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The Buzzer: Big games for Wedgewood, Gourde and Kapanen; Rare goal for Jensen

NHL Scores

CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 07: Tampa Bay Lightning center Yanni Gourde (37) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in action during a game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning at the United Center on March 7, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Three Stars

1. Scott Wedgewood, New Jersey Devils. The Devils needed their goalie to be great on Sunday to win, and luckily for them he was. Wedgewood stopped all 40 shots he faced to record his second shutout of the season to lift the Devils to a 1-0 win over the Boston Bruins. That win snapped what had been a five-game losing streak for the Devils. Read all about the Devils’ win here.

2. Yanni Gourde, Tampa Bay Lightning. After allowing the first three goals of the game to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Tampa Bay Lightning responded with six consecutive goals to pick up a 6-3 win. Gourde was the big offensive star on Sunday for the Lightning by finishing with four points, including a pair of goals to help drive the comeback. His second goal, one of Tampa Bay’s four power play goals on the day, turned out to be the game-winner. Read all about the Lightning win here.

3. Kasperi Kapanen, Pittsburgh Penguins. Kapanen seems to be building some chemistry with Evgeni Malkin, and that duo was great on Sunday in the Penguins’ 5-1 win over the New York Rangers. Kapanen had a goal and two assists in the Penguins’ win as they try to gain ground in the East Division playoff race. His goal on Sunday was part of a three in 61-second stretch that allowed the Penguins to take control of the game. Read more about the Penguins win here.

Other Notable Performances From Sunday

• Alex Ovechkin scored the 714th goal of his career in the Washington Capitals’ 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers to move to within three goals of Phil Esposito for sixth place on the all-time list.

• Brock Nelson scored two goals to help the New York Islanders win their fifth game in a row. Read all about the Islanders win here.

• Vincent Trocheck continued his strong season for the Carolina Hurricanes with a goal against his former team in a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers. The Hurricanes have won five games in a row.

• The Nashville Predators had a 3-0 lead with seven minutes to play and still ended up needing a shootout to beat the Dallas Stars. But they did get the win, and Eeli Tolvanen was a big part of that with a goal and an assist in the win.

• The Calgary Flames overcome a 3-1 deficit to force a shootout against the Ottawa Senators, but they were still unable to get the win and remain winless since replacing head coach Geoff Ward.

Highlights Of The Day

The Pittsburgh Penguins needed only 61 seconds to score three goals in the first period against the New York Rangers. Sidney Crosby’s goal in that stretch is a real highlight reel play.

Entering play on Sunday Washington Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen had not scored a goal since October 11, 2018, when he scored two goals as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. Including playoffs, that is a goal drought of 180 games (and before that two-goal effort back in 2018 he had gone more than 80 games without a goal). Here he is looking like a pure goal scorer to score his first goal in three years against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Roman Josi and Pekka Rinne made some highlight reel plays for the Nashville Predators in their shootout win over the Dallas Stars.

Scores

New York Islanders 5, Buffalo Sabres 2
Tampa Bay Lightning 6 Chicago Blackhawks 3
Carolina Hurricanes 4, Florida Panthers 2
New Jersey Devils 1, Boston Bruins 0
Washington Capitals 3, Philadelphia Flyers 1
Pittsburgh Penguins 5, New York Rangers 1
Nashville Predators 4, Dallas Stars 3 (SO)
Ottawa Senators 4, Calgary Flames 3 (SO)

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.