April 8th NHL Recap

Detroit Red Wings 4, Buffalo Sabres 2 (from Buffalo) - The Red Wings improved to 38-27-14 on the season thanks to a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres, dropping them to 21-49-9.

Goals:

BUF - Zemgus Girgensons (7) - from Cody Hodgson and Mike Weber (1:31 2ND)
DET - Brendan Smith (5) - from Johan Franzen and Daniel Alfredsson (12:28 2ND)
DET - Darren Helm (12) - from Kyle Quincey (3:33 3RD)
DET - David Legwand (14) - from Drew Miller (15:46 3RD) *GWG*
BUF - Zemgus Girgensons (8) - from Cody Hodgson and Mark Pysyk (17:49 3RD)
DET - Pavel Datsyuk EN (17) - unassisted (19:55 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Jimmy Howard (25 saves on 27 shots: 21-18-11) LG - Matt Hackett (33 saves on 36 shots: 1-4-1) 

Three Stars:

3. David Legwand (1 goal, GWG) - Detroit

2. Zemgus Girgensons (2 goals) - Buffalo

1. Jimmy Howard (25 saves on 27 shots for the win) - Detroit

Ottawa Senators 4, New York Islanders 1 (from New York) - The Senators improved to 34-31-14 on the season thanks to a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders, dropping them to 31-37-11.

Goals:

OTT - Jason Spezza PPG (21) - from Erik Karlsson and Ales Hemsky (12:45 2ND)
NYI - Frans Nielsen (25) - from Kevin Czuczman and Josh Bailey (0:22 3RD)
OTT - Jason Spezza (22) - from Ales Hemsky and Marc Methot (12:45 3RD) *GWG*
OTT - Ales Hemsky (13) - from Milan Michalek and Marc Methot (14:26 3RD)
OTT - Matt Kassian EN (1) - from Jason Spezza and Erik Condra (19:48 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Craig Anderson (45 saves on 46 shots: 24-16-8) LG - Anders Nilsson (28 saves on 31 shots: 6-7-2)

Three Stars:

3. Ales Hemsky (1 goal, 2 assists) - Ottawa

2. Craig Anderson (45 saves on 46 shots for the win) - Ottawa

1. Jason Spezza (2 goals, 1 assist, GWG) - Ottawa

New York Rangers 4, Carolina Hurricanes 1 (from New York) - The Rangers improved to 44-31-5 on the season thanks to a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, dropping them to 34-34-11 (.500)

Goals:

CAR - Patrick Dwyer (8) - from Brett Bellemore (3:22 1ST)
NYR - Brad Richards PPG (19) - from Martin St. Louis and Derek Stepan (15:44 1ST)
NYR - Benoit Pouliot (14) - from Mars Zuccarello and Anton Stralman (0:50 2ND) *GWG*
NYR - Brad Richards PPG (20) - from Dan Girardi and Martin St. Louis (13:36 2ND)
NYR - Derek Stepan (17) - from Martin St. Louis and Anton Stralman (4:38 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Henrik Lundqvist (27 saves on 28 shots: 32-24-5) LG - Cam Ward (32 saves on 36 shots: 9-12-6)

Three Stars:

3. Henrik Lundqvist (27 saves on 28 shots for the win) - New York

2. Martin St. Louis (3 assists) - New York

1. Brad Richards (2 goals) - New York

Columbus Blue Jackets 4, Phoenix Coyotes 3 (OT) - (from Columbus) - The Blue Jackets improved to 41-31-7 on the season thanks to a 4-3 OT win over the Phoenix Coyotes, dropping them to 36-28-15.

Goals:

CBJ - Boone Jenner (15) - from Nathan Horton and Ryan Johansen (8:15 1ST)
PHX - Martin Erat (3) - from Radim Vrbata and Kyle Chipchura (13:32 1ST)
PHX - Shane Doan (21) - from Michael Stone and Keith Yandle (17:53 1ST)
CBJ - Mark Letestu (10) - from Artem Anisimov (5:25 2ND)
CBJ - Blake Comeau (5) - from Derek MacKenzie and Artem Anisimov (13:42 3RD)
PHX - Oliver Ekman-Larsson (15) - from Mike Ribeiro and Mikkel Boedker (19:45 3RD)
CBJ - Ryan Johansen (32) - from James Wisniewski (3:33 OT) *GWG*

Goalies:

WG - Sergei Bobrovsky (29 saves on 32 shots: 30-20-5) LG - Thomas Greiss (26 saves on 30 shots: 9-7-5)

Three Stars:

3. Oliver Ekman-Larsson (1 goal) - Phoenix

2. Blake Comeau (1 goal) - Columbus

1. Ryan Johansen (1 goal, 1 assist, OT winner) - Columbus

Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 0 (from Tampa Bay) - The Lightning improved to 43-27-9 on the season thanks to a 3-0 shutout of the Toronto Maple Leafs, dropping them to 38-34-8.

Goals:

TBL - Ondrej Palat (21) - from Victor Hedman and Radko Gudas (9:19 2ND) *GWG*
TBL - Ondrej Palat PPG (22) - from Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman (15:45 2ND)
TBL - Victor Hedman EN (13) - unassisted (19:47 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Anders Lindback (25 saves on 25 shots: 6-12-2) in relief of the injured Ben Bishop (3 saves on 3 shots) LG - James Reimer (31 saves on 33 shots: 12-15-1)

Three Stars:

3. Anders Lindback (25 saves on 25 shots for the shutout) - Tampa Bay

2. Victor Hedman (1 goal, 2 assists) - Tampa Bay

1. Ondrej Palat (2 goals, GWG) - Tampa Bay

Philadelphia Flyers 5, Florida Panthers 2 (from Florida) - The Flyers improved to 41-29-9 on the season thanks to a 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers, dropping them to 28-44-8.

Goals:

PHI - Vincent Lecavalier (20) - from Adam Hall (2:02 2ND)
PHI - Claude Giroux (26) - from Nicklas Grossmann and Luke Schenn (6:29 2ND)
PHI - Claude Giroux (27) - from Mark Streit and Scott Hartnell (8:50 2ND) *GWG*
PHI - Sean Couturier (11) - from Braydon Coburn and Matt Read (15:03 2ND)
FLA - Erik Gudbranson (3) - from Scottie Upshall and Vincent Trocheck (1:14 3RD)
FLA - Jonathan Huberdeau (9) - from Jesse Winchester and Drew Shore (5:38 3RD)
PHI - Tye McGinn (4) - from Vincent Lecavalier and Adam Hall (15:06 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Steve Mason (38 saves on 40 shots: 33-18-7) LG - Dan Ellis (22 saves on 27 shots: 5-11-0)

Three Stars:

3. Steve Mason (38 saves on 40 shots for the win) - Philadelphia

2. Vincent Lecavalier (1 goal, 1 assist) - Philadelphia

1. Claude Giroux (2 goals, GWG) - Philadelphia

Washington Capitals 4, St. Louis Blues 1 (from St. Louis) - The Capitals improved to 36-30-13 on the season thanks to a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues, dropping them to 52-20-7. 

Goals:

WSH - Alexander Ovechkin PPG (50) - from John Carlson and Joel Ward (17:54 1ST)
STL - Maxim Lapierre (9) - from Steve Ott and Ryan Reaves (2:39 2ND)
WSH - Mikhail Grabovski (13) - from Eric Fehr and Braden Holtby (8:52 2ND) *GWG*
WSH - Nicklas Backstrom (16) - from Alexander Ovechkin and Dmitry Orlov (18:50 2ND)
WSH - Nicklas Backstrom PPG (17) - from Alexander Ovechkin and John Carlson (0:16 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Braden Holtby (28 saves on 29 shots: 22-15-3) LG - Ryan Miller (18 saves on 22 shots: 25-27-4)

Three Stars:

3. Braden Holtby (28 saves on 29 shots for the win, 1 assist) - Washington

2. Alexander Ovechkin (1 goal, 2 assists) - Washington

1. Nicklas Backstrom (2 goals) - Washington

Minnesota Wild 4, Boston Bruins 3 (SO) - (from Minnesota) - The Wild improved to 42-26-12 on the season thanks to a 4-3 shootout win over the Boston Bruins, dropping them to 53-18-8.

Goals:

MIN - Jason Pominville PPG (28) - from Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise (1:05 1ST)
BOS - Reilly Smith PPG (20) - unassisted (3:00 1ST)
BOS - Patrice Bergeron (29) - from Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chara (10:28 1ST)
MIN - Jason Pominville (29) - from Matt Moulson and Erik Haula (10:56 1ST)
BOS - Loui Eriksson PPG (9) - from Gregory Campbell and Zdeno Chara (16:18 2ND)
MIN - Ryan Suter (8) - from Jason Pominville and Mikko Koivu (18:55 3RD)
Shootout winner - Mikko Koivu (MIN)

Goalies:

WG - Ilya Bryzgalov (21 saves on 24 shots: 12-8-8) LG - Tuukka Rask (21 saves on 24 shots: 35-15-6)

Three Stars:

3. Zdeno Chara (2 assists) - Boston

2. Mikko Koivu (2 assists, shootout winner) - Minnesota

1. Jason Pominville (2 goals, 1 assist) - Minnesota

Dallas Stars 3, Nashville Predators 2 (SO) - (from Dallas) - The Stars improved to 39-29-11 on the season thanks to a 3-0 shootout win over the Nashville Predators, dropping them to 35-32-12.

Goals:

DAL - Alex Goligoski (6) - from Vernon Fiddler and Colton Sceviour (2:23 1ST)

NSH - Gabriel Bourque (8) - from Craig Smith and Shea Weber (1:22 2ND)

DAL - Jamie Benn (34) - from Valeri Nichushkin and Brenden Dillon (8:16 2ND)

NSH - Gabriel Bourque (9) - from Paul Gaustad (10:24 3RD)

Shootout winner - Tyler Seguin (DAL)

Goalies:

WG - Kari Lehtonen (27 saves on 29 shots: 32-20-10) LG - Pekka Rinne (28 saves on 30 shots: 8-10-3)

Three Stars:

3. Jamie Benn (1 goal) - Dallas

2. Gabriel Bourque (2 goals) - Nashville

1. Kari Lehtonen (27 saves on 29 shots for the win) - Dallas

Colorado Avalanche 4, Edmonton Oilers 1 (from Edmonton) - The Avalanche improved to 51-21-7 on the season thanks to a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers, dropping them to 28-43-9.

Goals:

COL - Paul Stastny (23) - from Gabriel Landeskog and John Mitchell (4:13 1ST)

EDM - David Perron PPG (28) - from Sam Gagner and Philip Larsen (16:58 1ST)

COL - Erik Johnson (9) - from Jan Hejda and Nathan MacKinnon (17:10 1ST) *GWG*

COL - Tyson Barrie PPG (12) - from Erik Johnson and Ryan O'Reilly (7:34 3RD)

COL - Jamie McGinn (19) - from Nathan MacKinnon and Ryan O'Reilly (16:19 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - J.S. Giguere (22 saves on 23 shots: 11-6-0) LG - Ben Scrivens (29 saves on 33 shots: 15-16-4)

Three Stars:

3. Erik Johnson (1 goal, 1 assist, GWG) - Colorado

2. Nathan MacKinnon (2 assists) - Colorado

1. J.S. Giguere (22 saves on 23 shots for the win) - Colorado

Three Stars of the Night:

3. Jason Pominville - Pominville scored 2 goals and added 1 assist in the Wild's 4-3 win over the Bruins.

2. Claude Giroux - The Flyers Captain scored his 26th and 27th goals of the season (and the game-winner) in the Flyers 5-2 playoff clinching win over the Panthers.

1. Ryan Johansen - Johansen scored his 2nd OT goal in his last 6 games and added an assist in the Blue Jackets dramatic 4-3 win over the Coyotes.

Interesting Stats of the Night:

-Alexander Ovechkin became the 1st 50-goal scorer in the NHL this season, the 5th time he has scored 50 goals in his career.
-The Flyers clinched a playoff spot with a 5-2 win over the Panthers tonight.
-The Avs improved their NHL-best road record to 25-10-3, the most road wins in franchise history.

-Sergei Bobrovsky won his 30th game of the season, the 1st time he has done so in his career.
-Anders Lindback and Ben Bishop picked up the rare 2-goalie shutout, as Bishop left in the 1st with an injury. Lindback gets credit with the win.
-Vincent Lecavalier scored 20 goals in a season for the 13th time in his career.
-Ryan Johansen has 2 OT goals in his last 6 games.
-The Leafs were officially eliminated from playoff contention after a 3-0 loss to the Lightning tonight. The Leafs were in 3rd place in the East on March 15th with a 36-24-8 record and 80 points. Fast forward to tonight (24 days later) the Leafs are 10th in the East with a 38-34-8 record and 84 points.

Current Winning/Losing Streaks (3 or more games):

Chicago Blackhawks - 3 game winning streak
Calgary Flames - 3 game winning streak

Minnesota Wild - 3 game winning streak

Phoenix Coyotes - 5 game losing streak

Buffalo Sabres - 4 game losing streak

St. Louis Blues - 3 game losing streak

Forman Faceoff Highlights of the Night:

-Erik Johnson defenseman goal of the year candidate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8tfBiB4jsM
-Alexander Ovechkin 50th goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3nZK5bIkbs
-Ryan Johansen OT goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32nS3PcKGPI
-Zemgus Girgensons goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcWWADs5a2Q

-Anders Nilsson glove save on Kyle Turris: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFOspKJTB3g

-Vernon Fiddler shootout goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fv58k6jsz4
-Claude Giroux goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bolM8reqp6E

What's up next (April 9th) - There are 5 NHL games on tap for Wednesday:
1. Montreal Canadiens vs. Chicago Blackhawks @730PM ET (In Chicago)
2. Detroit Red Wings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins @8PM ET (In Pittsburgh)
3. Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Dallas Stars @830PM ET (In Dallas)
4. Los Angeles Kings vs. Calgary Flames @10PM ET (In Calgary)
5. San Jose Sharks vs. Anahein Ducks @1030PM ET (In Anaheim) {***Forman's Game of the Night***}

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff