The NHL gave us a calmer day of hockey to end the week, with just five games being played. Having said that though, we were treated to some great hockey and high scoring games.
31 goals were scored, nine of those in the Vegas Golden Knight’s trip to Calgary and seven of them in the Florida Panthers’ hosting of the Detroit Red Wings.
Detroit Red Wings v Florida Panthers
1-6
Josh Brown and Dryden Hunt both scored their first NHL goal for the Florida Panthers in a 6-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau each had a goal and an assist, and Aaron Ekblad and MacKenzie Weegar each had two assists for the Panthers, who have won two in a row after losing their last six.
Sam Montembeault made 19 saves for his second consecutive victory, and Jamie McGinn and Frank Vatrano also scored for Florida, who are seven points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second eastern wild card.
Thomas Vanek scored and Jimmy Howard made 37 saves for Detroit, who are 1-7-3 in their last 11 and were outshot by 43-20.
Up Next:
Red Wings v Canadiens – Tuesday, March 12th (7:30pm)
Panthers v Sharks – Thursday, March 14th (10:30pm)
Winnipeg Jets v Washington Capitals
1-3
The Washington Capitals extended their lead atop the Metropolitan Division with a 3-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets at Capital One Arena.
Nicklas Backstrom, Carl Hagelin and Lars Eller scored for Washington, who have tied their longest winning streak of the season and move four points clear at the top of the Metro.
Pheonix Copley made 33 saves.
Mathieu Perreault scored and Connor Hellebuyck made 15 saves for Winnipeg, who went 2-2-0 on a four-game road trip, including an 8-1 thrashing of the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh. They lead the Nashville Predators for first place in the Central Division.
Up Next:
Sharks v Jets – Tuesday, March 12th (8pm)
Capitals v Penguins – Tuesday, March 12th (7pm – NBCSN)
Boston Bruins v Pittsburgh Penguins
2-4
The Pittsburgh Penguins ended the Boston Bruins’ 19-game win streak with a 4-2 victory at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.
David Krejci scored for the fourth straight game, John Moore also scored and Jaroslav Halak made 33 saves for the visitors, who sit second in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, 15pts begins the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Jared McCann scored two goals and Matt Murray made 38 saves for the Pens, who moved ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Nick Bjugstad and Jake Guentzel also scored for the hosts, who are two points behind the New York Islanders and six behind the Washington Capitals.
Up Next:
Bruins v Blue Jackets – Tuesday, March 12th (7pm)
Capitals v Penguins – Tuesday, March 12th (7pm – NBCSN)
Vegas Golden Knights v Calgary Flames
3-6
Matthew Tkachuk scored his first NHL career hat trick to lift the Calgary Flames to a 6-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.
The 21-year-old forward, whose first NHL hat trick came at the age of 21 years, 89 days beating his father (Keith Tkachuk) whose came at 21 years, 209 days, also registered an assist.
Mikael Backlund scored two and assisted another, Andrew Mangiapane netted one, Michael Frolik recorded four assists and David Rittich made 25 saves for the Flames, who sit atop the Pacific Division over the San Jose Sharks by a single point.
The line of Tkachuk, Backlund and Frolik combined for 11 points – 5 goals, six assists – for the hosts, who ended their four-game losing streak.
Brandon Pirri, Reilly Smith and Mark Stone scored, and Malcolm Subban made 29 saves for Vegas, who trail Calgary by 10pts for top spot and lead the Arizona Coyotes by eight points for third place in the Pacific.
Up Next:
Knights v Stars – Friday, March 15th (8pm)
Devils v Flames – Tuesday, March 12th (9pm)
Los Angeles Kings v Anaheim Ducks
3-2
Carl Grundstrom scored in his second NHL game helping the L.A. Kings defeat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2.
Grundstrom, 21, was recalled from Ontario of the AHL on Saturday and has scored on his first two shots on goal in the NHL. He is hist the second player in Kings history to score in each of his first two games, the other was Brian Boyle in February 2008.
Dustin Brown and Kyle Clifford also scored and Jonathan Quick made 18 saves for L.A., who are 2-9-4 in their last 15 games.
The visitors, who didn’t lead at any point during their three-game losing streak and have conceded at least three goals in their previous eight, were ahead 3-1 after the first period, when they outshout Anaheim 10-2.
Despite the victory Los Angeles remain anchored to the bottom of the Western Conference with 58pts from 69 games, 16 points adrift of the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card from the west.
Daniel Sprong and Jakob Silfverberg scored, and Ryan Miller made 22 saves for the Ducks, who trail the Minnesota Wild by 11pt for that second western wild card.
Up Next:
Predators v Kings – Thursday, March 14th (10:30pm)
Predators v Ducks – Tuesday, March 12th (10pm)
KEY
ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN
Artistry of Sport 
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