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Manne wrote: The best start in NHL history is over. The Chicago Blackhawks finally left the ice without a point - but with their heads held high.

The Blackhawks were stunned 6-2 by the struggling Colorado Avalanche on Friday night. It was their first loss in regulation and ended a remarkable run in which they earned at least one point in their first 24 games, an NHL record.

``We're proud of it, but it'll be nice to move on now,'' defenseman Duncan Keith said. ``It's hockey, we've lost games before in our lives. It's not like we're going to sit here and cry.''

Instead, they'll sit back and celebrate, said coach Joel Quenneville, who told his team afterward ``that they should be very proud of what they accomplished. They found different ways to win, night in and night out, and everyone contributed to something that hadn't been done.

``It's a great feather in our cap, but let's move forward here and try to get better. Certainly it was a lot of fun up to today.''

The Blackhawks (21-1-3) hadn't lost in regulation since a 6-1 rout by Nashville on March 25, 2012, and their last loss in regulation on the road came more than a year ago, with a 5-1 defeat at St. Louis on March 6, 2012.

Dating back to last year's regular season, the streak was 30 games.

Chicago's overall points streak was the second longest in NHL history. The 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers set the league record with a staggering 35-game unbeaten streak that included 25 wins and 10 ties - all in the same season.

Ending it was a jolt of adrenaline for the Avalanche, who started the night in last place in the Northwest Division. ``It's special, said Matt Duchene, who scored four points. ``It's obviously something no one had done yet. But what a run by them. I mean, first of all, congratulations to them. What a run they had. I don't think they're going to slow down because of this. But it's pretty special. It's a good feeling in here. We're pretty happy.''

Ryan O'Reilly got his first goal since his contract dispute was resolved more than a week ago and assisted on another goal in a four-goal onslaught in the second period that turned a 1-1 tie into a laugher, and Paul Stastny collected three points.

Duchene, John Mitchell and Jamie McGinn also put pucks past Corey Crawford in the second period for the Avalanche, who had lost six of their previous seven, including a 3-2 heartbreaker at Chicago 48 hours earlier.

Crawford (11-1-3) allowed five goals on 19 shots before being replaced in net by Ray Emery to start the third period.

``I didn't have it tonight,'' Crawford said. ``Didn't give our guys a chance.''

Semyon Varlamov had 30 saves for Colorado.

The Avalanche nearly ended the spectacular streak in Chicago on Wednesday night before the Blackhawks pulled out the win when Daniel Carcillo scored the tiebreaking goal with 49.3 seconds left. Chicago was skating without three key forwards and playing its second game in two nights then.

There was no such comeback Friday night at the Pepsi Center, where a good portion of the sellout crowd was rooting for the Blackhawks, who hadn't allowed more than four goals in a game this season or even trailed by more than two goals until the Avs' spectacular second period. ``It's a great confidence booster,'' Duchene said. ``It shows us we can play with anybody in this league.''

The crowd chanted, ``End of streak! End of streak!'' over the final minutes after P.A. Parenteau's 10th goal of the season made it 6-2.

Bryan Bickell's goal with 11:07 pulled the Blackhawks to 5-2 and he nearly scored again from the same spot 90 seconds later, but Varlamov smothered the shot, and that was that.

The teams got into a scuffle with 5:04 left after Bickell squared off with Gabriel Landeskog, who had checked Keith in the back.

Chicago's Jonathan Toews got the scoring started when he knocked the puck past Varlamov after a turnover on a give-and-go with forward Marian Hossa, who returned from an upper-body injury.

Colorado (9-10-4) tied it when Stastny, who was between the circles, tipped a pass from Duchene into the net. It was a rare power play goal for the Avalanche, who came into the game ranked 29th in the league with just 82 shots when skating with a man advantage.

Duchene's goal between Crawford's legs made it 2-1. Just 33 seconds later, Mitchell scored on an assist from O'Reilly, who was signed to a two-year $10 million deal last week after the Avalanche matched Calgary's offer sheet following a nasty contract dispute.

O'Reilly's goal came on a slap shot from the top of the right circle 4 seconds into another power play. Duchene set him up with a pass after Stastny won the faceoff.

Duchene got his third assist when he dug out a loose puck from the boards in a scramble with Keith and kicked it out to McGinn, who put made it 5-1.

``They had a good pace to their game and they were definitely on tonight,'' Quenneville said. Remarkable though it was, the streak had become somewhat of a burden for the Blackhawks.

``It's gained a lot of momentum over the last little while and our opponents, they treated it like it was a very important game,'' Quenneville said. ``You look at the standings and everyone has a meaningful game, but it seemed like there was added incentive as we've gone along. We welcomed the challenge.''

After a while, it seemed the streak had taken on a life of its own.

``I'd say the last handful of games the talk about it kind of got out of control,'' Toews said. ``The guys in our locker room, we always focused on the same thing, being prepared to play our team game. We never really got distracted by that. Maybe it does take a little bit of pressure off us and we can sit back and look at the good things we've done.''

The Blackhawks' run comes with somewhat of an asterisk because they actually lost three games along the way - all in shootouts. Under NHL rules, that's still worth a point, but that makes it different from what the Flyers accom
Wow.....That's a Lot to read. great artikel!
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USA TODAY Sports hockey columnist Kevin Allen offers his take on five underachieving teams that need a jump-start, an energy boost or what coaches would call a kick in the pants:

1. Philadelphia Flyers: The team's 4-10 road record is certainly among the most stunning stats at the season's midpoint.

The Flyers have been out of sync since the season started. Injuries to Scott Hartnell and Andrej Meszaros earlier this season left major holes, as did Matt Carle's offseason defection. The team's defensive play has not been where it needs to be.

General manager Paul Holmgren has to be reviewing all of his options for landing a defenseman in the trade market.

Was it one season too early to name Claude Giroux captain? He's probably putting a lot of pressure on himself to pull the Flyers out of the mess they are in. It's always easier to break in a new captain in a season when more things are going right than wrong.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning: GM Steve Yzerman took steps to improve the team defensively over the summer when he signed goalie Anders Lindback and defensemen Carle and Sami Salo.

But the Lightning own one of the league's worst goals-against averages.

That's particularly distressing because the Steven Stamkos-led Lightning boast one of the league's most dangerous offenses. The Pittsburgh Penguins are the only NHL team that has scored more goals than Tampa Bay this season.

Lindback's .894 save percentage has not helped, and now Mathieu Garon (.912) is on injured reserve.

Coach Guy Boucher certainly must be feeling the pressure to get his team's defensive play tightened. The Lightning are 2-8 in their last 10.

3. New Jersey Devils: This team reached the Stanley Cup Final last season, and now making the playofifs seems touch-and-go.

Martin Brodeur's injury has undermined the team's efforts. Popular backup goalie Johan Hedberg's .879 save percentage isn't up to his usual standards.

THE WINNER IS ...: Kevin Allen's midseason report

With a 3-6-1 record in their last 10 games and a 4-6-3 record on the road, the Devils are not playing as proficiently as they did last postseason.

But GM Lou Lamoriello traditionally has been an aggressive trader, annually making moves to improve his team.

It almost seems as if the Devils are waiting for that to happen.

4. Nashville Predators: The Predators are playing well enough defensively to be in the playoff picture, but the team's forwards have been in a half-season scoring slump. The Predators have been shut out five times in their nine regulation losses, and they have scored a total of eight goals in those losses.

Having Patric Hornqvist on the injured list adds to the team's problems.

This is a team that needs to improve its power-play percentage (16.5%) to about 20% and have its top players get hot or it isn't going to make the playoffs.

Nashville needs Martin Erat, Mike Fisher and David Legwand to start scoring.

5. Washington Capitals: There really hasn't been much resemblance between the Capitals team that has played for first-year coach Adam Oates this season and the one we thought we would see.

The Capitals were expected to compete for the Southeast Division championship. Instead, they are in an uphill climb to make the playoffs. They are closer to having the worst record than making the playoffs.

The team has struggled mightily on the road and has treaded water at home. Although the blame is getting assigned to captain Alex Ovechkin, it's not his fault alone.

The goaltending has been inconsistent, and the penalty killing ranks 29th out of 30 NHL teams.

The Capitals can't seem to find ways to win. It would help if Ovechkin could be Ovechkin vintage 2009-10, when he was a 50-goal scorer. Seeing Ovechkin third on his team in scoring just doesn't seem right.


5 NHL teams that need a kick in the pants
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Mason Raymond scored the only goal in the shootout, and seldom-used Roberto Luongo stopped 26 shots through overtime to lead the Vancouver Canucks past the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Luongo, playing in his second game in 16 days, stopped all three Blue Jackets in the shootout.

Raymond, shooting second for Vancouver, scored when he came to a quick stop, got goalie Sergei Bobrovsky on the ice, and then easily tapped a backhander into the net.

Jason Garrison had the lone goal before overtime for the Canucks, who had lost four straight (0-2-2).

Mark Letestu scored the only regulation goal for Columbus, but the Blue Jackets matched a franchise record by earning a point in an eighth consecutive game (5-0-3). Their five-game winning streak ended, one short of tying the franchise mark.

Raymond was 0 for 1 on shootout attempts this season before his game-winner.

Luongo, 2-3 in shootouts this season, had played only once since surrendering eight goals in an 8-3 loss on Feb. 24. In that other appearance he gave up three goals on 24 shots in a 4-2 loss at Calgary on March 3.

Bobrovsky, selected as the No. 1 star in the NHL last week, made his fifth straight start. He went 4-0 with a 0.77 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and his first career shutout a week ago.

He also earned a 2-1 overtime win over Vancouver last Thursday at home, stopping 34 shots. Bobrovsky has given up just five goals in six games.

Bobrovsky made 37 saves against the Canucks.

The Blue Jackets were fortunate to get out of the second period with a 1-1 tie - even though they scored first.

The Canucks outshot Columbus 19-6 in the period and seemed to have the best of it in stamina and speed.

Letestu opened the scoring when he took a chip pass along the right wall from Derick Brassard and then skated laterally to the right dot before wristing a shot at Luongo. The goalie blocked it, but the rebound came right back to Letestu who backhanded it into the net.

Late in the period, after controlling the pace throughout, the Canucks finally broke through against Bobrovsky.

As a power play was ending, Jannik Hansen passed the puck back to Garrison who stepped into a one-timer at the top of the left circle and sent a shot past Bobrovsky at 16:11.

A scoreless first period was fought on even terms and with each team killing a penalty. Luongo appeared shaken after teammate Alex Burrows lost an edge and crashed into him late in the period. Play resumed up the ice while both players slowly crawled out of the cage.

Perhaps the best scoring chance for either team in the third period came early when Brassard's blast from the left dot clanged off the far post.

Bobrovsky went down in the final minute after Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin hit him in the mask with his stick blade. The goalie, in his first year with the Blue Jackets after being acquired for draft picks from Philadelphia, blinked and wiped his face as if he had been hit in the eye.

NOTES: It was the last game of a three-game road trip for the Canucks. ... Brassard was playing in his 300th NHL game. ... Vancouver D Kevin Bieksa missed his fifth game because of a groin injury. ... The Blue Jackets, who killed two penalties, have not allowed a 5-on-4, power-play goal since Feb. 18, a span of 11 games. ... Columbus fourth-line center Derek MacKenzie didn't play (upper body). ... The Blue Jackets also strung together points in eight straight games (4-0-2-2) from Jan. 15 to Feb. 6, 2009.

Read more here: COLUMBUS, Ohio: Raymond, Luongo lead Canucks to win over Jackets | NHL Hockey | Idahostatesman-com
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It was Lars Eller's turn to shine for the Montreal Canadiens.

The Danish centre scored in the first period and added the decisive goal in a shootout Wednesday as the Canadiens stretched their winning run to four games with a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

Eller had been Montreal's best and hardest-working player all night, and he came through with the game-winner after Alex Galchenyuk and Jakob Silfverberg had traded goals during the first two rounds of the shootout.

"You want that chance to win it for your team, you want that responsibility, so it feels good right now," said Eller, who had seven of Montreal's 45 shots on Ottawa goalie Robin Lehner in regulation and overtime.

"It's good for this team that we can win all types of games. We can defend leads, we can catch up if we're behind. We won in a shootout this time. It's good for the team's confidence."

Brendan Gallagher and P.K. Subban had power play-goals in the second period for Montreal (18-5-4), which retained first place in the Eastern Conference despite some loose play in its first game at home after a five-game road trip.

Mika Zibanejad and Daniel Alfredsson had power-play goals for Ottawa (13-8-6), while Patrick Wiercioch also scored for the Senators, who are 1-2-4 in their last seven.

In the shootout, Eller used a drag move and lifted the puck over Lehner to put Montreal ahead and Carey Price then stopped Kyle Turris to end the game.

It was the third time in Ottawa's last five games that Lehner was on the wrong end of a shootout decision.

"I can't seem to find a way in the shootout and I'm a little tired of the one-point games," said the 21-year-old Swede. "Our guys are playing their hearts out and they deserve the two points.

"It feels good in the regular game and the overtime, but when it comes to the shootout, right now I'm not there. It's another speed. It's not the AHL any more. It's something I've got to work on because it's not working now. It sucks."

There was disappointment that Senators forward Kaspars Daugavins wasn't picked as one of Ottawa's three shooters. The Latvian was the talk of the NHL for his failed shootout attempt in a 3-2 loss to Boston on Monday in which he skated in with the puck pinned on the end of his stick and then made a turn-around move.

Coach Paul MacLean said Daugavins would have been his fourth shooter if one was needed and that the player "had something special again" in mind for his attempt. But he never got the chance to use it.

The result gave the teams two wins each in their four-game season series.
Subban a power-play force

Wiercioch, a rookie defenceman, scored his third goal in the last five games after not scoring in his first 26 in the NHL to tie things 3-3 early in the third. With a goal and an assist, Subban has points on Montreal's last nine power-play goals.

The Canadiens opened the scoring as recent callup Gabriel Dumont earned his first NHL point as he worked the puck from behind the net to Eller, who lifted it over Lehner at 7:02 of the first period.

An Ottawa power play was nearly over when Silfverberg made a sweet pass from a crowd in the corner to Zibanejad, who beat Price with a quick wrist shot to tie it at 10:26.

Pacioretty skated in off the boards and slipped a shot between Lehner's pads 6:40 into the second and Subban scored from the point on a shot that hit Ottawa defenceman Chris Phillips in front at 17:21.

Time was about to expire in the second period when Alfredsson aimed a shot over Price's shoulder that hit the camera inside the net and bounced out. Video replay confirmed the goal at 19:58.

Wiercioch tied it 1:50 into the third when he moved across the blue-line, put a move on Andrei Markov and scored on a wrist shot from the slot that beat Price between the legs.

The Canadiens were coming off a road trip in which they took eight of a possible ten points by winning in many different ways and finding different ways to score. It was their eighth straight game with at least three goals.

"I don't think we played our best game tonight," said Montreal defenceman Josh Gorges. "But we did good things when we had to.

"We cycled the puck in the offensive zone and got pucks in front of the net. I think we were sloppy at times though. Our penalty killing has to be better. We got loose in a few areas. But coming back after a long trip, we did what we had to do to get the two points."


Ottawa vs Montreal - Recap - NHL - Sports - CBC.ca
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Andrew Ebbett and Jannik Hansen both scored a goal and added two assists as the Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators 7-4 in NHL action Thursday night.

Ebbett's goal was his first of the season, which he has split between the Canucks and the minors. Hansen's three-point night was the first of his NHL career, which began with 10 playoff games in 2006-07.

The Canucks (13-7-6) posted their second-straight win while the Predators (11-10-6) had a rare off night defensively. Vancouver led 3-1 after the first period and 5-2 after the second before the Predators narrowed the gap briefly.

Alex Edler, Mason Raymond, Max Lapierre, Henrik Sedin on a penalty shot, and David Booth, into an empty net, also scored for the Canucks.

Matt Halischuk, Nick Spaling, Mike Fisher and Gabriel Bourque replied for the Predators, who outshot the Canucks 33-22.

All goals came at even strength as Nashville was blanked on four power plays and Vancouver went scoreless on two.

Nashville starting goaltender Pekka Rinne entered the game with two shutouts in his previous three games. But Ebbett, recalled Monday from Chicago of the AHL, opened scoring only 1:25 into the game after Hansen stole the puck off Nashville defenceman Scott Hannan behind the net and sent it out front. The goal ended Rinne's even-strength shutout streak at 186 minutes and 21 seconds.

Rinne was partly to blame though as he decided to leave the puck for Hannan instead of clearing it.

But Halischuk tied the score 1-1 two and a half minutes later as he jammed in his own rebound.

Edler put Vancouver ahead less than two minutes later as he ripped home a slap shot following a face-off. Raymond put the Canucks ahead 3-1 with just under two minutes left in the first period as he one-timed Ebbett's cross-ice pass. Hansen also assisted on the goal.

Goaltender Roberto Luongo preserved Vancouver's lead as he stopped Nashville captain Shea Weber on a one-timer with just over four minutes left in the first.

Lapierre increased the Canucks' advantage to 4-1 five and a half minutes into the second period as he scored on a breakaway coming out of the penalty box. He took a stretch pass from Dale Weise at Nashville's blue-line and beat Rinne with a shot through the legs.

The goal ended Rinne's night as coach Barry Trotz pulled him in favour of Chris Mason. Only 29 seconds later, Spaling reduced Nashville's deficit to 4-2 as his goal-mouth pass went in off Vancouver defenceman Kevin Bieksa.

But Hansen restored Vancouver's three-goal lead at 13:48 of the second period. While skating down the wing, he directed the puck at Mason and Preds defenceman Ryan Ellis fell and carried the disk and Mason into the net.

Vancouver's two second-period goals came on only four shots, while Nashville unleashed 12 at Luongo.

Fisher pulled the Predators to 5-3 as he beat Luongo with a backhand from the slot at 6:38 of the third period. Martin Erat had a chance to close the gap further midway through the final frame, but fired the puck way over the net while looking at an open top corner.

Bourque drew the Predators within a goal at 15:21 of the third. But Nashville's comeback hopes were short lived.

Henrik Sedin deked Mason on a penalty shot just over two minutes later after the Canucks captain was hooked on a breakaway. Then Booth scored into an empty net when Lapierre decided to pass instead of shooting.

The goal came shortly after both Lapierre and Booth hit the post with the Nashville net empty.



Nashville vs Vancouver - Recap - NHL - Sports - CBC.ca
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- Matt Read and Claude Giroux both scored goals in the shootout to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.

Read beat Johan Hedberg on the first shot and New Jersey's Ilya Kovalchuk matched him. Giroux scored the second shootout goal, and David Clarkson and Patrik Elias both failed in their attempts against Ilya Bryzgalov.

The slumping Flyers badly need this win following a 5-2 loss to the Devils on Wednesday. The Flyers are still on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Max Talbot scored in regulation for the Flyers and Clarkson had a goal for the Devils.

Bryzgalov finished with 26 saves.

FLAMES 6, PREDATORS 3

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Curtis Glencross had his second career hat trick to lead Calgary to its sixth straight home win.

Mark Giordano, Blake Comeau and Jiri Hudler also scored for the Flames, who scored on their first two shots.

Gabriel Bourque had his team-leading ninth goal for Nashville, and Mike Fisher and David Legwand also scored.

Predators goalie Pekka Rinne, who came in wiath a 2.13 goals-against average, was pulled for the second straight night after Comeau's goal put the Flames up two 8 minutes into the game. While he leads the NHL with five shutouts, Rinne has been pulled in four of his last eight starts.

RED WINGS 3, OILERS 2, OT

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Pavel Datsyuk scored at 3:39 of overtime as Detroit snapped it's three-game skid.

Valtteri Filppula and Niklas Kronwall scored in regulation for the Red Wings, and Jimmy Howard had 30 saves.

Taylor Jall and Sam Gagner had the Oilers' goals, and Devan Dubnyk finished with 25 saves.

On the game-winner, Datsyuk made a nice move to get past defender Jeff Petry and blasted a shot past Dubnyk.

Kronwall got credit for the tying goal with 5:53 to go in the third when Petry knocked the puck into the Oilers' net.



NHL Capsules - NHL-com - News
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Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat both scored their first NHL goals, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 on Saturday night.

Nate Thompson and Teddy Purcell also scored for the Lightning, who stopped a five-game losing streak at home. Tampa Bay is 3-8 in its last 11 games.

Eric Staal scored the only goal for the Hurricanes, who dropped to 3-7 against fellow Southeast Division games.

Tampa Bay, with Mathieu Garon starting in goal each time, has won all three games this season against the Hurricanes. Tampa Bay has beaten three Carolina goalies - Justin Peters, Cam Ward and Dan Ellis - in the process.

Carolina claimed Adam Hall off waivers from the Lightning before the game, and the veteran forward made his Hurricanes debut against his former team.

Johnson put the Lightning ahead 1-0 when he beat Peters from the low left circle with 9:06 left in the first. Tampa Bay (12-15-1) is 11-1 when leading after one period.

After Palat scored on a redirection of Sami Salo's shot from the blue line at 6:35 of the second, Thompson made it 3-0 with 7:05 to go in the period with a breakaway goal.

Purcell scored on a breakaway to put Tampa Bay up 4-0 at 3:54 of the third.

Staal ended Garon's shutout bid during a breakaway at 6:21.

The Hurricanes have allowed at least four goals in 12 of the past 16 games against the Lightning and have a 2-8-2 mark when they do.

Garon stopped three shots by Jordan Staal in the first and second periods. Peters made a glove save on Palat's diving backhander 7 minutes into the game.

Carolina defenseman Joe Corvo left in the second because of an undisclosed lower body injury.

NOTES: The Lightning wore green warmup jerseys during the pregame skate in honor of St. Patrick's Day. ... Hurricanes D Joni Pitkanen returned after being sidelined by a lower body injury. ... Tampa Bay recalled C Dana Tyrell from Syracuse of the AHL. ... Lightning C Tom Pyatt played after missing one game due to an upper body injury.

Read more here: Johnson, Palat score 1st NHL goals in TB win | CharlotteObserver-com
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The reigning NHL MVP is out indefinitely with an upper body injury. The league's top-scoring defenseman is out, too, apparently because of a lower body issue.

Still, it hardly matters for the streaking Pittsburgh Penguins.

Sidney Crosby scored his 13th goal, Joe Vitale added his first in more than a year, and Tomas Vokoun stopped 31 shots as the Penguins beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Sunday for their ninth straight win.

``It seems like it's always different guys, so that's what you need in order to have success consistently. We've been getting that lately,'' Crosby said. ``Our depth is a big part of our success. We need to continue to show that.''

The Penguins moved into the top spot in the Eastern Conference even without star center Evgeni Malkin - who missed his fifth consecutive game - and played the final two periods without defenseman Kris Letang, who didn't return after the first intermission following a seemingly innocuous collision with Boston's Brad Marchand.

The Bruins took advantage of Letang's absence by spending most of the game's final 40 minutes working in Pittsburgh's end of the ice. Still, they had nothing to show for it thanks to the Penguins' suddenly responsible defense.

Taken to task by coach Dan Bylsma for sloppy play following a comeback win over Philadelphia on March 7, Pittsburgh has responded by allowing just five goals in five games.

Barely 24 hours after shutting out the New York Rangers 3-0 behind No. 1 goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, Vokoun showcased why the Penguins traded for him during the offseason to give Fleury an experienced backup.

Having guys in front of Vokoun who played smartly with the puck instead of trying to make the spectacular play certainly helped.

``They played pretty sound defensively, you've got to give them that even though their top guys (were out),'' Marchand said. ``That makes it a little bit tough to play against, but we've got to find a way.''

Tyler Seguin scored his 10th goal for Boston, and Tuukka Rask made 16 saves but couldn't stop the Bruins from losing to Pittsburgh for the second time in less than a week.

The Penguins scored three times in the final 7 minutes Tuesday to steal a 3-2 victory. There were no dramatics necessary this time as hockey's hottest team never trailed to remain unbeaten in March.

``Our team defense has been a focus for us and how we play, and it's everybody,'' Bylsma said. ``The responsibilities of our forwards in the defensive zone has been a key for us both offensively and defensively. In the defensive zone we're six guys defending there.''

Crosby nearly netted his most spectacular goal of the season midway through the first period with a breathtaking rush in which he split a pair of defenders and then attempted to slip a shot under Rask while falling to the ice.

Rask stuck out his right pad to make the save, leaving the NHL's leading scorer to flash a wry grin.

The smile grew wider seconds later, when the Penguins won the ensuing faceoff, and Pascal Dupuis' crossing pass gave Crosby a wide-open net for the goal at 12:06.

``In a perfect world I'm pushing side-to-side, but things happen quick sometimes,'' Rask said. ``I just lost my footing a bit and couldn't make it.''

Seguin tied it 4:32 later when a shot from the point deflected off teammate Patrice Bergeron's skate and trickled right to him. Seguin had no trouble one-timing a shot past Vokoun.

Pittsburgh, the NHL's highest scoring team, moved back in front 2-1 when Vitale chipped a rebound over Rask for his first goal since Feb. 26, 2012, against Columbus - a span of 38 games for Vitale.

Asked if he intended to flick the puck just under the crossbar, Vitale laughed.

``Oh God no, I'm just trying to put it in the net, just try to find somewhere,'' Vitale said. ``I knew he was sliding across but I knew I had to put it somewhere upstairs but I really wasn't going for that spot.''

The lead held even with the Penguins playing the final two periods Letang. With the league's top-scoring defenseman out, the Penguins geared down a bit offensively, taking fewer chances than usual.

Boston's best chance to score over the final two periods came on a wraparound attempt by Seguin that slid across the goal mouth. The Bruins would get no closer, with Crosby providing a fitting ending by getting on his stomach to block a centering pass just before time expired.

``Thought we had a chance to win,'' Boston coach Claude Julien said. ``We spent more time in their end and we did all the things right except we couldn't get that goal. There was a couple of times where the goalie was out and we shot a puck and it looked like it was going, it hits a skate and goes wide and you get those games, you get those nights.''

NOTES: Boston center David Krejci left the game with 5:14 remaining after taking a slap shot off his right knee but Julien said he didn't think it was serious. ... In addition to Malkin, the Penguins also scratched D Simon Depres and D Robert Bortuzzo. ... The Bruins scratched D Aaron Johnson and LW Lane MacDermid. ... Both teams return to the ice on Tuesday when Pittsburgh hosts Washington and Boston plays at Winnipeg.



Boston vs Pittsburgh - Recap - NHL - Sports - CBC.ca
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The Anaheim Ducks have agreed on terms to re-sign right wing Corey Perry, matching the commitment they made to captain Ryan Getzlaf earlier this month, the team announced on Monday.

Perry, who has spent his entire NHL career with the Ducks while playing alongside Getzlaf, will sign an eight-year contract, reportedly worth $69 million, to equal the length of Getzlaf's latest deal.

"It was definitely a huge factor that he did stay here and he's committed here," Perry told reporters, of Getzlaf. "I called him last night right away when I found out what was going to happen. It's an exciting time for both of us."

Perry is currently serving a four-game suspension for an illegal hit last week that is scheduled to end on Wednesday.

He is among the Ducks team leaders with nine goals and 15 assists as Anaheim is on top of the Pacific Division with 46 points.

The 27-year-old Perry also helped lead the franchise to a Stanley Cup in 2007 while capturing the Hart Trophy in 2011.


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Matt Niskanen's goal and a key penalty kill kept the Pittsburgh Penguins' winning streak going.

Niskanen scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and Sidney Crosby had two assists and Pittsburgh Penguins extended their winning streak to 10 games with a 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves in his NHL-leading 16th win of the season.

Crosby picked up his league-leading 36th and 37th assists for the Penguins, who were without reigning MVP Evgeni Malkin (shoulder) for the sixth game in a row. The Penguins were also without defenseman Kris Letang (lower body injury).

``Obviously it's an important time in the game and I thought the penalty kill did an amazing job of stepping up to the challenge,'' Niskanen said.

``We created a lot of energy and some momentum from that. You could feel the crowd getting into it and we were able to go out on a rush there and finish and get the game-winner.''

The winning streak is the longest of the season for the Eastern Conference-leading Penguins and the second-longest in the NHL this season. The Penguins are the first team in NHL history to have 10-game win streaks in three consecutive seasons.

``The importance is probably greater just because of a shortened season, but I think the good thing for us is that we're playing so many games and I don't think anyone is thinking a whole lot about it, we're just going out there and playing the way that we need to,'' Crosby said.

The Penguins have also won a season-high eight games in a row at home.

Braden Holtby made 34 saves for Washington. Alexander Ovechkin scored his 12th goal of the season.

With the score tied 1-1 in the third period, Pittsburgh left wing Matt Cooke received a two-minute penalty for boarding Alex Ovechkin and two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct at 7:49. The first two minutes went by without a shot on goal by Washington. Fleury made a glove save on winger Eric Fehr and a kick save on Ovechkin and the Capitals did not get another shot before the power play expired.

``They did a good job keeping us to the outside,'' Fehr said. ``Obviously that was part of the game plan. We just passed it around, maybe trying to get a little too fancy. We've got to find a way to maybe have some more shots and have some traffic. They did a good job boxing out in front. I don't think Fleury was seeing a whole lot of pucks.''

The crowd noise in the arena grew as Washington's power play wound down. Niskanen picked off a pass in the crease and got it to Crosby to give the Penguins a 3-on-2 rush into the Capitals end with Cooke joining after he left the penalty box. Cooke fed Niskanen for his fourth goal of the season at 11:58.

``You feel that momentum switch, the place is getting crazy and you need to be able to withstand that,'' Washington coach Adam Oates said. ``But we turned it over at the end. It was a winnable game. At the end of that (power play) there's no way we should give up a turnover. That hurts.''

Both teams picked up a power-play goal in the second period. Washington took a 1-0 lead when Ovechkin one-timed a bouncing puck past Fleury for his 12th goal of the season at 8:14.

Pittsburgh tied the game three minutes later when Paul Martin scored his sixth goal of the season, a rising one-timer from the point that sailed into the top right corner of the net. It was the Penguins' seventh shot of the power play and 21st of the game.

``This one's really disappointing,'' Fehr said. ``I thought we had this game. We worked really hard and we did a lot of things we need to do to win games. When you run into a hot team like this they just seem to find a way to win. I thought we deserved that one.''

NOTES: Pittsburgh C Evgeni Malkin has missed six consecutive games since taking a hit from Toronto LW James van Riemsdyk on March 9. Malkin hopes to be ready to play Friday at the New York Islanders. ... Pittsburgh D Kris Letang was injured during Sunday's win over Boston. ... The game marked the start of a season-long, four-game road trip for the Capitals. It was also the third and final meeting between the rivals this season. ... Washington D Dmitri Orlov made his season debut. . D Brooks Laich returned after missing 28 games. ... Washington was without defensemen Tom Poti, who was injured Sunday, as well as Mike Green, John Erskine and Tomas Kundratek. ... The Capitals are 4-9-1 on the road with all four wins against opponents from the Southeast Conference.



Washington vs Pittsburgh - Recap - NHL - Sports - CBC.ca
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Hockey has always been a tough, physical game, especially at the NHL level. It takes a certain type of toughness to play the game well and, in some cases, even a certain amount of meanness.

Here is a look back at 13 players, a baker's dozen if you will, who were known for playing a mean and tough style of hockey. Quite simply put, these are the meanest players in NHL history.

It's not easy to make this list. If there are only 13 players on here, some pretty mean hombres are going to be left off the list. So guys like Tiger Williams, Matthew Barnaby, Bob Probert and Joe Kocur did not make the final cut here.

Meanness goes beyond just dropping the gloves. It requires going beyond just playing tough or dropping the gloves. It requires an extra level of hatred, a willingness to violate the game's unwritten rules and codes of conduct.

Here are the 13 meanest players in NHL history. Feel free to comment on players you feel belong on this list and tell us why they should be there.

Sit back and enjoy the NHL's 13 meanest players.


The 13 Meanest Players in NHL History | Bleacher Report
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After a long, tough road trip, the Nashville Predators were definitely happy to be home on Thursday night.

Mike Fisher scored two goals and the Predators beat the Calgary Flames 5-3 to snap a four-game losing streak.

Martin Erat, Nick Spaling, and Brandon Yip had the other goals for the Predators, and Pekka Rinne made 19 saves.

Mark Giordano, Blake Comeau, and Jarome Iginla scored for the Flames, who have dropped eight consecutive road games.

The Predators grabbed control with four consecutive goals beginning late in the first period and carrying over to the third. Nashville improved to 7-2-4 at home.

Fisher converted a nice feed from Erat to tie it at 2 in the first, then put Nashville in front at 13:24 of the middle period. Carrying the puck down the right side, Roman Josi threw a pass to Fisher on the left side, and he beat Miikka Kiprusoff for his ninth of the season.

``They were great plays,'' Fisher said. ``Marty made a great play forechecking on that first one and I was right in the slot. Josi made a perfect play backdoor to me. I was just in the right place at the right times.''

Just a minute later, Spaling deflected a slap shot from defenseman Victor Bartley by Kiprusoff for his sixth on the year. The assist was Bartley's first NHL point.

Yip provided another insurance goal at 15:54 of the third, and Iginla scored on a power play with one minute remaining.

``You look at the standings and how close they are, what a couple wins can do, and we've come on this road trip and haven't gotten those,'' Iginla said. ``We know where we stand and how much time is left.''

Giordano got Calgary off to a nice start with a short-handed goal at 5:01 of the opening period. Lee Stempniak forced a turnover by Josi and carried the puck in along the left side before finding Giordano above the left circle, where he fired a one-timer by Rinne for his third on the season. Erat responded with a power-play goal at 11:36 when he redirected Josi's slap shot from the blue line by Kiprusoff, who finished with 18 stops.

``The most important thing is we got the two points,'' Erat said. ``We had a couple of bad mistakes the last three, four games, and it happens. It is a long season and we bounced back today.''

Calgary came up with another short-handed goal when Giordano made a nice pass from the left faceoff dot to Comeau, who was coming down the right side. He tipped the puck by Rinne for his fourth of the season at 13:05.

``It was the perfect scenario,'' Flames coach Bob Hartley said of the two short-handed goals. ``I felt that we wanted to start with jump. We wanted to get the first goal, and that's exactly what we did. Giveaways simply killed us.''

Nashville has allowed three short-handed goals in its last three games and four this season, equaling its total from the 2011-12 season.

``The thing that impressed me the most was that we didn't go into a shell,'' Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. ``We've had a little bit of bad luck and a little bit of bad play that goes along with it. We didn't score first tonight. As I said before the game, I wanted to keep a positive spirit.''

NOTES: Calgary D Jay Bouwmeester recorded an assist for his 300th career NHL point. ... Stempniak has a goal and five assists in his last four games. ... Fisher has points in five consecutive games, a season-long streak. ... Nashville C Craig Smith was a healthy scratch. It was the first game he has missed this season.



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“The law,” as Mr. Bumble so aptly put it in Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, “is a ass — a idiot.”

In this case, we are not talking about 17th century English law, the part that supposed that a man’s wife acted under his direction at all times. (“If that’s the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor,” Bumble lamented.)

We are, today, addressing the law of the National Hockey League, under which “direction” is a fluid concept, written in chalk, designed to be heavily underlined and accompanied by a stern finger-wag, or erased, according to the wind direction.

Case in point: Vancouver Canucks defenceman Alex Edler, pursuing a puck behind the Phoenix Coyotes’ net Thursday, finds goalie Mike Smith is in the process of playing it. Edler barges into him from behind, knocking the goalie flat, touching off a minor brouhaha as the Coyotes, quite reasonably, rush to their ’keeper’s defence.

Edler gets five minutes for charging, a hearing late Friday and eventually a two-game suspension from Brendan Shanahan’s department of player safety, a title which, if you were visiting from another planet, you might assume was all about the safety of players. You would be wrong.

And here is where the law is substantially as Mr. Bumble described it.

Two springtimes ago (not to belabour an old sore point), then-Canucks’ winger Raffi Torres worked up a full head of steam and made an honest effort at beheading Chicago’s Brent Seabrook, blindsiding the vulnerable Blackhawks’ defenceman with a shoulder-to-head hit behind the Chicago net in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.

Read more: NHL Bumbles its way to Alex Edler goalie-crashing decision
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A great second effort by Jarome Iginla earned some praise from an opponent and helped the Calgary Flames snap a three-game slide.

Iginla scored the game-winning goal in the third period of Calgary's 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday. Thanks to a nice pass from Alex Tanguay, the Flames captain found himself on a partial breakaway.

St. Louis defenceman Wade Redden made a nice play to knock the puck away from Iginla, who stuck with the puck to score a wrap-around goal.

"It was a good pass by Tangs right up the middle," Iginla said. "He did poke it. I just jammed at it. It was nice to see it go by him."

Veteran St. Louis forward Andy McDonald credited Iginla for not giving up on the play.

"I think everybody thought the play was dead, but it just shows you he's a great player in this league," McDonald said. "That's why. He doesn't give up on the play and he's able to find the puck and make a great play. We didn't have answer for him."

After the game, Iginla also addressed rumours of possibly being dealt to another team before the NHL's trade deadline on April 3.

"Honestly, we've made it this far in the year," said Iginla, who would have to waive his no-movement clause for a deal to happen. "There is a lot of speculation about our team and me individually. Now with an important win for our team, it will work itself out in whatever it is — a week away. I don't want to contribute to it."

Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 36-of-38 shots as the Flames (12-14-4) extended their winning streak on home ice at the Scotiabank Saddledome to seven straight games.

"It would be easy maybe to spot the three stars — I'll give them to Kipper," said Calgary coach Bob Hartley. "We talked about this many times how valuable he is to this hockey club. Tonight, he was the best player on the ice for the two teams."


Cervenka impresses

Hartley also commended Roman Cervenka, who scored Calgary's other two goals, with playing well for the Flames.

"He generated space for himself," Hartley said. "There's no doubt in our mind that Roman is capable of big goals. He's a gifted hockey player has great skills (and) has a great shot."

T.J. Oshie had a goal and an assist for the Blues (17-12-2), who had won four of their past five games including a 3-0 win in Edmonton over the Oilers one night earlier. Vladimir Sobotka also scored for St. Louis.

"We had a lot of shots and we couldn't execute and put the puck in," Sobotka said. "This can't happen."

St. Louis goalie Jaroslav Halak, who stopped all 19 shots he faced in the win over Edmonton, made 14 saves against Calgary.

It took until almost the 10-minute mark before Jiri Hudler finally recorded Calgary's first shot of the game.

Cervenka then scored on the second shot of the contest for the Flames when he took a pass from Dennis Wideman and wired a shot to the top corner past Halak during a Calgary power play.

Cervenka put the Flames up 2-0 at 9:40 of the second when he made a nice forehand-to-backhand move before lifting the puck up and over Halak.

"He recognized that he had time," Hartley said. "He just put Halak down with a fake on the blocker side and pulled it back to his backhand and it was another great goal."

Mikael Backlund also made a nice play by keeping the puck in at the blue-line and tapping it ahead to Hudler, who set up Cervenka.

The Blues were then finally rewarded for their persistence when Oshie scored an unassisted goal at 16:40 of the second. Oshie stepped out of the penalty box and stripped Wideman of the puck before snapping a shot past Kiprusoff.

Although they outshot the Flames 19-4 in the second, the Blues still trailed 2-1 heading into the third. St. Louis nearly tied up the game early in the third period but Redden's heavy shot from the point hit the left post behind Kiprusoff and deflected wide.

Sobotka pulled the Blues even with a goal at 4:48 of the third when he tapped a goal-mouth scramble through Kiprusoff's legs.


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The Tampa Bay Lightning named Jon Cooper as their new head coach on Monday, replacing the recently fired Guy Boucher as the man in charge of reversing their struggles.

Cooper is the coach of Tampa Bay's minor league team and will be taking on his first NHL head coaching job.

"There is no other team in hockey that I would rather be coaching than the Tampa Bay Lightning," Cooper said in a statement. "I look forward to getting to know the players and getting to work right away."

The 45-year-old Cooper will be introduced on Wednesday and coach his first game on Friday against the New Jersey Devils, according to local media.

His task will be a challenging one as the Lightning (13-18-1) are second to last in the Eastern Conference.

The third-year Boucher was dismissed Sunday after a fast start to the season quickly went downhill.



Y! SPORTS
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Alex Ovechkin used to be in the NHL's driver's seat.

The Russian winger scored 269 goals in his first five seasons in the league, including one 60-goal and three 50-goal campaigns. Ovechkin won the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL MVP in two consecutive seasons, 2008 and 2009.

But then Ovechkin began to fall back into the pack as his statistics faltered. Ovechkin scored a total of 70 goals over the course of two seasons. And in the second of those two seasons, Ovie had the lowest point total of his career.

As Ovechkin drifted back, younger stars like Steven Stamkos raced to the lead and watched Ovechkin fade in their rear view.

So, is the NHL leaving Alex Ovechkin behind?

Mike Milbury of NBC Sports certainly thinks so. The former NHL head coach and general manager frequently criticizes Ovechkin. And on February 27, after two periods of a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Milbury unleashed quite a barrage (as transcribed by Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post):

This is an AWFUL display of hockey by Alex Ovechkin. He should be ashamed of himself...I know they played three in four nights, but THAT’S not an excuse...And this one? Move your butt along the wall. You’re just standing there. I’ve seen this for three years. You’d think somebody would figure this out and tell him that he’s got to move. And look at the effort on the backcheck there. Are you kidding me? This is a guy that makes a ton of money — he owes it to his owner, he owes it to his coach. And watch him line change on the goal. That is inexcusable behavior, inacceptable (sic) for a coach, especially a rookie coach like Adam Oates. That guy ought to be held accountable….

Believe it or not, there are voices of reason in the hockey community—clearly not named Mike Milbury. One of these sane people is Greg Wyshynski of the Yahoo! Sports blog Puck Daddy:

Now, during that rant, you might have heard Milbury say something about playing games on consecutive nights, which Ovechkin did: Getting an assist against Carolina to follow up his 4-point day against New Jersey on Saturday. So maybe he’s a little gassed against Philly. Or maybe he’s a miserable failure.

Former Capitals enforcer and current Comcast SportsNet analyst Alan May was more aggressive with his rebuttal of Milbury, as he told Mike Wise of The Washington Post:

The NBC guys can’t say enough [stuff] about Ovi. It’s pre-packaged in their shows. And a lot of times it doesn’t even match up to reality with what’s really happening on the ice.

But don't let the talking heads form your opinion. Look at the statistics and decide for yourself whether Alex Ovechkin is about to be lapped by the competition.

Ovechkin is currently second in the league in shots with 140. He led the league in this category for the first six seasons of his career. His shooting percentage of 11.4 percent has translated to 16 goals, good for eighth in the NHL. And Ovechkin's 10 power play goals lead the NHL.

Ovechkin is bearing down on the leaders now. He has surged to the front with the help of a five-game goal-scoring streak that ended on Tuesday night. This torrid stretch earned him the NHL's first star of the week honors.

In the wake of this accolade, Ovechkin talked to Katie Carrera of The Washington Post on March 25 about his detractors:

Right now I’m scoring goals and I’m the king of the world. And a couple weeks ago I was almost in the toilet. So maybe you just forget to flush me. It’s kind of situation when I don’t care right now what happens.

That's right. Alex Ovechkin will put the pedal to the medal, damn the caution flags. And before you know it, he'll be pacing the field. Just like the good ol' days.


Is the NHL Leaving Alex Ovechkin Behind? | Bleacher Report
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The NHL season, truncated to 48 games because of the four-month lockout, had a sense of urgency from its start in January. But the last month of a condensed schedule promises to be frantic.

“It almost has a playoff feel,” Wild coach Mike Yeo said. “There’s very little practice time. You just have to make sure you get rest, and find a way to get refocused. Push the last one aside, win or lose, and get ready for what you need to do to get ready for the next one.”

The Wild extended their winning streak to seven games with a 4-3 overtime victory over Phoenix on Wednesday. That left Minnesota in first place in the Northwest Division, with the third-most points in the Western Conference. During its streak, which came in four different time zones, the Wild ended long stretches of futility in Vancouver, Detroit and Dallas. Wednesday started a stretch of six games in nine days.

“The one thing that has really helped us is having as many games as we have in a short period of time,” Yeo said. “We haven’t had the opportunity to feel real good about ourselves. It’s kind of get back on the horse and get to the next one.”

The Wild has outscored teams 31-17 in the seven-game streak.

“We’re feeling better about just the way we’re playing the game,” winger Cal Clutterbuck said before the game. “We were never worried about whether we were going to have our work ethic, but the exciting part is seeing what the product is out on the ice.”

State of hockey

Matt Cullen scored his 200th career goal in the Wild’s 7-4 victory at Dallas on Monday and added a goal Wednesday. The 36-year-old center became the ninth Minnesota-born player to reach 200 goals. The others are David Christian (340), Phil Housley (338), Neal Broten (289), Jamie Langenbrunner (243), Reed Larson (222), Mark Parrish (216), Jason Blake (213) and Cullen’s teammate Zach Parise (208). “I’ve watched him for a few years — on TV,” said Wild winger Charlie Coyle, who just turned 21. “And it’s obviously much better playing on the same team with him. He’s still got the great speed, he stays right with it. He takes care of his body and does all the little things right. To score 200 goals, that’s a great accomplishment.”

Can’t walk, can skate

The Wild got a scare Monday when Clutterbuck slammed into a goalpost against Dallas, injuring his right leg in the first period. But Clutterbuck returned for the third period, assisting on a pair of goals, including Kyle Brodziak’s short-handed game-winner.

“I went in pretty hard, felt a little twisting and torqueing, so I was unsure about it,” Clutterbuck said. “I really didn’t expect to be able to go back, but it was kind of weird. I was having a lot of difficulty walking, so I just decided to throw my skate on and see how that would go, and it turned out it was a lot less painful skating than it was walking.”

Etc.

• The Wild’s Ryan Suter is second among NHL defensemen in scoring with 27 points, on threegoals and 24 assists. He scored late in regulation Wednesday, leaving him a point behind Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang, who went on injured reserve because of a broken toe.

• Phoenix goalie Mike Smith, one of the NHL’s best last season when had a 2.21 goals-against average and .930 save percentage, was placed on injured reserve by the Coyotes, retroactive to Friday. Smith, who has a 2.83 GAA and .901 save percentage this season, suffered an upper-body injury, likely whiplash, when he was run over by Vancouver’s Alexander Edler on Thursday.


Compressed NHL schedule produces playoff feel every night | StarTribune-com
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The Edmonton Oilers were booed out of their own building the last time they played at Rexall Place, but they left their fans in much higher spirits on Thursday.

Ales Hemsky scored the winner with 3:08 remaining as the Oilers won their second game in a row, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-4 on Thursday night.

Shortly after a huge save by goalie Devan Dubnyk, Hemsky took the puck down the length of the ice and danced around several defenders before making a highlight-reel goal to undress Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

"With the mistakes we made, finding a way to stay in it and continue to push and shut it down in the third, it's a good feeling," said Gagner, who recorded his 250th NHL point at the age of 23. "It was definitely nice to get this win. We need to find ways to win here at home and playing with energy and creating chances for ourselves. When we do that you can see how loud it gets in this building. It should be a fun stretch run here if we can continue that."

Sam Gagner had a goal and two assists for Edmonton (13-13-7), who moved into a tie for 11th in the Western Conference with Columbus with the win. Magnus Paajarvi, Jordan Eberle, Shawn Horcoff and Corey Potter also scored.

Oilers head coach Ralph Krueger said he was glad to see his team bounce back so many times in the game, particularly after being badly outplayed early on.

"It took a lot of character to win this game," he said. "It took a lot of guts to keep digging out of the holes we put ourselves in. In the end we are very happy with this win, it was a huge win for us. Psychologically we can take a lot of things out of this type of a game. It was very difficult for all of us to be a part of. But in the end the win stands out and it is all that much more valuable coming in regular time."
Bad streak for Columbus

Cam Atkinson had a pair for the Blue Jackets (13-14-7), who have lost three in a row after going 8-0-4 in their previous 12 games. Matt Calvert and Artem Anisimov also scored.

"It was an abnormal game for us," said Columbus assistant captain Jack Johnson. "We don't usually score that many and we don't usually give up that many goals. It was frustrating to lose after so many guys worked so hard. As a team, if you give up that many goals, though, you can't expect to win."

It didn't take long at all for Columbus to start the scoring in this one.

The Jackets led 1-0 on the first shot of the game just 10 seconds in as Calvert got to a puck along the side boards and quickly dished it in front for Atkinson, who beat Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin with a shot to the glove side. The goal tied for the fastest to start a game in Columbus franchise history.

The duo combined for another goal 12 minutes into the opening period to give the Jackets a 2-0 lead as Atkinson fed Calvert on a two-on-one and he lifted a shot over Khabibulin.

Edmonton got one of those goals back with five minutes to play in the first as Paajarvi picked off a soft Gagner shot in front of the net and hooked it behind Bobrovsky.

The Oilers tied the game 2-2 with an early goal of their own to start the second period as Eberle danced around defender Fedor Tyutin and slid a puck under Bobrovsky's pads for his 10th of the season just 39 seconds in.

Columbus looked to have tied the game with two-and-a-half minutes to play in the second period as Khabibulin bobbled a high shot and Calvert slid into the net feet first and knocked the puck in while being hauled down by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

However, upon video review, it was determined that Calvert directed the puck in with his skate on the play.

The Blue Jackets quickly recovered, though, scoring just a minute later as Anisimov unleashed a deadly high wrist shot from in tight that Khabibulin could only wave at.

Edmonton rallied back to tie the game 3-3 just 31 seconds later as Ryan Jones dished the puck to Nail Yakupov on a two-on-one and he elected to drop it to Horcoff coming in as the trailer. Horcoff dumped it into a wide-open net.

There was yet another early goal just 27 seconds into the third as Hemsky coughed up the puck in the Edmonton zone and Atkinson was able to score his second of the game on a shot that deflected of Oiler defenceman Ladislav Smid's stick.

Dubnyk came in to take Khabibulin's place in the Edmonton net.

The Oilers once again bounced back to tie the game 4-4 two-and-a half minutes later as Bobrovsky got a piece of a Potter point shot, but it still somehow got through him.

Following Hemsky's dramatic game-winning goal, Gagner added an empty netter to put the game away.

The Blue Jackets are right back at it on Friday night in Calgary. Edmonton next plays host to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.



Columbus vs Edmonton - Recap - NHL - Sports - CBC.ca
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Niklas Hjalmarsson saw the red light flash behind goalie Ray Emery, glanced at his stick and then summed up the Chicago Blackhawks' frustrations against the Anaheim Ducks this season.

After Sheldon Souray's point blast with just 2:08 left in regulation hit the Blackhawks defenseman's stick and redirected past Emery for Anaheim's game-winning goal in the Ducks' 2-1 win on Friday night at United Center, Hjalmarsson heaved his stick at the boards in disgust. He looked like a golfer whose tee shot headed straight into a lake.

It's been that kind of season for the Blackhawks against the Ducks, the team right behind first-place Chicago of the Western Conference standings. Anaheim (23-7-4) not only ended a four-game losing skid, but also swept the three-game season series against Chicago and downed the Blackhawks at the "Madhouse on Madison Street" for the second time.

"I just tried to block it at the end there, and it bounced off my stick … nothing I can do about that," Hjalmarsson said. "I tried to block his shot as much as I could, but you've got to let it go and try to win the game." The problem was that only a couple minutes remained, which wasn't nearly enough time for the Hawks on a night they struggled to possess the puck almost the entire game. It was the third time in as many games that the Ducks have scored late to force overtime or beat Chicago outright.

Andrew Cogliano tied the first game 2-2 on Feb. 12 at United Center with 2:40 left in regulation to force OT and an eventual shootout won by Anaheim. Bobby Ryan and Teemu Selanne then scored 1:04 apart late in the third on March 20 at Honda Center to overcome a Blackhawks lead in a 4-2 Ducks win. Now the Hawks have the sour taste of this game to wash out with 15 contests remaining in the regular season – not only the bad bounce, but the overall effort in one of Chicago's ugliest games of an otherwise stellar season.

"We didn't play good defense at all," said Hjalmarsson, who finished with a minus-2 rating and got stuck on the ice for a marathon 2:07 shift along with Johnny Oduya in the second period. "I don't think we got the pucks deep the way we wanted and [there were] a little bit too many odd-man rushes. The way we played defense wasn't good enough."

The defensive problems contributed to the Blackhawks' offensive struggles on a night when they put 26 shots on net against Jonas Hiller and had just Patrick Kane's power-play goal 2:26 into the third to show for it. They did hit iron a couple of times, but it was a night full of missed passes and sloppy play in all zones for one of the NHL's top teams.

"When we're going and rolling as a team, everybody's doing their job and everybody's focused on getting pucks out at our blue line and defensemen all just playing good hockey," Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith said. "That's what it all comes down to, being smart with the puck. They only had two goals, but at the same time I think there [were] chances [for the Ducks] and areas of our game where we could be a lot better – especially the end."

That's the area that gnaws most at Chicago coach Joel Quenneville, who already was displeased with not getting at least a point out of the March 20 game in Anaheim. Now it's two straight losses to the Ducks without a single point earned in a race for the conference's top spot against Anaheim.

"We had a chance," Quenneville said. "You can look at the quotes we had the last two games we played them; it's the exact same scenario. It looked like you might get something out of the game and you come up empty [two] games in a row … the exact same time of the game. It's disappointing."

It also happened, for the second time, without injured star forwards Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa. Both are nearing returns from upper-body injuries and should be in top form for the Hawks by the time the Stanley Cup Playoffs roll around in May, which is something Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau didn't discount.

"Maybe Chicago matches up well with us, but let's not forget they don't have Sharp and Hossa in the lineup," Boudreau said. "Come playoff time, you're playing a team that's not using a physical lineup like they did [Friday night]; they're using a skilled lineup, and you can't for one second just take a breather. The pressure's going to be on you all the time."

That's probably what Hjalmarsson was thinking when he said it would be "fun" to face the Ducks in the postseason despite Chicago's 0-2-1 mark against them.

"I hope we're playing them in the playoffs," he said. "It would be fun. It's been tight games every single game. We know we can play against these guys."






Blackhawks still can't find way to beat Ducks - NHL-com - NHL Insider
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It didn't take long for the Edmonton Oilers to announce they were serious about rejoining the hunt for a playoff spot.

Taylor Hall had a hat trick as the Oilers scored early and often to make it three victories in a row for the first time this season, blowing past the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on Saturday.

Devan Dubnyk made 23 stops for his second shutout of the season and Ladislav Smid also scored for the Oilers (14-13-7), who have gone 6-2-2 in their last 10 games.

Hall's third goal also set an Oiler record as the fastest hat trick to start a game at 7:53, beating a standard of 12:38 set by Wayne Gretzky in 1986.

"It's a pretty special moment that I will never forget," Hall said. "Playing in an organization like this one, the records you are trying to break have been set by pretty legendary players."

The Oilers are now in a four-team tie just one point back of eighth-seed St. Louis in the Western Conference playoff race.

"We're a whole different team right now," said Oilers head coach Ralph Krueger. "You can see the dynamics of the group evolving these last 10 games and the confidence level going up.

"The position we were in, almost out of it three games ago, and now we are right back at the line."

Hall said it is great to see his team right in the thick of the battle for a playoff spot. "There are so many ups and down during the season and when the lows are really low you have to remember times like this," he said. "You just go on a bit of a tear and you never know what spot you could end up in. We're really excited to be playing meaningful games right now and we have to make use of them."

The Canucks (19-10-6) meanwhile saw a six-game winning streak come to an end.

"At the start of the game it just seemed like they were in fifth gear and we were in third gear," said Canucks goalie Cory Schneider, who was yanked after allowing two goals on the first two shots of the game. "I don't (know) the reason for that. It was an ugly first 10 minutes, but after that we had some push-back and settled the game down. Unfortunately the damage had been done already.

"Maybe it's a good wakeup call for us."

Edmonton was unstoppable to begin the game, scoring on their first three shots.

The Oilers got to Schneider very quickly in the contest, scoring just 16 seconds in on the first shot of the game.

Hall was able to come in wide with speed for a breakaway and blasted a shot glove-side over Schneider's shoulder for an early 1-0 Edmonton lead.

The Oilers scored on their second shot as well just over two minutes in as Smid scored a rare goal on a shot from the point to make it 2-0 before many fans had taken their seats. Roberto Luongo came in to replace Schneider, who had allowed just six goals over Vancouver's last six games and had a pair of shutouts in that span.

Luongo didn't fare much better as the Oilers then scored on their third shot of the game 2:43 into the first period. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fed it through to a hard-charging Hall, who sent his second of the game stick-side past the Canucks backup.
Franchise record

It was the fastest three goals from the start of the game in Edmonton's franchise history, breaking the record of three in 3:25 against Colorado in 1981.

Edmonton was far from done yet, making it 4-0 before eight minutes had elapsed on their fifth shot as Hall earned his third career hat trick, stuffing it between Luongo's legs from the side of the net on the power play.

The Oilers had 11 first-period shots to 10 from the Canucks on Dubnyk.

Edmonton was coming back for more with eight minutes gone in the second frame but Luongo was able to make a huge glove save on a tip by Lennart Petrell.

There was no scoring in the second period, as Vancouver continued to lead on the shot clock 18-14.

Hall came very close to getting his fourth goal of the game with seven-and-a-half minutes left in the third period but Luongo made a desperate diving save to keep the puck out of the net.

There was no scoring in the third period either, as the Oilers clamped down the lid on defence.

Both teams return to action on Monday as the Oilers play host to the Calgary Flames and the Canucks travel to San Jose to face the Sharks.


Vancouver vs Edmonton - Recap - NHL - Sports - CBC.ca
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