(Photo Credit: Associated Press)
Zdeno Chara's two goals give the Bruins distance in the Northeast Standings over the Canadiens
Boston Bruins (32-7-4) over the Montreal Canadiens (25-11-6) 3-1
Zdeno Chara scored the game-tying and the game winning goals on the power play in the 2nd period and Tim Thomas made 34 saves to give the Bruins a 12 point lead in the Northeast Divison.
New York Rangers (26-15-4) over the New York Islanders (12-27-4) 2-1
The Islanders dominated the 1st period, but Henrik Lundqvist stood tall with 33 saves and the Rangers got goals from Chris Drury and Nigel Dawes for the win. The Isles have only won two games since November 29th.
Pittsburgh Penguins (21-19-4) over the Philadelphia Flyers (23-11-9) 4-2
The teams would remain tied at 1 after the 1st period, but Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Matt Cooke would all score in the 2nd period to give the Penguins a much needed divisional win.
Edmonton Oilers (21-18-3) over the Washington Capitals (27-14-3) 5-2
The Oilers would score three goals before the Capitals got on the board midway through the 2nd period. Oilers winger Erik Cole completed a hat trick with an empty net goal and Dwayne Roloson made 34 saves in the road victory.
Columbus Blue Jackets (21-18-4) over the Colorado Avalanche (22-20-1) 4-3
Blue Jackets LW Kristian Huselius had a goal and two assists and RJ Umberger notched a goal and an assist in a much needed win against a team they will probably be battling for a playoff spot down the stretch.
Ottawa Senators (14-21-6) over the Carolina Hurricanes (21-18-5) 5-1
Dean McAmmond, Chris Phillips, Dany Heatley, Mike Fisher and Antoin Vermette all scored for Ottawa to snap the Senators out of their slump while Carolina squandered a chance to build momentum against a struggling team. Brian Elliott made 23 saves in his second straight start for the Senators, who lost 2-0 to the New York Rangers on Saturday in their first home game following a 1-6-1 trip.
Nashville Predators (20-20-3) over the Toronto Maple Leafs (16-21-6) 2-0
Radek Bonk and David Legwand scored for the Predators while Pekka Rinne made 17 saves for his fourth shutout of the season in 15 games.
Minnesota Wild (21-18-3) over the Phoenix Coyotes (21-18-5) 6-3
Andrew Brunette, Owen Nolan, Mikko Koivu, and Cal Clutterback each had a goal and an assist for the Wild. Phoenix would rally to make it as close as 4-3 before the Wild pulled away late in the 3rd period.
Calgary Flames (26-12-4) over the St. Louis Blues (16-23-3) 3-1
Mike Cammalleri scored two goals and David Moss scored one of his own. Flames G Miika Kiprusoff finished with 27 saves to improves his NHL-high win total to 26 (26-11-3).
New Jersey Devils (25-15-3) over the Vancouver Canucks (22-18-5) 5-3
The Devils scored three goals in the 1st period, including Zach Parise's 25th goal of the season. Brian Rolston, Brian Gionta, Travis Zajac and Dainus Zubrus would also score for New Jersey. Vancouver fell to 9-12-3 since goalie Roberto Luongo injured his groin Nov. 22. New Jersey improved to 19-13-1 since Martin Brodeur tore his biceps on Nov. 1.
San Jose Sharks (32-5-5) over the Tampa Bay Lightning (13-20-10) 7-1
Joe Thornton had two goals and an assist, Milan Michalek had a goal and two assists, and Joe Pavelski and Devin Setoguchi each chipped in a goal and an assist in a match up of one of the best teams in the NHL vs. one of the worst teams.
OTHER HEADLINES
-Flyers C Daniel Briere, who has missed 34 of the last 37 games and 18 straight with a severe groin strain, begins what is scheduled to be a two-game conditioning stint with the Flyers' minor-league affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms(AHL). The Phantoms, who play across the street from the Wachovia Center in the Wachovia Spectrum, host the Worcester Sharks Wednesday and the Lowell Devils Friday. "Everybody is talking about two games with the Phantoms, but I'm looking at the first game," Briere told NHL.com Tuesday morning after a long, on-ice workout. "I want to see how it will react and I'll go from there. If I can play another game, I'll play Friday. If not, I'll have to reevaluate." Although Briere, who has 9 points in nine games this season, said he feels "barely any" discomfort when he goes hard in practice, as he did Tuesday following the Flyers' morning skate, he is hesitant to make any proclamations on when or even if he'll be able to return to the NHL roster.
-Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo returned to practice on Monday and declared he is "back to 100 per cent" after missing most of the last two months with a groin injury. "We're full go right now, I did everything in practice, I didn't hold anything back," said Luongo, who also skated with a handful of teammates Sunday. Luongo, who has missed 23 games since collapsing in a heap five minutes into a Nov. 22 game in Pittsburgh, said the only thing keeping him from returning to the lineup is a return to form. The two-time Vezina Trophy finalist insisted he hasn't set a return date, saying he is "doubtful" Tuesday against New Jersey, but listed himself day-to-day, making Thursday against Phoenix possible. "One full practice after not playing for several weeks, I'm not sure I'm ready to play," he said. "It's just a matter of the way things go in practice, the way I feel and make sure I'm at the level I need to be at to help the team." Luongo also thought he was close to returning in early December, but was forced to shut it down after leaving practice early on Dec. 10 because of lingering pain and discomfort. The 29-year-old insisted that wasn't the case this time.
RUMOR MILL
-Look for the Leafs & Panthers to work out a deal in the coming days, probably for D Jay Bouwmeester. Florida has sent three scouts to Toronto.
-Senators C Jason Spezza to Calgary is gaining some steam.
AROUND THE BOARDS
-The New York Islanders acquired forward Junior Lessard from the Atlanta Thrashers for defenseman Brett Skinner and assigned the right wing to Bridgeport (AHL) on Tuesday. Lessard, 28, had six goals and five assists in 41 games this season with Chicago of the AHL. In 27 career NHL games with Dallas and Tampa Bay, he has posted three goals and an assist. The 25-year-old Skinner played in 11 games with the Islanders this season, but failed to record a point. He has recently been back at Bridgeport, where he had one goal and 11 assists in 24 games.
-Boston Bruins winger Marco Sturm underwent successful surgery to repair his meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee. Sturm will miss the rest of the 2008-2009 NHL season. Sturm appeared in 19 games this season for Boston and recorded 7-6=13 totals with a +9 plus/minus rating, before sustaining this injury in Boston's 8-5 win over the Maple Leafs on December 18. Sturm led all Boston goal-scorers last year with 27 tallies.
-The Maple Leafs called up forward Jiri Tlusty on Tuesday from their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies. Tlusty is third in Marlies' team scoring this season with 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 32 AHL games. Tlusty, 20, was recalled on Dec. 31 and played in his 10th game of the season for the Maple Leafs Jan. 1 versus the Sabres. He was assigned to the Marlies the following day.
TONIGHT'S ACTION:
%Washington @ Pittsburgh - 7:30PM
Ottawa @ Atlanta - 7:30PM
Buffalo @ Chicago - 8:30PM
Detroit @ Anaheim - 10PM
% = Game of the Night
^ALL TIMES EASTERN
*My weekly power rankings, "PLUS/MINUS", comes out Mondays
~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes out tonight
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