April 9th NHL Recap

Chicago Blackhawks 3, Montreal Canadiens 2 (OT) - (from Chicago) - The Blackhawks improved to 46-19-15 on the season thanks to a 3-2 OT win over the Montreal Canadiens, dropping them to 45-27-8.

Goals:

MTL - Dale Weise (6) - from Josh Gorges and Rene Bourque (7:31 3RD)
CHI - Jeremy Morin (4) - from Sheldon Brookbank (10:34 3RD)
MTL - Francis Boullion (3) - from Thomas Vanek and David Desharnais (10:56 3RD)
CHI - Marian Hossa (29) - from Patrick Sharp and Michal Handzus (19:21 3RD)
CHI - Patrick Sharp (34) - from Duncan Keith and Marian Hossa (0:43 OT) *GWG*

Goalies:

WG - Corey Crawford (28 saves on 30 shots: 32-15-10) LG - Peter Budaj (25 saves on 28 shots: 10-8-3)

Three Stars:

3. Jeremy Morin (1 goal) - Chicago

2. Marian Hossa (1 goal, 1 assist) - Chicago

1. Patrick Sharp (1 goal, 1 assist, OT winner) - Chicago

Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Detroit Red Wings 3 (SO) - (from Pittsburgh) - The Penguins improved to 51-24-5 on the season thanks to a 4-3 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings, dropping them to 38-27-15.

Goals:

DET - Tomas Jurco (8) - from Daniel Alfredsson and Darren Helm (10:41 1ST)
PIT - James Neal PPG (25) - from Sidney Crosby and Paul Martin (9:03 2ND)
DET - Jakub Kindl (2) - from Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist (14:22 2ND)
PIT - James Neal PPG (26) - from Matt Niskanen and Paul Martin (16:42 2ND)
PIT - Jussi Jokinen (19) - from Kris Letang and Matt Niskanen (9:17 3RD)
DET - Riley Sheahan (7) - from Niklas Kronwall (18:45 3RD
Shootout winner - Jussi Jokinen (PIT) 

Goalies:

WG - Marc-Andre Fleury (34 saves on 37 shots: 39-18-4) LG - Jonas Gustavsson (21 saves on 24 shots: 16-5-4)

Three Stars:

3. Riley Sheahan (1 goal) - Detroit

2. Jussi Jokinen (1 goal, shootout winner) - Pittsburgh

1. James Neal (2 goals) - Pittsburgh

Columbus Blue Jackets 3, Dallas Stars 1 (from Dallas) - The Blue Jackets improved to 42-31-7 on the season thanks to a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars, dropping them to 39-30-11.

Goals:

CBJ - Nathan Horton (5) - from Matt Calvert and James Wisniewski (0:00 1ST)
CBJ - Artem Anisimov (22) - unassisted (1:33 1ST) *GWG*
CBJ - Mark Letestu PPG (11) - from Ryan Johansen and David Savard (13:27 1ST)
DAL - Trevor Daley PPG (8) - from Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin (8:39 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - Sergei Bobrovsky (33 saves on 34 shots: 31-20-5) LG - Tim Thomas (23 saves on 25 shots: 18-23-4)

Three Stars:

3. Trevor Daley (1 goal) - Dallas

2. Artem Anisimov (1 goal, GWG) - Columbus

1. Sergei Bobrovsky (33 saves on 34 shots for the win) - Columbus

Calgary Flames 4, Los Angeles Kings 3 (SO) - (from Calgary) - The Flames improved to 35-38-7 on the season thanks to a 4-3 shootout win over the Los Angeles Kings, dropping them to 45-28-7.

Goals:

CGY - T.J. Galiardi (4) - from Mike Cammalleri and Jiri Hudler (11:58 1ST)
CGY - Sean Monahan (21) - from T.J Galiardi (4:00 2ND)
CGY - Matt Stajan (14) - from Kenny Agostino (15:28 2ND)
LAK - Jarret Stoll (8) - from Slava Voynov and Tanner Pearson (16:09 2ND)
LAK - Anze Kopitar (26) - from Marian Gaborik and Slava Voynov (16:33 2ND)
LAK - Dwight King (15) - from Jake Muzzin (12:18 3RD)
Shootout winner - Sean Monahan (CGY)

Goalies:

WG - Karri Ramo (41 saves on 44 shots: 17-3-4) LG - Jonathan Quick (15 saves on 18 shots: 27-17-3) 

Three Stars:

3. T.J. Galiardi (1 goal, 1 assist) - Calgary

2. Anze Kopitar (1 goal) - Los Angeles

1. Karri Ramo (41 saves on 44 shots for the win) - Calgary

Anaheim Ducks 5, San Jose Sharks 2 (from Anaheim) - The Ducks improved to 52-20-8 on the season thanks to a 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks, dropping them to 49-22-9.

Goals:

SJS - Jason Demers (5) - from Joe Pavelski (18:17 1ST)
ANA - Corey Perry (43) - from Matt Beleskey and Francois Beauchemin (19:57 1ST)
ANA - Pat Maroon (9) - from Teemu Selanne and Mathieu Perreault (3:32 2ND)
SJS - Logan Couture (22) - unassisted (7:23 2ND)
ANA - Pat Maroon (10) - from Teemu Selanne and Hampus Lindholm (9:35 2ND)
ANA - Matt Beleskey (8) - from Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf (16:46 2ND)
ANA - Jakub Silfverberg SHG/EN (10) - from Andrew Cogliano (18:22 3RD)

Goalies:

WG - John Gibson (36 saves on 38 shots: 2-0-0) LG - Antti Niemi (16 saves on 19 shots: 38-17-7), Alex Stalock (9 saves on 10 shots in relief of Niemi)

Three Stars:

3. Corey Perry (1 goal, 1 assist) - Anaheim

2. Pat Maroon (2 goals, GWG) - Anaheim

1. John Gibson (36 saves on 38 shots for the win) - Anaheim

Three Stars of the Night:

3. John Gibson - Gibson stopepd 36 of 38 shots in the Ducks 5-2 win over the Sharks, clinching the Pacific Division Title.

2. Patrick Sharp - Sharp scrored the OT winner and added an assist in the Hawks 3-2 win over the Canadiens.

1. Sergei Bobrovsky - Bobrovsky stopped 33 of 34 shots in the Blue Jackets 3-1 win over the Stars, sending them back to the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

Interesting Stats of the Night:

-Kris Letang returned to action in his 1st game since suffering a stroke on January 29th. He picked up 1 assist in the Penguins 4-3 win over the Red Wings.
-The Ducks clinched the Pacific Divsion Title with a 5-2 win over the Sharks. They will face one of the wild card teams depending on if they finish 1 or 2.
-The game between the Blue Jackets and Dalals Stars was the rescheduled game from when Rich Peverley collapsed. The score was 1-0 at the time, a Nathan Horton goal. So the game was played a full 60 minutes but they counted Horton's goal, so the game started as 1-0 Columbus. Not something you see every day. 
-Speaking of the Red Wings, they are headed back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 23rd straight season. What a job Mike Babcock has done with all the injuries they have had this season, a remarkable performance. 
-The Blue Jackets clinched the last spot in the Eastern Conference with a 3-1 win over the Stars. This is the Blue Jackets 2nd career appearance in the playoffs and 1st since 2009. 
-Both the Red Wings and Blue Jackets made the playoffs in their first year in the Eastern Conference.

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

Chicago Blackhawks - 4 game winning streak
Calgary Flames - 4 game winning streak

Minnesota Wild - 3 game winning streak

Columbus Blue Jackets - 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:

-Marc-Andre Fleury save on Daniel Alfredsson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDylD5qV84M
-Matt Beleskey goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8yIhwWALQ8

-Corey Perry buzzer beater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBWGG0Vep9U
-Anze Kopitar goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8_stDNlK10
-Patrick Sharp OT goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZDpkVIDQvo
-Sidney Crosby pass/James Neal goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3OpYNAHsYU

What's up next (April 10th) - There are 11 NHL games on tap for Thursday:

1. Buffalo Sabres vs. New York Rangers @7PM ET (In New York)

2. Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes @7PM ET (In Carolina)

3. New York Islanders vs. Montreal Canadiens @730PM ET (In Montreal)

4. New Jersey Devils vs. Ottawa Senators @730PM ET (In Ottawa)

5. Philadelphia Flyers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning @730PM ET (In Tampa Bay) {***Forman's Game of the Night***}

6. Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Florida Panthers @730PM ET (In Florida)

7. Phoenix Coyotes vs. Nashville Predators @8PM ET (In Nashville)

8. St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild @8PM ET (In Minnesota)

9. Boston Bruins vs. Winnipeg Jets @8PM ET (In Winnipeg)

10. Los Angeles Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers @930PM ET (In Edmonton)

11. Colorado Avalanche vs. Vancouver Canucks @10PM ET (In Vancouver)

-Joel Forman - The Forman Facoeff