No Miracle This Time for Phoenix

On a 10-game Tuesday night, the Phoenix Coyotes were looking to win their 10th-straight and move into 1st-place in the Western Conference. The only problem is they would have to skate through the team they were tied with for 1st, the Chicago Blackhawks. The Coyotes give us our Game of the Night for their 4th-straight game:

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Great defense, just enough offense, and a fantastic outing by goaltender Antti Niemi showed why the Chicago Blackhawks could be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs--not that their 2nd-best record in the league needs any more proving to do.

The win puts the Blackhawks back atop the Western Conference with 99 points, 1 point ahead of the now-2nd-place San Jose Sharks.

Patrick Kane scored his 28th goal of the year 1:45 into the 2nd period to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. 5-and-a-half minutes later, Marian Hossa made it 2-0 for the Blackhawks. That was all they would need.

Antti Niemi made 28 saves en route to his 6th shutout of the season. Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 30 shots for Phoenix.

The Coyotes did have their chances, including numerous scrums in front of the net and even hitting a couple of posts, but the bounces wouldn't fall for Phoenix tonight, ending their 9-game winning streak--tied for the 3rd-longest winning streak this season.

The Phoenix loss, coupled with the San Jose win over Minnesota, moves the Coyotes back to 2nd in the Pacific Division and 4th in the Western Conference with 97 points. San Jose is up to 98 and they have a game-in-hand on the Coyotes.

But it's only time until the Coyotes clinch their 1st playoff spot since the 2001-02 season, bringing the white-out back to Phoenix.

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Panthers 4 Maple Leafs 1

Florida's win moves them up to 11th in the East with 71 points and ties them with the Rangers in points for 10th. They are 7 points out of a playoff spot with only 10 games remaining. Scott Clemmensen made 42 saves for the Panthers and came within 3 minutes of his first shutout of the season. Toronto remains last in the East with 64 points.

Blue Jackets 3 Devils 6

New Jersey explodes for 6 goals, including 1 from Ilya Kovalchuk and 2 each from Zach Parise and Travis Zajac, after scoring a total of 1 in their previous 2 games. Martin Brodeur records his league-leading 40th win for the Devils. The win puts them atop the Atlantic Division, tied with the Penguins in points, with 90, but they have 1 game-in-hand on Pittsburgh. Columbus remains 14th in the Western Conference with 70 points.

Bruins 4 Thrashers 0

Coming into the night, Boston held the 8th and final playoff spot in the East, with 76 points, and Atlanta was 1 point behind them. The Bruins now have a 3-point lead over the Thrashers after a 27-save shutout from Tuukka Rask. Atlanta could never get anything going as they saw their 4-game winning streak come to an end. Boston has won 2-straight, and both were over the 2 teams chasing them for 8th--the Rangers on Sunday and Atlanta tonight. Their lead over the 10th-place Rangers is now 7 points.

Flyers 0 Senators 2

Ottawa wins their 2nd-straight and Philadelphia loses their 3rd-straight after a 26-save shutout from Brian Elliott, his 2nd shutout in as many nights. Before their game on Monday, the Senators had lost 5 in-a-row and were tied in points with both Montreal and Philadelphia for 5th in the East. No problems here, though, as they down both teams in consecutive nights and don't allow a goal. Ottawa now has 83 points and sits 5th in the East, while the Flyers remain with 79 points and are still tied with the Canadiens for 6th. They are only 1 point ahead of the 8th-place Bruins, but 4 points up on the 9th-place Thrashers.

Hurricanes 2 Lightning 3 (OT)

Martin St Louis scored twice for Tampa Bay, including the overtime winner only 29 seconds into the extra session to break their 5-game losing streak. They are 12th in the East with 70 points and are 8 points out of a playoff spot, while Carolina's point moves them up to 69, 9 points out.

Stars 3 Predators 1

Dallas scored 2 goals 30 seconds apart in the first 2 minutes of the 3rd period, and they keep their very slim playoff hopes alive despite being outshot 35-14. The Stars have 78 points, sit 10th in the West, and are 7 points behind 8th-place Detroit with only 9 games remaining. Nashville remains in 6th in the West with 89 points, tied with the Kings in points for 5th, but they have played 3 more games than L.A.

Sharks 4 Wild 1

San Jose moves back into 1st-place in the Pacific Division with their 1st win in 6 games, 1 point ahead of the Coyotes. They have 98 points and move back into 2nd in the West, 1 point behind Chicago for the lead. Minnesota has all but been eliminated, as they are 13th in the West with 76 points and are 9 points out with only 9 games left.

Ducks 1 Flames 3

Anaheim loses their 1st game in 5, badly hurting what were their slim playoff chances. The Ducks are 9 points back with 10 games remaining. Calgary, on the other hand, gets a huge win, moving back to within 2 points of the Red Wings for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West. They have 83 points with 9 games left, while Detroit has 10 games left.

Canucks 2 Oilers 3

The Edmonton Oilers have the worst record in the league, are 9 points behind the 29th-place team, and remain the only team to have officially been eliminated from the playoffs. But the Oilers--or, SpOilers. . . . .are not playing by the numbers. Their current home-stand saw the Red Wings, Sharks, Canucks, and Ducks on the schedule. Well, they're 3-for-3 so far, beating 3 of the 8 current playoff teams in the West who happen to be 3 of the best teams in the NHL. Edmonton now has 55 points, while Vancouver remains 2nd in the West with 92 points, and tops in the Northwest Division, 5 points up on the Avalanche.

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Wednesday's Schedule:

Islanders @ Rangers, 7:00, MSG 3D (first ever live 3D sports event in the U.S.)

Penguins @ Capitals, 7:00, CSN, NHL Network (during free preview of NHLN for U.S.)

Canadiens @ Sabres, 7:30

Blues @ Red Wings, 7:30

Kings @ Avalanche, 9:00, FS West

Ducks @ Canucks, 10:00, Prime Ticket

Playoff Positions on the Line

Monday's schedule included a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Finals, a fight for 5th in the East between Ottawa and Montreal, and a fight for 6th in the West between Colorado and Los Angeles. The Western Conference playoff battle is our Game of the Night:

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The Kings have lost some ground in the Western Conference standings in the last couple of weeks, but they looked to move back into the 5th spot with a win on Monday in the first half of a home-and-home series against Colorado.

Chris Stewart started the scoring for the Avalanche just over 7 minutes into the 1st period, when his pass across ice deflected off the stick of Kings' Freddy Modin. Almost 3 minutes later, Ryan Smyth capitalized for the Kings on the power-play to make it 1-1, just moments after T.J. Galiardi missed a wide-open net after a turnover from Kings' goalie Jonathan Quick.

Wayne Simmonds got the only goal of the 2nd period to give the Kings a 2-1 lead.

Ryan Smyth scored his 2nd goal of the game in the 3rd period, giving the Kings a 3-2 lead, sandwiched in between 2 Avalanche goals. Peter Mueller tied the game at 2 for Colorado, and then T.J. Galiardi made up for his missed shot back in the 1st with a game-tying goal with only 7 seconds left in regulation.

But in overtime, Drew Doughty scored the game-winning goal on a power-play 3:40 into the extra session to give the Kings a 4-3 win. Doughty, the young Norris Trophy candidate, stepped into a slap shot and absolutely ripped it through the screen of Ryan Smyth and past goaltender Craig Anderson.

The Kings are now 28-0-0 when leading after 2 periods.

Anderson ended the game with 19 saves. Jonathan Quick made 23 saves and picked up his 39th win of the season for L.A.

The Kings move up to 89 points, tying them in points with Nashville for 5th in the West, but they hold the spot on their own because of their 2 games-in-hand on the Predators. The Avalanche do pick up a huge point as they sit 7th in the West with 87 points and are 2 points up on 8th-place Detroit, and 6 points ahead of the 9th-place Flames.

These two teams face each other again on Wednesday in Denver.

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Penguins 1 Red Wings 3

This was the 2nd and last meeting of the year between the two teams that faced each other in the Stanley Cup Final in each of the previous 2 seasons. Pittsburgh won 2-1 in a shootout at the Igloo on January 31st. But the last time the Penguins were in Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, they were hoisting the Stanley Cup. Detroit out-dueled the Penguins in this rematch, led by 2 goals from Henrik Zetterburg, to pick up 2 huge points and move even farther into a playoff spot in the West. The win gives the Red Wings 85 points on the year, and although they remain in the 8th and final playoff spot in the West, they move 4 points ahead of 9th-place Calgary. Both Calgary and Detroit have 10 games remaining. The Penguins remain at 90 points, still 2 points up on the Devils for the Atlantic Division lead, but they have played 2 more games than New Jersey.

Senators 2 Canadiens 0

Coming into the night, Ottawa was on a 5-game losing streak, Montreal had gotten points in 7-straight games, and both teams were tied in points for 5th in the Eastern Conference. What a good time for the Senators to snap both streaks, especially in shutout-form when their goaltending recently has been suspect, to put it lightly. 29 saves from Brian Elliott and goals from Peter Regin and Erik Karlsson help lead the Senators to 5th-place in the East all by themselves with 81 points. The Canadiens remain tied with Philadelphia for 6th, but sit in 7th because they have played 1 more game than the Flyers. They are 3 points ahead of 8th-place Boston and 4 points up on 9th-place Atlanta.

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Tuesday's Schedule:

Panthers @ Maple Leafs, 7:00

Blue Jackets @ Devils, 7:00

Bruins @ Thrashers, 7:00

Flyers @ Senators, 7:30

Hurricanes @ Lightning, 7:30

Stars @ Predators, 8:00

Sharks @ Wild, 8:00, Versus

Coyotes @ Blackhawks, 8:30

Ducks @ Flames, 9:00, FS West

Canucks @ Oilers, 9:00

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:

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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.

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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.

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Monday's Schedule:

Penguins @ Red Wings, 7:00, Versus

Senators @ Canadiens, 7:30

Avalanche @ Kings, 10:30, FS West