TOP STORY
ANAHEIM'S GETTING DUCKY
Drew Miller puts one past Pekka Rinne to help Anaheim to its Fourth Straight Win
(Photo Credit: AP)
Anaheim Ducks (36-31-6) over the Nashville Predators (35-30-8) 2-1 (SO)
Teemu Selanne lifted the Anaheim Ducks to a crucial win over the Nashville Predators for the second time in a week. Selanne scored the only shootout goal and the Ducks beat the Predators 2-1 on Tuesday night to move into a position for a postseason berth. Selanne also helped Anaheim grab a 1-0 lead at 17:38 of the second period. He carried the puck into the Nashville zone along the right side before faking a shot to freeze Rinne. He then passed to Drew Miller, who moved to the low slot before beating Rinne with a wrister to the stick side. Shea Weber tied it at 1 with a power-play goal at 4:12 of the third. Weber became the first Nashville defenseman to score 20 goals in a season. His nine power-play goals lead the team. Giguere finished with 31 saves. Rinne had 18 stops. Anaheim climbed over Nashville into eighth place in the Western Conference with its fourth consecutive victory. Both teams have 78 points with nine games left but the Ducks are now above the postseason cutoff because they have one more victory than the Predators, who have lost three straight.
ACTION FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE...
New York Rangers (39-27-8) over the Minnesota Wild (34-31-8) 2-1
Nikolai Zherdev scored his 22nd of the season and assisted on Scott Gomez's game winner in the 2nd period to help the Rangers move in to a 6th place tie in the East with Pittsburgh. Marian Gaborik scored the lone Wild goal, his first goal since returning Sunday from a 38-game absence following hip surgery. The Rangers have won for the 8th time in their last 11.
Washington Capitals (45-23-7) over the Toronto Maple Leafs (31-30-13) 3-2 (SO)
Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 51st goal, but it wouldn't be enough as Curtis Joseph stoned Ovie on Washington's final shootout attempt to get the win. Phil Oreskovic and Pavel Kubina scored for Toronto. Kubina gave the Maple Leafs the lead with a power-play goal at 17:52 of the third, but D Brooks Laich beat Martin Gerber (see other headlines) to tie it with just under a minute remaining. Jeff Hamilton scored on Toronto's first shootout attempt to help the Maple Leafs get the win.
Montreal Canadiens (37-27-9) over the Atlanta Thrashers (30-38-6) 6-3
Bob Gainey's decision to combine the offensive talents of Alex Tanguay, Alexei Kovalev and Saku Koivu added up to a huge win for the Montreal Canadiens. Tanguay had two goals and three assists and Montreal snapped a five-game losing streak. Kovalev had two goals and an assist and Koivu had a goal and two assists as they teamed up with Tanguay (who enjoyed the third five-point game of his career) on a newly formed line that produced 11 points. The Canadiens ended a four-game home winless streak and regained sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 83 points, two more than Florida. Both teams have nine games remaining.
Tampa Bay Lightning (24-33-16) over the Columbus Blue Jackets (38-28-7) 2-1 (OT)
Jan Hjeda scored in the 3rd period and Ryan Malone answered back for Tampa with his 25th goal of the season (PPG). In OT, Martin St. Louis scored with 1:56 remaining on a beautiful feed from Steve Stamkos. The Blue Jackets, who have the worst power play in the NHL, went 0-for-3.
Vancouver Canucks (39-24-9) over the Dallas Stars (33-32-8) 5-2
Ryan Kesler and Henrik Sedin each scored twice (each had a PPG) and Daniel Sedin added a power play goal to move in to a 4th place tie with Chicago in the West. Roberto Luongo stopped 35 shots to help the Canucks snap a four-game road losing streak. Vancouver is 17-4-1 over its past 22 games while Dallas lost its fourth straight and has slipped four points behind Nashville and Anaheim for the final playoff spot in the West.
St. Louis Blues (34-30-9) over the Los Angeles (30-33-10) 2-0
Rookie Patrik Berglund scored twice in the third period to end a 10-game goal drought and G Chris Mason made 22 saves for his fifth shutout of the season to move four games above .500 for the first time this season. David Perron assisted on both goals as the Blues are looking to end their three year playoff drought. St. Louis has 77 points, one point behind Nashville and Anaheim for the final spot in the Western Conference, with nine games to go. The Blues improved to 18-7-6 in their last 31 games. The fading Kings are in a 1-5-1 slump and are 2-9-1 in their past dozen games on the road.
Detroit Red Wings (49-16-9) over the Edmonton Oilers (35-29-9) 3-2
Marian Hossa and Valtteri Filppula scored 32 seconds apart late in the third period 3-2 to move back into first place overall in the NHL. Jonathan Ericsson also scored for the Red Wings (all three goals in the 3rd period), who won for the fifth time in six games and moved a point ahead of idle San Jose for top spot in the Western Conference. Denis Grebeshkov and Ales Kotalik scored for the Oilers, who lost their second in a row but remained in seventh in the tight Western race, one point ahead of Nashville and Anaheim. Winger Tomas Holmstrom returned to the lineup from a knee injury.
OTHER HEADLINES
-The Toronto Maple Leafs will have to lean on Curtis Joseph between the pipes for the next three games after Martin Gerber was tossed for pushing referee Mike Leggo and shooting a puck in his direction following Washington's controversial tying goal Tuesday night. For his act, Gerber faces a minimum three-game suspension for category three abuse of the officials - a violation of rule 41. Capitals forward Brooks Laich stuffed the puck under Gerber with 56 seconds to play in regulation, prompting the angry Toronto goalie to protest the goal by skating towards Leggo, at which point he bumped the referee and shot the puck in his direction. ''I'm sorry for me, for losing my cool there,'' said Gerber. ''I got shoved in the net. That's why (the puck) went in. I was upset, shot the puck against the boards and after that he tossed me out for I don't know what. ''I shouldn't have done it. That's obvious. But there's not much you can do now.'' Joseph was brought in cold off the Leafs' bench late in the game and shut down the Capitals to help his team to a 3-2 shootout victory.
-Provdience Bruin's goalie (AHL) Tuuka Rask needs his blankie:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4013134
-Washington Capitals sniper Alex Ovechkin is making no apologies for the celebration that followed his 50th goal last week. The Russian star followed through with a plan to put his stick on the ice and pretend to warm his hands over it. It sparked a debate on how far celebrations should go in the sport. "If you win the lottery -- a million dollars -- you go to the bar and drink a lot," Ovechkin said Tuesday before the Capitals' 3-2 shootout loss to the Maple Leafs. "I scored 50 goals and I just celebrated." Ovechkin scored the opening goal in a 5-2 victory over the Lightning last Thursday. His celebration was front-page material in sports sections and on websites, a top item on sportscasts and a hot subject on radio phone-in shows. Some hockey observers think Ovechkin is a breath of fresh air in a sport that could use a little pizzazz. Others think he went too far. Ovechkin said he didn't mean to disrespect his opponents -- he just loves to score and have fun on the ice. "It's good for our league, it's good for our fans," Ovechkin said. "Some players are just like robots. They score goals and it's like OK, no emotion, nothing, they basically go OK. You have to show emotion if you're an emotional guy -- show it. "You don't have to think about if somebody doesn't like it. I don't care about it if somebody (doesn't) like it. I play myself, I enjoy my life, I've enjoyed my whole career. If somebody (doesn't) like it, don't watch my game, don't watch what I'm doing on the ice."
ANAHEIM'S GETTING DUCKY
Drew Miller puts one past Pekka Rinne to help Anaheim to its Fourth Straight Win
(Photo Credit: AP)
Anaheim Ducks (36-31-6) over the Nashville Predators (35-30-8) 2-1 (SO)
Teemu Selanne lifted the Anaheim Ducks to a crucial win over the Nashville Predators for the second time in a week. Selanne scored the only shootout goal and the Ducks beat the Predators 2-1 on Tuesday night to move into a position for a postseason berth. Selanne also helped Anaheim grab a 1-0 lead at 17:38 of the second period. He carried the puck into the Nashville zone along the right side before faking a shot to freeze Rinne. He then passed to Drew Miller, who moved to the low slot before beating Rinne with a wrister to the stick side. Shea Weber tied it at 1 with a power-play goal at 4:12 of the third. Weber became the first Nashville defenseman to score 20 goals in a season. His nine power-play goals lead the team. Giguere finished with 31 saves. Rinne had 18 stops. Anaheim climbed over Nashville into eighth place in the Western Conference with its fourth consecutive victory. Both teams have 78 points with nine games left but the Ducks are now above the postseason cutoff because they have one more victory than the Predators, who have lost three straight.
ACTION FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE...
New York Rangers (39-27-8) over the Minnesota Wild (34-31-8) 2-1
Nikolai Zherdev scored his 22nd of the season and assisted on Scott Gomez's game winner in the 2nd period to help the Rangers move in to a 6th place tie in the East with Pittsburgh. Marian Gaborik scored the lone Wild goal, his first goal since returning Sunday from a 38-game absence following hip surgery. The Rangers have won for the 8th time in their last 11.
Washington Capitals (45-23-7) over the Toronto Maple Leafs (31-30-13) 3-2 (SO)
Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 51st goal, but it wouldn't be enough as Curtis Joseph stoned Ovie on Washington's final shootout attempt to get the win. Phil Oreskovic and Pavel Kubina scored for Toronto. Kubina gave the Maple Leafs the lead with a power-play goal at 17:52 of the third, but D Brooks Laich beat Martin Gerber (see other headlines) to tie it with just under a minute remaining. Jeff Hamilton scored on Toronto's first shootout attempt to help the Maple Leafs get the win.
Montreal Canadiens (37-27-9) over the Atlanta Thrashers (30-38-6) 6-3
Bob Gainey's decision to combine the offensive talents of Alex Tanguay, Alexei Kovalev and Saku Koivu added up to a huge win for the Montreal Canadiens. Tanguay had two goals and three assists and Montreal snapped a five-game losing streak. Kovalev had two goals and an assist and Koivu had a goal and two assists as they teamed up with Tanguay (who enjoyed the third five-point game of his career) on a newly formed line that produced 11 points. The Canadiens ended a four-game home winless streak and regained sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 83 points, two more than Florida. Both teams have nine games remaining.
Tampa Bay Lightning (24-33-16) over the Columbus Blue Jackets (38-28-7) 2-1 (OT)
Jan Hjeda scored in the 3rd period and Ryan Malone answered back for Tampa with his 25th goal of the season (PPG). In OT, Martin St. Louis scored with 1:56 remaining on a beautiful feed from Steve Stamkos. The Blue Jackets, who have the worst power play in the NHL, went 0-for-3.
Vancouver Canucks (39-24-9) over the Dallas Stars (33-32-8) 5-2
Ryan Kesler and Henrik Sedin each scored twice (each had a PPG) and Daniel Sedin added a power play goal to move in to a 4th place tie with Chicago in the West. Roberto Luongo stopped 35 shots to help the Canucks snap a four-game road losing streak. Vancouver is 17-4-1 over its past 22 games while Dallas lost its fourth straight and has slipped four points behind Nashville and Anaheim for the final playoff spot in the West.
St. Louis Blues (34-30-9) over the Los Angeles (30-33-10) 2-0
Rookie Patrik Berglund scored twice in the third period to end a 10-game goal drought and G Chris Mason made 22 saves for his fifth shutout of the season to move four games above .500 for the first time this season. David Perron assisted on both goals as the Blues are looking to end their three year playoff drought. St. Louis has 77 points, one point behind Nashville and Anaheim for the final spot in the Western Conference, with nine games to go. The Blues improved to 18-7-6 in their last 31 games. The fading Kings are in a 1-5-1 slump and are 2-9-1 in their past dozen games on the road.
Detroit Red Wings (49-16-9) over the Edmonton Oilers (35-29-9) 3-2
Marian Hossa and Valtteri Filppula scored 32 seconds apart late in the third period 3-2 to move back into first place overall in the NHL. Jonathan Ericsson also scored for the Red Wings (all three goals in the 3rd period), who won for the fifth time in six games and moved a point ahead of idle San Jose for top spot in the Western Conference. Denis Grebeshkov and Ales Kotalik scored for the Oilers, who lost their second in a row but remained in seventh in the tight Western race, one point ahead of Nashville and Anaheim. Winger Tomas Holmstrom returned to the lineup from a knee injury.
OTHER HEADLINES
-The Toronto Maple Leafs will have to lean on Curtis Joseph between the pipes for the next three games after Martin Gerber was tossed for pushing referee Mike Leggo and shooting a puck in his direction following Washington's controversial tying goal Tuesday night. For his act, Gerber faces a minimum three-game suspension for category three abuse of the officials - a violation of rule 41. Capitals forward Brooks Laich stuffed the puck under Gerber with 56 seconds to play in regulation, prompting the angry Toronto goalie to protest the goal by skating towards Leggo, at which point he bumped the referee and shot the puck in his direction. ''I'm sorry for me, for losing my cool there,'' said Gerber. ''I got shoved in the net. That's why (the puck) went in. I was upset, shot the puck against the boards and after that he tossed me out for I don't know what. ''I shouldn't have done it. That's obvious. But there's not much you can do now.'' Joseph was brought in cold off the Leafs' bench late in the game and shut down the Capitals to help his team to a 3-2 shootout victory.
-Provdience Bruin's goalie (AHL) Tuuka Rask needs his blankie:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4013134
-Washington Capitals sniper Alex Ovechkin is making no apologies for the celebration that followed his 50th goal last week. The Russian star followed through with a plan to put his stick on the ice and pretend to warm his hands over it. It sparked a debate on how far celebrations should go in the sport. "If you win the lottery -- a million dollars -- you go to the bar and drink a lot," Ovechkin said Tuesday before the Capitals' 3-2 shootout loss to the Maple Leafs. "I scored 50 goals and I just celebrated." Ovechkin scored the opening goal in a 5-2 victory over the Lightning last Thursday. His celebration was front-page material in sports sections and on websites, a top item on sportscasts and a hot subject on radio phone-in shows. Some hockey observers think Ovechkin is a breath of fresh air in a sport that could use a little pizzazz. Others think he went too far. Ovechkin said he didn't mean to disrespect his opponents -- he just loves to score and have fun on the ice. "It's good for our league, it's good for our fans," Ovechkin said. "Some players are just like robots. They score goals and it's like OK, no emotion, nothing, they basically go OK. You have to show emotion if you're an emotional guy -- show it. "You don't have to think about if somebody doesn't like it. I don't care about it if somebody (doesn't) like it. I play myself, I enjoy my life, I've enjoyed my whole career. If somebody (doesn't) like it, don't watch my game, don't watch what I'm doing on the ice."
TONIGHTS ACTION:
%Florida @ Buffalo - 7PM
Ottawa @ Carolina - 7PM
Minnesota @ NY Islanders - 7PM
Calgary @ Pittsburgh - 7:30PM
San Jose @ Chicago - 8:30PM
Anaheim @ Colorado - 9PM
% = Game of the Night
^All Times are Eastern
~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes out on Thursdays
TO EMAIL FTS, write fromtheslot@gmail.com
%Florida @ Buffalo - 7PM
Ottawa @ Carolina - 7PM
Minnesota @ NY Islanders - 7PM
Calgary @ Pittsburgh - 7:30PM
San Jose @ Chicago - 8:30PM
Anaheim @ Colorado - 9PM
% = Game of the Night
^All Times are Eastern
~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes out on Thursdays
TO EMAIL FTS, write fromtheslot@gmail.com
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