For the second time this week, the Pittsburgh Penguins used a three-goal third period to steal a win. This time they came back on the Toronto Maple Leafs and picked up a 3-1 win, their seventh in a row. Pascal Dupuis scored twice to fuel the Penguins as they picked up their 20th win of the season.
SPIN: The line of Dupuis, Crosby and Kunitz is one of the hottest in the league and they’ve been powering the Penguins as of late in the absence of Evgeni Malkin (upper body). Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves in the win. Toronto is still performing well despite the loss. Phil Kessel had an assist on Tyler Bozak’s lone goal in the loss.
Boston knocked off Florida 4-1 with a pair of Patrice Bergeron goals and a 29-save effort from Tuukka Rask.
SPIN: Boston continues to roll along and the Panthers continue to flounder.
Washington slipped past Carolina 3-2. Alex Ovechkin led the way with a his 1oth goal of the season and an assist. Carolina had a 2-0 lead 8:17 into the game but was unable to keep the lead for goaltender Dan Ellis.
SPIN: Michael Neuvirth made 36 saves in the win and looks firmly set in the backup role in Washington. Ovechkin has revived his season in fantasy and now has 22 points in 26 games as he broke a three-game point drought.
Chicago needed the shootout to squeak past Columbus 2-1. Johnny Oduya scored for Chicago and Jack Johnson scored for Columbus in a one-minute span of the second period.
SPIN: Sergei Bobrovsky continues to chug along with a 39-save effort, but no win. Corey Crawford made 29 saves for Chicago. Oduya’s goal was his first in 39 games so he’s of little relevance in fantasy.
The Islanders shut out Tampa Bay 2-0. John Tarvares scored on the power play and Brad Boyes buried an empty-netter with 40 seconds left in regulation.
SPIN: Vincent Lecavalier has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury of an unknown nature. Evgeni Nabokov turned aside all 18 shots for the shutout as the Islanders are 4-1-2 in their last seven games. Tampa was shutout for the first time this season and seemingly stopped shooting. In their last two games, the Lightning have combined to fire off 32 shots which is shocking considering how well their offense can perform. If they don’t get on a run soon, the Lightning will be on the outside looking in on the playoffs.
Winnipeg knocked off the NY Rangers 3-1 to pull within a point of Carolina in the Southeast Division. Dustin Byfuglien had a pair of assists and Ondrej Pavelec made 28 saves in the win.
SPIN: Could the Jets be landing in the top spot in the division? It looks more likely each day as they continue to pick up points and Carolina slips a little more. The Jets are just one point behind Carolina and have three games left against them on the schedule. Ryan Callahan had the lone Ranger goal while Andrew Ladd bagged his 14th of the season into an empty net. Pavelec is finally coming around and merits consideration to start for your fantasy team.
Anaheim edged Dallas 2-1 for a fifth straight win and a nine-game streak without a regulation loss at 7-0-2. Ray Whitney scored his third goal of the season while Andrew Cogliano notched his 10th goal of the season. The Ducks have 20 wins.
SPIN: Jonas Hiller made 33 saves in the win and has been taking advantage of Viktor Fasth being sidelined with an upper-body injury. Kari Lehtonen made 29 saves in the loss for Dallas. The Stars faltered in this one as they hit the goal post three times and couldn’t convert on any of five breakaways they had. Corey Perry sat out the first of his four games he’ll be suspended for after cleaning Jason Zucker’s clock in Minnesota.
St. Louis blanked Phoenix 3-0 behind Jake Allen’s 29-save shutout. Chris Stewart scored twice and had an assist for the Blues as they improve to 15-10-2. Alexander Steen had the other goal and two assists.
SPIN: Phoenix hasn’t won more than two in a row this season and needs to find a way to string together wins to try and get some separation in the Western Conference. Allen still looks like the goaltender to start in St. Louis. Phoenix had the third best goal total in the West with 77 goals coming into this game.
Minnesota downed Colorado 5-3 in its biggest offensive outburst of the season. Mikko Koivu scored twice while Matt Cullen had two assists and Ryan Suter chipped in three helpers.
SPIN: These two teams go head to head Saturday afternoon in the back end of a home-and-home series. The Wild is just one game behind Vancouver for the top spot in the Northwest Division. Zach Parise had a goal and two assists in the win and Minnesota might be playing well enough to steal the division.
San Jose slipped past Los Angeles 4-3 as Logan Couture logged two goals and an assist in the win. Dustin Brown tallied twice in the loss.
SPIN: Brent Burns had a goal and an assist in the win and seems to be adding that missing link to the Sharks on offense. Johnathan Quick got pulled after allowing three goals in the first half of the game and continues to worry his owners. San Jose has a five-game road trip that starts this weekend before they finish with 11 of their final 17 at home. That might be what the Sharks need to recapture some of that early season magic as they are 8-1-4 at home this season.
Vancouver threw down a seven-spot and knocked off Nashville 7-4. Seven different Canucks scored but it was a close game until Vancouver scored a pair of goals with less than three minutes left in regulation.
SPIN: Pekka Rinne got the hook after allowing four goals on 12 shots which is more than he allowed in his last three starts combined. Eleven different Canucks registered a point in this game so no one really stood out.
Multiple Goal Scorers
Dupuis-PGH, Parenteau-COL, Koivu-MIN, Stewart-STL, Bergeron-BOS, Brown-LA, Couture-SJ
Stat of the Night
Columbus set a franchise record with a point in its ninth straight game (5-0-4).
Three Stars of the Night
1 Dupuis
2 Stewart
3 Allen
Friday’s Games (all times ET)
New Jersey at Philadelphia 7pm The Devils try for a third straight win.
Nashville at Calgary 9pm Predators continue trekking through Western Canada.
Detroit at Edmonton 930pm Oilers’ first home game since a 9-game road trip.
