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TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS 4 @ BOSTON BRUINS 3 (SO)
Goaltending match-up: James Reimer (35/38, .921 SV%) vs. Tim Thomas (28/31, .903 SV%)
Combos: Clarke MacArthur - Mikhail Grabovski - Nikolai Kulemin/ Joffrey Lupul - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel/ Nazem Kadri - Darryl Boyce - Joey Crabb/ Jay Rosehill - Tim Brent - Mike Brown/ Keith Aulie - Dion Phaneuf/ Carl Gunnarsson - Luke Schenn/ Matt Lashoff - Mike Komisarek
Scratches: Armstrong, Sjostrom, Lebda, Gustavsson
Top PP times: Phaneuf (6:14), Kessel (5:12), Lupul (5:12), Gunnarsson (5:00), Bozak (3:20)
Trending: Phil Kessel (2A, +1, 4 PIM, 3 SOG) came into this one needing a two-pointer against his former team to match his career best of 60 points, also with the Bruins. Joffrey Lupul (2G, 1A, +1, 2 PIM, 2 SOG) has points in four of five now, while Tyler Bozak (1A, +1, 1 SOG) has them in six of 10. Shootout: Kadri
Combos: Milan Lucic - David Krejci - Nathan Horton/ Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Mark Recchi/ Rich Peverley - Chris Kelly - Tyler Seguin/ Daniel Paille - Gregory Campbell - Michael Ryder/ Zdeno Chara - Steve Kampfer/ Tomas Kaberle - Dennis Seidenberg/ Andrew Ference - Adam McQuaid
Scratches: Thornton, Boychuk
Top PP times: Kaberle (5:51), Recchi (5:19), Chara (4:48), Seguin (4:16), Bergeron (4:20)
Trending: David Krejci (1G, +1, 3:36 PP, 3 SOG) had 19 points in 23 GP vs. TOR before tonight. Milan Lucic (1A, +1, 5 PIM, 2:41 PP, 4 SOG) entered tonight having never scored a goal against the Leafs in 21 tries, with 0-9-9 in that period. Brad Marchand (1G, 1A, 4:03 PP, 1 SOG) has points in four of five and he reached the 40-point level for the season in this one.
NEW YORK RANGERS 2 @ NEW YORK ISLANDERS 6
Goaltending match-up: Henrik Lundqvist (18/22, .818 SV%) & Chad Johnson (9/11, .818 SV%) vs. Al Montoya (25/27, .926 SV%)
Combos: Brandon Dubinsky - Artem Anisimov - Ryan Callahan/ Vinny Prospal - Derek Stepan - Marian Gaborik/ Sean Avery - Brian Boyle - Brandon Prust/ Ruslan Fedotenko - Erik Christensen - Mats Zuccarello/ Marc Staal - Dan Girardi/ Ryan McDonagh - Mike Sauer/ Bryan McCabe - Steve Eminger
Scratches: Wolski, Gilroy, Talbot, Biron
Top PP times: Stepan (8:53), Callahan (8:33), Staal (6:52), McCabe (6:16), Dubinsky (6:09)
Trending: Vinny Prospal (1G, +1, 3 SOG) already had 11 points in 13 March GP coming in here. Marian Gaborik (1A, +1, 14 PIM, 2 SOG) had no points in four coming in here, but had a two-goal effort against these same Isles the last time he played them.
Combos: Matt Moulson - John Tavares - P.A. Parenteau/ Jesse Joensuu - Josh Bailey - Blake Comeau/ Matt Martin - Frans Nielsen - Kyle Okposo/ Trevor Gillies - Michael Haley - Zenon Konopka/ Jack Hillen - Radek Martinek/ Ty Wishart - Travis Hamonic/ Mark Katic - Dylan Reese
Scratches: Gervais, Jurcina, Grabner, MacDonald
Top PP times: Okposo (2:52), Parenteau (2:04), Katic (1:57), Tavares (1:55), Moulson (1:42)
Trending: Blake Comeau (1G, +3, 2 PIM, 1:52 PP, 1 SOG) has points in two of three after five without one. John Tavares (2A, +4, 2 PIM, 5 SOG) added this bottom line to the 4-5-9 in 14 March GP he had coming in. P.A. Parenteau (1G, 1A, +4, 2 PIM, 2 SOG) had 11 points in that same span. Travis Hamonic (1A, +4, 1:33 PP, 3 SOG) has added points in three of seven. Josh Bailey (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 1:15 PP, 2 SOG) has points in three of five after five with nothing. Jack Hillen (1A, +2, 7 PIM, 1:11 PP, 2 SOG) has points in six of 10 on D. Matt Moulson (1G, 1A, +3, 6 SOG) put the brakes on a six-game slide and needed two points here to reach 50 overall.
ATLANTA THRASHERS 1 @ PHILADELPHIA FLYERS 0
Goaltending match-up: Chris Mason (43/43) vs. Sergei Bobrovsky (21/22, .955 SV%)
Combos: Andrew Ladd - Bryan Little - Blake Wheeler/ Nik Antropov - Rob Schremp - Evander Kane/ Chris Thorburn - Alex Burmistrov - Eric Boulton/ Anthony Stewart - Tim Stapleton - Ben Maxwell/ Zach Bogosian - Tobias Enstrom/ Ron Hainsey - Dustin Byfuglien/ Mark Stuart - Johnny Oduya
Scratches: Dvorak, Cormier
Top PP times: Byfuglien (8:22), Enstrom (8:17), Ladd (7:41), Antropov (7:11), Little (7:09)
Trending: Nik Antropov (1G, +1, 2 SOG) scored the game’s first goal midway through the third - which stood up as the GWG - and he also scored the last time he faced the Flyers earlier in the month. He has points in three straight. Evander Kane (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 3:23 PP, 1 SOG) stopped a five-game pointless skid here.
Combos: Scott Hartnell - Danny Briere - Ville Leino/ Andreas Nodl - Claude Giroux - Jeff Carter/ James van Riemsdyk - Mike Richards - Kris Versteeg/ Dan Carcillo - Blair Betts - Darroll Powe/ Kimmo Timonen - Braydon Coburn/ Matt Carle - Andrej Meszaros/ Sean O'Donnell - Nick Boynton
Scratches: Pronger, Shelley, Zherdev
Top PP times: Giroux (5:47), Briere (5:43), Carter (5:36), JVR (3:55), Timonen (3:53)
Trending:
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS 3 @ WASHINGTON CAPITALS 4 (OT)
Goaltending match-up: Steve Mason (29/33, .879 SV%) vs. Michal Neuvirth (20/23, .870 SV%)
Combos: R.J. Umberger - Derick Brassard - Jakub Voracek/ Matt Calvert - Antoine Vermette - Tomas Kubalik/ Scottie Upshall - Samuel Pahlsson - Derek Dorsett/ Maksim Mayorov - Derek MacKenzie - Jared Boll/ Anton Stralman - Jan Hejda/ Marc Methot - Fedor Tyutin/ Sami Lepisto - Kris Russell
Scratches: Clitsome, Murray, Moreau, Rivet, Nash, Clark
Top PP times: Umberger (1:54), Tyutin (1:37), Stralman (1:24), Voracek (1:23), Vermette (1:18)
Trending: This was the NHL debut for Tomas Kubalik (2A, 0:47 PP, 1 SOG), who has 22-28-50 with 43 PIM in 73 AHL games. Antoine Vermette (1G, 2 SOG) has points in three in a row and had eight points in 15 GP in March coming in. Matt Calvert (2A, +1, 0:57 PP, 1 SOG) only had three points on the month coming in here, whereas he wrapped up February with 7-2-9 in 6 GP. Fedor Tyutin (1G, 1 SOG) had nothing in nine coming in. Scottie Upshall (1G, -1, 2 PIM, 0:31 PP, 4 SOG) had 5-1-6 in 15 GP with CBJ coming in.
Combos: Alex Ovechkin - Nicklas Backstrom - Mike Knuble/ Marco Sturm - Jason Arnott - Alexander Semin/ Brooks Laich - Marcus Johansson - Jason Chimera/ Matt Hendricks - Boyd Gordon - Matt Bradley/ Karl Alzner - John Carlson/ Jeff Schultz - Scott Hannan/ John Erskine - Tyler Sloan
Scratches: Wideman, Fehr, King, Beagle
Top PP times: Carlson, Semin, Laich, Arnott, Sturm (0:41)
Trending: This was the second game back for Alex Ovechkin (1A, +1, no PP, 5 SOG) and first time in the scoring summary. Nicklas Backstrom (1A, +1, no PP< 2 SOG) hit the 60 point plateau for the season midway through the second period and Mike Knuble (1G, +1, no PP, 2 SOG) stopped a brief three-game pointless slide here. Brooks Laich (2A, +1, 2 SOG) had eight points and 39 SOG in 14 March GP coming in. Marco Sturm (1A, 2 PIM, 1 SOG) had a couple of points the last time he faced the Jackets. John Carlson (1G, 1A, 4 SOG), who has more and more offensive responsibility with this team, had eight points and a +7 rating in 14 GP coming in here. Jason Arnott (1G, 3 SOG) had 2-3-5 in 8 GP with WAS before this one began.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 1 @ TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 2
Goaltending match-up: Marc-Andre Fleury (22/24, .917 SV%) vs. Dwayne Roloson (36/37, .973 SV%)
Combos: James Neal - Mark Letestu - Alex Kovalev/ Chris Kunitz - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy/ Pascal Dupuis - Max Talbot - Chris Conner/ Mike Comrie - Mike Rupp - Craig Adams/ Zbynek Michalek - Paul Martin/ Brooks Orpik - Kris Letang/ Matt Niskanen - Ben Lovejoy
Scratches: Engelland, Jeffrey, Cooke, Tangradi, Godard, Asham
Top PP times: Letang (6:48), Martin (6:36), Neal (4:48), Kovalev (4:38), Staal (3:48), Kunitz (3:48)
Trending: Alex Kovalev (1A, +1, 2 PIM, no SOG) has a point in three straight now.
Combos: Simon Gagne - Steven Stamkos - Steve Downie/ Martin St. Louis - Vincent Lecavalier - Teddy Purcell/ Ryan Malone - Nate Thompson - Sean Bergenheim/ Dominic Moore - Adam Hall - Dana Tyrell/ Pavel Kubina - Victor Hedman/ Eric Brewer - Mike Lundin/ Mattias Ohlund - Brett Clark
Scratches: Jones, Smaby, MAB
Top PP times: Stamkos (4:04), St. Louis (4:04), Lecavalier (3:54), Kubina (2:41), Gagne (2:20)
Trending: This was the fourth game back in the line-up for Steve Downie (1G, +1, 4 PIM, 1:48 PP, 3 SOG). He had big PIM contributions coming in, but no points until tonight. Simon Gagne (1A, +1, 1 SOG) has been incredibly hot over the past two weeks, while Martin St. Louis (1G, +1, 4 SOG) and Steven Stamkos (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 1 SOG) keep doing what they do. Vincent Lecavalier (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 1 SOG) has points in six straight and eight of nine. Victor Hedman (1A, +1, 4 PIM, 1:54 PP, no SOG) only had 0-3-3, but with 10 PIM, in 14 March GP coming in.
OTTAWA SENATORS 4 @ FLORIDA PANTHERS 1
Goaltending match-up: Craig Anderson (37/38, .974 SV%) vs. Scott Clemmensen (19/23, .826 SV%)
Combos: Colin Greening - Jason Spezza - Bobby Butler/ Milan Michalek - Ryan Shannon - Erik Condra/ Nick Foligno - Jesse Winchester - Chris Neil/ Marek Svatos - Zack Smith - Francis Lessard/ Filip Kuba - Erik Karlsson/ Chris Phillips - Brian Lee/ David Hale - Patrick Wiercioch
Scratches: Alfredsson, Regin, Carkner, Gonchar
Top PP times: Spezza (2:00), Shannon (1:46), Svatos (1:39), Greening (1:36), Kuba (1:25)
Trending: Erik Karlsson (6:35 TOI) received a cut to his thigh. Check his status if he’s on your roster. Colin Greening (2G, +2, 5 SOG) had 4-4-8 in 15 GP coming in, while Nick Foligno (1G, +1, no PP, 1 SOG) has points in six of nine. Marek Svatos (2A, +2, no SOG) has multi-pointers in two of three. Filip Kuba (1G, +2, 3 SOG) has picked up points in three in a row and he also potted his first goal of the season. Erik Condra (1A, 0:21 PP, 1 SOG) has a point in five of seven. Ryan Shannon (1A, no SOG) had 4-3-7 in 15 GP coming in here.
Combos: Niclas Bergfors - Stephen Weiss - Sergei Samsonov/ David Booth - Mike Santorelli - Evgeny Dadonov/ Patrick Rissmiller - Marty Reasoner - Michal Repik/ Darcy Hordichuk - Ryan Carter - Steve Bernier/ Mike Weaver - Jason Garrison/ Clay Wilson - Joe Callahan/ Keaton Ellerby - Dmitry Kulikov
Scratches: Sulzer, Skille, Matthias, Timmins, Vokoun
Top PP times: Weiss (4:53), Weiss (4:53), Garrison (4:00), Booth (3:59), Santorelli (3:01)
Trending: Michal Repik (1G, 0:20 PP, 2 SOG) scored the lone goal for FLA, which was his fifth point of the month.
EDMONTON OILERS 2 @ MINNESOTA WILD 4
Goaltending match-up: Nikolai Khabibulin (18/22, .818 SV%) vs. Niklas Backstrom (33/35, .943 SV%)
Combos: Liam Reddox - Gilbert Brule - Jordan Eberle/ Magnus Paajarvi - Chris Vande Velde - Ryan Jones/ Teemu Hartikainen - Andrew Cogliano - Linus Omark/ Jean-Francois Jacques - Ryan O'Marra - Steve MacIntyre/ Ladislav Smid - Tom Gilbert/ Jason Strudwick - Theo Peckham/ Jeff Petry - Jim Vandermeer
Scratches: Hall, Horcoff, Fraser, Foster, Hemsky, Gagner
Top PP times: Petry (4:43), Hartikainen (4:36), Eberle (4:34), Paajarvi (4:30), Vandermeer (4:18)
Trending: Linus Omark (1G, -1, 3 SOG) has added points in four of seven and Tom Gilbert (1G, 1A, -1, 3:56 PP, 2 SOG) ended a long stretch of zeroes here. Magnus Paajarvi (1A, -1, 3 SOG) has a point in four of seven.
Combos: Andrew Brunette - Mikko Koivu - Antti Miettinen/ Pierre-Marc Bouchard - Kyle Brodziak - Cal Clutterbuck/ Chuck Kobasew - Matt Cullen - Martin Havlat/ Eric Nystrom - John Madden - Brad Staubitz/ Nick Schultz - Brent Burns/ Greg Zanon - Marek Zidlicky/ Clayton Stoner - Jared Spurgeon
Scratches: Scandella, Barker, Latendresse
Top PP times: Burns (5:19), Brunette (5:02), Koivu (4:32), Cullen (4:14), Miettinen (4:14)
Trending: Antti Miettinen (1G, 6 PIM, 2 SOG) has points in three of six with PIM in three of five. Marek Zidlicky (1G, +1, 3:36 PP, 1 SOG) had just two points on the month coming in and was a “minus” in five straight before tonight began too. Andrew Brunette (1A, no SOG) had seven points in 13 March GP coming in and Pierre-Marc Bouchard (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 3:28 PP, 2 SOG) had a three-pointer against the Oilers the last time they played. He had 34 points in 36 GP against the franchise too, so make a mental note for that last MIN/ EDM game of the season if you need an extra point or two. Brent Burns (1A, +2, 2 PIM, 1 SOG) only had one point in nine outings coming in and Martin Havlat (1G, +1, 4:00 PP, 3 SOG) only had two points in that same span.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS 3 @ COLORADO AVALANCHE 2
Goaltending match-up: Pekka Rinne (26/28, .929 SV%) vs. Brian Elliott (31/34, .912 SV%)
Combos: Martin Erat - David Legwand - Joel Ward/ Sergei Kostitsyn - Mike Fisher - Patric Hornqvist/ Colin Wilson - Blake Geoffrion - J.P. Dumont/ Jerred Smithson - Nick Spaling - Jordin Tootoo/ Ryan Suter - Shea Weber/ Shane O'Brien - Cody Franson/ Jonathon Blum - Kevin Klein
Scratches: Dumont
Top PP times: Suter (2:56), Weber (2:49), Legwand (2:42), Fisher (2:26), Erat (2:11)
Trending: Martin Erat (1G, 1A, +1, 3 SOG) had 13 points in 14 March GP before his third period contribution. Sergei Kostitsyn (1A, -1, 2:04 PP, 1 SOG) stretched his point streak to eight games. Mike Fisher (1A, 4 SOG) has a point in each of his past three. Blake Geoffrion (1A, +1, 0:19 PP, 1 SOG) had been blanked in four games since his hat trick.
Combos: Ryan Stoa - Paul Stastny - Milan Hejduk/ Jay McClement - Matt Duchene - Daniel Winnik/ David Jones - Ryan O'Reilly - Kevin Porter/ Phillip Dupuis - Cody McLeod - Brandon Yip/ John-Michael Liles - Ryan O'Byrne/ Erik Johnson - Matt Hunwick/ Cameron Gaunce - Jonas Holos
Scratches: Koci, Olver, Wilson, Foote
Top PP times: N/A
Trending: Paul Stastny (1G, 1A, +2, 3 SOG) has goals in B2B games and has points in four of five. Milan Hejduk (1A, +1, 3 SOG) had four points in two outings coming in here. Matt Duchene (1A, +1, 4 SOG) has been really hot over the past few weeks. John-Michael Liles (1G, 2 SOG) only had two helpers earlier in March before scoring a goal late in the third to make things interesting. David Jones (1A, 2 PIM, 4 SOG) has points in B2B games after five without one.
LOS ANGELES KINGS 1 @ VANCOUVER CANUCKS 3
Goaltending match-up: Jonathan Quick (32/35, .914 SV%) vs. Roberto Luongo (18/19, .947 SV%)
Combos: Dustin Penner - Michal Handzus - Oscar Moller/ Ryan Smyth - Trevor Lewis - Dustin Brown/ Alexei Ponikarovsky - Jarret Stoll - Wayne Simmonds/ Kevin Westgarth - Brad Richardson- Kyle Clifford/ Willie Mitchell - Drew Doughty/ Jack Johnson - Rob Scuderi/ Alec Martinez - Matt Greene
Scratches: Harrold, Kopitar, Williams, Drewiske
Top PP times: Doughty (3:36), Brown (3:23), Ponikarovsky (3:23), Johnson (3:17), Handzus (3:17)
Trending: Drew Doughty (1A, -1, 4 PIM, 2 SOG) has picked up points in two of three after five without one.
Combos: Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alexandre Burrows/ Chris Higgins - Ryan Kesler - Jeff Tambellini/ Raffi Torres - Mason Raymond - Jannik Hansen/ Alexandre Bolduc - Maxim Lapierre - Victor Oreskovich/ Sami Salo - Christian Ehrhoff/ Keith Ballard - Chris Tanev/ Aaron Rome - Kevin Bieksa
Scratches: Hamhuis, Glass, Samuelsson
Top PP times: D. Sedin (6:31), H. Sedin (6:24), Kesler (6:24), Ehrhoff (6:12), Salo (5:52)
Trending: The Canucks clinched first place in the NHL with this win. :-) Daniel Sedin (1G, 1A, 3 SOG) needed a two-pointer here to reach the century mark and in the third period he joined that exclusive membership. Christian Ehrhoff (1G, +1, 8 SOG) has 10 points in 14 GP coming in here, which is the second straight month where he has secured 10 points or better. Ryan Kesler (1G, 4 SOG) needed a pair of points this evening to hit 70 overall.
DALLAS STARS 0 @ SAN JOSE SHARKS 6
Goaltending match-up: Kari Lehtonen (29/33, .879 SV%) & Andrew Raycroft (17/19, .895 SV%) vs. Antti Niemi (29/29)
Combos: Steve Ott - Brad Richards - Loui Eriksson/ Brenden Morrow - Mike Ribeiro - Jason Williams/ Jamie Langenbrunner - Jamie Benn - Tomas Vincour/ Toby Petersen - Tom Wandell - Krys Barch/ Brad Lukowich - Alex Goligoski/ Jeff Woywitka - Trevor Daley/ Mark Fistric - Stephane Robidas
Scratches: Grossman, Burish, Sutherby, Segal, Skrastins
Top PP times: Richards (4:48), Goligoski (3:40), Ribeiro (3:40), Eriksson (3:22), Morrow (3:22)
Trending:
Combos: Patrick Marleau - Joe Thornton - Devin Setoguchi/ Ryane Clowe - Logan Couture - Dany Heatley/ Torrey Mitchell - Joe Pavelski - Kyle Wellwood/ Ben Eager - Andrew Desjardins - Jamal Mayers/ Douglas Murray - Dan Boyle/ Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Jason Demers/ Ian White - Niclas Wallin
Scratches: Braun
Top PP times: Boyle (4:07), Pavelski (3:22), Clowe (2:37), Couture (2:37), Heatley (2:37)
Trending: Dan Boyle (1G, +3, 5 SOG) had chipped in seven points in eight games before scoring tonight. Joe Thornton (2A, +4, 2 PIM, 2:23 PP, 4 SOG) began the evening five away from the 1000 point mark. Ryane Clowe (1A, +1, 1 SOG) had 19 points in 23 GP vs. DAL coming in here. Joe Pavelski (1A, +1, 2 SOG) has been money this season and stretched his point streak to eight outings. Dany Heatley (2A, +2, 3 SOG) reached the 60-point plateau in this game. Logan Couture (1G, 2 SOG) had scored five times in seven games before potting more here and Devin Setoguchi (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 2:23 PP, 6 SOG) had six points in five outings before this one got underway. Patrick Marleau (2G, +3, 2:23 PP, 12 SOG) already had 9-8-17 in 13 March GP and he set a franchise record with 12 SOG in a single game here. Ben Eager (1G, +1, no PP, 2 SOG) not only scored a beauty, but he hit the post on a second chance. His marker would be worth checking the highlights for when you get a chance.
