Thursday night’s NHL hockey saw 10 games, 55 goals, a hat trick, record equaling/breaking and one majorly missed opportunity.
Pittsburgh Penguins v Buffalo Sabres
5-0
Casey DeSmith made 26 saves for the Pittsburgh Penguins to help them secure a 5-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
DeSmith, who was starting for the first time since February 21, recorded his third shutout of the season.
Phil Kessel, Brian Dumoulin, Patric Hornqvist, Nick Bjugstad and Jake Guenztel scored and Sid Crosby registered two assists for the Penguins, who remain two points behind the New York Islanders for second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Carter Hutton made 20 saves for Buffalo, who were shutout for the third game in succession and lost a season-high sixth consecutive game.
Up Next:
Blues v Penguins – Saturday, March 16th (1pm)
Sabres v Canes – Saturday, March 16th (7pm)
Montreal Canadiens v New York Islanders
1-2
Anders Lee broke the tie with 2:57 remaining in the game as the New York Islanders defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1. It was his 25th goal of the season.
Thomas Greiss made 33 saves and Adam Pelech scored for New York, who have won four of their last five and remain two points behind the Washington Capitals for top spot in the Metropolitan Division.
Jordie Benn scored and Carey Price made 36 saves for Montreal, who are tied on points with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second eastern wild card.
Up Next:
Blackhawks v Canadiens – Saturday, March 16th (7pm)
Islanders v Wild – Sunday, March 17th (6pm – ESPN+)
Washington Capitals v Philadelphia Flyers
5-2
Brett Connolly had two goals and an assist for the reigning champions in their 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Lars Eller, Tom Wilson and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for Washington, who won for the eighth time in nine games and lead the Islanders by two points for first place in the Metro Division. Braden Holtby made 22 saves.
James van Riemsdyk and Scott Laughton scored for the hosts, whilst Carter Hart, who was playing for the first time since February 21st due to an ankle injury, made 27 saves for the Flyers, who are five points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for that second wild card from the Eastern Conference.
Up Next:
Capitals v Lightning – Saturday, March 16th (7pm)
Flyers v Leafs – Friday, March 15th (7pm)
St Louis Blues v Ottawa Senators
0-2
Anders Nilsson made 35 saves as the Ottawa Senators ended their four-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues. It was his second shutout of the season and sixth of his NHL career.
Christian Wolanin and Chris Tierney scored for the hosts, who won for just the second time in 13 games.
Defenseman Erik Brannstrom and forward Max Veronneau made their NHL debuts for the Senators.
Jake Allen made 19 saves for the Blues, who’ve lost three in a row and are now tied with the Dallas Stars for third place in the Central Division, thanks to the Stars’ 4-1 defeat of the Minnesota Wild they drop down to the first wild card from the Western Conference.
Up Next:
Blues v Penguins – Saturday, March 16th (1pm)
Leafs v Senators – Saturday, March 16th (7pm)
Tampa Bay Lightning v Detroit Red Wings
5-4
Steven Stamkos tied Vincent Lecavalier for the most goals (383) in Tampa Bay Lightning history in a 5-4 win at the Detroit Red Wings.
Stamkos, who also registered an assist, tied the record with a power play goal in the second period.
Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, with Andrei Vasilevskiy making 23 saves for the Bolts, who tied their record for most wins and road wins (25) in a season. They lead the Boston Bruins by 19pts for first place in the Atlantic Division, and the San Jose Sharks by 18pts in the league for the Presidents’ Trophy.
Nikita Kucherov scored two and assisted two, reaching 115pts (35g, 80a) on the season, the most in the NHL since Sid Crosby had 120pts (36g, 84a) in 2006/07.
Jimmy Howard made 34 saves for the Red Wings, who have lost four in a row and 12 of 13. They have already been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention and have lost 15 in a row to Tampa, the longest streak against one team in their history.
Madison Bowey, Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader and Michael Rasmussen all scored for the hosts.
Up Next:
Capitals v Lightning – Saturday, March 16th (7pm)
Islanders v Red Wings – Saturday, March 16th (1pm)
Dallas Stars v Minnesota Wild
4-1
Ben Bishop set the Dallas Stars record for the longest shutout streak, but was injured in the second period of their 4-1 win at the Minnesota Wild.
His streak reached 230 minutes and 53 seconds, passing Ed Belfour‘s Stars/Minnesota North Stars record of 219:26 from 2000, before being forced to leave the game with a lower-body injury. He made seven saves before Anton Khudobin made 14 in relief.
Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz and Alexander Radulov scored, Joel L’Esperance got his first NHL goal, and Tyler Seguin had two assists for the visitors, who have won six of their last seven and move into third place in the Central Division, thanks to the St. Louis Blues’ loss against the Ottawa Senators.
Three of Dallas’ goals game within 2:22 of each other in the second period.
Jason Zucker scored and Devan Dubnyk made 27 saves for the hosts, who have lost three in a row and are three points behind the Arizona Coyotes for the second western wild card.
Up Next:
Knights v Stars – Friday, March 15th (8pm)
Rangers v Wild – Saturday, March 16th (8pm)
Boston Bruins v Winnipeg Jets
3-4
Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists to help lift the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins.
Blake Wheeler scored one and assisted another, Patrik Laine had two assists, and Connor Hellebuyck made 36 saves for Winnipeg, who hold top spot in the Central Division, one point ahead of the Nashville Predators.
Charlie McAvoy, Joakim Nordstrom and Charlie Coyle slotted home for the Bruins, who have lost three consecutive games in regulation for the first time since the beginning of December last year.
Tuukka Rask made 20 saves for Boston, who, despite the loss, remain four points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs for second in the Atlantic Division.
Up Next:
Blue Jackets v Bruins – Saturday, March 16th (7pm – ESPN+)
Flames v Jets – Saturday, March 16th (7pm – ESPN+)
Anaheim Ducks v Arizona Coyotes
1-6
Vinnie Hinostroza got his first NHL hat trick as the Arizona Coyotes won 6-1, gaining in the Western Conference wild card race.
Hinostroza, who’s hat trick was a natural, has four goals in his last two games after going four without recording a single point.
Jason Demers had a goal and an assist and Alex Gologoski and Christian Fischer both had two assists for Arizona, who have won 10 of their last 12 and lead the Minnesota Wild by three points for the second wild card.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Mario Kempe also scored for the hosts, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2012.
Darcy Kuemper made 36 saves and is 11-2-0 in his last 13 starts, including 12 in succession. The Coyotes goalie is 19-5-3 since January 1, the most wins in the NHL in that span.
Jakob Silfverberg scored, extending his seven-game point streak (5g, 4a), and Ryan Miller made 18 saves for the Anaheim Ducks.
Up Next:
Ducks v Avalanche – Friday, March 15th (9pm)
Oilers v Coyotes – Saturday, March 16th (10pm)
Nashville Predators v Los Angeles Kings
3-1
Colton Sissons had a goal and an assist for the Nashville Predators in their 3-1 victory over the L.A. Kings.
Viktor Arvidsson and Craig Smith also scored, whilst Pekka Rinne made 25 saves for the Preds, who trail the Winnipeg Jets by a point for first place in the Central Division.
It was Arvidsson‘s 29th goal of the season. The Swede has scored at least 29 in each of his last three seasons, including a NHL career-high 31 in 2016/17. He scored 29 in 78 games last season, but has equaled that total this year in 48 games.
Ryan Johansen had an assist for the third game running and has four in his last six games, he is one point shy of 400 in the NHL.
Nashville had lost two in a row and five of their last eight, but Sissons said they were determined to start faster and make things easier on themselves by not allowing the first goal. The Predators are 30-4-1 when scoring first this season
Sissons had his eighth multipoint game of the season and his first since January 7.
Austin Wagner scored his 10th goal for the Kings, who are 2-10-4 in their last 16. Jonathan Quick made 31 saves.
Up Next:
Predators v Sharks – Saturday, March 16th (10:30pm – ESPN+)
Panthers v Kings – Saturday, March 16th (4pm)
Florida Panthers v San Jose Sharks
4-2
The San Jose Sharks missed the opportunity to become the first Western Conference team to clinch a Stanley Cup Playoff berth, with a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Florida Panthers, ending their six-game win streak.
Jamie McGinn, Dryden Hunt, Mike Hoffman and Frank Vatrano scored for Florida, who were playing for the first time since a 6-1 home victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, and are seven points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second eastern wild card.
Sam Montembeault made 26 saves to win his third straight start and his first NHL road start. The rookie made 12 saves in the third period alone for the Panthers.
Aleksander Barkov had an assist on Hoffman‘s goal to extend his point streak to four games (2g, 8a).
Melker Karlson and Kevin Labanc scored for San Jose, who would have matched their season-long winning streak with a victory.
Martin Jones made 23 saves for the Sharks, who played their third game in four days, including road wins against the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets on Monday and Tuesday.
Home center Joe Thornton played his 1,555th game, passing Jarome Iginla for 13th most in NHL history.
Up Next:
Panthers v Kings – Saturday, March 16th (4pm)
Predators v Sharks – Saturday, March 16th (10:30pm – ESPN+)
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ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN
Artistry of Sport 
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