A Day in the NHL: Sens win Big; Leafs Snap Skid; Bruins Eke One Out
By Editorial Staff
The Night that Was:
The Boston Bruins probably didn’t think they’d suffer a scare at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens, but it nearly happened. Andrew Ference scored the only goal of the first to give Boston a 1-0 lead, and after Mathieu Darche tied it shorthanded, Benoit Pouliot and Patrice Bergeron made it 3-1 Boston. With Tim Thomas in net for a top team in the East, you’d figure this one would be wrapped up, but Montreal didn’t quit. Max Pacioretty’s 24th came early in the third and Erik Cole tied it up seven minutes later to send this one to a shootout. Of the six shooters, only Tyler Seguin would score to give Boston the win, 4-3. Cole had a two point night for the Habs as Price made 31 saves in a losing effort and Thomas made 26 stops.
Florida is a division-leader and third in the Eastern Conference, but they didn’t play like it last night. In the first, Jim O’Brien gave the Sens a 1-0 lead, before Shawn Matthias’ 10th would tie it up. After that though, it was all Sens. Kaspars Daugavins, Bobby Butler, and Daniel Alfredsson all came up with goals in the second and Milan Michalek and Filip Kuba scored goals in the third to bookend one by Sean Bergenheim for a 6-2 Senators win. A night after a hat-trick, Jason Spezza had three assists while Michalek, Alfredsson, Daugavins, and Brian Lee all had two points. Craig Anderson was busy too, making 42 saves for the victory.
In a battle of two divisional opponents, the Colorado Avalanche were hoping to hand the Canucks their first regulation loss since January 15th. It didn’t go that well though. David Booth scored his 11th just 13 seconds into the game, and while Erik Johnson would tie it in the second period, Jannik Hansen and Alex Burrows would ensure Vancouver escaped with a 3-1 win. Eight Canucks recorded points as Roberto Luongo made 29 saves for his fourth win in his last five starts.
The Toronto Maple Leafs needed a win, and Tim Connolly needed a goal. Both of those things happened last night. The Leafs had a 2-0 lead early after Joffrey Lupul scored his 23rd 40 seconds in and Matthew Lombardi scored his seventh just a minute later. The early scoring continued when Ben Eager made it 2-1 2:32 in but that was it for the first. Taylor Hall’s 20th tied the game up in the second and Jake Gardiner and Jordan Eberle traded goals in the third, sending things off to overtime. With the only shot of the extra frame, Tim Connolly slid his 8th past Nikolai Khabibulin on an odd-man rush to give the Leafs a 4-3 win. Lupul and Cody Franson each had two points as James Reimer made 29 saves for the win.
The Rest of the Story
The Ducks stopped by Pittsburgh last night to take on the Penguins, and despite a first-period goal by Jordan Staal, the Ducks pulled out a win. They scored a late second period goal off the stick of Corey Perry and one in the third from Teemu Selanne for a 2-1 win. Selanne’s goal was number 656, tying him with Brendan Shanahan on the all-time list. Jonas Hiller made 25 saves for the victory while Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves in the loss.
What’s on Tonight?
Just two Canadian teams in action tonight as Winnipeg visits Minnesota and Calgary stops by Dallas, so it’s an All-American rest of the slate. Chicago takes on the Rangers in New York, Buffalo stops by Philadelphia, and San Jose goes coast to coast when they meet up with the Lightning. The Islanders swing by St. Louis, while the late game is Phoenix taking on the Los Angeles Kings.
The Injury Bug:
-Kevin Dineen acknowledged that the absence of Jason Garrison will be a hard one to replace for the Florida Panthers. Garrison likely won’t be back until after next week.
-Mike Green returned to practice with the Capitals yesterday. Next week is likely for Green’s return, but they haven’t ruled out Green coming back this weekend.
-Cal Clutterbuck didn’t practice yesterday, and his lower-body injury has him listed as questionable.
News, Notes, and Rumours
-The Calgary Flames announced yesterday that they will be honoring Al MacInnis prior to a game February 27th. MacInnis won a Stanley Cup with Calgary along with a Conn Smythe Trophy. He is also a Hockey Hall of Fame member and had his number retired by St. Louis in 2006.
-While the Edmonton Oilers are sellers, it is hard to point that finger at anything other than Ales Hemsky that they might be selling. Ryan Smyth has made no secret about wanting to stay, and the Oilers want to hold on to Sam Gagner and Nik Khabibulin.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line(s) of the Night:
Jason Spezza could get it for a second-straight night with his three-assist night. One of those assists came on the power play and Spezza was a plus-two. Brian Lee also had a good night with two assists and a plus-two rating as well.