A Day in the NHL: Crosby and Ovechkin Lead Pens, Caps to Wins; Elliott Shuts-Out Coyotes
By Editorial Staff
The Night that Was:
The Washington Capitals moved themselves into a tie with Buffalo last night for eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 3-0 win over the Minnesota Wild. Jason Chimera (19) and Mathieu Perreault (14) both scored second period goals while Alex Ovechkin chipped in with his 36th to seal the victory. Ovie had two points as Braden Holtby made 28 saves for his second win of the season and first shutout of the season. Ovie is now four goals shy of 40 for the sixth time in seven seasons.
In a matchup of teams that were at the bottom of the standings, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Edmonton Oilers both wanted a win. Mark Letestu’s 10th was the only goal of the first, giving the Jackets a 1-0 lead. Then the Oilers came alive. Ryan Jones (17), Chris Vandevele (1-first NHL goal), Ladislav Smid (5), Ben Eager (8), and Sam Gagner (17) all scored in the second to overshadow the 26th of the season from Rick Nash to take a 5-2 lead to the third. Derick Brassard (13) and Eric Belanger (4) would score to make it a 6-3 Oilers final. Nash was in on two of the three Columbus goals, while Jones had three points, Smid had two, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Ryan Whitney, and Jordan Eberle all finished with two assists.
With the Southeast division surging behind them, the Florida Panthers could have certainly used a win last night. Things started well when Stephen Weiss’ 19th gave them a 1-0 lead, but the New York Islanders tied it up in the second on Matt Moulson’s 34th. Tomas Fleischmann (24) and Kyle Okposo (17) traded goals in the third period to send it to a shootout. Frans Nielsen scored in the first round and John Madden, Wojtek Wolski and Marcel Goc were all stopped as the Isles earned a 3-2 win. Fleischmann and Tomas Kopecky both earned two-point evenings while Evgeni Nabokov made 33 saves for the win.
The Pittsburgh Penguins continued to flex their offensive muscles last night. On goals from Chris Kunitz (23) and Jordan Staal (23), they led 2-1 after the first (New Jersey’s goal was Zach Parise’s 30th). Pascal Dupuis added his 23rd in the second, and after Ilya Kovalchuk’s 32nd dropped it to a one-goal lead Sidney Crosby (4) and Evgeni Malkin (46) wrapped up a 5-2 Pens win. Kunitz, Malkin, Crosby, Staal and Dupuis all finished with one goal and one assist, while Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves for win number 41, a new career-high.
Nashville continues to roll towards the playoffs, this time making Chicago a victim. Matt Halischuk (14) and Andrei Kostitsyn (16) scored in the first and Patric Hornqvist added his 25th for a 3-0 lead before the game was 30 minutes old. Francis Boullon opened the third with his 2nd of the season, before Viktor Stalberg (19) scored Chicago’s only goal of the night. Shea Weber (16) and Mike Fisher (24) would both add goals to wrap up a 6-1 win. Hallischuk, Weber, Hornqvist, and Fisher all had two points, and Pekka Rinne made 24 saves for win number 41 and added an assist to boot.
After a scoreless first period, the Boston Bruins got out to a 2-0 lead before the second was six minutes old thanks to Zdeno Chara (12) and Benoit Pouliot (13). Teemu Selanne’s 24th of the season would cut it to 2-1 before the second was out, but in the third Brian Rolston would add his 7th to salt it away. Lubomir Visnovsky scored his sixth to make it a 3-2 Bruins’ victory. Rolston, Pouliot, and Chris Kelly all had two points as Marty Turco earned his first win as a Boston Bruin.
Brian Elliott was on his game last night against the Phoenix Coyotes. Through two periods he single-handedly kept the ‘Yotes off the board while Alex Pietrangelo gave the Blues the 1-0 through two with his 12th of the season. St. Louis exploded for three in the third from David Backes (23), Patrik Berglund (18), and Ryan Reeves (3) to seal off a 4-0 win over Phoenix, earning Elliott his 8th shutout of the season. Elliott had to make just 20 saves for the win while Kevin Shattenkirk had three assists and Backes and Pietrangelo each had two points.
What’s on Tonight?
Philadelphia plays host to Tampa Bay as the Lightning visit the Flyers, the Columbus Blue Jackets look for a rare road win in Detroit, Ottawa and Winnipeg tangle as the Jets can move four points out of the playoffs with a win, while Dallas stops by in Calgary and the Los Angeles Kings pay a visit to the Vancouver Canucks. Colorado and San Jose, in a three-way tie for eighth with 86 points with L.A. also go head-to-head, so at least one team will leapfrog Phoenix (87 points) for seventh in the West tonight.
The Injury Bug:
-Kris Letang looked shaken up last night with another possible head injury following a collision with Danius Zubrus. He left the game but did return. Still worth monitoring though.
-Colorado’s Erik Johnson has missed three-straight games with back spasms. There is no timetable for his return.
-With Nicklas Backsrom returning to practice with the Washington Capitals, it’s thought that he’ll be able to return within the next three games.
-In other concussion news, Jonathan Toews is skating, but there is still to progress towards taking contact in practice.
-Alex Steen returned to the Blues lineup last night after missing 39 games due to a concussion.
News, Notes, and Rumours
-Chuck Kobasew has been fined the maximum amount allowed under the CBA for a hit on Aaron Rome Saturday when the Canucks and Avalanche played.
-Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh), Ryan Miller (Buffalo), and Alex Ovechkin (Washington) have been named the NHL’s 3-Stars of the week.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line(s) of the Night:
Pekka Rinne will get a nod as not only did he get win number 41 thanks to a 24-save performance, but he also added an assist to boot. That gives him four this season, tying him for the lead amongst goalies. Kevin Shattenkirk had a nice night too with three assists of his own. Two of his assists came on the power play, and he added a +1 rating to boot.