Sunday, March 21, 2010

Take Two: Thrash, Yotes Win--Again

For the second-straight night, the Thrashers and Coyotes extend their winning streaks--Atlanta to 4 and Phoenix to 9. The Thrashers remain 1 point out of the playoffs, and the Coyotes...well, let's just say they're pretty comfortable. Phoenix gives us our Game of the Night for their 3rd-straight game:

3 2 (SO)

The Phoenix Coyotes did it again. And so did Adrian Aucoin. Aucoin scored the winner in the shootout after Radim Vrbata scored to extend it, making him 5-for-5 on the season in shootout attempts with all of them being game-winners.

The 2 Coyotes goals were scored on power-plays, and Phoenix actually had a 2-0 lead in the game. Petr Prucha started the scoring for the Coyotes with less than 1 second to go in the 1st period. Radim Vrbata put the Coyotes ahead 2-0 early in the 2nd, just to see Jamie Benn score for Dallas about a minute later to cut the lead in half.

Loui Eriksson tied it at 2 for the Stars 7 minutes into the 3rd period. Phoenix outshot Dallas 6-0 in overtime, but the game would go to a shootout. Brad Richards scored for Dallas on the first shot of the shootout, and Radim Vrbata kept it alive for Phoenix in the 3rd round. Next round, Adrian Aucoin put it home.

Jason LaBarbera got the win for the Coyotes, making 30 saves. Marty Turco made 33 saves for the Stars.

The Coyotes 9th-straight win ties a Winnipeg Jets-Phoenix Coyotes franchise record, but more importantly, their win and San Jose's loss gives them sole possession of the Pacific Division lead.

They have 97 points and are tied in points with Chicago for the lead in the Western Conference, but sit in 2nd because they have played 2 more games than the Blackhawks. Dallas has 76 points and sits 13th in the West.

The Coyotes will go for 10-straight on Tuesday when they face off against those Blackhawks in Chicago.

----------

Rangers 1 Bruins 2

NBC's Game of the Week featured a battle for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New York began the day in 10th, 3 points behind Boston for 8th. At the end of the day, they now sit 5 points back of the Bruins. The Rangers have 71 points and are 4 points behind the 9th-place Thrashers. The Bruins are 3 points behind 7th-place Montreal.

Flames 3 Wild 4

Calgary had a chance to tie the Red Wings for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West coming into the night, but they couldn't handle the Wild. They remain at 81 points and 2 back of Detroit. Minnesota sits 12th in the West with 76 points, 7 points back.

Sabres 5 Hurricanes 3

Buffalo moves up to 88 points and takes a 9-point lead over Ottawa in the Northeast Division. They stay 3rd in the East. Carolina remains 12th in the East with 68 points and are now 8 points back of 8th.

Lightning 2 Panthers 5

Florida hands Tampa Bay their 5th-straight loss and jumps to 11th in the East, but are 7 points back of 8th-place Boston. The Lightning have scored 7 goals in their last 5 games and are now 14th-place in the East with 68 points and only 28 wins.

Predators 3 Blues 2

Nashville moves back to 5th in the Western Conference with a win over the Blues, who had a chance to move within 4 points of a playoff spot in the West. The Predators have 89 points, 2 points ahead of 6th-place L.A., but they have played 3 more games than the Kings. St Louis has 77 points and sits 10th in the West, 6 points back.

Thrashers 3 Flyers 1

Atlanta wins their 4th-straight game to remain in 9th in the East and 1 point back of Boston for 8th. It was a sweep for the Thrashers in a home-and-home between these two teams Saturday and Sunday. Ondrej Pavelec made 44 saves for Atlanta. They are now up to 75 points, and have taken a 4-point lead over the 10th-place Rangers. Philadelphia has 79 points and is tied in points with Ottawa and Montreal for 5th in the East.

Sharks 1 Oilers 5

After going 0-8-2 in his first 10 decisions of his career, Edmonton's goalie Devan Dubnyk has won 2-straight games, and lost the shutout with only 3:02 left in regulation. The Oilers, though, remain last in the league with 53 points. Most importantly, the struggling Sharks have now lost 5-straight games, and have not only lost their Western Conference lead, but their Pacific Division lead as well. They have 96 points and are 1 point behind Phoenix for 1st in the Pacific Division with a game-in-hand, and are 1 point behind both those Coyotes and the Blackhawks for the Western Conference lead. The Sharks are sitting 4th in the West for the first time in a long time.

Avalanche 2 Ducks 5

Anaheim wins their 4th-straight and moves to 11th in the West with the win, upping their total to 76 points and sitting 7 points back of 8th. Teemu Selanne scored his 600th goal of his career for the Ducks on the power-play 34 seconds into the 2nd period. The assists went to Scott Neidermayer and Corey Perry. Colorado stays with 86 points, 7th in the West, 1 point back of 6th-place Los Angeles, and 5 points in front of the 9th-place Flames.

----------

Monday's Schedule:

Penguins @ Red Wings, 7:00, Versus
Senators @ Canadiens, 7:30
Avalanche @ Kings, 10:30, FS West