Anaheim 2 - Detroit 1 (F/OT)
A tightly officiated game was decided in the rarest of ways as Bobby Ryan’s overtime penalty shot goal put the Ducks over the Red Wings. Ruslan Salei was busted for hauling Ryan down on a breakaway and the mistake cost his team the game. Some may debate how legit of a trip it was, but Salei’s error helped keep the Ducks in the running out west. Detroit will kick themselves for going 1-9 on the power play in this game. Pavel Datsyuk’s 20th goal of the season was the Wings sole offense while Jason Blake tied the game up early in the third with his 12th goal. Dan Ellis was stellar in goal stopping 28 shots for the win. Jimmy Howard stopped 26 in the loss.
The Devils continue to lurk in the East as they try to comeback from an epic hole in the standings to make the playoffs and it’s Ilya Kovalchuk that’s helping lead the charge. Kovalchuk’s 22nd goal of the year midway through the third period put the Devils ahead 2-1 where Martin Brodeur would hold down the fort making just 15 saves on the game to earn the win. The Lightning jumped ahead in the first on Dominic Moore’s power play goal, his 11th of the year, but Henrik Tallinder tied it up in the second with his fourth goal of the year. The win puts New Jersey nine points behind Carolina for the eighth spot in the East. The problem for them is that the teams between them and Carolina also are winning as well. The next seven games for New Jersey look very advantageous for them to keep rolling along though. Buckle up.
Toronto 3 - Pittsburgh 2 (F/OT)
It was a game the Wild sorely needed and they came out as flat as it gets. Blake Comeau scored twice for the Islanders, the second of which came 41 seconds into the second period chasing Wild starter Niklas Backstrom from the game after making it 3-0. Jose Theodore would relieve him and give up one more goal to Andrew MacDonald to make it 4-0. All in all the Islanders peppered Wild goalies with 41 shots on the night to earn the win. John Madden’s 10th goal of the year midway through the third period spoiled the shutout chance for Al Montoya who finished with 33 saves and the win for New York.
Make it six in a row for Chicago as they once again rode Jonathan Toews coattails to victory. Toews scored two goals while Michal Frolik had a goal and two assists to lead the Hawks to victory. Rene Bourque tried to keep Calgary in it scoring two goals of his own, but the Blackhawks were able to rise to fourth in the Western Conference with the win. Just two weeks ago, Chicago was sitting outside of the playoffs and now they’re in a position to have home ice in the first round of the playoffs. Chicago was able to chase Miikka Kiprusoff from the game on the heels of him pitching two straight shutouts against St. Louis. With how things are going in the West this year, these two could be destined for a first round match-up in the playoffs.