the Flyers on Thursday, made just 16 stops in the loss.

Final Score: New Jersey 4, Arizona 1

Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – Jordin Tootoo and Mike Cammalleri each tallied a goal and an assist as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Arizona Coyotes 4-1 on Saturday. Stephen Gionta and Adam Henrique each scored, Travis Zajac supplied two assists and Cory Schneider made 30 saves for the Devils, who won in Arizona for the first time since Feb. 12, 2003. Shane Doan scored the Coyotes’ lone goal and Mike Smith allowed all four goals in the team’s fourth straight setback.

Final Score: Nashville 2, Los Angeles 1

Los Angeles, Ca (SportsNetwork.com) – Craig Smith tied the game in the third and Viktor Stalberg tallied the winner as the Nashville Predators defeated the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1, on Saturday night. Pekka Rinne stopped 19 shots for the Predators, who had lost seven of their last eight. Jeff Carter scored for Los Angeles, while Jonathan Quick made 20 stops in the loss.

Final Score: Colorado 3, Calgary 2

Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) – Alex Tanguay had a goal and an assist in the Colorado Avalanche’s 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday. Ryan O’Reilly and John Mitchell also scored for the Avs, while Tyson Barrie finished with two assists. Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves to help Colorado to its fifth win in six games.

Categorized in: NHL