Buffalo, NY (Sports Network) - Steve Ott scored the winner in the sixth round
of the shootout as Buffalo took a 5-4 win over Toronto on Thursday. Ott came
flying in on his chance and was able to tuck a backhand between the right
post and Toronto goaltender James Reimer for the lead. Ryan Miller then
preserved the win by stopping Clarke MacArthur's backhand offering. Christian
Ehrhoff had a goal and two assists, Tyler Ennis gave a goal and an assist
and Jason Pominville and Marcus Foligno also scored for the Sabres, who
have won two straight. Miller stopped 30 shots in the win. Nazem Kadri had two
goals and an assist for the Maple Leafs, who have lost six of seven, while
Tyler Bozak and Mikhail Grabovski also scored. Reimer finished the loss with
32 stops.
Final Score: Montreal 5, NY Islanders 2
Uniondale, NY (Sports Network) - The Montreal Canadiens got some unexpected
help from a team that had given them fits recently. Brian Gionta ignited a
third-period scoring spree that carried the Canadiens to a 5-2 win over the
New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. Gionta snapped a 2-2 tie 48 seconds
into the final frame, then rookie Brendan Gallagher and P.K. Subban scored
goals separated by 33 seconds that the Islanders had put in their own net.
Subban also had a power-play tally in the second period and Michael Ryder
scored with the man advantage as well for the Canadiens, who improved to
14-1-4 in their last 19 games. Montreal had dropped three straight games to
the Islanders, including a 6-3 setback on March 5 - the lone regulation loss
during its impressive stretch. Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty and David
Desharnais each had two assists for the Canadiens, who got a 25-save effort
from Carey Price as well. John Tavares and Lubomir Visnovsky supplied the
goals for New York, which has given up a combined 10 third-period goals in its
last three games. Montreal native Kevin Poulin was beaten five times on 29
shots in his second start of the season for the Islanders.
Final Score: Florida 3, NY Rangers 1
New York, NY (Sports Network) - Jacob Markstrom made 44 saves in a sensational
performance between the pipes that enabled the Florida Panthers to record a
3-1 victory over the New York Rangers for the team's first win streak of the
season. Brian Campbell had a power-play goal in the first period and Scottie
Upshall scored in the second for Florida, with Tomas Kopecky adding an
empty-netter near the end and Markstrom making the lead stand by turning
back 17-of-18 shots over the final 20 minutes. The Panthers, fresh off
Tuesday's 4-1 decision at Carolina that halted a six-game skid, had not
prevailed in back-to-back outings since winning five in a row from Mar. 11-20
of last season. Marian Gaborik had a late goal for the Rangers, who had a
two-game win streak snapped despite outshooting Florida by a 45-23
margin. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 21-of-23 chances in the setback.
Final Score: New Jersey 4, Carolina 1
Raleigh, NC (Sports Network) - The return of goaltender Martin Brodeur sparked
New Jersey on Thursday; just not in the way the Devils are accustomed to
seeing. Brodeur, who had missed the last 13 games due to back soreness, was
credited with his third career goal and posted 17 saves in the Devils' 4-1 win
over the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Brodeur's marker staked New
Jersey to a 1-0 lead, while Adam Henrique, Peter Harrold and Andrei
Loktionov each followed with a tally to help the Devils snap a three-game
slide. Jeff Skinner netted the lone Carolina goal, while Dan Ellis was
charged for all four goals on 22 shots in the Hurricanes' fifth straight
setback.
Final Score: Boston 2, Ottawa 1
Ottawa, ON (Sports Network) - Dennis Seidenberg broke a tie with 1:04
remaining in the third period, and the Boston Bruins continued their success
in Ottawa with a 2-1 win over the Senators. Daniel Paille scored the other
goal for the Bruins, who notched their 11th straight road victory against the
Senators. They have 12 of 13 overall in this series. Anton Khudobin made 27
saves, helping Boston snap a two-game losing streak and a three-game slide as
the visitor. Robin Lehner also stopped 27 shots for Ottawa, which had its
winning streak halted at three games.
Final Score: Washington 4, Winnipeg 0
Winnipeg, MB (Sports Network) - Braden Holtby made 20 saves to notch his
second consecutive shutout of the Winnipeg Jets in the Washington Capitals'
4-0 triumph at MTS Centre. Alex Ovechkin aided Holtby's cause by registering
a goal and two assists, while Nicklas Backstrom scored once and assisted
on Ovechkin's tally in the victory. Troy Brouwer and Marcus Johansson also
lit the lamp for Washington, which posted a 3-0 decision in its most recent
visit to Winnipeg on Mar. 2 behind a 35-stop effort by Holtby. The Southeast
Division leading Jets lost for just the second time in five games, with
Ondrej Pavelec accumulating 21 saves in the setback.
Final Score: Nashville 5, Calgary 3
Nashville, TN (Sports Network) - Mike Fisher had two goals to help the
Nashville Predators take a 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Thursday. Martin
Erat gave a goal and two assists while Nick Spaling and Brandon Yip also
scored for the Predators, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Pekka Rinne
turned away 19 shots in the win. Mark Giordano had a goal and an assist
while Blake Comeau and Jarome Iginla also lit the lamp for the Flames, who
have lost five of their last seven. Miikka Kiprusoff was tagged for all five
goals on 23 shots.
The Sports Network