Monday Night Hockey

Monday’s nine games started the week off right!

We had one Stanley Cup Playoff berth clinched, 52 goals, plenty of excitement and for the first time in a long time no games went to overtime or shootouts.

 

Florida Panthers v Toronto Maple Leafs

5-7

John Tavares scored four goals in a game for the first time in his NHL career, as the Toronto Maple Leafs gained in the race for second place in the Atlantic Division with a 7-5 win over the Florida Panthers.

The Leafs moved within five points of the Boston Bruins, who lost 5-4 at the Tampa Bay Lightning. Toronto and Boston both have six games left.

Tavares completed his hat trick at 5:51 of the second period, before scoring his fourth early in the third period. He is the first Maple Leafs player to score four in a game since Auston Matthews as a rookie in the first game of the 2016/17 season.

Patrick Marleau, Jake Muzzin and Zach Hyman scored, and Frederik Andersen made 31 saves for the hosts. 

Jayce Hawryluk and Jonathan Huberdeau each scored twice for Florida, who trail the Montreal Canadiens by 10pts for the second eastern wild card. Roberto Luongo made 28 saves in relief, after Sam Montembeault was pulled in the first period after allowing two goals on four shots. 

Up Next:

Panthers v Canadiens – Tuesday, March 26 (7:30pm – ESPN+)

Leafs v Flyers – Wednesday, March 27 (7pm)

 

Buffalo Sabres v New Jersey Devils

1-3

Cory Schneider made a season-high 45 saves, helping the New Jersey Devils to a 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, handing them their 12th straight loss on the road.

Pavel Zacha had a goal and an assist, and Blake Coleman and Miles Wood scored for the Devils, who have won two in a row after going 2-9-1 in their previous 12. 

Zacha has seven points – three goals, four assists – in his last seven games.

Andy Greene blocked to shots to became the first player in Devils history with 200 in a season. Colin White set the previous record (199) for the franchise in 2005/06.

Sam Reinhart scored and Linus Ullmark made 18 saves for the visitors, who are 0-10-2 on the road since a 5-4 win at the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 19.

Rasmus Dahlin had an assist for the fourth straight game.

Up Next:

Sabres v Senators – Tuesday, March 26 (7:30pm)

Devils v Red Wings – Friday, March 28 (7:30pm)

 

Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Rangers

5-2

The Pittsburgh Penguins were 5-2 victors over the New York Rangers, moving them within a point of first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Teddy Blueger scored twice, and Nick Bjugstad, Justin Schultz and Matt Cullen each scored one for the Penguins, who have won three in a row, all on the road, and are tied in points with the New York Islanders for second, although Pittsburgh has played one more game. 

The Penguins fell 2-0 behind before scoring five unanswered goals, three of which came in the second period.

Matt Murray, who is 6-0 against the Rangers in the regular season, made 33 saves.

Brendan Lemieux and Vinni Lettieri scored in the first period for the Rangers, who have been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention. Alexander Georgiev made 31 saves. 

 

Boston Bruins v Tampa Bay Lightning

4-5

The Tampa Bay Lightning came from 4-2 down to beat the Boston Bruins 5-4 with three unanswered goals in the third period, ending their guests’ four-game win streak.

Steven Stamkos scored twice, Anthony Cirelli, Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov also scored, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 13 saves for the hosts, who have already clinched the Presidents’ Trophy and became the fourth team in NHL history to win at least 59 games. They join the 1976/77 Montreal Canadiens (60), 1977/78 Canadiens (59) and the 1995/96 Detroit Red Wings (62).

Stamkos joined Brayden Point as the second Bolt to score 40 goals. The only other season in franchise history in which two players have reached the mark was 2006/07, with Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis.

Kucherov now has 121pts (38g, 83a), passing Sergei Fedorov for the second most points by a Russian-born player in an NHL season.

Brad Marchand scored twice, Brandon Carlo and Charlie Coyle also scored, David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron recorded two assists each, and Tuukka Rask made 23 saves for the Bruins, who had their lead for second place in the Atlantic Division trimmed to five points after the third-placed Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Florida Panthers.

Up Next:

Rangers v Bruins – Wednesday, March 27 (7:30pm – NBCSN)

Capitals v Lightning – Saturday, March 30 (7pm)

 

Vegas Golden Knights v St Louis Blues

1-3

All the Vegas Golden Knights needed to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs was a point, unfortunately for them the St Louis Blues had other ideas and won the affair 3-1.

William Karlsson scored and Malcom Subban made 19 saves for Vegas, who will clinch a playoff berth if they defeat or earn a point against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.

Ivan Barbashev, Ryan O’Reilly and Zach Sanford scored for the Blues, who have swept a four-game homestand, and remain two points behind the Nashville Predators for second place in the Central Division, four behind first-placed Winnipeg Jets and six points ahead of the Dallas Stars.

 

Up Next:

Knights v Avalanche – Wednesday, March 27 (10pm – NBCSN)

Blues v Rangers – Friday, March 29 (7pm)

 

Nashville Predators v Minnesota Wild

1-0

The Nashville Predators secured their place in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 1-0 win over the Minnesota Wild.

Ryan Johansen scored and Juuse Saros made 29 saves for Nashville, who had lost two in a row, lead the St Louis Blues by two points, and trail the Winnipeg Jets by two points for second place in the Central Division. 

The Preds, who have made the playoffs in five consecutive seasons, gave forward Rem Pitlick 9:43 of ice time for his NHL debut in their first regulation win in Minnesota since January 22, 2017.

Devan Dubnyk made 18 saves for the Wild, who have lost two in a row, four of their last five and 18 of 23 home games, and remain two points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second western wild card. 

Up Next:

Predators v Penguins – Friday, March 29 (7pm)

Wild v Knights – Friday, March 29 (10pm)

 

Dallas Stars v Winnipeg Jets

5-2

The Dallas Stars extended their lead in the Western Conference wild card race with a 5-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.

Tyler Seguin and Radek Faksa each had two goals for Dallas, who extended their lead over the Colorado Avalanche for the first wild card to three points.

Ben Bishop had an assist and made 21 saves for his seventh win in his last eight starts.

Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine scored for the Jets, who lead the Nashville Predators by two points for top spot in the Central. Winnipeg have already clinch a playoff berth and have a game in hand over Nashville. 

Up Next:

Stars v Flames – Wednesday, March 27 (9:30pm)

Islanders v Jets – Thursday, March 28 (8pm – ESPN+)

 

Los Angeles Kings v Calgary Flames

3-0

The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Calgary Flames 3-0, stopping the Canadiens from extending their lead atop the Pacific Division and Western Conference.

Calgary’s Mike Smith, who made 17 saves, had a beautiful save on Anze Kopitar‘s one timer toward the end of the third period.

Defenseman Noah Hanifin hit the post with six seconds remaining for the Flames, who had won three in a row and lead the San Jose Sharks by six points. 

Derek Forbort, Jonny Brodzinski and Tyler Toffoli (empty-netter) scored and Jack Campbell made 42 saves for L.A., who have already been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention and have won three in a row.

 

Up Next:

Kings v Oilers – Tuesday, March 26 (9pm)

Stars v Flames – Wednesday, March 27 (9:30pm)

 

Detroit Red Wings v San Jose Sharks

3-2

The San Jose Sharks missed yet another opportunity to gain ground in the Pacific Division after losing their season-high sixth straight game, 3-2 to the Detroit Red Wings.

Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl scored in the third period for San Jose, who remain six points behind the Calgary Flames and five ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights. Martin Jones made 20 saves.

Its the first time since March 16-25, 2017 that the Sharks have lost six in succession.

Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou and Christoffer Ehn scored, and Jonathan Bernier made 39 saves for the Red Wings, who have been eliminated from playoff contention, but have won four of their last five games.

Up Next:

Devils v Red Wings – Friday, March 29 (7:30pm)

Blackhawks v Sharks – Saturday, March 30 (10:30pm – ESPN+)

 

KEY

 

ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN