Brandon Sutter’s second goal of the game came 52 seconds into overtime and gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a wild 7-6 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
Matt Cooke and Chris Kunitz each scored twice for Pittsburgh while Sidney Crosby also lit the lamp. Brian Gionta has two goals and was the only multiple goal scorer for Montreal.
SPIN: Goaltending be damned! This was all about the offense. Kris Letang had a career-best four assists in this one and looks as solid as ever. Montreal still continues to be impressive with its balanced scoring. In a six-goal night, no player had more than two points. Tonight we saw what both teams are capable of but don’t expect it to happen again. Continue to roll with your Penguins and Canadiens as usual.
Carolina clocked Florida 6-2 behind a pair of Eric Staal goals. Riley Nash scored a goal and two assists for Carolina as Cam Ward got an easy win between the pipes. Jiri Tlusty scored his tenth goal of the season and Alexander Semin had three assists in the win.
SPIN: Florida lost goaltender Jose Theodore to a knee injury just two minutes into the first period and Scott Clemmensen came on in relief. Clemmensen took it on the chin in this one stopping 28 of 34 shots as Carolina finally got a win against a divisional rival. Theodore’s status is unknown but look for Clemmensen to get the start Sunday unless they can get Jakob Markstrom back up with the parent club before the opening face-off. It also means Carolina could very well continue this high-octane offense and rip Florida for the second time in less than 24 hours when they meet again.
Philly edged Ottawa 2-1 to get to .500 for the first time this season (11-11-1). Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds scored for the Flyers while Marc Methot had Ottawa’s goal.
SPIN: Ben Bishop continues to show he can handle the workload for Ottawa, stopping 39 of 41 shots from the Flyers but still got tagged with a tough-luck loss. Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 33 of 34 to get the win for Philly, his 200th of his career. Ottawa can be rolled with as usual and maybe the Flyers have FINALLY turned the corner. This is a good-size mental hurdle for them to jump over and I think they might be able to get some positive momentum as they approach the halfway point of the season.
Boston slipped past Tampa 3-2 for their sixth straight win. Brad Marchand’s 11th goal of the year came with 2:16 left and erased a two-goal deficit. Steven Stamkos had his 15th goal of the season in the loss while Teddy Purcell picked up assists on both Tampa goals.
SPIN: While all the attention has been on Chicago, few people are noticing that Boston is 14-2-2 this season. They’re just as hot as anyone in this league. Even more shocking was that Boston scored twice on the power play in this game. Boston is off to that great of a start and has a power play that is at the bottom of the league. Vincent Lecavalier hasn’t picked up a point in four games.
Buffalo defeated New Jersey 4-3 and had to go to the shootout to get it done. Jason Pominville had a pair of goals for Buffalo and Ryan Miller made 28 saves in the win.
SPIN: The teams went a combined 0-for-11 on the power play in this game. Thomas Vanek was scratched with an upper-body injury but it doesn’t seem to be anything serious. Look for him to get back in the lineup quickly. Miller continues to play well as the Sabres are trying to rise up from the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Johan Hedberg got the call in goal as Martin Brodeur is still on injured reserve until Monday at the earliest.
Washington blanked Winnipeg 3-0 behind a 35-save effort from Braden Holtby. Mike Ribiero had a goal and an assist in the win.
SPIN: Ondrej Pavelec had a minor bump in the road by allowing three goals but has shown as of late he can be played with more confidence. Holtby has been a roller-coaster since he signed his contract extension earlier this week. He’s thrown two shutouts in the three games since and allowed four goals in the other one. It’s hard to tell which Holtby you’re going to get from day to day.
Phoenix defeated Anaheim 5-4 in a shootout. Andrew Cogliano had a hat trick for the Ducks in the loss while Lauri Korpikoski had a pair of goals for Phoenix. Saku Koivu had a goal and two assists for Anaheim.
SPIN: Keep your eyes on these two teams as they play each other in the next two games. This game was entertaining from start to finish and the next two could be just as crazy. It was a surprise to see Korpikoski score since these were his first goals of the season against a goaltender not from Finland. (Victor Fasth is Swedish.) Steve Sullivan scored for the first time in 14 games for Phoenix and is not a reliable fantasy option. Both of Cogliano’s hat tricks have come in Phoenix.
San Jose squeaked past Nashville 2-1. Dan Boyle and Joe Pavelski scored power play goals for San Jose while Gabriel Bourque’s shorthanded goal was the lone tally for Nashville.
SPIN: What? The Sharks scored on the power play? Really? Yeah, they did. They scored twice on four chances after going 3-for-62 in February. Nashville dropped its sixth game out of its last eight and is now back to being unreliable in fantasy unless that player is Pekka Rinne. And I’m still not putting the Sharks back in the lineup just yet though this was a little encouraging.
Vancouver dumped the Kings 5-2 with a three-goal second period. Daniel Sedin scored for Vancouver and Henrik Sedin added two helpers in the win.
SPIN: Kevin Bieksa returned from a groin injury and should be put back in lineups. Jeff Carter saw his five-game goal streak end but is still a solid fantasy play at this point. Corey Schneider got the start in goal over Roberto Luongo for the second straight game.
Multiple Goal Scorers
Cogliano-ANH HAT TRICK
Korpikoski-PHX, Pominville-BUF, Cooke-PIT, Sutter-PIT, Kunitz-PIT, Gionta-MTL, Jokinen-CAR, Staal-CAR
Stat of the Night
Detroit has no power play goals on the road this season.
Three Stars of the Night
1. Holtby
2. Cogliano
3. Letang
Sunday’s Games (all times ET)
Chicago at Detroit 1230pm One of the biggest tests for the Hawks comes here.
Ottawa at NY Islanders 3pm
Colorado at Columbus 3pm Nothing to see here…move along.
St. Louis at Dallas 3pm How will Kari Lehtonen fare after getting shelled by the Oilers?
Carolina at Florida 6pm Back end of a home-and-home
Montreal at Boston 730pm Do the Habs have anything left in the tank after last night?
Buffalo at NY Rangers 730pm
Vancouver at Calgary 8pm
Edmonton at Minnesota 8pm
