For recaps of the three games that had an impact on the Eastern Conference playoff bubble, click here. We’ll pass along notes on the final two games later tonight, but in the mean time, here are recaps of six other contests.
When you become a group that only includes Scotty Bowman during his days with the golden era Montreal Canadiens and Glen Sather when he coached the Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers in its ranks, you’ve done something special. Red Wings coach Mike Babcock became only the third coach in NHL history to win 300 games in six seasons. With 11 games left, the Detroit bench boss might even be able to match Sather’s 307 wins in a six season span (Bowman’s out of reach with a staggering 321).
Babcock can thank a goalie who hadn’t earned many of those wins, as Joey MacDonald earned a 37-save shutout to preserve a 1-0 lead Drew Miller created just 33 seconds into the game. Valterri Filppula scored the Red Wings’ other goal, helping the team win its fourth in a row.
For years, Canadiens fans salivated at the idea of having French-Canadian star Vincent Lecavalier on their team. That didn’t stop them from cheering when he was booted from tonight’s game for slashing P.K. Subban, though.
Carey Price stopped 35 shots for his 34th win of the season, while Michael Cammalleri earned the shootout winner. Nigel Dawes scored the Habs’ other shootout goal in his debut for Montreal.
This win moves Montreal three points behind Boston for the Northeast Division title and also puts the Canadiens only three points behind Tampa Bay for the fifth seed in the East.
Sure, the Bruins wanted to win this game, but the Predators needed to if they wanted to keep pace in the complicated West bubble. Shea Weber scored an overtime power-play goal to win the game.
It wasn’t the Vezina Trophy matchup many were hoping for, as Tuukka Rask played instead of Tim Thomas. Pekka Rinne still made a statement, though, stopping 35 out of 38 shots.
With this win for Dallas, the Stars and Blackhawks have identical 38-25-8 records for 81 pts. In fact, they both have the same amount of regulation wins (33), shootout wins (5) and shootout losses (5).
Kari Lehtonen lead the way with a 25-save shutout while the Stars employed a scoring by committee approach. Red-hot youngster Jamie Benn scored yet again, justifying the feeling that he would fill James Neal’s shoes (or skates?) quite comfortably.
Meanwhile, Blackhawks players called it their worst loss of the season.
After struggling mightily, the Coyotes are hot again. They earned their fourth win in a row thanks to a great performance by Ilya Bryzgalov (35 for 36 saves) and nice work by forwards Ray Whitney and Radim Vrbata (both scoring a goal and an assist each).
Phoenix is only one point behind the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks. Then again, the Kings could pass them based on games remaining if they win tonight, which is perfectly reasonable in this division.
This was probably the least surprising result of the night. The Flames handed the Avalanche their 10th consecutive loss in a row, but if that didn’t make it foreseeable enough, Calgary apparently beat Colorado on St. Paddy’s last year. In fact, the Flames must play well with green beer in their bellies, because apparently they are 9-5-2 on the holiday.
The Flames now find themselves in eighth place, although the Predators are nipping at their heels.