Sunday on the Ice

photo credit: AP Photos

RED WINGS BLANK JACKETS, MAKE NHL HISTORY
OSGOOD RECORDS 49TH CAREER SHUTOUT

The Detroit Red Wings added another milestone to their storied franchise with Sunday night’s 4-0 defeat of the Blue Jackets in Columbus. The victory gave the Motowners 101 points for the season – they are the first team with nine straight 100-point campaigns. Osgood turned away 23 shots for the shutout and Johan Franzen scored his career-high 28th goal of the year. The Blue Jackets (36-28-6), meanwhile, saw their 4-game overall winning streak and 3-game run on home ice come to an end. Columbus remains 6th in the Western Conference, three points behind Vancouver.

Canucks 4 – Avalanche 2

That’s a franchise-record-tying nine straight home victories for Vancouver. First period goals from Kyle Wellwood, Alexandre Burrows and Taylor Pyatt set the tone for the Canucks (36-23-9). Ryan Kesler added three assists. This run at GM Place comes immediately after a 9-game skid there. Since snapping that slump, Vancouver is 14-3-1 overall, which has pushed them to 5th in the West, just two points behind slumping Chicago.

Islanders 4 – Blackhawks 2

Chicago outshot the Islanders, 42-19, Sunday at United Center, but Peter Mannino stopped 40 of those shots as New York improved to 6-2-1 over its last nine games. Mark Streit had 2 goals and an assist, all on the power-play, where the Isles went 3-for-7 on the night. The Blackhawks (37-21-9) remain 4th out West, but have dropped four of five.

Sharks 1 – Ducks 0

San Jose joined Detroit at the 100-point plateau on the strength of Evgeni Nabokov’s 6th shutout of the season (34 saves). The Sharks (45-13-10) also clinched a playoff spot with this decision. Travis Moen scored the only goal of the night after a video tribute was played before the game for the former Duck. Anaheim (32-31-6) is 2-4-1 over its last seven games to remain outside the playoff picture. Three points and three teams separate the Ducks from 8th-place Edmonton.

Blues 5 – Wild 3

After losing 5-2 to Detroit Saturday, the Blues responded with three power-play goals to beat Minnesota Sunday at Scottrade Center. Keith Tkachuk and David Perron scored on a two-man advantage in the second period to put St. Louis ahead for good. The Blues and Wild are now an identical 32-29-8 (72 points), tied for 10th in the West, one point from the 8th spot.

Penguins 6 – Bruins 4

Four third period goals helped Pittsburgh jump idle Montreal for 5th place in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins (37-26-8) trailed the Bruins 2-1 and 3-2 before beating them for just the second time in six meetings. Pittsburgh now has points in its last 10 games, (8-0-2). Boston (45-17-9) was unable to reach the 100-point mark like Detroit and San Jose.

Rangers 4 – Flyers 1

The Rangers earned a split of a weekend home-and-home with the Flyers thanks to three man-advantage goals, two of which came from Sean Avery. The pesky left-winger has scored in three straight games (4 total tallies) as the Blueshirts (36-26-8) get within four points of 4th-place Philadelphia. This was John Tortorella’s 244th career decision, tying him with Peter Laviolette for the lead among American coaches. Simon Gagne scored the only goal for the Flyers (37-21-10).

IN OTHER NEWS…

Just in case you weren’t paying attention Saturday night, Martin Brodeur and the Devils beat the Canadiens in Montreal. With Patrick Roy in attendance, Brodeur tied #33’s record for most career victories (551). He can make the record his own Tuesday night at home against Chicago.

The Capitals recalled defenseman Brian Pothier from AHL affiliate Hershey Sunday. The 31-year-old hasn’t played an NHL game in 14 months because of a concussion and its aftereffects. Pothier has dealt with headaches, dizziness and vision problems.

Rangers GM Glen Sather has posted $1 million bail for former Oilers owner Peter Pocklington. He is scheduled to go on trial May 5th on two counts of bankruptcy fraud.

MONDAY’S SCHEDULE

Washington @ Atlanta 7:00pm ET
Nashville @ Los Angeles 10:30pm ET (Game of the Night)