Lucky No. 7 for PHX; ATL, STL Stay Alive

The Capitals and Kings fall, the Rangers can't capitalize, the Thrashers stay alive, and the Wild and the Stars drop tough ones. A close call for the Blues/Rangers game, but a different inter-conference matchup surprises us for Thursday's Game of the Night:

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 0

Chicago 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

A Devil of a Day

St Patrick's Day had three games on tap, and the Game of the Night goes to the battle for the Atlantic Division:

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Pittsburgh hadn't been able to solve New Jersey in the teams' first 5 meetings of the year, and while the jerseys might have been different, the results were not.

The Devil's wore their red, white, and green retro jerseys, similar to the ones they wore during their first decade of existence after coming to New Jersey in 1982, for the first and last time this season. It didn't distract them from sweeping the season series from the Penguins, 6-0, in front of a packed house in Newark.

Pittsburgh jumped out to a 1-0 lead early in the 1st period, but it was all New Jersey after that. Turnover after turnover from the Penguins helped the Devils score 4 straight goals and take a 4-1 lead into the 3rd period.

Dainius Zubrus, Paul Martin, Patrik Elias, Zach Parise, and Rob Niedermayer each scored for New Jersey while Martin Brodeur made 24 saves. Martin's goal was his 1st of the year after missing 59 games due to injury. Chris Kunitz and Ruslan Fedotenko tallied for the Penguins.

The Devils outscored Pittsburgh by a total of 22-5 in the 6-game sweep of the season series.

The win gives New Jersey 87 points, tying them with the Penguins in points, but giving them 1st place in the division because they have 1 more win. The Devils have also played 1 fewer game. This jumps New Jersey to 2nd in the Eastern Conference and brings Pittsburgh down to 4th.

The Devils travel to Toronto Thursday to play the Leafs, while Pittsburgh is in Boston to face off against the Bruins. The Pittsburgh/Boston game Thursday is one to keep an eye on. After Penguins' Matt Cooke blindsided Bruins' Marc Savard almost 2 weeks ago, leaving him with a concussion and ending the star player's season, the expectations are pretty high that things could get a bit chippy, to say the least. That game can be seen locally, as usual, and also on the NHL Network.

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Flames 3 Avalanche 2

A great opportunity for Calgary to catch 8th-place Detroit came 2 days ago when they played Detroit, but turning it around and winning the next game in Colorado will do. The Flames had a 3-0 lead in this game and held off the Avalanche to give them 79 points on the season and move them to within 1 point of the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. This was Calgary's first win this season over Northwest Division-rival Colorado in their 5th try. The Avalanche stay at 86 points and 5th place in the West, 5 points behind Phoenix and 1 point ahead of Los Angeles.

Blackhawks 2 Ducks 4

Anaheim needs every point they can get if they look to make the same type of run they did last year, finishing the year 10-2-1 and sneaking into the final playoff spot, and a win against 2nd-place Chicago will help. But even a run like that might not work for the Ducks as they currently sit 13th in the West with 72 points and are 8 points out of a playoff spot. They have 13 games remaining. Some of the Blackhawks, particularly Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, had spent the last couple days in Southern California making appearances on SportsCenter and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Chicago has now lost 3 in-a-row and travel up I-5 on Thursday to face the Kings in L.A.

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Thursday's Schedule (ET):

Penguins @ Bruins, 7:00, NHL Network

Blues @ Rangers, 7:00

Capitals @ Hurricanes, 7:00, CSN

Senators @ Thrashers, 7:00

Devils @ Maple Leafs, 7:30

Sabres @ Lightning, 7:30

Coyotes @ Panthers, 7:30

Wild @ Predators, 8:00

Flyers @ Stars, 8:30

Sharks @ Canucks, 10:00

Blackhawks @ Kings, 10:30, FS West

Caps Roll; Preds Gain

Lots of headlines from Tuesday's 11 games, including the Capitals rolling without Ovechkin, the Canadiens and Coyotes winning again, and the Stars derailing the Sharks. But tonight's GON goes to an inter-conference matchup:

3 4 (SO)

Both teams entered Tuesday in 7th place in their respective conferences and at the end of the day, both teams are 6 points in a playoff spot. Philadelphia earned their 1 point coming back from a 3-1 3rd period deficit.

Jeff Carter opened the scoring for the Flyers less than a minute-and-a-half in to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead. Steve Sullivan, Martin Erat, and Jerred Smithson each had a goal for Nashville in the 1st period to give the Predators a 3-1 lead after the 1st, taking that lead all the way into the 3rd.

The Flyers trailed 3-1 more than halfway through the 3rd period when Simon Gagne scored to make it 3-2. About 3 minutes later, Chris Pronger tallied on the power play to tie the game at 3.

After a scoreless overtime, Martin Erat scored the only goal in the shootout and Nashville's goalie Pekka Rinne stopped all 3 Flyers' shooters. Rinne ended the game with 42 saves, earning first-star honors.

The Predators have won 3-straight and are within 2 points of 6th-place Los Angeles in the West. The Flyers are within 1 point of 6th-place Montreal in the East.

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7 3

No Ovie, no problem--again--for Washington. Brooks Laich scored twice while Nicklas Backstrom, Eric Fehr, Brendan Morrison, Jason Chimera, and Alexander Semin each scored for the Capitals. Laich and Morrison each added 2 assists to finish with 3 points.

Steven Reinprecht, Kamil Kreps, and Michal Repik tallied for Florida. Panthers' starting goalie Tomas Vokoun, arguably the team's MVP this season, was pulled after allowing 5 goals on 21 shots. Jose Theodore stopped 24 shots for Washington.

The Capitals are now 7-2 this season without Ovechkin, averaging over 4 goals a game in those 9. They will be without him against the Hurricanes in Raleigh on Thursday while he serves the final game of his 2-game suspension.

The Capitals are up to 103 points and have a 7-point edge over the Sharks for the President's Trophy. Florida is 8 points out of a playoff spot.

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Bruins 5 Hurricanes 2

Boston's big win has them sitting in the 8th and final playoff spot in the East with 74 points and 3 points up on the 9th-place Rangers with a game-in-hand on New York. Carolina has 64 points and sits 14th in the East.

Sabres 3 Thrashers 4

Atlanta keeps their playoff hopes alive with a big win over Northeast Division-leading Buffalo. Jim Slater broke a 3-3 tie for the Thrashers with under 7 minutes left in the 3rd period. They sit 10th in the East and are 5 points out of 8th. Buffalo holds a 3-point lead over Ottawa for 1st in the Northeast and they sit 3rd in the Conference.

Canadiens 3 Rangers 1

New York fails to stay within 1 point of a playoff spot and now sits in 9th and 3 points out in the East. Montreal's 6th-straight win has them at 78 points and 6th place in the East.

Maple Leafs 4 Senators 1

Last-place Toronto hits the 60-point mark in their 70th game of the season. Ottawa's loss has them 3 points behind Buffalo for the Northeast lead and they sit 5th in the East with 79 points.

Coyotes 2 Lightning 1

Phoenix wins their 6th-straight and they now have 91 points and are sitting pretty in 4th place in the West. Their win coupled with a Sharks' loss has Phoenix within 5 points of Pacific Division and Western Conference-leading San Jose. Tampa Bay has lost 2-straight 2-1 games at home and they are now 6 points out of the final playoff spot in the East.

Avalanche 5 Blues 3

Colorado is up to 86 points and they pass the idle Kings for 5th in the Western Conference. St Louis is 7 points out of 8th in the West with only 13 games to go as it doesn't look like they will have a run like they did last season to make the playoffs.

Oilers 2 Wild 4

Minnesota keeps their slight playoff hopes alive with a win over last-place Edmonton. The Wild are 10th in the West with 74 points and are 6 points behind 8th-place Detroit. Edmonton has lost 3-straight overall and 6-straight on the road and remain at 49 points.

Sharks 2 Stars 8

In a game that seems like it was all Dallas, one of the biggest stories was Stars' goaltending. Kari Lehtonen, who was traded to Dallas from Atlanta earlier in the season, stopped 45 shots and earned first-star honors. Mike Ribeiro and Brendan Morrow each had 2 goals and 2 assists for the Stars. San Jose remains at 96 points and 1st in the West, but their Conference lead and even their Division lead could be in question. Dallas is 7 points out of a playoff spot.

Islanders 5 Canucks 2

New York's surprising outburst over Northwest Division-leading Vancouver gives them their 3rd-straight win. John Tavares, the first pick in last year's draft, tallied a point on every Islander goal. He ended the game with 2 goals and 3 assists. The Canucks scored their only 2 goals in the 2nd period when they outshot New York 19-4, but the Islanders also put up 2 goals on their 4 shots. Roberto Luongo stopped 8 of the Islanders 12 shots in the first 2 periods for Vancouver, and was replaced for the 3rd period. The Canucks remain in 3rd place in the West while the Islanders are 7 points out of the playoffs in the East.

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Wednesday's Schedule (ET):

Penguins @ Devils, 7:00

Flames @ Avalanche, 9:00

Blackhawks @ Ducks, 10:00, NHL Network, FS West