NHL Final Scores & Recap

(Thursday, January 24th)

Final Score: Boston 4, NY Islanders 1

Boston, MA - Marc Savard registered a goal and one assist, and Tim Thomas stopped 28 shots to lead Boston over the New York Islanders, 4-1, at TD Banknorth Garden. Thomas, starting his first game since being selected an Eastern Conference All-Star, won his third game in his last four starts, and improved to 16-11-3 on the year. Dennis Wideman, Milan Lucic and Phil Kessel also lit the lamp for the Bruins, who coast into the All-Star break having won three of their last four games. Mike Sillinger scored for the Islanders, who hit the break with three losses in four contests. Rick DiPietro allowed all four goals on 30 shots in defeat.

Final Score: Montreal 4, New Jersey 3

Newark, NJ - Bryan Smolinski scored twice, and Chris Higgins’ power-play tally with 5:29 left capped a three-goal third period, as the Montreal Canadiens came back to top the Devils, 4-3, ending a 10-game winless skid at New Jersey. The Canadiens were 0-9-1 in their last 10 at New Jersey, and 1-21-4 in their last 26 entering play Thursday. The comeback win was Montreal’s first over the Devils in Jersey since February 5, 2002. Mike Komisarek had two assists for Montreal, which has won two in a row and six of eight. Saku Koivu also scored and Cristobal Huet stopped 10 shots for Montreal. Patrik Elias scored twice for the Devils, who have lost three of five. Mike Mottau had two assists, and Jamie Langenbrunner also scored for the Devils. Martin Brodeur turned away 28 shots for New Jersey, which was outshot 32-13.

Final Score: Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 3

Philadelphia, PA - Mike Knuble’s goal broke a tie early in the third period and Marty Biron made several key saves down the stretch, as the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-3, at Wachovia Center. R.J. Umberger registered a goal and two assists while Randy Jones and Jimmy Vandermeer also scored for the Flyers, who entered the All-Star break tied atop the Atlantic Division with New Jersey (59 points). Biron finished with 21 saves for the Flyers, who have won five of their last six games overall. Evgeni Malkin, Ryan Whitney and Petr Sykora scored for the Penguins, who trail the Flyers and Devils by one point in the division race and are now 2-2-2 since an eight-game win streak that bridged the calendar years. Ty Conklin started between the pipes for the Penguins and allowed four goals on 33 shots.

Final Score: Washington 2, Toronto 1

Washington, DC - Viktor Kozlov netted the game-winning goal in the third period and Brent Johnson ended with 31 saves as Washington topped Toronto, 2-1, in the finale of a home-and-home series at Verizon Center. Brooks Laich also tallied, and Alex Ovechkin had a pair of assists for the Caps, who have won five of their last six games and eight of 11 in the month of January. Ovechkin extended his point streak to seven games, with seven goals and six assists in that span going to the All-Star break. The win moved the Capitals within a point of Southeast Division-leading Carolina. The Caps are also the only team in the NHL that has not lost consecutive games in regulation since Bruce Boudreau took over as head coach on November 22. Boyd Devereaux had the lone tally and Vesa Toskala stopped 18 shots for the Maple Leafs, who beat the Capitals 3-2 at home on Wednesday night for their fourth win in five games. That was also Toronto’s first game since the team fired general manager John Ferguson and replaced him with Cliff Fletcher on an interim basis.

Final Score: Ottawa 8, Tampa Bay 4

Tampa, FL - Daniel Alfredsson recorded a hat trick and set a career-high with a seven-point night, as the Senators blew past the Tampa Bay Lightning, 8-4, at the St. Pete Times Forum. Jason Spezza had two goals and an assist for Ottawa, which snapped a three-game skid. Six different players had at least two points for the Senators, who also got 21 saves from Martin Gerber, on the way to their sixth victory in their last eight trips to Tampa. Antoine Vermette, Randy Robitaille and Dean McAmmond also scored for Ottawa (31-15-4), which heads into the All-Star break with the best record in the Eastern Conference. Alfredsson, who eclipsed his career-best six points from Nov. 2, 2005, at Buffalo, tallied his 500th career assist on Robitaille’s goal 1:39 into the third period. This marked his sixth career hat trick and his 67 points lead the league at the All-Star break. That’s one more point than Tampa Bay’s Vincent Lecavalier, who was held off the scoresheet on Thursday. Tampa Bay’s John Tortorella coached in his 507th career game, moving him past Herb Brooks for most all-time by a U.S.-born coach in NHL history.

Final Score: Edmonton 4, Florida 3 (SO)

Sunrise, FL - Jarret Stoll scored a pair of goals in the final 83 seconds of regulation to force overtime, and Shawn Horcoff scored in the first round of a shootout as the Edmonton Oilers completed a stirring comeback with a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers at BankAtlantic Center. Ales Hemsky assisted on both of Stoll’s tallies as the Oilers won for just the second time in their last six games going into the All-Star break. Ethan Moreau scored his fourth goal of the season for Edmonton, and Mathieu Garon made 32 saves on 35 shots. Olli Jokinen and Brett McLean each posted a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who lost for the fifth time in seven games. Gregory Campbell had a shorthanded goal for Florida, and Tomas Vokoun had a strong game, making 37 saves.

Final Score: NY Rangers 2, Atlanta 1 (SO)

New York, NY - Brendan Shanahan notched the lone goal of the shootout as the New York Rangers celebrated a special night with a 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers at Madison Square Garden. Michal Rozsival picked up the lone regulation goal for the Rangers, who head into the All-Star break having beaten Atlanta in consecutive home games. Marian Hossa tallied for the Thrashers, who have dropped five straight games and played without superstar forward Ilya Kovalchuk, suspended for one game after a hit from behind on Rozsival during Tuesday’s 4-0 loss at the Garden. The Rangers were bolstered by a pregame ceremony to retire former defenseman Brian Leetch’s No. 2. Leetch became only the fifth former Blueshirt to see his jersey raised to the rafters, joining Ed Giacomin (1), Rod Gilbert (7), Mark Messier (11), and Mike Richter (35).

Final Score: Columbus 1, Chicago 0

Chicago, IL - Backstopped by Pascal Leclaire, who made 30 saves, the Columbus Blue Jackets blanked the Chicago Blackhawks, 1-0, at the United Center. Leclaire improved to 19-9-3 on the season, while recording his league-best eighth shutout of the campaign and ninth of his NHL career. Jared Boll had the lone tally for Columbus, which closed out a five-game road swing and has won six of eight overall. It marks the Jackets’ first winning road trip since going 2-0-1 from February 27-March 3 of last season. Nikolai Khabibulin allowed just the one goal on 27 shots for Chicago, which has dropped two straight on the heels of a four-game win streak. The struggling netminder fell to 0-7 in the month of January, but the Blackhawks have managed to score just 10 goals in those games, while allowing 28.

Final Score: Buffalo 2, Dallas 1

Dallas, TX - Derek Roy scored both Buffalo goals and Ryan Miller was sharp with 25 saves, as the Sabres finally captured a victory on the road and defeated the Dallas Stars, 2-1, at American Airlines Center. Thomas Vanek notched a pair of assists for Buffalo, which snapped a two-game skid but won for only the second time in its last 14 games overall and in the process halted an eight-game road skid. The Sabres, who are tied with Toronto at the bottom of the Northeast Division, will resume play after the upcoming All-Star break when they travel to Tampa Bay on Tuesday. Stu Barnes netted the lone goal for the Stars, who head into the All-Star break with a 28-20-5 record and entered Thursday’s action in sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division with 61 points. Anaheim, which traveled to Los Angeles Thursday night, remained one point behind. Marty Turco allowed two goals on 19 shots for Dallas, which dropped its second straight after a three- game winning streak.

Final Score: Minnesota 3, Colorado 2

Denver, CO - Pavol Demitra notched the game-winning tally late in the second period as Minnesota edged Colorado, 3-2, at Pepsi Center. Todd Fedoruk and Brian Rolston also tallied for the Wild, who hit the All-Star break having won their last two games over their division rivals and two of three overall. Minnesota vaulted over Calgary with the win and assumed first place in the Northwest Division with 59 points. Niklas Backstrom picked up the win by making 28 stops. Andrew Brunette and Wojtek Wolski hit the net for the Avalanche, who head into the break with a much-needed rest after dropping three of their last four outings.

Final Score: Phoenix 4, Nashville 3 (OT)

Glendale, AZ - Radim Vrbata scored three goals in regulation, but it was Zbynek Michalek’s goal with 29 seconds left in overtime that sent the Phoenix Coyotes into the All-Star break on a winning note with a wild 4-3 victory over the Nashville Predators. Vrbata added an assist on the game- winner to go with his third career hat trick as the Coyotes won their second game in a row headed into the break. Steve Reinprecht had a pair of helpers for Phoenix, and Ilya Bryzgalov made 29 saves to aid the winning effort. Rich Peverley scored his first NHL goal for the Predators, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. Alexander Radulov and Martin Erat also scored for Nashville, and J.P. Dumont notched an assist to run his franchise-record points streak to 14 games. Chris Mason stopped 26 shots for the Predators.

Final Score: San Jose 4, St. Louis 1

San Jose, CA - Jonathan Cheechoo scored two power-play goals and Joe Thornton registered three assists, as San Jose defeated the St. Louis Blues, 4-1, at the Shark Tank. Milan Michalek tallied a goal and two assists and Evgeni Nabokov made 17 saves for the Sharks, who have won two straight following a four-game winless skid. Steve Bernier also scored for San Jose, which entered the All-Star break tied with Dallas for first place in the Pacific Division. Brad Boyes scored the only goal for the slumping Blues, who are now winless in their last seven games overall (0-5-2). Manny Legace allowed four goals on 26 shots in the loss.

Final Score: Los Angeles 3, Anaheim 1

Los Angeles, CA - Jason LaBarbera made 31 saves as the Los Angeles Kings beat the Anaheim Ducks, 3-1, at Staples Center. Derek Armstrong had a goal and an assist, while Anze Kopitar and Alex Frolov also scored for the Kings, who have won two of three and five of their last seven games overall. They also snapped a four-game losing streak to Anaheim. Rob Niedermayer had the only goal for the Ducks, who have dropped three straight. Jean-Sebastien Giguere started in net but was pulled in the second period after yielding three goals on 18 shots. Jonas Hiller turned aside 13 the rest of the way.

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