The Anaheim Ducks scored three times in the third period to rally back and knock off the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2. Bobby Ryan and Teemu Selanne scored 64 seconds apart to break a 1-1 deadlock and Sheldon Souray hit an empty-netter with 21 seconds left to seal the win.
SPIN: Jonas Hiller made 22 saves and looks like he might be the guy in Anaheim. He’s been getting the starts recently with Viktor Fasth riding the bench after coming back from an upper-body injury. Either way, it’s a great problem to have for Anaheim with two solid goaltenders. Anaheim has won 13 straight at home. Corey Perry finished his four-game suspension while Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp missed the game with injuries. If these two teams meet in the Western Conference Final it’s going to be one heckuva series.
Minnesota bumped off Detroit 4-2 behind Nicklas Backstrom’s 36-save effort and two goals from Devin Setoguchi.
SPIN: Pierre-Marc Bouchard had another two-assist game and looks to be heating up for the Wild. Backstrom looks to be solid in goal and should be getting more starts for your fantasy team. Outside of when Chicago lit him up, Backstrom has been great in his last five starts. Detroit has power play goals in its last five games. Jimmy Howard still is a solid play in net for your team. He gave up a pair of power-play goals but has been strong overall.
Toronto doubled up Tampa Bay 4-2. Nazem Kadri paced the Leafs with three assists.
SPIN: Joffrey Lupul had a goal and an assist and he now has three goals since coming back from his broken arm. The Leafs got out to a 4-0 lead over a Tampa team that’s sliding farther away from the playoffs with each game. Tampa went 0-for-4 on the power play and has scored on the man advantage just twice in the last nine games. The Lightning are the only team with a positive goal differential and a losing record.
Colorado knocked off Dallas 4-3 as the Avalanche scored a pair of third-period goals to down the Stars.
SPIN: Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an assist in the first period as Dallas jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Gabriel Landeskog and Ryan O’Reilly both scored for the Avalanche and look to be good players to get in your lineup regularly.
San Jose bumped off Edmonton 4-3 in the shootout. Logan Couture scored twice in the win.
SPIN: San Jose is 6-10-6 since starting 7-0-0. Couture has surpassed Patrick Marleau as the Shark to play based on recent production.
Multiple Goal Scorers
Setoguchi-MIN, Couture-SJ
Stat of the Night
The Hawks are 17-1-1 when leading after two periods. Both losses are to Anaheim.
Three Stars of the Night
1 Couture
2 Backstrom
3 Selanne
Thursday’s Games (all times ET)
Toronto at Buffalo 7pm
Montreal at NY Islanders 7pm
Florida at NY Rangers 7pm
New Jersey at Carolina 7pm
Boston at Ottawa 730pm
Washington at Winnipeg 8pm
Calgary at Nashville 8pm
Vacnouver at Phoenix 10pm
Dallas at Los Angeles 1030pm
