Sergei Bobrovsky’s hot streak hit a mustard-colored wall in Nashville as the Predators pounded Columbus 5-1 and sent the Jackets to their first regulation loss in 13 games. Nashville scored four in the first period and chased Bobrovsky from the net by the middle of the period as they scored four goals in three minutes.
SPIN: Well, the run had to end and it happened almost as predicted. Columbus was able to get the job done at home but it’s a whole different world when you have to take a hot show like that on the road. Taylor Beck, Shea Weber, David Legwand and Matt Halischuk scored in that blitz that sent Bobrovsky to the bench. Bobby Butler and Gabriel Bourque had a pair of assists in that first-period frenzy. Nashville is starting to score more lately so guys like Bourque and Legwand are worth looking into for some depth on the waiver wire.
Minnesota blanked San Jose 2-0 behind a 33-save effort from Nicklas Backstrom. Zach Parise and Jared Spurgeon scored goals while Ryan Suter assisted on both of them.
SPIN: Backstrom has made 10 consecutive starts for the Wild and is 8-2 in that stretch with losses only coming to Chicago and Anaheim. Right now, he’s a must-start goaltender and takes the spotlight now that Bobrovsky got hammered yesterday. San Jose has dropped 7 of its last 9 and has a pair with Anaheim coming up next. Sharks, report to the bench. Sharks, please report to the bench. Thank you.
Ottawa knocked off Tampa Bay 5-3 with Daniel Alfredsson picking up a pair of goals for the Senators. Tyler Johnson scored twice for Tampa in the loss.
SPIN: With Anders Lindback out of the lineup, Cedric Desjardins and Mathieu Garon will be carrying the load between the pipes. After this outing, neither of them looks like they should be owned. Garon allowed three goals on 11 shots before being yanked in favor of Desjardins. The game was about runs as Ottawa scored four times in a seven-minute span of the first to build a big lead. Tampa Bay scored three times in a six-and-a-half-minute span to make it 4-3 before Alfredsson’s empty netter iced the win. Jakob Silfverberg scored again for Ottawa and would also make a good waiver wire pickup for some additional scoring punch.
Vancouver blanked Los Angeles 1-0 behind Corey Schneider’s 20-save effort and Mason Raymond’s eighth goal of the year. Jonathan Quick stopped 12 out of 13 shots in the loss for the Kings.
SPIN: Apparently the Phoenix Coyotes left the “We Can’t Score To Save Our Skin” bug behind at Staples Center since the Kings have now been shutout in consecutive games. Before these two shutouts, Los Angeles was averaging four goals a game at home. And with two teams combining for 33 total shots, that’s about all we need to say on this game.
Toronto knocked off Boston 3-2 with James Reimer making 31 saves for the Leafs as they ended an eight-game slide.
SPIN: Nazem Kadri continues to roll on as he picked up his 14th goal of the season. Mikhail Grabovski and Frazer McLaren helped Toronto build a 3-0 lead early into the third period but Dennis Seidenberg and Andrew Ference scored third period goals for Boston to make it close. Toronto only put 13 shots on net and still won. Anton Khudobin got the start in goal for Boston but was relieved by Tuukka Rask after getting down 3-0 early in the third period.
Buffalo edged Montreal 2-1 with Ryan Miller stopping 38-of-39 shots in the win and Thomas Vanek scoring twice.
SPIN: The stars came out for Buffalo and were able to send Montreal to a sixth regulation defeat this season (20-6-5). Michael Ryder had the lone goal for Montreal and Carey Price took a tough-luck loss stopping 16 of 18 Buffalo shots.
New Jersey edged Florida 2-1 as Patrick Elias and David Clarkson each scored second-period goals in the win.
SPIN: Martin Brodeur made 17 saves in the win for New Jersey but I’m not ready to put him back in the lineup yet. I want to see how he fares in games where he’s facing more shots to make sure that he is doing okay before I go full-bore on Brodeur. Travis Zajac picked up assists on both goals.
Dallas dumped Colorado 5-2. Semyon Varlamov had a rough outing in goal, giving up four goals on 15 shots before getting pulled early in the second period.
SPIN: Jean-Sebastien Giguere came on in relief and stabilized the Avalanche but they weren’t able to get it done. Jamie Benn had three assists for Dallas in the win and is looking like he is coming out of a little slump he was in. PA Parenteau and Paul Stasny had the goals for Colorado.
Jaroslav Halak made 19 saves the Blues blanked the Oilers 3-0. Alexander Steen had a goal and an assist for St. Louis.
SPIN: Halak is back and continues to stymie opponents with his third shutout of the season and was yet another game wit a light workload for the Blues’ goaltender. St. Louis takes on a struggling Calgary team next and he might get the start there as well despite it being back-to-back games. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was put on IR by the Oilers due to illness and has been vastly underperforming this season.
Multiple Goal Scorers
Vanek-BUF, Johnston-TB, Alfredsson-OTT
Stat of the Night-Canuckleheads With Electricity
Vancouver 1-for-43 on the power play in its last 15 games. Henrik Sedin’s goal against Minnesota on March 18 is the only power play goal for the Canucks since February 21st against Dallas.
Three Stars of the Night
1 Backstrom
2 Vanek
3 Miller
Sunday’s Games (all times ET)
Florida at NY Islanders 5pm
Washington at NY Rangers 7pm
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh 730pm
Tampa Bay at Winnipeg 8pm
Vancouver at Colorado 8pm
St.Louis at Calgary 8pm
Detroit at Anaheim 8pm
