Brad Richards netted a hat trick to power the NY Rangers to an 8-4 win over the reeling Buffalo Sabres. Rick Nash, Carl Hagelin and Ryan Callahan were some of the Rangers’ goal scorers. Cody Hodgson scored his 15th of the season for Buffalo in the loss.
SPIN: The Rangers used an offensive blitz to chase Ryan Miller from the net for Buffalo after he allowed four goals. Jhonas Enroth came on in relief and was equally lousy as he allowed four himself. Miller should be on the pine for the final week of the season. Buffalo was eliminated from the playoff hunt with the rout.
St. Louis knocked off Dallas 2-1 for their 9th win in their last 11 games.
SPIN: Chris Stewart’s 17th goal of the season was almost all the offense the Blues needed. The Blues are hot at the right time and have the second-most road wins in the West. Brian Elliott stopped 21 shots for his league-best eighth win this month.
Chicago edged Nashville 5-4 in overtime. Duncan Keith led the Hawks with a goal and two assists while Matt Halischuk scored twice for Nashville in the loss.
SPIN: Chicago scored twice on the power play for their first goals on the man advantage this month. They’ve won seven straight games and are four points away from locking up the President’s Trophy. Patrick Kane netted his 21st goal of the season and Marian Hossa’s 17th of the season was the game-winner less than a minute into overtime. Nashville has lost eight straight and 11 of 12 to fade away.
Edmonton kept its faint playoff hopes alive with a 4-1 win over Colorado as Jordan Eberle had a goal and two assists in the win.
SPIN: Eberle’s been decent this season. Edmonton needs to win out and hope that the teams in front of them all take a giant face-plant down the stretch.
Calgary knocked off Anaheim 3-1 with Miikka Kiprusoff making 32 saves.
SPIN: The Kipper has put together a couple of good games lately but this has been a colossal disappointment for him in 2013. He came into the game 49th out of 50 goaltenders in save percentage at .874 so that should put it in perspective. It was Calgary’s last home game of the season and might have the final one of Kipper’s career in the Saddledome.
Pittsburgh at Boston was postponed due to manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers.
Multiple Goal Scorers
Richards-NYR HAT TRICK, Halischuk-NSH,
Stat of the Night-That Was Quick
The Rangers set a franchise record with five goals in 2:58 between the end of the first period and start of the second.
Three Stars of the Night
1 Richards
2 Kiprusoff
3 Eberle
Saturday’s Games (all times ET)
Pittsburgh at Boston 1230pm The re-scheduling of yesterday’s game.
Florida at New Jersey 1pm A game between two blah teams.
NY Islanders at Winnipeg 3pm A good game between two teams battling for the last spot in the East.
Washington at Montreal 7pm The Caps will know if they need a win to keep the Jets at bay before they hit the ice.
Toronto at Ottawa 7pm The Battle of Ontario has never been bigger. Ottawa has won four straight and both teams are jockeying for playoff positions.
Philadelphia at Carolina 730pm Just turn away now.
Phoenix at Chicago 830pm It’s a must-win for Phoenix and the toughest team in the league stands in front of them.
Detroit at Vancouver 10pm The Canucks need this win to tighten their grip on the Northwest Division. With LA, San Jose and St. Louis right on their tail every point is critical. And it’s even more important for the Wings.
