Riding the Zamboni – Thursday, January 20th; Brodeur with a shutout, Sabres stun Boston

By Joe YerdonJan 21, 2011, 6:42 AM EST

We know that the Penguins came into this game a bit beat up. Without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, they looked like just a rather ordinary team and the last place Devils were happy to take advantage of that. Brian Rolston and Nick Palmieri’s first period goals were more than enough for Martin Brodeur. Brodeur made 23 saves on the way to a shutout win over the Penguins.

Philadelphia 6 – Ottawa 2

A blowout win by the Flyers erupted into fight night in Philadelphia between these old school rivals. Mike Richards led the way with two goals and two assists for Philadelphia while Sergei Bobrovsky had 25 saves to lead the way for the win in goal. Things got ugly in the third period with the Senators well out of the game. Five fights broke out late in the third period and the game resembled a Flyers-Sens game of old. Still, for Ottawa the fights were at the least a moral victory in a game where Sens goalie Brian Elliott was flat out poor stopping just 16 of 22 shots. Mike Brodeur relieved him stopping the one shot he faced in the game. Chris Pronger had two assists and was a +1 in his first game back after a broken foot injury.

Buffalo 4 – Boston 2

After such impressive wins over Carolina in a home-and-home series, the Bruins were flat out outplayed by the Sabres tonight and Thomas Vanek had a big hand in that for Buffalo. Vanek had a goal and an assist to lead the way for Buffalo who are on fire of late and now just six points out of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. The one guy who might’ve stole the spotlight away from Vanek was goalie Ryan Miller. Miller saved 38 shots to earn the win for the Sabres who are now 7-2-1 in their last ten games.

Detroit 4 – St. Louis 3 (F/OT)

Detroit had a 3-0 lead at one point in this game with Jimmy Howard back in goal, but the Blues were able to bounce back and send the game to overtime. In the extra session, Darren Helm was able to finish the Blues off with an overtime goal to give the Wings the victory on the road. Howard made 26 saves to earn the win while Jaroslav Halak made 25 saves in the loss. Jiri Hudler was the sneak offensive star for Detroit with three assists while Valtteri Filppula had two helpers. Patrik Berglund continued his hot play of late with a goal and an assist for St. Louis.

Carolina 4 – NY Rangers 1

What a difference a day makes. On Wednesday, the Rangers were solving their offensive woes and whooping up on the Maple Leafs and the following night they’re getting shutdown by the Hurricanes in Raleigh. Cam Ward stopped 37 shots while four different players tallied goals for the win. Chad LaRose and Jeff Skinner each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes to lead the offense. Brandon Prust tallied the Rangers lone goal.

Washington 2 – NY Islanders 1

It may not be pretty. but it’s a win for the Caps. Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and an assist while Alex Ovechkin had two assists to give surprise starter Braden Holtby the 24-save victory over the Islanders. Michael Grabner scored the Isles only goal while Rick DiPietro saved 22 shots in the loss.

Nashville 5 – Colorado 1

David Legwand and Cody Franson each had a goal and an assist for the Predators while Pekka Rinne stopped 32 of 33 shots he saw to pace Nashville to victory. Kyle Cumiskey’s first game back from injury for Colorado didn’t go so hot as he finished with a -2 rating while Craig Anderson stopped just 23 shots in the loss. Nashville has won nine of their last 11 games.

Dallas 4 – Edmonton 2

The Stars continue to roll right along in the West. Jamie Benn and Adam Burish each had a goal and an assist to lead the Stars over Edmonton. Kari Lehtonen had 30 saves on the night to earn the victory. Edmonton’s Jeff Petry scored his first NHL goal while Nikolai Khabibulin saved just 20 shots in the loss.

Tampa Bay 3 – Atlanta 2 (F/SO)

A big win for Tampa Bay as they stayed one point ahead of Washington in the Southeast Division. Steve Stamkos ripped two more goals in regulation giving him 37 on the season. Dominic Moore scored the game-winner in the shootout for Tampa Bay. Dwayne Roloson made 27 saves in regulation for the win. Ondrej Pavelec made 29 saves in the skills competition loss. Niclas Bergfors and Anthony Stewart scored for the Thrashers.

Toronto 5 – Anaheim 2

A night after getting ripped 7-0 by the Rangers, the Leafs were able to put that behind them and earn Jean-Sebastien Giguere the win against his former team. Clarke MacArthur had a goal and two assists and Mikhail Grabovsky scored twice to lead the way for Toronto. Giguere saved 26 to earn the victory against the team that traded him last season. Jonas Hiller stopped 32 shots in the loss for the Ducks.

San Jose 2 – Vancouver 1 (F/SO)

It may have come in a shootout, but for the Sharks a win is a win just the same and just the thing they needed against the West-leading Canucks. Logan Couture had the Sharks lone goal in regulation while Joe Pavelski scored the winner in the shootout. Antti Niemi made 36 saves to get the win. Roberto Luongo was outstanding in the loss making 45 saves. Henrik Sedin had the lone regulation goal for Vancouver. The win is San Jose’s third in a row.

Phoenix 2 – Los Angeles 0

In what turned out to be a tight game, Ilya Bryzgalov was brilliant making 36 saves in earning his third shutout of the year. Martin Hanzal and Lee Stempniak each scored for Phoenix but it was Hanzal’s goal that has the Kings and their GM Dean Lombardi steaming mad as it was scored with an apparent high stick. Replay didn’t disallow it and the officials call on the ice stood. For the Kings their losing ways continue and Jon Quick’s 13-save night looks even uglier on paper because of it. The Kings have lost three in a row and 10 of their last 12 games as they continue to slip down the Western standings.

Teravainen scores late, Hurricanes rally to beat Rangers 3-2

Associated PressMar 21, 2023, 11:34 PM EDT

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NEW YORK – Teuvo Teravainen scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period, Frederik Andersen stopped 29 shots and the Carolina Hurricanes rallied to beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Jalen Chatfield and Stefan Noesen also scored for the Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes, who won for the third time in four games.

With the comeback win, the Hurricanes became the second team – following Boston – to reach the 100-point mark this season as Carolina increased its Metropolitan Division-lead over second-place New Jersey to two points and the third-place Rangers to eight.

“That was a great effort. All 20 guys contributed and we got what we deserved,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “If we play like that, we’ll be in good shape. This time of year it gets tougher and tougher.”

Tyler Motte and Kaapo Kakko scored for the Rangers, who had won four straight were 6-0-1 in their last seven. Igor Shesterkin finished with 36 saves as the Rangers played their third game in four nights – the previous two shutout wins at home.

“Igor kept us in there as long as he could and we just didn’t have enough in the tank,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. ”They won more battles and played a hard game.”

Teravainen scored his 11th goal with 2:33 left on a pass from defenseman Brent Burns, redirecting the puck past Shesterkin. The Hurricanes, who trailed 1-0 and 2-1.

“Somehow they left me open in the back side, great pass by him,” Teravainen said of the winning-goal pass to him in the slot. “We knew this would be a tough night. They have a good team. We knew we had to battle to win this game.”

The Rangers led 1-0 entering the third and were vying for their third-straight shutout before Chatfield tied the score at 9:49 – the first goal the Rangers allowed in more than eight periods. New York was coming off a 6-0 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night with Shesterkin in goal and a 7-0 triumph over Nashville behind Jaroslav Halak on Sunday.

Kakko then put New York back ahead 31 seconds later with his 13th goal, only to have Noesen answer right back 18 seconds later to tie it 2-2.

Motte opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark of the first, knocking the puck past Andersen for his third goal in four games and sixth of the season overall.

The Rangers hadn’t lost in regulation since a 4-2 defeat on March 4 at Boston.

“Tonight we didn’t play near well enough to beat that team,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. ”Honestly, the whole game they outplayed us. They were a lot quicker. They managed the puck real well … We didn’t play our game.”

MILESTONE

Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal played his 729th game with Carolina on Tuesday, tying defenseman Glen Wesley for the second-most games played in franchise history since relocation from Hartford in 1997. Staal, 34, trails only his brother Eric, who played 909 games for the Hurricanes from 2003-16.

UP NEXT

Hurricanes: Host the Rangers on Thursday night to finish the home-and-home set in the opener of a four-game homestand.

Rangers: At Carolina on Thursday night to open a two-game trip.

Ullmark’s 40 saves carries Bruins past Senators, 2-1

Associated PressMar 21, 2023, 11:31 PM EDT

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BOSTON – Linus Ullmark made 40 saves, Jake DeBrusk had the go-ahead goal and the NHL-best Boston Bruins continued their pursuit of the league’s record for regular-season victories with a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.

“I thought he was outstanding and he needed to be,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said of Ullmark. “Unfortunately we gave up a lot of good looks, a lot of odd-man rushes because of our puck management and he bailed us out like he has all year.”

David Krejci added a power-play goal for Boston, which won its fourth straight.

Dylan Gambrell scored for the Senators and Mads Sogaard made 33 stops.

“We had a shooters’ mentality for two periods,” Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. “The third period, they’ve won 54 games now, they’re not going to give you an odd-man rush, they’re not going to give you anything. You’re going to have to earn it.”

The Bruins posted their 54th win and with 12 games left are on pace to break the mark of 62, set by the Detroit Red Wings in 1995-96 and matched by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018-19.

Chasing the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot, Ottawa has lost six of seven following a season-high, five-game winning streak.

Coming off a 3-2 road trip where they won the last three games by a combined score of 15-2 that included two shutouts by backup Jeremy Swayman, the Bruins converted on a two-man, power-play advantage to tie the game at 1 midway into the opening period when Krejci poked in a rebound from the edge of the crease.

DeBrusk completed a nifty play with Brad Marchand when he collected a pass cutting down the slot at full speed, shifted and tucked a rebound past Sogaard at 15:52 of the first period for his 23rd goal.

“It was ‘all world.’ I saw him and he fed it through a lot of guys for a breakaway,” DeBrusk said of the pass. “It was one of those passes where I didn’t know what to do. I was going to point at him (after) but I was going too fast.”

Gambrell’s wraparound score gave Ottawa a 1-0 edge.

“I thought I played a good game today,” Sogaard said. “I just battled and stayed with it the entire way. … These ones are tough because we were so close.”

HEAVY WORKLOAD

Ullmark stopped 22 shots in the second period with at least a dozen of them high-quality chances. During an Ottawa PP, he jumped from a crouch to make a right-shoulder stop on Alex DeBrincat’s bid from in close.

“We talked about it,” defenseman Hampus Lindholm said of the second period. “We know we’re a good team in the third and wanted to tighten it up for him. … They got a lot of chances that were our own fault in the second.”

WOMEN IN SPORTS NIGHT

The Bruins highlighted women who work and compete in the sports community, having Olympic gold medalist and Boston Pride defender Kali Flanagan accompany Bruins players during pregame walk-ins along with local high school scholastic award winners. In addition, in-arena host Michaela Johnson handled the PA for the night and they also left yellow roses at the seats of female reporters.

NOTES: The Senators entered the game as the only team holding an advantage in their series against the Bruins this season, winning twice in three games. … Montgomery said after the morning skate that defenseman Derek Forbort would likely be sidelined with a lower-body injury at least through the rest of the regular season. … DeBrusk, playing on the top line most of the season, is four off his career-high goal total, set in 2018-19.

UP NEXT

Senators: Host Tampa Bay on Thursday.

Bruins: Host longtime rival Montreal in an Original Six matchup Thursday.

Boldy’s goal with 1.3 left in OT lifts Wild over Devils

Associated PressMar 21, 2023, 11:24 PM EDT

Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

NEWARK, N.J. – Matt Boldy scored with 1.3 seconds left in overtime and Filip Gustavsson made a career-high 47 saves to give the Minnesota Wild a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.

The game was a chippy, defensive struggle. After two scoreless periods, the Devils were outshooting the Wild 22-19.

Minnesota finally broke through 6:41 into the third when Mason Shaw scored his seventh goal of the season on a wraparound.

Timo Meier answered for the Devils five minutes later with his 35th goal of the season on a wraparound of his own.

New Jersey was unable to convert on a late power play, and the teams went to overtime.

It was a back-and-forth five minutes of extra hockey, with both goaltenders making good saves. After Jack Hughes hit the post for the Devils, the puck caromed off a post to Boldy and he beat the buzzer with his 23rd goal of the season.

Vitek Vanecek stopped 27 shots for New Jersey.

NOTES: The Devils are 10-4 in overtime, while the Wild improved to 4-5.

UP NEXT

Wild: Play at Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Devils: Play at Buffalo on Friday night.

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar signs extension through ’26-27

Associated PressMar 21, 2023, 11:22 PM EDT

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DENVER – Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar has signed a three-year extension that will keep him in charge of the reigning Stanley Cup champions through the 2026-27 season.

The new deal for the winningest head coach in club history kicks in once the current contract runs out after the 2023-24 season.

Bednar, 51, is the only person to win championships in the ECHL, AHL and NHL as head coach. He directed the Avalanche to their third Stanley Cup title in team history last season by beating Tampa Bay, the two-time defending champions.

This season, the Avalanche have dealt with an array of injuries, which include missing captain Gabriel Landeskog all year after he underwent knee surgery in October. But they’re starting to creep closer to being healthy – and working their way up the standings. Colorado is riding a six-game winning streak to remain in a tight race with Dallas and Minnesota for the Central Division crown. The top spot in the Western Conference is in play, too.

“Jared has done a tremendous job behind the bench and certainly deserves this extension and to continue as the leader of our team,” Joe Sakic, the team’s president of hockey operations, said in a statement.

It wasn’t the prettiest of starts for Bednar in his inaugural season for Colorado. In 2016-17, his team amassed only 48 points (22-56-4) to finish last in the league. Since then, it’s been full steam ahead for Bednar and the Avalanche. They became the first NHL squad to go from worst to first in a span of four seasons or less since the 1970-71 Bruins, according to research by the team.

In addition, Bednar has led the Avalanche to five straight playoff appearances – and is closing in on a sixth – to become the first Avalanche coach to accomplish the feat. His 40 postseason wins are the second-most in team history, trailing only Bob Hartley (49).

“His strength as a communicator, his relationship with the players, the way he prepares each and every day is a huge reason our team has been so successful,” general manager Chris MacFarland said. “He is an exceptional leader.”

Bednar is currently the third-longest tenured coach in the league, behind only Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper (March 2013) and Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan (December 2015).

“Being able to lead this team over the last seven years has been a privilege,” said Bednar, whose team faces the Penguins on Wednesday. “I am grateful and excited to have the opportunity to continue building on what we’ve accomplished so far.”

Bednar captured a Kelly Cup (ECHL) with the South Carolina Stingrays in 2009, along with a Calder Cup (AHL) with the Lake Erie Monsters in 2016.