4 
3 (SO)Phoenix can't lose. An improbable win by the Coyotes over the Panthers sets a franchise record for wins in a season and gives them their 7th-straight.
Stephen Weiss, David Booth, and Cory Stillman each scored for Florida while Tomas Vokoun stopped 43 shots, but the Panthers pick up only 1 point and remain 7 points out of the final playoff spot in the East.
Florida took a 3-0 lead into the 3rd period when Martin Hanzal and Lee Stempniak tallied 43 seconds apart early in the period to start the comeback for Phoenix. The Coyotes outshot the Panthers 19-6 in the 3rd, but it was a fluke goal that tied it late in the game.
A dump-in from the center-line by Radim Vrbata bounced its way past Vokoun, tying the game at 3 with only 59.7 seconds left in regulation. Vrbata would add the shootout winner later. As Florida coach Pete DeBoer put it, "Whatever can go wrong is going wrong." But for Phoenix, it's the complete opposite.
The win caps a 4-0-0 road trip for Phoenix through every Southeast Division team except Washington. They now have 93 points and are 3 points behind San Jose for 1st in the Pacific Division, messing up what seemed to be a runaway Pacific title for the Sharks. They're also 3 points back of the Western Conference lead and own the 4th-best record in the NHL.
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3 
4 (OT)No Ovie, almost no problem, for Washington on Thursday. They traveled to Raleigh without their captain who was serving his 2nd game of his 2-game suspension. Carolina has played the Capitals tough in every meeting this year, and this one was no different.
Joe Corvo, who was traded to Washington from the Hurricanes at the trade deadline, scored twice for the Capitals in his first trip back to his old home. Eric Staal, Brett Carson, and Chad Larose scored in regulation for the Hurricanes.
With 1:35 left in regulation and a 2-2 tie, Larose found himself on a clear breakaway during a 4-on-4 situation and deked Semyon Varlamov to give Carolina a 3-2 lead. But with Varlamov pulled for an extra attacker, Eric Fehr found a loose puck and tucked it past Hurricanes' goalie Justin Peters to tie it at 3 with only 10 seconds to go, forcing overtime.
4 minutes into overtime, Ray Whitney ripped the winner for Carolina through Varlamov, giving the Hurricanes a 4-3 win.
Carolina sits 14th in the East and 8 points out, while the Capitals move to 104 points, 8 points ahead of San Jose and Chicago for the most in the NHL.
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3 
0Chicago had lost 3-straight games coming into L.A. on Thursday badly needing a rebound game. And did they ever rebound. The Blackhawks possessed the puck at a rate that completely overwhelmed the Kings, who played a game that no playoff team should ever play.
The Kings were outshot 37-17 and looked as flat as they possibly could throughout the entire game. Chicago never gave them a power-play chance, but the way they were skating, they never deserved a power-play chance.
Troy Brouwer scored the first of the game in the 2nd period for the Blackhawks, and Tomas Kopecky added 2 goals in the 3rd. Antti Niemi's 17 saves earned him his 5th shutout of the season, while Jonathan Quick ended the game with 34 saves for L.A.
Chicago takes the Western Conference lead with the win, tying the Sharks in points, 96, but having 2 more wins than San Jose. The Kings remain 6th in the West, 1 point behind Colorado for 5th and a game-in-hand. They are tied with Nashville in points, but hold 2 games-in-hand over the Predators. They are 6 points ahead of the 9th-place Flames.
But if the Kings want to go anywhere in the playoffs or even, for that matter, make the playoffs, they must have much better showings than this one. Their homestand continues on Saturday versus the Islanders, and 13 games remain in the regular season.
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Penguins 3 Bruins 0
In a highly-anticipated matchup between Pittsburgh and Boston, the first game between the two clubs after Matt Cooke's blindsided hit on Marc Savard, ending his season, the Bruins didn't exactly get the revenge they were looking for. Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke took on Boston's Shawn Thornton in a fight on Cooke's first shift of the game. But after that, the Penguins knew what their real goals were. Pittsburgh moves back into 1st place in the Atlantic Division and 2nd in the East thanks to Marc-Andre Fleury's first shutout of the season. Boston remains in the 8th and final playoff spot in the East, only 3 points up on the Thrashers and Rangers.
Blues 4 Rangers 3
New York couldn't capitalize on Boston's loss, as they remain 3 points back for the final playoff spot in the East. St Louis' win keeps their playoff hopes alive as they currently have 75 points and sit in the 10th spot in the West, 5 points out of 8th. This back-and-forth game saw Paul Kariya net his 400th goal of his career, which turned out to be the game-winner. The goal gave the Blues a 4-3 lead with just over 11 minutes to go in the 3rd period.
Senators 3 Thrashers 6
A huge win for Atlanta as they tied the Rangers in points, 71, for 9th in the East, but hold that spot themselves because they have played 1 fewer game. Ottawa came back from a 3-1 deficit in the 2nd period, but a 3-goal outburst from Atlanta in the 3rd gives the Thrashers their 2nd-straight win. The Senators sit 6th in the East with 79 points.
Devils 1 Maple Leafs 2 (SO)
Toronto's win gives them their 5th in the last 6 games, as Phil Kessel scored 1 in regulation and 1 in the shootout for the Leafs to lead them to the victory. Yann Danis got the start in goal for New Jersey, making 24 saves. The Leafs are up to 62 points but remain last in the East, while the Devils have 88 points and drop to 2nd in the Atlantic and 4th in the East.
Sabres 6 Lightning 2
Tampa Bay's loss drives another nail into the coffin for their playoff hopes. The first 3 games of a huge 4-game homestand have been disastrous for the Lightning, going 0-3-0 and scoring only 4 goals in those 3 games. They are now 11th in the East and 6 points out of the playoffs with 12 games to play. Buffalo, meanwhile, remains tops in the Northeast Division and they sit 3rd in the Eastern Conference.
Wild 0 Predators 5
Nashville wins their 4th-straight game over a Wild team that badly needs points. A shutout won't bode well for Minnesota's playoff hopes, as they remain 6 points out in the Western Conference. The Predators, on the the other hand, are now 6 points into a playoff spot, tied in points with the Kings for 6th and 1 point behind the Avalanche for 5th.
Flyers 3 Stars 2
The Stars are another team on the bubble in the Western Conference that sees it about to pop, as Dallas falls to Philadelphia to remain 12th in the West and 7 points out of 8th. Scott Hartnell scored for the Flyers almost 8 minutes into the 3rd period to break a 2-2 tie, as they move to 5th in the East with 79 points.
Sharks 2 Canucks 3
Struggling San Jose falls for the 4th-straight time as they start a 6-game road trip 0-3-0. The battle of division-leaders sees Vancouver handle the Sharks for only the 2nd time in their last 10 tries. The Canucks sit 3rd in the West with 91 points while the Sharks are in 2nd, tied with Chicago in points for 1st, with 96 points. San Jose's losses and Phoenix' wins have the Sharks trying to hang on to their Pacific Division lead.
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Friday's Schedule (ET):
Wild @ Blue Jackets, 7:00
Sharks @ Flames, 9:00
Red Wings @ Oilers, 9:30
Islanders @ Ducks, 10:00, KDOC
It's like USAToday......all my news in concise, easy to read paragraphs. Thanks!
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