Alexander Ovechkin scored twice for the Washington Capitals as they knocked off the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3. Mike Green also had a pair of goals for the Capitals while Jiri Tlusty scored all three goals for Carolina. Nicklas Backstrom tallied four assists in the win.
SPIN: This is what happens when the Capitals’ star players come together in a game. Ovechkin continues his point streak as he’s now at nine games with a point. The Capitals passed the Hurricanes in the standings as Carolina continues to fall apart at the seams. Tlusty might be starting another hot streak so it’s time to ride him again but his inconsistency has been a big issue all season.
Phoenix picked up a rare win as they knocked off Los Angeles 3-1. Keith Yandle scored twice for the Coyotes and Jason LaBarbera stopped 39-of-40 shots in the win.
SPIN: The Coyotes playoff chances are still in the ER right now as they moved up to 12th in the West but sit two points behind eighth place Nashville. Kyle Chipchurra and Raffi Torres each had two assists but the Coyotes, on the whole, are too inconsistent to trust at this time of year.
Boston bumped off Ottawa 3-2 in a game that featured 97 shots on goal. Anton Khudobin made 45 saves for the win while Robin Lehner’s 47-save effort wasn’t quite enough for the Senators.
SPIN: Milan Lucic had a pair of assists in this one for Boston but this game was more about the outstanding goaltending efforts. David Krejci had a goal and an assist in the win for the Bruins, the fifth team to register 50 points this season.
The Islanders thumped Winnipeg 5-2 as the Jets got broomed out of New York.
SPIN: The line of John Tarvares, Brad Boyes and Matt Moulson combined to register six points on two goals in the final two minutes of the game. Winnipeg goaltender Ondrej Pavelec has dropped three in a row and continues to be a streaky goaltender at best. The Jets have dropped four straight and are now just two points ahead of Washington for the division lead while Carolina sits two points behind the Caps. Suddenly, the Southeast Division has become a war of attrition and one of those three teams will get the #3 seed in the East.
Buffalo clocked Pittsburgh 4-1 to snap the Penguins’ 15-game winning streak. Kevin Porter scored twice for the Sabres.
SPIN: Ryan Miller made 19 saves for the Sabres but is still a possible trade candidate before Wednesday’s deadline. Jarome Iginla scored his first goal in a jersey other than red and yellow when he tallied the lone Penguin goal. Buffalo scored all four goals in a 13-minute span. The bigger question is how will the Sabres look after the trade deadline.
Florida knocked off Tampa Bay 3-2 in the shootout in a battle of miserable teams from the Sunshine State.
SPIN: Teddy Purcell had two assists for Tampa Bay and TJ Brennan had a pair of helpers for Florida. Jacob Markstrom stopped 39-of-41 Tampa Bay shots in the win. And that’s all we have for this one.
Nashville took down Colorado 3-1 as the Avalanche have now fallen to last place in the division conference whole league.
SPIN: David Legwand and Patric Hornqvist each had a goal and an assist to pace Nashville. Colorado is five games out of a playoff spot with twelve to play. They’re certainly down but not yet out.
Multiple Goal Scorers
Ovechkin-WSH, Green-WSH, Tlusty-CAR, Yandle-PHX, Postma-WPG, Porter-BUF
Stat of the Night
Tlusty’s hat trick in the loss was the first time a player recorded a hat trick for a losing team since Jeff O’Neill did that for the Hartford Whalers on January 31, 1997. And since we have a rare Whalers reference, it’s only appropriate we put this with it.
Three Stars of the Night
1 Khudobin
2 LaBarbera
3 Tlusty
Wednesday’s Games (all times ET)
Pittsburgh at NY Rangers 730pm The Rangers continue their playoff push against the best of the East
Montreal at Philadelphia 730pm Philly has won two in a row. It won’t be three.
Edmonton at Calgary 10pm The Battle of Alberta gets another chapter as the Oilers seek a fifth straight win.
Dallas at Anaheim 10pm With a win, Anaheim would be two points behind Chicago in the West.
Minnesota at San Jose 1030pm Can the Wild be the second team to beat the Sharks at home in regulation?
