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Jets beat Avs 5-1, tie Leafs for 8th in East

22 Feb

install flash Jets beat Avs 5 1, tie Leafs for 8th in East

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — With their reunited top line scoring in bunches and their power play finally clicking, the Winnipeg Jets are peaking at the right time.

Bryan Little scored twice, Andrew Ladd made a goal and two assists and linemate Blake Wheeler added four assists Sunday night in a 5-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche that moved the Jets into a tie with Toronto for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

“I think our whole line is playing really well,” Wheeler said. “When we were put together after the All-Star break, we made a conscious effort to make this thing work similar to how we did last year in Atlanta.”

Ondrej Pavelec made 31 saves to help the Jets, playing the second game in an eight-game homestand, increase their winning streak to three and close within a point of Southeast Division-leading Florida.

Evander Kane had a goal and an assist, and Kyle Wellwood also scored for Winnipeg.

“It’s nice to finally see us put a few pucks in the net and get confidence,” Ladd said. “It’s going to be such a big thing going forward here. The power play has to be here and hasn’t been.”

Gabriel Landeskog scored for Colorado.

“Overall, we just weren’t good enough in all areas of the game,” Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said. “I don’t think we had everybody here on deck tonight. In a big game like that, I would have expected a little bit more intensity from more guys.”

The Avalanche are tied with Dallas for 10th in the West.

“It’s a big loss this time of the year,” said Colorado forward Matt Duchene, who returned to the lineup after missing 20 games because of a knee injury. “I think we carried the play in the second period. But they’re a great team.”

The Jets improved to 18-9-2 in the raucous MTS Centre.

Kane opened the scoring at 1:45 of the second period, beating goalie Semyon Varlamov with a quick backhander through traffic from the left circle for his team-leading 22nd goal.

Little was the recipient of a gift from defenseman Erik Johnson, whose blind clearing attempt gave the Winnipeg center a wide-open net to shoot at 3:30 of the second.

Landeskog beat Pavelec low to the blocker side on a power play at 10:42 of the period. The rookie has 15 goals. The Jets restored their two-goal lead 46 seconds later when Kane’s high shot ricocheted off the glass and Wellwood jammed it into the Colorado net.

Ladd and Little scored power-play goals in the third period to cap the scoring. Litle has 18 goals.

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Blues rally to force overtime, lose to Penguins in shootout

21 Feb

install flash Blues rally to force overtime, lose to Penguins in shootout

ST. LOUIS — Beginning Wednesday, the Blues will have nine days off for the NHL All-Star break, time to ponder what has been accomplished in 49 games, time to prep for 33 more. In the big picture, they have come far, shaking off an indifferent start and responding to a coaching change to compile a 29-13-7 record.

The immediate picture appears less inspiring. Coming off a 3-1 loss at Detroit 24 hours earlier, the Blues lost, 3-2, in an overtime-shootout to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night at Scottrade Center.

But the outcome calls for perspective. Not only were the Blues playing for the second night in succession, they were playing for the fourth time in six nights. And you think Demi Moore is exhausted.

What’s more, they were playing a Penguins team that has now won seven in a row, a team that features two of the league’s premier forwards in Evgeni Malkin and James Neal, a well-rested team that had a 2-0 lead with less than half the clock remaining. A shootout-loss wasn’t the outcome the Blues were hoping for, but it was nothing of which to be ashamed.

“This one’s good,” said Blues coach Ken Hitchcock. “We were good. We had a little bit of a soft spot there, when they went up 2-0, we weren’t very good. But then we really ramped it up. This is a hard game. They’re sitting here rested, a great hockey team. And to play like we did, pretty impressive.”

The 2-2 regulation tie left the Blues 7-0-2 at home and 8-1-2 overall for January. They earned 18 of a possible 22 points for the month, with the loss at Detroit on Monday being the only glitch in regulation. Yes, the pre-break schedule ended with a regulation loss and a shootout loss, but …

“It was bittersweet,” T. J. Oshie said. “What we can take away from this is the way we raised our level as the game went on. Last night against Detroit, that’s where we fell down, that’s where we struggled. They kicked it up in the second and third periods, and we didn’t respond. I think tonight we were that team.”

Doing much of the kicking was center Patrik Berglund. Without a point in seven games, and sometimes without much of a presence, Berglund scored both Blues goals. His clutch penalty shot 5:04 into the third tied the score 2-2.

In addition to those markers, Berglund came close on other occasions and often dominated during his shifts. The Blues may have lost the extra point, but they may have gained a threat for the second half.

“He was very competitive,” Hitchcock said. “He was determined to score. I thought the weight of the world went off his shoulders when he scored the (first) goal. He started really playing, danced with the puck and was a threat every shift. If he plays like that coming back, he’s going to be a tough guy to play against.”

Unfortunately, taking the highly skilled Penguins to a shootout is not the desired game plan. The Blues are now 1-6 in shootouts this season, while Pittsburgh improved to 6-2.

Malkin and Oshie traded goals in the initial three rounds of shots, with Berglund and Kevin Shattenkirk unable to convert for the Blues. Then, after Pittsburgh netminder Marc Andre-Fleury poke-checked Alex Pietrangelo, Chris Kunitz scored on Brian Elliott to win it for the Penguins.

For streaking Pittsburgh, the break came too soon. For the weary Blues, the All-Star stop didn’t come quite soon enough. Nonetheless, the finale before the break was entertaining.

The first-period set the tone, with heavy hitting and many contentious moments. The Blues flirted with danger early in the second when Malkin went down. Official Kevin Pollack interpreted the drama as a hold on David Backes and the Pens scored a power-play goal to get a 1-0 lead.

Defenseman Paul Martin won a battle in the corner and slid the puck to Neal, who beat Elliott less than four minutes into the period with his 27th goal. The Blues got a power-play chance moments later, but the power play fizzled three times during the evening. The Blues’ man-advantage squad is two for its last 29 at-bats.

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NHL Capsules: Filppula lifts Red Wings past Blue Jackets

20 Feb

RED WINGS 3, BLUE JACKETS 2, SO

DETROIT — Valtteri Filppula scored in the fourth round of a shootout to give Detroit its 16th straight home victory,

The streak tied Detroit with the 1975-76 Boston Bruins [team stats] for the fourth-longest run at home in NHL history.

Niklas Kronwall and Nicklas Lidstrom scored for the Red Wings in regulation, and Jimmy Howard made 17 saves. Ryan Russell and Nikita Nikitin scored for Columbus, and Curtis Sanford stopped 29 shots.

The teams traded power-play goals in the second period.

BLUES 4, SABRES 2

ST. LOUIS — David Backes had two goals and two assists, and Jaroslav Halak made 19 saves to lift St. Louis over Buffalo.

The Blues are 8-0-1 in January, earning 17 of 18 points, and Halak is 11-0-3 in his past 14 starts.

St. Louis is an NHL-best 21-3-3 at home and has 64 points overall, one fewer than Western Conference-leading Detroit.

Buffalo, which dropped its 12th straight on the road and fifth in a row overall, is 2-7-1 in January.

B.J. Crombeen and David Perron also scored for the Blues, and Alex Pietrangelo and T.J. Oshie each added two assists for St. Louis.

Ryan Miller made 23 saves for Buffalo, which got goals from Mike Weber and Tyler Myers. Weber’s goal snapped Halak’s shutout streak at 164 minutes, 38 seconds.

FLYERS 4, DEVILS 1

NEWARK, N.J. — Scott Hartnell scored two power-play goals, and Wayne Simmonds had a goal and two assists, leading Philadelphia over New Jersey.

The Flyers (28-14-4) remained four points behind the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers. The Devils (26-19-2) lost for the second straight time in the middle of a six-game homestand.

Hartnell scored in the second and third periods. Simmonds assisted on Hartnell’s first goal and on Matt Read’s second-period tally, and then added an empty-netter. Ilya Bryzgalov made 30 saves to earn his 18th win of the season.

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Flyers fall to Rangers, 5-2

19 Feb

install flash Flyers fall to Rangers, 5 2

PHILADELPHIA — Except for a “Gordie Howe hat trick” by Wayne Simmonds, arguably highlighted by his third-period takedown of a fighting foe, little else brought spectators to their feet Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Philadelphia Flyers, in another lackluster matinee showing, yielded three power-play tallies, converted only one of 18 second-period shots, and bowed to the Atlantic Division-leading New York Rangers, 5-2, in front of 19,950.

Continuing its recent dominance in the series, New York won for the fifth straight time this season. The Flyers are 0-6-1 in the last seven meetings. It’s their longest losing streak against the Blueshirts since they dropped 10 in a row from 1971 to 1973.

“We know they’re big games against Philly,” Rangers center Brad Richards said. “It’s not that we think we have something that is a magic weapon against them. We have a great goalie, we have a good team, and we’re just coming in and playing.”

For New York, which extended its division lead on the Flyers to six points, Henrik Lundqvist stood tall again between the pipes, turning away 31 shots. Ryan Callahan spurred the offense, notching his second career hat trick.

“They play the same way every night,” defenseman Kimmo Timonen said of New York. “And if there’s a breakdown, their goalie makes the save. They somehow get the job done.”

The Rangers (35-13-5) came into the contest ranked No. 27 in the league on the power play. This time, they made good on three of their first four five-on-four chances.

It’s the third time this season, including twice at home, that the Flyers (31-17-7) have surrendered three power-play goals in a game.

“Our (penalty killing) has to be better,” center Claude Giroux said. “We have to do a better job of protecting (goalie Sergei Bobrovsky). We have to learn from it.”

Said coach Peter Laviolette: “We need to be better there. I’m not going to make any excuses. It’s got to get better.”

Bobrovsky, making his second straight start, stopped 21 shots. Both of New York’s third-period tallies came at even strength.

“I thought (Bobrovsky) did a good job,” Laviolette said. “But their power play was dangerous. They moved the puck well.”

Ahead by 3-2 heading into the final period, the Rangers gained insurance on Artem Anisimov’s goal with 13 minutes, 32 seconds left to play. Callahan’s hat trick came with 9:35 remaining.

“I don’t think we own (the Flyers) by any stretch,” Callahan said. “They are close games. It could go either way. It’s two good teams battling out there, and we’ve just come out on top.”

Callahan’s second power-play goal, midway through the second period, came on tic-tac-toe passing. From up top, Marian Gaborik zipped the puck to Michael Del Zotto, positioned near the left circle, and Del Zotto made a perfect cross to a waiting Callahan.

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Sidney Crosby staying the course as Olympic glory fades

18 Feb

PITTSBURGH — The moment is etched in Canadian hockey lore.

There’s Sidney Crosby, standing in the corner of the ice after scoring the biggest goal in a life filled with big goals, arms raised, gloves flung halfway to the Rogers Arena ceiling.

Crosby’s gold-medal winning overtime shot in the 2010 men’s Olympic hockey final was supposed to be the last step in an ascension that seemingly began the second he laced up skates in Nova Scotia as a toddler.

The Canadians were Olympic champions. Order to the hockey world had been restored with one brilliant flick of Crosby’s wrist.

Sitting on the Team USA bench after the 3-2 loss, defenseman Tim Gleason watched Crosby get swarmed by his teammates and did his best to put his disappointment aside and drink it in.

“That’s the kid that’s Hockey Canada himself, so it was almost like a too-good-to-be true story that he scored the goal,” Gleason said.

Maybe it was.

Flash forward two years. The roars have quieted, replaced by questions the ever-patient 24-year-old has grown weary of answering.

The truth is, Crosby doesn’t know when the concussion-like symptoms that have limited him to eight games over the last 12 months will abate.

He doesn’t know when he’ll be able to practice at full strength, let alone play in a game. While he remains certain he’ll return, until he’s cleared by doctors his routine will continue to consist of occasional tests, light exercise and watching the Pittsburgh Penguins fight for a playoff spot without him — as he goes to bed wondering how he’ll feel in the morning.

While the Penguins spent the week trying to right their season following a six-game losing streak — the franchise’s longest in two years — Crosby was in Atlanta visiting with Dr. Ted Carrick, the chiropractic neurologist who successfully treated the 2009 NHL MVP for lingering concussion-like symptoms last summer.

Crosby didn’t intend to become the league’s poster child on the need for increased player safety and the nexus for a harder stance on shots to the head.

Yet here he is more than a year after taking a pair of vicious hits in consecutive games last January, still limited by a frustrating and frightening injury.

It’s not the way Crosby wanted to spend his prime. It’s an exquisite kind of torture. And his teammates know it.

“It’s got to be really hard on him,” Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik said. “That’s something that people have got to know about him. I mean, at home he watches other hockey games. It’s always hockey. To take hockey away from him has got to be a lot harder on him than most of the other guys in the league.”

It’s part of the reason why Sid the Kid has become Sid the Ghost.

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Avalanche fall to Blues in overtime, 3-2

17 Feb

install flash Avalanche fall to Blues in overtime, 3 2

ST. LOUIS — There was a special guest up in the press box on Saturday night at Scottrade Center: Todd McLellan. The San Jose coach, who guides his Sharks against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday at Scottrade, was in town early, studying the Note, looking for keys to beating the NHL’s best home team.

The Colorado Avalanche gave McLellan some material with which to work. Following an inspiring victory at New Jersey on Thursday, the Blues were not at their best in front of a sellout crowd of 19,150. But in the end, they were successful.

Carlo Colaiacovo’s deflection with 1:42 remaining in overtime provided the Blues with a 3-2 victory. The play developed when Patrik Berglund wheeled and fired a shot from just inside the blue line. The puck hit Colaiacovo and caromed into the net. The game winner was Colaiacovo’s second goal, his first since Oct. 22.

“It’s not through lack of trying, through lack of chances,” Colaiacovo said. “Hopefully, it takes something like this to get the ball rolling. At the end of the day, I’m just so happy we won.”

The Blues have the best home record in the NHL, with 50 points from a 23-3-4 mark. And they have been among the best teams in the league overall under coach Ken Hitchcock, building a 27-7-7 record on his watch.

That said, they didn’t get any style points against the Avalanche, who pushed the envelope despite playing for the second time in as many nights. Hitchcock expects a similarly difficult test against McLellan’s Sharks.

“They’re going to be a rested team,” Hitchcock said. “I’m sure they’re going try to master us in the first period. We just have to be ready. For the first game back after a road trip, I would say if I was the other coach that, ‘They play a simple game, just like we do. They’re playing hard and smart.’

“I think the first period is going to be key. They’re going come at us hard. They have a lot of size and a lot of beef. It’s going to be a real battle.”

Their success notwithstanding, the Blues often have made star of the game candidates out of opposing goaltenders. On this occasion, they helped highlight the play of Colorado keeper Semyon Varlamov by outshooting the Avs 44-19.

Before Colaiacovo’s heroics, only David Perron had solved Varlamov, scoring two goals in the first period. Perron also assisted on the overtime winner and has six points in his last three games.

“It’s just great to get two points” in the standings, Perron said. “There’s a lot of games on our schedule lately, and we’re dealing with whatever we have. When we play back to back, the biggest thing we can do is turn the page right away. It’ll be another big game (Sunday).”

While they played Friday night in Denver, the Avs showed no signs of fatigue Saturday in the first period, taking a 1-0 lead 10 minutes into the game. Colorado’s David Van Der Gulik won a faceoff in the Blues’ zone, pulling the puck back to Shane O’Brien. The defenseman’s slapper found the back of the net behind Blues netminder Brian Elliott (18-5-2). A replay showed the puck deflected off the stick of Blues defender Ian Cole.

The home side bounced back with a power play goal some two minutes later. A holding infraction sent former Blues forward Jay McClement to the box, and Perron took a pass from T.J. Oshie and swept the puck past Varlamov for his eighth goal of the season.

With 3:43 remaining, Perron struck again, giving the Blues a 2-1 lead. This time, the Blues had a five-on-three opportunity after Chuck Kobasew and Ryan O’Byrne committed consecutive penalties. Perron gained possession along the left boards, drifted into the faceoff circle and sniped his second goal of the period, fifth in three games. Oshie got his second assist.

“He’s so good at protecting the puck, and he’s been scoring goals for us lately,” Colaiacovo said of Perron. “We consider him an elite player on our team, that’s for sure. And if he’s an elite player on our team, that makes him an elite player in the league.”

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Blues rediscover scoring touch

16 Feb

OTTAWA — The night before the Blues faced the Senators, David Perron visited a local hockey goods store in Ottawa. After spotting a shooting alley inside, he grabbed a stick and, remaining unidentifiable to the sales clerk, ripped shots for a half-hour.

“He said, ‘You’ve got a helluva shot,’” Perron said. “I just started laughing and said, ‘Thanks.’ He probably thought I was some junior (hockey player) that played a while back and stopped playing. It was pretty funny. I never told him who I was.”

One of several of the Blues’ struggling offensive players, Perron made his presence known Tuesday, scoring twice in the team’s 3-1 victory over the Senators at Scotiabank Place.

“I guess I’ll have to find a store in New Jersey, too,” joked Perron, as the Blues packed their bags for the final game of the three-game trip Thursday against the Devils.

The Blues also picked up a goal from Chris Porter, breaking the two-goal plateau for only the second time in their past 10 games and helping the club leave town with an important road win—its first win in Ottawa in 12 years.

Starting Saturday in Nashville, Blues players began wearing T-shirts around the locker room that read: “2012 Road Warriors.” They entered the game Tuesday with a mark of 8-11-3 on the road, losing four of their past five on foreign ice.

In order to change that, the Blues need more production from players such as Perron, David Backes and T.J. Oshie, who each entered the game Tuesday pointless in their past four games.

“You’re going to have to get that if you’re going to win on the road,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “Your best players have to score. We’ve struggled in that area here lately, but tonight was big.”

All three players contributed on Perron’s second goal of the game, giving the Blues a 3-1 lead at 6 minutes, 35 seconds of the second period. Oshie stripped Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson of the puck, which trickled to Backes. He fed Perron, who skated past the crease and flipped a shot past goalie Alex Auld.

“It was good to get in the (celebratory) huddle again,” Oshie said.

The Blues’ protected the two-goal cushion with a strong penalty-kill in the third period, following a hooking penalty against Patrik Berglund with 81/2 minutes left in regulation. The team finished with 20 blocked shots, including four apiece by Barret Jackman and Roman Polak.

Blues goalie Brian Elliott made his first appearance against Ottawa since the team traded him last season. And while there was no standing ovation from Senators’ fans afterwards, ala Jaroslav Halak in Montreal, Elliott was solid despite playing for the first time since Jan. 24. He picked up his 16th victory of the season with 28 saves, including a third-period stop on the Sens’ Kyle Turris with the game hanging in the balance.

“I haven’t played in a little bit, so just getting back out there and trying to do my best for the guys and give us a chance to win—that’s what it meant,” Elliott said. “You really want to get back in that winning feeling and … doing it here is pretty big for me.”

The Blues chased Ottawa starter Craig Anderson from the game after he allowed two goals on four shots.

Only 1:37 into the game, Porter deflected a shot by Polak, giving Porter his fourth goal of the season and two in a row for the Blues after Saturday’s tally in Nashville.

“Porter chips in again,” Hitchcock said. “Porter is really helping us right now. He’s really playing well.”

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Scott Hartnell scores 2 PP goals, Flyers top Devils 4-1

14 Feb

NEWARK, N.J. — Jaromir Jagr’s injury forced the Philadelphia Flyers to adjust their power play.

It worked just fine without him.

Jagr left in the first period of the Flyers’ 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, and didn’t return. Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette made some changes to the power play, that was facing the NHL’s best penalty-killers.

Scott Hartnell scored two power-play goals — one in the second period and another in the third — and carried the Flyers to the win.

“We ran (Hartnell) back out there, and the team responded,” Laviolette said. “We needed to get goals there, and Scott was able to get through some traffic.”

It was the first time this season the Devils allowed two power-play goals in a home game.

“They do a good job of killing penalties,” said Hartnell, who has a team-leading 22 goals. “They weren’t letting us get into the zone, but we kept at it and then the shots opened up. We had to work hard to get our chances.

“There are some times when the power play isn’t clicking and then other times it is. We were lucky to get two on this team.”

Wayne Simmonds had a goal and two assists for the first three-point game of his NHL career. Simmonds was the best player on the ice Saturday, dominating on both ends.

“He’s been terrific,” Laviolette said of Simmonds, who scored his 13th goal on an empty-net backhander with 2:22 left. “Offensively, defensively, you name it. He was a physical presence in the game. He kept moving his feet and the puck ended up on his stick.”

The Flyers (28-14-4) remained four points behind the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers. The Devils (26-19-2) lost for the second straight time in the middle of a six-game homestand.

Hartnell’s first goal came off a deflection, and his second was scored with a one-timer that eluded goalie Martin Brodeur.

Simmonds assisted on Hartnell’s first goal and on Matt Read’s second-period. Read leads NHL rookies with 15 goals.

Ilya Bryzgalov made 30 saves to earn his 18th win of the season. Brodeur finished with 14 saves.

Alexei Ponikarovsky, in his Devils debut, scored New Jersey’s lone goal. Ponikarovsky was acquired Friday in a trade with Carolina.

“It was good to make an impact right away with my new teammates, but unfortunately, we didn’t get a win,” said Ponikarovsky, who arrived in New Jersey late Friday night. “The goal gave us momentum for a little while, but then it got away from us in the third period. Everything happened so fast, me coming here, but I’m glad for it and I want to continue to help.

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Steven Stamkos leads Lightning to 2-1 win over Sabres

13 Feb

install flash Steven Stamkos leads Lightning to 2 1 win over Sabres

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Tampa Bay Lightning have discovered a winning formula on the road — just in time for a late-season playoff push.

Steven Stamkos’ scoring touch, Mathieu Garon’s stingy goaltending and a fortunate bounce off the crossbar contributed to their 2-1 win over Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.

The Lightning are 3-0-1 in their past four road games and are enjoying their best stretch of the season.

“That’s what killed us at the beginning of the year,” Stamkos said of a team that was 6-16-3 away from Tampa Bay through Jan. 13. “We know how well we play at home. We needed to prove to ourselves that we could win on the road, as well.”

Stamkos scored his NHL-leading 37th goal and extended his point streak to six games, in which he has five goals and five assists. He also set up Steve Downie’s goal as part of a two-goal second period. Garon did the rest, stopping 26 shots — including 13 of 14 in the final period.

The Lightning improved to 9-16-4 on the road, which has helped them go 7-1-2 in their past 10 games.

With 54 points, Tampa Bay (24-24-6) caught the Sabres (24-25-6) and New York Islanders for 12th place in the Eastern Conference. The Lightning beat a team that had been 5-0-1, and hadn’t lost at home in regulation in 10 games (6-0-4).

Jason Pominville scored 7:07 into the third period for the Sabres, who came out flat. They managed just 13 shots through 40 minutes while playing for the third time in four nights.

The Sabres failed to build off the momentum of a 3-2 shootout victory over Dallas on Friday, when they rallied from a two-goal, third-period deficit.

“We played one period, but one period is not good enough,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “I was glad to see at least we came out in the third with some determination to try to make a difference.”

Determination wasn’t enough to beat Garon or the crossbar.

The goalie’s best save came with just under 5 minutes left. He slid across the crease in time to get his pad and stick down to stop Pominville’s one-timer from the right circle.

Garon also got a lucky break with a minute left when Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff had the goalie beat with a blast from the top of the right circle, only to have the shot clang off the bar.

“That’s probably as good of a look as you can have,” Ehrhoff said of his shot. “I was going high blocker, and it missed by an inch.”

Whew, said Garon, with a big smile.

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NHL Roundup: Evgeni Nabokov’s 17 saves lift Islanders over Caps, 3-0

12 Feb

WASHINGTON — Evgeni Nabokov stopped 17 shots to hand the Washington Capitals their first shutout of the season, and the New York Islanders got two goals from PA Parenteau in a 3-0 victory Tuesday night.

The last-place Islanders ended Washington’s seven-game, home winning streak and denied the Capitals’ bid to move past idle Florida into first place in the Southeast Division.

It was the 51st career shutout for the 36-year-old Nabokov and first with New York. He has 301 career wins, including eight this season.

Playing the last of back-to-back games and for the fourth time in six days, the Islanders converted three of 28 shots against Tomas Vokoun, who came in 14-3 with a 2.03 goals-against average in 17 starts at home.

John Tavares extended his point streak to a career-best 10 games with a power-play goal at 12:05 of the first period.

RANGERS 3, PREDATORS 0

NEW YORK — Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, and the New York Rangers stayed atop the NHL standings with a victory over Nashville that stopped the Predators’ winning streak at five.

The Rangers had lost two of three entering Tuesday’s game following a five-game winning streak.

John Mitchell scored midway through the second period and defenseman Dan Girardi had a goal in the first. Ryan Callahan was awarded a goal when he dived to try to knock the puck into the empty net in the final minute, and Martin Erat dived on top of him.

New York leads the NHL with 62 points.

The Predators have won eight of 10.

FLYERS 5, WILD 1

PHILADELPHIA — Sean Couturier scored a short-handed goal to lead a balanced attack, and Philadelphia topped Minnesota.

Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell, Braydon Coburn and Jakub Voracek also had goals, and Jaromir Jagr had two assists for the Flyers, who got points from 12 players.

Darroll Powe scored against his former team for Minnesota’s lone goal.

Ilya Bryzgalov made 25 saves to earn the win, a day after coach Peter Laviolette reiterated he is the Flyers’ No. 1 goaltender. Bryzgalov is having the worst season of his nine-year career while backup Sergei Bobrovsky has far better stats.

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