National Hockey League Game Capsules

Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – David Desharnais tallied a goal and an assist as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the struggling Buffalo Sabres, 3-1, at First Niagara Center. Andrei Markov contributed three helpers and P.K. Subban notched his 100th career assist on Desharnais’ second period goal. Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher added goals as the Canadiens won their fourth straight game. Carey Price turned away 24-of-25 shots in the win. Matt Moulson scored Buffalo’s lone goal. Ryan Miller allowed three goals on 31 shots for the Sabres, who have lost five consecutive games.

Final Score: Carolina 4, New Jersey 3

Newark, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) – Patrick Dwyer’s short-handed tally late in the second capped Carolina’s three-goal frame and proved to be the difference on Wednesday, as the Hurricanes held off the New Jersey Devils, 4-3, in the opener of a home-and-home set at Prudential Center. Tuomo Ruutu and Ron Hainsey also lit the lamp in the second, while Justin Faulk opened the scoring in the first with his first of the season for the Hurricanes, who have won two straight on the heels of a four-game slide. Cam Ward backstopped the victory with 19 saves. Travis Zajac, Andy Greene and Jaromir Jagr each scored once for the Devils, who have dropped their last three games. Martin Brodeur allowed all four goals on 22 shots in defeat.

Final Score: Winnipeg 3, NY Islanders 2

Uniondale, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Mark Stuart, Andrew Ladd and Devin Setoguchi tallied in the second period, leading Winnipeg to a 3-2 decision over the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. Al Montoya bested his former club by posting 28 saves for the Jets, who have won two in a row to chase away the memory of four consecutive losses. Andrew MacDonald and John Tavares scored for the Islanders, losers of four straight and nine of 11. Kevin Poulin stopped 26 shots in the setback.

Final Score: Ottawa 6, Washington 4

Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) – Zack Smith broke a tie with 2:23 remaining in the third period to help lift the Ottawa Senators to a 6-4 win over the Washington Capitals. Smith had been in the penalty box when Washington defenseman John Carlson knotted the score 64 seconds earlier. Bobby Ryan scored his second goal of the game into an empty net with 12.6 seconds for the Senators, who registered their fifth straight victory over the Capitals, but posted their first regulation win at Verizon Center since March 12, 2006. Washington had gone 11-0-2 in its last 13 home games against Ottawa.

Final Score: Nashville 4, Columbus 0

Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) – Marek Mazanec made 19 saves to notch his second career shutout as the Nashville Predators beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-0, on Wednesday. Matt Cullen and Nick Spaling both had a goal and an assist for the Predators, who have won five of their past six games. Mike Fisher and David Legwand also lit the lamp. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25- of-29 shots for the Blue Jackets, who fell to 9-13-3 on the season.

Final Score: Detroit 6, Boston 1

Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork.com) – Johan Franzen collected three assists and the Detroit Red Wings rode an offensive surge to a 6-1 win over the Boston Bruins at Joe Louis Arena. Henrik Zetterberg was one of four players to register a goal and an assist for Detroit, which has won two straight and three of its last four games thanks to a season high for scores in one game. Jonas Gustavsson was hardly tested by the Boston, needing to make only 16 saves to improve his record this season to 6-0-1. Tuukka Rask surrendered all six goals on 28 shots for the Bruins, who had picked up at least a point in their last five games (4-0-1).

Final Score: Tampa Bay 4, Philadelphia 2

Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Victor Hedman scored twice and Tampa Bay almost coughed up a three-goal lead in the final two minutes of regulation, but topped Philadelphia, 4-2, spoiling Vincent Lecavalier’s return. In 14 seasons and 1,037 games with the Lightning, the former No. 1 pick of the 1998 draft totaled team records of 1,037 games played and 383 goals, along with 491 assists and 874 points. He was honored by the hosts with a lengthy video tribute in the first period which drew a standing ovation. Ondrej Palat also lit the lamp for the Lightning, who have won two straight after losing four in a row and moved within one point of first-place Boston in the Atlantic Division. Seemingly on his way to a shutout, Anders Lindback was beaten twice in a 40-second span, by Lecavalier and Mark Streit, but won thanks to 19 saves. Ray Emery made 31 stops for the Flyers, who dropped both ends of their Florida sojourn after winning three straight home games.

Final Score: NY Rangers 5, Florida 2

Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Mats Zuccarello had a goal and an assist in the New York Rangers’ 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. Derick Brassard, Brad Richards, Rick Nash and Carl Hagelin also lit the lamp for the Rangers, who improved to 3-1-0 on a five-game road trip that ends Friday in Boston. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 31-of-33 shots in the victory. Scottie Upshall and Nick Bjugstad scored for the Panthers, who have lost three of their past four games. Tim Thomas turned aside 17-of-21 shots.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 6, Toronto 5 (SO)

Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Evgeni Malkin’s second goal of the night tied the game in the third, then both he and Sidney Crosby scored in the shootout, as the Pittsburgh Penguins earned a 6-5 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday at CONSOL Energy Center. Pittsburgh trailed 4-1 early in the second and 5-3 heading into the third before James Neal potted a power-play goal at 3:46 and Malkin followed just under four minutes later with his sixth of the season to tie the tilt. Despite outshooting the Leafs 19-0 over the final 25 minutes, the Penguins were unable to push the go-ahead goal past Jonathan Bernier, forcing the game into a shootout. After both shooters came up empty in the first round, Crosby skated in and got Bernier to commit early on a poke check before stuffing the disc into the net. Rookie Jeff Zatkoff, in his first NHL shootout, then stoned David Clarkson before Malkin ended the game with a quick wrister past Bernier’s blocker side. Malkin added his 24th assist of the season, while Kris Letang registered a goal and two assists, and Neal notched a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who had dropped two straight. Zatkoff stopped 11 shots in relief of starter Marc-Andre Fleury, who was pulled early in the second after giving up three goals on 11 shots. James van Riemsdyk scored twice and added an assist, while Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel each lit the lamp once for the Leafs, who have lost two straight. Bernier allowed five goals on 48 shots in defeat.

Final Score: Phoenix 3, Minnesota 1

St. Paul, MN (SportsNetwork.com) – Radim Vrbata lit the lamp twice as the Phoenix Coyotes defeated the Minnesota Wild, 3-1, at Xcel Energy Center. Mikkel Boedker added the other goal and Derek Morris had two assists in the win. Thomas Greiss made 28 saves as the Coyotes snapped a three-game losing streak. Dany Heatley notched Minnesota’s only goal halfway through the third with Nino Niederreiter and Kyle Brodziak picking up the assists. Niklas Backstrom made 23 saves for Minnesota, which saw its six-game home winning streak come to an end.

Final Score: St. Louis 4, Colorado 1

Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) – Alexander Steen tied for the NHL lead in goals by potting his 20th, and the St. Louis Blues ended a long drought in the Mile High City with a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. David Backes had a goal and an assist for the Blues, who extended their winning streak to a season-high five games with their first triumph at Pepsi Center since April 12, 2009. They had lost eight straight in Denver. Jaroslav Halak made 25 saves to earn the win. The Colorado Avalanche, who had won three games in a row, were seeking payback against St. Louis. The Blues thumped Colorado 7-3 on Nov. 14 and dominated their Central Division foe again on Wednesday. Semyon Varlamov stopped 31 shots in defeat.

Final Score: Chicago 3, Calgary 2

Calgary, AB (SportsNetwork.com) – Patrick Kane scored two third period goals and goaltender Antti Raanta won his first career game as the Chicago Blackhawks came back late to defeat the Calgary Flames, 3-2, at Scotiabank Saddledome. Kane notched the game-winner with 18 seconds remaining. Niklas Hjalmarsson fired a shot from the point that deflected off a Calgary defender. The puck went right to Kane, who turned around and fired a backhander that beat Retto Berra. Patrick Sharp had the other goal and Hjalmarsson contributed two assists in the win. Raanta turned away 20 shots in his first career start. Matt Stajan and Sean Monahan accounted for Calgary’s two goals, while Berra made 28 saves for the Flames, who have lost two of their last three.

Final Score: San Jose 3, Los Angeles 2 (SO)

San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Joe Thornton scored once in regulation and netted the game-winner in the eighth round of the shootout to lift the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 triumph over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday at SAP Center. After Logan Couture came up empty to start the shootout, Anze Kopitar and Joe Pavelski exchanged markers to tie the shootout at one. Both teams missed in the third round before the next four shooters each scored to keep the extra session going. After the next four shooters came up empty, Thornton skated down the right side and stuffed a backhander between the post and the left pad of Ben Scrivens to put the Sharks on top. Tyler Toffoli had a chance to extend the shootout, but was turned aside by Antti Niemi, who finished with 38 saves. Pavelski also lit the lamp in regulation for the Sharks, who have won three straight and six of their last seven. Drew Doughty and Jeff Carter each scored once for the Kings, who extended their point streak to 11 games despite the setback. Scrivens stopped 38 shots in defeat.

Categorized in: NHL