Troy Brouwer scored twice and Braden Holtby made 43 saves as the Washington Capitals knocked off the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1. Washington has won six straight while Carolina has dropped seven in a row.
SPIN: Carolina has no offense and can’t be trusted. Washington has been white hot and is likely to capture the Southeast Division title with a few more wins.
Brian Elliott made 23 saves for his third consecutive shutout as the Blues blanked the Wild 2-0 for their sixth straight win.
SPIN: Elliott has made the most of his opportunities this season in net for the Blues. Minnesota has little margin for error as they’ve dropped two straight and sit six points behind Vancouver for the division lead. The Wild is also seventh in the West, two points ahead of Detroit.
Ottawa broke a five-game slide when they knocked off the Flyers 3-1. Daniel Alfredsson scored in the win while Claude Giroux lit the lamp in the loss.
SPIN: The Senators’ streak has them part of a four-teams-for-three-spots battle with Winnipeg and both New York teams.
Josh Bailey’s two goals were enough offense to bump off Boston 2-1. Evgeni Nabokov made 30 saves in the win while Tuukka Rask’s 34-save night saw him take the loss.
SPIN: The Islanders are 8-1-1 in their last 10 and have goals coming from more than the usual suspects.
Montreal bombed Buffalo 5-1 with PK Subban and Andrei Markov each tallying a goal and an assist as the Habs wrapped up a playoff berth.
SPIN: Ryan Miller allowed four goals before getting lifted at the end of the second period. He’s 14-17-5 this season thanks largely to a lack of offense.
Pittsburgh doubled up Tampa Bay 6-3 with Jussi Jokinen (2G,A) and Pascal Dupuis (G,2A) each registering three-point games. Teddy Purcell scored twice for the Lightning.
SPIN: Pittsburgh continues to get the wins that they should over woeful teams like Tampa. The Bolts had so much promise early on but have slipped to being five games off the division lead with eight left to play.
San Jose needed a shootout to slip past Detroit 3-2. Detroit has lost five of its last seven and its streak of 21 straight playoff appearances is in jeopardy.
SPIN: Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture netted the goals for San Jose. Both goaltenders, Antti Niemi of the Sharks and Jimmy Howard of the Wings, continue to be consistent but not flashy plays in fantasy.
Winnipeg thumped lowly Florida 7-2 as they kept pace with Washington in the divisional race.
SPIN: Evander Kane scored twice, Andrew Ladd had a pair of helpers and Dustin Byfuglien added a goal and an assist in the rout. Jacob Markstrom was pulled after allowing six goals and Florida continues to reinforce why they are one of the worst teams this season.
Los Angeles slipped past Colorado 3-2 in the shootout. Mike Richards had a goal and an assist in the win.
SPIN: The Kings found a way to get two points out of this one despite blowing a 2-0 lead. They remain fourth in the West but have a swarm of teams chasing them for the final spot with first-round, home-ice advantage tied to it.
Multiple Goal Scorers
Brower-WSH, Bailey-NYI, Jokinen-PIT, Purcell-TB, Kane-WPG
Stat of the Night–It’s Been A While I
Elliott has kept opponents off the scoreboard for 189:31
Stat of the Night–It’s Been A While II
Roman Polak scored for the Blues and it was his first goal in 120 games dating back to March of 2011 against Detroit.
Three Stars of the Night
1 Elliott
2 Bailey
3 Kane
Friday’s Games (all times ET)
Ottawa at New Jersey 7pm
St. Louis at Columbus 7pm
Dallas at Nashville 8pm
Detroit at Chicago 830pm
Phoenix at Calgaey 9pm
