A Day in the NHL: Wednesday April 6
By Editorial Staff
Last night’s action did a whole lot to settle the playoff picture in both conferences, but there’s still a lot to go. Tonight’s eight games will certainly help solve some things as well.
The Night that Was:
The Buffalo Sabres eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, thanks in large part to Thomas Vanek and his hat-trick, pacing their 4-2 over Tampa Bay. The three goals gave Vanek 31 for the season and Jhonas Enroth made 23 saves for his third win since Ryan Miller went down with injury. The Sabres also got a goal and two assists out of Tim Connolly. Vincent Lecavalier played despite taking a high-stick near his eye over the weekend and scored a goal while Ryan Malone got the other one. Buffalo stayed one point out of sixth with the win, while Tampa is three points behind Pittsburgh for fourth.
Toronto didn’t know about their broken playoff dreams until the beginning of overtime with the Washington Capitals, and it didn’t truly set in until Mike Knuble scored the shootout winner in the fourth round to give Washington a 3-2 win and the Eastern Conference lead. Nikolai Kulemin and Alex Ovechkin scored in the first period, and while Kulemin’s marked his first 30-goal season, Ovechkin’s was his 300th career goal. Joffrey Lupul and John Erskine would score in the second period, as the Caps wouldn’t let James Reimer rest all night, forcing the rookie to stop 39 shots.
In a rare matchup, the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Chicago Blackhawks in an always-exciting Original Six matchup. Mike Cammalleri and Patrick Kane both scored in the second period. The third period went scoreless between the two, and just 37 seconds in to OT, Jonathan Toews took a tripping penalty and PK Subban scored his 14th to give the Habs the 2-1 win. Carey Price stood tall between the pipes making 42 saves while Corey Crawford made a slew of highlight reel saves amongst his 33 stops. The Habs are fending off Buffalo for sixth right now, while Chicago moved two points up on Dallas and Calgary by two points.
Well…Devan Dubnyk certainly has the Canucks’ number. After stunting Vancouver’s offense a week ago, Dubnyk earned his second career shutout by making 26 saves last night and winning 2-0. Ryan Jones and Magnus Paajarvi had the goals for the Oilers as they handed the Canucks back to back losses for the first time since January. Edmonton has also won two in a row, but still sit last in the league, five points back of their closest competition.
Quick Hits:
–Pascal Dupuis had a two-goal night as the Penguins doubled up the Devils 4-2. Jordan Staal added a goal and an assist.
–Two goals from Mike Richards wasn’t enough as the Sens got goals out of five different players and four points out of Jason Spezza. Sens 5, Flyers 2.
–Andy McDonald had a three-point night and Kevin Shattenkirk had a goal and an assist as St. Louis beat Colorado 3-1.
–Jordin Tootoo and Sergei Kostitsyn had two goals each for the Preds while Blake Wheeler had two for the Thrashers. Nashville wins, 6-3.
–Kari Lehtonen made 23 saves for the shutout, but the 3-0 win was padded by two empty-net goals that included Brenden Morrow’s 30th.
What’s on Tonight?
The New York Islanders head to Boston to take on the Bruins, Toronto and New Jersey gear up for games on back-to-back nights, while Florida heads to Washington. Detroit and Carolina go head-to-head, St. Louis visits Chicago, and the Battle of Alberta goes on in Calgary. San Jose and Anaheim and Phoenix and L.A. meet up in two late-night divisional games.
The Injury Bug:
–The Montreal Canadiens are expecting Jaro Spacek to return to the lineup Thursday.
–The Canucks might be getting some of their defensive depth back now that Alex Edler is getting closer to a return to the lineup. Edler is expected to play Thursday.
Rumours and News Around the League:
-The Flyers have placed Michael Leighton on re-entry waivers. Leighton was thriving in the AHL, sitting at the top in goals-against average and save percentage.
The Overlooked Fantasy Line of the Night:
With two impressive goaltending performances, Jason Spezza’s four-point night got no love. Three of Spezza’s points (one goal and two assists) came on the power play as he wound up with seven shots and a plus-two rating. He also went 15/30 on faceoffs.
You can e-mail Bryan at bryanthiel74@hotmail.com. You can also follow Bryan on Twitter at BryanThiel_88.