National Hockey League Game Capsules

Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Jaromir Jagr passed Phil Esposito for fifth place on the NHL’s all-time goals list with No. 718 and the Florida Panthers beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 on Thursday night. Brandon Pirri and Scottie Upshall also scored and Roberto Luongo returned from a six-game absence to make 25 saves for the Panthers, who are fighting to join the Red Wings in playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Luongo made his first appearance since a March 3 loss to Toronto, when he left the game between the first and second periods but was forced back into action after backup Al Montoya was also injured. His return saw the Panthers, seven points out of a playoff spot when the day began, snap a two-game losing streak. Erik Cole scored for Detroit and Petr Mrazek gave up three goals on 32 shots.

Final Score: Ottawa 6, Boston 4

Ottawa, ON (SportsNetwork.com) – Kyle Turris finished with two goals and one assist, as Ottawa outgunned Boston by a 6-4 count in a contest with playoff- seeding implications. Milan Michalek added a goal and two assists for the Senators, who have won five in a row and pulled within two points of their opponents in the race to lock up the final wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference. Bobby Ryan, David Legwand and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also lit the lamp in the victory. Andrew Hammond’s streak of allowing two or fewer goals to start his career ended at 12 games, tying him with Boston’s Frank Brimsek. Nonetheless, he remained unbeaten in regulation thanks to 31 saves. Ryan Spooner tallied twice while Carl Soderberg and Torey Krug added a goal apiece for the Bruins, who have dropped three straight. David Pastrnak contributed two assists, but Tuukka Rask allowed five scores on 31 shots in defeat.

Final Score: Montreal 4, Carolina 0

Montreal, QC (SportsNetwork.com) – Carey Price made 31 saves for his eighth shutout of the season, and the Montreal Canadiens took over first place in the Eastern Conference with a 4-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. Price, who turned aside 16 shots in the third period, leads the NHL with a career-high 39 wins. Max Pacioretty and Dale Weise each had a goal and one assist as the Canadiens snapped a two-game home losing streak. Anton Khudobin stopped 18 shots for the Hurricanes, who have lost seven of their last nine games.

Final Score: San Jose 4, Toronto 1

Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) – Antti Niemi made 27 saves to help the San Jose Sharks pick up two key points in the playoff chase with a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. San Jose entered the day six points out of playoff position as it ended a two-game losing streak. The Sharks have five games left on their seven-game road trip, their longest of the season. Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture, Melker Karlsson and Tommy Wingels scored the San Jose goals. The Maple Leafs lost for the fourth time in a row despite getting 38 saves from Jonathan Bernier. Jake Gardiner scored their only goal.

Final Score: Winnipeg 2, St. Louis 1 (SO)

Winnipeg, MB (SportsNetwork.com) – Ondrej Pavelec made 32 saves through the first 65 minutes and then made two key stops in the shootout to help the Winnipeg Jets top the St. Louis Blues by a 2-1 score. Winnipeg entered the game holding onto the second wild card spot in the Western Conference and needed its third straight win to stay six points ahead of San Jose, which had beaten Toronto earlier Thursday. Drew Stafford scored the Jets’ goal in regulation and was one of two Jets to score in the shootout. The Blues lost their two-game winning streak despite 33 saves, including four in overtime, from Brian Elliott. David Backes scored his 25th goal of the season to help St. Louis earn a point.

Final Score: Washington 3, Minnesota 2

St. Paul, MN (SportsNetwork.com) – Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-leading 46th and 47th goals of the season, and the Capitals posted their first-ever win against the Wild in Minnesota with a 3-2 decision on Thursday night. Evgeny Kuznetsov also scored for Washington and Braden Holtby made 28 saves. The Capitals, who were 0-6-1 in their seven prior trips to Xcel Energy Center, have won three straight to tie the Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Christian Folin and Jared Spurgeon scored for Minnesota, which owns the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot. Devan Dubnyk gave up three goals on 27 shots in his 30th straight start. The Wild have won a franchise-record eight straight road games, but Thursday’s loss was the fourth in their last six home games.

Final Score: Dallas 2, Pittsburgh 1

Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Brett Ritchie and Jamie Benn scored within 83 seconds of each other in the second period and the Dallas Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Thursday night. Kari Lehtonen made 31 saves for the Stars, who have won six of their last eight and improved to 1-1 on a four-game homestand. Kris Letang scored and Marc-Andre Fleury gave up two goals on 26 shots for the Penguins, who have dropped four in a row. Pittsburgh, still without Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist, are now tied for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with Washington, which beat Minnesota on Thursday.

Final Score: Calgary 4, Philadelphia 1

Calgary, AB (SportsNetwork.com) – Johnny Gaudreau’s goal and two assists paced Calgary in a 4-1 decision over Philadelphia at the Saddledome. Sean Monahan and T.J. Brodie also scored while Jiri Hudler and Kris Russell tacked on two assists apiece for the Flames, who vaulted over idle Los Angeles for third place in the Pacific Division and into more favorable playoff positioning. Karri Ramo backed up his offense with a 26-save effort. Claude Giroux provided the lone tally for the Flyers, who dropped their eighth straight contest away from home (0-5-3) with their first loss in Calgary in 14 years. Steve Mason started and absorbed the loss after yielding two goals on 16 shots. Ray Emery finished up by allowing the other two scores on 10 shots.

Final Score: Colorado 5, Arizona 2

Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots and five different Colorado players lit the lamp in a 5-2 decision over Arizona on Thursday. Ryan O’Reilly, Jarome Iginla, Freddie Hamilton, Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog scored once each for the Avalanche, who opened a five- game road trip with their third straight win and sixth in seven overall. Oliver Ekman-Larsson netted both goals for the Coyotes, who dropped their sixth consecutive game. Louis Domingue allowed four goals on 28 shots in the loss.

Final Score: Columbus 6, Vancouver 2

Vancouver, BC (SportsNetwork.com) – Marko Dano recorded two of six unanswered Columbus goals that lifted the Blue Jackets to a 6-2 decision over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. All of the Blue Jackets’ scoring came over the final two periods, with Dano finishing with three points and Alexander Wennberg adding a goal and an assist. Rene Bourque, Cam Atkinson and Scott Hartnell also lit the lamp in Columbus’ fifth win in its last six games. Sergei Bobrovsky did his part as well for the Blue Jackets, coming up with a 38-save effort. Eddie Lack stopped 25-of-30 shots before being removed in favor of Jacob Markstrom midway through the third period. Daniel Sedin and Bo Horvat accounted for the Canucks’ two goals.

Categorized in: NHL