Saturday’s Hockey

Saturday’s games had an extra flair to them, especially with the playoff race so tight in the Eastern Conference.

 

Edmonton Oilers v Columbus Blue Jackets

4-0

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each finished with three points, and Mikko Koskinen made 30 saves to help lift the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-0 shutout of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The captain had three assists, whilst Draisaitl had a goal and two assists for Edmonton, who have won two in a row and are 7pts behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card in the West.

Koskinen got his fourth shutout of the season and his first since December 9th.

23-year-old Draisaitl is the first Oilers player since Jimmy Carson (88/89) to reach 40 goals in 65 games or less. He also joined Steven Stamkos (3x), Alex Ovechkin (3x), Sidney Crosby (1x) and Ilya Kovalchuk (1x) as the only 23-and-under players to score 40 goals in the first 65 games of a season since 1999/2000.

McDavid, who has eight points (2g, 6a) in his last five games, has 15pts (4g, 11a) in seven games against Columbus, who have been shutout just four times this season, three of which have come at home.

Sergei Bobrovsky allowed four goals on 19 shots for the hosts, who fell two points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card place from the Eastern Conference. They are 3-4-0 in their last seven games.

Joonas Korpisalo made five saves in relief after Bobrovsky was pulled at the start of the third.

Up Next:

Oilers v Sabres – Monday, March 4th (7pm)

Jets v Blue Jackets – Sunday, March 3rd (7pm)

 

Chicago Blackhawks v Los Angeles Kings

3-6

Dustin Brown netted twice as the L.A. Kings ended a 10-game losing streak by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3.

L.A. avoided matching the longest losing streak in franchise history, they were 0-9-2 from March 16 – April 4, 2004.

Adrian Kempe, Brendan Leipsic and Ilya Kovalchuk each scored one and assisted one. Sean Walker also scored and Jonathan Quick made 29 saves.

Jeff Carter had two assists for the Kings, taking his NHL career points total to 699.

Brendan Perlini scored twice for Chicago, with Connor Murphy also scoring for the visitors, who have lost three of their last four. Corey Crawford made 19 saves.

Patrick Kane did not record a point for just the third time in his last 31 games.

Up Next:

Blackhawks v Sharks – Sunday, March 3rd (10pm)

Canadiens v Kings – Tuesday, March 5th (10:30pm)

 

Carolina Hurricanes v Florida Panthers

4-3 (OT)

Sebastian Aho scored at 1:46 of overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 4-3 win and a season sweep of the Florida Panthers.

After Petrz Mrazek had made a world class save on a Jonathan Huberdeau breakaway, Nino Niederreiter skated in on a 2-on-1 and sent a backhand pass across the crease to Aho, who redirected it in.

Aho has six points (3g, 3a) in a five-game point streak and Mrazek made 31 saves for Carolina, who have won five in a row and eight of their last nine. They also lead the Pittsburgh Penguins by 1pt for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Brock McGinn, who was facing brother Jamie McGinn, had opened the scoring for the Hurricanes, before Greg McKegg scored 39 seconds later in the first period.

Henrik Borgstrom and Mark Pysyk scored before the first break to make it 2-2, before Borgstrom scored again near the beginning of the third period.

Brett Pesce scored at 8:19 of the third to level things and send the game to overtime.

The Carolina Hurricanes are 9-1-1 in their last 11 road games.

22-year-old Sam Montembeault made 22 saves in his NHL debut, and Jamie McGinn and Dryden Hunt each had two assists for the Panthers, who trail the Montreal Canadiens by 10pts for the second wild card place in the East.

Up Next:

Canes v Bruins – Tuesday, March 5th (7pm)

Senators v Panthers – Sunday, March 3rd (5pm)

 

New Jersey Devils v Boston Bruins

0-1

The Boston Bruins extended their point streak to 16 games with a 1-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils.

Brad Marchand scored the lone goal for the Bruins, who are 12-0-4 during this streak and haven’t lost in regulation since a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers on January 19th. They lead the Toronto Maple Leafs by 3pts for second in the Atlantic Division.

Tuukka Rask made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season and 44th in the NHL. He is 14-0-3 in his last 18 games.

His counterpart, Mackenzie Blackwood, made 29 saves for New Jersey, who have lost three in succession and five of their last seven (2-5-0).

Up Next:

Blue Jackets v Devils – Tuesday, March 5th (7pm)

Canes v Bruins – Tuesday, March 5th (7pm)

 

Pittsburgh Penguins v Montreal Canadiens

5-1

Sid Crosby became the second-leading goal-scorer in Pittsburgh Penguins history in their 5-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

Crosby, who had a goal and three assists for his fourth consecutive multipoint game, scored just 21 seconds in the game for his 440th NHL goal, all with Pittsburgh, moving ahead of Jaromir Jagr. Mario Lemieux holds the franchise scoring record with 690 goals.

The Nova Scotia native has 1,199pts, two more than Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin. It’s the first time he has overtaken the Russian in points since January 2011.

Jake Guentzel scored twice and assisted on another two, Evgeni Malkin and Jared McCann also scored, and Matt Murray made 36 saves for the visitors, who are 6-2-2 in their last 10.

Malkin need just 4pts to reach 1,000 in the NHL and Matt Cullen played his 1,499th game, tying Mike Modano for second amongst U.S.-born players.

Brendan Gallagher scored for Montreal, who also have 77pts and hold the second wild card in the East. The two are 2pts ahead of the Blue Jackets, who lost 4-0 to the Oilers earlier in the day.

Carey Price, who got his 313th win on Friday, made 20 saves for the hosts but failed in his first attempt to tie the record for most wins by a Canadiens goalie, which is currently held by Jacques Plante (314).

 

Up Next:

Panthers v Penguins – Tuesday, March 5th (7pm)

Canadiens v Kings – Tuesday, March 5th (10:30pm)

 

Buffalo Sabres v Toronto Maple Leafs

2-5

John Tavares and Mitch Marner each had a goal and two assists to propel the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres.

Toronto remain three points behind the Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division.

Nic Petan scored on his debut, Morgan Rielly and Nikita Zaitsev also scored and Frederik Andersen made 35 saves for the Leafs, who are 4-1-0 in their last five.

Toronto’s Patrick Marleau played his 1,640th NHL game, passing Dave Andreychuk for seventh place on the all-time list. Meanwhile Auston Matthews joined Marner as just the second player in Leaf’s history to begin their NHL career with three consecutive 60pt seasons.

The hosts reached 40 wins in their 65th game of season, the fewest to 40 in franchise history. They won 40 in 69 in 2017/18 and 1950/51.

Jason Pominville and Conor Sheary scored and Linus Ullmark made 27 saves for Buffalo, who have lost three of four and trail the Canadiens by 9pts for the second wild card spot in the East.

Jack Eichel saw his seven-game point streak come to an end.

Up Next:

Oilers v Sabres – Monday, March 4th (7pm)

Leafs v Flames – Monday, March 4th (9pm)

 

Ottawa Senators v Tampa Bay Lightning

1-5

The Tampa Bay Lightning tied an NHL record with their 50th win in 66 games as they defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-1, matching the 1995/96 Detroit Red Wings for quickest to 50 wins.

Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Erik Cernak, Nikita Kucherov and Mikhail Sergachev all scored for the hosts, who are 11-1-0 in their last 12. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 36 saves for his ninth successive victory.

The Bolts tied a team record by getting 9pts from their defensemen.

Anthony Duclair scored and Craig Anderson made 29 saves for the Sens, who have lost seven in a row.

Up Next:

Senators v Panthers – Sunday, March 3rd (5pm)

Jets v Lightning – Tuesday, March 4th (7:30pm)

 

Detroit Red Wings v Arizona Coyotes

1-3

The Arizona Coyotes won their sixth game in a row by defeating the Detroit Red Wings 3-1.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Vinnie Hinostroza each had a goal and an assist, Josh Archibald also scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves for Arizona, whose winning streak is their longest since winning six straight in February 2012.

Ekman-Larsson was playing his 640th game, tying him with Keith Tkachuk for sixth in franchise history. Hinostroza has five points (1g, 4a) in his last two games and Archibald‘s goal was his 10th, giving the Coyotes 10 players with 10 goals.

Dylan Larkin scored for Detroit, who have lost seven in succession for the second time this season. Jimmy Howard made 41 saves.

The win moved Arizona into the second wild card in the Western Conference for an hour or so, but with Minnesota’s win over the Calgary Flames, they dropped back down and remain one point behind the Minnesota Wild.

Up Next:

Red Wings v Avalanche – Tuesday, March 5th (9pm)

Ducks v Coyotes – Tuesday, March 5th (9pm)

 

Dallas Stars v St Louis Blues

4-1

Jamie Benn, who has missed the past two games with an upper-body injury, scored a hat trick as the Dallas Stars closed the gap on third place in the Central Division.

It’s Benn‘s fifth NHL hat trick and first since April 7, 2018. He is the third player to get five since the Stars relocated to Dallas in 1993/94 (Tyler Seguin [7] and Mike Modano [6]).

John Klingberg had a goal and two assists and Ben Bishop made 29 saves for the Stars, who move within three points of the Blues for third in the Central and lead the Coyotes by 2pts for the first wild card slot in the West.

Dallas went 3-0-1 on their four-game road trip and Seguin, who had an assist on Benn‘s second, has six points (3g, 3a) in his last seven games. Blake Comeau had an assist and needs just one more point for 300 in the NHL.

Alex Pietrangelo scored and Jordan Binnington made 17 saves for St Louis, who had their seven-game home winning streak come to an end. Binnington lost for the first time on home ice this season (7-1-0).

Having lost 5-2 in Carolina on Friday night, the Blues, who are 13-3-1 in their last 17 games, have lost consecutive games for the first time since mid-january and successive games in regulation for the first time since the end of December.

Up Next:

Rangers v Stars – Tuesday, March 5th (8:30pm)

Blues v Ducks – Tuesday, March 5th (10pm)

 

Minnesota Wild v Calgary Flames

4-2

The Minnesota Wild won their fifth consecutive game by defeating the Calgary Flames 4-2 at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Eric Staal, Matt Read, Ryan Suter and Ryan Donato scored and Devan Dubnyk made 35 saves for the Wild, who remain 1pt ahead of the Arizona Coyotes for the second wild card from the Western Conference.

Donato, who was acquired in a trade from the Boston Bruins on February 20th, has had at least one point in his first five games for Minnesota (2g, 5a). Only Pavol Demitra (six games in 2006/07) had a longer point streak to begin a Wild career.

Sean Monahan and Travis Hamonic scored and Mike Smith made 19 saves for Calgary, whose seven-game win streak came to and end. The Flames lead the San Jose Sharks by 5pts for first place in the Pacific Division and Western Conference.

Calgary’s Austin Czarnik thought he’d scored, only for Wild coach Bruce Boudreau to successfully challenge for goaltender interference on forward Sam Bennett, the goal was disallowed.

Up Next:

Predators v Wild – Sunday, March 3rd (7:30pm – NBCSN)

Leafs v Flames – Monday, March 4th (9pm)

 

KEY

 

ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN