NHL Peachy: NHL Morning Skate — March 11, 2017
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
COLUMBUS 4, Buffalo 3
DETROIT 4, Chicago 2
Minnesota 7, FLORIDA 4
ST. LOUIS 4, Anaheim 3
Pittsburgh 3, EDMONTON 2 (SO)
BLUE JACKETS MATCH FRANCHISE RECORD FOR WINS IN A SEASON
Boone Jenner scored the go-ahead goal with 5:07 remaining in regulation to guide the Blue Jackets to their 43rd win of 2016-17 (43-17-6, 92 points), matching their single-season franchise record established in 2013-14 (43-32-7, 93 points).
* The Blue Jackets maintained their hold on second place in the Metropolitan Division and climbed within three points of the League-leading Capitals (44-15-7, 95 points).
* Sergei Bobrovsky (29 saves) saw his personal shutout streak end at 182:19, the second-longest run by a goaltender in franchise history (Steve Mason: 199:19 from Dec. 23, 2008 – Jan. 2, 2009). Bobrovsky registered his fourth consecutive victory to improve to 36-13-4 in 2016-17 (2.07 GAA, .930 SV%, 6 SO), extending his career high and franchise record for wins in a season.
* Zach Werenski collected an assist to establish a franchise record for points in a season by a rookie (9-31—40), besting the previous mark set by Rick Nash in 2002-03 (17-22—39).
WILD RALLY TO PAD LEAD ATOP WESTERN CONFERENCE
Facing a 4-3 deficit in the third period, the Wild scored four unanswered goals to improve to 43-17-6 (92 points) this season and open a three-point lead atop the Western Conference and Central Division.
* Devan Dubnyk entered the game at the start of the third period and made 11 saves to improve to 36-14-3 this season (2.03 GAA, .932 SV%, 5 SO). His 36 wins in 2016-17 match his career high from 2014-15 and are one shy of the franchise record for most in a season, set by Niklas Backstrom in 2008-09 (37-24-8).
* Eric Staal (2-1—3) registered his fourth three-point game of the season to eclipse the 20-goal mark for the 10th time in his NHL career.
PENGUINS, BLUES EXTEND WIN STREAKS
The Penguins (42-16-8, 92 points) and Blues (34-27-5, 73 points) each secured wins to extend their respective win streaks and maintain their grip on playoff positions:
* Phil Kessel scored the decisive goal in the shootout to guide the Penguins to their fourth consecutive win, keeping pace with the Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Division. Marc-Andre Fleury (40 saves) earned the 374th win of his NHL career to tie John Vanbiesbrouck for 15th on the all-time list. Fleury also ranks third in NHL history with 53 career shootout wins, trailing only Ryan Miller (57) and Henrik Lundqvist (56).
* Joel Edmundson scored the first game-winning goal of his NHL career with 19 seconds remaining in regulation to power the Blues to their third consecutive win, maintaining their grip on the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Elias notes that Edmundson became the first Blues player to score a game-winning goal with 19 seconds or less remaining in regulation since Doug Weight (59:58) on March 27, 2003 vs. FLA (2-1 W).
DID YOU KNOW?
Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko (1-1—2) opened the scoring 12 seconds into the contest to reach the 30-goal mark for the third consecutive season, becoming the first Blues player to do so since Keith Tkachuk from 2001-02 to 2003-04.
LOOSE PUCKS
Tomas Tatar (2-1—3) and Gustav Nyquist (0-3—3) each collected three points to help the Red Wings snap Chicago’s franchise-record road win streak at eight games . . . Blackhawks teammates Duncan Keith (900) and Andrew Desjardins (400) each skated in milestone games . . . Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau and Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin were fined $2,000 as supplementary discipline under NHL Rule 64 (Diving/Embellishment) . . . The Blues honored fans Collin Fenton and Jared Grzywacz in a pre-game ceremony for rescuing an 88-year-old woman from a burning home on Sunday night . . . A statue of NHL legend Gordie Howe was unveiled outside the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto as part of opening ceremonies unveiling a new NHL Centennial Exhibit.
SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Philadelphia @ Boston, 1 p.m., SN360, NHLN-US, NESN, CSN-PH
Nashville @ San Jose, 4 p.m., SN, CSN-CA, FS-TN
Ottawa @ Colorado, 7 p.m., CITY, TVAS, ALT
Calgary @ Winnipeg, 7 p.m., SN
Columbus @ Buffalo, 7 p.m., MSG-B, FS-O
Florida @ Tampa Bay, 7 p.m., SUN, FS-F
Toronto @ Carolina, 7 p.m., CBC, FS-CR
New Jersey @ Arizona, 8 p.m., FS-A PLUS, MSG
NY Islanders @ St. Louis, 8 p.m., NHLN-US, FS-MW, MSG+
Pittsburgh @ Vancouver, 10 p.m., CBC, SN, ROOT
Washington @ Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m., FS-W, CSN-DC+
FLAMES, SENATORS AIM TO EXTEND STREAKS ON HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA
Four of 11 games contested today will be part of the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, highlighted by the Flames (37-26-4, 78 points) and Senators (38-22-6, 82 points) aiming to extend their respective win streaks. Calgary looks to secure their ninth consecutive victory when they visit Winnipeg to take on the Jets (30-32-6, 66 points), while Ottawa aims to pick up their sixth straight win when they square off with the Avalanche (19-44-3, 41 points) in Denver. In the other two contests, the Maple Leafs (30-22-14, 74 points) visit the Hurricanes (27-27-10, 64 points) at PNC Arena, while the Canucks (28-30-9, 65 points) host the Penguins (42-16-8, 92 points) at Rogers Place.
