National Hockey League Game Capsules

St. Paul, MN (SportsNetwork.com) – Justin Fontaine recorded a goal and an assist and the Minnesota Wild struck early and often in a 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues. The Wild followed up two unanswered first-period goals with three more in the second en route to their second win over the Blues in a week. Minnesota posted a 3-1 decision between the Central Division rivals in St. Louis last Saturday. In this one, the Wild battered Blues netminder Brian Elliott for four goals on 16 shots before he was removed in favor of Jake Allen 4:05 into the second period. Jonas Brodin added a goal and an for Minnesota, which hasn’t dropped back-to-back games since Jan. 19-20. The Wild also received scores from Chris Stewart, Thomas Vanek and Mikko Koivu along with 26 saves from Devan Dubnyk. Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz each registered a goal and an assist for St. Louis, with Paul Stastny tallying late in the loss.

Final Score: Vancouver 4, Los Angeles 1

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Radim Vrbata’s third-period goal on an extended power play was the difference in the Vancouver Canucks’ 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in a key Pacific Division clash. Vrbata’s game- winner came 4:05 into the third on a 5-on-3 created when Kings forward Tyler Toffoli was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for shoving Vancouver’s Alex Burrows into the boards from behind with the game tied at 1-1. Daniel Sedin and Bo Horvat tacked on empty-net goals in the final minute to seal the Canucks’ fifth win in seven games, while Vrbata added an assist on Nick Bonino’s second-period score to support Eddie Lack’s 25 saves. Vancouver entered the day in second place in the Pacific, two points ahead of the Kings and one in front of Calgary. Los Angeles received 38 saves from Jonathan Quick in defeat. Marian Gaborik accounted for the lone Los Angeles goal.

Final Score: Columbus 3, Calgary 2 (OT)

Calgary, AB (SportsNetwork.com) – Rene Bourque’s second goal of the contest was the game winner with 58.5 seconds remaining in overtime, and Columbus nipped Calgary, 3-2, at the Saddledome. Kevin Connauton carried the puck along the right side over the goal line and threw a shot on net, where Bourque scooped up the rebound and slid the deciding marker past Ramo’s pad on the near side. Artem Anisimov provided the other offense for the Blue Jackets, who swept their western Canadian road trip and have won six of their last seven overall. Sergei Bobrovsky backed up his club with a 38-save effort. Sean Monahan and Jiri Hudler both posted a goal and one assist for the Flames, who have dropped three of their last four. Calgary nonetheless moved two points ahead of the Kings — who lost to Vancouver earlier Saturday — in the Pacific Division. Karri Ramo took the loss after stopping 23 shots.

Final Score: Winnipeg 3, Washington 0

Winnipeg, MB (SportsNetwork.com) – Ondrej Pavelec stopped 28 shots for his second shutout of the season to lead the Winnipeg Jets in a 3-0 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Mark Scheifele posted a goal and an assist while Mark Stuart and Adam Lowry also scored for the Jets, who have ripped off four straight wins. Braden Holtby turned aside 21 shots for the Capitals, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Final Score: NY Rangers 3, Carolina 2 (SO)

Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Cam Talbot made 28 saves, then two more in a shootout to lead the New York Rangers to a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night. Mats Zuccarello beat Anton Khudobin with a forehand deke for the only goal in the shootout after J.T. Miller and Jesper Fast scored in regulation for New York. The Rangers rebounded from a 1-0 loss to Chicago on Wednesday night, winning for the sixth time in seven games to remain two points behind Montreal for first place in the Eastern Conference. It was their sixth consecutive win over Carolina and 16th in the last 17 meetings.

Final Score: NY Islanders 3, New Jersey 0

Newark, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) – Jaroslav Halak returned from a lower-body injury to make 26 saves, and the New York Islanders snapped their season-worst skid with a 3-0 blanking of the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Halak, who sat out the Islanders’ last game, earned his fifth shutout of the season. Ryan Strome and Travis Hamonic each had a goal and one assist for the Islanders, who also got a boost from the return of Nick Leddy. The defenseman missed the last four games with an upper-body injury and New York lost all of them. Cory Schneider stopped 27 shots for New Jersey, which had its three-game winning streak ended.

Final Score: Florida 2, Boston 1 (SO)

Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Brandon Pirri netted the lone score in the shootout, sending Florida past Boston by a 2-1 count in a matchup rife with playoff implications on Saturday. Jimmy Hayes tallied in regulation for the Panthers, winners of two straight and five of seven to pull within four points of the final wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference. Roberto Luongo ended up with 26 stops. Jaromir Jagr participated in his 1,540th NHL contest, tying him with Johnny Bucyk for 12th place on the all-time list. Patrice Bergeron netted the lone goal for the Bruins, who just so happen to hold that final postseason berth despite having dropped four in a row but two beyond regulation. Tuukka Rask lost despite 24 saves.

Final Score: Ottawa 5, Toronto 3

Ottawa, ON (SportsNetwork.com) – Kyle Turris finished with two goals, including the game-winner, to power the Ottawa Senators to a 5-3 victory over the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Erik Karlsson tallied a goal and an assist, while Curtis Lazar and Mike Hoffman also scored for the Senators, who have won six straight games and nine of their last 10. Andrew Hammond made 22 saves to improve to 13-0-1 as an NHL starter and picked up an assist on Turris’ empty-net goal. He is the fifth goaltender in NHL history to have 14 consecutive starts without a regulation loss to start a career. Joakim Lindstrom, Tim Erixon and Leo Komarov all lit the lamp in the Maple Leafs’ fifth straight loss. James Reimer allowed three goals on 18 shots, while Jonathan Bernier stopped 21-of-22 shots in relief.

Final Score: Montreal 2, San Jose 0

Montreal, QC (SportsNetwork.com) – Carey Price posted his ninth shutout of the season as the Montreal Canadiens blanked the San Jose Sharks, 2-0, on Saturday night. Price made 29 saves in Montreal’s third win in its last four games. Tomas Plekanec scored what turned out to be the game-winner late in the first period, while Brendan Gallagher added an empty-net goal late in regulation. Antti Niemi stopped 27 shots for the Sharks, who have lost three of four as they attempt to make a late push for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Final Score: Dallas 4, Chicago 0

Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Kari Lehtonen turned aside all 33 shots he faced for his fifth shutout of the season to lead the Dallas Stars in a 4-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. Patrick Eaves and Jason Spezza each posted a goal and an assist, while Shawn Horcoff and Tyler Seguin also scored for the Stars, who have won five of their last six games. Corey Crawford allowed all four goals on 29 shots for the Blackhawks, who had a four-game winning streak snapped. Chicago is now four points behind both Nashville and St. Louis for first place in the Central Division.

Final Score: Nashville 3, Buffalo 0

Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Pekka Rinne notched his fourth shutout of the season with a 22-save performance, and Nashville downed Buffalo by a 3-0 count at Bridgestone Arena. Taylor Beck, Craig Smith and Mike Fisher lit the lamp for the Predators, who had gone just 2-6-1 in the month of March until Saturday night. Ryan Ellis and Matt Cullen added two assists each for the hosts. Matt Hackett took the loss in spite of 40 stops for the Sabres, who have lost nine of their last 10.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 3, Arizona 1

Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – Daniel Winnik scored the game-winning goal as the Pittsburgh Penguins halted a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. Brandon Sutter provided an interesting tally, Sidney Crosby supplied a goal and an assist and Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves for the Penguins, who are only two points behind the New York Islanders for third in the Metropolitan Division. Tobias Rieder’s short- handed marker accounted for the Coyotes’ lone strike and Mike Smith stopped 34 shots in the team’s seventh straight loss.

Final Score: Edmonton 5, Philadelphia 4 (OT)

Edmonton, AB (SportsNetwork.com) – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins started the scoring and ended it. Nugent-Hopkins scored the game-winning goal with 2:14 left in overtime as the Edmonton Oilers topped the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 on Saturday. After Ben Scrivens made several big saves early in the extra session, Nikita Nikitin fired a shot from the left circle. Ray Emery knocked it down with his glove, but Nugent-Hopkins backhanded the rebound into the net to give the Oilers the win. Nugent-Hopkins finished with two goals and an assist, Jordan Eberle scored and added a helper and Teddy Purcell and Matt Hendricks also lit the lamp for the Oilers, who have earned points in four straight games (2-0-2). Scrivens made 27 saves. Claude Giroux scored twice, Jakub Voracek supplied three assists, while Michael Raffl and Ryan White also provided offense for the Flyers, who have lost four straight games and nine in a row on the road, which is the most since an 0-8-2 stretch during the 1991-92 season. Emery made 29 stops in a surprise start after Steve Mason skated off the ice during pre-game warmups with an illness.

Categorized in: NHL