NHL Peachy: NHL MORNING SKATE – MARCH 13, 2017
SUNDAY’S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
CHICAGO 4, Minnesota 2
Montreal 4, EDMONTON 1
NY Rangers 4, DETROIT 1
ANAHEIM 5, Washington 2
SAN JOSE 5, Dallas 1
BLACKHAWKS GAIN GROUND ON WESTERN CONFERENCE-LEADING WILD
Patrick Kane (1-1—2) and Artemi Panarin (1-1—2) scored on the Blackhawks’ first two shots of the game and Corey Crawford made a season-high 42 saves as Chicago secured a victory over Minnesota in a battle of the top two teams in the Western Conference.
* The Blackhawks (43-20-5, 91 points) climbed within a point of the Wild (43-18-6, 92 points) for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference, concluding their four-game season series with a 3-1-0 edge (MIN: 1-2-1).
* Kane scored just 51 seconds into the contest to reach the 30-goal mark for the third time in his NHL career (also 30 in 2009-10 and 46 in 2015-16). The reigning Art Ross Trophy winner has tallied 15-9—24 in 16 games since Feb. 1 to move into second in NHL scoring with 30-43—73, trailing only Connor McDavid (23-52—75).
* Crawford improved to 27-15-3 in 45 appearances this season, including a 9-3-0 mark in his last 12 dating to Feb. 2 (2.50 GAA, .922 SV%).
CAPTAINS HELP CLUBS STRENGTHEN POSITIONS
The Sharks, Ducks, Rangers and Canadiens continued their pursuit of the playoffs with help from their captains:
* Joe Pavelski (2-0—2) scored twice, including his seventh decisive marker of the season, to help the Sharks (41-20-7, 89 points) maintain a seven-point grip of first place in the Pacific Division. Pavelski matched a single-season franchise record with 11 game-winning goals in 2015-16 and paces the NHL with 18 such tallies over the last two campaigns.
* Ryan Getzlaf (1-2—3) assisted on Rickard Rakell’s game-winning goal to lead the Ducks (36-23-10, 82 points) past the League-leading Capitals (44-17-7, 95 points) and help Randy Carlyle earn his 400th career win as an NHL head coach. Corey Perry (2-1—3) and Ryan Kesler (1-2—3) also collected three points apiece as Anaheim regained sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division.
* Ryan McDonagh (2-0—2) registered the second multi-goal game of his NHL career to lead the Rangers (44-23-2, 90 points) to their League-leading 25th road win of 2016-17 in their final regular-season visit to Joe Louis Arena. New York strengthened its hold on the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference and climbed within two points of the Blue Jackets (43-18-6, 92 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division, where the top four teams are separated by only five points.
* Max Pacioretty (2-0—2) tallied twice, including the go-ahead goal, as the Canadiens (39-22-8, 86 points) scored four unanswered goals in the final 6:27 of regulation to improve to 7-1-0 in their last eight games. Pacioretty ranks second in the NHL with 34 game-winners since the start of the 2013-14 season, including seven such tallies in 2016-17. Paul Byron (2-1—3) sparked the comeback win to propel Montreal back into the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
LOOSE PUCKS
Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (24 saves) extended his personal win streak to six games (0.99 GAA, .964 SV%, 1 SO) . . . Stars forward Remi Elie scored the first goal of his NHL career (4 GP) . . . Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic skated in his 800th NHL game . . . Capitals defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk was suspended for two games for charging Kings defenseman Kevin Gravel . . . The Blackhawks donned green St. Patrick’s Day jerseys during warmup at United Center . . . Three members of the 100 Greatest NHL Players – Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and Teemu Selanne – were on hand at Honda Center as the Ducks celebrated the 10th anniversary of their first Stanley Cup championship.
SNEAK PEEK AT MONDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Tampa Bay @ NY Rangers, 7 p.m., TVAS, MSG, SUN
Columbus @ Philadelphia, 7 p.m., SN1, SNE, SNO, CSN-PH, FS-O
Carolina @ NY Islanders, 7:30 p.m., NBCSN
Winnipeg @ Nashville, 8 p.m., FS-TN, TSN3
Pittsburgh @ Calgary, 9 p.m., SNW, ROOT
Boston @ Vancouver, 10 p.m., SNP, NESN
Colorado @ Arizona, 10 p.m., FS-A, ALT
St. Louis @ Los Angeles, 10 p.m., SNE, SNO, FS-W, FS-MW
FLAMES LOOK TO TIE FRANCHISE RECORD WITH 10TH CONSECUTIVE VICTORY
The Flames (38-26-4, 80 points) look to secure their 10th consecutive victory and tie the longest single-season win streak in franchise history – a mark set in 1978-79 as the Atlanta Flames – when they host the Penguins (43-16-8, 94 points), who would move into sole possession of first place in the NHL standings with a win. Calgary would join Columbus (16-0-0), Minnesota (12-0-0) and Philadelphia (10-0-0) as the only teams to register a win streak of at least 10 games in 2016-17. Should they do so, Elias notes that it would mark the first season in NHL history to feature four win streaks of 10 games or more – 2015-16 is the only other campaign with three such runs.
WILD CARD RACES TAKE OVER MONDAY NIGHT SLATE
Several teams in the thick of Wild Card races aim to secure crucial points tonight:
* The Kings (33-28-6, 72 points) look to make up ground on the Blues (35-27-5, 75 points) – who have won four straight games – in their final meeting of the season (Oct. 29: 1-0 LAK and Jan. 12: 5-1 STL). St. Louis occupies the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference and leads the ROW tiebreaker against Los Angeles (STL: 34, LAK: 31).
* The Islanders (32-24-11, 75 points) return from a franchise-long nine-game road trip (5-3-1) to host the Hurricanes (27-27-11, 65 points) at Barclays Center, where they have not lost in regulation since Jan. 11 (9-0-2 since). New York is the first team outside the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Maple Leafs (31-22-14, 76 points).
* The Lightning (32-26-9, 73 points) visit the Rangers (44-23-2, 90 points) for their second meeting in a week, with New York posting a 1-0 overtime win last Monday on the strength of a 38-save shutout by Antti Raanta. Tampa Bay has registered points in 13 of its past 15 games dating to Feb. 4 (10-2-3).
* The Flyers (31-28-8, 70 points) aim to halt a two-game skid and stay in the playoff race when they host the Blue Jackets (43-18-6, 92 points). Columbus, meanwhile, needs one win and two points to establish single-season franchise records.
